Rewards: Upgrade Anything!

"Kakashi, I'm here."

"Hm? Wait!"

Kakashi's panicked voice came from inside the high wall.

But—

Before he could hide anything, Kyohiko's head appeared above the wall.

Below, Kakashi's face was bruised blue and purple. Beside him, his Shadow Clone froze for a moment, then immediately dispelled itself.

Kakashi was ruthless—he'd cranked the difficulty all the way up from the start.

Kyohiko was speechless.

He gave a light cough. "Sorry, I came at a bad time."

"You... Forget it. Come in."

Kakashi's face flushed red.

But—

He'd already lost face. He didn't care if Kyohiko saw a little more.

Besides—

He still had his mask.

Kakashi put on his mask and returned to his usual appearance. It was hard to tell anything was wrong.

Kyohiko jumped down from the wall.

"Having a mask sure is convenient. Put it on and no one can see your injuries or expression. I kind of want one too."

"..."

Kakashi fell silent for a moment, then turned around. "Suit yourself."

He headed inside.

What a bore!

Kyohiko followed.

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

The Hatake residence wasn't very small.

Besides the living quarters and courtyard, it also had a place for sword practice.

Kakashi took out several swords, ranging from short to long. There was a stack of them beside him, too.

"We'll start with these. They're practice swords without sharpened edges."

He picked one up and tossed it over.

"Try the movements first."

"Okay."

Kyohiko took it and practiced the movements one by one.

Chop, slash, slice...

Kakashi watched from the side for a long while, blinking in disbelief beneath his mask.

He watched for a little longer, then couldn't help wondering—

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

But—

Wouldn't asking that make him seem ignorant?

Kakashi continued watching from the side.

After a while, Kyohiko stopped and turned his head.

"Are there any problems with my movements?"

"Well..."

Kakashi pondered for a moment, hoping to find some flaw to pick at.

But—

In the end, he answered fairly honestly. "There's no point in just swinging a sword. You have to fight to understand it."

Kyohiko's sword movements were already quite proper. He had practically mastered the fundamentals of swordsmanship, so practicing the movements more would be meaningless in the short term.

What he needed now was actual combat.

Actual combat focused on swordsmanship!

Kyohiko nodded.

As he swung the sword, the movements had felt very familiar. He didn't need to practice them much at all.

That was probably another benefit of learning the basics of the White Fang Sword Technique.

"All right. I've been using Kunai up until now, so switching to a sword feels pretty strange. Go easy on me."

"Of course!"

Kakashi shot him a cool glance.

In a general fight, he wasn't sure he could beat Kyohiko. But when it came to swordsmanship alone, he didn't believe Kyohiko could best him.

"Then..."

"Begin!"

The moment they finished speaking, their swords flashed from their sheaths.

Clang, clang, clang!

Their blades crossed and clashed.

They traded several strikes in a brief exchange.

So fast!

Kakashi was shocked.

He could tell...

Kyohiko's swordsmanship really was quite average. He knew how to use a sword, and his movements were proper, but they were nowhere near refined. However, his strikes were always fast, and his reactions were quick.

What incredible reflexes!

Had he trained them?

Kakashi kept increasing his speed. It was almost his full strength when he finally noticed that Kyohiko's sword couldn't quite keep up.

It wasn't a lack of reflexes. His swordsmanship and the force behind his strikes couldn't hold up.

That was a sign that his technique wasn't good enough.

After one round, Kakashi felt completely at ease.

That felt great!

"Again."

He'd had a satisfying fight and felt his confidence soar.

Kyohiko's eyes shifted.

"All right."

Then their blades met again.

In an instant—

Bang!

Chakra gathered, and a blast of air surged outward.

Kyohiko used the Strength Enhancement Technique, instantly knocking Kakashi's sword askew. He then swung toward Kakashi's neck.

Kakashi dodged at once.

"That's cheating!"

"Are you a Samurai?"

Kyohiko lowered his sword.

He lowered it and replied with perfect justification, "I'm learning swordsmanship to hone my technique. Once I've mastered it, I might not use a sword anymore, so I don't need to stick strictly to swordsmanship."

Kakashi was speechless.

The guy was clearly twisting the truth, but he had a way of making it sound convincing, leading people to unconsciously go along with his reasoning.

He put away his sword.

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

"I'll borrow this sword for now."

"Beginner level."

With swordsmanship at this level, it was only natural he couldn't beat Kakashi. There was nothing strange about losing in a contest of pure swordsmanship.

Kyohiko didn't take it to heart at all.

He took the sword home.

Kakashi didn't try to stop him.

They both had to train and grow stronger.

That encounter with Biwa Juzo...

Though Kyohiko hadn't shown it much, he'd actually been shaken by it.

In that fight, he'd used his tactics and strength to the fullest, yet he'd only managed to injure his opponent. He hadn't been able to kill him while he was hurt.

Of course—

Biwa Juzo had definitely been shaken even more.

As a Kirigakure Jonin, having a Konoha Genin ambush him and shatter his knee was a humiliation he could never accept.

For several days in a row, Kyohiko stayed home except to eat and go running. He spent all his time training in the Blade Listening Wind Positioning Technique and his body's instincts.

Then, more than ten days later—

Kyohiko was training when he suddenly heard the system's notification.

[Under your leadership, Konoha has joined forces with the Land of Lightning and the Land of Hot Water to implement a strategy for the Land of Waves, effectively restricting the Land of Water's room for maritime expansion]

[Reward: Upgrade any skill by 1 level]

That fast?

He was a little surprised.

Judging from how efficiently Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors had handled things, Kyohiko had expected it to take at least a month or two of back-and-forth to get the proposal through.

He hadn't expected—

In just over ten days, not only had they put it into effect, they'd already completed the implementation.

Could Hiruzen Sarutobi really be that efficient?

No way!

"Looks like Teacher really got serious this time."

Kyohiko felt a warm glow of satisfaction—

Jiraiya had finally avoided going down the misguided path of believing that "love" alone could bring peace.

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

Anything!

Did that mean he could choose for himself?

He hadn't expected—

This reward...

Kyohiko's eyes lit up.

Then he was plunged into a long struggle over what to choose.

It was a good reward.

But which skill should he upgrade?

Kyohiko's gaze passed over each skill before finally settling on two options.

Grandmaster Body Flicker Technique.

Proficient-level Strength Enhancement Technique.

His gaze shifted back and forth between them.

There were many possible paths for the Grandmaster Body Flicker Technique to develop.

First, he could train the Body Flicker Technique to its limit, like Body Flicker Shisui, or even connect it with other abilities.

Second, he could master faster Body Flicker techniques, and perhaps even control his own speed.

That might be a very important qualitative change.

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

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

So, after upgrading his Body Flicker Technique, he might end up in the same awkward position Kakashi had been in without the Sharingan.

Upgrading the Strength Enhancement Technique would be reliable and controllable, but the benefits were predictable, too.

After a moment's hesitation, he made his choice—

Body Flicker Technique!

The upgrade was uncertain, but the potential benefits were definitely greater. It was worth the gamble!