Chapter 71: Family Secret Techniques
Training Ground 98.
Atop the Earth-Style Wall, three little figures were lying flat on the ground, poking their heads over the edge to look down.
"Hey, it's Itachi Uchiha," Shikun Fuma whispered to Hana Inuzuka, pointing at the figure below.
Hana Inuzuka nodded. "It really is Itachi. I guess 'Bandage Man' wasn't lying when he said he used to beat him up."
Because Tonbo Tobitake's face was wrapped in bandages, the three of them had given him a nickname as a small act of rebellion against their "punishment."
Zaizai Izuno shivered. "Why do I feel a chill? It feels like he's watching us."
"Oh no! He doesn't show his eyes, so he must be a sensory ninja! He definitely knows we're looking. Hurry up and practice, or we're dead meat!" Hana hissed. She pulled her two lackeys back and resumed their training in a panic.
"Itachi, sure you don't want to spar? It's a good chance to show your little brother your strength," Tonbo said as he set Sasuke down.
Itachi's growth was staggering. After not seeing him for a while, his chakra volume had increased significantly. It seemed his recent experiences had been substantial. Tonbo could sense that Itachi's spiritual energy was accumulating rapidly; it was only his young, physical body that acted as a bottleneck. Otherwise, he would be even more formidable.
Truly the 'Chosen One' of the ninja world—the man who became a literal legend in the fandom, Tonbo thought.
"No. We'll be going now," Itachi replied, glancing at the three heads that had just retracted from the wall above. After offering his thanks, he took little Sasuke and slipped away. He had zero desire to fight.
Sasuke, clutching his new Itachi figures, waved goodbye to Tonbo. He was a polite child, and he was clearly very happy.
Tonbo watched them leave. I wonder, when the time comes for Itachi to make his big decisions, will he come to me for advice? Probably not. To him, I likely just appear as a slightly above-average Jonin.
He wondered if Itachi, upon meeting Obito/Madara, would think to ask Tonbo for help in dealing with the masked man. Then he shook his head. My talent is high and I'm improving fast, but maybe I'm getting a bit arrogant. I'll leave those world-shaking events to the Children of Destiny. I just need to do my job.
He shifted his perception back to the three kids on the wall and realized they still hadn't mastered the balance required for tree climbing. To be honest, aside from Hana Inuzuka, the other two were quite underwhelming. Their talent didn't even match the early stages of Naruto's; in fact, they weren't even close.
Sunset. The evening glow bathed the village.
At the Inuzuka residence, Kiba Inuzuka was playing with Akamaru.
"Hey, Akamaru, why is Sis so late today? Do you think she went on a date?" Kiba grinned, showing off his little shark-like teeth.
"Woof!" Akamaru barked in complete agreement.
Knock, knock!
Hearing the door, Kiba and Akamaru rushed to open it. When the door creaked open, they saw a completely exhausted Hana Inuzuka, with Haimaru slumped over her shoulder, tongue out and panting heavily.
"Little bro... get me some water... I'm dying..."
Kiba was confused but quickly poured her a glass. "Sis, what happened to you?"
"Don't ask... I ran into a perverted uncle and he worked me to the bone."
So it wasn't a date. Kiba hugged Akamaru and asked curiously, "Did he bully you? When Mom and Dad get back, let's tell them to go beat him up!"
"Don't!" Hana immediately stopped him.
Just a moment ago, Tonbo had finally ended the session. It wasn't because she had completed the task, but because it was getting dark. She thought she was off the hook, but then the man dropped a bombshell: the three of them were ordered to go to the training ground every day after school for "tutoring."
If it were just a beating, she could handle it. But since it was "training," her parents would definitely support it. She didn't dare tell them that she had tried to ambush a Jonin for revenge. She felt her life was over; for the foreseeable future, they were tethered to Tonbo Tobitake.
"Woof~" Haimaru moaned. Toward the end, Tonbo had noticed the dog and made him train too. It was a dog's life.
The Izuno Family.
Upon hearing that a Jonin wanted to train Zaizai, his parents were ecstatic. In their family, the number of times they had received direct guidance from a Jonin over the years could be counted on one hand. For Zaizai to get Jonin-level tutoring before even graduating was a massive blessing.
Despite his exhaustion, Zaizai saw the look on his parents' faces and knew this was a golden opportunity. "Mom, Dad... Uncle Tonbo said that if you're willing, he'd like to see our secret techniques to help map out my future development."
The smiles on the couple's faces faltered slightly. They looked at each other with hesitation. Those were secret techniques. Even team leaders rarely got to see a family's "bottom-drawer" secrets. If the man's goal was just to steal their techniques...
"This requires a family meeting," they decided. The Izuno clan had dozens of members; a decision of this magnitude had to be discussed with the elders.
The Fuma Family.
Unlike the Izuno, the Fuma clan was much more decisive. They were desperate to revitalize their family and allowed Shikun to take their secrets to Tonbo for guidance.
This was because they were more influential and had better intel—they knew who Tonbo was. They knew he was the Head of the Intelligence Analysis Division, a position the Fuma clan had never been able to touch. They weren't about to let this chance slip.
To restore the Fuma name, they were willing to make many "unconventional" decisions. Their greatest genius, Arashi Fuma, had already been secretly sent to Orochimaru. Now that Shikun had a Jonin's guidance, the family's rise seemed within reach.
Five months passed.
Tonbo's daily routine remained fixed and uneventful. His work at the Analysis Division and the Barrier Division progressed day by day. The large-scale barrier, Inverted Golden Bell, was nearly complete.
During this time, he met Iruka and "trained" him once. He had to; after the first three kids punched him, several other groups of Academy students had tried their luck. He didn't take them on for training, though—he simply taught them a painful lesson so they'd know better.
"These three... their talent really isn't much to look at," Tonbo thought as he watched the kids train. For months, he had focused only on basics. They were too young and lacked the chakra for high-level ninjutsu. He focused on chakra control and shape transformation, or customized training for their family techniques.
Except for Hana, the other two took a whole month just to master tree climbing and water walking. Compared to Mibu and Iruka, they were far behind. Small clans... it's a hard life.
However, the secret techniques of the two small clans were actually quite interesting. The Fuma technique involved deep chakra research—they could actually form "Chakra Wings," though the difficulty was immense. Without Jonin-level control, it was almost impossible.
The Izuno technique, Nekogami Possession: Cat Demon Summoning, was nicknamed "Neko-sanoo" by Tonbo. It summoned a cat spirit to possess the user, forming a giant Maneki-neko (Beckoning Cat) construct around them to attack. There was also Ninja Art: Cat Cover, which formed claws, ears, and a tail out of chakra, granting the user feline attributes.
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