Megumai could clearly feel her son's hatred for the Eight-Tails.
She considered for a moment and then revealed the truth.
"Seiya-kun, actually, the Eight-Tails going berserk in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning this time was your graduation assessment."
"What? Assessment!"
Seiya was dumbfounded, unable to believe it, and his voice rose in shock.
The life-or-death situation everyone had faced turned out to be intentionally created by the village!
Seiya couldn't understand, felt a surge of anger, eyes wide, and angrily pounded the bed.
"What kind of assessment is this?! The Eight-Tails almost killed all the students in our class! Even going to a battlefield wouldn't be this cruel!"
"It's to let you experience the cruelty of war," Megumai said with a serious and profound tone.
"Every minute and every second is accompanied by the fear of death. That's the true feeling a Shinobi has, not the easy and beautiful playtime you have at the Shinobi Academy."
"Even so, they shouldn't use the Eight-Tails going berserk to assess us, who aren't even Genin!"
Seiya felt the village's top management was unreasonable.
This kind of graduation assessment was tantamount to slaughtering the students!
"Mom, how could you allow..."
His accusation abruptly stopped.
Seiya's expression changed, and he suddenly realized the strangeness of the situation.
The Eight-Tails was one of the village's most powerful military deterrents, its importance self-evident.
No assessment could come at the cost of the Eight-Tails going berserk.
If the Eight-Tails was not truly berserk, then it could only be Killer B-sama manipulating the Eight-Tails to feign berserk.
With this thought, Seiya quickly replayed the events at the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, scrutinizing the Eight-Tails' 'berserk' actions.
More oddities surfaced in his mind.
First, the Eight-Tails basically didn't directly attack the Shinobi Academy teachers and students but indirectly harassed them by slapping the water to create waves.
Now it seemed the Eight-Tails was deliberately reducing its strength to avoid causing irreversible harm to the teachers and students.
Otherwise, if it had swung its tail directly at the crowd, everyone would be dead or crippled!
Second, the Eight-Tails finally threw the teachers and students who had sunk in the lake onto the shore and placed Arui and Omoi on the octopus tail.
This seemed like a furious act of provocation, but it was to save everyone from drowning!
Seiya's eyes flickered, and he seemed to understand.
Megumai saw that her son had figured it out and nodded slightly, saying:
"The graduation field trip was the added graduation assessment. The Raikage-sama ordered Killer B to manipulate the Eight-Tails to feign berserk and intimidate the Shinobi Academy graduates."
"The content of this assessment was strictly confidential; none of the teachers or students knew about it. The Eight-Tails acted as ferociously as possible to test the courage, character, and intelligence of your class of graduates, to judge if you had the qualities of a Shinobi, and to exercise your bravery at the same time."
Seiya frowned and fell silent, trying to process the truth, which was a huge contrast to the life-or-death situation.
That suffocating despair near death was manipulated by people!
Seiya took a deep breath.
"So, no one actually died in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning?"
"Mhm." Megumai nodded. "The Eight-Tails used its power with incredible precision and did not harm any teacher or student."
Seiya pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said: "No, the Eight-Tails targeted me! Towards the end, its attack level was not one meant for a Genin!"
Waves several stories high were crashing down from all directions.
Which Genin could withstand that kind of attack?
If he hadn't had his mother's eye technique for protection, he would have been crushed into a pulp even if he didn't die!
Megumai stroked her son's head and explained:
"I revealed the [Purification] technique during the Jonin meeting, which is why the Eight-Tails dared to attack you so recklessly."
"Oh."
Seiya understood upon hearing this, his confusion resolved, and he let the matter go.
Megumai, however, looked remorseful, bowing her head and apologizing: "Mom is sorry for what happened today."
"Sorry for what?"
Seiya didn't think his mother had done anything wrong.
To ensure the realism of the assessment, his mother had ignored his cries for help, which was appropriate.
After all, when he officially embarked on the path of a Shinobi, he would inevitably encounter all kinds of dangers, and the enemy then would not be as particular about methods or control their strength as the Eight-Tails was.
What's more, his mother had already added the [Purification] eye technique for protection, fearless of any accidents during the assessment.
This was a purely courage-building experience that greatly benefited him.
And, most importantly, his mother was never in danger.
Compared to that, the Valley of Clouds and Lightning assessment was a trivial matter, not worth mentioning.
"Mom, you are the best! Why would you say sorry?" Seiya said sincerely.
Megumai's mood, however, did not ease. Instead, she felt even more ashamed.
There was no reason; she just felt ashamed.
Especially when she thought of her son worrying about her safety even when he was close to death, that shame intensified like a tide.
Since childhood, her son had always been thoughtful and always put his mother first.
When he was three, when her Susanoo bled, her son was so worried and frightened that he cried uncontrollably.
When he was almost four, when her vision deteriorated, her son was so worried that he vowed to be her eyes.
When he was twelve...
The past was vivid in her mind. Megumai's eyelashes trembled, and she couldn't help but hug her son.
She opened her red lips, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to start.
Seiya was considerate and remained silent, only gently stroking his mother's back as a means of comfort.
The bedroom fell into a peaceful silence.
After a while, Megumai finally calmed down, wiped the corner of her eyes, separated from her son, and brought up the serious matter.
"Seiya-kun, you've graduated. Are you planning to become a combat Shinobi or take a civilian position in the village?"
"A combat Shinobi!" Seiya replied without hesitation.
"That will be very dangerous, potentially even more dangerous than a real Eight-Tails going berserk. Mom's eyesight is getting worse. I estimate I'll need new eyes in two or three years. At that time, you won't have [Purification] to protect you," Megumai reminded him.
Seiya still replied without hesitation: "I want to fight!"
The trip to the Valley of Clouds and Lightning today made him deeply realize what despair was.
In front of a behemoth like the Eight-Tails, there was no choice but to run.
When death arrived, he could only wait for it helplessly.
Seiya never wanted to experience that feeling of powerlessness again.
He urgently wanted to become stronger!
Just like the last moment before he fainted.
He held the water blade, as if holding supreme authority.
No one in the world could stop him, and he could easily end the Eight-Tails' life!
This was the feeling Seiya was pursuing now: the tangible reality of controlling life!
That way, when disaster struck again, he could, as he wished and sought before his near-death experience, defeat the enemy, protect his mother, protect himself, protect his friends, and protect his village comrades.
Megumai saw that her son's mind was made up and did not try to dissuade him.
Even before his conception, she had decided that whatever her son truly wanted to do, she would fully support him!
She then delivered a piece of good news to Seiya.
"You performed the most outstandingly in this graduation assessment. The Raikage-sama has decided to grant you Kumogakure's secret Nin-Taijutsu-the Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
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