After watching them leave,
Obito let out a breath of relief, then said indignantly, "I thought he was a comrade. Turns out he was a traitor… Damn it! At a time like this, there are still people selling village intelligence? That's unforgivable! He deserves to be cleaned up by the Anbu!"
Yuu glanced at Obito and said calmly, "You believe everything they say?"
"Huh?"
Obito froze, then scratched his head. "Aren't those two masked guys Anbu directly under the Third? They shouldn't lie about something like that, right? And that traitor really did attack us just now. If you hadn't stepped in, Yuu, both that guy and I might've been hurt…"
"Seeing isn't always believing, much less hearing. You don't even know that 'traitor's' name. You only listened to one side of the story from a few strangers, and now you know what he did?"
Yuu paused. "Also, those two just now weren't Anbu. They were Root."
"Root?"
Obito looked blank. "What's that?"
Yuu figured explaining it properly would be troublesome, so he only briefly mentioned the existence of the Hokage's assistant, then raised his hand and used Wild Water Wave to douse the bushes that had been set on fire by the Great Fireball earlier.
"In short, if you run into this kind of situation in the future, don't judge too quickly. Think more."
There was a subtle reminder for Obito in his words.
After all, from his god's-eye view, Yuu knew that Obito would definitely be set up by Uchiha Madara in the future. The only uncertainties were the timing and form.
Yuu did not dare openly reveal Madara's existence. After all, he currently had no ability to fight Madara head-on. Speaking recklessly would only bring disaster upon himself. As for whether he could stop Madara's actions, he had no certainty either. All he could do was make Obito a little more cautious, so he wouldn't be so easily used as someone else's weapon.
As for whether it would work…
Do what you can, then leave it to fate. Saying something was better than saying nothing.
Obito scratched his head and nodded as if he half understood. "Oh… I get it."
Beside them, Rin looked thoughtfully at Yuu. She faintly felt that things might not be that simple, but did not ask further.
The encounter with Root was only a small interlude.
After that, the three finished lunch, rested for a while, and started training again.
Rin sparred with Obito as promised.
Logically speaking, Obito was definitely stronger than Rin, and by quite a bit. But Obito clearly didn't dare go all out against her. During the spar, he was tied up by his own hesitation. Add in the restraining effect Water Release had against Fire Release, and after a few minutes, he was nearly sent flying by Rin's Super Strength punch.
Seeing this, Yuu could only step in personally and train with Obito for a while.
This time, Obito finally used his true strength. His Fire Release had indeed improved a lot compared with the exam. He had even learned to use the Sharingan to copy Yuu's movements and mirror him in a head-on clash, faintly giving off the air of the "Copy Ninja" Kakashi from the original timeline.
However, ninjutsu could be copied, but battle rhythm was not so easy to replicate. So Yuu didn't spend much effort before defeating Obito.
"…Ah! I was so close!"
"But it's fine. I can feel the gap between me and you shrinking, Yuu. I learned a lot just now. I'll definitely use it next time!"
Obito shouted unwillingly.
Yuu did not comment.
The three trained separately for a while longer. Seeing the sky gradually darken, Yuu began packing up.
"Let's stop here for today. The sun is about to set. Let's go eat Ichiraku Ramen together later. My treat."
"Really? Yay!"
Seeing Obito so excited, Rin rolled her eyes at him.
"Obito, Yuu was promoted to special jōnin, and you didn't give him any gift. Yet you're still making Yuu treat us. That's really inappropriate."
"Huh?"
Obito scratched his head. "Sorry, sorry, I totally forgot about that… Don't worry, Yuu. I'll prepare a gift for you. When the time comes, I'll definitely surprise you!"
"…"
Yuu looked at Obito and Rin, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
He really was a little afraid Obito would dig out one of his Sharingan on the spot and say he was giving it to him as a gift. That scene would be a bit too terrifying. But considering that there was still quite a while before the Kannabi Bridge incident, the possibility of Obito suddenly dying and gifting him an eye was not high. Most likely, he would give some ninja tools or something like that.
"Since things have come to this, let's eat first."
"I still have another lesson to learn later, so hurry up."
Yuu called out first and started walking, already planning his schedule for the evening.
