<h4>Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Blue me Waterfall de, Kusagakure!</h4>


    The beginning of Konoha Year 41 was rather "leisurely" for Hoshita Shūichi. ying with the White Tiger and feeding crows had be part of his daily routine.


    However, a technique he thought would be rtively easy to master—High-Temperature Ray—ended up posing quite a challenge.


    By the now-thawedkeside, Hoshita Shūichi winced, his mouth full of blisters.


    He got burned!


    The highlypressed fire stream in his mouth reached such extreme temperatures that even the Yin Healing Wound Destruction technique couldn''t fully heal it.


    The reason he needed topress the fire stream inside his mouth was that this position offered the most control over chakra, allowing him topress the Fire Release to aser-like state.


    Once ejected from the mouth, this would not only have an extremely long range but also tremendous power.


    Unfortunately, his mouth couldn''t handle it.


    After treating the blisters, Hoshita Shūichi sat down on the ground, trying to reorganize his thoughts.


    A high-pressure water jet doesn''t harm the mouth, and the Storm Release is abination of lightning and water, which is further enhanced by Sage Mode, offering more protection.


    But in Fire Release is different. It won''t work unless he lowers the power.


    However, if he lowers the power, there would be no point in developing this technique.


    After much thought, Shūichi couldn''t find a solution, so he decided to set it aside for now and focus his energy on other matters.


    Time flew by, and before he knew it, the new academy year at the Ninja Academy had arrived.


    As nned by Tsunade, Shizune submitted her graduation application as soon as school started.


    On January 9th of Konoha Year 41, Shizune sessfully passed the graduation exam and officially became a Genin.


    Shizune then entered the Konoha Hospital, where she spent her days working with Yakushi Nono and receiving guidance from Tsunade when she returned home.


    Whenever Shūichi was at the Konoha Hospital, Shizune would follow him around like a little shadow.


    But after the New Year, Shūichi began taking on missions again with Minato Namikaze and the others.


    March passed in the blink of an eye, and Shūichi''s 8th birthday quietly came and went while he was on a mission.


    However, after the mission, Yakushi Nono threw a small birthday celebration for Hoshita Shūichi,plete with a birthday cake and longevity noodles.


    After eating the longevity noodles, Yakushi Nono took out a scroll. "Shūichi, happy birthday!"


    "Thank you!"


    Hoshita Shūichi epted the scroll, curious. "Did the Director develop a new medical ninjutsu?"


    Yakushi Nono shook her head but smiled mysteriously.


    "So secretive?"


    Shūichi grew more excited and immediately opened the scroll, only to be stunned. "This is..."


    The scroll was filled with densely packed seals, forming a series ofplex jutsu.


    Given Shūichi''s current level of medical ninjutsu, it was impossible for him not to understand it, even though the scroll contained more than just medical ninjutsu.


    Yes, this was a ninjutsu scroll. Even those who didn''t know medical ninjutsu could activate the jutsu within the scroll to perform techniques they didn''t otherwise possess.


    In the original story, Shikamaru Nara once used a Water Release ninjutsu scroll to fight Kakuzu.


    And this scroll before him was clearly a medical ninjutsu scroll.


    "Director, this is the Jutsu of Regenerative Healing, and... the iplete jutsu that Lady Tsunade has been working on?"


    Hoshita Shūichi was very familiar with the jutsu on the scroll.


    Yakushi Nono nodded, smiling. "Yes, it''s the Jutsu of Regenerative Healing, and also Lady Tsunade''s iplete jutsu."


    "Tsunade discussed this jutsu with me before. Although it''s far fromplete, it can still be used."


    "You made a medical ninjutsu scroll for Tenka before, so I got the idea to create this."


    Yakushi Nono''s smile faded as she carefully exined to Hoshita Shūichi, "However, the Jutsu of Regenerative Healing requires extremely precise chakra control. Lady Tsunade''s jutsu doesn''t meet the necessary requirements yet. So, when dealing with severe injuries like missing flesh or shattered organs, this scroll can heal the injuries but not perfectly, and it may cause side effects."


    "Because the healing process is too rough, relying on massive amounts of chakra to force rapid cell division, it inevitably shortens the injured person''s lifespan."


    "Shūichi, you should know that the number of times human cells can divide is limited."


    "Of course, if the injuries are so severe that ordinary medical ninjutsu can''t heal them, then the shortened lifespan won''t be much of a concern."


    Shūichi nodded and then smiled. "Don''t worry, Director. I''ll make sure not to need this scroll."


    "If things go south, I''ll just run. I wouldn''t want to leave you behind."


    Yakushi Nono couldn''t help but smile at his words.


    But she knew all too well that as a ninja, one could never predict what dangers they might face on a mission.


    The reason she made this scroll was so that even if Shūichi encountered danger, he coulde back alive.


    As long as he stays alive, everything will be okay!


    ...


    The Next Day, in the Small Grove.


    Shūichi held the Totsuka de in both hands, and soon, the de was enveloped in blue mes.


    As he continued to pour chakra into it, the blue mes extended, reaching a length of two meters within moments.


    This was his new focus after hitting a bottleneck with the High-Temperature Ray—further developing the Blue me Sky de.


    Extending a fire de from the Totsuka de to increase attack range wasn''t particrly difficult.


    If he were only using regr white mes, it wouldn''t have taken Shūichi nearly as long to achieve this.


    Dispelling the blue mes, Shūichi shook his head. "Too slow, and the range is a bit short."


