Sarutobi sat on the desk and glanced at the standing Kakashi. "So you already made contact with him. What do you think about the boy?"
Kakashi pondered for a moment. "Not mastering nature transformation doesn't mean much at his age. His body is stronger than most Jonin, and if he learned Guy's Eight Gates, his current strength should be near Chūnin-level…reaching this level at such a young age makes him promising talent."
"You were already Jonin at the same age." Sarutobi snorted but didn't linger on Kakashi showing off. "
"Are you interested in taking him under your wing?"
"Ah...sorry, Lord Hokage," Kakashi said after a brief silence. "I'll help monitor him in the meantime, but I don't think I'm the right teacher for him. Someone like Lady Tsunade or Jiraiya would be a better fit."
Sarutobi sighed. Of course, he already knew that. But neither of them was in the village anymore.
"I'll watch over him while he's without a team," Kakashi added, slipping his book back into his pocket. "But I can't be his sensei. I... have my own reasons."
Sarutobi didn't argue. With an elite jonin like Kakashi, even the Hokage needed to respect personal boundaries.
He quietly relit his pipe, the embers glowing like fading stars.
***
"Hmm? What's this?"
Toji, who was slashing his sword, suddenly found himself able to briefly sense his surroundings.
"Had the heavenly restriction upgrade again."
This wasn't the first time that he experienced a sudden improvement, so he wasn't too surprised.
But the feeling he just got. It felt similar to the breath of all things description.
He picked a sword and slashed the tree, following the sensation. Unlike the usual recoil, the sword pierced the bark and only stopped halfway through the trunk.
"Haha, it's really worked." Toji couldn't help clenching fists excitedly.
Two years. He spent two long years, tirelessly slashing a sword like some maniac with no apparent results. It was only because he knew his power and One Piece swordsman potential that he persisted.
Now he finally started to see some results, which confirmed that he could indeed master the Taijutsu of other worlds.
A few physical masters flashed through his mind, making him unable to decide what to train next.
"No rush. I first need to fully control the breath of all things. The next step would be learning flying slash."
That would instantly promote him to Jonin-level combat power. With a wave of his sword, he could split some Ninjutsu with ease.
"There's also Haki. Just observation would be nice if I could master it."
After finishing his morning training, Toji took a shower and headed to the hospital. He already finished the books a week ago, and now it was time to learn some useful knowledge.
As he stepped on the hospital floor, he felt an intense gaze fixed on him.
Someone was watching him.
Without the need to turn around, he looked at the reflection object and caught a flash of silver hair and a pair of glasses.
'Kabuto?'
Had to be. No one else matched that description. Besides, considering his teacher was Mizuki, Kabuto's attention was... predictable.
Still, Toji didn't overreact. He didn't think Kabuto was scouting him as a potential vessel, as Orochimaru was too obsessed with Sharingan.
'But he might try to tempt me, saying that Orochimaru could help me use Ninjutsu if I proved to be promising and worth the hassle.' Toji mused.
Still, seeing Kabuto gave him a flash of inspiration as he remembered his fight with Tsunade in the original story.
'If I could learn that, I'd be more deadly.'
With a new plan in mind, he quietly headed to Suki's office.
The door was open.
She was asleep at her desk.
Toji tiptoed in and was about to wake her up when something orange caught his eye.
'Uh... Sensei... Adults have their interests, sure. But maybe close the door next time if you're reading that kind of novel?'
"Ah!"
Feeling a gaze, Suki opened her eyes and saw Toji looking at her with an unreadable expression.
"What are you doing here? Are you done with the books already?"
"Yes," he said with a perfectly neutral face. "I was hoping to read something on the nervous system."
"Ah, yes, very good. Go ahead, you can look at any book in the library. No need for my permission." Suki rubbed her head and waved.
"Sensei, could I also get a head start on learning the Chakra Scalpel?"
Suki hesitated. "That technique is... well, it's not simple. Actually, you know what, here."
She handed over the scroll, giving up on explaining its difficulty. After all, this was the kid who had recreated the Rasengan from theory.
People like him made others feel entirely unaccomplished.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Toji scanned the scroll quickly, then handed it back for safekeeping.
After he left, Suki leaned against the chair and caught sight of Ichika's book on her desk.
Her eyes went wide and face flushed as she buried her face in her arms.
'He definitely saw that book. Gods, please don't let him recognize it...'
Her last shred of teacherly dignity might just have vanished.
***
Outside, Toji walked with one hand holding a medical text, the other making slow, deliberate hand signs.
His first attempt at the Chakra Scalpel failed. The Chakra Scalpel wasn't flashy. It was classified as a B-rank medical ninjutsu and difficult to use in combat.
Few ever bothered to master it for battle, since maintaining its precision mid-fight was brutally demanding.
Only a few, like Tsunade or Granny Chiyo, could make it practical.
Kabuto was an exception. His control was abnormal.
But for Toji, it was promising.
He tried compressing the chakra blade into a narrower shape, just the width of a kunai.
"In a fight, maybe I won't use it much... but this control is giving me ideas."
He started sketching out chakra needle formations in his mind, realizing the scalpel technique had opened a new door in chakra manipulation.