《Naruto: The Outsider's Resolve [OC-SI, Gradual Progression]》
CH_1.1 (001)
He looked around the strange room with nigh a thought in his brain. It was as though he had achieved the meditative state of zero thoughts, free from errant thoughts of worldly desire and the hundred things to worry about... or, as in his case, no thoughts at all.
His eyes wandered around the lecture hall with a pitched floor and tiered seating, so those in the rear were seated higher than those in the front, allowing them to see the lecturer¡ª a man standing behind a podium, facing the blackboard, writing in chalk that made tapping sounds every time the hard chalk stick hit the coarse surface. Given that there was a teacher in the classroom, it was natural there were students as well, sitting at their tables, and he sat alongside them. They looked young¡ª he couldn''t tell how young from the back of their heads.
He was quite far and above the blackboard, sitting near the back. He didn''t know if he was part of the backbenchers, for he didn''t know what was behind him; his neck didn''t seem to work, nor did he want to turn back to see. Only his eyes moved, allowing him to perceive the strangeness and unfamiliarity in front of him.
Shuffle. There was a movement beside him caught in his periphery. His body as a whole twitched as he jumped in his spot on the long sitting bench. And that seemingly released the lock that was binding his body; suddenly, he felt his clammy palms, the clothes sticking to his soaked back, the back of the head where the hair felt drenched, and his legs were shaking as if hell-bent on causing an earthquake. It was thanks to the sturdy furniture that no one noticed. His heart seemed to take inspiration from his legs as it then thumped like a junky on adrenaline. And when he raised his hand to wipe a sweat drop trickling down his brow, he noticed the labored breathing on his palm.
The mind followed the body, and suddenly the dam opened, and hundreds of thoughts rushed in. Where was he? How did he get there? Why couldn''t he remember how he got here, where it was? Who were all these people? He seemed to be in a classroom, so why couldn''t he recognize anyone? Where was he before this? Why couldn''t he remember?!
His breathing hitched in the back of his windpipe as the question pushed through all the others.
...Who was he?
He felt hot like he was set on fire; his head felt heavy, and his eyes burned. Sitting straight felt uncomfortable, leaning against the chair''s backrest felt even worse, and putting his head down on the table made breathing difficult. The large classroom felt small and congested, and all he wanted to do was to run outside and get some fresh air.
"Takuma."
The voice cut through the ringing in his ear, and suddenly everything torturing vanished like it never existed. He looked up and saw the teacher looking in his direction... no, the teacher was looking at him. He realized that the teacher was speaking to him. What did he call him by?
Takuma¡ª that sounded familiar. That was his name, wasn''t it?
Takuma... Takuma... Takuma...
"Takuma."
NO! That wasn''t his name. That most definitely wasn''t his name¡ª then why did it sound so... natural?
Then the curtain was pulled back, and everything hidden behind it was revealed. The memories came rolling in. He knew who he was. The horror of remembering anything receded¡ª and yet, the fear of the unknown still loomed over his neck like a sharpened guillotine ready to lop his head off. He wasn''t supposed to be here, where his current location was supposed to be.
"Takuma!"
Finally, he reacted and jumped up and stood straight. "Yes," he said. He didn''t know why, but the name instinctually made him respond, even though it wasn''t his name.
The teacher stood frowning with his lips pressed into an unhappy white line. He could feel and see the eyes of other students on him; some were snickering as if his situation was humorous, while others just observed the show.
"Were you sleeping in the class, Takuma?" said the teacher, not pleased.
A voice inside his head whispered: ''Kibe-sensei.'' That was the teacher''s name, he knew instinctively.
"No, I was not," he said. Wait a second, he thought. The sound¡ª the words¡ª that came out of his mouth wasn''t correct; he knew two languages, but the one he spoke was neither. He gulped and could acutely feel the tongue in his mouth that had formed the words with such ease and natural form, without a hint of awkwardness, as he was a native.
"Then you won''t mind coming here and solving this question," Kibe said, slapping the backboard lightly beside the problem written in pink chalk.
There was something that was forcing-guiding-propelling him from within, something just at the edge of his attention, there but out of reach. Stopping him from giving up the pretense and giving into the bubbling pit of sheer force of emotions building in the space between his heart and stomach. He couldn''t put his finger on it as his gaze went to the writing on the blackboard for the first time. For a split second, he didn''t recognize the characters, but before the panic could set in, suddenly, he knew what everything on the board meant¡ª well, there were a couple of characters he was doubtful about, but they were resolved through context. The characters on the board weren''t alphabets; they were ideograms¡ª another thing foreign to him, yet it seemed so familiar. He stepped out of his desk and began climbing down the steps on the pitched floor. Thankfully he was sitting on the corner and didn''t have to face the awkwardness of pseudo-asking the person-or many- on the long table''s edge to step out so he could move out.
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His heartbeat spiked up with every step he took to move closer to the front of the classroom. He kept his gaze focused straight ahead on the blackboard, noticing it was more green than black, in fear that if he made eye contact with anyone, they would realize something was amiss. He also didn''t dare look back in fear that all the eyes were on him, looking at him... looking at him with eyes full of suspicion.
The floor pitched up around the front, creating a shallow stage with the podium and the two blackboards making one long one. He arrived at the blackboard as Kibe stepped aside, inviting him to solve the question. Taking a second look at the question on the board, he found one thing he clearly recognized with no accompanying internal conflict. The ideographic language was accompanied by Western-Arabic numerals. It was small, but seeing the digits provided him comfort.
He picked up a white chalk stick from the lipped sill beneath the board and stepped back to study the pink question in its entirety. It was a problem that could be solved by division¡ª it was nothing but simple. Feeling confident for once, he stepped forward and began writing the solution; it was easy enough that with some time, he could solve it mentally, so it was easier to solve in writing. He showed complete work through the long division method as he was in a classroom setting, and ''showing the work'' was expected of him... or at least that was the convention taught to him.
"... That is correct," Kibe said as he saw the complete solution, sounding narrowly surprised. "Good work, you may return to your seat."
He gave a quick nod to Kibe and was more than happy to return to his. He turned back and was about to move when he noticed something. It was all automatic, subconsciously out of his control, and before he knew it, his eyes had widened, and he was looking back at Kibe. Kibe wore a green flak jacket with a blue full-sleeved vest with a round neck underneath and similarly colored pants of three-fourth length with a wrapping of bandages covering the rest of the distance to open-toed sandals adorning the feet. But the attire wasn''t the thing that attracted his attention; it was the thing of metal attached to Kibe''s left sleeve¡ª and on it was an engraving of a leaf¡ª a stylized leaf.
He would''ve dismissed Kibe''s outfit as cosplay; if not for the fact he found himself in a strange place without the memory of getting there, where he could suddenly speak and read an unknown language he previously didn''t know and that somehow, without knowing, he knew who exactly Kibe was.
A dreadful thought formed in his mind as he knew what the facts of the situation were pointing towards. He didn''t want to look down and check, for he didn''t know how he would react if his suspicions were correct.
"Is something wrong, Takuma?" Kibe asked when he continued to stare.
Takuma. Just hearing Kibe address him with that name was like a battering ram against his psyche, trying to force him to accept the situation.
"Can I-I go to the washroom?" he asked, his voice breaking in between.
He thought Kibe''s gaze lingered for a moment too long. Was he found out? But then Kibe nonchalantly said, "Go, but return quickly."
He didn''t know how he got to the washroom. He just followed his feet, and they walked him through the unknown corridors that seemed familiar to a part of his mind until he stood in front of large mirrors over the sinks. The reflective surface of the mirror showed a sight that he feared.
The reflection showed a young boy with black hair and eyes¡ª and yet again, he felt the awful sensation of his mind split between registering the appearance as familiar and unfamiliar. The boy in the image wasn''t him, and yet he knew who it was¡ª Takuma. But who was Takuma? He had no clue.
He turned back, walked to one of the toilet stalls, bent over one before hurling his stomach''s content into the bowl, and then did it again the second time, completely emptying whatever was inside his body. He would''ve sat there beside the toilet in stunned contemplation if not for the smell and the taste of vomit in his mouth. He cleaned up and without thought wandered in the hallways of the buildings, numbly taking in the environment he was in. He came across a large bulletin board with a lot of papers thumbed-tacked upon it. Every paper had messy calligraphy on it as though written by a child.
[ A shinobi must see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings. ]
[ A shinobi must prepare before it is too late to. ]
[ A shinobi must never show any weakness. ]
[ A shinobi must follow their commander''s instructions. ]
He stared at them for a moment before moving on until he somehow made it out of the school building. He found himself staring up into the distance at four faces carved into the side of a large cliff¡ª it was as if the faces were looking over the city and its habitants.
There was no more denying the fact where he was. There were only two places he knew that had faces carved into a mountain, and the faces in front of him were in no form presidents of a certain country¡ª so by the process of elimination, only one place remained.
Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves, or simply the Leaf village.
"I''m in Naruto," he said to himself, savoring how wrong the words felt in his mouth. He looked down at the young hands, which already had calluses forming; they were so unlike his own. He recalled the image he had seen in the mirror. "I am Takuma."
He didn''t know how or why this was happening to him.
He only knew two things¡ª
He was in Naruto.
His name was... Takuma.
CH_1.2 (002):
Finding himself in a fictional world without any warning or reason wasn''t the toughest part of the day for Takuma. After he had calmed himself down and had accepted the situation on the surface¡ª there was still a part of his mind that wanted to believe that this was nothing but a lucid dream¡ª he made his way back to the classroom, once again bewildered by the fact that he somehow knew how to return even.
He entered the classroom and made a split-second eye contact with Kibe, who didn''t address him and continued to teach the class. Feeling lucky, Takuma climbed up the steps to his seat on the last bench. On his way, he roamed his eyes over his classmates who were of similar age to his current body. He recognized none of them.
He swallowed the bitter feeling that rose up and sat down on his seat with his head down. He wasn''t unfamiliar with his current circumstances¡ª transmigrated to another world¡ª he had read enough light novels to recognize the situation, but that didn''t make his situation any better because of the world he had been transmigrated to. Naruto. The world of constant war and strife fought with element-wielding super soldiers, each one with the potential of becoming a weapon of mass destruction. The cherry on top, there existed monsters, each capable of destroying countries on their own if they felt like it. Not to mention, there was even a god-like existence sealed away, whose release would spell the end of civilization and life on the planet.
''Why Naruto?!'' Takuma lamented inside.
He was well acquainted with the Japanese media of anime, manga, and light novels. He would go back to it from time to time when something caught his interest. Yet, Naruto, one of the so-called Big-Three, wasn''t one of his interests. The first time he had come across Naruto, he was intimidated by the length of its anime and had chosen not to commit to such a long show and had left it to the side for a rainy day. It was long after he had gotten into manga that he had chosen to indulge in Naruto through the original media, the manga¡ª it might have taken a week or so for him to complete whatever many volumes and chapters there were. It was easier that way, much less time-consuming than watching hundreds of eighteen-minute long episodes. And that was it. He had read the manga once. Nothing more and nothing less.
It was an enjoyable read, but it wasn''t his cup of tea. Maybe he would''ve enjoyed it more if he was younger or had picked it up when he was still new to the Japanese anime/manga scene.
The result? He didn''t remember a lot of it.
Takuma grabbed his head and pressed it hard against the wooden desk. Binging was terrible for retention, especially when interest levels weren''t at their peak. He was in an extremely dangerous world and he didn''t know anything much about it¡ª he couldn''t even recall the names of the characters outside the main cast.
''Shit! Shit! Shit!''
He closed his eyes and tried to focus. Try to find out more. But after a few minutes, he couldn''t deny the second outrageous problem that had presented itself to him.
He had no memories of ''Takuma.'' The boy, whoever he was, had left behind no memories of himself or anything of his past or even basic general knowledge. He looked at Kibe teaching in the front; Kibe was the only one whose name he knew, and that too had popped up in his mind. Was Kibe special in some way? Why did he know Kibe''s name, the language, and the way around the academy, yet he couldn''t recall anything when he consciously tried to remember?
Takuma sighed. Without information, he was like a man on a wooden plank in the middle of the ocean with heavy rain making his life miserable and possibly short.
''Let''s... Let''s start with what I know.'' Takuma looked around his desk for a bag, but he couldn''t even find a notebook or even a pen. Did the boy not bring any stationary to the lesson? What was this, college? He sighed deeply.
Academy students graduated at age twelve. Given that information, Takuma needed to figure out how old he was so that he could find how many years he had left in school¡ª how many years he had left... safe. Takuma patted himself down for any form of identification and found empty pockets. He clicked his tongue. The child had come out with nothing but clothes on his back.
''Next.'' He had seen four faces on the mountain, which meant Fourth Hokage had taken office. ''What was his name?'' Takuma frowned at his failure to recall the name of such an important figure. He then wondered how long it took to carve the face on the mountain, was it done manually by hand, or did they use chakra to speed up the process? The presence of the Fourth Hokage''s face on the mountain meant that the Third Shinobi War was over, which was good for Takuma¡ª no war participation in the near future. But was the Fourth Hokage alive? If he was dead, then for how long? Was he closer to Naruto''s birth or to the Third Hokage''s death? ''Or somewhere in between...'' Takuma sighed¡ª he had no way of knowing... yet.
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The clock on the wall showed it was already past lunch (lunch that he had emptied out), but he didn''t know how long a typical academy day ran. He couldn''t wait to leave the academy and return home.
Home, Takuma sucked in a cold breath. He didn''t know where home was. How would he make his way back when he couldn''t remember a dime worth of memories. What about parents; will they come looking for him if he stays put somewhere around the academy? Once again, his head began to feel heavy with all the problems surrounding him. It wasn''t even an hour since his arrival, and he already felt like he was drowning.
"Okay, class," Kibe clapped his hands to gain the students'' attention, "let''s move out to the training yard. I''m going to test your shurikenjutsu today; I hope everyone has been practicing; I would be very disappointed if you have not."
Takuma''s heart leaped into his throat. He looked around, and everyone was already getting up from their seats. He followed suit and walked as part of the crowd as the students followed Kibe outside to the backside of the academy building. The training ground was devoid of grass except for some weeds popping here and there. Wooden stumps stood on the edges of the space, some thin and others thick; some looked like they had been slashed, others looked like they had been bashed in. Kibe gathered the class in front of five stumps standing adjacent to each other in a line; every stump had four bullseyes drawn on them with white paint¡ª some were painted right in the middle, others were skewed some measure to the side.
"You''ll know the drill," Kibe said. "Split into five lines and line up in front of the targets. You throw five. The first row throws at the target and then sprints to the target to retrieve their shurikens and sprint to the back of their line." He gave his students a stern look, "Only after the first row has run back would the second row throw their shuriken, not a second back, break the rule and be ready for hell. Do you all understand?"
The class chorused with a "yes."
"Good," Kibe smiled. "Before we start throwing practice, I want all of you to give me twenty rounds around the ground to get the blood pumping and sweat dripping. I told you last time, today''s going to be tough," he grinned. "Now, what are you waiting for! Run! Run! Run!"
The students didn''t need to be told twice as everyone took off running around the grounds. Takuma followed after them and placed himself right in the middle of the pack, letting the group decide his pace. He didn''t know the body''s physical condition; he assumed since the boy was studying in the academy, he should''ve had enough physical endurance to not embarrass himself.
Takuma was all but lying on his back, wheezing his life out. His lungs were on fire as he stood with his hand on his knees, looking down at the ground wet with the sweat that dripped from his nose, chin, and hair. He was wrong. Sure, the boy''s body had been conditioned enough to complete twenty rounds, but not enough to hold a middle-of-the-pack pace. He looked at others who were running behind and slower than him, and even they didn''t look anywhere near as taxed him.
"Form the lines, quickly!" Kibe barked an order.
Takuma, still heaving, positioned himself at the back of the line. There were five wooden crates of shuriken, one for each line. The glint of the sharp metal made the panic from earlier come back, and without the running distracting him, it rose up like a tsunami over the shore. He didn''t know how to throw a shuriken, he could barely throw a baseball properly. Throwing carriers of sharp death was out of the league for him, not even in the same stratosphere.
"Next!"
Takumi''s eyes bulged when Kibe''s voice snapped him out of his spiraling trance. He looked and found himself next in line. He watched as the girl in front of him picked up her shuriken and threw them two at a time and one solo towards the stump. They weren''t dead center, but they weren''t far from them.
"Very good," Kibe said with a smile, praise not hidden in his voice. He looked at Takuma, and the smile vanished. "Next," he said.
Takuma bent over the crate and carefully took out the shuriken to not cut his fingers on the edge and make a mockery out of himself. But he didn''t need to worry about that as he made sure it happened a few moments after. Takuma stared at the stump several feet away from him, and he swore it didn''t look that far when he was looking from behind. As he was looking, the others in the row all began throwing. Takuma panicked when he saw the others thrown and haphazardly picked a shuriken in his throwing arm and awkwardly threw it... and didn''t even make it to the stump.
The snickers and laughs from behind made Takuma flush like a boiled lobster. He was the only one who had failed to cover the distance, even those who had missed the target had at least thrown it far enough. He glanced at Kibe, who didn''t look shocked at his performance. No, the teacher looked like Takuma''s abysmal performance wasn''t anything special.
"What are you looking at? Continue throwing," Kibe frowned with his arm crossed when he saw Takuma looking at him. Kibe offered no advice or input.
Takuma straightened up immediately, and after four more throws that each failed to reach the stumps, he wanted nothing more than to be like an ostrich and bury his head in the ground to escape the mocking laughter from his classmates and the look of harsh disapproval from Kibe. It was even more embarrassing when only he had to cross halfway to recover his shuriken and come back quickly when everyone ran all the way to the stump to retrieve theirs.
The same humiliation was repeated multiple times over, and between the physical exhaustion and the red-hot shame, Takuma felt tears trickle down from his eyes. For the rest of that day, even after they returned to the classroom after another long set of laps around the training ground to finish the shurikenjutsu training, Takuma didn''t raise his head. He kept it down until the end of school, until he was left in the classroom... alone.
Even with no one remaining to judge him, he couldn''t raise his head.
CH_1.3 (003):
The sun was setting by the time Takuma trudged out of the academy. His eyes were red and puffy as he looked at the street outside academy grounds. A caretaker had found him in the classroom alone and had asked him to leave as it was time for the room to be cleaned and locked for the day.
Takuma walked around the block to see if he could find a park where he could sit and wait for the boy''s parents to arrive. Fortunately, there was a park beside the academy. Takuma picked a bench directly visible from the park''s entrance and sat down. He watched children play in the sandbox, on the swings, playing chase with each other, carefree from the realities of life. As the sun pulled further down, some children left the park on their own while others were picked up by their parents.
Takuma waited and waited, and soon, the red in the sky was replaced with blue until the moon climbed up high, and as he saw the stars glittered against the black backdrop, Takuma knew no one was coming to pick him up. It was a half-deduction, half-gut feeling. He stared at the sky and gazed at the stars; he hadn''t seen stars so clearly in a very long time. The cities he lived in always had pollution obstructing the star''s light.
It seemed he would need to find his own way back home... or he would have to spend the night on the bench. ''I can find another bench somewhere; why not give it a shot.''
As he stepped outside of the park, Takuma frowned at the street. He looked left, and a street light illuminated the path; he looked to the right, there was no light on that side, but he felt a strong feeling from the direction. Like something was calling him. He looked between the two paths, light and dark, before pursing his lips and walking right into the darkness.
He kept to the side of the road and walked like a jumpy rabbit, ready to jump on any indication of any nearby presence. Soon, he arrived at a fork in the road, and once again, he felt a sensation towards one side. He took it. And after following the path indicated by the gut feeling for fifteen minutes, he arrived at an old apartment building standing five stories tall with watermarks dripping down the sides from exposed pipes that had algae growing on the walls. Ignoring the logical part of his brain, Takuma entered the property and found himself standing in front of a door on the third floor.
This was his house; he could feel it. The boy had left something behind, not exact memories, but there was clearly something that had guided him here. It wasn''t him, so it could only be the boy.
''I don''t have a key,'' Takuma squatted and pulled up the floor mat to check underneath but got dirt instead. There was a bulb with a cover atop near the door. Takuma jumped up and tried to reach around to find a key, but again he came down empty-handed. He sighed for the n-th time in the day and closed his eyes, trying to keep the frustration down and away from showing.
He was exhausted, and his stomach had started protesting from the lack of food. Takuma leaned against the door with his forehead, feeling the cracks in the paint due to the shoddy paint job. He grabbed the doorknob and was about to turn it violently to release his frustration when the first turn made the door open up. Takuma watched with a dropped jaw as the door swung open slowly with the loudest creak he had heard from the door.
The stupid kid hadn''t locked his door. Takuma entered the door and entered the dark apartment, only to be hit by a wave of a heavy and hot smell that bogged down the entire apartment. Takuma groaned. He knew the smell; it was the same as a boy''s dorm room when they kept the room closed with no ventilation.
After spending minutes fumbling around for a light switch, Takuma turned on the lights to find himself horrified at the state of the apartment. It was a small studio apartment that opened up to the lounge-slash-dining room. Upon entering, he saw an old dirty two-seater couch with laundry piled upon it. On the side was a round dining table with two chairs that had eaten ramen cups and packaged lunch boxes lying on the tabletop as if the concept of a trash bin didn''t exist in the house. Even though he was wearing shoes, Takuma could tell by eye how dirty the floor was and didn''t want to think when was the last time it was cleaned. Behind the dining table was the kitchen, and he was expecting a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, but all he found were some dirty glasses and mugs, and then it dawned on him¡ª the kid didn''t cook. The mess on the table was how he ate.
Takuma sighed. Beyond the living-slash-dining space was the bedroom. It only had two things¡ª a closet and a single bed. The closet was open and half empty, not surprising seeing that half of the clothes were on the couch outside. The bed was worse; there was no sheet on it, and half of the space was covered with miscellaneous junk that Takuma couldn''t be bothered with.
He pushed the mess aside as much as he could and fitted himself into the narrow space. He was worn and weary and was in no mood to clean the house. Future-Takuma could handle that punishment. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep, and hopefully, when he woke up, he would be back in his home world... and not here.
Alas, fate was a cruel mistress.
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Takuma looked at himself in the bathroom mirror that one week ago used to be so dirty that it took a complete hour just to get it cleaned enough to see a decent reflection; getting it spotless was a mess of another magnitude. He lightly touched the small bruise on his shoulder from the taijutsu spar in the academy earlier in the day. Just like shurikenjutsu, Takuma was abysmal at best in hand-to-hand combat and kissed the floor in every sparring match he had been a part of.
Takuma now knew he was ten years old from his date of birth on his academy id-card that he found in the corner of the closet and the date of the latest newspaper he saw on a newsstand. Even though he was sparring against similar ten years old¡ª they were ten years old who had been learning how to combat since they were six years old, some even before and he was a bum who had never picked up a fight in his life and only knew to haphazardly throw out punches. He was terribly outclassed by literally everyone among his peers.
It didn''t help that the majority of the people had a weight advantage over him. Takuma was above average in height for his age, but the boy must not have liked eating, for he was so skinny that even a shirt on a hanger would feel good about itself. Takuma had ribs showing, slightly sunken cheeks, and limbs with no meat on them.
Takuma narrowed his eyes on himself in the mirror. His hand moved up the new bruise, tracing the almost invisible scarring on his clavicle. The cut that caused the scar was either not deep, or the wound had been healed exceptionally well and had only left behind a white line on his medium fair skin. A scar wouldn''t have been out of place, given that he was enrolled in a shinobi academy, but when a ten-year-old''s body was riddled with faint scars that could''ve been made through cuts, Takuma couldn''t help but wonder where they came from.
As he was tracing his fingers on the scars, a horrid pain erupted in the back of Takuma''s head as if someone was slicing his brain with a hot knife. He choked on the air in his windpipe as an image flashed through his mind of a blinding light with shadows looming over him.
The pain eventually left, leaving behind a throbbing sensation in his head, and Takuma was left in a coughing and wheezing fit as he used his hand on the mirror to prevent himself from ending up on the floor. It took a minute for Takuma to come to his senses, and the first thing he saw was his reflection in the mirror¡ª for some reason, the scars seemed deeper and more visible.
''What the hell was that?!'' Takuma wondered with his hand over his chest, feeling his racing heart. He had no idea and could only associate it with the boy''s poor health.
In the past week, Takuma learned a lot about his situation. Firstly, he was now a ten years old orphan living alone in a state-allotted home on an allowance also provided by the state. It seemed in the Leaf village, orphans who enrolled in the shinobi academy left the shelter of orphanages at the age of ten and were made to live on their own. They were still available for adoption, but when the children were not living in an orphanage, the chances of getting adopted were close to zero. From the documents he had found lying about the apartment, the boy had been living alone for about four months.
''And that''s all it took for him to trash the place.'' Takuma was still resentful because it took him five days to clean the place from top to bottom. But Takuma couldn''t blame the boy¡ª it was tough to muster enough energy and will to clean up after being beaten up and humiliated in the academy.
Takuma had visited the orphanage once to see if he could find out more about the boy. It was interesting since he didn''t know the way to the orphanage, what it was called, or what it looked like. But somehow, he was able to get to it anyway, and that was without even asking for directions. Takuma had realized in the last week that even though he hadn''t inherited the boy''s memories, he had inherited something to a gut feeling, a special sense that communicated the boy''s experience to him. Directions to frequently visited locations? His body would tell him where to turn. Names of people the boy knew? A whisper-like thought would inform him of their names. He didn''t know when the special sense would come to him or how to invoke it, but he was grateful for it because he would''ve been dead without it.
At the orphanage, the matron was surprised to see him. It seemed the boy hadn''t visited since he had been made to leave. Takuma had spent some time talking to the matron before leaving. He wasn''t able to find much about the boy. He couldn''t broach the topic of the boy''s parentage. But he did come to know that the orphanage was relatively new and was made after Kyuubi''s attack on the village, which had left many children without families, and thus the majority of children in the orphanage were victims of the aforementioned attack. Takuma assumed the boy was just another one of those unfortunate children.
Kyuubi''s attack... A piece of information that had cleared a lot of questions for Takuma. He knew exactly what time he was in... or he knew exactly how far he was from the main story.
''Seven years,'' Takuma thought bitterly. Seven years from now, the main cast would turn twelve and graduate from the academy, and that would mark the start of a particularly dangerous time in an already dangerous world. Currently, he was ten years old, and the main cast was five years old¡ª a five-year difference, not that it meant anything. ''They must''ve entered the academy this year.'' There wasn''t much interaction between different years, so he hadn''t seen the main cast. Takuma was tempted to go have a look, but he couldn''t find the time and energy.
Takuma groaned as he made his way out of the bathroom to his bedroom. He pulled a tracksuit out of his closet and pulled it on. It was time to go running. He had seven years left, and only two more years in the academy, and he was already running late. If he wanted to increase his chances of living, he had to make use of every second of his time.
Because when he turned twelve, he was going to be put on active duty, and it would only be a matter of time before he would be in situations where his life was in danger.
CH_1.4 (004):
For Takuma, the academy had turned into a place of learning, and the classroom was where he learned the most. He looked up at Kibe teaching the class, but Takuma had no idea what was being taught. He had gotten used to tuning out the class. Takuma was years behind the curriculum, and listening to the teaching did no good to him. There were subjects like mathematics, fundamental physics and chemistry, and finance which he knew better than his classmates¡ª but subjects like history, politics, strategy, and war tactics, he had to learn from scratch. He wasn''t even mentioning subjects like basic chakra theory, introduction to ninjutsu, introduction to genjutsu, and their subsequent advanced modules taught through the years.
To catch up, he needed to learn faster than his classmates. And that meant learning at his own pace¡ª at an accelerated pace. Sitting in the corner of the home was every book, scroll and resource material the academy had provided the boy (and that he had kept, who knew what he had discarded). Takuma had dug the pile and started at the bottom. Even though the academy was trying to create competent soldiers by age twelve, the material for six and seven years old was still a breeze for Takuma. He aimed to cover the first two years of material in a month or forty-five days before moving on to year three, where chakra was introduced.
As for physical, that was a different ordeal altogether. The academy truly trained its students to be soldiers. Takuma had found that the first year had a lot of physical activity disguised as fun games and exercise. The goal was to lay the foundation for teaching the children to appreciate training for training''s sake. In the second year, the physical aspect was phased out a little for classroom time, and with each year, a little more physical time was phased out in favor of theory and practical skill classes. But each year, the students were encouraged to continue physical conditioning and skill training on their own time. The system apparently worked as each year had a certain physical standard that students were expected to meet¡ª and in the last test, most of the class had passed the test. Takuma had, unfortunately, failed the test miserably.
Alas, physical conditioning, taijutsu, and weapon skills weren''t the same as theoretical skills. Physical conditioning could be built consistently throughout the year through an arduous process of following the plan given in the academy manuals¡ª but taijutsu and weapon skills like shurikenjutsu and kunai handling had to be mastered through repetition. Takuma wasn''t sure he would be able to match the average of his peers in the two-year time he had till graduation.
"That''d be all for today," Kibe said as he rubbed down the blackboard with a duster. "Now, this is your last year in the academy..."
Takuma, who was hunched over his book, suddenly looked up at Kibe with eyes threatening to pop out. Last year of the academy? What was Kibe talking about? Academy cadets graduated at twelve; that was common knowledge.
''Common knowledge,'' blood drained from Takuma''s face as the thought struck him. Common knowledge... Where did common knowledge come from? Naruto and Co. had graduated at twelve; that must mean the rest must also graduate at the same age...
Takuma''s eyes fell down to the history book he was reading. The page was about the third shinobi war a few years back. Takuma closed his eyes. He realized why the academy was graduating students at age eleven. During times of war, the academy would streamline its curriculum and cut it down to as short as a year, getting rid of all fluff like etiquette and proper handling of clients and focusing on creating shinobi ready for war.
But Konogakure wasn''t at war. No, they weren''t, Takuma sighed. But they had suffered something as terrible as war¡ª they had suffered through the Kyuubi attack.
''The third shinobi war made a deep dent in the shinobi reserve, and before the village could recover, the Kyuubi made the dent even deeper,'' Takuma grabbed his head as the thought completed in his head. It was only natural that the village was trying to recover its numbers by pushing more people out of the academy faster.
Takuma felt something bubble in the pit of his stomach¡ª he felt sick and both hot and cold at the same time. He didn''t have two years as he had thought. Now apparently, he had one. Just the thought of his time cut in half was almost enough to send him hyperventilating.
"...The graduation test is done thrice in the last four months of the program," Kibe continued. "Passing any one of the three tests will see you passing graduation. But I want all of you to do your best in every test, even if you do pass the first time, because your best grade will be considered in the end, and scoring high is important without me needing to tell you... because this is a test. The most important test of your life till now."
Takuma gulped. Three tests meant he had three chances to clear the academy. Wait a minute, Takuma frowned. He looked up at Kibe and raised his hand.
"Yes?" Kibe asked when he saw Takuma.
"What happens if we fail all three tests?" Takuma asked.
One of the students laughed, "We?" Some chuckled along, and some seemed genuinely interested in the question.
"What happens if I fail all three tests?" Takuma asked, reiterating his questions. He couldn''t blame his classmates for laughing; he was the worst in the class and would seem more at home with a six-year-old who had just joined the academy¡ª and Takuma couldn''t agree more. The thing he wished for the most was returning to his world, but after that, it was to be transmigrated when the boy had just entered the academy.
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Kibe narrowed his eyes at Takuma before turning to the class. Takuma learned in his time at the academy that Kibe had no love to spare for him.
"If you fail to pass even a single one of three, you will be held back at the academy, where a committee will decide what to do with you," Kibe announced. "You might have to repeat the year" ¡ª Takuma sighed in relief ¡ª "or you might be forced to leave the academy outright."
Takuma paled when he heard that, and gasps sounded in the classroom. Takuma had thought that if he failed the graduation tests, he would get one more year, bringing his plan back on track. He had no qualms about repeating a year¡ª yes, it would be humiliating and always be on his record, but that was something he was willing to go through when his safety was concerned. But now, a committee was involved.
Several thoughts went through his head. What would happen if the committee made him leave the academy? Takuma didn''t believe he would be allowed to be free after that. The administration wouldn''t let someone with shinobi training, even if they weren''t incompetent, just go out of their system so easily¡ª what if they were pretending to be incompetent and were simply using the academy as a way to learn or gain how the Leaf village trained their shinobis. Takuma didn''t want to go down that future, for he didn''t know what lay there.
The class soon ended, and as everyone was getting out of the classroom, Kibe asked Takuma to stay behind.
"You have not been performing well recently," Kibe said with his hands crossed as he looked down at Takuma. "And I''m not talking about your usual bad performance; you have been worse beyond your usual terrible self."
Takuma kept his head down. Again, there wasn''t a thing he could say to refute it. If the boy was a lousy student, then Takuma was straight-up illiterate.
"You''re not going to pass like this. You haven''t won a single spar, hit a single target, or been able to perform a bunshin- not even a faulty one- and the only class you¡¯re halfway decent in is maths. ¡If you continue on like this, they won''t even let you repeat the year."
Kibe''s words realized Takuma''s worst fear. Being kicked out of the academy. He would rather be a chakra-wielding shinobi and go into a dangerous situation on his own accord rather than be a civilian and not know if tomorrow was going to be the last day of his life.
"What should I do to get better?" asked Takuma, his head still bowed.
"Study and practice."
Takuma wanted to scream that he had been doing so day in and night out but knew that throwing out his anger wouldn''t do anything. Kibe was a strict teacher who took no disobedience against the rules he set. He had regularly kicked students out of classes at the slightest peep out of place, made them run laps or other punishment exercises when they disturbed his class. Takuma barely ever spoke in the classrooms, so he never got into trouble. For when he couldn''t perform in the field? The most Kibe could do was to force Takuma to practice at the thing he had failed as there was no parent to complain to.
"Yes, sir," Takuma said. From Kibe¡¯s answer of ¡®study and practice¡¯ he knew asking Kibe for guidance wouldn''t help him as the militant teacher wasn''t going to hold his hand and spoon feed him basics this late in the academy.
As Takuma walked home alone, he finally had a quiet moment on the empty streets. Kibe''s classroom was silent, but there was something about the classroom ambiance that made Takuma concentrate better even though he wasn''t listening to the lecture, and he used all of that time to catch up on the theoretical knowledge from books and scrolls provided by the academy. He had to wrap his books in old newspapers so no one could tell what he was reading by the cover. It would be embarrassing if his classmates found that he was reading first and second-year material while being in the fifth year¡ª and while he could bear the humiliation, children were particularly mean, so he would rather not attract attention to him.
But things like weapons handling and taijutsu weren''t something he could learn on his own. There was no one who would tell him how to properly hold the kunai or correct him when his taijutsu katas weren''t correct.
Takuma looked around as he entered the district he lived in. It was a civilian district with negligible shinobi presence. However, it wasn''t a good civilian district with clean and flat roads, regularly maintained streetlights, and properly painted walls and buildings, which made an area look and feel like a desirable place to live. No, Takuma''s home was in a place with roads filled with potholes, where every other streetlight was shot and those that worked flickered every few seconds, and every building looked like it had been maintained for a decade. It was a place where the bottom dwellers of the society lived¡ª people who worked in unorganized industries with low pay, unemployed workers going through tough times, people who screwed up their finances¡ª anyone who didn''t have enough money lived in the district... and that included orphans like Takuma.
The state only had so much money they could spend on orphans like Takuma, especially when there were so many of them after the war and Kyuubi''s attack. Every orphan was a drain on the budget, especially orphans like Takuma, who lived independently and required separate housing. Housing in the cheapest district was what the state deemed Takuma worth.
He smiled bitterly. Just like his housing situation, his financial situation looked dire and decrepit. He was provided an allowance every month, but it was only barely enough to cover his meals, which Takuma prioritized over everything else. He wanted to put some muscle and fat on his bones, and it took nutritious meals to accomplish that. He couldn''t even eat out as it wrecked his budget, and he had to cook every meal in-house, which was a problem as he didn''t know how to cook. He had gone to the academy and public libraries to get recipe books and created the cheapest three-meal menu he repeated daily. Every night, he would cook three meals in meal-prep form, put two in the fridge and eat the third. Take the breakfast out after the morning workout and take lunch with him to the academy.
The rest of his money went towards thrifting and scavenging used tools that he could use after school hours in practice. Tools weren''t cheap, and because he wasn''t a shinobi, he couldn''t use military garrisons where shinobi got supplies at discounted rates. He had to go to blacksmiths who supplied the garrisons and choose from the ''to-be-recycled'' piles that shinobi returned for reforging. None of his shuriken and kunai had an edge that wasn''t chipped; most of them had cracks of varying degrees.
It hadn''t been even a month since Takuma had been in this world, but he was sure he would have no money by the end of the month, and for the foreseeable future, he would be living from allowance cheque to allowance cheque.
Takuma sighed as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He frowned as he felt a hole big enough for two fingers in his right pocket. He looked up at the sky and wondered if the boy had a sewing kit stashed somewhere in the house and then chuckled¡ª of course, he wouldn''t, and it wouldn''t help... he didn''t know how to stitch.
''Ah... this sucks.''
Absolutely everything¡ sucked.
CH_1.5 (005):
The Academy''s Training Field No. 2 was Takuma''s least favorite place in the world. Even the lush and soft mat of cleanly cut grass that covered the entire field that had given him the best nap of his life and the best sleep he had ever since arriving in the miserable world of shinobis didn''t give the place a higher rating in his mind''s internal review system.
"Hideaki," Kibe called from his place in the middle of the wide circle formed by his students sitting beside each other in a single line of the perimeter. A tall and wide eleven-year-old got up from his and lumbered his way to the middle of the field like a fat bull. Kibe looked around in the circle before calling, "Takuma."
Takuma, sitting with crossed legs, had an old and frizzy jute rope in his hands. He was working on practicing the sheet bend knot when he heard Kibe call his name out and flinched. He looked up from his lap and found that he hadn''t misheard and Kibe was indeed looking at him. And the sight of Hideaki picking his ear made Takuma pull a face.
"Get up, quick," Kibe said, his voice sharp and snippy.
Takuma reluctantly made his way to the center of the circle as he pocketed the length of the rope he had stolen from the side of a shop that was using them to hang potted plants off the ground. Coming to Training Field No. 2 meant that the class was going to practice taijutsu, and sitting in a circle told they were going to spar¡ª and Takuma hated nothing more in the world than taijutsu sparring. Running butt-naked through a street was better than sparring in front of an audience he saw daily.
"Let''s start," Kibe said and stepped back near the perimeter.
Takuma saw Hideaki raise his right hand and form the Seal of Confrontation and quickly copied him to do the same. Every taijutsu spar in the academy started with both parties with the Seal of Confrontation; he didn''t know its significance, but it just did, and Takuma followed it.
Kibe looked at them for a pause-second before he signaled: "Start!"
Hideaki lazily raised his arms and crossed them over his chest, forming an X. Then straight up charged towards Takuma like a raging bull.
Takuma bit the inside of his cheek as he raised his hands up in guard. There was no academy taijutsu kata that involved crossing arms and charging at the enemy, not even close. And even though Takuma was in no way an expert at Akimichi clan''s taijutsu, he was sure there was nothing like this there as well. Hideaki was making fun of him.
It was no secret that Takuma was the weakest in the class at taijutsu (well, at everything), and even those who were weak at taijutsu could wipe the floor with Takuma. Hideaki Akimichi of the clan that prided themselves on their strong bodies could send Takuma to the next year if he wanted to.
Takuma clenched his fists and shrunk his body as he saw Hideaki close in on him. He was supremely tempted to pull a kunai and ram it into Hidekai''s face but knew that taking out a weapon would be an open invitation for his opponent to pull out his own weapons¡ª the last thing that Takuma wanted. He had no confidence in blocking or parrying a blade and was no fan of getting himself cut. That was not considering that if he pulled out a kunai, he could get a hit in in the first place. So, he waited until Hideaki was close enough before jumping out of the way. Alas, Hideaki uncrossed his arms and spread them wide, and in doing so, hit Takuma''s shoulder with the side of his fist.
It hurt, Takuma winced. He staggered a few steps back before getting his balance back in control. At the same time, Takuma and Hideaki faced each other. Hideaki once again charged at Takuma without his hands crossed. Takuma held his arms up in a boxing guard. Hideaki, despite his size, was faster than Takuma and was inside the latter''s personal space in a jiffy. Hideaki made a fist and punched Takuma''s guard. Takuma clenched his arms, but Hideaki''s punch split his guard and dug into just below the chest.
Takuma didn''t feel the pain until his back hit the ground. He coughed; the punch had knocked the air out of him. Takuma was barely ready when he saw the sole of Hideaki''s sandal coming down at him and narrowly missed him as he rolled out of the way.
Hideaki humphed as he firmly dug the foot that had missed the stomp and used it to pivot his chunky body and kick Takuma''s back with his other leg. "Gah!" Takuma was sent rolling on the ground with a force that he dragged chunks of grass with him.
"Alright, that''s it, stop!" Kibe ordered, and Hideaki stepped back, returning to the middle of the encirclement. Takuma stood up with pain both in his front and back and wondered if any of the pain was worth it.
He walked to the center and faced Hideaki. Even though Hideaki hit hard, he was one of the easiest to fight. The Akimichi member was lazy and always wanted to end the fight as soon as possible and would move into disabling the opponent at the quickest, even if his methods to do so were crude. There were others¡ª total pissants¡ª who would drag out the spar; those were the hardest and would sting the most in the aftermath.
"End it," Kibe said.
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Takuma and Hideaki put their hands forward and joined their Seals of Confrontation to form a Seal of Reconciliation that marked the end of every spar in the academy. Takuma had seen it done many times; some did with grace, some looked like they despised each other, and even the thought of touching each other when it wasn''t fighting revolted them. But he didn''t know what it meant and doubted Hideaki knew either¡ª if he had been told about it before was another matter all along.
Kibe called another pair as Takuma returned to his spot and continued with his knots on his frayed ropes. There was no rest for the wicked... and even less for the weak.
Takuma stood in front of a thick wooden log on the side of a field. The log had several spots that looked like they had been kicked in, so much so that the dark bark had been stripped away, revealing a curve in the light insides. How much did one have to kick and punch to cave in a tree trunk, and how did their limbs not break before? He couldn''t imagine.
The sun shone orange over the many training fields littered across the village. Being THE shinobi village of the Hi No Kuni, the Land of Fire, the village had many training fields of various sizes. However, with the number of shinobi active in the village at any time, those fields were in use or reserved by others, and an academy student like Takuma couldn''t get in. So, he had to use small make-shift clearings with logs made into unofficial training fields by other people with similar problems. The same people who had kicked in the log.
Takuma traced his finger at the writing made with a kunai over one of the curves in the log. Every curve had a name carved around it, marking the ones who had made it. A common thing perhaps, Takuma didn''t know. He had no desire to do the same¡ª who knew if he would be using the same log the next day.
The academy had reserved fields for student use, but Takuma rarely used them. He suffered enough embarrassment during school hours and didn''t want any more afterward. So, he used these unofficial fields and would switch around if anyone else was around. He preferred to do his taijutsu kata alone, away from judging eyes.
He began using the log as the heavy bag. It stung every time he hit the tough wood. Apparently, the concept of hitting pads didn''t exist in this world, and no protective gear was used during spars. Every punch and kick hurt against the wood.
"You''re not going to improve like that, child," a voice sounded out in the silence.
