After tidying up the clutter in his courtyard, Hatake Kusuo abandoned his shuriken training, which was now of little use to him.
Now, he had a far better path to walk.
Possessing the Yoriichi Tsugikuni template, he was determined to master the way of the sword!
In the future... who was to say he couldn't sever Madara Uchiha's head with a single slash of Sun Breathing?
Returning to his small home—the inheritance left to him by his late parents, situated next to Kakashi's house—Kusuo carefully retrieved a sword from a precious wooden stand.
This was the ancestral sword passed down to his generation of the Hatake clan. Its appearance was simple and unadorned, yet it was incredibly sharp. His father had once used it to slay countless enemies on the battlefield.
For his current training needs, it was more than enough.
The touch of the blade was cold and heavy, with an ancient feel. The sensation of holding a deadly weapon was instantly captivating to Kusuo. He adapted to it with incredible speed, as if he were born with an unparalleled mastery over the sword in his hands.
He took a deep breath.
"Hoo... Shhh!"
"Hoo... Shhhhhh!"
Kusuo entered a focused state, his entire body falling into a peculiar condition. Yoriichi's astonishing talent allowed him to instinctively begin searching for that unique sensation of breathing.
He felt the flow of the wind.
Slowly...
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the Host for grasping the basics of Breathing Techniques! By using your breath to regulate the cellular energy throughout your body, you have been rewarded with Total Concentration Breathing!]
The system's voice chimed in at the perfect moment.
Kusuo's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected that by simply attempting to use a breathing technique, the system would immediately reward him with Total Concentration Breathing!
"Check role-play percentage."
[Current Role-Play Percentage: 1%!]
A translucent panel appeared before him, and a spectral image of the swordsman stood silently in front of him.
Walking out into the courtyard, Kusuo stood before a training post the size of an adult and stared at it intently.
Bend the knees, gather power, leap, and slash!
The posture was flawless and practiced.
The entire sequence of movements was executed by Kusuo with a fluidity and elegance that seemed impossible for a five-year-old child. It looked more like the work of a master swordsman who had been immersed in the way of the sword for decades.
One slash.
A cold glint of light cut through the air.
Thud.
The adult-sized training post was instantly split into four pieces—cut from the bottom-left, top-right, and through the middle. The cuts were perfectly smooth and clean, as if he had sliced through tofu.
"Hah..."
He let out a long breath.
Kusuo looked at the sword in his hand with excitement, thoroughly pleased with the result. Total Concentration Breathing drastically improved his physical abilities, granting him a qualitative leap in reaction time, speed, and strength!
"Based on this result, I should have power close to a Genin level at the very least!"
"Heh, so what if I can't use ninjutsu? Any enemy who dares to challenge me will be slain in a single strike!"
He was brimming with confidence now, a wide smile spreading across his still-childish face.
"Oh, right! Since this is role-playing, I should try to resemble the character in every aspect."
"I'll go change my clothes!"
With that, Kusuo dashed back into his house. When he reappeared, he looked like a completely different person!
Though his body was still that of a child, he now wore a red haori, sported sun-patterned earrings, and had his hair tied up in a high ponytail.
A handsome young boy was born.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for increasing the Role-Play Percentage. Current Percentage: 10%! Reward: Sun Breathing, First Form!]
The system's voice sounded again.
An "I knew it" expression appeared on Kusuo's face.
"It seems that as long as I meet the system's requirements and consistently align myself with Yoriichi Tsugikuni, I'll be able to reach 100% one day!"
"I can't wait to test the power of Sun Breathing!"
This time, a rare look of nervousness appeared in Kusuo's eyes. It wasn't for any other reason than to gauge the level of combat power he could achieve in the future.
Therefore, what came next was exceptionally important.
After a full day of training, the sky had already grown dark.
Kusuo stared forward with a resolute gaze, his eyes youthful yet firm. Wisps of white vapor escaped his lips as he clenched his jaw, swinging the sword from his waist with all his might!
SWISH!
A brilliant flash of the blade.
A circular slash manifested in an instant, and a roaring dragon of fire galloped along the sword's edge!
"Sun Breathing—First Form: Dance!"
The massive fiery dragon slash spun around and crashed into the courtyard, illuminating the entire area with its brilliant light.
BOOM!
The ground shook violently.
What was that?
Why is there such a huge commotion next door?
Kakashi, holding a short sword, was at home studying the sword technique manuals left by his father when he suddenly felt the earth tremble. At the same time, he saw a flash of fire outside.
"This is bad! There must be a fire at Kusuo's place!"
Assuming his cousin's house was on fire, he hurriedly got up and rushed out the door to rescue him.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared outside Kusuo's courtyard, just a wall away. But the sight before him made his jaw drop in utter shock.
"This..."
He was looking at a massive, sunken crater in the lawn, surrounded by various training posts and dummies shattered into pieces. It was obvious they had all been destroyed in a single, powerful attack.
And in the center of the courtyard stood only his young cousin, Hatake Kusuo.
He was still holding a sword.
Untamed flames still coiled around the blade, their light reflecting on Kusuo's small face, making him look like a divine being!
For some reason, the sight of his cousin in that red haori sent a powerful shock through Kakashi. He knew without a doubt what had happened here.
This entire scene... it was all caused by his young cousin.
Kakashi, who had always considered himself a genius, realized for the first time that he had to completely re-evaluate his cousin, Hatake Kusuo.