"...The ninja handbook mentions how to handle situations like this. That guy may be hateful, but he technically didn't violate regulations. In necessary situations, sacrificing a small number of civilians to eliminate a threat is permitted…"
Kakashi calmly stated the facts.
"Bullshit regulations!"
Obito suddenly shook off Kakashi's hand and pointed at the still-burning ruins, where charred severed limbs could faintly be seen. His voice trembled with rage as he shouted, "They were ordinary people! They had nothing to do with the world of ninja. They were just innocently dragged into this…
"And that guy was clearly doing it on purpose. Those two Suna ninja were already badly wounded. If he'd had a little more patience, maybe we could have persuaded them to surrender and taken them back for treatment. Then everyone could have lived. But instead…
"Back in the valley, when we were fighting Sunagakure, they didn't get dragged into it. Now the battle is already over, and they lost their lives at a time like this. That's way too unfair!"
"…"
Kakashi fell silent.
Fair?
If they were talking about fairness… then what about failing a mission to save a comrade, only to be blamed by the village and even the comrade who had been saved, and ultimately being forced to commit suicide in apology? Was that fair?
Konoha was the first ninja village ever founded and occupied the fertile lands at the center of the continent. Yet it was coveted by the other villages and repeatedly became the target of encirclement during the Ninja World Wars. Was that fair?
Kakashi could understand why Obito was angry, but he felt that this anger had little meaning. After all, this kind of thing was simply the norm for ninja. In the eyes of most people, there was not even any need to question it.
It was only because it was him that he was willing to patiently listen to Obito rant here.
"Stop saying useless things."
Kakashi spoke coldly. "What happened has already happened. No amount of arguing will change it. Instead of wasting time, we should use what time we still have to check the remaining houses before that Root ninja acts again. Maybe we can save a few more people.
"As for the Anbu… their rules of conduct are different from ordinary ninja. After we regroup with Yuu and the others at Kikyo City, we'll discuss it then."
"…"
Obito's chest rose and fell violently. He looked at the unquestionable expression in Kakashi's eyes, then looked at the smoking ruins giving off a burnt smell. In the end, he suppressed the rage in his heart and stomped hard.
"Fine, I get it! That bastard… I'll remember him!"
Next, Obito and Kakashi continued searching.
And underground, where they could not see, several White Zetsu slowly wriggled.
In a certain sense, what had just happened had been orchestrated by these White Zetsu.
They were the first to discover the Suna ninja hiding here. Then they found a way to lure over Obito, Kakashi, and that Root ninja. The purpose was to give the first two a small taste of Root-style shock, letting them see the dark side of the ninja world up close and paving the way for future action.
Judging by the result…
it had worked unexpectedly well.
One could only say that Shimura Danzō was worthy of being the Second Hokage's successor and the negative teaching material personally selected by Uchiha Madara. Without the White Zetsu needing to use any special methods, he had excellently completed the intended educational objective.
Unfortunately, that guy named Kakashi was still a little too calm. Otherwise, if he and Obito had attacked together and killed the Root ninja, the certainty of inducing Obito to break with Konoha would have been much greater.
"Let's report the situation here to Lord Madara first…"
"Besides Obito's movements, that Mikami Yuu also needs close attention…
"His strength is improving a little too fast. He's already able to defeat Rasa, the acting Kazekage, and he used abilities in battle that we hadn't detected before. We need to report this as soon as possible and let Lord Madara know…"
Several White Zetsu exchanged words underground for a while. One of them separated from the group and quickly left in the direction of the Valley of the End.
The remaining White Zetsu continued following Obito and Kakashi, carrying out close observation.
…
It was the third day after the Battle of Mount Kikyo ended.
The afternoon sunlight was pleasant.
At the open ground near the edge of Kikyo City's camp, crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out.
"Secret Sword: Moon Shadow!"
With a low shout, Gekkō Shigure's figure became slightly blurred. The ninja sword in his hand drew several elusive trajectories, like ripples of water beneath moonlight, carrying cold and swift killing intent as it attacked the white-haired boy opposite him.
On the other side of the field,
Mikami Yuu held his blade in both hands. His feet seemed rooted to the ground, and his entire body moved within the smallest possible range. The blade in his hands swung again and again, using the smallest movements and the most precise angles to block or guide away Gekkō Shigure's sword momentum. His movements were smooth and effortless, as if the blade had come alive in his hands.
In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged dozens of moves.
Their crossing sword lights flashed back and forth in midair, dazzling the eye and carrying a pleasing beauty.
