Unohana's method of guidance left a trail of bloody, gruesome wounds all over Ace's body.
However, she maintained meticulous control over her strikes, intentionally avoiding any vital points while pushing Ace to heighten his perception and defensive limits.
By the later stages of the session, though Ace was covered in cuts, his control over his flames and his overall battle instincts had seen a substantial leap forward while contesting Unohana's elusive, terrifying blade.
"You guy, you're this heavily hacked up, and you're still happy?"
"Haha! I just feel like my strength has clearly improved." Blood still flowed freely from Ace's body, but Shiraishi was already condensing specialized medical ninjutsu in his hands, steadily stopping the bleeding from the wounds.
Had it not been for the sheer resilience of Ace's Sage Body, any ordinary person would have either been cut to pieces or died from the sheer agony of such grueling training.
Unohana, the instigator of it all, sheathed her Zanpakuto. Her eyes flickered as she watched Shiraishi's treatment process. "As expected of the Lord Kazekage, your chakra control is exceptionally brilliant."
Shiraishi manipulated Inorganic Reincarnation alongside his medical ninjutsu, rapidly knitting Ace's wounds back together. However, a faint, distinct trace of scorched, burning energy also lingered on Unohana's clothes.
Evidently, Ace hadn't merely been a passive punching bag throughout the bout. While taking the hits, he had similarly unleashed powerful bursts of Fire Style energy to retaliate.
"You two are far too reckless when you fight."
Having returned to her usual demeanor, Unohana smiled, a look of apology in her eyes. "His talent is truly excellent, and he is remarkably durable."
The staggering physical constitution of humans from the pirate world deeply impressed Unohana. More than that, it was the joy of a martial artist finding a worthy challenge; such an incredibly resilient opponent naturally made for an excellent training partner.
"Haha, it's really nothing at all. Sister Hana's strength is truly terrifying; it commands respect. In our world, she would absolutely be a powerhouse at the level of a Great Swordsman."
Stepping out of the training grounds and looking at the sunlight pouring in through the window, Unohana spoke softly, "A swordsman? Perhaps I prefer the title of 'Sword Fiend' (Kenoni)."
"Sword Fiend is a great name, too. Please continue to guide me in the future, Sister Hana."
For Ace, Unohana's presence was a catalyst to accelerate his growth. In particular, the intense, vivid sensation of standing on the precipice of life and death while fighting her allowed his potential to constantly erupt.
"Ace, you..."
"You've provided all my food and drink, and you even saved my life. Naturally, I have to give something back.
I can't think of anything else to offer, so my only option is to fight as much as possible to forge and elevate my own strength."
Ace's words struck a chord deep within Shiraishi's heart. He turned and offered his most sincere gratitude to both Unohana and Ace. "Thank you both, truly."
The battle and guidance they had just displayed were ultimately born from their shared awareness of the immense pressure weighing heavily on Shiraishi. Consequently, they had accelerated their own training specifically to stand by his side.
"Helping you is the same as helping ourselves."
Faced with Shiraishi's gratitude, Ace let out another hearty laugh. "Haven't I said it before? You're the one who saved us. What does a little training matter compared to a debt like that?"
Unohana merely squinted, offering a gentle smile. "Though I originally had no intention of living on, I ended up surviving in this world because of you. It is only fitting that I do what I can to lend a hand."
As a god-like entity, though Unohana could not channel the vast majority of her Reiryoku, her perception of this world's fundamental rules was far sharper than Shiraishi's. Because of this, she too recognized the looming crisis.
"Oh no! The gorilla-woman with monstrous strength has appeared!"
Inside the Ninja Academy, Uzumaki Tomoko walked forward with a thoroughly dark expression. Delivering punch after punch, she flattened a gang of upperclassmen who had been plotting an ambush, before breaking into a maniacal laugh.
"Ahahaha! You morons, you dare provoke this old lady with that pitiful amount of strength?"
Watching the wild, chaotic Uzumaki Tomoko across the schoolyard, Shigeru Aoki let out a quiet sigh. He adjusted his backpack and silently walked away from the commotion, acting as though none of it had anything to do with him.
Tomoko is still the same as always, so completely carefree...
For reasons he couldn't quite name, he deeply envied Tomoko's lifestyle. She could do whatever she pleased, unlike him, who spent every waking hour living under the heavy weight of everyone else's expectations.
Sometimes, Shigeru wondered how much lighter life would be if he weren't the son of the Kazekage.
He wouldn't feel so utterly exhausted. Facing his parents at home, and confronting his teachers and classmates at school, Shigeru constantly maintained a facade of absolute excellence.
Such a dedicated, hardworking student naturally commanded immense respect from the academy faculty, simply because he perfectly embodied what the ideal son of the Kazekage should be.
On regular days, not only was his academic capability flawless, but his demeanor toward his peers and teachers was gentle, cultured, and profoundly welcoming to everyone he interacted with.
Whenever the school organized various large-scale events, he was invariably the one representing the student council.
From the moment he could remember, his identity had been neatly labeled: Shigeru Aoki, the Son of the Kazekage, a child destined to be just as brilliant as his father.
Although he desperately wanted to scream that he had long since grown sick and tired of it all, Shigeru never allowed a single fracture to show on the surface.
His father, the Kazekage, bore an astronomical amount of pressure. He was in his office day in and day out, buried under an endless mountain of paperwork.
On the few occasions Shigeru had helped his mother deliver bento boxes, he had watched his father—a figure as majestic and unyielding as a mountain in his heart—taking a rare, fleeting moment of rest.
The profound exhaustion lingering deep within his father's eyes made Shigeru keenly aware of the burdens the Kazekage carried for the sake of the entire village.
"I want to become the Kazekage. Even if the heavy responsibility it demands is something far beyond what I can currently bear, I still wish to become an existence as powerful as my father.
However, I also despise those who mindlessly throw around the dream of becoming Kazekage just because they think it sounds awesome, cool, or stylish.
They don't have the slightest understanding of what the title actually represents."
At the academy, countless children openly dreamed of becoming the Kazekage, but Shigeru's intense declaration of his dream had instantly brought a dead, absolute silence to the room.
That had been the single, solitary instance where Shigeru had lost his composure during his entire time at the Ninja Academy.
Afterward, he seamlessly returned to silently playing the part of the perfect son of the Kazekage in the eyes of the masses.
Because of this awareness, Shigeru never deliberately acted out, threw tantrums, or engaged in foolish, attention-seeking antics to get his father's notice.
He absolutely refused to let the father he respected so deeply be distracted from his vital duties for even a second over childhood whims.
Therefore, hiding his true inner self, presenting the mask everyone approved of, and disguising himself within this Ninja Academy was entirely Shigeru's own conscious choice—it was never forced upon him by the influence of others.
His mother was the person who understood his father best, and precisely because of that understanding, she chose to continuously elevate her standards when it came to raising Shigeru.
Consequently, the nearly harsh, exacting demands his mother placed on him daily were things Shigeru could fully internalize and comprehend.
He had never once voiced a complaint or harbored any resentment, because from the very day he attained awareness, the little fellow had understood the reality of it all.
Whether it was his father or his mother, they were the people he loved above all else.
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