The sealing technique scrolls he had previously borrowed from Minato and Kushina, along with the batch of medical scrolls Tsunade had given him, all required time to study. Although the galgame system could let him take some shortcuts, he couldn't completely slack off. Before the next time he left the village, there were still many things to do…
…
At the same time,
beneath a certain location in western Konoha, inside Root's base.
The air felt heavy.
Shimura Danzō, who had just finished listening to a report, sat on a cold stone chair. His face, half-covered in bandages, looked uncertain in the flickering candlelight.
"Mikami Yuu… him again."
"He only graduated from the Ninja Academy a little over a year ago, yet he has already grown to this level. Truly surprising…"
To be honest, Shimura Danzō now regretted it deeply.
He had known the name Mikami Yuu quite early, and had long since attempted to recruit him. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had interfered, forcing him to stop. But… how had that child named Mikami Yuu jumped directly from genin to special jōnin?
Even the publicly recognized genius Kakashi was still only a chūnin right now!
If he had known earlier that the boy's aptitude was so outstanding, then even if he had to fall out with Orochimaru, he would have taken this sapling into Root and personally cultivated him into a towering tree that carried out his will.
Orochimaru ruined me!
At this moment, Shimura Danzō had completely forgotten that Orochimaru had once helped him select two promising orphans in exchange for Mikami Yuu. He was only filled with regret over missing a fine seedling who could have worked like an ox and horse for him.
It hurt worse than killing him.
Fortunately…
It was not too late.
"Have Suna and Kumo's movements been confirmed?"
Danzō asked.
The subordinate kneeling below immediately replied, "Reporting to Lord Danzō, according to the latest secret report from Nonō, Kumogakure's A-B brothers have secretly left their village and arrived in the Land of Hot Water. As for Sunagakure, they are suspected of reaching a secret agreement with Iwagakure. They have drawn an elite puppet force from the eastern border and are gathering toward the Land of Rivers…
"It is estimated that the next large-scale offensive may break out within one to two weeks!"
"…Very good."
Under the dim yellow light, Danzō narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice cold.
"War is disaster, but also a ladder to rise. That child named Mikami Yuu, as a newly promoted special jōnin and Namikaze Minato's prized student, will inevitably be entrusted with important duties once the new chaos begins. At that time…
"Perhaps that will be an opportunity to make contact with him and bring him into Root. A genius like him can only play his greatest role in Root."
"Yes, this subordinate understands. We will closely monitor his movements and await your orders."
"Leave."
At Danzō's command,
his subordinate's figure silently withdrew like a ghost melting into shadow.
In the vast Root hall, only Danzō remained, continuing to look over intelligence from all over the ninja world. The flickering lamplight stretched his shadow long, like an old jackal lurking in the abyss, waiting to devour someone.
A long while later,
Danzō's movements paused. He picked out one piece of intelligence and placed it aside.
"The Land of Rain, the Akatsuki organization… Hmph, another potential threat. I should find an opportunity to erase them all…"
…
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
That morning,
inside a secluded training ground on Konoha's eastern side, in a clearing surrounded by trees,
two figures moved and clashed like rabbits rising and falcons diving. Blade light flashed like snow, interweaving and colliding with rapid, crisp metallic rings. Sparks scattered.
Nearby, Kurenai sat on a horizontal wooden post, her hands clasped in front of her chest. Her ruby-like eyes stared unblinking at the two people locked in fierce battle, so nervous she almost forgot to breathe.
That's right.
Today's battle was between Yuu and Yūhi Shinku.
Because it was a private challenge, the two did not make a big event out of it. They only brought the sole spectator, Kurenai.
In her eyes, her father's ninja sword moved like wind, agile and continuous. Yuu's swordsmanship, however, was sharp and fierce, smooth and natural. Combined with his fluttering white hair, handsome face, and upright, strong figure, there was an indescribable beauty to it.
From the look of things…
Yūhi Shinku was actually at a disadvantage!
That was right.
Fairly speaking, Yūhi Shinku's swordsmanship was indeed good and could be called expert-level. But his main specialty was genjutsu, with swordsmanship only secondary. Now, under the premise of a "sword duel," facing Yuu's Heart Blade Domain, he would not necessarily lose, but his win rate was honestly hard to push above thirty percent.
