Hiding in the sand, splitting into many places, starting with Arkham

"No more, no more, I'm tired."

Halfway through the fight, Shimizu took the initiative to call a halt.

He was running out of chakra.

Although the chakra consumption is relatively small when a puppeteer manipulates puppets, it naturally increases with the number of puppets controlled.

But this was just a minor issue.

The main key point was the pneumatic device.

In a state of full power, Shimizu needed to frequently use Wind Release to draw air into the cylinder liner and compress it.

When he only had Fatty, Shimizu's chakra reserves could last a long time, but now he had added a new puppet, Big Ivan.

Big Ivan's pneumatic system was much more complex than Fatty's, with more functions, and the amount of chakra required was far greater than Fatty's.

In addition, the Mechanism Shield Seal used for defense was also a major consumer of chakra, and Shimizu could only last for about twenty minutes.

"Not bad, your progress has exceeded my expectations."

Kazekage Senri stopped his hand seals, sheathed his ninja sword, and said with admiration:

"Your current strength is already close to the level of a Jonin. Saying 'close' is actually an understatement. You already have the ability to contend with some Jonin for a certain period of time, but there are still some shortcomings…"

As Kazekage Senri spoke, Maki and Yakura also walked over, observing the aftermath of the battle, listening to Kazekage Senri's words.

Currently, besides insufficient endurance, Shimizu's combat power was already comparable to a Jonin.

"Tsk tsk, Shimizu, I'd say you're about to break the Third Kazekage's record and become the youngest Jonin in the village's history, aren't you?"

Maki's eyes were full of envy.

Currently, the record for Jonin promotion in Sunagakure was set by the Third Kazekage during the era of the First Kazekage, becoming a Jonin before the age of fourteen.

Yakura also had a chance, but the probability was relatively small because she was also approaching that age, currently in a stage of soon being promoted to Special Jonin, estimated to become a Jonin before the age of fifteen.

Maki admitted that his talent was not as good as Shimizu and Yakura. His bottom line for himself was to become a Jonin before the age of sixteen.

That way, if he developed well in the future, mastered a powerful secret technique, or successfully fused his own Bloodline Limit, there would still be a chance to become a Kage-level powerhouse when his strength reached its peak.

But Shimizu had just turned twelve years old, although he was currently only a Chunin, he already possessed strength close to a Jonin.

He only needed to spend a little over a year accumulating merit, making up for his current shortcomings, and raising his strength by a small step, and he really had a good chance.

If he continued to develop like this, Shimizu's strength would definitely reach the Kage level after adulthood, becoming the new leader of the Puppet Brigade after Chiyo.

"No wonder Elder Chiyo wants to take Shimizu as a disciple!"

Maki thought to himself.

At this time, Kazekage Senri also sized up Shimizu and Yakura, and after pondering for a while, he said:

"After the war situation stabilizes, I will apply to Elder Chiyo to take you out to accumulate some merit, and promote you to Special Jonin as soon as possible. Maki, after the team's merit accumulation is almost enough, I will start special training for you, and be sure to master the Wind Release chakra nature transformation within a year."

The configuration of this team was already very high.

Kazekage Senri was a top-notch expert among Jonin, Shimizu could exert Jonin-level combat power for a certain period of time, and Yakura could also be used as half a Jonin.

Maki…

Maki was not mediocre either. Ordinary Chunin would generally not be Maki's opponent. With Shimizu, Yakura, and Maki forming a tacit understanding, they would at least not hold back.

As long as this lineup did not encounter a Kage-level expert, or was surrounded and killed by a large number of ninjas, they could retreat safely in any situation.

"Within half a year, Shimizu and Yakura will accumulate enough merit to be promoted to Special Jonin. Within a year, all three of you will master the Wind Release nature transformation, and each of you will be promoted by one level. By then, the three of you will be almost ready to graduate from my tutelage."

Kazekage Senri said.

By then, Yakura would have mastered the Wind Release and Fire Release nature transformations, and her hard power would have reached the standard. Battle merits would not be a problem, and promotion to Jonin would be a certainty. Shimizu would not need to say much. With Chiyo as his backer, he would definitely have suitable tasks to obtain battle merits, and as long as his strength was sufficient, he could basically be promoted.

Maki might be a little short at that time, but a thirteen-year-old Special Jonin was already an undeniable genius. Becoming a Special Jonin already meant that he could be an independent ninja, fully capable of protecting himself in the ninja world.

Wasn't Kazekage Senri acting as the captain both as a teacher and a nanny, ensuring that these three people, who might become the pillars of the village in the future, would grow up?

Sunagakure wanted three people who could shoulder the village in ten years, not people who were always being sheltered. It was impossible to grow into top-level powerhouses without experiencing enough cruel trials.

Kazekage Senri, as a high-end combat force in Sunagakure, could not always lead them.

In the beginning, Chiyo and Ebizo's request to Kazekage Senri was to lead Shimizu and the others for three years. With the talent of these three, they could at least achieve Special Jonin status within three years.

Read without error, first issue, first content!

But now it seemed that the three years could be compressed to within two years, and the task could be overfulfilled.

… …

… …

Demon Slayer World.

Mt. Kenreizan.

This was one of the 100 Famous Mountains of Japan, and the name alone suggested how steep this mountain was.

The mountain was about 3,000 meters above sea level, and it was not until 1907 that the first person reached the summit. It was the last mountain in Japan to be conquered by humans.

In the Taisho era, this was still forbidden territory in the eyes of most people, and many ascetic monks and religious figures lived in seclusion here, with many Buddhist temples and shrines.

Shimizu wore a straw hat, carried a bamboo basket on his back, and walked on the bamboo corridor.

The end of the bamboo corridor was a temple.

The plaque of the temple had three characters written on it, Risshaku-ji Temple, and an old monk stood in front of the gate under the plaque.

"Amitabha, this benefactor must be Uesugi Shimizu, the swordsman recommended by Pillar Hashira? This old monk is Morioka Nen, once a Kinoe-ranked swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps. I am grateful for the recognition and trust of Oyakata-sama and Pillar Hashira, and am an instructor of the Demon Slayer Corps who teaches the Breath of Wind."

The old monk put his hands together and gave Shimizu a Buddhist salute.

"Amitabha, Master Morioka, I am indeed Shimizu."