Chapter 46: Graduation
[Summoning Beast: Little Gray Wolf Pup]
Rank: C+
Species: Canidae Mammal
Attribute: Natural Energy
Abilities:
Nature Affinity (Passive): Little Gray's body has mutated, giving it an innate high affinity for the natural energy of the Shinobi World. After reaching adulthood, it can freely utilize natural energy. By continuously absorbing natural energy, its lifespan surpasses all others in the Shinobi World.
Circle of Doom: Little Gray draws a circle on the ground. By placing an item from the target's body (hair, fingernail) inside the circle, Little Gray can cast a curse regardless of distance. The curse power forms a chibi-style effigy of the target. One-tenth of the damage inflicted on the effigy is transferred to the target.
I'll Be Back!: Little Gray shouts the phrase "I'll Be Back!", increasing its movement speed by 1000%.
Unknown Ability: ???
Unknown Ability: ???
System Evaluation: Surprise, surprise!
Kael suddenly regretted everything.
No doubt about it, the one licking him must be Little Gray. If he'd known he'd synthesize such a useless showpiece, maybe he would have just released the wolf pup.
Just then, he heard the creak of footsteps rapidly descending the stairs. A cheerful voice followed, growing closer.
"Kael-nii-san, are you awake? Little Gray suddenly disobeyed me and ran over to you. It startled me."
Kael cracked his eyelids open. Through his blurry vision, he saw a sweet, pretty face hovering above him. It was Rei.
He heard her continue, "Kael-nii-san, why are you so weak? When Little Wind brought you back, you were lying there completely still, and Little Wind kept crying out to me. I was so scared! Don't move, I'll go get you some more goat milk. It's nutritious, and Little Gray really likes it too..."
Kael: "..." Goat milk? For a C+ rank wolf pup?
One month later.
Hidden Hot Water Village, Ninja Academy training grounds.
Two figures were sparring intensely: Kael and Inoshita Rino.
It had been three days since Kael had fully recovered. The memory of the ordeal still made him shudder. He'd spent a full half-month bedridden just to synthesize one Summoning Beast! That kind of debilitating weakness wasn't considered an injury, so medical ninjutsu couldn't speed up the recovery process.
The worst part was, the synthesized C+ rank summon, Little Gray, was just a pup with practically no combat strength. It broke Kael's heart. The Shinobi World wasn't worth the trouble!
Having been bedridden for so long, Kael felt like his body had rusted. He asked Inoshita to spar with him as part of his rehabilitation.
A sweeping kick whistled towards his face. Kael quickly leaned back, dodging the blow, his body bending like an iron bridge, showcasing his incredible flexibility. He then flicked his left foot out like a dragonfly touching water, striking the hamstring behind Inoshita's knee. The impact made Inoshita's attacking leg go numb, forcing him to halt his assault and retreat.
Kael sprang back up like a bow, pushing off the ground with his hands and immediately returning to a ready stance.
Feeling the lingering numbness in his right leg, Inoshita gave a wry smile. "You brat, don't you know how to respect your elders? Kicking so hard!"
"Hehe, Uncle Rino, if I didn't take it seriously, I'd be the one crying uncle soon," Kael chuckled, not falling for the pity act.
"You brat!" Inoshita laughed, then charged forward again, kunai in hand.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks flew as their kunai clashed in a fierce taijutsu exchange. Inoshita Rino was an incredibly experienced shinobi. It was only due to his age, physical decline, and old injuries that his strength fell slightly short of an average Chunin. In a pure taijutsu battle, Kael was still forced onto the defensive, only managing occasional counterattacks.
As they fought, chakra flowed rapidly through Kael's body, enhancing the power of his strikes and his reaction speed, quickly bringing his slightly sluggish body back to peak condition. The training grounds echoed with the sounds of their clash. The surrounding students watched, dazzled but thrilled. They could barely follow the fighters' figures, let alone the details of the exchange; all they saw were blurs flickering, clashing, and weaving around each other.
After several more minutes, Inoshita was slightly out of breath. While taijutsu didn't consume much chakra, it was a great test of a shinobi's physical stamina. Unless one possessed monstrous strength and chakra reserves like the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, most taijutsu fights were decided quickly. And stamina was Inoshita's weak point.
CLANG!
Their kunai clashed one last time, and Inoshita used the momentum to disengage and retreat. "Sigh, I'm getting old! Can't keep up with you youngsters anymore."
Seeing Inoshita's slightly pained expression, Kael felt a twinge of sympathy and quickly offered some (slightly backhanded) comfort. "Don't worry, Uncle Rino. For an old guy, you're in pretty good shape."
Inoshita's mouth twitched, and he shot Kael a glare but didn't say anything more. He nodded his head towards an empty corner, signaling Kael to follow.
They moved to the indicated spot, stopping in a corner beneath one of the academy buildings.
"What's up?" Kael asked, puzzled by Inoshita's secretive manner.
"You've graduated," Inoshita stated simply.
"What?" Kael raised an eyebrow, feeling like he hadn't heard correctly.
"I said, you brat, you've graduated!" Inoshita repeated flatly.
Kael's mouth twitched. This felt absurd. "What do you mean, graduated? I haven't even taken the graduation exam!"
Inoshita took a deep breath, his expression turning serious. He didn't answer the question directly. "This was Lord Leader's decision. The Shinobi World has become unstable again recently. There's been friction on the borders of several major nations. The scent of war is growing stronger. On top of that, ever since Lord Leader was severely injured, although his wounds have healed, his health has been declining..." Inoshita trailed off, falling silent.
"You understand what I'm saying. You should also understand the deeper meaning behind Lord Leader's decision. The old man... he has high hopes for you..."
How could Kael not understand? Jade wanted him to graduate early so that he, the genius of the Hidden Hot Water, could grow quickly and become a pillar of the village. Perhaps he was even grooming him as the next potential leader. But it all felt too sudden, leaving Kael feeling adrift.
He looked at Inoshita, frowning deeply. "Is Lord Leader's condition really bad right now?"
Inoshita nodded grimly. "According to Watanabe Musashi, he has almost no combat strength left, and his physical functions are deteriorating day by day. And the Shinobi World is becoming increasingly unstable... Those people... seem intent on reigniting the old grudges left unresolved from the last time..."
Kael froze, a sudden understanding dawning on him. "Are you talking about... the Third Great Shinobi War?"