The three of them had been moved to the core. They had wanted to win glory for Chiba Shun, to prove that all the care he had poured into them hadn't been misplaced.
But in the end, every one of them had failed.
Now they were terrified that Chiba Shun would be disappointed in them.
Sure enough, the thing they feared most still came.
Chiba Shun looked at them and said flatly, "I am very disappointed in all of you."
The three children lowered their heads even further. Tears were already gathering in their eyes.
Chiba Shun continued, "From today onward, your training intensity will increase."
He looked first at Ayana.
"Ayana, can you make sealing scrolls now?"
Ayana nodded.
Chiba Shun asked, "How much can one of your sealing scrolls hold at a time? Let's calculate it in kunai."
Ayana thought for a moment, then said in a tiny voice, "Maybe… two or three hundred."
Chiba Shun nodded. "Then from now on, train with kunai. Fill a scroll with kunai. Take them out one by one. Put them back in one by one. Then repeat the cycle over and over."
"Do it faster and faster. I won't set a fixed standard for you. You can decide that for yourself. Just keep pushing until you're as fast as possible, and until each scroll can seal as much as possible. Can you do that?"
Ayana hesitated, then whispered, "But, Shun-sensei… sealing scrolls get damaged after only a few uses."
"That doesn't matter," Chiba Shun said. "Then make more. You can already produce them yourself anyway. I'll cover all the materials you need."
He paused, then added, "And while you're at it, try increasing the number of times each scroll can be used."
If the funds Aoki Yuu had given him weren't being used at a moment like this, then what were they even for?
Ayana immediately nodded. "Yes."
Chiba Shun looked at her for a long moment before speaking again.
"Ayana, there are very few truly powerful female ninja in this world. In the entire shinobi world, aside from Konoha's Tsunade, only Sunagakure's Chiyo stands at the Kage level."
"Tsunade's strength comes from her bloodline. Her grandfather was Konoha's First Hokage. Chiyo is different. She reached that level because her puppet techniques were strong enough to elevate her there."
"Most female ninja eventually end up in clerical work. Do you remember the female chunin we met at the mission office last time? Many women in the shinobi world end up in positions like hers."
"So under normal circumstances, very few people would willingly choose a female ninja as a disciple."
He fixed his eyes on her.
"But you were the first one I set my sights on."
"I won't say anything else. Just don't make me regret my judgment."
Ayana's shoulders trembled slightly.
Then she nodded with complete force.
Even though she still didn't raise her head, Chiba Shun could already tell that something inside her had changed.
He turned to Hayata next.
"Hayata, this time your chakra control scored full marks. I originally wanted to recommend you for the elite class, but the other jonin all opposed it."
Hayata's body stiffened.
Chiba Shun continued, "Their reason was simple. Your chakra reserves are too low."
"I remember telling you before to eat more high-energy food and use it to strengthen your body. But judging from your chakra levels, you clearly didn't do that."
"Can you tell me why?"
Hayata panicked at once.
His voice trembled as he answered, "Shun-sensei, I… that kind of food is too expensive."
Chiba Shun said, "Last time, when we left the village, we completed an A-rank mission. The village paid out three hundred thousand ryo. I only took one hundred and fifty thousand. The other one hundred and fifty thousand was split between the three of you. Fifty thousand each."
"Do you think the role you played in that mission was really worth fifty thousand ryo?"
Hayata trembled, then slowly shook his head.
Chiba Shun let out a quiet breath. "Then you should know what I meant when I gave you that money, shouldn't you?"
Hayata nodded.
"I know what you were thinking," Chiba Shun said. "You were worried that you might never become a ninja, so you didn't want to waste the money."
"But when it comes to cultivation, you cannot afford to be small-minded."
Chiba Shun's voice became heavier.
"I have very high hopes for you. Low chakra reserves are a weakness, yes, but it is one that can be overcome. What matters is that you continue sharpening your chakra control."
Hayata slowly looked up, disbelief in his eyes.
He stole a glance at Chiba Shun, as if he couldn't understand why those words were being said to him.
Chiba Shun ignored the look and went on.
"Remember this. Your talent is extremely rare. But your weakness is fatal."
"Fixing that weakness will be difficult. Very difficult. But once you get through the hardest part, your future will be beyond measure."
"I believe you can survive the most difficult stage. I hope you can learn to believe in yourself too."
This time, Hayata fully raised his head.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Chiba Shun reached out and rubbed his hair. "Go back and train properly. Once your chakra reserves are enough to use a C-rank ninjutsu, I'll personally teach you ninjutsu."
Hayata nodded hard, his eyes blazing with resolve.
Finally, Chiba Shun looked at Shosuke.
To be honest, Shosuke really wasn't outstanding in any area. Other than his temperament, even Chiba Shun had never thought much of him.
The truth was simple.
Chiba Shun felt that Ayana and Hayata each had the possibility of becoming something remarkable in the future. If their teammate turned out to have a twisted personality, then under enough pressure, he could very easily slide into extremes.
That was why Shosuke, with his contented and cheerful nature, had entered Chiba Shun's line of sight.
Even if Chiba Shun never intended to invest in him the way he invested in the other two, he still hoped that this boy—who was destined to receive less attention—would not grow up bitter or resentful.
Of course, none of that could be said out loud.
