[You have pleted the teag of "Body Flicker Jutsu" and "Philosophy."]

  [Evaluation: Outstanding!]

  [Rewards:

  1. Earth Release: Earth Spear

  2. Strength of a Hueique

  3. Water Release: Water Severing Wave

  The host may choose two out of the three.]

  Two out of three?

  Kyoichi’s eyes lit up.

  As expected, teag philosophical insights also came with rewards—and they were generous. Each of these teiques owerful and full of potential. It was difficult to choose just two.

  “This is so tough!”

  After much deliberation…

  “I’ll choose one and three,” Kyoichi finally decided.

  After awakening his Senju bloodline, his Earth and Water Release teiques had received signifit enhas. He was also approag promotion to Jōnin, which required mastery of at least two chakra nature transformations.

  Kyoichi possessed the chakra natures of Earth, Water, and Wind.

  Currently, he had only mastered Water Release. Based on his experieh previous system rewards, learnih Spear would likely grant him partial knowledge of Earth nature transformation.

  As for the Water Severing Wave…

  Its destructive power was undeniable!

  [Rewards cimed.]

  A surge of knowledge flooded his mind, detailing the two teiques.

  At the same time, Kyoichi felt a newfound mastery. Without even practig, he knew he could execute these teiques fwlessly. His choice, he realized, erfect.

  The Earth Spear required no hand seals, while the Water Severing Wave required only minimal seals yet delivered immense power.

  As for the Strength of a Hueique...

  “Although I regret not pig it, I could always learn it from Tsuer. Given my Senju lineage, ving her shouldn’t be too difficult,” Kyoichi thought.

  Just as he finished seleg his rewards, another notification sounded in his mind.

  [You have pleted the teag of "Philosophy" for Uchiha Shisui. He nards you as his life mentor.]

  [Evaluation: Excellent.]

  [Reward: Body Flicker Jutsu - Modified Version.]

  “Huh?”

  Kyoichi froze.

  He had expected rewards for teical instru, but this caught him pletely off guard.

  A life mentor?

  Hadn’t he just answered a few questions?

  This leasant surprise.

  As he pondered, memories of Shisui’s earlier questions resurfaced in his mind.

  “Does this kid wao lead his team as his Jōnin instructor?”

  Kyoichi couldn’t help but chuckle. His first “student” as a mentor turned out to be Shisui.

  “Well, I guess it’s not so bad. Shisui has potential. With pruidance, he won’t end up as na?ve as his inal self.”

  As Kyoichi headed home, a figure suddenly darted around the er.

  “Kyoichi-sensei, let’s have a youthful and passionate test! First to plete 300 ps wins! The loser—”

  “Guy, I’m busy. ime for sure,” Kyoichi interrupted, his face darkened.

  Damn it…

  Training with Guy was ohing, but ohese “youthful battles” started, they never seemed to end. He had no iion of being Kakashi 2.0.

  “Speaking of which, I wonder where Kakashi is…”

  Leaning against a wall, Kyoichi extended his senses, chakra pulsing outwards as he sed his surroundings.

  Soon, he smiled. “If you’re looking for Kakashi, follow this street to the riverbank. You’ll find him there.”

  “Really? Thanks, Kyoichi-sensei! Kakashi! Let’s have a fiery battle of youth!”

  Gai dashed off in the dire Kyoichi had indicated, shoutihusiastically.

  Truly, Konoha’s Blue Beast.

  Relieved, Kyoichi muttered, “Good thing Kakashi’s ba the vilge.”

  As he tinued walking, he sensed someoailing him.

  “Asuma?”

  “Uh… sensei… I wasn’t trying to follow you. I mean, I…”

  “Do you have something on your mind?” Kyoichi asked, surprised. He hadn’t expected Asuma to be the one shadowing him.

  Asuma scratched his head, his youthful face showing traces of nervousness. Without his iic beard, he looked surprisingly fresh-faced.

  “e o’s talk at my pce,” Kyoichi offered with a nod, leading the way.

  He could tell Asuma had questions he wao ask but wasn’t sure how to begin.

  Though still a student, Asuma’s thoughts seemed more plex than most his age. This might expin why he hadn’t yet graduated as a in, unlike Obito and Rin, who had achieved the rank at just eleven during wartime.

  Asuma’s talent wasn’t g. If anything, the dey suggested his struggles were internal.

  Following Kyoichi, Asuma she surroundings. After some thought, he excimed, “Wait, wasn’t this area…”

  “The former pound of the Senju ,” Kyoichi firmed.

  His family’s home had been part of the See until the gradually intermarried and dispersed during the First Hokage’s ter years.

  By the Sed Hokage’s era, the Senju had all but disappeared.

  “My grandmother was a Senju, but that’s about it,” Kyoichi said with a smile as he dispelled the Shadow es training in his courtyard. He opehe door and motioned for Asuma to sit.

  Though initially stiff, Asuma rexed after sipping some water. Finally, he hesitated before asking, “Sensei, I have a personal question. Who do you think the ‘king’ is for us ninja?”

  “The ‘king’?”

  As expected.

  Kyoichi wasn’t surprised. This question stemmed from the Third Hokage’s teags, yet Asuma’s internal flict had kept him from fully accepting his father’s philosophy.

  After a moment of thought, Kyoichi smiled and said, “Who the ‘king’ is doesn’t matter. A thousand people will have a thousand different answers. What matters is what you choose to protect.”

  “A thousand people, a thousand answers… and protect?”

  Asuma mulled over the words, feeling they carried deep meaning.

  But upon further thought, he felt Kyoichi hadn’t really answered his question. After all, proteg the ‘king’ was a given—if the ‘king’ fell, the game was over.

  “Let me give you an example. Years ago, Sakumo Hatake chose to save his rades over pleting a mission, ultimately leading to his disgrad suicide. What do you think his ‘king’ was?”

  “Sakumo-sama?”

  Asuma struggled to answer. After a long pause, he tentatively said, “His rades?”

  “Exactly. To Sakumo, the lives of his rades mattered more than the mission. What you choose to protect, that’s your ‘king.’”

  “I see…”

  Asuma nodded slowly, feeling he uood—though irely.

  After some time, he bowed deeply. “Thank you for yuidance!”

  “No other questions? Want something to eat?”

  “No, my mother’s probably waiting for me. Thank you again, sensei! I’ll take my leave!”

  ---

  “e on, Kakashi! Youth and passion won’t let you quit with 100 ps left!” Guy shouted as he sprinted.

  Kakashi followed closely, his masked face betraying ion, though his eyes gleamed with irritation.

  “Guy, who told you I was here?”

  His hiding spot had been so discreet. Without help, Guy couldn’t have possibly found him.

  “Beat me, and I’ll tell you!”

  “Hmph.”

  Kakashi narrowed his eyes, increasing his speed.

  Gcell