Catching Blades with Bare Hands

"Asuma's no good. A whole lecture and barely any rewards—just a bit of weapon proficiency..."

Kyoichi toyed with a kunai in his hand.

His handling of the kunai had grown noticeably smoother, and even his swordsmanship seemed to have seen a slight improvement. But compared to the gains from Shisui earlier, what Asuma gave this time really wasn't much.

Forget it.

Better than nothing.

He split off a shadow clone and started preparing some food for himself.

Just then, a figure swooped into the yard.

"Kanda Kyoichi, the Third Hokage orders me to inform you that the Jonin Exam will take place in the Forest of Death five days from now, in the morning. Please be sure to attend."

"Got it. Thanks!"

After Kyoichi bowed, the Anbu ninja vanished instantly.

Once the Anbu was gone, he pondered for a long while, the recent events flashing through his mind.

"Most of the ninja are back. Looks like the front lines are completely settled. Next up might be the graduation exams."

"And they're holding the Jonin Exam now—seems like Konoha's really short on squad leaders."

During this period, most of Konoha's ninja had been fighting on the front lines. There were hardly any genin left in the village, and a backlog of missions like catching pets, hauling water, and carrying firewood had piled up.

On top of that, genin casualties were heavy, so a fresh batch of recruits was needed.

But.

Genin weren't assigned directly after graduation. They had to form four-man squads with their squad leaders.

Most squads were led by chunin, but jonin were also needed—and most jonin ended up leading kids from their own clans.

That had always been Konoha's unspoken rule.

But now.

Clearly, there weren't enough jonin to go around either.

The Third Hokage didn't know, but Kyoichi understood all too well—after this brief peace, Konoha would soon be clashing with Kirigakure and Iwagakure again.

In the decade or so since the Second Ninja War began, Konoha had barely had any time to rest. Now, it was already showing signs of a generational gap.

No wonder later on, when Kumogakure tried to kidnap Hyuga Hinata, the Third Hokage and the Hyuga Clan chose to swallow their pride.

Kyoichi understood, but he didn't agree.

Hizashi died unjustly.

Also.

Konoha's current state had a lot to do with the policies of the Third Hokage and Danzo.

Since the village's founding, the First Hokage's era was the most prosperous, but that relied on Hashirama Senju's absolute strength. In terms of the village's actual flourishing, it peaked under the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

And then?

As soon as Tobirama Senju died, Konoha kept fighting other villages and kept declining.

Inside the village, even the Sannin couldn't be kept around.

Whose fault was that?

It sure as hell wasn't the Uchiha's problem.

The Third Hokage's incompetence in leadership was undeniable.

Kanda Kyoichi cooked his meal, eating while mulling over his next steps.

Becoming a squad leader had always been part of the plan.

As for what came after...

"In the wars against Kirigakure and Kumogakure, I need to rack up achievements. But more importantly, I have to build connections. If Danzo ever tries to move against me, I'll have the means to counter him."

Of course.

Orochimaru had both strength and status, and in the end, Danzo still drove him out.

Because he wasn't clean himself!

So, he couldn't leave any loose ends.

Thinking this through, Kyoichi gained a clear picture of his path forward, with no more hesitation.

As for the present.

It was all about training and improving himself.

"No classes tomorrow. I'll go find Might Duy and Might Guy to spar and bond a bit. If the timing's right, I can exchange notes on the Seven Heavenly Breathing Methods and the Eight Gates."

The next day.

New faces in ninja uniforms kept appearing all over Konoha.

These were all ninjas returning from the front lines.

Kanda Kyoichi didn't pay them much mind, jogging along the outer perimeter for exercise while a Shadow Clone at home tirelessly trained in swordsmanship.

His swordsmanship had improved considerably.

But.

When it came to actual combat, it might still fall short—at least not as sharp and direct as his other attack methods.

Still needed practice!

"Teacher Kanda, how about a spar?"

"Train hard."

Kyoichi didn't take the bait.

Might Guy followed for a while, then couldn't hold back, suddenly launching a flying kick at Kyoichi.

Kyoichi tilted his head to dodge.

Might Guy sailed over his head, but just then, a green blur shot in from behind.

"Guy! You bastard... daring to ambush Teacher Kanda!"

Thud!

With a dull impact, Might Guy was kicked away, nearly crashing into a rock.

Might Duy had arrived.

Kyoichi's mouth twitched.

Though he'd seen it once or twice, the personalities and antics of Might Duy and Might Guy, father and son, were still a bit hard to get used to.

But no matter how hard they hit, the kid was always fine—no wonder their lineage could master the Eight Gates; their endurance was trained from childhood.

He ignored the father-son duo and kept running ahead.

They'd catch up anyway.

But.

After a few steps, Kyoichi narrowed his eyes at the forest.

Someone spying?

He sensed for a moment and roughly understood.

That presence—

Kakashi Hatake!

Without changing his expression, he kept running forward as if he hadn't sensed Kakashi at all.

Getting closer.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled.

The next moment, Kakashi appeared behind Kyoichi, an unsheathed short sword pressed against Kyoichi's neck.

"Hmph."

Nothing special.

He was about to lower the blade when, in the next instant, the Kanda Kyoichi before him slowly dissipated.

A clone?

Impossible!

When?

Kakashi's eyes widened. Though startled, he reacted swiftly, leaping back and forming hand seals for a jutsu midair.

Earth Release!

Landing, he was about to burrow underground.

But.

He found his jutsu had failed—

A layer of foreign chakra coated the ground, blocking his Earth Release.

Impressive!

In just an instant, the opponent had swapped positions with a Body Flicker and Clone Technique he couldn't even track, then sealed his footing with Earth Release chakra, preventing escape.

This was a battlefield veteran.

Then...

Ding!

"Impressive, Kakashi Hatake."

Kyoichi's kunai pressed against Kakashi's blade.

In the blink of an eye, the other party could rapidly analyze the scene and make a judgment—this reaction speed was indeed formidable, and his strength was no joke. If it had been himself before the system upgrade, he would have been defeated by Kakashi at the very first encounter.

But.

Now, he wasn't afraid at all!

Under Kakashi's horrified gaze, Kyoichi directly grabbed hold of his short blade.

It was only then that Kakashi noticed Kyoichi's hand was pitch black.

Hardening Technique?

No.

This was another Earth Release ninjutsu—Earth Spear!

He immediately tried to counter with Lightning Release chakra, but the other party's strength suddenly became terrifyingly immense. Kakashi couldn't even hold onto the blade, and in an instant, his weapon was snatched away.

What terrifying strength!

Kakashi stared at the stolen short blade, knowing he had been thoroughly defeated—in that moment just now, if the other party had been an enemy, he could have directly used the Kunai in his right hand to kill him.

So incredible!

The other party was only six or seven years older than him, yet their strength was on an entirely different level.

What he found hardest to accept was.

The moment his blade was taken, he even felt that even if he were given another six or seven years, he still wouldn't be a match for this guy in front of him—a crushing sense of defeat he had never experienced before.

No!

If he could use Lightning Release ninjutsu and grow a few more years, he would definitely be able to defeat this guy.

Kakashi clenched his fist, encouraging himself in his heart.

"Kakashi, I told you yesterday you're no match for him, and you still came to challenge Brother Kanda."

Guy arrived and laughed mockingly on the side.

But.

He himself was also bruised and swollen, clearly having taken a beating from Might Duy.

Thanks to the Rewards from 'Dieu Bang' and 'Angel Nan'.