Konoha's Mission Master

At the age of seven, his swordsmanship was perfected.

At the age of twelve, he was already a master of swordsmanship.

Eighteen years old, a master of swordsmanship.

In this way, an eighteen-year-old's strength would surpass that of a Kage. While his destructive power might be inferior to that of Susanoo, his swordsmanship is a power cultivated through his own practice, and it has virtually no side effects.

"Itachi gave me a lot of confidence."

Fugaku Uchiha said that as long as he could be as patient as possible, Itachi Uchiha would naturally be able to lead the Uchiha clan to suppress the Senju clan again in ten years. Temporary humiliation was nothing to him.

"Alright, Itachi, stop now."

Not far away, Itachi Uchiha sheathed his sword.

He stood a meter in front of Yakumo and waited patiently for Yakumo's evaluation.

"Your progress is very good, but you have reached a bottleneck. This bottleneck is the perfection of your skills. You can subconsciously make the optimal solution for each attack. The way forward depends on your own understanding and thinking."

Yakumo gestured for Uchiha Itachi to sit beside him, intending to systematically review and re-examine his swordsmanship.

After Tsunade told Fugaku Uchiha his thoughts, there was no need for the two to continue their conversation; it was just a matter of exchanging respectful and flattering words.

"The road ahead can be roughly divided into two paths."

Yakumo opened his palm, gathered his chakra, and created a blue wind blade about five centimeters long in his palm.

"First, it relies on chakra nature transformation."

Uchiha Itachi moved a dozen centimeters closer, observing the blue wind blade in Yakumo's palm, which was entirely composed of chakra.

"The nature transformation of wind-type chakra is sharpness and cutting."

As Yakumo moved, the chakra in his hands began to change, and a dangerous aura spread continuously, transforming from a static wind blade into a flowing gale.

From the outside, the wind blade seems unchanged, but the swirling gale around it proves that the wind blade has undergone a terrifying transformation.

"This is the level of training that peak ninjas have reached, transforming their own chakra into wind, and evolving it into flowing wind. Only flowing wind can destroy everything in its path."

Yakumo constantly adjusted the shape of the wind blade in his hand, twisting and changing its shape according to his will, occasionally growing to a height of more than ten centimeters.

The wind blade behaved extremely obediently.

"But human strength is finite. Sakumo Hatake, also known as Lord White Fang, proposed an idea that borrowed from the Sage Mode state and used constantly condensed wind-attribute chakra to draw upon the natural energy of heaven and earth."

As Yakumo spoke softly, Itachi Uchiha could sense that some kind of energy in the world was rapidly merging into the wind blade, and the originally blue wind blade slowly solidified, revealing a color like beautiful jade.

"Of course, only when one's own wind-type nature changes to a certain degree can one feel and attract the energy between heaven and earth. In fact, the secret manual of this path is equivalent to the fusion of ninjutsu and taijutsu and Sage Mode."

Fugaku Uchiha, who was standing next to him, did not leave. Instead, he listened attentively to Yakumo's story. Because of the inhumane suppression he suffered at the hands of Nawaki Senju, he was also inspired to continue to work hard and become stronger.

With a gentle toss, Yakumo sent the wind blade soaring into the air at an incredible speed. As it flew, it continued to absorb natural energy until it exploded like fireworks at a height of tens of meters, turning into scattered blue light spots.

"When you use a sword to manipulate natural energy, that is master-level swordsmanship. Currently, Uncle Hatake and Kakashi are both following this path, with wind-style chakra nature transformation as the core of master-level swordsmanship."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head, his mind filled with the image of the blue fireworks that had just splashed. Even the sunlight could not suppress the blue brilliance, and even from dozens of meters away, he could still feel the terrifying pressure.

"Master... what attribute did you use as the core of the Master level back then?"

Yakumo answered directly upon hearing this.

"My master-level swordsmanship is based on the dual attributes of wind and lightning. Although the variations of moves with dual attributes are far greater than those with single attributes, I suggest that if you want to go down this path, fire attribute is the core for advancing to master level."

