Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Talent Realized!
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Root's movements were swift; by evening, they reappeared and took away all the captives.
With this, Shūichi Hoshita and his team's mission was successfully completed.
Even though night had fallen, Minato Namikaze decided they should return to Konoha.
However, before departing, he turned to Shūichi and the other two and said, "Next, I have a small test for you."
"I will set off first. You will leave in half an hour and must accurately track my trail."
Shūichi Hoshita and the others exchanged glances and nodded in unison. "Yes, Minato-sensei."
Minato nodded, then vanished from sight.
After watching Minato disappear into the forest, the three waited for half an hour before immediately setting off to track him.
Unless Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique, he would leave many traces behind.
In a dense forest like this, he would often use the tree branches for leverage.
Shūichi and his teammates followed the traces Minato left on the branches as he moved.
However, five minutes later, they stopped in their tracks.
In front of them were four sets of trails.
"Three Shadow Clones…" Kurama Sanyō scratched his head. In the darkness of night, it was extremely difficult to distinguish between the four sets of marks.
"Are we going to have to rely on luck?"
"Each of us could choose a direction and use a Shadow Clone."
Both he and Shisui Uchiha had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.
Shisui shook his head at this. "Our Shadow Clones are not as strong as Minato-sensei's; they might not last long enough for us to realize we've taken the wrong path."
Shūichi nodded in agreement, then reached out to touch the marks, carefully sensing them.
Shisui followed suit.
After the two had finished examining them, Kurama Sanyō also touched the marks and then looked up, asking, "Did you two notice any differences?"
Shisui smiled at Shūichi and asked, "Shūichi, what do you think?"
Shūichi pointed to the leftmost set of marks and smiled, "Even though Minato-sensei was very careful, the time spent at each spot differed, so the marks left behind naturally vary, though the differences are extremely subtle."
Kurama Sanyō couldn't help but reach out to feel the marks again, but still couldn't detect any difference, so he looked at Shisui.
Shisui nodded and smiled, "Shūichi, you have a talent for tracking."
"I relied on the insight of my Sharingan to sense a slight difference, but I couldn't be completely sure."
Kurama Sanyō said, "Then let's choose the leftmost one?"
"Wouldn't that be too risky?"
Shisui shook his head. "We should trust our instincts."
Shūichi agreed wholeheartedly, "I think so too."
"Then the left it is!"
Kurama Sanyō took the lead, and Shūichi and Shisui immediately followed.
Ten minutes later, they faced another choice, though this time there were only two sets of marks.
After observing the marks, both Shūichi and Shisui looked serious.
It was difficult to judge.
Minato had likely let his real body move ahead while his Shadow Clones lingered, making the time difference between the two sets of marks almost imperceptible.
The two exchanged glances and then each followed one set of tracks for a short distance before returning.
Shisui said, "The marks on the right lead toward a river."
Shūichi decisively said, "Then it's the right side."
Kurama Sanyō nodded in agreement, "A river makes it easier to escape tracking, especially when it comes to scent and bloodstains."
There were many dog-type summoning beasts in the ninja world, and like those used by the Inuzuka clan of Konoha.
The three then pursued the trail on the right, which indeed led them to a river.
They split up to search, each checking upstream, downstream, and the opposite bank.
A moment later, they regrouped and began tracking down the river.
Minato Namikaze had led them in circles!
Shūichi Hoshita and his teammates had to constantly sift through various misleading tracks to find the most likely trail. At times, they encountered long stretches where no traces could be found, forcing them to widen their search radius.
After navigating twists and turns for what felt like forever, the three of them, utterly exhausted, finally saw the familiar sight of Konoha—and standing on a tree branch with a smile on his face was Minato Namikaze.
"Congratulations, you got it completely right," Minato said with a grin.
Though their pace had been slow, it was enough to prove their exceptional abilities.
In fact, Minato had a Shadow Clone following Shūichi and the others the entire time, observing their performance closely.
At this moment, the trio also broke into smiles. The night's tracking exercise had been incredibly rewarding for them.
For Shūichi Hoshita, in particular, not only had he gained valuable insights from Shisui Uchiha and Kurama Sanyō, but the tracking experience itself had allowed his innate talent for tracking to flourish, enhancing his sensitivity to traces.
Realizing his potential, absorbing knowledge from his comrades, and accumulating experience—it was a win on all three fronts!
Minato then announced, "Alright, let's head back to the village. Get a good night's sleep, and we'll meet at the usual spot tomorrow!"
The four of them returned to the village and then went their separate ways.
Once home, Shūichi washed up, made himself some breakfast, and reviewed the mission and the previous night's tracking before finally drifting off to sleep with a contented smile.
He slept until 2 PM.
After washing up, Shūichi went out, had a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen, and then headed to Konoha Hospital.
"Shūichi?"
Seeing him, Nonō Yakushi was pleasantly surprised.
"Director!" Shūichi quickly walked over and explained, "I returned this morning and already had a nap."
Nonō Yakushi nodded gently. "Then come with me. Lady Tsunade is here today for a patient consultation."
Shūichi's eyes lit up, and he quickly nodded, following her.
Tsunade, despite her hemophobia, was a rare sight in the hospital.
Could hemophobia, which is psychological in nature, be treated with genjutsu?
…
Shūichi stayed at the hospital until 4:30 PM, then headed to the place where he had trained with Kakashi and the others during the last break.
"Huh?"
He noticed a figure hanging from the cliffside.
Kakashi!
Come to think of it, this was the first time he'd seen Kakashi since graduation.
A battle was a must!
As soon as Kakashi descended from the cliff, Shūichi immediately challenged him, "Kakashi, you haven't been slacking off, have you?"
Kakashi, still as cool as ever, replied casually, "You'll find out soon enough."
If it were Obito Uchiha, Kakashi would have made a snarky remark or two. But Shūichi's discipline and effort, which even Kakashi couldn't match, meant their rivalry had to be settled with fists and feet.
Ten minutes later.
The two clashed, their fists and feet meeting in a collision that sent shockwaves through the air.
In that instant of impact, both could feel that the other's speed and strength had increased.
Kakashi knew that Shūichi possessed exceptional insight and reaction time, along with an incredible memory of Kakashi's past combat habits. So he pushed himself to fight as fast as possible, moving at top speed.
The sounds of their punches and kicks intensified as the battle raged on.
They fought from the river's surface to the foot of the cliff, using the cliffside as solid ground, locked in a fierce, unyielding battle.
When Shizune, Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, and the others arrived, this was the scene they witnessed.
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(End of Chapter)
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