A-rank emergency mission!

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Shunren formed a seal with one hand and closed his eyes. Following the method Inoichi had taught him, he first converted the Chakra in his body into pure mental energy, then released it outward.

A three-dimensional conceptual map appeared in Shunren's mind. It contained no detailed scenery, only a simple grid, with each square spanning roughly one meter. That meant he could pinpoint a position to within one meter, and with himself at the center, his search radius extended beyond 500 meters.

This was the Sensory Technique, as different as heaven and earth from what Shunren had used during the survival test a year ago!

Yet Shunren had only just begun to grasp the barest basics of Sensing Technique: Mind's Eye!

"Target spotted!" A figure appeared on the conceptual map in his mind, moving rapidly toward him.

"Target: five o'clock, distance: 367 meters." Every Sensory Technique had its own unique positioning algorithm. Using the formula Inoichi had taught him, Shunren quickly calculated the target's exact position.

"Whoosh, whoosh!" Shunren threw two Shuriken toward the target, his eyes still tightly shut.

The Shuriken struck Inoichi's Shadow Clone, which vanished in a puff of white smoke.

At the same time, the conceptual map in Shunren's mind showed that the target had been destroyed.

"Oh? He reached this level after just one night? What an impressive kid." From a treetop not far away, Inoichi carefully observed Shunren's performance.

Sensor-type ninja often possessed the ability to counter sensing, and Inoichi had personally taught Shunren Mind's Eye. Hiding himself from Shunren's sensory network was no difficult task.

Thus, the conceptual map in Shunren's mind showed no trace of Inoichi. Inoichi's Shadow Clone had merely been there to test Shunren's sensory reactions.

"Then let's move on to the next test." Inoichi formed a seal with one hand.

Multiple units appeared on the conceptual map in Shunren's mind.

Shunren maintained the seal with one hand and held two Kunai in the other, making no rash moves.

On the battlefield, fighting raged fiercely, and clashes between the two sides often turned heaven and earth dark. In the chaos of two armies locked in battle, how could a ninja distinguish friend from foe?

This was a problem that had to be considered in real combat, unlike in games, where players were normally immune to friendly fire.

"We've successfully killed the target!" Followed by: "We're fighting our own people!" That was no joke. Without a precise enemy detection system, battlefield command would descend into chaos, leading to the miserable situation of allies attacking one another.

"Ninja Art: Mind Transmission Technique!" Without relying on any device, it allowed direct communication with another person, transmitting information into the target's mind.

By establishing mental links with teammates, he could instantly distinguish friend from foe. The multiple units in Shunren's mind split into red and blue sides, making the distinction unmistakable.

The preceding steps had all gone smoothly. Shunren thought the next step was to transmit the information into every teammate's mind. But it was precisely at that final moment that a problem arose.

As a vast amount of mental energy poured out, veins bulged on Shunren's forehead.

In the end, Shunren felt as though a thousand needles had pierced his head. The pain was unbearable, and he was forced to sever the mental network's links.

"Thud~" Shunren dropped to one knee, gasping for breath, his face deathly pale. "I didn't expect transmitting information to multiple people to require such powerful mental energy!"

"Of course." Inoichi dispelled his Shadow Clone and came over to Shunren. "But for someone encountering the Sensory Technique for the first time, reaching this point right from the start is impressive enough.

"Shunren, let's stop training here for today." "I understand, Teacher Inoichi." Though he had run into an obstacle in his training, Shunren did not seem overly impatient. After all, with an adult's way of thinking, he understood that sharpening the axe would not delay the chopping of firewood.

Inoichi nodded, growing ever more satisfied with his student. Not only was Shunren's talent well suited to the secret Yin Release techniques he had mastered, but, rare for someone so young, he was neither arrogant nor impatient, leaving Inoichi no need to waste his breath explaining things.

"By my reckoning, Kurenai and Shizune should have finished taking care of the corpse by now. I'll go make routine contact with the village first. Get some rest."

Shunren sat cross-legged, his hands resting flat on his thighs rather than forming a seal. After spending most of the day training in the Sensory Technique, only his mind and will were fatigued. He had also used up some Chakra, but still had plenty left. Chakra was the combination of a ninja's physical and mental energy. With Shunren's mind and will exhausted, he could theoretically recover by regulating his Chakra.

He carefully sensed the Chakra in his body as it flowed through his meridians like a gently trickling stream. Whenever it passed through the most intricate meridians in his brain, the weariness in his head faded a little, replaced by threads of coolness that felt immensely soothing.

The cycle repeated itself. After several hours of regulating his Chakra, Shunren felt that the fatigue in his mind and will had largely faded, and-

"Does my mental energy seem easier to control?" Though the improvement was small, he could clearly feel it. Training proceeded one step at a time, in an orderly fashion, and Shunren was satisfied with this kind of growth.

When ninja went out on missions, they generally contacted the village at regular intervals to report on their progress.

Inoichi was just about to use the Mind Transmission Technique to connect directly with the nearest Konoha intelligence outpost when something unexpected happened.

"Chirp~" A faint sound came from far away, too quiet to notice without listening carefully. But for Inoichi, whose senses were exceptionally sharp, it clearly could not escape his notice.

Inoichi raised his head instinctively and saw a tiny black dot high in the sky.

"That's... Konoha's emergency messenger hawk!" His brow furrowed slightly. Inoichi had been about to contact the village, but he had not expected the village to send him a message first.

Without any visible Hand Seals, Inoichi simply fixed his eyes on the hawk high above. His immense mental energy transformed into an invisible hand and swiftly reached out to seize it!

The mental link was established!

The messenger hawk obediently descended and perched on Inoichi's arm.

Inoichi removed the scroll tied to the hawk's leg and opened it to find it completely blank.

He formed Hand Seals with both hands and entered the secret key to confirm his identity.

"This is...?!" After deciphering the contents of the scroll, even Inoichi, usually so composed, could not help but change expression.

"A-rank emergency mission!"