Allen’s Advice (Fifth Update Complete)

"Don’t mention it! You must know, you’ve helped me a lot! I just went to the blacksmith’s shop in this town and commissioned the uncle there to make some parts. Look! This is a new weapon made based on your suggestion!"

As she spoke, Tenten took out a strange device that looked like a cross between a crossbow and an oversized revolver, except its ammunition consisted of kunai fitted with Explosive Tags.

Rock Lee immediately leaned over, asking curiously, "What is that?"

"A weapon that can fire a whole bunch of kunai with Explosive Tags attached. What do you think? Want to try it out in the open area outside town?" Tenten proposed eagerly.

"But Explosive Tags are expensive! Is it really okay to waste them like this?"

As a poor kid, Rock Lee wore a pained expression.

After all, genin didn’t earn much to begin with.

Especially with D-Rank Missions. The minimum reward was only a few thousand ryo, while the maximum never exceeded fifty thousand ryo. And the jonin leading the team took a portion first, with the remainder divided among the other members.

Although prices in Konoha Village were not particularly high, feeding oneself was not a problem.

But once all kinds of consumable ninja tools were factored in, they could at best barely make ends meet.

That was why most genin simply couldn’t afford Explosive Tags that cost several thousand ryo apiece. At most, they bought one or two to keep as trump cards for critical moments.

But why would rich Tenten care about a genin’s meager income? She burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! No problem! As long as I can become a powerful female ninja like Lady Tsunade, this little bit of money means nothing."

Hearing such a bold declaration, the others naturally found it hard to dissuade her.

Thus, all the members of Team Three, including Might Guy, headed out together to an open area roughly five kilometers outside the town.

Allen pointed at a distant hillside. "Let’s use that as a target. But with Explosive Tags on them, the power definitely won’t be weak."

"Yeah! Counting the kunai, this one shot probably costs fifty thousand ryo," Might Guy remarked with a slight sigh.

In his eyes, rather than taking such a crooked path, it would be better to properly learn Steel Fist from him.

But Tenten clearly had no desire to train herself into a Diamond Barbie build like Bisky’s. Ignoring her teacher entirely, she aimed at the hillside and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thanks to the interconnected complex mechanisms, this oddly shaped crossbow required no manual drawing of the string. It could fire roughly one kunai with an Explosive Tag attached every second.

Before long, more than a dozen kunai had slammed into the dirt on the hillside.

Then…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid blinding flashes, deafening explosions rang out without pause, and vast amounts of dirt were instantly blasted into the air.

The spectacular sight left Neji and Rock Lee, both genin still lacking powerful offensive abilities, staring with their mouths wide open, their faces full of disbelief.

"Well?"

Experiencing for the first time that explosions were art, Tenten turned around and sought Allen’s opinion.

"Mm—it’s only somewhat unsatisfactory. This thing has two major flaws. First, the kunai fired by the crossbow are too slow and can easily be dodged by fast enemies. Second, it’s far too heavy. Holding it in your hands would definitely seriously affect your speed," Allen said, stroking his chin.

"Then what direction should I take for improvements?" Tenten pressed impatiently.

"There are two directions as well. First, you can use Chakra-conducting metal to make the launching device, then train Wind Release ninjutsu to launch the kunai instead of relying on the crossbow. Second, you can make it bigger, like a platform fixed to the ground. Summon it through a Sealing Scroll during battle, imitate the Sand Ninja’s Puppet Masters, and use Chakra Threads to control several at once for Area of Effect Attacks across a large area. In this way, it won’t matter even if the accuracy is a little poor. Especially in battles against large numbers of enemies, this kind of attack can produce unexpected results."

After putting on a show of thinking for a while, Allen immediately offered two completely different paths of development.

He wanted to see just how far this girl, who possessed a talent for controlling ninja tools, could go down this road.

"I understand! Thank you for your advice! I know what to do next." Tenten stroked her chin, looking thoughtful.

"Don’t mention it. I look forward to seeing the results of your research someday in the future," Allen said with an encouraging smile.

"Teacher Kai… I suddenly feel like Tenten and Allen have both become really terrifying!"

Rock Lee stared at the hillside in the distance, now blasted beyond recognition, and spoke in a low voice.

Might Guy nodded in deep agreement. "In a sense, they are indeed quite terrifying. If their research truly succeeds, even the Third Hokage may have to take it seriously."

Having participated in the Third Great Ninja War, he knew very well just how many casualties such powerful ninja tools could inflict on the front lines if they required little Chakra and could be easily operated even by genin.

After all, in any world, the simpler a weapon was to operate and the easier it was to spread, the better.

In comparison, Neji’s expression became extremely complicated.

As the genius of the Hyuga Branch Family, he realized for the first time that his position as the strongest in the team might be surpassed by a girl.

Especially after that terrifying explosion, even he did not dare guarantee that he could knock all of it away using only Gentle Fist.

Once even one kunai exploded near him, he would lose his balance and endure several successive blasts in a short time. Even if it did not kill him, he would be severely injured.

On the way back, Neji deliberately walked at the very end with Allen and asked in an extremely low voice, "Do you have any way to make me stronger quickly too?"

"Stronger quickly?" Allen looked up and shot him an interested glance.

"That’s right! If it’s you, I’m sure you must have a way." Neji’s voice carried intense tension and anxiety.

"Sorry, but I don’t know much about the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, so I really can’t offer you any advice. But if I have any inspiration later, I’ll tell you." Allen’s response carried a deeper meaning.

From Neji’s eyes, he sensed an incomparable fury and hatred.

Without question, at this stage, Neji was still unable to escape the immense psychological shadow cast by his father’s death and the Caged Bird seal branded onto his forehead.

In his eyes, the Main Family was not someone he needed to protect at all, but rather an enemy he could never coexist with.

Of course, to Allen, this was something that could be exploited.

Though he still bore the identity of a Konoha genin for now, he had long since made plans to defect.

Barring any surprises, that moment would come after the Chunin Exam ended, when the Third Hokage met his death.

As for whether he would join Akatsuki or Orochimaru’s Sound Ninja Village after defecting, that still required careful consideration.

Compared with Konoha, which loudly preached the Will of Fire while secretly fighting for power, purging dissenters, and crazily engaging in internal strife, Allen felt that organizations where strength reigned supreme suited him better.

At the very least, he would not have to sneak around like this no matter what he did.