Several days later, at the ANBU training base.

"Hurry up! What are you doing? Don't you want to eat?"

"You've gotten ridiculously slack while I was away!"

"Considering you were covering for me, I already toned down the training intensity a lot!"

"So why are you all still this weak?"

The return of the devil instructor plunged every ANBU member back into hellish training.

Massive anacondas and countless shards of flying crystal rained down, drowning the squad in pressure they hadn't felt in ages.

Among them were Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shisui. Yet both stood out—neither the serpents' lunges nor the barrage of crystals could faze them.

"Senior Kakashi, why is Kazuyama sensei so irritable?"

"This kind of training… huff, huff… it's way too much."

Shisui spoke between dodges, keeping close to Kakashi.

Since becoming one of Kazuyama Gekkō's disciples, he'd noticed one thing clearly—direct disciples received "special treatment."

Look at the others: five people shared one snake. But him and Kakashi? One each.

And not just any snakes—the biggest anacondas. That kind of "care" gave Shisui chills.

"Heh, this is nothing."

"Remember the Thousand Years of Death?"

"Watch sensei closely. The second he disappears, we go back-to-back. Forget the snakes entirely."

Kakashi smirked with disdain. In his eyes, this wasn't even training.

After all, their teacher hadn't even moved yet.

Only when he did would the real training begin.

Hearing this, Shisui swallowed hard.

The fear of the Thousand Years of Death was carved deep—there was no blocking that strike.

He'd once cursed whoever invented it, only for Kakashi to overhear. Kakashi's face had gone dark. He didn't get angry, just said flatly, "That cursed jutsu was created by my father, the White Fang of Konoha..."

Since then, Shisui had never complained about the creator again. The technique… well, it was terrifyingly effective.

"Unbelievable! I'm gone for a while and this is what happens?"

"Your overall ability drops this much? How can you even call yourselves ANBU like this?"

"Heh heh heh… I see. You've all forgotten how terrifying I am."

"In that case, don't blame me."

Kazuyama Gekkō sneered as he watched the ANBU scatter through the forest.

He stretched lazily atop a tree branch.

Seeing this, Kakashi's brow twitched. Without hesitation, he shouted, "He's coming! Shisui, be ready!"

Shisui instantly pressed back-to-back with him in defense.

The next moment, ANBU screams filled the forest.

The first victim had just evaded a serpent when Kazuyama Gekkō suddenly appeared in front of him, that devilish grin plastered on his face.

Then came the strike. A Thousand Years of Death launched him sky-high.

"Hot!"

"Burning!"

Agonized wails followed—burning pain unlike anything before.

This Thousand Years of Death actually burned!

Kazuyama Gekkō looked down at the ANBU rolling on the ground, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips.

He'd only experimented by adding elemental infusion into the technique, yet the effect was better than he imagined.

The sensation of searing pain—yes, very good.

Seeing their comrade's miserable state, the rest of the ANBU froze in horror.

"Damn it, since when does Thousand Years of Death have a fire attribute?!"

"This devil instructor just keeps getting scarier!"

"Be careful! I don't want to get hit!"

In their minds, Kazuyama Gekkō's image grew darker and more terrifying.

Kakashi and Shisui, however, remembered another of his jutsu—the Rasengan.

As his disciples, he had taught it to them personally.

He'd even explained chakra nature transformation, showing them firsthand how a dense Rasengan could be altered into a blazing crimson sphere shrouded in fire.

"Chakra nature transformation..."

"Infusing fire into taijutsu..."

"Shisui, we absolutely cannot take a hit. It'll kill us."

Shisui nodded without hesitation. He already had proof of what would happen—he wasn't about to add himself to the list.

The ANBU suddenly moved faster, their speed so sharp they left afterimages behind.

"That's more like it..."

"Heheheh, not bad. Keep going!"

"I'll ambush you once every three minutes. If I succeed, look over there—that'll be your example."

"Summoning Technique!"

With another sinister laugh, Kazuyama Gekkō summoned more giant anacondas, dozens of them slithering into the fray.

The added weight crushed the ANBU's morale, leaving them groaning in despair.

After setting the training in motion, Kazuyama Gekkō stepped out of the forest. Three others were waiting for him.

"Raidō, Genma, Iwashi."

"You three are part of the Fourth Hokage's guard unit. Minato asked me to teach you the Flying Thunder God Technique."

"But as you can see, I've got ANBU to train too. So you'd better pull your weight."

The three young shinobi nodded quickly. Kazuyama Gekkō's reputation in the village was already sky-high—and only climbing higher.

With his strength and ruthless style, it was impossible for him not to be famous.

Among Raido Namiashi, Genma Shiranui, and Iwashi Tatami, Iwashi was the youngest, while the other two were about Kakashi's age.

Kazuyama Gekkō treated them all as students and began teaching them the secrets of the Flying Thunder God.

"Hey, Raidō, what are you doing?"

"I told you to sense the space—what are you doing?"

"Sleeping?"

"And you two—what are you even doing? Huh?!"

"Ugh, my temper is going to blow!"

The principle of the Flying Thunder God was simple: shape chakra into a bridge that connected to space and manifest it as a formula. Only then could one teleport instantly to the marked area.

Training sounded simple—just use chakra to connect to space. But doing it was another matter.

Otherwise, why would only two people in history have mastered the technique?

Kazuyama Gekkō watched the three kids bury themselves in thought and shook his head.

When he'd learned the Flying Thunder God, it hadn't been nearly this hard. Talent really did make all the difference.

"No good. Looks like I'll need to add some pressure."

"If you can't sense space, that just means the stimulus isn't enough!"

"Ah… of course. The Thousand Years of Death is perfect for this."

The three students were already frazzled, but the moment they heard those three words, they jolted upright, wide-eyed.

In perfect unison, they shouted, "No! We can do it!"