CH_140

Tōji stuffed the scroll into a bamboo tube he usually used for carrying fresh water and casually tucked it at his waist.

He glanced down… yeah, nothing unusual.

Instead of acting all secretive, Tōji took the bamboo tube off and tossed it onto the wooden table nearby, treating it just like he always did.

He went about his routine—making lunch, taking his afternoon nap. The only difference was that he now had a little watchdog.

Since it was Sweet Potato's first day and Tōji was worried he might run off before getting used to the place, he tied a thin hemp rope around him as a makeshift leash and fastened it next to the chicken coop.

Nice—this could also double as a guard against chicken thieves and vegetable thieves!

After settling Sweet Potato, Tōji grabbed the bamboo tube and the extra lunch he'd packed, and rowed out to sea.

Since the main purpose tonight was to deliver the scroll to his contact, Tōji didn't bother much with fishing. He headed to the designated reef early.

Instead of following the instructions directly—to wait on the largest rock near the reef with the beached boat—Tōji tied his own boat to the designated spot and found a better hiding place on a different rock.

After all, waiting was just waiting. Since he had nothing else to do after finishing his lunch, and couldn't exactly train his ninjutsu, he was getting bored…

He scooped up a small lump of mud, infused it with a trace amount of chakra, and began shaping it into various forms in his palm.

Though the mud wasn't formed from chakra itself, Tōji could still control it effortlessly.

Ever since his "Mizuame" experiments hadn't gone well, Tōji had shifted his approach. He'd tried all sorts of other fluids as substitutes, with little success—but smooth, fine mud actually worked quite well.

Maybe it had something to do with his nature—his dual Water and Earth affinities.

Whenever Tōji had free time, he'd either play with mud or refine his "Chakra Suppression Seal."

Playing with mud was for developing his own original jutsu; studying and improving the seal that suppressed his chakra signature was a matter of survival.

Because Tōji had a background in "programming" in his past life, his logical thinking was quite different from the natives of the shinobi world. Now that he'd learned a few low-level sealing techniques, he'd started forming his own ideas.

He didn't just want to seal most of his chakra—he wanted to reduce his own presence as well. That had some overlap with basic stealth techniques. But what Tōji really wanted was for people to still see him—just not pay him any special attention.

…Much like Aburame Shino's natural "trait."

It was purely for professional reasons that Tōji wanted to research this technique. Nothing else.

Right now, his "Chakra Suppression Seal" was still in its early stages, but he'd already gotten quite creative with mud.

The next step would be to try mixing his two chakra natures to generate mud directly from his own chakra—and the final step would be to turn it into a proper jutsu.

But Tōji wasn't rushing or improvising. He just made a little progress each day when he had time, stopping before it got out of hand.

He felt this "Mud Release" technique suited him perfectly. If he kept at it—year after year, day after day—he'd eventually master it, just like Kamizuki Izumo had.

After playing with mud for two hours, it was already past midnight, and still no one had shown up. Tōji set the mud aside and focused on waiting.

The best window for a handoff was before two in the morning—otherwise, it'd be inconvenient for the other party.

"!" A faint sound.

Was the contact here?

"Inoshishi, is that you? I'd like a salted fish."

"…" Yep. That was the stupid code phrase.

"Is it Raccoon asking for the salted fish?" Tōji thought this was so stupid.

"Yeah—come out!" The other person sounded a bit more normal now.

Hearing that, Tōji got ready to use the Substitution Technique…

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Hey guys—once we get to Chapter 150, I'm bringing back my . I'll drop 30 chapters in one go for members, at the bare minimum price—like $3. Surely someone will back me up this time, yeah?