Konoha's Mission Master

Some turmoil immediately broke out in Konoha's upper echelons, mainly because the latter two decrees threatened the interests of too many people.

The Anbu, Sakumo Hatake's direct subordinate unit, also developed some grudges against Hatake due to the increased commission rates for Jonin missions.

However, Hatake Sakumo remained unmoved and quickened his pace in carrying out orders. The enemy could kill him, but they could never make him submit. Once he made up his mind, he would never give up or back down because of difficulties.

Ten days later, the matter was settled.

Those who tried to coerce Sakumo Hatake into changing his policies all met a tragic end. At this moment, they finally understood the difference between Sakumo Hatake and the Third Hokage.

Hard as iron, never yielding or bending.

The Third Hokage chose to move among the various ninja clans to find balance and establish a community of shared interests. Sakumo Hatake, on the other hand, became Hokage to realize his deepest ideals and ambitions. He wanted to use his position as Hokage to accomplish great things, even if it meant his death.

On the other hand, after layers of screening by the Anbu intelligence department, the first batch of eighteen members of the Uchiha clan joined the Anbu.

Meanwhile, the Konoha Guard was recruiting from across the entire village, and the Uchiha clan began to have more interactions with the village.

At home, Yakumo used the remaining six essence stones to enhance his Demon-Subduing Sword. Although he practiced dual-sword style swordsmanship, the Demon-Subduing Sword was much stronger than the Jade-Unlocking Sword, making it Yakumo's main weapon, while the Jade-Unlocking Sword was naturally his secondary weapon.

[Weapon Interface]

[Subduing Demons]

Weapon type: Long sword (75.3 cm)

Increase rate: 108%

Enchantment: None

Yakumo carefully infused chakra and sensed the changes. The silver-white blade was drawn, reflecting a bright, clear silver light into the dark room, like a pool of clear water.

With a light flick of the finger, the blade emitted a soft hum.

With a gentle flick of his wrist, the silver light detached from the blade, disintegrating into scattered silver specks a split second before hitting the wall.

The bedroom was suddenly filled with an interplay of light and shadow.

Currently... there are four Grandmaster Breakthrough Scrolls.

Now that the conditions for upgrading Hatake Secret Manual have been met, Yakumo thought for a moment and made up his mind to upgrade Hatake Secret Manual today. He stood up and skillfully crawled into the wardrobe.

The shadow clones went on alert.

The sleeping baby quietly opened its eyes a crack.

Master Hatake 1600/1600 『Breakthrough』

Without hesitation, Yakumo gently tapped the button and broke through.

[Hint: This process requires three Grandmaster Breakthrough Scrolls. Do you wish to proceed?]

Yes or No

Of course…yes!

"A single, fatal blow..."

Yakumo thought to himself, trying to interfere with the evolution of the sword technique through his own will. At this moment, he lacked the power to secure victory in an instant.

With a loud bang, Yakumo fell unconscious once again.

This time, he came into the courtyard and saw a young figure constantly chopping at the gray giant tree in front of him.

The tree was enormous, seemingly nearly a thousand meters tall, and its trunk was so large that it would take at least ten people to encircle it.

The blades roared like a tiger's fury. The moment the two blades struck the tree trunk, they erupted with a deafening metallic clang and a flurry of sparks. The shockwave, carrying dust, dissipated.

There were no knife marks on the giant gray iron tree.

That strike, though possessing the power to split mountains and shatter rocks, could not shake that ordinary, unremarkable giant gray iron tree.

Yakumo took two steps forward and passed straight through the man's body. He carefully examined the tree trunk and found only the original marks on it. The fierce slash had not harmed him in the slightest.

The figure did not lose heart and immediately began to gather strength to swing the blade, again and again... until the blade broke.

He threw the two weapons into a corner of the courtyard and picked up the two iron weapons again to slash.

The sun and moon alternate, spring goes and winter comes.

Weapons broke one after another, but the giant gray iron tree remained unharmed, and even time seemed to stand still around it.

From a spiritual perspective, Yakumo observed that decades had passed and not a single leaf had fallen from the tree, while the boy's face had never aged.

"Ding--"

The weapon broke, and the boy threw it aside.

The boy had already switched his weapon to a short blade.

It had piled up into a small mountain in the corner of the courtyard.

“Annoles, the Immortal Tree can never be cut down, just as life and death can never be reversed.”

Suddenly... a third person appeared in the courtyard. She was a blonde, blue-eyed European and American beauty with a tall, curvaceous figure.

In Yakumo's memory, no third person had ever appeared in the previous skill derivatives.

