Chapter 67: Promotion to Special Jonin
Chapter 67: Promotion to Special Jonin
Fire Country.
Border Camp.
In the central tent, Orochimaru, Feng Ye, and several jonin from the advance force had gathered.
After a brief wait, a small snake slithered out from Orochimaru's sleeve.
Gudong!
The little snake opened its mouth and spat out a scroll.
"They're here," Orochimaru said, picking up the scroll. He scanned the message from Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha and proceeded to read it aloud.
The message instructed Orochimaru to dispatch a squad to escort the severely and lightly wounded ninjas back to the village. The rest were to remain at the border of the Grass Country and keep an eye on the Iwagakure ninjas' movements.
Lastly, there was news about Feng Ye's appointment.
"Although it's just a special jonin rank, it's still a jonin nonetheless. Becoming a jonin at the age of ten is unprecedented in Konoha's history. Heh..." Orochimaru commented, a hint of amusement in his voice as he finished reading the scroll.
He turned to Feng Ye, who sat beside him.
The jonin in the tent exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting the ripples of emotion stirred by Feng Ye's unprecedented promotion at such a young age. Yet, none voiced any discontent or doubt.
Feng Ye's exceptional display of strength and the merit of his achievements in the recent battle ensured that his promotion to special jonin would go uncontested by the advance force.
A slight smile curved Feng Ye's lips as he remarked, "It's just an extraordinary promotion during wartime."
Orochimaru retracted his gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly as he pondered, "Now, the question is who will escort the wounded back. Zhihong, your squad will be in charge of this task."
There were only four severely wounded ninjas, and the rest had light injuries, still capable of moving and fighting. Thus, a single squad would suffice for the escort mission.
"Yes," Aburame Shino acknowledged quietly, his tone concise as he turned to leave the tent.
The remaining ninjas discussed the subsequent arrangements for the camp and the possibility of entering the Grass Country to clear out the enemy. Eventually, they, too, dispersed.
...
Back in his own tent, Feng Ye sat cross-legged and drew out the Ninja Sword Byakuya.
A thin crack was clearly visible along the blade, extending from the center all the way to the hilt—a severe damage for any sword.
Holding the sword, Feng Ye closed his eyes, and in the darkness, an illusory golden clock appeared. After a moment's hesitation, he reached out and placed his hand on the sword's crack.
Seconds ticked by.
Nothing happened, and the crack remained.
"As expected, it's no use," Feng Ye sighed, opening his eyes.
After obtaining information about the Kusanagi Sword from Orochimaru, he had not immediately set out to find it. Instead, he had chosen to experiment with his abilities first, attempting to use his time-reversal power to repair Byakuya.
Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he found himself unable to exert the power of time upon objects outside of his body, be it through time acceleration or reversal.
Initially, he had believed that Byakuya was safer in his hands than in Kakashi's. After all, his Hatake Ninja Style was stronger and more compatible with the sword, and he was less likely to damage it.
But now...
The sword had sustained damage even earlier than before.
"I'll look for a craftsman to repair it when I have the chance," Feng Ye thought aloud, deciding, "Once it's fixed, I'll give it back to Kakashi. It's no longer suitable for me."
With that, he sheathed the sword and pondered the situation. It seemed that Sunagakure had already launched a full-scale attack, but Iwagakure's next move was uncertain. If they remained inactive, he could take the opportunity to retrieve the Kusanagi Sword.
"Under normal circumstances, my chakra level is already that of an elite jonin. However, this amount is still quite lacking for cultivating the 'Sage Mode' and 'Senjutsu'."
Feng Ye contemplated his future cultivation path.
Normally, his thirteen-year-old body would only be capable of producing chakra at the level of a high-level jonin. But thanks to the secret technique of cell activation, his chakra level would rise to the next stage.
This level of chakra seemed to surpass that of ninety percent of the ninja in the ninja world. But in reality, it wasn't even enough to unleash a single 'Rasengan'.
"There's no real need for me to train in the Rasengan. However, with this amount of chakra, it will be a bit troublesome if I want to enhance the Chidori into the Raikiri."
Chidori was an A-rank technique.
And as the evolutionary direction of Chidori, Raikiri was an S-rank lightning release ninjutsu that demanded even more chakra and precision.
There was no doubt that the power of Raikiri surpassed that of Chidori. For Feng Ye, evolving Chidori into Raikiri was one of his cultivation directions, but it was still difficult to achieve for now.
"It would be great if I could take my chakra to the next level."
Feng Ye murmured to himself.
If he could raise his chakra level by one more stage, he would reach Kage-level, allowing him not only to cultivate Raikiri but also to begin training in senjutsu. His strength would then take a leap forward, comparable to opening the Eight Inner Gates.
Unfortunately, this step wasn't easy to achieve. Throughout the ninja world, the number of people who could raise their chakra to Kage-level was minuscule, with only a handful in each village.
"If I were to cultivate diligently, I estimate that my physical age would need to be at least sixteen years old before I could attain Kage-level chakra. If I want to speed up the process, I'll need to resort to other means, such as becoming a jinchuriki or absorbing the dragon vein energy of Loulan..."
Becoming a jinchuriki was not a suitable option for now.
With his current physique, he could only handle a quarter of Kurama's chakra at most. As for the one-tailed beast to the eight-tailed beast, he could handle their chakra, but his mental state would be constantly affected, and he would need to establish a friendly relationship with them, indoctrinating them with socialist ideology.
This endeavor would take a significant amount of time and effort, so it would be more feasible to cultivate his chakra to Kage-level through normal means.
The dragon vein of Loulan was also not a good choice.
Although he had the ability to turn back time and could infinitely restore his body even if it couldn't handle the energy, the density of that energy was too high. It could reverse the flow of time, and there was a risk of being sent thousands of years into the past or future, with no guarantee of returning. That would be a real headache.
As for other options, like Orochimaru's cursed seal or the 'star' of the Star Ninja Village, they were messy methods for increasing chakra and not worth considering.
It would be more productive to spend that energy cultivating at four times the normal speed.
"It seems that the best course of action is to focus on the next gate of the Eight Inner Gates."
(End of Chapter)
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