Kyōichi, Konoha’s Life Mentor

Back in the village.

"Sensei, you and Minato-sensei earlier...?" Kurenai couldn't help but ask about what had happened.

"Heh, just putting on a show, otherwise that Kakashi kid..." Kyōichi shook his head and sighed.

Asuma thought for a moment, then nodded slightly in agreement.

Indeed.

Kakashi was difficult to deal with.

If he were Obito Uchiha and on the same team as Kakashi, he wouldn't be able to work together with him either.

Too strange!

Shisui remained silent.

After walking a few steps, he asked: "Sensei, did you really team up with Kakashi before?"

"Yes, a year and a half ago, shortly after I was promoted to chunin, I received a mission and temporarily teamed up with him. Two teammates died on that mission."

"Why did that happen?" Shisui was shocked.

Was the mission death rate that high?

Kyōichi shook his head without elaborating, while Kurenai explained quietly: "Kakashi experienced some things, and he believes that a ninja's duty is to complete the mission above all else, so for the mission's sake..."

"I see." After hearing this, Shisui was stunned for a few seconds, then quickly understood.

The White Fang's suicide!

He was only one year old then and had no idea what happened. He only learned about it later when clan members mentioned it while criticizing the Third Hokage.

"Alright, forget about Team Seven. Starting tomorrow, our Team One will begin taking missions. Remember to gather at the tower in the morning... Dismissed!"

The earlier they complete missions, the earlier they earn money.

Being a ninja isn't easy, everything costs money, especially chakra weapons which are particularly expensive. Although Kyōichi had the Thunder God Sword, it wasn't suitable for Iaido.

So, it's better to save some money.

"We're starting tomorrow?" Asuma asked, confused.

Isn't that unusually quick?

"Sensei probably wants us to complete more missions quickly so we can take C-rank missions and above sooner," Shisui guessed.

"Possibly. With the constant wars in recent years, Sensei is really worried about us. We must train hard and not disappoint him!"

"I've decided to start running every day from tomorrow to improve my taijutsu," Kurenai said with determination.

Even if she couldn't become a taijutsu master like Lady Tsunade, at least she wouldn't hold back Asuma and Uchiha, and wouldn't become a weak point like Rin due to poor taijutsu.

"As for me, I should specialize in sword techniques," Shisui said after contemplating.

He had been uncertain before, but after seeing Kakashi's ninja sword technique, he felt no need to hesitate anymore.

Ninjutsu?

Kyōichi didn't know Fire Style.

Uchiha could focus on either taijutsu or swordsmanship, and clearly swordsmanship was his best direction, and...

Kenjustsu and genkenjutsu might suit him better!

"If you're choosing kenjustsu, then I'll focus on taijutsu," Asuma said with a smile.

Focus on taijutsu, with ninjutsu as a secondary skill.

As for kenjutsu.

It wasn't his strength; he preferred short weapons.

"I'm not good at close combat. I'll just study enough taijutsu to not be a burden, but what Sensei said to Rin today reminded me - genjutsu and medical ninjutsu both require extremely high chakra control, perhaps they could complement each other," Kurenai had a sudden inspiration.

Sensei knows medical ninjutsu, so she could focus on genjutsu, with taijutsu and medical ninjutsu as secondary skills!

That seemed feasible.

...

The next day.

At the Hokage Tower, when Kyōichi arrived, the three children were already there.

He sent a shadow clone to Minato's side.

"Let's go get our missions," Kyōichi yawned.

Yesterday after returning home, he specifically checked his system panel, but only earned one Earth Style technique.

But.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

This trip took a lot of time, but there probably weren't many effective teaching moments.

Kakashi was stubborn and wouldn't change easily, and as for Obito...

Forget it.

That foolish kid, unless Rin was killed and he turned dark, his mind wouldn't change either. Better to let him figure things out himself - teaching him hand-by-hand would have too low a return rate.

So.

This morning, Kyōichi had come to terms with everything. Currently, managing his own team should be the top priority.

After entering the hall, the chunin in charge of mission assignments was surprised.

"Kyōichi-sama, what can i help you with...?"

"Team One, just formed yesterday. Give us a D-rank mission. There should be many accumulated recently since no one's doing them... This one, this one, and this one. Three missions."

A team formed just yesterday is already taking missions today?

And.

Taking three missions at once?

He was dumbfounded - was this training or really just for money?

"Is there a problem?" Kyōichi asked when he saw the chunin's prolonged inaction.

"It's not that it's not allowed, but D-rank missions are mainly... Well, since it's Kyōichi-sama's request, I'll assign these three missions to your team."

After receiving the missions, Kyōichi nodded in thanks.

Outside, Kurenai asked: "Sensei, you took three missions?"

"Yes. Have you thought about your specializations I mentioned yesterday?"

"Yes, we have."

The three began explaining their chosen focus areas.

Kyōichi nodded slightly, very pleased.

Just as he had thought!

Fortunately, his disciples weren't as stubborn as Kakashi and Obito, otherwise it would be infuriating enough to make him want to slap them dead, let alone teach them.

He held up the three mission cards and said: "Perfect. You'll each take one - Shisui, chop wood; Asuma, help carry water; Kurenai, catch a cat."

"Huh?"

The three were stunned.

Work separately?

This was different from before!

Weren't they supposed to work together?

"Is there a problem?"

"Sensei, don't we usually work together?"

"Having you work together on missions is to train team coordination. You all already consider teamwork when choosing specializations and naturally coordinate with teammates. You don't need D-rank missions for building teamwork - use them as training instead."

Kyōichi smiled as he explained.

When missions are completed, the squad leader gets a share.

Working 996 is a blessing - having three people do one mission is wasteful!

"I understand!" Shisui's eyes lit up.

Chopping wood trains kenjutsu skills, carrying water builds strength, catching cats improves speed...

Sensei's division of labor had its own logic!

"If you understand, there's nothing more to say. Go complete your missions. Shisui and Asuma, your missions aren't difficult. The only potentially problematic one is Kurenai's, so I'll accompany her and help if necessary."

"Yes, Sensei."

None of them were stupid; they all understood Kyōichi's reasoning for the task distribution.

Kurenai had the weakest taijutsu.

However.

She specialized in genjutsu, and her taijutsu requirements were mainly speed, reflexes, and stamina.

Cats were the most agile "enemies" in D-rank missions!

"Begin."

"Yes!"

The three split up.

Kyōichi leisurely followed Kurenai.

He was considering whether to learn from the future Kakashi and buy some entertainment products to casually read, otherwise following these children was truly boring.

But.

At this time, Jiraiya was still at the frontlines, and hadn't even published his first work "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja."

What a shame.

The cat-catching mission required leaving the village, which was why Kyōichi needed to accompany her, but D-rank missions wouldn't be too far from Konoha, so they arrived quickly.

Kurenai wasn't fast, but she wasn't without advantages.

Her sensing abilities were strong, and she knew genjutsu.

As long as she used them properly, catching a cat alone wouldn't be difficult.