Ryoumine Kyōhiko.
This name had been coming up more and more in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind lately. And with it, his attention toward that child had also grown.
A remarkable boy.
Talented, thoughtful, and mature beyond his years.
If guided properly, he might even become a pillar of Konoha's future—just like Minato once did.
However...
Tsunade had visited him that morning.
"Did something happen?"
Hiruzen reached for his pipe, then forced himself to stop and put it down.
Tsunade said, "Great-Aunt Tōka once risked her life for my father. In the end, she received nothing for it. I ought to take care of her only descendant."
That response—Hiruzen had no rebuttal.
In fact—
It made him feel as if countless fingers were silently pointing at him, blaming him for not doing enough.
After a long pause, Hiruzen said, "I can at least give him some Water Release and Genjutsu techniques."
"No need!"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and refused flatly.
Hiruzen was surprised.
"You don't want them?"
"He's only seven. What does he need high-level jutsu for? Kyōhiko is smart. If he builds a solid foundation, he'll naturally pick up most techniques. No need to force-feed him."
"Oh… right."
Hiruzen blinked.
That child really is only seven years old.
His conduct and demeanor were so composed, Hiruzen often forgot how young he was.
"Make sure those materials are sent over to my place," Tsunade said with a wave, closing the door behind her.
As she walked out of the office, Tsunade let out a soft sigh.
Kyōhiko didn't need flashy ninjutsu.
What he needed was fundamental theory and knowledge.
"Kyōhiko, you don't need to focus on advanced techniques right now. Set aside the Rasengan for the time being."
"But Sensei, I really need it!"
Kyōhiko grabbed Jiraiya's hand, completely forgetting about formality.
It was the Rasengan, after all!
Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
"You're the kind of brat who even dares to mess around with Tsunade's monstrous strength technique. I'm not about to teach you something like the Rasengan just yet. And don't try to sneak around and figure it out on your own. Master the basics first—once you fully grasp that technique, Rasengan will feel redundant."
"Alright…"
Kyōhiko gave a helpless nod.
Looks like there was no room to negotiate.
Still—
That's fine!
If no one teaches him, he'll learn it himself.
At least, that was his plan—until the next second, Jiraiya leaned in and whispered:
"Tsunade went to the Third Hokage… and brought back the Second Hokage's original notebooks."
"!!!"
Hiss!
Kyōhiko immediately forgot all about the Rasengan.
You could train the Rasengan anytime.
But—
Notes from the Second Hokage? That was a once-in-a-lifetime treasure.
He forced himself to calm down.
"Seriously?"
"You managed to trigger the monstrous strength technique on your first attempt and didn't even injure yourself too badly—that shows your foundation is solid. Your body just needs more conditioning," Jiraiya explained.
Then he pulled out a small bag.
"Got this for you. I'll deduct the cost from your mission payments."
He spoke nonchalantly.
Kyōhiko took a closer look.
It was a weighted training band—like a leg weight, but for the arms. Designed specifically to strengthen hand muscles and grip power.
"How much did this cost?"
"150,000 ryō."
Jiraiya sighed.
"My savings all went toward helping Tsunade pay off her debts. I'm broke like the rest of you for now."
"How much does Lady Tsunade owe exactly?"
Kurenai couldn't help but ask.
Jiraiya held up a finger.
"A million?"
Kakashi guessed.
Jiraiya glanced over, his voice tinged with grief.
"Ten million."
It hadn't started out that bad.
Her original debt at Aohanan was around three to four million, but the Matsuyama family owned multiple gambling dens. Tsunade had visited them all.
Worse still, word spread fast in the gambling underworld. Once they caught wind, others came to collect as well.
After some digging, her debt had ballooned to ten million.
A tragic tale indeed.
Everyone fell silent.
Kyōhiko did a mental calculation—
That's about a third of the price of a whole Land of Earth...
And that was just Tsunade's debt—and only in the span of a year or so. If she had a few more years...
Who knew how deep the hole would be?
Luckily, no one in the shinobi world dared offer her high-interest loans. Otherwise, the snowball effect might've made it impossible to repay.
Of course—
If it came to that, it wouldn't be Tsunade in danger.
It'd be the loan sharks.
Kyōhiko muttered silently.
"We agreed to take on the Matsuyama family's request, so let's not leave the village for now. Just as well—we can use this time to train. Let's start with a D-rank mission today," Jiraiya said, pulling out a mission scroll.
Same as usual—
Water hauling!
Kyōhiko strapped on his new arm weights.
Now he had weights on both arms and legs. He could barely move like he used to—even hauling water had become a struggle.
And not just him.
Kakashi and Kurenai were also weighed down, each using different levels of resistance. Even for a D-rank mission, they had to use chakra just to lift the buckets and walk.
It was grueling training.
Stick with it, and their bodies would strengthen faster.
By afternoon, the three of them were exhausted.
Even so, they only removed part of their weights and went for a light jog.
Two days passed this way.
On the third morning, just as Kyōhiko woke up—
Knock knock knock—his window was being rapped.
"Who is it?"
He asked around a toothbrush, shuffling to the window.
He froze, then quickly finished brushing.
"Lady Tsunade…"
"Hurry up and get dressed. Meet me downstairs," she said, vanishing the next instant.
Moments later, Kyōhiko came down to find her waiting in the courtyard.
In front of her, a stack of books lay neatly piled.
"All these…?"
Kyōhiko was stunned.
Tsunade nodded. "I didn't bring any complete jutsu. These are my grand-uncle's notes on Water Release, Genjutsu, and other techniques, as well as lots of foundational theory. Read them—absorb the principles and knowledge."
Kyōhiko nearly turned to stone.
Tsunade and Jiraiya really were treating him like a top-tier genius.
But—
He knew himself best.
He wasn't some natural prodigy—just someone standing on the shoulders of giants.
Still, these were exactly what he needed.
As he flipped through the books, his appreciation only grew.
Some were diaries, some were records of derivation and insight. For example, the relationship between Water Colliding Wave and Water Severing Wave was discussed in detail. The conceptual development was surprisingly similar to his own thinking.
Compression, condensation—
By compressing water chakra to a high density, one could create a high-pressure water blade capable of cutting through anything.
"Lady Tsunade, thank you very much!"
Kyōhiko bowed respectfully.
Unless you were like Naruto—born with parents who gave you a foundation and an overwhelming innate constitution—then fundamentals were everything.
Without solid basics, even the strongest jutsu would be useless.
Tsunade smiled.
"As long as you don't think I'm stingy."
"Of course not."
Kyōhiko shook his head.
He sighed, then hesitated.
"These books contain knowledge and insights that regular civilians could never access. Why not share them more broadly?"
"We actually do," Tsunade said.
"During the Second Hokage's time, he built the academy system and helped the Third Hokage integrate much of this foundational knowledge into the curriculum. The textbooks you see are the result of generations of revision."
"The school's content… it's good, but it lacks progression," Kyōhiko said. "Graduates are still far from being real genin. That's why we need jonin team leaders—but I think the academy could be more."
Tsunade paused for a moment.
"What do you think it should be?"
"Structured, categorized, and personalized. At certain stages, teach according to each student's strengths. Take my classmate Might Guy—his ninjutsu is terrible, but his taijutsu is amazing. Keeping him stuck in general education is a waste of time, isn't it?"