War roag.

  The atmosphere grew heavy.

  Asuma recalled Kyoichi’s sword ssh that split the river. He never had muterest in swordsmanship, but at this moment, he fully realized just how vast the gap between him and his seruly was.

  Even though they both practiced Wind Release-based taijutsu, he had yet to fully master Flying Swallow.

  He o work even harder!

  "Sensei, I—"

  Before Obito could finish his sentence, he hesitated.

  He had the distinct feeling that Kyoichi didn’t like him.

  So, even though he wao speak, he wasn’t quite sure if he should.

  Kyoichi cut him off before he could struggle any further.

  "Obito, you don’t o focus too mu training. Instead, spend more time reading—especially books on tactics, teamwork, and battlefield strategy. In small-scale missions, your teacher cover for you and keep you safe, but that won’t be the case otlefield."

  His tone was serious.

  Before Obito’s dest into stupidity, he had at least been a little promising.

  But…

  With a brain like this?

  Whether he had the Sharingan or not, he just couldn’t seem to think things through properly.

  Good thing he wasn’t Kyoichi’s subordinate.

  Obito’s face fell as he thought back to his in Exam performance. He realized that his tactical awareness was severely g—on a real battlefield, he could easily end up dragging his team down.

  But where could he even find books like that?

  "The Uchiha Police Force should have those kinds of books," Asuma reminded him.

  Obito froze for a moment, theated.

  "e fier," Kyoichi said. "I’ll get you a basie. I don’t expect you to uand plex battle tactics or lead troops, but at the very least, you o know how to fight effectively on a battlefield and work with your teammates."

  He uood Obito’s problem.

  The Uchiha Police Force?

  There was no way in hell Obito could just walk in and borrow books from them.

  Aside from Shisui, most Uchiha barely tolerated him. And growing up with just his grandmother, he never really had access to these kinds of resources.

  Of course…

  Kyoichi didn’t say all of this out loud.

  Obito looked at him with grateful eyes.

  "Alright, make good use of your time. If war truly breaks out, fet about just getting promoted to in—if you’re quick, you might even reach Jōnin in no time."

  Kyoichi gave him a word of encement.

  His own in promotion had beeo war, after all.

  The promotion system in wartime was pletely different from iime.

  If this were the era of the Konoha 12, he might have still been a Genin.

  Of course…

  That was if he had stuck to the inal strength of his past self.

  Right now, Kyoichi was a true elite Jōnin—and no one could argue otherwise.

  ---

  Meanwhile, the Daimyō had arrived in Konoha, filled with curiosity.

  Although he had visited Konoha after taking office, the frequent wars i years had kept him away. This was his first time ba a long while.

  But he wasn’t just here fhtseeing.

  Kyoichi had already guessed his iions.

  From their versation earlier—bined with the presence of the Twelve Guardian Ninja—it was obvious that the Daimyō was sideriablishing his own personal ninja force. His attempt to recruit Kyoichi had been proof of that.

  However…

  That was a massive trap.

  Unless he was the Hokage’s son, stepping into that pit meant ruining his future in Konoha. Once he left, he’d never be able to make any real tributions to the vilge again.

  Kyoichi wasn’t aiming for the Hokage position, but he had his own vision for Konoha.

  If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have ied so much effort into training Shisui and Asuma.

  So…

  Only an idiot would accept the Daimyō’s offer.

  ---

  Returning home, Kyoichi spotted Asuma waiting at his doorstep.

  "Huh…"

  This kid…

  Not bad!

  Kyoichi didn’t say much. He simply opehe door aured for Asuma to e in.

  Asuma grinned and stepped inside. Onside, he scratched his head and asked somewhat sheepishly, "Sensei, I was just curious… what exactly did you and the Daimyō talk about?"

  "Nothing much. He asked about the Senju d my grandmother—just some trivial matters." Kyoichi didn’t eborate.

  He g Asuma. This kid seemed unusually ied in the Daimyō, which meant he probably had some thoughts about it.

  So, Kyoichi added, "You should stop overthinking it. The Daimyō has nothing to do with you, and you shouldn’t try to i with him too much."

