Before lunch, Kenshin decided to train fencing with Ichiro. He really needed this skill, as bare-handed strikes were quite weak compared to attacks from the sharpest, formation-enhanced blade.
With tremendous effort, Kenshin had made his personal sword much more effective by infusing it with psionics and enhancing its cutting properties. That's why he needed to hone his fencing skills. And though he regularly accumulated experience from his training sons, muscle memory didn't improve from that, so Kenshin had to practice.
"Fuuh, Ichiro, you're getting more skilled every day..." Kenshin muttered after the sparring ended, pouring a bucket of ice water over himself.
"My achievements are still nothing compared to yours, father. If anyone finds out you reached the Jonin rank limit without chakra, your name will spread across the world!" Ichiro declared in admiration. He still couldn't believe his frail father could unleash such formidable combat power.
"Yes... And all the major organizations will immediately send Elite Jonin to uncover all my secrets..." Kenshin replied with a sigh. He himself was eager to participate in a real fight, which, per his plans, should happen soon.
"Prepare your group for tomorrow's mission. I'll go with you to ensure everything goes without incident." Kenshin said, exiting the shower, leaving no chance for his son to discuss the order, as the upcoming discussion of this plan with his wives was more than enough for new headaches.
Kenshin leisurely returned to his wing, entered the lounge, and lay on the comfortable sofa. Not ten minutes passed before an irritated Kasumi entered, hands on hips, and said in a displeased tone:
"I was just training with Eighteenth, and he told me you're leading their first group on a mission tomorrow. What does that mean?!"
"We already discussed this. Our organization urgently needs combat merits, and nothing will boost our prestige like killing a Jonin." he replied with a sigh, sitting up.
"Yes, but there was no talk of your participation in this operation!" Kasumi declared; she hated what Kenshin had planned.
"You know they need my aura, otherwise the mission's outcome isn't guaranteed." he said, pulling the girl onto his lap.
"I understand... I just don't even want to think about something happening to you. Have you forgotten what happened last time you decided to leave home and go on a mission?" Kasumi said reproachfully.
"No, I haven't forgotten. Last time I met the wonderful Hitomi, and I regret nothing." Kenshin said with a smile, kissing her neck.
Kenshin spent the rest of the day in the workshop, meticulously double-checking and supplementing all sorts of formations on the exo-suit. He had finally partially solved the problem of natural human body speed limits. Partly thanks to psionics, which he had learned to infuse his body with to some degree, improving his physical stats to the level of a sturdy Genin. The rest was compensated by the exo-suit, equipped with a huge number of formations.
At this point, his exo-suit was so complex to produce that his sons' suits lagged far behind; only Ichiro had a slightly tougher one, capable of offering some protection from Jonin strikes.
Kenshin still hadn't figured out how to combine chakra and formations. And though he had received all his sons' memories and sensations, giving him a rough idea of what "chakra" was, he still couldn't fuse it with formations. Researching that would take dozens of times longer than psionics interactions, so he temporarily shelved the idea.
After raising the "Shelter Creation" skill to fifth level, besides increased living space, Kenshin gained the ability to create some consumables that, when taken outside the shelter, didn't disappear. Restrictions on taking out food and all clothing items were also lifted.
This greatly eased Kenshin's life; he no longer had to wonder where to get huge quantities of consumables like shuriken and kunai, then spend hours creating individual formations on each, relying on their properties.
The System created katana, shuriken, and kunai of uniform, top quality, and now Kenshin could apply reinforcement formations to a huge number in literally an hour. He was still pondering whether to put them up for sale. What stopped him was that they could be used against his Nakayama Family. He had no doubt that even fivefold-reinforced kunai and katana would cause a frenzy.
On the morning of the 412th day, Kenshin assembled team number one, including Ichiro, Fourth, Seventh, Eighteenth, and Twenty Second. Without much sentiment, bidding farewell to his displeased and upset wives, he set off.
Less than two hours later, they were already at the outpost, where Ichiro accepted the mission to assassinate a Jonin. The outpost administrator was so shocked that he even called his boss, but even the stunned Yamada Setoru was unable to dissuade Ichiro from this venture.
At the moment, Ichiro was right on the edge of Jonin rank, and could afford some familiarity in speaking with Setoru, who was also a peak Chunin and realized that Ichiro might be a little stronger than him. He could do nothing with the insistent commander of the mercenary group and was obliged to approve this mission for them.
"Hm, our target is called Kobayashi Haro, he's a real bastard. He has a huge number of kills to his name, but the serious bounty on him was set after he killed the lord of a small town, then spent several days partying in his fortress, having fun with his wife and two daughters, wiping his ass with the Daimyo's crest... However, few are capable of taking on a Jonin assassination, so this scum continues to commit his villainy little by little, though without crossing certain lines, after which an Elite Jonin might be sent after him." Kenshin said, having received and processed the information told by Yamada Setoru.
Hearing about Haro's personality, all the sons were filled with the desire to kill this scoundrel. Kenshin tried to raise them with a position of minimal righteousness, and the brightest example was extrapolating everything and anything onto themselves. When they imagined some bastard killing their father and raping their mothers, their rage knew no bounds.
"Father, why does he do this? Why do such scum exist in our world? He could have taken that lord's money or killed him out of revenge, but why does he cause people so much suffering for no reason?" Twenty Second asked. Deep down, he was a pacifist and loved healing people, just like his mother. So hearing about Kobayashi Haro, he absolutely couldn't understand why he did it.
"I don't know... Maybe in the case of the lord, there was a reason, like revenge. But there's no doubt about this bastard's bloodthirstiness and sadism. Maybe he was born that way, or got some psychological trauma in childhood and turned into a rabid animal that hasn't been put down yet. Unfortunately for the surrounding people, this scum has incredible talent in ninjutsu, which gives him the right to dispose of the fates of the weaker ones like a god."
"Then we should rid the world of this beast as soon as possible!" Twenty Second declared. He was filled with the intention to destroy such an evil person.
"Righteous attitude is good. But don't let your emotions cloud your sound judgment. We'll definitely destroy him, but not because he's a villain and we're heroes. We have our own motives for that. First, reputation, and second—five hundred thousand Ryo. I wouldn't send you after a Jonin without benefit for our family, even if this bastard destroyed a thousand villages, and I forbid you from playing hero if it's even a little dangerous." Kenshin said, not liking Twenty Second's overly righteous attitude. Least of all did he want to lose another son, and he didn't care about strangers at all.
"Alright, Father, I understand." Twenty Second replied a bit ashamedly, and after a while, the group continued on their way.