Takuma was in the middle of a kicking kata when he heard the voice. He kicked the log and then lost his balance to the ground. Hurriedly, he turned toward the voice. A gangly old man stood with a slight hunch in his back and dark wrinkled skin from too much time in the sun. Takuma didn''t say anything and stared at the old man with a vigilant look in his eyes.
"You''re pulling your moves; that''s no way to improve," the old man said, pointing his bony finger towards the wood log.
Takuma narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Isn''t introducing yourself first before asking for someone else''s name a common courtesy?" smiled the old man.
"You talked to me first, so you say your name first," Takuma said. He observed the old man, and one glance at his thin chainmail shirt, the brown vest, and the tapped ankles over shinobi sandals told Takuma that the old man in front of him was a shinobi. ''He''s old,'' thought Takuma. He hadn''t seen such an old man since his arrival half a month ago.
"This humble one goes by the name Kosuke Maruboshi," said Maruboshi and then looked at Takuma expectantly.
"Takuma..."
Maruboshi smiled, accentuating the lines collected through the years on his face. "It''s commonplace to go light in training and sparring, but the way you''re pulling your moves is inviting a bad habit to creep into your form. You won''t be able to tell, but your opponent will see openings to exploit, which they will do mercilessly. You need to be firm and confident when performing your katas."
Takuma frowned, "It hurts if I completely commit to the moves." He was constantly scared that the wood would splinter and stab into his limbs.
"Hurting is necessary if you want to temper your bones and muscles." Muboshi assumed the same kata that Takuma had been practicing before, but unlike Takuma, he looked stable, as if he could maintain the form for hours as easy as standing. "You expect the pain, your fear builds it up in your mind, but when it arrives, you find that it was nowhere near as bad as you thought. Moreover, using the correct form hurts less." He cycled through the katas with a smoothness and a ferocity so unlike a weak old man. "Now, you try it."
Takuma''s brows furrowed together. He pursed his lips before asking, "I want to see it again, do it again."
Muboshi complied with a smile and performed a short cycle of basic taijutsu kata. Takuma watched intently. He had seen his classmates, those best in taijutsu in class, and even his layman''s eyes could tell they were nowhere as good as Muboshi.
''Well, he''s old, obviously a shinobi, and they''re academy students; of course, there''s going to be a skill difference,'' Takuma rolled his eyes at the comparison in his head.
He took a stance and did his best to copy Muboshi. Takuma''s imitation was leagues apart; it didn''t even look the same. But Takuma felt the difference from before, it was minute, but he could tell from the way his body moved that the movement flowed better, and he felt that if he hit someone now, it would do more damage.
"Good job," Muboshi said before giving further tips. They spent the next half hour together before Muboshi said. "Remember well, young Takuma. Repetition doesn''t make one better. It''s using repetition to hone one''s technique like sharpening a blade against a whetstone."
Takuma nodded and said his thanks to Muboshi, who waved it off and went his merry way, leaving Takuma alone in the field. Takuma watched Muboshi¡¯s back until he disappeared from the field. He was grateful for any little help he could get. He turned towards the wood log and sighed.
Hitting it still hurt.
CH_1.6 (006):
"Lower your hip more when you''re preparing to launch forward. It will help you project ahead with more speed, and the closeness to the earth improves stability, allowing you to control your direction, and it takes a lot of weight off your ankles in case you need to stop."
Takuma furrowed his brows but lowered his hips anyway and repeated the kata he was practicing. He launched forward and found him getting to point B quicker than before, and his foot skidded less when he made a stop. He eased his stance as he turned to Maruboshi and gave him an appreciative nod.
After the day Takuma had met Maruboshi, the aged shinobi had always found him during the evenings while he practiced his taijutsu. He would come and advise Takuma as he cycled through the academy kata. Takuma was grateful for it. There was only so much taijutsu one could learn from still images on a scroll, and Maruboshi''s adjustment instructions helped tremendously improve his lousy skills. They were still pathetic even when compared to his classmates, but he thought that he saw some improvements when he was able to sidestep an attack¡ª even though the next moment, he had been kicked in the gut hard enough to end up on the ground with a senbon each, inches away from his eyes.
"How young are you, young Takuma?" Maruboshi asked.
"Ten," said Takuma as he attacked the wooden log. Even though he had come to terms with the fact that he was now a ten-year-old boy, it still felt strange to voice out the reality. What was he doing when he was truly ten years old? Whining to parents about wanting more toys, spending time outside with friends doing absolutely silly things, or whatever your run-of-the-mill ten-year-old did on a daily basis.
''Now though...'' Takuma sighed. He was learning how to turn his body and mind into a weapon¡ª and doing so very badly. He guessed at least that was typical of an average ten-year-old.
"That would put you in the last year of the academy... Your taijutsu skills are poor¡ª very poor¡ª for someone in their last year," Maruboshi''s voice suddenly snapped Takuma out of his wandering thoughts.
Takuma froze up. He turned to Maruboshi, who had been sitting on a nearby rock with a kunai and a wood block that he had been carving. He stared at the old man for a moment before asking, "What are you trying to say?" Takuma was surprised at how guarded he sounded.
"The academy''s curriculum is formed in such a way that the last year doesn''t involve much new learning. The last year is dedicated to strengthening the learnings from past years and ensuring that the student can utilize the learned skills smoothly on missions. The teachers schedule lots of spars, survival outings, and classroom simulations to prepare the children for what they might face when they become genins."
"I don''t understand..."
"Young Takuma, before you told me, I thought you were a tall child in the second year of the academy."
Which meant he was as bad as a seven-year-old. He should''ve known that a shinobi who survived to such an old age must be very skilled. ''I should''ve lied about my age,'' Takuma thought, but he had no such foresight beforehand. He looked down at his body. Fixing his diet was definitely the right step; he already saw an improvement in his complexion and felt more energetic in the morning. But it was too early for it to take total effect¡ª he still looked like a thin twig¡ª most girls in his class had more meat on them than he had.
"Is taijutsu a weak subject for you?" Maruboshi asked.
Takuma nodded. But then he bowed his head and muttered, "I''m bad at everything..."
"I''m sorry, I missed that." Maruboshi chuckled, "My ears must have gotten weak; would you mind repeating for this old man?"
"I''m bad at everything!" Takuma said and then glared at Maruboshi, daring him to try and make fun of him for it. It wasn''t his fault that he was awful at shinobi skills. ''I''m not even terrible; I just started out!'' he thought furiously.
"Everything?"
"Everything," and that somehow broke the dam as Takuma''s frustrations poured out. "I can''t beat anyone in sparring, I can''t hit the targets, I can''t perform jutsus¡ª I can''t even mold chakra" ¡ª he had tried to follow his learning plan and go by the years, but the temptation of harnessing chakra had beat him, and he ended up reading up on it, but just like everything else, he was awful at it, he couldn''t sense chakra in his body¡ª "I can''t tie the knots fast enough, or start a fire, or hunt, or build a shelter in the wild. I don''t understand ambush strategies or tailing tactics. Everything''s confusing, and there''s no one I can ask for help. I have less than one year before graduation. I will fail like this. I don''t want to fail. I do not want to fail."
Takuma breathed out deeply to calm himself because he would''ve broken down into a hyperventilating mess if he didn''t. It had happened before; it wasn''t something he wanted to experience again.
"Calm down, little one," said Maruboshi in a soothing voice. He sat Takuma down and handed him a canteen of water.
"I''m sorry; that was unsightly of me," said Takuma after he had settled down. He couldn''t look at Maruboshi as he apologized in fear he would see mocking in his eyes as he had seen in everyone else''s. "I shouldn''t have reacted that way."
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"It''s okay. There''s nothing for you to be ashamed of. It happens to the best of us," Maruboshi said with a soothing smile.
"Even you?"
Maruboshi''s eyes glazed over for a moment and a faraway look appeared on his face before a brief bitterness flashed in his eyes. It was gone in an instant as Maruboshi focused back on Takuma. He nodded, "Even me. I have found myself lost one too many times. And I believe I have found my way back every time."
"What should I do? I will truly fail if I continue on like this."
Maruboshi didn''t reply immediately. Instead, he took away the canteen from Takuma and put it back. He kneeled on both his knees and sat down facing Takuma. "Do you truly want to pass and graduate from the academy?" he asked seriously.
Takuma was confused, but he nodded. "I have to pass at graduation. I''m an orphan, but because I''m in the academy, I live alone in an apartment. They give me an allowance, but the moment I''m out of the academy¡ª pass or fail¡ª that will end. If I don''t have a good job, I won''t be able to pay rent... And I can''t go back to the orphanage; I''ll be an adult at eleven, regardless of whether I become a shinobi or not."
It was the harsh reality of the situation. The moment the boy(OG Takuma) stepped out of the orphanage and into the apartment, he had no way of returning. An eleven-year-old with no trade skill training wasn''t going to get a job with an income high enough to afford rent, even in the cheapest area of the Leaf village. His tradecraft was supposed to be a mercenary for hire, for which he had been trained for five years... but now, that seemed like an impossible dream.
"If... If I offer to train you, will you train seriously?" Maruboshi suddenly asked.
Takuma''s confusion turned into a startled shock. He looked into Maruboshi''s eyes, trying to figure out where the offer had come from. He then snapped out and realized he had been silent for a moment now.
"Yes!" he shouted. "I mean! I will train seriously!"
Maruboshi frowned deeply. The kind man looked unkind for the first time since Takuma had seen him. "You had five years to learn. You didn''t learn then; why should I believe you will change now?"
Takuma wanted to scream that it wasn''t him who didn''t learn. He had seen how Kibe and his classmates treated him. The boy had no friends. The only figure of authority in his life had deemed him worthless. Yet there was no animosity against him. His classmates didn''t hate him; they simply ignored him. It couldn''t be more clear that the boy was a bad student, someone on the lower string of the social ladder, someone who was forgotten and unseen because he had nothing special or of interest. His reputation wasn''t Takuma''s fault. He had been trying his best since he had come here.
But he couldn''t say any of it, so he clenched his fist as an outlet.
"I can''t give you money, for I don''t have any," said Takuma.
"I don''t¡ª"
"But, I will give you my life... I can give you my mind, body, and obedience. If you can teach me to be a shinobi, I will do everything and anything you say. Your words will be commands, and I will be yours to order. You say jump; I will ask how high." Takuma matched his eyes with Maruboshi and said, "You asked why you should believe me... I''m desperate and in a corner; there''s nothing I won''t do to get out of it. I can see my life about to be destroyed" ¡ª it already had ¡ª "and I will do anything to get it back on track."
His life had already been taken away from him. He had no choice but to build himself a second one. And he would rather be a safe one than one of endless misery.
"I don''t have a devil to make a deal with," Takuma looked up at Maruboshi. "So, I will make this one with you... Teach me and I will owe you one with no questions asked."
"You don''t need to owe me."
"I have already offered it. If you don''t want to, then it''s your choice to not claim it. It''s the only thing I can offer," Takuma said. He felt better knowing that he was offering something in return¡ª regardless of how small it may be.
Maruboshi didn''t reply. Instead, he stood up. For a moment, Takuma thought he would back out, and his heart sank deeper than Tartarus''s depths.
Maruboshi stared down at Takuma for what seemed like an eternity. "I will teach you..."
Takuma''s heart sang songs of heavenly joy upon hearing Maruboshi.
"But at any point, I feel that you''re not putting effort, our agreement will end," said Maruboshi, and it sounded solemn when coming from someone as elderly as him. "But if you give me your all, I shall do my best to reciprocate to the best my old bones can manage."
Takuma hurriedly got off the ground. "You won''t feel the need," he said resolutely. He had been in the world long enough to observe some of the culture, so he bowed deeply to Maruboshi.
"Thank you for this opportunity... thank you..."
Maruboshi patted Takuma on his shoulder. "It''s too early for you to be thanking me. If you want to thank me, do it after you graduate. I would gladly accept it then," he said. "How much time till your graduation?"
"Less than a year," Takuma said. He had been in the world for three weeks, and the school year had started two weeks before that. Meaning that one month had already passed. An academy school year was eleven months long with no summer break and only a single month respite between years. "I have roughly ten months until the last test."
"Ten months..." Maruboshi squinted as he said.
"Is that not enough time?" Takuma asked, knowing well it wasn''t enough.
"It is not," Maruboshi said. "We will have to work long and hard every day. I will guide you best, but I can''t promise progress. It''s only you who can guarantee that."
"I... I understand," Takuma nodded. If he screwed up, it would be all on his head ¡ª that''s what it sounded like to him. And he didn''t like the sound of that at all. ¡°When do we start?¡±
¡°Tomorrow. Meet me here in the morning at five.¡±
¡°... Five?¡± Takuma blinked. He repeated it, hoping Maruboshi would correct himself, but the old man just smiled before vanishing in a whirlwind of leaves.
Takuma stood alone in the field, wondering the last time he had been awake at five. He had stayed awake through the night playing games, but it had been a while since he had done that.. He looked up at the sky and wondered what the sky would look like at five in the morning.
CH_1.7 (007):
The sky was blue at five in the morning, with a tinge of orange and yellow peeking at the horizon. The air felt cool with a hint of dew suspended in it, bringing a slight weight to the lightness of the early mornings.
Takuma stepped out from between the trees into the clearing. He hadn''t slept much last night, mostly thinking about his first official session with Maruboshi. Yet, he didn''t feel a single wink of drowsiness. Maybe it was because he was now a kid or perhaps because he was simply excited.
Walking through the dew-laden grass made him sigh; he didn''t like walking on wet grass. The boy only had two types of footwear¡ª two pairs of open-toed shinobi sandals and one set of indoor slippers, none of them providing full coverage¡ª his feet always ended up wet no matter what. He would need to save for a while to afford a good pair of shinobi-grade close-toed boots.
"I am not late, am I?" Takuma asked, shaking his feet by the ankle in hopes of getting some wetness out. He didn''t own a wristwatch, so he woke up at four, got ready and was out of the house, knowing that even if he strolled, he would reach on or before time.
Maruboshi sat on the same rock he had been on yesterday, wearing the same style of clothing, working on the wooden block with a kunai. The carving, whatever it was, was still in its carving stage. He wore similar clothes to the day before, only in different colors. Takuma wondered if Maruboshi''s old age was why he didn''t wear the traditional Leaf shinobi gear like most of the shinobi population did. Maybe it was a generational thing, Takuma thought.
"Aren''t there wood carving tools better suited for the job?" Takuma asked.
"Good morning," Maruboshi said and smiled. "There are indeed better tools, but I will never be as used to them as I am to this one," he said, raising up the standard-issue Leaf kunai. "And that''s the first lesson we will learn today¡ª know your tools well."
Maruboshi put his carving aside and stood up from the rock. He played with the kunai in his hands¡ª spun it by the ring on the end, twirled it between his digits, balanced it by the tip of the blade on his finger¡ª he handled the kunai with such dexterity that it was fascinating to watch.
"On the field, in dangerous moments where life and death are on the line, your tools will save your life," he said. "Knowing what they can and can''t do is of utmost importance. Knowing the capabilities within your reach will allow you to plan and adapt to the situation. Adapting is what will allow you to survive."
"Tools? I thought my mind or body would be of utmost importance," Takuma questioned.
"Why yes, your body and especially your mind are things that will keep you alive. But just like your kunai and explosion tags, your mind and body are tools for you to utilize." Maruboshi straightened his back. "Everything is a tool¡ª even external entities such as the ground beneath you, the sky above you, and the trees around you¡ª everything within reach is a tool. It''s the ability to utilize them that separates a shinobi from a roadside bandit."
The words made sense to Takuma. It sounded similar to what he had heard once before. Complete knowledge of the situation allowed one to make the best decision possible.
"Did you bring your arsenal with you?" asked Maruboshi.
Takuma nodded, bringing the backpack to the front. He set the frayed bag with considerable weight down on one of his feet in the hopes that it would not touch the wet ground. He would hate if his only bag got wet¡ª he used the same bag for fetching groceries.
"Show them to me."
Takuma promptly unloaded enough weapons and gadgets to cover up the ground between them. He had half a dozen kunai, a dozen shurikens, a bough of senbon, a survival knife, a thick jute rope, and half a pack of flash bombs. The kunai and shurikens were old and chipped, the senbon were all different lengths, the survival knife looked like it had seen better days, the rope was frayed and bent as if it had been tied and untied a hundred times, and the smoke bombs looked as cheap as they could get.
Maruboshi was frowning as he looked down at the weapons.
"Why, because they''re old?" Takuma asked, frowning as well.
"No... not because they''re old. I''m frowning because you carried everything in a backpack. You will be dead before you unslung your bag, forget about ever getting to the zipper. You need your weapons ready to be used at the twitch of your reflexes. This bag of yours," he picked up the big double shoulder strap bag, "is too big. If you wish to carry a carrier, it needs to be smaller and lighter and easier to access. Opt for multiple ones that can be attached around your body without hindering your movements. That also eliminated the risk of losing all your supplies all at once if you lose your sole big carrier."
Takuma''s frown eased for a moment before coming back up again. "I don''t have the money to buy them," he said. He was going to make sure that Maruboshi knew he had no money to spare.
"It matters not," Maruboshi waved him off as he squatted to get a closer look at Takuma''s equipment. "You will make them on your own. Repairing your equipment is a skill every shinobi must know. You will learn it by making your own equipment. You will use ones you make until you can afford ones made by master craftsmen. Always take the best equipment you can procure to the field."
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"O-Oh, okay," Takuma didn''t think something like stitching would be added to his curriculum on the very first day. "What else?"
"I need to know your height and weight," asked Maruboshi.
"I don''t know," Takuma hadn''t had the need to measure either. He looked down at himself, and he had no relative sense of measure to make an estimated guess.
"... I would say 150cm and... I would like to say less than 35kg," Maruboshi said after staring at Takuma for a moment. "I think the academy''s medical room will have the scales in there. Get yourself measured the first chance you get. Alright, off with your shirt."
Takuma pulled off his shirt without a thought, but only after he realized what the situation looked like. He was a shirtless minor in front of an adult¡ª the picture shouted misdemeanor from every angel. He looked at Maruboshi with hidden suspicion and brought the shirt clutched in his hand a little close to him.
¡°... If you don¡¯t mind, may I ask what happened,¡± Maruboshi said.
Takuma was confused but when he looked down, he realized Maruboshi was talking about the scarring on his body. He had forgotten about that for a second. He looked at Maruboshi and shrugged. ¡°They¡¯ve been there since before I can remember,¡± he said. He didn¡¯t have an excuse for the scars and this was better than coming up with one on the spot.
Maruboshi stared at the scarring before he finally moved on.
"You''ve not been eating properly," said Maruboshi. "We will need to put some meat on your body, or you''ll be too weak. Muscle not only gives strength, but it grants speed and stability as well. What do you eat throughout the day?"
Takuma proudly told him his new diet plan was full of protein. When Maruboshi raised his brow suspiciously, Takuma said as he put his shirt back on, "I just changed it a couple weeks back."
Maruboshi nodded and told him to add a serving of fruits somewhere in the middle of the day.
What followed was a series of questions about Takuma''s knowledge. What he knew, what he didn''t, what were his expectations from the mentorship¡ª and so many pointed and specific questions that made Takuma feel nervous as if all of his secrets were being unfolded. By the time the questions were done, Takuma was sure Maruboshi knew him better than anyone in this world.
"Hmm... I fear we have our work cut out for us," Maruboshi sighed and looked at Takuma with what he thought was pity. "Child, it''s as if you know nothing taught in the academy. As though I will need to teach you everything academy students need to be taught."
Takuma gulped, for those words were the real truth. He needed to be taught everything from scratch. At least he was older and would learn quicker than children who weren''t even ten... or that was what he hoped for.
"Did you know... my parents were one of the first ones that settled in the village who were not from a shinobi clan? My father was a humble woodworker and my dear mother was the best seamstress in the Land of Fire," Maruboshi softly smiled as he recounted memories. "My parents didn''t need me to help with their work or wanted me to learn their craft, so I was one of the first civilian children to join the academy, which had been only recently founded by Lord Second. There were only three of us in my year; the rest were from shinobi clans."
Takuma didn''t know why Maruboshi was sharing it, but he listened with great attention and interest as the only history about the academy he knew was that Lord Second had founded it to standardize the shinobi training for children to strengthen the village''s military strength.
"In those days, the academy only used to be three years..."
The new piece of information overwhelmed Takuma''s fascination with history. That was two years off the current curriculum was a huge difference, especially when the children hadn''t even reached puberty.
"... And we have ten months now. I don''t know what has changed since my time and now, but I believe what I learned in the academy was enough of a foundation for me. So, here''s what I propose¡ª I will base my coaching on what I learned in the academy and modify it using my life experience as a shinobi and what the academy teaches currently. For that to happen, you will need to bring me your academy books and scrolls. What do you say; should we go ahead with this?"
Having no opinion on the matter, Takuma was ready to give his agreement. But he reigned in that impulse and gave the proposal some thought. Takuma didn''t know how old Maruboshi was, but it must''ve been at least three or four decades since he was in the academy. What all could''ve changed in that time. He doubted the academy had stayed stale for such a long time. What if things were done differently now?
''But he did say that he will include his experience as shinobi, so maybe it will be alright?'' Takuma thought. ''Do I have something to add?'' No, he did not. He was going to take anything provided to him.
"I will follow your lead. As for the books, I''ll have them here tomorrow," he said.
"We meet once a day in the morning. I will instruct you in the mornings. I believe you''ll have time after school; in that time, you must complete whatever I ask you to do," said Maruboshi. "As for theoretical knowledge, we¡ª"
"I read those during the class," said Takuma. He shrugged, "I don''t listen in classes because I don''t understand what''s being taught. Lately, I have been reading from books and scrolls. I will cover subjects such as history, mathematics, finance, and physics on my own¡ª but for subjects like politics, strategy, and tactics, I hope you''ll instruct me however you see fit."
While they could be learned through books, Takuma believed that someone like Maruboshi could help him understand the realities related to applied subjects like tactics and strategy. There was a point where ideal theoretical knowledge needed to be translated into executable practical stratagem. That''s where actual field experience came in handy.
Maruboshi looked suspicious and unsure.
"You can test me if you like," Takuma said, taking no offense. He hadn''t given Maruboshi any reason to trust that he could handle his studies without supervision. Trust needed to be built, and Takuma was ready to build that from the ground up without complaining.
Maruboshi agreed to let Takuma study things independently if he passed regular testing.
"Enough talking and planning; let''s train¡ª we will discuss more when we take a break," said Maruboshi.
"What are we doing?" Takuma asked excitedly.
Maruboshi beamed his usual kind smile. "Why conditioning, of course."
By the time they were done, Takuma had added conditioning to the list of his most hated things in the world.
CH_1.8 (008):
One thing Takuma disliked about the schedule Maruboshi had put him on was that he went through three sets of clothes daily. And for him, who didn''t have a washing machine in his house, it was extra work after a hard day of exhaustion. He had to change clothes after his morning session with Maruboshi because he didn''t want to enter a classroom full of people with dirty and sweat-stinking clothes.
"Takuma and Izumi. Come up."
Takuma stood up from the perimeter circle upon hearing Kibe''s command.
At least he didn''t have to change the clothes he wore in the academy because even if they got dirty in a taijutsu spar as they were about to, he could still wear them in his evening session because he was alone in the evening.
He arrived at the center of the sparring circle and faced his opponent. Uchiha Izumi, a girl with large onyx eyes who wore her brown hair in a ponytail. Takuma was pleased with his opponent today. He would get out relatively scot-free from the spar. Uchiha Izumi was the best at taijutsu in his class, but unlike others of her skill who would strike vital points and aim to cause the most pain, Izumi''s hits were softer, and she hit at points where it didn''t hurt much. And he knew it wasn''t because she was weak¡ª Takuma had seen her make Akimichi Hideaki clutch his fat gut after a spar.
And she didn''t even leave bruises! Takuma would happily come to the academy with a smile if Izumi was his opponent in every spar.
"Start!"
Takuma dropped his Seal of Confrontation and immediately jumped back just in time to dodge the sweeping kick by Izumi. He ducked down to dodge another kick from her and rolled back to get out of her range.
He had improved! Takuma truly thought so... for three more seconds before Izumi took a deep forestep and got Takuma into her hitting range. Takuma couldn''t even raise his hands on guard as Izumi got three hits in. The first kick went to the side, making him curl his body to the right, and the second hit followed immediately after to the other side. Before Takuma could even process it, Izumi elbowed him in the thigh, making his feet quiver in a sudden bout of weakness.
The Uchiha eased her stance and stood relaxed in front of a half-crouching Takuma. She pressed her foot on Takuma''s before then gently pushing his forehead with her fingers. Takuma leaned back, and because he couldn''t move one of his feet, he lost balance, tumbling down on his butt.
And when he looked up, Izumi had a kunai pointed at him. She didn''t look pleased or otherwise and simply gazed down at Takuma with a passive expression.
"And, that''s it," Kibe finished the fight.
Takuma sighed. So much for improving; he got his ass handed faster than he could''ve gotten in a hit himself.
He looked up and saw that Izumi had two fingers pointed at him. He realized what she meant, grabbed her two fingers with his two, and let her pull him up. The Seal of Reconciliation was complete, and the spar was officially over.
''Ah... I really want to win one,'' Takuma sighed as he returned to his spot.
"You got better."
Takuma was distracted away from his note-taking by a soft voice beside him. He looked up to see who it was with the intention to immediately return to his work. No one in the class would speak to him. But he suddenly found himself staring into a pair of deep onyx eyes belonging to one Uchiha Izumi.
Startled, Takuma jerked away and bumped his knee into the downside of the bench. His face scrunched in pain as he furiously rubbed his knee in an attempt to soothe the pain.
"Is it fine?" she asked.
"Y-Yeah, it''s fine," he said before looking around the classroom. No one was looking toward them. He turned back to her, "Do you want something?"
"You got better," Izumi repeated. "You were better today than the last time we fought. That hop back in the start was the right move."
"Yet the end result remained the same," Takuma sighed.
"Of course," Izumi said as if the result of their fight was as natural as the air they breathed.
Such confidence could very well be annoying, but coming from Izumi, the girl who didn''t bash his body blue, it seemed endearing. It made Takuma chuckle.
"Why do you laugh?" she asked, a slight frown appearing between her brows.
He shook his head. "You wanted to tell me that I got better, that''s it?" he asked.
"Should I''ve come with something else?" she asked, tilting her head.
"No... Thank you for the compliment, though. I''ve been working hard to get better. Hearing that it''s paying off from someone else makes all of it worth it," Takuma said with a smile.
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"What have you been doing?"
"Getting hit mostly," said Takuma, nodding.
Izumi returned his nod in understanding. It wasn''t a joke; Maruboshi had Takuma learning how to take hits. Learning how to block¡ª like how blocking with the shoulder hurt the least, how to reposition the body to take the impact away from its intended target, the correct way to fall and retreat, and how to dodge whenever possible. In his efforts, he had been hit more than he had been in his entire life¡ª that counter had been broken on the very first day.
"How did you get so good at taijutsu?" he asked. She was his peer and leagues better than him. Maruboshi might be experienced, but he wasn''t ten years old; he hadn''t been for a very long time. Another perspective might do him good, Takuma thought.
"... I practiced," Izumi said after a pause.
''Is she one of the instinctive types?'' he thought. "What kind of practice? I don''t know when to switch between defense and offense. When do I know it''s the right time to move in for an attack and not get my face bashed-in while doing it?" he asked.
Offensive striking for Takuma was a tricky topic. He had at least one spar every day in the academy, maybe even two when Kibe thought he hadn''t fulfilled his quota of daily humiliation. In every spar, he had to pick his chances to try to hit his opponent. Every opponent he faced was more skilled than him and physically stronger than him¡ª even the shorter and leaner girls with the same weight as him were stronger and faster than him. He suspected chakra. For most of the fights, he was on the defense, trying to dodge and block attacks, and every time he tried to switch to offense, he had been soundly made to smooch the ground.
"I can''t explain that here on the spot," said Izumi after some thought. "One of the times to hit someone is right after they''ve launched an attack. They''re vulnerable to an attack as their body is in motion, and you can find an opening to exploit. There are many other opportunities where your attacks have a high chance of succeeding. I learned all of them one by one during spars; some I noticed on my own, others were pointed out to me. You have to spar again and again... until your mind stops looking for openings and your body takes over that job."
Takuma narrowed his eyes. It made sense. Maruboshi had told him that combat was more about honed instincts than active thinking.
''Maybe her eyes helped her with taijutsu,'' he thought.
When one heard of the Uchiha clan, the first thing that came to mind was their kekkei genkai, one of the Three Great Dojutsu¡ª Sharingan, the Copy Wheel Eye. The infamous red eyes with commas enabled the Uchiha reading lip movements to copy ninjutsu and taijutsu. Nothing was safe under the Sharingan''s gaze; all secrets were laid bare for the Uchiha to exploit. The Uchiha who had awakened Sharingan could copy any taijutsu they liked and execute if their body allowed the movement.
Uchiha Sasuke had done so with Rock Lee¡ª copying the taijutsu prodigy''s style like a mirror and then had trained his body until he could imitate the absurd moments that could only be performed after hours over hours, day after day of grueling practice.
As part of the story flashed through Takuma''s mind, he felt a little cold as he looked at Uchiha Izumi. Sasuke copying Lee wasn''t the most terrifying part of the story. It was how it had been achieved. Sasuke wasn''t there to see Lee perform his entire breadth of taijutsu against Gaara¡ª it was Kakashi Hatake with his transplanted Sharingan who had copied the movements, who then taught Sasuke. Making Sasuke''s learning from a secondhand source. And yet, the moves had come out to be precisely the same.
A thought emerged in Takuma''s mind. Sasuke was barely six when the Uchiha clan was wiped out by his brother, Uchiha Itachi. A child as young as Sasuke wouldn''t have spent much time training with his clan¡ª
''Learning from teachers who had seen various styles of taijutsu, fought a diverse range of opponents... and had copied all of their moves,'' thought Takuma. Teachers who could give so much to their students.
The Uchiha clan hadn''t been annihilated yet. Izumi Uchiha was the proof of it. It was not only her; Takuma had even seen shinobi from Leaf Military Police Force patrolling market streets¡ª all of them sported a fan symbol that resembled the Uchiha clan symbol. Some of them even had similar onyx eyes to Izumi''s.
He couldn''t exactly recall when the Uchiha massacre occurred, but the clan was alive and thriving now. Which meant Izumi must have learned from an Uchiha¡ª and he felt both terrified and envious. Terrified that she could do much worse during their spars and envious that he didn''t have the superior genetics that would''ve made his life a lot easier.
But then Takuma frowned. Did Izumi even have Sharingan? He thought about it; given her age, it was unlikely she had awakened her bloodline. Which meant she had gotten good through plain effort. He felt ashamed.
"The only way to get better is to keep doing it until you are good, is it," Takuma sighed. He didn''t have a Sharingan lying around in his eye socket or any kekkei genkai. Meaning if he wanted to get better, he needed to fight more so he could learn more.
"What do you eat?" he asked, leaving the Uchiha line of thought behind. It only served to make him feel pity toward himself. Everyone was stronger and faster than him; maybe the kids these days were eating something that he and Maruboshi didn''t know.
She shrugged and said she ate whatever her mother gave her to eat. Izumi listed off the things she ate, and they matched the home cuisine of Leaf village. She even listed plenty of sweets that she got after dinner as dessert. Takuma was envious¡ª he could only have fruit as sweets, and that too never after dinner. That was bad, Maruboshi had mandated so himself.
"How''re you so flexible? I can''t get my kicks to the head," Takuma said with a wrinkle between his brows. Maruboshi was an empathetic person and teacher, but he had openly shown his displeasure with Takuma''s inflexibility.
"I don''t know. I was always flexible."
''Fucking talented people!'' Takuma cursed in his mind.
"But I stretch every morning."
"Oh! What do you do? Show it to me someday, yeah? I''m more rigid than a steel pipe."
Izumi snickered and chuckled behind her hand as her big eyes turned into crescents. "What''s with that? That''s funny."
Well, at least his worries have the use of making others laugh, thought Takuma. Cheers for self-deprecating humor...
He hoped he could enjoy it one day... and wished that day would be close by.
CH_1.9 (009):
Jurou shifted her diary and folder of documents onto her right forearm with her fingers curling inwards to clutch them in place as she straightened the pleats of her long white skirt and tucked the strands of hair falling on her face behind her ear.
She straightened her back and pressed the white doorbell button that had turned yellow from the elements with time. She stepped back and waited for a dozen seconds or so before she heard footsteps behind the door with cracked sky-blue paint that had once contrasted beautifully with the gray walls that had now faded away.
The darkness inside the spyhole in the door lit up for a moment before the darkness returned. The door opened a few seconds later, showing the boy that stood half-hidden by the door.
"Yes?" asked the boy.
Jurou gazed at the boy and matched the face in her file with the one in front of him. "Hello, Takuma. It is Umeda Jurou. Don''t you remember me? We met when I showed you the apartment on the day you moved in. I even visited you a few months back."
The boy narrowed his eyes as if doubting her words. "I see... and what brings you here?" he asked.
"I came for a scheduled home visit," Jurou said. She wasn''t fazed by the doubt from Takuma. Orphans studying in the shinobi academy were sometimes more guarded and suspicious than their civilian counterparts¡ª she had met a few of them through the years. She was going to make sure Takuma here felt comfortable with her.
"Scheduled visit?" Takuma frowned. "I wasn''t informed about any visit, scheduled or not. I''m sorry, who are you again?"
Jurou took out a laminated id-card from the slit in the cover of her leather diary and held it in front of Takuma. "My name is Umeda Jurou. I''m from Leaf Child Welfare Services. I''m here for a scheduled meetup with you. You weren''t told because we like to keep them secret and give people a pleasant surprise," she smiled. "I''d like to have a short talk with you, get to know how you are doing, and just ask some questions that are part of the procedure. It''s nothing serious."
And she was here to assess how he was handling life living alone after having lived in an orphanage where children were never alone.
Juruo was about to pull back her id-card when Takuma suddenly snatched it out of her hand. He looked at her and said, "This is a sketchy neighborhood, and while you look like a lovely person, I hope you don''t mind," and began intently reading her id-card.
She was a little taken aback; she hadn''t had her id-card taken from her for observation. Usually, people gave it barely a glance before looking back at her.
"Of-Of course," she said with a strained smile.
"This looks... right," Takuma said as he handed the id-card back to her. "I apologize if I came across as rude. I couldn''t recall seeing you before. I''m bad with names and faces, you see." He opened the door and stepped back to invite her inside.
''And yet you want to become a shinobi,'' Jurou thought as she entered the house.
Takuma messily kicked off his outsider slippers beside his dirty shinobi sandals¡ª one of them was lying sideways, and she could see mud caked inside the groves of the sole. Takuma asked her to wait before running inside the house. When he returned, he had a pair of indoor slippers in his hands.
"Please wear these," he said.
Jurou noticed Takuma wasn''t wearing any.
''He has appropriate house manners... till now,'' Juro jotted a mental note as she removed her short heels and slipped on the indoor slippers. She had seen shinobi orphans who were their outside shoes and sandals inside their house, bringing in dirt and mud along with them.
Takuma next guided her into the house. By guided, she meant she followed him into the small studio apartment, and her eyes widened for a moment as she took in the inside.
The last time she had been here was nearly five months back, and at that time, like every other orphan, Takuma''s place was a mess. Clothes lying everywhere, weeks'' worth of trash accumulated on the table, walls and flooring that looked like they hadn''t been dusted and cleaned in months¡ª it was filthy and messier than an adult bachelor''s pad. She had filled it in her report and had advised Takuma to clean up. It wasn''t a concern at that time¡ª the orphans who left their orphanage because of the academy rule had dirty homes, but they usually got better with time as they became shinobi and learned to be organized from their militant life.
She wasn''t expecting to see a clean home today. ''At least not this clean,'' she thought. The house was spotless. The living area looked empty, but that was because there wasn''t enough furniture, but whatever there was, it was tidied. She could see the kitchen, and it looked hygienic (and used) with clean dishes in the dish rack. The floor beneath her was old and had long lost its shine, but it looked like it was dusted and mopped.
''Maybe he stuffed everything into his bedroom.'' She had been on visits where the children had tried to make their home look clean by shoving everything into a room or closet. She was going to check it later.
"Please take a seat," Takuma pointed at the small two-seater table. "I hope water is fine with you. I have fresh milk with me if you want any."
"Water will do, thank you," Jurou said as she sat down. The table had a small potted plant on it. She touched it and froze when she felt the plastic leaves¡ª it was fake.
As Takuma was in the kitchen, Jurou let her eyes roam around the house. The decor was simple, and while she couldn''t recall the furniture at all from her last visit, she felt it hadn''t changed much. The heavy gray sheet on the couch did seem odd, but it didn''t look like he was hiding something underneath it.
''He seems to be handling his house well,'' Jurou thought. That was a good sign.
She was facing the small balcony with large half-glass sliding doors, the only natural light source in the room. Outside, she could see clothes hanging on the wire. Jurou turned away from the window and towards another wall when she jumped in her seat because of surprise.
There was a wide wall behind her with no decor. It would''ve been empty if not for the vast amount of paper stuck to the wall. Clusters and rows of full-sized, half-sized, and even quarter-sized sheets of paper were attached to the wall with tape. Every page had something written and drawn upon it. Jurou couldn''t read it from her spot and was about to get up when she heard.
"Please don''t look at it."
Takuma had returned with a tray in his hand. He set it down on the table, and it had a glass of water and a mug of steaming milk.
"What is that?" she asked.
"My notes. I like it when they''re in front of me; it helps when I''m trying to remember and memorize things." Takuma smiled abashedly. "It''s not usually this messy and full. I just got lazy and didn''t pull down topics I was already done with."
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Jurou stared at the notes. This didn''t seem right.
"So, you said you wanted to ask me some questions?" Takuma asked.
She looked back at him. After a pause, she nodded. "I just wanted to know how''re you doing? I know it can be tough living alone¡ª there''s so much to do around the house, and it can seem like a lot, especially when you''re attending the academy. You must be busy."
Takuma shrugged. "It was difficult at first, but I got used to it. Things settled into a routine, and nothing gets piled up as long as I do the chores on time."
Jurou opened her diary and uncapped her pen. "How are things at the academy going? I hope everything''s well. If I recall correctly, you are in your last year." She clearly knew Takuma was in his last year.
"Hmm, things have been going well," Takuma nodded. "I have been learning a lot. Some of it is interesting, some other is boring. But you know, that''s normal. Lots of spars. We even spent the night in the forest the other day. It was fun. I''m trying to do better¡ª and well, looking forward to becoming a shinobi at the end of the year."
''With your grades, that''s not going to happen,'' Jurou thought to herself as she took down her notes.
The ''scheduled'' visit was indeed scheduled for every orphan in the last year of the shinobi academy. But usually, they would be informed about the visit beforehand. Takuma''s case was... entirely different.
Jurou looked at the boy, who according to his file, was dead last in his class with grades and skills so bad that many second-year and most third-year students would do better if they were dumped in the last year. Takuma hadn''t won a spar in three years and had barely scored passing marks since he joined the academy. But things had gotten worse recently when Takuma had suddenly gotten progressively worse.
Which prompted the appropriate systems in place to alert the authorities about the situation. Jurou''s visit was a result of that. She was here to find out the reason behind all of it.
She was then to compile her findings into a report which would go to shinobi administration authorities, who would then take them into account while deciding if Takuma was fit to be a Leaf shinobi. Or, in case he fails the graduation test, is he worth it to keep in the academy or to be enrolled into a program like the civilian spy program where Takuma would have his identity erased and sent to places of importance as a spy for information for a very long time to build an identity that would stand even the strongest checks¡ª that kind of false identity took even decades to build, and sending a shinobi was a waste of resources. Thus, a civilian was sent. And who else better than a failed academy graduate.
Even though the boy in front of her didn''t know, this meeting was extremely important for him.
"What about money?" she asked as the conversation continued. "Have you been spending your allowance properly?"
"Yeah, I think I''ve been," Takuma said. "The month ends usually end up tighter than I would like, but what can I do." He shrugged before leaning forward and asking, "Is there any way I can have my allowance increased? You see¡ª"
"I''m sorry, everyone gets the same allowance, and increasing it doesn''t happen if not very special cases," she said, ending the turn of conversation before it could even start.
Takuma sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "Thought so... no harm in trying, though."
"How do you usually spend your allowance? What do you usually buy in a week," she asked.
Takuma stood up and walked into his bedroom, and soon returned with a file in hand. "Here you go. This is my budget and expenses for the last three months and the current month, which is still going. You can see my expenses on every day I spent money since I started this record. Receipts, whatever I could get, are attached for reference."
Taken aback once more, Jurou received the file and opened it to find a very detailed record of Takuma''s expenses. Every expense had been mentioned clearly¡ª where, when, and how much. She flipped to a random part of the file and saw Takuma had bought groceries¡ª
"You cook?" she asked when she saw what looked like ingredients.
"I do; it''s cheaper that way."
That was another positive point for Takuma... and yet it only served to confuse Jurou more. She flipped to the last page and saw Takuma''s last purchase was leather from a fabric store.
When she asked him about it, he responded. "I have been learning how to repair my equipment for a couple months now. The best way to do it is to make your own."
And then Takuma leaned down to pull up the sleeve of his pants to reveal a leather ankle holster. He pulled a small knife out of it and placed it on the table with the blade facing Jurou. She looked at the gleaming knife and then at Takuma, who simply smiled as if proud of his skill.
"Hey... I wonder what that," Takuma pointed at the file in front of Jurou, "is about. Hey, can you show that to me for a moment."
Takuma reached out, but Jurou pulled the file back. "I''m sorry, but the file is for official eyes only. I can''t let you see it," she said with an apologetic smile. The file didn''t have anything in it, but it made a good tactic for making the person nervous¡ª and distracting them away from the conversation, which made them slip out answers without meaning to.
"Is that so," Takuma hummed as he leaned back into his chair. He looked like he had lost all interest in the conversation.
"What are your days like?" Jurou asked. "Tell me, after I leave, what will you do next. Take it from there."
Takuma picked up the knife and began twirling it with his fingers. "Hmm, today''s Sunday, so I don''t have to train. I will go shopping for groceries, then clean the house, then start making dinner, tomorrow''s breakfast, and lunch as well. I will wash clothes while it''s getting cooked. Have an early dinner because I skipped lunch. Then spend the time until bed studying, practicing secondary skills, and just relaxing a little..."
That was a normal Sunday, too normal. Jurou thought a kid of Takuma''s age would like to go out and play.
"... Tomorrow, I will wake up at five, take a dump, get the clothes down from the wire, " Takuma said, making Jurou hold back a frown¡ª was he wasting time by going into such detail, she didn''t need to know when he got his clothes down from drying,
"Then I will leave home to go train with Maruboshi-sensei¡ª"
"Maruboshi?" Jurou interrupted. That was the first time Takuma had mentioned a person. He hadn''t even mentioned his academy teacher, the primary adult figure in his life. ''And did he say sensei?'' "Who is this Maruboshi-sensei?"
Takuma suddenly stopped twirling the dangerous knife. He looked at her and stayed silent for a good moment as all sound died down in the house. She didn''t speak, didn''t even urge him to continue.
"... A shinobi," he said simply and only that.
"And why does this Maruboshi-sensei train with you?" she asked.
Takuma shrugged nonchalantly. "I don''t know; he just does."
"You never asked?"