Finally…
Yūhi Shinku, who had been suppressed the whole time, flashed his eyes and caught the instant after one of Yuu's exchanges when his old strength had faded and new strength had not yet arisen. Without hesitation, he activated a killing move from Konoha-style swordsmanship—
Willow!
In an instant, a cold flash tore through the air, stabbing straight toward Yuu's chest and abdomen!
At the same time,
Yuu pivoted underfoot, as if he had predicted this long ago. By a hair's breadth, he avoided the tip of Yūhi Shinku's blade. Then, amid his shifting movement, he suddenly unleashed power from his waist and abdomen. His entire body seemed like a compressed spring pushed to its limit, and he swung one blade.
It was a strike faster and sharper than Yūhi Shinku's. Because it was too fast, the short blade transformed into a drifting silver gleam halfway through, like a streak of silver lightning, carrying overwhelming force as it cut toward the point Yūhi Shinku had to defend!
Hiss!
A soft sound rang out, like a hot knife cutting through butter.
Yūhi Shinku held his thrusting posture and froze in place, as if he had seen something unbelievable. One or two seconds later, there was a clatter. The ninja sword in his hand shattered down the middle, and half the blade fell from midair and stabbed into the soft soil.
Across from him,
Yuu held his blade horizontally, his expression calm and indifferent, as if he had merely done something insignificant.
The field fell dead silent. Only the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the uneven breathing of the two, one light and one heavy, remained.
"…Good kid."
Yūhi Shinku slowly lowered his arm and looked at the half of the ninja sword left in his hand, shaking his head bitterly. Although he had anticipated this possibility, he had not expected that he would be defeated by a junior in such a clean and direct way.
He had not even seen clearly how that last slash had been delivered. He only felt an icy silver line sweep past, like…
"To force me into this state, your level should already be about sixty to seventy percent of White Fang's."
"Shinku-senpai, thank you for the match."
Yuu flipped his wrist, and the short blade quietly returned to its sheath. Then he said humbly, "Your swordsmanship is indeed superb. If you hadn't held back a little at the end, I might not have been able to dodge. My final win was purely luck."
"…"
The corner of Yūhi Shinku's mouth twitched, leaving him momentarily speechless.
"Alright. There's no one else here, so you don't need to comfort me with that kind of talk. It's not like I've never lost before. I don't need a junior like you comforting me…
"But what exactly happened just now? I felt like you had completely seen through the intent behind my move."
"This…"
Yuu thought for a moment. "Have you heard of the swordsmanship concept called 'sen no sen'? It means sensing the opponent's attack intent before they attack, then responding in advance… I once happened to comprehend this technique and integrated it into my swordsmanship, so…"
This wasn't exactly nonsense.
Yuu had read swordsmanship books in this world. Someone had indeed proposed this concept. However, aside from the Uchiha clan, with their Sharingan and astonishing dynamic vision, it was very difficult for others to put these ideas into reality.
And Heart Blade Domain was the perfect manifestation of that concept.
But this thing could only be understood, not explained.
So Yuu had no way to explain it in detail to Yūhi Shinku.
At once,
he shifted his attention to the galgame system.
[Ding! Hatake Swordsmanship affection +4. Current affection: 64/100. Special Event "The Finest Sword Art Under Heaven" progress: 1/8. Defeated: Konoha-style Swordsmanship.]
Mm… Hatake Swordsmanship's affection was now above 60.
If he found the Uchiha clan for a few sparring sessions later and defeated Uchiha-style Swordsmanship, he could probably unlock the third-stage trait at 75 affection.
To be honest…
Yuu was a little curious about what Hatake Swordsmanship's fourth-stage trait would be.
Judging from previous experience, most ninjutsu underwent a qualitative change after reaching max affection. If Hatake Swordsmanship's trait was only limited to Heart Blade Domain, then no matter how much the range increased, it would be hard to call it "the finest sword art under heaven."
After all, a certain old Uchiha bastard could use Susanoo to slice through mountains with one swing.
If that thing counted as "swordsmanship"…
then Hatake Swordsmanship was still quite far from number one.
~~~
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