Encountering an Ambush

At this moment, Li Yi could not help but marvel at Uchiha Kagami's generosity. One had to understand that such clan secret techniques were not easily passed down; even members within the clan were not guaranteed to be taught them. Yet, Uchiha Kagami had been so magnanimous as to bestow such a technique upon him, despite him being merely a disciple.

Do not be fooled by the fact that this was a B-rank ninjutsu. The true power of such a technique depended entirely on the user. This ninjutsu had a very high ceiling; its floor, however, was B-rank. It was only classified as B-rank because some ninja were simply too incompetent to unleash anything more than that level of power.

Look at the Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation used by Uchiha Madara—good heavens, it required a whole squad of Water Style users just to hold it back. That alone demonstrated the true potential of the technique.

It remained the same old truth: there are only incompetent ninja, never incompetent ninjutsu.

Clutching the scroll, Li Yi returned to Kosuke's home. By now, Kosuke had already fitted his prosthetic limb and had even gone out to complete some D-rank and C-rank missions in the village. As for Li Yi, he was not yet a ninja and could not accept missions; he would have to wait for the next Genin exam to become one.

Of course, there was another path: a recommendation from an elite Jonin. Uchiha Kagami certainly qualified, but he had gone out on a mission. By the time Uchiha Kagami returned to recommend him, Li Yi would already be able to take the exam himself.

With Kosuke away, Li Yi began practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard. He focused primarily on the Dance of the Crescent Moon and Konoha Style: Willow; he didn't know much else, just some basic slashing and hacking movements.

Naturally, over the past few months, Li Yi had tried calling out to Ryujin Jakka, but there was still absolutely no reaction. In Li Yi's view, it was likely because he was still too weak to sense the call of this, the oldest Zanpakuto in the Soul Society. For now, it could only serve as a sharp blade.

As for the Mera Mera no Mi, Li Yi didn't even want to complain anymore. He didn't know if the thing was poisonous, if he wasn't in the One Piece World, or if he simply didn't know how to develop it. Regardless, the Mera Mera no Mi currently served no purpose other than slightly increasing the power of his Fire Style; as for the elementalization he longed for, he couldn't even see a shadow of it.

One had to remember that in the One Piece World, whether it was Ace or Sabo, they could instantly elementalize their bodies after eating it, and with a mere clench of their fists, flames would erupt everywhere.

Yet when it came to him, damn it, clenching his fist produced, at most, a tiny spark—hardly enough to light a cigarette.

Fortunately, the Mera Mera no Mi could still boost the power of his ninjutsu; otherwise, Li Yi would have cried himself to sleep in the bathroom.

The current situation was growing increasingly dire. The Second Hokage had finally passed away, unable to recover from his injuries. The entire village held a funeral, and at the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen officially donned the Hokage's haori, becoming the Third Hokage of Konoha.

Fortunately, the Sarutobi Hiruzen of this time was not yet the power-hungry man he would become later. Konoha was actually in a very dangerous position; although the First Shinobi World War had technically ended, the major nations had not ceased hostilities. If the Second Hokage and the Second Raikage had successfully signed a peace treaty, perhaps the war would have truly ended.

Unfortunately, the interference and heavy wounding caused by Kinkaku and Ginkaku had led to a very troublesome aftermath. While the nations were not at open war, small frictions were constant, and one wrong move could easily trigger the next great war.

Thus, most of Konoha's ninja were dispatched to accept missions, carry out tasks, and defend the borders. Under such circumstances, the fact that the Third Hokage could still vigorously develop Konoha proved that he was indeed a wise and formidable leader at this time.

Even the Root, established in Konoha during this period, served a very useful purpose. It was only later that everything began to sour.

These matters had little to do with Li Yi; he was not yet qualified to participate in such affairs.

"Brother Kosuke, since you're back, I'm heading out to train!" Li Yi said.

Kosuke acknowledged him, and Li Yi left with his gear. He needed to find a place to train his taijutsu and ninjutsu, for Li Yi understood well the principle that one should not act recklessly without strength.

He wasn't particularly desperate to become a ninja; he preferred to lay low for as long as he could.

In the small woods where he often trained, Li Yi created a Shadow Clone. One of them practiced the Dance of the Crescent Moon, while the other held a ball, continuously gathering chakra.

Indeed, Li Yi was already developing the Rasengan. He knew the training method for this non-hand-sign ninjutsu, as it was the only one in the original series whose training process was actually explained.

It was just a pity that this thing was truly difficult to master. The rubber ball in Li Yi's hand kept spinning, but it showed no signs of rupturing, which meant he still had a long way to go before completing this stage.

Compared to that fellow Uzumaki Naruto, who could finish it in a month, Li Yi had already been at it for a month and was still stuck in the third stage, which showed the gap between them.

In reality, it wasn't that Li Yi was inferior to Naruto, but that his chakra reserves were worlds apart from Naruto's. Naruto had "chakra-tons," while he had mere chakra—how could they compare? With so much chakra, Naruto could practice non-stop, whereas Li Yi had to stop and rest after only a short while.

Of course, this was for a one-handed Rasengan, not using a Shadow Clone to help create it.

Therefore, the difficulty was significantly higher than it had been for Naruto back then.

Just then, several kunai shot toward Li Yi. Although he was practicing ninjutsu, he wasn't completely off-guard. Hearing the sound of the air being torn, he immediately performed a roll to dodge.

Where Li Yi had been standing, several kunai were now embedded in the ground.

"Who's there!" Li Yi was shocked, looking toward the distance with caution. This was Konoha, after all; how could someone be attacking him?

Could it be a spy from outside the village? He couldn't be that unlucky, could he? The Second Hokage had said he possessed great fortune.

At that moment, a ninja slowly stepped out from behind a tree, holding several shuriken in his hand. As he emerged, he instantly flung them.

Seeing the dart-like shuriken flying toward him, Li Yi dispelled his Shadow Clone and quickly threw several kunai from his ninja pouch to knock the incoming shuriken out of the air. Simultaneously, he formed hand signs with both hands and shouted, "Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!"

Instantly, several small fireballs erupted from Li Yi's mouth, flying toward the mysterious ninja.

The ninja quickly formed his own hand signs and retorted, "Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"