After finishing his training, Yakumo immediately returned home to write the final entry in his diary.
It was the last task remaining in his weekly missions.
Sunday.
Clear skies.
This afternoon, we had our in-class combat test.
Although I defeated Komoto Kenta, I’m not entirely satisfied with the result.
Fortunately, Kakashi is still guiding me in my training.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to win more easily next time…
(The next four hundred and fifty words have been omitted.)
This was the solution Yakumo had come up with: use Kakashi as a convenient explanation for his improving close-combat abilities, gradually revealing more of his strength until he reached the level of an average student in his class.
That was all he needed.
Being average was enough.
Although this meant taking advantage of Kakashi to some extent, Yakumo couldn’t afford to worry about that for the time being.
The possibility that his homeroom teacher was a member of Root had completely destroyed his sense of security.
In this world, making an orphan who hadn’t even become a genin disappear would be frighteningly easy.
Especially when that orphan had become involved with Kakashi.
Over the next few years, Sakumo Hatake would undoubtedly become the center of all kinds of schemes and political machinations in Konoha.
That would continue until the day the White Fang finally fell.
After closing his diary, Yakumo saw that the final task on his weekly mission panel was now ready to be submitted.
[Submit Mission]
A gentle warmth spread through his body, nourishing his muscles.
The aching in his injured arms disappeared at an astonishing speed, and Yakumo closed his eyes in comfort.
Meanwhile, his gold coins increased dramatically.
Gold Coins: 650
After a moment’s consideration, Yakumo assigned his 0.5 free attribute points to Constitution.
After all, a healthy body was the foundation of a good life.
He looked at the remaining 650 gold coins and the 6.3 units of chakra displayed on his status panel before making a decision.
Better to have one bird in the hand than ten in the forest.
[Acceleration]!!!
Go!
His gold coins dropped to 550, while his chakra increased to 7.0.
The amount of chakra gained from a single acceleration had increased from 0.6 to 0.7 units.
After thinking it over, Yakumo suspected that the improvement was related to his increased Constitution and Intelligence.
After all, improvements in both attributes should naturally increase the efficiency of chakra extraction.
That was good news.
His gold coins dropped to 350, and his chakra rose to 8.4.
Gold Coins: 150.
Chakra: 9.8.
Gold Coins: 50.
Chakra: 10.5.
Yakumo opened his eyes, somewhat disappointed.
Breaking through ten units of chakra hadn’t increased his physical attributes.
That meant continuing to invest in chakra would primarily improve his reserves and staying power.
Unless…
He circulated chakra through his limbs.
A mysterious surge of power immediately coursed through his body.
He felt lighter, and his physical strength, Constitution, and Agility all received a boost of approximately two points.
However, this enhancement came at a price: one unit of chakra was consumed every ten seconds.
The principle was somewhat similar to Naruto Uzumaki’s Tailed Beast Cloak, although there was absolutely no comparison between the two in terms of chakra quality, quantity, or power.
Naturally, the enhancement was also worlds apart.
In other words, a genin-level chakra reserve could sustain this explosive boost for only about one hundred seconds, even without accounting for the chakra consumed by ninjutsu.
At that moment, Yakumo finally understood Kakashi.
Chakra really is never enough.
Chakra: 10.5 — 30 units required for promotion to chūnin.
Satisfied with his status panel, Yakumo decided to take the day off rather than practice swordsmanship.
But less than ten minutes later, he suddenly remembered the notebook Mori Yasuko had given him after school.
He hurriedly took it out of his schoolbag and began reading.
The notebook contained a concealment technique that could continuously alter the user’s appearance, chakra signature, and overall presence after it had been mastered.
Unfortunately, it was extraordinarily complicated.
The theoretical explanations and formulas alone filled fifteen pages, making it the most complex ninjutsu Yakumo had encountered so far.
Nevertheless, if he wanted to conceal himself effectively in Konoha, he had no choice but to learn it.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Yakumo began his usual run, dark circles beneath his eyes.
His weekly missions had refreshed.
