Naruto: From Novice to Grave

After the graduation ceremony, as expected, Zhishui was not assigned to a class, but instead returned to his clan to continue his family's training, just as he had guessed.

In particular, he was so provoked by Higashino that he activated his Two-Tomoe technique on the spot, making it even less likely that the Uchiha clan would release him.

Higashino had originally asked him to keep it a secret for as long as possible, but he wasn't a member of the Uchiha clan and couldn't understand their pride, let alone how significant the Sharingan was to their clan.

Furthermore, Shisui also told him that when someone awakens the Sharingan, their chakra will become different from before. Ninjas without sensory abilities might not be able to detect it, but in the eyes of those three-tomoe masters within the clan, it will be as conspicuous as a beacon in the darkness, and it is impossible to hide it.

An 8-year-old with two tomoe is a rare genius in the recorded history of the Uchiha clan. He has now become a great treasure of the clan. How could they possibly let him join any team and waste their time?

You have to understand that things aren't peaceful outside right now. If someone were to die out there while on a mission, it would be a huge loss for the Uchiha clan.

A genius who dies halfway through his journey is meaningless.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the clan should keep Shisui at home like a hothouse flower, because that way she wouldn't get any training or growth.

Instead, they were led by experts from within the clan to experience blood and fire.

They suffer from paranoia, distrust the protection of outsiders, including the village itself, and even believe that some people in the village are themselves a source of danger.

Danzo Shimura: "..."

I don't know anything! Don't try to pin the blame on me!

What?! The inherently evil Uchiha clan has produced a genius who awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan at the age of eight?! Come, let this old man see what's going on!

Hayate Gekko followed the normal ninja procedure, obediently forming a team with others and beginning a pleasant life as a genin.

The original four-person group is now reduced to only Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yugao. You can still occasionally run into Gekko Hayate, but Uchiha Shisui? He's disappeared.

As for Higashino Makoto, aside from occasionally teaching Uzuki Yugao, he devoted the rest of his time to his passion for cultivation.

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Time does not stop because of war, and war becomes increasingly cruel with the passage of time.

In early summer, the temperature gradually rises and the sun shines brightly.

In a training ground far from the main city, Higashino Makoto held the short sword given to him by his father and infused it with a surge of wind-attribute chakra.

This sword is considered an heirloom of the Higashino family. It was forged with a significant amount of chakra metal, resulting in a very smooth energy flow.

If it were all chakra metal, how convenient it would be! Unfortunately, that's practically impossible. Chakra metal is extremely rare, and its price is so high that it would make Kakuzu explode five times on the spot.

A sharp wind attribute condensed on the blade into a visible, substantial chakra cloak, but it was all too obvious.

Higashino Makoto continued to control and converge, until finally, the color of his chakra faded to almost nothing, then he compressed and converged it into the sword. The blade returned to its normal appearance, but its inner essence was completely different.

With a casual wave of his hand, Higashino Makoto unleashed several faint, almost invisible crescent-shaped blade waves that pierced through the air, piercing through several large trees before finally dissipating.

This is the main offensive technique that Higashino Makoto developed for himself after desperately training in the sharp cutting properties of the wind attribute. It is sharp, unstoppable, and extremely fast.

Most importantly, its size is adjustable. When it's small, it's like a miniature bullet; if you get one in the heart, it'll send you flying. When you increase your chakra level, it's a blade wave that can shave the forest in front of you flat.

This unmarked ninjutsu was inspired by Danzo Nabekage's B-rank ninjutsu Wind Release: Vacuum Wave/Vacuum Chain Wave, and later by the elite Jonin Hayama Shirakumo's A-rank ninjutsu Wind Release: Vacuum Sword.

However, that was more than a decade later. I don't know if this senior has developed a vacuum sword yet. If not, then he has become the copyright holder.

Higashino is a man who values ​​efficiency. He doesn't like his methods to be easily evaded by the enemy because wasting chakra is wasting life.

Therefore, he was not satisfied with the vacuum wave series that required hand seals to be exhaled from the mouth. The vacuum sword also required hand seals, although there were not many, but the wind blades emitted were too obvious, just like the vacuum wave.

Relying on his extremely high level of chakra control, Higashino Makoto combined the advantages of two ninjutsu and improved upon them, finally developing the instantaneous, high-speed, and almost invisible blade wave.

Higashino named it: Wind Release: Shadowless Sword.

Using the Instantaneous Movement Technique, Higashino Makoto appeared in the forest. With a light push of his toes, he broke an extremely thin steel wire on the ground, activating the trap.

A barrage of kunai and shuriken shot in from all directions, aimed directly at the figure standing in the center.