At the instant when Gekkō Shigure's sword momentum was not yet exhausted, and his old and new force were about to shift,
a sharp light flashed in Yuu's eyes. The short blade in his hand suddenly accelerated, turning into a silver thread so fast it seemed to merge with the air. It cut through space and landed precisely on Gekkō Shigure's weak point.
The latter only felt his wrist go numb. A soft yet irresistible force came through, directly knocking the ninja sword from his hand. The fine long sword spun through the air and embedded itself diagonally into the ground a few steps away, its hilt still trembling.
"Thank you for the match, Shigure-senpai."
Yuu sheathed his blade and cupped his hands politely.
"…"
Gekkō Shigure froze for several seconds. He looked at his empty hand, then looked at Yuu standing calmly opposite him with his blade sheathed and his breathing steady. The astonishment on his face faded, turning into deep admiration.
"Incredible! Yuu, your swordsmanship has already reached a miraculous level. My meager family skills are nothing but showing off in front of an expert before you."
At this moment,
the surrounding ninja who had been watching seemed to awaken from a dream and burst into enthusiastic cheers.
"Good!"
"That was amazing, little Mikami!"
"How did you do that last move? It was too fast. I didn't even see it clearly!"
"As expected of Konoha's 'White Reaper.' This swordsmanship inherited from White Fang-senpai has truly flourished in your hands… If that old hag Chiyo hadn't run fast, she probably would've fallen beneath Mount Kikyo too. Hahaha!"
"Exactly. I think Mikami-kun is probably the leading figure of this generation. It's truly wonderful that Konoha's juniors have someone like him."
From the crowd,
Nohara Rin stepped forward and quickly walked up. Her fair little face was full of joy and concern. She took out a handkerchief and was about to wipe away the almost nonexistent sweat at Yuu's forehead.
"Yuu-kun, you aren't hurt, right? Those last few moves were so dangerous. They really scared me."
Yuu took the handkerchief from the girl and smiled.
"It was just a spar. I didn't even use much chakra. How would I be injured?"
Beside them,
Gekkō Shigure picked up his sword, seeming to recall the details of the fight just now. Then he turned back and glanced at the boy and girl with a faint smile on his face.
"Youth really is wonderful…
"Seeing you two reminds me of that useless brat of mine at home. He's about six or seven this year. If he can have even half of your ability in the future, Yuu, I'll be satisfied as his father."
"Huh?"
Rin was slightly startled and looked at the special jōnin with some surprise. "Shigure-senpai already has a child? I thought you were about the same age as Minato-sensei."
"Haha, maybe because I married early, I look young. My son is named Gekkō Hayate. He's currently in his third year at the Ninja Academy, probably two or three years younger than you. Maybe you saw him at school before."
Gekkō Shigure scratched his head and laughed.
Hearing this,
Yuu thought to himself, as expected.
"So it's him. I heard his grades are among the top of his year. His taijutsu and swordsmanship are both very solid. If he's your son, Shigure-senpai, then that's not surprising."
This was half true and half false. The true part was that Yuu had indeed seen Gekkō Hayate at the Ninja Academy. After all, the latter's sickly aura was rather distinctive and hard to forget. However, Hayate's grades were not outstanding enough to draw special attention.
Gekkō Shigure himself knew this too.
Still, hearing someone praise his son made him beam with joy. He kept saying that the next time they returned to the village, Yuu should come visit his home and such.
Yuu smiled and agreed.
For him, this spar had also brought him a considerable harvest.
But his gains were different from Gekkō Shigure's and mainly came from another source:
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Hmph, this duel's swordsmanship was only at this level? Not satisfying at all. But since you did put in some effort, little white-hair, I'll reluctantly give you a passing score. Next time, find me some higher-quality opponents to practice with!]
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Also, when you have time, go repair the blade in your hand. After using it for so long, it's already heavily worn. Don't let it suddenly snap during battle someday.]
[Hatake Swordsmanship affection +4. Current affection: 76/100 (Attachment). Special Event "The World's Greatest Swordsmanship" progress: 3/8 (Defeated: Konoha-Style Swordsmanship, Uchiha-Style Swordsmanship, Secret Sword: Moon Shadow)]
That was right.
The Gekkō clan's secret sword art was also an independent swordsmanship system. As a special jōnin specializing in swordsmanship, Gekkō Shigure's strength was quite respectable. In this area, even ordinary jōnin might not be his match.
So after defeating him, the progress of Yuu's Hatake Swordsmanship mission naturally advanced one step, reaching 3/8.
