"So he just copied the Gentle Fist like that?" Katsuki, the chunin teacher, muttered to himself with shocked eyes, his jaw practically hanging open.
"Sharingan? No. Talented? Absurdly!" He muttered.
'I need to tell the Hokage about this!' He thought with a deep frown, already calculating how to word his report.
"He copied Tenshi's taijutsu!" Yuji said, eyes wide open as he stared at Garou's tall figure standing over the fallen Hyuga.
"A monster at taijutsu. Perfect body condition. Sharp senses. Extreme flexibility." Orochimaru analyzed with a glint in his eyes, "If he becomes stronger, then I don't think anyone can beat him in hand-to-hand combat. But that's the case if he had chakra."
"Just fireball his ass! Who cares anyways? I don't!" Jiraiya said in anger with his teeth gritted, his arms crossed and his face red.
"You are just jealous that he is Tsunade's boyfriend and soon-to-be fiancé." Orochimaru replied stoically, not even looking at his teammate.
"What did you just say?!" Jiraiya yelled comically at Orochimaru, his whole body vibrating with indignation.
"Just simple observation." Orochimaru replied with a smirk as he glanced at Jiraiya.
"Buuuut anywways." Ryu said flamboyantly as he flipped his hair. "Eeeevn if he coppppied Tenshi'sss taijutsuuu, I donnnn't think heeee can useee it effectively withoooout byakugaaan!"
"If I am correct, then you Uchihas could have used the Gentle Fist long ago. But as you said, you don't have the Byakugan to use that taijutsu style effectively." Orochimaru said with a nod of understanding beside Ryu.
"Yourrrr corrreect!" Ryu said while moving his bangs upward with style and winking at a girl who passed out immediately with a blush.
------------
One day later in the Nara clan office/
Garou sat cross-legged on a cushion, arms folded, while across from him, a middle-aged man with tired eyes and a permanent laziness studied him over steepled fingers.
"Soooooo," the Nara clan head said, his voice as lazy as his son's, "you dragged me all the way to my office to talk about... paperwork and food?"
"Pretty much. You know about the food business I set up with the Akimichi, right?"
The Nara glanced at the Akimichi clan head, who was practically vibrating with excitement next to him.
"Heavens Feel." The Akimichi clan head nodded eagerly. "Best stuff I've ever tasted! Food that makes you question your existence!! Burgers that–"
"Yeah, yeah stop the glaze." Garou cut him off. "The food's good. But good food doesn't mean shit if it doesn't generate money for me."
The Nara raised an eyebrow. "And you want my clan to handle the business for you?"
"I need someone to manage the contracts, the supply chains, the expansion plans. All the boring math stuff that makes my brain melt." Garou leaned back. "Your clan is literally the smartest in the village or the world. You guys are literally born to do this kind of work while lying down and complaining about it."
The Nara's other eyebrow joined the first. "You want us to be your accountants?"
"I want you to be my partners." Garou pulled out a scroll from his pocket and unrolled it on the table. "Here's the deal, the Akimichi already have 20% of the profits and I take 80%."
The Nara's eyes scanned the scroll. "And where do we fit in?"
"2%." Garou held up two fingers. "From my share."
The room went quiet.
"2%?" The Nara's voice was flat.
"Look, I know it sounds small." Garou scratched the back of his head. "But here's the thing... this business is gonna explode. We're talking restaurants in every major capital city. We're talking food stands and restaurants in all of Elemental nations if possible. 2% of something massive is still a mountain of cash."
The Nara stared at him for a long moment. "So basically, a business that's held with hopes and dreams of greatness."
"Hopes and dreams wouldn't make that man beside you act like a drug addict." I replied with a smirk.
"..." The Nara clan head looked at the disheveled Akimichi clan head before letting out a loooong tired sigh.
"And what exactly would my clan have to do for this 2%?" He said.
"All the boring stuff basicaly, the contracts, negotiations, and making sure the money flows where it's supposed to which is my pocket, handling disputes with suppliers and jeeping the books... soooo shortly, you do the thinking, and the Akimichi do the cooking, eating, and selling."
"..."
