Tobirama was silent for a second.
The chakra-compression theory he had spent three years perfecting was actually nothing more than the "squeezing chocolate sauce" theory?
"Continue according to your understanding."
Shin-chan tried again. Following the logic of "squeezing chocolate sauce," he compressed and rotated the chakra inside his chest before pushing it outward.
A perfectly straight stream of water shot from his mouth and struck the stone slab precisely.
The rock did not move at all.
Tobirama was just about to speak when the rock slowly split down the middle and toppled onto the ground.
Shin-chan turned around and looked at Tobirama expectantly. "I learned it. Where are my three red bean dango?"
"What?"
"Three red bean dango for every ninjutsu I learn." Shin-chan held out his hand. "You said so earlier."
"I'll give them to you all together after training."
"How many more do I have to learn?"
Tobirama looked at Shin-chan's face, which practically screamed, Hurry up and teach me so I can trade them for dango.
A thought that had remained unresolved in his mind suddenly settled into place.
He had developed countless ninjutsu and taught many people, but someone capable of inheriting everything he knew had never appeared.
It was not because those people lacked talent. His ninjutsu were simply too varied, with every category requiring a different way of thinking.
Someone skilled in Water Style might not understand space-time ninjutsu. Someone capable of mastering space-time ninjutsu might not be able to control forbidden techniques.
But Shin-chan was different.
He could understand any ninjutsu in his own way, breaking convention and redefining it.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
"Do you want to learn more ninjutsu? Not only Water Style, but every other technique I know."
"Do I still get three dango for each one?"
Tobirama took a deep breath. "You can have as many dango as you want."
The training continued throughout the entire afternoon. Shin-chan's talent was even more astonishing than Tobirama had anticipated.
The child seemed to possess his own unique translation system inside his mind. It could automatically convert any complicated, headache-inducing theory into something he could understand.
Sometimes it became "squeezing chocolate sauce," sometimes "rolling dango," and sometimes "the principle behind flipping through manga pages."
Tobirama did not understand it, but he could see the results.
He now owed Shin-chan twelve red bean dango.
Shin-chan lay across the table, the newly delivered dango arranged in front of him.
"Uncle Tobirama."
"Mm?"
"Can I exchange some of these dango for chocolate sticks?"
"Why?"
"Because dango are delicious, but chocolate sticks are my staple food." Shin-chan raised three fingers. "In our era, a ninja can never lack three things: chakra, ramen, and chocolate sticks."
"You made that up again."
"I really didn't this time." Shin-chan pulled a small notebook from inside his clothes, opened it, and showed Tobirama. "Look. This is the Ninja Essentials Pyramid I drew. Chakra is at the bottom, ramen is in the middle, and chocolate sticks are at the top. The higher something is, the more important it becomes. This is called Energy Hierarchy Theory."
Tobirama accepted the notebook.
A triangle had been drawn on the page, with illustrations accompanying each level. At the very bottom was a line of writing:
Without chocolate sticks, there are no smiles.
"So I suggest changing the reward system," Shin-chan said, clearing his throat. "For every ninjutsu I learn, I get one red bean dango and two chocolate sticks."
"Is that the highest-level reward?"
"The highest-level reward is a bowl of chashu ramen and two chocolate sticks."
"Why is the proportion of chocolate sticks so high?"
"Because chocolate sticks are the optimal solution," Shin-chan explained. "You get tired of dango if you eat too many, and you become hungry again after finishing ramen. Only chocolate sticks can be stored for a long time and used to replenish energy whenever you need it. You can even hold one in your mouth during training without interfering with your hand seals."
Tobirama imagined the scene.
On the battlefield, every other ninja would be tensely forming hand seals, while Shin-chan alone held a chocolate stick in his mouth, eating as he clapped his hands together and released a powerful technique.
The image was extremely strange.
Yet Tobirama felt certain that it would happen one day.
He nodded. "Fine. One dango and two chocolate sticks. The highest-level reward will be ramen and two chocolate sticks."
"Deal." Shin-chan immediately pushed eight of the dango aside. "Exchange these for chocolate sticks."
"I'll have someone prepare some. The Senju compound doesn't have anything like that."
"That's fine. I can wait." Shin-chan had already picked up a dango and stuffed it into his mouth.
From that day onward, the Senju residence's kitchen gained a new regular expense:
Chocolate sticks.
The cooks of the Senju clan had never made such a thing before, so Shin-chan volunteered to draw an "instruction manual."
Using crayons, he drew a stick-shaped object and labelled its length, width, and thickness.
In the blank space, he added a note:
The surface must be glossy, and it must make a "snap" when broken.
When the cook brought it to Tobirama, he stared at the word "snap" for three seconds.
"Make it according to his instructions."
"Lord Tobirama, can this... really be made?"
"Produce a test batch first." Tobirama placed the drawing on the table.
The cook withdrew with a confused expression.
Three days later, the Senju residence's first homemade batch of chocolate sticks was completed.
Shin-chan picked one up, broke it, listened to the sound, then nodded.
"Qualified."
Tobirama stood beside him and watched, unsure what he had been expecting.
The first batch of chocolate sticks survived for less than two days.
Shin-chan consumed the stock at a rate Tobirama could not comprehend.
He even learned Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique after eating a chocolate stick and listening to the explanation only once.
Shin-chan tested it.
Tobirama's vision went black, leaving him unable to see anything.
The darkness lasted for about three seconds before his vision returned to normal.
"Not bad," Tobirama evaluated. "The duration is too short, but reaching this level on your first attempt is already—"
He stopped halfway through his sentence.
Shin-chan was no longer standing in his original position.
"Shin-chan?"
"I'm here."
The voice came from behind him.
Tobirama spun around and saw Shin-chan standing three steps behind him, holding out a chocolate stick.
"Uncle Tobirama, you got nervous just now."
"Did I?" Tobirama instinctively accepted the chocolate stick and took a bite.
"Does it taste good?"
Only then did Tobirama realise that he was eating a chocolate stick. His expression became extremely complicated.
"...It's acceptable."
"That's good." Shin-chan raised his own chocolate stick high in the air. "Congratulations, Uncle Tobirama! You are now officially the fifth member of the Chocolate Stick Alliance."
"I don't remember agreeing to join."
"You ate a chocolate stick." Shin-chan repeated the membership rule. "From the moment you took your first bite, you became one of us."
That evening, Hashirama excitedly ran over to find Tobirama, saying that Shin-chan had told him Tobirama had joined the Chocolate Stick Alliance.
"I did not join."
"But Shin-chan said you ate a chocolate stick."
"Eating a chocolate stick and joining an organisation are two different things."
"Tobirama, this is where you're wrong." Hashirama looked completely serious. "Eating a chocolate stick means you're one of us. That is an iron law of the alliance."
Tobirama stared at Hashirama as though he had said something utterly absurd. "Brother, do you realise that this alliance doesn't even have a proper name? Shin-chan appointed himself its leader. The first rule is that members must be good people, the second is that they must like chocolate sticks, and there is no third rule."
"That's even more reason to join. They haven't even finalised their charter yet, which means the organisation is still in its founding stage. That is exactly when it needs talented people."
Tobirama took a deep breath.
"Get out."
"Tobirama—"
"Get out."
~~~
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