Kakashi suddenly realized that the one who had made a mistake wasn't him.
The real problem was the man standing in front of him.
No... "problem" wasn't even the right word.
The man was simply abnormal.
How could someone become stronger just by swinging a sword?
Kakashi stared at the man in front of him as if he were looking at some kind of monster—no, something even stranger than that. An existence completely beyond common sense.
"Ahem. Kakashi, don't underestimate this kind of sword-training. You still have a long way to go."
Shiki smiled faintly as he patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
Of course, there was no way he could tell him that he had a cheat-like system.
"Yes!"
Kakashi nodded seriously.
At first, he truly hadn't believed it. But now the truth had unfolded right in front of his eyes. No matter how unbelievable it seemed, he had no choice but to accept it.
Without explaining any further, Shiki turned his gaze toward Tsunade.
At that moment, Tsunade still looked completely stunned. Even she probably couldn't imagine that Shiki's strength could grow at such an absurd speed.
"Go boil some water for me. I'm going to take a bath."
"...Ugh, got it."
Tsunade nodded blankly. She didn't say anything else, just turned around and headed into the house.
At the same time, noticing Kushina Uzumaki had just walked in, Shiki said casually,
"I'll take a bath first. After that, let's head to the Land of Demons together."
"Ah... okay."
Kushina nodded, still a little dazed.
Although she really wanted to go out and relax, there was no need to rush. She wasn't lacking a little extra time.
"This man..."
Inside the seal, the Nine-Tails observed Shiki through Kushina's vision.
A tailed beast's perception was far sharper than a human's.
The man standing in the yard didn't release any obvious aura at all, yet the Nine-Tails still felt something terrifying from him—a sense that if they ever clashed, he would be the one to lose without question.
That feeling was even more frightening than what he had felt from Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju back then.
"This place called Konoha is seriously cursed."
In other places, a genius like this might not appear even once in a thousand years.
But Konoha?
It hadn't even been that long, and now a third monster like this had already appeared.
It was so ridiculous that even the Nine-Tails felt speechless.
Shaking his head lightly, the Nine-Tails said nothing more.
After all, he was sealed right now. No matter what he said, it wouldn't change anything.
So after watching for a little while longer, he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.
Meanwhile, after Shiki entered the house to bathe, Kushina slowed her steps and looked at Kakashi, who was still continuing his sword swings.
"Did something happen just now?"
Kushina found it strange.
A sudden increase in strength like that had to have some special reason behind it.
Kakashi understood her confusion, but all he could do was shrug helplessly.
"Nothing happened. He was just doing this kind of sword-swinging training."
"That's it?"
Kushina looked at Kakashi, who was striking the iron post over and over again, her face full of disbelief.
Since when could such simple sword practice help someone grow stronger?
If someone was weak, then maybe this kind of basic training would still be useful.
But when your strength had already reached this level, how could something so fundamental still have an effect?
"Maybe... there really is something special about this kind of training."
Kakashi replied in a low voice.
Other than that, he couldn't think of any explanation.
At that moment, Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara arrived as well.
"Did something happen here just now?"
That overwhelming pressure from earlier had spread through all of Konoha, so naturally both Kurenai and Rin had sensed it too.
"You'll find out later."
Kushina shrugged and didn't explain much.
After all, once Shiki came out, they would understand soon enough.
Kurenai and Rin could only nod, still confused. It wasn't really the time to press further.
But when Rin noticed Kakashi was still doing his sword-swinging training, she couldn't help but ask worriedly,
"Kakashi, have you really been training this whole time? Shouldn't you take a break?"
Kakashi knew Rin was worried about him.
But the moment he thought about how Obito Uchiha had died to save him, his expression hardened, and he shook his head firmly.
"No. I want to become stronger... stronger than anyone else. Because only then..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
But everyone present could feel the determination in his voice.
Only by becoming stronger could he protect the people he wanted to protect.
"Kakashi..."
Rin looked at him with concern in her eyes.
She understood that, at a moment like this, no matter what she said, it would be useless.
All she could do was silently support his choice.
Tsunade, who had finally recovered from her shock, glanced at Kakashi and Rin's situation with a speechless look before turning away.
Then, after tidying herself up a little, she prepared to leave for the Hokage's office.
"Alright, you all wait here for Ryu-kun. I'm leaving first."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
...
"It's finally done."
Shiki, soaking in the bath, could clearly feel the changes in his current strength, and he couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh.
At this point, his strength had truly reached a peak.
Of course, what Shiki cared about the most right now was the identity of his new template character.
Thinking of that, he didn't hesitate.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he summoned his cheat system.
[God-Level Template System]
[First Template: Golden Lion — Shiki]
[Template Compatibility: 100%]
[Second Template: Shiki Tohno — Progress: 1%]
[Abilities Acquired from Template: Top-Tier Armament Haki, Top-Tier Observation Haki, Top-Tier Advanced Conqueror's Haki, Top-Tier Swordsmanship, Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Awakened), Mystic Eyes of Death Perception (Initial)]
[Skills: Basic Three Ninja Techniques, Body Flicker Technique]
[Daily Tasks: None]
Now that his compatibility with Golden Lion Shiki had reached one hundred percent, the daily tasks were gone.
But this newly appeared template character made Shiki frown slightly.
If someone only heard the name Shiki Tohno, it might not leave much of an impression.
But the true issue was the ability that came with it—
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
That was the truly broken part.
In a sense, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception was also a kind of ocular ability.
Compared to the dōjutsu of the ninja world, its nature was much simpler.
Whether it was the Sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan, or the Rinnegan, those eyes possessed all kinds of complex and varied abilities.
But the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had only one power.
Just one.
And yet that single power was terrifyingly unreasonable.
It allowed the user to perceive the lines of death in all things.
As long as those lines were cut, anything—living or nonliving—would be destroyed instantly.
No matter what it was, once its line of death was severed, it would perish as though its existence had been completely cut away from life itself.
That was exactly why the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception was such a terrifying ability.
In theory, it was even a power capable of killing gods.
"It's really incredible..."
Shiki's eyes gleamed faintly.
This ability could be combined perfectly with his own swordsmanship.
See the line of death, then cut it down with a single slash.
It was practically the definition of cheating.
"However..."
After the brief excitement faded, Shiki quickly realized something important.
"How am I supposed to improve this template?"
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The Golden Lion template had been simple enough. He only needed to swing his sword every day.
But this new one...
What exactly was he supposed to do with it?
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