"So what do you say? So much better than going out on missions where you spend weeks sleeping on dirt only to get like what? 3 days worth of daily life maintenances? Believe me, if you tell this to your clan members, they will even coup against you to get the opportunity for doing less to gain insane salaries and extra hours of relaxing if you don't agree to this." Garou said and the Nara clan head narrowed his eyes.
"Extra hours of sleep?" He muttered but Garou heard him.
"Not just extra, maybe you will even have days off if you guys do a good job." Garou said with a smirk.
"Damn." The Nara clan head murmured.
The Akimichi clan head nodded vigorously. "The boy's recipes are genius!! Absolute genius! That garlic sauce alone ohh my godd! We will be rich!"
The Nara rubbed his chin, his tired eyes sharp despite his laziness. "2% is low. Very low. And, I think you should also invite the Yamanaka into this agreement."
"2% is what you get for doing paperwork." Garou shrugged. "The Akimichi are putting in the kitchens, the staff, the distribution network. I'm putting in the recipes and the brand. You're putting in... brains. And you can do most of it lying down."
A ghost of a smile crossed the Nara's face. "You've done your research on my clan."
"I've watched Yuji sleep through every class and still ace the exams. That's all the research I needed." Garou leaned forward. "Look, I'm not here to lowball you. 2% is the offer, so take it or leave it. But if you take it, I want your smartest people on this. I want contracts that no one can wiggle out of, and I want expansion plans that account for every stupid thing that could go wrong. Also, what do you mean by Yamanaka?"
"It will be harder for the recipes to spread. It must stay unknown until the business itself becomes a success. We need the Yamanaka to seal the memories of the staff for its confidentiality. You underestimate ninjas too much if you think they can't extract these kinds of informations easily." The Nara head said.
"Hmmmm, makes sense. The next meeting, care to bother and invite the Yamanaka head?" Garou said and the Nara head nodded.
"For now, I want 3% of the shares."
"2.5%."
"2.8%."
"2.5% and I'll teach your son a technique to sleep instantly, no chakra needed."
The Nara's eyes widened slightly. "Deal."
They shook hands and the Akimichi clan head clapped his massive palms together. "Wonderful! More food for everyone!"
Garou rolled up the scroll and tucked it back into his pocket. "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have a fiancée to go see and some biology to study. You two figure out the details. We will sign the contracts in the next meeting when the Yamanaka head is present."
He stood up and headed for the door then left. Behind him, he heard the Akimichi clan head already talking about menu expansions and the Nara clan head groaning about the workload.
'Let's see how this satanic move gonna make me control the whole food market.' Garou thought, grinning to himself.
.
Nara clan head POV/
Hmmm, this muscle monkey is interesting. How did Gintoki manage to pull a son like that?
By all calculations, Gintoki's son should have an IQ of below 60, but this son of his looks like above 80 or 85.
'Kekkei Genkai?' I thought but I doubt it.
Kekkei Genkai needs chakra and this monkey doesn't have it. Chakra is the source of life, to not have it means instant death.
Or maybe that was pure bullshit all along?
What if humans didn't have chakra originally in the first place?
I seem to remember some of our clan records where it briefly talks about history before the Sage Of Six Paths.
It mentions that humans didn't use chakra. But then suddenly, one day, because of The Six Paths Sage, everyone woke up the next day having chakra.
It's a theory, but then, doesn't that make chakra... Alien?
A parasite maybe?
Who was the Sage Of The Six Paths really? The progenitor of chakra?
But I doubt The Sage was the only being who had chakra at first. The math doesn't add up.
In math, if you define a "first" to be part of a necessary pair like a numerator needs a denominator, or define a number to have a successor, then the existence of the first necessitates the second.
Does that mean there are more of people like The Sage Of Six Paths?
Let's say The Sage was the First and the last, so you mean to tell me The Sage decided to not make more of... himself? No descendants or family?
Sighhhh, the existence of Garou is making me question if not having chakra was actually the natural normal order of how things should exactly be like instead.
I just hope The Sage was a good person.
Though, this Garou is actually a genius in some way. A chains of restaurants? All having the same brand but sell slightly different things?
And those recipes. Is this guy a food Sage? Is that why he has that unbelievable physique?
And how old was he again? 37?
His mental maturity suggests 39 to 40 with low IQ.
