"Whoosh—"
Location: Konoha Village, Uchiha District, Training Grounds.
In the distance, Sasuke and Naruto both saw a familiar sight—a swirling dark-red vortex in the air. They recognized it at once: Senshi's space portal.
Exerting his teleportation power, Senshi arrived on the spot with Karin. The moment they stepped out, Sasuke and Naruto grew visibly excited.
"I knew you two would show up,"
Senshi said with a slight smile, as he and Karin emerged from the portal.
Seeing Senshi, Sasuke couldn't contain his delight.
"Senshi-sensei!"
Naruto, farther away, waved frantically as he ran closer.
"Senshi-sensei! Karin-chan!
Awesome—so glad to see you both again!"
Hearing that, Karin gave a little huff, striking a bossy pose.
"Don't call me 'Karin-chan.' It should be 'Karin-neechan!'"
Naruto nodded eagerly.
"Got it, Karin-chan!"
Exasperated, Karin began to roll up her sleeves as if to make Naruto taste Suigetsu's suffering.
Seeing this, Naruto hurriedly adopted a defensive stance. At that moment, Senshi stepped in before a real brawl could break out. He made a swift move to replicate a "head-pat kill" scene—almost like crafting a new "world-famous painting."
Swoosh—
In a single body flicker, Senshi positioned himself behind Karin and Naruto, placing a hand on each of their heads. If Sasuke had stepped in between, they could have taken a heartwarming teacher-and-students group photo.
With Senshi intervening, all of Karin's aggression got redirected at him. Naruto couldn't help bursting out laughing when he saw how Karin's neatly combed red hair got turned into a bird's-nest style by Senshi's "head-pat." Naruto himself got the same messy treatment, but he didn't mind one bit. He even mulled over whether he should do a head-pat approach to Sakura—without realizing that might be an excellent way to get clobbered.
Senshi, of course, had no idea that Naruto was learning a new "self-destructing" move from him.
After that minor scuffle, Senshi pulled out items from his system space to distribute:
A portion of Ichiraku Ramen for Naruto,
Fresh tomatoes for Sasuke (his favorite),
Dango skewers for Karin.
Then he invited the three kids to sit off to one side for a small break. As they settled, Sasuke took a bite of his tomato and addressed Senshi:
"Senshi-sensei, is there a way for me and Naruto to keep boosting our strength even faster?"
Naruto joined in earnestly:
"Sensei, I want to get stronger too! I want more acknowledgement from the villagers!"
Senshi felt quite gratified. He'd been waiting for them to ask that question and open the way to his lessons. Clearing his throat, he began:
"To get stronger fast, you need a clear goal and constant effort. I'm not some prodigy, nor was I born into a prestigious clan. The reason I've come this far is simple: I focus on missions, pouring in endless sweat and giving my all."
Sasuke and Naruto listened with rapt attention. Sasuke, especially eager, said,
"Please guide us, Senshi-sensei."
Senshi put on a serious expression, becoming somewhat solemn as he declared:
"The only way—the one and only—to power up quickly is to do missions. Lots of them, at a furious pace! You'll gain experience from each job, tempered in live combat, forging yourself through the tasks until you truly transform. That's the surest path to real strength."
At first, the boys were stunned. Senshi realized he needed to explain further or they wouldn't grasp what made doing missions so crucial.
"Doing missions has many benefits," he went on.
"First, it sharpens your problem-solving skills. Second, you can see your strength surge through practical experiences. Finally, once a mission is over, you also get paid for it. It's a perfect trifecta. In short, to grow stronger, you must do lots of missions. Understand?"
Naruto and Sasuke still looked a bit doubtful. Sasuke pointed out, "But Sensei, plenty of ninja in Konoha have spent years doing missions, yet they haven't gotten that strong."
Senshi waved a hand: "That's because they're not taking enough missions! Only when you accumulate enough quantity do you get a qualitative leap. Their mission count is too low, and they don't push themselves—so they don't see rapid progress."
Just then, Karin—fulfilling her role as "Excellent Assistant"—gave a personal testimonial.