“Dual attributes equal double the difficulty,” Itachi Uchiha said.

“That’s right, and the Master level isn’t the end of swordsmanship. Above that, there are Grandmaster and Dao Transformation levels. There’s no need to slow down the overall progress for the sake of temporary strength,” Yakumo said.

"I understand. I will begin my research on the nature transformation of fire-type chakra immediately, and strive to use it as the core to draw upon natural energy and advance to the master level of swordsmanship within two years."

It might be an exaggeration to say that someone could reach the master level in two years, but when Itachi Uchiha said it, his tone was full of strong confidence, which made people believe him without even realizing it.

"Actually, there is another way to advance to the master level."

"pole.."

"This is the path pioneered by your senior brother Yougu Qianxue. Since I did not follow this path, I don't know much about it... According to his explanation, it is to wholeheartedly repeat a single move."

"Master, what does 'wholeheartedly' mean...?"

"Discard many emotions and focus solely on the blade. Practice for long periods every day, using all your strength each time, constantly pushing your limits until your moves can draw upon the power of nature. This will achieve the effect of the first breakthrough method: drawing upon the power of nature with the blade."

Yakumo replied.

"The two methods are different, but the final result is the same."

After a moment's thought, Itachi Uchiha concluded that the first method was more in line with his own situation. After all, he had his father, mother, and younger brother whom he could not sever ties with, so he could not truly be devoted to the sword.

"The results are the same, but there are still differences."

"A gap? Teacher, what kind of gap is that?"

"Anyway... the paths of predecessors can only be learned from, only one's own insights and understanding are what the protagonist possesses. Itachi, you are a true genius... why not, while you are training in fire-style chakra nature transformation, also think about what kind of swordsmanship you want."

Yakumo answered as carefully as possible, but a look of confusion appeared in Itachi Uchiha's eyes. Clearly, he couldn't understand what kind of swordsmanship he should have.

"In short, figure it out yourself... Of course, you can also use the first method to break through. Given your compatibility with flames, the power you can unleash with your master-level swordsmanship will not be low," Yakumo explained.

“I understand.” Itachi Uchiha nodded.

Judging from his reaction, it is clear that he intends to find his own path. Geniuses always have pride in their hearts and want to forge their own path, even if it is winding, it is the one that suits them best.

"Keep it up," Yakumo encouraged.

"I will definitely do my best," Itachi Uchiha replied.

"I think you shouldn't be distracted by learning ninjutsu, but you could learn the Shadow Clone Technique. The Shadow Clone Technique can be used to train fire-type chakra nature transformation, and it's a very convenient ninjutsu. But don't spend too much energy on training ninjutsu."

Before leaving, Yakumo gave Itachi some instructions.

This time, Fugaku Uchiha rose to see him off, walking very respectfully ahead of Yakumo and quietly leading the way, but Yakumo was certain... he had something to say.

As the two approached the gate of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha's hesitant expression hardened, and he turned to Yakumo and spoke.

"Lord Yakumo, do you have a way to improve my strength?"

“Well, even if you continue to improve your strength, you still won’t reach the level of Senju Nawaki. You might as well focus on training Uchiha Itachi. Perhaps in ten years you will be able to fight Senju Nawaki,” Yakumo replied.

Although Devil Fruits can greatly enhance one's strength, unfortunately, the relationship between the two is not good enough for Yakumo to be willing to give up a Devil Fruit, so Yakumo politely declined.

…………

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Chapter 414 Partner Dinner

After leaving the Uchiha clan's territory, Yakumo recalled Fugaku Uchiha's request, but he ultimately decided to refuse.

Seeing that it was almost time, he prepared to head to the barbecue Q gathering. There were no elders at this gathering, only him and his friends, so the conversation was more relaxed.

6 PM, inside the Q BBQ private room.

Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Kakashi, and Masako Mori were already seated. As for Chiyuki Yukotsu and Shyvana, they were not present. Shyvana was there to avoid disrupting the atmosphere, while Chiyuki Yukotsu simply disliked this kind of gathering.

