Chapter 286: Near-Kage

Chapter 286: Near-Kage

Finally, perhaps because all the masters who had the strength to defeat Kawakita had already had their match, there was a lull in the action.

Ishiro looked around and estimated that only Mifune had not yet entered the field. Just as he was thinking about how to ask Mifune to step down, Mifune proactively stood out.

"For the last match, I will be your opponent."

Ishiro was surprised, while Kawakita's eyes lit up. The failed challenges just now had brought him great gains, but for some reason, his body and his sword were both telling him that he was still missing something, just a little bit more.

After Mifune stepped forward, Kawakita, without another word, charged at him with all his might. Faster, faster, even faster.

Kawakita swung out the fastest slash he had made in all the battles today.

This scene didn't feel like much to Ishiro; he only sensed that Kawakita had improved a little more. But among the sword masters who had just defeated Kawakita, many of their expressions changed.

"This level?" They all looked at the masters of several major sword schools. Kawakita had reached the level of these masters. One had to know that just now, these masters could not only defeat Kawakita but also do so without him suffering a single injury, which meant there was still a great difference in strength between them.

But in the blink of an eye, Kawakita had crossed that threshold. Although the current Kawakita was still very green, with a bit more tempering, it was believed he could quickly catch up.

"What a genius. No wonder he was taken as a disciple by the Tsuchikage, who even went to the great trouble of bringing him here to challenge the masters of the Land of Iron," these sword masters all sighed with emotion.

These were all thoughts that flashed through their minds in an instant. By this time, Kawakita had already rushed in front of Mifune.

Having delivered the most satisfying slash since he began learning the sword, Kawakita's entire focus was on Mifune.

But unfortunately, even so, he still couldn't see Mifune's movements clearly.

It was as if Mifune had just waved his hand gently, or as if he hadn't moved at all. But after that instant, Kawakita felt as if something within him had shattered.

He looked at the sword in his hand; it was intact. He touched his body; there was still no problem. Then what was it that had shattered?

Just then, a voice rang out in Kawakita's mind: "Why do you learn the way of the sword?"

"Why? Yes, why?" A look of confusion appeared in Kawakita's eyes. "To become an outstanding ninja? That doesn't seem right. To repay my teacher's guidance? That doesn't seem right. To protect my companions and the village? That doesn't seem right either."

"Then why is it?" Kawakita couldn't help but recall the scene when he first touched a longsword in his childhood.

Kawakita's parents were only Genin. They usually didn't use swords, only kunai. But one day, his father suddenly brought back a short sword, said to be a trophy from a rogue ninja his father had killed.

When his parents were out on a mission, Kawakita, out of curiosity, picked up the short sword that was still somewhat heavy for him at the time.

At that moment, Kawakita had a feeling: he liked swords. From that moment on, it seemed Kawakita had never been without a sword.

Although the sword in his hand now was long since not the original one, and he had changed many swords, the sword in his heart had never changed.

"So I learn the way of the sword simply because I like it!"

"Boom!" The moment Kawakita gave himself the answer, it was as if a clap of thunder exploded in his ears. The thing that had just shattered seemed to reassemble itself.

"Oh, so what shattered just now was the sword in my own heart." At this moment, Kawakita was completely awake.

Ishiro didn't know the changes in Kawakita's heart, but he could see that Kawakita's aura was beginning to turn inward. Ishiro was overjoyed. "Good lad, you've become a Near-Kage just like that?"

And those sword masters who had just defeated Kawakita, at this moment, their expressions all changed. This feeling... They had only ever felt this feeling from Mifune.

Could it be...

No one paid attention to their shock. Mifune waited for Kawakita to come back to his senses, then faced Ishiro and said, "Tsuchikage, we have done all we can. We will not keep you."

Ishiro nodded, took out a longsword he had obtained from Madara Uchiha, and threw it to Mifune, saying, "This sword was originally intended as a thank-you gift for the sword master senior who guided Kawakita. It's just that I didn't expect so many people to guide him today. I only brought one. Please forgive me."

Hearing this, Kawakita immediately bowed to Mifune and the other sword masters, "Thank you all for your guidance, seniors."

Mifune nodded without speaking.

The other sword masters returned the bow with complex expressions. Kawakita, who had just been their defeated opponent, might be someone they were no match for the next time they met. Everyone's mood was somewhat inexplicable.

Seeing this, Ishiro, knowing they were not welcome, directly led the four of them away, returning the way they came.

Watching Ishiro's group of five leave, Mifune breathed a sigh of relief. Kawakita's progress had certainly surprised him, but he was more relieved that this matter had not entangled them in the chaotic situation of the five great nations.

...

On the way back to the Land of Earth, Ishiro was very excited, even more excited than Kawakita himself.

Looking at Kawakita, he found him more and more pleasing to the eye. He figured Ōnoki must have looked at him the same way back then.

Back then, to ensure Ishiro smoothly became a Near-Kage, Ōnoki had even given up on pursuing the fleeing Konoha ninja army.

"Kawakita, do you want to rest for a while?" Ishiro asked.

Kawakita shook his head and said, "Teacher, I'm fine."

Ishiro nodded. He wasn't entirely clear on how everyone reacted to becoming a Near-Kage; there were too few templates to refer to for this kind of thing.

For example, both he and Ikura had directly learned a fifth chakra nature transformation.

But Kawakita said that he had no feeling in this regard at all.

"Sigh," Ishiro was somewhat regretful, but then he thought, "Am I being too greedy? This result is already perfect."

Ishiro, in a cheerful mood, became even stricter with Riori and the other two. He felt that the three of them were not training hard enough.