"Why would I? A shinobi offered to train me, and I accepted. He''s a shinobi, after all," Takuma finished with a glimmer of idealism in his eyes.
There was nothing about someone known as Maruboshi in Takuma''s file. An unknown shinobi interacting with an academy orphan; she needed to report that. That unknown shinobi could very well be an enemy spy trying to recruit a naive orphan into becoming a mole. Why else would a shinobi help an orphan like Takuma who had nothing to offer. According to Takuma¡¯s file, his parents were supposed to be traveling merchants who did business across the Land of Fire, and had died in an accident during the Kyuubi incident. An unfortunate time for them to be in the Leaf village.
"What does he look like?" she asked.
"Hmm? He''s tall, strong, knows a lot, is kind, and really-really cool," Takuma said with a smile. "Do you know he can throw ten shurikens, all at once, at the dead center of the target? How cool is that?!"
That description. Jurou frowned. That described every adult shinobi from the eyes of an idolizing ten-year-old. That didn''t narrow it down even a little.
"Do you have his full name?" she asked.
"... No?" Takuma said, his voice like a mosquito.
''Idiot,'' she sighed and thought, ''that man probably gave him a false name.''
Jurou closed her diary and smiled, "Thank you, Takuma. That''ll be all. You''re living well, and I see no problems here. I hope you''ll continue working hard and make the village proud by becoming a splendid shinobi."
As Jurou exited the small apartment complex, she looked up and saw Takuma standing in the corridor in front of his front door. He turned and walked back into his house just as she looked at him.
''Was he frowning?'' she thought for a fleeting moment before walking away, thinking it was just her vision.
CH_1.10 (010):
"Young Takuma, did you talk to someone about us?"
Takuma flicked his head up to rid the sweat-soaked hair from his face as he looked at Maruboshi. He stopped pushing the large sheet metal basket filled with heavy sand¡ª
"Do not stop," said Maruboshi.
Takuma scowled and let out a frustrated groan as he went back to pushing the thing across wet mud, elevating the annoyingness of the task. Feeling the wet mud get between his toes made him hate that he hadn''t saved enough money for a pair of shinobi boots.
"What do you mean?" Takuma''s voice flared up as he dug his feet in, giving the box a heavy push.
"Someone came to ask me what relationship I have with you."
Takuma frowned and stopped pushing as he turned his face to look at Maruboshi¡ª
"Continue pushing," said Maruboshi before Takuma could even relax his body.
"Don''t talk to me then!" Takuma said, shouting with irritation. He resumed the pushing, feeling every step forward in his thighs. "There was a lady... Umeda something, I will have to look in my notebook," Maruboshi had taught him to carry a pocket notebook with him to note down information. "From Leaf Child Welfare Services... She came to my house to talk, and we chatted about how a typical day looks for me. I think I mentioned you there. That''s the only time I can remember talking about you with anyone. Why, did something happen?"
Takuma wanted nothing more than to put his hands down and use his shoulder or, better, his back to push the useless box of sand, but couldn''t¡ª stupid order from Maruboshi.
"The man who visited me was from the Leaf Genin Resource Command."
"What is that?"
"They are in charge of distribution, strategic talent management, personnel programs and services of Leaf genin. To put it roughly, they manage everything related to Leaf genin. Everything from ensuring the genins are being deployed for missions to issuing their paychecks," said Maruboshi. "You can stop now," he added at the end.
Takuma pushed no more and turned around to lean against the metal box. He wanted to hop onto it so he could sit, but he knew Maruboshi would tell him to remain standing.
"Why would they come asking?" Takuma asked. He wasn''t a genin yet, not even close to one.
"I believe they also handle part of recruitment from the academy. You are in your last year; I assume you come under their purview."
"What did they want from you?"
"Nothing more than some answers. The man asked if I knew you, how we met, how long we had known each other, and why I was training you when I told him about us. The man immediately left after that," Maruboshi said, shaking his head.
"Am I in any trouble?" Takuma asked.
"No, I don''t think so. From what I could tell, he was interested in knowing why I decided to train you. As for why they were interested, I asked but did not get an answer in return," said Muruboshi, sighing.
Takuma narrowed his eyes. He knew the lady was trouble when she started asking him about Maruboshi. He had to turn on his ten-year-old child''s portrayal and act like a dumb kid when she started asking questions about Maruboshi. He didn''t like her from the moment she refused to show him the folder¡ª there could''ve been important details about his past in there, information that he would''ve loved to know. Takuma still knew jack about the boy''s past.
"I believe they were simply concerned about what an unrelated adult was doing with a minor, an orphan at that," Maruboshi said with a bitter smile. "You see, young Takuma, there exist people¡ª"
"You don''t need to tell me about pedophiles, sensei," Takuma said with thin lips. He didn''t like the sound of people suspecting Maruboshi as a filthy pedophile¡ª he couldn''t even imagine how Maruboshi felt, especially when he was just trying to help. "I, for a fact, am grateful that I came across you, sensei. I would have been screwed hard if not for you... pun not intended?"
Maruboshi didn''t laugh.
"That''s enough pushing for now; you will continue later," he said, making Takuma feel elated and despair at the same time. "Let''s move; we will do something new today."
The master-student duo moved away from the mud swamp, and Takuma was delighted to step onto solid, dry ground. His dirty sandals and feet did put a hamper on the simple feeling of joy he was feeling, though.
"Face me and stand still," said Maruboshi.
He raised his hands and quickly weaved hand signs before opening his mouth to eject a jet of water from his mouth toward Takuma''s feet.
Takuma was surprised and almost lost balance because of it. He stiffly stared at Maruboshi''s mouth as he spouted liquid like a water fountain. He was entranced and alarmed by the sight in front of him. It wasn''t his first time seeing a Jutsu; he had seen the ''Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)'' and ''Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)'' in the academy before. He had been startled by how real the transformations and clones looked; he couldn''t imagine how people told the real apart from the fake.
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But this was the first time he had seen an elemental jutsu.
The force of the water stream was high and tight enough that all the mud was stripped away, never needing Takuma to even wiggle his toes. The force made Takuma remember the danger of water he had seen on the internet. How pressured water could shear through metal sheets like a saw¡ª or how sturdy houses were nothing in front of a strong flood wave as if they were made from thin pieces of plywood.
He could imagine what those things could do to a human body. He was made cognizant of the fact that people in this world could replicate those feats with enough skill. The pit of his stomach suddenly felt heavier than ever before.
Maruboshi stopped spouting water like a certain turtle pokemon and smiled, "Today... we learn about Chakra."
Takuma couldn''t help but do a sharp intake. It had been four months since he had come under Maruboshi''s tutelage, and never in those four months had Maruboshi brought up the topic of chakra on his own accord. It was always Takuma who initiated conversations about chakra and when Maruboshi was going to teach him about chakra; every time, he would get the same answer: "Now''s not the time." It frustrated him a lot. There were days Takuma feared that Maruboshi wouldn''t teach him how to wield chakra.
"A question for you, young Takuma. What is chakra?" asked Maruboshi.
Takuma was quick to answer. "Chakra is an energy native to every lifeform on this planet. It is a product of combining a living being''s physical and spiritual energies. By training these two energies, you can harness larger amounts of chakra." He thrust his thumb into his left chest: "The heart performs the function of integrating the energies to produce chakra¡ª which can then be carried by the chakra pathway system inside the body, which functions just like blood vessels do for blood. Chakra is the fuel for even the most basic of jutsu¡ª without chakra there''s no jutsu, and without jutsu, there''s no shinobi... so without, there''s no shinobi," Takuma bitterly stared down at his hand, no matter what he did, he couldn''t invoke his chakra... And as he said, without chakra, he was no shinobi.
Maruboshi, unaware of Takuma''s thoughts, smiled. "Very good. I couldn''t have described it better myself. It''s clear that you''ve read about chakra. I commend you for your efforts."
Takuma looked up at Maruboshi and glared, "I did it because you refuse to teach me!" After getting refused repeatedly, Takuma took matters into his own hand and explored the foreign topic of chakra on his own. He had already turned every page on the Introduction of Chakra booklet. Alas, when it came to the practical sides of things, Takuma couldn''t sense the ''C'' of chakra. It had caused him several sleepless nights and hours of horror-filled thoughts.
"It was not time," Maruboshi said simply, not taking offense at Takuma''s accusation. "As you said, there can''t be jutsu without chakra, and shinobi without jutsu. But here I would like to add that for academy students such as yourself, chakra doesn''t hold a great importance."
"... D-Did I hear that correctly?" Takuma was stunned. "I''m sorry, I don''t know if I agree with you on that. Chakra is the basis of everything. A shinobi is worse than a roadside bandit without it because even thugs like them can use some chakra."
Shinobi academy didn''t hold a monopoly over the training of chakra. Rogue shinobi had long since allowed chakra practice to leak outside the military organizations. Some ill-minded people in the darkest corners of society did teach people without the discipline to wield chakra, who used it for anything but good. Then there were rare shrine temples dotting the lands that practiced non-combatant studies of chakra¡ª chakra was present in religious cults¡ª and in the swordplay of samurai... and many more communities and institutions that used chakra in their own ways.
"So young, so naive," Maruboshi sighed with a soft smile. Takuma didn''t know if it was an old person thing, but Maruboshi had the tendency to say things that made his face twitch in anger. "With time, you will come to realize how a shinobi is much more than the chakra he wields. To be a shinobi is a way of life... I hope you will understand it one day."
"Your average academy student doesn''t have enough chakra in their bodies. The children have not entered puberty, the growth stage, where the amount of chakra develops rapidly with the rest of the body," Maruboshi continued. "While Henge No Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu) and Bunshin No Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) are taught in the academy, neither is useful in the field. Shinobi are trained to see through the illusionary clones, and while transformation can fool the civilian eye, a shinobi can see right through the jutsu''s disguise. Disguising oneself is an art form in itself that takes years to perfect."
''The transformations in the class could''ve fooled me any time of the day,'' thought Takuma. He probably had a worse eye for it than even the most rock-headed people.
"They are taught to make the student get used to channeling chakra, get familiarized with hand signs, and because learning jutsu excites children," said Maruboshi. "Going beyond is simply not worth it when you can take the time to teach so many other skills necessary for competence and survival.
And you, who doesn''t have much time before graduation, I would instead train your body and teach you skills that make a shinobi different from the average roadside bandit."
Takuma narrowed his eyes at the analogy thrown back at him.
"What about the clan kids? They train in their clan''s shinobi arts from a young age," he said.
"Did you hear that from a friend of yours, one that belongs to a clan?" asked Maruboshi.
"N-No," sputtered Takuma. He didn''t have friends.
"Then I will tell you what most of the children from shinobi clans will tell you. Yes, they do go through training of their clans, but believe it or not, most of it revolves around the same subject taught in the academy...."
Takuma was about to ask why they would do that, but he then remembered the existence of coaching classes and after-school tuitions many kids took back at his home.
"The academy isn''t perfect, and the clans know that, so they prepare their children. They go deeper into the subjects taught and cover some more that the academy doesn''t cover, things that might increase their children''s chances of survival on the field. And yes, I won''t deny that children from shinobi clans do learn their clan''s shinobi arts¡ª but in most cases, it''s a special form of taijutsu or some knowledge that would help them practice their clan''s special ninjutsu when they are ready in the future. Only a select few who showcase talent with chakra are encouraged to learn more advanced jutsu¡ª clan or otherwise."
Takuma hung his head down. He, of course, didn''t know any of that. The truth of the matter was that he just wanted to use chakra. It was chakra, after all! Anyone who had read Naruto even once had the thought of being able to use the mystic power.
"How do you know I''m not one of those select cases," asked Takuma with a tinge of defiance. He, after all, still wanted to learn chakra¡ª and from what Maruboshi had said, it didn''t look like he would get to do much of that in their training, at least, not as much as he would like.
"I do not know. Maybe you have gained some skill as you pursued it in your own time," said Maruboshi. "Can you use chakra, young Takuma?"
Takuma felt his face burn up. He felt stupid... really... really... stupid.
He shook his head in shame.
Maruboshi smiled, the kind one that he showed most often.
"Then let''s remedy that."
CH_1.11 (011):
Maruboshi and Takuma sat together in front of each other in the middle of the field. The morning''s gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the abundant trees in and around the Leaf village, bringing about a harmonious summer sound.
"Seeing that you have tried to practice chakra on your own. Tell me about your experience so I can know what you understand," said Maruboshi.
"... Nothing. I felt nothing, made zero progress," said Takuma in a voice quieter than his natural tone. Despite his lack of proficiency in literally every aspect of being a shinobi, Takuma made progress in everything he was taught, no matter how minuscule it may be, he had improved. But not in chakra¡ª it was as if he was trying to access that wasn''t there.
What if it wasn''t there... at all. Bells blared in his mind as the thought emerged in his mind for the first time. What if he didn''t possess chakra?
''No, no, no! All lifeforms on this planet possess chakra,'' he thought.
''But you''re not from this planet,'' said a treacherous voice in his mind.
''This body is!'' Takuma screamed back.
''So, what?'' said the voice, sounding infinitely blaming. ''Didn''t you say so yourself? Chakra is a product of combining physical and spiritual energies. The body produces the physical aspect, but it''s your soul that doesn''t produce the spiritual aspect¡ª because it''s not native to this world. You''re an outsider; you can''t wield chakra! Get out!''
The chilling thought made his body shudder more than a dip in the cold water of a freezing winter morning. He couldn''t accept it¡ª a life without the ability to use chakra in this world. The number of people who didn''t use chakra dwarfed those who did use it, but Takuma didn''t want to be part of that minority.
His vision turned blurry as his ears started to ring harshly. The glass of milk he had drunk threatened to come out with the rest of his stomach juices. His body felt hot as the broad open field started to feel too small and congested, there was not enough air to breathe. The early sun felt dim, the rustle of leaves sounded deafening, and the morning breeze felt heavy like lead.
Takuma looked down at his body. The body that wasn''t his. It wasn''t his skin he was wearing. He was a thief. He needed to get out of it... get out... now!
"Takuma!"
The old voice pierced through the noise, and Takuma felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked up with his eyes wide in shock as though he had seen a great ghost spelling the end of his life. In a matter of seconds, Takuma''s entire body looked like he had been in the sauna, dripping with sweat.
Seeing the trembling Takuma in front of him, Maruboshi jumped forward and laid Takuma down on the grass. Takuma''s chest heaved up as he looked up at the blue sky. It was coming down, or so it looked to Takuma. He immediately curled up in a ball in response.
"Takuma, can you hear me?!"
Maruboshi hurriedly weaved a chain of hand signs before grabbing Takuma''s head, resting his palms between Takuma''s temples. A green glow of Iryo Ninjutsu illuminated Maruboshi''s palms, but Takuma''s breath remained erratic and labored, and every muscle seemed restless and ready to jump out.
"Takuma, focus on my voice, child."
Maruboshi frowned. It wasn''t working. He gazed at the distressed Takuma for a moment before canceling the jutsu and rushing out of the field while carrying Takuma in his arms.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
Maruboshi sighed as he sat by Takuma''s bedside in the hospital. He stared at the child he had taken under his wing with worry. Just an hour ago, the face now sleeping peacefully was twisted in pain. Looking back at it, he hadn''t had the time to process the last hour completely. All of it was so sudden that he had followed his instincts like he would during a mission.
Because of that, he ended up bringing Takuma to the shinobi hospital instead of the civilian hospital, as he should''ve done. Unlike him, Takuma was still a civilian and, according to the correct procedure, should''ve been admitted to a civilian hospital.
It was thanks to the good fellows in the hospital who had allowed Takuma a bed until he woke up, after which he was going to be moved to the civilian counterpart for further treatment if needed.
If needed, Maruboshi sighed. He prayed there wasn''t a need for any.
But the chances of that happening seemed sparse as it had already been four days since Takuma had been in the hospital and had yet to wake up. By the time they reached the hospital, Takuma had fallen unconscious and had yet to wake up even once since then.
What had happened? Maruboshi frowned as he gazed at Takuma. One second, the child was normal, if not a little moody, but the next moment, he was writhing on the floor, clutching his head and sweating profusely. There was no physical injury; he had done the rudimentary check. When he tried to cast Iryo ninjutsu to calm any pain, the jutsu didn''t work. The cause of distress was either out of the jutsu''s target function, or the distress was so much that his skill couldn''t provide any relief. Neither were favorable options.
"Kosuke."
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Maruboshi turned towards the ward''s door and stood in haste when he saw the man who had called out to him. "Lord Third!" he exclaimed and rushed to kneel in front of the village''s leader.
"Nothing of that," Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third and the current Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, said as he entered the room.
Another shinobi dressed in the standard Leaf shinobi gear accompanied the Hokage. The man with the large weal-like scar didn''t enter the room and instead stood at the threshold, observing the corridor outside of the room.
¡®Hokage''s protection,'' thought Maruboshi as he stood up. He looked towards the room''s window, and as expected, he caught another shinobi standing outside on the ledge outside the window. The Hokage never went anywhere without protection. And Maruboshi knew there were ANBU shinobi lurking somewhere outside of view, protecting the Hokage from the shadows.
His eyes returned to Hiruzen, who now stood at the foot of the bed. He stood silently as the Hokage observed Takuma.
"A child, Kosuke?" said Hiruzen, glancing at Maruboshi. He retrieved a smoking pipe from his wide-sleeved haori that we wore over his red kimono.
"It''s the hospital, Lord Hokage," said the guard from the door.
Hiruzen looked down at his pipe before putting it back. "My apologies; I reached for it out of habit," he said.
"A child I have taken under my guidance recently, Lord Hokage," said Maruboshi respectfully, moving the conversation onwards.
Hiruzen looked surprised. Maruboshi couldn''t blame him; given his circumstances, the situation was indeed out of the ordinary.
"A genin?" asked Hiruzen.
"An academy student."
That seemed to surprise the Hokage even more. He went back to gazing at Takuma. "What happened?" he asked.
"According to the healers... nothing," said Maruboshi. The healers had diagnosed Takuma when he was admitted and the day next to that, but both times they couldn''t find anything wrong with Takuma. They could only tell him that as there was nothing wrong with Takuma, he would wake up on his own. As for when? They couldn''t give him a date.
Maruboshi recounted the events to Hiruzen, who hummed after hearing the recollection.
"If the healers weren''t able to find anything with the child''s body, then that must mean the problem must lie within the mind," said Hiruzen. He looked towards Maruboshi, "The hospital has a Yamanaka on staff; I will ask him to take a look at young Takuma; I''m sure he will be able to help in some way."
"T-That would be very generous of you, Lord Hokage," Maruboshi bowed deeply. "Thank you, I can''t describe how much this means. I''m sure young Takuma would be eternally grateful when he hears."
"Children are the real treasure of the village," said Hiruzen with a smile. "It''s only our duty to care for them and help them achieve their potential."
Maruboshi gazed at Takuma. The young indeed had potential, but not all young could reach the potential. Only those who worked hard had a chance to achieve their potential.
"Though, I must ask.... Why now? After such a long time," Hiruzen asked Maruboshi.
Maruboshi understood what Hiruzen meant. "The child required guidance and didn''t have anyone to provide it to him. Young Takuma is an orphan," he added when Hiruzen looked confused.
"Ah."
"He has no one to rely upon, it was a coincidence we met, or maybe it was fate that I accepted, but now that I have taken the responsibility, I will not walk away from it," said Maruboshi. "And as you said, Lord Hokage, children are the treasure of the village. The future. I am simply doing something very small, hoping that future will be a happy one."
He hadn''t agreed to teach Takuma on a whim. There were many orphans who needed an adult influence in their lives, someone to guide them as they grew up. He couldn''t help every one of them. So, he chose one that would benefit from his guidance and would appreciate it. He had observed Takuma for days from the shadows to see if teaching Takuma would be worth it or just a waste of time.
In that time he had seen a lonesome child who didn''t fit in with the rest. Always alone, but never lonely. Never once had he seen Takuma look at his classmates or other children with other parents with even a hint of wanting or desire in his eyes. He always seemed so indifferent to everything. Living his life running around, not stopping even for a second to look around to appreciate the simple things. Never relying on anyone. That wasn''t how a child was supposed to live.
Then he realized. Maybe the reason why Takuma never seemed to care was that he never knew what the joy of companionship felt like in the first place.
The sentiment saddened Maruboshi, and he had only thought about it. What about Takuma? What if he was living it.
Maruboshi didn''t know if his thoughts were correct; after all, he didn''t know what Takuma was thinking. But even if there was a chance that he was right, he didn''t want any child to live that sort of life. Especially a child in front of him, one he knew, even if only shortly.
So, he decided.... He would train Takuma. Not for the purpose of making him a fine shinobi. No, what he wanted was for Takuma to know the joy of companionship¡ª what it felt like to rely on others, to share joy and sadness all the same.
"Then maybe you feel ready to guide others in need," said Hiruzen.
Maruboshi matched eyes with his Hokage and firmly shook his head. He wasn''t ready for that. He was never going to be ready for that. Training an academy student once a day with no life-threatening stakes and consequences couldn''t compare.
He didn''t put his thoughts into words, but Hiruzen understood the head shake and dropped the conversation, something Maruboshi was thankful for.
Hiruzen stayed a while, gazing at Takuma. He even asked Maruboshi about Takuma. Maruboshi was surprised. He had been around longer than others¡ª he had served under Lord Second, Lord Third, then Lord Fourth, and Lord Third again¡ª so he knew how busy the seat of Hokage was.
But he told anyway; after all, who was he to deny the Hokage?
He recounted the progress proudly Takuma had made. How much he had learned in a short time. He told the Hokage about how smart Takuma was for a young child, that he held wits and cunning beyond his age. And the tenacity and will to persevere through anything thrown at him without a squeak of a complaint. Never once had Takuma requested to slow down or do less. Never had he refused to complete any task he had asked of him.
Takuma was a good student; nothing anyone else might say could make Maruobshi think otherwise.
Hiruzen listened until it was time for him to leave.
Maruboshi felt embarrassed; he had spoken too much. He apologized for keeping the Hokage for so long. But Hiruzen waved it off.
"It is a joy to hear that such a bright child will be joining our ranks soon," said Hiruzen with a smile. "Maybe the next time we meet, I will hear about him from the person himself."
When Hiruzen left, Maruboshi sat beside Takuma. He hadn''t taken a mission; he had nowhere to be.
"Wake up soon, young Takuma..."
He hoped Takuma would.
His mornings had begun to feel lonely.
CH_1.12 (012):
It was too bright, Takuma thought, annoyed. The light from his bedroom window was painting the backside of his eyelid. And he hated nothing more than to have his sleep ruined by errant light.
''I don''t want to get up,'' he thought, rolling to his side, and to his delight, the harsh glare of the light vanished. He snuggled into the bed and settled himself into a cozy spot. Perfect for returning to sleep. His smile soon turned into a frown. He had to get up. Sleeping in wasn''t an option; Maruboshi didn''t take tardiness lightly.
He wondered what they were going to do today? If he knew himself, he knew taijutsu still sat at the top of his inadequacies and needed more spars to improve. And if he knew that, Maruobshi knew better. He could see sparring getting more time in his spar.
''Ugh... when is he going to teach me about chakra!'' Takuma groaned. Half of the ten months was already over, and they hadn''t even discussed chakra; what is¡ª
Takuma''s eyes snapped open as the memories rushed back. It wasn''t a typical morning before another routine Maruboshi lesson. The delirious haze from just rousing out of sleep evaporated, leaving behind Takuma''s mind filled with nothing but the last memories he could recall. The phantoms of fear, dread, and despair all gripped his heart, and his being suddenly felt like it had been transported back to the field with Maruboshi.
The scene in front of him vaguely caught his attention before the question about his location pushed through his mind. His eyes were about to dart around when he noticed a man with dark blonde hair tied in a ponytail that fell over his shoulder gazing down at him.
He didn''t recognize the man. The overwhelming flood of emotions he was feeling was overpowered by an intense burst of surprise, pushed back to the back of his mind, momentarily forgotten.
Takuma immediately rolled in the opposite direction to put some distance between himself and the unknown man. His back left the soft cushioning of the bed and dropped down on the floor, but not without knocking his head against the side table beside the bed. Being crouched on the floor, Takuma pushed himself back while one hand went to the side of his head instinctually.
A torrent of thoughts went through his mind. Who was this man? What was this place? Where was Maruboshi? How long had he been unconscious? He couldn''t feel his holsters on his body; he needed to arm himself.
"Takuma."
The single word broke his thoughts as his eyes instinctually went towards the source. Maruboshi stood near the foot of the bed with what looked like worry and joy in his eyes. Seeing him immediately had its effect, and all the nervous tension drained out of Takuma as he eased his muscles and let all of his weight pool down on the floor.
"Sensei," Takuma said breathily.
Maruboshi walked to Takuma and knelt beside him. He put a hand on Takuma''s shoulder as he said, "It''s okay, child. You fell unconscious in the field. You are at the hospital. This man is an Iryo-nin treating you. You have been unconscious for six days."
A perfect overview of his situation, thought Takuma before the words registered in his mind.
"Six days!" he exclaimed¡ª he had been out almost a week! That was a week of precious time; he could barely afford to spare half a day; just the thought of missing a week made his liver hurt. "What the hell happened?" he asked Maruboshi.
The answer came from the doctor instead. "You had a panic attack," said the man. "A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. Panic attacks can be very frightening. When panic attacks occur, you might think you''re losing control, having a heart attack, or even dying..."
Takuma knew what a panic attack was. And the description was literally word-for-word what happened to him.
"... Your mind was exhausted and stressed, beyond what''s healthy. When the attack rendered you unconscious, it strained your tired mind, and it decided to put you into a coma to recover."
"My mind can do that?" Takuma asked, stunned.
"The human mind can do a myriad of things, Takuma," said the man with a smile. "Don''t see it as a bad thing. Your body was simply protecting itself when it sensed danger."
Takuma sighed. He couldn''t believe he had a panic attack. In his previous life, he never had any health complications; the most he had were coughs, colds, and fevers¡ª things that went away with over-the-counter medication in a couple days without needing any doctor visits. It had been at least a decade since he had visited a doctor, but somehow he ended up in a hospital bed in a coma. The gap was too great.
"I am sorry, young Takuma. This old man will take all the responsibility. It was because of me pushing you that you ended up in such a state," Maruboshi said, his words drowning in grief and blame.
"Rubbish," Takuma immediately replied. "I don''t know why he says my mind was exhausted," he pointed at the doctor, "because I never thought I was being pushed or pressured beyond something I couldn''t handle. Yes, every day was tough and grueling¡ª but you know what they say: no pain, no gain¡ª I never complained because there was nothing to complain about. It is just my body doing its own thing. You don''t have to take any blame, sensei. I don''t blame you, so neither should you because it''s not your fault."
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He was quick to thrash any unnecessary thoughts that Maruboshi might be having. It wouldn''t do if Maruboshi thought he couldn''t handle the pressure.
The Iryo-nin retrieved a notepad from the side table and wrote on it before handing it to Takuma, who had taken his place on the bed. "You don''t need any medication, but you''ll need to lighten up on training for at least one week," said the man making Takuma groan. "I have also recommended some changes in diet until you feel back to normal."
Takuma took the doctor''s prescription and looked surprised.
"Is something wrong?" Maruboshi asked.
"No, it''s just I didn''t expect such neat handwriting from a doctor," said Takuma. The words on the prescription were beautiful, to say the least, with a flowing cursive script. So much so that if someone offered it for free, Takuma would consider having the diet plan framed on his kitchen wall.
The ponytailed man chuckled, "I will take that as a compliment. I''ve worked hard on keeping my scribbles legible. It''s a problem if I can''t understand my own notes. Now, if you excuse me, I have other commitments I must see to," he finished.
"Of course. Takuma, please thank Doctor Yamanaka for his help," Maruboshi said to Takuma.
Takuma was about to oblige when his brain parsed the entire sentence and pointed out the new piece of information to him.
"Yamanaka!" he exclaimed, looking at the Iryo-nin with startled eyes. "You looked into my mind?" he asked, fearing the answer he would get.
The Yamanaka clan of the village hidden in the leaves was a shinobi clan specializing in the Hiden mind-related jutsu, making them experts at intelligence gathering, espionage, and interrogation, amongst other things. They could read memories, possess bodies, perform telepathy, and possess various other abilities granted by their clan''s jutsu.
"I did observe your mind..."
Takuma''s breathing quickened as a strong sense of fear and panic, much akin to what had knocked him out, rose from the bottom of his heart. For a transmigrator like him, the status of being a transmigrator was the biggest secret he held. It was the one thing he couldn''t let anyone know. For if the secret was leaked, he knew he would end up in a secret facility somewhere, repeatedly interrogated for information. Forever losing his freedom.
In this world, a Yamanaka, like the man in front of him, was his worst enemy¡ª the natural predator. An entire clan of people who could ruin his life beyond repair.
"... but I only observed the morning when you collapsed," said the Yamanaka. "I had experienced what you went through to give a proper diagnosis. And as an Iryo-nin, I have taken an oath to not betray my patients'' trust. Whatever I see in my patients'' minds will only remain with me. Whatever you feel will remain safe with me¡ª that I promise."
The words of promise didn''t make Takuma feel any better. Even if the man was telling the truth and had only seen that one morning, a lingering thought would forever stay in Takuma''s mind¡ª what if the man was lying and had seen everything?
"One last thing, I would highly recommend you talk to someone about what you experienced that day," said the mind-reading doctor. "Bottling everything up is not good for your health. From my experience, sharing it will help tremendously."
''You just want me to reveal my secrets,'' a voice said in Takuma''s mind.
Takuma gulped down the bile and nodded to the Yamanaka, "Thank you for helping me," he said. However, there was no sincerity behind it. He couldn''t help... all he felt towards the man was fear and aversion.
Yamanaka returned the smile before he left the room. Takuma bowed his head deep down and took deep breaths.
"I feel I have made a mistake again," Maruboshi said from the side. "I should''ve not accepted Lord Hokage''s offer to have a Yamanaka treat you without your consent."
Takuma was surprised yet again. The amount of new information and the intensity he had received in such a short time was far beyond what he ever wanted to get.
"The Hokage was here?" he asked.
"He was indeed here in this room," said Maruboshi with a warm smile. "When I told him that the other healers couldn''t find anything wrong with you, he offered to request Doctor Yamanaka to look at you. He even asked me about you and said he would look forward to meeting you when your paths crossed."
"O-Oh," Takuma stuttered.
Hokage might have been once a character in a story once, but after living in the world for nearly half a year, he realized that the Hokage was a military leader. He was as high as the president/prime minister of a country. Some ordinary folks like him won''t ever get to converse with the Hokage ever. Even if he became a shinobi, it would be a long time before he could have a conversation with the Hokage outside of work.
"It... It''s okay," he said. "You were only worried about me. I''m thankful for what you did."
But in truth, he would''ve preferred if Maruboshi hadn''t agreed. Between remaining in a coma and having all his secrets revealed, he a hundred percent favored the former, even if it meant that he lost the gains from the physical training with every progressing day. He could regain muscle through training, but he couldn''t make his secrets hidden again.
"If not for you not agreeing, who knows how long it would''ve taken me to wake up. I don''t have the time to waste laying around in bed," said Takuma resolutely. The most precious currency he held right now was time.
Maruboshi furrowed his brows, his old skin wrinkling due to. "You will rest for a week as the doctor suggested. We start after that."
"I am fine¡ª"
"I will be taking this week off and participating in missions. So, you must rest your mind and body in that time."
Takuma opened his mouth to argue but hearing that Maruboshi would not be present for the coming week made his argument dry up. He sighed as he looked outside the window.
"I will rest," he said.
"Good," he heard Maruboshi say. "... Do you wish to talk about what happe¡ª"
"No."
Takuma didn''t look towards Maruboshi. He didn''t want to talk about it. He still didn''t know if he could use chakra, and simply having that thought seated in his head was frightening. The thought of considering talking about it before he was sure made him want to throw up.
It didn''t help that it would be at least a week before he could get the answer.
A time that seemed almost too far in the future.
So no... he didn''t want to talk,
Or so his heart told him as it beat faster and faster at even the thought of the conversation.
CH_1.13 (013):
Takuma turned his head at the sound of footsteps suddenly appearing in the middle of the field where he and Maruboshi used to train in the mornings.
"... You are early today, young Takuma.... and have apparently warmed up already."
Takuma stood up from the plank position and faced Maruboshi, who he had not seen in eight days due to the latter being on missions and the former being on rest. The longest they had not seen each other since they had met. And the longest one week he had suffered through both his existences.
"I couldn''t sleep last night and decided to come early," said Takuma. Since their correspondence, it was the first time he had arrived before Maruboshi. The restless last night of knowing that today was the day he was allowed to return to their training had robbed him of the comfort of sleep. The restlessness didn''t abate when he arrived at the field, so he began warming up to release the nervous energy by moving his body around.
Maruboshi gave Takuma a look over, examining him after the break. He then chuckled, "Young ones have more vitality than us old folks have long lost. I''m glad to see you''re doing well, Takuma. How is your health?" he asked.
"As good as new, better even," Takuma said assertively. He wanted to leave no doubt in Maruboshi''s mind that he was back in full shape. "We can continue right where we left off without any problems."
"Let''s not waste any time then," Maruboshi nodded before giving Takuma instructions to start off their day, which usually started with warmups and stretching, but because Takuma had already done that, they moved on.
Every morning began in a similar way, with a quick conditioning session where Maruboshi would ensure Takuma was always near the point of failure with every exercise to build endurance and systematically improve his physique. It was the only time in the morning that Maruboshi devoted to just physical conditioning. They did taijutsu spars and other physical activities, but they were for the sake of skill building and not to improve Takuma''s physical fitness. What Maruboshi made Takuma do wasn''t enough from a physique-development point of view, but because they only met in the morning for a limited amount of time, Maruboshi told Takuma to do the majority of physical exercise in the evening on his own, so they could focus on other categories in the mornings and better utilize the older''s shinobi''s time guiding.
"Let''s take a quick break here before moving on," said Maruboshi after the session.
Takuma breathed deeply to catch his breath as he frowned at Maruboshi''s back as the teacher sipped from his canteen. Takuma was drenched in sweat, his clothes sticking to his body, and beads of sweat dripping from the strands of his hair. Despite all of that, Takuma felt Maruboshi had gone easy on him. The workout they just had wasn''t as intense as he was used to doing with Maruboshi. And it wasn''t him getting used to it; he hadn''t gotten used to it for five months because Maruboshi was constantly changing it, pushing the measure a bit higher.
No, the workout regiment had been purposefully made harder, so it never felt easier. But today, it did.
''He still thinks of me recovering from the incident,'' Takuma growled in his thoughts with frustration. That was what he feared would happen when they restarted his training. That''s part of the reason why he had arrived early and did the warm up before Maruboshi arrived¡ª to show he was fit and didn''t need a reduced load.
"Come, Takuma," Maruboshi had sat down, cross-legged, on the grass and pointed at the spot in front of him. "We shall continue where we left off and begin with chakra."
Takuma had just sat down when he heard the mention of chakra, and he froze. He was about to tell Maruboshi off for going easy on him, but that plan was shredded and thrown in his mind''s trash can. Something much more important had arrived.
The time had come. The time he had been dreading and looking forward to since the day he had woken up in the hospital.
"Now, if my memory serves me well, you said you weren''t able to sense chakra during your own attempts with it."
Takuma lightly shook his head as he kept his eyes focused near Maruboshi''s chest area, avoiding his teacher''s eyes. He had tried once again in his rest week to invoke his chakra, but the result was dread-inducingly the same. He hadn''t been able to sense much less use any chakra at all. His body felt as though baren of the base energy.
In hindsight, he should not have tried more. It only worsened his anxiety, making food more difficult to swallow and sleep difficult at night. The light sleep he got was haunted by the thoughts of transmigration being the reason behind his inability to sense any chakra.
But then Maruboshi said, "Nothing to worry about. While rare, there are children who are not able to sense chakra on their own and require external help to find the energy within."
Takuma looked up at Maruboshi and found that his teacher was smiling. The smile made a spark of hope ignite within him.
It was rare but not unseen; he could be part of that rare few, Takuma thought. He had been part of a rare group before¡ª the people who transmigrated. What stopped him from being part of another one.
Every moving millisecond fanned the fire of hope in Takuma''s heart.
"Give me your hand," Maruboshi said, putting his old, wrinkled hand forward.
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Takuma couldn''t have been faster as he eagerly placed his hand over Maruboshi, which seemed to be entirely made up of calluses. Takuma had developed some calluses from practicing throwing weapons, but when compared to Maruboshi, his hands seemed like they belonged to someone who hadn''t worked with their hands a day in his life.
"Take a deep breath and follow it through your body," Maruboshi said as he himself took a deep breath and gripped Takuma''s hand.
Takuma''s brows twitched. What was he supposed to follow? But the question died before it reached his lips as he felt a warmth emerge inside his palm. He looked down, expecting a small flame heating up his palm, but there was no such thing.
The warmth moved. It expanded from the dot-like center of his palm to the top of his fingertips. It felt like he had a space heater inside his gloved hand.
"You feel it, good," Maruboshi''s voice sounded as Takuma closed his eyes. "Let''s move on then."
Takuma took a deep breath, broken up by quivers as the heat moved up his arm, overflowing every inch of his flesh while penetrating deep inside. The heat of the warmth rose, and it was no longer just inside his body; he could feel it exuding outwards into the air in waves.
Soon, his entire arm was drowning in the warmth of whatever Maruboshi had done. But, just as Takuma thought, he was getting used to it. The energy spread out and entered his chest. He literally felt his chest cavity get filled with the same energy. At this point, all thought had seized inside Takuma''s head as he followed the energy flow through his body. It was inside his limbs, chest, abdomen, and head¡ª no corner of his body was left behind by the marvelous energy.
Takuma''s eyes fluttered open, but only the whites showed with the iris rolled back inside. He couldn''t see the sky above, hear the leaves around him, smell the forest around him, feel the touch of grass brushing against his feet, or taste the morning dew suspended in the air¡ª the only thing that existed for Takuma was the energy radiating inside his body.
Eventually, though, the heat left Takuma''s body, drained as it radiated out, leaving behind a feeling of empty cold in its wake.
Takuma''s eyes snapped forward. He stared at his teacher and opened his lips to speak, but no words left his mouth.
Maruboshi smiled, "I believe you can feel it now."
Takuma didn''t dare move an inch; not a muscle twitched if he could help in the fear that if he moved, the new sensation would vanish like smoke in the wind. He could indeed feel it. It felt as though he had gained another sense¡ª a sixth sense outside the primary five.
"T-Two," he croaked out eventually, his voice breaking in process. "I-I can feel two."
Maruboshi''s wrinkles deepened as the smile broadened. He didn''t speak and let Takuma continue.
"The first one is everywhere... everywhere," Takuma said, his eyes wide like saucers. "The second one is here," he slowly moved his right hand and placed it gently against his lower stomach. "A-and.. and it''s made i-in the heart," he finished by touching his chest above his heart.
The feeling was indescribable. One moment Takuma''s body was as he knew it to be for five months¡ª however, the next, his body had changed.
''No, it hadn''t changed,'' Takuma thought. The feeling was new but not foreign¡ª it felt natural... like it was supposed to be this way. He had simply found out something he didn''t know before.
"An energy," started Maruboshi, "exists in every living being in the world. A force as true as life itself"¡ª he raised two fingers¡ª "and is the combination of two energies: physical energy present and produced by the billions of cells of the body¡ª and the spiritual energy the gift by one''s spirit trained through developing the mind''s consciousness, training, meditating, and stimulating experiences." Maruboshi joined his hands in front of his chest and intertwined his fingers. "When called upon, the two energies meld together in the heart and produce the basis of every jutsu¡ª that energy is known as chakra(de aru)."
Maruboshi cupped his hands together, and a moment after, water emerged between them until it overflowed and trickled down onto the grass below them.
Takuma had seen Maruboshi use jutsu before, but the fascination had remained the same. If it was the previous world, the feat in front of him would''ve been either seen as an elaborate magic trick, or Maruboshi would''ve been deemed and dubbed as the next coming of God.
He reached forward and dipped a finger in the water. He gasped involuntarily¡ª the water felt cold, it made his finger wet... and that made it real.
In front of his eyes, he had seen water created out of nothing¡ª ''Not nothing,'' Takuma thought. ''It was created out of chakra...''
Chakra that he now possessed.
A chuckle and two escaped Takuma. "I can use chakra," it was more breath than sound.
"You indeed can," Maruboshi said, smiling.
"I can use chakra," said Takuma again, to himself more than anyone. He laughed and felt the corner of his lips tug upwards. He smiled for the first time in a week that seemed like a lifetime.
He couldn''t hold his form anymore and fell back against the ground. His chest heaved up and down as a sense of lightness lifted him. The sky no seemed to be bearing down on his chest, and the air no longer seemed to weigh down on his body.
He hadn''t felt anything like this in a very long time.
"I... I... am going to pass out," Takuma said breathily as his heart thrummed in his heat like a bass drum. "Give me a minute... just a minute, please. Oh shit... oh my god... oh fuck¡ª oh that was horrible."
"Mind your language, Takuma," Maruboshi said sternly.
Takuma couldn''t care less at the moment.
He closed his eyes and grinned as far as his lips would allow. Every fear, every nightmare, every single grim thought he had in the last week was unfounded.
He placed a hand on his chest, and beneath it, he could feel the gentle pulsation of his heart. It was the proof. The proof that he possessed it. The most precious and powerful resource in the entire world.
The one thing that would allow him to protect himself.
The thing that would allow him to cast jutsu.
The thing that would allow him to be...
A shinobi.
CH_1.14 (014):
On the last bench of the classroom, gentle rays of sunlight bathed Takuma in its soft warmth.
He had half his tongue sticking out and up of his lips as he scribbled down with a heavy hand on the white page, haphazardly scratching it with the black of the graphite pencil in his grip to form words worse than chicken scratches.
Snap! The exposed nip of the pencil snapped halfway through the page.
"Fuck!"
Kibe turned away from the blackboard and faced the class. He snapped, "Who was that?! Come out on your own!"
Takuma paid no attention to Kibe and glared at the broken tip of his pencil that had left an unwanted mark on the page. No one was going to snitch in the classroom of wannabe shinobis. No one liked a rat, not even potential future spies.
As he reached into one of his storage pouches to take out a kunai to use the blade to carve a new tip on his pencil, Takuma saw a dainty hand push a sky-blue pencil sharpener toward him. He looked up and saw Izumi smiling at him as she motioned toward the pencil sharpener with her big eyes.
Takuma left the kunai in his pouch even though it would''ve been easier to use the blade and instead used the smaller, thinner blade made from cheap steel attached to the sharpener¡ª he wasn''t one to disregard someone''s kind help.
"Thank you," Takuma said as he returned the sharpener.
He was about to continue his note-taking from the tactics textbook when Izumi spoke: "So, what happened to you? Kibe-sensei told us you were sick."
Takuma arced his brow at the question. It had been a week since he had returned to the academy, and no one except Kibe had asked him about his health. To be more accurate, he hadn''t said a single word in conversation to anyone in the academy since he returned.
He had been out two weeks¡ª the week he was in the coma and the second week of rest prescribed by the doctor. Takuma had wanted to return to the academy during the second week, but Kibe had sent a letter through a carrier bird telling him to rest.
"Chickenpox. Had to stay home to not spread it everywhere," Takuma said. Telling the truth would''ve been bothersome to explain, and he had a negative desire to share how he had a mental breakdown that put him out of commission for a week.