"I believe I can..."

The boy named Anorles simply responded and continued wielding his sword. In his eyes, the blonde, blue-eyed beauty was far less important than the immortal tree before him.

At this moment, Yakumo suddenly realized that his transformation this time was different from the past. He had been stuffed into the memories of a powerful person by the game system!

Yakumo immediately began to carefully observe and comprehend the process of Anorles wielding his sword, watching him chop down trees year after year.

He could finally confirm that the boy's mastery of power was far superior to his own, and that he also completely outclassed him in terms of skill.

Three hundred years later.

Annoles' appearance has matured a lot, but he still looks like he's only in his twenties, as if time is flowing more slowly through him than through others.

Over the years, he has been wielding his sword to chop at the immortal tree before him, but no matter how much power he gathers or how much stronger his strikes become, he cannot budge it in the slightest.

Over the years, that blonde, blue-eyed beauty had visited many times. According to Yakumo's guess, that beauty must be a young man who really liked wielding a sword.

Over the course of three hundred years, she transformed from a young girl into a voluptuous and stunningly beautiful woman, yet the boy's eyes remained fixed only on the gray, immortal giant tree, never lingering on the woman for even a moment.

The woman came again that day, but she didn't come alone. Standing next to her was a sprightly old man with a full head of silver hair.

The two watched the boy wielding the sword from afar…

The next second, the boy held his breath and focused intently.

He slowly swung his twin swords, golden energy swirling around the blades, gradually staining them with a pure, exquisite gold.

"Destroy the city!"

The immortal tree remains unshakable.

"Not concise enough..."

The boy sat down, leaned against the immortal tree, slowly closed his eyes, and began to comprehend his sword techniques.

The old man's eyes showed surprise.

The power of this attack has already surpassed his...

In the blink of an eye... five hundred years have passed.

Over the years, Anorles, wielding his knife, has risen and swung it three times, each strike stronger than the last…

The oppressive aura emanating from the blade gradually subsided, and its swings no longer shook the heavens and the earth. Yet, Yakumo was quite certain... Anorles had become even stronger.

Even today, a sharp glint flashed in the boy's eyes, as if he had grasped a fleeting opportunity in the darkness. He jumped up with some surprise and drew his sword again.

This time, he mobilized his energy in a subtle way, with only a fleeting golden light that stopped in an instant, leaving a three-finger-long, extremely thin cut on the trunk of the immortal tree.

For the immortal tree, this wound could be described as insignificant, but it signifies that Anorais had truly wounded the immortal tree, which was said to be the hardest tree in the world.

That moment of extreme speed...

Yakumo didn't see it clearly at all. If the sword had been aimed at him, he would have had absolutely no ability to defend or dodge it. That move was completely superior to his own.

“I did it…” Annelies murmured.

But no one was there to witness this miracle with him. The wound on the Immortal Tree healed at an incredible speed, and streams of blue energy detached from the trunk, eventually converging into a blue nine-sided crystal before Anorales, floating in front of the boy…

This is an immortal gift, an eternal crystallization.

It contains divine power…

The next moment, the immortal tree suddenly faded into thin air... until it disappeared completely, leaving the entire courtyard empty.

"This move is called... Instant Light."

With a loud bang.

Yakumo's spirit was taken to an unknown space where there were countless figures, identical to Yakumo, endlessly wielding their swords in imitation of the boy's strike that cleaved the Immortal Tree.

It must have been that fleeting moment of light.

Finally one day…

A flash of golden light appeared... then vanished in an instant.

Countless figures converged, and Yakumo's mind was filled with all the memories of this move. In the process of simulating this move, his swordsmanship level was gradually raised.

Outside, three golden beams shot out from Yakumo's body, reacting with the air in an unknown way and opening three passages. The other side of the passages was filled with the damp, fishy smell of reptiles, dense croaking of frogs, and towering stone forests.

The natural energy of the three sacred sites has been stolen again!

No, it should be called robbery. Under the influence of unknown energy, Yakumo's body absorbed natural energy through a channel like a black hole, gradually strengthening Yakumo's body.

Breathe, breathe, breathe…

Yakumo's face turned rosy, and her breathing gradually became long and even.

A gentle breeze rises in the quiet room, tiny arcs of electricity swirl in the space, and Ba Yun sits at the core, fast asleep in silence.

Natural energy is transformed...and infused into the body...

Agility: 39.9…!

[Hint: Further upgrades require Awakening Scrolls!]

[Hint: Further upgrades require Awakening Scrolls!]

[Hint: Further upgrades require Awakening Scrolls!]