"Hey, kid, you're supposed to teach students, so why are you building towers? What, you want all the kids in Otogakure to learn how to construct houses?"
"Building houses is the way to go—great career path, haha!"
"Quiet down!"
With a single slap, Kazama sent those guys sprawling to the ground.
"Listen up! I could've just killed you and called it a day, but since you've got the nerve to look down on Otogakure, I'm gonna open your eyes today!"
Kazama pointed to five towering structures.
"The Funu Ryuen To (Wind Fury Dragon Flame Tower), Kyuryu Rai Go To (Nine Dragon Thunder Flame Tower), Kaiun Sui En To (Fire Cloud Water Flame Tower), Kazan Seki En To (Volcano Stone Flame Tower), and Genko En To (Mysterious Yellow Flame Tower)—these five towers represent the five chakra natures: wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth. Any ninja whose chakra nature matches can train inside these pagodas. The strange flames within will boost your chakra nature's power massively, making your training twice as effective!"
Then he gestured to three other towers.
"And if any of you want to become medical ninja, beast tamers, or poison experts, you can enter the Yinyang Soen To (Yin-Yang Dual Flame Tower), Banju Reika To (Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame Tower), or Yumei Dokuhi To (Nether Poison Flame Tower). The longer you train in the matching tower, the faster your skills will skyrocket!"
"Is this for real?"
"If it's true, our training could leap forward like crazy!"
Kazama's explanation of the eight pagodas sparked everyone's curiosity, and they were itching to check them out.
"Hmph! Sounds fancy, but it's probably all flash and no substance!"
"If just talking could make things happen, I'd say I could become the Rikudo Sennin (Sage of the Six Paths)!"
The ninja instructors Kazama had knocked down started mouthing off again.
They knew Kazama was strong and not someone to mess with lightly.
But they figured, with everyone watching, he wouldn't dare do anything too drastic.
So they tried to undermine him to vent their frustration.
Hearing these instructors' doubts, the crowd started to question the towers' abilities too.
After all, they'd never seen anything like this in other ninja villages, so skepticism was natural.
"No problem. If you don't believe me, go ahead and step into the tower that matches your chakra nature. Once you're inside, you'll see I'm telling the truth."
"Don't do it! What if you go in and get burned to a crisp? You'd be throwing your life away!"
"I'll go!"
Fed up with those guys constantly contradicting Kazama, Yukimaru shot them an angry glare.
She marched straight into the Kaiun Sui En To, the tower for enhancing water chakra.
"Heh, what an idiot. Someone's actually volunteering to die!"
Seeing Yukimaru enter, the instructors burst into mocking laughter.
"Get ready to collect her corpse!"
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)!"
In just a few moments inside the tower, Yukimaru mastered Suiton: Mizurappa.
She immediately unleashed the technique, blasting the mocking instructors flat on their backs.
Sure, Suiton: Mizurappa was a basic water ninjutsu.
But for Yukimaru, who hadn't known any techniques before, this was a huge leap forward.
"How is that possible?!"
The instructors, shocked and furious, scrambled to get up and fight back.
But before they could, Kazama knocked them down again.
Orochimaru stepped in, hauling them off to await Kazama's judgment.
Meanwhile, the crowd saw Yukimaru's strength soar in mere seconds after entering the tower.
Now they were convinced Kazama wasn't bluffing—these eight pagodas were the real deal.
Moments ago, they'd been too cautious to approach, but now they rushed into the towers like a swarm, eager to train.
---