"What''s that like?" Izumi asked curiously. "I never had it."
"Then it''s good that I wasn''t here. It''s highly contagious, with a ninety-percent chance that the people near the infected person will get it. Though if you get it once, you usually don''t get it a second time. It wasn''t bad¡ª I just had to stay trapped at home and not scratch the itchy parts," said Takuma.
He didn''t know if the boy had had chickenpox before, but he had it once in his previous life. It made him wonder if hospitals kept medical records for the children born there.
"Why are you here, though? You sit near the front, don''t you?" Takuma asked Izumi.
After five months of attending the academy six times a week, he had a pretty good grasp of his classmates. Uchiha Izumi was a popular girl, well-liked by almost everyone in the class. She got along with the boys because of her boyish aspects, and she seemed genuinely interested in their conversations and activities¡ª it helped that she was pretty. Despite that, Izumi was dominantly feminine in her personality and held similar interests to any other girl her age; her core friend group was all girls. She had a friendly nature and seemed fun to hang around with¡ª and she could wipe the floor with anyone in the class and was in upper rankings in every subject, gaining everyone''s respect.
''Your typical star-achiever... literally the complete opposite of me,'' Takuma noticed as he thought about it.
"Sitting in the front gets tiring sometimes, you know. Kibe-sensei always asks questions to those who sit in the front," Izumi said with a whine. "I sit in the back and middle, near the sides, when I don''t want to pay attention or feel sleepy. I will tell you a secret, the third seat near the window always has a nice breeze, perfect for a nap.
I was thinking of a nap before the spars. Are you going to fight today?" she asked.
He nodded. He hadn''t participated in the spars in the week he had been back. Kibe had decided that he should rest more before returning to spars. But Takuma was sure Kibe just didn''t see the point in making him spar and had used his recent hospitalization to not let him fight.
"Any plans to win anytime soon," she asked with a grin.
"Against you? No," Takuma said, scoffing good heartedly. "But I do think my first win is just around the corner. Who knows, if the odds are in my favor, I might grab victory today."
"Oh ho, confident, aren''t you," she gave an approving nod. "Good for you."
He indeed felt confident. After five months of training under Maruboshi, he felt he could win if he gave it all and was careful enough not to let any carelessness creep into his actions. He had also unlocked his chakra, and while he couldn''t use it for zilch, it still instilled in him a sense of self-confidence.
He was brought out from his musings by Kibe, asking everyone to listen to him.
"There''s an announcement you all will be very interested in, so listen well." Kibe waited until everyone was paying attention before saying, "Two months from now, all of you will be giving the first attempt of your graduation test..."
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The amount of noise the class made would have easily been registered and charged as noise pollution.
Takuma exhaled a cold one, and even Izumi beside him had a healthy amount of nervousness reflecting in her onyx eyes.
"... I know it''s only the first of three attempts, but do not be lax and think you can perform poorly in this attempt. You will regret it if you let even a single chance escape. These tests are very important for your promotion to genins. And you will keep hearing this for two months until the test, so buckle down and get ready¡ª this is the most important time of your lives," Kibe announced to the class.
Graduation test, Takuma licked his lips. He didn''t know what all would be tested in the graduation test, but he knew that the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) was asked in the manga, and he who couldn''t use chakra at all had a way to go before he could execute even the most basic of jutsu.
''I... I can learn it in two months,'' Takuma told himself¡ª he just needed to work harder.
The sun had climbed to its apex in the sky and rained down its fury on the mortal plane. And thus, the day arrived at Kibe''s chosen time to conduct the sparring sessions for his class. The academy instructor believed that sparring in the height of heat helped build endurance and allowed the students to experience one of many harsh conditions they would face in the field.
Takuma absolutely hated it. He had originally lived in a country with a disgusting amount of hotness in the summers, but he seldom had to experience the inferno-like outsides because air-conditioners existed, and like any sane person, he stayed inside if he could. Sparring right after lunch, when the temperatures were at their daily peaks, was nothing else but sadistic.
The Leaf village''s geographical location did the residents no favor. The peak temperatures in summer ranked high on the heat scale. The only place possibly with worse summers was the desert around the Village Hidden in the Sands.
"Takuma, you''re fighting today, next up," said Kibe, who stood near Takuma as a spar happened inside the circle.
Takuma groaned. He had been enthusiastic about sparring before, but sitting under the sun without shade did wonders for melting any sort of motivation. He looked around, scouting who could be his opponent. There was only one spar per person, so those who had fought could be eliminated.
''I won''t be fighting Izumi... Ugh, don''t want to fight with Hideaki,'' the Akimichi hit like a cannonball. ''Maybe one of those studious types will be better¡ª I could overwhelm one of them,'' thought Takuma as he eyed suitable sparring partners.
"Takuma and Hiji."
Takuma stood up when Kibe called his name, and so did another boy from another part of the circle perimeter.
He immediately made a face when he heard his chosen sparring opponent and the expression worsened when he saw the smirking face of Inuzuka Hiji.
The Inuzuka clan of Leaf village was a shinobi clan known for their use of Ninken (Shinobi Dogs) as fighting companions. The members are given their own canine partner when they reach a certain age. Thereafter, the clan member and their dog were practically inseparable.
"Yo, Takuma~," said Hiji with a growing smirk that showed his teeth and stretched the distinctive red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheek. The pup with black fur atop Hiji''s head yipped and ruffled Hiji''s already messy hair.
Takuma didn''t return the greeting. His reputation was of someone who didn''t talk much, and no one expected him to say anything back. On the other hand, Hiji''s reputation was also the reason why Takuma didn''t even want to return a simple greeting.
Hiji was what one would classify as a typical school bully. He defied authority every chance he got¡ª arguing and not listening to Kibe every chance he got¡ª had problems following rules and the code of conduct. And like any bully, he bullied anyone who happened to catch his eye and would allow Hiji to bully them, seemingly deriving pleasure from violence and the suffering of his victims.
"Kibe-sensei..."
Everyone looked and saw another academy instructor in the distance.
"Wait here; I will be back," Kibe said. He narrowed his eyes towards Hiji: "Make any trouble, and I promise pain and stayback after school."
Hiji stuck out his tongue when Kibe turned his back to walk away. He then looked at Takuma and grinned, "I didn''t know you were back, Takuma. I hear you kicked the bucket in the hospital, but you look fine... I guess I shouldn''t accept rumors so readily, but it sounded so real and possible, so it wasn''t my fault. What do you say?"
Takuma showed no reaction. He made his face look as bored and uninterested as possible, like he couldn''t care at all about anything Hiji was saying or even paying attention to whatever was being said.
Hiji clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, and his black ninken growled.
Takuma, on the other hand, was satisfied. This was how Takuma had kept Hiji from making him a target of his bullying. By acting completely unaffected and unbothered by Hiji''s actions. Takuma had acted like Hiji didn''t exist¡ª and after some petty attempts, Hiji got bored from the lack of reaction and left Takuma alone, pretending he didn''t exist.
But those petty attempts had sealed the deal in Takuma''s mind. He would never ever get along or be polite with Hiji. His financial condition was dire, with every month being a battle against spending, with thrice thinking before spending even a single ryo (currency).
So when one day Takuma found his books missing from his desk, he felt his heart bleed. He had gotten them back the same day, soaked in water, several pages torn and ruined because of the water. The blatant laughing from Hiji and his posse had given away the culprit.
It was fortunate Takuma was mentally older and was able to reign in the acid-hot rage he had felt seeing his books in such a bad condition. He had shown no reaction, keeping a bored expression the entire time. And had not reported it to drive the uncaring image. However, since that day, he only bought things he absolutely needed and kept his things on him all the time.
"Come to think of it, I can''t remember the last time we fought," Hiji said. "It was last year, I think..."
Takuma hadn''t sparred against Hiji in his five months of existence as Takuma.
Hiji cracked his knuckles. "It''s a rare event; let''s enjoy it a lot, eh, Ta-ku-ma~," his grin turned wilder and crueler.
Takuma caught sight of Kibe walking back towards him.
Takuma''s eyes narrowed as he clenched his fists. The grin on Hiji''s face brought up memories of how he felt when he couldn''t find his books.
He decided¡ª
Today, he was going to get his first win.
CH_1.15 (015):
"Ah... that idiot is going to do something stupid."
Izumi stopped playing with the ash-gray puppy lying on her lap with his tummy exposed and looked at Hana, who was frowning. She followed Hana''s eyes and found herself looking at Takuma and Hiji standing in the middle of the circle. Takuma had his back to her, but she could see Hiji talking.
That surprised Izumi. She couldn''t remember the last time she had seen the two boys talk, if ever. Well, she hadn''t seen or heard Takuma talking to anyone¡ª at least, not recently.
"What do you mean?" Izumi asked.
Hana jutted her chin towards the boys. Her nose wrinkled as she said, "That idiot only smiles that way when he''s thinking of doing something stupid. I have seen it too many times."
The puppy in Izumi''s lap suddenly turned on its belly and hopped away to join his other two triplets in Hana''s lap. She giggled as the two other pups seemed displeased at the entrance of their third brother. They tried to push each other to make space on Hana''s lap but could only pile up on each other to fit into the small lap, though none seemed uncomfortable and even leaned into Hana''s touch as she scratched behind their ears.
Izumi honestly couldn''t imagine that the three Haimaru brothers were supposed to be triplets of ferocious ninken capable of tearing apart their enemies with fangs and claws while possessing noses that could pick up even the faintest of scents that had been purposefully obscured and use them to track down their targets.
After all, they were so small and cute.
She turned to the boys. Hiji was Hana''s cousin, an Inuzuka from the ninken pup resting atop his head and the same red fang markings on his cheeks just like Hana''s. Even their taijutsu styles were the same.
''Duh, they''re from the same clan, silly,'' she said to herself.
She liked Hana much more than Hiji. Hana was her friend, after all. But she was also smarter than her, nice, and so fun to hang around with. And the Haimaru brothers were always together with Hana, which was an added bonus in Izumi''s eyes. Hiji, on the other hand, wasn''t so nice: he was annoyingly loud, always bothered the class and the instructors, and often did mean things to others.
He once tried to drag her by the ponytail. She had taken revenge the next time they had sparred. He didn''t bother her after that.
Izumi looked at the other boy¡ª Takuma. He always seemed... away. Every time she saw him, she would always find him alone and quiet. Be it in classes, during the lunch break, or at the outdoor training lessons, Takuma was always by himself. Even when they went out to the forest to camp, Takuma was always alone, even when he was struggling.
''How can he be so undisturbed?'' Izumi had often thought¡ª no matter what was happening in the classroom around him, nothing seemed to matter to him; he kept doing whatever he was doing at that moment.
She knew for a fact that he didn''t listen in class; just today, she had seen him reading one of the fourth-year history books and taking notes. She wanted to ask why he was reading last year''s book, but he looked so concentrated that she didn''t want to bother him. She did manage to find that chickenpox was why he didn''t come to the academy for two weeks¡ª she was glad to hear it wasn''t something grave.
Izumi saw Kibe return to the field. The spar was about to start.
"¡ªOne minute, I say he lasts a minute¡ª"
"¡ªIdiot, that''s too much. He will be on the floor in twenty seconds at most¡ª"
Izumi frowned when she heard some of her classmates whisper to each other and laugh. It was rude of them to speak so. But, at the same time, she couldn''t deny what they were saying.
Takuma wasn''t very good at taijutsu... that was an overstatement¡ª Takuma was bad at taijutsu.
Izumi looked at the boy with his back to her. No matter how she looked at it, Takuma wasn''t fit to be a shinobi. He couldn''t hold out on his own in spars, his weapon skills were poor¡ª she hadn''t seen him hit a bullseye in months, and he couldn''t even use jutsu¡ª not even poorly, they just simply didn''t seem to work for him.
He was so bad that she couldn''t even call him incompetent.
She wanted to ask why he was even in the shinobi academy, but asking that would be rude, so she kept that question to herself.
''He''s good at math, though,'' she thought. He was unnaturally good at math, finance, and even physics¡ª and could always answer the teacher''s questions.
''It would''ve been better¡ª''
"Start!"
Kibe announced the start of the fight. Hiji wasted not a second and leaped forwards. Takuma had already assumed the standard academy taijutsu stance; he didn''t fall backward or charge ahead; instead, he sidestepped Hiji''s incoming kick.
''Correct move... but he''s too slow,'' she thought.
Hiji pivoted on the spot and launched a punch toward Takuma. Whatever chance Takuma had created to counter had vanished by Hiji''s superior speed and balance. Takuma could only kick out to match Hiji''s punch. Takuma was flung back as result of the impact¡ª the Inuzuka was also stronger than Takuma.
Hiji laughed loudly as he jumped and drop-kicked Takuma right in the chest. Takuma, to give him merit, crossed his arms over to block but was still hurled back violently. Hiji was like an uprooting whirlwind, not allowing Takuma to gain even a moment of foothold. He was like a beast hungry for Takuma''s flesh, who could only retreat and defend himself to prevent being ripped apart.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Izumi had fought both the Inuzukas in her class multiple times. The Inuzuka brand of taijutsu leaned heavily on ferocity and pure aggression; it was heavy-handed and attack-dominant. It was brutish and brawlish. So much unlike her own Uchiha style of taijutsu that operated on counterattacks and attacking vital points to cause efficient damage at the most opportune times.
But by no means was the Inuzuka taijutsu crude in nature. Izumi narrowed her eyes as she observed Hiji; even though he was nowhere showcasing his full breadth of skill against a weak opponent like Takuma, she could still see the dexterity and coordination in the movements that required quick reaction time and high control over one''s body.
''He''s good,'' Izumi thought. Hiji''s movements might look sloppy to an untrained eye, but to Izuma, who had trained to look for chances to launch counterattacks, Hiji''s attacks looked calculated, and every move was made for a reason.
Between Hiji and Hana, she had to give Hiji an edge regarding taijutsu. Hana was smarter and better than her cousin when it came to other shinobi skills, but in taijutsu, she was no match. The Inuzuka taijutsu simply suited someone like Hiji, who seemed to revel in all-out aggression, in contrast to the much more laid-back Hana.
Izumi glanced at the black pup that sat by the side. Hiji hadn''t let his ninken fight with him. There wasn''t a need for someone like Takuma. She looked at Hana''s Haimaru triplets¡ª it made her wonder if the number of dogs would make a difference. Advanced clan techniques had no place in the academy taijutsu spars. She had yet to see how Inuzuka worked together with their ninken in fights. Just like no one had seen the full extent of what she could do as an Uchiha.
She also couldn''t ask Hana. Even though they were friends, things like those were clan-related information¡ª and the only way she would come to know more was either by witnessing it or if she became a trusted teammate with an Inuzuka.
"Stop!"
Kibe announced the end of the fight.
Hiji, who was now on his knees, stopped punching down at Takuma, who was on his back with his hands raised up to protect himself from the flurry of punches that had rained down on him a second ago.
Hiji stood up. He pumped up his arms and hooted in victory. His ninken ran up to him and jumped into his arms, yipping in joy as he licked Hiji''s cheek.
As for Takuma... he slowly got to his feet. His face was swollen, and discoloration had already begun to appear; it would only worsen. Even his arms spotted red bruises from taking Hiji''s punches and kicks. Izumi could guess there would be other bruises hidden inside the clothes.
''It would''ve been better if he was in a civilian school,'' she thought.
Takuma held his head down as he limped to the middle of the circle and raised his hand to form the Seal of Reconciliation.
Hiji scoffed and walked away without completing the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Hiji, come back here at once!" Kibe yelled at Hiji, but Inuzuka stuck his tongue out before running away.
Kibe could only sigh in return. He turned to Takuma and said, "Go to the medical room and get yourself fixed up... Maybe it was too early to let you rejoin."
Takuma nodded and walked away towards the building with his head hanging down.
"He overdid it," Izumi said. It was called sparring for a reason. People rarely went all out, and even though Hiji had by no means gone all out, he had overwhelmed Takuma beyond what was acceptable.
Hana nodded, her lips pressed into a bitter line. Having a clan member act this way publicly was bad for the clan''s image.
Izumi followed Takuma with her eyes until he disappeared into the building.
Today again, he was... alone.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
Takuma limped his way to the academy''s medical room.
Yet another loss. He was used to it by now. A Loss A Day¡ª until he became numb to the feeling of getting beat down by anyone and everyone that was put in front of him.
Yes, he was used to it...
Takuma clenched his fist, but his hand refused to listen to him; no matter how hard he tried, the clench had no strength behind it. He couldn''t even do something as easy as that properly.
''¡ª But, I do think my first win is just around the corner¡ª''
Why had he said that? Takuma scolded himself; now, he looked like an ignorant idiot. There was no way a weak man like himself would win a fight.
The irony of the situation was even funnier. He had been beaten black and blue by the same bully he had run away from to avoid trouble.
He had run away.
''You are weak,'' said a voice in his head.
To stop the bullying, he hadn''t confronted his bully or stood up against him... No, he had run away from the situation by pretending to be unbothered by it. He had thought himself clever by resolving the problem this way, and all it took in return was that he needed to carry his belongings with him.
Takuma scoffed.
All he had done was allow a bully to change a part of his life.
If he had truly settled the bully situation, he wouldn''t have to carry all of his books with him for fear of getting them destroyed. If he had truly settled the situation, he wouldn''t have to change how he acted around Hiji and his friends.
It was pathetic.
He was pathetic.
''¡ª Maybe it was too early to let you rejoin¡ª''
It was his own fault that he had ended up being beaten into a pulp. If he was stronger, he could''ve held his ground.
''¡ªI am sorry, young Takuma. This old man will take all the responsibility. It was because of me pushing you that you ended up in such a state¡ª''
If he had been stronger, then he wouldn''t have ended up in the hospital. If he had been stronger, Maruboshi wouldn''t have looked at him like he was fragile and weak. If he had been stronger, his training load wouldn''t have been lightened.
If he had just been stronger...
He reached the medical room. The threshold was uneven, with the medical room floor raised higher than the corridor. Takuma''s foot caught up in the edge of the raised floor, and he tripped forward, ending on his knees with his body supported on his elbows.
"Ah! Are you okay, kid!" The nurse came hurrying towards him to help him up.
But Takum wasn''t paying attention.
''It''s all my fault. None of it would''ve happened if I had been stronger...''
Takuma clenched his hands into fists. This time they obeyed him. He could feel his nail digging into his flesh.
He needed to be stronger.
CH_1.16 (016):
"This is ridiculous... Ah, NO!"
Takuma said as he frowned hard enough to give himself a unibrow. And the moment he spoke, the leaf stuck between his eyes fell. He tried to grab it but ended up crushing the thin green leaf in his fist.
"Get a new one," Maruboshi said, his eyes closed as he sat in a cross-legged meditative pose.
Takuma groaned as he got up from the grass and sprinted from one edge of the clearing to the furthest opposite end to get a single leaf from a tree before sprinting back to Maruboshi.
Takuma had decided that the Leaf Concentration Practice was the worst thing to happen to him since he had found himself in this world. As it turned out, chakra control was a demanding skill to acquire and train¡ª especially for a rookie as green as the leaf he was holding¡ª and sticking a leaf to his forehead only using chakra was a frustrating way to gain experience in the skill.
And that was not including Maruboshi''s hellish penalty of sprinting to and from the furthest tree in the clearing to get a new leaf every time the leaf fell off his forehead. If he thought Maruboshi''s previous conditioning exercises were worse, the penalty had made the first week of chakra control training stuff from nightmares as the Takuma was literally sitting down for seconds between sprints to get a new leaf.
The reason? According to Maruboshi: "To give you the motivation to get better faster."
When Takuma heard the words, he thought they made sense, but it took an hour for him to want nothing more than to bash his teacher''s face in and yell that he didn''t need extra motivation. The morning session had become a dreadful time for Takuma, and every morning, he would spend some time in bed staring at the wall above, thinking about just not getting up to avoid what the day had in store for him.
"You need to release the tension in your mind and body, child," said Maruboshi, his eyes still closed.
"It doesn''t help," Takuma scowled as he carefully placed the leaf on his forehead and kept it in place with his finger until he was sure his chakra was gripping it. His hand trembled as he removed his finger, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the leaf remained stuck on his forehead. But the next moment, the grip vanished, and the leaf fell. "See! Relaxing! Doesn''t! Help!"
Maruboshi opened his eyes and watched Takuma stand up and run to and from the furthest tree. He spoke when Takuma returned, "Let me ask you this: Do you draw your chakra, or do you reign it in."
"What?" Takuma asked, his breathing weary from all the running. He didn''t stick the leaf on his forehead and kept it hidden in his hand. He could use Maruboshi talking to him as a break.
"From my experience, there are two types of people. Those who have to draw their chakra as if pulling water from a well¡ª and those who have to carefully adjust the dial on the tap to stop all the water from bursting out. Which one of these do you think you are?"
Takuma frowned in thought before answering. "The... The second kind. Adjusting the tap to stop the water," he said.
Chakra was made from the physical and spiritual energies inside a person''s body. It couldn''t be stored. The physical and spiritual energies were stored inside the body¡ª but not chakra. When chakra was needed, the body would meld the two energies together and create chakra, which was then needed to be used within a time frame, after which it would dissipate, wasting the portion of two energies used in the process.
For Takuma, when his body produced chakra, it would be ready to rush out and be used. It was as if it was saying: ''Use me now, or I''m getting outta here.'' He never had to pull, as Marubohi had described it, the pool of chakra he had created¡ª it was always letting the correct amount out at just the right rate to make things work.
"Interesting. For me, it has always been pulling my chakra," said Maruboshi, "I have had many friends and acquaintances who describe chakra like you do. They summon their chakra differently than me, but there''s one thing that both types do similarly."
"What is it?"
"Using imagery." Maruboshi raised his hands and showed Takuma his open palm. "There''s a reason it is easier to summon chakra to hands than somewhere like the forehead, even though the latter is much closer to the heart."
Chakra was produced in the heart and later transported to its target destination through the chakra pathway system to be released through one of the three hundred and sixty-one tenketsu (chakra nodes). The farther the target tenketsu was from the heart, the more challenging it got to control the chakra. That was why controlling chakra in the tenketsu on the soles of the feet was a difficult task.
"It''s because we use our hands so much; we can better imagine chakra in our hands than any other place in our body," Maruobshi continued. "Imagination is a powerful tool and can help you effectively utilize chakra until it becomes second nature and comes instinctually to you. Try imagining how you would regulate your chakra as if it were a flowing substance. One of my acquaintances, in the pull category like me, imagined his tenketsu to be straws through which he had to suck his chakra out. Open your mind and try to find the right fit for you."
Takuma nodded. Maruboshi had given him a lot to think about.
"But for now, continue as you were. Leaf to the forehead, please," said Maruboshi.
Takuma''s facial expression collapsed in on itself, and he slapped the leaf on his forehead all the while glaring at Maruboshi, who had already closed his eyes in meditation.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The hellish times didn''t follow Takuma back home, not other than the shudder in his legs from all the sprinting he did.
Takuma sat at his house''s dining table(the only table) with a transparent plastic box in front of him. Inside the box sat square chips made from pieces of newspaper glued together to roughly mimic the size and weight of a leaf. He had brought leaves home to practice but threw them away when he found that his furniture smelled like leaf sap. Paper chips were born as an alternative.
He picked up the paper rigid from the glue and stuck it to his forehead. Unlike when with Maruboshi, he could do the leaf concentration practice in peace inside the warm comfort of his home. The leaf concentration practice had become a staple in Takuma''s life. It was the only way he could soften Maruboshi''s hell and make it tolerable by getting better in his off-time.
''Imagery,'' Takuma recalled Maruboshi''s advice. He hadn''t thought about using any sort of imagery while using chakra... ''No, that would be wrong,'' thought Takuma. There was an image in his mind while practicing: the image of the leaf sticking to his forehead.
But the imagery Maruboshi talked about had to do more with the concept of chakra control than sticking a leaf to the forehead, which was an application of chakra control.
The dynamic of drawing and regulating chakra was new to him. He didn''t think he had heard anything like that when he read the manga. It was a fascinating concept, and Takuma found himself thinking about the different types of imagery he could use to help him control the chakra as he continued sticking the falling paper chips back on his forehead.
The tap imagery called out to him. He could picture it easily from doing the action multiple times a day since before he could remember. He was even well-versed in the advanced art of opening the hot and cold water taps to get just the right temperature in the shower.
Then there were pictures of squeeze bottles used for ketchup and other condiments or the simple fountain pen that released ink based on the pressure applied on the nip. Even the imagery of pee-ing crossed his mind, but Takuma didn''t want to compare his chakra to pee¡ª even if that image was the most intimate of them all.
Takuma shook his head to dispel the image from his mind.
He decided to give the tap imagery a chance but with a little twist where he imagined a watering pipe instead of a simple tap because all the diagrams of the chakra pathway system he had seen were a network of tubes with tenketsu as the outlet ends. He imagined a regulator on the end of the pipe which controlled the flow.
''I''m the regulator,'' Takuma took a deep breath as he held the paper chip against his forehead. The water was chakra. Sticking the paper chip didn''t require much chakra. The lighter the object, the less chakra it needed to adhere. Takuma imagined turning the regulator knob just a few degrees to let the faintest amount of water/chakra out.
''It''s stuck!'' Takuma felt his chakra gripping the paper. He removed his finger, and the paper chip stayed against his forehead.
He didn''t celebrate his success as the task wasn''t complete. The grip on the paper chip was flimsy at best; the lightest gust of winds could make it fall. The grip needed to be at least strong enough that shaking his head violently wouldn''t budge the paper chip in the least.
Takuma twisted the knob a few degrees more to increase the input by just a bit. But contrary to his expectations, chakra came flowing, and the leaf was pushed away like a feather against a puff of wind.
"Ah, shit!" Takuma cursed. "One more time!" He picked up the fallen paper chip and held it against his forehead until a weak grip was established.
''Slowly this time,'' he thought as he slowly increased and turned the knob in his imagery, slower and more delicately than the last attempt. The water that had been dribbling out turned into a thin laminar flow stream with zero turbulence.
Takuma slowly stood up, and with his hands clenched, he gingerly moved his head side-by-side. The paper chip didn''t fall. He threw a light nodding motion into the mix, and the grip held strong. Takuma grew bolder, and in one fell swoop, he shook his head as though the sickest death metal hooks were playing in his mind.
The paper chip stuck to his forehead as if it had been glued on.
Takuma threw his hand up with a "wooh!" No more running, he thought, feeling the sweet rush of dopamine from his head.
The next moment, the paper chip entered his vision on its way down. Takuma gave it a long stare before picking it up from the floor and sticking it back on his forehead.
He was going to make sure that didn''t happen the next day when he met Maruboshi. Even if it took him pulling an all-nighter.
"I have done it," said Takuma with his hands spread wide and a leaf stuck on his forehead. He smiled proudly and showed his progress to Maruboshi as soon as they met.
Maruboshi smiled with an approving nod. "Shake your head," he said.
Takuma confidently attempted to break his neck with forceful head movements, but the green leaf remained on his forehead. The night of practice had paid¡ª he could keep the leaf stuck pretty consistently as long as he didn''t get distracted and lose concentration.
"The imagery advice came in handy," said Takuma.
"Excellently done, young Takuma," Maruboshi smiled. He pulled the leaf off Takuma''s forehead before immediately giving it back to Takuma. "Now, stick that on your forehead."
Takuma was confused until he looked down at his hand. His smile wiped out as he saw two leaves resting on his palm. He looked up at Maruboshi with disbelief and dread pooling in his eyes.
"Both of those at the same time and on the opposite ends of your forehead," Maruboshi promptly showed exactly where Takuma needed to stick the leaves. "If even one falls, you repeat the penalty."
Takuma felt a tremble travel up his legs.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
- Omake: NG! -
He decided to give the tap imagery but with a little twist where he imagined a watering pipe instead of a simple tap because all the diagrams of the chakra pathway system he had seen were a network of tubes with tenketsu as the outlet ends. He imagined a regulator on the end of the pipe which controlled the flow.
''I''m the regulator,'' Takuma took a deep breath as he held the paper chip against his forehead. The water was chakra. Sticking the paper chip didn''t require much chakra. The lighter the object, the less chakra it needed to adhere. Takuma imagined turning the regulator knob just a few degrees to let the faintest amount of water/chakra out.
¡°Ah shit, now I gotta pee,¡± Takuma said before running to the bathroom in a hurry.
CH_1.17 (017):
Takuma lumbered his way through a stretch of long golden grass, his eyes sweeping through his surroundings, taking account of everything around him. He put his hands under the straps of his backpack and adjusted the weight on his back by pulling on the adjustable straps.
His eyes caught something he recognized, and he picked up the pace to exit the long grass and reached a shrub-like bush with blackberries, but red and purple, growing from it. They were raspberries. He checked for more signs. The leaves were alternate, compound with three-to-five leaflets and serrate margins. He picked one berry, and it left behind a core on the stem. He was sure he had found raspberries. He ate the ripe ones from the bush.
They were sweet.
Takuma glanced at the sky and squinted his eyes from the sun in his eyes. By his estimates, it was already around noon. He hoped he was right; telling time from the sun wasn''t his specialty.
Using the sun to take note of his direction, he looked eastwards where he was headed. He looked back westwards, and he already couldn''t see any of Leaf village or signs of civilization. The thought of turning back and returning home crossed his mind, but he squashed the thought and continued to trek deeper into the wilderness.
After a couple kilometers, Takuma audibly sniffed the air. The scent of moisture was heavy in the air. There was a water body nearby. His eyes shined with excitement as he strained his ears for any sound of water. He knew there was a lake around here somewhere; he had checked it on reliable maps while planning for this excursion.
''There,'' the faint sound was coming from the right. He ran towards the sound and entered a stretch of trees before the view opened up, and Takuma found himself staring at a serene lake that reflected the blue sky doubted with clouds like the world''s smoothest mirror.
The sight stunned him. He had always lived in a city and never got the opportunity to visit the great outdoors. All the trips he ever took were to metropolitan cities. The only time he had gone somewhere away from the fast life of a city had been on a middle school trip to a farm, and even that was full of comfortable amenities.
Even the Leaf village, with its overflowing greenery seemingly built into the design of the city¡ª it was still a fast-moving city. A place that was a hub for the shinobi population for an entire nation could never ever be considered anything else than metropolitan.
This was his first time looking at such raw nature with nothing manmade in sight.
He took a step forward to get closer to the lake when he kicked something. A metal can sat a couple feet from his foot; it seemed he was wrong... there was something man made near him.
Takuma picked up the can and sighed. The soda can had DO NOT LITTER clearly embossed on the top, yet someone had done just that.
He put the can in one of his pouches. His attention was now taken away from the beautiful lake and focused on the ground around him. If there was a can nearby, then there were good chances he could find a campsite used by someone else.
''¡ªIt is usually like that; the best spots are always used by someone else before¡ª''
Takuma walked around until he found what he was hoping for. A perfectly flat piece of level ground framed by big stacks of old and decimated thick tree logs on three sides. He crouched and touched the dirt¡ª it was dry. The perfect place became even more perfect.
Taking a step back, Takuma observed the area when it struck him.
"A cabin... this was a cabin," he muttered to himself. The logs were the remains of a cabin that stood on the ground once.
Takuma felt fortunate, very fortunate. Finding a place to camp so quickly after his arrival at the destination was nothing less than a blessing. And looking at the sky, it would''ve been a problem if he hadn''t found a place to camp quickly.
This was going great, Takuma thought. Out of his checklist, he partially had two items checked off¡ª a place to camp and a water source. To completely check them off, he would need to build his shelter and set up a fire to get the water boiling. And in making the fire, he would''ve checked off the third item on his list.
He put his backpack down. It had been a while since he had used it other than carrying groceries. But since he couldn''t use storage seals, he had to carry the extra baggage in a backpack.
''I wonder when he will teach me fuinjutsu,'' Takuma thought as he took out his sleeping gear from his backpack.
Before he could set up his shelter, he needed to clear off the campsite in preparation. He retrieved a kunai and began slashing off the low-hanging branches of the trees around him¡ª it would''ve been a problem if one of those poked him in the eye.
As Takuma was cutting off branches, he froze. He hurriedly looked up before breathing a sigh of relief. There was nothing above him that could fall on him and kill him when he was either sleeping or not paying attention.
"Always-always check for widowmakers," he repeated to himself with a hand above his heart.
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After the preparation work, the sleeping gear came out. Takuma used the jute rope he had brought to tie up a large tarp(he had found for very cheap) to nearby trees and stumps to make a roof over his head. The tarp was big enough to provide cover to three people, but Takuma knew it was only suitable for one person because if it rained, only the person in the middle would be dry. And under the tarp-roof went a thick wool spread he had brought to use as a mattress.
Next was the most important part of the shelter¡ª the bug net. Takuma didn''t know how nasty the bugs were this season, but he had purchased a bug net anyway as an investment. He hooked the net to the tarp ceiling and used heavy stones to pin the net around the wool mattress spread.
"Alright, next is fire," Takuma shook his hands together to get the dust off.
A dozen steps from his bed, Takuma piled up the rocks he got from the lakeside into a Well shape with a stone base.
"Starter... starter... starter," Takuma squinted his eyes as he tried to remember what he had learned about fire making. Firewood was the fuel to keep the fire burning, but a starter was needed to produce the embers that could later turn into a fire.
Takuma wandered around the woods, looking from tree to tree to find what he could use as a starter. After half an hour of searching, Takuma found his requirement near the base of a birch tree. The birch tree shed its dry outer bark in sheets that fell near the base¡ª and while it was a waste to the tree, it was a treasure for Takuma.
Back at the fire-well, Takuma took out the most advanced piece of technology on his person. A Ferro rod. Making fire out of scratch was unbelievably tough¡ª he had tried it training and had failed to produce even a ghost of a spark¡ª and because of his poor mastery over chakra, he couldn''t use the survival class of jutsu like Katon: Nokoribi no Jutsu (Fire Release: Ember Jutsu) which would produce a decent puff of fire hot enough to set wood on fire.
Fortunately, technology had given birth to a Ferro rod. Takuma had no idea about the science behind it, but what he knew was that it worked. He placed the birch bark in the fire-well and squatted near it with the Ferro rod in one hand and his kunai in the other. He scraped the sharp edge of the kunai against the length of the Ferro rod, and as the rod of it, sparks shot out towards the direction the kunai moved. He repeated the process until the birch bark caught one of the sparks and started to burn.
He threw the rod and kunai to the side, and as he had practiced a few times before, he breathed on the burning bark to keep the embers alive and burning hot. He hurriedly placed the dry branches he had cut off during the camp site preparation into the fire well and breathed into it to fan the flames until the branches caught on fire.
Takuma leaned away with a bright smile. He had secured a fire in the wilderness.
However, the job wasn''t done. The branches were only going to keep the fire burning for so long. He needed to get more fuel... fuel that would burn for a while.
But first, Takuma took out a lidded metal pot from his backpack and emptied out the small packet of salt and a tiny plastic bottle of oil inside. With shelter and fire secure, water became the most essential priority.
Takuma went to the lake and scooped the pot full of lake water. That water, however, wasn''t drinkable just yet. Takuma brought the pot to the fire and put it into the fire-well to get the water to a rolling boil.
"Time to be butch," Takuma took off his shirt and went topless. He picked up the long forest ax hanging from the side of his backpack and went to the nearby woods to find a tree to cut off.
He returned with thin logs cut from two long and narrow trees. Removing his shirt was a wise idea. He didn''t have a change of clothes, and ax-ing down a tree made him work up a sweat. He dumped two of the many logs into the fire and went down into the lake to take a dip in the cool water while the water in the pot rose to a boil.
By the time Takuma returned from the lake, the sun had dropped down and pulled the evening along with it. Refreshed, he sat down beside the fire, waiting for the boiling water in the pot to cool down till he could drink it.
The beauty of the surroundings sucked in Takuma. He could hear the gentle brushing of the leaves; they seemed to have so much more depth than the one he heard back at home. The ground beneath him was cool and felt nice even if he was sitting in loose dirt. As the sun turned down, the water glimmered in a mesmerizing light, and Takuma could make out the fishes swimming just under the surfaces.
Seeing the fish made Takuma think about food. He hadn''t brought any with him. If he wanted to eat, he needed to procure food on his own. And looking at the lake in front of him, fishing seemed to be the best option to get food.
''Can''t do it now,'' Takuma looked above the evening sky. He didn''t have much time left in the light. He decided that foraging was the better option right now.
The water had cooled down, ready to be consumed. Takuma licked his dry lips as he raised the pot. He had run out of water long before he reached the lake; this water would be his first drink in several hours. He gulped it down hungrily while making sure not to waste any by spilling it on himself. Even though boiled lake water tasted different from the one he got at home, after several hours of thirst, it was the most satisfying he could drink at that moment.
The pot emptied before Takuma knew it, so he went to the river to refill it. When he returned, the fire was out. Takuma groaned but had a fire going in the next quarter hour.
He then hurriedly set out to forage for berries around the campsite for dinner. He found raspberries and winter berries in the bushes and wanted to look for some mushrooms, but the insufficient light restricted his movement and forced him to retire to his camp.
For dinner, Takuma dined on berries from the forest and water from the lake. It wasn''t filling at all, but he knew his body now had enough sugar to keep him going.
He gazed up at the dimming sky as the sound of night crickets filled his surroundings. Sitting there with nothing but a tarp as his roof, Takuma felt exposed like he had never been. He didn''t know what time it was¡ª maybe somewhere between six and seven¡ª if he was in the village, he would be finishing his evening training session and returning home to start dinner preparations, but because there was no artificial light, he was preparing to go to sleep just like how it worked before normalizations of candles and then electricity.
And tomorrow, he was going to wake early at the first sign of light to start his day by preparing for fishing in the hopes he would get some chunky protein that would fill his stomach so that he could survive one more day in the wild.
As for today, he was going to sleep.
But not before re-making his poorly lit fire that had gone out yet again.
CH_1.18 (018):
Takuma jumped up to avoid Hiji''s leg sweep and tried to crush one of his legs by landing on it, but Hiji pulled his leg back at the last moment. Both met eyes to gauge each other''s next moves; it only lasted a split-second before Hiji sprung up, and Takuma jumped back.
Hiji immediately charged forward while Takuma stayed his feet on the ground and squared off. Hiji used his momentum to rip a front kick into Takuma''s chest that missed as Takuma sidestepped, resulting in Hiji being off balance. An opportunity Takuma used and stomped on Hiji''s knee.
''¡ª joints are weak; when the chance presents, attack them mercilessly ¡ª''
Or so Maruboshi had said during their training and demonstrated the point by twisting Takuma''s elbow until he thrashed on the ground like a helpless fish out of water.
Takuma didn''t want to inflict that kind of pain on anyone, but even the thought of Hiji''s name brought about a bubbling acid-like cruelty in him. The memories of that horrible day and their recent fight made him forget about his inhibitions. And a part of his mind wished to see Hiji writing on the ground, grabbing his shattered knee.
Before Takuma could land the hit, something crashed into his stomach, knocking the living air out of his lungs. His body folded as he went back off balance. Not only had the kicking leg lost balance, but Takuma couldn''t even bring it back to keep himself from falling. The dust rose up as his back met the ground.
Takuma felt a weight on his chest and opened his eyes to find Hiji''s black ninken growling at him with feral eyes and sharp fangs in full view. The loud bark made Takuma flinch.
"Heel, Kuragari!" Hiji said. The ninken jumped off, leaving a searing pain in Takuma''s abdomen. "Nice, very good," Hiji laughed, making Kuragari yip.
Hiji rammed a kick into Takuma''s side, making him cough out his spit. Then Hiji loomed over Takuma, peering down at him with a feral grin resembling a rabid animal.
"You''re never going to win, loser~," Hiji said with a sing-song voice before, and Takuma saw the bottom sole of Hiji''s boot coming down on¡ª
Takuma opened his eyes with a jolt as his body shot up. His hands clawed the woolen spread below him as his legs dragged the lower end up, pulling it free from the rock used at weighted stoppers.
For a moment, he frantically looked around before his chest relaxed. The trees, bushes, and logs around and the gentle sound of the lake in the background made him realize where he was.
Takuma covered his face as he sat in the makeshift camp bed. Sleep hadn''t come to him easily last night, and he had been rolling in the bed for most of the night. The bed wasn''t comfortable, and it had rained suddenly in the night, making Takuma fear the integrity of his tarp roof.
Whatever sleep did come to him was ruined by the horrible nightmare that wiped any sense of rest he might have otherwise felt.
Heaving a sigh, Takuma got out of the bug net¡ª something he was extremely thankful for bringing. The swarm of bugs, flies, and mosquitos that came to his door last night was absurd; the cacophony of their sounds was nightmare fuel that plagued Takuma with thoughts about what would''ve happened to him if the bug net wasn''t there. It was the rain that had saved him from the horrifying thought.
The rain had brought a dewy chill to the morning. Only the tip of his nose felt warm as Takuma placed his pot near the edge of the tarp and pulled it down to collect the accumulated rainwater into it. The water was cold and soothed his throat as he gazed at the early morning scenery.
He wished he owned a camera to capture the sight before him. But because he didn''t own one, he could only sit down and record it in his memory while his hands warmed up inside his pants
The fire had fizzled out long before the rain came pouring down. There was no point in rebuilding the fire when everything was wet, and it would''ve been dangerous in the darkness. Plus, he was scared that the bugs would rush in if he pulled up the net, rendering the protection moot.
The wet firewood was cleared out, and new birch bark and firewood were used to light a new fire. Upon which he put another pot of water to boil.
"I''m hungry," Takuma muttered as he picked up his ax and went among the woods to get a thin but sturdy log. He was going to use it to make his fishing rod. He chopped down the log to the length of his arm and then proceeded to shave off the outer bark to reveal the white flesh inside until he was sure that he was sure he could properly grip it in his hand.
Even the cheapest fishing rods were too expensive for Takuma to buy, and unlike the bug net, which he could use at home, he didn''t know how often he would use a fishing rod. So buying one was out of the question. But there were other supplies that he could afford.
Takuma took out a pack of fishing line, hooks, and leaders. Along with the makeshift rod, that was all he needed to make a functioning fishing rod. He tied the fishing line around the rod with the leader attached to one end and the hook attached to the leader. Takuma, who hadn''t ever seen a fishing rod before he learned to fish in this world, didn''t know that some fish could chew through the fishing line, which is why fishing leaders existed and were made from a material that couldn''t be chewed through.
Now that the equipment was built, Takuma only needed one more thing. He went to a part of the lakeshore he had walked yesterday and caught a frog to use as a bait.
"Thank you for your contribution," Takuma said before smashing the frog with a log.
With the bait ready, Takuma went to the lake and cast his line into the water. Now, he just had to wait for a couple fishes to sniff up the delicious frog meat, and he would have the food he craved. And seven in the morning was supposedly the best time to fish, so Takuma thought it would be only so long.
So, he waited and cast again... he waited and cast again... but after what felt like an hour, Takuma paused fishing for a moment. He frowned and decided to remove the frog as the bait. He needed something else.
"Oh!" Takuma ran back to his campsite and got the soda can he had picked up yesterday. He cut off the top of the can and cut out a rectangle with semicircles on the ends with jagged edges. He threaded the leaders through two holes in the newly fashioned rounded rectangle and got back to fishing in the hopes that a fish would get attracted to the shiny metal and get stuck from the jagged edges when trying to bite.
Takuma could almost smell the scent of cooked fish.