"Mhm! I'll confirm Senshi is telling the truth! He's grown so strong precisely because he's spent uncountable years with basically non-stop missions!"
Karin wasn't spouting nonsense. She'd followed Senshi around for a while now and had never seen him do typical training. For him, each mission was effectively rest and practice combined. Her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had clearly witnessed how Senshi—by piling on tasks—built up power enough to dominate the ninja world.
Hearing about Senshi's success, plus Karin's endorsement, Sasuke and Naruto started to believe. If Senshi-sensei and Karin said so, how could it be wrong?
Eagerly, Naruto said, "Then let's do it, Dattebayo! Sasuke and I will start taking missions!"
Sasuke nodded in agreement. "No wonder our progress stalled lately—turns out we haven't done enough missions. From now on, we'll spare as much time as we can to take on tasks. That's how we'll keep advancing!"
Naruto concurred wholeheartedly. Senshi felt a rush of joy—exactly as planned. If these two thrived under his guidance, they'd become unstoppable mission machines, generating a flood of points for him. Doing missions = money = half of the mission points for Senshi's system.
Still, correct direction wasn't enough. He needed a proper "incentive" so they'd truly embrace the mission-grind. So Senshi told them:
"After you formally start taking missions, I'll keep track of every reward you earn. Once you truly get rolling, for every piece of pay you bring in, we'll record it carefully."
They blinked, not sure why he'd bother tallying money. But Senshi had thoroughly planned it. He would get 50% of the employment points from each mission they did. Once they earned him enough points for 10 draws, he'd share 1 draw with them. It was a bit underhanded—they do 10 draws' worth of work, and he grants them 1? But that was how "middlemen" function. Meanwhile, these two gained freebies they'd never have otherwise.
Anyway, seeing their confusion, Senshi explained further:
"Each time you accumulate 20 million ryō from missions, you'll get to do a 'lucky draw' for a special reward. If you get something on par with the items you've already received—like the Thunder Punch or Aura Sphere skill discs—your strength will jump again."
At that, Sasuke and Naruto's eyes gleamed in excitement.
Sasuke: "Thunder Punch!"
Naruto: "Aura Sphere!"
Sasuke: "Thunder!"
Naruto: "Aura!"
They were all fired up. Doing missions was already "killing three birds with one stone," but now with an additional "draw," it was effectively quadruple the benefits. If they drew something as powerful as their existing moves, they'd get even stronger in no time.
Senshi absolutely wouldn't fill those draws with worthless items like One Ichiraku Ramen or generic sweets. (He might draw such things for himself, but for them, he'd try to pick things beneficial to them.) Indeed, he was more generous than Orochimaru—that snake had once taken Danzō's money and left him high and dry.
Karin, upon hearing Senshi's plan, was instantly intrigued. She popped out from behind him and said, "Senshi, I want to do missions too so I can join the draws!" She regarded mission rewards as easy pickings—her pink Susanoo would mow down all resistance. Not to mention her Eternal Mangekyō eyes never wore out.
But Senshi pressed down on her head, replying, "No need for that. As my assistant, you just do your job."
If Sasuke and Naruto wholly matured, they'd collectively overshadow even the legendary War-Era duo, unstoppable in missions. Meanwhile, he wanted Karin to keep focusing on daily tasks (and not blow everything up with "cooking").
Scowling, Karin retreated a short distance, pouting. "Hey, don't underestimate me! I awakened a brand-new ability. It might even trouble you, you know!"
Senshi arched a brow. "Oh? Then show me."
Grinning smugly, Karin took a stance and shouted: "Adamantine Sealing Chains—Gold Release: Sealing Bind!"
Whirr, whirr…
A series of iron chains materialized at lightning speed, coiling around Senshi and holding him tight. Senshi was surprised that Karin had actually mastered the Uzumaki Clan's legendary sealing chains so quickly. Even a severely weakened Kushina could shackle the Nine-Tails with those. In his training program, Karin had obviously soared.
Mildly impressed, he flexed once and broke free instantly. "Not bad, not bad," he praised.
