After Tenzo stopped treating Tōma like a newcomer, both the frequency and difficulty of their missions rose sharply.
Hyena and Fox handled the increase without panic. They were experienced ANBU operatives, after all, though their combat power remained solid rather than exceptional.
Hyena was the stronger of the two. His Fang Over Fang could overwhelm many opponents, but once the enemy reached a higher tier, his options narrowed quickly.
Before Tōma joined, situations like that were simple.
If the enemy was weak, the team eliminated them immediately.If the enemy was strong, they stalled until Tenzo finished the job.
That had been the squad's rhythm for a long time.
And to be fair, Tenzo deserved it. Wood Release was versatile, suppressive, and brutally effective.
But once Fujimoto Tōma entered the picture, the equation changed.
At first, Tōma was assigned chūnin-level targets. That lasted right up until he ambushed and killed a special jōnin with a Rasengan.
After that, no one suggested holding him back anymore.
In the past, if the team encountered two special jōnin, Tenzo would eliminate one while the others delayed the second.
Now?
That "second option" had a name.
The moment Tōma used Flying Thunder God again and followed it with a clean Rasengan, deleting another special jōnin in an instant, Hyena and Fox were left speechless.
So… it's just the two of us who are weak, huh?
Of course, that wasn't really true.
Tōma had spent these weeks carefully evaluating his own strength.
With Flying Thunder God alone, he held a natural advantage over most opponents. As long as the mission didn't demand a prolonged frontal clash, even special jōnin were at a disadvantage against him if he fought patiently.
But once an enemy knew about Flying Thunder God and prepared for it, things changed.
They still wouldn't be able to react to the teleport itself, but they could preemptively set counters.
And once that happened, Tōma would be forced into a hard fight.
Flying Thunder God didn't raise his baseline the way something like Sage Mode did.
Unlike the Fourth Hokage, he hadn't reached the level where he could chain teleports endlessly. Chakra limits mattered. Every use was expensive. Continuous deployment was impossible.
Hard battles were inevitable.
And strangely, that suited him.
Because Tōma understood his own flaw very clearly.
Strip away his techniques, and his physical fundamentals were only around chūnin level. Not elite. Not overwhelming.
That was normal.
He was ten years old.
Reaching that level at his age was already terrifying, thanks to relentless training, Lightning Release enhancement, and the secret medication from Mount Myōboku.
But it also meant something else.
Against chūnin, his techniques created absolute suppression. The gap was even worse than a jōnin bullying a chūnin.
In short:Against weaker opponents, he was unbeatable.
Against special jōnin, he could hold ground and even secure kills with his trump cards.
Against true jōnin?
He had a chance only once.
The first strike.
If that first Flying Thunder God attack failed, killing a real jōnin afterward was close to impossible.
That was the limit of his current combat power.
Overall, Tōma judged himself capable of first-contact kills on jōnin-level opponents under the right conditions, while guaranteeing survival against special jōnin but not guaranteed victory.
Because of him, Tenzo's squad's mission efficiency skyrocketed.
They took on more assignments, but even so, encountering special jōnin remained rare. Running into two at once had been pure bad luck.
True jōnin were even rarer.
With Tenzo leading, the team's safety margin was extremely high. Wood Release covered too many angles, which was likely why the Third Hokage had placed Tōma here in the first place.
As for coordination?
No one pushed Tōma to fully integrate into the squad's combat rhythm.
They all understood the same thing.
He wouldn't stay here forever.
Rather than forcing him to adapt to them, it was far more effective for the team to adapt to him.
From Hyena and Fox's perspective, all they needed to do was create a moment where Tōma could throw a kunai before the enemy reacted.
After that, decapitation followed.
Much cleaner than their old, exhausting battles.
In their eyes, Tōma already felt like a jōnin.
And quietly, his position in the squad rose to just beneath Tenzo's.
Not because he demanded authority.
But because strength spoke for him.
That day, Tōma, Hyena, and Fox were waiting inside the ANBU facility.
This time, the mission wasn't chosen. It was directly assigned from above.
Hyena's gaze, and his partner Greyfang's, were fixed on the kunai floating around Tōma's body.
Greyfang probably thought it was a game.
Hyena didn't.
Why were the kunai moving on their own?
Lightning crackled faintly around Tōma's body, but this didn't feel like Magnet Release.
No bloodline signs. No familiar chakra pattern.
Then how…?
Tōma ignored his stare, quietly sighing.
It was still difficult.
Without Magnet Release, controlling a single kunai perfectly already required constant adjustment. Letting it orbit smoothly was exhausting.
If he truly had Magnet Release, this would be far simpler. But bloodlines weren't something he could force.
For now, repetition was the only answer.
As the kunai trembled slightly in its orbit, another thought crossed his mind.
If I master this… could I use it like a flying sword?
He immediately discarded the idea with a half-amused thought.
Too inefficient. Too flashy.
Still… the images wouldn't leave.
Sword-from-the-sky.Unavoidable descent.
Ridiculous.
And yet…
As he trained, the door opened.
Tenzo stepped in, mission scroll in hand.