Chapter 180: Growth and Assassination
Taichi examined the hastily made Flying Thunder God formula in his hand.
Though the materials were crude, its functionality was intact.
The moment he infused it with a bit of chakra, something remarkable happened—
Within his spatial perception, that empty point suddenly flared to life like a blazing fireball in the night sky, dazzling and impossible to ignore.
---
He attached the formula to a kunai and hurled it forward.
As the kunai flew, the "flame" in his perception moved with it—but not in a straight line.
In normal vision, the kunai traveled linearly.
But in spatial perception—
It drifted in a strange, erratic path.
No wonder Minato Namikaze had described it as a light deep beneath the sea.
It was an oddly accurate analogy.
---
Thunk.
The kunai embedded itself into a tree twenty meters away.
For his first attempt, Taichi didn't dare try anything fancy.
He focused carefully—
Sensed the marker.
Established the connection.
And then—
Whoosh.
His figure vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared beside the kunai.
---
Before he could even celebrate—
A wave of dizziness slammed into him.
His body swayed, nearly losing balance.
Damn it… Minato never mentioned this.
He'd heard of motion sickness—
But space sickness?
That was new.
---
He shook his head.
Thankfully, the dizziness faded quickly.
After a few more attempts, he noticed something—
The sensation was still there…
But it was weakening.
Clearly, with enough practice, he would adapt.
And once that happened—
The Flying Thunder God would become fully viable in combat.
---
Just as he was about to continue—
The "flame" in his perception suddenly went out.
He retrieved the kunai and checked it.
The paper formula had already worn out.
Cheap materials, after all.
Used twice—and it was done.
No wonder Minato engraved his formulas onto specially crafted kunai.
That step clearly couldn't be skipped.
With that, Taichi looked up.
The bright moon hung high, illuminating the land.
It was nearly 10 PM.
He packed up and returned to camp.
Rest was essential—tomorrow's training awaited.
Across the shinobi world, conflicts raged.
But the southern front of Konoha remained unusually calm.
Since the last major battle with Sunagakure—and especially after the alliance with Chiyo—
There had been no further clashes.
Taichi seized this rare peace to improve himself.
And he wasn't alone.
Yōhei, Saori, even Kakashi Hatake—
All were training in their own ways.
Day 1 after mastering Flying Thunder God:
Taichi's rank increased from Lv.8 to Lv.9.
He gained 1 attribute point and 1 skill point.
Day 2:
His Chakra Shape Transformation advanced from Lv.9 to Lv.10.
Without hesitation, he spent a skill point—
Pushing it to Lv.11.
In that moment, as knowledge and experience fused within him—
Chakra no longer felt intangible.
In his hands—
It felt like clay.
Something he could shape at will.
And naturally—
He thought of one technique:
The Rasengan.
He raised his right hand.
Chakra gathered rapidly—
Soon forming a high-speed spinning sphere.
With a thought, he stopped feeding chakra—
Yet the Rasengan expanded rapidly, growing to nearly a meter in diameter.
Then—
It suddenly compressed.
Shrinking to a quarter of its size before stabilizing.
That was the power of shape transformation.
The same amount of chakra—
Expanded might not increase power significantly.
But compressed—
Its destructive force skyrocketed.
He slammed the compressed Rasengan into the ground.
Hiss—!
Earth exploded outward.
A crater three meters wide formed instantly.
If that hit a person—
They'd be obliterated.
Taichi nodded in satisfaction.
A no-hand-seal technique with overwhelming force—
Perfect to pair with Flying Thunder God.
But this was only a basic application.
When he focused further—
Chakra surged from his back, forming a pair of visible wings.
With his refined control and upgraded shape transformation, the wings became increasingly detailed—
Even individual feathers were distinguishable.
He tested them.
A gentle flap produced slight resistance.
They worked—
To a degree.
But when he increased the force—
The structure collapsed into instability.
Clearly, this technique needed refinement before it could achieve true flight.
Day 3: Training Exercise
Taichi organized a sparring session with Yōhei and Saori.
The location was deliberately far from camp.
This battle—
Would not be quiet.
Across from him, Yōhei and Saori stood side by side.
This time—
Taichi would fight two against one.
As the sun reached its peak—
Both sides moved simultaneously.
Taichi formed hand seals.
Two shadow clones appeared.
On the left—Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bombs.
On the right—Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
Combined—
A massive flame tornado roared forward.
Meanwhile, Taichi himself activated fire resistance and charged through the flames.
Yōhei responded instantly.
His Mangekyō Sharingan activated—
And Susanoo rose around him.
A skeletal giant shielded his body.
With his right eye's ability enhancing it, the Susanoo swatted the incoming firestorm aside with a single blow.
The flames scattered harmlessly.
At the same time—
Saori leapt onto the Susanoo's head.
She unleashed a barrage of lightning spheres at Taichi.
Upon impact, they spread into electric nets—
A hybrid technique she had developed.
Both offensive—
And restraining.
But Taichi pressed forward without slowing.
He dodged what he could—
And shattered the rest with Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets.
Then—
He closed the distance.
And struck.
With a full-powered Monster Strength punch, chakra flared brilliantly around his fist.
BOOM!
The clash echoed.
Then—
Crack. Crack.
The skeletal Susanoo began to fracture—
Starting from the arm.
Yōhei was stunned.
So was Saori.
Without hesitation, she retreated, lightning crackling around her.
That display—
Was terrifying.
She had seen Susanoo's defense before.
Her body—even enhanced by lightning—couldn't compare.
Taichi exhaled lightly.
