Konoha's Mission Master

The book states that when wielding a sword, one should maintain a steady, unremitting breath, coordinating it with the movement of the sword. While this may not improve physical health, it at least prevents one from getting a stitch during practice...

Of course, it sounds simple, but it is extremely difficult to do. As time went by, Yakumo's arms, waist, and even legs became very heavy, as if they were filled with countless bags of lead.

Maintaining steady breathing became increasingly difficult, and finally his breathing became erratic. After completing a standard downward slash, Yakumo sheathed his sword, placed it between his legs, sat cross-legged to recover his strength, and adjusted his breathing.

Sit quietly and meditate, feeling the shape, weight, and sharpness of the knife on your leg. The book says that the weapon is an extension of the body, so don't treat the knife as an external object, but as a part of yourself.

A dozen minutes later, Yakumo picked up a glass, gulped down a large mouthful of cold water, and then got up again to practice his sword skills. He was serious about the mission…

As the former emperor of the liver and the ultimate master of the liver, he created countless legends and records, which led to his mysterious obsession with missions, directly resulting in his sudden death in his previous life.

Once…twice…three times.

He collapsed to the ground, his breathing became disordered again.

After resting, he got up again, his eyes resolute, with a hint of crazy obsession.

The next day, Yakumo dragged his aching body on a painful yet enjoyable morning run, and only returned to normal after the warm energy from submitting the mission washed away most of the soreness.

On Wednesday night, Yakumo practiced the basic eight forms as usual. Two days and eight hours of training had made him shed his rustiness and become very proficient and natural.

A gentle breeze rustled the surrounding wild grass, washing away the sweat from Yakumo's body. In the unnoticed training ground, the boy continued to accumulate strength and grow stronger.

June 10th, Thursday, evening.

Training Course.

This time, Yakumo didn't start training immediately but instead opened the skill panel that he hadn't looked at in a long time.

Personal Skills

Active: Water Bullet Beginner 50/100 'Acceleration'

Basic Swordsmanship Beginner 60/100 『Speed ​​Up』

Gold coins: 400

With a slight thought, he tapped the word "Accelerate" after the basic sword technique, and 400 gold coins disappeared instantly four times in a row.

"We strive to create happiness; we wish you a pleasant gaming experience."

Memories of countless sword practice sessions flooded his mind. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of memories, Yakumo stood frozen in place. When he came to his senses and touched the sword on his leg again, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

The skill interface represents entries for basic sword techniques. Proficiency increases rapidly until it reaches 100. The word "beginner" begins to seem illusory and is gradually replaced by a new realm.

Active: Basic swordsmanship at Proficiency 0/200 'Acceleration'

At this moment, he seemed to break through some kind of constraint and enter a higher level. Yakumo opened his eyes and clenched his fist slightly, as if this breakthrough had made his body more powerful and his vitality more vigorous.

With this question in mind, Yakumo opened his personal panel.

[Personal Panel]

Name: Jing Bayun

Age: 7

Constitution: 4.8 (Endurance, Resistance, Recovery)

Strength: 3.5 (Weight, Attack, etc.)

Agility: 4.0 (Neural reaction, running)

Intelligence: 4.3 (learning ability, mental resilience)

Chakra: 6.2 (10 points to advance to Genin)

This… Yakumo was a little stunned. The breakthrough in basic swordsmanship had increased his physique and strength by 0.4 each, which was equivalent to the gains from two and a half days of daily tasks. It was an unexpected surprise.

This improvement should be a visible bonus from the breakthrough in proficiency, since he didn't receive any attribute points when he used gold coins to accelerate his basic swordsmanship yesterday.

After gulping down a few mouthfuls of cold water, Yakumo stood up again. This time, his swordsmanship was no longer rusty; the flashing blades even possessed a certain beauty, as well as a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

A withered yellow leaf flew from afar on a gentle breeze. Yakumo focused his gaze, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed down fiercely.

As the blade flashed, the withered leaves shattered into pieces in mid-air. Yakumo let out a long breath and shook his head, dissatisfied with the result.

On Wednesday afternoon, he witnessed Kakashi Hatake wielding his sword to slice a flying leaf in half, leaving the cut straight and smooth while the rest of the leaf remained intact.

That is the perfect slash, effortlessly controlling extreme violence with a fine line between the lines. Only such a slash can cut through armor and severely injure or kill the ninja inside.

He still has a long way to go…

Now his headache is how to obtain swordsmanship from Kakashi and master it to the basics within the remaining three days. Is finding an opportunity to talk to Kakashi the only way?

Giving up... is impossible...

Chapter 7 Acquired

Friday.

