"It seems that's the only way."
Tsunade sighed.
She had no better solution for this.
If Nawaki's spirit could eventually recover, and his will became even firmer than before, then she and Li Anshi would certainly cultivate him towards the path of a "Kage."
A Kage-level powerhouse had weaknesses, but no obvious flaws; they were developed in all aspects.
Furthermore, a Kage-level powerhouse possessed even more outstanding advantages.
For example, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki's Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's five-element combination ninjutsu.
The Third Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
The Third Mizukage's secret technique, the Steam Imp.
The Third Kazekage...
Alright, let's exclude the Kazekage.
Among the five great nations, the Land of Wind had the harshest terrain.
Did the ninjas of the Land of Wind not desire fertile land and strategic terrain?
What a joke.
It was because they couldn't compete with the other great ninja villages; they were the weak ones who had been driven out.
Although they were much stronger than the smaller villages, the Sand Village of the Land of Wind was indeed the weakest of the five.
Even after the Mist Village experienced its decade of the "Bloody Mist," its overall strength was still above the Sand's.
The Sand Village's survival strategy was to act as Konoha's ally during times of peace, following in their footsteps.
But during times of war, the Sand would backstab Konoha, joining the other great villages to attack them and plunder some resources from the Land of Fire.
For the Sand Village, even plundering a single tree from Konoha was a gain.
Perhaps the only thing worth mentioning about the Sand Village was their "Magnet Release."
But even the strongest "Magnet Release" in the Sand Village would only be considered a relatively powerful Kekkei Genkai clan in the other great villages, not yet a "prominent" ninja clan.
If Nawaki's limit was only that of an elite jonin, then they would have him develop comprehensively.
But if his limit could reach the Kage level, then on top of that, they would have him specialize in a certain aspect, so that he could also hold a place among the Kage.
Teaching according to aptitude was a skill that every good teacher should possess.
…
"I'm sorry..."
After killing the last two bandits, Nawaki came before Mikoto, who was holding Rin, and bowed deeply.
"It was because I didn't fulfill my responsibility that things turned out this way."
"I'm very sorry about what happened to Rin."
"No, Nawaki, you did very well."
Hearing his apology, Rin struggled out of Mikoto's embrace and said to him earnestly.
"So many people, and none of them discovered you..."
"Rin, Miss Rin, you... you're okay?"
Hearing her voice, Nawaki froze for a moment, then immediately straightened up, looking her over.
In his surprise, he even took a few steps forward and touched her, as if to confirm that it wasn't a delusion.
After all, from his previous position, it had looked like she had been cut down by the bandit's sword.
Later, he had also seen the blood on her.
Now that she was standing before him perfectly fine, how could he not be bewildered?
However, it seemed Nawaki had forgotten the difference between men and women.
Thwack!
In the end, it was Mikoto who couldn't stand it anymore and gave him a sharp knock on the head, finally snapping him back to his senses.
"Sorry, Rin, I didn't mean it."
"I was just... too excited."
"Yes, I was too excited."
Looking at the incoherent Nawaki, Rin used her little finger to push aside the hair stuck to her face by the blood and smiled at him. "Mm, I know."
"You were just so excited because you found out I wasn't dead."
"My Byakugan has been watching you the whole time."
For some reason, seeing Rin's smile, Nawaki suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Your infiltration and assassination were even more textbook than what the teachers taught in class."
"No..."
He clutched his head with both hands, shaking it violently.
Right now, just the thought of how foolishly he had abandoned the Byakugan user on his team, sneaked into the bandit stronghold alone, and had his embarrassing moments witnessed by his comrades, made him want to die.
The thought of Rin seeing him holding up the camouflage cloth filled him with an overwhelming sense of shame.
To someone who couldn't see through the camouflage technique, no matter what kind of movements the ninja behind it made, they wouldn't notice.
But in the eyes of those who could see through it, the actions the ninja took to make their disguise more realistic were as abstract as could be.
At this moment, he would rather have died in the battle than face Rin with her gentle smile.
The twelve-year-old boy had finally experienced a "social death" in front of his two beautiful female comrades.
However, to everyone's relief, this social death also seemed to have shattered the wisp of darkness in his heart, causing the coldness in his chakra to completely dissipate.
His chakra aura had returned to its gentle state.
No!
Compared to his previous chakra, his current aura had a hint of sharpness.
This development brought a sense of relief to both Rin and Tsunade.
Rin simply felt that his previous chakra aura had been unsettling; she hadn't liked it.
Now, although it had a bit more sharpness than before, this was the Nawaki she felt she knew.
"Not bad."
"He didn't embarrass me."
Behind the three youngsters, although a look of relief appeared on Tsunade's face, her words were still harsh.
"Haha..."
Li Anshi chuckled softly but didn't plan to expose her.
What a joke. If he were to call her out at a time like this, the embarrassed and angry Tsunade would probably use him as a punching bag.
"Do you want to go and talk to him?"
"Forget it."
Tsunade shook her head. "In his current state, this mission is no longer a challenge for him."
"Moreover, after this battle, he has a better understanding of his comrades' strengths."
"Compared to before, the current Nawaki has learned to trust in the strength of his companions."
"Seeing him grow like this makes me very happy."
"Alright, you're the boss."
Next, the two of them followed behind the three youngsters, watching as they continued towards the second bandit stronghold.