That strike had consumed a large amount of chakra.
Even for him—
It wasn't something he could spam.
Seeing them retreat, he grinned.
Then pressed the attack—
Launching a barrage of fire and wind techniques.
Yōhei and Saori quickly realized—
This wouldn't work.
At range, Taichi completely outclassed them.
Their only chance—
Was close combat.
Reluctantly, they created multiple shadow clones to hold him back.
And Yōhei—
Once again summoned Susanoo.
And even so—
With Taichi deliberately holding back, the two of them still lasted less than ten minutes before being cleanly defeated.
That was with Taichi carefully controlling how long Yōhei used his Mangekyō, giving him as much room to perform as possible.
Otherwise—
The fight would've ended even faster.
It wasn't that Yōhei and Saori were weak.
Together, they could already defeat the vast majority of jōnin in the shinobi world.
The real problem—
Was Taichi.
He was simply too well-rounded.
Long-range, close combat…
Offense, defense…
Single-target, wide-area attacks…
He could do it all.
If there was one weakness left—
It was probably genjutsu.
After the battle, Taichi treated Yōhei's eyes while also analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.
At the same time, he answered their questions about ninjutsu.
He was practically acting as both teacher and caretaker—
Playing both father and mother.
This peaceful routine lasted five days.
Then—
Taichi received a new mission.
Investigate the battle between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Inside the central command tent—
Taichi saw Jiraiya, Shikaku Nara, and Minato Namikaze.
He immediately understood—
This time, he would be paired with Minato.
"Taichi, you're here!" Minato greeted him first, his warm smile as infectious as ever.
Jiraiya and Shikaku turned their attention over as well.
As both mentor and commander, Jiraiya spoke first:
"How's your training going, Taichi? I heard you've been working hard lately. How's your progress with Flying Thunder God? Haven't heard any updates."
"Oh… I actually forgot to mention it," Taichi scratched his head awkwardly.
"I've already learned it."
"Don't worry if you can't..." Jiraiya continued casually, not quite processing what he'd just heard.
"That technique isn't something ordinary people can master. Just pick another jutsu—don't waste time on Flying Thunder God—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Looking at the equally stunned expressions on Shikaku and Minato's faces—
Jiraiya slowly turned back.
"…What did you just say?"
"You've… learned it?"
"Yeah," Taichi nodded. "Minato-senpai explained it really well. It took me a while to grasp that 'deep-sea light' feeling he mentioned, but once I did, it became pretty smooth."
His tone was casual—
Too casual.
At this point, his ability to lie with a straight face had clearly reached perfection.
Minato, standing nearby, was momentarily speechless.
Was I really that good at teaching…?
Even he hadn't fully understood his own explanation back then.
Was this what talent looked like?
He couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
"Hahaha!"
Jiraiya burst into loud laughter, hands on his hips, brimming with pride.
"Just as expected of my disciple!"
"The only two people in Konoha who know Flying Thunder God—both taught by me!"
He slapped Taichi's shoulder enthusiastically, laughing so hard even his tongue was visible.
Shikaku, however, quickly regained his composure.
"That's even better," he said calmly. "With Taichi mastering Flying Thunder God, this mission becomes much safer."
"Exactly!" Jiraiya chimed in. "I was a bit worried before, but now? Not at all. Even if you can't win—you can always escape!"
Then he turned to Shikaku.
"Explain the mission details."
Shikaku nodded.
"This is an official assignment from the village. On the surface, you're to investigate the conflict between Iwagakure and Sunagakure…"
He paused briefly, observing their reactions.
Both Taichi and Minato remained calm.
No surprise. No hesitation.
He nodded inwardly in approval.
"…But in reality," he continued, "your objective is to assassinate as much of their combat strength as possible.
Silence.
Then—
Both responded calmly:
"Understood."
---
Shikaku felt relieved.
He had been worried someone might object—
Especially Taichi, given his age.
Something naive like: 'Sunagakure is our ally—how can we assassinate them?'
But clearly—
There was no such foolishness here.
Both their strength and mentality were top-tier.
"Currently, Iwagakure holds the advantage," Shikaku continued.
"You should prioritize targeting them. The goal is to keep the war in a stalemate—bleeding both sides as much as possible."
"Only then can Konoha gain the upper hand in the future."
"Understood."
"One more thing," Shikaku added.
"Do not reveal your identities. Sunagakure is still technically our ally. If this is exposed, it will damage Konoha's reputation."
"As for records—this will only be logged as a reconnaissance mission. Rewards will be issued after the war ends."
Taichi and Minato exchanged a glance—
Then nodded.
Covert missions like this always required deniability.
With everything settled, the two left the command tent to prepare.
Back in his tent—
Taichi found Yōhei and Saori already there.
"Taichi! What's up? New mission again?" Yōhei asked eagerly.
He had grown restless after days of training.
"Yeah," Taichi replied while packing.
"But it's a designated mission—I can't bring you along."
He paused, then added:
"Minato-senpai is going with me. You could team up with Kakashi and pick up something."
"Or, if you're bored—go train with Obito Uchiha. I saw him slacking off again last time."
Taichi—once again—casually reported Obito.
Yōhei's eyes lit up immediately.
Compared to missions—
Training with Obito sounded far more entertaining.
Saori, standing to the side, could only shake her head.
She was the type who could stay calm and focus.
With no missions, she was content to train quietly—
Especially since her progress had been significant lately.
But seeing Yōhei's mischievous grin—
She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Obito.
Having a "relative" like this…
He must have had terrible luck for eight lifetimes.