A year passed peacefully on guard duty.
But several major events took place in the Shinobi World. In the war between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, the A-B Combo shook the Shinobi World with Lightning Release: Lariat, defeating numerous Iwagakure Ninja.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure each fought Konoha in turn, and the Yellow Flash began to make a name for himself.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure signed a ceasefire agreement, with Scorch Release Yagura reduced to a bargaining chip. Sunagakure then turned its full attention to fighting Iwagakure.
The Land of Rain kept a low profile in its dealings with outsiders, a policy everyone from the daimyō to Hanzō and from Jonin to Genin agreed upon.
At home, however, it struck hard, wiping out dozens of factions both large and small and further solidifying the foundations of its rule.
On this day, Aoki Tsuki Squad finally received notice to return to the village.
Mino Squad had come to take over their rotation. Aoki Tsuki had only seen them twice in the village.
The two sides conducted a brief handover. He had written down everything to keep in mind about the guard duty, what to do at each time, and some of his own observations.
Mino took the paper and read through it, secretly surprised. His attitude toward Aoki Tsuki grew considerably friendlier as a result.
"Thank you. Leave the rest to us."
"All right, then I'll be going."
Aoki Tsuki quickly packed his things and led his squad out of Kyoto.
After a year away, returning to this village that resembled a forest of steel gave him an unexpected sense of familiarity.
Aoki Tsuki sent his squad members home first, while he went to report the mission to his superior. He had written the mission report back in Kyoto.
It mainly covered the squad's guard duty, Mieko's mastery of Medical Ninjutsu, and the intelligence-gathering mission he and Mieko had carried out against the Iron Fang Group.
He made a point of noting that they had done it under the wise command of Jonin Shinonome.
Not speaking ill of one's superior was a basic requirement.
After giving the mission report a quick look, Takenaka Osamu asked no detailed questions, as though deliberately overlooking it.
He merely said, "Thanks for your hard work. You did very well. I have good news: I've already recommended you to Lord Hanzō as a member of his guard unit. Come report for duty tomorrow."
Aoki Tsuki had expected it, but hearing it with his own ears still made him very happy.
All his dissatisfaction vanished in an instant. Compared to this, what did his personal feelings matter?
"Thank you for looking after me, sir. I'll work even harder and live up to your expectations."
"Good. The important thing is to listen to Lord Hanzō and make him the center of everything you do," Takenaka Osamu reminded him.
"Understood. I'll be loyal to Lord Hanzō forever."
Who couldn't make an oath? It didn't cost anything, anyway.
"In that case, since Mieko has mastered Medical Ninjutsu, let her work in the medical department. The village happens to be short of medical personnel right now.
"I'll arrange for the other two members of your squad to join other teams."
"Thank you for your consideration, sir."
This arrangement was already about the best outcome possible. After another six months or a year of training, if Ryōta and Shinichi were lucky enough to survive, they could also be promoted to Chunin.
Aoki Tsuki then headed home, stopping as usual at Grandma Chiki's place next door to buy a steamed bun.
"Mmm, the same familiar taste. It's reassuring."
Before he even entered the house, he noticed that the family shop had been renovated. That was unlike his mother Eiko.
"I'm home," Aoki Tsuki called out.
Eiko poked her head out of the kitchen and gave him a quick look, noticing that her son had grown taller since he left.
His long, pale blue hair had streaks of dark blue running through it, and even his pupils had a hint of blue.
He was steadier and more confident, and had grown into a handsome young man.
Eiko was delighted. "The village sent someone this morning to say you'd be back today. Wait a little while, all right? The food will be ready soon."
"Oh? Since when did the village care so much about me?"
Aoki Tsuki was puzzled.
Eiko explained happily, "I heard Lord Hanzō's guard unit is recruiting, and rumor has it you'll be chosen. More people have been coming to the shop to buy things lately.
"I thought that once your status rose, our home couldn't look too shabby, so I had the shop renovated these past few days."
Everyone in the village knew that becoming one of Lord Hanzō's guards meant entering the village's inner circle.
Their status and income were far above those of ordinary ninja, but the important thing was safety.
That was what made Eiko happiest.
Whenever Aoki Tsuki went out on a mission, she worried herself sick. Things would be much better once he became a guard.
"Word sure travels fast."
Aoki Tsuki was baffled. He had only just learned the news himself, yet the villagers had heard it before he did.
Eiko explained, "A lot of ninja from the village died last year. I heard even Lord Hanzō lost some of his guards. They have to replace them, don't they?"
"I suppose that makes sense."
Only then did Aoki Tsuki relax. He had thought he was the only one being recruited, and all this commotion didn't suit his low-key style.
After eating, he went upstairs and slept.
He didn't wake until nearly dark. After a quick dinner, he threw himself into training.
A red spark suddenly appeared in the dark room, followed by a flame that materialized out of nowhere. The candle had been lit.
"Phew... I finally did it."
A year and a half had passed since he began practicing the Single-Point Gazing Method, and now he had made remarkable progress.
At the same time, a flame floated in his mental world, having appeared out of nowhere. It was the same size as the candle flame before him.
