Itsuki Yamada asked curiously, “Even Asuma-sensei doesn’t know him?
Does that mean our teacher is just some nobody?” His tone carried obvious disappointment.
After all, Yamada felt that Dōichi Kimoto was incredibly powerful.
Someone like that should have been a famous ninja.
Asuma noticed the change in Yamada’s mood and quickly explained, “That’s probably not the case.
As far as I know, every instructor assigned to lead a graduating class is at least a jōnin.” “So your teacher definitely is one too.
It’s just that I don’t personally know every ninja in Konoha.” Only then did Yamada feel a little better.
Although Dōichi Kimoto’s earlier test had terrified him, he was also secretly relieved that his instructor was a powerful ninja.
In Yamada’s view, only by following a strong ninja could he become stronger faster.
At that moment, Shikamaru asked, “You mentioned your instructor’s test almost killed you.
What exactly happened?” He was genuinely curious.
No matter how harsh a test was, it should not have gone that far.
Asuma also turned his attention toward Yamada.
He did not approve of instructors using excessively cruel methods on students either.
Even Kakashi would not deliberately place his students in real danger.
Asuma was beginning to worry that Dōichi Kimoto had used overly brutal methods during the evaluation.
This kind of thing had happened before.
But within Konoha, it was strictly forbidden.
Yamada glanced at Kai before explaining, “It wasn’t really a special test.
Our teacher seemed to use some kind of mental ninjutsu that almost caused our minds to collapse.” “If it weren’t for Kai, Tano and I might have actually died.” By this point, Yamada had already realized that most of Dōichi Kimoto’s oppressive aura had been directed at Kai.
Otherwise, the instructor would not have singled him out afterward.
Most likely, Kai had borne the overwhelming majority of the pressure, while he and Tano Motoyo had only suffered a small portion of it.
At that moment, Kai was busy placing another slice of grilled meat into his mouth when he suddenly noticed Asuma, Shikamaru, and Ino all staring at him at the same time.
He paused.
“What?” While Yamada had been speaking with Asuma and Shikamaru earlier, Kai had not been paying attention at all.
To him, the various cuts of yakiniku on the table were far more interesting.
He had lived in this world for twelve years and did not really have many friends.
Aside from training, one of his greatest hobbies was trying different foods.
Seeing everyone stare at him so intently only confused him further.
Asuma, meanwhile, was equally puzzled.
He had previously reviewed Kai’s records from the Ninja Academy, and there had been nothing particularly outstanding about him.
So why did Yamada make him sound so capable?
After thinking for a moment, Asuma asked Yamada, “When your instructor used that mental technique on you, what exactly did it feel like?” Yamada shuddered slightly as he recalled the experience.
“It felt like I was trapped in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with countless ninja charging at me.” “It was like being stabbed to death dozens of times over and over again.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t escape.” As he finished speaking, Tano Motoyo instinctively shrank back slightly.
Dōichi Kimoto’s killing intent had already left a psychological scar on her.
She probably would not forget it for the rest of her life.
Based on Yamada’s description, Asuma roughly understood what kind of technique Dōichi Kimoto had used.
And he also more or less guessed the man’s identity.
“No wonder I’ve never heard his name before…” “He’s probably someone who came out of ANBU.” “ANBU?” Everyone except Kai looked at Asuma in confusion.
Taking a drag from his cigarette, Asuma slowly explained, “Yeah.
ANBU.” “ANBU is one of Konoha’s special divisions—an organization that protects the village from the shadows.
It’s filled with extremely powerful ninja.” This was the first time any of them had heard about such a division.
Even Shikamaru and the others, despite coming from prominent ninja clans, knew very little about ANBU.
Or rather, they had simply never paid attention to that sort of information.
Shikamaru cast a deep glance toward Kai.
From Asuma’s explanation, he could already sense how formidable ANBU truly was.
And yet Kai had managed to withstand the mental suppression of a ninja like that.