-----------
One Week Later/
"These are the books and scrolls that contain every single detail that you should know about human anatomy and some chakra beasts too." Mito said as she handed me a stack of scrolls and books so tall I could barely see over them.
"Hmm." I just nodded and looked through the scrolls to see that they really included the information I needed. Detailed diagrams, notes on pressure points, everything I could possibly want to study for the next few months.
"There is also a book I wrote myself which has an Uzumaki symbol engraved on its cover. The things I wrote in it are some things which I discovered myself when I was younger. I am sure you will benefit from it." She said with a proud smile.
"When is the party?" I asked while looking at the book she wrote, already planning how much I could read before the actual event.
"Soon." She replied calmly, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Where is Tsunade?" I asked again, not seeing my fiancée anywhere in the compound.
"She is training with the monkey." She replied in disappointment, clearly not thrilled about Hiruzen taking up her granddaughter's time.
I just nodded again, then slowly turned around and left without even bothering to say goodbye.
------------
2 Days Later/
*Knock knock.*
"Is there anybody here? Hatake-san! Master Garou!"
*Step step step.*
Gintoki made his way to the door and slightly opened it, only to see a bag of testosterone looking back at him which made him immediately go alert and not open the door entirely.
He needed to protect himself if the stranger tried to do anything to him.
"Yes?" Gintoki said as he looked at the man with narrowed eyes.
"Ohhh, Hello Hatake-san, my name is Dai. Sorry I thought this was Master Garou's house." Gintoki became more suspicious now.
'Master Garou? When did Zombie become a master of anything?' He thought with suspicion.
"It's not the wrong house. How do you know him?"
"Ohh, I am a friend of his. He was sooo Youthful last time we met and sparred!" Dai said innocently with excitement.
'Friend? Garou has more than 3 friends? And 'soooo Youthful' encounter and sparred?! What have you done you stupid Zombie!!' Gintoki cried internally as he nervously licked his lips.
"I will go call him here, wait a minute." Gintoki said and went inside.
__________
Garou's POV/
I made my way to the front door of our house as I heard my dad saying I have a visitor.
*Slide.*
I slid the door open and Dai came into view, standing there with some patches on his face like he had been in another fight with a tree and the tree won.
He put a wide grin on his face, which I responded with a casual smile. It was hard not to smile around this guy, even with his... everything.
"Sup Dai, you good?" I asked as I put my hand forward for a handshake.
*Grab.*
He immediately shook my hand firmly, his white shining teeth all visible to me like a vivre card pointing at Kizaru.
"I am better than ever!" He replied with explosive excitement, then his face immediately dropped. "But what happened to your face?! Was it because of me?!"
Without letting me reply, he was about to bow and apologize, his whole body already lowering.
*Grab.*
I quickly held him still, not letting him bow. "It's not your fault. Just some things happened back these days. Anyways, it's good to hear you are okay, I guess. Now, won't you come inside?" I said and asked as I invited him in, stepping aside.
"Then that's a relief." His smile returned. "And thank you, Master Garou, but I won't bother you anymore. I actually got a mission outside the village after a long time, and..." He said and slowly put his hand inside a bag on his waist and took out a leaflet of money, holding it out like it was a sacred offering.
"Here is your money, Master Garou." He said as he extended his hand for me to take the money.
"What's this?" I asked in confusion, genuinely not remembering him being in my debt.
"This is your money from my hospital bills you paid that day I was injured. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it. I won't ever forget it!" He said with a small grateful smile and about to bow again, but I still didn't let him do it.
'Okay, no way I'm taking that money from him. The guy is dead poor and works his ass off just to put some food on his own table.' I thought while looking at the money in his rough, calloused hand.
I pushed the money back to him. "Consider it as a friend just doing something small for you, Dai." I said with a smile.
"No, no, no, I can't do that, Master Garou. You have to take the money back! My youthful principles can't let me be in debt." He said firmly as he extended his hand again.
"No. Isn't it already time to get married or crack some girl? Save the money for that." I said as I pushed his hand again.
"Yes– I mean, no! I don't need girls!" Dai awkwardly cried.
"So you are still a virgin? How old are you? Some people already have grandkids at your age." I said with a deadpan.
"I am still young and youthful Master Garou! I am only 20, shouldn't Master Garou be more concerned about themselves?" Dai said shyly as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Dude, I am 10 years old." I said, my deadpan still on.
