Living in Konoha: Picking Up Abilities Starting from the Anbu

[You have acquired the special skill: Flying Thunder God Technique.]

[You have gained 1000 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

[Your Flying Thunder God Technique has leveled up to Lv. 2 (0/1000).]

It worked!

Kazuya's lips curved into a satisfied smile. He had bet on it, and it paid off—Flying Thunder Formation and Flying Thunder God shared the same experience pool!

The legendary Flying Thunder God Technique was now his!

In the original story, only two people had mastered this jutsu: the genius Senju Tobirama and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Both were exceptional ninjas whose talent towered above the rest of the world.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi—heralded as "the strongest Hokage"—had spent decades with the Scroll of Seals but never mastered the Flying Thunder God.

Its difficulty was simply that high.

And yet, here Kazuya was, acquiring the technique with nothing more than a well-aimed kunai.

At a distance of ten meters, Shiranui Genma's face darkened as he asked, "Kazuya-taichou, why did you throw a kunai at us?"

"Oops, sorry. My hand slipped," Kazuya replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uh, right..." Genma didn't seem too bothered by it. "So, did you get a good look at the technique?"

"The speed was incredible, so no, not really," Kazuya said with a grin. "I guess we'll have to run through it again. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Raido chimed in. "As Konoha ninjas, everything we do is for the village. Even if it's tough, it's always worth it!"

Genma nodded in agreement, adding, "We can only hope you figure it out faster than we did. It took us over a year to barely master the Flying Thunder Formation under the Fourth Hokage's guidance."

As they mentioned Minato, their expressions turned somber, reflecting the loss of their mentor.

Kazuya smiled, though. "I'll give it everything I've got."

"Good! Let's run it again!"

The three immediately formed the Flying Thunder Formation again.

Whoosh!

A kunai flew from Kazuya's hand.

[You have gained 50 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

Another burst of golden light!

Twenty meters away, Genma laughed nervously. "Kazuya-taichou, did your hand slip again?"

Hand slip? Not quite.

Kazuya knew that by staying in battle mode, he could keep generating experience from their jutsu.

Keeping a straight face, he replied, "Genma, you've caught me. I'm throwing these kunai to gauge the chakra flow and pinpoint your technique's location."

"Is that... how high-level it is?" Genma was visibly stunned.

They only knew the basics of the Flying Thunder God Technique, but from what Minato had said in the past, this sounded spot on.

"You're amazing, Kazuya-taichou! You've already figured out one of the key elements!"

"Just try not to aim for my face next time," Genma added with a laugh.

"I'll try my best," Kazuya replied, hiding his amusement.

For the three of them, it was an honor to help someone like Kazuya master the Flying Thunder God. If Kazuya succeeded, it would be a massive benefit to the entire village.

For the rest of the day, they continued practicing.

Kazuya spent most of it observing the Flying Thunder Formation in action and "discussing" technique with Genma and his squad, all while steadily collecting skill experience.

[You have gained 40 points of chakra.]

[You have gained 50 points of chakra.]

[You have gained 50 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

[You have gained 60 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

[You have gained 30 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

Golden light after golden light flooded into Kazuya.

[Your Flying Thunder God Technique has leveled up to Lv. 3 (0/1000).]

[You have gained 20 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

[You have gained 15 points of Flying Thunder God Technique experience.]

As Kazuya's Flying Thunder God Technique hit level 3, the experience gains started dwindling.

What once gave him 60 points per attempt now only granted 20... and then dropped to single digits.

For over an hour, he hadn't gained any additional experience.

"Ah... so that's the limit," Kazuya sighed internally.

The fun ride of an easy experience had come to an end.

Still, it was a pleasant surprise to get the Flying Thunder God to level 3.

By the time evening rolled around, his technique was at Lv. 3 (500/1000)—halfway to the next level.

At least every time he unlocked a new skill, he got an instant 1000 points of experience. Otherwise, he'd probably still be stuck at level 2.

After the training, the four of them grabbed some seafood ramen at Ichiraku Ramen, and then went their separate ways.

Kazuya was pleased with the day.

The ramen was delicious, but more importantly...

He had finally mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique!

The next day, Kazuya didn't bother meeting up with Genma and his team again. There was no point—he had already drained the "skill packs" dry.

Instead, he made his way to Konoha's bustling marketplace to commission a set of custom-made kunai.

The specialized kunai for the Flying Thunder God Technique needed to be able to hold chakra properly. Normal kunai wouldn't cut it.

Now that he had the technique down, it was time to gear up.

In the original story, Minato Namikaze's kunai were all custom-made as well.

As Kazuya walked through the streets, they were packed with villagers bustling about.

That afternoon, Konoha and Kumogakure were set to officially sign the peace treaty.

The faces of the villagers were filled with joy and relief.

A few days earlier, the delegation from Kumogakure had arrived in the village.

However, negotiations over certain treaty conditions delayed the formal signing until 3 PM today.

Of course, all these matters were being handled by Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha Elders. As for Kazuya, they weren't really his concern.

"Still not high enough up the ladder…" Kazuya muttered under his breath.

There's a saying that water flows downhill, but people climb to higher places.

This whole experience had shown him just how useful power could be.

If Kazuya had been just a regular ninja, how would he have gained access to the Scroll of Seals? How would he have been able to "borrow" three walking experience packs to level up his Flying Thunder God technique?

Status. Power.

He was beginning to look forward to the future with even greater ambition.

Not long after, Kazuya arrived at a ninja tool shop.

He placed a down payment and ordered a custom batch of special kunai.

They were quite expensive, but as a jōnin, Kazuya had plenty of funds.

As for the kunai's design, there was no need to reinvent the wheel—he'd simply replicate the style Minato used.

Minato, the most skilled user of the Flying Thunder God technique, had already fine-tuned the design. Kazuya saw no point in complicating things unnecessarily.

He was the type of person who would lie down if sitting could be avoided.