Chapter 60: Change and Constancy

The three of them sat down and chatted for a while about the concept of a new sealing jutsu before Uzumaki Kushina went off to busy herself in the kitchen.

"Gen'ichi, you must know Kakashi quite well, right?" asked Namikaze Minato.

Shishita Gen'ichi nodded. "Pretty well."

"Is Minato-大哥 (Big Brother Minato) going to become a jounin team leader?"

Namikaze Minato nodded in agreement. "You must have sensed it too. The situation in the ninja world has been gradually growing tense recently, so the Third Hokage has assigned Kakashi to my supervision. We'll form a new ninja squad after the new graduates finish the academy."

Everything seemed to have returned to its original track.

However, Shishita Gen'ichi knew very well that things were different now.

"That guy Kakashi is a genius. Swordsmanship, Lightning Release, Earth Release... He has sharp battle instincts. Entrust things to him, and he will complete them remarkably well within his capabilities."

"He's a bit proud, and his tongue is somewhat sharp, but he has a good heart and always thinks of his comrades."

Shishita Gen'ichi looked at Namikaze Minato and asked, "Minato-大哥, you must have heard about that incident?"

Namikaze Minato nodded. "That matter seems to have dealt him quite a heavy blow."

Shishita Gen'ichi sighed. "Kakashi feels guilty. He believes that if it weren't for him, Senior Haake would not have died in battle."

"Although I managed to persuade him so that he didn't fall into despair and instead worked even harder at his training, it might also cause him to become extreme."

"When that time comes, I'm afraid he might cause trouble for you, Minato-大哥."

Namikaze Minato nodded, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, it should be fine."

Hopefully so.

Shishita Gen'ichi was well aware that some things were difficult for him to change.

After having lunch at noon, Shishita Gen'ichi finally left Namikaze Minato's home.

Yes, Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were already living together.

Truly enviable.

It was a pity Shizune was still growing up.

Coming to the riverside alone, Shishita Gen'ichi walked to the center of the water's surface and sat down cross-legged. First, he performed the Rin mantra, then the Jin mantra, and finally brought his hands together, lowering his gaze.

He was attempting to develop an illusion, a genjutsu based on Water Release.

This was an inspiration born on the ocean surface during the previous task at Demon City.

For several months, he had been trying, step by step, refining his own concept.

And he had to admit, developing a brand-new jutsu from scratch was indeed extremely difficult.

Because a sudden flash of inspiration or a stray thought was not enough to support an intricate and complete jutsu.

Theory alone required a long period of design and refinement.

And putting it into practice posed yet another layer of difficulties.

However, although this prolonged development had yet to yield concrete results, the incidental rewards were by no means small.

For instance, Shishita Gen'ichi's understanding of Water Release and genjutsu was growing increasingly profound.

Meanwhile, the application of the Rin mantra had also been extended to genjutsu during this process.

As for the Bing mantra, its application had expanded to enhancing any type of jutsu.

Previously, he could only use a single mantra in isolation, but now he could stack mantras.

For example, applying the Bing mantra to the Water Severing Wave jutsu could increase the water flow speed and the casting speed, thereby enhancing both the power and the firing velocity of the Water Severing Wave.

And a large part of the power of the Water Severing Wave jutsu itself depended on speed.

Only high-pressure, high-velocity water blades possessed formidable lethality.

Rapid casting allowed one to spray a greater volume of high-pressure, high-speed water columns from the mouth in an extremely short time.

There was also the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough jutsu; increasing the wind speed correspondingly enhanced the power of the jutsu.

The more deeply he studied, the more he could discover the immense power contained within the Nine Characters of Esoteric Buddhism.

Unfortunately, it was far too profound and required a massive amount of time to explore and research.

Fortunately, time was the one thing Shishita Gen'ichi lacked the least.

Of course, time was also what he lacked the most.

Who, if not a mediocre person, would ever feel that they had an endless surplus of time?

...

At four in the afternoon.

On the river surface, Shishita Gen'ichi opened his eyes and slightly turned his head to see Yamanaka En standing on the riverbank.

Yamanaka En smiled. "Gen'ichi, your senses are getting sharper and sharper."

Shishita Gen'ichi smiled and then asked, "Is there a mission?"

Yamanaka En nodded, tossed a stone into the river, and said, "Gather at the village gates tomorrow morning at nine."

The stone crashed into the river, sending splashes of water flying everywhere.

Individual droplets glittered with dazzling brilliance in the sunlight as they hung suspended in the air.

Shishita Gen'ichi, sitting upon the river surface, was instantly captivated.