It was as though the mental world were a reflection of reality, with his eyes serving as the mirror.
Having condensed his spiritual energy to this extent, Aoki Tsuki had reached an extremely high level of chakra control.
If he learned a new Ninjutsu now, he would be able to pick it up quickly.
He had mastered the few Ninjutsu he currently possessed and didn't plan to learn any new ones for the time being.
With Ninjutsu, mastery mattered more than quantity. The "Copy Ninja of Konoha" supposedly copied thousands of Ninjutsu, yet in everyday battles he used the same few techniques over and over.
Aoki Tsuki spent most of his time honing his spiritual power and training his body. These were the foundations of chakra, and ninja were people who used chakra as a weapon.
Control over chakra directly determined the time required to cast a Ninjutsu and its power.
Take the Water Dragon Bullet Technique, for example. At first, he could only perform it by faithfully making the forty-four Hand Seals specified on the scroll.
As his understanding of the technique's principles deepened and he continued experimenting, he had managed to reduce the sequence to ten seals.
That still wasn't enough. He was a long way from the Second Hokage's three seals.
Ultimately, it all came back to spiritual energy.
Lighting a candle with spiritual power was no great feat in this world. It was a far cry from producing flames like Amaterasu with a glance.
"My spiritual power has been condensed to a certain threshold... Next comes increasing its quantity."
Aoki Tsuki was no longer satisfied with just a candle flame. The flame in his mental world needed to keep evolving and growing.
His idea was to visualize the plants and trees of nature, reflecting them simultaneously in his mental world and thereby constructing a small virtual world.
When the Sage of Six Paths summoned Naruto and Sasuke, he seemed to have passed on his teachings in a mental space. It was very advanced.
The other issue was training his control over spiritual power.
Moving it in a spiral was only the simplest and easiest thing to do. Next, he would make it move in straight lines and take on different shapes.
This was also a basic skill for shaping Yin Release.
Time passed slowly as he trained.
The next day, Aoki Tsuki got ready and went to report at the mission office. When he handed in his mission report yesterday, he had been told to come today.
When he arrived, he found two other ninja in the room, both old acquaintances. He wasn't surprised to see Umatsu there, but he hadn't expected Kurokawa to be there too.
The two nodded slightly to Aoki Tsuki.
Once Takenaka Osamu saw that everyone had arrived, he said, "Aoki Tsuki, Kurokawa, Umatsu, congratulations to the three of you. As of today, you are officially members of Lord Hanzō's guard unit.
"Wait a moment. Your captain will be here shortly."
"Yes!" the three answered in unison.
Aoki Tsuki turned to look at his two old comrades. Ever since Root had obtained his information, everyone he looked at seemed like a spy.
Knock, knock, knock...
"Come in!"
All three turned to look at their new captain.
So it is Satō Ichirō after all? Aoki Tsuki thought.
Hanzō's guard unit was divided into close core guards and a basic outer security detail. Chunin like them were assigned to the outer detail.
Perhaps after a few years, once they had earned trust and grown stronger, they would have a chance to become close guards.
Satō Ichirō was as concise as ever. After glancing at the three of them, he said, "Follow me."
The three silently followed Satō Ichirō through door after door until they reached an underground space.
"This is where our guard unit trains and receives its assignments. Each of you will collect a set of equipment shortly. I need to assess your combat abilities."
Before long, the three each received a dedicated set of equipment, including armor and weapons.
Aoki Tsuki received a long saber. He flicked it with a finger, and the blade hummed.
Blue chakra spread along the blade without the slightest resistance.
"Good blade!"
Its quality was much better than the one he had bought with his own money. It bore the mark of the Land of Iron's master smithy.
In the training room.
"Now that you're ready, let's begin. Attack me with whatever each of you does best. Don't hold back."
The moment Satō Ichirō finished speaking, Aoki Tsuki attacked.
Facing a Jonin, he had no reason to hold back. He went straight to his strongest sword technique.
To Kurokawa and Umatsu, he was nothing more than an afterimage, darting along an S-shaped path to reach Satō Ichirō in an instant, like a venomous snake rearing its head to deliver a thunderous strike.
"Breath of Showers: Countercurrent Fang!"
The blue chakra spinning rapidly around the white blade looked like a gigantic curved fang piercing the enemy.
Bang...!
Satō Ichirō took the blow head-on, sliding several meters from where he stood.
He looked down and saw that the Kunai in his hand had been cut open. It had fractured inside and couldn't be used anymore.
He casually tossed it aside.
This kid is unexpectedly strong. Looks like he's grown a lot over the past year.
Just as I thought, it's considerably weaker without water around, Aoki Tsuki assessed silently.
If they had been outside in the rain, that strike would have cut through the Kunai.
"Hey, you two, why aren't you attacking with me?"
"Uh... sorry, coming, coming." Only then did Kurokawa and Umatsu join the attack on Satō Ichirō.
Kurokawa was as underhanded as ever, waiting for Aoki Tsuki to stick his neck out and test their opponent.
Umatsu was a support-type fighter and habitually a step behind.
Neither of them was any good.