Konoha's Mission Master

Despite Aoyama Reiko's various attempts to probe, Shinichi still did not reveal the purpose of inviting the two.

After the meal, Shinichi personally led the two to their accommodation for the next few days. It was deep within the Daimyo's residence, with a more beautiful environment than the outer courtyard, and there were good-looking servants dedicated to serving them.

Reiko Aoyama returned to her room to rest, as she must have been exhausted from traveling for two days. Yakumo created a shadow clone to study ninjutsu, while his main body began working on missions.

From diaries to reading summaries, and then to daily summaries... Even though daily summaries and diaries are repetitive parts, the task system makes him write two of them.

This is really exciting, double the tasks... double the fun.

At 10:30 p.m., Yakumo looked up and finished his task for the day. As usual, he picked up the Purple Flame and went to the courtyard to start his sword practice for the day. According to the time, he still had an hour to practice.

The blades whistled, and the courtyard was instantly filled with a dense net of blades. Until midnight, Yakumo took a quick shower and went to sleep.

On October 4th, after disguising himself, Shinichi personally accompanied Reiko Aoyama and Yakumo on a tour of the Fire City. From morning to night, Yakumo continued to prepare gifts for her friends, since Shinichi was paying for everything. As the saying goes, it's a fool not to take advantage of a bargain.

On October 15th, the two had been staying in Daimyo Prefecture for a full twelve days. Shinichi still hadn't revealed any purpose; he was more patient than Yakumo had imagined.

Chapter 61 The Rhythm of the Wind

October 16th, Saturday, night.

A gentle breeze blows, and the shadows of the trees sway in the breeze.

For the past ten days or so, Yakumo has been living a very comfortable life. Three meals a day are delivered to his house, and he doesn't have to spend any money to go shopping and stock up on goods.

During this time, Shinichi maintained his image as a good older brother and cared about Yakumo's every little thing. As for his plan, Yakumo had roughly guessed a lot about it, which was to win him over and make him loyal to him wholeheartedly.

On that day, Yakumo displayed his full strength in the Daimyo Prefecture in order to save Aoyama Reiko. It is likely that Shinichi realized his strength on that occasion, so all their encounters after that were not accidental, but rather part of his own plan.

Having figured this out, Yakumo felt more at ease spending Shinichi's money, quietly waiting for him to break through the final barrier.

Yakumo brandished purple flames within the courtyard, sometimes moving as if in slow motion, like an old man whose sword speed was slow yet dignified and peaceful.

At times, it was extremely fast, like a raging dragon breaking through the sky, and purple lines instantly filled the entire courtyard!

The next second, a stroke of genius occurred.

"I've broken through," Yakumo thought to himself.

He then opened the skill interface with a wave of his hand.

Active: Hatake Secret Manual Perfection 0/1200 'Acceleration'

As expected, the Hatake Secret Manual had reached perfection. To his surprise, the perfection level of the Hatake Secret Manual granted him a boost of five points in Agility and three points in Strength.

Warm energy was born out of thin air and began to nourish Yakumo's body. He had experienced this feeling countless times. His body became lighter and the explosive power of his muscles continued to increase.

Five minutes later, everything returned to calm.

[Personal Panel]

Name: Jing Bayun

Age: 7

Constitution: 27.2 (Endurance, Resistance, Recovery)

Strength: 25.6 (Weight, Attack, etc.)

Agility: 27.7 (Neural reaction, running speed)

Intelligence: 24.1 (learning ability, mental resilience)

Chakra: 242.2 (650 points to advance to Kage level)

Gold coins: 22300

Agility suddenly surged ahead, surpassing Constitution to become the peak attribute. With the enhancement of the Hatake sword technique, Strength also saw a significant improvement, while Intelligence, which was originally the second attribute, became the worst.

Yakumo suddenly realized that improving his intelligence and physique was actually more difficult, as there were many ninjutsu techniques in the ninja world that could enhance strength or agility...

As for... intelligence.

He suddenly thought that perhaps he could try to cultivate illusion magic in the future... maybe improving his illusion magic could increase his intelligence.

Yakumo pulled his wandering thoughts back and focused his attention on the Hatake Secret Manual.

Based on Hatake Sakumo's experience, Yakumo can be certain that reaching the next master level requires a long period of reflection and exploration. It's not that he can't achieve it through hard work, but the process may take decades.

Fortunately, he also possesses a unique talent…

Yakumo sat quietly on the ground, placing the purple flame between his legs to feel its length, texture, and even its aura.

As his breathing gradually calmed down, Yakumo suddenly opened his eyes.

"accelerate"!!!

With a wave of the hand, the gold coins vanished like flowing water…

Boom… In that instant, he even had the illusion that his head had been blown open, as if he had undergone a devastating brainstorming session.

Suddenly, layers of invisible breezes swept through the courtyard, spreading outwards from Yakumo's core and eventually forming a spiral storm.

Under the influence of unknown energy, this gentle breeze transformed into clear blue specks of light, dancing up and down in mid-air, creating blue ripples.

However, these blue lights did not last long, and in the next instant they vanished into an invisible wind, enveloping Yakumo in layers. At this moment, he was like a spirit lying quietly in a storm.

Guided by an unknown force, those invisible winds continuously penetrated Yakumo's body, transforming it.

Under the influence of an invisible breeze, the leaves of the trees nearby rustled, Yakumo's black hair danced in the wind, and her black short-sleeved shirt clung tightly to her skin.

