After the New Year, Kumomi still had not made any mission arrangements for the team he was leading.
Theoretically speaking, after Makoto and the other two were promoted to chūnin, his work as their jōnin instructor could have come to an end.
As for whether they would continue to form a team afterward, that depended entirely on the jōnin's own wishes and the village's arrangements.
However, given Kumomi's relationship with the three members of the team, he was certainly very willing to continue leading them.
The war had only just ended not long ago, and the Land of Fire was not very peaceful. Especially along the borders, there was no shortage of chaotic elements such as rogue ninja, wandering ninja, bandits, and the like.
Affected by the turmoil of war, the surrounding small and medium-sized countries were in decay, with powerful figures emerging one after another. They frequently crossed the national borders, threatening the safety of the villages and towns within the Land of Fire.
After Konohagakure transitioned from wartime mode to normal operations, official missions piled down like snowflakes. The Konoha ninja had only just come off the battlefield; after resting for a short while, they were thrown back into various missions.
But all of this seemed to have nothing to do with Makoto and the others.
Kumomi's view was that their bodies were currently in a period of growth, so accumulation and training should remain the priority. In any case, none of them lacked money; there was no need to waste precious time on missions like those adult ninja.
When you are young, never rush to work—because when you grow up, there will be endless work waiting for you.
Konohagakure, within a medium-sized training ground.
Makoto's original body sat cross-legged atop the crown of a large tree, eyes closed, training quietly.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone upon him, allowing one to feel a trace of warmth amid the cold wind.
His body seemed as though it were connected to the branches, swaying gently with the breeze.
Previously, Makoto's training direction had mainly focused on three aspects: absorbing white natural energy, the nature transformations of Wind, Earth, and Water chakra, as well as control over the Yin–Yang attributes of chakra.
After several years of rapid growth, progress had now slowed. He could only advance little by little as his body continued to mature.
His youthful body had become an obstacle to the further growth of his strength. Yet his instincts told him that forcing advancement would instead be harmful and detrimental to his development.
Fortunately, Makoto was not in a hurry. He was fairly satisfied with his current strength. As for the rest? Let it follow its natural course.
To possess Kage-level combat power at around ten years old was already a level of genius beyond the imagination of ordinary ninja.
After the war ended and he returned to Konohagakure, aside from daily training, he allocated most of his time to Fūinjutsu and the development of the other two attributes.
On the training ground not far beneath the large tree, Makoto's Shadow Clone earnestly formed the hand seals for Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. Then a massive fireball burst from his mouth, surging toward the open ground in the distance, blasting and scorching the earth into a large crater.
After releasing the ninjutsu, Makoto quietly savored the sensation of chakra transforming into the fire attribute.
Shisui had taught this ninjutsu, along with some techniques for using Fire Release and Lightning Release. At the same time, he also taught several other Fire Release and Lightning Release jutsu. Of course, this had been done with Clan Head Fugaku's permission.
The Uchiha clan's three-tomoe Sharingan has the ability to copy an opponent's ninjutsu, so their family's ninjutsu archives are extremely abundant. They do not place much value on these ordinary five-nature ninjutsu, and once consent is obtained, they can be passed on to outsiders.
Only certain secret ninjutsu—especially genjutsu related to the Sharingan—are the foundation of their clan, and it is strictly forbidden for outsiders to pry into them.
Even if Shisui did not teach him, Makoto could have gone to Konohagakure's ninjutsu archives to obtain them. With the merits he had established on the battlefield, aside from certain dangerous kinjutsu, he was free to learn whatever five-nature ninjutsu he wanted.
This was something both the Third and the Fourth had agreed to.
So he truly did not lack ninjutsu now. As for kinjutsu, that was no longer a matter of merit; it concerned the inheritance of the Hokage line. For an ordinary person to want to come into contact with it, there simply was no way in.
The fireball Makoto spat out was actually already quite impressive—at the very least, it was not inferior to that of Uchiha genin or chūnin.
It was just that, relative to the chakra he poured into it, and his own superb chakra control, it still fell a bit short.
For example, with his precise control over chakra, if he were to cast Wind Release ninjutsu, one part of chakra could produce five parts of power.
But with Fire Release, even with five parts of chakra, it did not even reach one part of power.
When chakra was converted into Fire Release ninjutsu, an enormous amount was wasted.
And this was already the result of one or two months of training. At the very beginning, he could not even spit out a flame—he could only produce a few sparks.
This was caused by his chakra not being innately endowed with the fire attribute.
There was no helping it. If he wanted to train an attribute that was innately latent within him into something manifest, he could only rely on investing a great deal of time, practicing again and again, to increase the weighting of that corresponding chakra attribute.
