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Chapter 186: Reaching an Understanding with the Forces of Sloth!
🕑 Added 2025-09-11 14:35:55 +0000 UTCChapter 186: Reaching an Understanding with the Forces of Sloth!
"Give me a few days. I'll go back to the old compound and gather all of the family's scrolls and data." Having set her new goal, Tsunade began to lay out her short-term plan with ruthless efficiency. "When I'm done, I'll bring all of those scrolls here to you. Nara, you must figure out Wood Style!"
With the existence of the research scrolls for Lava Release and the others, she was completely confident in Keisuke's talent in the field of Kekkei Genkai. If she could master the power of Wood Style before her teacher or Orochimaru... she would show them all what "Restoring the Glory of the Senju Clan" truly meant!
Watching Princess Tsunade's radiant, re-energized state, Keisuke nodded inwardly. Though "Wood Style" was still just a nebulous concept, he had at least succeeded in reigniting the fat sheep's will to live. With something to look forward to, she would no longer be the same fallen, drunken mess. The only remaining problem was her hemophobia...
Keisuke returned to the present. Faced with Tsunade's overflowing expectations, he had no choice but to pour a little cold water on her enthusiasm. "Before we get any results, no one can make any guarantees. I can only say that I will do my best." He then pointed to the White Zetsu in the glass container. "Besides, you saw the Wood Dragon I made with its body just now. It was as skinny as firewood. I don't know what secrets my great-uncle's Wood Style held, but I'm certain it wasn't at that level."
How to describe that Zetsu's Wood Style? Forget comparing it to Hashirama; it was a severely watered-down version of Yamato. But then, this was just a common, Jonin-level Zetsu. Keisuke hadn't had high hopes for it to begin with. It was a good "scroll-farming tool" that he could occasionally use to test Kekkei Genkai... and perhaps Sage Art. That was the extent of his expectations for this particular specimen.
"Of course I know that. Can the medical ninjutsu Shizune uses even compare to mine?" Tsunade said, cracking her knuckles. "I'm not expecting to reach my great-uncle's level... I just need to be strong enough to beat up Orochimaru!"
The Sannin all knew each other's abilities inside and out. Although they had never fought a true death match, if one had to rank their raw power, even Tsunade herself would admit she was at the bottom. As for who was stronger between Orochimaru and Jiraiya... that depended on how much they had trained in recent years. But if the timeline was rolled back to just after the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade would have said Orochimaru's raw power was number one.
Seven different chakra nature transformations, an incredibly broad mastery of ninjutsu and kinjutsu, the summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave, and an unbelievably tenacious set of survival skills... aside from his slightly weaker taijutsu and physical constitution, in Tsunade's eyes, Orochimaru was basically a smaller version of her teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Beat up Orochimaru..." Keisuke understood her obsession, but he decisively brought up another name. "Then what about Lord Third Hokage?"
Tsunade's fighting spirit instantly deflated. She fell silent for a moment. "He is, after all, the village's Hokage... and my teacher..."
Seeing his fat sheep hesitate and retreat, Keisuke calmly deployed the king of all scapegoats. "Are you going to let Shimura Danzō off the hook, too?"
"Shimura Danzō!" A flash of rage ignited in Tsunade's brown eyes. How could she have forgotten that old root! Orochimaru's fall into depravity had to be that shadow-broker's doing!
"Shimura Danzō! And Orochimaru!" Tsunade gritted her teeth, finally having clear targets for her rage. "In the future, I will make them both settle this account! Of course, all of that depends on... Wood Style!"
"I will do everything in my power to assist your plan," Keisuke said, opening his arms to embrace his fat sheep. "As long as you don't do what you did last time... giving me a kiss and then avoiding me completely. See? We've pretty much finished our serious discussion. Shouldn't we 'deepen' our communication and 'strengthen' our relationship now?"
"...Lewd!" Tsunade deftly ducked under his embrace and flashed to the entrance of the lab. "I'm leaving! I'll come find you next time."
