Chapter 25: The "Sage" of Shikkotsu Forest... (Part Two)
Early November. Furukawa Osamu returned from Shikkotsu Forest a little taller, otherwise unchanged.
Tsunade studied him from across her apartment for a long moment, then rested her chin in her hand with a disappointed look.
"Katsuyu's sage arts don't seem to have produced any noticeable effect..."
Furukawa Osamu thought about the endlessly talkative slug and felt a headache coming on. This sage was nothing like what he had imagined. Two months surrounded by divisions wanting to chat had been its own kind of ordeal.
"It's just the application of natural energy, and I still haven't made any progress with it. Of course nothing would show."
Hearing that he had failed, Tsunade broke into a grin. Then a full laugh.
"I know perfectly well. Jiraiya and Orochimaru didn't get far with sage arts either."
"So even a genius like you runs into the same wall I do. Finally something you're not good at."
"Settle in and work at it. Mastering sage arts takes years at minimum."
"..."
Tsunade had already pulled out everything she had, and teaching Furukawa Osamu on a daily basis had been a humbling experience. In ordinary life she sometimes found herself on the receiving end of her own student's care. Watching him struggle with sage arts for once had done something good for her confidence.
Furukawa Osamu smiled and agreed. He genuinely still couldn't sense natural energy, but he had shortened the time needed to build up the Strength of a Hundred Seal. More importantly, his deep conversations with Katsuyu's main body had given him something to work with.
The original chakra was what had changed everything. Turning it over against everything he carried in his memory, Furukawa Osamu felt, for the first time, that immortality was actually within reach.
Not Orochimaru's kind of undying existence. Something different. A transcendence achieved through energy itself.
"Shizune graduates next year. I've been thinking about what to give her. That girl works so hard, all of it just to stand beside you."
"It reminds me of Jiraiya and Orochimaru when they were young. They were exactly the same way." Tsunade's voice drifted a little. "But talent is something you're born with."
"If talent could be reliably passed down to the next generation, that might actually be the frightening thing..."
She trailed off into something quieter. The Senju clan had produced no one who could inherit the talent of those who came before. By the time it reached her, even her little brother had left too soon.
Furukawa Osamu, whose head had been full of immortality planning, came back to the present. After two months living alongside the talkative slug, he had nearly forgotten his Academy classmates existed.
"What about a pet? A ninja dog, or a ninja cat. Girls tend to like that sort of thing."
Tsunade gave him a sideways look.
"You sure about that?"
She didn't think much of either option. Furukawa Osamu suddenly recalled a small pig from somewhere in his memory, and his expression shifted into something slightly odd.
"Then a ninja pig? Where would you even find a suitable pig?"
"Put some thought into it. Who's going to want a pig?"
* * *
Mid-November. The weather had turned cold.
In Training Ground 44, Might Guy burst from behind a tree the moment an opening appeared, pushing off the trunk for momentum and spinning through the air.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The kick came down fast and heavy from above.
Furukawa Osamu dropped his center, ducked the attack like he had eyes in the back of his head, then detonated chakra through his feet and retreated quickly along a thick branch.
Kakashi surged forward, his short blade driving in and breaking up Furukawa Osamu's seal sequence. Blade and kunai rang against each other in quick succession. Might Guy came in from behind to press the advantage.
Thud.
Guy finally caught him with a side kick to his guarding arms. He hadn't even finished feeling good about it when Kakashi called out sharply.
"Watch it, Guy!"
Furukawa Osamu dropped off the branch and rolled the fall into a Shadow Clone jutsu. Guy moved to chase and a clone slammed straight into him.
"Ah!"
He broke the first one, barely, and then two more hit him and knocked him off the branch entirely.
Their combination had been broken again. Kakashi pressed a hand to his forehead, gave up on the short blade, and jumped down to find a very unlucky Might Guy.
"Don't forget the strategy even at the end of a fight. The moment you let Osamu create cover in his clones, the match is over."
"Neither of us is a sensor-type. In this kind of terrain he can ambush from anywhere."
Might Guy lay on the ground catching his breath, then gave a thumbs up with a wide grin.
"Better than last time though. Kakashi, my speed has caught up with yours."
Kakashi didn't want to admit it. He gave a small nod anyway. He had the cellular activation down, but the chakra cost of sustaining it was too high and his endurance fell short. Guy's ability was pure physical conditioning. The method behind it wasn't something Kakashi could replicate.
"You're both already impressive. There's a physical ceiling at this age. Once you hit the high-growth phase, the improvement will come fast."
Furukawa Osamu stepped out from behind the tree, gave them both that much, then wrapped a scarf around his neck and moved on.
"Most of the A-class cohort will be choosing early graduation next year."
"Kakashi, when that happens, stop sending your squad members back to the Academy to start over. Show a little consideration for people's feelings."
"There's also a joint mission next year, most likely involving Iwagakure. Get ready for it. Captain Shikaku mentioned it to me a couple of days ago."
After months of leading genin on D-rank missions, Kakashi had been close to his limit. At the mention of Iwagakure his tone sharpened immediately.
"I've been wanting to go after those people who've been hitting the outposts."
Might Guy didn't know the full story of the White Fang, but the version the village had put out placed the blame squarely on Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
"Infiltration? Sorry, I'd probably be useless for that. I'm still terrible at that kind of mission..."
Furukawa Osamu looked at Guy's frustrated face and clapped him on the shoulder, then changed the subject.
"Celebrating a successful training week. Ichiraku tonight."
"Tonkotsu chashu, and we'll settle it properly."
Might Guy's eyes lit up. Kakashi sighed, but he didn't say no. He just narrowed his eyes and complained.
"Don't eat until you can't walk again."
"..."
The colder the weather, the better business got at Ichiraku Ramen. Teuchi was calling out to customers at full volume, and when he spotted the three of them he waved them in with extra enthusiasm.
"Haven't seen you all in ages. Tonkotsu again tonight?"
"Double chashu for all of us."
Might Guy answered at full energy. Teuchi laughed and turned to get started.
"Osamu, good to finally see you. Lady Tsunade told me you just got back from your training."
A blond young man extracted himself from a group of girls and came over quickly to say hello.
"Minato-kun, still as popular as ever. Here for dinner?"
Namikaze Minato, still in his jonin vest, glanced back over his shoulder at the situation behind him, then shook his head with a deeply contented expression.
"Picking up a bowl for Kushina. She's been really into it lately."
He started to say something more, but the girls were already moving in his direction again. He grabbed the ramen, flashed an apologetic look, and was gone.
Kakashi turned to say something and found nothing there. He stared at the empty space.
"What technique was that?"