A SKY ABOVE THE SKIES.

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"Did that really just happen? Gilgamesh, am I trapped in your genjutsu?" Ebisu asked as they soared through the clouds.

"If you were, why would I tell you?" Gilgamesh replied.

"Oh God, no. Am I really in a genjutsu?" Ebisu panicked.

Gilgamesh looked at his kunai, which appeared to be in good condition—until he released his grip and watched as its ashes scattered to the wind.

Gilgamesh could only sigh at the sight, causing Anko to be surprised. He had just achieved a great feat, and yet he still looked saddened.

"I destroyed the kunai I used in the process... again. I may have good chakra control internally, but externally... I am still weak," Gilgamesh said, looking up as the sun's rays highlighted his figure, answering Anko's unspoken thoughts.

'He calls that performance weak? What kind of insane expectations has this boy put on himself?' Ebisu thought.

"Listen, kid... Gilgamesh. What you did out there today, I can't even dream of doing. You did something that will forever be taken as a rumour until the world comes to know of your strength. I can understand why The Third didn't enrol you in the academy; you would probably destroy morale amongst your peers, making them set unrealistic goals like you are doing now. You are strong for your age and probably the strongest in the chunin ranks if not the strongest there," Ebisu said, adjusting his glasses.

Mura and Anko listened silently, wondering how Gilgamesh would respond.

"Ebisu, you are not wrong," Gilgamesh replied.

Ebisu smiled, glad that the golden-haired boy could be reasoned with.

"But that would be the truth normal shinobi should abide by. Ebisu, I am not trying to be the strongest chunin. I am not even aiming to be the strongest in the village," Gilgamesh started, his head pointed to the heavens.

'He just wants to be strong enough to protect those around him,' Ebisu and Anko had the same thoughts as they streaked through the clouds, maintaining the same flying speed.

"Ebisu, even being the strongest in this world isn't my goal either. I will show everyone that the heavens they look at... are below one another just like there is a sky above the skies. The ninja world can be better than this. We barely affect the matter of this world and yet are satisfied with what we have. That's stagnation, Ebisu!" Gilgamesh raised his tone, his words causing Anko, Ebisu, and Mura to gasp.

"There is much to know, much to uncover. Just because of a single man, there wasn't any great ninja war, but after his passing, there was. Who would dare go to war with Konoha if the First Hokage were still alive?" Gilgamesh asked, and everyone agreed. The First Hokage earned his title for a reason, after all.

"Besides, this is a personal journey for me. I can't improve if I set plebeian-level goals. Ebisu, haven't you ever thought about the stars you see at night? Ebisu, with your current strength, can you reach them? As humans, we've been cursed and blessed with curiosity. Even the gods envy us whenever we put our minds to something. The only thing that limits us is our mortality, but as for the gods… let me stop there." Gilgamesh chuckled to himself as knowledge of some of the gods of the Nasuverse returned to his memory.

"Is this really a child? No wonder Shinobi keep losing to him; they underestimate him. One of the announcements we received in one of our jounin meetings was about the addition of this boy and how we shouldn't underestimate him. I thought it was just out of respect for a rising talent in the village," Ebisu thought, but he was also embarrassed that Gilgamesh compared his goals to those of a plebeian.

"No wonder an older teen like Mura can dedicate himself wholly to the likes of Gilgamesh," Anko thought as she smiled to herself.

Mura looked up at the clouds above him into the blue sky and wondered about reaching the stars. He too was starting to get curious about what the stars were like and what it was like to touch and taste them!

'That reminds me... I requested a book on yang release from the library. Understanding that will widen my arsenal and possibly unlock more memories. I can practice my ENUMA... and perfect any flaws in my jutsu,' Gilgamesh scratched his chin, lost in thought.

Mura only smiled and began thinking about how he could also develop his own flight jutsu.

Anko and Ebisu shook their heads, thankful that the Leaf had capable ninjas like these two.

---

At the village gate,

"Oi, is that a bird?" Kotetsu asked.

"Is that a kunai?" Izumo asked as he craned upwards to see what Kotetsu was talking about.

"Isn't that Gilgamesh?" Kotetsu could finally make out the figures lowering their altitudes to land before the gate.

"Ho, so you can actually fly, Gilgamesh? How did you do it?" Kotetsu asked, leaning on the gate.

"Ah, Ebisu! Anko! You're back! How was your mission? I hope you took care of your juniors, eh? We might be in peaceful times now, but the dangers of the ninja world remain," Izumo asked, engaging the larger-than-normal squad of three that returned from a mission.

"Maybe later, Kotetsu. We have to report immediately," Gilgamesh answered, surprising the duo at the gate. That didn't sound smug, but at the same time, it sounded like it came from someone of importance. They nodded after confirming their identification to enter the village.

As Gilgamesh and his group ran through the village rooftops, he looked at the Hokage's office which was a bit far off and suddenly he could see the mansion clearly, zooming in as if he used a ninja telescope to zoom in on targets far away. His mana pool increased once more after he unknowingly activated a latent ability.

'Now, it would be nice to learn how to move to places instantly with a single thought,' Gilgamesh thought as ideas on how to do that led to him learning the yang release. Even if the knowledge is limited, his innate luck stats and ability to elevate any ability learned or seen are so high that he never worried much about learning everything about something to know how to use it.

Any time he used this on things that are very difficult to learn, his mana morphed a little, becoming denser and making him restart his chakra control process. It's like flooding a level-one maze with water; soon enough, the water will know the ins and outs of that level-one maze, but then the water flows into a level-two maze and the water from the level-one maze will have to adapt again, and so on.

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