Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu!

Madara Uchiha pondered such a possibility in detail.

Let Obito operate under the name "Madara," while Qingyu supports from the shadows under the identity of "Izuna."

One in the light and one in the dark, much like the seamless coordination he and Izuna once shared.

The more he thought about it, the more Madara felt his past perspective had been too narrow.

Obito, oh Obito, for the sake of Qingyu, you will just have to suffer a little.

Madara Uchiha stroked his chin.

Since he had already decided to draw out the deepest darkness within Obito, adding a little more wouldn't make any difference.

Several days passed.

The day Qingyu and Yūhi Kurenai had agreed upon arrived.

When Qingyu reached the entrance of the Yūhi residence, Yūhi Kurenai, Yūhi Shinku, and Sarutobi Asuma were already waiting at the door.

Asuma had swapped his flashy jacket for dark casual clothes, a ninja tool pouch strapped to his back, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorpost.

"Qingyu, you're so slow."

Sarutobi Asuma let out a yawn, his tone laced with a hint of complaint.

To see Yūhi Kurenai earlier, he had crawled out of bed before dawn, fussing in front of the mirror for quite a while to get his hair perfectly groomed.

Yet, after standing downstairs at the Yūhi residence for ages, Kurenai had only said "Morning" to him before she kept peering toward the mouth of the alley.

Now, seeing Qingyu, he finally understood who she had been waiting for.

"Sorry, I practiced my swordsmanship a bit longer this morning and lost track of time."

Qingyu offered an apology.

"It's fine."

Yūhi Kurenai shook her head.

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

As a ninja specializing in swordsmanship and genjutsu, his observational skills far exceeded those of an ordinary person.

In Yūhi Shinku's estimation, the amount of chakra flowing through the meridians of this child, Qingyu, far surpassed that of his peers.

Even those in the clan who had begun laying their foundations at three or four years old might not possess such an abundant chakra reserve.

Is this the bloodline of the Senju clan?

He felt a sense of awe in his heart, though he did not show it on his face.

"Since everyone is here, I will explain the mission."

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

"The client is a merchant named Fukuda Jun. He needs to transport a batch of valuable goods from Konoha to a town on the border of the Land of Grass. The mission is C-rank, and the primary threats are the rogue ninjas and bandits that may appear along the way."

"A C-rank mission? Isn't that too simple?"

Sarutobi Asuma patted his chest.

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

Yūhi Shinku glanced at him without a word.

Asuma was a child who was far too impulsive.

He would boast before setting out, yet often be the first to fall into a panic when it came to actual combat.

In contrast, Qingyu's reaction surprised him. Qingyu simply nodded, listened quietly to the mission details, and then began checking his own ninja tool pouch.

This composure, far beyond that of his peers, earned Qingyu a few points of favor in Yūhi Shinku's heart.

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

At the main gate of Konoha, a middle-aged man dressed in merchant attire was pacing back and forth anxiously beside an ox cart.

The cart was piled with several wooden crates, tightly bound with hemp rope and covered with waterproof tarpaulin.

"Mr. Fukuda, we are ninjas from Konoha. I am leading this mission, and these three children are trainee... reserve ninjas accompanying us."

Yūhi Shinku presented the mission request.

As a jōnin with considerable strength, handling a C-rank mission was child's play for him, so bringing the three of them along was of no consequence.

Fukuda Jun looked at the request form, then at the three figures behind Yūhi Shinku who were clearly still half-grown children, his expression subtle.

But since the team leader was a jōnin like Yūhi Shinku, he couldn't say much, so he could only nod and drive the ox cart forward.

From Konoha to the border of the Land of Grass, the scenery along the way gradually shifted from bustling villages to sparse woods, and then to rolling hills.

Yūhi Shinku walked at the front of the group, sharing quite a bit of knowledge along the way, which was a rare occurrence.

How to distribute physical strength during travel to avoid being exhausted when encountering enemies, how to quickly find water sources and safe campsites in unfamiliar terrain, and so on.

These experiences were far more profound than what was taught at the Ninja Academy; they were clearly Yūhi Shinku's own hard-won insights.

After traveling continuously for three days, the woods on both sides of the road grew increasingly dense.

A bird suddenly took flight, startled from the canopy.

Before the bird's cry had even faded, the sound of rapid footsteps emerged from the depths of the forest.

Over a dozen bandits wielding blades, axes, and clubs swarmed out from the trees, quickly surrounding the ox cart.

The bandits eyed the wooden crates on the cart with malicious intent, then glanced at Yūhi Shinku and the three children behind him, their eyes filled with greed.

"Boss, these people look pretty wealthy."

"The stuff in that box must be worth a fortune; finishing this job might be enough to feed us for half a month."

Fukuda Jun's face turned deathly pale, his hands gripping the ox cart's reins so tightly that his entire body trembled.

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

He gripped the hilt and channeled chakra into it; with a low hum, a blade of shimmering, azure-blue chakra extended from the hilt.

The crackling blade of chakra cast flickering light across the faces of the surrounding bandits.

Sarutobi Asuma's eyes widened.

"Qingyu, where did you get such a flashy ninja tool?"

"The Third Hokage gave it to me."

Qingyu replied casually.

Asuma's expression instantly soured, as if he had swallowed a fly.

No, wait—who was the Hokage's son here?

The old man had never given him such a cool weapon.

Why did Qingyu get it?

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

He recognized this sword; it was the one Senju Tobirama carried in his youth.

He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to give it to Qingyu; it seemed Qingyu's standing in the eyes of the higher-ups was even heavier than he had imagined.

Facing the bandits, Yūhi Shinku did not move to strike immediately.

Bringing the children out this time was meant to train their practical combat abilities.

He crossed his arms over his chest and stepped back toward the ox cart.

"You will handle this. Kurenai, protect the client. Qingyu and Asuma, you are responsible for repelling the bandits. I will watch from here and only intervene if necessary."

"Understood, Father."

Yūhi Kurenai replied, then turned to look at Qingyu.

"Qingyu, be careful."

Seeing the Sword of the Thunder God in Qingyu's hand, the bandits were not afraid; instead, they became even more excited.

"That sword glows—it must be some valuable treasure! Brothers, cut that brat down, the sword goes to the boss!"

The bandits brandished their blades and axes, charging toward Qingyu.

A layer of rapidly rotating water suddenly swirled around Qingyu's blade, spreading over the lightning-charged weapon. Two types of chakra nature were simultaneously applied to the same tool, emitting a faint sizzling sound.

He stood with his sword held high, the water on the blade refracting the sunlight into a dizzying glare.

"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."

Qingyu channeled Yin Release chakra into the water flowing along the blade.

After months of research, possessing the same level of comprehension as the young Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had successfully created this technique.

Qingyuan called it "Yin Release: Kyōka Suigetsu"!