At the same time,
he smoothly gained 1 new point of constitution and unlocked the third-stage trait at 75 affection:
[Trait · Heart-Blade Domain: You have gained considerable insight into the blade principles of Hatake Swordsmanship. You can unfold a "Heart-Blade Domain" within 6.6 meters around yourself. Within the domain, you possess a grasp of the distance, angle, and obstacles between yourself and your target that exceeds ordinary sight. You can read most of your opponent's attack trajectories in advance and see through their flaws.]
[Additionally, you can condense chakra into tangible blade energy and release it outward through the blade, allowing you to strike targets that the blade itself cannot reach.]
Compared with the second stage, the effective range of the Heart-Blade Domain had increased further, reaching 6.6 meters, or a spherical area with a diameter of around 13 meters. This range definitely could not be considered small.
Moreover…
the third-stage trait had added a new effect: releasing blade energy externally.
It had to be known that Hatake Swordsmanship was a close-range assassination style using short blades. It emphasized the idea that one inch shorter meant one inch more dangerous. If one switched to a long sword, it was theoretically usable, but the effect would definitely not be as good as with a short blade, and many moves would need adjustment.
But if blade energy could be released externally, then one of the few shortcomings of this swordsmanship style had undoubtedly been patched. It could fully make use of the 6.6-meter Heart-Blade Domain.
"Not bad, not bad."
"The third stage unlocked this. Looks like little Hatake's fourth-stage max-affection trait is worth looking forward to…"
Yuu nodded slightly, feeling very satisfied.
There were many strange sword and blade styles in the ninja world, but not many could release blade energy externally. The most famous was Uchiha Madara's swordsmanship that could cut through mountains with one slash.
Although Yuu did not think the upper limit of Hatake Swordsmanship could be that high, if it had even a fraction of Uchiha Madara's power, it would already be worth the price. And judging from the rule that special event completion difficulty was proportional to trait strength, perhaps there would be an unexpected surprise.
"I'll have to test whether this blade energy consumes much chakra, and whether it can be fired repeatedly…"
Additionally,
regarding Hatake Swordsmanship's mention of repairing the short blade, Yuu planned to ask Kakashi about it later.
Considering that this blade had been lent to him by Kakashi, and ownership still belonged to Kakashi, Yuu thought perhaps he should find a way to obtain his own blade. Preferably one forged from chakra-conductive metal, with some special ability.
For this, he could ask Jiraiya later. Or he could find a way to get a Kusanagi Sword from Orochimaru that could stretch and contract. That should also be a good choice…
After a few more polite words,
Yuu left the open ground with Rin, saying goodbye to Gekkō Shigure and the others.
They had not walked far when they heard a familiar voice calling him.
"Yuu! Over here!"
Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw Kurenai, Asuma, and Namashi Raidō walking over from the camp gate, travel-worn and clearly having just returned from an outer reconnaissance mission.
Kurenai jogged all the way to Yuu. Her ruby-like eyes carefully examined him, and her tone carried concern.
"Yuu! Why did you come out? Is your body alright? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"…I only used up too much chakra. I wasn't injured. What could be wrong? I just needed some sleep."
Yuu waved his hand, his tone relaxed.
Beside them,
Asuma looked at Kurenai's intimate attitude toward Yuu and silently sighed. Then he tugged the corner of his mouth and joined the conversation.
"Hey, Yuu, you're famous across the southwestern front now. You even have a title! When we came back, we heard people talking about your achievements on the road.
"Last time, capturing Sunagakure's jōnin alive was already shocking. This time, with such a huge contribution, maybe the village will nominate you for promotion to jōnin. Tsk, tsk. A jōnin not even eleven years old—there probably aren't many examples like that in all of Konoha's history!"
"Hm? Jōnin?"
Rin and Kurenai both froze for a moment, then their faces showed realization.
Right.
Although Yuu had only recently been promoted to special jōnin, this time he had captured Sunagakure's Kage alive. Even if it was an acting Kazekage who had not officially taken office, he was still the head of a village. With a contribution like this, not granting him a jōnin title would be somewhat excessive.
Yuu, however, did not feel much about it.
After all…
whether he was a jōnin or not was only a title. It sounded nice, but it could not be eaten.
Hadn't the two strongest people in Konoha's next generation both been genin?
Rather than raising his title, it would be more practical to give him a few advanced ninjutsu scrolls, or a couple of powerful ninja tools.
"By the way, Asuma, you also deserve credit this time. If your Wind Release hadn't helped that day, it probably wouldn't have been so easy for my Great Dragon Fire to melt Rasa's gold-dust shield."
Yuu said this aloud, but his heart stirred quietly.
