章 19: Elder Otuka Perspective (1)
[Kirigakure Academy]
The Elder Otuka was strolling in the Academy gardens. After living for so long, he had grown accustomed to peace.
As the unique son of Byakuren, the founding Mizukage and one of the most powerful water user in History, he had his fair share of trouble back then. He still remembered the days in the academy, as the 'dead last' of his class. The academy back then was closer to a hut than a real academy, but dozens of kids his age yearned to learn the art of shinobi.
Many would think that talent was fully hereditary. However, Otuka had not inherited from his father's ninjutsu talent, far from that. Actually, he was even very much below average.
After failing to pass the bar three years on a row, he eventually managed to become a genin, though the growing tensions with the land of Stones and the lack of Kirigakure recruits might have played a role.
It was only two decades later he became a jonin.
Without ninjutsu talent and small chakra reserves, he could only rely on Kenjutsu to make a name out of himself and get recognized by his father. With small chakra reserves, he prioritized chakra control and created his own Kenjutsu Art.
However, when he came back from a long-term spying mission, he learned that his father had succumbed to old internal injuries.
The truth was harsh.
His father had died before acknowledging him.
All of this was old story though. After a couple years, he became one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, a title that reverberated with infamy throughout the continent. He cut down enemies of the village, detroyed entire villages in enemy lands, and became the [Eastern Demon Swordsman].
Anyone with a title could be considered fearsome, but he was on an entirely different level. His military achievements were extremely high, but he eventually grew old, and lost an arm to a young Konoha genius, a certain 'Hiruzen Sarutobi'.
After losing his arm, he had no choice but to retire, leaving Hiramekarei to a Hozuki clansman, one that was unworthy of such a blade but one that still had both arms. The blade could store chakra, and was complementary with him, as it solved his lack of chakra issue.
As years passed, Otuka could feel that he was growing weaker.
He had never had the time to take a disciple. Or more accurately, every time he took a disciple in, they would die on a nameless battlefield a couple of years down the road. Eventually, he closed the gates of his dojo and moved the academy, hoping to find a one-in-a-lifetime genius. However, the new generations were not up to the standards. All but one: Mangetsu Hozuki.
Unfortunately, the noble clans would never let him teach one of their own. They were too prideful for that.
"Huh?", Otuka thought as he suddenly sensed movement in the library.
It was a familiar strike, one that he had practiced countless times.
[Mist Kenjutsu Art: Sixth Form]
Suddenly remembering the crazy kid who had come to his dojo and exploded himself in an attempt to copy his B-rank strike recklessly, he was intrigued. What was he planning?
It was not like he had not heard rumours.
This year, the class was an excellent seedling, with Arya Yuki, the princess of a noble clan, and Biwa Funato, who many considered to have the potential to one day contend for a legendary blade of the Mist. However, the both of them were quite boring. They were geniuses of their own right, but they relied too much on their talents. One was born with ice release and disregarded the very foundations of what made a shinobi. The other had a body that was so strong that he never felt the need to really train in Kenjutsu. He never had that craziness that all genius swordsmen had. The desire to cut the unbreakable, to destroy the unpenetrable.
One kid had caught his eyes, but he was rather the opposite.
He came from a nobody's background. He had rather impressive chakra reserves, an obsession with the foundations of shinobi arts, a completely balanced fighting style and ruthlessness that was quite unique, to the point that people called him the [Silver Demon] for his acts of bullying. Although it was only childish pranks, his actions hid a terrifying personality, one that was unbelievably greedy.
However, there was a universal truth in this world. Without a strong bloodline, potential was limited.
Otuka did not know where his potential stood, but a kid like him would never reach the realm that he had never reached himself. The kid that trained so hard and tried to get everything through sheer will would eventually reach a ceiling. He would never reach the realm of Kage. Or at least, this is what he thought.
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