Bang!
Kawaki Aoba's palm landed squarely on Baki's shoulder.
Baki's body paused slightly. Though he was not injured, a faint numbness still spread through his shoulder.
"I did it! I hurt you!"
Kawaki Aoba's eyes brimmed with excitement as he shouted, "Senior Baki, I did it! Do you acknowledge my strength now?"
Baki rubbed his shoulder and looked at Kawaki Aoba, a rare smile appearing on his face. "Not bad, kid. You did it.
You not only caught my opening, but you also hurt me. It was only a little numbness, but it was enough to prove your strength.
I admit it. You are indeed qualified to stand before me, qualified to be called a competent Konoha ninja."
Hearing Baki's acknowledgment, Kawaki Aoba's heart filled with joy. He said excitedly, "Thank you, Senior! Thank you for recognizing me! I'll keep working hard and improving myself. I won't let you down!"
Baki nodded, his tone much gentler. "All right, no need to thank me. This is the result of your own hard work.
But don't get too full of yourself. Although you managed to hurt me, there's still a huge gap between our strengths. You'll need to train even harder from now on."
"I understand, Senior."
Kawaki Aoba nodded, his tone resolute. "I won't become complacent. I'll continue training hard and strive to catch up to you as soon as possible, becoming a powerful ninja who can protect Konoha and everything I want to protect."
Baki looked at Kawaki Aoba, a trace of gratification in his eyes. "Good. You've got ambition.
I believe that as long as you keep working hard, one day you'll become an exceptionally powerful ninja—perhaps even stronger than me.
By the way, why were you following our Sunagakure ninjas? Are you interested in those black-robed men too?"