He truly couldn't believe it.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen weren't some random nobodies you could kill with a snap of your fingers.
Even if the Uchiha Clan sent its jonin to take them on, they'd need a sizable force to defeat all seven.
And that would only be a victory. To surround and kill them all would come at a terrible cost—and they might not even be able to stop them from escaping.
Yet Aragaki Yasushi had gone and dealt with all seven of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen by himself?
The more Uchiha Yashiro thought about it, the more bewildered he became.
Since when had the village's Chunin become so powerful?
This didn't make any sense!
Uchiha Yashiro knew Aragaki Yasushi had made quite a name for himself on the battlefield, and that his strength had probably reached jonin level.
He had also tested him personally. Aragaki Yasushi had an exceptionally strong resistance to genjutsu and could break even his Sharingan Genjutsu in an instant.
Even so, Yashiro had only thought Aragaki Yasushi might be about as strong as the Uchiha Clan's prodigy, Uchiha Shisui.
But send Shisui to deal with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
Uchiha Yashiro shook his head, certain of his answer.
Absolutely impossible!
At this point, Shisui would be lucky just to make it back alive!
Faced with Uchiha Yashiro's disbelief, Aragaki Yasushi waved a hand and said casually, "Don't give me all the credit. Duy-sensei and Guy helped too."
Uchiha Yashiro scoffed, his face full of disdain. "What could one veteran Genin and three Chunin who'd only recently been promoted possibly do?"
He knew that Might Duy and the other two had taken part in the battle.
But in his eyes, the four of them could hardly have made a difference.
Especially Might Duy. He was half dead, too badly injured to even stand, and had to return to the rear to recover. He'd been nothing but a burden.
Aragaki Yasushi inwardly grumbled.
Give me a break. If Duy-sensei hadn't kicked one Seven Ninja Swordsman after another into the ground, I'd probably have turned tail and run.
Aragaki Yasushi's expression grew serious as he told Uchiha Yashiro, "Duy-sensei did a lot. He held off five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, giving me time to split up and deal with the rest."
"And I'll tell you this: Duy-sensei kicked four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to death, one by one."
"Even without me, Duy-sensei could have taken care of all seven with his own strength!"
Uchiha Yashiro first froze, then nearly burst out laughing.
"You mean a veteran Genin from the village had the strength to take on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
"That's the funniest joke I've ever heard!"
Aragaki Yasushi replied evenly, "That's right. Duy-sensei trained in the Eight Inner Gates."
"The Eight Inner Gates?"
The smile on Uchiha Yashiro's face froze. His voice turned grave.
As a jonin of the Uchiha Clan, he was fairly well-read and had heard of this forbidden technique.
It was supposedly an incredibly powerful technique, one that had existed since the Warring States Era. But very few people had ever managed to master it.
Even so, Uchiha Yashiro stared in amazement. "H-he really had that kind of power?"
He had completely dropped his disdain. He was shaken to the core. The idea that a Genin could possess such tremendous strength upended everything he thought he knew.
After a moment, Uchiha Yashiro gathered himself. "I'll report this to the village immediately. The higher-ups must be informed of such important news."
As he spoke, he glanced at the seven Ninja Blades nearby and paused. "As for these blades..."
Before he could finish, Aragaki Yasushi immediately stepped in front of them and said firmly, "These are Duy-sensei's and my spoils. They're ours."
Uchiha Yashiro gave him a look but said nothing more.
In the village, keeping one's own spoils was standard practice. There was nothing to argue about.
Just as Tenten had taken the Six Paths Tools in the original story without handing them over to the village.
Though that was probably because her friend was Uzumaki Naruto.
Still, even without that connection, keeping one's spoils was an unspoken rule among shinobi.
But the seven Ninja Blades carried great political significance. The village leadership might find an excuse to demand that he hand them over.
After leaving the tent, Aragaki Yasushi headed to the Wounded Soldiers Camp.
As soon as he entered, he saw Kakashi lying quietly on a bed, lost in his own world.
Might Duy was on another bed in the camp and had already regained consciousness.
But his injuries were so severe that he couldn't even speak. When he saw Aragaki Yasushi come in, he could only shakily give him a thumbs-up.
Might Guy stood beside his father's bed, anxiously tending to him.
Aragaki Yasushi walked over and asked Might Guy, "How's Duy-sensei? Is he going to be all right?"
Might Guy turned around. "The medical ninja examined him. Father's badly injured and will need a long time to recover, but his life isn't in danger. He'll be sent to the rear to recuperate soon."
Aragaki Yasushi nodded and said casually, "Then take Duy-sensei back to the rear after a while."
As soon as he finished speaking, Might Duy suddenly started thrashing violently, flailing his arms and legs as he let out muffled whimpers, as if he had something urgent to say.
Aragaki Yasushi frowned, baffled. "What's going on? What's Duy-sensei trying to say?"
Might Guy hurriedly held his restless father down. His eyes reddened, and he wore an expression that said he understood perfectly. "Father, I understand what you mean!"
Aragaki Yasushi was completely lost. "What do you mean?"
Might Guy abruptly stood up straight, raised his fist high, and shouted through his tears, "Father wants me to stay on the battlefield and protect the village with everyone! That's youth!"
At that, Might Duy immediately stopped moving and struggled to raise his other thumb. His eyes shone with pride, as if to say: That's my boy.
Aragaki Yasushi stood off to the side, his mouth twitching.
This father and son were putting on quite a show!
He figured that if Might Duy could get out of bed, the two of them would be embracing and bawling their eyes out right now, putting on a tearjerking performance about the spirit of youth.
Just then, someone walked into the Wounded Soldiers Camp. It was Nohara Rin.
Ever since Obito's fate had become unknown and Kakashi had been badly injured, Nohara Rin had practically moved into the Wounded Soldiers Camp.
She was a medical ninja, after all, so looking after injured shinobi in the camp was right up her alley.
As soon as Nohara Rin entered, she spotted the badly injured Might Duy and hurried over to greet him, her voice gentle and full of concern.
After chatting for a few minutes, Aragaki Yasushi pulled Nohara Rin out of the Wounded Soldiers Camp tent.
The moment they were outside, Aragaki Yasushi eagerly asked, "Rin, has Minato-sensei been by?"
Nohara Rin nodded and answered softly, "Minato-sensei already came to see Kakashi."
Aragaki Yasushi pressed on. "What did Minato-sensei say about Kakashi's Sharingan?"
Nohara Rin smiled. "Minato-sensei said not to worry. No one could take away the gift Obito had given Kakashi."
That's Haki!
No wonder he was the man who would soon become the Fourth Hokage.
In the original story, Kakashi had probably only managed to keep his Sharingan safe thanks to Minato's protection. Otherwise, they would've taken it away from him long ago.
Before you continue