Kazekaze stared, dumbfounded, at Tobirama and Might Bai, who were
completely lost in their own theories
. He had to admit—Might Bai's explanation sounded
pretty damn convincing
. If he
didn't already know the truth
, he might have believed it himself! No matter how he looked at it,
Bai's analysis was flawless
!
Meanwhile,
Tobirama's expression was filled with certainty
. After all, Might Bai was a
taijutsu master
. At his current level, he was capable of opening the
Sixth Gate—The Gate of View
. Even Tobirama acknowledged Bai as a formidable warrior. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen
Might Bai as Kazekaze's personal taijutsu instructor
. From Tobirama's perspective, Bai's
deduction was highly credible
.
"Based on my assessment, Kazekaze-sama must have started training in the The Eight Inner Gates at the age of five." Might Bai
flashed his signature bright white grin
, exuding absolute confidence in his
theory
.
"Uh... this..." Kazekaze
felt incredibly awkward
.
He had
no idea
what kind of expression he should be making right now. Should he
just go along
with Might Bai's story? That he had spent
two years secretly training in monstrous strength and the The Eight Inner Gates
while away from the village? But
who would have taught him?
Surely not
Hashirama secretly tracking him down and forcing him into training?!
That lie would fall apart the moment
Tobirama confronted Hashirama
!
And besides— Kazekaze
didn't feel the need to lie at all
. Who was he?
The grandson of the God of Shinobi!
His entire
character
was built around being a
bloodline genius
! Who would dare
attack him out of jealousy
? Not Hashirama. Not Tobirama.
They'd never lay a hand on him!
However,
Might Bai wasn't done being amazed
. "Even if you started at five, mastering the Gate of Pain in just two years... You'd still be an unparalleled genius in this world!" Might Bai
gave Kazekaze a big thumbs-up
.
As a
true-blooded Might clan member
, his heart was
pure and full of sunshine
. Despite his
shock
at Kazekaze's
talent
, there wasn't a
single ounce of jealousy
in him. To him— Kazekaze was Kazekaze. Might Bai was Might Bai. As long as he could
burn with youthful passion
, he had
no regrets
.
"Is that really the case?" Tobirama asked again.
Though he
already believed
Bai's theory was the correct one, he still wanted
confirmation from Kazekaze himself
.
"Alright then." Kazekaze sighed. "The truth is—I really only started practicing the The Eight Inner Gates yesterday. Whether you believe me or not, that's up to you. If you insist on thinking it took me two years, then there's nothing I can say." Kazekaze
shrugged
, looking completely
uninterested in arguing
.
For a moment, he felt like he wasn't talking to his
great-uncle
. But to a
girlfriend in an argument
. The kind who demands an explanation but then
covers her ears
and goes—
"I don't hear you, I don't hear you, I don't hear you!"
What was he supposed to do?! He was
just as frustrated
as they were! But this
was the truth!
Kazekaze
hadn't spent a day training
— No. Not even a
moment
! He had
pulled the technique from a check-in reward!
Of course— Putting aside the fact that the
check-in system
was
his ultimate secret
, his foundation for
survival in this world
— Even if he
told the entire truth
,
no one would believe him
.
Just like now. No matter how
much he explained
,
Tobirama refused to believe him
!
"So, you're telling me... you only watched Might Bai's demonstration once, then spent one night, and now you've mastered the The Eight Inner Gates?" Tobirama pressed.
"Yes." Kazekaze nodded
firmly
.
"That's impossible!" Tobirama's voice
boomed with absolute certainty
.
"Learning the The Eight Inner Gates in a single night? Why not just say you mastered monstrous strength in a day too?!"
"But I really did learn monstrous strength in just one day." Kazekaze let out an
exasperated sigh
. "Forget it, Lord Tobirama. If that's what you want to believe, I won't argue anymore. Maybe to you all, monstrous strength and the The Eight Inner Gates seem like incredibly difficult taijutsu techniques. But for me, they're really simple. And honestly... The things that will shock you in the future will only keep increasing!"
Kazekaze
wasn't boasting
—he was simply
stating a fact
.Monstrous strength? The The Eight Inner Gates? They were both
check-in rewards
. And... He had
mastered them instantly
. So of course, it was
easy
. Plus, his
check-in system wasn't a one-time thing
. The abilities he would acquire from his
daily rewards
would only
keep getting stronger
.
Flying Thunder God.
Deep Forest Emergence.
Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
And so much more.
Aside from
basic physical training
, he
didn't need to learn
ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. He could
just pull them from his check-in rewards
. And for
those unaware of the truth
, like Tobirama and the others— They would
keep being stunned
by his
"talent"
over and over again! Tobirama stared at Kazekaze, his face
covered in dark lines
. His
mind was in chaos
.
"I'm your great-uncle, Kazekaze! I personally assigned Might Bai to be your taijutsu teacher! Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others—I'm training them to be the elite Hokage guard unit. One day, when you become Hokage, they will be your most loyal subordinates! There are no outsiders here! So why won't you just tell the truth?!" From beginning to end— Tobirama
didn't believe a single word Kazekaze said
.
As for
Might Bai
, who was also training in the
The Eight Inner Gates
— Even though he
wasn't jealous
of Kazekaze's
talent
, The idea of someone mastering the The Eight Inner Gates
in a single day
...
Shook him to his core.
He couldn't help but
compare himself
to Kazekaze. Thinking about how
long it took him
to open the Gate of Pain...
He felt crushed.
Mastering the The Eight Inner Gates
in just one day
... Was that even
possible?!
Yet, no matter how
he analyzed it
,
Kazekaze didn't seem to be lying
. Besides— He was
just a seven-year-old child
. How could he possibly have such
impeccable acting skills?
Mastering monstrous strength in one day. Then mastering the
The Eight Inner Gates the next day
. Even
Lord Hashirama himself
couldn't have done that! And on top of that— No one had even
taught
Kazekaze. This was
beyond ridiculous
—it was
monstrous
.
"Forget it." Seeing
Kazekaze refuse to admit the "truth,"
Tobirama
reluctantly let it go
.
He figured—
Big brother Hashirama must have told him to keep it a secret.
Although... Hashirama was a
terrible liar
. And unlike Kazekaze, he didn't have the
shamelessness
to
deny things with a straight face
.
"Big brother... just wait until I get back to the Hokage office."
Meanwhile— Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed that
Danzo was still lying on the ground
, not getting up. As
both his rival and closest friend
, Hiruzen quickly stepped forward to help him up.
"Are you okay?" Hiruzen asked, knowing Danzo must be
devastated
.
Hearing Kazekaze's words earlier— Hiruzen almost
wanted to slap him
.
'What do you mean, 'it was really simple'?! Explain. What do you mean, 'it was really simple'?! '
"Honestly... I'm fine." Danzo glanced at Hiruzen and
muttered quietly
.
What else could he say? Danzo's
gaze darkened
as he stared at Kazekaze, whispering under his breath—
"If only I had Lord Hashirama's DNA too..."
"What did you just say?"
"N-Nothing." Danzo shook his head,
burying the thought deep inside
.