Kakashi lay on the ground, vomiting until there was nothing left in his stomach.
When he finally stopped, he turned over, moving away from the mess, and lay flat on his back, breathing heavily.
Sora had just asked if he had felt that sensation.
Kakashi replied, "I felt it. It was like drinking a cup of hot water on a freezing winter day—the warmth spread through my body. For a moment, I felt full of strength, but it disappeared almost instantly as if it had never been there at all. I don't know if I imagined it."
Sora crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, nodding. "It's not an illusion. That's the feeling of oxygen enriching your blood and strengthening your body."
He continued, "Remember that feeling. Controlled breathing over time will distribute oxygen to every cell in your body.
This improves self-healing, stabilizes the mind, and heightens awareness.
Right now, you're only at the beginning. Once you master Total Concentration Breathing, you'll move on to Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, which means maintaining it at all times."
Kakashi let out a long breath. "I'll do my best, Teacher Sora."
After resting for a while, Kakashi put his mask back on of his own accord.
The fleeting sensation of strength from earlier filled him with excitement.
If he could sustain that power, he would undoubtedly grow stronger.
Sora and Kakashi continued traveling through the grasslands.
Seven Months Later
The second year had begun.
During a break in training, Kakashi watched Sora mark a cross on a map.
Curious, he finally asked, "Teacher Sora, what exactly are you looking for?"
Every time Sora reached a location, he would mark a cross.
Kakashi had suspected for some time that Sora was searching for something, but he never questioned him directly.
After all, missions were confidential—shinobi weren't supposed to ask about them.
But after more than half a year, Kakashi had started to doubt that this was a mission at all.
Sora put the map away and answered, "I'm looking for someone."
Kakashi frowned. "Is it a mission? …No, it doesn't seem like it."
After spending so much time together, Kakashi had come to understand Sora's personality.
In battle, Sora could be deadly serious.
But outside of combat, he was usually easygoing.
Sora shook his head. "It's not a mission. I just want to find her."
Kakashi's curiosity grew. "Is this person very important to you, Teacher Sora?"
"Yeah… very important."
Noticing Kakashi's nosy expression, Sora smirked. "Alright, enough with the questions. Whether I can find her or not is another matter.
For now, let's head back to Konoha's outpost."
Sora sighed inwardly.
Seven months had passed, and he and Kakashi had searched nearly every corner of the Land of Grass—except for the Iwagakure encampments.
But forget about finding a red-haired woman—there wasn't even anyone with similar hair colour.
Instead, during this time, Sora and Kakashi discovered numerous hidden Iwagakure strongholds.
After reporting these locations to Hatake Sakumo through a summoning, Sakumo immediately dispatched forces to eliminate them.
Iwagakure was baffled.
Most of these strongholds were concealed underground, yet Konoha's shinobi had found them as if they had clairvoyant eyes.
The truth was, these discoveries were thanks to Sora's Observation Haki.
Against such perception, hiding underground was meaningless.
Meanwhile, Kakashi proved himself worthy of the title of genius.
He had now mastered Total Concentration Breathing, and his current mask was free of any restrictive additives.
With Breath of Thunder properly enhanced by the breathing technique, Kakashi had successfully learned all six forms of Breath of Thunder.
His strength in high-intensity battles had steadily improved.
However, he still couldn't perform the Seventh Form: Fire Thunder God.
Once again, Kakashi attempted to execute Fire Thunder God, but he failed.
Frustrated, he approached Sora and asked, "Teacher Sora, I've mastered the first six forms. Why can't I perform the last one? Even before mastering Total Concentration Breathing, I could still execute it somewhat."
Sora explained, "The seventh form isn't a standard technique—it's a fusion of the previous six.
Before, you were only mimicking an empty shell of the technique.
Now that you've mastered the breathing method, you should understand the true power of Breath of Thunder when used properly.
The difference between using Breath of Thunder with the breathing technique and without it is like night and day.
If you can't execute the seventh form now, it means you haven't truly mastered the first six. Once you do, Fire Thunder God will come naturally."
He continued, "Also, don't focus too much on the seventh form right now. Your priority should be maintaining Total Concentration Breathing: Constant.
Right now, when you use the breathing method, your eyes can keep up with your speed.
But when you don't, your vision can't process your movements properly. Only by mastering Total Concentration Breathing: Constant can you maintain clarity of movement at all times.
Once you achieve that, I can teach you even faster techniques—Thunderbolt Flash and Divine Speed. But those require complete mastery of breathing control."
"Understood. I'll focus on mastering Total Concentration Breathing: Constant first," Kakashi said firmly.
To train this, Sora gave him a simple exercise—blowing up a rubber ball with a small hole in it.
By progressing step by step, Kakashi would gradually learn to maintain Total Concentration Breathing at all times.
While training, Sora and Kakashi made their way back to Konoha's outpost.
Two Days Later
Sora and Kakashi returned to Konoha.
At that moment, Hatake Sakumo was in a strategy meeting with several Jōnin.
Since Sora was also a Jōnin, a disciple of Orochimaru, and had an impressive record from the Land of Hot Water, he was fully qualified to participate.
Thus, Sakumo allowed Sora to join.
However, Kakashi was not yet qualified to attend and remained outside.
After exchanging brief pleasantries with Sora, Sakumo resumed the meeting.
As Sora listened, a sharp gleam flickered in his eyes.
'What a coincidence to return at this time… It's finally about to begin.'
The meeting's topic was recent intelligence received from Konoha.
According to reports, key figures from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure had secretly convened.
Each village's envoy had received a scroll and returned to their respective villages.
Konoha's higher-ups speculated that these scrolls contained the coordinated battle strategies of the three Great Ninja Villages—Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri.
Attempts to intercept Kumogakure's scroll in the Land of Hot Water had failed.
Efforts to intercept Kirigakure's scroll had also been unsuccessful.
Thus, Hatake Sakumo was responsible for intercepting Iwagakure's scroll in the Land of Grass.
Now, Sakumo was selecting the shinobi for this mission—a mission he would personally lead.
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