The idiot next door, Daimaru, hadn’t made any strange noises at night for quite some time.
There had been no sign of him coming or going during the day either.
He had probably left the village on a mission.
After worrying for so long, Lady Saya could finally enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Even better…
…the issue of finding a new teammate, which had dragged on for so long, had finally been resolved.
Although there were still concerns about Shira’s insufficient mission count, all hope wasn’t lost.
Ordinary shinobi might not know this…
…but Saya had already heard from her family elders that Konohagakure would be inviting its allies to participate in a Joint Chunin Exam.
The exact date hadn’t been finalized.
However…
…it definitely wouldn’t be held in May.
Based on previous years, Konohagakure usually held its Chunin Exams in late June or early July.
Factoring in travel time…
…that meant Team Saya would gain at least another month to make up Shira’s missing missions.
Saya couldn’t help feeling grateful for her decisiveness.
Instead of giving up or wasting more time searching for another teammate…
…she had immediately begun grinding D-rank missions.
As long as nothing unexpected happened…
…qualifying for the Chunin Exams shouldn’t be a problem.
Naturally, a powerful and influential family like the Sayas’ wouldn’t allow a complete stranger to approach their daughters without investigation.
Since Saya had rejected all the mediocre candidates her family had prepared…
…they certainly wouldn’t ignore this Shira who had suddenly appeared.
Within just a few days…
…they had investigated three generations of Shira’s family.
After filtering out the trivial details, they produced an objective evaluation of their new teammate.
That report had now reached Lady Saya’s hands.
Just as expected…
He has absolutely no talent for genjutsu or ninjutsu.
But his taijutsu aptitude is actually outstanding!
Shinobi with exceptional talent in a single field weren’t especially common…
…but neither were they particularly rare.
Among them…
…taijutsu specialists tended to be the least valued.
Especially someone like Shira, who couldn’t use either ninjutsu or genjutsu.
Part of the reason was the enormous investment required and the low success rate.
Another was the scarcity of truly exceptional taijutsu schools.
Many taijutsu styles only displayed their full power when paired with unique physiques or kekkei genkai.
Examples included the Hyuga Clan’s Gentle Fist…
…and the Kaguya Clan’s Dead Bone Pulse taijutsu.
If someone relied solely on the common taijutsu taught everywhere…
…their ceiling would simply be too low.
They might as well become samurai from the Land of Iron, wear armor, and wield swords.
But…
…would they still be shinobi?
There was no question that Shira possessed an outstanding physique.
He also trained with extraordinary diligence.
Even more remarkable…
…without anyone’s guidance, he had created an entirely original breathing method perfectly suited to himself.
In Daimaru’s opinion…
…that achievement was even more impressive than Might Guy or Rock Lee learning the already established Eight Gates.
Someone with talent…
…and the determination to work hard…
…was worthy of admiration.
For Shira to carve out an entirely new path by himself…
…was truly extraordinary.
The Seven-Day Breathing Method was still in its infancy.
Yet its effects were already impressive.
In terms of pure frontal combat ability…
…Shira had already displayed strength surpassing many veteran Genin during missions.
For now…
…it was still impossible to determine whether the Seven-Day Breathing Method was a miracle unique to Shira…
…or a secret technique that could eventually be passed on to others.
Regardless…
…Shira had already become someone well worth investing in.
Building a relationship with him now…
…might produce unexpected rewards in the future.
Looks like I accidentally found a treasure.
Originally…
Saya hadn’t expected much from Shira.
Now it seemed the favors she’d spent securing him a Genin position hadn’t been wasted at all.
If anything…
…she had made a profit.
That Daimaru…
His strength is only average, but he certainly has a good eye.
Being able to spot a hidden gem among a pile of rubble…
…wasn’t a skill just anyone possessed.
Lady Saya was eccentric.
She wasn’t stupid.
As for the elders of her family…
…their judgment was even sharper.
Otherwise…
…they never would have risen to such influential positions.
Even better…
Now I have much greater confidence in the Chunin Exams.
If she could successfully become a Chunin this time…
…she would no longer have to put up with all those ridiculous arrangements.
…
Meanwhile…
Daimaru continued eating sand at the Northern Fortress.
Despite spending so much time there…
…he still hadn’t seen a single Iwagakure shinobi cross the border.
The only creatures approaching the wall were a few prairie dogs fleeing from desert wolves.
He had no idea how the barren deserts of the Land of Wind managed to raise rodents that fat.
Over the past few days…
…Team Otokaze had become acquainted with several shinobi who had been stationed here for years.
Saren was one of them.
The young man, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, had only recently become a Chunin.
His strength was respectable.
Out of boredom, he had sparred with Daimaru once.
Restricting himself to only Sand Manipulation and taijutsu…
Daimaru ultimately lost.
Still…
…it wasn’t an overwhelming defeat.
According to Saren…
…Daimaru was already quite impressive.
Of course… This chapter is updated first at g.com.
…whether Saren had simply been flattering him out of respect for Jonin Otokaze remained uncertain.
Yome and Chi hadn’t been idle either.
Seizing every opportunity to improve themselves was the most important thing.
As for their training…
Daimaru couldn’t offer much advice.
They could only figure things out themselves.
The elusive Jonin Otokaze would occasionally appear to give his subordinates some guidance as well.
Until one day…
Daimaru finally looked at the puppet before him with complete satisfaction.
It possessed the exact same height and build as himself.
Its appearance had also been carefully sculpted while he used a mirror as reference.
To prevent its face from looking too stiff…
…he had faithfully recreated the structure of the jaw joints.
He even attached silk-treated soft material to imitate human skin…
…and filled a thin layer beneath it with red dye.
If the puppet was damaged…
…its face would appear to bleed.
To make it as convincing as possible…
Daimaru had invested enormous effort into both the materials and the joints.
At a critical moment…
…this could very well save his life.
Naturally…
…this wouldn’t be the only puppet he intended to make.
There were still some materials left over.
As for what he would build with them…
…he hadn’t decided yet.
Regarding another Sand Manipulation technique he planned to rely on regularly…
…the best he could do was imitate Gaara’s method.
He condensed sand into hardened armor that covered the surface of his body, protecting himself from injury.
Although it consumed a fair amount of chakra…
…its real advantage was that he could secretly combine it with the Substitution Technique.
The armor could absorb incoming damage.
It would be especially effective when an opponent unleashed a powerful finishing move.
His basic combat style had finally begun to take shape.
Daimaru had wanted to find someone to test it against.
Unfortunately…
…before he had the chance…
…their mission came to an end.
After returning to the village…
…the news that Sunagakure would participate in the Joint Chunin Exams hosted by Konohagakure had already spread throughout the village.
Filled with ambition…
Daimaru was eager to make a name for himself.
Instead…
…the bad news brought by Otokaze left him completely stunned.
“There are too many recommended Genin.”
“Our team might not even get to go?”
Including Team Otokaze…
…a total of sixteen teams had registered for the Chunin Exams.
Ten of those teams had already secured their qualification.
The remaining six…
…would have to challenge one of the qualified teams.
Only by winning…
…could they earn one of the last tickets to Konohagakure.
(End of Chapter)
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