The beginning of Year 41 in Konoha was relatively "leisurely" for Hoshita Shūichi, with playing with white tigers and feeding crows becoming part of his daily routine.
However, what he had assumed would be a straightforward development—high-temperature rays—turned out to be a challenging hurdle.
By the thawed lakeside, Hoshita Shūichi grimaced, his mouth covered in blisters.
Burned!
The highly compressed fireline in his mouth reached such extreme temperatures that even the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique couldn't fully mitigate the damage.
The reason for compressing the fire release in his mouth was that this location offered the strongest control over chakra, allowing the fire technique to be condensed to a laser-like state.
When released, this technique would not only have an exceptionally long range but also devastating power.
Unfortunately, his mouth couldn't handle it.
After healing the blisters in his mouth, Hoshita Shūichi sat down on the ground to reorganize his thoughts.
High-pressure water jets didn't harm the mouth, and Storm Release combined lightning with water, enhanced further by sage techniques, providing additional protective layers.
Pure fire release, however, had no such safeguards unless he reduced its power.
But doing so would defeat the purpose of developing this technique in the first place.
After much deliberation, Hoshita Shūichi couldn't find a solution, so he decided to set it aside for the time being and focus on other areas.
Time flew by, and soon it was the day for the Ninja Academy's new term to begin.
Following Tsunade's prior arrangements, Shizune submitted her graduation application as soon as the term started.
On January 9th of Year 41, Shizune passed the graduation exam and officially became a genin.
She then joined Konoha Hospital, training under Yakushi Nonō during the day and receiving guidance from Tsunade at home.
Whenever Hoshita Shūichi was at the hospital, Shizune would follow him around like a shadow.
After the New Year, however, Hoshita Shūichi resumed going on missions with Namikaze Minato and the others.
Unbeknownst to him, March passed by, and his 8th birthday slipped away quietly during a mission.
But upon returning, Yakushi Nonō made up for it by celebrating his birthday with a cake and longevity noodles.
After finishing the noodles, Yakushi Nonō handed him a scroll: "Shūichi, happy birthday!"
"Thank you!"
Hoshita Shūichi took the scroll and asked curiously, "Did you develop a new medical ninjutsu, Nonō-sensei?"
Yakushi Nonō shook her head but smiled without answering.
"So mysterious?"
His curiosity piqued, Hoshita Shūichi immediately unsealed the scroll and was taken aback. "This is..."
The scroll was densely covered with intricate seals forming complex techniques.
Given his current expertise in medical ninjutsu, Hoshita Shūichi had no trouble understanding it, even though the scroll wasn't purely a medical technique.
Indeed, this was a ninjutsu scroll that allowed even those unfamiliar with medical techniques to activate its contents and perform techniques they hadn't mastered.
In the original story, Nara Shikamaru had once used a water-release scroll to deal with Kakuzu.
This one, however, was clearly a medical ninjutsu scroll.
"Nonō-sensei, this is the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, and... is this Lady Tsunade's unfinished technique?"
Hoshita Shūichi was very familiar with the seals on the scroll.
Yakushi Nonō nodded with a smile. "It's the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, and also Lady Tsunade's unfinished technique."
"Lady Tsunade previously discussed this technique with me. Although it's far from complete, it's not unusable."
"After seeing you create medical ninjutsu scrolls for Ten'un, I came up with this idea."
Yakushi Nonō's expression turned serious as she explained carefully: "However, the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique requires extremely precise chakra control. Lady Tsunade's technique doesn't meet that requirement yet, so when treating severe injuries like missing flesh or shattered organs, this scroll can heal the wounds, but not perfectly—it comes with side effects."
"The healing process is too crude, relying on massive amounts of chakra to force rapid cell division, which inevitably shortens the patient's lifespan."
"As you know, Shūichi, the number of times human cells can divide is limited."
"Of course, if the injury is beyond what ordinary medical ninjutsu can handle, then the reduction in lifespan is the least of one's worries."
Hoshita Shūichi nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, Nonō-sensei. I won't need to use a scroll like this."
"If I can't win, I'll just run. I can't bear to leave you behind."
Yakushi Nonō couldn't help but smile at his words.
But she knew that as a shinobi, it was impossible to predict what dangers one might face on a mission.
She had created this scroll in the hope that, even if Hoshita Shūichi encountered life-threatening danger, he would at least make it back alive.
As long as he survived, nothing else mattered!
The next day, in a small forest.
Hoshita Shūichi gripped the Ame-no-Murakumo blade with both hands, and soon, azure flames enveloped the blade.
As he continued channeling chakra, the azure flames extended further, reaching a length of two meters in moments.
Having hit a roadblock with the high-temperature rays, he had shifted his focus to further developing the Azure Flame Skyblade.
Extending a flaming blade from the Ame-no-Murakumo to increase its range wasn't particularly difficult.
If he were using ordinary white flames, Hoshita Shūichi wouldn't have needed this much time to achieve it.