This time, there was a clear and significant change in their actions.
Rin activated her Byakugan to scout the stronghold.
Then, Nawaki was responsible for infiltrating and carrying out the assassination.
When the bandits discovered the intrusion, Rin was responsible for taking down the fleeing ones, while those who didn't flee and mustered the courage to attack Nawaki were left for him to handle.
As for Mikoto, she was responsible for any bandits who managed to escape from both of them.
With Nawaki's skills, he could kill at least three or four before the bandits even noticed.
And without the stress reaction from killing, if the bandits fled, he could kill another two or three as they ran.
Rin, with her ten daggers, could directly kill ten bandits.
In other words, just the two of them could kill at least seventeen people in a short amount of time.
Only if the number of bandits exceeded seventeen, and they all fled at the first sign of a ninja attack, would there be an opportunity for Mikoto to act.
With their coordinated cooperation, in less than a day, the remaining two bandit strongholds were cleared out.
"So?"
"Do you want to go and see him?"
Watching the three of them as Rin retrieved her thrown daggers from the bandits' necks, Li Anshi asked Tsunade.
As his older sister, she was very concerned about his growth.
Now that he had completed his first killing mission and overcome the psychological pressure, he must be eager to share his feelings with someone close to him.
If Tsunade were to appear now, Nawaki would probably be very excited.
Hearing his question, Tsunade felt a surge of impulse.
When she had killed for the first time, she had been lucky to have her two friends, Orochimaru and Jiraiya, by her side.
Otherwise, that night would have been quite miserable for her.
However, after seeing the three of them starting to wash the daggers by the creek, she shook her head.
"No need."
"His spiritual support is no longer me."
"I can be his backup, but his future path is one he needs to forge himself."
"Also, I've been here for quite some time. If I don't go back, I'm afraid the Rain will cause some trouble at the stronghold."
"Send me back."
"Alright."
Seeing that she had decided not to see him, Li Anshi didn't insist.
In any case, under his watch, it wouldn't be easy for Nawaki to die even if he wanted to.
If Tsunade wanted to see him, he could bring Nawaki to her in minutes, so there was no need to get hung up on this one time.
Therefore, without any further ado, he grabbed her hand, and they instantly disappeared from the forest.
…
"Rin, Mikoto, do you think Sensei Li has been following us this whole time?"
By the mountain stream, after washing the bloodstains off his dagger, Nawaki suddenly asked.
"I don't know."
Mikoto was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head.
"But, I think that as our supervising teacher, he should have been behind us during our first dangerous mission, right?"
At this point, she turned to Rin and asked, "Rin, during the fight with those bandits, did your Byakugan see him?"
"No."
Rin shook her head. "My Byakugan can only see up to one kilometer."
"If he was more than a kilometer away from us, I wouldn't have noticed his chakra unless I was specifically looking for it."
"Then it seems Sensei Li trusts us a lot."
Mikoto smiled at her words.
Nawaki rolled his eyes.
So what if he wasn't following us?
To say he trusts us... Mikoto really knows how to put a nice spin on things.
If it were him, he would have started cursing.
Although Sensei Li's fame was not as widely talked about these days, for the Hyuga, the Uchiha, and Nawaki, knowing some information about him was not difficult.
Among the things they knew, the one that left the deepest impression on them was the ninja world's assessment of him.
"Within a hundred meters, even gods and demons dare not tread!"
This meant that within a hundred meters of him, even beings as powerful as gods and demons would not dare to enter.
Because, according to the ninja world's investigation, the lethal range of his daggers was a hundred-meter radius centered on him.
Once a battle began, any enemy within that range could die in the next instant.
The three of them all had a guess.
If Sensei Li was really protecting them from behind, the distance would not exceed one hundred meters.
That way, the moment they were in danger, his daggers could instantly appear at the enemy's neck, saving them.
However, Rin had already activated her Byakugan during the battle.
In the Byakugan's field of vision, the 360-degree, unobstructed, and long-range sight was enough for her to see everything clearly.
Especially beings with chakra, which were like lights in the dark night, impossible to hide.
Even Sensei Li was no exception!
With the current power of her Byakugan, a range of one thousand meters was within her field of vision.
Within that range, she had not seen him, which meant that what he had said before—that he would only act if Nawaki was in mortal danger—was true.
He had truly entrusted the lives of both Rin and Mikoto into Nawaki's hands.
Although he had already made it clear before, the three of them had still held a sliver of expectation for him in their hearts.
Unfortunately, the final result had disappointed them.
"Hmph!"
Nawaki snorted coldly and secretly decided in his heart that when he returned to the village, if he saw his sister, he would say a few bad things about Sensei Li and let her deal with him.
Perhaps it was because they had just experienced killing, but this conversation had left the three of them feeling a little down.
They had originally thought they held some place in their teacher's heart, but now it seemed that it had all been their own wishful thinking.
Sensei Li was a figure who stood at the very peak of the ninja world. The fame of his "Little Li's Flying Dagger" was such that the other four great villages would rather pay a price to reach an agreement with Konoha "not to be the first to use it."
And what about them?
Except for Nawaki, who had a deeper connection to him because of Lady Tsunade, both Mikoto and Rin were from families that had paid a certain political price to successfully allow them the opportunity to be on a team with Nawaki, an opportunity other families had given up for their own children.