Chapter 35: Journey to the Hidden Sand Village
When Yusuke saw the blade-like killing intent in Ryūjin Jakka's gaze, he seemed to realize something.
"Wait... could you mean that?"
Ryūjin Jakka nodded approvingly at Yusuke's sudden enlightenment. "That's right."
"It's about devouring souls through slaughter!"
"It's about tempering the soul within the spiritual realm!"
They spoke simultaneously—but with completely different understandings.
Their eyes met, and the atmosphere grew awkward in an instant.
Ryūjin Jakka snorted coldly. "Devour souls through killing? That's something a Hollow would do!"
Yusuke scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, it's just that your gaze was so murderous, who wouldn't misunderstand?"
Ryūjin Jakka looked at him and said slowly, "Where I come from, the Soul Society, Shinigami train in spiritual form. The spiritual energy there is incredibly dense, so any form of training naturally strengthens the soul."
"But in this world, it's not conducive to spirit bodies. There's no free-flowing spiritual energy here either. That makes it hard to improve one's soul with ordinary methods."
Glancing at the enormous Sharingan in the sky, he continued, "Your mental world is actually quite suitable for this kind of training. It's not as effective as the Soul Society, but it's barely adequate."
"If you train here, your soul will grow stronger over time. I must admit—the Uchiha bloodline is truly gifted. These eyes of yours are extraordinary."
"So what exactly do I need to do to train here?" Yusuke asked.
"The best method is combat!"
"Combat?"
Ryūjin Jakka nodded. "Yes. Your opponent will be me. By fighting on a spiritual level, you'll hone your soul and sharpen your mental strength."
"With enough time, your soul will undergo a fundamental transformation."
Yusuke frowned slightly. "But with my current ocular power, I can only stay in this mental world for about an hour before my energy is drained. It takes a full day to recover."
"And if I'm fighting here, the strain on my eyes will be even worse. I might not last twenty minutes."
Ryūjin Jakka replied, "You don't need to worry. As your soul grows stronger, so will your ocular energy. You'll be able to stay longer and train harder."
"In fact, once your soul reaches a certain level, evolving your eyes into the so-called Mangekyō Sharingan will happen naturally."
Yusuke's eyes widened. "But according to our clan's records, the only way to awaken the Mangekyō is through the death of someone close. Only then can an Uchiha's spirit break past the limits of the normal Sharingan."
After awakening the Sharingan, Yusuke had given up on the Mangekyō. He wasn't willing to sacrifice a loved one for that power.
Ryūjin Jakka scoffed. "That's only because the souls in this world are so pathetically weak. Your clan needed extreme emotional trauma to force a breakthrough."
"But if your soul becomes powerful enough, spiritual pressure alone will push your eyes to the next stage."
Yusuke nodded thoughtfully. "I see… so it all comes down to soul strength. Still, isn't this kind of training progress a bit too slow?"
"Training was never meant to be fast," Ryūjin Jakka replied calmly. "Seeking shortcuts only leads to ruin."
Yusuke nodded in agreement. "You're right. I was too eager."
With that, Yusuke's training began.
Just as Ryūjin Jakka described, the method was brutally simple: sparring with swords inside the mental world.
As the embodiment of a Zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka's swordsmanship was exceptional, and his immense spiritual pressure placed a crushing burden on Yusuke. In their current states, Yusuke was no match.
Each time Ryūjin Jakka's blade struck him, Yusuke felt searing pain—as if his soul was being torn apart. But Ryūjin Jakka assured him that this pain was part of the training process.
The first session didn't last long. In such intense combat, Yusuke's eye power burned out in just ten minutes, forcing him to exit his inner world.
Back in the real world, he felt drained and needed rest to recover both mental energy and ocular strength.
Despite the toll, the experience left Yusuke with new insights—and a growing confidence in facing enemies of Six Paths level.
---
The Next Day: Departure for Sunagakure
"Take care, big brother!"
