Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

With all four of them marked by the Star Seal, Shūichi breathed a quiet sigh of relief and advised, "Keep the seal in a low-activation state. This way, your chakra will continuously nourish all your cells, making it impossible for White Zetsu to infiltrate your bodies without detection."

He added, "But Shizune…"

Tsunade reassured, "Relax, it won't affect her development at all."

Well, if anyone could speak with authority on the matter, it would certainly be Tsunade.

Shūichi nodded and then chuckled, "So, does everyone have a training plan moving forward?"

Asuka replied with a smile, "I'll be focusing on the Soul-Sealing Seal and the Adamantine Sealing Chains."

Those alone would take her years, if not much longer. After all, she wasn't Shūichi Hoshita, with that 'tag tree hack' advantage of his!

Shūichi then looked toward Nonō Yakushi.

"I'll be working on the Creation Rebirth Technique. It's quite a challenge for me," Nonō replied.

With the Star Seal, she could now safely attempt the Creation Rebirth Technique.

When Shūichi turned to Shizune, she winced, "I'll be working on the Healing Regeneration, Lady Tsunade's monstrous strength, and Creation Rebirth."

Shūichi quickly volunteered, "I'll practice the strength training with you! I've already mastered it; it's not difficult."

Tsunade scoffed, "Don't use your standards to judge others. Your talent only comes along once a century."

"Thanks for the compliment," Shūichi replied with a smile. "And what about you, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade stretched. "I'll be continuing my research. The Creation Rebirth Technique still has its limits and those weaknesses you mentioned."

As he mulled it over, Shūichi observed, "Apart from Shizune's strength training, it seems like none of you have specific plans to develop combat skills."

Asuka tilted her head, "The Soul-Sealing Seal and Adamantine Chains kind of count, don't they?"

"And we're medical ninjas," Tsunade noted. "With Creation Rebirth and the Healing Regeneration, we can break the rules usually imposed on medical ninjas. Asuka and Nonō, you should also master strength training. After all, Shūichi can't protect you all the time."

Both Asuka and Nonō nodded in agreement. "Lady Tsunade is right."

Shūichi, considering this, added, "Enhanced strength is certainly effective, especially with the seal's boost. But even though we'd have power, the speed might still fall short. It's useful in regular combat, but it's not enough against something like Susano'o."

Tsunade frowned at this. "Ordinary jutsu has no power against Susano'o-level forces, regardless."

Shūichi nodded, then said with a grin, "That's why I plan to develop an S-rank taijutsu technique that works with the Star Seal!"

"One built on Yang Release nature transformation," he explained.

Shizune gasped, "Shūichi, isn't Might Duy's Eight Gates the only S-rank forbidden taijutsu in existence?"

Tsunade added, "That's true. There's nothing else of that caliber in the ninja world, as taijutsu isn't mainstream, and the requirements are even higher than for other S-rank techniques."

Might Duy's legendary moment was well known; he was now a special jonin of the village. If it weren't for his low mission count, he likely would have become a full jonin already. The Eight Gates technique had gained fame as a result, familiar to many Konoha shinobi.

Shūichi explained, "That's exactly why I want to develop a taijutsu based on Yang Release. This will complement the skills you're all best at."

It didn't matter if others could use it; as long as Shizune and the others could, that was enough.

And with this new technique, Shūichi could also unlock the Taijutsu Master tag, further enhancing his own physical prowess—a win-win situation!

While he hadn't had any ideas about taijutsu development before, now he did.

Curious, Shizune asked, "So, Shūichi, a taijutsu technique based on Yang Release—will it involve cellular activation?"

Shūichi raised his thumb. "Exactly!"

"Cellular activation can be approached in various ways. Right now, Creation Rebirth mainly enhances vitality, cellular regeneration, and secondarily, strength," he elaborated.

"Lightning Release activation boosts strength, speed across the board, and even nerve response time—especially speed."

"Then, if we base it on Yang Release, what direction should we take? Any ideas?"

The women all fell silent, thinking it over.

After a while, Tsunade proposed, "As medical ninjas, our strengths lie in not only Yang Release nature transformation but also our precise chakra control."

"Enhanced strength also relies on fine chakra control for explosive power."

"As a self-protection measure, we should retain the essence of our role as medics, not just aim for raw combat strength."

Nonō agreed, adding, "We're still medical ninjas. We need the ability to protect ourselves but not to be the first to jump into combat. Preserving our comrades' lives and battle strength is our primary duty."

Shūichi nodded thoughtfully, "It's challenging, but I like a challenge."

"Then it's settled! We'll develop an S-rank taijutsu technique tailored for medical ninjas, a forbidden jutsu to protect ourselves and our teammates in critical moments when they're too weak to fight."

Eagerly, Shizune asked, "Do you need us to help with anything?"

Shūichi smiled, "Not for now, but when I do, I'll call everyone together."

And with that, the decision was made.

It was still early, so Nonō Yakushi, Shizune, and Asuka went off to the Konoha Hospital, while Shūichi and Tsunade teleported directly to their lab base.

