Hey guys, sorry for being late
This is a new update. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
______
Poll
Thanks for your votes, guys; please keep voting
Where should Yukina go after the Fourth Ninja War?
Bleach 104
Cultivation world 128
This poll will be open until I finish writing the 3rd ninja war saga
_______
The Next Morning
After finishing her breakfast, Yukina left the King's palace accompanied by the Dire Wolf King and his Supreme Elders.
The Dire Wolves king looked at Yukina with a hint of curiosity. "So, girl, are you planning to return to your village now?"
With an elegant smile, Yukina bowed her head, "yes, there's no point in lingering here. I must return back to the village train."
"I must conquer the Clouds Piercing Mountain trial as soon as possible; staying here won't help me succeed."
The Dire Wolves king smiled in approval at her words. Yukina then bit her thumb, let a drop of blood fall onto her reverse summoning tattoo, and began weaving a rapid sequence of hand seals.
The moment she completed the sequence of hand seals, she slammed her palm against the ground and shouted.
"Reverse Summoning Jutsu."
"PUFF."
Yukina disappeared in a white puff of smoke.
After Yukina reverse-summoned herself back to Kirigakure, the Dire Wolves king turned to one of his supreme elders. "Okamiji, summon Fang to me. There is something important I must discuss with him."
Okamiji was a towering, black-furred humanoid wolf, his muscular frame matched only by the menace in his crimson, slitted eyes.
Okamiji dipped his head respectfully to the Dire Wolves king before vanishing in a blur.
_____
In Fuguki's house
"PUFF."
As Fuguki sipped his favorite sake in the lounge, a sudden white puff of white smoke erupted before him.
He smirked as Yukina appeared before him, a faint smile playing on her lips when she saw Fuguki.
Fuguki continued sipping on his sake and then he started greeting Yukina.
"Well, well, look who finally decided to show up! Welcome back. So… how did the trial go? Did you manage to pass?"
Yukina giggled at Fuguki's words, she sat cross-legged across from him, and spoke.
"No, sensei… I failed again. The higher I climb, the stronger gravity pulls me down. The ice shards fall faster, and the cold gust of wind grows fiercer."
Fuguki let out a disappointed sigh at Yukina's words before replying, "I see… it looks like passing that trial will take you some time."
Yukina nodded her head to Fuguki in affirmation after hearing his response.
After a brief pause, Fuguki fixed Yukina with a serious look and spoke.
"Yukina, go and get ready; you're going on a mission. It could be a long-term one."
Yukina raised her eyebrows after hearing this and asked.
"What kind of mission, sensei?"
"You're being assigned to the border security unit. It's a B-rank mission, but it could escalate to A or even S-rank. Stay alert, girl."
Yukina's eyes widened in shock when she heard the mission could escalate to an A- or S-rank mission. She then asked in bewilderment.
"Sensei… how can this be? It's only a border patrol mission."
Fuguki fixed Yukina with a stern gaze, drained the sake from his saucer in a single gulp, and began his explanation.
"The Third Kazekage disappeared not long ago. During the war council, your uncle predicted that Suna might wage war against us and the other hidden villages. If that happens, you will be on the front lines facing their shinobi forces."
"Our Border Security Unit is keeping watch to see if Suna truly dares to wage war against us; that is why this mission could escalate to an A- or S-rank mission."
Yukina was stunned by what she had just heard. After a few moments, a crazed smirk spread across her face as she began to think.
'Things are really getting interesting. I'm sure I'll be facing some formidable shinobi soon—but how did the Kazekage just disappear all of a sudden?'
'According to the books I've read, the Third Kazekage was the strongest Kazekage in Suna's history, having surpassed his two predecessors. Yet he disappeared all of a sudden—something doesn't add up.'
Yukina snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Fuguki's firm command: 'Stop wasting time, Yukina. Get ready for the mission. Go to my storage room to restock your ninja tools, then meet me at my personal training ground. I'll spar with you one last time before you leave the village.'"
