“I see. So, the way you developed this Active Teique was simir to how you created the Eight Gates—it was just a result of blind perseverance, rather than iional design. The repeated activation of the Gate of Opening must have loosened your chakra locks, enabling this effect.”

  The Eight Gates are essentially chakra locks within the body.

  Training in the Eight Gates gradually reduces their side effects. For someone like Might Duy, opening up to the Sixth Gate was almost effortless, but he hadn’t trained much beyond that.

  As a result...

  His strong physical dition unsciously allowed him to partially open some chakra locks, not fully activating them but still gainiain bes.

  This was a unique advahers couldn’t replicate.

  At least not Kyoichi. He could only open up to the Third Gate of the Eight Gates, far from being able to access the Gate of Life, let alone actally loosee of Opening.

  Moreover, Kyoichi’s chakra trol was highly refined, so suiional breakthroughs were almost impossible for him.

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Might Duy asked, slightly fused.

  “It’s great for you and Guy, but other Jōnin probably ’t learn it,” Kyoichi said holy.

  Might Duy’s improvemehod was something Kyoichi could theoretically mimic, but it was impractical. The teique demanded aremely high level of physical strength, which most Jōnin simply didn’t possess.

  However...

  Developing a weaker version of the Active Teique would require an ih uanding of cells and mediinjutsu. Unfortunately, Kyoichi’s knowledge in these areas was rudimentary.

  If only Tsunade were still in Konoha.

  Kyoichi thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps you could adjust the teique to suppress the activation level, just enough to avoid interfering with the Eight Gates. That might make it more practical.”

  “Huh? It works like that?”

  Might Duy froze, p the suggestion.

  It makes sense!

  The solution seemed simple, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself. His enthusiasm reignited, and he ched his fists with a loud decration: “Wonderful! My youth burns brighter than ever!”

  With that, Might Duy ran off, leaving Kyoichi standing there, speechless.

  Like father, like son, indeed.

  Still...

  Might Duy’s version of the Active Teique was intriguing. It naturally and partially opehe Gate of Opening, redug energy ption and side effects while allowing him to exert nearly full power when bined with the teique.

  Kyoichi decided it was worth trying to incorporate into his own training, especially as he worked toward opening the Sixth Gate.

  As for the Seven Heavens Breathihod, that would have to wait until he could learn more advanced mediinjutsu from Tsunade.

  ---

  The squad was newly formed, and everyone was focused on training their respective subordinates. Kyoichi maintained his routine of pleting three missions a day, using the opportunity to guide his students in rotation: Yuhi Kurenai, Asuma, and Shisui.

  Asuma and Shisui were straightforward to instruct—teag one Wind Release teiques and the other swordsmanship.

  Kurenai, oher hand, was trickier.

  Kyoichi only kwo genjutsu teiques, her of which was suitable for her to learn. His mediinjutsu knowledge was simirly limited to the Mystical Palm Teique, which required signifit foundational knowledge and couldn’t be taught quickly.

  Thus, the only viable option for Kurenai was Kyoichi’s modified Body Flicker Teique.

  Fortunately, Kurenai was diligent and eager to learn, which made up for the limited material he could offer.

  And, of course, the system rewarded him daily for his teag efforts.

  Over the past ten days, while no high-level jutsu had been awarded, Kyoichi had gained several useful teiques, such as Great Breakthrough and Hell Viewing Teique.

  Most satisfying was the ial improvement in his swordsmanship.

  Although small, it saved him months of shadow e practice.

  ---

  “Kyoichi-sensei, Lord Hokage says the backlog of D-rank missions has been cleared, and there aren’t enough left. We ’t assign you three anymore.”

  “ all?”

  “Well, there’s one. You take it if you want.”

  The in handing out missions stood firm.

  The truth was, there were still missions avaible, but the ret influx of Geniurning to the vilge had quickly depleted the supply after ten days of frantic activity.

  “Sensei, why don’t we just take one for now?” Kurenai suggested.

  For most Genin squads, eveing one D-rank mission was already good. The fact that they’d been doing three a day was remarkable.

  Kyoichi g the mission list.

  After ten days of training, his students had made siderable progress. D-rank missions weren’t yielding much improvement anymore.

  If only one mission was avaible...

  “Fine. I’ll take this k mission.”

  Kyoichi poio one of the entries.

  Road repair assistance.

  Uhe famous Great Narute of the Land of Waves, these road repair missions were focused on rebuilding infrastructure damaged by the war. The aim was to restore trade routes and protect against bandits.

  “A k mission? That involves...”

  The iated, unwilling to approve the assig.

  But before he could refuse ht...

  g!

  Kyoichi smmed the Sword of the Thunder God onto the desk, startling the in.

  “You think being a Jōnis you intimidate people?” the in thought, stunned and flustered.

  After a moment’s hesitation, he mustered the ce tue, “Newly formed squads aren’t allowed to take k missions.”

  “That rule applies iime. Right now, even the 12-year graduation rule has been waived. Why g to outdated policies? Approve it.”

  Kyoichi’s tone carried a hint of exasperation.

  A month of peace, and people were already dragging out old rules.

  The in faltered, gng nervously at the mission log.

  “Cough. Let him take it.”

  Suddenly, the Third Hokage appeared, pointing to a specific mission.

  “Assist with rebuilding Hakuen Town.”

  Hakuen Town?

  Kyoichi vaguely recalled it. Situated in the western part of the Land of Fire, it wasn’t a former battlefield but was he Kikyō Pass area.

  “Uood. Thank you, Lord Hokage.”

  Accepting the task, Kyoichi couldn’t help but wonder about the Third Hokage’s iions.

  Allowing a newly formed squad to take a k mission wasn’t surprising—times of war often blurred such lines. However...

  Why specify this mission?

  Something about it seemed unusual.

  Still, Kyoichi didn’t voice his doubts.

  His students, Asuma and Kurenai, were visibly excited about their first k mission. Shisui, aced to patrolling with the Uchiha Police Force, was more indifferent but heless eager to learn.

  “Be cautious in Hakuen Town,” the Third Hokage said. “While you’re there, take the opportunity to scout the surrounding area.”

  With those parting words, Kyoichi and his team departed the vilge.

  “Don’t fet to practice along the way. Remember the Body Flicker and taijutsu teiques I’ve taught you,” Kyoichi instructed.

  “Uood!” the three replied in unison.

  Kyoichi activated his Body Flicker Teique, leading the way as the team followed.

  The post-war Land of Fire was retively safe, with few bandits ue ninjas remaining. Still, Kyoichi frequently used chakra sensing to s their surroundings, ensuring there were no ambushes.

  He even wished for an attack—it would be a good opportunity to test his team’s abilities.

  Unfortunately, the journey was uful.

  Still, Kyoichi had a hunch that Hakuen Town held some hidden trouble.

  Gcell