As they busied themselves, Shūichi brought up a new topic with Tsunade: "I'm planning to try Orochimaru's approach and perform a slight body modification on Hayate Gekkō, creating an additional respiratory system, like gill and skin-based breathing."

"This way, even if we can't completely cure his condition, at least it won't affect his combat capabilities."

Tsunade frowned a bit. "Body modification? Orochimaru is barely human anymore."

Shūichi laughed. "Don't worry, this is a minor adjustment, just an added respiratory system."

"The primary treatment will involve blending Hayate's cells with White Zetsu's cells."

Tsunade nodded. "As long as Hayate doesn't mind, go ahead."

"It seems you've picked up quite a bit from Orochimaru."

Shūichi immediately boasted, "Of course! You know me, Tsunade. I'm always keen to learn."

This made Tsunade recall something, and she chuckled dryly. "I heard Jiraiya asked you to illustrate his new book."

Shūichi's face stiffened as he cursed Jiraiya's big mouth internally, before quickly replying, "No way! I'd never agree to something so… trivial."

"You know how busy I am with all these shadow clones training in different areas."

Tsunade considered this and nodded, looking pleased. "That unreliable Jiraiya, you're better off keeping your distance."

Shūichi nodded fervently. "You're absolutely right, Tsunade! Jiraiya's… lecherous tendencies are a disgrace to the ninja community, to be honest."

Hearing him speak so seriously, Tsunade said, "It's not that severe; it's just that you're still very young."

Wait, so it's okay once I'm older? Shūichi thought to himself, giving a solemn nod. "Don't worry, Tsunade. I'll remain committed at least until adulthood."

Tsunade glanced at him, slightly puzzled, as though something sounded off.

Shūichi quickly changed the subject, "Tsunade, have you heard of the Slug Sage's state?"

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, curious.

"I mean, the Slug Sage doesn't seem to be constantly in Sage Mode, right?"

"Oh, that," Tsunade replied. "Yes, you're right."

"Strictly speaking, it's not Sage Mode. The Slug Sage's body has absorbed natural energy for so long that it's practically transformed, so they don't need to control it consciously anymore."

"For the Slug Sage, it's as natural as breathing, a complete instinct."

Shūichi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"If that's the case, couldn't you also attain this 'sage state' by maintaining a constant flow of sage chakra to nourish your cells?"

Tsunade nodded. "Theoretically, yes, but it would take an extremely long time. My chakra isn't close to the Slug Sage's, even with the Yin Seal."

Shūichi pondered. "But if you used three Yin Seals at once, your chakra would reach tailed-beast levels. I guess the Slug Sage is far more powerful than I realized."

"Absolutely," Tsunade agreed.

"If you visited Shikkotsu Forest, you'd see that all the slugs there are part of the Slug Sage itself. Even if I unsealed all my Yin Seals, I could only summon a fifth of the Slug Sage's main body."

"Even the Slug Sage reportedly took a thousand years of training to reach its current power."

"Though the Yin Seal holds a lot of chakra, it's nowhere near enough for that level of transformation. Our lifespans aren't long enough."

Deep in thought, Shūichi murmured, "Is that so?"

"Seems I'll need another method to become a true sage faster."

Tsunade paused her work to caution him seriously, "You're still young and have plenty of time. There's no need to rush."

"Besides, becoming a sage is extremely dangerous. You've seen how easy it is to lose control and be consumed by natural energy, merging with nature itself."

Shūichi responded without hesitation, "Of course, I'm not in a hurry. But Tsunade, you're already over thirty, and Nonō is also nearly thirty."

"While the Regeneration Technique helps maintain cellular activity and delays aging, it's limited if chakra reserves are exhausted."

"Tsunade, surely you don't want to suddenly look like an old lady thirty years from now, right?"

Tsunade's face instantly darkened as she gripped a scalpel, her voice cold. "Are you implying I'm old?"

Shūichi looked up, startled.

Oh no, wrong move…

In a flash of inspiration, Shūichi seriously declared, "Tsunade, you're way too self-conscious!"

"Your beauty is captivating even to a young boy like me!"

Tsunade scoffed and resumed her work, mumbling, "What does a kid like you know about a woman's charm?"

Seeing her focused on the supplies at hand, Shūichi decided it was better to avoid further trouble and satisfy his wit some other time.

Next Morning: Training Review

After the morning training session, Shūichi recalled all his shadow clones to check the progress across various training tasks.

"Hm?"

He frowned, "It seems Earth Release alone can't achieve diamond-hardness."

"A crystal structure… Crystal Release?"

"Does it require a combination of Earth and Fire Release?"

"Looks like I'll need to find a new approach for developing an S-rank Earth Release jutsu. Still, this research was useful—if I can master Crystal Release, that would be impressive too."

"But as for an S-rank Earth Release jutsu, what direction should I take?"

Lost in thought, Shūichi pondered deeply.

(End of Chapter)

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