After exchanging their ninjutsu, the two of them headed straight for the Ninja Academy training grounds and resumed training.
Chiba Shun had a mountain of things he needed to learn. There were the many jutsu he had brought back from Konoha, including quite a few he had obtained through Danzo. Among them were the two B-rank earth-style techniques he had already used in battle: Earth Stealth and the Headhunter Jutsu.
Besides those, there was yet another B-rank Earth Release technique waiting for him. As for the two A-rank Earth Release ninjutsu, his chakra was barely enough now that he could at least attempt them. Whether he could actually master them was another matter entirely.
And on top of all that, he still had to keep learning Sakai Hajime's Four-Sword Style.
Now that he finally had access to proper Earth Release ninjutsu, Chiba Shun had already begun to shift his focus. Compared to swordsmanship, his talent in ninjutsu seemed stronger. Swordsmanship had once been his only path because Kumogakure had offered him no suitable ninjutsu inheritance, but now things were different.
Even so, he still had to master the Four-Sword Style. If an enemy ever got close, he couldn't afford to be completely helpless.
At the same time, Sakai Hajime had already moved on to developing the Five-Sword Style, and Chiba Shun needed to help him think through it.
As for Sakai Hajime, he began training the Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique. That jutsu could be terrifyingly useful, but it came with risks. If used carelessly, it could damage the body, which meant the practitioner had to proceed with extreme caution.
It also required a large amount of medicine. The Lightning Release stimulation method was hard on the body from the very beginning, and if the two of them weren't relatively wealthy now, then even with the jutsu in hand, they wouldn't have been able to afford to train it.
***
The next day, Chiba Shun gathered the students of the Ninja Academy and told them the story of his trip to Konoha.
In his telling, it had been nothing less than a journey into a demon's den.
At every moment in Konoha, danger had supposedly lurked around him. He had crossed swords with Konoha's geniuses of the same generation, fought open and covert battles against powerful ninja clans, and outmaneuvered Konoha's higher-ups with wit alone. For the sake of the village, he had wrung concessions from Konoha itself and forced them to abandon their plot against the Land of Lightning.
He wasn't worried that the children might not believe him.
After all, twenty-four children had gone to Konoha with him, and only two had returned alive. With a casualty rate like that, no one would think Chiba Shun was exaggerating. If anyone dared say he had merely eaten and drunk his fill in Konoha every day, the children would probably spit in that person's face.
At the end of his speech, Chiba Shun called the last two survivors to the front.
One was the boy. The other was the girl.
Standing before the entire academy, he handed each of them fifty thousand ryo.
In a low, solemn voice, he said, "Ayana. Shosuke. Because you're still young and not yet official ninjas, the village did not assign you formal missions."
"But the village will not forget what you did."
"This fifty thousand ryo is the village's recognition of your heroic conduct."
"You are inheritors of the Will of Lightning."
"Lord Raikage himself said that every student in the Ninja Academy should learn from you."
The two children were still dazed. In their own minds, they hadn't done anything extraordinary at all. How had they suddenly become heroes? And how had such a huge reward fallen into their laps?
But under the admiring stares of so many fellow students, the two of them still couldn't help straightening their backs and lifting their chins.
Chiba Shun looked at them and smiled.
He could feel that something in their presence had changed. For a ninja, that meant they had begun to find their own ninja way.
It was still vague, still incomplete, but that first step was crucial. It would be a tremendous help to their future growth.
That was the path of a ninja. Sometimes people grew stronger in battle. Sometimes they grew stronger between life and death. Each small breakthrough raised their chakra a little, and enough small breakthroughs eventually led to a qualitative leap.
Both children had undergone two minor rises in chakra already. They still hadn't reached the point of transformation, but they were closer than before.
***
Later that same day, as usual, Chiba Shun made his rounds through the Ninja Academy before beginning his own training.
As he passed near one of the training fields, he suddenly heard a very strange sound.
He quickened his pace and headed toward it.
But the closer he got, the more he felt as though someone was watching him.
Thanks to his sensory ninjutsu, Chiba Shun had become unusually sensitive to that kind of gaze. This one wasn't concealed. If anything, it carried the faintest note of warning.
At first, he instinctively tensed. Then he realized who the voice likely belonged to and relaxed instead. It was probably the ANBU assigned to guard a jinchuriki.
Sure enough, the source of the sound was Killer Bee.
Or rather, Killer Bee was standing in front of a group of children from the Ninja Academy and delivering what he seemed to regard as a speech, though in truth it was closer to a rap performance.
Maybe, in Killer Bee's own mind, it really was a concert.
To Chiba Shun's surprise, the children were enjoying it. Even without knowing Killer Bee's identity as a jinchuriki, they found his strange rhythm and wild delivery fascinating. Quite a few of them were listening with obvious delight.
Chiba Shun was a little stunned.
He hadn't expected the higher-ups to allow Killer Bee to come to the Ninja Academy at all. Weren't they afraid he might lose control?
When Killer Bee noticed Chiba Shun's arrival, he didn't react at all. Instead, Yotsuki Ai walked over.
Pointing at Killer Bee, Yotsuki Ai said, "This is the companion I mentioned before. He's also skilled in swordsmanship. You can exchange pointers later."
Chiba Shun nodded, then thought of something and said, "The companion I mentioned is in the village too. Wait a moment. I'll go get him."
"He recently returned from the Land of Iron. He's already fully mastered the Four-Sword Style, and now he's studying the Five-Sword Style."
Yotsuki Ai hesitated.
Killer Bee's status was too special. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't casually allow others near him.
But then again, Killer Bee had already come to the Ninja Academy. One more person probably wouldn't matter that much.
