Are Swords and Sabers Not Meant to Be So Inconvenient?

Minato Namikaze did not hide his praise for Kakashi Hatake.

Upon hearing these words, Kakashi Hatake felt a surge of joy, though his mask successfully concealed it, leaving only the brightness in his eyes to betray his happiness.

However, at that moment, Minato Namikaze's tone shifted.

"Your strength is already on par with a newly graduated Genin."

"But your shortcomings are equally obvious."

"You lack physical strength," Minato Namikaze said, picking up his wooden sword and weighing it in his hand.

"Sakumo-senpai's swordsmanship is formidable."

"But you are somewhat too obsessed with it."

"Perhaps because you have always used a wooden sword, your strikes are too light."

Hearing this, Kakashi Hatake felt quite unconvinced.

He could generate a whistling sound when he swung his blade; how could it possibly be considered light!

Minato Namikaze spoke as he handed the wooden sword back to Kakashi Hatake.

"But then again, you are still young. Once your strength grows, this shortcoming will naturally disappear."

"For now, however, you are still lacking. My assessment of your current strength is that of a newly graduated Genin."

Minato Namikaze said this, then looked toward Yuki Yuichi, who had been silent on the sidelines.

The strength Yuki Yuichi had just displayed was beyond what he had expected.

Especially those scarlet Sharingan with tomoe.

Minato was not curious about Yuki Yuichi revealing the Sharingan.

Thanks to Uzumaki Kushina, he was already aware that Yuki Yuichi possessed Uchiha blood.

What he hadn't expected was that Yuki Yuichi would awaken the Sharingan so early.

Thinking of this, Minato Namikaze looked at him with a sense of pity and sympathy before he even spoke.

Awakening the Sharingan required intense emotional stimulation.

Even though Yuhi Shinku-senpai had adopted this child, he must have endured a great deal of hardship.

Minato Namikaze thought to himself, his gaze toward Yuki Yuichi growing even more sympathetic.

Seeing him staring without saying a word, Yuki Yuichi frowned, "Big Brother Minato, why do you keep looking at me?"

Minato Namikaze did not answer, but instead looked at him and asked in return, "These past few years, you must have had it very hard, haven't you?"

Yuki Yuichi: "???"

What are you talking about?

Minato Namikaze's demeanor made Yuki Yuichi realize the situation.

He had seen the Sharingan and was now imagining that Yuki had suffered greatly.

After a moment of contemplation, Yuki Yuichi looked at Minato Namikaze and spoke cautiously: "Is there any possibility that I didn't suffer?"

"I understand," Minato Namikaze nodded, assuming he was trying to preserve his pride and youthful stubbornness, so he didn't argue, but nodded in agreement instead.

Seeing his reaction, Yuki Yuichi couldn't help but feel strained.

If he could, he would have liked to go along with Minato Namikaze's narrative, as it might have garnered more sympathy and help.

But he had awakened his eyes in full view of everyone, and he had no intention of hiding it—there was no need!

With Yuhi Shinku around, he didn't need to worry about resources or ninjutsu at all.

Moreover, he had the

Achievement System

; he didn't need to worry about ninjutsu.

Kakashi Hatake watched him from the side, wearing the same expression as Minato Namikaze.

He was well-versed in the various clans of Konoha and their characteristics.

Seeing the look on both their faces, Yuki Yuichi sighed and said listlessly, "I really didn't have any emotional trauma."

"I ran into Uchiha Obito at the training ground yesterday and found that the guy was trying to use eye drops to force his eyes to awaken."

"I just thought I'd give it a try, borrowed his eye drops, and then my eyes awakened."

"There really wasn't any suffering or stimulation."

Hearing this, Kakashi Hatake looked at Yuki Yuichi, deep in thought.

So, eye drops could help an Uchiha awaken their eyes.

Unlike Kakashi Hatake, Minato Namikaze knew exactly how difficult it was to awaken the Sharingan.

Hearing this, he fell silent for a moment. Thinking back to his previous assumptions and actions, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

As for whether Yuki Yuichi was lying to him, he believed that Yuki Yuichi wouldn't deceive him, and he trusted his own intuition as a ninja even more.

Yuki Yuichi's expressions and micro-movements just now did not look like those of someone telling a lie.

Besides, what he said was very easy to verify.

For a moment, none of the three spoke, and the atmosphere turned rather awkward.

After a long silence, Minato Namikaze gave a light cough, sensing that the mood was off, and immediately said, "Since that's the case, let's continue discussing your strength."

Yuki Yuichi and Kakashi Hatake straightened up upon hearing this.

Kakashi Hatake, in particular, was eager to learn more about Yuki Yuichi's situation, even though Minato Namikaze had already touched upon his level of strength.

That way, he could pinpoint his weaknesses for their next spar.

Seeing their reactions, Minato Namikaze smiled with satisfaction and began, "Your strength is above Kakashi's."

"However, you don't use a sword, so why do you carry one? Can you tell me?"

Minato Namikaze's tone was gentle, devoid of any blame or reproach, seemingly driven by pure curiosity.

Minato Namikaze knew full well that Yuki Yuichi was merely using the sword as bait, but he wanted to hear Yuki Yuichi's attitude toward swordsmanship.

From that, he could catch a glimpse of the bigger picture.

Yuki Yuichi, hearing this, replied nonchalantly, "I indeed do not use a sword."

"But isn't the purpose of a sword to grant one greater power?"

"So, it is perfectly logical for me to hold a wooden sword as bait, and then suddenly abandon it to cast a genjutsu."

Before Minato Namikaze could react, Kakashi Hatake, sitting beside him, glared at Yuki Yuichi upon hearing these words.

Raised from a young age by Hatake Sakumo to learn the Hatake Style Sword Technique, Kakashi Hatake was not yet the man broken by the rumors that would later drive his father to death; his love for the blade was still pure and sincere.

"If you have no feelings for the blade, you will never achieve anything!"

Glancing at Kakashi Hatake, Yuki Yuichi let out a scoff.

"Are swords really such inconvenient things?"

"You!" Kakashi Hatake pointed at him, momentarily rendered speechless.

Minato Namikaze watched the two of them and smiled; this was youth.

Stopping the two of them, he continued, "Your way of thinking isn't actually wrong."

"In battle, you must learn to utilize everything around you."

"You did that very well."

"However, your moves are too straightforward." As Minato Namikaze spoke, he stood up and gestured for Yuki Yuichi to do the same.

Using his own movements to reenact their first exchange, Minato Namikaze continued, "In that initial situation, if I hadn't held back, you might have been severely injured."

"When fighting, you must learn to leverage information about yourself and your opponent, as well as your respective strengths and weaknesses."

"Take your second attempt, for example: you approached with the sword, exploiting my underestimation of you and the information gap regarding your Sharingan and genjutsu."

"You did that very well."

"Your current strength, combined with your ability to utilize items and intelligence, is already better than many genin."

At this point, Minato Namikaze looked at the two of them with a bright smile, "So, to celebrate our meeting, I'll treat you both to ramen!"