Training like tree climbing and water walking, along with low-level ninjutsu taught when a squad leader was in a good mood, plus basic knowledge of the ninja world.
All of it was gradually passed down to freshly graduated Genin during this phase.
After all, this was not wartime. There was no need to rush them onto the battlefield as cannon fodder.
For most new Genin, this process was essential. It helped them quickly adapt to life as a ninja.
But for Uchiha Sasuke, it felt more like playing house.
With his current strength, he had long surpassed ordinary Chunin. Even elite Chunin were not necessarily his match.
These kinds of missions were nothing but a waste of time to him.
Yet he still had to endure them. There was no skipping the process.
That frustration gnawed at him.
The enemies he had to face were far too strong.
Only when he returned at night to train alone did he feel any sense of relief. Only then did he feel like he was actually getting stronger.
And that feeling was not wrong.
He had been improving the entire time.
It had only been a few months since graduation, yet his strength had increased by at least two or three times.
Still, it was not enough.
"Not enough… still not enough!"
Both of Sasuke's hands were wrapped in bandages. He had been practicing Chidori constantly, leaving his arms perpetually injured.
Compared to the person he wanted to kill, this level of progress was nowhere near sufficient.
Suddenly, he felt the familiar sensation that came with a diary update.
He struggled to his feet at once, walked to the desk, and took out the diary.
Inside a rented house in Konoha, Jiraiya looked at the thick stack of documents laid out in front of him, all related to Kaede Kitahara.
Across from him stood an Anbu Jonin, his presence sharp and battle-hardened. Yet in front of Jiraiya, his posture was respectful to the point of deference.
Though he was an Anbu Jonin and even served as a sub-squad leader, a position of considerable authority within Anbu, he did not dare show the slightest hint of arrogance in front of Jiraiya.
He was an old subordinate from years ago.
Not a formal disciple, but once a trusted confidant.
Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, had defected and still had countless supporters and former subordinates scattered throughout Konoha.
As another of the Sannin, how could Jiraiya have none?
Among his old subordinates, this one had risen the highest, holding the most authority within Anbu.
That was why Jiraiya had used him to retrieve Kaede Kitahara's files.
After learning so many things from the diary, Jiraiya's curiosity about Kaede had reached its peak.
His return to Konoha had not been publicly announced. The upper ranks were not completely unaware, but Jiraiya himself had no intention of appearing before the public.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had simply turned a blind eye.
Everyone assumed he had returned temporarily to rest, something that had happened more than once in the past.
No one knew how much Jiraiya carried in his heart this time.
"This is everything?" Jiraiya asked, flipping through the documents.
"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," the Anbu Jonin replied respectfully.
In terms of rank, both were Jonin.
In reality, they existed on completely different levels.
"There is something strange about this Kaede Kitahara," the Anbu Jonin added after a moment's thought.
"Strange how?" Jiraiya asked casually, eyes still on the pages.
The file was extensive.
It traced the Kitahara family back generations, recorded Kaede's father dying in the line of duty, listed Kaede's academic performance at the academy, his missions after graduation, when he became a Chunin, and the ninjutsu he specialized in.
"By Anbu standards, any ninja at Chunin rank or above automatically gets a file," the Jonin explained. "But most Chunin files are thin. Just basic information like name, family background, academy grades, and mission history. A few pages at most."
"But Kaede Kitahara's file is much thicker. And a lot of it was gathered recently. According to the notes, it was investigated on orders from above, specifically the Third Hokage."
"I'm not sure what's going on with him. His classification level was raised from C-rank to B-rank. Only someone at my level, a sub-squad leader, is authorized to view it."
"The old man noticed him too?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
He flipped to the later pages. Compared to an ordinary Chunin, Kaede's file was absurdly detailed. Even many Jonin did not have files this extensive.
Only certain closely monitored Jonin received this level of attention.
"And a C-rank file is basically public access," Jiraiya continued. "B-rank means only Anbu sub-squad leaders and above can read it."
