Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Chapter 22: The Pyo Hand Seal

The Land of Rivers, at the Daimyō's Residence.

Yamanaka En let out a yawn. "I never thought this mission would be so boring. I wonder how much longer it'll last."

Beside him, Kinoshita Genichi was practicing his hand seals. Hearing his words, he said, "It should be over soon."

"The new daimyō of the Land of Rivers has already ascended."

"Besides, it's been a month. If we were still needed, the village would have sent another squad to relieve us by now."

En nodded and tilted his head, watching Genichi form the seals. "Genichi, are those seals really that magical?"

Genichi smiled faintly. "They are indeed different from the basic seals."

"But they're a bit difficult to master."

"Are you interested, En?"

En shook his head. "I think I'll pass. The seals for my Yamanaka clan's secret techniques are already simple enough."

Genichi nodded in understanding. It was true. For the clans with hereditary ninjutsu, their secret techniques had been passed down and developed over generations. The hand seals were often very simple, so there was no need to waste time learning the Kuji-kiri. After all, grasping the power of these seals was genuinely difficult.

Even now, Genichi could only use the "Zai" and "Zen" seals. He was currently focusing his research on the "Pyo" and "Kai" seals. He was beginning to grasp a thread of understanding for the "Pyo" seal, feeling it could help increase his speed. As for the "Kai" seal, he was trying to apply it to genjutsu and countering genjutsu, but so far, he had no leads.

Swish!

Uchiha Namiichi suddenly appeared. "You two are certainly taking it easy."

En smiled. "Isn't that because we have you and the captain?"

The four of them were actually split into two groups, taking turns protecting the new daimyō of the Land of Rivers. And for the entire month, the daimyō had remained within his palace, surrounded by samurai. As ninja, their role was to protect him from the shadows. Furthermore, the daimyō also had his own retained ninja for close-quarters protection. A full month had passed without any incidents.

Although the Land of Rivers was not a great nation, it was at least an ally of the Land of Fire. It had also originally had its own hidden village, the Village Hidden in the Rain. But in the second half of the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzō was beaten back and forced to retreat, abandoning the Land of Rivers. Thus, the missions for this country were transferred to Konoha. But the Land of Rivers itself still had some resources and power; otherwise, Konoha wouldn't have sent a team like Team White Fang.

Genichi stopped his training. "Namiichi, is the mission over?"

Namiichi nodded. "Yep. A new team has arrived to take over for us."

"Let's go!"

Genichi and En stood up, and the three of them vanished from the spot.

"Minato-niisan!" Genichi was very surprised. He hadn't expected the team relieving them to be Team Minato.

"Kushina-neesan!" Genichi then greeted Uzumaki Kushina, who was wearing a flak jacket. Yes, Kushina was not always confined within Konoha; she also went out on missions.

"Genichi, it looks like you've grown a little taller!" Kushina reached out and patted Genichi's head. "Hmm, and your hair seems to have grown a lot, too!"

Genichi scratched his head. "It's because of a ninjutsu I learned from Jiraiya-sensei. Long hair is more beneficial for it."

Kushina instantly understood.

By this time, Sakumo had finished the handover with Minato's team. The two sides didn't chat for long. Genichi waved goodbye and followed Sakumo's team as they left.

After leaving the daimyō's residence, Genichi glanced back, then asked, "Sakumo-sensei, the political situation in the Land of Rivers probably won't stay this stable forever, will it?"

Hearing this, Sakumo turned his head curiously. "Why do you say that?"

Genichi said, "The Land of Rivers is also rich in resources. After the defeat of the Rain and Sand villages, their interests here were forfeit to us, Konoha and the Land of Fire."

"But I don't think the Sand Village and the Land of Wind will be content with that, especially now when the political situation in the Land of Rivers is unstable."

For Konoha, the interests in the Land of Rivers came in the form of mission volume, which was a major source of income outside of the funds allocated by the Land of Fire's daimyō. For the Land of Fire, the interests were in the development of various mineral resources and so on. With a new daimyō taking power in the Land of Rivers, in Genichi's eyes, this was a perfect opportunity. But strangely, there hadn't been a single incident this whole time.

Was the deterrent power of Konoha's White Fang too great? Or did the other powers truly have no ambitions?

A trace of doubt lingered in Genichi's heart.

Sakumo was very surprised to hear this. He hadn't expected Genichi to be so politically astute and have such a firm grasp of the bigger picture.

"Genichi, your considerations are not wrong," Sakumo affirmed Genichi's thoughts, then said, "However, the other hidden villages have indeed been quiet recently."

"After all, the Great Ninja War only ended not too long ago. They suffered considerable losses during the war and are now all in the process of recovering their strength."

Genichi nodded. That was indeed a plausible reason.

En smiled. "Genichi, don't think so much. Isn't it better if there's no trouble?"

Hearing this, Genichi also laughed. "That's true."

"Compared to fighting and killing, I much prefer to train in peace."

Speaking of which, Namiichi couldn't help but complain, "Genichi, when you work so hard, you make En and me look extremely lazy."

Although it was a complaint, Namiichi still wore his usual cool and detached expression.

Genichi replied helplessly, "If I had your strength, of course I could afford to be a bit more leisurely."

"But that's obviously not possible. There's still so much I need to learn."

En feigned a sigh. "Alas, with you around, Genichi, I always feel so ashamed."

Genichi rolled his eyes and retorted, "I've never seen you do anything to change."

At this remark, everyone laughed together.

It was the morning of the third day when they returned to Konoha.

The team disbanded, and Genichi went home and immediately took a long, comfortable bath. It wasn't that he couldn't bathe during their month in the Land of Rivers, but it obviously wasn't as comfortable or convenient as being at home.

After changing into casual clothes, Genichi said hello to his parents and went out again, heading to Shizune's house.

"Shizune!" Genichi cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

Soon, a window upstairs opened, and Shizune poked her head out, her face full of pleasant surprise. "Genichi!"

"Wait for me!"

Before Genichi could say anything, swoosh, Shizune closed the window.

A moment later, Shizune appeared in front of Genichi and asked with a smile, "Did you just get back today?"

Genichi nodded. "Yeah, just got back."

"What have you been up to lately?"

Shizune clasd her hands behind her back and bounced on her feet. "Training under Lady Tsunade, observing at the Konoha Hospital, and training at home. It's so boring!"

Genichi said with a wide smile, "Then it seems you must have made a lot of progress during this time, right?"

Shizune said a little shyly, "I've mastered the Mystical Palm Technique."

In front of anyone else, this would be something to brag about. But since Genichi had mastered the Mystical Palm Technique long ago, Shizune was actually a bit embarrassed.

"That's already amazing," Genichi said. He knew his own situation. His mastery of the technique was all thanks to overdrafting the future, not because he truly possessed such great talent.

"Let's go. Let's head to the Konoha Hospital," Genichi said.

Receiving his praise, Shizune was very happy in her heart and quickly nodded. "Okay!"

For her, as long as she was with Genichi, it didn't matter where they went.

And for Genichi, going to the Konoha Hospital meant he could see the anatomical subjects for study.

(End of Chapter)