Haa…
Farewells were really something Souma never got used to.
Yagyū Souma let out a quiet sigh, a faint trace of melancholy surfacing in his heart.
Technically, he still had a clone stationed in the Forest of Death. If he wanted, he could use that clone to occasionally meet TenTen—but a clone was never the same as the original.
More importantly, that clone couldn't be used too frequently.
Excessive activity would accumulate fatigue, and if it were dispelled after a long period, even Souma himself might not be able to withstand the feedback.
"Wangjun…"
Souma murmured softly.
Only after TenTen's figure disappeared into the mountains did he turn away, heading in the opposite direction—away from Konoha.
According to Tsunade's and ANBU's intelligence, Jiraiya had taken this route.
If Souma took a shortcut, he should be able to catch up.
Of course—
Finding Jiraiya and Naruto was only a side objective.
His real purpose in leaving Konoha was to begin laying groundwork in Otogakure.
Konoha's ninja population was limited, and its internal power structure had already solidified. No matter how capable he was, Souma still had to account for opinions from established clans—
The Sarutobi.
The Hyūga.
But Otogakure?
With Orochimaru gone, that place was practically untouched territory.
Even if remnants of Orochimaru's ideology lingered, the truly stubborn elements had already been purged. Those who remained weren't loyal to ideals—only to benefits.
Offer enough, and they'd follow him without hesitation.
As for the Daimyō's side—
Souma had already written training manuals, and with Asuma helping there, all he needed to do was give occasional guidance.
Asuma himself…
For now, like Souma, he probably wouldn't be able to return to the village either.
Shikamaru's group was the same.
But those details could wait.
At the latest, Souma would see them again at the Daimyō's estate within a day or two.
While thinking, Souma casually tested the blade at his waist.
It was a short sword.
But unlike ordinary short blades, TenTen had been generous with the materials. A large amount of chakra metal had been mixed in, and its internal structure vaguely resembled—
A partial effect of the Infinite Pore Armor.
Could it convert an opponent's chakra?
Souma examined it more carefully, thoughtful.
It seemed TenTen had made significant progress in her research on Infinite Pore Armor as well.
Konoha had been extremely busy lately.
Although the Land of Craftsmen had sent envoys to negotiate, after hearing about Konoha's recent crises, none of them dared to raise their voices.
After all, the ninja tool incident was their fault.
And with Tsunade in power—
No one wanted to risk Konoha snapping and flattening the Craftsman Village outright.
As a result, the ninja tools were still in Konoha's custody.
Souma hoped TenTen could dig even deeper into her research.
He gave Wangjun another test swing.
The balance was excellent.
Pure craftsmanship-wise, it already surpassed White Fox.
However, unlike White Fox, this blade leaned more toward defense rather than offense.
One offensive blade, one defensive blade.
A perfect pairing.
Souma sheathed the blade, warmth spreading quietly through his chest.
After leaving the forest, Souma returned to the main road.
Using his sensory abilities, he searched for Naruto and Jiraiya.
By the afternoon—
He found them.
Their location was… peculiar.
"Damn it! That perverted sage dumped me here and told me to figure out ninjutsu on my own! How is this training?!"
Naruto was muttering angrily inside a room.
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded from outside.
"So Jiraiya isn't here? How fortunate."
"That's right, Itachi-sama. The Nine-Tails brat won't escape this time."
Naruto's face went pale.
Without thinking, he leapt for the window—
Only for the door to burst open in the next instant.
He couldn't escape!
The moment Naruto jumped out, something snagged his ankle.
A steel wire.
Panicking, he looked back—
And froze.
"Souma-senpai?! W-Why are you here?! And that voice just now—"
"Obviously me."
Souma grinned.
Naruto was dragged back into the room, face flushed with anger.
"Why are you messing with me too?! I thought I was going to die!"
"It was fun. Also, your alertness is terrible."
Souma said seriously.
"Following Jiraiya like this is dangerous. From now on, you should place a few shadow clones hidden outside your room."
"Anyway, with your chakra reserves and recovery ability, you don't care about losing a bit of chakra, right?"
"…Uh."
Naruto hesitated, then nodded hard.
That was true.
If he'd had a transformed clone hidden outside earlier, it would've served as an early warning.
After thinking for a second, Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Souma-senpai, do you have more sneaky—uh, smart—experience like that? You know I'm kinda dumb, hehe."
Souma nearly laughed.
Naruto wasn't dumb.
His thinking was simple, sure—but in areas he cared about, his talent was terrifying.
Take taijutsu, for example—
Sasuke developed the Lion Barrage, and Naruto immediately came up with Naruto Barrage.
