Chapter 60 Your barrier is quite difficult

Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage, who was just about to clock out and head home, had been forcefully stopped by Chiba and kept in the office for overtime work.

Looking at the scroll, he couldn't help but want to light up his pipe.

How troublesome!

Although he had anticipated that Chiba might adapt something akin to the Gentle Fist style into taijutsu, he never expected this day to arrive so quickly, and this was only the initial draft.

However.

No rule stated that others were forbidden from learning the Gentle Fist.

"Lord Hokage?"

"Chiba, the learning difficulty of this technique you've developed is a bit high. It probably reaches the A-plus rank, doesn't it?"

The Third's eyes remained fixed on the scroll.

Even though he couldn't perform it himself, mere imagination was enough to understand just how difficult it would be to fully execute such a technique.

"Achieving it in its entirety is probably around S-rank difficulty, but it actually has a simplified version. You just need to condense chakra, blast it directly into the opponent's body, and detonate it right away."

Chiba pointed to the lower section of the scroll.

The Third naturally saw it.

According to his estimation, the direct detonation variant was just about of A-rank difficulty.

Gentle Fist: Spiral.

Gentle Fist: Burst.

Such simple and brutal names.

The Third rolled up the scroll, looked at Chiba, and said, "These two techniques are of extremely high value."

"I would like to ask Lord Third to help me contact the Hyuga clan."

"Hmm? If you're worried about the Hyuga, there's really no need. Although the Gentle Fist is a taijutsu they take immense pride in, that doesn't mean the rest of us cannot develop our own."

Moreover.

The underlying principles of the two were completely different.

The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist attacked the target's chakra pathway system and internal organs.

Chiba's Spiral Gentle Fist borrowed the principle of the Rasengan to generate a chaotic vortex inside the enemy's body, thereby assaulting flesh and viscera.

"You can take a look at the second scroll."

The second one?

The Third snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream.

The shock brought by the first scroll had been so immense that he had completely forgotten Chiba actually brought two scrolls with him...

He unrolled the second scroll, followed immediately by a deep breath.

Even at over sixty years of age, the Third found it somewhat hard to handle.

Tenketsu striking!

First the Gentle Fist and now tenketsu striking—the Hyuga clan would surely exclaim in disbelief.

He rubbed his temples and began to examine the scroll closely.

So that was it.

The scroll stated that while the exact locations of certain acupuncture points varied from person to person, a portion of them remained fixed.

Chiba's tenketsu-striking targets were precisely those fixed points.

"You wanted to transfer to the medical division previously. You must have had these ideas for a while now, right?"

The Third puffed on his pipe—

Even though the tobacco inside wasn't lit, at least inhaling the residual scent could make him appear slightly less shocked.

This kid was simply too smart!

"Not really. I just thought medical knowledge was very useful, and the thought occurred to me when I was creating the Over-Limit technique."

"It's already remarkable enough!"

If Chiba were a jonin, or a ninja from the wartime era, the Third wouldn't be this astonished.

This was a time of peace.

Look at his peers—

Neji, who was somewhat inferior to him, was still diligently training in taijutsu and pondering his family's Gentle Fist.

Uchiha Sasuke, one year lower, was currently working hard to prepare for early graduation.

The gap was simply too vast!

The Third remained silent for a long time, then suddenly recalled another matter and pulled a document from his drawer: "Right, didn't your previous mission involve reaching a cooperative agreement with the Fire Temple?"

"Have their people arrived?"

Chiba's eyes lit up.

The Iron Wall Sealing Technique and the Talent of the Immortal Clan—he had been coveting those for a long time!

"They've officially submitted the cooperation documents. Take a look; if there are no issues, sign it. Afterward, Samui will continue to make arrangements for personnel to negotiate with you."

The Third produced a document.

Chiba glanced at it, finding virtually no problems.

He casually signed his name.

"Please help me negotiate with the Hyuga clan as well. I hope to trade for knowledge regarding the Gentle Fist and the chakra pathway system."

"It'll be a bit difficult, but I'll bring it up for you."

