Hatake Kusuo suddenly felt that the way his cousin was looking at him was a bit strange. It seemed... unusually fervent.
"Ahem, my apologies, cousin. I didn't realize it was you just now. I thought it might be a spy from another village, so I..."
"Mm." Kakashi was surprisingly calm about it. "It's never wrong to be vigilant. That technique of yours—" He paused. "Forget it. Everyone has their own secrets, I won't pry. But you must remember, do not reveal your secrets too early."
"The village... is sometimes not as peaceful as we imagine."
Kakashi spoke solemnly, addressing Kusuo as if he were an adult, trusting that he would understand.
Kusuo nodded.
That old fox, Danzo. If you know, you know.
Watching his five-year-old cousin nod thoughtfully like a grown-up, Kakashi gave a self-deprecating smile. He reached out and ruffled his cousin's hair. "Without even realizing it, our Hatake clan has produced such an incredible genius."
As he said the word "genius," a fleeting trace of melancholy crossed Kakashi's face. After all, wasn't he once a genius himself, praised and envied by all? Seeing Kusuo in that moment, Kakashi felt a disorienting sense of deja vu.
"By the way, you're five years old this year, right? Based on the timeline, the Ninja Academy should be starting soon. Although your swordsmanship is formidable, the world of a ninja isn't just about straightforward killing. There's essential knowledge and various ninjutsu you need to learn."
"Have you considered enrolling?"
Seeing Kakashi's expectant gaze, Kusuo pondered for a moment.
At my age... according to the timeline, I should be in the same grade as Naruto and Sasuke.
Those two sons of destiny with their reincarnation cheats. Who would have thought that in ten years, they would become the saviors no one could have imagined?
However, with his system, Kusuo was confident he could surpass anyone with his own strength, relying solely on the sword in his hand.
That being the case, there was no harm in meeting the future protagonists of the ninja world ahead of time.
He immediately replied, "Alright, I'll do it."
Kakashi was a bit surprised that his cousin agreed so readily. He had assumed that geniuses of this caliber would disdain something as basic as the Ninja Academy. He had been like that, and so had Itachi, graduating the first chance they got.
"Since you've decided, go and get ready. School starts next week. I'll personally take you there."
Kusuo didn't say much more, sensing Kakashi's goodwill. He understood that with the loss of the White Fang, the Hatake clan really only had Kakashi to represent them.
For the next week, Kusuo's life remained unchanged. It was still day after day of grueling training, though the content had shifted to practicing his breathing techniques and executing the forms of Sun Breathing.
He meticulously calculated his stamina each day. As long as he had the energy, he would put his all into every slash to increase his template's role-play percentage. He had learned that each use of the first form of Sun Breathing would increase his percentage, and to unlock the next stage, he simply needed to perform it 1000 times.
Don't assume this was easy. Sun Breathing was no ordinary sword swing. Each execution consumed a vast amount of physical and mental energy. But for Kusuo, who yearned for strength with an infinite hunger, it was nothing.
Finally, on the day before the Ninja Academy was set to begin, the system's voice rang out once more.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully using Sun Breathing 1000 times! Unlocking the first stage of the template!]
[Current Role-Play Percentage: 30%! Reward: Sun Breathing, Second Form - Azure Heaven! Successfully unlocked the Mark!]
Kusuo felt a new set of memories automatically integrate into his mind, and at the same time, his muscles felt as if they had been enhanced.
On his forehead, a black mark emerged from the right side, gradually spreading across the entire right half of his brow. The mark was jet-black and mysterious, its claw-like tendrils giving it a ferocious appearance. For such a mark to appear on a five-year-old child was incredibly jarring, yet somehow, it looked perfectly harmonious.
Gently tracing the mark on his forehead with his hand, Kusuo murmured to himself:
"I've finally unlocked the Mark. With this, my strength has taken a true qualitative leap!"
In the world of Demon Slayer, it was the appearance of the original swordsmen bearing these marks that allowed humanity to push the demons to the brink of extinction. After the Marked swordsmen vanished, the Demon Slayer Corps fell into a disadvantage, finding themselves completely on the back foot even against the Twelve Kizuki.
This just went to show how powerful the Mark truly was.
However, unlocking the Mark also signified a shortened lifespan. No one who awakened a Mark could live past the age of twenty-five. There was only one exception.
The supreme swordsman who was born with the Mark: Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
And as it happened, the template Kusuo had inherited was precisely Yoriichi's.
"This means I don't have to worry about the lifespan limit. As long as I can fully unlock Yoriichi's template, I can become the second Yoriichi!"
"No! I'll become a Yoriichi in the world of Naruto—one who has broken all limits, free to display his full, unrestricted talent!"