Kyoichi received a new reward.
[Task Completed: Guidance on "The Ninja Mindset and Broader Perspective"]
[Evaluation: Good]
[Reward: Izanagi]
It wasn't hard to guess — this likely came from Shisui's recent guidance of Inahori.
Kyoichi occasionally checked in on Shisui's progress.
Even though he was now quite busy and couldn't personally train those few disciples, it didn't mean he'd abandoned them. His way of caring had simply changed.
After all—
Every student must go through their own process of growth.
Once they became chūnin, teamwork and collaboration with others became more important. Kyoichi couldn't keep taking them along on missions forever.
Even Naruto, back in his genin days, had teamed up with other squads often. It was normal.
Of course, Kurenai's situation was a bit different.
Medical ninjutsu could only improve through hands-on experience, so after her promotion to chūnin, she was stationed mainly in the hospital. That was her way of serving — a practical mission of its own.
That had been Tsunade's arrangement.
As for Asuma — Kyoichi hadn't guided him much lately.
After all, Asuma was currently in the capital, serving as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja captains. Kyoichi couldn't just drop in.
But Asuma didn't need more instruction right now.
What he needed was leadership experience. Once his two-year service ended and he returned to Konoha, he'd surely become one of the next generation's pillars.
Ninjutsu could always be honed later.
Now, Izanagi—
That was an unexpected bonus.
You could never have too many life-saving jutsu.
The strength of Izanagi lay in this: as long as the user wasn't utterly destroyed, they could return themselves to a previous state.
Madara and Obito both used it to deceive powerful enemies.
With it, Kyoichi had gained another safeguard — another card to play if things ever turned dire.
Of course, he had to be cautious against Madara.
If the man also possessed Izanami, then using Izanagi before him would be nothing short of making a fool of himself.
However—
For Kyoichi, the true value of this reward wasn't just the technique itself, but the knowledge it contained.
Izanagi was the power to turn illusion into reality.
That was the essence of Yin Release — the art of manifesting nothingness. Until now, his understanding of genjutsu hadn't yet touched this domain.
Now, he finally had access to it.
"Looks like I've got another headache coming."
Kyoichi sighed.
Before, he could just assign his shadow clones to research while he bore the exhaustion from their feedback later.
But now, those clones were all occupied — constantly observing the artificial God Tree. He couldn't spare any.
"Guess I'll have to do it myself…" he muttered.
Fortunately, with the system's knowledge reward, it wasn't too difficult — just a bit tedious.
Even though he hadn't caused any major stir lately, his quiet directives to Shisui and Inahori had already set certain movements in motion across the world.
The Five Kage Summit hadn't been officially called yet, but everyone was already acting.
Iwagakure and Kirigakure were both conducting underground investigations.
Especially Kirigakure—
Their Mizukage had been manipulated. Even the chosen successor had fallen under control, turning into a rampaging Jinchūriki that devastated the village. It was a national humiliation.
To this day, Kirigakure had no new Mizukage.
The Third was barely clinging to life, and they still hadn't decided who would succeed him. Even Elder Genji was at a loss.
After all, the most suitable candidate — Yagura — had lost much of his prestige after the incident. He was no longer fit to lead. And the others?
Utterly unqualified.
The only real talents were Hōzuki Mangetsu and Terumī Mei—
But both were barely twelve or thirteen.
If they named either of those kids Mizukage now, the whole ninja world would laugh them out of existence.
Because of this, their hatred and fear toward Uchiha Madara had reached the extreme. They wanted nothing more than to tear apart the entire Land of Water to find him.
Ōnoki, too, wasn't resting easy.
With such a shadow lurking in the world, how could he sleep soundly? And since Iwagakure had the most Earth Release users, it fell on him to take the lead in tracking Madara down.
Konoha wasn't idle either.
Almost all of its Earth-style ninja had mobilized.
All except Kyoichi.
Even Obito was sent to the front lines — though he served as bait, constantly watched and marked with a Flying Thunder God seal.
If Black Zetsu or Madara ever tried to abduct him, Kyoichi would actually welcome it.
And not just Obito—
Even Shisui was being deployed.
The next morning, Shisui received his mission order.
He was to travel with Kakashi, Obito, and Sarutobi Shinosuke, now an elite jōnin, to survey the terrain from the Valley of the End all the way to the Land of Grass.
As for Kyoichi—
He wasn't just idling in the village.
While researching Yin Release, he had his real body hidden within Konoha, and a wood clone accompanying the team.
If Black Zetsu did show up, Kyoichi would arrive before they could erase the Flying Thunder God seal.
Of course, he doubted they'd bite so easily.
Shisui and Obito were too obvious.
If he were Black Zetsu, he'd be more interested in Itachi.
After all, the two older ones were mature — mentally fortified, far harder to deceive.
But Itachi, at only three years old… his heart was still pure, his thoughts malleable.
And Black Zetsu had already shown interest in him before.
That's why Kyoichi had also marked Itachi with a Flying Thunder God seal.
Meanwhile, Inahori was busy within the Uchiha clan, spreading Kyoichi's new sword style among his trusted friends.
It was a modified fusion — combining the Fire and Wind Release sword techniques Kyoichi had created with the Uchiha-ryū style to form a unique Uchiha Sword Art.
Time flowed steadily.
Ninjutsu research was tedious work—
But when discovery finally dawned, the satisfaction was immense.
Kyoichi hadn't yet mastered Yin Release completely, but he'd touched its threshold — the first glimmer of how to manifest the immaterial into reality.
For example—
He could now extend his own shadow, like the Shadow Imitation Technique, and silently imprint a Flying Thunder God seal through it.
A simple application.
Yet still far from the Six Paths level — even less than the standard Izanagi.
To reach that height would take long and relentless refinement.
Still, with Izanagi and the Ten-Tails' chakra as references, this step, though difficult, was hardly impossible — just a matter of time.
Fortunately, Konoha wasn't relying on Kyoichi alone anymore.
Nagato, after integrating White Zetsu cells and awakening the Rinnegan, had learned a sensory-concealment technique under Kyoichi's guidance.
He couldn't detect Black Zetsu from afar, but if the creature ever drew near, Nagato would sense it instantly.
That alone eased Kyoichi's burden greatly.
At least Nagato's safety was no longer in question.
And as time went on, the places where Madara could still hide were dwindling.
When there was finally nowhere left to run—
That would be the moment of their final battle.
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