The mission ended cleanly.
They sealed the alpha wolf's body into a scroll as proof and made the return trip without delay.
In front of the Hokage Building, the team split apart as usual, each heading their own way.
Ryusei realized it was already too late to join Duy and his son's training, so he turned his focus elsewhere.
Back at home, he spread out the latest fuinjutsu materials Takumi had given him, exercise problems, and practice seals to refine his control in script design, chakra sequencing, and cause/effect logic, among many other sub-categories and niche beginner niche applications.
He worked through them methodically until the light outside dimmed.
By the time night fell, he set everything aside and allowed himself to rest, slipping into sleep with his next steps already forming in his mind.
In the morning, before noon, Ryusei went to the forest and entered his usual meditative routine.
He trained his nature release immersion while working on internal perception at the same time.
The two disciplines blended well, forcing him into a deep state of concentration that he was steadily improving at.
He stayed like that for five straight, steadily improving his grasp of the elemental qualities—fire as aggression and destruction, water as flow and adaptability, wind as precision and sharpness, earth as defense and solidity, and lightning as speed and piercing force.
He was also harmonizing more between fire and lightning, and between wind, water, and earth, his whole being gradually splitting and grouping itself into two coherent blocks.
When the session ended, he waited for Duy and Guy to arrive.
Together they threw themselves into physical conditioning and taijutsu drills for the day, another seven hours straight.
Ryusei had been gradually increasing the load, pushing his body further each week, until the long sessions became almost an automatic habit.
Afterwards, he returned home and shifted to desk work.
Three more hours went into fuinjutsu study and jutsu shiki exercises, with some medical practice mixed in occasionally so he wouldn't grow rusty.
Then he allowed himself nine hours of sleep.
A full month passed in that cycle. The logic was clear. His soul was still fusing with this body, reshaping his brain and nervous system, so unlike Duy and Guy, he could not live on six hours of sleep.
He needed more rest to adapt.
Fuinjutsu and jutsu shiki got the least time because they were the least urgent.
Physical training and taijutsu took priority, with elemental immersion and internal perception only slightly behind, since he lacked a Byakugan to refine his coils directly, and it took much more time to see any small progress.
Still, he judged that raising his internal perception and elemental control would be nearly as rewarding long-term as mastering taijutsu and the Eight Gates.
This routine held only on days without missions. During that month, they had three C-rank assignments.
The danger never rose too high, but Ryusei never wasted the opportunity.
While working through those jobs, he made sure to slowly push his relationship with Renjiro and Kanae forward.
With Renjiro, it was simpler. Ryusei only needed to offer him a few precise tips, how to hide his chakra flow and presence better, a skill essential for the Hatake style.
The inspiration had come from their sparring weeks earlier, and in this field, Ryusei's sensory talent and internal perception training gave him authority.
Renjiro took the advice seriously and soon began pressing Ryusei into sparring whenever they had time on missions, or even after them.
Ryusei accepted. The constant clashes pushed Renjiro's growth and drew them closer into something like friends and rivals. At least, that was how Renjiro probably saw it.
Ryusei did not see it the same way. He felt no luxury for true friends. In his mind, people were either useful pieces or not.
Renjiro had potential synergy with his goals and decent talent among the entire Konoha, so he was worth some investment.
Okabe was the opposite. Ryusei had already marked his sensei as dead weight, a man with hidden disdain and dislike toward him, a mediocre civilian talent at best, one of those destined to be cannon fodder.
Kanae was more complicated. Ryusei teased her, even flirted sometimes, throwing the occasional useful comment her way regarding her combat style, but outwardly, she was still always stone cold.
Still, he noticed her unconscious actions. Small hesitations, strange reactions, averted gazes.
Subconsciously, she was already reacting to him often, already "marked" in her own way.
Her identity as a Hyuga branch member, shackled by the curse seal, or some other concern, probably restrained her from opening up consciously.
But deep down, Ryusei judged his presence had already become unique to her, interesting and enjoyable in a way her subconscious couldn't deny, even if her rational brain pretended otherwise 90% of the time.
Their progress showed. Thanks to sparring, Renjiro's level now pushed into late Chūnin. Ryusei himself had advanced to mid-Jōnin, already on par with Okabe.
And this had not come from any sudden new technique or a breakthrough.
It came naturally, from his soul fully acclimating to and transforming the body's DNA, the process finally complete after three months, as he initially thought.
That change transformed everything. His chakra pathway system adapted and converted the new equilibrium into richer spiritual energy.
His chakra became richer, more potent, so the same technique now required less of his reserves. Chakra control sharpened at the same time.
His internal perception and elemental immersion both skyrocketed, letting him monitor and adjust his coils with far more precision and map elemental patterns with clarity.
His brain also grew sharper. Neurons, processing power, and speed, reflex speed, all heightened.
His senses grew keener, memory stronger, alertness steadier, willpower firmer.
It was like stepping into the descriptions of Minato in the original series: processing faster than the battlefield could unfold, reactions sharper than most could follow.
This was not just a combat advantage. It sped up his fuinjutsu work, his jutsu shiki progress, and his elemental training. It gave him a foundation to touch every domain he planned.
