"The winner: Uchiha Itachi!"
The crowd erupted!
The owner of Nuibari had been decided, and the crowd cheered the Ghost God's disciple.
Itachi paid them no mind. To him, the outcome was only natural.
He stepped forward and reclaimed Nuibari. His body had not fully developed yet, so he was still too short to carry the long blade any other way than across his waist.
"The Uchiha Clan's Shuriken Manipulation Technique is a perfect match for Nuibari in that kid's hands." Jiraiya rubbed his chin, smiling. He was delighted to see another genius emerge in the village.
"Was that why you gave him Nuibari in the first place, Kazan?"
"Yeah."
It had been a gift to mark his taking on a disciple, but Kazan had put thought into giving Nuibari to Itachi.
Itachi's Shuriken Manipulation Technique ranked at the very top even among the Uchiha. He might do remarkable things with Nuibari.
"So Kiba, Kubikiribōchō, and Nuibari all have owners. That leaves four blades."
"Hiramekarei is next, right?"
It was. And one of the two contenders for Hiramekarei was Asuma Sarutobi, son of the Third Hokage.
"Sarutobi, is that your child?"
"He is my youngest son, Your Excellency."
"Then it seems those twin blades are as good as his."
"Haha, Konoha has no shortage of talent. Asuma has promise, but he'll have to work much harder to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was being modest.
His expression, however, made his confidence in Asuma plain to everyone.
Asuma had graduated from the Ninja Academy at nine, fought in the Third Shinobi World War, and earned considerable merit. Given time, becoming a Jonin was only a matter of course.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had had no time to instruct Asuma while serving as Hokage, but he had