And that move only got stronger over time.
Simple. Brutal. Effective.
So Souma smiled and said:
"Complicated tricks won't suit you. But you already use shadow clones with transformation well—just use more of them."
"What do you mean?"
Naruto asked earnestly.
Everyone in Konoha knew Souma had endless ideas—especially dirty ones.
Learning from him was always worth it.
"When someone notices an obvious hidden clone, they'll subconsciously stop thinking about whether there's another one behind it."
"Especially if the enemy isn't very smart."
Souma explained calmly.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"That makes so much sense! How did I never think of that?!"
"See? Techniques don't need to be complex. As long as you have enough of them, one will work."
"Yeah! Yeah!"
Naruto nodded enthusiastically, clearly delighted.
Souma opened the window and scanned the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Naruto suddenly frowned.
"Souma-senpai… didn't you just say I wasn't very smart?"
"You only realized that now? Then obviously it's true."
Souma chuckled.
Naruto choked, speechless.
…He really had only realized it just now.
Damn it!
He turned away sulking.
"You're here to find the perverted sage, right? He stole my wallet and ran off."
"It's fine. He'll be back soon."
Souma had already spotted Jiraiya in a building across the street.
The two exchanged a glance and shared a knowing smile.
Jiraiya might be unreliable—
But not that unreliable.
The wandering and "muddy work" were just a cover. His real job was observing Naruto from the shadows.
As long as something happened within a few steps, he could intervene instantly.
Earlier—
Naruto only failed to notice because Souma had deliberately released his aura.
Naruto's perception simply wasn't there yet.
After waiting a bit, Souma turned to Naruto.
"I came this time partly because of you."
"Huh?"
Naruto was completely confused.
Because of him?
No way.
Souma explained Sora's situation.
Naruto fell silent for a long time.
He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to plead for Sora—but considering his own position, he didn't know how.
"Relax. He won't die."
Souma said calmly.
"He was controlled the moment he entered Konoha, and he was deceived by Hema. Hema will die, but…"
Souma smiled slightly.
"The one who wants him dead is the Daimyō. What does that have to do with Konoha?"
"…."
Naruto wasn't stupid enough to believe Konoha had nothing to do with it.
But objectively—
This was the best possible outcome.
If Sora still chose self-destruction after this, that would be on him.
Naruto sighed.
"The adult world is really complicated."
"Hahaha! Naruto, when you grow up, you'll realize the adult world is complicated—but also fascinating!"
Jiraiya laughed as he entered the room.
Naturally, Naruto started shouting again.
Souma just smiled quietly.
After things calmed down, he followed Jiraiya into a side room and set up a soundproof barrier.
"So—are you chasing me on Tsunade's orders, or do you have another mission?"
"Neither. I'm traveling, and this is just my first stop."
Souma took out a sealed scroll containing Nine-Tails chakra.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
"If Naruto absorbs more Nine-Tails chakra…"
"No."
Souma shook his head.
"I want your help—to split off part of the Nine-Tails' consciousness."
"…What?"
Jiraiya was stunned.
Splitting consciousness—
Souma had done it before.
He had successfully separated half of Shukaku's consciousness and chakra, creating an entirely new Shukaku.
But the Nine-Tails was on a completely different level.
What if something went wrong?
And this wasn't Konoha—
There were no medical ninja nearby.
Souma saw his hesitation.
"If you're worried about injuries, I can summon medical insects."
Jiraiya was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"You calculated this well… you know I'm not exactly law-abiding myself."
"The Nine-Tails is both a burden and an immense source of power. Naruto's current relationship with it is flawed."
Souma nodded.
Jiraiya frowned.
"You have a method?"
"Before, no. Now, I have an immature idea."
Souma grinned.
Then he explained his Soul-Splitting Tactic.
The idea was simple.
Split the Nine-Tails into multiple fragments.
Create several independent entities.
Guide, educate, influence them positively.
Once enough fragments existed—
Have them merge back into the original, allowing the collective consciousness to influence the main body.
Jiraiya pondered deeply.
It was risky.
But—
As Souma said—
Things couldn't get much worse than they already were.
"Your side can't slack off either."
Jiraiya said seriously.
"Brute force is the worst approach. We should still try to let the Nine-Tails feel Naruto's sincerity."
"That depends on whether you can convince it to split."
Souma replied.
"If that succeeds, I'll cooperate fully. So—shall we start with the chakra you brought?"
Jiraiya finally admitted—
He was tempted.
If possible, he wanted Naruto and the Nine-Tails to at least ease their hostility.
"…Alright."
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