War never disappears; it simply changes its face.
Since the founding of the hidden villages, ordinary armies lost the right to take part, and Ninja—no longer fighting clan-by-clan as in the Sengoku era—were forged into a new military force.
The militarization and formal organization of Ninja made war and killing more efficient than ever.
To keep pace with this new age, every great village steadily updated its military doctrine, enriching tactics for both offense and defense.
Take the south-eastern front: to counter Ninja who were fast, mobile, and hard to detect, Konoha's defenders set up a net of fixed squad posts, two staggered lines, and roving patrols for rapid support.
The other great villages all follow essentially the same model.
When two Kirigakure squads attacked Might Guy's platoon, the flanking teams arrived within moments, wiped out the enemy, and proved the system worked.
If the foe is too numerous to handle, they never fight to the death; they fall back to the second line and flash the intel to HQ.
This is the daily grind for Konoha Ninja on the eastern front since the war stalemated.
When the patrol arrived, the fight was already over; their job was to bag the corpses and prisoners and leave a fresh squad to replace Guy's.
All three members of Guy's squad were wounded; Higashino Shin had healed them, but regulations gave them several days off to recover.
The length of leave depends on the injuries—wounds like theirs earn two days.
Every squad gets leave; the rotation is billed as a week, but only six days are on duty, with the seventh off.
After the break they're reassigned—maybe to either defensive line, maybe to the mobile patrol—but no one sits idle.
---
Time slipped quietly by; ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
After a day's rest, Yun Jian's four-man cell was posted to the second line near headquarters.
Life was calmer here; unlike roving patrols, the squad now had far more time to Cultivate.
Gekko Yun Jian, Hayate, and Yūgao all share the same combat style, so he drills them daily to raise their strength.
As for Higashino Shin, Yun Jian admits he has nothing left to teach—indeed, he doubts anyone in Konoha can still guide a Disciple that gifted.
The Gekko and Uzuki clans wield kenjutsu blended with motion-triggered genjutsu, forming Konoha's esoteric sword-art system—strange, elusive, and hard to guard against.
The system rests on three pillars: swordplay, illusion, and Shadow Clones; the hallmark is that foes die befuddled before they grasp what's happening.
Signature Moves include Three-Day Moon Dance, Moon Shadow, and Hazy Moon Night.
Something feels off…
Why is every Move moon-branded? Both clan names carry "moon" as well—are you picking a fight with the lunar orb? Did anyone ask Grandma Kaguya's opinion?
Flavourful as the style is, Higashino Shin's verdict is: fine against mooks, utterly useless against anyone half-skilled.
The two families produce solid Ninja but rarely true elites—the fate of most minor clans in Konoha.
So, as childhood friends who both possess wind-natured Chakra, he had them begin gruelling nature-training long ago.
Neither clan is famed for huge reserves, so they can't become jutsu cannons; instead they can follow the path Konoha's future elite-Jonin Shirakumo Hayama would walk.
Without Shin's cheat, Hayate and Yūgao can't match his micro-control; their nature training is pure grind, and they're still slogging through it.
As an adult Jonin with a solid foundation in wind-nature transformation, Gekko Yun Jian has spent months forging a Move akin to Wind Release: Vacuum Sword, weaving it into his combat system.
Vacuum Sword lags behind Shadowless Sword in stealth, speed, and power, yet it is the absolute limit Yun Jian can reach.
Thus the ceiling for ordinary Ninja: without vast wisdom, indomitable will, and great Luck, some barriers a Mortal frame can never breach.
Compared to Shin—already deep in realms they can't fathom—Gekko Yun Jian is the best teacher Hayate and Yūgao could ask for right now.
Using Shadowless Sword as his benchmark, Yun Jian's Vacuum Sword gives them a perfect template, and the sword insights looted from old-timer Maruboshi Kosuke will keep them cultivating for years.
If he could master all of this, reaching elite-Jonin strength would be easy—far beyond what the two in Higashino Shin's memories had achieved. At the very least he wouldn't be one-shot by Baki the instant they met.
