After learning what Isamu needed, Tsunade searched through her house from top to bottom.
At last, she found the “poison” Isamu was looking for buried away in some forgotten corner.
Looking at the substance in her hand, Tsunade was reminded of a scene from many years ago, when her second granduncle had been scolded by her grandfather for developing things like this.
Unfortunately, she would never get to see a scene like that again.
The “poison” in her hand was actually just a defective prototype.
Back then, her second granduncle had wanted to develop a potent poison that was colorless and odorless, but in the end, he had never managed to accomplish it.
Still, the “poison” in her hand was more than enough to meet Isamu’s needs.
It could kill fish and shrimp for dozens of kilometers downstream of a river.
Anyone who ate those dead fish or shrimp would then suffer prolonged abnormal effects such as diarrhea and weakness.
Interestingly, however, boiling the contaminated water before using it directly would render it harmless to the human body.
To be honest, such a poison would be practically useless in wartime.
Any shinobi with even the slightest degree of caution would never eat fish or shrimp that had died under such suspicious circumstances.
That was why Tsunade had not even reported the matter.
This was an assessment with a huge disparity in numbers between the two sides.
Naturally, she was going to give her students a little extra leverage.
“Sensei, last night I ran into Nawaki and” Isamu told Tsunade what had happened that night.
Tsunade was quite surprised by Isamu’s assessment.
Might Dai, a Genin who had never shown off his abilities, had actually been able to defeat Isamu in a single blow.
Isamu’s current strength was already comparable to that of a Chūnin.
That meant Might Dai’s mastery of Taijutsu was definitely formidable.
Even among the Jōnin, he could hardly be considered mediocre.
“Perhaps I should mention it to the Hokage”
No.
The moment Tsunade remembered that Nawaki was currently training under him, a little selfishness arose in her heart.
If the village began paying attention to him and he became busy with other matters, what would happen to Nawaki?
In that case, perhaps it was better to let things take their natural course
“Don’t tell anyone about this.”
Hearing Tsunade’s warning, Isamu nodded.
He wasn’t even from Konoha.
He had only brought it up to put Tsunade’s mind at ease.
Even if Might Dai really was an overlooked talent, why should he meddle in something that had nothing to do with him?
Of course, Isamu also asked about Kosuke Maruboshi.
He learned that the Genin was already personally known to the Hokage and that, this time, Tsunade had asked him to look after Nawaki.
From Tsunade, Isamu also learned why Kosuke was still a Genin.
When Kosuke was still a Genin, he had once become overly eager to accomplish a mission.
His rash decision to give orders had ultimately resulted in the deaths of two comrades.
As a result, he swore an oath to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, that he would remain a Genin for the rest of his life.
Thus, he earned the nickname “the Eternal Genin.”
Yet his true strength was enough to place him among the elite even within the ranks of the Jōnin.
For nearly twenty years, Kosuke Maruboshi had never managed to escape the shadow of his comrades’ deaths, which he blamed himself for.
He repeatedly refused the Third Hokage’s orders promoting him to Jōnin.
Whenever people in the village mentioned Kosuke Maruboshi, all they knew was his reputation as “the Eternal Genin.”
By now, he had become a very unusual Genin.
When the war situation was not particularly tense, he would accept simple missions and silently protect the village.
When things became desperate on the front lines, the Hokage would assign him special missions, and he would continue silently protecting the village.
The man who carried an enormous burden on his shoulders Kosuke Maruboshi had no idea how many of Konoha’s enemies he had already buried.
The following evening, Isamu returned to the same place.
Nawaki was training his body under Might Dai’s guidance, while Kosuke Maruboshi was preparing dinner nearby.
Isamu’s arrival did not interrupt their training.
He walked straight over to the campfire and asked Kosuke Maruboshi for another spar.
Normally, given Kosuke Maruboshi’s habits, he would not have sparred with Isamu again after their encounter the previous night.
But the secret barbecue seasoning Isamu had brought out last night had genuinely been excellent.
On top of that, Kosuke had heard about everything Isamu had been doing recently.
Through his own efforts, Isamu had driven the graduating class at the Ninja Academy to work harder and train more diligently.