Yukina's lips curved into an excited smirk. She quickly nodded, spun around, and headed to her room to change and ready herself for the mission.
_____
With Yukina
After getting dressed, Yukina left her room and headed toward the storage room.
Yukina wore a short, dark blue kimono that reached her thighs, with a fishnet layer underneath that covered her torso and extended partially along her slender arms and legs.
She also wore dark blue shinobi sandals, carried her black katana on her back, and had her ninja pouch tied around her waist."
Yukina tied her long black hair into a bun, securing it with a long purple ribbon that Aya had gifted her recently.
When Yukina reached the storage room, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Without hesitation, Yukina swiftly restocked her ninja pouch with kunais, shurikens, explosive tags, and steel wires.
Before leaving the storage room, Yukina stored some extra ninja tools into a storage scroll just in case, then began walking toward Fuguki's personal training ground.
As Yukina walked toward Fuguki's personal training ground, a crazed smirk spread across her face, and her mind raced with thoughts.
'I have sparred with Fuguki-sensei nine times over the past nine months, but he has easily defeated me each time.'
'Samehada's ability is so annoying—using ninjutsu against Fuguki-sensei is pointless, yet sparring with him is far too fun because he is incredibly strong.'
'I can't wait to spar with him again.'
______
In Fuguki's Personal Training Ground
When Yukina entered Fuguki's personal training ground, a wild smile spread across her face as she stood before Fuguki.
With a swift motion, she drew her black katana from her back and readied herself to spar with him.
A smirk tugged at Fuguki's lips as he noticed Yukina's eagerness; he reached for Samehada and said.
"Before we start sparring, Yukina, there's something I need to make clear to you."
Yukina felt a wave of confusion at Fuguki's words, yet she stayed attentive, waiting to hear what he would say next.
"I didn't recommend you for the chunin exam two months ago so you could focus on passing the Wolf Clan trials, strengthen your training for the war, and gain more mission experience."
"As far as shinobi skills go, you've become a highly capable kunoichi; I'm confident you could overcome some jonin and hold your ground against others."
After a brief pause, Fuguki's lips curved into a proud smile as he looked at Yukina and spoke.
"I am very proud of you, girl. I have no doubt you will make a name for yourself in this war, so you better survive this mission."
Yukina's lips curved into a faint smile at Fuguki's words. Fuguki's gaze, however, grew serious as he addressed her.
"Yukina, once your mission at the border is complete, I will start training you in the use of Samehada, so that you may inherit my position should I die or retire."
Yukina's eyes widened in shock. Her gaze flicked to her black katana, then back to Fuguki, where she shook her head with resolve.
"I'm sorry, Sensei. It would be an honor to inherit Samehada from you, but I wish to forge my own path."
A proud, booming laugh escaped Fuguki as he heard Yukina's answer, and then he spoke.
"Good answer, girl! Get ready—let's see just how much you've improved since last month."
Yukina smiled and nodded, then swiftly drew several shurikens from her ninja pouch, launching them at Fuguki with deadly speed and pinpoint accuracy.
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
Fuguki smirked as the shurikens flew at him with incredible speed and precision, but he effortlessly blocked them all with Samehada.
"Not bad—her shuriken jutsu has improved tremendously. Well done, girl."
Yukina smirked as Fuguki effortlessly blocked her shurikens. In the next instant, she vanished from her spot and reappeared behind him with blinding speed, thrusting her katana toward his spine.
"SWISH."
"PU."
"SPLASH."
The instant Yukina's katana pierced Fuguki from behind, his entire body melted away, dissolving into a shimmering cascade of water.
Yukina widened her eyes when she saw this and murmured to herself.
"Water clone."
She swiftly activated her hidden sense, scanning the entire training ground to pinpoint Fuguki's location.
