Naruto: Can't Use Ninjutsu? I'll Create the Strongest Fighting Style-Chapter 31 - 29: Tenten Thinks I’m Hiding Secrets. She’s Right, But That’s Not the Point

Chapter 31 - 29: Tenten Thinks I’m Hiding Secrets. She’s Right, But That’s Not the Point

'I was wrong.'

'I knew the kid had creativity, but I never realized his chakra control was this insane.'

'Even when he messes up his hand signs, there's no backlash. And he just keeps experimenting like it's no big deal.'

'If I'd known he was that good, I would've activated my Sharingan from the start.'

Kakashi exhaled slowly and pushed those thoughts aside. There was no point in dwelling.

Garou operated on some strange wavelength that was hard to read, harder to predict.

"Functionally speaking," Kakashi said, leaning against a tree, "barrier techniques are more compatible with ninja tools."

"Only if the tools are chakra-infused," Garou replied without missing a beat, eyes still focused on the faint shimmer of chakra flickering across his palm. "Otherwise, it's just for show. For me, it's more efficient to fuse the barrier into the jutsu directly. A weapon swing is faster for regular shinobi anyway."

He wasn't wrong.

Chakra-infused weapons weren't common.

Kakashi mulled it over and found no real counter.

He himself had wielded his father's blade.

If those kinds of weapons were easy to come by, he would've had one reforged already.

"Yeah... fusion does sound tricky," Garou muttered, brow furrowed in mild irritation.

The chakra scalpel jutsu was easy, barely needed any hand signs. But barrier techniques? Not so much. The sequence was complex, long, and worst of all, clunky.

To merge the two might require a completely new hand signs.

And even if he figured it out, the execution time would be ridiculously long.

A technique that took twenty or thirty seals to activate? You'd be dead before it went off. Unless your opponent was courteous enough to stand still for half a minute.

Yeah. This combo needed serious optimization.

Garou sighed and picked his book back up, brushing dust from the weathered cover.

For now, the chakra-absorbing barrier would stay a theoretical project.

A prototype.

Ninjutsu development wasn't a straight road, it was jagged and full of detours.

But he wasn't in a rush.

A technique like this wouldn't matter unless he ran into A-rank threats or worse.

Still... sealing techniques and barriers often shared core mechanics.

He flipped a page, finger scanning the ink.

He glanced up as he noticed Kakashi on the ground, reclined and relaxed, and Kasumi perched in a tree, blending into the foliage like a ghost.

He spoke without lifting his gaze.

"Kakashi-sensei, can I ask something?"

"Hm?" Kakashi replied, not looking up from his familiar little orange book.

Tenten was nearby, sitting cross-legged and sharpening throwing needles, one brow already raised in suspicion.

"I remember back when we first met," Garou began slowly. "You were reading a book, same posture as now. But the second you noticed me watching, you snapped it shut like you'd been caught stealing."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly. Something about Garou's tone set off a mental alarm.

Garou continued. "But now look at you. Reading openly, two girls beside you, not even flinching. That's a big change. So tell me, Sensei, how'd you develop that kind of confidence?"

Tenten's head turned like a hawk locking onto prey. "Wait... what book are you reading, Sensei?"

She leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the cover.

Without skipping a beat, Kakashi said, "You've heard of Jiraiya, right?"

"Of course!" she nodded quickly. "One of the Legendary Sannin."

"This is the work of Jiraiya"

"What!? Can I take a look?"

Kakashi closed the book with a snap.

The signal was clear: subject change. Immediately.

Garou offered no rescue. He just smiled faintly and kept his focus on his book.

"Break's over," Kakashi said, slipping the novel away with ease. "Let's get moving. The sooner we meet Lord Sakuraba, the better."

"Uh-huh. Sure," Tenten muttered dryly.

Garou fought a smile.

He wasn't trying to out Kakashi. But the man had changed. Back then, he'd been almost bashful about reading the book in public.

Now? He didn't even flinch. Had he simply stopped caring?

Kasumi, still perched in the tree, hadn't spoken. But her angle gave her a perfect view.

Even with just three teammates, two of them were teenage kunoichi. Sooner or later, they'd figure out what Make-Out Paradise really was.

At that point, Kakashi's image would... shift.

Later that day, as they approached the outskirts of the capital and Kakashi moved ahead to greet their noble client, Lord Sakuraba Sadaki, Tenten slid up next to Garou, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Do you know what book Sensei's reading?" frёewebηovel.cѳm

Garou blinked. "Huh?"

"What's Make-Out Paradise," she whispered.

Garou raised an eyebrow.

Kasumi didn't speak, but her ears turned an unmistakable shade of pink.

Tenten studied Garou carefully. "You know what it is, don't you?"

"I've heard of it," Garou said vaguely, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Master Jiraiya's name is on it, right? Must be... enlightening."

"Suspicious," Tenten said, narrowing her eyes.

She knew Garou didn't talk just to fill silence. That earlier question had a purpose. He was testing Kakashi's reaction.

There was no doubt in her mind.

He knew exactly what the book was. But he wasn't going to rat Sensei out.

She sighed. Pushing harder might backfire.

So she pivoted.

"Hey, Garou... do you think I should start studying more ninjutsu?"

Garou tilted his head, genuine curiosity in his gaze. "That's kind of random. I thought you were leaning into weaponry and taijutsu."

Tenten exhaled. "Yeah, but our team's a little unbalanced. We don't really have a dedicated ninjutsu type. It's all technique and tools. We're missing... versatility."

Garou nodded slowly. She wasn't wrong.

And she wasn't thinking about herself. She was thinking about team dynamics, about battlefield coverage.

'Same old Tenten.' he thought for a second, then answered.

"Ninja tools are effective, but there are limits," he said. "And you only have so much time. If you add ninjutsu, you'll need to sacrifice something else."

"I know," she replied.

"But if I could handle nature transformation, something like Earth Release, we could run coordinated strikes. Like the barrier you were working on earlier."

She had clearly been thinking about this for a while. Her logic was solid.

Garou nodded. "You're not wrong. Having elemental jutsu in our lineup expands our options, especially for terrain control or crowd suppression."

Then he added, "But if you're only doing it to support me, it's unnecessary. I've got plenty of techniques."

He reached into his pouch and pulled out eight narrow slips of papers.

Tenten and Kasumi leaned in instinctively.

Kasumi's eyes scanned them silently. Tenten, however, recognized them instantly.

"Sealing tags?" she gasped.

"Exactly," Garou said. "Sealing and barrier techniques are undervalued. Most shinobi ignore them. But there's so much potential,"

He held one up, letting the sunlight filter through the edge.

"Maybe I can't use genjutsu. Maybe I'm not a nature transformation prodigy like some. But that just means my path isn't on their map." he smiled faintly.

The wind rustled the leaves above them.

Kasumi looked at him for a long moment. Tenten said nothing.

But deep down, both knew one thing.

Garou wasn't just creating techniques. He was creating an entire path.

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