Naruto : My AI System is Really That Powerful

Five days later.

Captain Tsume's squad finally crossed the borders of the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Iron.

According to the itinerary, it would take them two more days to reach the port, and then one more by ship to the Land of Hot Water.

Looking back, it was clear Tsume had put real thought into selecting this mission as her first assignment as team leader.

Though officially a C-rank, the mission's journey was long and challenging. But both the Land of Iron and the Land of Hot Water were neutral nations untouched by the ongoing wars.

That neutrality made the Land of Hot Water—a small island nation—an essential logistics base for Konoha's campaign against the Hidden Cloud.

The journey itself, camping out and eating in the wild, had been a serious test of endurance.

The excitement on little Anko's face had long faded. In its place now was determination.

Thanks to Tsume's exceptional tracking and sensory skills, they hadn't encountered a single threat on the road.

Jun's tension slowly faded with each passing day.

He trained relentlessly. The progress bar for his Great Fireball Technique had reached 62% of level 0, and the fireballs he summoned now were large enough to cause actual damage.

He estimated that at level 1, the jutsu would finally reach the standard output expected from a typical shinobi.

Of course, future upgrades would only become harder.

Not that Jun wanted to think that far ahead. There were far more powerful techniques out there than a C-rank fireball.

Besides, his self-driven training would never match the insane efficiency of the system's Auto-Practice.

But over the last five days, Jun had come to a new understanding.

While Auto-Practice allowed him to progress fast—imprinting moves into muscle memory—self-training gave him a deeper comprehension of chakra extraction, control, and the rhythm of jutsu release.

Sometimes he deliberately failed, just to learn from the correction.

And that wasn't wasted effort.

If anything, it deepened his connection to chakra as a form of energy, giving him a greater sensitivity to nature transformation and chakra manipulation.

It strengthened his control.

It was like this: Auto-Practice got him on the ship fast. But this training? It was buying the ticket properly. Building a real foundation beneath the power he'd gained.

"If only Auto-Practice could follow my intention…" Jun mused. "That way the two could complement each other…"

Land of Iron.

The trio of Genin strolled curiously through the capital's main street.

It was a strange, rigid land.

The buildings were built from stone and steel. The whole place radiated discipline and formality.

The Land of Iron was the only country in the world dominated not by shinobi, but by samurai.

They didn't use chakra in the same way—no flashy ninjutsu, no fireballs or shadow clones. They fought with blades, adhering strictly to the tenets of bushido.

In this world of fire-spitting, lightning-hurling ninja, Jun couldn't help but admire these people for holding onto tradition.

It was… impressive.

Not everyone felt the same.

"Pfft. What a bunch of fossilized old-timers," Mizuki sneered. "Look over there—they're already dueling over some argument. Again! Hilarious."

Jun caught the rising hostility from the nearby crowd and groaned.

Anko whispered sharply, "Mizuki, shut it."

Jun scowled. "Can we not mock an entire warrior culture while we're passing through their capital? The captain said this trip was about broadening our perspective—not triggering a diplomatic incident."

Seeing the kids go quiet, the watching samurai returned to their business.

Unfortunately, Mizuki just couldn't help himself.

As they passed two warriors mid-duel, he muttered, "So this is bushido, huh? Fighting in public like drama queens? Their swordplay looks pretty sloppy too."

Jun yanked Anko to the side, putting some distance between them and the idiot.

As expected, both samurai paused and looked directly at Mizuki.

A few people in the crowd casually rested their hands on their sword hilts.

"…What?" Mizuki blinked, confused. He turned and called after them. "Hey! Why're you backing away?"

Jun raised his voice, deadpan. "Who are you? I've never seen this guy in my life."

Anko grinned devilishly. "Didn't you say their sword strikes couldn't kill a fly? Wanna test that yourself?"

The two samurai exchanged a glance, then sheathed their blades and stepped forward.

Mizuki paled for a moment, but then puffed his chest. "So what? This is the modern age—"

HUMM—

Both swords shimmered, wrapped in a visible coating of chakra.

Jun's eyes lit up. Chakra Flow? Or maybe Chakra Enchantment…

Mizuki gulped audibly.

As their killing intent intensified, Mizuki's legs finally betrayed him.

"Wait, wait! I'm just a kid! I was just joking!"

Then he bolted like a cat on fire, backpack bouncing behind him.

Jun: "…"

Same old Mizuki.

Luckily, the samurai didn't take it personally.

They watched the loudmouth vanish into the crowd, exchanged a smirk…

CLANG!

CLANG! CLANG!

…and resumed their duel, to the cheers of the onlookers.

Jun's eyes drifted to the many katana strapped at every waist.

He looked back at the samurai blades, glowing faintly with chakra.

This kind of chakra control…

"Let's go. Nothing else to see," Anko said, reading his thoughts. "That kind of internal chakra application is limited. External release packs more punch and covers more area."

Jun shook his head, saying nothing.

She wasn't wrong—at jōnin level and above, like she said, explosive chakra use was more efficient.

But for shinobi without massive chakra reserves, the samurai method of enhancing their blades was… worth studying.

Too bad he only had a single tomoe in each eye.

Without the double tomoe Sharingan, his insight into chakra flow wasn't advanced enough to copy what he saw.

Still, he'd noticed it earlier—the samurai had been holding back.

Now that they were going all out, their speed had spiked along with their chakra.

Anko narrowed her eyes. "Their footwork and strikes…"

Jun nodded, focused. "Yeah. This is probably what the captain wanted us to witness."

Anko wrinkled her nose. "Too bad Mizuki ran off. Again."

Jun's eye twitched. "That guy runs from every fight. He needs a serious beatdown."

"Agreed," Anko said. "He even ditched us back during the Kuromaru fight."

She'd nearly failed her graduation because of that. Her tolerance for teammates was thin now.

Eventually, the two samurai tired out. Their chakra faded, and they ended their duel with a few insults and swaggered off in opposite directions. The crowd dispersed, laughing.

Anko chuckled. "They're so ridiculously straightforward… it's kind of cute."

Jun's gaze shifted toward a suspicious silhouette at the end of a nearby alley.

"Mizuki. Get over here."

WHAM.

BAM! THUD!

A few minutes later…

Sporting a black eye and a swollen cheek, Mizuki trudged behind them like a kicked mutt.

Anko snickered every time she looked at him and proudly handed Jun a piping-hot skewer of rice dumplings.

Jun bit into it slowly, eyes lingering on the hilts of swords swaying at every hip in the city.

I really want… a chakra-conducting short blade of my own.