Chapter 60: Chapter 60
"Where is it?"
After bringing Jōnin B into his private tent, Kiriya wasted no time and held out his hand.
The jōnin was briefly caught off guard by how blunt he was.
Once he recovered, he took out a scroll and an envelope from inside his clothes.
"This is a handwritten letter from Hokage-sama. He specifically instructed me to place it in your hands personally."
"Oh?"
The moment Kiriya heard that it was a letter from the old Sandaime, his expression turned serious.
He accepted it with both hands, checked the seal carefully, and only then opened it to read.
The letter was long.
Aside from the Sandaime’s joy at seeing a new talent rise in Konoha, there was also guilt over how the village had failed to properly look after the remaining members of the Senju clan over the years...
At the end, the Sandaime expressed his expectations for Kiriya’s future and promised that he would do everything within his power to provide the greatest possible support, helping Kiriya become a proper builder of Konoha and a worthy successor to the Will of Fire.
From beginning to end, the letter was sincere, moving, and polished with the skill of someone who had spent decades sitting in the Hokage’s chair.
After reading it, Kiriya was visibly touched. His eyes even reddened a little.
He looked at Jōnin B and said, "I never expected Hokage-sama to value me this highly. I’m truly moved! If Hokage-sama does not cast me aside, then I am willing to devote myself fully to Konoha and make Konoha great again!"
Jōnin B was completely stunned by the whole performance.
Dude, was all that really necessary?
How much did you drink to get this dramatic?
It was just a letter!
Why such a huge reaction? Anyone who did not know better would think Hokage-sama had saved your life a dozen times.
Seeing the jōnin’s dull, confused reaction, Kiriya kept his face calm, but inwardly he clicked his tongue in disdain.
This man was a jōnin, yet his political instincts were this poor?
When a superior went through the trouble of writing you a long personal letter, that was a clear sign that he valued you.
If you did not seize the chance to express overflowing gratitude at a time like this, when were you supposed to do it?
Even if Kiriya’s heart had been as calm as still water, he still had to put on the full performance.
That was called being mature.
After sending the slow-witted jōnin away, Kiriya immediately opened the scroll and began reading it eagerly.
The contents were extremely rich. It covered everything from the more basic Wood Clone Technique to higher-level techniques such as the Wood Human Technique and Wood Dragon Technique. There were even detailed records of Wood Release’s ultimate moves, True Several Thousand Hands and Top Transformed Buddha.
"Damn, the old Sandaime is being really generous."
Kiriya was genuinely shocked by Hiruzen’s sincerity.
To win over a Wood Release user, the man was willing to spend some serious capital.
But the more Kiriya read, the more he understood why the Sandaime had been so generous.
From a technical standpoint, True Several Thousand Hands and Top Transformed Buddha were not that difficult to understand.
The real problem was...
Chakra.
To use those techniques, one needed a ridiculous amount of chakra.
No, calling it "chakra" almost felt insulting.
"Chakra tonnage" would be more accurate.
Hashirama Senju had spent decades developing his Sage Body to perfection.
Add in a fully mastered Sage Mode, and that was what allowed him to create the myth-like spectacle of True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformed Buddha, beating down the combination of a Complete Body Susanoo and the full-power Nine-Tails.
For Kiriya to reach Hashirama Senju’s level, he conservatively estimated that he would need at least three hundred Kakashi units of chakra.
And how much chakra did Kiriya have right now?
At the most optimistic estimate, just a little over ten Kakashi units.
With that amount, forget using an ultimate technique like True Several Thousand Hands.
Even the Wood Human Technique had to be heavily cut down into the most budget version possible.
Put it beside the original, and it would look like a tiny collectible figure.
In short, these techniques were incredibly tempting, but most of them were still beyond Kiriya’s current reach.
Still, Kiriya was not going to complain.
Just because he could not use them now did not mean he would never use them. He could study them first and familiarize himself with the principles.
Once his chakra caught up in the future, he would immediately be able to drop something huge on the enemy.
By then, he could say with perfect confidence, ’Do you want to dance too?’
Kiriya shook his head and threw away the image of himself showing off in front of everyone.
Then he focused and began studying the Wood Clone Technique.