"NANI!!" He shouted with widened eyes as he looked at me up and down repeatedly.
"Yeah dude, I just look old because of my physique."
"But... but, I thought... I thought you were 35!" Dai cried as he looked at me up and down fast again.
"Yeah yeah, I know, it happens all the time. But anyways, I won't take that money from you. It can barely afford one meal for me with that much, so don't worry about it." I said.
"But I can't! This is yours and I don't want to be in debt, it's not Youthful." Dai said as he tried to give me the money.
"Let me guess, you were pulling out weeds and catching cats and barely ate anything yourself just to get this much money, right?" I asked but I was sure that was the case.
"..."
This poor guy.
All that power but only to be treated like shit by this village.
I don't get it though, is Hiruzen blind or does he choose to be blind?
Or maybe it's the appearance of this dude he didn't like?
Maybe it's Dai's eccentric personality. Hiruzen doesn't want to lose face in front of his little fans because it's uncool?
Fuck you then Hiruzen.
"Okay, instead of giving me the money, why don't you come to my clan compound's training grounds and train with me if you have time? We can have spars too. It's a win-win situation, you get a training ground to train, and I get a sparring partner and instructor to fight with. I will even give you money if you do that for me." I said with a smile as Dai's eyes widened with excitement.
"Woahhh! Will that really be okay?! Won't I be a bother?!" He asked while his whole body practically vibrated from excitement.
"The training ground is huge and the clan compound is empty. It's only me that's training there, so don't worry about it. You will even do me a favor. Having a training partner who can beat me is much appreciated." I said nonchalantly while thinking about the last old Hatake geezer who died last week. That left only me, my parents, and Sakumo as alive Hatakes.
"If that's the case, then please take care of me, Master Garou!" He excitedly yelled and bowed deeply, which I returned with a bow of my head and my fists cupped.
"Okay then, I really have to go Master Garou! I think I will see you soon in the training ground." He said with a smile that lifted his bushy mustache upward.
"Then see you again, Dai. Take care." I said, and he nodded, then left.
.
I went back inside my house to see Gintoki eavesdropping from the hallway, eyes lifeless as he stared at me, which made me raise an eyebrow.
"What's up?" I asked with a little bit of annoyance.
"..."
He remained silent as he stared.
"If you ain't gonna speak then piss off!" I said as I turned in the hallway to get back to my room.
"20 years old and still virgin?" He suddenly said as he looked at me with that ominous look.
"Want to personally participate and change the quota for him?" I asked back as I looked at him.
"This isn't a joking matter Zombie! Don't you get it?" He cried with gritted teeth.
"I get it, you are just fucked up and plain ass weird, that's it." I replied boredly which made his eyes widen while still looking all dark and stuff.
"You dumbass! You don't get it! That guy or Dai dude is gay!!" He cried and I already turned and walked into my room to spare myself from the nonsense.
"Don't ignore me!! That man is dangerous and you are the cake! A delicious 10 year old squishy lil–" He continued to shout but I just ignored him.
------------
In Another Place/
"So can I ask why you agreed to that boy to become your fiancé, Tsunade?" Hiruzen asked with a smile while looking at his cute student throwing shurikens that hit the bullseye with sweat running down her face.
"What do you mean, old man?" Tsunade asked in confusion, not stopping her throws.
"I mean it was too sudden. You should have told me before you decided to do that." He said, keeping his voice light.
Tsunade scratched her hair sheepishly. "Well, my grandma Mito said to not let go of opportunities. Since he asked me out first, then why should I refuse when he is already my type of man too?" She replied, which made Hiruzen's mouth twitch for a moment.
'But you have rejected half the world's population, so why not him too?' Hiruzen thought.
"Well, it's your choice, but I had a better person I wanted to introduce too. Too bad now it's not possible." He said with his arms crossed, giving Tsunade a side glance to see her reaction.
But she just shrugged, much to his disappointment. He sighed as he rubbed his forehead.
'Danzo will be furious. He trained that Dan boy just for this, and now this wall is in the way suddenly.' He thought tiredly as he remembered his old friend talking about some real issues regarding the future of Konoha, which made him concerned.
