At the training ground.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Holding a katana, Ino practiced drawing and sheathing her blade with complete focus.
Yagyu stood beside her, guiding her movements with a serious expression.
"Male and female bodies are different, you need to find a posture that suits your own strength output."
"..."
"Idiot, I told you, every swing during training must use your full strength, again."
"..."
"Ino, bring out the momentum of moving forward without hesitation, whether as a swordsman or a ninja, once you strike, you must commit completely."
Time passed bit by bit.
Ino's clothes were gradually soaked with sweat.
But she did not complain at all.
Having grown up with Yagyu since childhood, practically spending every day together, Ino knew exactly how much effort Yagyu had put into his sword training.
If she could master it easily, that would be strange.
Of course,
Ino also knew that Yagyu did not expect her to become a swordsman like him, he only wanted her to gain another means of protecting herself.
So she trained very seriously.
She might even be the first in the Yamanaka clan to practice swordsmanship.
But that did not matter.
After all, she believed she would eventually marry into the Yagyu family.
Learning Yagyu-style swordsmanship now was completely reasonable.
Her clan techniques had to be practiced.
Yagyu-style swordsmanship also had to be practiced.
That was her true thought.
Not far from where they were training, more than thirty Shadow Clones were each performing different training tasks.
Using the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to multiply training efficiency.
This cheat method worked for Naruto.
And with his Senju Sage Body, Yagyu could use it as well.
Although training did not increase his attributes as dramatically as system rewards, it was still effective.
If anything, half of Yagyu's strength came from his own hard work.
Just like that, a month passed as Yagyu and Ino trained together.
On this day.
Early in the morning, Yagyu woke up.
As usual, he completed his sign-in.
"Sign-in successful, reward, Perfect Sage Mode."
The system's voice sounded.
Yagyu initially remained calm.
It was just Sage Mode.
Wait.
He suddenly sat up, quickly reviewing the information in his mind, his expression changed.
He slapped his thigh.
"A trump card, Perfect Sage Mode, this is absolutely a trump card, it is comparable to Hashirama's Sage Mode, maybe even better, once activated, my strength should reach the level of a newly entered Kage."
Perfect Sage Mode.
What did that mean.
Instant activation, unlimited duration, massive amplification.
If he had this during his fight with Orochimaru a month ago,
He could have overwhelmed him directly.
"With my chakra reserves, I can maintain this for days."
Yagyu said with satisfaction.
"Perfect."
After that, he got up, washed, ate breakfast, and left home alone.
Ino had not passed the preliminaries.
She would attend as a spectator with her mother and her aunt.
So she would not go with Yagyu.
Soon,
Arriving just in time, Yagyu reached the entrance for candidates.
After passing inspection, he entered the arena.
"Yo, Yagyu."
Shikamaru greeted him with a smile.
"You are late."
As Shikamaru spoke, the other candidates also turned their attention toward Yagyu.
Walking over, Yagyu asked.
"Sasuke has not arrived yet."
For the past month, he had focused entirely on training with Ino.
He had not paid much attention to others.
But he remembered.
Sasuke had learned Chidori from Kakashi.
And Naruto had learned the Summoning Jutsu from Jiraiya.
Those abilities would play key roles later.
"Who knows."
Shikamaru replied lazily.
"I heard he was training with Kakashi, not sure if he will make it in time."
Yagyu nodded.
That matched his expectations.
After another ten minutes, With Sasuke still absent, the new proctor Genma began explaining the rules.
Seeing Genma, Yagyu recalled something.
Hayate had likely died during the past month.
"Unfortunate."
Yagyu thought briefly.
But he did not dwell on it.
He did not know Hayate personally.
And even if he had known, he could not have interfered.
Hayate had been on a classified mission.
After finishing the rules, Genma spoke.
"Contestants one and two remain, the rest proceed to the waiting room."
Hearing this, Yagyu glanced at Naruto, who looked energetic, then at Neji, who stood confidently.
Their battle would be interesting.
Naruto would begin changing how the village saw him.
This was the beginning of the protagonist's rise.
Standing beside Shikamaru at the viewing window, Yagyu watched the two fighters below.
"Yagyu, who do you think will win."
Shikamaru asked.
"Naruto or Neji."
Yagyu paused briefly.
Then answered without hesitation.
"Naruto will win."
Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully.
He did not say anything further.
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