Karin felt crushed. She had pinned all her pride on that newly awakened ability, but Senshi busted it in under 0.1 seconds. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Naruto were dumbfounded at how quickly Senshi had escaped. That said, being able to restrain him at all, even for an instant, was a remarkable feat for someone so young.
Seeing Karin slump in disappointment, Senshi patted her head. "It's a very strong and useful power. In future Tailed Beast captures, it'll be vital."
Just like that, her face shone again. If it helped them capture Tailed Beasts, that was great. No more negativity.
Afterwards, Senshi resumed "teaching." He wanted Sasuke and Naruto to truly get into mission-grinding. They had soared thanks to learning Thunder Punch and Aura Sphere, but Naruto was nowhere near unstoppable. So Senshi gave them pointers on mission execution. They listened closely, because "Mission = Money = Strength."
Naruto, fired up, declared: "Dattebayo! I can't wait to start a mission!"
Sasuke agreed. "We want that money—two million, four million, or better yet twenty million to get the big reward. Let's do this!" They were done lazing about.
Satisfied, Senshi said, "All right, if you have no more questions, Karin and I'll head off now."
The two kids waved goodbye, while Senshi and Karin returned the gesture. Then Senshi used his swirling portal again to leave.
With them gone, Sasuke turned to Naruto:
"Hey, I've decided—I'm applying for early graduation. I want to keep up with Senshi-sensei's pace. How about you?"
Naruto nodded excitedly: "Me too! I can't wait to do real missions." Then he teased, "I bet I'll reach 20 million ryō first, Sasuke!"
Sasuke gave a cold laugh: "Tch, you, the eternal dead-last, think you'll earn that money faster than me?"
Naruto: "Don't underestimate my new resolve. I've gotten a lot stronger lately!"
Sasuke: "Effort alone won't surpass a genius. Let's see how far you get."
Naruto: "You dissing me again, Sasuke?"
Sasuke: "Time to see if you can keep up, Naruto."
Naruto: "Sasuke!"
Sasuke: "Naruto!"
…
The Next Day – Hokage's Office in Konoha…
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at two separate forms on his desk—both were requests for early graduation. His brows knotted. These days, Konoha was plagued by ongoing issues: The Forest of Death had been leveled, One billion ryō had vanished from the treasury, Danzō nearly got beaten to death by unknown assailants… Now, on top of that, new problems had arisen. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's growth, and the last Uchiha's growth, were straying drastically from what the village elders intended.
Knock, knock, knock…
There came a knock at the office door.
"Come in," said Hiruzen, taking a puff on his pipe. The door opened, admitting Kakashi Hatake. Hiruzen greeted him, "It's you, Kakashi. What's the matter? Are you finding the Sharingan comfortable to use?"
Observing Kakashi's general state, the Third Hokage noticed he looked more energetic than ever. Previously, carrying even a single Sharingan wore him down. But now, it seemed different—he actually looked refreshed.
Kakashi answered, "Hokage-sama, it may sound hard to believe, but I can now perfectly use my pair of Sharingan."
In truth, Kakashi owed Senshi for that. But he wasn't exactly showering him with thanks. Thanks to Senshi, Kakashi had gained a brand-new set of eyes, enabling him to open or close them at will. Before, Obito was a "High mecha, two-person pilot," and for a long time neither had a stable mecha. Now, though, once Kakashi developed his Mangekyō, he and Obito could theoretically pilot a "mech battle" in the Valley of the End or wherever.
Hiruzen was surprised. He'd noticed Kakashi possessed a normal pair of eyes—meaning he could close the Sharingan at will—but he hadn't realized Kakashi was fully in sync with them. "No discomfort or abnormalities?" the Hokage asked, worried there might be hidden traps. If those eyes malfunctioned mid-mission, Kakashi could be in grave danger.
Kakashi assured him, "Lord Hokage, these eyes fit me so naturally, it's almost like I was born with this bloodline. Using them feels completely normal."
If only Danzō weren't in the hospital, he might dispatch Root to investigate whether Kakashi had some 'evil Uchiha lineage.' But right now, Danzō was laid up, and no further trouble had begun…
~~~
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