Reward, Arbitrary Enhancement!

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"Kakashi, I'm here."

"Huh? Wait!"

From within the high wall, Kakashi's flustered voice could be heard.

But.

Before he could hide, Kyohiko's head popped over the top of the wall.

Below, Kakashi's face was bruised and battered. Beside him, his Shadow Clone froze for a moment before immediately dispelling.

Kakashi was ruthless, starting with the difficulty cranked to maximum.

Kyohiko was speechless.

He coughed lightly and said, "Sorry, I came at a bad time."

"You... forget it, come in."

Kakashi's face turned red.

But.

He had already lost face, so he didn't care if the other person saw a few more glances.

Besides.

He still had his mask.

Kakashi put on his mask, returning to his original demeanor. No abnormalities could be seen.

Kyohiko jumped down from above.

"Masks are so convenient. Once you put one on, you can't see injuries or expressions. I'm tempted to get one too."

"..."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, then turned around, "As you wish."

He turned and went inside.

How boring!

Kyohiko followed.

Before long, he and Kakashi arrived at a small dojo.

Hatake Sakumo's house wasn't very small.

Besides the living quarters and the courtyard, there was also a kendo practice area.

Kakashi took out several swords, ranging from short to long, and there was a stack of them nearby.

"We'll start with these swords. These are unsharpened practice swords."

He picked one up and tossed it over.

"Let's try out the movements first."

"Okay."

Kyohiko took it and practiced the moves one by one.

Slash, chop, slice...

Kakashi watched from the side for a long time. He blinked, his expression under the mask filled with shock.

He watched for a while longer and couldn't help but wonder—

Was this really Kyohiko's first time using a sword?

But.

Would it seem like he had no experience?

Kakashi watched from the side.

After waiting for a while, Kyohiko stopped and tilted his head.

"Are there any problems with my movements?"

"Hmm..."

Kakashi pondered for a moment, hoping to find some fault.

But.

In the end, he honestly said, "Just swinging the sword is meaningless. You need to fight to truly understand."

Kyohiko's swordsmanship movements were already quite standard. He had almost completely mastered the basics of swordsmanship. Practicing movements for a short period was meaningless.

What he needed now was actual combat.

Combat focused on swordsmanship!

Kyohiko nodded.

As he swung the blade, he felt the movements were incredibly familiar, requiring no extra practice at all.

This must be the effect of the White Fang Sword Technique entry-level mastery.

"Alright, I've been using kunai until now, so switching to a sword all of a sudden feels quite strange. You'll have to go easy on me."

"Certainly!"

Kakashi swept a cold gaze over him.

In a general duel, he wasn't certain he could best Kyohiko, but in terms of swordsmanship alone, he didn't believe Kyohiko could be stronger than him.

"Then..."

"Begin!"

The moment their voices fell, their blades were already unsheathed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their blades crossed and collided.

A few strikes had already been exchanged in this brief clash.

So fast!

Kakashi was shocked internally.

He could tell...

Kyohiko's swordsmanship was truly mediocre; he only knew the basics. While his movements were standard, they were far from refined, yet his speed and reaction time with every strike were incredibly fast.

What strong reflexes!

Is this something trained?

Kakashi continued to increase his speed, pushing nearly to his full limit, before he finally noticed Kyohiko's blade struggling to keep up.

It wasn't a lack of reflexes, but rather a lack of technique and an inability to withstand the force behind the strikes.

This was a manifestation of insufficient skill.

The duel ended.

Kakashi felt refreshed all over.

Satisfying!

"Again."

He was enjoying himself, feeling his confidence surge.

Kyohiko's eyes flickered.

"Fine."

Following that, their blades clashed once more.

In an instant.

Boom!

Chakra condensed, and a blast of air erupted.

Kyohiko unleashed the Strength of a Hundred, instantly knocking Kakashi's blade askew before swinging his own toward Kakashi's neck.

Kakashi dodged immediately.

"You cheated!"

"Are you a samurai?"

Kyohiko sheathed his blade.

He put his sword away and said righteously, "I'm learning the sword to hone my skills. Once I've matured, I might not use a sword anymore, so there's no need to be strictly bound by swordsmanship."

Kakashi was speechless.

This guy was clearly using sophistry, yet he possessed a strange charisma that made people unconsciously swayed by his logic.

He put his sword away.

"If you need to, you can come spar with me anytime."

"I'll borrow this blade for now."

"Entry-level."

With swordsmanship at this level, it was impossible to be a match for Kakashi; it was only natural to lose in a pure sword fight.

Kyohiko didn't take it to heart at all.

He put the sword away and headed home.

Kakashi didn't try to keep him.

Everyone needed to train and further improve their strength.

Encountering Biwa Juzo...

For Kyohiko, though he didn't show it much, he was actually quite stimulated internally.

In that battle, he utilized his tactics and strength to the best of his ability, yet he only managed to injure his opponent, unable to kill them while they were wounded.

Of course.

Biwa Juzo was undoubtedly more stimulated.

As a Jonin of Kirigakure, having his knees shattered by a sneak attack from a Konoha Genin was an unbearable humiliation in his life.

For several days, Kyohiko didn't leave his home except to eat and run for exercise, constantly practicing the Blade Listening Wind Positioning Technique and his physical instincts.

Just over ten days later.

As Kyohiko was training, he suddenly received a system prompt.

[Under your leadership, Konoha, in conjunction with the Land of Lightning and the Land of Hot Water, has implemented the Land of Waves strategy, which will effectively limit the development of the Land of Water at sea.]

[Reward: Any skill increased by 1 level.]

So soon?

He was somewhat surprised.

According to Kyohiko's estimation, given the efficiency displayed by Konoha's Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors in this matter, it would take at least one to two months to push it through.

He hadn't expected.

In just over ten days, not only had it been implemented, but it had also been completed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi has such efficiency?

Impossible!

"It seems teacher has really gotten serious this time."

Kyohiko felt a sense of joy, like "an old man's comfort"--

Jiraiya had finally not gone down the wrong path of believing that "love" alone could bring peace.

After a moment of reflection, his attention shifted to the reward.

Any!

This meant he could choose himself?

He hadn't expected.

This reward...

Kyohiko's eyes lit up.

Immediately, he fell into a long period of indecision.

It was good.

But which skill should he choose to upgrade?

Kyohiko's gaze swept over various skills, finally narrowing his options down to two.

Master-level Body Flicker Technique.

Proficient-level Strength Enhancement Technique.

His gaze flickered back and forth between the two.

Master-level Body Flicker Technique had many possibilities for development.

One, like Body Flicker Shisui, to train the Body Flicker Technique to its extreme, even linking it with other abilities.

Two, to master faster Body Flicker techniques, even controlling his own speed.

This could be a very important qualitative leap.

But he wasn't Shisui, nor was he Minato Namikaze.

He didn't have the Sharingan or heaven-defying talent.

Therefore, after upgrading the Body Flicker Technique, he might fall into the same awkward situation Kakashi was in before he had the Sharingan.

Strength Enhancement Technique was stable and controllable, but the benefits were also predictable.

After hesitating for a moment, he still decided to choose--

Body Flicker Technique!

Although the uncertainty after upgrading was high, the potential benefits were definitely greater, making it worth the gamble!