But soon, he ran into another problem. Without any bait, the lure was too light. Takuma spent considerable time casting the line, but with the low weight, the line had no momentum and fell far short of where Takuma wanted. After dozens of tries, Takuma decided to bring back the frog bait.
He went to catch another frog which took half an hour because he lost the carcass of the first one and the entire frog population seemed to be playing hide-and-seek against him. By the time Takuma had found a frog, the sun had risen considerably, thus bringing up the heat, and he had wasted away the prime time for fishing as fish swam near the surface when the temperatures were cooler.
But Takuma couldn''t give up. He had devoted too much time and effort to fishing, and giving up now would waste all that effort. He cast his line again, and for the next three-quarters of an hour, no fish even sniffed his lure.
Soon after, Takuma''s hunger triggered frustration, and he was about to give up and simply forage for food when there was a tug on his line.
For a moment, he thought he had imagined it. He stared at where the line dipped into the water. Tug. His eyes bulged as this time he not only felt, but he also saw it.
Takuma pulled with the full vigor of a hungry man with a feast within his sight.
Splash!
The catch was out of water. It was a lake bass¡ª a big bass. He stared at the flapping fish for a moment before grabbing the fish firmly and running towards the land, far away from the water. He was not going to let the fish flop its way out of the hook and back into the lake.
"Holy shit," Takuma muttered as he looked at the fish on the ground. When he had started fishing, when it was still morning, he had thought he would catch a couple of fish, somewhat sorting out his meal for the day. As the day continued, his hopes were dashed smaller and smaller until he was going to be happy if he caught something¡ª even the thinnest fish with slivers of meat on bones would''ve made him happy.
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But laying in front of him was a fish of considerable size. It was big enough that he could get a more than filling meal just with the fish by itself back at home. In the wild, though, the size was enough to be portioned into two sustaining meals for the day. They wouldn''t fill him, but he wouldn''t have to sleep hungry.
Once again, Takuma regretted that he couldn''t photograph the biggest fish he had ever caught.
Meal preparations began very shortly, motivated by the hunger bubbling in Takuma''s belly. He drank the lake water he had put on the boil, which had even cooled down as the fire had gone out again. The pot was going to be the cooking vessel. He was going to filet the fish, eat the filet and use the rest of the fish to make fish head soup for dinner.
He cut up the fish with his kunai, which because of its shape, did a terrible job. He had been told to bring a proper multipurpose hunting knife, but he had not heeded the advice for monetary reasons¡ª and because he thought there was nothing a kunai couldn''t do.
He lit another fire and used the last of the birch bark as the starter. He wasn''t worried as he could find more, and other things in the forest could be used as starters¡ª but until then, he had to keep the fire going as without it, he wasn''t getting any food even if he had the fish.
And then he waited. After early morning hours of hard work, Takuma laid back on the ground and watched the scenery. It got boring soon, and he wished he had brought a book or something. But he did see a couple places he could go trekking.
The filets were done. Takuma had fashioned a picking utensil from the wood. He put the filet into his mouth, expecting it to be the most delicious thing he had eaten, but it tasted like what it was¡ª salted fish, quite bland. Takuma beamed nevertheless¡ª even if it wasn''t the tastiest, it was the most satisfying thing he had ever eaten.
Washing off the sweat from fishing by taking a dip in the lake, Takuma went on the trek he had planned. He was going to explore the area while looking for items like birch bark for fire and forage cattail and mushroom to have along with the fish head soup.
Walking around in the forest gave Takuma a plethora of new experiences. There were so many little things he noticed that left impressions. Everything from the distinct sounds of the birds to the different nasty bugs had surprisingly vivid colors. He even found four types of berries in the forest, each with a different taste, which he gladly stuffed into his pouches for a snack. He replenished his supply of birch bark.
As he trekked deeper into the forest, he found a mushroom near a tree. He jumped over a fallen log to reach the mushroom when the ground collapsed under him, and one of his feet sank to mid-thigh. Takuma tried to grab the ground near him in a frightened panic, only to find that the loose ground crumbled in his grip.
"Okayokayokay," Takuma breathed out to calm his thrumming heart that beat like a jackhammer. Deep breathing didn''t help, but Takuma did fight through the flooding thoughts to observe his surroundings.
''There''s a tree behind you.'' Takuma turned his head and stared at the fallen tree he had jumped over. He grabbed onto it and then turned slowly, his sunken leg sinking a little deeper, until he had both arms firmly on the log. He used the heavy log to pull himself out of the sunken ground.
Laying against the log, Takuma breathed heavily as his chest heaved up and down. He stared at the sky that peered through the tree canopies with his last few moments blaring through his mind.
He was alone in the wilderness with no way to contact home. Neither did he have any companions¡ª he was utterly alone. If he got hurt enough to get himself immobilized, that was the end for him. Even if someone came from him, there were chances that it would be too late. Even if he wasn''t completely immobilized, any injury that hindered his mobility could prove fatal to him¡ª the walk back home was long, and who knew what could happen on that journey.
Takuma sat himself up and glanced back at the mushroom.
"You gotta be kidding me," he groaned when he saw the mushroom growing directly from the ground. Because the mushroom was near the tree trunk base, he thought it was crown tipped mushroom that grew on wood. Even though this mushroom did look like crown tipped mushroom, as it grew directly from the ground, he had no idea if it was edible.
He had conceivably risked his life for something that was possibly poisonous.
Takuma sat against the log until he had calmed down before moving on. Having decided that he had had enough trekking, he headed back towards the campsite.
On the way back, Takuma did end up finding two lovely chanterelle mushrooms that smelled of lovely apricots. The unexpected finds raised his spirits, and by the time he reached the camp, his mood was a lot better.
After a gulp of cooled-down boiled lake water stored in the plastic bottle he had carried with him from home that had his initial supply of water, Takuma immediately wanted to start on dinner preparation. For that, he had to restart the fire that had once again gone out in his absence.
He stuffed his hand into his pocket to take out the Ferro rod¡ª but the pocket was empty. He patted down his other pocket, then looked into the first pocket again, but the Ferro rod was nowhere to be found. What followed next was Takuma looking into his weapon pouches for the Ferro rod while feeling an emotion identical to the panic when he suddenly couldn''t find his phone in his pocket in public.
Takuma raided his place to find the Ferro rod... alas, it was nowhere to be found.
"Oh, fuck no," he said in despair as he fisted his hair. He realized what had happened. He had the Ferro rod on him when he went on the hike, and it had probably slipped from his pocket somewhere along the way. Takuma looked toward the path he had traveled and contemplated going back to the spot where he had fallen. But decided against it because the sun would''ve already set by the time he returned.
A fire was essential in the wild¡ª without it, he had neither food nor water to drink. Takuma didn''t know how to start a fire without a Ferro rod. The Ferro rod was the ultimate fire starter tool¡ª if it got wet, a simple was enough to get it working, whereas things like lighter and matchsticks could instantly become useless¡ª plus, it required no fuel.
''Should I try the bow drill?'' Takuma thought. He had no success before, and doing it outside a controlled environment didn''t improve his chances.
"SHIT!"
Takuma got up and built a bow drill with wood and the remaining jute rope. He found the driest and thinnest piece of birch bark to use as the tinder and began drilling against a dry wood piece to create enough heat to light the dry birch. But after half an hour, Takuma''s arms hurt, and he gave up starting a fire.
He was left with a pot with uncooked fish head and scrap meat. Logic dictated that he should throw the fish away, but there was still hope in his mind that he would find the Ferro rod somewhere around the campsite. To give light to his hopes, Takuma searched the campsite for the Ferro rod but ended up empty-handed.
In the end, Takuma threw away the fish and washed the pot. Now, he had no water and couldn''t cook the mushrooms. The only thing he could eat was a handful of berries.
Deciding that he had had enough, Takuma retired early. He got into the makeshift bed, ate the berries, and laid down until sleep took him. The second night was no better than the first night¡ª and sleep was irregular and uncomfortable.
The following day, Takuma woke up early. He packed up all of his gear and reset the campsite. It hadn''t rained last night, so there was no safe rainwater to drink. Hungry and thirsty, Takuma set out westwards¡ª back home.
The journey back was arduous and left Takuma irritated with the occasional berries as the only joyful thing.
After half six hours of walking, the Leaf village arrived in his view. The village had other gates than the big one in the front, each guarded by guards. Takuma showed them his identity documents and answered a few questions before they let him inside.
He tiredly walked through the streets, working towards his home. He wanted to drink water, stuff his face with whatever he could find in his fridge, and take a bath¡ª all before heading to an eatery that gave the most quantity for an affordable price.
"You are back, young Takuma."
Takuma turned his head as he continued to walk; he only stopped when he saw Maruboshi with a grocery bag in his hand.
"Oh... yeah, I just got back," Takuma pointed towards his dirty clothes.
The teacher-student pair moved to an empty bench to the side.
"How was it?" Maruboshi asked.
"I lost my Ferro rod," Takuma said with slumped shoulders and didn''t look at Maruboshi.
Maruboshi heartily laughed behind his hand.
"Oh, come on," Takuma whined.
The multi day survival trip in the wilderness was Maruboshi''s idea to let Takuma experience what it felt like to camp outside on missions. But Maruboshi went a step forward and only allowed him only basic gear without food or water to really get him ready for the unexpected.
"I did tell you to take care of it," Maruboshi said. "It is a small thing, easy to misplace. I only told you because I myself have lost mine¡ª two times."
Takuma groaned again.
"What about everything else?"
Takuma sighed, "Lucky, very lucky, actually. I found the perfect place to camp¡ª flat, dry, and near a lake. The lake solved the water problem. Fire wasn''t a problem until I lost my Ferro rod. I ate berries on the first day¡ª on the second day, I fished, and it took hours to catch one, but the one I caught was big," Takuma smiled proudly. "I could only eat the filets and was planning to cook fish head soup, but I lost the Ferro rod."
"It seems you''re happy with your first excursion."
Takuma nodded. If he eliminated losing the Ferro rod, the experience would be near perfect.
"Seeing that you have returned from a tiring journey, how about I treat you to dinner this evening," said Maruboshi, dangling the grocery bag.
"No, thank you, but it''s alright, you don''t have to," Takuma looked at the sky above... it wasn''t as beautiful as he had seen in the wilderness.
"I''m tired today," he sighed.
CH_1.19 (019):
"You have certainly gotten better."
Takuma blocked a punch from Maruboshi by forcing it off mark using his forearm. The next moment, he grabbed hold of Maruboshi''s arm and pulled the older man forward and down while thrusting the elbow of his other arm toward Maruboshi''s face.
Maruboshi''s other hand grabbed the offending elbow and thwarted the blow. Takuma suddenly felt Maruboshi was as heavy as a boulder, and he couldn''t pull him down anymore. Maruboshi straightened up and pushed Takuma''s elbow to the side while sweeping his legs¡ª Takuma spun until he was parallel to the ground before kissing the dirt.
"Get up," Maruboshi peered at Takuma, who groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and stood in front of Takuma. Maruboshi walked around Takuma and nodded appreciatively, "Only two fell¡ª you have certainly gotten better indeed."
Takuma didn''t have a shirt on and was wearing shorts on the bottom¡ª and stuck on his exposed body were two dozen or so leaves; they were on his face, chest, abdomen, back, arms, legs¡ª everywhere.
Takuma had come a long way since his attempts in the leaf concentration practice to weakly stick one leaf to his forehead. Now, he could stick multiple leaves on various parts of his body and adhere them strong enough that they didn''t come off even while sparring. The faint smell of leaves that had become part of his morning that sometimes wouldn''t go even after taking a bath was worth it for the progress he had made.
"I think we are ready to move onto the next step," Maruboshi said and took out a 1-ryo coin from his pocket.
Takuma''s eyes bulged out, and he immediately raised his hands. "Wait, wait¡ª stop! I want to talk about something with you," he said, and all the leaves fell down from his body.
"Oh, what is it?"
Takuma stared for a moment at the coin, horrified by the implications, before clearing his throat. "The first attempt of my graduation test is coming up soon" ¡ª the academy took three attempts at the graduation test and used those three attempts to judge the student''s performance. ¡ª "they''re obviously going to ask us to perform ninjutsu in the test. Can we start learning jutsu... I don''t want to embarrass myself in front of the invigilators," he looked up at Maruboshi with a mix of nervousness and discontent.
Maruboshi had stayed true to the words he had once said about priorities, and jutsu had been sidelined to make time for more essential skills required for survival and competence in the field. While Takuma had acquiesced with the decision back then, with the first attempt looming over his head, he couldn''t ignore the lack of jutsu in his repertoire.
"Takuma, we discussed this before; jutsu is not important for you right now and¡ª"
"Yes, I remember that conversation, and while I understand and agree with your reasoning¡ª it''s also a fact that if I can''t perform the jutsu taught in the academy, I will be failed," said Takuma, accentuating his words.
"It is only the first attempt; we can prepare jutsu for the next attempt," said Maruboshi.
Takuma crossed his arms. He asked, "Do you know the grading criteria? Can you say for sure that it''s the best out of three and not some form of aggregation?" Kibe had stated that passing any one of the three tests guaranteed graduation¡ª but not once had he said that it was the only criterion. Takuma knew his test results weren''t going to reflect an image of an exemplary student, but he still wanted to set himself to score the best he could.
"I... I do not think¡ª" Maruboshi pursed his lips. "No... I am not aware of the grading criteria."
"Survival and competence are important; I''m not arguing against that point. But I also consider my future to be of high importance. If these test scores decide where my life is heading in the short term, then I, one hundred percent, absolutely want to perform the best I can," said Takuma. He shrugged, "I will learn these jutsu even if I have to learn them by myself¡ª but I''d very much prefer to learn from you. The thing is, I''ll give learning jutsu a portion of my day; that will cut in on the training regime you have me follow on my own. By agreeing to teach me, you can control the time I devote to learning jutsu for the test."
Takuma stopped. He had laid down his card. It was up to Maruboshi to decide how he would spend his days moving forward.
Maruboshi eventually heaved an old sigh. "I believe you are right. The words you say carry logical sense," he said, but there was a pity in his eyes that Takuma couldn''t place. "As you wish, we will include jutsu into your regime, but only the three academy jutsu."
Takuma mentally pumped his arm.
"What do you know about academy three?" asked Maruboshi.
"Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu), Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu), and Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Substitution Jutsu)," Takuma counted off the three standard jutsu that were taught in the Leaf village''s shinobi academy and were synonymously known as the academy three. "Transform the body into someone or something; Create illusory clones; Replace yourself with something or someone to avoid attacks."
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"That is correct," Maruboshi said. "But before we begin learning these jutsus, there is something else we must make ourselves familiar with." Maruboshi joined his hands with his index and middle fingers standing up and pressing against each other. "On the base of every jutsu are the hand seals associated with them."
"Tiger seal," Takuma recognized the hand seal.
"Very good," smiled Maruboshi. "Hand seals allow us shinobi to cast all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and in rare cases, even some taijutsu. You will find that hand seals are deeply rooted in the life of a shinobi as the miraculous mechanism allows us to harness and wield chakra in ways unimaginable without them. They are designed to aid a shinobi in properly invoking and molding chakra necessary to perform a jutsu."
''What about Rasengan?'' thought Takuma, but didn''t raise it out loud¡ª he wasn''t supposed to know about one of Fourth Hokage''s signature jutsu; he hadn''t found any records mentioning the Rasengan, much less Fourth Hokage using it.
"There are twelve hand seals that are universally considered to be basic hand seals that every shinobi must know. A combination of these twelve hands seals allows a skilled shinobi to cast every jutsu there exists under the sun... with only the rare exception here and there," said Maruboshi.
Takuma immediately asked, "By basic hands seals, do you mean there are more of them? Also, what are these exceptions?"
"Curious one, aren''t you," Maruboshi chuckled. "The answer to both of those questions is partially connected. Do you know of kekkei genkai (bloodline limits), young Takuma?"
Takuma nodded. "A kekkei genkai is an anomaly of the DNA that allows the wielder to use unique jutsu. They''re passed down between generations of a clan and thus are hereditary in nature." He looked down at his feet, "Our village is the host to the Uchiha and Hyuga, the possessors of the dojutsu kekkei genkai¡ª Sharingan and Byakugan, respectively. I have an Uchiha in my class."
Takuma knew of the exceptions that existed to the hereditary rule in this very village in the form of the Copy Ninja of a Thousand Jutsu, Hatake Kakashi¡ª but Takuma was yet again not supposed to know that.
"Correct yet again," said Maruboshi. "The twelve hands seals are not the limit. The shinobi who belong to shinobi clans possess special jutsu that require hand seals outside that of the basic twelve to activate; these special hand seals are mostly seen used by shinobi with a kekkei genkai. The clans have developed those hand seals to release their jutsu, and these types of special hand seals won''t do anything for you as you don''t possess the special bloodline."
"Does that mean I can possibly invent a new hand seal?" asked Takuma.
Maruboshi laughed and ruffled Takuma''s hair. "If you work hard in learning and discovering the mysteries of chakra, then yes¡ª there is no reason why you couldn''t discover a new hand seal."
Takuma licked his lips before posing a question he was most interested in. "What... What about not using hand seals? Can a shinobi cast jutsu without hand seals," he asked tentatively. Takuma had seen how, as the manga had progressed, hand seals had faded into near non-existence¡ª he wanted to know if that was simply the author''s folly or had that translated to this very real world somehow.
"... It is possible," Maruboshi nodded softly, "but it is extremely difficult. Casting jutsu without hand seals is a feat of skill so extraordinary that seeing someone capable of it is to be in the presence of greatness. I myself do not possess such a skill. Understand, young Takuma, in the heat of battle, when one''s life can end the next moment, hand seals are the heavenly aid that takes the burden of invoking and molding chakra in a precise and specific manner required to release a jutsu off a shinobi¡ª they don''t do the job for you, but the help they provide is... it can''t be discounted. Eliminating hand seals requires a profound understanding of chakra and an ungodly skill for the jutsu. Shinobi capable of doing so only appear once in a generation."
So it was possible. That came as a surprise for Takuma. From Maruboshi''s words, though, it sounded like not using hand seals was a feat of legends.
"However, I will describe eliminating hand seals as a journey," said Maruboshi.
"... What?"
"One does not go from using hand seals to no hand seals in one swoop, young Takuma. That is not how it works. Hands seals stimulate chakra in your body, but as we know from the leaf concentration practice, we can manipulate chakra without a hand seal," Maruboshi showed his palm, and the 1-ryo coin was stuck to it. "If you someday obtain a greater understanding of chakra and develop some skill in chakra, you will find that you can mimic the effects of hand seals on your own¡ª and that will allow you to -reduce- the number of hand seals."
"Reduce?" Takuma tilted his head in confusion.
"Jutsu are cast by executing a combination of hand seals in a particular order. Every hand seal in that combination means something; it has some function¡ª a function that, with skill, can be replicated," said Maruboshi. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu) requires a shinobi to weave a total of forty-four hand seals in quick unbroken succession to activate," Maruboshi sighed with a smile as a faraway look of nostalgia overtook his eyes and face. "But, did you know the Second Hokage only required a single seal to activate the same jutsu. He had become so proficient in the jutsu that he could mimic the exact function provided by a complex combination of forty-three hand seals."
He looked at Takuma, "In no way can everyone achieve that level. But if you work hard, you can eliminate a number of hand seals from long combinations. Even a sliver of saved time can turn the tide of a hard-fought battle. But all of this is in the far future for you; right now, you should focus on the basics like chakra control."
Takuma opened his mouth, but Maruboshi cut him off.
"Yes, we are still learning the academy three."
Takuma heaved a sigh of relief and nodded happily.
"But, I won''t have you disregard chakra control training. The leaf concentration practice was only the starting point," Maruboshi raised the 1-ryo coin. "We will start over again with one coin and then move from there."
A cold shudder shook Takuma''s leg as he felt a sick feeling climb up from his stomach. "I... I-I," he stuttered. For the first time, Takuma didn''t feel excited at seeing new money.
The feeling was... pure dread.
CH_1.20 (020):
"What do you feel? Describe it to me," Maruboshi asked as he walked around Takuma, who had a Dog hand seal formed with his hands.
Takuma had his face scrunched up in concentration as he felt the chakra flow through the chakra pathway system inside his body. "It''s strange. This feels quite different from the leaf concentration practice. It... I-It feels out of my control."
"Would you really term it that way?"
Takuma lowered his hands and grumbled, "But the chakra moves on its own." His hands turned into claws as he pointed at himself, "It just feels off... I don''t know. I guess I won''t say it''s out of control, but it still feels quite different from when I control chakra on my own."
As it turned, hand seals didn''t automatically invoke jutsus by automating all chakra steps required to release the jutsu. He still had to give the command to meld the two energies to produce chakra on his own. It was after that the hand signs would direct the chakra through the complex chakra pathway network through a combination of eight gates in a particular manner, all the while the characteristic of chakra changed to suit the jutsu. During that entire process, Takuma had to concentrate on the chakra movement. Any break in internal focus would scrap the process, and the chakra would break down before disappearing... and ending up wasted.
"Can we learn jutsu now? I can do all twelve hand seals successfully now," Takuma asked, pleading¡ª even though he still found forming some hand seals uncomfortable to create with his hands. The hand positioning was really strange with a few of them.
In the process of learning to release jutsu, Maruboshi had Takuma learn every one of the basic twelve hand seals. He had to familiarize himself with the chakra movement that happened with every hand seal until he could pull them off without failure every single time. He was nowhere ready to achieve a hundred percent success rate in a stressful environment like a tense combat situation, but in a calm and controlled environment, he could execute without fail. Something he had worked hard day-in and day-out to achieve¡ª he was proud of the progress.
Maruboshi scratched his chin as he said, "Hmm, I think it would be better to practice every combination of two hand seals before we move on to jutsu..."
Takuma couldn''t help when a look of reluctance appeared on his face. While he had practiced hand seals quite a bit, the time doing so had been boring. Executing singular hand seals did nothing; he wanted to do something¡ª anything. Even the horrendous leaf concentration practice with the coins (aka coin concentration practice) resulted in the coin sticking to his body. Making hand seals did absolutely nothing.
"... But I suppose we can learn one of the academy three, but after that, you will practice every combination of two hand seals before moving to the next jutsu. If you agree, I will teach you one jutsu of your choice," Maruboshi finished.
"I agree!" Takuma jumped on the offer.
"As you wish. But, young Takuma, you must understand that properly executing hand seals is essential. Every time you fail at a hand seal, you waste the chakra in use. That can be treacherous in combat. You must''ve felt exhaustion after repeated failure in hand seals," said Marubsohi sternly.
"Yes, yes, I understand. I will practice all you want later," Takuma said hurriedly. He grinned, "Teach me a jutsu now."
Maruboshi sighed. "Which one do you want to learn?" he asked.
"Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)!" said Takuma.
Maruboshi looked surprised. "Clone? I was sure you would choose Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)."
Takuma shrugged. He knew even though the academy three were near useless in real-life situations, and every shinobi was trained to figure out the illusory clones made from Clone Jutsu¡ª and the Transformation Jutsu could still be used among civilians who couldn''t recognize the signs of a chakra transformation. Despite knowing that, the prospect of making a copy of himself excited Takuma.
"The Clone Jutsu allows the shinobi to create an illusory clone that has no substance and thus is incapable of interacting with our physical world. That''s why it is easy to spot clones," Maruboshi said. "In fact, even though it is classified as a ninjutsu, the jutsu is a hybrid between genjutsu and ninjutsu."
He raised his hand and weaved the hand seals. Ram ¡ª Snake ¡ª Tiger. Poof! Three clones identical to Maruboshi from every angle appeared next to him with a puff of smoke that dissipated almost instantly.
Takuma wasn''t surprised as he had seen his classmates whip up clones almost on a daily basis, but he still admired the four Maruboshi in front of him. To him, they didn''t look any different from Maruboshi¡ª the only reason he could tell the real one was that the real Maruboshi hadn''t moved from his spot.
"Pay attention closely," said Maruboshi, and the three clones started to walk around. "What do you see?"
Takuma narrowed at the clones'' feet. "They don''t crush the grass beneath their feet.... Nor do they make any sound as they move," he said. But at the same time, Takuma thought that with simple skills, that problem was easy to fix.
"That''s how you spot a clone," said Maruboshi, and with another puff of translucent smoke, the clones disappeared. "Now, weave the seals like I showed you. As you have yet to practice weaving seals one after another¡ª for which I wanted you to practice the combination of two hand seals¡ª you must know that between seals, the chakra will be slightly more challenging to control, but you must not let it run astray and guide it onwards. Now, try it."
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Takuma formed the hand seals in succession. His movements were crude and clumsy because of the lack of practice, but the slow, careful movements did provide Takuma to direct his chakra slowly.
The hand seals directed the chakra through the chakra pathway system and the eight gates, but Takuma had to move the chakra himself. In a simple analogy, he had to provide pressure to push the water-like chakra through the pipes, which were the chakra pathway system¡ª or that the hand seals were handling the steering wheel while he was in charge of pushing the gas pedal. He couldn''t even describe how the hand seals changed the characteristics of chakra to suit the jutsu.
Takuma felt the chakra move in his body, and as he switched from the Ram to the Snake seal, the chakra suddenly rattled and lost all momentum, and in a few moments, it dissipated.
"Wha¡ª"
"Try again," said Maruboshi.
Takuma grumbled and formed the seals again. Once again, the chakra acted erratically between the seals, and just like before, the chakra slipped out of his control.
"Ugh!"
"It''s not easy; it will take time to get used to," Maruboshi said. "Try again."
Takuma didn''t try again immediately. He closed his eyes and recalled the feeling of disruption. It wasn''t as difficult as he thought it would be, Takuma thought. He contemplated the feeling for a few more movements before trying again.
Ram ¡ª Snake ¡ª Tiger!
Poof!
Maruboshi''s eyes widened as a thick plume of opaque smoke appeared beside Takuma that, for a moment, hid him. Takuma wasn''t alone when the smoke dissipated, and beside him stood a clone.
Takuma looked to his side in excitement, but the moment his sight fell on his clone, he felt someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on him. The clone was indeed... his¡ª but in no way was it identical. The clone''s features were off and looked more like a poorly made caricature, the height was a little taller, the colors were faded, and the figure seemed translucent.
"That''s just... terrible," Takuma said heavily.
"No, not at all," Maruboshi said, his eyes still a little wide. "For a first attempt, this is quite good. Don''t be disheartened and try again, young Takuma. Practice makes perfect, after all."
Takuma nodded and observed the sorry looking clone for a few moments before canceling it. He produced the chakra, weaved the seals, and directed the chakras to the best of his ability. Poof! A puff of smoke later, another clone stood beside him.
"Huh, this is nice, right?" Takuma said to Maruboshi while staring at his clone.
Maruboshi said nothing and had his eyes glued to the clone. The clone wasn''t perfect¡ª the coloring was still off, even though the height was now correct, the clone-Takuma was now a bit bulkier, and there were little things that made the clone not look correct.
"I can''t tell what it is, but his face doesn''t look right," Takuma said with thinned eyes. The clone looked like his twin, just not completely identical.
"Even though we can''t pinpoint it, our mind and eyes can tell the discrepancies," muttered Maruboshi, still looking at the clone.
"Ah, so, like CGI."
"What is a seegeeai?"
"A-Ah, nothing. Let me try again," Takuma noticed his mistake. He hurriedly canceled his clone and tried again. After another puff of smoke, the third clone appeared into the world.
Maruboshi sucked in a sharp breath.
As the saying went¡ª third time''s a charm. The clone looked more like Takuma than Takuma himself. As Takuma faced his clone, it looked like there was a mirror in them as the clone mirrored the original''s movement.
"He has no autonomy, but I can control him." Takuma raised his hand over his head, and the clone did the same. "That''s quite neat, actually, don''t you think?"
"E-Eh, ah yes," Maruboshi cleared his throat. "Clone Jutsu needs to be controlled. You can make the clone do a variety of things."
Takuma lowered his hand, but the clone didn''t follow. Instead, clone-Takuma walked backward a few paces and raised both his hands before doing a perfect cartwheel. Takuma then made his clone do random things, everything from changing facial expressions to dance moves; the clone did everything like a puppet under Takuma''s complete control.
"Hey, will this be enough to pass the Clone Jutsu portion of the test?" asked Takuma.
"...Yes, I believe this will¡ª"
"Wait, what if they ask me to make multiple clones!" Takuma suddenly interjected. "I should try to do that as well."
Takuma formed the seals again, and this time, he confidently pushed his chakra through the hand seals'' directives. Two puffs of smoke clouded near Takuma, and two brand-new clones stood on either side of Takuma. One clone dropped to the ground and began to do push ups, while the other clone started to put on a very poor mime performance.
Takuma pumped his clenched fist. "Okay, I think I''ll be able to pass at least one portion of the examination," he said with a smile of relief. He felt great, the best he had felt in a very long time.
Even though he was making constant progress with his taijutsu, that progress didn''t feel like much when he got bashed every day. His skill with weapons had also gone through day-and-night changes, and he could hit stationary targets now, but when he saw what his classmates could do with moving targets¡ª some of them would even hit the bullseye on moving targets while in motion themselves¡ª he didn''t feel that great about himself.
But now, with the Clone Jutsu that looked as good as his classmates'' execution, he truly felt that he was catching up to his classmates.
"Sensei, I know you said we learn the second jutsu after the combination practice, but can I learn another one, please?" Takuma asked Maruboshi with hope. He wanted to feel like he was now even more.
When Maruboshi didn''t reply, Takuma looked at his teacher and found him looking at the clones.
"Sensei?"
"What?" Maruboshi suddenly looked at Takuma. His face was blank for a moment before he nodded, "Yes, yes, I suppose learning one more won''t hurt. Which one would you like to learn next?"
"Henge no Jutsu," said Takuma with a smile.
It was time to give competition to a certain blue-skinned mutant.
CH_1.21 (021):
"Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu) is more complicated than the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)," said Maruboshi to his eager student. "What you learned right now was to create an illusory clone with no substance, but Henge no Jutsu allows a shinobi to manipulate their body itself, which has substance."
Maruboshi stopped when Takuma raised his hand.
Takuma said, "I haven''t transformed yet, so I don''t know¡ª but according to the jutsu scroll I have, the jutsu lets us transform into another person, animals, plants, and even inanimate objects; which is fine and extremely useful, but the scroll also said that user will gain the attributes and physical features of whatever they transform into, such as a weapon''s sharpness or an animal''s fangs¡ª I find that hard to believe"
"And why is that?" a smile bloomed on Maruboshi''s face¡ª his student was curious as ever.
"It is supposed to be one of the academy three, the easiest of jutsu to learn, which aren''t even used in real-life situations often. But if I could transform into a strong metal, something like titanium, then wouldn''t I be impervious to most attacks? If someone is pursuing me and I have no way to lose them or fend them off, can''t I just transform into a roadside pebble. A kunai coming to the chest? Pebble. Chained to a wall? Pebble. Infiltration mission? Pebble¡ª that is, dozens of shinobi transformed into pebbles in a civilian''s backpack," Takuma said with an incredulous look on his face. "Isn''t this too overpowered? I mean, just from the top of my head, I can think of a dozen uses; give me a day, and I will have a list of at least a hundred different scenarios."
Maruboshi laughed merrily. Ever since the day he had started formally teaching Takuma, not one day had gone by since he hadn''t said something amusing.
''Children have a vigor that I have long lost,'' Maruboshi sighed in thought.
"This scroll you say you have," he said, "did you read the entirety of it? I believe the jutsu scroll for Henge no Jutsu would be fairly long in its length."
A blush immediately appeared on Takuma''s face, almost extending down to his neck.
Of course, Maruboshi smiled. As curious as he knew Takuma to be, he was almost as hasty, if not more so¡ª always charging forwards as if he was in a hurry, never taking a moment to stop and enjoy his surroundings. Isn''t every child the same? Maruboshi thought.
"If you read ahead, you would have found detailed research on the jutsu. There are many restrictions associated with Henge no Jutsu. Yes, while you can transform into inanimate objects, the point about assuming the object''s attribute is partially false. If you transform into forged steel and have someone stab you with a kunai, it will still harm you; the wounds will show when the jutsu is released or broken. If you transform your hand into an animal''s claw, your grip strength will remain the same, and your claws will be as sharp as a butter knife. Henge no Jutsu can indeed change the body''s shape and size, and from the outside, everything would look the same, but even a civilian would immediately know something''s wrong from a single touch. The more you deviate from your natural shape, the harder it is to transform, and the poorer the quality of transformation will be."
"What about the pebble?" Takuma asked with a frown.
Maruboshi shook his head. "One of the restrictions has to do with mass. You can''t deviate much from your body''s original mass. That limit is defined by your skill, and while you can breach that limit" ¡ª Takuma''s eyes shined ¡ª "it requires a tremendous amount of chakra. Even the Hokage would find it difficult to muster enough chakra to transform into a pebble for a couple seconds¡ª and after that, they would suffer from chakra exhaustion. Not at all ideal."
Takuma looked like a dog with drooping ears.
"Shinobi only use it to transform into other people because it doesn''t deviate much from the human body''s shape¡ª and the mass requirement is eased considerably when transforming to another person because of similar structure and composition. Moreover, transforming into inanimate objects requires a great deal of familiarity with the target object," Maruboshi sighed. "All in all, even if we discount the chakra requirements, the amount of effort required to make it usable is not worth it for most shinobi."
Takuma folded his hands and frowned as he was not convinced. Maruboshi wasn''t concerned about that; Takuma was bound to learn with time, and letting him figure it out on his own was in no way a detriment to his growth. After all, making mistakes and learning from them was the best way to learn.
"I implore you to read the jutsu scrolls on your own time. It is normal if you don''t understand everything, but knowing more will help you perform an easier and better quality execution." Maruboshi clapped his hand once. "Enough talking; let us move on to executing the jutsu. You need a target to transform into."
Takuma perked up and stood up straight at attention. "I know the hand seals. I can transform into you!" he said.
Maruboshi shook his head. "It''s good that you know the hand seals, but I am not a good target for a beginner. I weigh roughly twice as much as you, and our height is substantially different. It is doable as we both are humans, but the amount of chakra for each attempt is not suitable for training. We need a target similar in size to you so that you won''t tire out fast even if you fail."
''...even if you fail'', Maruboshi thought. Takuma had learned Bunshin no Jutsu too quickly. It had taken three tries. Three! It was too quick, even if Takuma was some kind of prodigy; learning a jutsu after three tries was more than extraordinary.
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He could have understood if Takuma was experienced in invoking ninjutsu and was working on a jutsu similar in nature to one he already knew. (Learning a new Katon (Fire Release) jutsu after being well versed in Katon: G¨kaky¨± no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)) But Bunshin no Jutsu was Takuma''s first-ever jutsu, and he had pulled it off to perfection after three tries¡ª he created multiple clones to boot.
Is he a prodigy? Maruboshi had been teaching Takuma for nearly half a year now, and after observing the young child''s progress during that time, Maruboshi couldn''t classify Takuma as a prodigy. Takuma was a fast learner¡ª no two ways about that. He had seen Takuma pick up things blazingly fast.
Takuma spoke with a wit unlike that of an eleven-year-old; Maruboshi frequently found himself feeling he was talking to someone older. He was amazingly quick with numbers and calculations, as though he had an abacus in his head. And displayed a shockingly deep understanding of history, shinobi or otherwise; in their occasional conversations, Takuma had expressed opinions and views that looked at history and current affairs from various points of view like social, economic, political, diplomatic relations between clans or villages.
''¡ª a shinobi must see underneath the underneath¡ª''
If some other child had said it, Maruboshi would have brushed it off with a chuckle, but when it came from Takuma, he felt like the young boy of eleven meant it. Takuma was a sheer beginner at tactics and strategies, and he took some time to learn the lessons, but what he knew, he used well enough to get the applause of appreciation.
"...I will give you another target to transform into." Maruboshi weaved the hand seals and felt a flush of chakra spread into every inch of his body. The familiar feeling of being submerged in water enveloped him, causing him to hold his breath without meaning to, despite knowing there was no actual water around him.
"It has been a while since I have been at this height," Maruboshi looked at Takuma, who was now at his eye level. ''Or am I at his eye level?''
"Is this you?" Takuma asked, his eyes wide as he took in Maruboshi''s appearance. The usually old man looked shockingly young, so young that he had shrunken down at height, all of his wrinkles and blemishes had disappeared as if they didn''t exist, and the gray locks tied in a ponytail had turned into a youthful black.
Maruboshi couldn''t see his own appearance, but he nodded. "This is how I imagine how I looked when I was your age."
"Imagined?"
"Visualization is key in Henge no Jutsu, young¡ª no... friend Takuma," Maruboshi grinned, and even Takuma laughed. "I only know my appearance from photo albums and my memories, and thus I could only mimic what I remember from them. Who knows, I might have made some mistakes."
Takuma went silent and looked contemplative.
Maruboshi''s eyes shined.
Takuma wasn''t a shinobi prodigy such as the likes of Hatake Kakashi; neither did he display the mesmerizing intellectual prowess as that of Nara Shikaku. His taijutsu skills were as far away as they could be like those of the rising star, the Green Beast, Might Gai. He didn''t even possess a kekkei genkai (bloodline limit) he could fall back upon. But he did possess one crucial skill. Everyone observed things around them¡ª they saw, they listened, and they felt¡ª but only a few ever used all of those observations to ask the right questions.
"If I don''t visualize properly, I might get caught?" Takuma frowned. "No, that would make the jutsu useless in the field; you can''t expect the target to stand in front of you until you have perfectly memorized their appearance. That''s ridiculous. Then does that mean, most of the time, a perfect imitation isn''t possible?"
He went silent for a moment before his eyes shined. "You don''t have to perfectly copy someone!" he said.
There it was. The edge of Maruboshi''s lips tugged up.
"You can copy someone just close enough that it doesn''t raise suspicion at first glance. I don''t think I will notice things like a slight difference in height, weight, and build," Takuma said, slowly as if thinking about every word he spoke. "Yeah, yeah, I think I''ve read this somewhere. Rest you can make up with clothes, posture, way of talking, and other idiosyncrasies unique to the person by observing the person from afar?" He frowned at Maruboshi, "But you still have your original voice. How do you fix something like that?"
There was a full smile on Maruboshi. There were times Takuma''s deductions would go to outrageous places, but that was okay; as long as he kept asking the right questions, those deductions would become increasingly accurate as he learned more and gained experience.
Maruboshi opened his mouth, and a boyish young voice came out of his mouth. "By hard practice and some chakra manipulation."
"Teach me that," Takuma said with an amazed look. His expression calmed down, and another frown made up on his face, "But picking out idiosyncrasies of people must take time; wouldn''t that be difficult on missions?"
''So hasty,'' thought Maruboshi. "Shinobi who go on missions that require disguising always do recon until they''re confident to pull it off. Henge no Jutsu is only one tool in the box; many other skills go in to pull off a believable disguise. But for now, let''s focus on this one tool. Try replicating this appearance."
Takuma nodded. He didn''t immediately weave the hand seals; instead, he walked around Maruboshi, who stood still and let Takuma observe him.
"Okay, I''m ready. Let me try it," Takuma nodded as he formed the Dog hand seal.
The first attempt failed, then the second, then a third... Maruboshi encouraged Takuma to continue and gave tips. After half an hour, Takuma had failed dozens of times.
That day, Takuma tried to cast the Henge no Jutsu until the last minute before he had to absolutely leave to get ready for the academy. But he couldn''t even transition to the second-hand seal.
Maruboshi watched the downtrodden Takuma''s back as he walked away.
''Maybe it was a fluke,'' he thought.
CH_1.22 (022):
Another day rolled in, and like every morning, Takuma found himself in the middle of the field, sitting on the ground, doing the post-training stretches so he could leave the training session and return to get his day started.
"You seem down, young Takuma," Maruboshi, performing the same stretches by the side, asked.
Takuma pursed his lips into a line. "I... I think it''d be better to practice the hand seal combination of two seals before trying to learn Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)."
Maruboshi looked surprised.
Takuma stretched his torso forward to grab the sole of his outstretched feet with his hands. He repeatedly knocked his forehead on his shin with an inaudible groaning.
It had been a few days since Takuma had begun learning the Henge no Jutsu. Every morning, Maruboshi would set out a quarter of an hour in their time to guide him on the jutsu. Throughout the day, Takuma would try to cast the jutsu in his free time and during the scheduled period during his evening training. But no matter how many times he tried, the chakra rattled out of his control, failing the jutsu invocation.
He couldn''t understand. After learning the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) in three tries, why was Henge no Jutsu taking so much time¡ª he couldn''t even get past the first hand seal! It looked like he had lucked out by making clones.
A horrifying thought appeared in Takuma''s mind. What if Bunshin no Jutsu was to him what Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu) was to Naruto? The blonde protagonist had learned the highly advanced jutsu quickly, clearly showing an affinity with the jutsu. What if Takuma''s special affinity was associated with Bunshin no Jutsu, a useless jutsu that couldn''t even be used in the field.
Takuma felt sick in the stomach.
"You must not feel down about the jutsu," Maruboshi said with a kind smile. "It took your classmates much longer than you to perform the Henge no Jutsu than you have been trying. You will be able to perform it one day."
"My classmates were eight-years-old; I''m almost eleven; I should learn the jutsu faster than them." It had taken him seven months, but he had covered nearly four years of academy theoretical material¡ª why should learning jutsu be any different?
Takuma got up and half-heartedly dusted himself. "I will go. Thanks for today," he said to Maruboshi before heading out to the training field.
On the way home, Takuma began thinking about the graduation test; the first attempt was in less than two weeks. Thinking about taking the exam made Takuma''s body feel heavy. According to the chatter he had heard from his classmates'' conversation, the test was divided into two parts¡ª a theoretical and a practical portion. Both portions were divided into sub-parts. The theoretical portion consisted of a standard pen-and-paper test and a face-to-face oral viva-voce with an invigilator. The practical portion was made up of a taijutsu spar, a weapon handling part, a demonstration of the academy three, and a miscellaneous part in which the invigilator could ask anything that hadn''t been asked.
There wasn''t a single part of the test he felt he could perform well. He still had one year of academic material left that set him back in the pen-and-paper test. There was nothing to be said about his taijutsu skills, his shurikenjutsu had exceeded the passable grade- but they were nothing spectacular, Bunshin no Jutsu was the only academy three he could perform. He could only hope that he would luck out in the viva-voce questioning and the miscellaneous portion of the practical portion, and the invigilator would ask him something he knew.
Takuma sighed. He didn''t have high hopes for his luck helping him; fates hadn''t been good to him in a while.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
In the academy classroom, Takuma tapped the back of the pencil against his desk. His time in the academy was dedicated to learning the theoretical material so that he could focus on practical skills after school hours. But today, he couldn''t concentrate; the thought of opening the book seemed like a massive downer.
''Ugh, what don''t they understand by: silence in the classroom?'' Takuma frowned deeply, and his pencil tapping became more forceful.
He preferred background noise to pin-drop silence during studying. It helped him concentrate; he regularly used the classroom whispers and Kibe''s voice as his background noise. He welcomed them. But today, they seem unbearable to listen to, stroking the fire of irritation he felt.
There was only one time in the militant drill sergeant-like Kibe''s lessons that the class dared to talk above whispers. Takuma didn''t have to open his eyes to know that Kibe was in front of the classroom, personally guiding one of his classmates with either Henge no Jutsu or Bunshin no Jutsu.