Higashino Makoto stood still, his right hand holding the sword moving in a blur of motion, countless wind blades precisely striking before the hidden weapons.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

The continuous cracking sounds continued, and before the kunai and shuriken could even hit Higashino Makoto, they were knocked down into the air and fell helplessly to the ground.

Unlike before when they were merely blocked, this time the kunai and shuriken were not only blocked, but were also split in two, with a smooth, mirror-like cut.

Finally, a thick log, propelled by immense elasticity and inertia, hurtled towards Higashino Makoto, only to be dismembered halfway by his continuous swipes of wind blades. A series of cracking sounds filled the air, and splinters of wood flew everywhere.

Higashino was very satisfied with the result.

Next, he needed to develop auxiliary attack methods and defensive ninjutsu, which also required to be instantaneous. He already had ideas for this.

All I can say is that while hand seals and ninjutsu are cool, they're inefficient. He can perform them and teach others, but when it comes to actual combat, he only demands a swift, accurate, and ruthless instant kill.

Who would stand there and chatter on for ages, then form hand seals and exchange energy? They wouldn't even do it if you stood on their right.

Anyone can be an honest ninja, but he certainly doesn't want to.

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After the ninjutsu test was completed, Higashino looked at the broken kunai and shuriken scattered on the ground and sighed inwardly. Luckily, he used battle-damaged items that he had accumulated during training. If they had been brand new, he would have lost money. Ninja tools made of fine steel are not cheap.

He stretched out his right hand, and the chakra gathered in his palm turned into a flowing wind, which swept up the broken shuriken and kunai on the ground and gathered them into a ball, which landed in the prepared backpack.

Actually, if you don't use chakra for fighting, it's quite convenient to use in everyday life.

As for cleaning up the battlefield, that's something he does every time he finishes training. As a ninja, you have to keep your information secret. This is a rule that Higashino Jiro has told him more than once. So every time he trains, he keeps his senses on to prevent anyone from spying on him.

For example, right now, Higashino has already sensed several figures.

He recognized the chakra auras of two people, but was unfamiliar with the other two, especially one of them, whose chakra gave off a sunny and powerful feeling.

He immediately guessed who it was.

Higashino Makoto tidied up the steel wire tangled in the woods and hid in a large tree not far away.

Soon, a loud, boisterous voice came from afar: "I already told you I didn't sleep in. I just met an old lady who needed help on my way here."

A lazy voice rang out: "It doesn't matter, it's the same as before. I don't expect you to be of any help. I'll be grateful as long as you don't hold me back."

"What did you say, you bastard Kakashi? Who are you calling a liability?"

"The more useless a person is, the louder they shout."

"Ugh, you bastard, arrogant Kakashi, I'm going to kill you!"

"Obito! Kakashi!" The clear female voice called out a name and immediately stopped the noise as if by magic.

Following behind the three was a handsome young man wearing a green vest and sporting a yellow, flamboyant hairstyle, who smiled brightly and seemed quite used to the noise among his students.

However, when he approached the place where Higashino Makoto had just trained, his smiling expression vanished, and he glanced at the marks on the grass and the scattered wood chips.

The oblivious Obito Uchiha didn't notice anything amiss, but Kakashi was different. He asked in a low voice, "Minato-sensei?"

Minato Namikaze glanced around, shook his head, and said, "These aren't signs of a battle. Someone was training here just now; they were probably his comrades from the village. They've already left."

Kakashi nodded without saying anything. This was the village's training ground, and such situations were common. So the four of them continued their usual playful antics and gradually drifted apart.

Higashino Makoto, perched in a tree not far away, smiled slightly. He had just verified something: Minato Namikaze indeed possessed excellent sensory abilities.

However, his perception, which comes with cultivating natural energy, is more magical and more refined than ordinary perception. It can also conceal his own existence.

Minato Namikaze has only one way to find him: to enter the Toad Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, provided that he has already mastered it.

Watching the four figures walk away, Higashino felt a pang of emotion. This might be the last time he would see this team in such a harmonious and friendly state.

If you calculate the time, Obito and his two friends are already twelve years old.

Before long, fate will push these people in completely different directions. All the tragedies of ninjas are condensed in this team.

Higashino Makoto never intended to interfere.

It's very simple: First, I've never been interested; second, I don't have the ability right now; third, it's too dangerous, I can't explain the source of the intelligence, and it would endanger my friends and family.

Most importantly, this is not the world of the past. In the ninja world, the boundary between life and death is very blurred.

Because someone took the lead in breaking the rules of heaven and earth, blurring the cycle of life and death.

Death is not the end of life in this world.