Tsunade: "Tōshirō, do you know?"
"What?" Tōshirō blinked slightly.
Tsunade brought her thumb and index finger close together, giving him a sarcastic smile: "Every time I start to change my opinion of you, you immediately make me rethink it."
Tōshirō arrogantly brushed a lock of his black hair off his forehead: "That's great. Imagine if you ever fell for me; I'd be in trouble, being this perfect."
"Heh, only uncivilized apes would fall for you."
Jiraiya, pretending to be fawning, chimed in: "Hey, if you're not interested in Tōshirō, I'd be happy to love you."
Tsunade, irritated: "Get out of my sight."
As the topic shifted, Orochimaru became intrigued and asked Tōshirō: "Tōshirō-kun, what kind of girls do you like?"
Tōshirō responded seriously: "I have a problem recognizing faces, so the most important thing is…"
Tsunade, knowing him well, interrupted: "Big breasts, right?"
Tōshirō looked at her in surprise: "How did you know?"
Tsunade scoffed: "Shallow."
"It's fine to be misunderstood, as long as the children don't suffer."
Despite his shallowness, Tōshirō, who considers himself a good father, said: "Obviously, women with no chest at all don't catch my interest."
"You soulless jerk! This size is natural!"
Tsunade was furious and readied a punch that could break trees, preparing to strike Tōshirō.
Instead of fleeing, Tōshirō began forming hand signs, as if preparing to fight Tsunade.
Tsunade was taken aback, not expecting Tōshirō to have the guts to face her.
Then, she realized something unusual…
Those hand signs were for the Hidden Mist Technique!
In an instant, the area was shrouded in mist, making visibility nearly impossible.
Tsunade, unable to catch him, was seething with rage, wanting to skin Tōshirō alive.
"I'll erase you from existence if I catch you!"
Listening to her yells from behind, Tōshirō gleefully declared his love for the moment.
Itachi, the man who taught him this technique, was truly a genius.
....
A week later.
In the Uchiha clan's training ground.
Tōshirō lay exhausted on the ground, having been completely defeated by Uchiha Kira.
"Is that all you've got?" Uchiha Kira mocked, looking down at Tōshirō.
"Stop trying to provoke me; it won't work."
Tōshirō lay there like a dead fish, not moving at all.
Initially, he thought he could keep up with Uchiha Kira and boast about his strength, but he ultimately realized he had overestimated himself.
At first, things were going fine, but he gradually began to lose his energy, proving that humans have limits.
Uchiha Kira, noticing that Tōshirō had reached his limits, didn't bother responding further.
Taking a deep breath, Tōshirō struggled to stand up, knowing that after intense exercise, staying on the ground too long could lead to oxygen deprivation, causing dizziness or fainting.
Tōshirō's knees were trembling, as his energy had been completely drained.
At that moment, the elderly Itachi appeared, leaning on his cane, and handed Tōshirō a bottle of water.
Tōshirō gratefully accepted the bottle, drinking the water eagerly, as if it were a refreshing drink after a long workout, feeling extremely relieved.
In a soft, humble voice, Tōshirō asked: "Itachi-sensei, can I take a rest tomorrow?"
Itachi replied slowly: "You may."
Rushing leads to failure, and continuous training would eventually turn you into nothing more than a training dummy.
Tōshirō sighed in relief, thinking that Itachi-sensei was indeed a good person.
During the break, Tōshirō remembered Orochimaru's earlier question and decided to ask Itachi about combining wind and lightning techniques.
"Why are you asking about this?"
"I have a friend who has wind and lightning chakra, and he seems really interested in developing a kekkei genkai, so I wanted to help him out. If we work together on the research, it'll be faster than doing it solo."
"Speed Release," Elder Itachi narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly: "What I know is Typhoon Release and Speed Release."
Tōshirō thought for a moment: "So, it's Speed Release and Typhoon Release... Wait, isn't it supposed to create just one kekkei genkai when combining two chakra natures?"
Itachi gave him a questioning look: "Who told you that?"
Tōshirō hesitated: "Didn't you say that…?"
Itachi smiled: "You're mistaken. I said that combining two chakra natures creates a new elemental technique, but I never said it would only create one."
He elaborated: "When you combine two chakra natures, different kekkei genkai can emerge depending on the individual's condition. For example, Typhoon Release can be seen as an enhanced version of Wind Release. As for Speed Release, it's developed by combining the speed advantages of Wind and Lightning Releases into a unique kekkei genkai."
Tōshirō's eyes widened in astonishment.
Itachi continued: "If you still don't understand, I'll give you another example. For instance, combining Earth Release and Fire Release can not only create Lava Release but also Steel Release, or even Explosion Release, as different kekkei genkai."
(Note 1: Don't use this principle to explain everything; some kekkei genkai can't be explained this way.) (Note 2: Referring to Gaara's secret battle, his opponents were two brothers who used Lava and Steel Releases, so I boldly speculated this to patch up the logic in Kishimoto's story.)
Tōshirō swallowed and asked: "So, does this mean that combining Earth Release and Water Release doesn't necessarily result in Wood Release?"
Hearing the mention of Wood Release, Itachi's interest was piqued: "Wood Release? I don't recall giving you an example of that. Where did you hear it?"
"Uh… I guessed it."
"Guessed?"
"Yeah, I noticed that the fusion of chakra natures seems to follow a pattern. Wood Release naturally comes to mind when you think of pouring water into the earth to grow plants."
Itachi smiled and praised him: "You're quite smart."
Tōshirō understood: "Now I get why no one has been able to develop Wood Release all these years. It's much more complicated than it seems."
Because Hashirama was the reincarnation of Asura and possessed Asura's chakra and the Sage of Six Paths' physical energy, he was the only one who could develop the greatest Wood Release linked to the Divine Tree.
But wait, does this mean that Tsunade, without Asura's chakra, can never develop Wood Release?
In that case, merging Earth Release and Water Release might result in… Mud Release?!?
Water plus Earth equals mud. That makes sense.
Thinking about this, Tōshirō hesitantly asked: "Um, could combining Earth Release and Water Release result in a technique called Mud Release?"
Itachi nodded affirmatively.
Tōshirō: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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