Looking at Kazekaze and the others before him, Tobirama's face showed an expression of shock and stupefaction.
Calm down.
Calm down.
Calm down my ass!
No matter how astonishing Kazekaze's talent was, this was just too ridiculous! He had only briefly explained what the Shadow Clone Jutsu was—he hadn't even demonstrated it—and the boy had already learned it?
"Kazekaze, who taught you the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" It took Tobirama a moment to regain his composure.
After calmly analyzing and thinking it over, he came to a conclusion.
"Wasn't it Grandpa Tobirama?" Kazekaze replied without hesitation.
His expression seemed to say, Aren't you the one teaching me the Shadow Clone Jutsu right now? I already learned it!
Of course, regardless of anything, the punch-in system was Kazekaze's foundation for survival. Even for people like Hashirama and Tobirama—his own family— He would never reveal everything. Most importantly, even if he did, they probably wouldn't believe him.
"No, I mean..." Tobirama was just about to shake his head and object, but froze. He felt like he understood what Kazekaze meant.
"You... just listened to me explain the principle a little, and then... mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Tobirama's mouth hung slightly open as he stared at Kazekaze, once again filled with shock and stupefaction.
Though learning is much easier than developing, the Shadow Clone Jutsu was still a B-rank technique. Even a genius like Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken a full week to learn it.
Wait a minute. Am I seriously comparing Hiruzen to Kazekaze?
Tobirama held his forehead, wondering if he hadn't gotten enough sleep.
Hiruzen? Compared to Kazekaze? He's not even worthy!
Although Hiruzen was his proudest student, when it came to talent, the difference between him and Kazekaze wasn't even close. No exaggeration— The gap between Kazekaze and Hiruzen was like comparing half a pound of gold plus eight ounces of silver… To nothing at all.
"Yeah, is it really that hard? Isn't it just about evenly distributing chakra?" Kazekaze tilted his head and replied.
Meanwhile, the shadow clones disappeared one after another with a "Poof, poof." To Kazekaze, it really wasn't that difficult. It was just like drawing a prize from the punch-in reward pack. It all happened in an instant.
Tobirama stood there, stunned.
So it's just about distributing chakra evenly, huh?
He made it sound so simple. Dividing chakra among the shadow clones while ensuring both the original and the clones retained combat capability— Do you even understand what that means? A slight miscalculation, and you'd just be wasting chakra!
"Still, Kazekaze's chakra reserves are seriously insane. He casually created over a dozen shadow clones."
Aside from the shock, Tobirama felt mostly delighted. Kazekaze was his grandson. The man destined to inherit the Will of Fire and become Hokage. The more outrageous and freakish his talent, the more excited Tobirama became! This proved that he hadn't misjudged Kazekaze, nor placed his bets on the wrong person! Even if, as a regular person, he sometimes suffered a blow to his own self-esteem.
Hmm… Compared to Kazekaze, even Tobirama started to feel like an ordinary person! One could only imagine how much of an impact Kazekaze's talent had on him.
"It must be because Kazekaze already knows the Water Clone Jutsu. So when he encountered the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he was able to infer the rest by analogy." In the end, Tobirama could only comfort himself with this explanation.
After all, the Water Clone Jutsu also creates physical clones— Just not as powerful as the technique he developed himself.
"Since you've already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu, go home and get some good rest. Tomorrow morning, you'll head out to the border outpost to carry out a mission." Tobirama addressed Kazekaze.
He had considered whether to pass on the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to Kazekaze, but after some thought—He felt it best not to rush.
Even with Kazekaze's exceptional talent, pushing him too hard too quickly could easily backfire. Not to mention, Kazekaze was only seven years old. He needed adequate sleep to grow.
"Got it." Kazekaze nodded, said goodbye to Tobirama, and went home to pack.
However… Tobirama didn't leave immediately. He stood there, watching Kazekaze until the boy's small figure disappeared.
There was no denying it—Kazekaze had given him far too many surprises. The monstrous strength he showed in the Forest of Death. Learning the Eight Gates from Might Bai. And even creating the powerful taijutsu Morning Peacock based on the Gate of View.
"And the Chūnin Exams..." Tobirama's gaze sharpened slightly. The Chūnin Exams still played vividly in his mind.
Kazekaze had defeated Uchiha Setsuna in an instant with a single jutsu. Then he overwhelmed the Third Kazekage and made a name for himself. Now, in the Hidden Leaf Village, there was hardly a single ninja who didn't know of Kazekaze. And that kind of reputation would win him the recognition of the people.
"I hope after completing this mission, Kazekaze will grow even further."
Tobirama muttered to himself. "Oh, right… By the time Kazekaze returns, Ayako will probably be giving birth." Tobirama recalled the bet he made with Hashirama. If Ayako gave birth to a girl, they'd name her Tsunade.
"I hope Kazekaze's mission goes smoothly this time."
No matter what, the current shinobi world was mostly peaceful. Even if the Hidden Cloud Village was reinforcing its borders, they wouldn't dare break the peace treaty. If everything went well, during Kazekaze's mission—There shouldn't be any conflict.
Of course—Besides familiarizing Kazekaze with border operations, Tobirama also hoped that through this mission—Kazekaze would form a deep friendship with Uchiha Kagami.
"Kagami is one of the very few in the Uchiha Clan willing to step beyond family interests and devote himself to the village. If he could become the clan head of the Uchiha… He could not only guide the Uchiha to contribute to the village but also become a political asset for Kazekaze."
Knowing how to integrate and guide the power of the Uchiha was a critical issue for any Hokage. After all… You couldn't just slaughter the entire Uchiha Clan, right?
And so— Kazekaze returned home, finished packing, and had a good night's sleep. The next morning, he said goodbye to his parents and headed toward the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. Although his parents were reluctant to let someone so young go on a mission to a border outpost, seeing Kazekaze's determination, they had no choice but to support him. At the gates of the village—
"Kazekaze, good morning." Uchiha Kagami was the first to arrive and greeted him.
Although they'd interacted before, they'd never had a chance to speak one-on-one.
"Good morning, Kagami-san."
Kazekaze smiled. "You're early."
Then, as the two of them exchanged greetings—Sakumo Hatake and Maruboshi Kosuke arrived one after another. Once the team was assembled, they set off for the border outpost, beginning this mission.