Asuma was thinking the same thing.
He looked toward Kai, who was still calmly eating yakiniku.
Everyone else had stopped eating long ago, but Kai remained completely focused on the food.
Apparently, the grilled meat on the table interested him far more than the topic they were discussing.
Asuma personally understood how terrifying former ANBU ninja could be.
And all the instructors assigned this year were jōnin.
Which meant Kai’s instructor was also a jōnin.
Asuma knew exactly how powerful an ANBU jōnin could be.
Yet Kai had endured that level of mental suppression.
And afterward, he acted as though nothing had happened at all.
That alone was enough to prove he was anything but ordinary.
Meanwhile, Itsuki Yamada—completely oblivious to the expressions on Asuma and Shikamaru’s faces—was still overwhelmed by excitement.
“ANBU… Our teacher sounds incredibly strong.” “As expected of Sensei!” What Yamada cared about most was whether Dōichi Kimoto could teach him powerful ninjutsu and help him become a powerful ninja.
And to do that, his teacher naturally needed to be strong himself.
Shikamaru glanced toward Asuma.
Asuma subtly shook his head.
Originally, Shikamaru had wanted to ask Kai for more details.
But seeing Asuma’s reaction, he chose not to press further.
After that, Asuma did not ask any more questions about the test.
Still, he silently kept the matter in mind and decided he would discuss it with Kakashi later.
A student who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy managing to resist the Genjutsu-like mental suppression of an ANBU jōnin— That was extremely unusual.
Especially considering that Kai’s past performance at the Academy had been entirely average.
So how could he suddenly possess such strong mental resilience?
Could it simply be that his spiritual energy was exceptionally powerful?
Either way, it was something worth investigating.
Kai, however, paid no attention to Asuma’s thoughts.
And even if he had noticed, he would not have cared.
He had not displayed anything too outrageous.
At most, his mental strength was a little abnormal.
After the yakiniku meal ended, Kai had become much more familiar with both the Ino–Shika–Chō trio and with Itsuki Yamada and Tano Motoyo.
Later that night, as they were heading home, Yamada suddenly said to Kai, “My house isn’t on the same route as Tano’s, so you should walk her home.” The moment he finished speaking, he ran off before Kai could refuse.
Kai froze.
Meanwhile, Tano Motoyo’s fair face instantly turned bright red.
Kai frowned.
“What’s with that guy?” He genuinely thought Yamada had suddenly remembered some urgent matter at home.
Tano Motoyo lowered her head shyly, unconsciously nudging the ground with the tip of her shoe.
She did not say a word.
Kai turned toward her and smiled lightly.
“I’ll walk you home, then.” After all, it was already nighttime.
Even though Tano Motoyo had graduated from the Ninja Academy and officially become a ninja, she was still a girl.
And one from a wealthy family at that.
Who knew whether someone might try to kidnap her?
Tano Motoyo shyly nodded.
Ever since she had seen Kai calmly withstand Dōichi Kimoto’s killing intent at the training ground without showing the slightest fear, she had started developing feelings for him.
On top of that, Kai was quite handsome.
At their age, it was perfectly normal to begin developing romantic feelings toward the opposite sex.
Kai, however, did not really see her as someone his own age.
Mentally, he was already an adult.
Even though there had been a brief moment where he thought she looked beautiful, it was more a feeling of admiration.
What he actually thought was: “It would be nice to have a cute little sister like this.” The two walked side by side beneath the brightly lit streets of Konoha.
From an outsider’s perspective, they looked like a perfectly matched couple.
Several pedestrians even turned to look at them as they passed by.
Both of them were exceptionally attractive.
Some passersby even mistook them for boyfriend and girlfriend.
In this world, boys and girls tended to mature earlier than in ordinary society.
It was not unusual at all for children their age to start dating.
Especially with Tano Motoyo blushing deeply and wearing such a shy expression— It was almost impossible not to misunderstand.