Chapter 165: Expanding the Ninjutsu Library
In front of the main gate of Konoha, Masahiko greeted the two guarding ninjas and walked into the village.
Originally planning to peacefully teach his disciples in the Land of Whirlpools, he was drawn here by a letter from Hiruzen. Apparently, Konoha's Ninjutsu Library was undergoing its third replenishment.
The first time was when Konoha was founded; various clans gathered ninjutsu, excluding their secret techniques (Hiden), to form Konoha's Ninjutsu Library.
As for the second time, it was at the end of the First Great Ninja War, presided over by Tobirama. Besides adding a few newly developed ninjutsu, he collected most of the secret techniques and recorded them in the Scroll of Seals. At that time, Masahiko was in seclusion cultivating within the clan and did not attend.
"To think they are conducting a third replenishment. It seems they seized quite a few ninjutsu during the Second War."
Masahiko arrived alone. He didn't bring his two newly accepted disciples; Konan's basic ninja curriculum wasn't finished yet, as she had only been training for less than three months.
He didn't plan to visit the Senju clan grounds either and went straight to the Hokage Building. This time, he didn't sneak in.
"Elder Masahiko, you've come." Hiruzen welcomed him at the door.
Masahiko nodded and glanced inside the room. "Where are the others?" He was referring to the other three Elders.
"They have already gone to various clans to collect ninjutsu," Hiruzen responded.
"Various clans?" Masahiko frowned. Tobirama should have already collected the ninjutsu from the clans completely.
"That's right. This war resulted in a lot of seized spoils of war; these are their own trophies." Hiruzen's response stunned Masahiko.
"Back in Tobirama's time, war profits were distributed centrally. Since when was there this system..." Masahiko pondered for a moment and felt that Hiruzen probably did this intentionally—the more they worked, the more they got, which would make the clans put in more effort.
"Let them seize the benefits first, then take them back by 'collecting ninjutsu,' and distribute the rest themselves. Hiruzen has learned to use tricks too, or was it Danzo's idea?" Masahiko thought to himself but didn't ask; it didn't concern him much.
Walking into the room, Masahiko's gaze focused on a book on the Hokage's desk.
"Ninjutsu Encyclopedia?" Masahiko really didn't know when such a thing came into existence. He opened it to take a look. "It's just a ninjutsu catalog, but the number is really quite large."
The book only listed the names of various ninjutsu without specific training methods, yet it was still a thick book.
At the beginning of Konoha's establishment, when Hashirama collected ninjutsu from various clans, Masahiko didn't participate much because he himself had mastered over two hundred ninjutsu. Now, he had even more, and the Uzumaki clan's ninjutsu collection was also very rich.
"Fire Release: 202, Lightning Release: 94, Earth Release: 175, Wind Release... 207? Where did so many come from?" Masahiko frowned. He could understand Fire Release, as the Uchiha's collection was countless, but Masahiko found many unseen ninjutsu listed under Wind Release.
"What the hell? Spiralling Serial Spheres (Rasengan variants)..." Various "ball" ninjutsu made him feel inexplicably awkward.
Hiruzen smiled from the side and replied, "These are ninjutsu I developed based on your Rasengan."
"I thought it was Danzo," Masahiko muttered. Hiruzen was acting like Naruto in the original story—if one ball can't solve it, then use two. It made him feel a bit weird.
"Water Release: 42 types?" Masahiko was startled.
"Why are there so few Water Release jutsu? I remember Tobirama developed quite a few Water Release ninjutsu back then?"
Hiruzen smiled bitterly. "Most of Teacher Tobirama's Water Release jutsu were recorded in the Scroll of Seals. There aren't many ordinary ones."
Masahiko nodded, stopped dwelling on the numbers, and read through it again from beginning to end.
"About half are ninjutsu I haven't mastered. I really underestimated these clans." Masahiko had thought that over the past hundred-plus years, he had mastered most ninjutsu.
Masahiko looked at Hiruzen. "When I leave this time, aside from the secret techniques, it's fine if I copy a set of these ordinary ninjutsu, right?" Masahiko didn't ask for the secret techniques; he had no use for them, and they were difficult for others to cultivate.
Hiruzen nodded repeatedly. "No problem. However, I also hope you can help replenish it. For this expansion of the Ninjutsu Library, we hope to collect over a thousand types of ninjutsu in the end."
"Over a thousand?" Masahiko frowned. "Why so few? Didn't the original story say Kakashi copied over a thousand ninjutsu? That must have been an exaggeration."
Masahiko didn't respond and continued looking at the Ninjutsu Encyclopedia, while Hiruzen waited anxiously by the side.
After about half an hour, Masahiko let out a long breath. "Are there 720 types right now? You didn't write a total, making me count for a long time."
Hiruzen smiled bitterly; he had thought Masahiko wasn't going to agree just now.
"Short by... hmm, short by 280 types, right? I can probably only supplement a dozen or so Water Release jutsu, which were seized in the Land of Water previously."
Hiruzen hesitated. "The advanced Rasengan ninjutsu you developed, and the unique Lightning Release ninjutsu I saw your disciple Kento-kun use..."
Masahiko was startled and took a deep look at Hiruzen. No wonder he was in such a hurry to find him for a library replenishment; turns out he had his eyes on Masahiko's unique ninjutsu.
"I can give you Chidori; like the Rasengan, it is the foundation for subsequent advanced ninjutsu. But the other advanced ninjutsu are all S-class secret techniques (Hiden). You want to exchange these ordinary things for them?" Masahiko looked at Hiruzen with a faint smile.
Hiruzen gritted his teeth. " aside from the secret techniques of the various clans, you can also take a copy of the other ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals."
Masahiko waved his hand. "I've seen the entire Scroll of Seals. I basically know the cultivation methods for all the ninjutsu inside."
How could Masahiko not have seen the Scroll of Seals founded by Hashirama and supplemented by Tobirama? He had memorized all the Wood Release and forbidden jutsu developed by Tobirama. If it weren't for the Space Attribute never appearing in his status bar, he could even use the Flying Thunder God.
Hiruzen frowned, considering what else he could exchange.
"I have also developed quite a few new ninjutsu over the years, about a hundred or so. If you want them, you can take them all."
Masahiko was surprised. Developing a hundred ninjutsu was a bit exaggerated... Look at the ninjutsu catalog with only 720 types in total; this was the collection of wisdom from predecessors over countless years.
"No wonder Hiruzen is called the Professor of Ninjutsu." Masahiko became interested and began "trading" with Hiruzen.
Most of the ninjutsu Hiruzen developed weren't exactly original; they were slight modifications of predecessors' jutsu, fused together for use. However, they brought Masahiko quite a few new ideas.
"Although I can't use them, if Nagato-kun fails to master Dust Release, I can teach him these."
In the end, Masahiko gave away the Chidori series of ninjutsu. It wasn't that he was unwilling to part with the Rasenshuriken, but rather that aside from Tsunade and Jiraiya, who practiced Sage Mode, no one in Konoha could really cultivate that thing.
Finally, adding the ninjutsu collected by the three Elders, the number of ninjutsu barely reached a thousand. Konoha's third Ninjutsu Library expansion was complete.
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