    What he envisioned was a sword sh like Xianxia Novel''s de Qi.


    A giant sword extending several meters!


    "Not only is the range insufficient, but it also takes too long and consumes too much chakra."


    "But, in fact, the entire de doesn''t need to be made of blue mes. The key part is the edge."


    Shūichi''s original design for the Blue me Sky de focused on reinforcing the de edge with Fire Release. Covering the entire de with mes made it easier to alter its shape.


    However, with the support of the [Fire Release Master] tag, his Fire Release transformation capabilities had greatly improved, and the [Medical Expert] tag further enhanced his chakra control.


    It was time to test his original idea!


    Hoshita Shūichi took a moment to gather himself before injecting chakra into the Totsuka de.


    In the next instant, the de edge was quickly covered in blue mes.


    Immediately after, Hoshita Shūichi''s gaze sharpened, and the blue mes, initially only covering the de edge, rapidly expanded—not just covering the entire de but extending outward to a length of ten meters.


    It looked as if he was now holding a massive blue sword.


    The de edge was a deep blue, while the giant sword above it was a faint blue me, giving it a somewhat ethereal appearance.


    After reaching this point, Shūichi let out a low shout, raised the Totsuka de high with both hands, and then brought it crashing down.


    In an instant, the ten-meter-long giant blue energy de sliced downward, splitting the small grove in two.


    Boom!


    The trees exploded, sending debris and dust flying.


    When the dust settled, a charred trench over ten meters long appeared on the ground.


    Breathing heavily, Hoshita Shūichi grinned. "Not bad power!"


    "Although ten meters is still considered mid-range, it''s longer than the range of Chidori Sharp Spear."


    Unfortunately, it still didn''t reach S-rank difficulty.


    Damn it!


    Pouting, Hoshita Shūichi swallowed a military ration pill and sat down to rest, thinking to himself, "The sword technique extended from the Blue me Sky de will be called Blue me Style Swordsmanship, and this move will be... Blue me Waterfall de?"


    Scratching his head, Hoshita Shūichi felt a bit awkward about his naming skills.


    "Hm?"


    Suddenly, Hoshita Shūichi turned his head and saw Uchiha Shisui appear.


    "Shūichi, Minato-sensei has called a meeting. There''s an urgent,st-minute mission. We''re to gather at the vige gate in half an hour."


    With that, Uchiha Shisui vanished in a puff of smoke—it was a shadow clone.


    "That urgent?"


    Shūichi didn''t dare dy and immediately headed home to gather his things.


    After packing, he sent a shadow clone to the Konoha Hospital to inform Yakushi Nono while his real body headed to the vige gate at top speed.


    When he arrived, Minato Namikaze and the other two were already waiting.


    "Let''s move out!"


    Without any unnecessary words, Minato Namikaze gave the order.


    The four of them leaped out of the vige and entered the forest to the west.


    "Our mission''s destination this time is Kusagakure in the Land of Grass."


    As they traveled, Minato Namikaze exined, "Kusagakure is an ally of Konoha. A critical situation has arisen, so they requested assistance from Konoha to send sealing specialists. The Third Hokage assigned this mission to our team."


    "ording to the information from Kusagakure, the object that needs to be sealed is said to be a ninja tool passed down from the time of the Sage of Six Paths, possibly even crafted by the Sage himself."


    Kurama Sanyō couldn''t help but exim, "A ninja tool from the Sage of Six Paths?"


    "That must be incredibly powerful. No wonder Kusagakure is asking for help with the sealing."


    "So, it looks like the key yers in this mission will be you, Sensei, and Shūichi."


    Minato Namikaze shook his head. "ording to our own intelligence, other parties are also targeting this ninja tool in Kusagakure."


    "So, this mission isn''t just about sealing a dangerous ninja tool. That''s why the Third Hokage selected our team, instead of sending a sealing squad."


    Uchiha Shisui responded, "So, Minato-sensei, you''re saying we need to be extra vignt during the sealing process."


    Minato Namikaze nodded. "Exactly."


    At that moment, Hoshita Shūichi''s mind was racing with thoughts.


    When Minato mentioned Kusagakure, the first person he thought of was Karin.


    With her Uzumaki n bloodline, Karin would make an excellent teammate.


    Without Karin, Uchiha Sasuke would likely have been defeated long ago.


    And when Minato mentioned a ninja tool connected to the Sage of Six Paths, Hoshita Shūichi guessed it was probably the Box of Ultimate Bliss.


    "Karin... Karin probably hasn''t been born yet. Her mother might even be around the same age as Minato-sensei. I wonder if she''s currently in Kusagakure."


    "Maybe I can investigate while we''re there."


    As these thoughts ran through Hoshita Shūichi''s mind, he asked, "Minato-sensei, did our vige''s intelligence mention who our enemies might be?"


    "Iwa-nin?"


    "Or Kumo-nin?"


    Iwagakure had long aimed to expand its influence eastward, even eyeing the fertilend of the Land of Grass.


    But Kusagakure was cunning, skillfully navigating between the great nations and ninja viges like a socialite, even managing to establish the Hōzuki Castle(Blood Prison) with support from several ninja viges.


    As for Kumo-nin, Kumogakure had a reputation for stealing others'' secrets.


    Kusagakure''s unique Fire Release techniques were noteworthy, and not to mention, Kumogakure was the most familiar with the power of the Six Paths ninja tools.


    (End of Chapter)


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