“Asuma doesn’t cut it. I gave him a solid lecture and only got a slight boost in on proficy.”

  Kyoichi twirled a kunai in his hand.

  His kunai skills had improved noticeably, and even his swordsmanship had seen minor enhas. However, pared to the massive gains he’d received from Shisui, Asuma’s rewards were underwhelming.

  “Well, better than nothing.”

  After summoning a Shadow e to help prepare a meal, Kyoichi busied himself with cooking.

  At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

  “Kanda Kyoichi, Lord Third has instructed me to inform you that the Jōnin exam will take pce five days from now in the Forest of Death. You must be there on time.”

  “Uood. Thank you!”

  After Kyoichi bowed, the Anbu ninja vanished.

  As the figure disappeared, Kyoichi mulled over ret events.

  “Most of the shinobi have returned. It seems the frontlines have stabilized. That probably means the graduation exams will start soon.”

  “The timing of the Jōnin exam suggests Konoha is in dire need of team leaders.”

  Over the past months, most of Konoha’s shinobi had been deployed in battle. This left the vilge with few ninja to handle routiasks, resulting in a backlog of minor missions like retrieving lost pets or fetg water.

  The heavy casualties among Genin also meant fresh recruits were urgently needed.

  However, Konoha’s tradition dictated that new Genin were grouped into four-person teams under a Jōnin instructor. Unfortunately, the she of Jōnin was just as pressing.

  Kyoichi sighed.

  After a brief period of peace, Konoha would soon face flicts with Kirigakure and Iwagakure again. Ever sihe Sed Shinobi World War, Konoha had barely had time to recover, and now it was clear that resources were running thin.

  No woer on, the Hidden Cloud dared to abduct Hinata Hyuga, and the Third Hokage, along with the Hyuga , chose to ehe humiliation.

  Hyuga Hizashi’s death was utterly unnecessary.

  In Kyoichi’s mind, Konoha’s struggles were deeply tied to the policies of the Third Hokage and Danzō.

  The vilge had been at its peak uhe First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, whose overwhelming strength maintained bance. However, the true flourishing of Konoha occurred during the tenure of the Sed Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

  But after Tobirama’s death, Konoha began a steady dee, stantly embroiled in wars and losialent—even the legendary Sannin had left.

  And whose fault was that? It certainly wasn’t the Uchiha ’s.

  The Third Hokage’s leadership was undoubtedly fwed.

  As Kyoichi ate the meal he’d prepared, he pondered his moves.

  Being a Jōnin instructor was already part of his pn.

  Beyond that…

  “During the wars with Kirigakure and Kumogakure, I o accumute signifit military achievements. But more importantly, I o build alliances. If Danzō ever targets me, I’ll rong es to ter him.”

  That said, even Orochimaru, with his unparalleled strength and status, was eventually driven out by Danzō.

  The reason? Orochimaru wasn’t .

  Kyoichi knew he couldn’t afford to leave any vulnerabilities that Danzō could exploit.

  With a clear path ahead, Kyoichi’s resolve solidified.

  For now, his focus was on training and self-improvement.

  “Tomorrow’s a day off. I’ll visit Might Duy and Might Guy to train together. If the opportunity arises, I might learn the Seven Heavens Breathihht Gates.”

  ---

  The Day

  Konoha was bustling with new faces in ninja uniforms—shinobi returning from the frontlines.

  Kyoichi paid them little mind, jogging along the vilge outskirts while leaving a Shadow e at home to practice swordsmanship.

  His sword skills had improved, but they still weren’t as refined as his other teiques. To rely on it in a real battle, he needed more practice.

  “Kyoichi-sensei, let’s have a sparring match!”

  “Focus on your training.”

  Kyoichi ighe enthusiastic challenge from Might Guy.

  After trailing him for a while, Guy couldn’t resist any longer and unched a flying kick at Kyoichi.

  Kyoichi tilted his head slightly, dodging effortlessly.

  Guy sailed over him, but just then, a green blur shot toward them.

  “Guy! How dare you sneak attack Kyoichi-sensei!”

  Boom!

  With a loud thud, Might Guy was sent flying, narrowly missing a boulder.

  Might Duy had arrived.

  Kyoichi’s lips twitched.

  Though he’d seen this father-son duo’s antics a couple of times, their extreme personalities and over-the-top behavior still left him at a loss.

  Yet despite Duy’s heavy-handed discipline, Guy always seemed unscathed—a testament to their resilieno wohey mastered the Eight Gates—they’d been ditioo take a beating from a young age.

  Ign the duo, Kyoichi tinued running.

  They’d catch up eventually.

  However, a faint presen the woods caught his attention.

  Someone was watg him.

  After a brief s, Kyoichi identified the chakra signature—Hatake Kakashi.

  Feigning ignorance, Kyoichi maintained his pace.

  As he approached the source, the sound of rustling leaves reached his ears.

  The moment, Kakashi appeared behind him, pg an uhed short bde against Kyoichi’s neck.

  “Hmph…”

  So that’s all it took?

  Kakashi was about to lower his bde when Kyoichi’s figure began to dissipate.

  A e?

  Impossible! When?

  Eyes wide with shock, Kakashi quickly leaped away, f hand seals mid-air to execute ah Release jutsu.

  But as he nded, his jutsu failed to activate.

  The grouh him was ced with fn chakra, blog his escape.

  Incredible!

  In a single moment, Kyoichi had seamlessly sed pces with a e, used a Body Flicker Jutsu, and ihe ground with Earth chakra to disrupt Kakashi’s movements.

  This was the work of a seasoned battlefield veteran.

  Suddenly—g!

  “Well done, Hatake Kakashi.”

  Kyoichi pressed his kunai against Kakashi’s short bde.

  Kakashi’s rapid analysis and quick response were impressive, but without Kyoichi’s system-enhanced skills, he would’ve lost in the first exge.

  Now, however, Kyoichi was leagues ahead.

  To Kakashi’s astonishment, Kyoichi reached out and grabbed the short bde with his bare hand.

  That’s when Kakashi noticed Kyoichi’s hand was coated in bck.

  Hardened skin?

  No, it was a different teique—Earth Release: Earth Spear!

  Kakashi attempted to el Lightning chakra to ter, but Kyoichi’s grip was too powerful. In mere moments, the bde was wrenched from his grasp.

  What terrifying strength!

  Kakashi stared at his stolen bde, realizing he’d been utterly defeated.

  Had this been a real battle, Kyoichi could’ve ended him with the kunai in his other hand.

  Unbelievable!

  Kyoichi was only six or seven years older than Kakashi, yet their abilities weren’t even close.

  What was worse, Kakashi felt that even with six or seven years of growth, he still wouldn’t surpass Kyoichi—a frustration he’d never experienced before.

  No!

  If he mastered his Lightning Release teiques and trained diligently, he was sure he could catch up.

  g his fists, Kakashi silently vowed to grow stronger.

  “Kakashi, I told you yesterday you couldn’t beat him, but you still came to challenge Kyoichi-sensei!”

  Guy arrived, ughing as he teased Kakashi.

  But his bruised face revealed that he’d retly been on the receiving end of Might Duy’s discipline.

  Gcell