Suddenly, she sensed a powerful surge of chakra emanating from the nearby lake. Instantly, she assumed a defensive stance, bracing herself for whatever jutsu Fuguki was about to unleash.
Yukina then heard Fuguki say.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu."
The lake erupted as the water roared to life, twisting and coiling into the shape of a colossal eastern dragon that lunged at Yukina with blinding speed and unyielding ferocity.
"SWISH."
Yukina gave a wide crazed smile as the water dragon Jutsu surged toward her, moving with terrifying speed and relentless ferocity.
'I've never seen a water dragon jutsu this big before. Juzo-sensei's water dragon jutsu is much smaller than this.'
'To execute a water dragon jutsu of this magnitude, Fuguki-sensei's mastery of his water affinity must truly be remarkable.'
Yukina then molded her chakra into the soles of her feet and surged forward, charging at the water dragon jutsu with breathtaking speed.
She muttered softly to herself, her fingers lightly gripping the handle of her katana.
'Great Sword Art: Waterfall Slicing Sword.'
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
Yukina swung her katana with fluid precision, each strike slicing through the water dragon, reducing it to fragmented torrents of liquid.
However, as Yukina landed gracefully on the ground, half of Samehada suddenly burst forth, lunging straight at her.
Yukina froze in astonishment, murmuring to herself as she took in the sight.
"I had no idea sensei could use Earth Release too."
She then flashed a wild grin and murmured, "Things are getting interesting."
Yukina bent her knees, ready to dodge at the last moment, and simultaneously infused her katana with wind chakra.
Wind chakra spiraled around the katana, growing sharper and expanding violently as if it had a will of its own.
In an instant, Samehada lunged at Yukina, tearing through its bandages and gaping its jaw wide in a fearsome display, ready to snap her head off.
Yukina's eyes widened as she swiftly unleashed her Illusory Step, leaving two afterimages in her wake while evading Samehada.
"SWISH."
In the next moment, Fuguki erupted from beneath the ground, and Yukina swung her katana with elegant precision through the air."
"Wind Style: Flying Wind Sword Slash."
"SWISH."
A condensed wind slash shot toward Fuguki at incredible speed, but Samehada slipped from his grasp, blocked Yukina's jutsu, and absorbed absorbed it's chakra.
Yukina widened her eyes in astonishment upon witnessing this.
"How is this possible? My flying wind sword slash jutsu is invisible to the naked eye—so how can Samehada block it so easily and even absorb its chakra?"
She paused for a moment before continuing, "This jutsu can cut through steel like paper."
Fuguki chuckled at Yukina's words before beginning to explain.
"Samehada is highly sensitive to chakra, allowing it to detect, block, and absorb chakra of your jutsu—even those invisible to the naked eye."
"Moreover, Samehada was forged by the legendary blacksmith, so comparing it to ordinary steel is quite an insult—to both her and the master who crafted her."
Yukina was amazed by Fuguki's explanation, and with each word, she found herself admiring Samehada more and more.
Fuguki then reached into his pocket, pulled out a map, and tossed it to Yukina.
"I have a good idea of how much you've improved, girl. We'll spar some other time. Use this map to head to our base on the border—Hebiki and the others will explain your tasks when you meet them."
Yukina's eyebrows twitched at Fuguki's order, and she said to him.
"I am having fun sparring with you, Sensei. I will go later; let's continue our sparring session."
Fuguki smirked at Yukina's words and responded with a hint of amusement.
"Listen, girl. I only sparred with you just now to gauge your readiness for this mission. Don't worry—next time, we'll have a proper spar."
Yukina sighed in disappointment, nodded to Fuguki, bowed respectfully, then sheathed her katana and shunshined away.
After watching Yukina shunshine away, Fuguki hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder and said, "She's improving far faster than I expected, and her control over wind chakra is truly impressive.'"
He then gave a small smile and thought, 'Good luck, Yukina. Be careful—I have a bad feeling about the Border Security Mission. Something big is going to happen soon.'
_____