"A Genin as the squad leader? That's interesting!"
"But since Uncle Shikaku arranged it, it must be for a good reason. I'll just take this time to rest up and prepare to report in tomorrow!"
When it comes to the famous Genin in the original Naruto storyline, only two names stand out to Koshino.
The first, of course, is Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist and the son of the Fourth Hokage!
As for the second, it's none other than Sasuke Uchiha, the younger brother of Itachi Uchiha!
Apart from these two, who seemed to be born with the odds in their favor, there aren't many Genin who can hold their own against the top-tier Kage-level fighters in the ninja world.
So, when Shikaku mentioned that Guy's squad leader was also a Genin, Koshino's first reaction was disbelief.
But Shikaku would never deceive Koshino, so his curiosity about this Genin squad leader was only natural.
However, knowing that Shikaku's arrangements always have a deeper meaning, and with Koshino set to meet this mysterious Genin leader the next day, he figured there was no point in overthinking it. Better to focus on training and recovery instead.
Settling into a meditative position on the hospital bed, Koshino began by restoring his chakra.
Once his chakra was fully replenished, he moved on to practicing the mental techniques of the Uzumaki clan, feeling the pain in his body gradually ease. With his physical injuries mostly healed, Koshino turned his attention to the next phase of his training.
"Chakra restored, and the minor injuries in my chakra pathways are healing nicely."
"Aside from the mental energy trauma that will take time to heal, my other injuries are minor, not even as serious as the wound on my shoulder, so there's no need to worry."
"Now, the next step in my training should be to delve into the mysteries of Shadow Realm Descend."
"Alright!"
"Let's begin!"
With a deep breath, Koshino started focusing on comprehending the intricacies of Shadow Realm Descend.
Initially, Koshino had grasped the basics of Shadow Realm Descend during the intense battle with the Mist ninja.
At that time, mastering Shadow Realm Descend quickly was crucial to defeating the six Mist Jonin who had been fighting against his and Shisui. So, Koshino had only scratched the surface of the technique's potential before using it to help Shisui take down the Mist Jonin.
However, even with that initial understanding, Shadow Realm Descend had shown numerous flaws.
If not for Koshino's strong mental fortitude, the moment Juzo Biwa had exposed those flaws, Koshino might have mentally crumbled, leading to the potential annihilation of the Blades Squad.
Now, finally having the opportunity to truly understand the deeper aspects of Shadow Realm Descend, Koshino was filled with anticipation, hoping that this S-Rank technique could stand toe-to-toe with the First Hokage's Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
As expected, the outcome was nothing short of remarkable.
Koshino had always believed that anything produced by the app had to be of the highest quality.
If Shadow Realm Descend, an S-Rank technique developed by the app, had so many apparent flaws, then the issue lay not in the technique itself but in Koshino's incomplete understanding of it.
So, once Koshino fully grasped the intricacies of Shadow Realm Descend, the technique finally revealed its true potential as an S-Rank secret art.
"I knew it! An S-Rank technique, an ultimate jutsu, can't have so many flaws."
"The imperfections were purely due to my lack of understanding."
"By channeling more chakra, I can expand the range of Shadow Realm Descend without compromising its binding power, regardless of how wide the area or how many enemies it needs to restrain. The binding effect remains unchanged!"
"In other words, aside from the technique's intense backlash, Shadow Realm Descend is essentially a perfect jutsu!"
"And even if I were to cancel Shadow Realm Descend abruptly and face the backlash, I can still change the technique's form to avoid that consequence."
"Hey!"
"Now it seems I can transform Shadow Realm Descend into not just Shadow Possession Jutsu, but also Shadow Stitching, Shadow Strangulation, and Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"It's truly a near-perfect technique!"
Having fully comprehended Shadow Realm Descend, Koshino felt elated.
In a great mood from mastering this S-Rank technique and with no need to rest early after having been unconscious for so long, Koshino decided to check in on Shisui, Kakashi, and Mō to see how they were doing and exchange some information.
However, upon reaching their rooms, he found that while Shisui was still awake, both Kakashi and Mō had already gone to bed. Even though they hadn't directly fought the Mist ninja, the final explosion from the death squad had inflicted significant injuries on them. Despite regaining consciousness, they clearly needed more time to recover.
On the other hand, despite taking the brunt of the explosion, Shisui was still awake when Koshino arrived.
Feeling responsible for the injuries Kakashi and Mō sustained, Shisui stayed up, reflecting on the battle. Koshino took the opportunity to reassure him, though he refrained from mentioning the information Shikaku had shared with him.
Understanding that Juzo Biwa and Fuguki Suikazan had likely never left the Mist camp to ambush the Blades Squad, Koshino had a disturbing suspicion—one involving the shadowy figure of Madara, who might have aided the two Mist swordsmen in creating some form of advanced clone technique, allowing them to remain in the Mist camp while sending clones to attack the Blades Squad.
Familiar with the original storyline, where Madara was secretly pulling the strings behind the Mist Village, Koshino's guess was closer to the truth. Despite Shikaku's high intelligence, his theory that Juzo Biwa and Fuguki Suikazan had used decoys in the Mist camp while their real bodies attacked the Blades Squad seemed logical but ultimately missed the mark.
However, unaware of Shikaku's theory, Koshino didn't give the matter much further thought.
Little did he know that if he had communicated with Shikaku sooner, a tragic event that Koshino would deeply regret in the future might have been avoided.
Unfortunately, Koshino was just an ordinary person who could not foresee the future, so he couldn't predict the impending tragedy. After comforting Shisui, Koshino returned to his room, had a good night's sleep, woke up early the next morning for some training, and then followed Shikaku's instructions to meet up with Guy and the others, eager to discover the identity of the "legendary" Genin squad leader.
To his surprise, when he reached the meeting point, the first person he encountered wasn't Guy, nor was it Ebisu, who was in the same squad as Guy and certainly not the "legendary" Genin leader. It was Koshino's old acquaintance, Genma Shiranui.
As for Genma, seeing Koshino left him visibly shocked!
And when he found out that Koshino had been assigned to his squad, his expression turned even more grim as he bitterly said to him:
"Koshino, I advise you to talk to Shikaku-sama and ask to be transferred out of our squad."
"You might not have heard, having just returned from a mission, but our squad has quite a reputation!"
"Under the leadership of our so-called great captain, the squad Guy and I are in is widely known as the 'Incompetent Squad'!"