The healing process lasted for over an hour. During this time, the three Jonin squad leaders, having finished their report to the Hokage, arrived at the hospital.
First, to check on their injured subordinates and update everyone on the Hokage's briefing.
Second, Sakumo Hatake needed proper medical treatment. Field medicine was just emergency triage; to avoid long-term complications, a thorough hospital treatment was necessary.
Once everyone was patched up, they were placed in the same large ward, making communication easy.
"—And that's the situation." Minato briefly explained Hiruzen's explanation.
The ward fell silent. They had fought tooth and nail, nearly died, and it was all because of a messenger's mistake?
"So Makoto died for nothing?" Yohei, still trapped in grief, spoke up, his voice laced with bitterness for his fallen comrade.
"The ninja responsible for the mistake has been punished," Minato said, though even he didn't sound convinced.
"Minato-senpai mentioned Danzo was also there with the Hokage?" Taiichi interjected.
"Yes."
"Then Danzo most likely did it," Taiichi stated firmly.
The three Jonin exchanged glances, wondering who had the guts to tell Taiichi such a dangerous theory.
"Ah... haha, Taiichi, perhaps you have some misunderstanding about Elder Danzo," Minato tried to smooth things over.
"Yeah. Danzo is a bit ruthless, but mostly he's just ugly," Sakumo joked, trying to change the subject.
Everyone stared at Sakumo in shock. They thought the White Fang was a serious, stoic man. Who knew he could crack a joke like that?
"Pfft! Hahaha!" Saori was the first to break, followed by the rest of the room.
After the laughter died down, Taiichi explained, "In Konoha, if something bad is about to happen or is happening, and no one knows who did it, blaming Danzo is usually correct eight times out of ten."
Everyone looked at Taiichi, surprised by his boldness.
"Tsunade-sensei told me that. And I feel the same way," Taiichi added, using Tsunade as a shield.
Hearing it was Tsunade's opinion, everyone relaxed. That sounded exactly like something she would say.
But Taiichi's words planted a seed of suspicion in everyone's mind, making them more wary of Danzo.
After more chatting, the nurse came to kick them out. Those who didn't need hospitalization left together.
Taiichi went home, took a hot bath, and relaxed. Although he wasn't physically injured like Yohei, the prolonged mental strain and intense chakra usage had exhausted him.
Reflecting on the mission, it was perilous, but the rewards were immense.
In just a few days, he experienced multiple high-intensity battles, killing two Jonin and nearly ten Chunin. A record few would believe.
His Panel reflected this growth directly.
> [Congratulations. Genin Class Level Up: Lv8 (241/1400)]
> [Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]
> [Combat Improvement: Skill Advanced Taijutsu +1000]
> [Combat Improvement: Skill Advanced Kenjutsu +2000]
> [Congratulations. Skill Advanced Kenjutsu improved to Lv2 (1540/3000)]
And these were just the biggest gains. His Nature Transformations and Medical Ninjutsu also improved significantly.
The only regret was Makoto Inuzuka's death. A cheerful, talkative friend, swallowed by an explosion in the blink of an eye.
Every time Taiichi thought about it, he cursed this damn world. He resolved again to change this ninja world for the better. Otherwise, his second life would be a waste.
After a high-intensity mission, a long vacation usually followed. Team 8 got a whole month off.
Not just for physical recovery, but for mental decompression. Ninjas might be killing machines, but even machines need maintenance.
However, for Taiichi, this didn't apply. Vacation? Unless his body physically couldn't move, resting was wasting his life.
Others relaxed by doing nothing; Taiichi relaxed by training. Others found joy in leisure; Taiichi found joy in watching his stats go up.
So, the next morning, before dawn, Taiichi was up. He strapped his blood-stained tanto to his back and headed to his private training ground—the riverside grove.
After months of abuse, the once dense grove now had a cleared area of about a hundred meters. Wooden stakes and massive rocks, hauled there by Taiichi, dotted the clearing. Without these targets, the remaining trees would have been destroyed long ago.
Sitting on a large rock by the river, Taiichi meditated after his warm-up. The mission was successful, but it exposed his weaknesses.
The most glaring one: Speed. Not the Agility stat on his panel, but pure movement speed.
Taiichi understood now that the Agility stat was a comprehensive measure of the body's coordination, reaction time, attack speed, and processing speed.
Every point in Agility improved his overall physical quality. Otherwise, having high attack speed but slow reaction time would just result in flailing blindly.
His issue was specifically displacement speed. His dynamic vision and reflexes were more than enough for his current speed; even when using Body Flicker, he was in full control.
The problem was software, not hardware. His base movement speed could only be improved slowly through training, but his Body Flicker Technique was outdated.
There were many types of Body Flicker in the ninja world, but they all boiled down to using chakra to vitalize muscles for bursts of speed.
The best version was Cloud Village's Lightning Style Body Flicker (and Lightning Armor). Kakashi's future Chidori utilized a similar concept.
But Taiichi's Lightning Nature Transformation was barely beginner level. Lightning Body Flicker was out of reach.
He was currently using the standard D-Rank Body Flicker: focusing chakra in the legs to vitalize and protect them for a burst of speed.
The flaw was durability. It couldn't be used frequently or over long distances without damaging the muscles. Just like in the mission—one long-distance burst tore his muscles, and a second one aggravated the injury.
It relied too much on raw muscle strength.
But Taiichi had a new idea: Chakra Enhanced Strength (怪力 - Kai).
The principle of Kai was precise chakra control—concentrating chakra at a single point and releasing it explosively for massive power. It relied more on chakra burst than muscle strength.
