Konoha's Strongest Genin, Kosuke

Sasuke arrived at the classroom and looked at Wu Liang, who was sitting at his desk with his eyes closed, cultivating. His stomach was full of pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it, but he did not dare make a scene in the classroom. If he caused trouble for Wu Liang now, would that not prove that Uchiha Sasuke had been played?

After glaring fiercely at the cultivating Wu Liang, Sasuke turned his head away with a dark expression, refusing to look in Wu Liang's direction again.

Wu Liang had actually noticed Sasuke the moment he entered, but he paid him no mind. That idiot was both arrogant and obsessed with saving face; he definitely would not make a scene in the classroom. And even if he did, Wu Liang was not afraid. It would not be Wu Liang who lost face.

Under Sasuke's gloomy expression, the atmosphere in the classroom gradually became stifling. It was a terrible atmosphere. Even Naruto, who was usually so restless, unusually did not court death this time. He obediently sat at his desk and did not dare act up.

"Hey, what's wrong with Sasuke? Ino Pig, Sasuke is always this cool every day, but his expression seems especially awful today." Sakura Haruno, who sat at the desk beside Sasuke, quietly asked Ino.

"How would I know? But Sasuke is still so handsome like this~" Ino said dreamily as she stared at Sasuke. "And besides, Forehead Girl, you're the pig. Hmph~"

The morning classes ended amid the oppressive atmosphere. When Wu Liang returned home with Naruto, he saw a special katana placed on the table. It was special because it was a straight blade, somewhat resembling a Tang-style saber.

Wu Liang picked up the katana and drew its blade. The weapon was one hundred and twenty centimeters long in total, with a blade over eighty centimeters long and a hilt over thirty centimeters long. It had no guard and was a completely straight, single-edged katana.

"Whoa, what a beautiful katana! A Liang, did you have it custom-made? How much was it? I want to get one too." Naruto looked at the katana in Wu Liang's hand with a hint of envy.

Wu Liang shook his head. "No, I asked Lord Third Hokage to help me find it. Looks like Lord Third Hokage works quickly."

Wu Liang sheathed the katana. Only then did he notice two tiny words at the mouth of the scabbard: "Certain Kill."

"So you have a name. Certain Kill, huh? Straightforward—one strike, one kill. It really suits you." Wu Liang stroked the scabbard and murmured.

Wu Liang directly tucked Certain Kill at his waist, then turned to Naruto. "I got a good weapon today, so I'm not cooking. Let's go eat ramen at Uncle Ichiraku's place to celebrate."

The moment Naruto heard there would be ramen, he immediately cheered. "Really? That's great! Even though your cooking is delicious, A Liang, ramen is still my favorite—especially Uncle Ichiraku's!"

"Then let's go."

After having lunch with Naruto at Uncle Ichiraku's, the idle Wu Liang decided to go to Training Ground 3 and test the power of the blade.

Upon arriving at Training Ground 3, Wu Liang drew Certain Kill. Looking at its bright, gleaming blade, he suddenly wondered whether he could inject Chakra into it.

He acted as soon as the thought came to him. Wu Liang circulated his Chakra and slowly poured it into the blade, but he failed. This meant the sword had not been forged from Chakra-conductive metal. Then Wu Liang thought of the samurai of the Land of Iron. Their method of using Chakra seemed to be attaching it to their weapons and swinging it out like sword energy. Since he could not inject it into the blade, could he wrap it along the blade instead?

Blue Chakra surged in his hand, then slowly wound itself along Certain Kill. In the end, it looked as though the sword had been given special effects. Although it worked, the Chakra merely wrapped around it. He could not concentrate it on the edge, and doing this wasted too much Chakra.

Wu Liang withdrew his Chakra, and Certain Kill returned to normal. Then he thought of Sasuke's method during Shippuden: using the principle of Chidori to inject Lightning-nature Chakra into the blade and form a Chidori Blade, increasing the weapon's lethality while also granting paralysis and armor-piercing effects.

But the problem was that he did not have Lightning-nature Chakra. Was he supposed to coat the blade in Earth-nature Chakra to increase its hardness? What the hell would that accomplish?

Sigh, forget it. No point thinking so much. He might as well see whether he could train sword energy.

"Draw Slash!"

A wisp of weak sword energy shot forth, dispersing into nothing after traveling five meters.

"That's it? What use is that? It has no power at all. It's worse than a direct slash." Wu Liang was speechless. His level was still not high enough; forcing his training would not produce much result. "Sigh, the road ahead is long."

"What are you sighing about, brat?"

"Damn it, Seria! Someone got close and you didn't even warn me!" Wu Liang frantically complained to Seria in his mind, completely forgetting that he was the one who had asked her not to interfere.

"Young man, were you practicing swordsmanship just now?" Seeing that Wu Liang did not answer, the newcomer asked again.

Hearing the question once more, Wu Liang finally raised his head and looked at the person approaching him. The newcomer was not tall and looked like a little old man. He carried a black pot on his back, with cooking utensils and a short sword stuck inside it. Hmm? This outfit looks familiar somehow.

Even after the man drew near, Wu Liang still could not remember who he was. But anyone who could approach him without making a sound was an expert, at least at the level of a Jonin.

Wu Liang did not answer the newcomer's question. Instead, he asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man was not offended. Smiling warmly, he said, "Brat, the clothes you're wearing are not something just anyone can wear, especially that clan crest on your back. Who exactly are you?"