Based on his understanding of Anbu, this was highly unusual.
"Do you know the reason?" Jiraiya asked.
"According to the notes, it's because he approached the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so surveillance needed to be increased," the Anbu Jonin replied.
"So it's connected to the Nine-Tails," Jiraiya nodded. That explanation made sense.
The importance of a Jinchuriki to any village went without saying.
At that moment, he sensed the diary updating.
"That's all for today," Jiraiya said. "You can go. If anyone questions you about pulling these files, just tell the old man I ordered it. He won't make things difficult for you."
"Yes."
The Anbu Jonin bowed and withdrew.
"It looks like Kaede Kitahara's careless approach toward Naruto caught the old man's attention," Jiraiya muttered, stroking his chin. "But he probably still doesn't know Kaede's real secret."
He glanced through Anbu's assessments of Kaede again. Personality, abilities, strength, talent.
All fairly routine.
Jiraiya suspected his own file in Anbu was far thicker than this.
None of it touched Kaede's true core.
The diary.
Even Kaede's Uchiha bloodline and Sharingan were not recorded.
Anbu's investigative reach had its limits.
Jiraiya opened the diary, intending to see what Kaede had written today.
At the Hatake clan's old estate, Hatake Kakashi flipped through a yellowed notebook.
It contained insights and records on Hatake swordsmanship he had never seen before.
He had found it by chance earlier that day while sorting through his father's belongings.
Compared to the notes Hatake Sakumo had left him before, this was on an entirely different level.
The earlier notebook covered the fundamentals of Hatake swordsmanship, from beginner techniques all the way to elite Jonin level.
It represented generations of refinement, dating back to when the Hatake clan transitioned from a samurai family to a ninja clan during the Warring States era.
Thanks to that complete system, the Hatake clan had never lacked Jonin-level experts.
If not for their low birth rate and the steady attrition of war, the Hatake clan would have been far more prosperous today.
But this newly discovered notebook was different.
It was not about inheritance.
It was about forging one's own path beyond the foundation of Hatake swordsmanship.
It existed on an entirely higher plane.
It dealt with a level beyond conventional sword techniques.
"So this is what Kaede Kitahara meant… a way to break into Kage Level?"
Kakashi stared at the depth of the notes.
They no longer discussed stances or techniques.
Instead, they examined swordsmanship from a far broader, more fundamental perspective.
The more he read, the more shaken he became.
Shaken by his father's talent.
He himself had been called a genius from a young age. Graduating at six, becoming a Chunin at seven.
By any standard, he was extraordinary.
Yet now he realized that the true genius was the man who had carved out a completely new path in Hatake swordsmanship, one no ancestor in hundreds of years had ever walked.
His father's understanding of the blade was beyond anything Kakashi could imagine.
Forget inheriting Sakumo's legacy.
In truth, Kakashi had not even fully mastered the accumulated swordsmanship of the Hatake clan.
Uchiha Obito's Sharingan had earned him the title of Copy Ninja.
But it had also bound him.
Until now, he had never truly realized it.
With his strength, calling him the strongest below Kage Level in the village was no exaggeration.
Anywhere else in the ninja world, he would be considered a top-tier expert.
And yet, after reading Kaede Kitahara's diary and learning of so many true powerhouses, he finally understood how narrow his perspective had been.
Strength that once felt sufficient suddenly was not enough.
He had been searching for a breakthrough.
The only path he could see lay in Hatake swordsmanship.
But he had never known how to cross that threshold.
Now, with this long-buried notebook in his hands, hope finally appeared.
A clear road to Kage Level lay before him.
"I should've found this earlier," Kakashi said with a bitter smile.
The notebook was not even hidden that well. If he had put more care into sorting through his father's belongings, he might have discovered it long ago.
But after his father's suicide, everything related to Sakumo had become taboo to him.
That was why it had taken until now.
Before he could read further, he felt it.
The diary had updated again.