Now, at only twelve years old, Ryusei stood at mid-Jōnin level, the standard level of a Konoha Jōnin, years ahead of where he should be.
But he did not let arrogance take root. He knew exactly what awaited him.
Today, the team would be assigned a new B-rank mission.
And he was certain that, because of the previous reports on his sudden growth in taijutsu, the higher-ups, ANBU, Root, the Hokage's faction, had already prepared another attempt to erase him with a borrowed knife.
This time, it would be deadlier than the one three months ago.
Ryusei met his team in front of the Hokage Building, just as the morning bustle of shinobi squads filled the plaza.
Okabe was already waiting with Kanae and Renjiro, his posture crisp, the faint smile on his face hiding whatever thoughts stirred beneath.
"Good. You're on time," Okabe said, and turned immediately for the doors.
Renjiro smirked and fell in step beside him, Kanae silent as always, her pale eyes flicking briefly toward Ryusei before looking away again.
Inside, the hall was crowded with shinobi moving in and out, mission scrolls changing hands at the desk with the same rhythm as always.
But the atmosphere was subtly heavier than a month ago. More teams than usual had gathered, many Jonin and Chunin, faces grim.
The missions were getting more dangerous, and higher-ranked ones increased in frequency. Rumors of the looming war were already thick in the air.
When Team Okabe's name was called, they weren't alone.
Two other Jōnin-led squads also stepped forward, each with three chūnin under them. Twelve shinobi in total, Ryusei's team included.
The duty officer's eyes swept over the assembled group before he gestured toward a side chamber. "Your mission will be briefed directly."
Inside, a senior official sat behind a desk stacked with scrolls. His tone was dry and clipped as he read from one.
"This is a B-rank assignment. Escort of the Fire Daimyō's noble diplomatic envoy to the Land of Hot Water's Daimyō's Palace. You will remain stationed at the Daimyō's palace for several days while negotiations are held. The mission priority is clear: the envoy must return alive."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "All three squads will act in coordination. The envoy's and his team's safety is your first and only priority. Do not be drawn into local conflicts unless unavoidable."
He pushed the scroll forward, and Okabe reached out to take it with a respectful nod.
Renjiro's smirk hinted at excitement, his hand already brushing the hilt of his sword. Kanae remained expressionless, her pale eyes calm and detached.
Ryusei stood quietly at their side, his narrow-eyed smile unchanged, but his thoughts were sharp.
Soon, Okabe handed the scroll to Ryusei as well.
He read through it carefully, wondering what kind of setup the Hokage's faction had in store for him this time.
Ryusei was always amused, when he heard or read it, by how the nations of this world carried names like "Land of This" or "Land of That."
Fire, Earth, Grass, River, Valley, every title sounded like it was pulled from the most basic concepts.
Even the 'hidden villages' followed the same pattern.
To him, it revealed how young the system of countries and ninja villages really was. Which, of course, it was.
Not even fifty years had passed since the current nations and hidden villages had been cobbled together from scattered feudal lands and wandering mercenary clans like the Senju, Uchiha, Yuki, and Kaguya, and the great resfgulling over the world catalyzed by Hashirama happened.
Those clan names felt more authentic, more rooted in history, unlike the flimsy banners of "Land of X."
In fact, plenty of smaller regions within those great nations were still ruled by old aristocratic houses, their territories known by older, proper names that fit the world far better.
Even the language here struck him the same way. It was almost identical to Japanese from his past life.
Ryusei himself hadn't been Japanese, but the only reason he could understand and speak in this world at all was because, when he transmigrated, one of the first brain regions he took control of from the original Ryusei had been the one for language.
On the surface, the mission looked simple enough: protect a Daimyō's envoy during their stay in the Land of Hot Water, to secure the country closer to Konoha, or at least keep it neutral for the upcoming war.
Because Kumogakure already had firm control over the Land of Frost, letting them also gain the Land of Hot Water would be disastrous. With both under their grip, they would have a direct path to strike into the Land of Fire.
Straightforward, on paper.
But Ryusei smelled a conspiracy the moment he finished.
Three squads, each led by a Jōnin, with a full team of chūnin under them, this wasn't a normal B-rank escort.
It screamed over-preparedness, which meant the opposite: danger was already expected.
His eyes shifted briefly to the two other teams. Their captains looked much like Okabe, civilian-born, carefully molded with similar temperaments and chakra 'personalities', and cut from the same cloth, 'Likely more of Hiruzen's Anbu dogs...'
The chūnin under them weren't impressive either, younger and probably from the same pools of talent. Nothing about them stood out, no "interesting" figures worth noting.
Ryusei's mind turned. Who said Okabe and the other two captains had only just learned of this mission now?
Nothing stopped them from having been briefed in ANBU headquarters the night before, or even earlier. For all he knew, their instructions already contained layers he wasn't supposed to see.
Still, Ryusei didn't let the thought shake him. He wasn't one to back away just because another trap was being set. If he wanted to climb in this world, he had no choice but to believe in his own ability to survive, no matter how many knives were pointed his way.