Every day, Kibe would call some of his students, one at a time, and ask them to demonstrate one of the academy three. The demonstration would be followed by a guidance session with Kibe pointing out the discrepancies and providing possible tips.
''Nothing to do with me,'' Takuma thought as bitterness grabbed him. Kibe had stopped calling him long ago; after numerous times failing to even produce a faulty clone or transformation, it seemed Kibe had given up. He was delighted when he realized he wasn''t being called anymore. He didn''t have to embarrass himself in front of the entire classroom anymore, Takuma had thought with delight.
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But now... Takuma clicked his tongue. Now that he could mold chakra and even perfectly perform the Bunshin no Jutsu, the sweet delight had turned into burning bile. The realization that he had been given up on and deemed a failure and lost cause brought feelings up from deep within.
"Sensei," an annoying voice cut through the chit chat, "you haven''t called Takuma up in months. Why is that?"
Takuma''s eyes snapped open, and he lifted his chin from his palm to look around the class to find the source of the voice. He knew who it was before he found Hiji sitting on the other side of the classroom with his posse of friends on the backbenches. The Inuzuka boy smirked at Takuma, showing he knew exactly what he was doing.
Takuma clenched his jaw but kept his expression schooled. I''m unaffected. He repeated the words like a chant in his mind. He couldn''t give Hiji the satisfaction of getting any sort of reaction out of him.
"Oh, shut up, Hiji! Do you have no shame?" another voice sounded from another part of the classroom.
Takuma turned to the front of the classroom and saw a brunette girl with shoulder-length cinnamon-brown hair staring up at Hiji with a frown.
Okubo Momoe. Takuma recognized the girl, and his eyes narrowed when he felt a sense of green jealousy burn inside him. He flexed his neck and tensed his body until an intense wave of jealousy passed through him. He let out a deep breath as he relaxed his body.
He held no strong feelings towards Okubo Momoe¡ª but the same couldn''t be said about the ''boy,'' the original Takuma. After living in the body for half a year, he realized that even though the boy hadn''t left behind his memories, he had left something else behind. Takuma had recognized Kibe when he had found himself in the boy; he had found his way home the same day¡ª and similarly, some things brought up the remnants in the form of emotions/sentiments.
Momoe invoked the boy''s sharp sense of jealousy. After observing the girl for a week or so, Takuma deduced the reason behind the sentiment.
Among their peers, Momoe placed at the top in terms of academic scores and practical shinobi skills¡ª no matter what it was, from ninjutsu to strategy, Momoe was good at literally everything¡ª a true overachiever, the perfect shinobi candidate. She wasn''t as good as Uchiha Izumi when it came to taijutsu or had the chakra control rivaling Inuzuka Hana or raw power compared to Akimichi Hideaki¡ª but whatever it was, if she wasn''t number one, she was number two. And at least number two in everything was much more competent than number one at one thing.
She had a natural charisma that attracted people to her, and when combined with her skills, it was only natural that she sat on the top of the social ladder. On top of that, Okubo Momoe came from a civilian background, with her parents owning a business in Leaf village¡ª her detractors couldn''t even point out that her skills were cultivated with the help of a shinobi clan.
''She''s everything the boy isn''t,'' was Takuma''s theory behind the feeling of jealousy.
The boy was a poor student; Momoe could seemingly do everything. The boy had no friends; Momoe was surrounded by people who wanted to be her friends. The boy was ignored; Momoe was praised. The boy would return home to nobody waiting for him; Momoe would be greeted by a complete family back home.
"What, I was just¡ª"
"We know what you''re doing, so stop it, you jerk." Momoe turned to the other Inuzuka in the class and said, "Control your rabid brother, Hana."
Hana narrowed her eyes. "Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it if I don''t?" Her three ash-gray ninken jumped up on the table, staring at Momoe.
Hiji snorted in laughter, looking confident with his cousin supporting him. "Know your place, Okube," he said.
"Oh, shut your trap, Hiji," Hana glared at Hiji.
Izumi sitting beside Hana looked at the quarreling parties and tried to abate the situation. "Let''s not fight, okay? We can talk about this calmly," she said. But Momoe was already exchanging words with Hiji and Hana.
Takuma observed the situation from his seat. Momoe and the Inuzukas were now fighting with each other, forgetting that he was the initial subject of the discussion, which Takuma preferred.
But it seemed not everyone had forgotten about it.
"Takuma, come up," Kibe sighed.
Takuma could feel the eyes following him as he walked down the classroom steps toward the front. He looked up at Kibe, who had only called him up because he was called out by Hiji. Takuma could see Kibe didn''t want to do this, and seeing that look, he felt his mood sour more than before.
"Show me Bushin no Jutsu," Kibe said, his tone giving the impression he wanted to get this over as soon as possible.
Takuma raised a brow. Was luck finally going his way? He straightened up and joined his hands to form the hand seals for the Bunshin no Jutsu.
Ram ¡ª Snake ¡ª Tiger
Poof! The smoke cleared, and two clone-Takuma stood alongside the real Takuma.
The raucous laughter from Hiji abruptly stopped as the entire classroom went silent. Every pair of eyes were focused on the three Takuma standing in front of the classroom. Takuma could practically hear their thoughts: The only person in the room who couldn''t do a jutsu to save his life now had two clones standing with him.
Kibe stared at Takuma and clones with his eyes wide in surprise. Several seconds passed in silence between Kibe and Takuma as they stared at each other.
"Can I go back now?" Takuma asked.
Kibe''s eyes widened more. He was looking at the Takuma who stood nearest to him, but the Takuma who had spoken now was the one standing the furthest to him. He reached out his hand to the Takuma next to him, and it passed right through and when he clenched his fist, Takuma disappeared like he never existed. Kibe''s eyes didn''t move to the real Takuma who had spoken but to the other clone who remained.
Takuma titled his head, confused by the action. ''Maybe he''s observing the quality of my clone,'' he thought.
"You can go now," Kibe said.
Takuma dispersed the clone and walked back to his seat. He kept his eyes straight ahead. He didn''t look at Hiji or Momoe or Izumi or anyone. He sat down on his seat, took out his book, and started reading.
Even though he was no longer irritated and not in the mood to study, he still couldn''t concentrate on the words as his eyes cruised over the page. He was too busy keeping the smile off his face.
Today''s academy was fun, he felt.
CH_1.23 (023):
Takuma''s chin rested on his palms with his fingers cupping his face; his right foot had grown a mind of its own and wouldn''t stop fidgeting. His stomach also didn''t seem to be doing well from all the gurgling he was hearing from inside.
He restlessly looked around the noisy classroom that matched his nervous energy. His classmates sat in groups around the room, huddled together, discussing among themselves. Only he sat alone in the corner. He wondered what they were talking about and if it could come up in the graduation test that was about to happen.
Time had passed in the blink of an eye, and it had already been over seven months since he had found himself in the fictional world, inhabiting an unknown orphan''s body. The seven months were the most challenging times he had ever lived through. Everything from the looming threat of becoming a shinobi with no skills to survive to the immediate financial situation had him look at things he had never done before. His sense of priorities had revised more in these months than in all the years he had lived in his previous life.
"Akimichi Hideaki."
The classroom door slid upon with a rattle; Kibe peeked in and called for the next student in line.
The bulky Akimichi stood up from his desk, where already-eaten packaged food wrappers had piled up. The usually taciturn Hideaki, who rarely showed exaggerated expression on his chubby face, looked visibly unsettled. The back of his red samue was drenched in sweat. Even more shocking was the unopened bag of chips in Hideaki''s hands¡ª as long as there was something in his hands, he was eating it, and seeing that the bag remained sealed illustrated how Hideaki was feeling.
Takuma rubbed the side of his palm, stained with blue ink marks. The pen-and-paper part of the theoretical portion was already done first thing in the morning. His performance hadn''t been satisfactory. The plan from the start had been to correctly attempt fifty percent of the paper as that was the passing grade for the test. He wanted to at least pass the test on his first attempt and improve in the subsequent attempts.
Takuma clenches his right hand tightly, digging his trimmed nails into the flesh. He had attempted fifty percent of the paper as planned, but those attempts weren''t correct. Coming out of the examination hall, Takuma knew how many of his attempts were correct¡ª his answers weren''t enough to get him a passing grade.
''I should''ve focused more on history and tactics,'' he thought with regret. His approach to exam preparation was to focus on his strengths and practice them enough to easily answer any related question. The efforts bore fruit; Takuma responded to math, physics, and finance questions with ease. But he had been horrible at tactics and strategy¡ª half of the questions he didn''t even know how to answer, the ones he knew he couldn''t see through to a final answer. It didn''t help that the topics he had learned from Maruboshi were too different from what came in the test. What hurt the most was history, which he considered to be a moderate strength¡ª the questions that came were from topics he had strategically chosen to set aside in order to manage time in preparation. The questions from his strengths didn''t have enough weightage in the question sheet to get him to pass. And he knew he hadn''t done well enough in other topics to bridge the gap.
The viva-voce was yet to be conducted. Takuma prayed to the fates that the invigilator would ask easy questions, or better, those he knew the answer to.
Every other minute or three, Kibe would step through the door and call for one student. With every student left, the classroom became emptier as those who left didn''t return, which displeased all. If the people who went for the test returned, those yet to be called could''ve calmed their nerves by hearing the account of those already tested.
"Takuma."
He stood up in a rush upon hearing his name. If his chair wasn''t a long bench bolted to the floor, Takuma would''ve knocked it back. He gathered his belongings into the pouches on his person and scuttled out of the room.
Outside the classroom, Kibe led him across the corridor to the testing hall.
"The invigilators will first test your bukijutsu (weapon skills), then ask you to demonstrate ninjutsu, followed by a taijutsu spar, and end it with something of their choice," Kibe said, breaking the silence.
"Spar against whom?" asked Takuma.
"One of the invigilators."
Takuma narrowed his eyes. He had assumed and preferred that it would be one of his classmates so that he could adjust his plan going into the fight in accordance with their fighting style.
"The invigilators are senior chunin. The aim of the spar isn''t to beat them but to show them the full breadth of your skill," said Kibe.
Takuma nodded. He had figured out that much.
The pair reached the testing hall, which Takuma recognized to be an auditorium hall. It was used when the academy needed a large space indoors. He hadn''t been inside because their class never needed it, but he knew it was used for the graduation ceremony.
Kibe put his hand on the handle slit in the door but didn''t open it right away. He looked at Takuma and asked, "How many of the academy three can you do?"
Takuma was taken aback at the sudden question. Kibe had never expressed any interest in him in any form, making surprise the natural reaction in the situation.
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"If you can do all three and your paper is decent, even if you do badly in everything else, there''s a real chance you could pass. Pass in this and improve in the next two attempts. You did Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) that day; can you do the other two as well?"
Since the day Takuma had performed the Bunshin no Jutsu in class, Kibe hadn''t called him up again. Takuma knew Kibe had long given up on him, and it made him wonder why he was bringing this up now.
''Is he feeling a late sense of responsibility?'' Takuma thought¡ª or was it guilt that Kibe was feeling?
Whatever it was, Takuma didn''t care. His attention was caught by something else Kibe had said. ''¡ª pass in this and improve in the next two attempts¡ª'' Did that mean that the final result was an aggregate of the three attempts like he suspected? That didn''t bode well for Takuma. After all, he hadn''t done decently in his paper; neither could he pull off all academy three.
Takuma pursed his lips and shook his head.
"You¡ª" Kibe sighed and shook his head to himself. "Alright... Just remember to be polite and follow whatever they say to the word." He opened the door and ushered Takuma in.
The auditorium hall had wooden flooring with a raised stage on one end that had large velvety-blue curtains framing it.
The hall had been cleared out for the purpose of today. The floor had seemingly been divided into regions with shinobi in the standard Leaf shinobi gear of green flak jacket over blue interacting with Takuma''s classmates. All the shinobi had a clipboard in their hand, making them invigilators. Looking up, there was a corridor with railings that crossed three sides of the hall sans the wall above the stage. The corridor had similarly dressed shinobi looking down at the testing process. These shinobi didn''t have clipboards in their hands.
Were they looking out for attempts at cheating? Takuma thought for a moment before walking to the shinobi waving a hand in his direction.
"Are you Takuma?" asked the invigilator. He had buzz-cut hair and a large beard that looked like it had been groomed to give it the proper shape and texture.
The man then asked for id when Takuma nodded. Takuma presented his academy id-card which the man studied along with Takuma for half a minute before returning it.
"Alright, now that''s out of the way, I''ll be testing your bukijutsu. What all weapons can you use?"
"... Kunai, shuriken, and senbon," said Takuma, feeling something was off about the framing of the question.
"Anything else?"
Takum was taken aback. Was he expected to learn how to wield more weapons? Did that carry some importance? "No," he said. Thinking about that was useless when he didn''t have enough mastery of the basic three.
"You see the targets there," the invigilator pointed at the circular bullseye around them. Some were bound to the walls, others sat on the stands, "Hit them with kunai and shuriken. As for senbon... throw them at me."
Takuma curled his brow, but the invigilator didn''t seem to be jesting. Kibe''s reminder of the invigilators being chunin flashed through Takuma''s mind, making him return a nod. He wasn''t going to hurt a chunin with his skill.
The invigilator pointed to a nearby table populated with weapons and told him to use those. Takuma counted the number of targets and picked the same number of kunai and shuriken along with four senbon. The table also had swords, daggers, nunchucks, chained weapons, knuckle-based arms, bo-staffs, and various other choices. The variety of weapons present told him the answer to his previous question.
"Hmm?" Takuma observed the weapons in his hands. The weight on them was off; they were either too light or heavy from the standard issue synonymous with every weaponsmith in the Leaf village. A couple kunai that weighed correctly had an off-balance. He glanced at the invigilator and found the man observing him.
Takuma put the weapons into his pouches. Switching them wasn''t an option as the kunai had a special wrapping on the handle, the shurikens were engraved, and the senbon had a bronze sheen on them.
"Start," said the invigilator.
Thwip! A kunai struck the farthest target on the wall, missing the red center by a couple centimeters.
Takuma didn''t need to cheat by switching.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! One-by-one, all targets had kunai and shuriken sticking out of them.
Faulty weapons weren''t a problem to him. All of his personal cache of weapons were bought from scrap boxes full of defective and damaged pieces. Broken tips, chipped edges, bent blades. He had practiced hours upon hours using weapons that had problems. A perfectly weighted and balanced shuriken was predictable; it allowed the user to know exactly how it would react when thrown; faulty weapons would deviate based on their defect. He had simply learned to detect the defect, predict the deviation, and adjust his form.
The result was every throw of his hitting the target. Yes, he missed the bullseyes on most of his throws and had thrown every weapon one at a time. But he wasn''t going to pull something beyond his skill to impress the invigilator¡ª that was just inviting failure.
The invigilator scribbled down something on his clipboard. "That leaves senbon," he said.
Takuma threw the four faulty senbon towards the invigilator. The bearded man dodged one, caught another, and made the back of his clipboard become the target of the remaining two.
"I will ask again, can you wield another weapon?"
Takuma shook his head.
"Alright, we are done here." The weapons invigilator looked at Takuma and said, "I hope by the next attempt, you will increase your accuracy more. If you''re missing the center here, you will miss the target completely in the field where a dozen things are making aiming difficult for you." He plucked a senbon from his clipboard, "With senbons, you need to target vitals that can be damaged by a thin needle, or you need to study my posture and target places that will be difficult for me to evade or block."
Takuma held back a groan. The advice about accuracy was nothing new, but the senbon part made him want to poke his eyes out with them. He had simply thrown them toward his face and chest without thought¡ª it absolutely made sense to target vitals, but he had been practicing on round target boards or painted circles on trees that he had let the importance of anatomy slip his mind.
This was going to affect his grade. But it was too late to change things, thus the mention of the next attempt.
"You can continue to the next part of the test."
CH_1.24 (024):
The different parts of the test were placed around the auditorium in a zig-zag manner along the length of the hall. The bukijutsu part was placed near one wall, and to go to the next part, Takuma had to go toward the other wall.
"Good afternoon, child. Are you Takuma?" The next invigilator was a middle-aged woman with thick-gray streaks on either side of her head. She wore unique earrings that looked like miniature explosive tags but instead of paper, they were made from a thin but rigid and glossy material.
"Yes, ma''am," said Takuma instinctively¡ª the woman gave that vibe.
"Good, good, how are you feeling today; nervous?" she asked with a gentle smile. When Takuma nodded, she continued, "It''s okay to feel nervous, but there''s nothing to be worried about. For this portion of the test, you simply have to show me all of the academy three. Relax and take your time, there''s no hurry," she smiled sweetly.
Takuma''s stomach felt queasy. He knew this part of the test was going to be bad, and he had prepared himself for it. He was going to put on the best Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) of his life. But the ninjutsu invigilator was so supportive that Takuma felt embarrassed about what he was about to show her.
"Let''s start with Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)," she said and pointed to what seemed like a stuffed leather bag. The way it depressed on the floor made it look heavy¡ª not an ideal substitute to be used in the jutsu.
Takuma stared at the leather bag for a moment. He turned to the invigilator, and with pursed lips, he said: "I can''t do it."
The invigilator looked confused for a moment. "It''s okay, Takuma. You can take your time to prepare and try; there''s no need to rush," she said.
"I can''t perform it. I have never performed the jutsu successfully, and I know I can''t do it here even if I tried," said Takuma. He tried to be as blunt as possible to avoid more embarrassment.
The invigilator seemed to be at a loss for words. Takuma couldn''t blame her; all his classmates could perform the jutsu successfully, even clumsily. Not being able to perform one the academy three only a few months from graduation wasn''t expected from a student at his stage.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Takuma nodded.
The woman looked down at her clipboard and crossed out a box on the form.
"Let''s move on to Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)," she said.
Takuma nodded. Same as Kawarimi no Jutsu, he hadn''t executed Henge no Jutsu even once. But unlike the former, Takuma had actually practiced the latter, so he was ready to try it. He melded the two energies to produce chakra and weaved the hand seals with the utmost attention. The chakra moved through the chakra pathway network, pushed by him, and directed by the hand seals.
''Hold control, hold control,'' Takuma repeated to himself.
The chakra smoothly passed through the route dictated by the dog seal. Takuma clenched his toes as he proceeded to make the boar seal. The chakra quivered like a speeding car over speed breakers. He summoned all of his control and pushed it forward with a firm grip. The shaking stopped, and the chakra spun through the boar seal route. Now was the time for the final hand seal, and Takuma felt his palm damp from sweat as he made the ram seal. The moment the seal was complete, the chakra seemed to turn into a ram as it suddenly thrashed forward and slammed into the pathway wall, destroying the momentum and Takuma''s with it.
There was no puff of smoke or anything. Takuma lowered his hand and raised his eyes to look at the ninjutsu invigilator, biting the inside of his cheek so that pain could cover all the other things he was feeling.
"Would you like to try again?" she asked.
Takuma shook his head. He had already made enough fool out of himself for the day, and the rest of the test was still remaining.
"... Can you do the Bunshin no Jutsu," she asked with pity pooling in her eyes.
''She doesn''t think I can do it,'' Takuma could immediately tell what the woman was thinking from her eyes. He stiffly nodded and quickly weaved the hand seals to produce four clones.
He didn''t try to be smart with the invigilator like he had been with Kibe. He couldn''t deceive her into thinking a clone was the real him as the first thing she did was look at his feet to spot the shadow made by the real Takuma, something Kibe had forgotten to do from the surprise of seeing him perform a jutsu and not fail.
She observed the clones thoroughly until she was satisfied, compared each one to the original, and made him move them around to see his control. "Good, very good. Excellent, I say," she smiled brightly. "This is as good as the best Bunshin no Jutsu I have seen, if not better. Well done, Takuma."
It would''ve felt great if Takuma hadn''t seen the pity in her eyes before. Now, all it seemed was her trying to make him feel better about his pathetic performance.
Takuma was asked to move to the next stage. Just when he thought he couldn''t feel worse, he remembered the next part of the test was the taijutsu spar against an invigilator.
Unlike the last two parts, the taijutsu part of the test was invigilated by multiple shinobi. A man was fighting Hideaki while another man and woman observed the spar outside the white circle marking the sparring stage. The woman noticed Takuma. She raised her palm, signaling him to stop and wait. Takuma obliged. He was in absolutely no hurry as every step toward the white-marked circle made his heartbeat spike.
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He observed the fight. Hideaki fought as he usually did, taking advantage of his large body and heavy weight to overpower his opponents. But this time, Hideaki''s opponent wasn''t one of his classmates, none bigger than him. The taijutsu invigilator fighting Hideaki had a wiry frame with stickman-like limbs, and yet those thin arms grabbed the bulky Akimichi and threw him over his shoulder. Takuma had long learned that in this world, weight difference stopped mattering in taijutsu when strength didn''t come from the muscles but the chakra channeled through them. The thin invigilator could overpower Hideaki because the former could use chakra better than the latter.
Ting! Takuma turned back towards the sound of the sharp sound of weapons clashing. He was right as he saw Okubo Momoe exchanging sword strikes against the bukijutsu invigilator. Momoe swung a straight-blade ninjato while the invigilator wielded the curved-blade katana.
She knows how to use a sword?! Takuma gaped as Momoe parried the invigilator''s strike and immediately struck back, but the invigilator didn''t miss a beat and raised his parried sword to meet Momoe''s strike with the sword hilt.
After being in the same class with Momoe for seven months, it was clear to Takuma that Momoe was just another breed of people, the kind who were simply good at everything. But seeing her wielding a sword against the invigilator and doing it competently hammered the point across even more.
He couldn''t remove his eyes from the combat. The way Momoe fought was so different from her fighting style in the taijutsu spars. The Momoe he had observed was a watch-and-chose kind of fighter who would attack less and evade and block more, only to strike at opportune times to do the most damage with maximum efficiency. But the Momoe in front of him was nimble, quick, and aggressive; the sword in her hand seemed weightless, as did her feet, as it looked like she was performing a ferocious sword dance.
It was simply mesmerizing. He even caught a glimpse of the shinobi on the second-floor corridor observing Momoe''s fight.
"Takuma."
He jumped at the touch on his shoulder. It was the woman taijutsu invigilators; she had her black hair tied up in a messy bun held together with a bright red hair stick with fingernail-sized seashells on a string hanging on one side.
"I''m sorry, I got distracted," he said, bowing his head in apology.
"It''s okay," she smiled, "but let''s get you started quickly, can''t let a backlog develop."
Takuma was asked to enter the fighting circle, and the other man entered the circle along with him. Unlike the man who had fought Hideaki, the man in front of Takuma had a wider frame with broad shoulders and chest and a toned abdomen that formed a triangular upper body. Not to mention the man had muscular arms and long legs. In short, the man in front of him was a prime physical specimen.
"I will be your opponent, come at me with all you got," said the man in his deep voice.
Outside the circle, the other man chuckled behind his hand. His voice had a feminine flair to it. "You have to say more than that, Takeo," he brushed his curly locks behind his ear. "Takuma, is it? The big lug here will be your opponent. We are going to test your skill in taijutsu and what we want from you is to show us all you can do. So don''t hold back or worry about hurting him; he''s really really tough¡ª he was dropped on his head when he was a baby."
"...Okay?" said Takuma. Though he had no idea how the last line fit into the rest of what was said.
"Come," said Takeo.
Takuma didn''t charge at first, and neither did Takeo, so he took a moment to observe his opponent. Takeo showed no fighting stance and simply stood straight with his arms crossed¡ª the picture of a still statue. Takuma narrowed his eyes before charging at Takeo with a couple punches to his chest. The shinobi uncurled his arms and blocked the punches with his bulging arms. Takuma kicked himself off the floor and tried to plant the back of his heel into the shinobi''s face, but Takeo grabbed the foot and pushed it back.
Takuma had to scrap all of his plans and concentrate on landing properly and not make a fool of himself. The moment his foot touched the ground and his knees were bent enough, he slid one foot back and then propelled forward. His target was Takeo''s knees¡ª hit anyone, no matter the size, in the knee, and they would crumble.
Takeo suddenly raised one of his feet as if about to kick forward. Takuma''s sandals made a screeching sound against the wooden floor as he changed direction on a dime and again raised himself up to jam his foot into the side waist above Takeo''s foot. The attack never reached, and Takeo simply grabbed Takuma and threw him away.
He had to roll a couple times to soften his landing before using the momentum to get on his feet and again charging toward Takeo.
He kicked, punched, and even tried to grapple, but Takeo effortlessly dodged or blocked everything Takuma threw at him. Eventually, it became a cycle of Takuma trying to land a single hit only to be thrown away. He tried to attack from the front and back, targeting the legs, torso, and head, he tried to feint and bait¡ª he tried everything, but nothing worked.
"Alright, that''s it, stop," said the woman invigilator.
Takuma stopped his attempt to get behind Takeo so that he could kick him in the back of his knee to get him to kneel so that he could go for the throat. Takuma breathed heavily while Takeo still looked like an unchanging statue with his straight stance and folded arms.
"Okay, Takuma. If you make your way through that door, you will find the next invigilator." The woman invigilator pointed at the auditorium door that opened to the outdoors.
That''s it? Takuma thought he would get more, but looking at the three invigilators, none seemed to have any plans to give him good feedback.
He stepped out of the circle and walked a few steps before retrieving a hand towel to wipe the sweat. He had pushed the gas pedal for way too long without allowing himself to stabilize his breathing. He glanced back and saw Momoe facing Takeo. He wanted to watch, see how the genius would do things differently, but he had to move on to the next test.
Takuma exited the auditorium and was surprised to see a bald old man dressed in a white and magenta kimono sitting under the shade of a large red umbrella. He sat on a patio chair with another empty one in front of him and had a round single-leg table with a traditional pottery tea set on it.
"Takuma?" asked the old man when Takuma entered his vision.
Takuma nodded and was asked to sit.
There was a spell of silence, a couple of minutes, but under the old man''s gaze, Takuma felt it had been like hours. Not knowing what else to do, Takuma stared back.
"I only have one question for you," the old man broke the silence, "it will be used to complete the rest of your test. The last portion of what you did inside and viva-voce both."
Takuma silently gulped. A single question raised the stakes. If he got it correct, he won big, but if he was incorrect, he lost equally as bad.
"The question is quite simple, and anyone in your position would be able to answer it," said the man. There was a pause before the old man posed the question.
"In the auditorium, how many people stood on the second-floor corridor?"
Takuma stopped blinking. His mind went back into the hall, thinking about the shinobi who he thought were observing the testing for any signs of cheating.
This inside of his mouth felt dessert dry as he opened it to speak his response,
"I do not know."
He did not know.
CH_1.25 (025):
Takuma stumbled as he avoided Maruboshi''s swing. He rolled away to regain his foot, but Maruboshi was on him, and he had to hop backward to survive the shinobi''s attack. He pushed off his feet backward and landed on his hands again to push off to put considerable distance between them.
It was strange, but ever since he had unlocked the ability to use chakra, his athleticism had gone through a transformation. He was faster, stronger, more dexterous, and could react faster than before. Movements that would require Olympic-level athletes to train for years to push the limits of the human body to perform came easy to him. The reality-defying movements he had seen in the Naruto fight videos on the internet, which he thought wouldn''t be possible even when he began training under Maruboshi, now seemed more plausible.
Despite that, he was still too slow. When compared to Hiji, Izumi, Momoe, and even Hideaki, who excelled in taijutsu, he was a child with underdeveloped motor skills. When they weren''t holding back in their fights against him, his classmates moved with an agility that really put the supernatural elements of the world into perspective. He couldn''t even imagine comparing himself to someone like the taijutsu invigilator who hadn''t moved from his spot during their fight.
"This won''t do, young Takuma. You can not always run!" Maruboshi yelled.
Takuma''s legs and arms felt numb, heavy like lead, and his head was filled with the end of the spar. He didn''t want to run. "I''m waiting for an opening," he lied as Maruboshi pushed him back. He could only dodge and block, as his teacher didn''t relent any pressure.
Maruboshi''s spars took significant time in their morning training, even though they only sparred for two, at most, three sessions. However, every spar stretched between fifteen to twenty minutes at Maruboshi''s discretion. The academy spars lasted a couple minutes, rarely ever going over four minutes at a time, but Maruboshi''s marathon squeezed Takuma''s endurance like a sponge. He was being forced to manage his exertion and breathing to not gas out before the spar ended.
Everything that he had forgotten to follow during his taijutsu evaluation. He had attacked like an undisciplined barbarian without thought of preserving his energy and had felt out of breath after the short spar.
"If you let the enemy dictate the flow and pace of the fight, you will never win." Maruboshi took one step forward and closed the distance Takuma had created in one gliding step. The old shinobi rotated and planted the back of his foot into his student''s raised guard. Takuma yelped and, having the strong force launched upon him, was thrown several meters away, dragging grass and loose soil along the way.
Takuma was on his back, looking at the sky, feeling the burning sensation in his ribs, which surely meant they were bruised; his knuckles, wrists, and shins didn''t fare any better. He wondered how long he could just lay there.
"Get up, young Takuma," Maruboshi said.
Not for long, it seemed. He did, slowly and with a gruff groan, get up.
"Come on, try attacking me," Maruboshi held his hands behind his back.
Takuma narrowed his eyes. A phantom image of the taijutsu invigilator with his hands crossed behind his back appeared beside Maruboshi. Takuma clenched his fist and charged ahead.
The two men battled back and forth on the grassy ground, and Takuma landed a clean hit on Maruboshi every eighth or ninth attempt. It wasn''t enough. Maruboshi matched the swiftness of his movements, the strength of his hits, and the speed of his reaction to his level. His classmates were faster and stronger.
He moved through an offensive form as fast as possible, forcing Maruboshi back. Then Takuma caught Maruboshi on the thigh with a glancing strike that would have left a welt if Maruboshi wasn''t a chakra-imbued shinobi. The contact encouraged Takuma, and he bought his leg up and around to slam it into Maruboshi''s side.
The kick was clean and fast, but Maruboshi was more skilled. The skilled master whipped a ground kick at Takuma''s support leg, swinging his ankle up and dropping him in the grass.
Takuma groaned. His head hit the ground, and there were spots blinking in front of his eyes. Beyond the spots was Maruboshi, standing tall, his hands once again held behind his back.
"Can we stop," Takuma said, wishing the spar would end.
"Your mind''s not here," said Maruboshi. "You seem to be angry."
Takuma was angry. Seeing that they were not continuing the fight, Takuma continued to lie on the ground. "... You haven''t asked how the test went," he said. The morning had started out as every other, with nothing out of place, not even a single mention of the graduation test attempt.
"You did not look like you wanted to talk about it," said Maruboshi, lightly shrugging, "and my asking would have yielded no fruit if you did not wish to tell me about it... would it?"
Takuma pursed his lips. That was his fault; he hadn''t been the sharing kind. "It went worse than I had planned," he sighed. "Not one part of the test went as I expected it," he paused, "except the ninjutsu part; it went as expected." He narrated his experience from the paper to the final bit with the bald old man. "I should''ve known they were of importance," he grabbed his head and groaned loudly. "If I had just thought about it, my grade would''ve been so different."
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He pulled himself up from the ground and squatted with his elbows resting on his knees. The next attempt was in two months; there wasn''t nearly enough time to overcome his shortcomings. Just the thought made his heart feel constricted.
"A girl in my class could use a sword. I caught her bukijutsu test. She was phenomenal," Takuma said, recalling Momoe wielding the ninjato. "I couldn''t even throw multiple shurikens with decent accuracy." And he knew many of his clan-background classmates who could wield something more as well.
"You already know you can''t compare to them," Maruboshi said.
Takuma glanced at his teacher. He still hadn''t gotten used to Marubohi''s occasional bluntness. "Doesn''t mean it frustrates me any less." He let his head hang down, breathing a long sigh. "Two months until I have to do it again. I can''t afford to fail again; leaving it to the last chance is too much of a risk."
He needed to get better, and it needed to happen quickly. Takuma closed his eyes¡ª the pity from the ninjutsu invigilator, Hiji''s cruel smile before their fight, Kibe''s indifference, and the guilty look from Maruboshi when he woke up in the hospital flashed behind his eyelids. He stood up and faced Maruboshi. "I need you to push me, more than now," he said.
"Overworking does more harm than good," Maruboshi shook his head.
"There is no other substitute; I have to try harder if I want to make it as a shinobi." Takuma stepped closer to Maruboshi, "It won''t happen again. I won''t break down; you don''t have to worry about it."
"What?"
"The thing that happened, it won''t happen. I can take it; you know I can," said Takuma, hoping his words were communicating his intention.
Maruboshi was taken aback by the words.
"Don''t hold back with me. You said you would guide me, but it will be my efforts that decide my success. You said I''m the only one who can guarantee my progress. I am willing to work harder, so I ask you... guide me, for the guarantee of my hard work doesn''t seem to hold a meaningful sense now."
"... I will hold you to a shinobi''s standard," Maruboshi said after a wordless silence.
"I''m going to be a shinobi; better learn about it early."
"I will treat your training the same as a mission. Prioritize the mission; total commitment; no distractions will be entertained. The only acceptable result is success."
"I couldn''t agree more."
Maruboshi gazed down at Takuma, his harsh gaze softened. "You might not like me after this."
"You''re the devil I made a deal with; people usually end up disliking the devil in time, nothing special," a chuckle escaped Takuma. How silly must he have sounded when he had said that the first time.
"Then, so be it. We train harder. Starting tomorrow, we meet at four," Maruboshi said before vanishing in a flurry of leaves.
Takuma sucked in his lips as he looked at the sky. Four in the morning?
"The sun isn''t even out at four in the morning..."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
Takuma lugged his fatigued body to the classroom and deposited himself on his usual seat like a sack of potatoes. His wish had been granted, and Maruboshi had made their training tougher. His muscles felt like they were injected with hot lead after a session an hour longer than usual, harder than usual. The week had been as tougher as the starting days when he had just begun training under Maruboshi.
Muscle pain would follow and persist until he got used to the new load. He had no one but himself to blame. Yet he knew this was the only way forward.
He took out a thick scroll from his person and leaned in to begin reading the small writing. Tired as he was, rest he couldn''t. Academy time partitioned off to academic work was as important as Maruboshi''s training. If he didn''t pass the written paper, he was still failing.
"Take your seats," Kibe announced his arrival, and everyone scurried to the seats.
Takuma kept his head down and continued reading. His ears had already begun to tune the noise out, turning them into hazy background noise that helped him concentrate.
"I have the test results with me," Kibe raised a letter-sized yellow envelope.
That broke whatever concentration and intent to study Takuma had as he raised his head to snap his gaze at Kibe. The rest of the classroom gasped and clamored before the room dipped into a murmuring silence.
"I will call your names, and one at a time, you will collect your result slip from me," Kibe said as he broke the wax seal over the results. "I want all of you to learn from these results and use them to improve your shortcomings by the next test."
Kibe called the first name: "Anno Aimi..."
A petite girl wearing a strappy top and baggy pants nervously walked to the teacher''s podium under everyone''s following eyes.
"... Pass," Kibe said as he handed Aimi her result.
Takuma froze.
Aimi looked up at Kibe, and so did the rest of the class.
Kibe smiled, "Congratulations, you''re going to be a shinobi of the village."
The entire class screamed their cheers. People threw their hands up in celebration; some even jumped off their seats. Aimi''s friends got out of their chairs and crowded the girl, exchanging hugs and jumping with each other in congratulations.
The usually stone-faced Kibe watched with a smile, not disturbing the joyous ruckus until he did and sent everyone back to their seat, but not before a quick hug from Aimi.
One-by-one, Kibe called names, and cheers and clappings ensued every time. The entire academy heard the cheers of the final-year students as they got to know they were going to be shinobi.
"Takuma..."
Takuma walked down from his seat. The class was in celebration, everyone congratulating everyone else. Friends formed groups to compare their results among merry laughter.
"... Fail," Kibe said as he placed half of an A4-sized sheet on Takuma''s hand.
There were gasps, and the noise died down. No one had failed in the class until then.
Takuma looked at the slip in his hands. He bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling. It had a breakdown of every section of the test, and on the very bottom, stamped in red ink, was large writing in all capitals:
¡ª FAIL ¡ª
CH_1.26 (026):
The bustling streets of the Leaf village suited one of a metropolitan in its busy residents traversing them in hordes every day to get to the next task of their fast lives. No one paid attention to the unassuming young child that sat on the roadside bench with a creaky exercise gripper in hand.
Takuma watched the two shops in front of him. One was a mom-and-pop diner, and the other was a branch of the Leaf Postal Services. The sun was at its peak height, with the shade of the building above him as his only shelter. The clock had entered the lunchtime zone.
Meaning rush crunchtime for both businesses. People rushed into the post office in the urgency to have their work done before the tellers placed lunch break signs in front of their counters and disappeared for three-quarters of an hour official break. But Takuma knew for a fact that the employees in the district six branch of Leaf Postal Service took breaks beyond an hour, something against policy. No one punished them; the lazy branch manager never ever arrived before lunch.
As any eatery would, the small diner was busy in the lunchtime zone. It wasn''t a place for families or friends to dine out together. The diner''s main clientele was the working men and women who wanted an affordable lunch every day without burning a hole in their pockets. Takuma''s eyes were drawn to the man who walked into the diner; he recognized the man and knew he would come walking out in a few minutes. As he knew, the man wearing a factory worker''s garb walked out of the diner with a packed lunch in his hand. The diner was famous for its takeaway lunch box service and sold many around lunchtime.
Takuma counted. He counted the people who went into the shop. He counted when they entered, how long they stayed, when they left. He watched the post office to see how many people dropped off packages and how many picked something up. For the diner, he measured their lunchbox sales, their dine-in numbers, and how long it took people to eat their food.
And he noted down the points of interest he saw. He didn''t know shorthand or any coded language to record information yet, but knowing what to take down and how to do it was important as note taking was a skill in itself that needed polishing (or so Kibe had said in class).
His eyes were drawn to the post office as a group of people exited the building. All of them wore matching baby blue uniforms, the staple color for postal service employees. The group of men and women entered the diner.
Takuma looked toward the storefront beside him at the wall clock and noted the time. It was precisely one o''clock. Now, he had to wait. Takuma took out a packed lunch of his own¡ª it was lunchtime, after all.
The minute hand on the wall clock made its way across the clock face until it reached the end of the post office lunchtime. The employees didn''t exit the diner, but the people in need of the service had already started to line up in the store.
Based on his past observations, Takuma knew the post office tellers wouldn''t leave the diner before it was at least one hour because if they entered the post office, they would have to work under customer pressure. Takuma cleaned up any mess he had made while eating and waited five more minutes to see if the tellers would return to their job.
He rubbed his knees as he looked between the post office and the diner.
"Alright, let''s do this," Takuma said to himself.
He got up and walked into a nearby dark alley. He put his lunch bag to the side and pulled up both of his sleeves to reveal a row of 1-ryu coins each stuck on his arm from his wrists to shoulders. On a closer look, each coin was actually a stack of two coins taped together. A high-risk exercise developed by Takuma to force himself to improve his chakra control. Every ryu was essential to his monthly budget before he got his next allowance, and misplacing money without getting to spend it made his life hell on earth¡ª he would rather spend money on unneeded commodities than unknowingly drop it somewhere. Thus came the risk¡ª to maintain concentration on precise chakra control or lose precious money with the threat of going hungry on the last few days of the month.
The results were worth the constant fear of losing money. He had gone from feather-like leaves to heavy coins. If asked, Takuma would take Maruboshi''s sprinting torture over his mental brand of punishment¡ª physical exhaustion was temporary, but money loss was permanent¡ª alas, that was the point.
He pulled up his shorts and pulled off the slanted band of coins circling his thigh, and put his hand up his shirt to get a couple coins off his front and back. More coins, larger risk.
Takuma placed upon his heart and felt its elevated pulse. He breathed in and out to calm his nerves and stared at the post office to reaffirm his conviction. He had to do it. It was the test before the test¡ª a harder one to make the easy one a breeze.
Dog ¡ª Boar ¡ª Ram
Poof!
Smoke covered Takuma, and when it blew away, a tall man with a gaunt face and oily hair slicked to the side, closely sticking his inverse egg-shaped head, stood in his place. Takuma took out a small mirror from his person to check his new appearance. He was much taller and lean as a skeleton; his faded violet shirt and black shorts were replaced by a baby blue post office uniform.
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Maruboshi''s two seal combination exercise had paid off. After a long month of intense practice, his chakra no longer ran out of his control while performing the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu), which was only three hand seals.
Muramoto Teruo. The branch manager of the district six branch. A lazy, incompetent buffoon who had somehow been able to keep his job as a manager, who had allowed those under him to spiral out of discipline. Takuma didn''t know if no one in the postal service had noticed the condition of the branch or if they knew and were ignoring it. Whatever it was, he didn''t have that information.
But it did make Muramoto Terou a great guilt-free target of imitation.
Takuma touched his new face. He recalled the real Terou''s face and judged his replication to be passable. He had seen the man plenty of times to pull off an unsuspicious imitation. As long as no one touched him, they wouldn''t outright know he wasn''t Muramoto Terou¡ª or at least, that was what he hoped to be true.
Ready to proceed, Takuma flexed all the muscles in his body for a few seconds before loosening up. He then slouched his back and shifted his neck forward a little to give himself a text neck to emulate the real Terou''s body posture. He had practiced it in the mirror every night for today.
He took out a white handkerchief and placed it on his mouth before exiting the alleyway and walking towards the post office across the street. He didn''t care if people thought the post office manager coming out of a dingy alleyway was strange because no one was going to do anything about it.
The inside of the post office was familiar territory to Takuma. It was scary how easy it was to scout an understaffed place of business during rush hour when the employees had no time to pay attention to a wandering person when they had a horde of customers to take care of. There was no special reason for him to choose the post office. The grocer he shopped for his vegetables had once complained about it when he was shopping, and things had shaped from there.
The moment Takuma entered the post office, the guard on duty hastily stood up. The guard stayed inside the building so he wouldn''t need to stay in the hot outside, and he faced inside the building so that he was facing the ceiling fan. If Takuma wanted to knock him out, it would take one swift surprise attack, and the civilian guard would be out cold. The branch had no shinobi presence because of its small size and limited service, thus an ideal testing ground for Takuma.
"M-Manager!" the guard stood up, sputtering.
Takuma gave him a displeased look and then loudly coughed into his handkerchief. He said nothing and moved further in.
The building''s customer-facing front was relatively small compared to the similarly-sized building on the street; Takuma assumed the rest of the building was devoted to storage and sorting facilities for mail.
Takuma''s postal service uniform was naturally noticed by the customers, and some approached him to complain. Takuma loudly coughed into his handkerchief, making it look as nasty as he could. It had its intended effects, and they backed off.
He cast his eyes towards the teller counters, and they were empty. He frowned angrily and turned to the guard. "Where is everyone," he asked, his voice hoarse and breaking.
Takuma had only heard the Terou''s voice once, but even if he wanted to mimic the manager''s voice¡ª voice modulation didn''t exist in Takuma''s skillset. He could only pretend that he had a nasty cough and cold.
"O-Out for lunch," said the guard, gulping. "Miss Tahashi is inside."
"Get her out," Takuma ordered, and the guard scurried into the back. Takuma turned to the customers and said, "I apologize on behalf of my staff. I implore all of you to be patient for a little longer while I get everything into place."
The guard pulled in a plump middle-aged woman with red-rimmed glasses and the most outrageously puffed-up hairstyle he had seen on a woman. The first time he had seen the woman had been an experience.
