Hokage's Office, Late Evening
Hiruzen was just about to call it a day when Garou Zenin barged in with scrolls under his arm and determination in his eyes.
Hiruzen sighed internally.
Another long night, it seemed.
As he scanned the contents of the first scroll, the urge to light his pipe tugged at him, but he resisted. Even without smoke, just holding the pipe felt like something to cling to.
He hadn't expected Garou to replicate or reinvent a Gentle Fist-style technique this soon.
Sure, he'd anticipated it might happen one day.
Garou was that kind of genius. But not this quickly. And not with this much clarity, considering it was only the prototype.
Still… No law said Gentle Fist was exclusive to the Hyuga.
"Lord Hokage?" Garou prompted politely.
Hiruzen looked up. "This jutsu of yours... The learning curve's high, isn't it? I'd say A+ rank?"
Garou pointed at the lower half of the scroll. "That's if someone wants to master the full technique.
But there's a simplified version, just condense chakra, inject it into the target, and trigger a direct explosion. That one should only be A-rank."
Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully as his gaze moved toward the labels:
Gentle Fist: Spiral.
Gentle Fist: Burst.
Such bold, blunt names.
Still, despite their directness, the jutsu's value was undeniable.
Closing the scroll, Hiruzen looked at him seriously. "These techniques… are worth quite a bit."
"I'd like to request your help, Lord Hokage," Garou said. "Please arrange a meeting with the Hyuga clan. I'd like to propose a knowledge exchange."
"Hmm?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "You're worried they'll object? Don't be. Gentle Fist may be their pride, but no one owns the concept of internal chakra strikes."
Besides… the principles were entirely different.
Hyuga's Gentle Fist was all about disabling chakra networks and internal organs via precise strikes. Garou's spiral style used Rasengan-like mechanics, injecting whirling chakra to physically tear tissue from the inside.
It was chaotic, disruptive… almost brutal.
"If you look at the second scroll," Garou added.
Hiruzen blinked.
Second scroll? He had completely forgotten about the second scroll in the wake of the first.
He quickly unrolled it—and froze.
Even a man in his sixties, who had lived through wars and handled more jutsu than most ever would, found himself stunned.
Pressure point strikes.
Gentle Fist, again.
He rubbed his forehead and leaned in, reading carefully.
'So that's how it worked…'
The scroll explained that while many pressure points varied slightly between individuals, a significant number were fixed across all humans.
Garou's technique targeted those shared points, bypassing the need for a Byakugan.
"You must've had this idea before you visited the medical division, right?" Hiruzen asked.
He reached for his pipe again, not to smoke it, but just to inhale the scent, grounding himself from the sheer absurdity on paper.
This boy was just too smart.
"Not really," Garou replied. "I thought studying medical techniques might be useful in the future. The idea developed while I was working on Overdrive."
"Still impressive," Hiruzen muttered.
If Garou were a jōnin, or if this were the war era, he wouldn't have been so shocked. But in peaceful times, with children barely out of the Academy?
Staggering.
Consider the comparison.
Neji, a certified prodigy, was still drilling his clan's Gentle Fist basics. Sasuke, a year younger, was focused on graduating early.
Garou… was submitting S-class theory.
After a long pause, Hiruzen pulled out another file from his drawer.
"By the way, your mission to the Fire Temple… you secured collaboration rights, correct?"
"They sent an emissary?" Garou's eyes lit up with genuine excitement.
He'd been waiting for this.
He'd coveted the Fire Temple's Barrier Sealing Techniques and their Gift of the Sages for a while now.
"They've officially submitted cooperation documents," Hiruzen confirmed. "Look it over. If it looks good, sign it. Chiruki will coordinate the next steps."
Garou skimmed the file.
It was standard, a few clauses about intellectual sharing, research boundaries, mutual respect.
Nothing concerning.
He signed it quickly.
"I'll still need your help negotiating with the Hyuga Clan," he added. "In particular, I want to trade for information on their chakra network mappings and Gentle Fist mechanics."
Hiruzen frowned slightly. "That'll be tough. But I'll bring it up."
"Thank you, sir!"
As Garou left the office, he made a detour to the Hokage's restricted archives and pulled a thick manual on chakra-based weaponry.
He didn't plan to become a blacksmith, but if he wanted to develop weapons with internal seals or embedded jutsu, he needed theory. Lots of it.
After finishing up, he visited the hospital.
Might Guy had already been discharged.
No surprise there. Leaving Guy in bed too long would only make him more miserable.
That also meant… Garou was off the hook.
No more emergency substitute sensei duties.
He could finally return to his routine.
Train. Read. Eat. Rest. Repeat.
Tenten would occasionally show up to swap books and vent about her struggles with sealing theory. Other than that, life was back to its calm pace.
Even Kasumi was off somewhere training with blades. No missions had been assigned to their team, likely for the next month or two.
Half a month passed in quiet productivity.
Garou immersed himself in research.
Weapon crafting was far more complex than he'd expected. Konoha's resources on chakra-forged items were scarce, especially when it came to high-level gear like the Infinite Armour he was conceptualizing.
Tools like Flying Swallow were relatively simple.
But his goals… they were ten layers above that.
The knowledge base, the historical data, the sealing formulas, none of it was consolidated.
So Garou continued compiling, experimenting, building frameworks.
Then, out of nowhere, Chiruki arrived.
The Hyuga negotiations were still in political deadlock.
According to Neji, the clan elders had been holding closed-door meetings daily. Sometimes multiple times a day.
Garou only chuckled at the news.
He wasn't holding his breath.
By the time they reached a conclusion, the world might have moved on.
So he made another decision.
Simplify the technique further.
Strip away the internal vortex explosion.
Just teach them the chakra-condensation strike. Direct, clean, no secondary disruption.
Difficulty rating: B+.
Still advanced, but manageable for jōnin or ninja with strong chakra control.
"All right. That should be simple enough. I'll submit the update and then meet Chiruki."
After handing the revised scroll to Hiruzen, Garou entered the designated conference room.
Chiruki, representing the Fire Temple, sat calmly in a meditative posture. He rose when Garou entered, hands clasped in greeting.
"Apologies for making you wait."
"Not at all," Garou said with a bow. "The Fire Temple is vast and influential. It's only natural there'd be details to finalize."
The two sat, Hiruzen taking the middle seat between them.
Chiruki reached into his robes and pulled out a book. "Garou, this contains our preliminary barrier technique framework. Please keep it confidential."
"Understood. I'll review it here and now."
Chiruki blinked.
There it was.
That tone.
That confident posture.
He'd seen it before, people who underestimated what they were reading. But Garou didn't read with ignorance.
Chiruki took a deep breath, letting the anxiety settle.
Garou flipped through the pages slowly, digesting every line.
Halfway through, his eyes sparked with interest.
Something stood out.
A barrier that seemed to respond to a specific type of chakra.
"A barrier which identifies a certain type of chakra?" he asked, pointing to the array.
Chiruki leaned over and froze for several seconds.
Even after reviewing the scroll multiple times, Chiruki hadn't expected someone to zone in on that so quickly.
"Yes," he replied after composing himself.
"It reacts only to those who possess a certain type of chakra "
"I see," Garou said.
It had potential.
This barrier, one capable of distinguishing chakra types. With refinement, it could even evolve into one of his "Mark" techniques.
More time passed.
Then Garou looked up. "Master Chiruki, I've reviewed it. The transformation of your barrier is… quite intricate."
"No need to rush, Garou. Take your time. Once completed, deliver it to the Fire Temple."
Garou waved a hand. "No need to wait. Stay in Konoha for two days. I will get it done."
"....."
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