"Faster! Akino, hold on! How long have we been running? Riori, control your strength! Look what you've done to the tree branch! This way, won't everyone know a ninja just passed through here? Kiyoshi, what's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you to use Water Release to cover everyone's tracks? How can you not even do such a simple thing well?"

The three little ones, while trying their best to do as Ishiro said, cast resentful glances at Kawakita.

It was because Kawakita had become a Near-Kage that, by comparison, they seemed wrong here and not good there.

Previously, Kawakita was a reassuring and reliable big brother in their eyes. Why did he seem so detestable now?

Kawakita felt a bit awkward being stared at by the three, so he slowed down a bit and deliberately fell behind them.

Seeing this, Ishiro quickly said, "Kawakita, are you tired? Do you want to rest for a bit? It's fine, they're tired too anyway."

Kawakita: "..."

The three members of Squad Five: "..."

The three from Squad Five actually felt a bit like they were in a dream right now. They now knew what a Near-Kage was. To put it simply, in probably another year or two, Kawakita would have strength on the same level as their teacher and Lord Third.

That was the strength of a Kage! How did Brother Kawakita suddenly reach that level?

Under Ishiro's deliberate squeezing, Squad Five, after traveling non-stop without sleep, finally returned to Iwagakure in great pain.

Dropping the three nearly exhausted disciples at the village gate, Ishiro directly took Kawakita to the Tsuchikage Tower.

On the way, Kawakita asked, "Teacher Ishiro, is it good to put pressure on them like this?"

Kawakita naturally knew that Ishiro's disdain for the three was just an act. Hmm, probably those three knew it too. Ishiro just wanted to find an excuse to train them.

"It's fine. They're just too relaxed. Think about how you trained since you were little. They won't die."

Kawakita thought about himself, then thought about the three from Squad Five, and said no more.

Arriving at the Tsuchikage Tower, Ishiro directly convened the advisory council, preparing to share this good news.

The moment they saw Kawakita, Ōnoki and Ikura saw that something was wrong. The two exclaimed in unison, "Kawakita has become a Near-Kage!?"

Mei and Saka, who were following behind Ōnoki and about to enter the Tsuchikage's office, were also stunned, then delighted. Iwagakure was about to have another Kage-level individual?

In the conference room, watching the four advisors constantly sizing up Kawakita, Ishiro had a smug look on his face.

Among the four, Saka was the most deeply moved. The scene of Ishiro picking the three disciples of Squad One from a list seemed to be right before his eyes. At that time, Ishiro himself was still just a Jonin, his strength not even as good as his.

Now, only a few years had passed, maybe only seven or eight. In seven or eight years, not only had Ishiro become a Kage early on, but even his disciple had become a Near-Kage.

Saka had a sense of unreality, as if he were in a dream.

Ōnoki was the first to react, saying, "Kawakita, from now on, you are not to perform missions outside the village. Do not leave the village until you become a true Kage-level. In addition, although you mainly study sword techniques, and the village has no S-rank ninjutsu related to sword techniques, as is customary, you have one chance to choose an S-rank ninjutsu. You should still go and see if there is anything suitable in the Scroll of Seals."

Kawakita nodded. Ishiro had already told him these things before.

Kawakita said, "When this year's class of students graduates, I also plan to take a few disciples."

Kawakita had no intention of taking disciples before, but during this period, first being a nanny on the way to the Land of Rain, and then having Ishiro show off their master-disciple bond on the way to the Land of Iron, this made Kawakita also have the idea of taking disciples.

Anyway, he would be staying in the village for a long time, so he might as well take a few disciples to pass the time.

Ōnoki and the others now gave one hundred percent support to Jonin taking disciples.

If not for fear of leaking intelligence, Ōnoki would have wanted Ishiro to convene all the Jonin in the village for a meeting to talk about Kawakita's matter at length, to encourage everyone's enthusiasm for taking disciples.

The next day, Ishiro took Kawakita to see the Scroll of Seals. Because Ishiro had already introduced the ninjutsu catalog in the Scroll of Seals to Kawakita in advance, the selection process didn't take much time.

The ninjutsu Kawakita chose was precisely one that Ishiro suspected originated from the Tenseigan's ocular jutsu: a ninjutsu that condensed a giant sword out of chakra outside the body.

After Kawakita had completely memorized this ninjutsu, Ishiro placed a seal in his mind.

As they were leaving the secret room, Kawakita suddenly told Ishiro, "Teacher Ishiro, Chiko Tomoe has become an Elite Jonin."

Ishiro was stunned, "Huh?"

Chiko and Kawakita had graduated in the same year. Since Kawakita had become a Near-Kage, it didn't seem like such a big deal for Chiko to become an Elite Jonin.

But Ishiro was still somewhat surprised because Chiko's talent was too average. Her upper limit was actually very obvious. Ishiro had always thought that Chiko would only be a Jonin for her entire life; he hadn't expected her to still have room for improvement.

"How did she get promoted?" Ishiro asked curiously.

Kawakita said, "After returning from Konoha, the village promoted all three of her disciples to Chunin. It was also at that moment that she became an Elite Jonin."

"Do the Third and the others know?" Ishiro asked.

Kawakita shook his head and said, "Not yet. Chiko herself isn't sure. Yesterday, knowing that I had returned, she came to me to confirm this matter. We decided to go and select disciples together after this year's students graduate."

Ishiro nodded and said, "I understand. I'll talk to the Third and the others about it in a bit and get her promoted."

Kawakita left to train in his S-rank ninjutsu. Ishiro, on the other hand, went to see Ōnoki and the other high-level officials with an excited face.

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