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Mm.
Strong smell of hospital disinfectant.
Why would my house smell like this?
Is someone injured?
Consciousness returned from darkness and haze.
Before Yagura even opened his eyes, his sense of smell told him something was wrong.
He hadn’t just woken up from normal sleep.
Then his hearing came back…
“Saito, that kid’s been out for over a day. Why hasn’t he woken up?”
“Mr. Karatachi, your grandson suffered physical exhaustion, plus his cells were overstimulated by lightning-release chakra for too long. Extended recovery time is normal.”
“…He’s not going to die, is he.”
His own grandson?
“…Your grandson is merely overtired. He’ll wake after some rest. No danger to his life.”
Voices outside the door.
One very familiar, his own grandfather.
The other, a pleasant-sounding girl he’d never heard before.
From the information gathered, Yagura figured the girl was a doctor.
A medical ninja.
And his current state really wasn’t good.
Every part of his body was on strike.
Not a single cell listening to him.
Even opening his eyes or moving a finger took effort.
Case solved.
Oh.
The injured one needing treatment is me.
Well then.
So he was in the ninja hospital.
Memories before he passed out gradually returned.
Yagura recalled what great deed he’d accomplished.
He’d challenged Juzo Biwa of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen one-on-one, then forced himself past his limits to execute a six-strike Thunderclap and Flash.
Even so, he’d still lost miserably.
Passed out in front of everyone without saving a shred of face.
Damn.
Black mark on his record.
Recalling it all, Yagura’s first concern wasn’t his body, but worrying about Mangetsu and the others digging up this dark history later.
What face would he have left as their boss?
Seriously.
He’d overreached.
He’d underestimated the consequences of pushing past his limits.
He thought the worst outcome would be not being able to stand.
Never expected to straight-up pass out.
With great effort, Yagura pried apart his stuck-together eyelids and stared wordlessly at the white ceiling above.
An electric light flickered and buzzed.
Lying immobile on the white hospital bed, the blanket pressed down on him like sleep paralysis.
Seriously…
Yagura truly understood for the first time what it meant to have no strength in his limbs.
His body was wrapped solidly in layer after layer of bandages, probably coated with plenty of herbal medicine.
The evidence: he didn’t feel soreness anywhere.
Instead, many areas felt cool and soothing.
Grandpa Karatachi had really spared no expense.
When he got back, he was definitely getting an earful.
Had he pushed too hard?
Gotten arrogant?
Yagura gazed calmly at the flickering light, reflecting on his “suicidal” behavior.
Hand on his heart, he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.
Juzo Biwa was different from his previous sparring partners.
Even if Yagura had to choose again, he’d still do the same.
Through this battle, Yagura understood where the gap still lay between himself and a true jonin.
In taijutsu, his speed might be fast, but in an elite jonin’s eyes, it wasn’t enough.
Strength was a weak point.
He needed to find a way to strengthen it further.
In ninjutsu, he hadn’t tried this time.
Next chance, he’d find someone to spar with.
Most critical of all: insufficient chakra.
Just using Lightning Release Chakra Mode for a while had his chakra and stamina both sounding alarms.
Physical conditioning and chakra, both hard requirements.
Improving physical conditioning required day-after-day, year-after-year training.
Chakra was the same.
It required cultivation.
This couldn’t be rushed.
After all, he was only seven.
As for those novels he’d read before transmigrating, where protagonists shocked the Third Hokage at four, recruited Akatsuki at seven, stunned Uchiha Madara at ten, and took down Otsutsuki at twelve…
Yagura had to say he couldn’t learn from that.
Those guys were cheating.
Where was his cheat?
His thoughts drifting to this point, the form of the Three-Tails surfaced in Yagura’s mind.
Isobu, that giant turtle.
If he became a jinchuriki, chakra would be no concern at all.
A jinchuriki’s body recovery speed would be much faster with tailed beast chakra’s aid.
At least Uzumaki Naruto was like that.
Alright.
Decided.
Three-Tails jinchuriki, check!
So, so, so, here’s the question.
How do I convince Grandpa to let me become the Three-Tails jinchuriki…
At the same time, in a forest outside Hidden Mist Village.
CLANG!
Ninja sword against ninja sword.
Two standard-issue blades met head-on in midair!