Takuma didn''t give the woman a chance to speak. "Why isn''t," he coughed twice, "everyone back already." The woman tried to reply, but Takuma didn''t let her speak. "Why aren''t you already at the counter?" He bore down at her with a menacing gaze.
The woman shriveled under his gaze. She tried to eek out, "M-Manager, I-I..."
"Can''t you see, you''re wasting these people''s time?" he said loud enough so that everyone could hear. "Why are you still standing here? Go! Go! Do your job, or do you want me to do it for you?"
The terrified woman rushed her chubby legs to her counter and immediately opened it for business.
"I swear, not one of them does their job properly," Takuma grunted. He turned to the guard and scolded him, "What are you doing, standing there like a buffoon? Don''t you see all these people waiting? Go and bring everyone back."
The guard rushed out of the building.
Takuma had scolded two of the post office employees while pretending to be their boss. Talked to an entire crowd while pretending to be someone else. As fun as he felt it was¡ª it was now time to leave.
He immediately walked out of the building and saw the guard entering the diner. He dropped the handkerchief over his face and walked back into the alley.
Poof! Takuma went back to his original form. He picked up his lunch bag and exited the alleyway. He watched from beside the roadside bench as the uniformed employees rushed out of the diner and ran into the post office.
Takuma grinned. That was mission accomplished.
''From Lupin to Kaitou Kid, screw everyone. I will be the best impersonator, the grandmaster of disguise, north of fantasy,'' Takuma thought.
After enjoying the fruit of his labor for a moment, Takuma ducked back into the street. He put the coins back on his body. The day would be perfect if he got home with all the money still on his body.
CH_1.27 (027):
Takuma stared at the result of his graduation examination''s second attempt with his lips pressed into a white line. The red FAIL stamped on the paper glared at him¡ª a sign of his ineptitude. Despite putting his life into training for the second attempt, he had yet again gained a second FAIL mark.
Takuma brought his hands to rub his eyes which had dark bags developing under them. He straightened his back and flexed his muscles, hoping it would relieve some of the stiffness, but all he got was pain. These days the only time he was comfortable was in his bed at night; even letting the back of chairs take his weight felt like sitting on hard stone.
He sighed. There wasn''t a single person beside him who hadn''t already passed at least one of the two attempts, thus securing their Leaf headband on graduation. Only his lonesome self remained. A terrifying position to be in. It felt like he was sailing in a small wooden boat in the deep ocean with a roaring storm causing natural disasters around him, just for him.
He felt sympathy for Uzumaki Naruto for being held back from passing because he couldn''t perform one academy three¡ª Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) for the whiskered blonde and Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu) for him. Even when his late-night slogs of studying at his table had paid off as a passing grade on the pen-and-paper test¡ª even when the taijutsu invigilator remark on his result had gone from ''slow, weak and unskilled'' to ''needs urgent improvement''¡ª even when his viva-voce had gone satisfyingly well (thank god for the absence of the kimono-clad bald old man)¡ª he was still declared a failure because he couldn''t perform a useless jutsu.
At the same time, he felt envious and even resentful toward Rock Lee, who had been promoted to genin without being able to do even one of the academy three because he caught the eye of a jonin. Were his own efforts any less strenuous than Rock Lee''s? Was he not also pushing himself to the limit every day, pulling himself thin between studying, practicing chakra, learning jutsu, sharpening his close combat skills, and the tens of little things Maruboshi deemed every shinobi should know. Why did Rock Lee get to pass while the blade of a dead-end hovered above his neck?
Takuma folded the half-page and stored it on his person. Looking at the result only made him feel worse¡ª he didn''t have the time to feel worse; there was only one more month till the last attempt and the graduation itself.
He pushed everything he was feeling down and took out a chunky brass square padlock and a basic lockpicking kit wrapped in age-worn leather that was falling apart everywhere. Maruboshi had given him one of his old lockpicking sets so that he could practice cracking locks.
He breathed out and forced himself to calm down to focus on the lock in front of him. Maruboshi apparently had an extensive collection of locks he had collected through the years to familiarize himself with the types of locks he could encounter on missions. Maruboshi gave him locks as assignments to figure out and successfully open them, then the lock would be exchanged, and the cycle would continue.
"Oye, Takuma. You failed again, you dumbass."
Takuma had just put the tension tool into the key core when he heard the sneering voice of Hiji mocking him. Takuma wasn''t surprised¡ª annoyed, yes, but not surprised as Hiji had done the same when he had failed the first time. The Inuzuka mutt had paraded the fact that Takuma had failed in his face for a week before getting bored. Hiji was easily the most annoying person Takuma had met in both lives, and he genuinely thought the world would be a better place without him barking in everyone''s ears, causing noise pollution.
Now, Hiji was back again. Takuma gripped the old yet sturdy pick and continued on with his silent shtick. If he was being honest, things had gotten much easier than before because Hiji was definitely on the ADHD spectrum¡ª quite easy to get distracted. And after months of meeting the stone-cold wall that he was, Hiji had begun to lose interest, and when he did turn his rabid attention toward him, it didn''t last long.
Today, he just hoped Hiji would go away quicker. He was too tired for Inuzuka''s crap. From his peripheral vision, Takuma caught Hiji clicking his tongue and turning toward friends. Takuma hid a smile as he dipped his head closer to the lock. Now, it was only time before Hiji left him alone¡ª
"Hiji, are you bothering Takuma again?"
Takuma jammed the rake pick into the back of the key core.
It was Okubo Momoe, the genius girl. The girl had a seemingly overflowing sense of justice, coming to the aid of those who could use her help, willingly providing it whenever needed.
''She thinks you''re weak,'' said a voice in the back of Takuma''s head, making his eye twitch. Being considered weak was an unpleasant thought, and Takuma was no different.
"Didn''t I already tell you to stop?" Momoe glared at Hiji with her arms crossed.
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"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Hiji, making a face at Momoe. "This got boring; let''s go somewhere else," he led his friends away, clearly avoiding Momoe.
Takuma gave a sincere nod of thanks to Momoe. She had been a lot of help in dissuading Hiji''s annoyance since her presence made him walk away like just now. He then went back to his lockpicking.
"What are you doing there, Takuma?" Momoe asked, curiously peering over the lock in Takuma''s hands. "A lock... lockpicking?" she said when she saw the tools in his hands.
Takuma nodded tiredly.
"Why would you learn that?" she asked.
"Uhm... what?" Takuma titled his head. He assumed that since Momoe was the genius girl, she would already know how to pick a lock. He was half-expecting her to help him with how to pick the lock. He asked: "You don''t know how to pick a lock?"
Momoe arched her brows. "Should I?" she asked.
He assumed yes. Maruboshi had said that unlocking locks was essential if a shinobi expected to be stealthy on his mission. Every building had doors, and most doors had locks¡ª especially the important ones. It didn''t have to be doors; storage containers with complex locks and safety systems had to be picked as any attempt to break the outer container could damage the merchandise inside, or so Maruboshi had said.
"So you don''t know how to pick a lock?" he asked again to confirm¡ª that couldn''t be; even he could pick poorly made locks; his classmates should know at least that, if not more.
Momoe shook her head.
Takuma was baffled. He couldn''t wrap his head around it. Maruboshi had insisted that lock picking was a critical skill in a shinobi''s arsenal and that he needed to start learning it as soon as possible so he could be experienced when the time came to use it on the field. And it made complete sense to him: what if he was on an infiltration mission and had to keep his presence hidden¡ª busting down doors from their frames wasn''t the way to do it. Why wouldn''t a shinobi learn to lockpick?
It had to be important, or why else would Maruboshi ask him to devote time to practice lockpicking when he knew how vital the graduation test was.
"Do you want to learn?" Takuma offered. He thought if he showed her the bare basics, he could use the opportunity to ask her some questions in return. An equivalent exchange, he considered fair.
"No, it''s fine," Momoe said. One of Momoe''s friends called her, and Momoe turned to leave only to briefly turn back to Takuma to say, "You shouldn''t waste your time on such things," she narrowed her eyes at the lock and picking tools. "You''ve failed twice; the next attempt is your last chance. You should really concentrate on more important things." She left after saying that.
Takuma was taken aback. He looked down at his tools, and the two FAIL results flashed through his mind. A seemingly all-knowing veteran shinobi and a genius girl who could do everything. Takuma shook his head off unnecessary thoughts and went back to lockpicking.
It was probably for the better she refused; he didn''t think he had the energy to hold a conversation with someone.
It was going to be okay... he had a month... he was going to pass.
Takuma gripped his tools harder.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The moon had pulled the dark curtain over the sky, and the wintry winds brought down the cold shower of snow upon the village hidden in the leaves. The village was as cold in winter as it was hot in summer. People had already laden themselves in heavy wool clothing to keep warm, and the streets were emptier than in warm springs.
In a training ground on the village''s periphery, a figure dressed in a shirt and shorts stood in front of a thick wooden post. The sturdy post was being tortured by kicks from the figure, who relentlessly, one at a time, drilled the front of his foot into the wood. A steady rhythm sounded in the mum night as a thin layer of snow covered the grass.
Takuma brought down his leg and waited for half a second before kicking the wooden post again. His open-toed shinobi sandals had seen better days as he rammed his foot into the same spot that turned white from the dark bark stripped away from the continuous kicking. But Takuma didn''t care. He watched the spot in the wood, and then he watched his foot kicking the spot. And he repeated.
He didn''t know what time it was. He didn''t care.
Every man, woman, child, shinobi or not, genius or dead last, was given the same time in a day, no more. There wasn''t nearly enough time in the day; he could only squeeze out the time he was given.
With every kick, a splatter of water would twist out from every part of his body in motion. Some of it was the water from the falling snow, more of it was his own sweat.
He wanted to stop; he really did. Every nerve in his body felt taut and burning. But keeping his mind on training was the only way to not think about the fact that tomorrow was the last day of the academy. And the day after that was the third and final attempt at the graduation exam.
It was strange. He had been in the foreign world for nearly a year, and he could remember every single day of that year¡ª yet time had passed too quickly. It truly felt that it was only earlier this day when he had found himself in a stranger''s body, in a room full of strangers. Time had slipped through his fingers like loose sand.
Why hadn''t he trained harder? If he had only been training like he had been in the past month for the entire time, maybe it would''ve not come to this. Takuma felt his stomach twist into a knot, and his heart paced faster, not because of his physical exertion but of the crossroads he was standing at. He hadn''t trained enough for this, he thought as his kick landed a little higher than the target, and a piece of bark splintered.
He raised his leg to kick the post again but found the leg betraying him. He fell down onto snowed on grass and felt a spikey cold against his burning body. He stared at the sky. He was hungry but too tired to muster any energy to eat anything, and an empty stomach wasn''t enough to keep him awake¡ª he wanted to sleep in the training ground, buried by the snow.
But he couldn''t. Takuma stood up and dragged his body away from the battered post that had taken all of his fears. He had given the last year of his life to this¡ª he was going to see it through, no matter what the result.
CH_1.28 (028):
Kibe gazed at his students sitting in a circle on the academy training grounds. They were chattering away as usual, like someone would sew their mouth if they didn''t keep talking. He didn''t stop them like he usually would¡ª it was their last day as academy classmates after all. He was sure they were excited to leave the academy and finally gain their forehead protector, marking them as shinobi of the village hidden in the leaves. But he knew they would look back at their academy days with a past yearning, hoping they would have cherished the simpler times more, and enjoyed living in this time more.
Next week, they would receive their graduation scrolls along with their forehead protectors and their assignment details. Kibe wondered how his class would be divided into teams. He had given his recommendations and reports, but the decision wasn''t in his hands. The selection committee from the Leaf Genin Resource Command would finalize the assignments.
Ah, how long had it been since he had last met his teammates? They were inseparable once, staying together the entire day¡ª training, missions, eating, laughing, playing, crying, they did everything together. But then one of them got promoted, and the four-man cell became three people. They were still an official team on record, they still met regularly and even went on missions, but it wasn''t like before. Then they started to go on missions with other teams that had one member promoted. A four-man cell wasn''t a standard for just any reason. That split them even more. More promotions followed, and time spent apart increased further. And it ended with their sensei officially disbanding their team, as it happened to every jonin-led team that began right after the academy. After that, they were a team only in spirit or when their exact configuration suited a mission.
Now, it had been years since they had been on a joint mission. Not after he had taken the instructor position at the academy, away from active field duty. He didn''t think he would return to active duty until it was mandated¡ª his girlfriend wouldn''t like it if he did. Neither was he going to remain as an academy instructor; he would move on eventually; the rules would make him. Academy instructors had to be younger than a specific age limit so they could be closer in their age to their students; when that age gap increased, it was time for a younger instructor who could connect to the young children to step in. He, himself, had already started to prepare for interviews for administrative departments that he would attempt in a couple years.
He raised his clipboard with sparring plans he had drawn for the week. It was the last day, and the kids had complained, but it was to be done. He scrolled his eyes over the list and found that only two names remained. It was going to be the last spar of the final year class.
Kibe narrowed his eyes as he called the names: "Aimi and... Takuma, come up."
Aimi, the ball of never-ending energy, skipped to the center of the sparring circle; no weather could slow her down. On the other hand, Takuma was opposite in his trudge from his spot, dragging his feet though the snow.
Kibe examined Takuma. His weakest student looked worse for wear; he had looked so for the past couple of weeks. Dark circles under the eyes, unkempt hair, and a general feeling of fatigue. He didn''t know the reason, he hadn''t asked, but he could guess¡ª after two fails, he would look like Takuma, if not worse.
Two fails, Kibe sighed. Takuma had never been a bright student; calling him an average student would be an over-exaggeration, for he had consistently been in last place from year one. But this year, Takuma had taken a dive for the worse. If he was bad before, he was the worst now. Not a single thing about him expressed a shinobi academy student.
Things changed through the year. Takuma had shown progress on all fronts, consistently performing better than before. He could hit targets now, last in spars for much longer, and even perform jutsu¡ª something that had shocked him the first time (and the only time) he had seen it, through a look at his graduation test results showed the ability to perform Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu) and Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu). It also showed an above-average performance in theoretical knowledge.
''He should be able to pass if he can just do Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu),'' Kibe thought. The result wouldn''t be spectacular, but it would still be a pass¡ª that should be enough for Takuma.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yes!" said Aimi. Takuma simply raised his hand to form the seal of confrontation.
"Start," Kibe declared, and Aimi immediately ran forward.
It took her no time to cross the distance, and she swung for Takuma''s head. Takuma leapt back to evade, but Aimi was faster, and it was already too late to dodge. Aimi''s fist closed in, but her blow crashed against Takuma''s raised block at the last moment.
Takuma was on the defensive and had to dance backward to avoid getting clobbered. Aimi was a slender girl but fast. Her follow-up attacks pushed all the way to the edge of the ring, close to forcing him out.
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Kibe got ready to end the fight; getting out of the circle was an instant loss. Even the kids behind Takuma got ready for him to be pushed out by Aimi as they moved aside to clear the way.
But then, like a quick snake, Takuma struck Aimi''s arms and shoulders in succession, breaking any upper body momentum and balance she had. It happened fast as Takuma lurched his arms forward to grab Aimi''s clothes and then roughly pulled her forward as he used his feet to pivot out of the way, sending an out of balance Aimi stumbling towards the edge of the fighting circle.
Kibe''s lips parted, and his eyes widened a fraction. He had just seen Takuma baiting Aimi in an effort to push her out of the circle when she thought she was doing it to him. Unfortunately, Takuma was hasty in his move as the nimble Aimi regained her balance, albeit on the very edge of the boundary. She immediately put herself a distance from the edge, all the while shooting a startled look at Takuma.
Takuma lowered his body as he leaned forward and mimicked Aimi''s steps as she moved in the circle, shortening the distance between them a bit with every step.
''... He''s going on offense,'' the thought struck Kibe like a bucket of water on a sleeping man. It shouldn''t have been surprising, but he had never seen Takuma on offense, not once. The poor boy spent his time in spars running, dodging, and blocking. It would continue until Takuma''s opponent had him surrender.
On cue, Takuma launched an attack of his own. He thrust at Aimi, and the girl turned, avoiding the strike. Takuma darted forward, whipping his leg into a side-sweeping swing that would crash into Aimi''s exposed back, but she whirled, blocking the strike, and with her rear arm she threw an elbow toward Takuma''s temple.
Takuma reeled back, disengaging at his quickest, and skipped out of Aimi''s range.
Aimi gave herself a moment to catch herself before pushing forward, attacking Takuma''s shoulder, leg, and arm. Takuma blocked each attack while moving in circles.
Kibe thinned his lips. Aimi was one of his agile students; she was nimble, flexible, and quick on her feet, allowing her to run circles around her opponents, getting in quick hits that annoyed them, causing them to act brashly, which Aimi would then exploit. But the girl''s skill in taijutsu didn''t allow her to effectively use her gifts. Her choices of targets were poor and often poorly timed, wasting away precious opportunities and opening her to counter offense.
Aimi lurched into a lopping attack. Takuma blocked. His arm was inside Aimi''s arm and Takuma lifted up and away, moving Aimi''s arm out of position, leaving her unable to defend as Takuma brought his fist down on her shoulder. Aimi cried out and darted back, but not before Takuma attacked again, smashing his kick into Aimi''s upper arm.
Aimi yelped and jumped several paces back. Takuma followed immediately, stabbing his fist so that it would gut her, but Aimi pushed herself out of reach. She was faster, after all.
Kibe glanced at Takuma to see if he was frustrated at the opportunity to finish Aimi off, but the boy had his dark eyes trained on his opponent. It was a look of sheer focus.
Aimi growled, her face all bunched up, and launched herself forward with every intent to attack.
Takuma held his ground, his eyes hadn''t lost track of Aimi since the start of the fight. He pulled his leg back and kicked the ground, sending a pile of snow toward Aimi.
"Sensei!" one of the students yelled.
"Shut up!" Kibe silenced, his eyes stuck to the fight.
Aimi eeped, bringing her fist up to her face. Takuma moved. He drilled a low kick into Aimi''s knee, causing her to cry and lean down. He grabbed the smaller Aimi and threw her over his shoulder, thrashing her into the ground. Aimi tried to roll away, but Takuma planted a kick into her stomach. He then stood over and leaned down with raised first to pummel where she lay.
Kibe saw Aimi curl up into a ball and knew it was the end. He called.
"Stop!"
Takuma stopped and then staggered back. His heavy breaths fogged the air as he looked down at Aimi with wide eyes.
Kibe looked at the weakest student in his class and said, "Winner... Takuma." He had said that for the first time, and it indeed felt strange.
There were no cheers in support or clapping that happened at the end of every spar. There wasn''t a peep from the students as all of them watched the result in front of them. Takuma standing, his opponent on the ground¡ª not the other way around.
Kibe stepped forward. "Get up, Aimi," he said.
The girl got up but kept her eyes down at her feet, not daring to look up. Perhaps too ashamed to have lost against Takuma.
"Seal of Reconciliation," Kibe ordered.
Aimi, with her head down, raised her hand with her index and middle finger out. But Takuma''s hand didn''t come. She snapped her head up, anger twisting her expression.
"You¡ª!"
She didn''t continue with her eyes widening. Takuma had his head raised up, his palms covering his eyes. His shoulders shook silently.
Aimi''s face went from anger to surprise to concern. She joined her hands in front of her chest and stepped closer to Takum.
"H-Hey, are you alright¡ª"
Aimi couldn''t complete her sentence as she was suddenly pulled into a hug by Takuma. The taller boy completely enveloped the smaller girl as she eeped in shock.
Kibe looked at the weakest student in his class... who, on his last fight, on his class'' last fight... had secured his first victory.
"H-H-Hey, you won, you know," Aimi''s muffled voice sounded out from Takuma''s chest as her arms stroked Takuma''s back. "I know I''m great, but you shouldn''t cry about it."
A chuckle escaped him.
Kibe looked at the.... He looked at Takuma and hoped the boy would show a similar performance tomorrow when it truly mattered.
CH_1.29 (029):
"You look rested," Maruboshi said to Takuma, who no longer had any dark circles under his eyes, vampiric pale skin, and slouched shoulders that he had for most of the last month.
"I slept twelve hours straight; I couldn''t be more rested," said Takuma. Yesterday, he had won his first spar ever, yet embarrassed himself in front of the class by crying. When he reached his house after, it took barely over a minute for him to get from the front door to his bed.
"Good, good," Maruboshi looked relieved, and Takuma felt guilty. They had multiple conversations about Takuma''s downhill condition, but Takuma had brushed off Maruboshi''s concerns. "How are you feeling about today?"
The last attempt at the graduation test was due in a little over an hour.
Takuma shrugged. "I don''t want to do the test, wish I had more time to prepare... but at the same time, I just want to get this over with. Finally, rest for a change," he sighed.
He had a privileged upbringing. A harmonious family with loving parents who provided for him, nothing lavish, but he never felt a lack of anything. He attended a good school with relatively good teachers and a wonderful group of friends at every stage of his life. Some of them, he considered his friends for life. Even when he entered college, he was a day scholar and commuted right from his family home and never had to adjust to dorm life. And he never had to participate in job search as it was still a couple years in the future.
It was now that he realized that he had never really faced any hardships. Not a single life event had him seek his independence. He didn''t have to worry about his finances, food, housekeeping, and a looming bleak future¡ª in his second life, he had faced everything all simultaneously. The wild identity crisis was the cherry on top.
He was tired. He wasn''t even at the starting line and was already tired.
"I will give it my best," Takuma smiled shallowly, "if I pass, good for me; if I don''t, I''ll leave it to the fates," he pointed to the sky. He drew from a certain green-haired three-point basketball sniper¡ª man proposes, god disposes... do everything humanly possible, and then let the fates decide.
Maruboshi gazed down at Takuma with a peculiar gaze.
"What?"
The old shinobi shook his head lightly. A light smile wrinkled his face as he said, "You are going to make a splendid shinobi, young Takuma."
"You''re only saying that because you taught me everything I know," Takuma said, but he had a big grin.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat in the classroom turned waiting room for the graduation test in the auditorium. He had his eyes closed, trying to tune out the cacophony of his classmates'' voices in the room. The first time, the classroom had been a blanket of hushed conversations, with everyone worried about their performance; on the second attempt, everyone opened up a bit and participated in discussions with each other on their predictions and supposed best tactics to ace the practical portion of the testing.
Both those times, there had been tension in the room. They were going into the unknown the first time, and the second time, they were aiming to improve over their first performance. However, this time... the room lacked any strain of tension. No one seemed to be worried about the ongoing testing, and even though the discussions revolved around it, the mood was casual.
Takuma couldn''t blame them. Everyone had passed in the room; they had passed twice over. And Kibe''s insistent talks about not pulling the foot from the gas pedal had eventually lost steam. Everyone in the room was already a shinobi, and going through the same thing twice was enough for them to be confident.
Everyone except him. Takuma felt his morning''s words spoken a little too early. The pre-test jitters were hitting him as hard as any other day. He tried to meditate (something Maruboshi was an avid promoter of)¡ª but he wasn''t very good at meditation, and it didn''t seem to be working now.
Takuma suddenly had an idea, and he pulled out a 1-ryo coin and slapped it on his arm. He didn''t care if it felt like he was a nicotine addict trying to feed into his craving with a nicotine patch. Concentrating on the Leaf Concentration Practice ver coin kept him focused on his chakra control rather than his errant thoughts.
If someone told him that he was using the Leaf Concentration Practice to calm his nerves down a few months back, Takuma would have laughed first and then slapped them hard for even joking about it, as that sounded absolutely masochistic. Maruboshi had forever ruined any positive association with the exercise for him.
"Takuma."
He opened his eyes and saw Kibe at the door. It was finally his turn. He got up from the last bench and walked down the steps. He practiced a breathing exercise to keep his dancing heartbeat down.
"Going for another fail, Takuma! Best of luck; I''m rooting for you!" Hiji shouted snarkily over from his seat on the other side of the classroom.
"Shut it, Hiji!" Kibe scolded immediately.
Takuma looked at No.1 on his most disliked list and thought¡ª yesterday was the last day of the academy; today was after that. ''Huh, I guess that''s right.''
He raised his arm towards Hiji and flicked his middle finger up.
"Fuck off, mutt."
The many pairs of eyes accompanied by a few gasps turned to Takuma and then toward the shocked Hiji, who opened his mouth to say something but closed it, his eyes looking at the class.
Takuma passed by Hana, seated in the front rows. "No offense," he said.
Before anyone could say anything, Takuma was already out of the classroom, and Kibe had already closed the door behind them.
Like the last two times, Kibe led him across the corridor to the testing hall.
"How did your paper go?" asked Kibe.
"I will pass," said Takuma shortly. It had gone well, exceeding his expectations¡ª the question set had been in his favor this time, and he was sure he would score at least an 80% grade. If he was being optimistic about the grading, he could sniff the 90% ceiling.
Silence fell between the teacher and the student. It wasn''t surprising; they didn''t talk much. If they were in a big college class, Takuma would be the student whose name Kibe didn''t know.
Kibe broke the silence and started, "If your paper is decent¡ª"
"Even if I do badly in everything else, there''s a real chance I could pass. I just need to successfully perform academy three. I know; you have told me before," said Takuma without looking at Kibe.
"... I see," said Kibe. There was another pause. "Can you... can you do all three?"
They reached the auditorium entrance. Takuma grabbed the handle and slid the door open. He stared inside but didn''t immediately enter; instead, he said, "You''ll know when you get my result," and without sparing a glance to Kibe, Takuma slipped inside.
The inside of the auditorium was the same as Takuma had seen the last two times. The length of the hall had been divvied up to different portions of the testing. His eyes automatically went to the second-floor corridor from where multiple shinobi peered down the testing floor. He gave each of them a hard look, memorizing as much detail as he could. There were ten of them.
He waited for the bukijutsu invigilator to call him up. Despite having given the test twice, the invigilator had him listen to the instructors again, going through everything in clear detail.
"Understood?"
Takuma nodded and headed towards the weapons table. He picked up the only three weapons he knew how to wield¡ª kunai, shuriken, and senbon. The weapons were still off-balance, and the exercise targets were similar to the last two times. The difference came from Takuma''s performance; he still threw his weapons one at a time, but he was much quicker in his successive throws, and the consistency and accuracy couldn''t be compared to his first attempt. Almost all of his throws hit the red bullseyes.
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The instructor nodded as he blocked the senbon. Takuma had learned his lesson and had aimed at vital spots.
This invigilator was different from the last two times, and this one didn''t give advice like the bukijutsu invigilator from the first attempt did.
Takuma moved on to the next portion of the testing, arguably the most important part of it¡ª at least for him.
"Ah," the sound unintentionally came out of Takuma.
The ninjutsu invigilator looked up. The middle-aged woman with grey streaks in her hair had the same red-trimmed explosion tag-styled earrings as before that dangled when she moved her head. Her eyes flashed, and Takuma knew she recognized him. She looked down at her clipboard before speaking.
"Takuma?"
Takuma nodded, and the woman repeated the instructions for the ninjutsu test. She showed no sign of recognition, which made him wonder if she was pretending to not recognize him.
"Let''s start with Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)," she said. Takuma weaved the hands seals, and six clones stood around the real him. They moved, changed expressions, and did various things. The invigilator''s eyes shined before she noted something on her clipboard and asked him to proceed with Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu).
She gave no imitation target, so Takuma transformed into one of the shinobi on the second-floor corridor. His appearance was fresh in his mind, and he knew that transforming into the ninjutsu invigilator was the wrong choice¡ª even if she was supposed to be objective in her grading, there was a chance she would be offended by something in his imitation. He didn''t want that.
Finally, it was time for Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu). It was the jutsu he had least practiced, as it was the last academy three he had picked up. From the get-go, Takuma had come to know that Maruboshi didn''t like Kawarimi no Jutsu as it was a completely useless jutsu. The jutsu required the user to substitute an object in their place to take an attack, followed by getting out of the enemy''s sight. It was essentially pulling up a shield to block an attack and then ditching said shield before running away. It was the running part that Maruboshi had a problem with, even though the hand seals for the jutsu were exclusively used during the running part. According to Maruboshi, the running and hiding part was inefficient as it only worked when the surrounding environment allowed it. The jutsu would work splendidly in a forest but miserably fail in a grassland. Moreover, the user needed to weave hand seals quickly for the jutsu to work seamlessly. It also failed when the attack was faster than the user''s ability to procure the substitute.
The only reason Kawarimi no Jutsu was taught in the academy was because the chakra movement caused by the hand seals granted the user a short burst of linear speed, which allowed them to hide quickly (it would be useless if the enemy''s sight could catch the fast movement). And that chakra movement was six points similar to Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Jutsu)¡ª a high-speed movement technique that allowed the user to move linear distance at speeds untraceable by the untrained eye. Shunshin no Jutsu was a necessary jutsu that every shinobi needed to know, and thus the academy used Kawarimi no Jutsu to lay the foundation.
Kawarimi no Jutsu wasn''t supposed to be used in the field as it was only a training tool, but for some reason no one told the students that. Well, he knew because Maruboshi had told him.
The invigilator pointed to a sandbag and asked to use it as the substitute, something Takuma was thankful for as he didn''t want to use one of his precious and very limited storage sealing scrolls that had something he could use as a substitute. The invigilator threw a dulled kunai at Takuma, who stood several meters away. There was a puff of smoke, and the kunai was embedded into the sandbag, with Takuma standing a few feet away from it.
"Excellent!" the invigilator clapped her hands. "You performed all three splendidly. You have improved so much!"
''I knew it,'' thought Takuma¡ª the invigilator did recognize him. But he didn''t say anything about it and simply moved away to the next part of testing¡ª the taijutsu portion.
The taijutsu invigilator didn''t call him up immediately, and Takuma was glad about it. If he had been called, Takuma didn''t know if his legs would''ve held up as they were trembling uncontrollably.
He had passed. Third time''s the charm. After two failures, he passed the hardest thing he had done in his life. Takuma felt a boulder''s weight lift above his head. He tried to keep some tension in his body as the testing wasn''t over, but when he knew that he was going to pass no matter what, it was tough to feel anything other than utter and complete relief.
He wanted to leave the academy grounds and run to find Maruboshi so that he could tell his teacher, his one and only supporter, his rock, that he had done it. A year of struggle, ten months of training, countless sleepless nights¡ª his time hadn''t been a waste. He had done it. He couldn''t describe it, but he had never ever felt it. It was a sense of accomplishment¡ª but it was nothing like he had ever experienced. All of his previous achievements seemed pointless in the face of what he felt right now.
Takuma didn''t have the time to dwell as the taijutsu invigilator called him up. It wasn''t anything special. When facing someone far superior in skill, the performance of the lesser didn''t reflect any difference even when they got better. Takuma''s performance, even though he had won his first spar yesterday, didn''t seem any different from last time.. As for what went into the clipboard, Takuma would only know when he got the result.
"You can exit through that door for the next part," said the taijutsu invigilator afterward, pointing to the outdoor exit of the auditorium.
Takuma nodded and walked to the exit, but before he stepped out, he looked back at the auditorium and took a moment to take in the entirety of the auditorium hall. He wanted to remember it for now and for the future.
When he stepped out, his eyes widened when he found himself looking at a bald old man dressed in a kimono sitting under a big umbrella with a coal brazier lit near his feet. The entire yard was covered with snow, but a circular area around the old man was void of snow and even any moisture on the ground.
"Sit down," said the old man.
Takuma sat down in front of the old man. The entire scene invoked a strong sense of deja-vu in him. The same events from the first attempt were repeating again. He was sitting in front of the same bald old man who was again staring at him in silence, but this time with a small smile.
Takuma found the tension he had lost before returning¡ª something about the old man unnerved him.
"I only have one question for you, Takuma," said the old man, still smiling.
Takuma leaned forward in his chair slightly. He was ready; no matter what the old man threw at him, he was going to answer; he was prepared this time.
"How many people stood in the auditorium''s second-floor corridor?"
Takuma was taken aback. The same question? He was sure there would be another question. He leaned back into this chair and took a moment to contemplate.
"... Nine of them," he said¡ª one person was sitting.
The old man''s small smile bloomed into a full-blown one. "Smart child," he said and stood up from his seat.
Takuma felt a hot breeze tickling him under his ear. He frowned but didn''t raise his hand to scratch the itch as he was in front of the invigilator. It went away on its own.
The old man who had stood up frowned as he looked at him. Takuma was confused at the sudden change in expression but didn''t say anything. Maybe the old man was experiencing pains that came with old age.
The old man''s expression eased, and he stepped away from his chair, and Takuma''s eyes widened when he saw an identical old man sitting in the chair¡ª it was as if the old man had left an afterimage behind him.
How? Takuma looked between the identical old men¡ª one sitting and one standing. He glanced at both of their feet and saw that both had shadows. ''Not Bunshin no Jutsu... Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)?'' he thought. But there were no hand seals or the puff of smoke. The puff of smoke could be eliminated, but what about the hand seal? How did the old man make a clone appear in his chair so seamlessly?
As Takuma''s mind raced to find an answer, the standing old man saw Takuma''s eyes going between him and his chair. His expression once again faltered.
"... You can see through it... already?" said the standing old man with surprise.
"Huh? I-I mean, yes. I can see the clone," said Takuma, confused. Was he not supposed to see the clone?
"... That''s not a clone," the old man pointed at his chair.
Takuma''s confusion deepened. His brows arched together as he gazed at the old man in the chair. If it wasn''t a clone, then what was it¡ª... the answer clicked like the last piece of a puzzle.
"Genjutsu," he gasped. Takuma''s hand made a tiger hand seal and immediately dispelled the genjutsu cast upon him. Maruboshi hadn''t taught him to cast genjutsu (it wasn''t even on the table), but he had taught him how to dispel one¡ª it was easy.
The old man in the chair disappeared like a mirage, leaving only the standing old man behind.
Takuma breathed a sigh of relief, but confusion still plagued him. With a little thinking, it was clear that the old man was planning to fool him through a genjutsu. Under the guise of illusion, he would get up, leaving behind an illusion of him still sitting, making it so that Takuma would think nothing had changed. But why was he able to see the standing old man, who he wasn''t supposed to see, when the genjutsu had clearly been cast successfully.
Had the old man made a mistake?
Takuma didn''t get an answer that day. The old man didn''t say anything else before sending him away.
CH_1.30 (030):
Takuma peered inside the auditorium hall. Last week he was here giving his graduation test; the place looked spacious back then, spacious enough to test bukijutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu all under the same roof without interfering with each other. Today, the same hall was decorated for a formal event, jam-packed with chairs; even the raised stage in the front had a podium setup on it. All of the preparation for the convocation ceremony
Seeing so many adults in the academy made the sight seem even stranger. He looked down at his clothes; he had dressed his best for the formal event¡ª saying that, labeling a light blue shirt and black pants as formal wear was stretching it. But it was the only option he had. The rest of his wardrobe was made up of easy-to-move-in active wear. The thought of renting a kimono for the event had crossed his mind, only for him to cross out the idea as overdoing it (plus not renting/buying saved him money)¡ª but it seemed he was wrong. The hall had plenty of men and women wearing kimonos and hakamas for their children''s convocation. He even spotted his classmates dressed up nicely for the day.
''Too late now,'' thought Takuma as he smoothed out his shirt before stepping inside the auditorium and making a beeline towards his seating appointment he had gotten at the academy gates.
His seat was at the end of one of the middle rows. He looked to the seat beside him and sighed. Everyone else was accompanied by their parents; only he was alone.
''¡ªI will be there¡ª''
He was the only ''orphan'' in his class. It was a wild coincidence, given how many lives had been lost in the Kyuubi attack, but most of his classmates had at least one of their parents alive, and those who had lost both their parents were in the care of their relatives. He was the only parentless orphanage orphan.
Unlike any other school in the Leaf village, the shinobi academy had zero tuition as everything was paid by the state¡ª it was only fair when the students were trained to become child soldiers. Free schooling meant no expense on education, which tend to be the biggest expense in raising a child. His thoughts were pessimistic, but after pinching pennies for a year, his views could be summarized well¡ª ''Money couldn''t buy happiness, but no happiness would live without the support of money.''
Soon the crowd began to come together in a neat congregation. The adults were mostly shinobi, accustomed to discipline, so the ceremony proceeded smoothly. The headmaster (there was one) addressed the crowd with a winding speech that Takuma eventually tuned out in favor of gazing at the parents to see if he could see the similarities between them and his classmates. All Inuzukas had the red fang marking on their face. Hana''s mother looked much wilder than her. Izumi looked a lot like her mother, especially her eyes, except for the hair¡ª the mother had black hair unlike Izumi''s brown. The Akimichi father and son duo looked like a pair of dumplings, one small and the other big. Momoe''s parents looked uber-wealthy with their composure and clothing¡ª the Okubo parents and child looked like the perfect family set.
"... and so, I humbly welcome Lord Hokage," said the headmaster.
Everyone in the room stood up, and Takuma hurriedly followed their lead. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of the Leaf village, stepped into the auditorium with three shinobi in standard Leaf shinobi gear accompanying him. The Hokage was dressed in his traditional Hokage haori over a full-length red kimono and the wide-brimmed red Hokage hat to complete the set.
His eyes went to the second-floor corridor, and he blinked in surprise to see multiple fully hooded people that weren''t there before looking down at the event. He narrowed his eyes to look when he caught a glimpse of a white mask under the light tan robes. They were ANBU¡ª Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (Special Assassination and Tactical Squad). As Takuma looked at one of them, the ANBU operative looked at him.
''Shit, he caught me,'' Takuma turned his head immediately. He didn¡¯t look back at them.
The Third Hokage spoke some words about the children being the village''s future and how this day, officiating the beginning careers of a full batch of new genin, was one of the events he looked forward to every year. This speech, Takuma listened with wide-open ears.
The convocation ceremony began soon after. One by one, children were called by name to come forward with their parents to receive their graduation scroll. Those graduating with ordinary scores went first. Some had parents who were shinobi, and others were born to civilians. Takuma was thankful that the ordinary score list wasn''t by scores, or he would''ve been called first¡ª or maybe that would''ve been better.
Takuma glanced beside him. Some parents sat beside him. He had been asked if he wanted to bring someone, the orphanage matron maybe, but he had refused. He looked around the hall, only to sigh.
"...Takuma," the headmaster''s voice sounded.
Takuma stood up and made his way to the front, feeling nervous under a hundred pairs of eyes. He told himself that even if most were looking, they weren''t paying attention as he hadn''t been when others went to the stage. It helped, but only a little. He climbed the steps of the stage alone and stepped towards the Third Hokage to receive his graduation scroll.
"Takuma," the Hokage smiled down upon him, "Kusoke''s pupil. I see that you are doing well this time around."
Gazing up at him this close, Takuma could see the same crinkles around the Hokage''s eyes, the sagging skin, and the graying hair. He was at least as old as Maruboshi. It''s rare, he knew, for shinobi to survive so long. At once, Takuma was struck with the realization that he was standing before someone who was really, truly strong.
"I know you will become a great shinobi one day. Work hard and never doubt that this village is very proud of you."
Takuma stiffly nodded and focused on making sure his toes that were visible in his open-toed shinobi sandals (he really needed to buy new shoes) weren''t wiggling. He didn''t know how else to respond and stuck to the nod.
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The Hokage turned and picked up a forehead protector with a blue headband and the Leaf insignia engraved on a metal plate. Takuma received the forehead protector and looked down at the gleaming metal to see his own reflection in it. The symbol of his status¡ª that he was now a genin, a shinobi of the Leaf.
He looked at the Hokage and bowed to him. As he turned to walk away, Takuma looked around the hall, his eyes scanning the faces, looking for one particular one. He didn''t find it in the seating area. As he was about to stop looking and get off the stage, Takuma looked near the back of the auditorium.
Near the far wall of the hall stood Maruboshi. He was dressed as he always did in his mesh armor shirt under a short, brown, sleeveless kimono with a pair of grey pants. Maruboshi smiled when he saw Takuma looking at him.
Takuma''s throat closed up. He clenched his jaw to keep his eyes in control. Clutching the graduation scroll to his chest, he raised his forehead protector over his head. He had done it; he was a shinobi now. And it was only because of the man standing in the back.
He got down the stage, skipped his chair in the seating area, and made a bee-line towards the back where Maruboshi stood.
"You came," he said.
"I said I would come," Maruboshi was smiling widely.
Takuma showed his forehead protector. "I got one now," he said.
"It shines," Maruboshi pushed the folds of the cloth belt that tied his kimono to reveal his forehead protector. The engraved metal plate had hundreds of micro scratches that had stolen away all of the metal''s shine.
"Yours is old," Takuma said. The state of the forehead protector told Takuma the difference between them as people and life experiences.
"After this, we should go eat out to celebrate. I shall pay; I insist," said Maruboshi."
Takuma smiled brightly. Today, he felt he wasn''t going to refuse anything.
He returned to his chair soon after, and Maruboshi left the auditorium. Takuma had already received his forehead protector; there was no sense in Maruboshi staying. They decided to meet at the restaurant Maruboshi chose for lunch.
By the time Takuma returned to his seat, they had already begun with students graduating with honors. Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Izumi. Hana was accompanied by her gruff-looking mother with her sharp face, glinting eyes, and spiky hair. The red-fang markings on her face made it look like she was a warrior about to go into guerrilla warfare. For Izumi, her mother seemed gentle and demure-type, much unlike her peppy daughter.
"And lastly, obtaining the highest honor in her class, Okubo Momoe," the headmaster announced with a hearty smile.
In the crowd, Momoe stood up and walked to the stage with her parents walking behind her. They didn''t smile, but they did look proud. If Takuma had to put their expression into words, it would be: ''Momoe topping her class was simply expected.''
''Expectations... must be tough,'' he thought.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After the ceremony ended, Takuma made his way to the decided restaurant, where Maruboshi was waiting for him. The hostess led him to the table, and Takuma was nervous because the restaurant was a fancy one.
"I see you have not worn your forehead protector," were Maruboshi''s first words when he saw Takuma.
"I thought it would look tacky," Takuma said after returning the hostess'' bow. He did want to flaunt the headband, though¡ª it was like a medical student wanting to wear a doctor''s white coat after graduating.
"I had worn mine the moment I got it," Maruboshi laughed. "Didn''t even wait till getting back to my seat."
Takuma put his graduation scroll to the side and sat across Maruboshi. "Between you and the Hokage, who''s older?" he asked.
Maruboshi tilted his head with an amused expression. "Lord Third is a few years older than me. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing special," Takuma grinned. "Just wanted to know who''s the oldest shinobi in the Leaf."
Maruboshi sighed with a smile on his lips.
They ordered food (Maruboshi did for both of them), and for the first time in a year, Takuma enjoyed a meal he hadn''t made. The food was much better than his home cooking. In the past year, it wasn''t his shinobi skills that had improved the most; that award went to his cooking. He had gone from boiling eggs and cooking instant noodles to whipping up three nutritious meals a day.
"I have a present for you, young¡ª no, Genin Takuma," smiled Maruboshi. He slid a wrapped package across the table.
"Oh! You didn''t have to," said Takuma, genuinely surprised. "Can I open it?"
Maruboshi nodded, and Takuma tore into it. He would''ve carefully unwrapped it if he was frequently gifting people things, but that wasn''t part of his life.
"This..." Maruboshi''s gift was clothes. There were two identical packages in the gift, and Takuma recognized the color as a very particular shade of blue, iconic in the Leaf village. It was the blue that the majority of Leaf shinobi wore as part of the standard Leaf shinobi gear. The gift was the standard Leaf shinobi gear without the flak jacket.
