The handover process was meticulous.
Hoshita Shūichi's team spent hours familiarizing themselves with the patrol routes, traps, and alarm systems left by the previous squad. By 9 PM, the work was finally done.
Namikaze Minato issued orders: "Shisui and I will take the first watch. Shūichi and Sanyō, rest up for the second shift."
The team acknowledged, and within half an hour, Minato and Uchiha Shisui began their patrol—a routine that included checking traps for disturbances, whether by enemy forces or wildlife.
Success lies in the details.
Though their patrol route was the last of three defensive layers, Minato's vigilance never wavered.
At 1 AM, Shūichi and Kurama Sanyō took over, standing guard until dawn. Before wrapping up, Shūichi hunted a rabbit and caught two fish, using his medical tools to clean them. His teammates, now accustomed to this, showed no reaction.
After breakfast, Shūichi and Sanyō snatched a few hours of sleep before rejoining the group at 9 AM. The day's task: dismantling the previous squad's traps and resetting them to their own specifications.
For Shūichi, this was another masterclass.
The [Trap Expert] title flickered in his mind, but he dismissed it. In an era of relative peace, large-scale invasions were rare, and border patrols served more as early warning systems. Individual infiltrators? Impossible to stop entirely.
The Land of Fire's borders were simply too vast.
Twelve days of monotonous patrols passed.
Then, on the thirteenth day, Shūichi's mood soared.
After weeks of relentless practice—using every hunt as an opportunity to refine his skills—he'd finally met the conditions for the [Ninja Tool Expert] title.
He waited until evening, after duties were done, to focus on the skill tree in his mind.
Activate.
The grayed-out leaf labeled [Ninja Tool Expert] glowed emerald. A surge of electricity coursed through his body, lifting his consciousness into a weightless haze.
Ten minutes later, the sensation faded.
Shūichi opened his eyes in the darkness—and saw everything.
A flying insect buzzed past, its wings a blur to ordinary vision. Yet Shūichi's gaze locked onto it, and the wings slowed. Not perfectly, but enough to discern individual beats.
This… wasn't possible before.
Prior to this, his [Prodigy] title had doubled his mental processing speed, granting pseudo-"dynamic vision" by accelerating how quickly his brain interpreted visual data. But it paled compared to the Sharingan's clarity.
Now, with [Ninja Tool Expert], his entire nervous system had upgraded.
Title: Ninja Tool Expert
Conditions: Mastery of 10+ ninja tools.
Effects:
Ninja tool proficiency +100%
Physical constitution +100%
Neural reflex speed +100%
The tool mastery and physique boosts would reveal themselves gradually, but the reflex enhancement was immediate.
If his baseline neural speed was "1":
[Prodigy] doubled his mental processing to "2."
Now, [Ninja Tool Expert] doubled all neural pathways to "4" (brain) and "2" (body).
His eyes transmitted images faster. His brain decoded them even faster.
The result?
"This surpasses a single Tomoe Sharingan."
Shūichi's pulse quickened. The key wasn't just his optic nerves—it was the compounded effect of his brain's processing power.
Dynamic vision hinges on both signal transmission and interpretation speed.
Before [Prodigy], his reflexes were far inferior to Minato's. After, the gap narrowed. Now? He suspected he'd closed it entirely.
Minato's genius lay not in visual acuity but in spatial awareness, chakra reserves, and Flying Thunder God's time-space manipulation—traits that eclipsed even the Second Hokage's prowess.
But in raw neural speed? Shūichi might finally be on par.
"I need to adapt to these reflexes… and unlock my physique's potential through training."
The title hadn't granted instant strength—just the capacity for growth.
Satisfied, Shūichi drifted into sleep, already planning intensified drills upon their return to Konoha.
"Shūichi!"
A hand shook him awake. Uchiha Shisui's voice was urgent.
"Mission change. An Anbu operative arrived from the Land of Rain. Minato-sensei just returned from the village."
Shūichi sat up, spotting Minato meditating under a tree—and a non-shinobi resting nearby.
As Shisui roused Sanyō, Shūichi asked, "What's the mission?"
Shisui's Sharingan gleamed in the moonlight.
"Extraction. A spy carries critical intel, but their exit's blocked. The Land of Rain is… complicated."
(+20 Chapter ahead)
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