The next phase of developing the "Step-by-Step Lotus" secret technique would be a grind, and the same went for medical ninjutsu, which required accumulating knowledge over a long period of time.
"Next, my main focus will be on sword techniques, especially the S-rank sword arts."
"Then, wind-style ninjutsu—I'll aim for [Wind-Style Expert], and after that, try for [Wind-Style Master]."
"After that, genjutsu and sensory ninjutsu."
"Hmm... I should also find a way to get a summoning beast and learn the Summoning Technique. It's a space-time ninjutsu, so it might trigger the corresponding keyword."
"The same goes for sensory ninjutsu. But I hope that if there's a [Sensory Expert] keyword, the conditions to unlock it won't be as troublesome as [Fire-Style Expert]. That would be a pain."
Hoshita Shūichi pondered silently, organizing the path he needed to take next.
There were too many things to learn, so he could only take it step by step, focusing on one area first to master it before broadening his skills.
After resting enough, Hoshita Shūichi got up and continued practicing the "Step-by-Step Lotus" secret technique, striving to use it smoothly in actual combat.
By 4 p.m., he ended his training and headed to the usual spot to meet up with Shizune and the others for joint training. He also had a heated taijutsu match with Might Guy.
On the third day of his break, Kakashi returned from a mission.
"Here, my father asked me to give this to you."
On the cliff, Kakashi took out a scroll and handed it to Hoshita Shūichi.
"A gift from an elder cannot be refused. Since it's from Senior Hatake, I won't stand on ceremony."
Hoshita Shūichi didn't hesitate at all, taking the scroll and opening it immediately to check the contents.
Kakashi also leaned in to look, as he hadn't known what was inside the scroll.
"Lightning Release..."
Hoshita Shūichi's eyes lit up.
The scroll contained tips for training in Lightning Release nature transformation.
However, as he read further, he realized it wasn't just Lightning Release—it also included Earth Release, Wind Release, and Water Release nature transformation techniques, with varying levels of detail. It seemed to reflect Hatake Sakumo's areas of expertise.
Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. "Is my father planning to take you as his disciple?"
Hoshita Shūichi laughed. "What, Kakashi, do you disagree?"
Kakashi quickly shook his head. "No, of course not."
"Hahaha, just kidding."
Hoshita Shūichi laughed heartily, then said seriously, "Kakashi, you'll have to work twice as hard now."
"Senior Hatake sees my extraordinary talent and thinks I'm worth nurturing, which is why he's sharing these secrets with me."
"As the saying goes, the student surpasses the master. Kakashi, our goal shouldn't just be to match the White Fang of Konoha—otherwise, people might say the son is inferior to the father."
"Of course, I'm talking about you."
Kakashi felt like ants were crawling all over him and quickly stood up to leave. "I'm going to train!"
Hoshita Shūichi put away the scroll and watched Kakashi's retreating figure with a sly grin. "Kakashi, accept my motivation!"
Training in the small forest near Konoha Hospital, spending time with his friends during the break—the days passed happily and productively. Not to mention, Yakushi Nonō had officially moved in to live with Hoshita Shūichi.
Time flew by, and the seven-day break ended in the blink of an eye.
Missions resumed, and this time, it was back to the Land of Rivers.
On the way, Hoshita Shūichi asked, "Sensei, has the new daimyo of the Land of Rivers been decided yet?"
Namikaze Minato shook his head. "Not yet."
"Right now, it's not just us and Sunagakure interfering—Iwagakure and even Kumogakure's spies have shown up."
"But the matter of the Land of Rivers' daimyo isn't our concern. The Third Hokage has handed that over to Root and the Anbu."
"Our mission this time is just to ensure the safety of trade routes."
Kurama Sanyō couldn't help but say, "I hope nothing unexpected happens on this mission."
Hoshita Shūichi and the other two chuckled at that.
This time, however, Kurama Sanyō's words didn't jinx them. The mission proceeded without any surprises.
Namikaze Minato's reputation as the "Yellow Flash" had already spread among the Sunagakure ninja. Although there wasn't yet an order like "abandon the mission if you see Minato," his name alone carried significant weight.
The seven-day mission passed with Hoshita Shūichi's team only having to deal with a group of rogue ninja.
However, in the following months—September, October, and November—the missions Hoshita Shūichi's team received were all related to the Land of Rivers.
They guarded mines, protected merchant caravans, and stationed themselves in towns in the Land of Rivers, mostly handling C-rank and B-rank missions.
The only A-rank missions involved clashes with Iwagakure and Kumogakure ninja.
By December, the situation in the Land of Rivers finally began to stabilize.
Konoha and Sunagakure, along with the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, reached an agreement and jointly drove out the meddling Kumogakure and Iwagakure forces.
Notably, in December of the 40th year of Konoha, Kakashi's team, like Minato's team before, received an invitation from the daimyo of the Land of Fire to visit the capital.
Hearing this news, Hoshita Shūichi couldn't help but ask, "Sensei, will Kakashi end up like me?"
Namikaze Minato shook his head. "One double agent is enough."
"Besides, the Third Hokage said Kakashi's personality isn't suited for being a double agent."
Hoshita Shūichi thought about it and agreed.
The cold, aloof, and slightly tsundere Kakashi really wasn't cut out for it.
"What a shame."
Hoshita Shūichi smiled. "The daimyo is quite generous, after all."
Thanks to the daimyo's financial support, he could afford to eat well every day and buy various medicinal herbs for supplements and medicinal baths.
After discussing the Land of Fire's daimyo, Hoshita Shūichi asked, "Sensei, how should I go about raising a summoning beast?"
"Raising a summoning beast?"
Namikaze Minato smiled. "Powerful summoning beasts usually come from the wild and are tamed."
"Raising one yourself requires not only special medicines but also luck."
"For example, the Inuzuka clan sells special medicines for raising summoning beasts, but as I said earlier, even with the medicines, there's no guarantee of success. It's even rarer to find one that can understand human speech."
Hoshita Shūichi chuckled. "Sensei, my standards aren't that high."
"If raising one doesn't work out, at my age, I can always find and tame one in the wild later."
Namikaze Minato thought of the toads of Mount Myōboku, but since he couldn't make the decision to form a contract with them himself, he said, "In that case, tomorrow we'll go to the Forest of Death and try to capture a spiritually attuned animal to raise."
Hoshita Shūichi nodded in agreement.
The next day, Team Minato gathered and entered the Forest of Death to search for animals with spiritual potential.
Before entering, Kurama Sanyō couldn't help but ask, "Sensei, I remember one of our missions was to capture a summoning beast that appeared in the Forest of Death. Can Shūichi buy that one?"
Namikaze Minato smiled. "I already asked about that. That cat was sent to the Summoning Cat Clan."
"Eh, the Summoning Cat Clan?"
Kurama Sanyō looked at Uchiha Shisui. "Shisui, I remember that clan is very close to your Uchiha clan."
Uchiha Shisui nodded. "That's right, but I prefer crows."
Hoshita Shūichi stroked his chin. "Raising crows sounds good too."
"Shisui, teach me how to raise crows!"
With the Clone Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, and Fire-Style Clone Technique, he already had three clone-related jutsu. Just two more, and he could unlock the [Clone Expert] keyword.
Raising crows and creating a crow clone sounded like a great idea.
Moreover, the [Transformation Master] keyword still hadn't been unlocked. Raising crows would give him another transformation option.
Read advance chapters here:
patreon.com/CNBLUE