As it turned out, Ethan was serious. He really did only use the most basic taijutsu and kenjutsu, yet still beat Sasuke, who was using Susanoo, into a pitiful state.

At first, the proud Sasuke hadn't planned on using Susanoo at all. He believed Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi would be enough to handle Ethan. Even if Ethan used that terrifying Wood Release, Amaterasu, the inextinguishable flame that could burn anything, seemed like the perfect counter.

Sasuke was overthinking it. Even when he used Susanoo, its supposedly formidable defense was like paper against Ethan. With just a few heavy punches, Ethan smashed it apart.

After the match, Sasuke was left lying on the ground panting like a dog. Using Susanoo for an extended time was a huge drain on his current chakra, stamina, and even physical strength.

Therefore, while Sasuke could use Susanoo, it was far from its complete form. He could only summon a half-body form that barely had muscles or flesh, let alone armor.

"How can this be?"

"Because your current chakra, physical strength, mental willpower, and combat experience are all lacking. Even your use of Susanoo is just at a beginner level. You've only caught a glimpse of what a real powerhouse is like, and you're already getting arrogant. You really need to fix this personality flaw."

Sasuke's face flushed at being scolded. In the past, he would never have admitted to anything like this, but after being repeatedly put in his place by Ethan and having his faults pointed out without mercy, he had come to accept that his personality did have problems.

"I actually think you should join Anbu for a while. Training in Anbu would at least broaden your horizons so you don't keep making the same mistakes."

In Ethan's view, the root of Sasuke's arrogance and pride was still ignorance.

As the saying goes, ignorance breeds arrogance. If one doesn't know how vast the world truly is, they will treat the small corner they see as the entirety of it.

Gaining broader knowledge and experience would naturally help resolve this issue. Maybe Sasuke could even graduate from his chuunibyou phase early.

"No need. I won't make the same mistake again!"

Sasuke made up his mind. Until he could truly defeat Ethan, he would no longer consider himself strong.

From now on, he would change his mindset. He was just a regular Konoha ninja, not some genius Uchiha, just a genin.

Broadening his horizons didn't necessarily require joining the Anbu. There were all kinds of missions available in Konoha. As long as he didn't slack off and took on a wide variety of missions, his experience would naturally grow.

As for strength, he could look to Ethan to see what a higher peak looked like.

In the following days, Ethan occasionally guided Sasuke's training while also wandering around Konoha looking for a suitable place to live.

Tsunade was swamped with work and didn't have the time to manage him, so this was the most relaxed period Ethan had experienced since graduating from the Ninja Academy. It almost felt like when he first arrived in this world.

No one bothered him. He could do whatever he wanted, free and unrestrained... wasting time however he pleased.

Of course, he still maintained appearances by dedicating some time to training each day and continuing to guide Sasuke.

Currently, only Sasuke was training with him regularly.

Naruto had already left with Jiraiya for training. Sakura had become Tsunade's disciple and, during the time Ethan and Sasuke were away, had completed her basic medical ninjutsu training. She was now learning advanced techniques and even started interning at Konoha Hospital.

Kakashi, after undergoing a period of intense training, had slowed down. His strength had increased too quickly and now needed time to stabilize. Also, as one of Konoha's core members, Kakashi was now busy assisting Tsunade.

Tsunade was preoccupied with restructuring Konoha's internal affairs, while Kakashi was clearing out the backlog of high-level missions.

Incidentally, because Sasuke was a member of Kakashi's team, he often got the chance to go on high-level missions. Since Sasuke had already shown considerable strength, Tsunade didn't object. However, since Sakura was still in training, Kakashi and Sasuke either completed these missions alone or temporarily partnered with other teams.

What surprised Ethan was that, due to the fallout from Danzo's incident, Tsunade had begun restructuring the village's internal framework. Some individuals were removed from the core circle, while new faces started emerging.

To avoid unnecessary conflict, Tsunade didn't go for a sweeping purge. For example, some of the children who had been adopted by Root but were still in training and hadn't been completely brainwashed were "rescued" and reassigned as ordinary genin.

During this time, someone named Sai began showing promise and entered Tsunade's radar.

Besides Sai, Haku also officially became a Konoha genin.

After returning to the village with Kakashi and Ethan, Haku had been carefully observed and evaluated. Once it was confirmed that he wasn't a spy from the Mist, the village began considering his future as a Konoha ninja.

