War Is Coming.
The atmosphere turned heavy with a suffocating tension.
Asuma Sarutobi silently clenched his fists. His thoughts drifted to Jingyi-sensei's swordsmanship. He wasn't a swordsman himself, but even without specialized knowledge, he could feel the massive gap between them.
Both used Wind Release techniques, yet he hadn't even fully mastered Flying Swallow (Hien) yet.
He needed to work harder.
"Sensei, I..."
Obito Uchiha opened his mouth hesitantly, but the words caught in his throat.
He always felt like Jingyi-sensei looked down on him. So, even now, he struggled to speak properly in front of him.
"You don't have to push yourself to exhaustion, Obito."
Jingyi's tone was calm but serious. "Spend more time reading especially on tactics, teamwork, and battlefield coordination. Missions these days are still relatively contained, and a teacher like me can cover for you. But once you're on a real battlefield... you won't have that luxury."
Obito froze.
Before his descent into darkness, Obito still had potential but his head...
Tch.
No matter if he had the Sharingan or not, if he couldn't think critically, it would all be wasted.
Luckily, he wasn't under his direct command.
Obito lowered his head, recalling his disgrace during the Chūnin Exams. He knew his tactical skills were sorely lacking. He could charge ahead, but when things got complicated, he was always the weak link.
But...
Where could he even get those kinds of books?
"The Uchiha Police Force should have tactical materials," Asuma suggested, noticing his hesitation.
Obito blinked, then fell silent.
"Forget the police. Come to me later," Jingyi said, his tone softening a little. "I'll find you an introductory strategy book. You don't need to learn command-level tactics. But at the very least, you should understand battlefield awareness and team coordination."
Jingyi understood Obito's situation well.
Given his status among the Uchihas, aside from Shisui, few in the clan cared for him. Raised by his grandmother, he wouldn't have easy access to any advanced materials.
But he didn't mention that part out loud.
Obito looked at him, eyes brimming with gratitude.
"Alright, get going. If war breaks out, promotions will come faster than you think. If you're lucky, you might even skip straight to Jōnin."
Jingyi smiled faintly.
He himself had been promoted to Chūnin because of the last war. The promotion standards during wartime were worlds apart from those of peacetime. Had he been born during the era of the Twelve Little Ninjas, he might still be a nobody today.
Of course, that only applied to his past self.
Now, Jingyi was a recognized elite Jōnin. His strength and reputation were undisputed. Even the Daimyō of the Land of Fire was interested in him.
Jingyi had returned to Konoha only recently, but he could sense the turbulence stirring behind the scenes.
The Daimyō clearly had plans of his own.
From the earlier conversation with the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Jingyi guessed that the Daimyō intended to establish his own independent military force and had even tried to recruit him.
But what a joke.
Unless he was the Hokage's son, he wouldn't willingly jump into such a political mess.
He had no ambition for the Hokage's seat, but he did care about Konoha. He had poured his efforts into training talents like Shisui and Asuma. He would not abandon them to become a pawn for the Daimyō.
So, only a fool would throw away everything for the Daimyō's pipe dream.
When he returned home, he found Asuma waiting outside his door.
"…Tch, this kid again?"
Jingyi opened the door without saying much, gesturing for Asuma to enter.
Asuma grinned sheepishly. Once inside, she scratched his head, clearly embarrassed.
"Sensei, I was just... curious. What exactly did the Daimyō talk to you about?"
"Nothing important. He asked about the Senju Clan and my grandmother. Just trivial matters."
Jingyi kept it vague.
He eyed Asuma carefully. This kid seemed a little too interested in the Daimyō's affairs.
"Don't overthink it. The Daimyō has nothing to do with you. And it's better if you avoid getting involved with him."
Asuma hesitated. "Sensei… does the Daimyō have plans for you?"
When he thought about it more, he realized the Daimyō's true goal.
He wasn't just resting. He was obviously preparing to build his own force.
"Don't ask. You wouldn't understand even if I told you," Jingyi said bluntly. "I can protect Konoha's people and prevent unnecessary casualties, but if I went to the Daimyō's side, I'd only be protecting one man. What's the point in that?"
Asuma nodded quickly.
He got it now.
Sensei was a respected Jōnin in Konoha. But if he left for the Daimyō, what would he even accomplish?
Train a personal guard squad? Ridiculous.
Even though Asuma's vision was still limited, he instinctively understood that this path was a dead end.
Better to stay in Konoha.
Not just for his teacher he himself didn't need to have anything to do with the Daimyō. The Land of Fire was important, but even more important was Konoha the village, the collective. Even if the Daimyō or the Hokage were gone, someone would replace them. But if the village and the country crumbled, nothing would remain.
The Will of Fire…
If that's what it meant, Asuma could get behind it.
"Sensei! I'm going to practice Flying Swallow again!"
"Go," Jingyi replied simply.
Asuma had recently passed the Chūnin Exams and was obsessed with Flying Swallow. He had even set aside his wind and fire ninjutsu training to focus on it.
Jingyi didn't mind.
The technique suited him perfectly.
He created a shadow clone to deliver something to Tsunade, while he himself sat down to study the Konoha-ryū Kenjutsu manual written by the Second Hokage.
His Wind Release had already been integrated into his sword style with some success.
The move he used to kill the Kirigakure Jōnin was a fusion of the Vacuum Blade and Iaido. But his main strengths were still Water and Earth.
Earth was hard to integrate into swordsmanship, but Water Release… Tobirama had been a master. There should be useful techniques documented.
Sure enough.
Water Blade Slash.
Though typically combined with kunai, Jingyi believed it could be adapted for swordsmanship.
But its power wasn't enough.
"What if I integrate the Water Severing Wave technique? Compress and condense the water chakra multiple times and release it as a high-pressure water blade with a sword..."
Jingyi contemplated.
It would be difficult.
Controlling chakra at that level demanded absolute precision. And fusing it seamlessly with kenjutsu would push his skills to their limits.
But it wasn't impossible.
He glanced at his system panel.
Apparently, his earlier lesson to Asuma had triggered a system notification.
[Mission Complete: Will of Fire Teaching]
[Evaluation: Excellent]
[Reward: Wind Release Chakra Mode]
"Will of Fire teaching…?"
Jingyi was baffled.
He hadn't explicitly mentioned the Will of Fire,he just scolded Asuma a bit!
"Well, whatever. At least this Wind Chakra Mode looks promising."
After assimilating the technique, Jingyi's eyes lit up.,
This was good.
He immediately thought of the Earth Spear technique.
Its main weakness was Lightning Release. But with Wind Chakra Mode layered over it, Wind Chakra would act as a buffer, reducing the threat of Lightning-based attacks.
With this, even Lightning Release specialists would have a hard time hurting him.