Chapter 11

Once again, in a brief exchange of blades, Sosuke could more intuitively sense the difference between himself and Sakumo.

Sakumo was much slower than him, and Sosuke could dodge almost every attack.

But if he failed to dodge even once, the sharp, almost invisible slashes and the powerful force of the blade would put him in big trouble.

However, he didn't lose instantly; instead, he continued to fight desperately, trying his best to make things difficult for him.

Whenever Sakumo used the same move too many times, Sosuke would use his speed to counterattack multiple times.

Unfortunately, Sosuke's stamina was running out. The intense battle was too much for his body, which was only as strong as an elite Chunin, and he couldn't keep going for long! 

Sakumo also noticed this, and he regretfully stepped out of the battle circle.

"That's enough for today. Jiraiya was right—when it comes to kenjutsu, we are indeed evenly matched!"

Hearing this, the surrounding shinobi no longer had any objections.

No matter how anyone looked at it, Sosuke had fought evenly with Sakumo for so long without falling behind.

After all, Sakumo was Konoha's third strongest shinobi and was famous throughout the shinobi world.

Through this battle, Sosuke clearly sensed his own weaknesses and made him even more eager to become stronger.

After all, in the early stages of Naruto, Kage-level shinobi seemed impressive, but by the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kage-level shinobi were everywhere. 

If he wanted to protect himself and the woman he loved during that time, Sosuke had to become at least Super Kage or even Six Paths-level!

After calming his breathing, Sosuke looked at him and said, "I have learned a lot from this battle. Next time we duel, I will surely defeat you!"

This time, Sosuke didn't address him with honorifics because he now saw himself as an equal.

In the past, without a system, Sosuke had gotten used to being humble. But now that he had a chance to become stronger, he wouldn't keep worrying about how others saw him!

Sakumo is a good person and not much older than him. He didn't mind such minor details instead, he smiled with anticipation and said, "I'm looking forward to that battle!"

At the same time, the system's voice echoed once again in Sosuke's mind.

[Ding! You have dueled Sakumo Hatake. ]

[Reward: Hawkeye's Swordsmanship Insights.]

...

As the battle came to an end, the crowd dispersed, each returning to their respective patrol duties.

He didn't delay either and headed straight to his assigned area. He was still thinking about Hawkeye's Swordsmanship! 

This was the second reward he had received since obtaining the system.

Excitedly, Sosuke hurriedly opened his inventory and saw an item with a book icon inside.

[Hawkeye's Swordsmanship Insights: This will give you Hawkeye's knowledge about training in swordsmanship. This does not grant Hawkeye's swordsmanship directly.]

Although this reward wouldn't instantly make him as powerful as Hawkeye, it was equivalent to receiving his personal guidance.

After all, even someone as strong as Zoro had to become Hawkeye's disciple, and his swordsmanship skyrocketed under his teaching.

Having such a master's guidance would undoubtedly help him avoid many mistakes and grow much faster.

[Ding! Successfully used Hawkeye's Swordsmanship Insights. Transmitting knowledge…]

After receiving Hawkeye's insights, Souke suddenly understood how to train his kenjutsu further. He also developed a better sense of his current skill level.

Right now, his kenjutsu seemed strong, but at best, he was only close to being a true swordmaster. Without chakra and Devil Fruit, he probably couldn't even cut through steel.

He needed a deep understanding to become a true swordmaster. However, with this new knowledge, he now had a clear path to achieving it!

He was confident that in just a few days, he would be able to reach the level of an actual sword master!

A swordmaster could cut through steel and unleash powerful sword slashes. If he was right, Sakumo was probably at this level too.

After making this decision, Sosuke dove into intense training. The consecutive battles against Jonin had put a lot of pressure on him.

As a result, he pushed himself even more—developing his Devil Fruit abilities, improving his taijutsu, and honing his kenjutsu. He barely had any time to rest!

Luckily, Sosuke was already used to nonstop training, and he didn't feel uncomfortable.

In the past, even without the system, if he hadn't trained like this and thought about improving even in his sleep, how could someone with ordinary talent have reached the level of a Tokubetsu Jōnin?

Thanks to his ability to see electromagnetic waves, Sosuke didn't even need to patrol. If an enemy got close, he would sense them immediately.

For now, Sosuke focused his devil fruit primarily on enhancing to see everything. As for other jutsu, once his taijutsu improved, he would naturally be able to use them better.

By the time Sosuke finished his day of training, it was already late at night.

However, this time, he didn't feel exhausted at all. That was because he had figured out how to use electricity to stimulate his cells, helping his body recover faster and making his muscles stronger.

This made his training much more efficient and reduced the amount of energy he used!

If not for the need to report back to the base, he would have continued training without pause.

"No choice… I'll head back for now. I'll come out again tonight to keep training!"

He had no choice because if he didn't return, they might think he had encountered an enemy attack. He definitely didn't want anyone coming over only to find him training instead of patrolling.

Even while heading back, Sosuke didn't stop training and chose to walk while doing handstands!

Speaking of which, the mission given by the Third Hokage was to support the border, and it would last for half a month.

This made him somewhat worried that Shizune would run into trouble.

After all, that old dog Danzo was a terrible person, and there was a real chance he might have Shizune killed.

If that happened, the Hyperbolic Time Chamber would be gone.

However, he wasn't willing to give up the opportunity to deal with the Sand Shinobi either. After all, Kamui is the ability to freely travel between different dimensions!

He didn't really care about Kamui's speed boost, but the power to move through space and dimensions was crucial.

In the later stages of the Naruto world, almost every major shinobi had some form of space-time ability, and he had to learn one to protect himself!

"For now, I'll just go along with the mission at the border. Anyway, with the system, if Shizune really dies, I should get some kind of warning…"

Since he returned to the base late at night, most people were already asleep, and no one saw him walking upside down.

The only one who did was Sakumo, who was responsible for recording Sosuke's return. 

Seeing Sosuke so full of energy, Sakumo's opinion of him improved even more.

He wasn't a naturally gifted prodigy, but he had trained himself to this level through determination. 

That alone was enough to earn Sakumo Hatake's respect.

...

1st Bonus Chapter - 200

2nd Bonus Chapter - 500

3rd Bonus Chapter - 1000