Kyōichi, Konoha’s Life Mentor

Upon returning to Konoha, Kyōichi thought for a moment and decided to use the key to go to Tsunade's house.

Tsunade's house was easy to recognize.

It was the First Hokage's former house, not large in scale but in a good location. It looked ancient and full of history, being one of the few Senju properties remaining today.

Kyōichi arrived at the door.

As he took out the key and opened the door to enter, suddenly...

"Who are you? Why do you have a key to this place!"

"Huh?"

Kyōichi turned around and saw a white-haired man wearing a headband with the character for "oil", immediately recognizing who he was.

One of the Three Legendary Sannin.

Jiraiya!

What a coincidence.

After paying his respects, Kyōichi said, "Lord Jiraiya, my name is Kanda Kyōichi, and this key... was given to me by lady Tsunade, of course."

"Tsunade gave it to you?"

Jiraiya was stunned.

Although he had come here first thing after returning, he knew Tsunade hadn't returned to the village. If she hadn't returned, where did this young man get the key from?

"Yes, I met her while on a mission in Shiragumo Town."

Kyōichi nodded.

"Shiragumo Town..."

Jiraiya sighed. He had returned directly to the village from Suna without passing through there, missing his chance to meet Tsunade.

Well, it wouldn't have mattered even if they had met.

However.

Who was this kid...

Kanda Kyōichi?

He couldn't recall anyone by that name among Tsunade's acquaintances.

"Simply put, I'm considered Lady Tsunade's cousin."

Just a bit distant, though.

Kyōichi thought to himself.

"Cou... cousin? Oh, I see, hahaha, well, we'll chat another time, I have something to attend to."

Jiraiya suddenly stammered.

After an awkward laugh, he abruptly changed the subject and quickly left.

Damn.

He had thought this kid was some thief.

Turns out he was Tsunade's cousin.

Almost made a fool of himself.

Thinking about this, Jiraiya secretly felt relieved. Good thing Tsunade wasn't back, otherwise seeing him lurking outside her house right after returning would probably have gotten him beaten to death.

As for the authenticity of the "cousin" claim...

Jiraiya didn't doubt it.

Kyōichi wore a Leaf headband, and in Konoha, no one would dare falsely claim such relationships. Besides, the Senju clan had intermarried with many families, and their bloodline was now spread throughout the village.

Having a cousin or two wasn't unusual.

...

"Strange that Jiraiya's not at the hot springs but came here instead."

Kyōichi didn't know what to make of it.

Oh well.

He'd go in and see what Tsunade's intention was in giving him the key.

He went inside and closed the door.

The courtyard was quite large.

However.

Compared to Hashirama Senju's status, the house he left behind was considered small, roughly the same scale as a minor clan head's residence. Looking at just the courtyard, one would never guess this was once the First Hokage's home.

The First and Second truly practiced what they preached.

Kyōichi felt deep respect.

The door was covered in dust, as no one had been here for many years. He went inside and looked around, finding many things covered with cloth to prevent dust accumulation.

The rooms were spacious.

The layout was very distinct, and after walking around once, he basically knew what each area was for.

The most important place was naturally the study.

The study had its own key, which Tsunade had also given to Kyōichi.

There were many books inside.

Some were collected works, but more were the Second's various notes, quite disorganized, containing random thoughts he had jotted down.

Besides these, one bookshelf contained Tsunade's medical notes.

There were many medical books.

For many medical ninja, these would be worth more than priceless treasures.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Kyōichi noticed a cloth-wrapped cylinder at the top of the First Hokage's bookshelf. Taking it down and unwrapping it, he was stunned by what he found.

A scroll.

Specifically, the summoning contract scroll for Shikkotsu Forest.

Damn!

Tsunade was too careless, leaving such a scroll lying around!

Wasn't she afraid someone would take it?

He was stunned for a long while, then thought it through carefully and realized there really was no need to worry.

Shikkotsu Forest was one of the Three Great Sage Regions.

Unlike Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest had no small slugs. The entire forest only had Lady Katsuyu, and what Tsunade and Sakura Haruno summoned were actually just parts of Lady Katsuyu.

The consequences for anyone who stole the scroll without permission...

Were unimaginable.

Tsunade gave him the key and led him to the study - did she want him to find this?

He hesitated.

This wasn't something to be taken lightly.

As Kyōichi was hesitating, the symbols in the scroll suddenly lit up, and after a moment, a small slug emerged and crawled onto his hand, conveying a message.

"If you've seen this, you must have found the scroll. I'm having Lady Katsuyu relay this message - this is the Senju clan's contract scroll for Shikkotsu Forest. If you're interested, you can sign it. If not, that's fine too."

Tsunade's voice was casual.

As if this wasn't a summoning contract, but just some unimportant thing.

As for Katsuyu appearing here...

With the contract scroll's symbols, it wasn't difficult for her to appear.

Kyōichi thought for a moment.

In the entire ninja world, there were few summoning animals that could match Katsuyu.

With the opportunity right before him...

He'd sign it!

Without further hesitation, he bit his finger and began signing.

In just a moment.

Kyōichi felt a connection form between himself and Katsuyu.

"I am Katsuyu."

She said gently.

"Greetings, Lady Katsuyu."

Though she was gentle and small in size, Kyōichi maintained his respect, because he knew her true form was probably larger than all of Konoha.

This was a sage who had lived since ancient times.

"No need for formality. You possess the bloodline of the Senju clan. When you become stronger, you can visit Shikkotsu Forest... if you need to, you can use the summoning technique to call me."

"Yes!"

Kyōichi bowed his head.

The next moment, Katsuyu's division disappeared.

He pondered for several seconds.

The meaning in Katsuyu's words...

Could it be.

When his constitution became stronger, he'd have the chance to learn Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode?

If so, that would be incredible!

Kyōichi returned the scroll to its original place, then turned his attention to the other books - mainly the Second's books and notes.

Before he knew it.

The light had grown dim, and looking outside, it was already dusk.

"There are too many books to read through. Tomorrow I'll send a shadow clone specifically to read them."

Kyōichi thought.

However.

The gains were substantial.

After reading several notebooks about genjutsu, combined with the knowledge of light-based genjutsu from the Dark Path Technique rewarded by the system, Kyōichi now knew how to merge genjutsu with laijutsu.

Sword Light!

Using chakra to amplify the sword's flash when drawing it, causing temporary blindness in opponents, allowing him to strike in that instant.

He had the concept.

As for Leaf-Style Willow...

It was a movement-guided genjutsu, which could also be guided by sword movements, but that was another approach.

He could develop both simultaneously.

Now that he had the theory, neither would be complicated to experiment with.

In fact.

Kyōichi had already grasped the basics, lacking only practical experience, which would require a training partner.