Among the Five Element Releases, Fire and Wind had the best compatibility. When combined, the effect was definitely not simple one-plus-one. It was one times one… no, that was wrong. It should be one plus one being greater than two.
For Yuu, if he could have a fixed partner proficient in Wind Release, all his Fire Release would receive a considerable boost. This would allow his Fire Release to improve further from the foundation of 1,600-degree blue flames without increasing chakra consumption.
This fixed partner naturally did not mean Asuma, but—
"Speaking of which…"
Did Sunagakure have a Wind Release summoning beast?
Yuu thought of this point.
In the original story, there were not many summoning beasts skilled in wind-style techniques. Only two had appeared. One was Danzo's Baku. Its name sounded intimidating, but its actual combat performance was pathetic. It was knocked over by Sasuke's Great Fireball, humiliating summoning beasts everywhere.
The other was Temari's weasel.
That thing's reputation and strength were not as impressive as the Three Great Sage Regions, but it looked fairly cute, and its mobility and functionality were decent. Its strength was above average if not top-tier. During the Sasuke Retrieval arc, Temari had used it to unleash Slicing Dance, destroying a large section of forest in one move.
At this point in time, Temari might not have been born yet, or had just been born.
But coincidentally…
Yuu had just defeated her old man.
If he could obtain information about the weasel clan from Rasa, or directly get their contract scroll, that would be quite a good thing.
Thinking of this, Yuu instinctively turned his gaze toward the depths of the camp, where a temporary detention area had been set up. If nothing unexpected happened, Rasa should currently be lying inside like a dead dog while recovering.
Although Rasa's identity was that of a prisoner, Konoha definitely could not treat him like an ordinary captive and give him a Yamanaka clan soul-searching package. After all, he was nominally the Kazekage. Since they had not directly killed him and had instead imprisoned him, they had to keep up appearances.
So if Yuu wanted to ask Rasa for information, he could not rely on Jiraiya or the Yamanaka clan. He had to think of his own method.
This was a little difficult.
After all, Rasa had been personally beaten half to death and captured by him. The capture process had been very rough, and Yuu had secretly drawn several tubes of his blood in private. Under these circumstances, it would be strange if Rasa gave him a pleasant expression.
Besides, Rasa used Magnet Release, which was very different from Pakura's Wind-and-Fire-fused Scorch Release.
Trying to trade ninjutsu scrolls for intelligence like he had with Pakura was not very realistic.
Yuu planned to think about it carefully later.
"By the way, Yuu, do you have time tonight?"
Kurenai asked softly. "I've encountered a small problem in training recently. Shikaku-sensei has been busy with missions and doesn't have time to look after us. Can I ask you for guidance?"
"Uh…"
Before Yuu could answer,
Rin spoke first.
"Yuu already promised to help me practice Water Release, right, Yuu?"
"…"
Yuu sighed, feeling a little helpless.
"I don't have anything tonight. If you want training guidance, let's just do it together. There may still be several major battles later. If everyone's strength improves a little, the village will have an easier time winning."
"…Alright."
Kurenai nodded and accepted the suggestion.
Rin seemed like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she swallowed her words.
"Should we wait for Kakashi and Obito? They'll probably return soon too."
"We'll talk about it then. They won't be back for a while. Let's train a bit first."
…
That evening, Yuu and the others arrived at a forest clearing outside Kikyo City and trained there for a while.
Rin was still practicing Water Release and Super Strength.
After this period of helping the medical team treat patients, Rin's chakra control had improved noticeably compared to when she was in Konoha. This improvement also showed in her Super Strength, making her punches sharper.
Her Water Release had not changed much.
After all, that was strongly tied to chakra volume. Aside from a few cheaters, most ninja had limited Water Release ability and could not even use Water Release in a place without water. So unless Rin became the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, it would be hard for her to make a dramatic leap.
As for Kurenai…
she had already begun using genjutsu.
This Place Is Not, Fox Mind Technique, Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death… Although her casting method was still a little immature compared with her father Yūhi Shinku, these genjutsu were still very effective against ordinary lower- and middle-rank ninja.
Even Yuu, when not on guard, would inevitably be affected by her genjutsu for one or two seconds.
Asuma needed no mention.
He was the Hokage's son, so it was not Yuu's place to teach him. The two mainly sparred to get some practice.
"…Alright, let's stop here for today."
Seeing that it was already getting late,
Yuu put away his short blade and waved his hand. "Everyone's been tired all day. Go back and rest properly. We might have new missions tomorrow."
"Okay."
Rin and Kurenai glanced at each other and nodded.
The group briefly packed up and returned to camp.