  "Sensei, do you think the Daimyō has an i in you?" Asuma asked in a hushed tone.

  After thinking it over, Asuma had realized the Daimyō’s true iion.

  Stopping for a break?

  That was just an excuse. The real reason was Kyoichi.

  "Don’t ask. If you have to ask, it just means you haven’t uood. In Konoha, I lead squads into battle and prevent unnecessary casualties. If I go over there, I’d be proteg a single person. What’s the point of that?"

  "Yeah… That’s true…"

  Asuma uood immediately.

  In Konoha, his sensei was a Jōnin—highly valued and respected. But if he went to serve uhe Daimyō, what could he really do?

  Train a ninja unit of his own?

  Not realistic.

  Even though Asuma couldn’t quite articute why, he instinctively felt that the idea was ridiculous—pletely unfeasible.

  In that case, staying in Konoha made far more sense.

  And more importantly…

  It wasn’t just about sensei. As Kyoichi had pointed out, even he had no real reason to i with the Daimyō.

  There was nothing they could aplish over there.

  Sure, the Daimyō was important—but what was even more important wasn’t a single individual, but rather Konoha and the entire Land of Fire as a whole.

  Daimyōs and Hokages could be repced if they died, but if the nation itself colpsed, thehing would be lost.

  The Will of Fire…

  If that was the true essence of the Will of Fire, Asuma felt like he could finally uand it.

  "Sensei, I’m going to go train with my Flying Swallow teique!"

  "Go ahead."

  Kyoichi waved him off.

  Ever since learning Flying Swallow, Asuma had taken an instant liking to it. Now that the exams were over, he had put aside training in Wind Release and Fire Release ninjutsu and was pletely focused on mastering this taijutsu teique.

  Kyoichi didn’t interfere.

  Flying Swallow suited Asuma well.

  He split off a shadow e a it to Tsunade’s pce, while he himself sat down and opened up the Sed Hokage’s Kenjutsu Notes.

  He had already made progress iing Wind Release into his swordsmanship.

  His previous instant kill strike against the Kirigakure Jōnin had been the result of fusing the Vacuum Bde teique with Iaijutsu.

  However…

  His stro affinities were still Water Release ah Release.

  There was no way to incorporate Earth Release into his swordsmanship, but the Sed Hokage was a master of Water Release—surely, there would be something on that subject.

  And sure enough—

  "Water Bde Ssh"

  It was inally meant to be used with kunai, but theoretically, it could be adapted for sword teiques as well.

  That said…

  Its power was underwhelming.

  It needed improvements.

  "I wonder if I ie the high-pressure pression principles of Water Severing Wave… If I refier Release chakra through multiple yers of pression and release it in a trated high-pressure water ssh, it should be viable."

  Kyoichi pted the idea.

  It would be incredibly difficult.

  pressing chakra was already an advanced skill that required exceptional chakra trol. Merging it with kenjutsu—and making it seamless and without hand seals—would be even harder.

  However…

  It wasn’t impossible. He just had to tackle it oep at a time.

  After reviewing everything, Kyoichi g his system interface.

  It seemed like his little versation with Asuma had earned him a reward.

  [Mission plete: "Teag the Will of Fire"]

  [Evaluation: Excellent]

  [Reward: Wind Release Chakra Mode]

  Teag the Will of Fire?

  Kyoichi was momentarily fused.

  All he did was expin a few things to Asuma—he never eveiohe Will of Fire!

  What the hell did this kid imagine on his own…?

  "Eh, whatever. Doesn’t matter. Let’s check out the teique first."

  Kyoichi shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it.

  If Asuma was going to imagihings, at least it was better for him to imagihe Will of Fire than something pletely absurd—like going to serve uhe Daimyō.

  He cimed the reward.

  As soon as he absorbed the memories, he froze for a moment.

  This mode…

  It was actually quite useful!

  Because it made him think of Earth Spear.

  The only drawback of Earth Spear was its weako Lightning Release. But since Wind Release ters Lightning Release, if he activated Wind Release Chakra Mode, he could reinforce Earth Spear with Wind Chakra.

  With this…

  Even Lightning Release wouldn’t be able to harm him so easily.

  Gcell