Leaving the Village

Mission Commission Desk.

Shiranui Genma, who had assigned the commission to Feng Ye, waited until dusk. Yet neither did the Land of Grass merchant caravan come to request a change of personnel, nor did Feng Ye and Might Duy return to select another mission.

After waiting so long without any response, did that mean the Land of Grass merchant caravan had accepted Feng Ye and Might Duy as their escorts?!

"The Land of Grass merchant caravan actually didn't ask to replace them?"

As time passed, Shiranui Genma gradually became somewhat bewildered.

He began to hesitate.

Feng Ye might be a genius Chunin, but he had never completed a single mission. As for Might Duy, there was even less to say. Sending those two together on an escort commission just felt highly unreliable.

If an escort commission like this failed, it would have some impact on Konoha's reputation.

"Forget it."

After hesitating for a moment, he decided it would be better to report it.

Ordinary C-rank commissions did not need to be reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but the current situation still warranted a report.

Very soon.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was reviewing documents in the Hokage Office, received the report.

"A C-rank escort commission..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly surprised, and he also could not understand why Feng Ye had teamed up with Might Duy.

Given Feng Ye's temperament and strength, carrying out a C-rank commission should not have been a problem. But if something unexpected happened, that would be another matter—after all, Might Duy was in the team.

But after thinking it over, Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately chose not to interfere.

After all, no mission was absolutely free of unforeseen circumstances. Moreover, the situation in the ninja world was growing increasingly tense. For Feng Ye, this sort of non-war mission was already fairly suitable training.

If he truly failed because of some accident, it would count as a lesson for Feng Ye as well. He could not become overly confident in his own strength and assume he could casually bring along team members.

After parting ways with Might Duy, Feng Ye returned home and simply packed his things.

He brought the standard gear that ninjas always carried—Explosive Tags, kunai, Shuriken, and the like. Most importantly, he placed the White Fang together with them.

Kakashi appeared at the doorway at some point, leaning beside the door with his arms folded before his chest. He said to Feng Ye, "...You really plan to team up with Guy's father?"

"Yeah."

Feng Ye replied calmly, "I learned a technique from Guy's father before and received his favor. At a time like this, I have to help him out somehow. Come to think of it, you benefited too—the technique I learned was the Eight Inner Gates that I taught you."

After learning the Eight Inner Gates from Might Duy, Feng Ye taught it to Kakashi once he had completed training in the first two gates.

The later gates of the Eight Inner Gates might not have suited Kakashi, but the first and second gates were still quite useful to him. Kakashi had learned them in the original story as well.

"You learned that Taijutsu from him?"

Kakashi looked unconvinced. He had always thought Feng Ye had developed it himself. Learning an advanced Taijutsu from an Eternal Genin seemed rather unlikely.

Noticing Kakashi's expression, Feng Ye smiled faintly. "There's no need for me to lie to you about something like this. Besides, Might Duy is far stronger than you imagine. You've learned this technique too, so you should be able to roughly judge what it would be like when trained to its limit. What I can tell you is that Senior Duy can open the final Gate of Death."

"!"

Kakashi's pupils could not help narrowing slightly at Feng Ye's words.

It would have been one thing if he knew nothing about the Eight Inner Gates, but he could now barely open the first gate himself and had some understanding of the technique. If someone could open the eighth gate, the power unleashed would probably surpass even that of a Jonin.

His first reaction was disbelief, but Feng Ye had no reason to deceive him over something like this. In other words, what Feng Ye said was probably true.

"How could that be... Isn't he an Eternal Genin?"

"Don't underestimate Konoha's Genin."

Feng Ye gave Kakashi a profound look.

After a brief pause, Feng Ye placed everything he needed to pack on the table, stood up, and looked at Kakashi. "By the way, how has your recent training been going?"

Kakashi answered his brother, "I've only just started practicing Cell Activation. I've already mastered Lightning Slash, and I can open the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates."

"Not bad."

Feng Ye showed a hint of approval.

Kakashi's talent for Ninjutsu was undeniably impressive. It seemed he had learned the Lightning Slash Feng Ye developed with ease, and Cell Activation probably would not stump him either.

With Cell Activation, Kakashi's Chakra reserves would not be a weakness in the future. Even without the Sharingan or access to powers like the Sage Body, he could probably reach the level of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi at his peak.

At the very least, he could surpass Hatake Sakumo!

"Since that man has that kind of strength, there's nothing to worry about. Also, in a few days, Teacher Minato will take us out on a mission."

Kakashi wore a thoughtful expression, then suddenly recalled something. "Oh, right. That Obito Uchiha in the team seems to like Rin."

Feng Ye smiled. "Isn't it perfectly normal for people to like Rin's personality? Are you asking whether I should interfere somehow? Handle that however you see fit."

"What do you mean, 'however I see fit'?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

If the person before him were not his brother, he would definitely have despised such behavior. The girls who had been coming to their house lately were not limited to Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yuhi.

But then again, it did not seem to have much to do with Feng Ye, because he had not actually done anything. Those girls were basically the ones approaching him. In short, his brother was a little too popular with girls. Kakashi found that rather troublesome, yet Feng Ye somehow managed to handle it harmoniously.

"Oh, right."

Looking at Kakashi, Feng Ye said, "If you get the chance while following Jonin Minato on missions, you can ask him about the Flying Thunder God Technique."

Kakashi looked at Feng Ye strangely. "The Flying Thunder God Technique? How do you know Jonin Minato can use that technique?"

"Mm, some intelligence."

Feng Ye did not explain further.

The Golden Flash whose name shook the ninja world, the Flying Thunder God Technique that had made the major ninja villages tremble in fear—if he did not know about that as a transmigrator, he would be utterly unqualified.

Based on Minato's personality, if Kakashi asked about the Flying Thunder God, he would probably be able to obtain the method of training it. Whether he could successfully master it, however, was hard to say. The difficulty of training Space Ninjutsu was simply not on the same level as something gradual like the Eight Inner Gates.

In any case, there was no harm in trying if he could get access to it.

The next day.

Feng Ye arrived at the village gate early.

After waiting for a while, Urabe Daisuke and the others arrived one after another, carrying only light packs. After waiting about another quarter of an hour, Might Duy finally arrived late.

"Sorry, sorry. Looks like I'm late."

"You're not late. We just arrived early. Now that you're here, Senior Duy, we can set off."

Feng Ye smiled warmly and looked toward the guard Chunin at Konoha's gate.

The guard Chunin nodded. After registering Might Duy's name as well, he signaled for Feng Ye and the others to leave the village.