Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu!

Madara Uchiha carefully considered the possibility.

Obito could operate under the name "Madara," while Qingyu supported him from the shadows under the identity of "Izuna."

One in the open and one in the shadows, just like the flawless teamwork he and Izuna had shared back in the day.

The more Madara Uchiha thought about it, the more he realized how narrow-minded he'd been before.

Obito, oh, Obito. For Qingyu's sake, you'll just have to suffer a little.

Madara Uchiha stroked his chin.

He'd already decided to draw out the deepest darkness within Obito, so adding a little more to it wouldn't make any difference.

Several days passed.

The day Qingyu had arranged to meet Yūhi Kurenai arrived.

When Qingyu reached Yūhi Kurenai's home, she, Yūhi Shinku, and Sarutobi Asuma were already waiting outside.

Asuma had changed out of his flashy jacket and into dark casual clothes. With a ninja tool pouch strapped to his back, he leaned against the doorpost, arms crossed.

"Qingyu, you're really late."

Sarutobi Asuma yawned, his voice edged with complaint.

He'd gotten out of bed before dawn so he could see Yūhi Kurenai sooner, then spent ages in front of the mirror, carefully combing his hair until it was perfectly neat.

But after waiting outside the Yūhi home for ages, Kurenai had only said "Morning" to him before continuing to look toward the end of the alley.

Now that he saw Qingyu, he finally understood who she'd been waiting for.

"Sorry. I practiced my sword a little longer this morning and lost track of time."

Qingyu apologized.

"It's okay,"

Yūhi Kurenai said with a shake of her head.

Yūhi Shinku stood beside Yūhi Kurenai, his gaze sweeping over Qingyu.

As a ninja specializing in swordsmanship and Genjutsu, his powers of observation far surpassed those of ordinary people.

He could tell that the chakra flowing through the child's chakra pathways was far greater than that of others his age.

Even the clan's ninjas, who had been building their foundations since the age of three or four, might not have such abundant chakra reserves.

Was this the bloodline of the Senju Clan?

He felt a little wistful, but didn't let it show on his face.

"Now that everyone's here, I'll explain the mission."

Yūhi Shinku took out a mission request form stamped with the seal of the Hokage Building.

"Our client is a merchant named Fukuda Jun. He needs a shipment of valuable goods transported from Konoha to a town on the border of the Land of Grass. It's a C-rank mission. The main threats are the rogue ninjas and bandits who may appear along the way."

"A C-rank mission? That sounds easy."

Sarutobi Asuma thumped his chest.

"With me around, I won't let those rogue ninjas or bandits ruin things."

Yūhi Shinku glanced at him but said nothing.

Asuma was too rash.

He always made big promises before setting out, but when it came to real combat, he was usually the first to panic.

By comparison, Qingyu's reaction surprised him. Qingyu simply nodded, listened quietly to the mission briefing, and then began checking his ninja tool pouch.

His composure, far beyond what one would expect of someone his age, earned him a few extra points in Yūhi Shinku's estimation.

"Let's go. Mr. Fukuda is waiting at the village entrance."

At the gate of Konoha, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant paced anxiously beside an ox cart.

Several wooden crates were stacked on the cart, bound tightly with hemp rope and covered with a waterproof tarp.

"Mr. Fukuda, we're ninjas from Konoha. I'll be leading this mission, and these three children are trainee... prospective ninjas accompanying us."

Yūhi Shinku showed him the mission request form.

As a capable Jonin, handling a C-rank mission was a piece of cake for him, so bringing Qingyu and the others along was no trouble.

Fukuda Jun looked at the request form, then at the three figures behind Yūhi Shinku, who were clearly still just children. His expression turned a little strange.

But since the team leader was a Jonin like Yūhi Shinku, he couldn't very well object. He simply nodded and set off with his ox cart.

As they traveled from Konoha to the border of the Land of Grass, the scenery gradually changed from bustling villages to sparse woods, then to rolling hills.

Yūhi Shinku walked at the front of the group and, for once, shared quite a few lessons along the way.

He explained how to pace themselves while traveling so they wouldn't be exhausted if they ran into enemies, and how to quickly find water and a safe place to camp in unfamiliar terrain.

His advice was far more in-depth than anything taught at the Ninja Academy, clearly drawn from Yūhi Shinku's own experience.

After three days of continuous travel, the woods along both sides of the road grew denser.

A bird suddenly burst from the canopy.

Before its call had even faded, the sound of hurried footsteps came from deep in the woods.

More than a dozen bandits wielding knives, axes, and clubs poured out of the trees, quickly surrounding the ox cart.

They eyed the crates on the cart with ill intent, then looked at Yūhi Shinku and the three children behind him, greed plain in their eyes.

"Boss, these people look loaded."

"Whatever's in those crates has to be worth a lot. This haul could feed us for half a month."

Fukuda Jun's face went deathly pale. He clutched the ox cart's reins, trembling all over.

Qingyu took the hilt of the Sword of the Thunder God from his ninja tool pouch.

He gripped it tightly and poured chakra into it. With a low hum, a bright blue blade of chakra, flickering with lightning, extended from the hilt.

The chakra blade crackled, its shifting light illuminating the bandits' faces.

Sarutobi Asuma's eyes widened.

"Qingyu, where'd you get such a cool ninja tool?"

"Lord Hokage gave it to me."

Qingyu answered casually.

Asuma's face instantly looked as if he'd swallowed a fly.

Wait, which one of us is the Hokage's son?

The old man had never given him a ninja tool this flashy.

Why did Qingyu get one?

Yūhi Shinku's gaze lingered on the blade of the Sword of the Thunder God.

He recognized it. It had been Senju Tobirama's sword when he was young.

He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to give it to Qingyu. It seemed Qingyu mattered more to the higher-ups than he'd thought.

Yūhi Shinku didn't immediately step in to deal with the bandits.

He'd brought the children along to give them experience in actual combat.

He folded his arms and stepped back beside the ox cart.

"You'll handle this one. Kurenai, protect the client. Qingyu and Asuma, drive off the bandits. I'll watch from here and only step in if necessary."

"Got it, Father."

Yūhi Kurenai replied, then turned to Qingyu.

"Be careful, Qingyu."

Seeing the Sword of the Thunder God in Qingyu's hand, the bandits didn't get scared. If anything, they grew even more excited.

"That sword lights up! It's gotta be some kind of valuable treasure. Brothers, cut that kid down and bring the sword to the boss!"

The bandits charged at Qingyu, waving their axes and knives.

A layer of rapidly swirling water suddenly curled around Qingyu's blade. The water spread across the lightning-lit sword, and two different chakra natures clung to the same weapon, giving off a faint sizzling sound.

He stood with his sword in hand, the water rippling along its length and refracting the sunlight into a dazzling, dizzying glare.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Qingyu poured Yin Release Chakra into the water flowing over the blade.

After several months of research, he had successfully created this technique himself, thanks to a talent for insight on par with Sarutobi Hiruzen's in his youth.

Qingyuan named it "Yin Release: Kyoka Suigetsu"!