[Chojuro paused, then added, "Also, I've officially passed my Twin Swords Hiramekarei to Kagura. We decided that long ago."]
["I understand. The remaining six blades are enough to form a core force."]
[Ao took the permit Chojuro had approved and glanced at it, but did not leave right away.]
[He raised his lone eye and fixed Chojuro with an intense stare. "There's someone else I want from you. I want to bring her into the new Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and train her myself."]
[Chojuro's heart skipped a beat. A bad feeling rose in him. "Who?"]
["Jade."]
[He had known it! Chojuro's gaze sharpened, and he refused almost without thinking. "Absolutely not!"]
[He stood, planted both hands on the desk, and spoke with unprecedented firmness:]
["Jade is a treasure bestowed upon Kirigakure, a genius unlike any we've seen before. I have longer-term plans for her training. I intend to let her..."]
["Chojuro!" Ao cut him off sharply, striking the floor with his cane again as his voice rose.]
["It's precisely because she's an unparalleled genius that we must train her as quickly as possible into someone capable of defending the village!"]
["We must bring out every bit of her potential through the strictest, most effective methods!"]
["If war does break out one day, Kirigakure will need overwhelming strength to protect itself and deter its enemies!"]
["Keeping her sheltered and letting her grow at an ordinary pace would be wasteful—and dangerous!"]
["Ao!" Chojuro stood his ground, his gaze firm as stone. "War won't break out so easily! Everything we're doing now is meant to prevent it!"]
["Jade is a child with dreams and ambitions of her own before anything else. She deserves the right to choose her own path! Raising her solely to be a ninja who kills like