"I'm counting on you!"

Chiba left the office, stopped by the Third's library along the way, and borrowed a book related to chakra ninja tools to read.

He didn't plan to become a blacksmith, but he still needed to study the theory; otherwise, the inscription of jutsu formulas on ninja tools would lack professionalism.

Departing from the Hokage Building, he headed to the Konoha Hospital.

Might Guy had already been discharged.

If he had been forced to stay in a hospital bed any longer, Guy himself would have found it utterly unbearable.

This also meant...

Chiba no longer had to worry about the troublesome predicament of being "latched onto" by him.

His life returned to a regular routine.

Training—reading—resting and eating—training.

Tenten would occasionally look for him to exchange books, and the two would sit together and vent their complaints, but other than that, they had virtually no other intersections.

Moonlight Saesha seemed to be practicing swordsmanship.

Everyone was busy; missions had even come to a standstill. At least for the next month or two, their squad wouldn't be taking on any missions.

Half a month passed in this manner.

Ninja tool forging was truly troublesome, and Konoha had very few reference materials available.

Weapons like the Flying Swallow were simple enough.

However.

To complete a creation like the "Infinite Hole Armor," the current accumulation of knowledge and technology was extremely scarce, leaving Chiba to research and summarize as he went.

He had spent nearly half a month doing just that.

Originally, Chiba intended to continue reading and secluding himself—

But Samui had arrived.

The Hyuga side was still dragging their feet; according to Neji, the main house had been holding frequent meetings lately, lasting an hour or two every day.

Chiba only smiled.

He held no hopes for that group of people.

By the time the Hyuga clan finished dragging their feet, the food would probably have gone cold. He decided to spend the time lowering the difficulty even further.

For instance—

Simplifying it to direct condensation and bombardment of chakra, while abandoning the detonation.

Difficulty: B-plus.

Although the difficulty remained high, jonin or ninja skilled in chakra control could generally master it.

"Low enough. I'll hand it in, and then go see Samui."

Chiba brought the scroll over, handed it to the Third, and then met with Samui in the conference room.

Samui wore a very serious expression.

Upon seeing Chiba, he immediately stood up, pressed his palms together, and bowed slightly.

"Apologies for keeping the benefactor waiting."

"Not at all. The Fire Temple is a large institution with deep roots, and it's completely normal to have many matters to discuss."

Chiba hurriedly returned the bow.

The two sat down opposite each other, with the Third seated in the middle.

Samui produced a book and said, "Benefactor Chiba, this is our Fire Temple's barrier ninjutsu formula. Please be sure to keep it strictly confidential."

"Rest assured, I'll read it right here."

"..."

Here it comes.

That familiar feeling was back!

This tone sounded as if he would finish reading it immediately.

Samui took a deep breath, silently offering an apology in his heart to suppress his chaotic emotions.

Chiba began to read attentively.

halfway through, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He had never seen this ninjutsu formula before.

A formula specifically designed to identify the abilities of the Talent of the Immortal Clan?

He immediately pushed the book forward.

"Master, what is the function of this formula?"

Samui looked at the page and then sat frozen for a full several seconds.

Even though he had reviewed it multiple times recently...

He never expected Chiba's question to be so specific down to a single minor ninjutsu formula.

He pondered for quite a while.

"I'm not entirely clear if it's used on its own, but when combined with the formulas on this page, activating them can identify the Talent of the Immortal Clan."

"I see."

Chiba carefully reviewed that page several times.

Identifying a specific type of chakra.

This formula was immensely useful; he had to memorize it and thoroughly comprehend it. It held the potential to become a brand-new pattern line.

A moment later.

"Master Samui, I have finished reading. The modification difficulty of this sealing barrier of yours is quite high."

"No matter, benefactor. Take your time, and once it's completed, you can just send it to the Fire Temple."

Samui was remarkably patient.

Chiba waved his hand: "There's no need for that. You can rest in Konoha for a couple of days while I study the effects of the formula we just discussed, and then I'll draw up the barrier design blueprint for you."

"???"