Possessing the Ice Release kekkei genkai was undoubtedly a good thing—if the village could keep him.

However, when Danzo was still alive, he had tried every possible way to block this, using his same tired excuses: not trusting this outsider who appeared out of nowhere.

Behind the scenes, Danzo had also been trying to bring Haku into Root. If not for the Third and Fifth Hokage placing high importance on Haku, Danzo would have succeeded. The current Haku would either be another puppet under Danzo or already turned into a test subject.

This wasn't speculation. When gathering evidence against Danzo, several documents revealed Root's plans to make a move on Haku.

Thanks to Ethan's sudden intervention, Haku avoided that fate and officially became a Konoha ninja. For now, though, he wasn't assigned high-level missions, and his range of activity was limited to areas around the village.

"Don't worry about it. In a year or two at most, you'll be just like any other Konoha ninja."

It was just an observation period. Haku wasn't being singled out. Even newly graduated genin from the village were observed for a time.

Ethan knew about these matters not only because he was a Hokage Advisor with access to internal information, but also because he had been wandering around the village lately and encountered a lot of people.

For example, Kakashi had told him some things about Haku and Sai, and he also ran into Haku while the latter was doing simple missions around the village.

On the surface, having someone as powerful as Haku doing such basic tasks seemed like a waste of talent.

But Ethan believed Tsunade's approach was absolutely correct.

Haku didn't have a normal childhood. He had grown up in an extremely harsh environment, which left him with deep psychological issues. Even though he had great combat abilities, the village couldn't afford to rely on him so casually.

Tsunade hoped that Haku could truly integrate into Konoha. These seemingly mundane tasks allowed him to interact with villagers regularly. Over time, he would gradually blend into the community. When he finally saw Konoha as his home, only then could he truly be considered a Konoha ninja.

Ethan understood Tsunade's intentions. He was only curious whether Haku found those simple tasks dull.

"Actually, I really enjoy it."

Haku didn't mind doing these missions. He loved the peaceful atmosphere. The villagers were friendly, and when he saw their satisfied smiles while walking down the street, he found himself smiling too.

"And I don't find the missions boring at all. Being able to help people is enough."

Compared to endless killing, Haku preferred these simple, mundane missions.

Seeing Haku looking genuinely content, Ethan had another thought. When Konoha's jonin—especially the core elites—took genin on those small, seemingly pointless missions, perhaps it wasn't just about training successors. Maybe it was also about the mental well-being of the jonin themselves?

Constantly taking on high-risk missions, dealing with the darker parts of the world, living in an environment where life and death hung in the balance... if they didn't have time to decompress and see the good in the world, perhaps all the jonin would go mad.

That was his theory. Whether it was true or not, he didn't know. Maybe the previous Hokage simply wanted to pass on knowledge to the next generation.

Life continued as usual. Ethan eventually found a new place to live and moved out of the Uchiha compound.

Before he moved, Sasuke's training had already completed its basic phase. From now on, as long as he trained consistently, there was no need for Ethan's constant supervision.

After all, developing the Mangekyo Sharingan, increasing physical fitness, and mastering existing jutsu were things he could gradually improve on his own. With steady effort, his strength would naturally grow.

But Sasuke wasn't satisfied with just that. He hoped Ethan would teach him something new.

Ethan thought for a moment. Since he wasn't busy, he decided to teach Sasuke a set of fist techniques.

"Fist techniques?"

Sasuke looked confused. Was there anything worth learning about fist techniques? Was it like the Leaf Whirlwind?

"It's not that simple."

Ethan thought of this particular set of techniques because most Uchiha had fire chakra, and their Fire Style jutsu were quite powerful.

When thinking of fire-type combat techniques, Ethan always thought of a certain someone.

"Chakra transformation is divided into shape transformation and nature transformation. Typical examples are the Rasengan that Naruto uses and the Chidori you've mastered."

Sasuke nodded. Though he didn't yet know what Ethan was about to teach him, if it was comparable to Rasengan and Chidori, it had to be something strong.

"This set of fist techniques can also be considered a form of nature transformation..."

As he spoke, a flame suddenly ignited from Ethan's outstretched right hand. Then, as he gently clenched his fist, the flame didn't extinguish but instead wrapped around it.

"Although each strike isn't as powerful as Chidori, the advantage lies in its sustained damage."

(To be continued.)

◇◇◇

◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.

◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves

(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)