After breakfast, Yakumo went out for a morning run and "happened" to run into Mori Masako, who was also planning to go out. The two then started exercising together.

"Yakumo, you seem to have changed a bit."

"What's different?" Yakumo's heart tightened.

So, it was the original owner's childhood friend who saw through her scheme? Yakumo began to quickly think in her mind how to... explain herself.

Yakumo walked through the crowd expressionlessly, but in his mind he was calculating where he had given himself away.

Is it because he recently refused to train with her, or because of his recent attitude towards her? Or is it because I've been paying more attention to Kurenai Yuhi lately?

“Your demeanor is different today than yesterday,” Masako Mori said after a moment’s thought.

"Become extremely sharp, just like Kakashi."

"Perhaps it's because my swordsmanship has improved a little recently. You know I've been practicing swordsmanship a lot lately," Yakumo explained, secretly relieved.

"But you've only been practicing swordsmanship for four days, haven't you?" Mori Masako continued to press.

“Maybe I’m a genius at swordsmanship,” Yakumo laughed, then asked.

"Can others notice the change in my demeanor?"

"What kind of genius are you? A genius who has never won a fight since he was a child?" Masako Mori rolled her eyes.

"As for others, they probably won't even notice this change in you."

"That's good."

Today's incident served as a reminder to him; as he continues to hone his swordsmanship, his aura will become increasingly sharp and piercing.

If he wants to continue hiding his talents and remaining inconspicuous, he must solve this problem, because as his chakra reserves increase, it will become more difficult to conceal himself.

In sensory ninjutsu, a massive amount of chakra is as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the darkness.

"If only I had a ninjutsu that could conceal myself..."

Yakumo sighed softly, secretly resolving to be even more cautious about improving his strength in the future.

Upon hearing Yakumo's sigh, Mori Masako's eyes darted around rapidly, and after a moment, she seemed to have made up her mind.

"We happen to have a ninjutsu for concealing your true nature. I'll let you practice it tonight."

"How come your family has such ninjutsu?" Yakumo asked instead of immediately agreeing.

"A few years ago, my father obtained a secret manual from a Kirigakure assassin on the battlefield. After successfully mastering it, one can change their personal temperament, appearance, chakra fluctuations, and so on."

"That's not a good idea. How about I trade you my family's secret ninjutsu, the Water Bullet?"

"You're not talking about that technique Uncle Jing uses to water flowers, are you? Don't you know... that ninjutsu has no offensive power at all; its main purpose is to water flowers?"

Yakumo was stunned; there must be some misunderstanding here.

"Haha, no way, no way, you really don't know?" Suddenly, the girl let out a silvery laugh, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the air around them.

"Okay, okay, stop laughing, I need some peace and quiet!"

The notebook clearly says it's very powerful, so how come it's only good for watering plants in Dad's hands?

A few days ago, he tested the power of water bombs; the impact was enough to send an adult flying.

Could it be... that Dad didn't understand it?

Yakumo began to anticipate how dumbfounded Mori Masako would be when she truly witnessed the power of the water bullets.

In the afternoon, there was a free training session.

Yakumo found a good spot and was about to watch Kaka practice his swordsmanship when, unexpectedly, Kaka walked straight towards him.

The visitor is not good.

"You've been spying for four days, were you learning swordsmanship?"

Kakashi asked directly, and Yakumo was slightly taken aback; this was too direct…

A chilling murderous intent emanated from him.

It felt like if his answer didn't satisfy Kakashi, he would draw his sword the next moment.

Stealing someone else's secret techniques in Konoha is a major taboo, and you absolutely cannot admit it now... not even if you're beaten to death.

Behind Yakumo, Masako Mori clenched her fists instinctively, as if preparing to strike at any moment.

“This is a very serious accusation. I wasn’t peeping at your practice; I was just reading a book,” Yakumo said, lifting the book from his lap.

“You’re lying,” Kakashi replied, his eyes beneath his silver-white, tousled hair devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Is it time to make a move?" Yakumo thought to himself, feeling that any explanation would seem pale and powerless under that deathly gaze.

"If you want to learn, I'll teach you."

Kakashi was as concise as ever, but the content caught Yakumo off guard.

Why do you think I would want to learn swordsmanship?

"You crave to become stronger; this is your opportunity."

Kakashi continued, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

Yakumo suddenly fell silent... He hadn't expected Kakashi to take the initiative to speak to him, nor had he expected to obtain the Hatake sword technique so easily... He would definitely repay this kindness!

Kakashi is still a very upright person, which is largely due to the education he received from his father, Sakumo Hatake.

"Shouldn't that kind of swordsmanship be a secret technique?"