The task of investigating Hatake Sakumo and his associates ultimately fell to the newly promoted Special Jōnin — Yagami, code name "Fox."
Yagami's curiosity was burning; he couldn't wait to learn the Water Style: Water Severing Wave, but duty came first. Reluctantly, he kept a distant tail on Sakumo.
Sakumo walked slowly through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, his steps heavy.
He was about to assume the position of Deputy Commander — a tremendous responsibility.
And to muster the courage to present his proposal directly to the Hokage weighed on him even more.
Sakumo knew very well that one of the cornerstones of the Hokage's power was the recommendation system for ninja promotion.
Many of his friends had suffered because of it — unable to advance for years, languishing on missions.
Who had the right to recommend? The Hokage decided that.
No ordinary ninja could just walk into the Hokage's office and recommend someone for Special Jōnin.
And even after the recommendation, the result still depended on the Hokage's word.
From the moment a Genin sought to become a Chūnin, this recommendation system began shaping every ninja's fate.
Eligibility for the Chūnin Exams? Decided by the team captain's recommendation.
And those exams didn't necessarily choose the strongest Genin.
The Hokage and his advisors evaluated overall performance to decide who advanced.
Even the top-ranked examinee might not be promoted, while someone ranked lower could.
Their official explanation would be: "The higher-ups see special potential in him."
In the original story, Shikamaru forfeited in the third round, yet he was the only one promoted.
If the Chūnin Exams hadn't been interrupted, even Sasuke, with a first-place finish, might not have been chosen.
That, Yagami thought, was Leaf's version of a "double-slit experiment."
Whether a ninja's promotion advanced or not depended entirely on whether the Hokage — the observer — was watching.
The Hokage controlled advancement through observation.
If the system were changed to a review-based model, it would alter Leaf village's social hierarchy at its core.
Eligibility for the Chūnin Exams would depend on mission count.
Exam results would depend on ranking.
Promotion to Special Jōnin or full Jōnin would depend entirely on mission record.
Even the granting of new jutsu would rely on task performance.
Such a system would make village far more equitable.
Sakumo, who valued camaraderie above all, had seen what his comrades — especially the civilian-born ninjas — craved most:
Fairness. Fairness. And still fairness.
But beyond the civilians, who wanted fairness?
Why should noble ninja clans, who'd cultivated power for generations, lose to someone who'd only trained for ten years?
Perched among the branches by the roadside, Yagami watched Sakumo through the corner of his eye.
There were plenty of ANBU hiding in alleys and treetops.
Even if Jōnin noticed them, no one asked questions — it was simply "Hokage's surveillance" or "some secret operation."
There were still five years before Sakumo's death. Yagami couldn't help wondering,
'What path should I walk?'
Would he remain in the shadows of the ANBU forever, nothing more than the Hokage's black gloves?
He watched Sakumo's back, his gaze flickering.
In the original story, Sakumo had seemed trustworthy… hadn't he?
Sakumo finally returned home.
The family maid stepped out, handing him a small infant before leaving the Hatake residence.
That baby must be Kakashi, Yagami thought.
Before long, three visitors entered the Hatake home.
Yagami memorized each of their faces, planning to identify them later through the Hidden Leaf's ninja registry.
By the end of the night, more than twenty people had visited Sakumo.
Not only was he proposing reforms to the promotion system, he was even forming his own faction — no wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen disliked him.
Discussing government in private, forming cliques — if not for his overwhelming strength, Sakumo would have been executed already.
In historical dramas, men like him never survived past the second episode.
'You're too pure'
Yagami thought grimly.
I can't help you yet. I'll have to plan this carefully.
Back at the ANBU headquarters, Yagami matched the names and faces of the twenty visitors and handed the list to Captain Yellow Dog.
"Good work, Fox," Yellow Dog said.
The Captain was a workaholic; he was still buried in paperwork even at midnight. He immediately ordered his assistant to gather intelligence on the listed names.
Yagami glanced at the time. It was late. He decided to study Water Severing Wave tomorrow and headed to Tsurugetsu Tavern.
Qiaoyi had long grown used to Yagami vanishing for days and suddenly reappearing.
The room in her back courtyard was always open to him.
After their passionate reunion, Yagami felt revitalized, while Qiaoyi lay limp on the bed.
"Yagami," she murmured weakly, "hang up the 'closed' sign out front. I won't be getting up tomorrow."
Yagami gave her a playful smack on the hip. "Qiaoyi, even if you're not a kunoichi, you can't neglect your training — not if you want to keep up with me."
Qiaoyi shot him a sulky look, feeling utterly wronged.
He was complaining about her stamina, when it was his that had grown monstrous.
What had Yagami gone through lately to grow this strong so fast?
The next morning, Yagami went north of the Forest of Death, to a small secluded lake.
Unrolling the jutsu scroll, he began studying Water Style: Water Severing Wave.
Learning jutsu on your own was a pain — so much theory, so much practice.
A "system" would just ding, and you'd instantly master it.
Water Style: Water Severing Wave — five hand seals.
The first created water within the mouth using chakra.
The next three compressed that water under high pressure.
The final seal released it in a concentrated stream — a high-speed water jet.
When mastered, it could slice through tree trunks — even mountains.
Yagami formed the first seal. A surge of water filled his mouth.
Too much — his cheeks bulged like a toad's.
He formed the next three seals, compressing the water.
The pressure nearly tore his face apart; he spat it out in a rush.
The expelled jet struck a nearby tree, stripping off its bark.
First attempt — failed.
Rubbing his sore jaw, Yagami suddenly remembered something from his past life.
Liquids are nearly incompressible.
No matter how much pressure you apply, their volume barely changes.
Which meant — he shouldn't hold too much water in his mouth.
Instead, he should continuously generate and pressurize it — a steady stream, not a stored blast.
He glanced at the notes written by Sarutobi Hiruzen on the scroll.
No personal insights, just the five seals and chakra flow patterns.
Pretty rough instructions, old man.
Yagami gathered water in his mouth again.
He moved slowly, feeling every trace of chakra flow.
When he reached the third seal, he noticed the water beginning to spin.
Last time, he hadn't realized it — too much water had blocked the sensation.
Now, as the vortex formed, the pressure rose sharply.
So that's it — the pressure doesn't come from compression, but from rotation.
It's like… a centrifugal pump!
A centrifugal pump creates pressure by spinning its impellers at high speed.
When the internal pressure peaked, Yagami released the jet in one sharp burst.
A thin line of water shot out, piercing through the tree trunk.
Not bad. I'm getting there.
The key to Water Severing Wave was generating enough water pressure.
The higher the pressure, the deadlier the stream.
After hours of repetition, his technique finally sliced through a tree five meters thick.
Still, this power wasn't what he wanted — not yet worthy of a trump card.
He trained until deep into the night before returning to the tavern.
Qiaoyi greeted him, her heavy chest rising and falling in rhythm, each side swaying opposite the other — left clockwise, right counterclockwise — enough to stir the air.
Wind?
A sudden spark lit Yagami's mind — an inspiration.
When using Water Severing Wave, a single vortex wasn't enough.
What if he created two — one clockwise, one counterclockwise — like the twin gears of a pump?
Two spinning flows, compressing the water between them…
The pressure would multiply!
Yagami kissed Qiaoyi deeply. "I love you — thanks for the idea!"
Putting on his pants, he sprinted back toward the northern lake in the Forest of Death.
Qiaoyi reached out weakly, too dazed to react.
What idea? What did I even say?
...
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