“This is how you tell apart allies from enemies!”

  Shisui was thrilled.

  He finally uood.

  Allies weren’t something you were born with—they were built over time.

  Helping those old grandmothers with Obito wasn’t just an act of kindness; it was a way of turning enemies into friends.

  This was the same thing!

  If he wao ge the Uchiha and steer the the dire he envisioned, he needed allies of his own. He rength.

  Simply put…

  As his teacher had said—when he spoke, someone had to listen!

  “Good.”

  Kyoiodded slightly, saying no more.

  There was no need.

  Shisui had already grasped the core idea. Anything beyond that would be meanio him right now. He wouldn’t uand it, and it might just fuse him further. It was better to let him build his owwork first.

  Still…

  Looking at the situation, Kyoichi found it all a bit ridiculous. He had no idea if Shisui could actually pull it off.

  After all…

  This wasn’t the famed Shisui of the Body Flicker, feared throughout the shinobi world. He was just a five-year-old boy. Strong for his age, yes, but pared to the overall shinobi unity, he was nothing more than a drop in the o.

  As Shisui left, the system’s notificati.

  Another wave of rewards!

  And this time…

  It was a genjutsu teique.

  Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven ah ge.

  Kyoichi was surprised. He had assumed it would be a Sharingasu. But iy, it was a ter-genjutsu teique. The reason it was often associated with the Sharingan was because the dojutsu’s keen perception and dispelling ability made it far more effective.

  This teique involved numerous methods for breaking illusions!

  Kyoichi was fident that if he were caught in a genjutsu now, he could break free in an instant—or even turn it against his oppo!

  Without a Sharingan, the effect wouldn’t be as overwhelming, but at the very least, it would prevent chakra disruptienjutsu.

  Not bad. A solid gain!

  Kyoichi was quite pleased.

  It wasn’t an overwhelmingly powerful jutsu, but it patched up one of his weaknesses.

  He wasn’t g in offeeiques.

  A skill like this was far more useful to him.

  That said…

  The real priority was the Yin Seal. If he could somehow develop a funal version of it…

  Mastering this teique would be invaluable in every aspect.

  Normally, this would be an incredibly difficult process.

  Sealing teiques were among the most plex arts, where even the smallest miscalcution could lead to plete failure.

  However…

  Kyoichi uood the principles and intricate details behind the Yin Seal. And he had another sealing teique—

  The Four Symbols Seal!

  A top-tier fuinjutsu, just a step below forbidden teiques.

  Although the two weren’t identical, they shared some on structures and principles that could be leveraged.

  Kyoichi sketched out the seal’s structure.

  After studying it for a while, a thought struck him—

  Wasn’t this just a reservoir?

  If he didn’t have a rge enough "reservoir," he could just store a smaller amount instead.

  While it wouldn’t hold as much as Tsunade’s, at least it would be usable. Better than nothing—especially since he had no iion of practig Creatioh. As long as he could ie it with Byakugou no Jutsu and his breathing teiques, it would be enough.

  He carefully analyzed the sealing formu. By removing a few unnecessary symbols, he could shrink the capacity of the Yin Seal.

  It seemed feasible!

  However…

  He decided to sult Tsunade first.

  Kyoichi sent his idea over through Katsuyu.

  Lately, his summons had been used mostly for unication. Good thing Katsuyu atient—if it had been one of the toads from Mount Myoboku, they’d have quit a long time ago!

  Before long, Tsunade’s reply came.

  “Lady Tsunade says removing those symbols won’t have majative effects, so it’s worth a try. However, doing so will signifitly increase the chakra trol required. Proceed with caution.”

  “Thank you very much!”

  No major drawbacks?

  That meant it was viable!

  Kyoichi was now seventy pert fident. With no severe side effects, he could afford to experiment boldly.

  A short while ter…

  The seal was roughly formed.

  But…

  Would it leak? That remaio be seen. He had to pour chakra into it to find out…

  After a long time…

  As his chakra flowed into the seal, it gradually accumuted. But before long, some of it began to seep out from another area.

  The removal of one of the symbols had promised its iy!

  After several trials, he started to get a better grasp of the problem. Fortunately, he had already created a shadow e earlier. After stant experimentation, his chakra was nearly depleted.

  The day…

  Upon waking up, Kyoichi refined his chakra and eled a portion into the modified Yin Seal.

  By afternoon…

  Roughly one-fifth of that chakra had leaked out.

  However…

  This was the best result so far.

  For parisoried using the inal formu.

  As soon as he infused chakra, it scattered along multiple pathways, sending a sharp pain through his forehead. He immediately stopped.

  As expected, modifying an S-rank sealing teique wasn’t simple!

  “Fet it. I’ll just use a simplified version of the Four Symbols Seal to patch the leaks for now. I unlock it when needed. It’s a hassle, but at least I won’t have to recharge it every day.”

  Kyoichi came up with a temporary workaround.

  No other choice…

  His current version was barely usable, but the chakra leakage was too signifit. Sihere was nent bat situation, he might as well seal it properly for now.

  An added bonus…

  Unless someoively broke the Four Symbols Seal, no one would even realize he ractig the Yin Seal.

  After finishing, his stomach growled loudly.

  After eating, Kyoichi went for a run and stopped by to che Shisui and Kurenai.

  Kurenai ractig Chakra Scalpel—

  A mediinjutsu she valued highly!

  It could be used for both offense and defense.

  If she mastered it, she’d have arump card for the third round of the exam.

  Shisui, oher hand, ractig swordsmanship.

  Judging by his form, it was the Uchiha-ryu Kenjutsu, incorporating Fire and Wind chakra for increased power. It was quite formidable.

  After a brief gnce, Kyoichi moved on.

  He had given Kurenai the ninjutsu scroll, and Shisui didn’t need his guida the moment.

  As for the third round of the in Exams—he had already heard the news.

  The Daimyo had been invited.

  Clearly…

  This was essentially a rge-scale "Genin-level military exercise," meant to showcase Konoha’s new geion and assure the Daimyo of their strength, so he wouldn’t feel pressured by reat nations.

  Kyoichi had no pns to interfere in the exams.

  Right now, he just wao quietly improve himself, refine his swordsmanship, and have his shadow e research Hidden Mist Jutsu, Mediinjutsu, and Mirage Illusions.

  Everyone was busy!

  A…

  Despite that, the Third Hokage still assigned him a mission.

  “The Daimyo has agreed to visit Konoha. You and Minato will escort him and ensure his safety.”

  The Third spoke with a serious expression.

  “Just the two of us?”

  “The Genin in the exam ’t go. Mix up the teams. Asuma, Obito, and Yamashiro Aoba will form a temporary squad.”

  Holy, in the Hokage’s mind, just Kyoichi and Minato were enough.

  But…

  For the Daimyo’s peaira people would make him feel more secure.

  “Yes, sir!”

  Minato agreed immediately.

  Kyoichi rubbed his temples aantly nodded.

  Well, the vilge aying him, after all.

  At the vilge gates…

  Asuma looked shocked and curious.

  Obito, oher hand, seemed listless aed.

  Though Guy had advao the third round, Obito and Aoba had been eliminated early. Knowing that, Obito deeply regretted his choices.

  If only he hadn’t rushed in recklessly!

  After cheg in, they left the vilge.

  Not long after, Asuma couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

  “Sensei, what’s our mission this time?”

  “To escort the Daimyo.”

  “...Huh?”

  Gcell