Chapter 76: Aftermath
Hmm... Let's talk about battle power again.
My reference for this battle power is the official setting for Kawaki's abilities.
According to the official values for Kawaki's abilities, teenage Kawaki, after activating Karma, can match a Jōnin. At full power with all his abilities, he can roughly match a Kage. Young adult Kawaki, after gradually receiving Isshiki's legacy, reaches his peak battle power.
So, according to this setting, after absorbing the "Karma" and undergoing a bloodline evolution, before his eyes awaken, his strength should be below Kage level.
Karma is strong, but not so ridiculously strong that it allows someone to reach the sky in one step. It can enhance strength, but not grant instant invincibility.
In the Boruto early chapters, Boruto graduates at 12 and leaves the Hidden Leaf at 13. Judging by the comparison of Kawaki's height and appearance to Boruto when he first appears, Kawaki is estimated to be 2-4 years older than Boruto, roughly 14-16 years old.
(The official source doesn't explicitly state Kawaki's age.)
In the Boruto young adult chapters, Boruto is set at 16 years old. At this time, Kawaki is approximately 18-20 years old, and their strength roughly reaches its peak.
Boruto is purely a character with protagonist privileges, having Momoshiki inside him and various plot armor.
Kawaki had "Karma" implanted in him as a child and has been cultivated by Isshiki as a "vessel" all along.
The protagonist, after all, is not the chosen one of the Naruto world. His growth is slightly slower than those overpowered characters (Six Paths, Naruto, Sasuke, Boruto, Kawaki). I think this should be justifiable.
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Hidden Mist Village, Hidden Mist Hospital.
Kurare Kushimaru, Jinpachi Munashi, and Torune Aburame were lying obediently in hospital beds, their entire bodies wrapped tightly in medical bandages. If their faces were covered, one might think three Second Tsuchikage had invaded the Hidden Mist Village.
Although Elder Haruame had arrived and performed emergency treatment on everyone except Kiyoshi, these three had indeed suffered somewhat serious injuries. Haruame's medical ninjutsu could only be said to have stopped their injuries from worsening. For subsequent treatment and recovery, as well as ensuring no hidden injuries remained, they still needed the Hidden Mist Hospital.
Kiyoshi and the remaining three of the Seven Swordsmen had very minor injuries and didn't need to stay in the hospital for follow-up treatment and recuperation. So, after receiving simple injury checks and treatment, they sat aside, amusedly watching these three large mummies.
After fighting as a team once, the relationship between the group improved by leaps and bounds, and the team atmosphere was extremely harmonious. Kiyoshi, who had won the MVP award for this team battle, also naturally gained everyone's loyalty. After all, respecting the strong was an old tradition of the Hidden Mist.
Suikazan Fuguki, Kurare Kushimaru, Jinpachi Munashi, and Jūzō Biwa were Kiyoshi's old subordinates from his time in the Anbu and had long become his loyal subordinates under Kiyoshi's combination of kindness and strictness.
Torune Aburame and Saito Kage were both quite sensible people. After all, there is an old saying in China: "A wise man submits to circumstances."
On the one hand, they were impressed by Kiyoshi's unfathomable strength. As long as Kiyoshi's strength continued to hold the dominant position, they wouldn't betray him. On the other hand, they were optimistic about Kiyoshi's future status. Wouldn't it be great to become a loyal follower of the future Fourth Mizukage?
At this moment, the door to the ward was pushed open, and the Third Mizukage Ice walked in first, followed by an elderly woman.
This elderly woman had fine lines left by the years on her face, but this did not affect her temperament at all. Her already white hair was styled very neatly, and her clearly defined face exuded elegance and kindness.
"Director Ringo!" Ice asked, "How are their injuries? Are there any difficulties?"
The one who came in with Ice was indeed the director of the Hidden Mist Hospital, Ringo Minako.
The Hidden Mist Hospital was established by the Third Mizukage Ice after the last Great Ninja War, feeling deeply that many elite ninjas had died after returning to the village heavily injured due to not receiving timely treatment, or were unable to continue being ninjas due to not receiving timely treatment.
The head of the Ringo clan, Ringo Minako, was the most skilled Jōnin in medical ninjutsu in the Hidden Mist Village at that time. Many of the Water Release medical ninjutsu that Hozuki Senno had learned were created by her. Therefore, she was appointed as the director of the Hidden Mist Hospital by the Third Mizukage Ice, responsible for establishing the Hidden Mist Village's medical system.
After more than ten years of development, the Hidden Mist's medical system had greatly improved, and medical ninjutsu had also made considerable progress. Although there was still a big gap compared to the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Mist now had the ability to treat even the severe injuries that Kiyoshi's father, Kaguya Genji, had suffered back then.
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(The Hidden Leaf Village's medical system is also not very complete at this time. During the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade proposed the training of medical ninjas and the allocation of medical ninjas to each squad, but this was not adopted. After the war, when the Hidden Leaf discovered that the casualties were too heavy, they gradually stipulated that each squad carrying out missions should be equipped with a medical ninja, and then other ninja villages followed suit.)
(However, at this point in the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade was already a famous medical ninja in the ninja world, and the overall medical strength of the Hidden Leaf Village, whether it was the strength of medical ninjas or the development of the Hidden Leaf Hospital, was far ahead of other ninja villages.)
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Ringo Minako's posture was elegant, and every move exuded composure and confidence.
She smiled gently at everyone in the room and replied confidently, "Elder Haruame's medical skills are very good. If it weren't for his timely treatment, I'm afraid these three would have suffered irreversible damage from the Six-Tails' corrosive power. But please rest assured, Mizukage-sama, they will recover very well under my treatment."
As the director of the Hidden Mist Hospital, she had treated many Anbu ninjas who fought the berserk Three-Tails and Six-Tails, so she recognized at a glance that their injuries were all caused by the Six-Tails.
Hearing Ringo Minako's reply, Ice nodded in satisfaction. He didn't want the elite troops he had carefully built to be ruined after just one mission.
"Then, you should rest well. I'll give you a period of leave. You don't need to report to the Mizukage Tower during this time!" Ice said, then left with Ringo Minako.
The Third Mizukage Ice came not only to visit Kiyoshi and the others. All the Anbu ninjas who survived the tailed beast rampage and were hospitalized received Ice's visit.
It had to be said that although Ice's methods of governing the village were somewhat radical, and the process of selecting ninjas was also slightly cruel, he was indeed a responsible Mizukage who deeply loved this village.
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