Most of the tasks remained unchanged, but a new requirement had appeared: train with Mori Yasuko three times.
Proper training, of course.
His swordsmanship proficiency continued to rise gradually through daily practice.
Once he had become familiar with the individual techniques, each evening’s training added three or four proficiency points.
At that rate, he would need a little over one hundred days to advance his Hatake Secret Art to the next level.
Fortunately, he wasn’t short on time.
At least during the six years before he became a genin, he could focus on quietly developing his abilities—as long as he kept his head down.
At the weekend’s in-class test, Yakumo defeated Komoto Kenta again, this time with considerably less difficulty.
Nevertheless, Keisuke Shimizu gave him the same brief assessment as before.
“Keep working hard.”
Asuma Sarutobi, on the other hand, took the initiative to challenge Uchiha Tsunagane—and lost.
As a result, Shimizu gave him a thorough dressing-down before school ended, while lavishly praising Kakashi’s performance.
By the time school let out that evening, Asuma’s expression was extremely unpleasant.
Sunday evening, June 20.
After submitting his final mission, Yakumo looked at the balance on his status panel and smiled.
Gold Coins: 2,050
Although he still hadn’t mastered the concealment technique during the previous week, that couldn’t dampen his excitement.
[Personal Skills]
Passive: Chakra Extraction Technique — AccelerationActive: Water Bullet — Proficient, 15/200 — AccelerationBasic Swordsmanship: Proficient, 40/200 — AccelerationHatake Secret Art: Beginner, 25/400 — Acceleration
[Proficient Bonus: Water Bullet power increased by 30%.]
Following his philosophy of preferring one bird in the hand to ten in the forest, Yakumo decided that Water Bullet would undergo another transformation that evening.
There was another consideration, too.
Until he mastered the concealment technique, he couldn’t afford to accelerate his Hatake Secret Art.
Doing so might dramatically alter his demeanor and presence, inevitably attracting unwanted attention.
In fact, he had only one reasonable choice.
Continue investing in Water Bullet.
At Yakumo’s mental command, the number of gold coins on his panel began falling rapidly.
New insights into the Water Bullet technique flooded his mind, accompanied by memories of countless repetitions and practice sessions.
When everything finally settled, Yakumo opened his eyes.
Active Skill: Water Bullet — Perfected, 5/600 — Acceleration
A red button appeared beside the skill once more, flashing continuously as though urging him to press it.
[Perfected Bonus: Water Bullet power increased by 60%.]
[Activation time reduced by 50%.]
The bonuses from the Proficient level had been absorbed into the Perfected level, and a new benefit had appeared: a reduction in activation time.
Previously, Yakumo had needed approximately one second to form the hand seals and use Water Bullet.
With a further fifty percent reduction, he could now unleash the technique in just 0.5 seconds.
Half a second could be enough to decide between life and death.
In the familiar corner of his bathroom, Yakumo stood naked and formed the hand seals, aiming Water Bullet at the tiled wall.
BOOM!
Water exploded outward in a tremendous splash.
The tiles shattered into countless fragments in an instant.
Yakumo leaned closer and discovered a crater approximately five centimeters deep in the wall.
“What incredible penetrating power!”
He hurriedly fetched his tools and began repairing the damage.
The power of Water Bullet had exceeded his expectations by a considerable margin.
It was now far beyond what one would normally expect from a C-rank technique, although its destructive power still fell short of an A-rank jutsu.
However, its ease of use and low chakra consumption gave it an enormous practical advantage.
In some respects, it had already surpassed the vast majority of B-rank techniques.
It could practically be called the strongest B-rank technique.
As he cleaned up the damage, Yakumo couldn’t help imagining what would happen if Water Bullet broke through another level.
At that point, its raw power might even rival an A-rank technique!
The next breakthrough required 600 proficiency points, meaning he would need nearly 6,000 gold coins.
That would take approximately three weeks of saving.
Fortunately, there was another reason to be happy.
Yakumo estimated that he would master the concealment technique within the next few days.
Once that happened, he could finally increase his swordsmanship proficiency without worrying about attracting unwanted attention.