Talking

"By strength alone?" A bitter smile appeared on Jiraiya’s face. "As far as I know, the reason the First Hokage was able to establish Konoha was not just his strength, but also his broad-mindedness and personal charisma…"

"Oh, give me a break!" Tsunade rolled her eyes and spoke with disdain. "If it hadn’t been for my second grandfather, with Grandfather’s personality, even if he had been the strongest expert of the Warring States era, he probably still wouldn’t have been able to establish Konoha!"

"Do you know why all the shinobi clans chose our great-grandfather to become the First Hokage? It wasn’t because of his broad-mindedness or charisma. It was simply because he was much easier to fool than Madara Uchiha! And far softer-hearted than Madara Uchiha!"

"If it hadn’t been for my second grandfather’s brilliant methods, coupled with the fact that the other countries had also established shinobi villages, posing too great a threat to individual shinobi clans, Konoha might have fallen apart the moment Grandfather died!"

An astonished, disbelieving expression appeared on Jiraiya’s face. Tsunade continued calmly, "Today’s Konoha has gone through several more decades of development. The interests of all the shinobi clans have become intertwined to the point where they can no longer be separated, which is why there is this so-called Will of Fire and this so-called sense of belonging among Konoha shinobi."

"But thirty or forty years ago… those shinobi clans had never stopped entertaining thoughts of leaving Konoha."

"How come I never knew any of this?" Jiraiya’s face twisted into a bitter smile.

Tsunade answered bluntly, "How old were you back then? If I hadn’t been born into the Senju Clan, I wouldn’t have known these secrets either."

"So all that talk about broad-mindedness and character is just nonsense! Konoha was established only because Grandfather and Madara Uchiha were invincible in the world at the time!"

Jiraiya took another gloomy swig of sake. "Are you really that sure that brat Yota’s strength can sweep through the entire shinobi world? The shinobi world as a whole is much stronger now than it was back then!"

Since the establishment of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, there had not been any invincible-level powerhouses like Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju. However, the development of ninjutsu had advanced by leaps and bounds, changing with each passing day.

Moreover, shinobi techniques were varied and bizarre, while shinobi themselves were not particularly physically durable—a classic case of high offense and low defense. Thus, even if Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were reborn, it would not be easy for them to sweep through the shinobi world.

For example, Impure World Reincarnation, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, the Four Symbols Sealing Technique, the Eight Gates… these forbidden techniques of Konoha could already threaten powerhouses of that level. Such things had never existed in the era of the shinobi clans.

"What if I told you that brat’s Dark Release can freely absorb Bloodline Limits and Chakra, even Tailed Beast Chakra, without any side effects?" Tsunade said faintly.

"What?!" Jiraiya was startled, his face full of disbelief. "How could there be such an outrageous Bloodline Limit?"

Jiraiya even wondered whether that brat might be one of the so-called Ōtsutsuki clan. But Yota had been born in Konoha, so he truly had no connection to the so-called Ōtsutsuki.

But if Yota could truly devour all Bloodline Limits and Chakra without limits or side effects, then becoming equal to—or even surpassing—the so-called Ōtsutsuki would not be difficult. Coupled with his astonishing ability to modify others, he could easily build up a group of powerful shinobi.

"The tide has already turned." Jiraiya sighed gloomily. "But when that time comes, what will Konoha do?"

"If you can’t beat them, join them." Tsunade spoke indifferently. "Honestly, this guy’s personality is already better than that of ninety-nine percent of shinobi, isn’t it?"

"I don’t really care." Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "I just don’t know what Master and the others think!"

After staying in the Hyuga clan compound for nearly half a month, Yota finally worked out the approximate location of a Moon Channel from a tangled mess of documents.

"I can only determine an approximate location? Fine, I’ll have Akatsuki’s subordinates search for it."

Apart from its core S-Rank Rogue Ninjas, Akatsuki also had some peripheral members. Many of those rogue ninjas had subordinates of their own. If they mobilized enough manpower, they would eventually find it.

Yota stretched lazily, and the Yota in the archives instantly vanished with a series of pops.

Meanwhile, Yota, who was giving Hinata Hyuga special training at the training ground, had his expression change slightly before returning to normal.

Hinata Hyuga’s talent was actually quite strong. In terms of the Byakugan alone, she was probably the strongest member of the entire Hyuga clan. The reason she had seemed unimpressive in the original story was largely because her personality had held her back.

Looking ahead and behind, hesitating at every turn—whether in training or battle, such traits were major taboos.

However, after suffering such miserable treatment in Kumogakure, Hinata Hyuga had undergone a tremendous change in personality and developed a strong desire for power.

Furthermore, the little girl greatly admired Yota, so he did not mind giving her some guidance. He had even given her a small amount of Hashirama Cells modification. If she had not been so young, Yota would not even have minded injecting her with some Sage Enzymes and teaching her Sage Mode.

Then she could give Naruto a good beating… Yota thought rather darkly, an unpleasant smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Seeing a scene so completely different from the original story always gave him a strange sense of pleasure.

Although Yota knew little about Gentle Fist, he was absolutely a master of taijutsu. At the very least, helping Hinata build a solid foundation was more than within his abilities.

His Observation Haki in particular allowed him to see through bones and muscles. Besides providing him with tremendous convenience in medicine and human-body modification, it was also extremely useful for taijutsu training.

During this period, with Yota’s help, Hinata Hyuga’s Gentle Fist had not improved particularly quickly, but her physical fitness, flexibility, and neural reflexes had all risen rapidly.

These were the foundations of taijutsu. Compared to the Pirate World, where strength alone was all that mattered and everything depended purely on physical power, taijutsu in the Naruto World relied on Chakra empowering the body to unleash formidable combat strength.

But likewise, the stronger one’s body was, the more Chakra it could naturally support. Therefore, for taijutsu experts in the Naruto World, increasing pure physical strength was also immensely beneficial to taijutsu.

"That’s enough training for today." Yota looked at the sweating, panting Hinata and gently patted her head.

"I’ve already taught you the basics of physical training, but you’re still too young. Your training intensity shouldn’t be too high right now."

"You’ll have to wait until you’re at least seven before you can begin further intensive training!"

Hinata Hyuga obediently nodded, then asked timidly, "Yota, Big Brother, are you leaving?"

Yota was somewhat surprised by Hinata Hyuga’s sensitivity. "That’s right, I’m leaving. But don’t worry, I’ll come visit you often in the future."

Hinata Hyuga looked somewhat dejected, but after hearing that Yota would visit her often, she smiled again.