'And there's nothing we could do about this because Mito-sama has already decided what to do, which is absolutely something irreversible right now.' He thought, watching Tsunade continue her training.
'Hope nothing bad happens.' He thought again and moved toward those other two troublemakers who were bickering instead of training again.
Sighhhhhhhh.
-------------
Some days Later/
The human body is a single structure, but it is made up of billions of smaller structures of four major kinds: cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
An organ is an organization of several different kinds of tissues so arranged that together they can perform a special function.
A system is an organization of varying numbers and kinds of organs so arranged that together they can perform complex functions for the body.
Survival of the body depends on the body's maintaining or restoring homeostasis, a state of relative constancy, of its internal environment.
*Point point point.*
I pointed at three different places in a detailed picture of a human body on a scroll, vital points that if hit hard enough, could cripple or cause death to the victim.
'Now, how can I stop the circulation of blood inside the blood vessels with a tap?' I thought with a hand on my chin as I looked at a wooden dummy in front of me in our clan's training compound.
708 secret vital points on the human body that form part of a functional system. 702 vital points that I could use to paralyze my enemies easily, cripple, and kill...
'Can I paralyze using the Shigan? But that can't be possible as it only has the ability to pierce, not paralyze. That Hyuga boy Tenshi was defeated by me not because he was paralyzed when I copied his Taijutsu but because the dude just received weakened Shigans that hit his vital spots, which made him pass out immediately.' I thought as I rubbed my chin.
'Gentle Fist, Shigan, vital points... and what else?' I thought.
I was missing something crucial. Just one more piece to complete this puzzle.
"Just what can it be?!" I said as I ruffled my hair in frustration, pacing back and forth in front of the dummy.
"For the blood vessels to stop working and explode, there must be an external impact or a fat clog. But how can I send a very literal, specific shockwave to that vess–"
"Wait!" I stopped dead in my tracks. "Shockwaves. Hmm, shockwaves. A pulse... a wave."
I uttered the words and stood up as I closed my eyes with a smirk. All the muscles inside my arm started to move like a gentle wave, flowing from my shoulder down to my fingertips.
*Step step step.*
I approached the wooden dummy with my eyes closed as I slowly raised my hands. With a blur, my arm stretched toward it. Before my hand touched the dummy's wooden chest, my wavy muscles started to concentrate the motion of the muscles into my index finger.
*Tap.*
I gently tapped the wooden dummy's chest and slowly backed away, then turned around to pick up the scroll with my eyes still closed.
"Omae wa mou, shindeiru." I said in a menacing tone, the words hanging in the air..
*ZIIK BOOM!*
The wooden dummy's back suddenly exploded to pieces the moment I finished what I said, splinters flying everywhere like shrapnel.
Ding...
[By combining three different types of martial arts you learned —> Fist of the North Star!]
[Picture]
"Heh, easy stuff." I smirked like a madman as I looked at my hands.
'The answer was Whirlwind Water Stream: Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist all along since that martial art deals with shockwaves and internal destruction.' I thought in excitement, my heart pounding in my chest.
I stood there for a moment, reveling in my genius.
'Now let's go and read about tenketsu.' I thought and quickly went back home, the scrolls under my arm and a new world of possibilities opening up in my mind.
-------------
1 Week Later/
"We are all here to celebrate the coming together of two love birds. Now please applaud my granddaughter Tsunade Senju and my soon-to-be son-in-law, Hatake Garou." I heard Mito say to the crowd of people with a small smile that actually reached her eyes for once.
*Clap clap clap clap.*
And with that, I grabbed the hand of my now beautiful fiancée, who was stunningly gorgeous in a white kimono filled with pink flowers that made her look like she had stepped out of a painting.
I myself wore a traditional black kimono with a little of my masculine chest revealed for all to see, because if you got it, you flaunted it.
"You ready, angel?" I asked with a small smile and looked down at Tsunade, who had a tinge of blush on her face that made her even more beautiful.
"Umm." She shyly nodded, and after that we slowly walked to the crowd of people, who cheered more the moment they saw us.
My parents and Mito immediately came forward to us.
"Congratulations!" ×3 They said at the same time.
My parents hugged me, which I hugged them back, and Mito did the same to Tsunade with an old lady beside her whose name was Toka if I wasn't wrong.
