“No wonder Minato Namikaze took three years to create this teique.”

  Kyoichi had been studying all night.

  It was one of the rare times he had stayed up te sining to this world.

  And the gains were immense!

  Minato had drawn inspiration from the Tailed Beast Ball to develop the Rasengan. However, despite repeated attempts to press chakra, he struggled to succeed.

  He even…

  sidered incorporating sealing teiques to assist in stabilizing the Rasengan—

  Training with balloons? That came much ter.

  The eep-by-step process was meticulously doted in this scroll by Minato himself.

  And it wasn’t just about the Rasengan.

  There was a wealth of other knowledge.

  For example…

  Chakra pression teiques.

  Sealing teiques…

  Although inplete, it was still invaluable.

  Kyoichi carefully put the scroll away.

  This was a treasure.

  Of course…

  The most precious part of this scroll was—

  As its creator, Minato Namikaze had granted him the authority to pass on this secret teique.

  Jiraiya was truly generous.

  Kyoichi khat Jiraiya was the key reason behind this.

  Minato barely knew Yahiko and his group, yet because of Jiraiya, he had been willing to share even handwritten copies of the inal Rasengan research.

  After finishing, he let go of the scroll.

  It floated up on its own and drifted toward the bookshelf.

  Dance of the Shikigami.

  A simple application—but extremely ve.

  Of course…

  Dance of the Shikigami wasn’t without weaknesses.

  It required signifit preparation time!

  Later on, Konan had developed specially treated paper, makieiques resistant to most attacks except oil-based jutsu.

  However…

  That level of preparation required an enormous amount of chakra and time.

  Temporary paper structs could work—

  But their effectiveness…

  Was far inferior, with numerous vulnerabilities.

  Kyoichi found this a bit disappointing. But after thinking it over, he found it reasonable.

  No jutsu erfect.

  Even Gaara had to lug around that massive gourd all day!

  The Following Days

  He experimented with the principles of Dance of the Shikigami to create special paper.

  The results were impressive!

  Just the battle applications alone were incredible, especially when bined with explosive tags—

  An almost unavoidable assault!

  If Konan had fully mastered Dance of the Shikigami ba the Land of Rivers, he wouldn’t have been able to intimidate them so easily.

  “The Akatsuki really aren’t to be trifled with.”

  The weakest among them robably Yahiko.

  But he had a sharp mind!

  Kyoichi was curious—what would Yahiko do now that he had returo Amegakure?

  Unfortunately…

  This world’s unication wasn’t that advanced.

  From Konoha, there was no way to immediately learn what was happening in Amegakure.

  Aside from refining Dance of the Shikigami, Kyoichi had also improved his chakra pression teiques.

  His Water Severing Wave already incorporated pression principles.

  Now, with Rasengan as a reference—

  He attempted to press Wind Release chakra to enhance Wind Release jutsu.

  A major breakthrough was still out of reach.

  However…

  Teiques like Vacuum Wave and Vacuum Bde ied perfectly.

  And the results were evident.

  The power increased signifitly—but the teique required precise chakra trol. Otherwise, there was a risk of self-inflicted injury.

  For now, Asuma and the others weren’t skilled enough to learn it.

  Aside from his own research, he hadn’t ed teag his three students.

  Yesterday…

  Shisui had finally made progress in Wind Release nature transformation.

  So now…

  In addition to Asuma, Shisui would also be learning Wind Release.

  Fortunately, they had covered quite a few Wind Release jutsu retly.

  "Sensei, We Haven't Taken a Mission in a Week…"

  “Are you out of money?”

  Kyoichi chuckled and g Asuma.

  This kid had been ag smug tely—rumor had it he eveed his cssmates to barbecue.

  Asuma's face turned red.

  What did this have to do with money?

  …Okay, maybe a little.

  The Third Hokage wasn’t giving him an allowance, f him to earn his own. Lately, there had been no missions, and his expenses were piling up—it was starting to hurt.

  “That st B-rank mission was an exception. You’re still far from pleting a real B-rank task. Don’t get cocky after just one success. Foproving for now.”

  Kyoichi shut them down without mercy.

  In truth, he hadn’t been taking missions tely simply because he had been too absorbed in his studies.

  “Kurenai, did you finish reading the book I gave you?”

