[New Trait: Swordsmanship Initiate!]
[Quality: White]
[Description: No finesse, just pure stats!]
[Effect: Your sword strike speed is increased by 20%!]
[Evolution Requirements: Technical Mastery path (500 Achievement Points); Nintaijutsu Fusion path (1000 Achievement Points)]
This was the new trait Ayane had grinded out yesterday. Having trained in blade arts with her father since childhood, she had a solid foundation—otherwise, her old man wouldn't have left her a specialized ninja tool like Stormrazor.
After the two battles in Maba Village, years of "accumulation" finally broke through. In just a few days of focused reflection, she had manifested a formal system trait for her swordsmanship.
However, as the description suggested, her current style was mostly muscle memory. She relied on raw speed and reflexes rather than sophisticated techniques.
Her moves were basic: stabs, parries, and vertical slashes. Still, it was a significant step up. Against a utility-focused ninja like Eagle, she was now overwhelmingly dominant.
"Hey, hey! Is it really that easy to get a breakthrough?" Eagle grumbled, pouting. "If you just wanted to tease me, just say it! You bully!"
Ayane flickered in front of her, a small sphere of swirling water forming in her palm. She held Eagle steady, using the water to wipe a smudge of mud off the girl's mask, then gave her forehead a playful flick. "Quiet. Do you want roast meat or not?"
Eagle shut up instantly.
Swan... Eagle thought, her eyes wide. She's a girl just like me, but her roasting skills are better than my dad's—and he was a professional butcher before joining the Recon unit! The mere thought of Ayane's cooking made Eagle's mouth water.
Ayane, unaware of the internal monologue, struck a classic Uchiha Itachi pose—poking Eagle's forehead with two fingers. "Let's go. We'll catch some game for dinner and work on your Body Flicker while we're at it."
The "training" consisted of Eagle being forbidden from using tools or jutsu, forced to rely on pure Body Flicker to catch forest animals.
From a high branch, Woodpecker watched the interaction and smiled behind his mask. He knew quite a bit about these two girls.
Ayane was his "apprentice," the girl he had personally brought from the Academy to the Anbu. She was ten days away from her eleventh birthday.
As for Eagle... though her files were with the Captain, her personality was an open book. After a few days, Woodpecker estimated she was around 13 or 14.
Tch. If only I had daughters like them, he mused. My son wouldn't be so lonely; he'd have sisters to talk to. Maybe then he wouldn't just stare me down every time I come home... Being a single father in this era was truly a struggle.
At that same moment, a few dozen miles away in the sector belonging to the Rain's First Reconnaissance Squad...
A unit of roughly five hundred ninjas was marching in eerie silence. From the swirl symbols on their forehead protectors and their high-quality flak jackets, there was no doubt: this was an elite Konoha force.
"I didn't think the Old Man would have the guts to initiate a decisive battle," a voice whispered at the front of the column. A man with shock-white hair spoke softly.
His companion let out a low, dry chuckle. "If Tsunade hadn't neutralized Hanzo's poison, this showdown wouldn't have happened so soon."
These two were the commanders of this operation. They were the direct disciples of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi: the legendary Jiraiya and the cold-blooded Orochimaru.
At this point in time, Jiraiya wasn't the "Pervy Sage" of the future yet. He still wore a standard Konoha protector instead of the "Oil" headband from Mount Myoboku. But his habits were already forming—specifically, his instinct to bicker with Orochimaru.
"I heard Hanzo wanted this fight too, ever since Sakumo-senpai crushed the Sand's forces," Jiraiya argued, his eyes darting around. "Even if the Old Man hadn't ordered it, it wouldn't have been delayed much longer, right?"
Orochimaru sneered. "You stupid toad. Do you really think the Rain ninja don't know what you know? With the Sand's Puppet Brigade decimated, Hanzo should have moved quickly to end this."
He looked toward the dense treeline ahead, his golden eyes seemingly piercing through the foliage toward the Rain camp. "But Hanzo let this 'secret' leak until it was common knowledge. That speaks volumes of his current state."
"Furthermore..." Orochimaru continued, "he knows the rumors of a decisive battle are spreading, yet he has made no move. He hasn't attacked, nor has he clarified the rumors. He is hesitating. He lacks the conviction of victory."
Orochimaru delivered his final, scathing verdict: "Fierce in appearance but thin in courage; great in schemes but poor in decision! There is no better way to describe the 'Demi-God' of the Shinobi world."
Behind them, the Konoha ninjas whispered among themselves. The morale of the troops, which had been flagging from the long march, surged visibly at Orochimaru's confidence.
Jiraiya looked on, bewildered. Wait, according to Orochimaru, we've already won and we haven't even thrown a kunai yet? That was a "Demi-God" they were talking about! Before they left, the Third Hokage had told them: Don't try to beat him, just stall him.
Jiraiya began to doubt his own intelligence. Am I really that slow? But the Great Sages at Mount Myoboku said I was a genius... otherwise, why would they give me the mission to find the Child of Prophecy?
Orochimaru glanced at his dejected companion and licked his lips with a long, thin tongue, feeling a surge of satisfaction.
His analysis of Hanzo wasn't just a random thought; he had prepared it for a moment when the troops needed a boost. But he couldn't help himself—he loved showing off his intellect in front of Jiraiya.
In the shadows to the side of the Konoha column, a ninja wearing a Rain protector trembled.
An entire elite Konoha unit... here? At this time?
He had to get this message to Lord Hanzo immediately! The Rain scout covered his mouth, terrified of making a sound.
He waited until the Konoha force had vanished from sight before flickering away down a side path.
He failed to notice a small white snake slithering through the grass behind him, tailing him with unwavering precision.
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