Having finished his early morning training, Goku ate breakfast at Shikamaru's house.
Having already experienced Goku's seemingly bottomless appetite the night before, Shikamaru had his mother prepare a generous amount of food.
The Nara clan has raised deer for generations, and deer antlers are an extremely valuable medicinal material.
Therefore, the Nara clan, which deals in medicinal materials, is considered one of the wealthier families in Konoha. Shikamaru's father is the current head of the Nara clan.
This means that the Shikamaru family is actually quite wealthy.
While Goku can eat a lot, he wouldn't eat the Nara family out of house in a short time.
Just after finishing breakfast and preparing to leave, they encountered Nara Shikaku, who had worked all night, and Asuma, who had come along.
The Konoha high-level meeting ended in the early morning, but the meeting's conclusion didn't mean the matter was over.
The meeting's content still needed to be implemented by these Jonin. So they worked until morning.
"You're awake? Perfect! Come with me to see the Hokage!"
Asuma, who hadn't slept all night, yawned and led Goku and Shikamaru toward the Hokage Building.
He had come along to take Goku to meet the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and also to make a show of his supposed "surveillance" mission.
"How was the barbecue yesterday?"
Asuma casually asked Goku on the way.
Goku nodded very affirmatively:
"Mmm, it was delicious, thank you for your hospitality."
"Hahaha, it was just a meal, nothing compared to your life-saving grace, nothing at all."
Asuma stroked his beard somewhat embarrassedly.
Seeing this, Shikamaru suppressed a laugh:
"Asuma-sensei, you haven't paid the bill at the yakiniku restaurant yet, have you?"
"I was busy all night, and just finished so I came over with your dad. I'll go after I take Goku to see Lady Tsunade."
Asuma waved his hand dismissively. Shikamaru stepped forward and patted Asuma on the shoulder:
"Sensei, if you don't have enough money for the wedding, you can borrow from me. I've saved up quite a bit from missions over the years."
"Shikamaru, you underestimate your teacher. I haven't worked for nothing all these years, don't worry!"
Asuma laughed confidently.
After taking Goku to see Lady Tsunade, he'd pay the bill at the yakiniku restaurant, and then propose to Kurenai.
If things go smoothly, maybe the two of them could get the wedding done in less than a week.
Asuma's sleepiness from a sleepless night vanished, replaced by a happy smile.
Shikamaru, seeing this, shook his head without speaking.
He didn't hold out much hope for Asuma's savings.
"Shikamaru, this is for you!"
At that moment, Goku pulled two books from his box and handed them to Shikamaru.
Goku was quite aware of his appetite.
He had originally planned to find an inn in Konoha and eat out, since he was rich, very rich, and could easily afford his own food and lodging.
But Shikamaru and the others were very hospitable, insisting on inviting him to their homes and cooking for him.
He wanted to pay, but they refused.
So, he thought of giving them a gift as a token of his appreciation.
He was no longer that naive child; he had experienced so many worlds and received guidance from so many teachers. He understood a little bit about human relationships, though not much.
"The book, thank you. Hmm, what kind of writing is this? I've never seen it before."
Shikamaru accepted the book with gratitude.
The book wasn't anything valuable; since Goku gave it to him, he naturally accepted it.
However, upon opening the book, he discovered that he couldn't understand a single word.
"This book isn't for reading. It's a magical tool that can be used for teleportation. Well, in your terms, it's a ninja tool."
Goku patiently explained:
"As long as you hold one of the books, and then input ki, oh, input chakra to activate it, you can be teleported to the location of the other book."
Indeed, what he gave Shikamaru was a set of long-distance teleportation portal keys.
When he first left Hogwarts, Dumbledore, fearing for his safety, had personally crafted several sets of portal keys. These two books are one set.
Now that his Apparition ability can traverse half the Earth, he naturally no longer needs the Portkey.
Originally, he wanted to give Shikamaru the gravity chamber to train his body, but Shikamaru clearly had no interest in physical training.
So he gave him this set of Portkeys.
"A space-time teleportation ninja tool!"
Hearing Goku's explanation, Asuma and Shikamaru were immediately startled, their hands holding the two books trembling slightly.
Space-time ninjutsu is already an extremely rare and terrifying ninjutsu in this world.
The Fourth Hokage became famous throughout the ninja world and earned the title "Yellow Flash" by instantly killing fifty Iwa ninja with his space-time ninjutsu.
And space-time ninja tools are a hundred times more valuable than space-time ninjutsu.
To this day, no one in the ninja world has ever been known to possess a space-time ninja tool.
Space-time ninjutsu requires exceptional talent to learn; the barrier to entry is too high.
Currently, besides the Second Hokage who created it, only the Fourth Hokage has fully mastered it and developed a simplified version, which still requires the combined efforts of his three bodyguards to barely execute.
If any of those three bodyguards were to perish, Konoha would have no ninja capable of using space-time ninjutsu.
Waiting for the next talented individual to learn it is uncertain how long it will take.
However, space-time ninja tools are different.
Because they represent no barrier to entry; anyone can obtain them and use them, and they can be passed down through generations.
Genin can use them, Chunin can use them, Jonin can use them, and even Kage can use them.
Imagine you've almost broken through their lines, only to have the enemy pull out a book, and then the three legendary Sannin appear simultaneously.
"Let's try it!"
Asuma and Shikamaru exchanged a glance, immediately having the same thought.
Actually, testing it at this point was a bit too hasty, making them seem somewhat disbelieving.
However, the space-time ninja tool was extremely important, and it also concerned the extent of Tsunade's gratitude towards Goku later.
If it truly was a space-time ninja tool, its value could even directly persuade Tsunade to offer a scroll for learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Therefore, verification was necessary before reporting back to Tsunade.
Shikamaru handed one of the two books to Asuma, who immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to move away.
A moment later, the book in Shikamaru's hand twisted, and Asuma appeared beside him with the other book.
"It really is a space-time ninja tool!"
The two couldn't help but exclaim simultaneously.
"Goku, how many people can this space-time ninja tool teleport at once, and what's the furthest it can teleport?"
Asuma grabbed Goku's shoulder, asking excitedly. Goku blinked:
"He can bring a maximum of twenty people at a time, and the distance is roughly ten times farther than where I met you guys and here."
"~~~"
Asuma and Shikamaru gasped simultaneously.
Ten times farther, centered on Konoha Village, that's enough to cover all the other ninja villages.
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