Keisuke flashed in front of her. After a brief... entanglement... he reluctantly saw his fat sheep off.
Returning to the lab, Keisuke once again released the White Zetsu from its container and placed it on the test bench. "White Zetsu. If you don't want to die, open your eyes."
The instant he spoke, the Zetsu, which had been playing dead, popped its eyes open. "Ahaha... Lord Nara, your insight is just too sharp!"
"I know what you are, and I need your special body that can use Wood Style," Keisuke said, getting straight to the point. "You have two choices. One: stay alive in my research base, absorb nutrients, mold chakra, and be my experiment tool. Two: live a life worse than death while I slice you up for research. Choose."
Even the lowest-grade White Zetsu, while deficient in some areas, was still an intelligent life form capable of free thought. Faced with Keisuke's options, this one naturally chose the first. To this day, it still had no idea how Keisuke had ripped it out of Kagami's body. Faced with such a dangerous individual, it decided to strategically surrender to save its life and look for an escape opportunity later.
"Good. I like people who cooperate," Keisuke said. "From now on, your job is to absorb nutrients, mold chakra, and reduce your activity. Just... like a plant."
"Understood!" the Zetsu complied.
After settling the Zetsu problem, Keisuke left more clones in the lab to continue his other research projects. He then left the base and headed to another secluded location in Kikyo Castle. Now that he was back in Konoha, there was one other "researcher" waiting to be dealt with.
Along the way, he found a moment to inspect the A-rank jutsu he had just acquired. "This medical ninjutsu... it's such a chicken rib." After reviewing the effects of Yin Healing Wound Destruction, he was thoroughly unimpressed.
"If I can already predict the enemy's attack, I should just dodge. Why would I stand there and take the hit? And if I can't dodge, how would I have time to mold and send chakra to the location before I get hit?"
His first impression of the jutsu was terrible. It was basically useless to him. If all he wanted was to heal himself, the Art of Cellular Regeneration was clearly far superior. "But... for a medical ninja with huge chakra reserves, especially Tsunade, this jutsu could be useful. Her main job is to be a berserker, after all."
He paid it no more mind, treating it as just another scroll in his collection that also happened to slightly increase his [Wisdom] stat.
In a remote building within Kikyo Castle, Keisuke's arrival did not immediately attract the attention of the woman inside. After several months of being settled here, the "Wildcat of Sunagakure" had begun to transform into a house cat.
"Pakura?"
Only when Keisuke spoke did the woman—lounging on a soft sofa, sipping afternoon tea and reading a novel—belatedly sit up, looking towards the source of the voice. "Eh? You're back?"
While Keisuke had been at war, Pakura had been living a life of leisure. She had transitioned from "nervous boredom" to "lazy boredom" and had now calmly accepted, and even begun to enjoy, her current lifestyle. After all, not everyone becomes a ninja out of some "Will of Fire" or "Will of Sand." Many, like the samurai of the Land of Iron, simply did it because they had no other way to make a living.
Once upon a time, Pakura had also been a good ninja who cared for her village... until she had her chakra sealed away. Life, she decided, was like XX. If you can't fight it, you might as well enjoy it. She lived in Kikyo Castle, undisturbed by any worries. Other than being unable to use her chakra and forbidden from leaving, her daily life was that of a pampered, shut-in young lady.
Keisuke looked her over, a strange expression on his face. After being raised here for so long, she hadn't made much progress in other areas, but her figure had certainly evolved from its original hourglass shape to more of a pear. Considering her sluggish reaction speed, he suddenly wondered if the "Hero of Sunagakure" was even qualified to be a ninja anymore.
"I'm going to release your seal," he said, walking over and placing a hand on her abdomen. The black sealing formula on her stomach flashed and then vanished. "And then, I have a mission for you."
Feeling the long-lost sensation of her chakra, Pakura's face crumpled. "How troublesome... can't I just rest a little longer?"