Strike failing, both Mangetsu and Zabuza used the force to retreat and land back on the ground.
Almost at the exact same moment, they moved again, charging toward each other.
Blade against blade, each wielding their own swordsmanship.
For a time, the clearing’s center was filled with unending flashes of steel.
Mangetsu had trained since childhood in the ancestral sword style taught by the Hozuki clan.
Every stance and move had its principles.
Zabuza’s swordsmanship was all accumulated from his own experience.
Calling it swordsmanship was less accurate than saying he relied on experience and instinct to counter moves as they came.
In technique, Mangetsu had the upper hand.
In power and speed, Zabuza was stronger.
Using technique to deflect and redirect Zabuza’s attacks the whole time, Mangetsu seized an opening and suddenly exploded with force, locking Zabuza’s blade parallel to the ground!
The shared vision from Kime no Kaede let Zabuza notice Mangetsu’s muscle movements at the first moment.
Mangetsu’s free hand shot toward Zabuza’s sword hilt, exposed right beneath his eyes!
Just as Mangetsu was about to succeed, Zabuza’s sword hand suddenly applied force in the same direction as Mangetsu’s, using the momentum to break free of Mangetsu’s blade control.
Then he swiftly withdrew his sword.
The hilt slammed squarely into Mangetsu’s reaching palm, while the blade drew a cut across Mangetsu’s other hand.
Mangetsu took the hit and retreated several steps.
“Tsk!”
Zabuza laughed heartily, panting. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Looks like this round is mine.”
Mangetsu bared his teeth.
“What’s there to be smug about? Winning this round just makes it 3 to 3.”
“It’ll be 4 to 3 soon. I’m the 4.”
“In your dreams!”
Kime no Kaede spoke up to cut them off, sitting down and leaning against a tree.
“Break time. Out of chakra.”
The world before Mangetsu and Zabuza’s eyes reverted to normal.
Both turned their cannons simultaneously.
“No way, Kaede, you’re out after just half an hour?” “A man can’t say he can’t.”
Kime no Kaede shook his head.
He had neither the energy nor interest to argue.
Seriously.
You two battle maniacs got provoked by Yagura and want to get stronger, fine, train on your own.
Why drag him into this?
He was just a fragile, weak sensor ninja.
“If you’re out of chakra, train taijutsu.”
Mangetsu mercilessly shattered Kime no Kaede’s daydream, tossing his ninja sword at him.
“Get over here. Join in.”
Kime no Kaede clung to a shred of hope.
“What about you?”
“I have my own plans.”
Mangetsu left the clearing to Zabuza and Kime no Kaede.
He walked off to one side on his own.
He stopped.
Brought both palms together.
“Water Release.”
Mangetsu slowly spread his hands apart.
A blade formed of water gradually took shape.
He concentrated on controlling the water-release chakra, bit by bit “carving” out his ideal sword’s shape.
Blade tip, blade edge, blade body, hilt…
With every part completed, the sweat on Mangetsu’s forehead grew denser.
Precise chakra control was already difficult.
Let alone when the goal was to “forge” a sharp blade capable of killing.
Like using a carving knife to whittle a wooden stick.
Whittling it into a toothpick was simple enough.
But trying to carve it into a sword, the difficulty shot up exponentially.
What it tested was a ninja’s chakra control.
No easy thing.
Simple example: medical ninjas require extremely high precision in chakra control.
Just look at the number of medical ninjas.
You’ll understand how difficult fine chakra control really is.
But Mangetsu was Mangetsu.
Half a minute later, a fully-formed water blade spread open, grasped in his hand.
Zabuza pushed his blade to deflect Kime no Kaede away, his gaze flicking to Mangetsu’s side.
Seeing the water blade in his hand, his pupils constricted.
That’s Yagura’s water release!
“Ha, haha…”
Mangetsu laughed while panting, both exhilarated and exhausted.
If someone could read minds, they’d be shocked by what was going through Mangetsu’s mind right now.
“This water release blade technique worked. It’s viable.”
He lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Mangetsu saw his direction clearly.
With surging excitement, he said, “When I get the chance in the future, I want to try replicating all seven ninja swords!”
➤ Next: The Sage’s Dream Visitation Is a Good Excuse