So Chiba Shun only said, "Shosuke, your situation is different from theirs. You aren't particularly outstanding in any one aspect."
"So I won't train you toward a single specialty."
"But you're also not particularly bad at anything. Your balance is very good."
"And most importantly, your will is the strongest of the three. I don't think one failure will break you so easily."
"I don't think I need to say much to you. You should be able to overcome this little setback on your own."
Shosuke abruptly looked up, staring straight into Chiba Shun's eyes.
It was obvious he was trying to determine whether this was real comfort, or simply words being offered to console him.
But Chiba Shun's gaze was steady and sincere. He wasn't lying.
Only after confirming that did Shosuke lower his head again.
But even so, Chiba Shun could already sense that the boy's bearing had changed.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Alright. Go train. And if you need anything, come find me."
The three children answered in unison.
Then they quickly turned and ran off to cultivate.
After the three of them had gone a long way, Chiba Shun stretched lazily.
Brainwashing little kids really was exhausting.
The Ninja Academy had basically gotten onto the right track now. As far as Chiba Shun was concerned, all he really needed to do each day was continue promoting the Will of Lightning.
In truth, these newly transferred geniuses had very little to do with him.
Too many people in the village were watching them. There was no way those kinds of opportunities would fall to Chiba Shun.
Only people like Ayana—children no one else paid much attention to—could be slowly guided, little by little, into becoming his own.
That meant the time he had freed up could finally be poured back into cultivating Yin Release.
He still didn't know exactly how many methods Konoha possessed for strengthening Yin Release, but one thing was obvious: the method Danzo had sent over was definitely not the best.
It might even hide unknown risks.
But for a village like Kumogakure, which had almost no foundation at all in that field, it was still a precious treasure.
Danzo had sent over a special scroll.
When the scroll was unsealed, there was an image inside—but calling it an image didn't feel accurate, because the whole thing was pitch black.
According to the analysis, some strange existence was sealed inside it. Most likely, it was a soul.
Danzo's proposed cultivation method was simple: perceive the soul inside the painting.
To Chiba Shun, it sounded like a perfect way to get his own soul swallowed alive.
Even so, he still decided to try.
There was nothing else he could do.
At the moment, he was the person in all of Kumogakure who most urgently wanted to increase his Yin Release.
Inside a side room near the mission office, under the supervision of an elite jonin, Chiba Shun officially began his training.
Danzo had not only sent over the scroll, but also a method for inserting one's soul into it. By activating the seal on the scroll, the practitioner could use chakra as a carrier and send part of their soul inside.
Chiba Shun understood the principle well enough. It resembled the way the Nara clan manipulated shadows.
But instead of directly using Danzo's method, he made a different choice.
He closed his eyes, activated his sensory ninjutsu, and gently placed one finger on the scroll.
After a while, Chiba Shun vaguely felt that there was something inside the painting.
At the same time, it also seemed like there was nothing there at all.
The sensation was oddly familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he realized why.
Sometimes, when a person stood very close within the range of his sensory perception but wasn't actively using chakra, the feedback felt just like this—like someone was there, and like no one was there.
In other words, the soul inside the scroll was probably close to his fingertip, but it wasn't moving, so his perception couldn't properly lock onto it.
He waited a long time.
Nothing happened.
Only then did he start to hesitate.
Should he stop? Or should he switch to Danzo's method after all?
But Danzo couldn't be trusted.
What if there really was danger hidden in that scroll?
Chiba Shun kept the sensory ninjutsu active for a long time. Right when he was beginning to feel mentally exhausted and was preparing to end the attempt, a huge shadow suddenly lunged straight at him.
It opened its maw and swallowed him whole.
Chiba Shun cried out in shock and instinctively jerked his finger back.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead. His breathing turned ragged.
He whipped his head around and found that he was still standing in the same room.
Only then did he realize that what he had just seen had to be an illusion.
He let out a heavy breath.
Thankfully, he hadn't actually used Danzo's method to send his soul inside the scroll. Otherwise, he might truly have been injured just now.
The elite jonin standing nearby asked, "What happened?"
Chiba Shun glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then said, still a little shaken, "This training method is dangerous. It can't be used directly."
The elite jonin nodded.
He had clearly seen the hesitation in Chiba Shun's expression. After a moment, he said, "If you can find a safer method, report it to the village."
Then he added, "If your method proves usable, I can authorize a reward equal to an A-rank mission."
Chiba Shun's eyes lit up.
He looked at the man in disbelief. He had that much authority?
The elite jonin only smiled and did not explain.
But in truth, he did have that authority.
If no one could safely practice the method, then the scroll was worthless. But if Chiba Shun really found a workable approach, then one A-rank mission reward in exchange for the future sale of countless B-rank ninjutsu would be a deal the village would gladly make.
Today's attempt had drained him badly, so Chiba Shun ended the session there.
After resting for a night, he returned the next day.
This time, he used the exact same method as before.
Even though the thing inside the scroll had frightened him yesterday, he hadn't actually been harmed. Because he had not put his soul into the scroll, he had only been probing it through chakra.
It was like Naruto standing outside the Eight Trigrams Seal and being startled by Kurama.
This method wouldn't improve his Yin Release at all.
But for now, it was at least safe.
And when testing something this dangerous, that was exactly what he needed.