At that moment, the entire world seemed to slow down its rhythm.

Shishita Gen'ichi saw each and every falling droplet reflecting the entire world, including himself, and including Yamanaka En on the bank.

Splash!

The splashed droplets fell back onto the river surface, merging into the flowing water.

Shishita Gen'ichi's gaze shifted along with them, seeing the rippling river reflecting the sun, the blue sky and white clouds, himself, and both riverbanks.

Yamanaka En watched Shishita Gen'ichi open his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

Instead, a smile suddenly blossomed on Shishita Gen'ichi's face as he sprang to his feet. "En, thank you!"

"Huh?"

Yamanaka En looked slightly bewildered.

Shishita Gen'ichi smiled. "My new jutsu is almost complete."

"Huh?"

Yamanaka En was stunned. "Because I threw a stone?"

Shishita Gen'ichi smiled and nodded.

Yamanaka En couldn't help but grit his teeth. "Damn genius!"

"It's truly infuriating!"

With that, Yamanaka En turned and bolted away.

It was too crushing to the spirit!

The pressure was simply too great!

Shishita Gen'ichi smiled, then sat back down to continue his training until the sun set before heading home.

The next day at nine, Shishita Gen'ichi arrived punctually at the village gates, and the squad set off.

This day was January 15th of the 45th year of Konoha.

After leaving the village, the four of them headed north, then turned northeast, crossing the border into the Land of Hot Water.

The next day, the party reached the northeastern border of the Land of Hot Water.

Further north lay the Land of Moon and the Land of Sun, and continuing northeast led straight to the Land of Lightning.

"This mission is an information handover, A-rank."

Beneath a large tree, after pausing to rest, Hatake Sakumo began briefing them on the mission. "The location is in the Land of Sun. We will split into two groups when we get there."

"Group A, Namiichi, En, you are responsible for the outer perimeter, monitoring the surroundings. If any enemies appear, immediately launch a signal and retreat, falling back to rendezvous at the outer circle of the enemies."

Uchiha Namiichi and Yamanaka En nodded in unison.

"Group B, myself and Gen'ichi."

Hatake Sakumo looked at Shishita Gen'ichi. "Gen'ichi, you will be responsible for keeping the intelligence safe after we acquire it."

"If any unexpected situation arises, prioritize retreating with the intelligence."

Shishita Gen'ichi nodded. "Understood!"

Hatake Sakumo concluded, "We will spend the night here and enter the Land of Sun tomorrow morning."

The night passed without incident.

Around eight o'clock the next morning, the four members of Shishita Gen'ichi crossed the border and entered the Land of Sun.

The Land of Sun lay east of the Land of Moon, bordering the sea, and was long and narrow from north to south.

Whether it was the Land of Moon or the Land of Sun, both fell within the sphere of influence of Kumogakure.

One could easily deduce that ninety-nine percent of the intelligence they were going to retrieve this time originated from Kumogakure.

Atop a mountain standing mere eight or nine hundred meters tall, Shishita Gen'ichi and the other three looked down at a seaside town below.

The intelligence was inside that town.

"Gen'ichi, come with me!"

Hatake Sakumo leaped down the mountain, and Shishita Gen'ichi waved to Uchiha Namiichi and the other man before following closely behind.

Watching the two disappear from sight, Yamanaka En and Uchiha Namiichi immediately took action.

The two quickly captured a sea eagle, and Yamanaka En employed the Mind Body Switch Technique to take control of the bird, making it circle high in the air.

This was far more useful than conventional sensory ninjutsu, providing a much wider surveillance range.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Namiichi was tasked with guarding Yamanaka En's flank.

There was no shortage of beasts in these mountains, and they also had to guard against sudden enemy ambushes.

At this moment, Yamanaka En possessed zero self-defense capabilities.

On the other side, Shishita Gen'ichi and Hatake Sakumo used the Transformation Technique to disguise themselves as ordinary people before entering the small town.

The two first strolled around the town, changing their appearances several times in the process, before finally stepping into an inconspicuous sundry shop.

Hatake Sakumo bought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the shop, then left with Shishita Gen'ichi.

Pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, Hatake Sakumo handed both the cigarettes and the lighter over to Shishita Gen'ichi.

The two strolled right out of the town like that.

"Hm?"

Hatake Sakumo looked up, spotting the circling sea eagle as a sharp cry pierced the open sky.

Shishita Gen'ichi's expression shifted slightly.

"Gen'ichi, take the intelligence and rendezvous with Namiichi and the others!"

Hatake Sakumo's cigarette dropped to the ground, and his transformation jutsu instantly dissipated.