A little later, Chiba Shun returned with Sakai Hajime.
By then, Killer Bee was still in the middle of his "concert."
Unable to endure it any longer, Yotsuki Ai walked up and punched Killer Bee right off the platform.
Then, under the eager gazes of all the children, the group left the academy together.
A jinchuriki sparring with other people obviously couldn't be allowed to happen on academy grounds.
***
The group arrived at a secluded training field deeper inside the village and began their swordsmanship exchange.
Killer Bee's talent was terrifying.
He had only heard Yotsuki Ai describe Chiba Shun's swordsmanship, yet he had already grasped the Four-Sword Style. Not only that, but he used it with a smoothness that even surpassed Chiba Shun.
The moment Chiba Shun sparred against him, he was driven entirely onto the defensive. The battle was almost one-sided.
There was nothing strange about that. Killer Bee's swordsmanship was far better than that of Chiba Shun, who was, at heart, still an amateur that had clawed his way up through hardship. Killer Bee even possessed sword aura, though he didn't use it against Chiba Shun during that exchange.
Chiba Shun's talent wasn't bad.
But there was still a clear gap between him and a top-tier genius like Killer Bee.
What Chiba Shun understood even more clearly was that his own gift wasn't really in taijutsu or swordsmanship. Swordsmanship had only become his path because Kumogakure had denied him the chance to learn ninjutsu suited to him. Ever since he got his hands on proper Earth Release techniques from Konoha, he had already been devoting more time to ninjutsu than to the blade.
And his progress in ninjutsu was obviously much faster.
In the end, the spar had to switch to Sakai Hajime.
Sakai Hajime was much stronger than Chiba Shun. His power had already reached jonin level, enough to stand on equal footing with Killer Bee, who was also at the jonin level. And in pure swordsmanship, he was in no way inferior to Killer Bee right now. In terms of the Four-Sword Style—or rather, the path toward Five-Sword Style—he might actually be ahead.
The moment the two of them crossed blades, the atmosphere changed.
Steel rang again and again. Their figures flashed back and forth. Neither side could suppress the other, and from the looks on their faces, both of them were enjoying the fight immensely.
Yotsuki Ai kept most of his attention on Killer Bee, clearly watching for any sign that the Eight-Tails might go berserk. Killer Bee had already used more chakra than usual today.
The Third Raikage had approved of bringing Killer Bee into the village. After the failure of the previous Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Kumogakure had changed the way it trained jinchuriki. A jinchuriki wasn't supposed to be sealed away from all human warmth. They needed bonds. They needed contact. They needed ordinary interaction.
That was why Killer Bee could occasionally enter the village, though every time, his seal had to be carefully inspected first.
As for Chiba Shun, his full attention was on the swordsmanship of the two boys.
He could tell they were both approaching a critical point.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, and he shouted, "In a multi-sword style, there aren't enough hands and feet to control every blade directly. You have to use the inertia of the swords you throw."
"One blade—or even several—can stay in the air the whole time."
"You can strike or kick an airborne sword to control it."
"And you have to keep adjusting your own position based on where the blade will land."
The instant they heard him, both Killer Bee and Sakai Hajime began trying it.
Each of them threw a blade.
At the same time, they used their hands or feet to strike the swords in midair, redirecting them and controlling their flight.
And that was when Killer Bee's terrifying talent truly revealed itself.
He had only just mastered the Four-Sword Style and hadn't even properly begun researching the Five-Sword Style.
Yet in the middle of battle, with nothing more than Chiba Shun's shouted hint, he suddenly grasped it first.
From the way he moved, it was even clear that he wasn't satisfied with stopping there.
After a brief pause, Chiba Shun suddenly threw one of his own swords toward Killer Bee.
Killer Bee caught it in a flash.
"Baka yarou, kono yarou! Perfect timing, fool! Get over here too! The two of you can fight me together!" he rapped gleefully, practically glowing with excitement.
Chiba Shun smiled and joined in, fighting alongside Sakai Hajime against Killer Bee.
With their teamwork and tacit understanding, the two of them quickly gained the upper hand and suppressed Killer Bee, even as he wielded six swords.
That sight made Yotsuki Ai's eyelid twitch.
Killer Bee, on the other hand, only got more excited.
He fought harder and harder.
At first, only two blades had stayed in the air at once. Before long, three different swords were leaving his body at the same time, darting through the air, attacking Chiba Shun and Sakai Hajime from unpredictable angles.
Sakai Hajime became more exhilarated with every exchange.
For the first time, he truly understood that the road of swordsmanship Chiba Shun had shown him was not just feasible—it was brilliant. With Killer Bee as proof right in front of him, he was convinced it wouldn't be long before he could wield six swords as well.
Metal clashed over and over.
After a long while, Killer Bee seemed to arrive at yet another realization.
In an instant, his aura surged. The frequency of his six-sword assaults rose again, even faster than before.
Chiba Shun's heart jumped.
Because at that moment, Killer Bee's target shifted to him.
He hurriedly blocked and retreated. Even so, it wasn't enough.
In no time at all, several fresh wounds had been cut across his body.
Then, with a sharp clang, one of Killer Bee's blades sliced clean through the sword in Chiba Shun's hand.
Killer Bee's five swords were all at least as good as Chiba Shun's prized chakra-conducting blade.
The sight made Chiba Shun ache with envy. He had no idea whether those weapons were standard treatment for a jinchuriki, or if Yotsuki Ai had personally arranged them for Killer Bee.
Among all the swords Chiba Shun carried, only one could directly clash against Killer Bee's blades without suffering. The others hadn't yet snapped, but every last one of them had already been nicked and chipped.