This bypassed the physical limits to a large extent. The higher the chakra control, the greater the force. Taiichi wanted to convert that explosive force into propulsion.
His reference? Tsunade's Heavenly Foot of Pain.
Taiichi stood in the clearing. He carefully controlled his chakra, preparing to burst it like he would for a kick, but instead of directing it into a target, he directed it against the ground for thrust.
BOOM!
Taiichi shot out like an arrow from a bow.
If only he hadn't tumbled through the air like a ragdoll, it would have been perfect.
Thud.
He face-planted into the dirt hard.
A long silence followed. A leaf drifted down onto his head. He didn't move.
Finally, his fingers twitched. He shakily pushed himself up, shaking his head to clear the dizziness.
Looking at the ten-meter distance he covered in a blink, Taiichi felt a chill. If he had used more chakra, he might have snapped his neck on impact.
His respect for the Second Hokage skyrocketed. Taiichi was just modifying an existing concept and almost killed himself. Tobirama invented Forbidden Jutsu from scratch. Truly a master.
> [Developing Skill: Body Flicker Technique (Modified) Lv0 (1/100)]
Seeing the new skill on his Panel, Taiichi felt satisfied. He might not have Tobirama's genius, but he had a cheat!
He just needed to practice more, crash more, and eventually, he'd master it.
The clearing echoed with sounds of pain.
Thud. (Body hitting ground)
Smack. (Face hitting rock)
Scrape. (Face sliding on dirt)
Developing a new Jutsu was painful and ugly.
By the time his chakra was nearly depleted, the sounds of impact became less frequent.
Taiichi was bruised and battered. He looked worse than he did after the mission.
> [Body Flicker Technique (Modified) Lv0 (25/100)]
But the progress was undeniable. At this rate, he wouldn't be crashing tomorrow, and the day after, the new Jutsu might be usable.
The sun was fully up. Taiichi limped away from the training ground.
Walking home, people stared. He looked like a beggar who had lost a fight. If not for the tanto and the forehead protector, the Police Force might have arrested him for vagrancy.
After washing up and eating a hearty breakfast, Taiichi went out again. The morning training was mostly crashing; he needed a 10km run to actually warm up.
Pedestrians felt a gust of wind as a blur passed them. Taiichi quickly turned onto a quiet route around the village to avoid the crowds.
Twenty minutes later, a familiar shout came from behind.
"Two more laps around the village before school! Or else 1000 punches!"
Taiichi looked back. A sweat-soaked Might Guy was charging toward him.
Taiichi smiled. It had been a while. He slowed down to let Guy catch up.
Guy saw Taiichi and his face lit up. He accelerated, catching up quickly.
"Taiichi! You're back from your mission!"
"Yeah, Guy. How have you been? Getting stronger?" Taiichi asked.
"Hahaha! Why don't we test it? Two laps around the village! Let's see who finishes first!" Guy gave a thumbs up, his teeth sparkling.
"Haha! Since you're so fired up, I can't refuse!" Taiichi was happy. Guy was his first friend at the Academy. "Let's go!"
Without waiting for a reply, Taiichi accelerated, shooting ahead.
"Guy! Catch me if you can! Hahaha!"
"Ah! This is the passion of YOUTH! Taiichi, watch me catch you!" Tears of emotion streamed down Guy's face as he sprinted, his speed rivaling a Chunin's.
They raced, sweat glistening in the morning light, attracting the attention of early risers.
Taiichi hadn't fully recovered from his morning crashes, which affected his performance. Guy slowly caught up. In the end, they collapsed against a wall together, panting heavily.
Taiichi won by a hair.
"Taiichi, are you injured? Your running form looked weird," Guy gasped, noticing something off.
"Just a small injury from training this morning. It'll be fine in a bit," Taiichi replied casually.
They chatted while resting, then walked together until their breathing normalized. They parted ways—Guy to the Academy, Taiichi to continue his training.
He went to Training Ground 3. Strength training, Taijutsu drills, Kenjutsu practice. He pushed himself until he was exhausted.
Lunch was a feast at the BBQ place. After a short rest, he returned to the training ground to burn through the afternoon.
When he arrived, he saw someone already there, swinging a sword. Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi was so focused he didn't notice the "thief" watching him from the sidelines.
Taiichi was indeed stealing techniques. His Kenjutsu foundation came from the Hatake style, taught by Kakashi himself. In a way, Kakashi was his first Kenjutsu teacher.
Watching Kakashi now, Taiichi noticed distinct differences between their styles. He had seen it during the mission watching Sakumo fight too.
Taiichi's Advanced Kenjutsu had evolved down a different path from the pure Hatake style. Divergence was inevitable.
But watching Kakashi's bladework still offered valuable insights.
> [Observing Kenjutsu practice. Skill Advanced Kenjutsu EXP +1]
Taiichi's gaze must have been too intense. Kakashi stopped, turned, and saw Taiichi staring unblinkingly at him. He felt goosebumps.
Realizing he was being creepy, Taiichi scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry, Kakashi. I got mesmerized. Didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's fine. I should be thanking you. My father told me everything. If not for you, he wouldn't have made it back alive. Thank you so much!" Kakashi walked over and bowed deeply.
Taiichi was flustered. He rushed to help Kakashi up. "What are you saying? We're friends! Even if it was a stranger from Konoha, I would have done my best. No need for thanks!"
"No. A life debt is a life debt. If I don't thank you for saving my father, what is there to be thankful for?" Kakashi insisted.
"Alright, alright! You win!" Taiichi surrendered to Kakashi's seriousness. Then he had an idea. "How about you spar with me? We haven't crossed blades in a long time."
"Sure! Come at me!" Kakashi agreed without hesitation.