As for a teacher learning from his own Disciple—would that be shameful?
Gekko Yun Jian's answer: shame? What shame? Do you have any idea how happy it makes a man my age to boost my strength by a huge margin?
You can't even imagine the joy, damn it—give me a whole dozen Disciples like this, thank you very much!
---
In the treetop Higashino Shin sat cross-legged, hands forming the Ram Seal, his body weightless, swaying with the wind as though he and the tree were one.
Inside his Chakra network, Wind-nature Chakra and Water-nature Chakra existed side by side, colliding again and again in search of a chance to fuse.
In the natural world, which substance changes phase most easily?
Water.
At normal pressure water readily shifts among its three phases: below zero Celsius it becomes solid ice; above the critical temperature the molecules gain energy and escape as vapor; in between lies the familiar liquid state.
The Hidden Mist Village's jutsu uses all three—Ice Release, Water Release, and the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
But this applies only to natural water; Water-nature Chakra is different—it merely imitates this natural phenomenon, it isn't truly made of water molecules.
Chakra is energy: distinct from matter, yet able to interfere with and mimic it.
Therefore, trying to create Ice Release by copying the conditions of natural ice formation is unrealistic; those conditions can serve only as a reference for phase-change criteria.
What matters is the oscillation of Ice Release Chakra. Why did Higashino Shin spend time sparring with that Kirigakure femboy and even let him use Ice Release twice on him? To perceive that oscillation with his unique sensory skill, then replicate it through flawless Chakra control.
For the past ten days this had been his sole occupation.
He focused completely: on one side he suppressed the vibrational frequency of Water-nature Chakra, forcing it toward stability; on the other he guided the light, flowing nature of Wind-nature Chakra to sweep around the Water Chakra at high speed.
In that rushing collision he experimented, searching for the moment of Fusion.
Today Luck was with him: at last, in one particular impact, a chill appeared. Like a chain reaction it spread outward from that point until every last scrap of the two natured Chakras fused into one.
The instant the Fusion finished, a blast of cold erupted, centering on Higashino Shin and engulfing several nearby trees.
It was nearly August; the Land of Fire sweltered. Not far away Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki were launching a fierce joint assault on their teacher, all three drenched in sweat.
Suddenly an icy wind struck; all three shivered and froze, turning to witness a sight they would never forget.
The forest's trees still swayed, but those around Higashino Shin stood motionless, turned to ice sculptures. The biting cold on the wind made it feel as though they had stepped into winter in the Land of Snow.
Yūgao Uzuki could hardly believe her eyes. "Impossible—Ice Release? Is Big Brother Shin really from the Hidden Mist Village?"
Gekko Yun Jian shook his head. "Out of the question. Jiro and Mei were both born and raised in the Land of Fire; when Mei gave birth to Shin, your mother was right outside the delivery room.
She watched Shin come into the world—oh, and you were there too, inside your mom's belly."
"But this is clearly Ice Release."
Gekko Yun Jian thought for a moment. "Remember the fight ten days ago? Shin battled that Yuki Clan Ninja who'd awakened Ice Release. I think he's been studying it ever since."
Hayate murmured, "But, Father, is this something a Ninja can even do? Learn a Bloodline Limit in only ten days?"
This time Gekko Yun Jian didn't correct his son for calling him "father" during a mission; he even felt a pang of sympathy. Sometimes having a friend too outstanding really is unbearable pressure.
Yet as a Ninja you have to accept that reality.
"Hayate, just because we can't do it doesn't mean Shin can't. He's different from us. In the Ninja World there will always be those younger yet stronger—Shin is one of them."
Gekkō Hayate lowered his head, fists clenched. As both friend and rival, he knew Higashino Shin's Genius surpassed imagination.
To him it was pressure—and also motivation to Cultivate.
Wait… his own Chakra was Wind and Water too, wasn't it? Should he give it a try?
Gekkō Hayate fell into deep thought.