manynovel Chapter 12 The Assessment Begins
Chapter 12 The Assessment Begins
"Chisuke, it's time for your medicinal bath."
Makoto Tasakabe glanced at the moon in the sky and stopped Sensuke, who was constantly practicing his swordsmanship.
Chisuke wiped the sweat from his face, placed the long sword on the sword rack, and silently walked towards the room where the medicinal bath was kept.
He was so tired that he didn't want to speak.
"You've been training a lot lately, so be careful not to develop any hidden injuries."
Makoto Tasakabe watched his son enter the large water bucket and gave him a worried warning.
Chisuke leaned comfortably against the edge of the wooden tub and nodded lazily: "My master said I can't learn his Scorching Release, so I have to work even harder."
Some time ago, Sensuke trained with Pakura, trying to learn the Scorch Release technique, but made no progress.
As a model worker, Yekura often carries out tasks, while Chisuke continues his studies at school, waiting for Yekura to return to the village to receive guidance.
Of course, Kyosuke's application to graduate early was approved, and he needed to improve his strength as soon as possible, especially his physical skills and throwing weapons. So, Chisuke and the others practiced their physical skills like crazy during this time.
Kyosuke only learned the Three Body Techniques, basic taijutsu, and weapon throwing at school, so he could only demonstrate his skills in these areas during the assessment. Sensuke also had to put aside his ninjutsu training for the time being.
With the combined efforts of the five, Kyosuke's strength improved rapidly, and the moment of assessment finally arrived.
Kyosuke reduced his training volume two days in advance to get into top shape, and then on this day, he and Kakashi were taken to a training ground by Naohiro Takahara.
"I am your examiner, Saito Hisao, a Chunin from Konoha. Your mission is to fight me. In the battle that follows, you must fight with all your might, with the goal of killing me. I will judge whether you are qualified to graduate based on your performance."
A ninja in his thirties described the assessment content with a blank expression.
Kyosuke was somewhat surprised to hear that a Chunin was going to test him. He thought that for the graduation exam, the examiners would be Genin, and that defeating a Genin would be considered a victory.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with having Chunin take the test.
Chunin are not only experienced, but they can also assess students' abilities more comprehensively and reduce the risk of accidentally injuring their opponents.
"In other words, we are not required to defeat the opponent; we only need to demonstrate sufficient strength to pass. It seems that the opponent will mainly test our ninjutsu, taijutsu, fighting spirit, and combat intelligence. I should just do my best in these areas."
Based on Saito Hisao's words, Kyosuke extracted the useful information and then formulated a battle plan.
Thinking of this, Kyosuke glanced at Kakashi again and found that Kakashi did not show any surprise, but remained calm and composed.
Saito Hisao glanced at Kyosuke and Kakashi and asked, "Who wants to go first?"
Kakashi and Kyosuke exchanged a glance, and Kakashi stepped forward first: "I am Hatake Kakashi, nice to meet you."
"Go for it, Kakashi!"
Naohiro Takahara and Kyosuke stood at the edge of the arena, while Kakashi and Hisao Saito began their battle.
Kyosuke watched silently, constantly analyzing their performance.
Saito Hisao is quite strong, with good taijutsu and ninjutsu skills. He is also very fast at forming hand seals, and he handles each move with ease. It is evident that he has a solid foundation and a wealth of combat experience.
Kyosuke guessed that Saito Hisao was probably a commoner ninja. Although he was talented and hardworking, he lacked a lineage, did not receive proper guidance, and had insufficient resources, so he could only be a Chunin. If he was lucky in the future, he could become a Special Jonin by accumulating merits.
This is already considered an excellent ninja, after all, many ninjas remain genin (low-ranking ninja) their entire lives.
While watching the match, Naohiro Takahara offered Kyosuke advice.
“Saito Hisao is an experienced ninja. You need to put away your clever tricks when you fight him. The methods you use to deal with students won’t fool him. You have no chance of winning this battle. So what you need to do is go all out and show your true strength before you are defeated or run out of energy. If you do that, you should have a chance to pass the test.”
"I see."
Kyosuke agreed to Takahara Naohiro's request, his eyes fixed on the battle on the field. He noticed that Kakashi was actually fighting back and forth with his opponent, and he was eager to try and give his best performance.
If Kakashi can do it so well, why can't the five of us do it with our combined efforts?
On the field, the two sides fought fiercely and at a fast pace.
Kakashi wielded a short sword, while Saito Hisao used a kunai; their weapons clashed, constantly sparking bursts of light.
Perhaps because this was just a genin exam, Saito Hisao only used the Three Body Techniques and taijutsu. Kakashi may not have known them yet, or the battle was too intense for him to use ninjutsu, so he only used swordsmanship in the fight.
According to Kyosuke's observation, Saito Hisao is clearly stronger in all aspects, while Kakashi is showing signs of fatigue after the intense battle.
However, based on Kyosuke's understanding of Kakashi, Kakashi would never easily admit defeat.
Sure enough, when Kakashi was at his most exhausted and on the verge of defeat, his legs suddenly burst forth with lightning-style chakra, his speed skyrocketing, and he charged straight into Saito Hisao's arms, his short sword slashing sharply towards Saito Hisao's neck.
"what?!"
Faced with Kakashi's sudden outburst, Saito Hisao was caught off guard, his rhythm was disrupted, and he had no time to defend himself, so he directly grabbed a kunai and stabbed it towards Kakashi's neck.
In the end, Kakashi's blade and Saito Hisao's kunai both stopped at each other's necks.
"Very good, your performance was excellent, I will report it truthfully."
Saito Hisao put away his kunai and praised Kakashi, who replied, "My strength is inferior to yours, sir."
Kakashi was telling the truth; he had used his full strength. However, Saito Hisao was just going through the motions. Although he didn't hold back, he certainly didn't go all out.
"I never expected you to know the Chakra Stimulation Technique. That's amazing."
Upon seeing Kakashi approaching, Naoya Takahara praised him highly.
Kakashi said modestly, then looked at Kyosuke: "Good luck, you should be fine."
Kyosuke smiled confidently: "Of course, you'd better get your money ready to treat me to barbecue."
Kakashi's face darkened: "Why am I paying?"
Kyosuke said matter-of-factly, "We should celebrate, but I don't have any money, so you'll have to treat us."
As he spoke, Kyosuke walked over as Saito Hisao had requested.
Although Saito Hisao had fought a battle, his physical strength was not greatly depleted, so Kyosuke's test began quickly.
Kyosuke threw two shuriken directly, and then charged forward.
"Are you very confident in your physical skills?"
Saito Hisao parried the shuriken, and seeing Kyosuke charging towards him, he didn't retreat but directly engaged Kyosuke in a hand-to-hand combat contest.
"Such speed, such power! Have you specialized in physical techniques?"
As soon as they clashed, Saito Hisao felt Kyosuke's powerful and heavy attack. Although Kyosuke used basic martial arts, his movements were very fluid, and for a moment Saito Hisao had no chance to counterattack.