In theory, shinobi—or people of the shinobi world—should all possess all seven attributes. Given enough time, anyone could train and develop all seven.
But that was basically unrealistic. Human lifespan is limited, and more importantly, the bodies of ordinary humans have limits. There are some things that, even if you work hard your entire life, you still will not achieve any meaningful results.
Therefore, once a single-attribute ninja spends time training another attribute and reaches the standard required for promotion to jōnin, they generally will not waste further time developing other attributes.
Some people are even more extreme. For example, Rock Lee, who has already been born, possesses no innate chakra attribute at all. If he wants to train one, it might take decades—and even then, success is not guaranteed.
It is simply not cost-effective. Rather than doing that, it is much simpler to desperately train taijutsu to increase one's strength. Or for someone like him, taijutsu may be the only path available.
After completing his daily Fire Release training, Makoto's Shadow Clone sensed that there was still a considerable amount of chakra left in his body, so he continued with Lightning attribute training.
He was only just getting started, currently at the stage of using hand seals as assistance to convert chakra within his body into Lightning Release chakra.
As for whether he could cast Lightning Release ninjutsu?
Naturally he could, but the power was rather pitiful. At most, it could give the enemy a "massage," producing a tingling sensation. If he dressed as a woman and went to a hot spring bathhouse to work as a massage technician, he would certainly be very popular among certain enthusiasts.
...
Inside the study, the lights were bright, and Makoto was reading books related to Fūinjutsu.
Like medical ninjutsu, this field required an enormous amount of prerequisite knowledge, involving the fundamental principles of sealing techniques, the types and functions of sealing symbols, the construction and stabilization of sealing spaces, and so on.
It could only be said that although Uzumaki Kushina, like her son, was somewhat scatterbrained, she was fundamentally still a top student—just with a rather severe imbalance in her strengths.
This was not something she could solve merely by relying on the boost of her Uzumaki bloodline and achieving miracles through brute force.
Her son was the true example of achieving miracles through brute force.
"Makoto, Jirō, dinner's ready!"
Outside the study door, Megumi, like a rural housewife, had finished preparing the food and began calling out to the little chicks she raised.
After Makoto arrived at the dining room, he saw his father walking out from the bedroom.
Jirō had attended meetings all day and did not return home until evening. After that, he had gone straight into the bedroom to rest, looking very exhausted.
Makoto was somewhat puzzled. Weren't meetings supposed to be pleasant opportunities to slack off? How could they exhaust a jōnin to this extent?
So exhausted that he seemed to have little appetite even for dinner.
Megumi looked somewhat worried about her husband, unsure of what had happened.
Makoto asked, "Father, do you have something on your mind?"
Jirō had originally not intended to say anything. But thinking of his son's precocious temperament and his keen sensitivity to politics, he decided to speak and see what insights he might have.
"This is what happened…"
"Father, wait a moment." After carefully sensing the situation around their home, Makoto said, "All right, go on."
Seeing his son so cautious, Jirō felt much more at ease. He then briefly recounted what had occurred at the jōnin assembly meeting earlier that day.
After finishing, he asked, "Makoto, do you think the Uchiha clan head's proposal was wrong?"
"It cannot be summed up as right or wrong. It is simply ill-timed."
"Is that so? Then it seems the Fourth-sama was still somewhat too eager."
"This is not a matter of eagerness. Even if a few more years pass, as long as the Third and several advisors remain in office and do not truly retire, changing the Uchiha issue will never be possible."
Jirō was stunned for a moment. "But if that is the case, then how is the village's situation any different from before?"
Megumi interjected, "There was never much difference to begin with. Everyone thinks the same way—it's just that someone else is sitting in the Hokage's seat."
"That's not right. Something must be wrong somewhere. Things shouldn't be like this."
Although Jirō was already thirty, most shinobi in the shinobi world could not be said to understand politics very well—at best, they barely grasped the basics.
You cannot expect someone who has trained in killing since childhood to suddenly transform into a politician upon reaching adulthood. Even with the advantage of memories from his previous life, Makoto did not dare claim that he understood politics particularly well.
In his previous life, he had only been an ordinary person—merely someone who could see a bit more clearly than his father in this life.
"Of course it's not right. The problem lies with the Third. As the previous Hokage of Konohagakure, if he steps down, he must do so completely and cleanly.
"But that is obviously impossible. The older generation does not like change. They always feel that the village should continue along the path they have set. That is human nature, and it is also the approach that best serves their interests."
"Let a few more years pass. If the Third comes to understand by then, he will make his choice. There is no need to be anxious."
"But what if the Third-sama does not come to understand?"
"…" Makoto silently ate his meal and said nothing more.
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