Becoming the Hokage was Naruto Uzumaki's original dream—one he relentlessly chased to earn recognition. Before Sasuke abandoned the village, rescuing comrades wasn't even on Naruto's radar.
Naruto was instantly startled by Kakashi Hatake's words.
"Naruto, wanting to be Hokage means more than just mastering a couple of strong Ninjutsu. There's an enormous amount of knowledge you need to learn."
"I know," Naruto replied dejectedly after suffering this blow. "I'll study hard once I get back."
"Back?" Mizuki interjected with teasing enthusiasm. "I've got it right here. Want me to show it to you now? It's all written out in detail!"
Mizuki's overly eager offer immediately made Naruto uneasy.
"No thanks... We're still on a mission. Getting distracted wouldn't be good, hahaha..."
"That's a real shame..." Pretending to think it over, Mizuki pulled back the hand he'd already begun reaching into his robe with to retrieve the Ninja Handbook.
After glancing at Mizuki, Kakashi continued, "Earlier, I mentioned how many ninja from the Land of Water don't follow the rules strictly, causing great instability in their system. While ninja from other countries usually hold back during battles—taking care not to involve innocent civilians—many Mist ninja don't have such concerns. Life for civilians in the Land of Water is incredibly tough—and the ones making it that way are the very Mist ninja who're supposed to protect them."
"How could that happen?"
Kakashi's words deeply shocked the group of Genin who had received traditional Konoha ninja education. Under the current system where each country maintains its own village as the ultimate military guarantee, the idea that a village might actually become its country's burden—or even a threat—was practically unbelievable.
Seeing that the Mist ninja weren't paying attention to them, Kakashi continued, "Though rare, situations like this occasionally do occur for various reasons—which I won't go into now. However, Kirigakure's problems likely originated from long-standing ninja selection policies, which became increasingly bloody and cruel over time. On top of that, tensions between regular ninja and Kekkei Genkai clans have caused widespread chaos. In the isolated Land of Water, one can easily imagine just how dire civilian lives really are."
"I know about this! Zabuza mentioned it back in the Land of Waves, and there's also Haku…" Naruto excitedly jumped in, finally encountering something he knew well enough to contribute.
Kakashi nodded. "'Demon' Zabuza is the perfect example of what the Blood Mist Country creates—a deadly assassin forged through relentless violence from childhood. Do you really think anyone would want someone like him around? Back in the Land of Waves, Gato would've already been dead if Zabuza didn't need his money and somewhere to hide from pursuers. As for Haku, his story perfectly embodies another reason—the tragedy caused by Kekkei Genkai…"
"Kekkei Genkai? Tragedy?"
"Ever since he left the village to begin this mission, Sasuke Uchiha—who had been so quiet all along—seemed unusually intrigued by those two words: 'Kekkei Genkai.'
Kakashi seemed prepared for Sasuke's interest. 'Hmm… You might not have noticed it while in the village, but a Kekkei Genkai isn't always a blessing.'
Pausing briefly, Kakashi continued, 'In the Land of Water, there was a very famous clan possessing an exceptional bloodline limit regarded as having the strongest Taijutsu—the Shikotsumyaku. Their fame shook the entire ninja world. Any ninja with even a little experience would've known about their terrifying strength…'
'Shikotsumyaku? Sounds kind of unpleasant; why haven't I heard of it before?' Bloodline limits were rare already, and yet such a powerful legendary clan had absolutely no rumors surrounding them—it seemed odd.
'You haven't heard about it because they're all dead,' Kakashi said gravely. 'The Kaguya Clan, who inherited the Shikotsumyaku, possessed the ability to fight using bones throughout their bodies and showed an amazing aptitude for physical combat. Combined with battle techniques passed down through the family, nearly every member became a master of martial arts. Yet during a reckless rebellion driven mad by their thirst for combat, they fought until the entire clan was completely wiped out.'
'Annihilation, just like that?' Sasuke wasn't fully satisfied with this vague explanation.
'A bloodline limit is a mutation that occurs within a person—it's not necessarily a good thing. Take the Shikotsumyaku as an example; it brought with it an uncontrollable battle frenzy, and even deadly bloodline diseases that could hardly be cured.'
'Bloodline disease?' Everyone more or less knew about bloodline limits—there were classic examples present right here, the Sharingan and Byakugan. But none of them had ever heard of this term 'bloodline disease' before.
'You think all bloodline limits are like the Sharingan and Byakugan, right? With minimal side effects, or even none at all? Sasuke, take Haku, the opponent you once faced. When his Ice Release—a Kekkei Genkai inherited from his parents—awakened suddenly, still a complete novice with no experience at all, he might injure others, or even himself due to poor control. Many sudden eruptions of strong bloodline abilities like this have even directly killed one's own family members…'
'How could that be?' This previously unknown information shattered the usual common sense held by these Genin.
'These are just a few basic examples. The ninja world holds countless unknown and terrifying Kekkei Genkai—some day, you'll face them yourselves…'
Mizuki saw the atmosphere growing heavier and couldn't help interrupting, 'Alright, Kakashi, maybe that's enough for now… They'll understand when they actually meet such things. Talking about this now seems too soon.'
'That's true too. Then I'll stop. It's getting late—you should all get some rest. Spending the whole day cooped up on a ship really takes it out of you.'
…
After the young Genin had left, Mizuki couldn't help complaining, 'You told them too much, Kakashi…'
'Too much? Maybe that was slightly inappropriate, but I don't think it's a big problem…' Kakashi replied.
'A Kekkei Genkai… destruction of an entire clan… Are you trying to imply something with that?'
"Mizuki couldn't help but warn, 'Be careful not to bring up too many touchy subjects. It won't do these Genin—especially Sasuke—any good.'
'I know, Mizuki,' he said with a shrug. 'You're stressing over nothing.'"
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