For the current him, this technique was the most practical.
And so, Kiriya settled down at the camp under Jiraiya’s command.
...
Most of his days were spent treating shinobi who returned from the front line.
The rest of his time went into studying Hashirama Senju’s notes and the ninjutsu Jiraiya had taught him, trying to merge them with his original combat system.
Occasionally, when Might Duy and Might Guy returned from missions, they would have a few friendly exchanges using the Eight Gates.
His days were busy, productive, and honestly pretty fulfilling.
Just like that, two weeks passed in a flash.
One afternoon, Kiriya had just finished treating the wounded in the camp and was about to take a breath and drink some water when a messenger hurried over.
"Kiriya-sama, Jiraiya-sama wants you to come immediately. It’s urgent."
"Oh?"
Kiriya felt puzzled, but the messenger clearly did not know much either.
After delivering the message, he shut his mouth and said nothing more. Kiriya had no choice but to follow him to Jiraiya’s tent first.
The moment he entered, he saw that Jiraiya’s expression looked terrible.
"What happened?"
Kiriya’s heart sank.
For Jiraiya, who was usually calm and optimistic, to wear that kind of face, something serious had definitely happened.
"Duy is in danger."
The moment Jiraiya spoke, he felt a biting chill spread through the tent. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees at once.
The source of it was the handsome young man standing in front of him.
"What happened?" Kiriya asked, his voice cold as polar ice.
"There was unusual movement near the border, so I sent Duy’s squad to investigate. But not long after, they were surrounded by enemy forces. They were outnumbered and trapped in a valley near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water."
Jiraiya’s voice was low as he explained.
"Wait."
Kiriya raised a hand, interrupting him.
There was something he did not understand.
"With Uncle Duy’s strength, even if they couldn’t win, they should at least have been able to break out, right?"
"You’re thinking too simply."
Jiraiya shook his head.
"Kiriya, the Eight Gates aren’t invincible. Once the enemy figures out the combat style and limitations of the Eight Gates, there are plenty of ways to deal with it."
"For example, they can set up multiple layers of ambushes and keep blocking him, wearing him down bit by bit. If they do that, even the overwhelming power of the Eight Gates won’t last forever."
Jiraiya continued, "Or they can send several skilled, patient jōnin to keep their distance, tail them from far away, harass them, strike and retreat, hit once and leave. In that kind of situation, Might Duy can only keep reacting until he’s exhausted."
"That makes sense."
After thinking for a moment, Kiriya had no choice but to agree with Jiraiya’s judgment.
In the Naruto world, there were no invincible techniques, only invincible people.
When Might Duy opened all eight gates, his power was indeed terrifying enough to shake heaven and earth.
If a dozen jōnin rushed at him together, he could kick them into a family combo meal.
The problem was, what if they refused to fight him directly?
Then even if Duy wanted to burn his life, he might not be able to find the right moment to use it.
"Did we send reinforcements?" Kiriya asked.
"Of course. I sent several squads to support them, but..."
Jiraiya sighed.
"Those reinforcements were trapped too."
Surround the target, wait for rescue, then trap the rescuers as well.
Kiriya immediately understood what the enemy was planning.
"They put this much effort into it. Looks like they’re aiming for something big."
Kiriya narrowed his eyes.
To trap Might Duy, they would need at least double-digit jōnin.
If the support squads were included, then the number of forces required to maintain the trap became even more ridiculous.
And with that much effort, there was no way they were simply trying to starve a few Konoha squads to death.
"They’re baiting us."
Jiraiya let out a cold laugh.
"They’ve got quite the appetite, let’s hope they don’t choke."
"Then I’ll go."
Kiriya stood up and twisted his neck, the joints cracking softly.
"I’ve been stuck in camp so long my body’s starting to rust."
Might Duy was the first friend Kiriya had made after returning to this world.
Sure, the man shouted about "youth" every other sentence like he had terminal chūnibyō, but he was pure in a way that was rare.
Once you got used to his style, he was actually very easy to get along with.
After spending time with him, Kiriya had already come to see both Might Duy and Might Guy as friends.
Now that a friend was in danger, there was no way he would sit around and do nothing.
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