Chapter 41 - Reward, Free Upgrade!

"Kakashi, I'm here."

"Huh? Wait—!"

From within the high wall came Kakashi's panicked voice.

But—

Before he could cover up, Kyōen’s head popped up over the wall.

Down below, Kakashi’s face was bruised—black and blue. Next to him, his shadow clone froze for a second before quickly dispelling itself.

Kakashi really didn’t hold back—he made things difficult from the start.

Kyōen was speechless.

He cleared his throat lightly and said, “Sorry, looks like I came at the wrong time.”

"You... never mind. Come in."

Kakashi’s face turned red.

But—

The embarrassment was already done; he didn’t care if Kyōen saw a little more.

Besides...

He still had his mask.

Once Kakashi put the mask back on, he returned to his usual appearance—hard to tell anything was off.

Kyōen leapt down from the top.

“Masks are really convenient. Hide your injuries, hide your expressions... I kind of want one now.”

“...”

Kakashi was silent for a moment before turning around. “Suit yourself.”

He turned and walked inside.

So boring.

Kyōen followed.

Not long after, the two arrived at a small private training ground.

The Hatake estate wasn’t exactly small.

Aside from the house and yard, it also had a dedicated kenjutsu dojo.

Kakashi brought out several practice swords, varying in length. A stack of them was piled off to the side.

“We’ll start with these. They're blunt-edged training swords.”

He tossed one over.

“Try going through some basic forms.”

“Alright.”

Kyōen caught it and began practicing move by move.

Slash, cleave, slice...

Kakashi watched silently from the side for a while, blinking in disbelief behind his mask.

After observing a bit more, he couldn’t help but wonder—

Was this really Kyōen’s first time wielding a sword?

But...

Wouldn’t that make him seem too ignorant?

Kakashi continued observing.

Eventually, Kyōen paused and turned slightly.

"Anything wrong with my form?"

“Hmm…”

Kakashi pondered for a moment, trying to nitpick something.

But—

In the end, he admitted honestly, “Just swinging a blade isn’t enough. You need actual combat experience to understand it.”

Kyōen’s movements were already textbook-perfect—he’d clearly mastered the fundamentals of kenjutsu. Drilling more forms would be pointless in the short term.

What he needed now was real combat.

Combat focused on swordsmanship!

Kyōen nodded.

He felt it too—his movements felt familiar and effortless. There was no need to overpractice.

That was likely the effect of having already grasped the basics of the White Fang Kenjutsu.

“Alright. I’ve been using kunai till now—switching to a sword feels a bit weird. Don’t go too hard on me.”

“Of course.”

Kakashi gave him a cold glance.

In normal fights, he wasn’t sure he could overpower Kyōen—but in terms of pure sword technique, he didn’t believe Kyōen was better than him.

“Then let’s—”

“Begin!”

As soon as they spoke, the swords clashed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their blades collided several times in a flash.

So fast!

Kakashi was shocked inwardly.

He could tell—

Kyōen’s swordsmanship was pretty average. His technique was precise, sure, but far from refined or advanced. However, every attack came with incredible speed and reflexes.

Such sharp reactions!

Is that trained?

Kakashi began increasing the pace, nearly going full speed—only then did Kyōen’s blade start struggling to keep up.

It wasn’t that his reactions were too slow, but that his sword control and striking power couldn’t keep up.

That was a lack of technique.

The match ended.

Kakashi felt a rush of satisfaction.

That felt great!

“Again.”

He was enjoying himself, his confidence boosted.

Kyōen’s eyes gleamed.

“Alright.”

The blades met again.

In an instant—

Boom!

Chakra surged, sending a burst of wind outward.

Unleashing super strength, Kyōen knocked Kakashi’s sword off balance, then immediately followed up by pressing his blade to Kakashi’s neck.

Kakashi dodged instantly.

“You cheated!”

“Are you a samurai?”

Kyōen withdrew his blade.

Calmly, he said, “I’m learning swordsmanship to refine my skills. Once I master it, I might not use a sword anymore. So I don’t need to fight strictly like a swordsman.”

Kakashi was speechless.

The guy was clearly making excuses, but somehow his reasoning always came off as oddly convincing. You couldn’t help but be dragged along by his logic.

Kakashi sheathed his sword.

“If you ever want to spar, come anytime.”

“I’ll borrow this one for now.”

Beginner level.

At this stage, Kyōen wasn’t a real match for Kakashi in swordsmanship. Losing with just the sword was totally normal.

Kyōen didn’t mind at all.

He took the sword and returned home.

Kakashi didn’t try to stop him.

They both needed to train—keep growing stronger.

After encountering Momochi Zabuza...

Kyōen didn’t show it outwardly, but deep down he had been seriously affected.

In that battle, he used every tactic and ounce of strength he had—but all he managed was to injure Zabuza, not kill him. Even with a serious wound, the enemy escaped.

Of course—

The one more affected was probably Zabuza himself.

As a Jōnin of the Hidden Mist, getting his kneecap shattered in a sneak attack by a Leaf Genin was an utterly humiliating experience.

Over the next several days, Kyōen didn’t go out except to eat or go running. He focused entirely on sword training—listening to the wind and honing his instincts.

Then, more than ten days later—

While he was in the middle of training, a sudden system notification sounded in his mind.

[Through your leadership, Konoha has formed a joint initiative with the Land of Lightning and the Land of Hot Water to implement the Wave Country Strategic Plan, effectively restricting the Land of Water’s maritime expansion.]
[Reward: Upgrade any skill by 1 level]

Already?

Kyōen was a little surprised.

He had assumed—judging by how slow Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors usually were—it would take at least a month or two for the plan to get approved and implemented.

But unexpectedly—

In just over ten days, not only had the policy been promoted, it had already been executed.

Hiruzen moved that quickly?
No way!

“Looks like sensei finally got serious.”

Kyōen felt an odd sense of satisfaction—

Jiraiya didn’t end up going down that twisted ‘love brings peace’ path after all.

After sighing for a moment, he focused on the reward.

Any skill, huh?

That meant... he could choose.

Unexpectedly, this time’s reward was...

Kyōen’s eyes lit up.

But soon he fell into deep thought.

It was good, sure...

But which skill should he upgrade?

He scanned his skill list, eventually narrowing it down to two choices:

Master-level Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu)

Proficient-level Super Strength (Gōriki)

His gaze moved back and forth between the two.

Grandmaster-level Body Flicker had lots of potential:

He could refine it to Shisui's level—fluid and elusive, possibly combining it with other abilities.

He might master faster, more precise movement and even control his own momentum.

That could be a game-changer.

But he wasn’t Shisui. He wasn’t Minato Namikaze either.

He didn’t have a Sharingan or a broken-tier innate talent.

If he upgraded Body Flicker, he might end up like Kakashi without the Sharingan—fast, but with no way to capitalize on it.

Super Strength was the safe option—its results were predictable and solid.

After hesitating for a while, he made his decision—

Body Flicker Technique!

Even if it was risky, the potential payoff was huge.

It was worth the gamble.