Suddenly, images of countless figures wielding swords flashed through Yakumo's mind, starting from childhood and ending with old age.

A brand new cycle begins again, from birth to old age, without beginning or end... the cycle continues until the blade stirs up a raging wind.

Through the burning of the gold coins, decades of change were condensed into a single point of pure light by an unknown force, illuminating the depths of Yakumo's memory.

He was also rapidly absorbing the additional memories in his mind, and his mastery of the Hatake Secret Manual was rapidly improving until it reached complete perfection.

When he opened his eyes again…

initiative:

Hatake Secret Manual Perfection 1200/1200 『Breakthrough』

The moment of transformation has finally arrived.

With a thought, Yakumo made a breakthrough.

Note: This process requires three Master Breakthrough Scrolls and is irreversible. Please choose carefully.

Yes or No

Yakumo paused slightly, realizing that both the Four Stars Alignment and the Mist Burial breakthroughs only required a Master Breakthrough Scroll.

The standard for measuring this cost might be the potential of the skill. In other words, the higher the skill level, the more difficult it is to break through, and the greater the cost will be. Of course, the improvement gained after breaking through will be more terrifying.

Unfortunately, he currently only has two Master-level Breakthrough Scrolls and needs to complete the November mission to upgrade the Hatake Secret Manual to Master level.

The training cost of the Hatake Secret Manual is equivalent to three times that of a C-rank ninjutsu. It truly lives up to its S-rank reputation. A trace of regret rose in Yakumo's heart. He was really looking forward to the master-level Hatake Secret Manual, but the number of master breakthrough scrolls consumed during the breakthrough was beyond his expectations.

However, he did not regret upgrading Mist Burial and Four Star Alignment. The only right way to deal with resources and items is to convert them into one's own power as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, Yakumo got up and continued practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard, adapting to the greatly enhanced physical attributes resulting from the breakthrough of the Hatake Secret Manual.

At this moment, he finally understood that Hatake Sakumo's ghostly movements were all thanks to the master-level Hatake Secret Manual.

As time went on, he gradually adapted to the surge in agility and speed, while also pondering... the value of the Master Breakthrough Scroll.

Twelve cards a year... It seems like a lot, but it's actually not enough at all. Hatake Secret Manual, Palm Healing Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Fine-scale Extraction Technique, Ninja Art: Jizo Needle, Basic Sword Techniques...

This order will be the priority order in which Yakumo uses the Master Breakthrough Scroll. In order to cure Mori Masako's bloodline disease as soon as possible, he must raise the priority of medical ninjutsu several levels.

Thinking of this... Yakumo couldn't help but stop wielding his sword.

During this time, he and Aoyama Reiko did not do nothing; instead, they used the most advanced research laboratory in Daimyo Prefecture to study Mori Masako's problem.

Since he doesn't need to practice his sword skills recently, he can use that time to study blood.

"Knock knock knock." A sound suddenly came from outside the door.

"I'm Shinichi's older brother, please open the door..."

"Okay, coming right now..."

Yakumo's eyes suddenly became wary. It seemed that Shinichi intended to break the ice tonight. If the two couldn't reach an agreement, Yakumo's days in the Land of Fire would probably become very difficult.

Chapter 62 Face it

Yakumo opened the courtyard gate. Under the lamplight, Shinichi was dressed in black casual clothes, his hair was slightly messy, and he looked a little drunk.

A gentle breeze carrying the scent of alcohol wafted into Yakumo's nostrils, and he instinctively took a half-step back—perhaps this was the downside of having an overly sensitive sense of smell.

"Brother Shinichi, what's wrong with you?"

Yakumo immediately put on a worried expression and took two steps forward to support the swaying Shinichi.

"Hiccup, it's nothing..." Shinichi hiccuped, exhaling a strong smell of alcohol, broke free from Yakumo's support, and staggered into the courtyard.

The maid in blue immediately placed snacks, fruit, and sake on the table, and then respectfully withdrew.

He drank cup after cup of sake, occasionally picking up a piece of fruit and swallowing it whole. The atmosphere was silent until his face was flushed with drunkenness, at which point he exhaled a long breath of sake towards the sky.

A gentle breeze blew down leaves, which swirled and twirled in the air before finally landing on the table. Yakumo waited for Shinichi to speak; all the groundwork laid these past few days had been for this very night.

"Sigh, this is so hard for me..." Shinichi sighed softly, his face full of worry. He had been drinking ever since he came in, and now he seemed to be completely drunk.

"The problems within the Land of Fire have not yet been resolved, and the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning is putting pressure on me because I am young."

"Little brother Yakumo, please help your older brother, okay?"

Shinichi suddenly put down his wine glass and stared intently at Yakumo's face.

This scene was incredibly moving, as if someone at their wit's end had grasped at their last straw.

If Yakumo were truly just a seven-year-old child, he might have been fooled by Shinichi's performance, but unfortunately he wasn't... He possessed another set of memories spanning twenty-five years.

"Brother Shinichi, how can I help you?" Yakumo asked with some surprise.

"The envoy from the Land of Lightning wants to buy two hundred tons of grain at half price. This is clearly taking advantage of my youth!" Shinichi slumped down, his eyes losing their sparkle.

A long silence...

"Little brother Yakumo, would you please help your brother kill the delegation from the Land of Lightning?" Shinichi spoke again, his eyes revealing obvious guilt and reluctance, as if he were suffering inner condemnation for making such a request to Yakumo.