Dispelling the azure flames, he shook his head. "Too slow, and the range is still too short."
What he wanted was something like the sword aura of Wind and Cloud's light Feng—a blade dozens of meters long!
"Not only is the range insufficient, but it also takes too long and consumes too much chakra."
"But I don't necessarily need the entire blade to be formed from azure flames. The critical part is the cutting edge."
His original design for the Azure Flame Skyblade was to enhance the blade's edge with fire release, but covering the entire blade made shape transformation easier.
Now, however, with the boost from the Fire Release Master keyword and the enhanced chakra control from Medical Expert, it was time to test his initial idea.
After a moment of concentration, Hoshita Shūichi channeled chakra into the Ame-no-Murakumo.
In the next instant, azure flames swiftly covered the blade's edge.
Then, his eyes narrowed, and the azure flames expanded rapidly, not only covering the entire blade but also extending outward, reaching a length of ten meters in the blink of an eye.
It was as if he now held a gigantic blue sword in his hands.
The blade's edge was a deep, vivid blue, while the rest of the massive sword was a faint, almost illusory azure flame.
With the technique complete, Hoshita Shūichi let out a shout, raised the Ame-no-Murakumo high, and brought it down with all his might.
A ten-meter-long azure blade cleaved through the small forest, splitting it in two.
Boom!
Trees shattered, and dust billowed into the air.
When the dust settled, a charred trench over ten meters long lay before him.
Panting heavily, Hoshita Shūichi grinned as he held the blade. "Not bad at all!"
"Though ten meters is only mid-range, it's still farther than Chidori Sharp Spear."
Unfortunately, it still didn't reach S-rank difficulty.
Tch.
Clicking his tongue, Hoshita Shūichi swallowed a soldier pill and sat down to rest, musing to himself: "The sword style derived from the Azure Flame Skyblade can be called the Azure Flame Flow Sword Style, and this move... Azure Flame Waterfall Blade?"
Scratching his head, he felt a bit embarrassed by his naming skills.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, he turned his head to see Uchiha Shisui appear.
"Shūichi, Minato-sensei has called an emergency mission. Gather at the village gate in half an hour."
With that, Uchiha Shisui disappeared in a puff of smoke—a shadow clone.
"So urgent?"
Hoshita Shūichi didn't dare delay. He immediately headed home to pack his things.
After packing, he sent a clone to inform Yakushi Nonō at Konoha Hospital while his real body rushed to the village gate at top speed.
By the time he arrived, Namikaze Minato and the other two were already waiting.
"Move out!"
Without further ado, Namikaze Minato gave the order.
The four of them leaped out of the village and headed west into the forest.
"This mission's destination is Kusagakure Village in the Land of Grass," Namikaze Minato explained as they traveled. "Kusagakure is on good terms with Konoha, and they've encountered an emergency, so they've requested a sealing expert from our village. The Third Hokage assigned this mission to our team."
"According to Kusagakure's intel, the target of the sealing is said to be a tool passed down from the era of the Sage of the Six Paths—possibly even crafted by the Sage himself."
Kurama Sanyō couldn't help but exclaim, "A tool of the Sage of the Six Paths?!"
"That must be incredibly powerful! No wonder Kusagakure is asking our village for help with the sealing."
"In that case, the main players for this mission will be you and Shūichi, sensei."
Namikaze Minato shook his head. "Based on our own intel, Kusagakure's tool has attracted the attention of others."
"So this mission isn't just about sealing a dangerous tool—that's why the Third Hokage chose us instead of sending a sealing squad."
Uchiha Shisui nodded in understanding. "So, Minato-sensei, you mean we need to be extra vigilant during the sealing process."
Namikaze Minato confirmed, "Exactly."
Meanwhile, Hoshita Shūichi's mind was racing.
When Namikaze Minato mentioned Kusagakure, the first thing that came to mind was Karin.
With her Uzumaki lineage, Karin would make an ideal teammate.
Without her, Uchiha Sasuke would likely have been killed long ago.
And when Namikaze Minato mentioned a tool related to the Sage of the Six Paths, Hoshita Shūichi guessed it was probably the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
"Karin... Karin probably hasn't been born yet. Her mother's age should be around Minato-sensei's. I wonder if she's in Kusagakure now."
"Maybe I can look into it while we're there."
Thinking this, he asked aloud, "Minato-sensei, did the village's intel mention who our enemies might be?"
"Iwa-nin?"
"Or Kumo-nin?"
Iwagakure had long sought to expand its influence eastward, even aiming to take over the fertile Land of Grass.
But Kusagakure was cunning, dancing skillfully between the great nations and villages like a socialite.
They had even established the Blood Prison with support from several major villages.
As for Kumogakure, it was a village notorious for stealing others' secret techniques.
Kusagakure's fire release techniques were also unique in their own right.
And when it came to the power of the Sage's tools, Kumogakure was the most experienced of all.
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