The hot plate was covered with marinated beef, which sizzled and dripped oil as soon as it was placed on it. In addition to fruit juice, we also ordered two jugs of sake this time.

"Would you like some drinks, Yakumo?"

Obito Uchiha handed a transparent wine glass to Yakumo. The glass was already filled with clear wine, and you could smell its sweet aroma.

"Then let's have some drinks."

Yakumo didn't refuse. After all, he was an adult and drinking a little alcohol wouldn't be a problem. Besides... alcohol had no effect on his constitution; it was no different from drinking water.

"I am currently undergoing the assessment process to apply for a position in the security department."

Obito Uchiha drank a cup of sake with gusto, his face flushed, and his tone was tinged with excitement.

"You're from the Uchiha clan, joining the Guard should be easy, right?"

Back then, Sakumo Hatake opened up a channel for the Uchiha clan to join the Anbu. In exchange, the Konoha Police Department also expanded its recruitment to various ninja clans, but the Uchiha clan still maintained absolute dominance.

"The Security Department is no longer the same as it was two years ago. Although the Uchiha clan has a lot of influence now, they can't make all the decisions. The alliance between the Hyuga and Senju clans can already influence the Uchiha clan's influence."

In the beginning, the Uchiha clan still dominated the Guard Department, but with the change of Hokage, the then 'Senju Nawaki' issued a series of policies targeting the Guard Department, purging most of the Uchiha clan members.

The extra vacancies were divided between the Senju and Hyuga clans. When the two clans gained significant influence, they began to use the voting system to target the Uchiha clan, which further weakened their influence.

This is the reason why Fugaku Uchiha has white hair. After all, the Guard is the foundation of the Uchiha clan, but he is gradually losing control of this foundation, and he obviously bears inescapable responsibility for this.

Obito Uchiha paused slightly, took a sip of sake, and continued.

"It's very difficult for members of the Uchiha clan to join the Guard Department now. Since I'm planning to get married... I'll give up going out on missions. The Guard Department is now the perfect career that many Konoha ninjas are looking for."

The difficulty is extremely high because the Senju and Hyuga clans control the assessment, and they use fairness as an excuse to make it as difficult as possible for the Uchiha clan to join the Guard.

Yakumo learned this from Obito Uchiha's words.

With the construction of the three major districts of Konoha, Konoha's tax revenue suddenly increased several times, and a large part of this tax revenue went into the cost of expanding and developing the Guard Department.

Konoha's current finances mainly come from three sources: the annual allocation from the Fire Country Daimyo, the cost of the life cell regeneration surgery, and the ever-growing regional tax revenue.

The first two categories covered the expenses of all departments in Konoha, while taxes were specifically used to recruit new members for the Guard Department, most of whom came from the Senju clan.

The Guard Department now essentially manages everything that happens within Konoha, and in terms of power and priority, it is virtually equal to the Anbu.

This was Orochimaru's design: externally, there was the Anbu, which monitored a great deal of intelligence in the ninja world and instilled fear in the villages; internally, there was the Guard Department, which oversaw all the systems of Konoha. Only the person who mastered both of these could be considered the true Hokage.

"Are you confident?" Yakumo asked Obito Uchiha after hearing this.

"Well... well, how should I put it?"

Obito lowered his head, and seeing this, he could tell that Obito actually had little confidence.

"The Security Department's assessment process has two or three steps. The first is the background check, which Obito has already passed. The second is the written test, which mainly tests two types of materials that need to be memorized: Konoha's security management and Konoha's policy on defense against espionage. You also know Obito's score on the written test when he was in school."

Seeing that Obito was too embarrassed to speak, Kakashi offered an explanation.

"I understand... Obito has virtually no chance of passing the written test."

Thinking of Obito's unbearable written test scores, Yakumo finally understood why he was bowing his head at this moment... too ashamed to face him.

"What...what? I just have a low chance!"

Obito Uchiha immediately raised his head and muttered something in dissatisfaction.

“After all, this is Obito’s third time taking the test, so I feel like he should be about ready this time… no problem.” Kakashi replied expressionlessly.