57. A Joke on Chō-sen

Naruto had never been here before, so he began to explore without hesitation. The Training Monks didn't have any restrictions on entering this place, but they rarely came here due to lack of time.

The Inner Part of the Temple didn't differ that much from the Outer Part. It was of similar size and had many courtyards belonging to the Elder Monks. There were several training grounds, a cafeteria, the park he was walking through, and a few interesting spots.

In addition to the Outer and Inner Parts of the Temple, there was also the Main Part of the Temple, which only Elder Monks and a few servants or selected individuals could enter during certain events or rituals. Much of that place was sealed, and Naruto couldn't perceive what was inside with his sensory ability.

At one point during his exploration, Naruto saw a person lying on the ground. A corpse? He thought, slightly amused, when he sensed no Life Energy from him, only the smell of alcohol, noticeable from a mile away with a good nose.

Naruto approached him slowly and examined him. He was wearing servant's robes and looked quite old. Servants were usually young and full of teenage energy; Naruto had never seen a servant over thirty. This guy was easily seventy, and his entire face was covered in wrinkles, to put it bluntly, he was quite ugly.

Surprisingly, on such a cold night, and despite his pale complexion, his body temperature was normal. Was he really dead? Naruto began to doubt it and, after a moment of contemplation, decided to try to wake him up with a special technique.

Naruto kicked him in the groin...

However, the old man was unfazed, and Naruto froze for a moment. This guy... he's a eunuch. He lacks masculinity.

Was this guy once a promising seedling, but external forces destroyed him...? Even with the motivation of healing jewels, he couldn't become strong enough. What a pity...

Naruto wasn't sure if he was really dead. He wasn't breathing, had no Life Energy, but his body was warm on a cold night. Maybe the alcohol inside him was warming his body? Probably not, if he had just died, Life Energy wouldn't have dissipated fully yet; some remnants would surely remain, and alcohol wouldn't keep his body warm for long.

It was too suspicious, especially in a place like the Fire Temple, where there were plenty of various Control Technique techniques.

But he was just some old guy, alive or not, aside from curiosity, Naruto had nothing for him. After a moment of observation, Naruto decided to leave and return to his quarters.

...

Every interaction with Chō-sen was becoming increasingly amusing in Naruto's mind. First, she came to him jealous of being her grandfather's disciple, threatened him, then tried to humiliate him several times, and even challenged him to a duel, which she completely lost. Despite all of this, Naruto somewhat admired her determination to prove herself better than him.

This time she came up with a great idea, and if it weren't for Naruto, surely any other person would have been embarrassed. Chō-sen stopped bothering him for a while, and suddenly, out of nowhere, she struck. Unnoticed or with the help of the servants who prepared meals in the kitchen, she added a laxative to Naruto's broth. No one should notice that something was wrong because the broth tasted like medicine itself, and the herbs used in it varied daily, so the taste differed slightly each day.

More intensely than usual, Chō-sen watched as Naruto ate his meal. She didn't even hide her gaze from him too much and had a wide smile on her face as Naruto swallowed spoonfuls of soup one after the other.

When Naruto finished, he suddenly returned her gaze, something that had never happened before; he always ignored her, which made Chō-sen feel disoriented. Naruto slightly opened his mouth and said something inaudible.

"It was delicious."

Chō-sen blinked disoriented, reading his lip movements.

Naruto approached the counter, where one of the servants, who had been watching him throughout the meal, stood. It was probably he who helped Chō-sen in her plan to humiliate him.

"I'd like another serving, and add a bit more of that extra ingredient; it definitely improves the taste of the broth," Naruto said, sending him a subtle smile full of mystery. Behind it hid great malice, but the servant couldn't catch it.

"Oh... yes, as you wish..." the servant replied, disoriented, and involuntarily glanced at Chō-sen, who was listening to Naruto's words from her place.

However, the servant wasn't as dumb as Naruto thought because the second serving he received was normal, without any unexpected additions.

Initially, Naruto planned to return to his table, but he changed his mind and headed towards Chō-sen, who froze when she saw him approaching.

"What do you want...?" Chō-sen growled as Naruto sat next to her.

"Do I need something to meet with my lovely, younger sister?" Naruto raised his eyebrows significantly, sending a shiver of disgust down Chō-sen's spine.

"Don't call me that, pervert...! Besides, I'm older than you!"

"Is that so? I hadn't noticed," Naruto shrugged indifferently, staring shamelessly at her.

"Do you want to retaliate for that? Just do it already," Chō-sen urged him, prepared for his malice.

"What do you mean? I just wanted to sit here, so I did."

"Do one weird move, and I'll scream."

The scream of a frightened girl calling for help because of an attacking pervert could scare off any normal person. Such accusations would overwhelm most guys and discourage further conversation.

"Oh, I have no problem with that; I like girls moaning loudly," Naruto grabbed her suddenly by the side of her body, near her chest, causing her to gasp in surprise. The dining hall was quiet, and her scream immediately caught the attention of all the Training Monks, so both of them were under the curious gaze of everyone in the room.