Maruboshi Kosuke had just returned from a mission. As he passed Training Ground 3, he saw a strange child who seemed troubled by something. But after approaching, he realized the child was not simple. Though he had never seen him before, the clan crest on his clothes caught his attention, which was why he spoke. Otherwise, given his temperament, he would not meddle in other people's affairs.

"You still haven't told me who you are," Wu Liang said with a frown.

Hearing that, the newcomer became even more interested and laughed. "Haha, you've got character, brat. Then I'll introduce myself first. My name is Maruboshi Kosuke, a Konoha Genin, a man seeking atonement."

The instant Wu Liang heard the old man's name, he remembered. Comparing the strange outfit and name to his memories, he confirmed that this was Maruboshi Kosuke, the man jokingly called Konoha's strongest Genin by people from his previous life. This man was quite a character as well. When he was young, his eagerness for achievement led him to recklessly issue orders during a mission, causing the deaths of two companions. He then swore to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, that he would remain a Genin forever, earning the title of the "eternal Genin." Yet his true strength had long since reached the level of an elite Jonin.

During his middle-aged years, he was unfortunate enough to lose the use of his left eye while carrying out a mission with the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage intended to promote him to Jonin, but Kosuke politely declined because he could not escape the shadow of his companions' deaths at his own hands. Afterward, the Third Hokage ordered that he only be assigned simple Genin-level missions.

During the Third Shinobi World War, he was unfortunate enough to injure his left leg while carrying out a mission with the Fourth Hokage, who personally bandaged his wounds.

He was a man who had lived through the eras of the Second Hokage, Third Hokage, Fourth Hokage, and even the Fifth Hokage. He possessed extraordinary survival skills and a powerful Will of Fire, dedicating his entire life to Konoha. He was also a man recognized by both the Second and Third Hokage. Because he dared to take responsibility for his mistakes and atone for them, the Second Hokage had personally taught him Water Release ninjutsu. The Third Hokage promoted him to Jonin and taught him ninjutsu, though Kosuke did not accept the Jonin title. The Fourth Hokage personally bandaged his injuries. Even among Jonin, he was an outstanding figure.

To think he would meet him here today. It was quite a stroke of fate.

With that thought, Wu Liang respectfully said, "So it's Senior Maruboshi Kosuke. My attitude just now was improper because my training was not going smoothly. I am Wu Liang, and I apologize." With that, Wu Liang gave Maruboshi Kosuke the formal greeting of a junior.

Maruboshi Kosuke saw the change in Wu Liang's expression. Thinking that the child might have heard of him somewhere, he said, "You say your name is Wu Liang, but the clan crest embroidered on the back of your clothes does not belong to the Wu clan. In fact, Konoha has no clan named Wu at all. Who exactly are you?"

Wu Liang was slightly stunned before replying, "Senior, I know what you want to know. That's right, I have another name: Ryo Senju."

"As expected. Senju, huh? Other than the princess, Konoha has not seen a member of the Senju Clan in a very long time." Maruboshi Kosuke wore an expression of realization, then said, "Then, as a clansman of the Second Hokage, what troubles you? Perhaps I can offer some advice. Though I am a Genin, I have lived a long time and seen quite a lot."

Hearing Kosuke say this, Wu Liang did not stand on ceremony. He knew that Kosuke's short-sword techniques were quite good, especially his ninja sword technique, Konoha-Style Willow, which combined genjutsu and swordsmanship. It was extremely formidable in close combat. Thus, he said, "Senior Kosuke, I was just troubled over how to combine swordsmanship with Chakra nature transformation. Although I found the problem, I cannot solve it because I have neither Wind nor Lightning-nature Chakra. I cannot grant my blade the properties of sharpness, penetration, or paralysis."

After hearing Wu Liang's question, Maruboshi Kosuke slowly said, "Indeed. Without Wind or Lightning-nature Chakra, you cannot add such properties to your blade. If you train like the samurai of the Land of Iron, that would be putting the cart before the horse."

Maruboshi Kosuke pondered for a long time before finally making up his mind. "How about this? Your problem is not impossible to solve. Being unable to add Chakra properties is not such a great issue. If your spiritual power is strong enough, you can combine genjutsu with swordsmanship. Then you will be invincible in close combat."

"Senior Kosuke, my spiritual power is indeed quite strong, but I don't have an appropriate sword technique to practice. Since you brought it up, that means you have a solution, right? Could it be that you have such a sword technique you can teach me?" Wu Liang knew that Maruboshi Kosuke had likely decided to pass his swordsmanship to him, but he could not show it now, so he could only respond this way.

"That's right. I do have such a sword technique I can teach you, but you must promise never to pass it on. The sword technique I am going to teach you was actually created by your clansman, the Second Hokage. It is called Konoha-Style Willow."

Maruboshi Kosuke looked seriously at Wu Liang. "Konoha-Style Swordsmanship: Willow is one of the Konoha-Style sword techniques created by the Second Hokage. This technique belongs to the genjutsu category and is a lethal move capable of killing the enemy in a single strike. It requires no hand seals. Specifically, one launches Konoha-Style Swordsmanship at the enemy while appearing to vanish among leaves dancing in the wind, then suddenly attacks the target, thrusting a blade down from behind the opponent's blind spot to eliminate them. It is a lightning-fast attack technique that cannot be evaded.

Training in this sword technique requires powerful spiritual strength and a foundation in genjutsu. Then it must be used in combination with Konoha-Style Swordsmanship. I will teach you Konoha-Style Swordsmanship first. Once you master it, I will teach you how to combine it with genjutsu."