Parting, Separation

The morning breeze crossed the Naka River, climbed the cliff face of the Valley of the End, and sprinkled with streaks of faint light upon the rough Hokage Rock.

Thus, Konoha broke free from the morning mist.

Konoha, Mission Assignment Office.

Uchiha Kai, Hyuga Rei, and Morino Kei entered together, followed by a strange old man in coarse clothing, hunched over and carrying a large iron pot on his back.

At this time, nearly a month had passed since the three of them graduated from the Ninja Academy.

During this period, many things had happened, big and small.

First, the four members of Keiichi's team, led by Aburame Keiichi, began their ninja careers.

However, since the three were newly graduated rookies, they could only undertake low-level, non-dangerous D-rank missions.

These were mostly tasks like catching cats and dogs or helping villagers plow fields and pick vegetables. Although there was no danger, the rewards were very low, and the tasks were tedious.

Even Uchiha Kai found this kind of life somewhat irritating and unbearable, let alone Hyuga Rei and Morino Kei, who wished they could rush out of the village and engage in close combat with enemy ninjas right now.

Of course, these were merely thoughts in their minds. Under Aburame Keiichi's strict supervision, the three youngsters patiently honed their tempers and diligently carried out their tasks.

Especially Morino Kei, under Aburame Keiichi's special care, was truly "willing to shoulder burdens and endure grievances."

However, about half a month ago, Aburame Keiichi suddenly received a personal appointment from the Third Generation Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and urgently left the village on a special mission.

The three, who thought they would have a period of ease, were approached by someone the very next day they tried to relax. This person was the old man who was now entering the mission assignment office with them.

It was none other than Maruboshi Kosuke.

This ordinary-looking, kind-faced old man was actually the acting captain entrusted by Aburame Keiichi to temporarily look after the three of them.

Morino Kei and Hyuga Rei were incredulous when they first learned this. After all, this kind old man, who was as old as he was, was still a Genin like them.

No matter how they looked at him, he didn't seem like a ninja with powerful abilities. He led them through those tedious and uninteresting D-rank missions with unusual familiarity, as if his usual task was to focus on handling such trivial matters.

This made the two of them even more distrustful of Maruboshi Kosuke's strength.

But since he was personally entrusted by Aburame Keiichi, they didn't dare to be too presumptuous. After all, he was a senior and of such an advanced age that they had to show him respect.

Only Uchiha Kai thought differently. The young man did not see Maruboshi Kosuke as a simple old man just passing time.

After all, in the original work, this old man displayed terrifying strength, possessing top-tier abilities, experience, and seniority.

He had become a ninja during the reign of the Second Generation Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and had undertaken dangerous missions multiple times.

However, during a Chunin Exam, his desire to be promoted to Chunin led him to devise overly aggressive tactics, resulting in the death of his comrade.

Since then, he had been plagued by inner demons and self-doubt, and he had sworn before Tobirama Senju to remain a Genin for life as atonement.

For decades, he had fulfilled this promise without fail. No matter how anyone advised him, even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, his resolve remained unchanged.

This showed how much he valued his oath, and he was clearly a worthy and respected adherent to his word.

Speaking of this suddenly appearing acting captain, we must also mention a major event that occurred a few days after Aburame Keiichi's departure.

An event that changed the current landscape of the Ninja World and caused countless influences in later generations.

The "Battle of Kannabi Bridge" had occurred.

Just as in the original work, nothing had changed.

Minato's Team was ordered to the Stone Ninja battlefield to infiltrate enemy territory and cut off the enemy's supply and transport route from Kusagakure – the Kannabi Bridge.

The mission was a great success and was perfectly executed. The Stone Ninja, deprived of supplies, gradually weakened on the battlefield, their combat effectiveness visibly declining. They clearly couldn't hold on for much longer.

This laid an indelible foundation for the future defeat of the Stone Ninja. Consequently, Minato's Team became the object of fervent admiration from the villagers. Both the members and their captain, Minato Namikaze, gained widespread fame.

However, none of them could truly be happy.

Because their comrade, their student – Uchiha Obito – had died in action.

To rescue the captured Nohara Rin, Kakashi and Obito fought the elite Stone Ninja Jonin, Kouka, in a cave.

Through carelessness, Kouka unleashed a mutually destructive ninjutsu, Rock Lodging Collapse.

Uchiha Obito, in order to save Kakashi, pushed him out of the cave. He himself was crushed by falling boulders, "powerless to turn the tide."

When the news reached the village, Uchiha Kai remained silent for a long time.

On the day of the memorial for the fallen, Uchiha Kai attended as a close friend of the same clan.

The weather that day was not particularly bad, but under the wash of grief and tears, it could be considered bad.

Before the monument of heroes, ninjas in formal attire offered their sincere respect to the fallen Konoha hero – Uchiha Obito.

Afterward, since Kakashi Hatake had transplanted Obito's Sharingan, Uchiha Yashiro had wanted to retrieve Obito's eyes, but Uchiha Kai stopped him.

The two argued for a while, and the discussion ended with Uchiha Yashiro silently agreeing.

After that day, Uchiha Kai's relaxed mindset became tense once again. He returned to his previous state of constantly training desperately.

This caused Hyuga Rei and Morino Kei to feel heartache. Even Maruboshi Kosuke repeatedly advised the young man, but with little effect.

During this period, the Panel only triggered one mission. It was a small mission that only awarded 0.1 Divine attribute, which was better than nothing.

Instead, due to the youth's desperate training, his Physique attribute increased by another 0.1 compared to after his last mission, which also allowed Uchiha Kai to understand the general pattern of attribute increases.

At this moment, Uchiha Kai's Panel is:

[Host: Uchiha Kai]
[Physique: 4.7]
[Spirit: 6.2]
[Energy (Chakra): 185]
[Energy Control: Fire (Proficient) Wind (Proficient) Lightning (To Be Opened) Water (To Be Opened) Earth (To Be Opened) Yin (To Be Opened) Yang (To Be Opened)]
[Special Talents: Sharingan (Single Tomoe), Proof of Sweat, No-Fear]
[Skills: Great Fireball Technique, Flower Shuriken Red Claw Technique, Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, Genjutsu - Sharingan, Shurikenjutsu, Konoha Style Taijutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Wind Slash, Body Flicker Technique, Mirror Heaven and Earth Turn]
[Overall Evaluation: A barely repaired piece of porcelain, possessing a little power, a mayfly in a chaotic world]

Under the youth's targeted training, his Wind Release control also reached the Proficient level. He also skillfully mastered the application of Mirror Heaven and Earth Turn, but simply lacked a suitable opportunity to display it.

Furthermore, by increasing his attribute points and Chakra quantity, he deduced the pattern between the two.

Uchiha Kai discovered that there was a threshold setting for attribute point increases; every time a full number was exceeded, the corresponding attribute enhancement effect would greatly increase.

For example, in the Spirit category, when he strengthened it from 6 to 6.1, he not only felt a significant enhancement in his ethereal spirit and soul, but even his Sharingan felt an unusual surge of heat.