"You two taking on missions as well? If it's chopping wood or carrying water, how about we make a bet to see who finishes first? Loser has to run an extra 200 laps this afternoon!"
Kē cheerfully ran over.
Perhaps because of their last "scamming the system" attempt, Maito Gai now always roped Kyōen into these challenges...
Upon hearing that they had been tackling missions relentlessly lately, Kē started proposing these bizarre wagers.
Kakashi, his face unreadable—
He had long since gotten used to it.
Among the two teams, the expressions of the three bystanders—Sunset Red, Ebisu, and Fūjinā Shiranami—were the most noticeable, each covering their faces in embarrassment, clearly unwilling to look directly at the scene.
Kyōen smiled faintly, "Not today."
"Why not?"
Kē blinked in surprise.
Kakashi coldly responded, "We're going out of the village to complete a C-rank mission, and we may not return today."
"Huh?"
Maito Gai and the others widened their eyes, completely incredulous.
Out of the village?
Impossible!
They were all freshly graduated genin, even though they had Kakashi, a chunin, and their jōnin team leader was none other than Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin...
Alright!
When compared this way, it seemed like there was a valid reason for them to leave the village.
Fūjinā Shiranami and Ebisu bit their lips, for the first time feeling the gap created by having a jōnin leader and the strength of their team.
There was a universal truth in any situation:
It's not a matter of scarcity but of imbalance.
The two of them felt uneasy.
However, Kē's eyes lit up.
"My eternal friend and rival, no wonder you've been rushing through D-rank missions! That's probably the only way the village allows you to take on C-rank missions, right?"
"Perhaps, but there's also strength involved. After all, Kakashi is a chunin," Kyōen shrugged.
After hearing this, Maito Gai fell silent for a moment, then fired up again: "I'll remember your words. Soon, our team will catch up!"
The goal was set high!
This was the lesson Kyōen had given him.
Now, he had a new goal—
Their team would definitely be the second in their class to be eligible for C-rank missions!
Fūjinā Shiranami and Ebisu froze for a moment before nodding earnestly: "You guys are strong, but we won't fall behind too much!"
They had all gone through the exam.
Although they didn't know exactly what Jiraiya's exam entailed, it was surely not simple. The fact that Kyōen and Sunset Red could pass it alongside Kakashi showed that their overall strength was no joke.
"I've always believed!" Kyōen nodded.
Not long after, a jōnin came out of the room.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Sensei."
Kē and the others immediately responded and began heading towards the outskirts of the village.
On the way,
"You guys don't need to worry too much about them. Just focus on doing your own work," said Jōnin Mitsui Rō.
Ebisu could no longer hold back and asked, "Sensei, is there really that big of a gap between us and them?"
"Even though they have Kakashi, the other two shouldn't be much stronger than us, right?" Fūjinā Shiranami looked skeptical.
Mitsui Rō shook his head.
He looked at the three of them, and after a moment of silence, he sighed. "I didn't want to discourage you, but from what I know, in Jiraiya-sama's exam, the one who performed the best wasn't Kakashi... it was Ryōmine Kyōen."
"What?"
Aside from Maito Gai, the other two were stunned, completely unable to believe it.
As for Maito Gai...
"Ahhh! I knew it! Kyōen is so smart, and he's strong when training together. He's definitely not weak! I'm fired up now! I'll surpass them for sure!"
Kē went wild.
Ebisu thought to himself.
But...
He still couldn't believe it—
If Kakashi had been the main contributor in the exam, they wouldn't be too surprised. Maybe they'd just feel a little envious of having a top genius like Kakashi on their team, making the gap between them huge.
But—
Ryōmine Kyōen was a fellow graduate, and from what they knew, he wasn't considered a genius at the ninja academy. To them, he was just another genin starting at the same point.
Now, Mitsui Rō was telling them...
That wasn't the case! In fact, Kyōen performed the best out of Jiraiya's team of three?!
He's a genius too?
Fūjinā Shiranami and Ebisu were in disbelief.
Mitsui Rō sighed.
"Maybe it's hard for you to accept, but that's the truth…"
This was so shocking that many of the families with connections already knew about it, but these commoner genin were still in the dark.
"There's nothing hard to accept. I know how hard Kyōen and Kakashi have worked!" Maito Gai turned around, unusually serious. "Sweat is the brilliance of youth, my friends! Let's get motivated! We should look up to them as role models, not let this demotivate us!"
"Today, I think you actually made some sense, but since when did you get so eloquent?" the other two muttered.
Kē grinned widely. "Of course! These are all things Kyōen has said!"
He then flashed his big white teeth.
"How about we run 200 laps this afternoon together, and whoever can't finish has to do 100 laps of handstand running?"
"..."
Now that was hitting the spot!
Fūjinā Shiranami and Ebisu's faces turned sour.
...
"Kyōen, how's your water-style ninjutsu training going?"
"I've made some progress. I'm thinking about whether I can compress the water column, turning the chaotic water burst into a single line. It should be even more powerful that way."
Kyōen responded.
Sunset Red didn't quite understand ninjutsu training, so there wasn't much of a noticeable change for her.
But—
Jiraiya's expression went blank, unable to hide his shock.
For the Three Sannin to be so shocked...
Kakashi was curious. "Sensei, what's wrong?"
"You probably don't know, but the 'compressed' water column Kyōen is talking about is something the Second Hokage already perfected. The A-rank technique, Water Severing Wave, is nearly identical to what he's describing."
Jiraiya sighed, explaining the technique.
Water Severing Wave.
A powerful water-style jutsu invented by the Second Hokage. No matter how hard the object, it's like tofu when faced with this technique.
What Kyōen described...
Was nearly identical to Water Severing Wave.
Kyōen put on a surprised, bewildered expression.
Jiraiya paused, then said, "Kyōen, show me your Water Chaos Wave."
"Got it!"
Kyōen nodded and quickly made hand seals.
In the next moment, water poured out, cascading like a small waterfall, roaring relentlessly.
He had truly mastered it!
He had intuitively grasped the skill to save chakra, and he had already reached the essence of Water Chaos Wave.
Could it be... the Senju clan's talent is awakening in this kid?
Jiraiya was stunned.
Kakashi blinked, even more shocked than Jiraiya.
He vaguely remembered that just a few days ago, Kyōen hadn't been this skilled.
His progress was so fast!
Though Kakashi himself hadn't been much different back then, Kyōen's reputation was practically non-existent.
So—
Was this what it felt like from another perspective?
Kakashi froze.
"Not bad. Looks like you've been practicing a lot lately. But for now, it's still too early to train the nature transformation for compression. Even if you master it, it won't be useful yet."
Jiraiya said seriously.
Compression and gathering both require a lot of chakra, whether for training or releasing.
"Understood."
Kyōen didn't argue—
He hadn't planned to practice the nature transformation for compression right away.
Then, Jiraiya took out two pairs of leg weights and tossed one each to Kakashi and Kyōen.
Thud!
The two nearly stumbled.
So heavy!
"These are weighted leg bands. You each get one pair."
Jiraiya said, "Red, you don't need them for now, but I'll reduce our rest time on the way to make sure you can continue training. I've got plenty of soldier pills."
"Got it!"
"Alright, let's go! To the Short Scroll Street!"