A Mission You Could Win by Doing Nothing

To be honest, Ye Yuexin had coveted Haino Fuji's ninjutsu for a long time.

You could say this ninjutsu and his Little Li's Flying Dagger were a perfect match.

According to Haino Fuji, he had stumbled upon this ninjutsu by accident.

However, what he found at the time was only a fragment.

After consulting countless sources, he had finally completed it with the help of the current Third Hokage.

The technique had since been recorded in the Scroll of Seals.

It was called "Space Transfer." In Ye Yuexin's eyes, it was an alternative version of the Flying Thunder God.

Although it lacked the fame and usefulness of the Flying Thunder God,

it could still play a decisive role in a battle between two armies.

That was because it could transport supplies through space.

Like the Flying Thunder God, it required seals at both ends. Once the Hand Seals were formed, the supplies would be transported to the other end.

After returning home, Ye Yuexin began studying the technique.

After examining it in depth, he had a rough idea of what it was capable of.

It seemed his initial assumption had been wrong. Compared to the Flying Thunder God, this technique might be far inferior.

That was because the space it used for transportation was extremely unstable. It absolutely couldn't be used to transport people.

Even when transporting ordinary supplies, one had to wrap them in steel plating for protection.

Otherwise, they would be torn apart by the spatial rifts. It was a very dangerous method of transportation.

This technique suddenly reminded Ye Yuexin of the "Heavenly Transfer Technique" used by the Hidden Cloud Village near the end of the anime he'd watched in his previous life.

Back then, only the Fourth Raikage had managed to survive the transfer, thanks to the protection of his Lightning Armor.

Ye Yuexin guessed that the fragment Haino Fuji had found must have been an incomplete version of the Heavenly Transfer Technique.

He had then completed it through his own efforts and the Third Hokage's knowledge.

The technique also used spatial seals. These seals required a unique kind of chakra to function.

According to the scroll, the user also needed to be sensitive to space. After trying many times, Ye Yuexin finally managed to draw a seal on a sheet of paper.

Strangely enough, as he drew the seal, he could clearly sense what the walls of space looked like.

It felt like layer upon layer, and somehow, it seemed familiar.

But he couldn't figure out why. He had never used or seen Minato Namikaze use the Flying Thunder God, so why did it feel so strangely familiar?

This sensation also made it easy for him to get the hang of the technique.

He formed a seal with his right hand.

The sheet of paper bearing the seal vanished instantly.

But it didn't appear in Ye Yuexin's hand.

It seemed the technique really was dangerous. The instant he formed the seal,

Ye Yuexin had clearly felt the space fluctuate. But the paper hadn't appeared.

It must have been torn apart.

But Ye Yuexin wasn't worried. According to the scroll, even an ordinary steel plate could withstand the tearing.

His flying daggers would be more than enough.

That was right—Ye Yuexin wanted to engrave the seal onto his flying daggers.

That way, he wouldn't have to pull them out by hand.

It would also let him chain his attacks together more easily.

He wouldn't have to worry about running out of moves once he'd thrown all his daggers.

Time always flew when he was engrossed in research.

Before he knew it, night had fallen.

The weather was quite pleasant. Ye Yuexin slowly walked out of his room.

He rubbed his aching head and looked up at the moon. It felt like it was time to take a break.

Just then, he heard someone land.

Ye Yuexin recognized the sound of the Body Flicker Technique at once.

He turned to look at the roof. Sure enough, just as he'd expected, another Anbu had arrived.

In the same flat voice, the Anbu said, "Genin Ye Yuexin, by order of the Third Hokage, you will join an elite team led by Jonin Minato Namikaze in three days to eliminate a Rock Ninja strike squad hiding in the Land of Fire."

"The team members are Ye Yuexin, Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu." As soon as he finished speaking, the Anbu used the Body Flicker Technique and left before Ye Yuexin could respond.

Ye Yuexin was left standing there, stunned.

It seemed the Third Hokage really was planning to groom him.

Just look at the team members. Every one of them had appeared in the anime, and some had even had their own storylines.

They would all become pillars of Konoha in the future.

And now he was going on a mission with them. Most importantly, their leader was none other than the future Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

The moment Ye Yuexin heard the names, all his anxiety about the mission vanished.

With an expert leading the team, all he had to do was sit back and win.

Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Clan training grounds,

Itachi Uchiha was covered in dust and looked utterly exhausted as he gasped for breath.

He felt as if the scorching chakra had nearly baked his lungs dry.

"That's enough, Itachi. There's plenty of time. You don't have to train so intensely right now. You're doing too much damage to your body," Shisui Uchiha said, glancing up at the night sky.

"It's not enough. I still haven't completely mastered this Body Flicker Technique," Itachi Uchiha insisted, panting heavily.

Shisui Uchiha was at a loss. "But you've run out of chakra. My Body Flicker Technique relies not only on the unique use of Sharingan Genjutsu, but also, more importantly, on the use of fire nature. Using it like this puts a lot of strain on your body."

"If you keep going like this, you won't just fail to surpass your opponent—you'll damage your body so badly that you'll collapse before you can even catch up."

"Ultimately, you still don't understand how to control and use fire nature well enough. Starting tomorrow, stop practicing the Body Flicker Technique. Focus on understanding fire nature first."

Only after hearing Shisui Uchiha say this did Itachi Uchiha slowly leave the training grounds.

His skin was wrinkled and felt terribly dry.

He was obviously severely dehydrated. Fortunately, Shisui Uchiha had prepared for this and brought over a large bucket of water.

As Itachi Uchiha gulped it down,

Shisui Uchiha suddenly said, "You really push yourself, don't you? But now I'm even more curious about your opponent. Will you tell me about him?"

After finishing the water, Itachi Uchiha said, "His name is..."

"Wait, wait! Don't tell me yet. It's time for a late-night snack anyway.

Let's talk over food. What do you want to eat? My treat." After spending the day together and having Itachi Uchiha call him Brother Shisui, Shisui Uchiha had experienced a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.

He realized he was growing more and more attached to it.