Chapter 336: Creating Original Taijutsu
Sound Village, inside a small wooden pavilion.
Three people sat facing each other, drinking tea.
But in reality, only Masahiko was drinking cup after cup. The two opposite him were dead and had no need to drink tea to quench their thirst.
Orochimaru seemed to have encountered some difficulties in cloning Madara's cells. Masahiko guessed he hadn't been able to analyze the 'Indra Chakra', a 'scientific problem' that couldn't be solved in a short time.
Since 'Sandbag Number One' Madara couldn't be reincarnated via Edo Tensei, Orochimaru summoned the 'spare' Hashirama and Tobirama to chat with Masahiko—the three of them had been chatting for a whole day and night.
Of course, it was mostly Masahiko talking and the other two listening. Masahiko recounted all the major and minor events that had happened in the ninja world in recent years.
The small pavilion fell silent for a moment before Tobirama broke the silence: "Kagami has gotten old too."
Masahiko nodded; it was indeed true. Kagami Uchiha was already over 60, and his strength was declining. If it weren't for that, he alone could suppress the Senju or make the Uchiha stop participating in the power struggle.
"So, after listening for so long, what are your thoughts on the chaotic situation in the ninja world and Konoha? Anyway, I can't manage it anymore; the palm and the back of the hand are both flesh, they are both dear to me." Masahiko said with a smile.
Tobirama frowned and said, "Second Grandfather, you should intervene now and make a decision for them: let the former Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, become Hokage again, or let Big Brother's grandson, Nawaki, become the Fifth Hokage. If the Uchiha dare to cause a rebellion, you just..."
Hashirama waved his hand, "Tobirama, force cannot solve problems. Hearing Second Grandfather's description, I actually think that child named Obito Uchiha is quite good. Konoha owes the Uchiha a Hokage!"
"Big Brother!..."
This time, it was Masahiko's turn to be a spectator. He watched the two brothers argue with a smile, revealing a slightly nostalgic expression.
The content of their argument gradually drifted off-topic, becoming more and more unreliable. Even irrelevant things like 'It's all your fault, Big Brother, for being a bad influence on Tsunade' were brought up.
After a long while, the three looked at each other and smiled.
"The current situation in Konoha should be handled by the current people of Konoha. We are all people who have already passed away, so there's no need to argue," Hashirama said.
"I'm not. I haven't passed away," Masahiko repeatedly shook his head.
Tobirama smiled, "In the eyes of those children, you are indeed an ancient."
"Yeah, who knows how many people mutter behind my back: 'Why isn't this old guy dead yet'," Masahiko added with a smile. "It's their displeasure that gives me the drive to keep living."
"Alright, alright," Masahiko stood up. "It's time for Kimimaro's treatment. Once the treatment is over, I have some serious business to ask you two for help with."
Hashirama and Tobirama looked at each other: "Serious business?"
"Watch closely, this is the Twenty-Four Stances of the Gentle Fist..." Masahiko demonstrated his forms.
"This is the Arhat Fist: rising knee, thrusting shoulder, collapsing palm, rising strike palm, pressing palm..."
"This is the Spider Fist," Masahiko frowned slightly. What kind of ridiculous fist technique was this? It was too stupid. "Uh, ignore it... let's move on to the next one."
"This is the Uzumaki Style Taijutsu..."
"This is the Konoha Style Taijutsu..."
Masahiko demonstrated everything he had known and learned over the past hundred years in front of Hashirama and Tobirama one by one. Because there were so many types, it took nearly two hours.
"Did you see those fist and foot techniques just now? I want to learn from the strong points to offset the weaknesses and develop my own set of taijutsu. I need your help."
"Tobirama, you are relatively skilled at researching 'jutsu', so give me some advice from the sidelines. Hashirama, you be my sparring partner to test the moves."
The two looked at each other and nodded. Tobirama offered his first piece of advice: "Second Grandfather, you first need to eliminate those useless things and then establish a primary fist technique."
Masahiko nodded. The primary fist technique had to be the Gentle Fist, which he had painstakingly leveled up to the max. As for eliminating the rest... he would take his time.
Masahiko said he would take his time, but he didn't expect it to be so incredibly slow.
A full month later...
In a clearing outside the Sound Village, the sound of fists and feet clashing continuously rang out.
Masahiko had already streamlined hundreds of various fist and foot moves into eighteen stances. Right now, he was just repeatedly using those dozen or so movements, yet he was able to steadily parry Hashirama's fierce attacks in Sage Mode. From time to time, he could even counterattack Hashirama once or twice, gaining the upper hand.
Although Hashirama was in an Edo Tensei body, his taijutsu experience and abilities hadn't diminished. His only disadvantage, his physical constitution, was compensated for by his Sage Mode. Masahiko, on the other hand, was not using senjutsu.
After landing another punch on Hashirama, Masahiko pulled back to create some distance. "That's about enough. It's finally successful. Eighteen moves in total?"
Masahiko couldn't help but laugh. "I was just worrying about what to name it, and this number of moves... Masahiko's Eighteen Palms, sounds pretty good."
"Second Grandfather, congratulations," Hashirama stepped forward and said with a smile.
Not far away, Tobirama also slowly walked over, followed by Kimimaro and the other two.
With Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai illness suppressed by Masahiko, the three of them had resumed their training these past few days. Masahiko had even asked Tobirama to give them some pointers, and each of them had improved a lot.
Especially Haku. Because of his Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, his Water attribute talent was also not low. Tobirama taught him a few special Water Release techniques, compensating for his flaw of having monotonous moves.
Now, facing Guren, he could probably... hold his own for a bit longer.
Seeing Tobirama approach, Masahiko turned his head with a smile. "So, how is it? The taijutsu your Second Grandfather developed isn't bad, right?"
Tobirama, however, frowned tightly. "Second Grandfather, this taijutsu of yours is indeed not bad, but that's in your hands, the creator. If it were a beginner, they wouldn't be able to exert force in a few of the movements. Striking out would probably be like caressing the enemy; its lethality is somewhat lacking."
"Caressing the enemy?" Masahiko was stunned. He thought about it carefully for a moment and found that it seemed to be true.
"Masahiko's Eighteen... Caresses? Bah!" Masahiko repeatedly shook his head and sighed. "It seems it's not successful yet. I have to revise it again."
Tobirama smiled and stopped discouraging Masahiko: "You can't say it's unsuccessful. Right now, this set of taijutsu of yours is still very useful."
"This set of taijutsu... is very steady." Hashirama chimed in.
Tobirama nodded. "Exactly, it's very steady. Big Brother's fierce attacks just now didn't hit you even once; its defensive effect is excellent. If passed down, a child who learns this set of taijutsu won't fall into a disadvantage for a short while when facing an opponent with superior strength and speed. The only flaw is that if they don't have an absolute advantage in strength, they will be slower in finishing off the opponent during a battle."
Masahiko nodded thoughtfully, revealing a gratified expression. So it was a success after all?
Suddenly, he felt something was wrong again.
Facing someone stronger than oneself, one won't fall into a disadvantage for a short while; facing someone weaker than oneself, one can't defeat them for a short while...
"What kind of situation is this? If this set of taijutsu is passed down..." Masahiko fell into deep thought.
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