"You... I knew it, pervert!!" Chō-sen screamed, as she had promised earlier. Her entire face was red, and she couldn't look anyone in the eye because of the embarrassment of the voice she had used earlier.

"Pervert?!" — Naruto also raised his voice so that everyone could hear him well.

"But it was you who grabbed my dick, you lustful bitch...! Don't try to slander me!" — Naruto yelled indignantly, hitting the table with his hands.

The viewers of this scene didn't know what to say. Some laughed, not taking the situation seriously, while others looked at them as if they were watching a quarreling couple.

Naruto clearly angry, walked away from the table, leaving her alone with the whole situation. Chō-sen couldn't say anything in shock, she just opened her mouth wide, watching Naruto's back leaving the dining room.

Chō-sen only didn't notice how Naruto cunningly added the same laxative to her broth that she had given him earlier. Eating his portion, Naruto extracted the substance from his body and gave it to Chō-sen now.

Due to all this commotion, Chō-sen didn't notice the slightly changed taste of the broth. She quickly finished eating and immediately disappeared from everyone's sight.

The first effects of Naruto's little surprise were noticed after about twenty minutes...

...

One day, Shoka-sen turned to Naruto, "The Head of the Fire Temple will conduct an important ritual with several Elder Monks, so we will go there together to observe."

"Me too?" — Naruto was surprised.

"Yes, I have permission to take an apprentice with me," the old man explained.

"Oh, I see. Will it be something interesting?" — Naruto asked. He wouldn't refuse to enter the Main Part of the Temple, even if it were boring, but at least he wanted to know what to expect.

"It's a tea ceremony."

"...Is it that important?"

"It will be a good lesson for you."

"I know how to brew tea, I've had a few lessons."

His Ka-chan took him to some teacher and showed him the art of brewing tea when he was six years old. Well, the tea was tasty, but the whole tea brewing ritual was a bit too long and annoying, although it usually calmed people down. Personally, Naruto prefers to spend time in silence or walking at night to calm down and relax.

"You will receive a lesson from me, not a tea brewing lesson," Shoka-sen explained.

"That's better..." — Naruto sighed.

"We'll go there tomorrow after your breakfast, be prepared."

More than the tea ceremony itself, Naruto was interested in the lesson that Shoka-sen would give him tomorrow. Would it be philosophical, or maybe more practical this time?

The next day...

Naruto didn't know if he should dress well; he never paid attention to his appearance and clothes, so he went to the ceremony in the same sweaty training robes. They were quite worn out and looked old because he always wore the same robes since he became a Monk. Naruto only had one pair of clothes, so he washed it once a week, but after daily training, it was already heavily worn out. In the Temple, every Monk is obliged to wear special robes; only guests can afford ordinary clothes.

Shoka-sen didn't pay him any attention, so they headed to the Main Part of the Temple together.

Although the word Temple referred to the building, the whole territory of the 'Fire Temple' was officially called the Temple, although it wasn't actually one. The real Fire Temple was located in the Main Part, right in the center of the Fire Temple. There stood a tall Temple, it was taller than any other building Naruto had seen here and was made of a strange material. It definitely differed in appearance from the rest of the buildings and had an aura of nobility.

"Under the Temple, there is a special room where the Head of the Fire Temple meditates most of his time," Shoka-sen told Naruto.

"What's his name?" — Naruto asked, and Shoka-sen looked strangely at his student.

"Oh, it's a she, I understand," Naruto quickly corrected himself. He wasn't familiar with the people here.

"It's not about that, my student. It's him, but you shouldn't address him so directly, it's disrespectful," Shoka-sen looked at him sternly. The old man rarely behaved like this, so Naruto immediately understood that he shouldn't be too careless during the ceremony.

"Is... is the Head of the Temple very powerful?" — Naruto decided to ask another question.

He must be, because even Shoka-sen had a lot of respect for him, so his strength probably exceeded all understanding.

The old man was silent for a moment before deciding to speak, "Can you guess what the peak of Kontorōrujutsu is?"

Young Monks might say that it's the Gift of the Hermit Group, but Naruto knew it wasn't true. It could be some kind of highest technique that requires Human Energy, or it's an advanced Kontorōrujutsu technique.

"I'm not sure," Naruto decided to shake his head.

"It's the ability to fully use the brain," Shoka-sen revealed to him.

"Oh...!" — Naruto's eyes immediately widened in understanding. That was it!

Ordinary people usually use from 5% to 8% of their brain, Shinobi use 10%, and scientists or geniuses, even up to 15%, but they are individual cases. The full potential of the brain is enormous, almost unfathomable, and if someone could use it 100%... Naruto could only imagine how powerful that person would be, or rather he couldn't imagine it...

Full brain utilization allows for full, perfect, and absolute use of the entire body and all the resources it has.

"Is there any way to calculate how much and how someone uses their brain, Sensei?" — Naruto was incredibly excited and immediately started asking questions.

Shoka-sen involuntarily smiled, seeing his student's fascination. Not only was he highly talented, but he also had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Naruto was the perfect example of the best student every teacher dreams of.