For the Academy students, this was undoubtedly a good thing.
Recognizing their own shortcomings and working hard to improve
Kosuke himself had only come to understand the importance of that after stepping onto the battlefield and repeatedly walking the line between life and death.
And now, these students had the opportunity to develop that awareness before ever setting foot on a battlefield.
Perhaps this generation of students would become Konoha’s hope.
That was why Kosuke had made an exception the night before and revealed his true strength, allowing Isamu to understand this principle as well.
After spending so many years struggling through the shinobi world, how could Kosuke not know why Isamu had asked for a spar in the first place?
There was always someone stronger beyond the horizon.
Never underestimate an opponent simply because they were classified as a Genin.
That was what he had wanted to teach Isamu.
Of course, Kosuke had never expected that Might Dai the man who constantly went on about training and a man’s self-discipline would actually be the same kind of person as himself.
Kosuke had originally wanted to tell the Third Hokage about this.
But when he thought about how Nawaki was involved, he began to wonder if this might be a contingency left behind by the Senju clan.
With the mindset that it was better to avoid unnecessary complications, Kosuke remained silent.
Kosuke Maruboshi took a ladle and tapped it against the rim of the large black pot in which the soup was simmering.
He stood up and stretched his arms and legs.
“I’m just a middle-aged man with one foot in the grave, Isamu.
Go easy on me.”
Yeah, right!
With one foot in the grave, and you can still beat me into the ground!
Isamu held a short sword in one hand and a kunai in the other, facing Kosuke Maruboshi, who was armed with nothing but a ladle.
Having a new sparring partner gave Isamu an entirely different experience.
Practical experience fighting a strong opponent was extremely valuable.
And since Kosuke was deliberately giving him openings to practice against, Isamu was naturally able to gain even more from the exchange.
“This kid How has he gotten so much stronger after just one night?”
“Was he holding back?
That can’t be”
“Can skills like Taijutsu and Kenjutsu really improve this quickly?
Or is his talent really that extraordinary?”
The moment they exchanged blows, Kosuke Maruboshi was surprised to discover that Isamu’s strength had increased considerably compared with the previous night.
As their fists and palms collided, Kosuke noticed something unusual.
A trace amount of chakra had actually entered his body through their brief contact.
As his chakra circulated, he dissolved Isamu’s Force.
Realizing that his Force had been neutralized, Isamu thought silently:
“So even a Jōnin-level expert can detect Force quite easily.”
At its core, Force was still an application of chakra.
The greater one’s control over their body, the easier it was to detect the invading Force.
Even though Isamu’s Taijutsu and Kenjutsu had both reached the Intermediate level, he was still no match for Kosuke Maruboshi.
Before long, Kosuke had already bonked him on the head several times with the large ladle in his hand.
The Basic level of Taijutsu and Kenjutsu was roughly comparable to the Chūnin level, while the Intermediate level should be close to the Jōnin level.
Unfortunately, skills based on technique still required the physical attributes to match.
Isamu was only nine years old.
His years of wandering had severely hindered his physical development.
Even after finally settling down recently, he still had not completely made up for that lost development.
A lot of the time, it went like this:
His eyes said: I saw it.
His brain immediately responded: Understood.
The command has been issued.
His body: ?
What are you two doing?
When facing the attacks of a genuine Jōnin, Isamu’s reactions could keep up, but his body simply couldn’t.
The outcome of a battle was always determined by a combination of factors.
Dong, dong, dong!
As his stamina drained, Isamu’s reactions grew slower and slower.
Taking advantage of the opening, Kosuke Maruboshi landed several heavy blows in succession, knocking Isamu unconscious.
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Isamu hurriedly waved his hands, indicating that he was done.
He hadn’t used his 100% Guaranteed Kunai Catch passive ability or the Phantom Blade effect he had stolen from Kosuke Maruboshi the previous day, so he hadn’t exactly gone all out.
This battle had simply been an experiment to determine whether Force could affect a Jōnin.
Now that he had confirmed that it could, there was no need to continue sparring.
He would try it again when he sparred with Might Dai later.