I was wrong.
I only knew this kid had monstrous creativity—never did I imagine his control was equally terrifying. Even when he messed up his hand seals, there was no backlash, no self-inflicted injury—and he could keep experimenting freely.
Had I known that, I would've used my Sharingan to watch!
Kakashi took a deep breath, forcing down the storm of emotions churning inside him.
"In terms of practicality," he said finally, "barrier techniques would work better when paired with ninja tools."
"Sure—but that's assuming you have chakra-based ninja tools," Chiba replied. "Otherwise the effect's too weak. For me, it's more efficient to fuse the technique directly into the jutsu itself. For normal shinobi, it'd be faster to just swing a blade."
He wasn't wrong. Chakra-infused weapons weren't something you could just buy with money. If Chiba had a way to get his hands on a chakra blade, he would've been saving up already.
Kakashi thought about it and couldn't refute him.
True enough.
Those things were ridiculously rare. If they were easy to find, he himself would've reforged White Fang's short blade by now.
"Hmm… yeah, fusing them's not going to be easy."
Chiba frowned.
The chakra scalpel required only a few seals, but barrier ninjutsu involved several. To merge them, he'd have to insert transitional seals in between, which made the entire process cumbersome.
And so many seals…
Testing it would be a nightmare.
Besides, even if it worked, it'd be practically useless in battle.
A technique that needed twenty or thirty hand signs? Unless your opponent was willing to wait and watch—like Kakashi or Zabuza—it was suicidal. If he ever saw an enemy starting on a forty-seal jutsu, he'd just hit them with a Rasengan on the spot.
That thing was way more reliable than any overcomplicated ninjutsu.
It definitely needed optimization.
Chiba shook his head and picked his book back up. For now, the chakra-absorption barrier was still a work in progress.
Developing a new ninjutsu really wasn't a smooth road.
Fortunately, he wasn't in any hurry. The chakra absorption concept didn't have much practical use yet—it'd only matter when fighting high-level opponents.
Although…
If combined with sealing techniques, it might yield interesting results.
As he read on, he glanced sideways and noticed Kakashi and Tsukikage Kaza up in a tree.
"Kakashi-sensei," he called suddenly, "there's something I've been meaning to ask."
"Hm?" Kakashi looked up from his own book. He'd been reading too—ever the model of academic curiosity.
Tenten was tinkering with her ninja tools nearby, but her gaze drifted toward the two of them, curiosity in her eyes.
Chiba adjusted his sitting posture.
"I remember the first time we met on the street—you were reading a book, same as now. But back then, you got all flustered and put it away the moment I noticed."
"…"
Kakashi looked down at his book, then up at Chiba, already sensing trouble.
Chiba leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "But now look at you. Two girls nearby, and you're calmly reading away. How did you train that kind of composure?"
"Kakashi-sensei," Tenten chimed in curiously, "what kind of book are you reading?"
She craned her neck, trying to catch the title.
Without a flicker of emotion, Kakashi replied, "Do you know of Jiraiya-sama?"
"Of course!" Tenten nodded earnestly. "One of the Legendary Sannin!"
"This," Kakashi said solemnly, "is one of his works."
"Can I see?!"
Tenten's eyes sparkled. A book written by a Legendary Sannin? It had to be some kind of profound masterpiece!
Kakashi fell silent.
He couldn't answer Chiba's teasing question—and the meaning behind it was very clear to him.
So with a crisp snap, he closed the book. "Break's over. Let's move out. The sooner we reach Kyoto, the sooner we can meet our client."
"Ugh~"
Tenten pouted in obvious protest.
What "sooner we reach Kyoto"? That excuse was so clumsy—it was so obvious he just didn't want to show her the book.
Chiba hid a grin. He hadn't meant to expose him, but ever since Kakashi had met him, the man had gotten bolder. From his early "shy phase" to now… openly reading that book in front of his students?
Did he forget there were two girls here?
Especially the one up in the tree—her angle of view must've been crystal clear!
Kakashi said nothing.
Even with only three students present—two of them being girls—if they ever found out what Icha Icha Paradise really was, his image as a teacher would be utterly destroyed.
Tenten wasn't stupid.
Kakashi wasn't a stingy man. If it were an ordinary book, why wouldn't he let her see it?
Obviously, that book was sus.
She quietly watched and soon caught a glimpse of the title.
Icha Icha Paradise.
Later, when they arrived in Kyoto, they went straight to the rendezvous point for the escort mission. The Sakuraba clan was a noble household, so Kakashi went in alone first to explain their purpose.
Meanwhile, Tenten couldn't hold back anymore.
"Chiba, do you know what book Kakashi-sensei's reading?"
"Hm?"
Chiba tilted his head.
Kakashi was still calmly reading, though he'd taken care to hide the cover now—Chiba couldn't even "accidentally" catch a glimpse.
And yet, Tenten's sharp eyes had noticed.
"It's called Icha Icha Paradise. Ever heard of it?" she asked, turning to Chiba and Tsukikage Kaza.
Tsukikage Kaza said nothing, though her ears turned a faint shade of red.
Chiba smiled. "Never heard of it. But if it's written by one of the Sannin, it must be quite a remarkable book."
"It feels fishy!" Tenten frowned, narrowing her eyes at him.
She knew Chiba too well.
He never said anything pointless—if he'd brought up that question earlier, there was definitely a reason.
"Believe what you want. I really don't know."
Chiba chuckled.
Tenten pursed her lips, deciding not to press further.
She wasn't stupid—Chiba obviously knew something but didn't want to say it. Prying too much would just make things awkward for everyone.
So she quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Chiba," she said, "do you think I should start putting more effort into ninjutsu?"
"Huh? Why the sudden question? I thought you preferred ninja tools and taijutsu."
Chiba looked at her, a bit puzzled.
Tenten sighed. "That's true, but our team doesn't have anyone who really specializes in ninjutsu. Sometimes it limits what we can do."
Chiba blinked, then let out a quiet sigh.
She really hadn't changed.
Even in a different team, Tenten still thought first of her teammates, not herself.
It wasn't wrong—just… so very her.
He thought it over before answering. "Pure reliance on ninja tools does have limits. But everyone's time and energy are finite. You should plan carefully before deciding."
"Mm. I was just thinking… with your abilities, if I could learn some ninjutsu, our team could have more flexibility in combat."
She spoke earnestly. "For example, with Earth Prison Hall—you can't perform the full jutsu because you can't do earth-nature transformation. But if I handled the nature transformation part, wouldn't that work?"
She'd clearly been mulling it over for a while—her logic was solid.
Chiba nodded.
She was right. Having a team member capable of ninjutsu would definitely broaden their tactical options.
However—
"If you're only learning ninjutsu for the sake of syncing with me, that's unnecessary," he said. "I already have plenty of methods. Even if the barrier technique can't fit neatly into our current system, I've got other ways to make it work."
As he spoke, he pulled out eight paper talismans.
Tenten and Tsukikage Kaza both looked over.
Tsukikage Kaza didn't recognize them.
But Tenten did.
"Binding Formation Seals?" she said in surprise.
"Sealing and barrier techniques have huge development potential," Chiba said seriously. "Maybe the reason I can't learn nature transformations or genjutsu… is because the Sage of Six Paths wants me to explore the forgotten arts everyone else ignores."
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
https://www.patreon.com/Mindsmithstudio