  “Yes, Sensei. I’ve also been practig Palm Healing Jutsu. Retly, I’ve been trying it on fish…”

  “Are your parents sick of eating fish yet?”

  Kyoichi smirked.

  Kurenai blushed, gripping her sleeves in embarrassment.

  Her family’s fridge was still packed with fish. Lately, Yūhi Shinku had been looking visibly tired of them.

  Everyone chuckled knowingly.

  Mediinjutsu was notoriously difficult—

  And every mediinja started by practig on fish.

  "Let's Go See What Missions Are Avaible!"

  Kyoichi stretched.

  Upon arriving at the Hokage’s Office…

  Just as he was about to enter—

  “Master Kyoichi, the Hokage has summoned you.”

  A in was waiting at the entrance.

  Kyoichi paused for a moment, then nodded slightly.

  He signaled for his students to wait downstairs before heading to the office.

  The Hokage's Office

  The Third Hokage was smoking.

  The room was thick with smoke.

  Kyoichi waved a hand to clear the air and stepped forward to pay his respects.

  “I wao speak with you a few days ago, but I heard you were busy with research, so I didn’t disturb you… But you’ve given me quite the headache.”

  The Third Hokage sighed as he put out his cigarette.

  “You mean…?”

  Kyoichi had a good guess—

  It was likely about Yahiko.

  “We just received intel. Yahiko has returo Amegakure… and seems to have met with Hanzō the Samander.”

  The Third handed over a scroll.

  Kyoichi took a look.

  Yahiko went to see Hanzō?

  A bold move.

  Amegakure’s survival amidst the Three Great Nations was rgely thanks to Hanzō’s efforts.

  If Yahiko could reignite Hanzō’s ambitions and use his influethen Amegakure, theime, the vilge might rise to bee a dominant force among the smaller nations.

  Of course…

  That was Kyoichi’s perspective.

  From the Third Hokage’s standpoint…

  He might not be thrilled.

  Kyoichi set down the scroll.

  “I think this is a good thing. A stronger Amegakure could serve as a buffer between us and Iwagakure. If ōnoki ever siders attag Konoha, he’d have to think twice about this thorn in his side.”

  “Jiraiya said the same thing.”

  The Third Hokage nodded.

  He put away the scroll and tinued, “For now, we’ve decided to leave Amegakure’s situation as it is. If Yahiko and his group influence Hanzō’s decisions and make him more favorable toward Konoha, that wouldn’t be a bad oute.”

  Then, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and handed Kyoichi another scroll.

  Kyoichi frowned slightly.

  He ope—

  The Hiding in Mist Teique: Analysis and termeasures.

  What was this?

  Were they bei east to deal with Kirigakure?

  Kyoichi was baffled.

  His team…

  At their current level, sending them against Mist ninja ractically serving themselves on a ptter.

  “Ahem. Just study it for now. The Land of Water is beiless… We may need your team’s support ter. You know how things are in Konoha…”

  “Short on manpower? Lord Hokage, you’re really not afraid of pushing us too hard!”

  Kyoichi eechless.

  Fenin, the eastern front was the deadliest battlefield.

  Kirigakure’s ninja were experts at eliminating weaker oppos.

  The Hiding in Mist Teique and Silent Killing made them lethal adversaries.

  Unless someone had a special ability, a Genin squad entering Mist ninja would be in serious danger.

  Kyoichi wasn’t too ed.

  But Asuma…

  That was aory.

  “I trust in your abilities.”

  “…No pressure at all, huh? Alright, Lord Hokage, if that’s all, I’ll take my leave.”

  Leaving the office, Kyoichi pondered for a moment—

  Then chuckled.

  Of course the Hokage knew everything happening in Amegakure.

  He was the Hokage.

  And as for Jiraiya’s discussions with him…

  Kyoichi could already guess.

  Clearly…

  The two had fual disagreements.

  Jiraiya had likely refused the Hokage position, leading to his versation with Kyoichi. And it seemed Jiraiya had withheld certaiails about Nagato.

  Keeping an ace up his sleeve, huh?

  Kyoichi didn’t mind.

  His own strength—whether hidden or not—didn’t make much difference.

  But Nagato…

  That was another matter entirely.

  The Rinnegan…

  Now that was a hot potato.

  Gcell