On the bank of the Nanaha River, Aozora closed his eyes and leisurely lay on a huge rock, soaking in the late autumn sunshine.
Beside him, Itachi sat cross-legged on another large stone, mentally manipulating several kunai within the river water.
Shoo——
Pfu——
Shoo——
Pfu——
...
The kunai whirled through the water, piercing three or four large fish within moments, while sweat beads appeared on Itachi's forehead.
Finally unable to maintain control, he recalled the kunai back into his hand.
Gripping the kunai tightly, he gave it a sharp tug, instantly reeling all the pierced fish out of the water.
Aozora shifted his body slightly, squinting as he observed Itachi's catch. He praised, "Good job, Itachi!"
Hearing Aozora's compliment, Itachi's eyes narrowed happily into crescent shapes.
Soon, Itachi gathered some firewood from the nearby forest, and the two began roasting fish by the riverside.
Tasting the fish Itachi cooked, Aozora sincerely remarked, "No wonder you're my disciple—you've already mastered seventy to eighty percent of my cooking skills. You're definitely smarter than Shisui!"
Aozora thought that if Itachi kept improving like this, maybe during their future time together, he wouldn't have to cook anymore himself.
"Not really," Itachi insisted, shaking his head again. "Well, Shisui-niisan just never had the time to learn cooking. He's much more capable than me!"
For some reason, Itachi always admired Shisui so deeply that Aozora often wondered whether he'd secretly used Kotoamatsukami on him before.
Shaking his head, he discarded this unreliable speculation.
Soon, the two devoured every last bite of the four large fish. After wiping his mouth clean, Aozora's expression turned serious.
"Itachi, after training for this period of time, you've completely mastered my ninja tool throwing techniques. Now I will teach you an even higher-level throwing technique—Are you ready?"
Itachi's slightly elongated face immediately grew solemn. He nodded firmly. "I'm ready!"
Aozora continued, "Then go ask your father for some chakra-conductive metal."
"Eh—"
Although young, Itachi understood how valuable chakra-conductive metal was.
Nodding, Aozora explained, "The skill I'm about to teach you is called [Yu Qi]. This transcends basic ninja tool throwing—it requires chakra-infused weapons to utilize."
As he spoke, he waved his right hand toward the sky, and instantly a streak of azure light flew out from beneath his sleeve.
The azure streak danced above the Nanaha River like a soaring bird, startling Itachi into opening his mouth wide.
Although Itachi could manipulate the direction of kunai, each maneuver consumed a tremendous amount of chakra. Yet Aozora's throwing knife seemed almost alive with movement—far exceeding anything Itachi had ever imagined.
"Return!"
At Aozora's command, the [Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals] flew back, stopping before both master and apprentice.
Staring at the dagger glowing faintly with a cold azure light, Itachi reached out his small hand and gently touched it — immediately slicing the tip of his finger.
Despite the injury, he didn't complain about pain but rather asked excitedly, "Master, is this the [Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals] you used to slay so many jonin?"
Aozora nodded. "That's right. This dagger has felled many jonin before, but its true power extends far beyond that."
Aozora hadn't used the Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals in a long time, but that didn't mean he had stopped nurturing it.
Moreover, as Aozora refined techniques like Embodiment Beyond the Self, Tongyou, and now the Spirit Transformation Technique, his understanding of the soul deepened significantly. His ability to cultivate and refine his spirit had become increasingly refined, making him feel more attuned with the Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals. It even seemed to have developed a faint trace of spiritual awareness.
Now, when the dagger was unsheathed, it would certainly pose a threat even to Kage-level experts.
Furthermore, once he mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique in the future and inscribed its Sealing Formula onto the dagger, Aozora's power would experience another leap.
After hearing about the Flying Dagger's track record, Itachi hesitated momentarily before saying, "I'll go straight home and talk to Father."
After finishing their discussion about Yu Qi, Aozora walked with Itachi toward the riverside.
"You're about to graduate soon," Aozora said. "Let me teach you some Fire Release techniques."
As he spoke, he slowly formed hand seals and then shouted, [Fire Release – Great Fireball Technique!]
Almost immediately after finishing his words, a fairly large fireball erupted from his mouth, pushing back the nearby water and creating quite a disturbance on the river surface.
Itachi looked at Aozora with confusion—wasn't this just the basic Great Fireball Technique?
Without acknowledging his reaction, Aozora crossed his hands behind his back and released another glowing red fireball.
"Do you understand now?" Aozora asked calmly.
Itachi thought for a moment before replying, "Master wants to say that performing jutsu doesn't require hand seals?"
Aozora nodded slightly and explained, "Hand seals are simply meant to aid learning. What truly affects technique execution is chakra flow and transformation inside the body.
When studying ninjutsu in the future, focus more on how your internal chakra circulates and transforms. Learn to perform techniques without seals.
This way, in battle, you can catch your opponent off guard and achieve surprising tactical advantages."
Upon hearing these words, Itachi seemed suddenly enlightened and couldn't resist trying it out right by the riverbank.
Seeing how motivated Itachi was, Aozora returned to the riverside to lie on a huge rock and rest while nurturing his spirit.
Itachi's talent was extraordinary. His sealing speed was already incredibly fast, and he specialized in one-handed seals. Once Aozora clarified this principle, performing techniques without seals wouldn't pose much difficulty for him.
Since the last high-level meeting concluded, both ninja and villagers of Konoha had been discussing Fugaku's reform plans.
Aozora, however, remained detached from Konoha's politics. Aside from training, he occasionally taught Itachi lessons before graduation.
He'd already made some progress in mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique, but fearing possible mishaps, he decided first to spend time nourishing his spirit.
Day by day passed like this.
On the Hokage Rock, newly carved faces of Konoha leaders gradually took shape, exuding an air of clarity and majesty.
Meanwhile, within the village, discussions surrounding Fugaku—the Fifth Hokage—began diminishing. The villagers eventually became accustomed to having Fugaku as their new leader, the Fifth Hokage.
Yet beneath the seemingly peaceful surface of Konoha, turbulent undercurrents still stirred.
With Sarutobi's faction of ninja being transferred out of the Education Department, members of Anbu being disbanded, other high-ranking officials in Konoha began systematically removing members of the Sarutobi faction from their departments.
Some did this intending to demonstrate loyalty to Fugaku, while many others simply saw opportunity—the truth was, numerous department heads within Sarutobi's faction had already risen to power through favoritism rather than merit.
Now that their patron had fallen, department heads naturally wouldn't allow incompetent individuals to remain in critical positions.
How could the ninja of the Sarutobi faction possibly blame themselves?
After decades of leadership under The Third Hokage, many had long developed a sense of superiority.
During his peak, even the mighty Uchiha clan—once regarded as the noblest family in Konoha—was no more than a pack of watchdogs in their eyes.
Yet with the death of The Third and Fugaku taking control of the village, all the special privileges previously enjoyed by the Sarutobi clan vanished completely.
The respect and fear once inspired by the Sarutobi clan were gone, replaced by the sudden rise of the Uchiha and Hyūga clans above them. Even the Ino–Shika–Cho Triad, once their dependents, now stood over them.
Falling from a place of admiration and flattery to being treated with contempt created an immense sense of loss—one that the hotheaded Sarutobi ninja simply couldn't stomach.
At first, they merely gathered at Sake Bars, complaining to relatives and close friends.
Gradually, under the leadership of Clan Leader Hodan Sarutobi and the clan's mightiest warrior, Nobusuke Sarutobi, meeting after meeting was held, fueling the rising fury in every heart.
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