"Be careful out there, Yusuke."
At the gate of their home, Uchiha Hazuki and Izumi were there to see him off. This mission to the Hidden Sand would take over a month round trip.
"Izumi, come here," Yusuke called with a wave.
She trotted over, wide-eyed and eager.
Yusuke crouched down and smiled. "I'm counting on you to take care of Mom while I'm gone."
"Don't worry, big brother! I'm officially a ninja now!" she said with a firm nod.
Just then, Izumi thought she saw a flicker of three golden-red tomoe—like flames—in Yusuke's eyes.
She blinked. When she looked again, his eyes were normal.
"Must've been my imagination," she thought.
After saying farewell, Yusuke headed to the rendezvous point. Once both teams slated for the Chūnin Exams had gathered, they set off for Sunagakure.
The scenery at first was lush with forests and streams, but as they neared the Land of Wind, the heat rose, trees thinned, and water disappeared.
After five or six days—crossing through the River Country—they reached the edge of a vast desert.
Even on the outskirts, the oppressive heat was intense. Everywhere they looked was nothing but undulating yellow dunes. The air shimmered with the heat.
"This should be the place, right?" Yusuke unrolled a scroll and glanced at it, then turned to fellow jōnin instructor, Hayama Shirakumo.
Hayama squinted toward the desert and nodded. "Looks like it. Let's begin."
The six genin looked at each other, confused.
Yusuke stepped forward and announced, "The Chūnin Exams officially begin now."
"You have three days to cross this desert and reach Sunagakure. If Hayama-senpai and I don't see you there at the end of those three days, you're disqualified."
Hayama added with a serious tone, "Don't expect help from us. The exam must be passed on your own. If you can't make it through the first phase, there's no point in continuing."
"See you in three days!"
With that, Yusuke formed a hand seal, and both he and Hayama dissolved into a flock of crows that vanished into the sky.
---
This year's Chūnin Exam was split into three phases. The first was this desert crossing—each village's jōnin instructors would decide who passed.
No instructor would deliberately let an unqualified genin through. After all, later phases of the exam were far more dangerous, with a high risk of death. Sending unprepared genin forward would just add to the casualty list.
"We've only got three days. Let's move!" Anko was the first to break the silence.
"But in this sea of sand, we could get lost," said Hayate. He started coughing before he could say more.
Itachi raised a hand to shade his eyes and looked at the sun. "It's noon now. We should rest and move in the afternoon."
"Sunagakure is west of here. If we follow the sun's path, we'll stay on course."
The others nodded, impressed. Anko slung an arm around Itachi's shoulder and grinned. "That's my teammate—sharp as always!"
"When we become chūnin, I'll treat you to dango. You have to try it with red bean soup!"
Itachi was about to shrug her off, but paused at the promise of food and let it slide.
The genin found a lone tree at the desert's edge to rest under, eating lunch together. Being young, they quickly bonded, even the shy Kurama Kyōko soon warmed up and joined the group's laughter.
Meanwhile, Itachi noticed something odd—Mizuki seemed to be subtly trying to get close to him. It instantly raised his guard.
---
Elsewhere in the desert, Yusuke and Hayama were racing toward Sunagakure.
They needed to arrive early to register their genin and prepare for their arrival.
"How are they doing?" Hayama asked.
Though they'd left the genin behind, Yusuke had sent a clone—his "phantom crow"—to observe from the sky.
"Don't worry. They'll pass the first test," Yusuke said with a smile.
Hayama nodded. "You're right. I must be getting old, worrying about kids like that."
"…Hey, Yusuke, are you sure we're heading in the right direction?"
Yusuke gave him a weird look. "I was just following you, Hayama-senpai."
They stopped and stared at each other. After silently checking their bearings, they corrected their course and resumed running.
"…Let's keep this between us, alright?" Hayama finally muttered.
"What are you talking about? I didn't see anything," Yusuke replied seriously.