For the few days, Kyoichi kept up a rigorous training regimen.

  Jōnin?

  It’s just a title.

  In chaotic times, survival depends on strength, not hollow positions.

  Kyoichi uood this well.

  Of course...

  He spent time sparring with Might Duy and Might Guy, learning a fair bit—teiques like the Leaf Strong Whirlwind and Hidden Lotus.

  But these were merely additions, not what Kyoichi truly needed.

  He o expand his resources.

  Saving effort alone wasn’t enough. How many years would it take to reach his goals? Waiting passively for opportunities was no solutioher.

  As he jogged, he mulled over his steps.

  He o take the initiative!

  After some thought, he decided to start with a certain problem child.

  Like... Hatake Kakashi.

  And as luck would have it, there he was.

  “Ugh...”

  By the riverbank, Kakashi sat and threw the White Fang short bde into the water.

  Wheiced Kyoichi approag, Kakashi shot him a brief ghen quickly got up, retrieved the bde, and gripped it tightly. His gaze returo the river.

  Moments ter...

  With a gust of wind, Kyoichi appeared behind him using the Body Flicker Teique.

  Kakashi had seen this move before, but he uzzled as to why Kyoichi would use it now.

  Turning to stare at Kyoichi, Kakashi remained silent.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “Huh?” Kakashi blinked in fusion, utterly baffled by Kyoichi’s question.

  “I see you’re lost, so I thought I’d beat some seo you.”

  Kyoichi’s tone was utterly serious.

  But then...

  He sat down beside Kakashi and added, “Still thinking about your sword teique? If you ask me, I need a bde, and you seem to want to throw yours away. It’s a win-win.”

  “I won’t give up the bde!” Kakashi decred resolutely.

  “Didn’t look like it just now. That throretty dramatic.”

  With a swift motion, Kyoichi snatched the White Fang short bde from Kakashi’s hand. Spinning the bde expertly, he eled chakra into it, f a trated, shimmering blue edge.

  Then...

  The water chakra sharpened further, darkening to a deep blue hue.

  With one ssh—swish!

  The air hummed, and the ground split open, leaving a deep gash.

  “What a bde!” Kyoichi excimed, genuinely impressed.

  The White Fang short bde was indeed exceptional. While it was best suited fhtning Release chakra, it worked reasonably well with water chakra too. Using high-pressure teiques learned from the Water Severing Wave, Kyoichi unleashed a powerful strike.

  “Ugh...” Kakashi eechless.

  That’s my bde... Why does he seem better at using it than me?

  “Here.”

  Kyoichi tossed the bde ba.

  The moment Kakashi caught it, he lu Kyoichi with impressive speed.

  But—

  Wherike nded, Kyoichi had already sed pces with a piece of wood.

  Substitution Teique?

  Though Kakashi hadn’t gone all out—deliberately using the back of the bde to avoid harming Kyoichi—he was shocked by how quickly Kyoichi evaded at such cle.

  “Your speed is good, but your attacks are too predictable,” Kyoichi remarked with a grin.

  Kakashi was skilled but still raw. pared to the seasoned shinobi he’d bee iure, there was a noticeable gap.

  “Hmph. I won’t give up the bde. One day, I’ll defeat you!”

  With that, Kakashi sheathed his sword a, a new determination in his stride.

  As Kyoichi had pointed out, if he wasn’t willing to abandon the bde, he o find a way to master it.

  Right now, he was a jack of all trades but a master of was time to choose a path.

  Watg him leave, Kyoichi smirked. He had only stopped by to tease the problem child a bit.

  And sure enough, problem children were hard to deal with.

  Shisui and Asuma were easy to guide, but Kakashi was stubborn aant to ge.

  [Teag on “Choosing a Path” pleted.]

  [Evaluation: Excellent!]

  [Reward: Iaido.]

  “Hm?”

  A reward?

  Kyoichi’s eyes lit up.

  So, despite Kakashi’s stubbornness, he had actually taken the lesson to heart. The kid was just pying tough.

  Thankfully, the system didn’t lie.

  Seeing the reward, Kyoichi’s mood improved even more.

  Iaido...

  The signature sword teique of Mifuhe samurai leader. Essentially, it owerful draw-and-ssh teique.

  This was one of the best rewards he’d received retly.

  The best part?

  Unlike Mifune, who relied solely on physical skill and discipline, Kyoichi had no qualms about using chakra to enhahe teique.

  “Too bad I don’t have a good sword. Whehe Seven Ninja Swordsmen going to invade Konoha? ht, the Sword of the Thunder God should still be with the Third Hokage. Maybe I borrow it for a while.”

  After p for a moment, Kyoichi decided to give it a shot.

  At worst, he could trade it for the Seven Heavens Breathihod.

  Having made up his mind, Kyoichi headed straight for the Hokage’s office.

  When he arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi was reviewing early graduation didates’ files from the Academy.

  “Shisui, Asuma... Who else should I pair with them?”

  Rin Nohara?

  Probably not the best fit.

  Rin excelled iical knowledge and chakra trol, making her an ideal didate for mediinjutsu training. Pairing her with Shisui and Asuma might not work well.

  Just then, Hiruzen sensed Kyoichi’s presence.

  “Ah, Kyoichi!”

  “Lord Hokage!”

  “e in, e in. I was just about to summon you. Since you’ve been promoted to Jōnin, are you willing to take on a team?”

  “Of course,” Kyoichi replied after bowing and taking a seat.

  “Shisui and Asuma both want to be in your squad. Their grades are excellent. If you have no objes, we’ll finalize that. As for the third member, who do you think would be best?”

  Hiruzen showed him two didates: Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yuhi.

  “Kurenai,” Kyoichi answered without hesitation. “Rin is better suited to being a mediinja. While I have some knowledge of mediinjutsu, I’m not profit enough, and she might not sync well with Shisui and Asuma.”

  He also suspected that Hiruzen didn’t want to separate Rin from Obito. The tter’s attat to her pyed a signifit role in shaping his character.

  “Same thought I had,” Hiruzen said, nodding as he wrote Kurenai’s name.

  With that settled, he turned back to Kyoichi.

  “But I doubt you came here just to discuss your team, did you?”

  “No, Lord Hokage. I’ve been practig swordsmanship retly and feel I’ve made some progress. However, I ck a suitable chakra bde. I heard that the Sed Hokage left behind a personal on…”

  Kyoichi trailed off, feeling a bit shameless for openly asking for resources.

  “You’re talking about the Sword of the Thunder God? It’s true that my teacher left it behind, but it might not suit you.”

  “That’s fine. I’d just like to borrow it for now. When I find a more suitable bde, I’ll return it to the vilge. If necessary, I’m willing to trade one of my self-developed secret teiques in exge.”

  Gcell