Naruto world: The Rise Of The Sand Village

"Enough, enough, I'm done. I'm tired."

Halfway through the fight, Hardy took the initiative to call it off.

He was out of chakra.

Although puppet masters consume relatively little chakra when controlling puppets, the more puppets they manipulate, the greater the consumption naturally becomes.

But that was just a minor issue.

The main problem lay in the pneumatic devices.

When operating at full power, Hardy had to frequently use Wind Release to draw air into the cylinders and compress it.

Back when he only had Formentor, Hardy's chakra reserves could still support him for quite a while, but now he had added a new puppet, Big Ivan.

Big Ivan's pneumatic system was much more complex than Formentor's, with more functions, and the chakra required far exceeded that of Formentor.

On top of that, the mechanism shield used for defense was also a major chakra drain, so Hardy could only last for about twenty minutes.

"Not bad, your progress has already exceeded my expectations."

Kazakami Chiran stopped forming hand seals, sheathed his ninja sword on his back, and looked at Hardy with approval. He said,

"Your current strength is already close to jōnin level. Actually, you already have the ability to hold your own against some jōnin for a certain period, though there are still some shortcomings…"

As Kazakami Chiran spoke, Baki and Pakura walked over, surveying the aftermath of the battle and listening to his words.

Right now, aside from endurance issues, Hardy's combat ability was already barely on par with a jōnin.

"Tsk tsk, Hardy, at this rate, you might break the Third Kazekage's record and become the youngest jōnin in the village's history!"

Baki's eyes were full of envy.

Currently, the record for the youngest jōnin in Sunagakure was set by the Third Kazekage during the First Kazekage's era, becoming a jōnin at just under fourteen years old.

Pakura also had a chance, but it was slim, as she was nearing that age herself and was currently about to be promoted to special jōnin. She'd probably make jōnin before turning fifteen.

Baki knew his own talent wasn't on par with Hardy or Pakura, so he set his baseline at becoming a jōnin before sixteen.

If things went well in the future, and he mastered a powerful secret technique or successfully awakened his own kekkei genkai, there was still a slim chance he could reach Kage-level strength at his peak.

But Hardy had just turned twelve. Although he was currently only a chūnin, he already possessed near-jōnin strength.

He just needed a bit more than a year to accumulate enough merit, shore up his remaining weaknesses, and raise his strength another notch—he really had a good shot.

At this rate, Hardy was bound to reach Kage-level strength after coming of age, and become the new leader of the puppet corps after Chiyo.

"No wonder Elder Chiyo wants to take Hardy as her disciple!" 

Baki thought to himself.

At this moment, Kazakami Chiran also glanced at Hardy and Pakura , stroked his chin in thought, and then spoke:

"Once the situation on the front lines stabilizes, I'll request Elder Chiyo to let me take you all out more often to accumulate merit and get you promoted to special jōnin as soon as possible. Baki, once our squad has enough achievements, I'll start special training for you all. Within a year, you must master wind chakra nature transformation."

This squad was already very strong.

Kazakami Chiran was a top-tier jōnin. Hardy could fight at jōnin level for a certain time, and Pakura could serve as a half-jōnin.

Baki …

Baki wasn't weak either. Ordinary chūnin wouldn't be his match. With Hardy, Pakura, and Baki working together, they'd developed strong teamwork and certainly wouldn't drag each other down.

With this lineup, unless they ran into a Kage-level powerhouse or were beset by a large-scale ninja ambush, they could always retreat safely.

"In half a year, Hardy and Pakura will have enough merit to be promoted to special jōnin. Within a year, the three of you will master wind release nature transformation and each advance another rank. By then, you'll be ready to graduate from my tutelage."

Kazakami Chiran said.

By then, Pakura would have mastered both wind and fire nature transformations, and with her strength, merit would be no issue—promotion to jōnin would be a sure thing. As for Hardy, with Chiyo as his patron, he'd certainly get the right missions to earn merit, and with enough strength, promotion would be a given.

Baki might lag a bit, but being a thirteen-year-old special jōnin would already make him a bona fide prodigy. As a special jōnin, he'd be able to handle missions independently and have the ability to protect himself in the ninja world.

Kazakami Chiran's role as squad leader was both teacher and caretaker, ensuring these three future pillars of the village grew strong.

Sunagakure needed three people who could support the village ten years down the line, not three who would always need protection. Without enduring harsh enough trials, it's impossible to become a top-tier powerhouse.

As a high-level combatant in Sunagakure, Kazakami Chiran couldn't stay with them forever.

At first, Chiyo and Ebizō asked Kazakami Chiran to lead Hardy's squad for three years. With their talents, they'd at least make special jōnin in that time.

Only a superpower like Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and in a relatively prosperous period, could afford to allocate a top jōnin for three years to foster three chūnin.

Even if these three were almost guaranteed to become elite jōnin in the future, it was still a luxury.

But now, it seemed that the three-year period could be compressed to less than two years, and the mission would be overfulfilled.

…

…

Demon Slayer World.

Mount Tsurugi.

This is one of the top 100 famous mountains in Japan, and you can tell from the name how steep it is.

The mountain stands about 3,000 meters tall, and it wasn't until 1907 that the first person reached its summit.

...was the last mountain in Japan to be conquered by humans.

During the Taisho era, this place was still considered forbidden land by most people. Many ascetic monks and religious practitioners lived here in seclusion, and there were numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries.

Hardy, wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a bamboo basket, walked along the bamboo corridor.

At the end of the corridor stood a temple.

The temple's plaque bore three characters: Tateyama-ji. In front of the main gate beneath the plaque stood an elderly monk.

"Amitabha. You must be the swordsman Uesugi Hardy, recommended by the Wind Hashira, correct? I am Morioka Nen, once a top-ranked swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps. Thanks to the trust of the master and the Wind Hashira, I am now an instructor for the Wind Breathing technique."

The old monk pressed his palms together and offered Hardy a Buddhist greeting.

"Amitabha, Master Morioka. I am indeed Hardy," he replied.