Tsunade's parents had died long ago, which made me realize that this world wasn't exactly the same Naruto timeline but still pretty much the same. I also realized that Tsunade's brother didn't exist either, which I just shrugged at.
Him not existing was probably for the best.
"I hope you take care of my granddaughter, Garou." Mito said seriously, her eyes boring into mine.
"I will." I said and nodded.
"I am so happy for you, sweetie." My mom said with some tears welling up in her eyes, her hands clutching my arm.
"Zombi–cough, son! You are growing up faster than I thought. Freaky if you ask me but well, awesome genetics, pat my back." My father muttered the last part with a soft proud smile, his hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks." I replied gratefully to them and slowly bowed a little with my eyes closed as a thanks for what they have done for me, which made my parents smile gently at me.
"Ayo, guys, you gotta come see this!" I heard a familiar voice yell suddenly.
"What do you wan–damn." Then I heard another familiar voice say lazily.
"I should be like Daifuku-san and respect my parents more too." I looked up to see the trio guys beside each other, staring at me with wide eyes.
I immediately straightened up and got closer to them.
"When did you guys com– hmm?" I was about to ask something, but my attention got caught on three girls behind them.
One was a beautiful blonde. One was an above-average spiky-haired girl who looked pissed off. And the other was a chubby girl with orange hair.
*Giggle giggle.*
I turned to look at Ken, who was giving me strange chuckles.
"Guess who they are." He said.
"Your sisters?" I said, not so sure.
"No, they are our fiancées." Yuji replied while fearfully looking at his fiancée, who was glaring daggers at him.
"Aren't they beautiful?" Ken said and asked with a huge grin that made me want to punch him.
"Well, you can introduce them to me later. Tsunade is calling me, as you can see." I said as I pointed to where Tsunade and the Hokage were looking at me.
"Don't worry, you can go, man. Don't forget to use protection!!" Ken said.
Pause.
"Dude wwhat?" I asked as I turned to look at Ken really slowly.
"What?" Ken looked at me innocently.
"What did you just say?" I asked with my eyes narrowed.
"To not worry?" Ken asked but I just stared.
"No that." I said.
"To use protectio–"
"Yes dumbass! Use protection for what?!" I said as I glared at him.
"Owww, well I mean, like the birds and bees–"
"Stop! We are fucking kid–You know what? I don't wanna hear anymore! Imma go." I said as I entirely ignored that horny bastard who started chuckling pervertly.
.
"So what's up, angel?" I said to Tsunade, who blushed but quickly composed herself and pointed at Hiruzen.
"It's good, Garou, but my Sensei wanted to greet you. So that's why I called you here." She said, and I looked at Hiruzen, who was giving me eye smiles that creeped me out for a second.
"Sup, Hiruzen." I said nonchalantly, which made his lip twitch. He probably expected getting the usual respect because he is Hokage or some shit.
"We meet again, Garou-kun." He said, his voice warm but his eyes calculating.
"Yeah, I can see that. So you want something from me that I can do for you?" I asked as I looked directly into his eyes, not bothering with formalities.
"Well no, actually. I just wanted to congratulate you two and hopefully you guys can love each other and help the village together to become a better place. To always protect the village and love it the same you love each other." He said softly with a smile that was probably supposed to be inspiring.
"Hai, Sensei." Tsunade replied immediately, her voice firm.
I looked at Hiruzen for a moment, considering his words. "I will try." Go fuck yourself. Village this village that, I will do whatever I want wherever I want.
"Then that's all I hoped to hear, and I wish you the best of luck." He said and turned around, then left, his robes swishing behind him just to aura farm.
He probably didn't feel convinced that I meant what I said if my disgusted face could make him tell.
These old shits won't leave me alone it seems if that glares from Danzo and his friends I felt from here could tell me anything.
But I didn't care, I was ready.
.
I looked at the night sky for a moment, at the stars twinkling above, then locked my eyes with Tsunade, who was looking at me with a smile.
I sighed in relief after a long time, feeling something settle in my chest that had been restless for weeks.
'When the day comes I become a full monster, these feelings would help me adapt and conquer my will.'
The End
[5200 words. And the pace will pick up cuz we are reaching the end of Volume 1]
[Discord link: vbNAuMRu ]