"You are now a shinobi, and I thought you would appreciate something practical and immediately usable," said Maruboshi.
Takuma rubbed his finger over the red spiral symbol present stitched on both sides of the vest. "Thank you," he smiled softly. He did appreciate the gift.
"Tell me about your teammates," asked Maruboshi. "Do they tell you about your team leader nowadays? In my time, they didn''t tell us that during graduation."
Takuma looked up from the gift, confused. "No one told me about teammates; they just told us to assemble at the academy the day after tomorrow," he said. Was there a meeting after the convocation he was supposed to be at?
"It should be along with your graduation scroll," said Maruboshi looking at the scroll lying on the side of the table. "You haven''t opened it yet?" The seal was still on it.
"Ah no, I didn''t," Takuma picked up the scroll¡ª he was too engrossed by the forehead protector.
Takuma gently clipped the wax seal over the scroll and unrolled it. There was another length of paper rolled along with the main scroll. Takuma pulled it out, and one side had printed words on it.
But as he read the words, Takuma''s excitement turned into confusion. He gave the paper to Maruboshi. "What does this mean?" he asked.
Maruboshi looked at the paper. His eyes widened, and his lips parted as he read the words on the scroll.
¡ª Name: Takuma
¡ª Rank: Genin
.
.
.
¡ª Assignment: Genin Corps
INTERLUDE_1.1 (031):
¡ªAFTER THE EVENTS OF CH_1.12 (012)¡ª
The Hokage''s Office was part of an administrative building. Situated on a floor heavily guarded by shinobi in-charge of Hokage''s protection. The entire floor was only accessible to those with certain security clearance, and every outside visitor was noted at the entrance and designated an escort to keep on with their movements.
On that floor existed another entry point that worked both as a second emergency exit and an entrance for those who wanted to enter the floor without being seen.
A man with dark blonde hair tied in a ponytail resting over his shoulder walked into an empty dine-in takoyaki deli with no signs outside. The building was narrow and short, with a counter stretched from one end to the other with only four barstool-styled chairs for customers. A short middle-aged woman with a mean look dressed in white sat behind the counter reading a fashion magazine.
When she heard the door chime, she glared at the ponytailed man.
"Three-and-half plate to go. Make ''em crispy and zingy," said the man.
"175-ryo," said the woman, her voice gruff.
"Wasn''t it 140 before?" he asked.
"Do you want it or not?"
The man sighed, "Make it quick. I will be using the bathroom."
The woman followed him with her eyes until he disappeared into the back of the restaurant. She opened her magazine and started to read again.
The back of the restaurant had two doors. The blue one had the lavatory sign, while the other was painted gray. The man faced the restaurant door and pulled it by the doorknob before pushing it down and turning it to open the door. The room''s inside was a storage unit with all sorts of things stuffed into it. The man made his way to a wooden cabinet and pulled it open to reveal a set of stairs stretching underground. The stairs led to an underground tunnel with rough excavated walls with wooden supports, illuminated by yellow light bulbs hanging off the top. They shed just enough light to make the path barely visible enough for safely walking.
At the end of the tunnel, the man found a figure wearing a white porcelain mask with a boar design and red markings sitting on a stool beside a steel gate.
"Hand, before, room, white, arm, thick," the ponytailed man said to the masked man and wondered if he should''ve put on his own.
The masked man stood up and patted the ponytailed man on the side of his arm. The hand stayed for a moment before the masked man stepped back and nodded. The man turned his back while the masked figure turned to the steel door and swung the large circular wheel on it in a specific pattern to unlock it.
The man nodded to the masked figure and stepped through the door that closed behind him. The door opened to another stretch of stairs that led to an empty room, opening up through a large floor tile.
The man knew that even though the room looked bare, three people were watching him at that very moment. He didn''t try to discern their position and simply walked out of the room and tread the familiar corridors until he was standing in front of a door.
He knocked on the door in a specific way and then waited.
A few seconds later, he heard, "Come in."
The man straightened his clothes before stepping inside the room. The room was large, somewhat oval, and filled with stacks of unfinished paperwork. There was a desk with large windows overlooking the village behind it.
"Lord Hokage," the man knelt down and greeted the man sitting behind the desk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork and asked the man to get up. "How was he, Raven? Anything of concern?" he asked before bringing his smoking pipe to his mouth.
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"Nothing out of order, Lord Hokage," said Raven. "The subject suffered a panic attack that put him into a coma..."
"A panic attack?" the Hokage lowered his smoking pipe. "He''s but a child. What was the cause?"
Raven shook his head. "It was as the report stated¡ª the subject''s mind is muddled, and with the intense emotional distress behind the panic attack, I couldn''t find the exact cause. If I could get some time and assistance, I believe I can get that information."
The Hokage had assigned him a mission to pose as a doctor and use his clan''s abilities to inspect the subject''s mind. Takuma was the child''s name. At first, he was confused about why the Hokage had asked him to infiltrate a child''s mind. But after reading the report on the subject, he understood why the Hokage had been concerned by the subject suddenly ending up in the hospital. To think a child, who hadn''t even graduated from the academy, would have such a past. It saddened him greatly when he saw the scars mentioned in the report present on the boy''s body. The boy would carry them throughout his life.
The Hokage shook his head. "We have already tried to get more. It didn''t work back then." He sighed, "I thought his mind would heal with time, but I believe it is still the same?"
Raven nodded. The boy''s mind was protecting him by repressing the memories of the past. And as it protected the boy from himself, it also protected him from his clan''s jutsu. He couldn''t pass through the blockages created by the mind¡ª if he tried to force it, he would damage the boy''s mind. If he had assistance from his clan members, he could peer through the natural blockages and get more information... but the risk of damaging the boy''s mind wouldn''t go away. Raven glanced up at the Hokage¡ª he could tell the Hokage didn''t want to go through with that.
"What about the update you were provided?" the Hokage asked. "Were they confirmed?"
Raven nodded. Even if he encountered the blockages in the boy''s mind, it didn''t mean he came out empty handed. He was handpicked as part of the masks for a reason.
"According to the subject''s memories, Maruboshi Kosuke has been teaching him for the last few months. The subject isn''t performing well at the academy and has been training under Maruboshi Kosuke to resolve his grades. They meet every day as long as Maruboshi Kosuke doesn''t have a mission that renders him unable to attend¡ª even on those days, the subject goes to their meeting location and trains on his own."
The broken memories, covered with dark haze, had provided him enough to confidently support his claims.
"Do you wish for us to investigate Maruboshi Kosuke?" asked Raven.
"That won''t be needed," the Hokage shook his head. "I have known Kosuke for a long time. There''s no one more loyal. If nothing showed up on the preliminary search, there''s no need to investigate him more." He then asked, "Could his condition be the cause behind the panic attack?"
Raven didn''t offer an answer immediately. He thought about it and recalled what he had experienced in the boy''s mind. "I can''t deny the possibility. The subject''s mind is repressing memories to protect him, but the mind is as fragile as it is strong. Given a strong enough stimulus, something could''ve escaped the bindings that caused the boy to experience heightened levels of stress that triggered the attack. The subject was defensive when I revealed my identity..."
"Most people would be," said the Hokage.
Raven nodded. His clan''s ability came with a stigma. "... and refused to talk about what caused the panic attack, but that doesn''t tell us that it was his past that caused the attack. It could''ve very well been something recent that caused it. The subject has been very worried about his academy performance."
"But to suffer a panic attack..." the Hokage tapped his wrinkly finger on his table. "Very well, if the condition of his mind hasn''t changed, there is no use in pursuing this any longer." He looked at Raven, "Add your findings into the report and close this case."
"Should we add surveillance on the boy?" Raven asked.
"No. Thank you, Raven. You may take your leave."
Raven bowed and turned to leave when he stopped and doubled back. "One more thing," he said.
"Yes?" the Hokage said as he browsed the paperwork on his desk.
Raven pursed his lips. When he was in the boy''s mind, he felt jumpy. It wasn''t uncommon. The human mind was a complex puzzle yet to be solved; even after the generations of his clan discovering its secrets, there was so much they didn''t know about. He had felt all kinds of sensations when he was inside people''s minds¡ª every brain reacted to his infiltrating presence in its unique way.
The Hokage looked up when he didn''t speak. "Raven?" he asked.
"... No, Lord Hokage... It''s nothing. I will take my leave," he decided not to say. It must''ve been because of the boy''s past, all that he had gone through, that had led his mind to repress his memories.
"Very well," said the Hokage and returned to his seemingly never-ending piles of paperwork.
Raven bowed and turned to leave. By the time he was out of the door, he felt confident in his reasoning. Even if he was ANBU, the Hokage didn''t need to know the functioning of his clan''s jutsu.
... It was just that the sensation this time was the strongest he had ever felt.
CH_2.1 (032):
Sitting on a bench outside an administrative office wasn''t how Takuma thought he would start his shinobi career, but the reality of the situation was more different than anything he had imagined. He leaned against the bench and thought about how all of his expectations had been subverted by a single line on a slip of paper.
It had been a week since his convocation ceremony. He didn''t know how to feel when he didn''t see the names of two of his classmates, and instead, his assignment had said two words: Genin Corps. Takuma had no idea what that meant¡ª something like that didn''t exist in the manga he had read, or at least, he didn''t remember reading about it.
What he knew was that his two fails were the reason he was assigned to the Genin Corps.
''¡ªIt''s not as good as being assigned under a Jonin team leader, but if you want, it can be as good, even better¡ª''
Maruboshi''s words had been contradictory. How could it be not as good but still better? There was a flash of regret on Maruboshi''s face that he wasn''t part of a three-man cell led by a jonin, but that look had quickly turned into an expression of seriousness. The old shinobi had told him that as long as he put his nose down and put in the work, his efforts would be rewarded.
Those words had only served to confuse Takuma more because he still didn''t know what the Genin Corps was. Maruboshi had simply defined it as the general pool of Leaf genins. But Takuma knew he was holding back something... something Takuma hadn''t been able to draw out of him. So, he went to search on his own.
He couldn''t whip out his phone and pull up a search engine to get the information he wanted, so he could turn to the next best source¡ª a library. His official shinobi documentation had yet to be issued, so he could only go to the civilian library for answers. Fortunately for him, he found information about the shinobi military organization in case the civilians wanted to know more about their shinobi counterparts. Unfortunately for him, the records told him the same thing as Maruboshi and were directly led by the Leaf Genin Resource Command.
The first break had come from an unexpected source.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat outside an administrative office with an application for his official shinobi documentation and a folder of required documents in his hands, waiting to be called in, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see a familiar face standing beside him.
"Taro..."
Oishi Taro was a classmate of his. Takuma didn''t think he had talked to him in the past year. They had sparred numerous times, and Taro had beaten Takuma every time, but they had no contact other than that.
"Yo," Taro raised his hand in greeting. "I heard you got directly shipped to Genin Corps."
"How did you know that?" Takuma hadn''t told anyone, and he doubted Maruboshi was talking to any of his classmates.
"You weren''t there when the Jonin sensei came to fetch us," said the boy with a man bun. "Everyone except you was there. Hiji laughed that they must''ve failed you, but Kibe-sensei shut him down and told us that you were somewhere else. My mom told me later that you must''ve been directly assigned to the Genin Corps."
"Ah..." Taro''s parents were shinobi; they weren''t from shinobi clans. From what Takuma remembered, his mother was a Chunin. He didn''t know about the father.
"I guess we are in the same boat then," said Taro, sitting beside him.
"You''re in the Genin Corps?" Takuma shifted to face Taro, surprise spreading on his face.
Taro slumped against the bench like he was sitting on a couch in front of his TV. "Uh-huh, the Jonin-sensei failed me."
Takuma frowned. "Aren''t they supposed to send you back to the academy; why did they send you to Genin Corps."
"That''s something they tell to scare us," Taro scoffed. "If you fail your jonin sensei test, you get sent to the Genin Corps. Our year had twelve teams¡ª eight of them were failed by their jonin."
"Eight!" Takuma breathed in sharply¡ª that was a two-thirds fail rate.
"It''s normal, mom told me," Taro shrugged. "Elite jonin don''t grow on trees, and taking a three-genin team is a four-year commitment from the jonin''s side. They don''t just accept anyone."
Takuma''s mouth turned into an O-ring. He didn''t know much of that. But just after a moment''s thought, it made sense that the failure rate would be so high.
He wet his lips before asking, "Hey, what do you think about the Genin Corps? I heard it''s not a good place."
Taro hummed in thought as he sunk even lower into the wood bench. "It''s not the best place to be. The best place would be training under a jonin sensei in a three-man cell. Those guys have personalized training, fast-track on missions, and better pay. And most importantly, they have the backing of a jonin¡ª a jonin''s word means a lot in the village. In the Genin Corps, you have no choice for your mission, the training isn''t that good, the pay is lower¡ª and of course, we don''t have the backing of jonin... So yeah, not a great place."
"...You don''t seem to be stressed about being in the Genin Corps, though," asked Takuma doubtfully.
"My mom said this: Genin Corps is the place where the shinobi career went to die..." That didn''t sound ominous at all, Takuma gulped. "... that is if you stay there."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Eight out of twelve teams failed, which means twenty-four out of thirty-six of us failed¡ª twenty-five if we count you. More failed than passed, so ending up in Genin Corps is more common than ending up in a three-man cell. Even those who passed might end up in Genin Corps if they don''t get promoted by the end of the four-year commitment by the jonin. So, most genin end up in the Genin Corps one way or another. It''s the norm. The problem is when you stay in the Genin Corps for too long. You either¡ª"
Taro was interrupted by the sudden sharp ring of a desk bell from inside the administrative office, followed by a shrill: "Next!" Then a person pushed the salon doors and walked out of the office.
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"It''s your turn," said Taro.
''What was this timing?!'' Takuma yelled to himself as he got up and went into the office to face an annoyed shinobi who snatched the document out of his hands when he tried to offer them. Then the shinobi complained about the application and documents for ten minutes before accepting them and sending Takuma out of the office. The entire time, Takuma''s mind was on the conversation he was having with Taro.
''Back to the talk,'' he thought as he pushed past the salon doors. But then he heard a bell ring with: "Next!"
Taro stood up from the bench and walked inside the office, leaving Takuma alone to sit on the bench, feeling restless to resume the conversation with Taro.
"Let''s get out of here," said Taro. They left the building, and Taro led them to a tea shop where he ordered a plate of dango sticks. "Do you want some?" he asked.
"No, thank you," said Takuma. He could now afford to splurge a little as the base salary of a Leaf genin was higher than the allowance he got from the state. That was not counting the per-mission pay he would earn upon completing missions. An average Leaf genin could live an above-average lavish life as a single person with no other commitments; they could even support an additional person if they live a smart affordable lifestyle. Moreover, there were concessions for various commodities provided to shinobi, making the cost of living even cheaper.
He just didn''t want to spend money.
"The man in the office, he was a genin from the Genin Corps," Taro said after eating a couple dango. "Every clerk, pen-pusher, desk jockey, and building guard who''s old¡ª like twenty¡ª is from the Genin Corps. That''s a fact."
Takuma sweatdropped. Twenty was barely an ''adult'' adult. The worldview of a genuine eleven year old was frightening.
"If you stay in the Genin Corps for long without progress, there''s an opportunity to get into clerical positions and get off active duty¡ª but it also means you''ll never go anywhere else," Taro continued as he bit off another dango.
"A non-combatant position doesn''t sound bad, though," Takuma said. Shinobi was a dangerous occupation, and getting away from the field must sound great to many people.
"But you don''t have to be in the Genin Corps to avoid field duty," Taro said as he licked the dango stick.
"What do you mean? If you can''t get promoted to chunin, you can''t go anywhere else," Takuma asked in confusion.
"There are more ways to get out of Genin Corps, you know.... Oh, you don''t know," Taro said after looking at Takuma''s expression. Takuma really didn''t know. "You can test for the Engineer''s exam to join the Engineering school and later join one of the Engineering Divisions. Similarly, you can join the Medical Corps by becoming an Iryo-nin(medical shinobi)¡ª it''s tough, though, dad failed the interviews three times before they let him in. Then there are intelligence analysts, lawyers, boring research... my uncle is a beu-beuri-beauricrut?"
"Bureaucrat?"
"Yeah, that! Whatever that is. You can do a lot after spending the thirty months of mandatory active duty. Why stay in the Genin Corps?" Taro shrugged, "Or you can retire when you''re old."
Takuma did know the last part. A Leaf shinobi could leave after ten years of duty and return to their civilian status and choose to pursue something else. You had to put in twenty years at least to get the minimum amount pension, though. And again, the early twenties weren''t old.
"What about you? What do you want to do?" Takuma asked Taro.
Taro shrugged. "I wanted to get on the jonin team, but that''s not happening now. My dad wants me to study for the Medical Corps, and my mom wants me to become a lawyer. I don''t know what I want to do. Not thinking about it, will think about it later. My mum''s a chunin, so I''ll be fine... so whatever."
''Having connections like that close to you is definitely useful,'' thought Takuma. Could he consider Maruboshi as his connection? Yeah, he could. What was Maruboshi''s shinobi rank?
"You''re pretty smart, huh, Taro," said Takuma in praise.
"Hmm? Na, you just stupid for not knowing it."
Takuma''s eye twitched at the blunt insult. He said, "Did Hiji pass?"
"He did. With Aimi and Sho."
"So you must be stupider than the mutt."
That made a hit. Takuma could tell from the way Taro''s eyes narrowed that he had made a hit.
"I''m just a... what do they say... a late bloomer," said Taro.
Kids these days were quicker than he was at their age, Takuma thought as he said: "I could be a late bloomer as well."
"Na, you just stupid."
"Does your insult vocabulary only have stupid in it?"
"My mom says not to use curse words."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sighed, remembering his conversation with Taro a couple of days back. It wasn''t the best place, but it wasn''t the dead ditch he had initially feared. Maruboshi''s words about putting in the effort made sense after hearing that genins could get away from Genin Corps and get into other divisions to improve their career.
But did he want that? Takuma furrowed his brows. The reason he had been aiming to become a shinobi wasn''t that he wanted career progression and better pay¡ª yes, those perks were great¡ª but the main reason had been something else.
"Next!"
Takuma stepped into the office and faced another desk genin. He handed her a slip and told his name. The woman got up from her desk and walked to a cabinet before returning to him and giving him a sealed envelope. She asked him to check it and then sign a collection form.
He tore the envelope and tilted it to drop a laminated id-card onto his palm.
Takuma stared at his picture on the card. It was a bad picture, on the level of a driving license ugly. He knew it would stick until the id-card''s expiration date before he would need to renew it or when there was a need for a change.
He hadn''t chosen to become a shinobi to have a career progression and nice pay. He had chosen because he knew what was waiting for him out there¡ª he didn''t even need to cross the village walls¡ª the dangers lurked in the supposed safe village.
He had chosen to become a shinobi because he didn''t have a choice.
He had chosen it because it was essential.
Takuma gripped the card harder. He was going to see to it that the rank of the card would someday say jonin on it¡ª the elite, someone harder to kill off.
Because it was essential for his survival.
CH_2.2 (033):
The next day, Takuma found himself in a large field. Unlike the grassy fields with Maruboshi, every step on these yellow fields would kick up dust. Situated in one of the shinobi cantonments of the Leaf village, the field was the site for the first meeting of the newly minted rookies joining the Genin Corps. After completing his morning training, Takuma arrived early on the field to be safe on his first day.
So here he was, waiting for the other rookie genins to arrive. His classmates began to arrive in groups as if they had decided to meet somewhere else before coming to the meeting site. He didn''t greet them and stood by the side, watching them mingle and taking note of everyone who had failed the jonin test to end up in the same position. They may have acted like they were better than him in the academy, but now they were on the same level as him. He did wave to Taro, who gave him a ''sup'' nod. Unlike the day they had met, his messy man bun was made tight and clean. Even he, himself, had cut and combed his hair, clipped his nails, and had his clothes ironed, all to make an excellent first impression.
Takuma noticed someone he didn''t recognize walking into the field. He immediately straightened up, thinking it was someone senior from the Genin Corps, only to notice that the person was young. The new arrival looked about the same age as him. Soon after, more young people began trickling into the field, and Takuma recognized none of them. They all looked to be his age, and all of them had shiny plates on their forehead protectors.
"Hello," one of the strangers walked to him and greeted him with a smile with a gap between the front two incisors. "Where are you from?"
Takuma furrowed his brows a smudge. The person spoke in an accent he had never heard before¡ª he had only heard one accent in the Leaf village, which was the one he spoke in, but this one was different. He did understand it, though it took a second to process.
"My name''s Takuma. Who might you be?" he introduced.
"Oh! Nice to meet you, Takuma! I''m Ando Masaaki!" said the boy as he shook Takuma''s hand with both his hands. "I came from Inaho," he said with a grin.
"You''re from, where, again?"
"Inaho, it''s down south, beyond the Kaikyo-en, near the Shuen fields," Masaaki rattled off the words like a Gatling gun.
Takuma took a moment to separate the joint sentence into individual words. Land of Fire''s political landscape with its various regions, provinces, and cities had been part of the academy curriculum. He didn''t know Inaho, but he did know Kaikyo-en, it was one of the two great mountain ranges that ran through the Land of Fire. The Hidden Leaf village, itself, was located two hundred kilometers from the Kaikyo-en range''s mountains. He also knew about the Shuen fields, the rice bowl of the Land of Fire¡ª as much as seventy percent of the nation''s rice came from Shuen fields.
"So, you''re not from the Leaf village?" Takuma looked at Masaaki''s forehead protector wrapped around his head. "You are a rookie, right?"
"Took the exam back at home, passed last month. Came here last week with my pops, he went back home yesterday," said Masaaki, his hundred-watt smile dimmed a little bit.
Takuma digested the information in his mind. He wanted to ask the obvious question but decided to bite it back and went with: "So, how was the academy back at home?"
"Hmm? We didn''t have one back in Inaho. Kiwanishi had one. Inaho, Kiwanishi, and three other villages shared that one academy."
He knew it! Takuma had no idea that there were shinobi academies outside the Hidden Leaf village but from Masaaki''s words, he had one near his home. And it was safe to assume that similar shinobi academies existed across the Land of Fire to recruit more people as shinobi. It made sense, didn''t it¡ª why only use children from one village/city when you have an entire nation''s youth to choose from.
Takuma felt he had learned something important. He wet his lip before posing his second question, "Did you attempt the jonin test?"
If Masaaki had dog ears, they would droop down. "Yeah, me, Ai, and Nenro took the test, but she failed us," he said, sounding disappointed.
''Of course, or else you wouldn''t be here,'' thought Takuma.
"... The others back home will make fun of us even though we bragged so much."
"Others, fun? What do you mean?"
Then Masaaki told Takuma something that made him realize how privileged his classmates¡ª not him¡ª were by attending the shinobi academy in the Leaf village. According to Masaaki, every year, only the top three to six of the academy graduates, the very best, would be selected to travel to the Leaf village to be tested by a jonin to be part of a three-man cell¡ª the rest of them would be directly conscripted to the Genin Corps, and serve around the regions near their academy, they didn''t even get to come to the Leaf village.
''No, I''m privileged as well,'' thought Takuma. Even though he didn''t get a chance to test for the jonin-led three-man cell, he was at least in the Leaf village and not in some remote place.
"So, you''re from here, huh," Masaaki said.
"Hmm?" Takuma, who had been lost in thought, focused back on his new companion. "Yeah, I''m from Leaf village. Why?"
Masaaki looked towards the only large group in the field. It was made up of Takuma''s classmates. "You''re not standing with them or not dressed like that, so I thought you''d be the same as me," he said.
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Takuma peered at his classmates, and all of them were wearing their own clothes¡ª unlike Takuma and Masaaki, who wore the standard blue vest and pants. In fact, Takuma''s classmates, along with a couple more, were the only ones not wearing the standard gear¡ª everyone else was dressed in the same blue attire.
"Did they tell you to dress in uniform?" asked Takuma. He was wearing one of the sets Maruboshi had gifted him. He was also issued two extra pairs yesterday after getting his id-card. Though, Maruboshi''s gifts were of higher quality fabric.
"Isaki-sensei, the chunin who came with us, told us to wear the standard gear to make a good impression because we''re not from here," said Masaaki, still staring at Takuma''s classmates. "You don''t get along with them?"
Takuma shrugged. "Can''t say I do. They''re not bad people, though. If you want to make friends, go ahead," he said before asking: "What about your other two friends? I don''t see them; you didn''t come with them?"
"Oh no, they''re there," Masaaki pointed to a pair standing on the other side of the field. The boy and girl were, similarly, dressed in the standard gear and stood awfully close to each other, and upon a longer look, they were holding hands.
"Oh my, are they..."
"Yuck," Masaaki stuck out his tongue in disgust, "they''re always like that. One day, I swear, they will merge into one blob."
Takuma laughed. He didn''t know if it was natural physiology or because of chakra, but the children in this world were more mature than the children back in his world. It was good that they matured quicker because being a child soldier was nothing to sneeze at.
After a while, there were around a hundred genins gathered in the field in small groups (with Takuma''s classmates forming the largest group). Soon after, two older men dressed in the standard shinobi gear with flak jackets strolled into the field. One of them looked like a bodybuilder with a buzz cut, while the other looked shady with his dark shades and forehead protector covering his entire head.
"Get into a ten-by-ten grid now," said the bulky man in a naturally loud, gruff voice. "There should be ninety-seven of you here."
"Quickly!" said the shady man in a breathy voice.
The rookie genin followed the orders and formed a ten-by-ten grid with the last three places empty.
The bulky shinobi waited until everyone was silent and looked at them and then raised one of his hands to reveal an analog stopwatch. "It took you two minutes and seventeen seconds to stand properly," he stared down the genin in front of him before sneering. "Pathetic!"
Takuma narrowed his eyes at the venom in the bulky man''s voice. He glanced around, and others were showing varied expressions reflecting the same emotion.
"At least all of you are on time," the shady guy snickered.
"All of you, whatever filth you crawled from, are here because you were deemed unfit by an elite jonin of their time and guidance, in other words, they marked you as useless garbage. Due to that, you were conscripted to the Genin Corps because this is the only place that would take you in," the bulky guy said apathetically. Takuma could feel the tension rise around him. He could see Masaaki beside him clench his fist¡ª recalling what he had told him, Masaaki was sent to the Leaf village for being the best in his class, and now, he was being told that he was useless¡ª he could understand the reaction.
"I am Chunin Ueda Yoshio," said the bulky man. "But you don''t call me that. Call me by name, and I''ll make you regret being born. If you want to address me, do it by sir. As a matter of fact, any shit that comes out of your mouth should be followed by a sir. Does everybody understand?"
There was an unchorused mumble of "Yes, sir" from the genins.
"You guys can''t even respond properly," the shady guy shouted at them. "I have perfect hearing, and I didn''t hear it. DO¡ª YOU¡ª UNDERSTAND?"
This time, the group chorused with a loud "YES, SIR!"
"We will see about that," Yoshi glared at everyone. "I don''t know what I did, but I was unfortunate enough to be handed the duty to whip you failures into shape so that you won''t embarrass Leaf shinobi... no, all shinobi across the lands... in front of our patrons. I will try to accomplish this task, no matter how unlikely I think it is, because those are my orders¡ª and every word that comes out of my mouth will be your orders. Understood?"
"YES, SIR!"
"Good, now tell me which one of you is the shitstain named Takuma."
Takuma, who had been staring straight ahead like in a military movie, flinched. "Me, sir!" he hesitantly raised his hand.
Yoshio walked through the grid until he was standing uncomfortably close to Takuma, who could feel his warm breath over his face and smell the scent of deodorant that the larger man had worn. Takuma didn''t blink or look at Yoshio and simply started ahead in the back of the skull of the person standing in front of him.
"Listen, everyone, dear boy Takuma here failed his graduation test twice before he somehow lucked out on the third try. I don''t know how he passed the third time, and if the invigilator weren''t chunin, who is not even on the same planet as him, I would''ve thought he cheated. I think he still did something fishy to pass because there''s no way this stupid twig could be a shinobi. He was so bad that, unlike all of you, they didn''t even let him test for a three-man cell," hearing Yoshio''s voice this close rattled Takuma''s heart in his chest. Yoshio leaned forward, his nose almost touching Takuma''s temple. "I don''t know whose ass you licked to get that headband, but make one stupid mistake, and I swear to god that there will be no luck helping you here."
"Yes, sir!" Takuma said loudly, his eyes trained straight. He had taken the judging eyes of his classmates until he had grown desensitized and had started to see it as normal. A little bit of yelling in his face, while new, didn''t really affect him. He was prepared for it. The announcement of his failure to people who didn''t know did get to him, even though he knew the rumor would leak his result through his classmates.
Yoshio, who was leaning away from Takuma, froze when he heard the shout and stared at Takuma with a hard stare that only broke because someone in the assembly scoffed.
It was one of Takuma''s classmates, and while Yoshio missed it, the shady guy caught it. He briskly walked to the guy and yelled into his face. "Is there something funny, genin?! Tell everyone so they can also laugh. Do you think you''re better than him? Do you?! At least he wore his uniform; you didn''t even have that common sense! We gave you the gear for a reason. God damn wear them!"
The classmate who had laughed flinched and looked down at his feet.
"Everyone who didn''t wear the provided uniform will stay back today," said Yoshio.
He walked to the front of the group before addressing them again. "You''re hereby part of the Genin Corp basic training. If I do my job properly, you''ll enjoy hell after you die."
Takuma straightened and up clenched his fists. If life was going to be hard, then so was he.
CH_2.3 (034):
Takuma could hear his breathing inside his head as he observed his team in various states of exertion. On the first day, the rookie genins had been appointed into teams of five each. Any group activity was to be done with the team.
His new team... was interesting, to say the least.
"You... You''re a monster, Masaaki," said the girl with the bob cut and a lock of hair braided a violet ribbon just in front of the ear. She was huffing heavily with her hands on her knees as she looked up at Masaaki.
She wasn''t wrong. After sprinting for the better part of half an hour, Masaaki looked like he could do it for another hour without breaking a sweat.
Masaaki''s laugh was boisterous. "You don''t train enough, Ai," he said with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I train enough! You''re the deviant one!"
Masaaki laughed more.
"Ai''s right, Masaaki. You''re just something else," said the guy standing beside Ai with his hands resting on his waist as he caught his breathing.
Takuma could confidently say that he hadn''t seen a more handsome eleven year old in both of his lives. Nenro, Masaaki''s classmate from the academy, was strikingly good-looking with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and tall stature. Takuma had noticed many interested eyes from girls in the rookies lingering on Nenro, and many had even come over to talk to him¡ªthe number would''ve been higher if Ai hadn''t staked her claim in public. Takuma wondered if it was a coincidence or deliberate that Masaaki, Ai, and Nenro were placed together on the team.
That left the last member of his team. Takuma turned to look at the ground behind him, where Taro wheezed on the ground as if there wasn''t enough oxygen in the world.
"... I never noticed you have such low stamina," Takuma said to Taro.
Taro stared up at him and looked like he wanted to say something but closed his eyes.
"Takuma, you also seem to be doing well," Nenro''s voice made Takuma turn towards the handsome blonde and chuckle.
"... I run a lot," he smiled wryly.
"I''m sorry, should I''ve not asked?" Nenro asked with a worried look on his face.
"Eh? Ah, no, no, it''s nothing," Takuma waved him off¡ª it was more like he was forced to run by Maruboshi during the Leaf/Coin Concentration Practice. He wasn''t as sunny as Masaaki, but he had already caught his breath and could go again. "How''s the search for the apartment going?" he asked.
Ai perked up as a starry look appeared in her eyes. "We found the perfect place! It''s only a couple streets away from the main road. The market and bathhouse are like five minutes away. And you won''t believe how nice the apartment is¡ª it''s better than my home back in Kiwanishi!" she said in glowing praise.
"We''re going to finalize the lease today," Nenro smiled softly.
"Well, congratulations on finding someplace you like."
"We''re going to have a housewarming party or something when we get some time. Come visit us then," said Masaaki.
Takuma nodded. He still lived in the same place. The state previously rented the place, and the rent was paid directly by them without Takuma needing to do it himself. But after Takuma graduated, that stopped like the allowance. The landlord had come asking the very first day if Takuma wanted to rent, and he had agreed. Even though his house was nowhere near the main streets or the market¡ª the apartment was excellent in shape and had twenty-four hours of electricity and water, and even though the neighborhood didn''t house great characters, it was quiet, something Takuma appreciated. Plus, he was comfortable with his place, and that''s what mattered most. And it wasn''t like he could afford a place in a nicer area like the trio¡ª even they could only afford it because they were splitting the rent three ways. The landlord had drawn a new lease after a long round of negotiation in which Takuma dragged the price down as much as he could. On the downside, he had to give three months'' rent in advance, which had put a dent in his savings.
"Though, I''m surprised that we found the place so quickly. The landlord didn''t even try to negotiate the price much and looked happy to rent the place to us," said Nenro with concern, "I fear that there must be something wrong with the place."
"Don''t jinx it, Nenro," Ai lightly kicked Nenro on his leg.
"Shinobi make great tenants..." Everyone turned to Taro, who had now sat on the ground. "... or to be precise, genin makes for great tenants. Shinobi are paid more handsomely than most professions out there, and genin are only assigned D- and C-rank missions where the risk of dying is lower than the higher-grade missions that aren''t assigned to genins. There''s rarely any downside to renting out to genins. Chunin and Jonin, on the other hand, are a completely different story. B-rank missions anticipate combat with other shinobi, and the risk of casualty spikes up like a mountain; I don''t even need to speak about A-rank assignments. And owners don''t really prefer tenants who can die one random day, leaving them responsible for cleaning out the place, contacting the next of kin, and doing additional paperwork¡ª thus making chunin and jonin terrible tenants. My dad said that he and mum were forced to take out a loan to buy our house because they couldn''t find a good place to rent."
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That made sense. Takuma didn''t know how much his status as genin contributed to his landlord from keeping the apartment for the ever-reliable state to renting out his property to an eleven-year-old. The landlord had visited the apartment for regular check-ups and had never complained about anything as Takuma kept his place clean, and he never had any complaints from his neighbors as he wasn''t at home for most of the day. Maybe that contributed as well, he thought.
"Gather up!"
Yoshio''s voice boomed on the field. No one wasted a single moment and hurried to gather in front of the instructor as if the last one would be strung up dead. In less than half a minute, twenty-five genins had placed themselves in a neat five-by-five grid that they had learned to form in the past two weeks. The ninety-seven genins had been quartered into three groups of twenty-five(one of twenty-two) made up of teams of five(or four). Takuma''s group had the fortune(or ill fortune, as Taro put it) to be taught by Yoshio, while some other chunins took the other groups.
"To be tired after only running a few strides. Pathetic," said Yoshio as he walked the ample space between each genin. He had a baton in his hand to strike them whenever someone did something he didn''t appreciate. Yoshio walked behind Taro and smacked him on his back to make him stand in rod-like attention¡ª or whenever he found even the slightest of mistakes.
"As you losers are right now, you''re going to be mauled by drunkards and filthy bandits, and while I don''t mind that happening, the higher-ups don''t want to see the money spent stitching your uniforms go to waste¡ª I warned them not to pay you little shits, but they didn''t listen¡ª so I have to make sure you don''t die in some random ditch while on missions."
Takuma felt insulted at the remark. He didn''t know about a bandit, as he hadn''t met one, but he could wipe the floor with the drunkards he had met in his neighborhood. He glanced at his taijutsu-proficient classmates, and they looked more displeased than him.
"We''re going to remedy that, but before that, I need a volunteer." A mocking smirk surfaced on his face, "Which one of you sorry doormats think they can take me on? Anyone who thinks they''re better than me?"
A hand was immediately raised, and Takuma recognized it was one of his classmates, one with higher taijutsu proficiency. "Sir! I think I can do that, sir!" he said loudly.
Yoshio grinned and threw the baton away. He beckoned the guy forward. The genin walked out of the grid with an angry look on his face and immediately darted toward Yoshio without warning. The chunin instructor''s grin widened as he effortlessly caught a kick from the genin. Yoshio''s muscles bulged under his vest as he used the caught leg to swing the genin and thrash him into the ground face first. There was a sickening "gah" from Takuma''s classmate.
Yoshio raised his foot and stomped it down on the guy''s calf. Even though it wasn''t audible, Takuma could hear the bone crack in his mind. His breath caught for a second.
"Are you alright, genin?" Yoshio asked, unbothered by what he had just done.
Takuma''s classmate was holding his leg and shaking. His body had shrunk slightly into a fetal position. He said in a croaky voice, "Sir! Yes... sir! H-However, I-I think I broke my foot, s-sir!"
"Nothing serious then," smiled Yoshio. He then yelled, "Medic!"
In the middle of the large field shared by all five groups, the shady guy with dark glasses, who had accompanied Yoshio on the first day, sat on a foldable chair under a beach umbrella. He put down whatever book he was reading and teleported from there to beside Yoshio using Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Jutsu).
He knelt down beside the cowering genin. He pulled aside the pant sleeve and observed the injury while the genin hissed, groaned, and yelled in pain when he was poked or his leg was moved. The shady guy weaved hand seals before holding the leg with one hand and placing his other hand over the point of breakage for an iridescent green glow of Iryo-jutsu to appear.
"You see, I was pissed when they forced me to teach you lot that I decided. I couldn''t do anything as they were my orders, but I decided to make it a little fun. So, I proposed a harmless bet to the instructors. All four of us train our groups, and at the end of the basic training, one team from each group will participate in a tournament to decide a winner," said Yoshio.
Takuma narrowed his eyes. The shitty instructor was using them for fun and games. This was definitely some sort of new rookie hazing¡ª pitting them against each other like animals in a fight club and enjoying as they beat each other up.
"Of course, we understand the need for some motivation for you lazy lot," Yoshio continued. "The four teams that participate in the tournament will not be participating as teams; they will participate as individuals, meaning there will be one winner," the chunin instructor raised one finger. "As a reward, the winner will get a C-rank jutsu scroll."
Takuma''s eyes widened as he heard gasps around him. The academy three were E-rank jutsu. Rookie genins like them were allowed access to a library of D-rank jutsu. C-rank jutsu was beyond that. Takuma didn''t know if genins were allowed access to C-rank jutsu, but from the gasps around him, he could infer that even if they were, he wasn''t going to get his hands on one for a long time.
"For my group, that''s you guys; there will be a leaderboard that will be updated every week. Every week, the team on the top will be exempted from some punishment everyone else will have to face," Yoshio''s face was the perfect expression of evil.
"The team on the top of the leaderboard at the end of the basic training will participate in the final tournament."
Takuma clenched his grip on his other wrist behind his back. He could feel his pulse through the skin on his wrist. A C-rank jutsu. For an orphan like him who wasn''t part of a jonin-led three-man cell, or from a shinobi clan, or had close relatives in the shinobi organization, a C-rank jutsu was more precious than gold.
He had to get it.
He was going to get it...
... No matter what it took.
CH_2.4 (035):
The roofs in the Hidden Leaf village were considered free property for shinobi to traverse through. Any day, one could spot at least two dozen shinobi jumping from roof to roof to avoid the roads crowded with slow civilians.
Takuma looked down at the street from a tall roof in a residential area. He stepped back and ran to the next roof, jumping over a gap between the buildings that would''ve made him pee a little even thinking about jumping if he was in his previous body. His new body, though¡ª his shinobi body could put any professional traceurs, individuals who practiced parkour, to shame. He had strength, balance, dexterity, and nimbleness that allowed him to be as comfortable between buildings and roofs as he would be on a flat road.
He again stepped near the ledge and observed Taro and Masaaki walking on the road. The rookie genins were made to walk a beat in a part of a village as part of guard duty¡ª they would walk the streets, converse with the people they met on the way, keep up to date with the events in the area, and help anyone who they could.
However, as this was part of the basic training, Yoshio instructed them to only have two people on the road while the other three would watch over them as part of a stealth and backup simulation. Takuma peered at the buildings across the street and saw Nenro also skipping through the rooftops of the buildings and keeping an eye on the two walking the road. As for Ai, she was somewhere hidden doing the same job¡ª he had lost sight of her, which meant she was doing a good job.
Basic training hadn''t been what he expected. The training was tough, but nothing he hadn''t done with Maruboshi. Takuma still started his training at four in the morning (he did it alone as Maruboshi had started retaking regular missions) before going to the genin basic training. He trained in different things, involving his team and group under Yoshio, who did hit him- well, everyone- a lot. The chunin instructor, in only their first week, threw a shuriken into one of his genins'' palms after an argument before nonchalantly calling for the Iryo-nin.
As long as the shady guy chunin¡ª Takuma still didn''t know his name¡ª could heal the injury, Yoshio would inflict it as a punishment. Takuma had gotten his thigh bone bruised and suffered micro-fractures that had pained him so much when Yoshio had made him walk to the shady guy sitting halfway across the field to get healed.
The thing that disappointed Takuma was that they were still going through academy-level stuff that everyone could do. Everyone knew how to do it, but Yoshio ordered them to train them anyways and would punish them for even the most minor mistakes. Takuma hoped they would move on to something new.
"What are you thinking about?"
Takuma skipped on his feet, shifting his weight on the ball of his feet, as he twisted back with a kunai already in his hand to slash the person who had sneaked up on him.
*Scrriiing!*
His kunai met another as sparks flew on contact. Takuma immediately overpowered his opponent and was about to push them back to get some space and launch the next attack when he noticed that the supposed foe was his female teammate.
"What were you thinking sneaking up on me like that?!" Takuma said as he stepped back and loosened his grip on his kunai. One didn''t just sneak up on a shinobi like that and not expect to get stabbed in the face.
He sighed; he still needed to get used to his new teammate''s antics.
Ai stuck out her tongue and twirled her kunai with her finger in the ring. Among Takuma''s team, Ai was the mood-maker with her outgoing character. In the team with quiet characters such as Takuma and Taro, Ai was the one who struck up conversations that involved the entire group. Even Masaaki, the friendliest of them all, and Nenro, the most popular guy of the rookie genins, followed Ai''s lead in conversations.
Takuma was sure if Ai was in his previous world, she would be successful as a streamer or any internet personality.
"Why''re you here?" he asked.
"Nothing happens during patrolling. I was getting bored. I wish something would happen, anything," Ai shrugged as she followed Takuma to the next roof.
"Nothing happening is good for us," said Takuma, still keeping an eye on the road from every successive rooftop. But he didn''t tell her to go away¡ª he was also getting bored.
"Hey, do you think we will ace the board this week?" Ai asked.
Group Yoshio Weekly Rankings. The five teams would compete throughout the week in every activity in hopes of being at the top of the group''s weekly rankings. There was no set scoreboard, and Yoshio didn''t reveal the running order until the very last day while announcing the winner¡ª nor did he specify a point system that would help them estimate their ranking. Because of that, every team had to be on top of their game throughout the week, fearing that some other team had taken their spot the other day.
"We haven''t done anything different than the last three weeks, so I don''t think so," Takuma said.
"But we are doing everything we can," Ai grumbled before doing a flip between two buildings. "I really want us to win this week!"
The rankings reset every week, and their group had been consistently in second and third position every week, while every other team was wildly inconsistent in their rankings. Takuma was sure when the points for every week were tallied, they would be favorites for entry into the final tournament. However, that wasn''t enough. Coming first in the weekly rankings came with a reward in the form of mission points.
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Mission points were the other currency in the Leaf shinobi military other than money. In many ways, mission points were more important than ryo, as jutsu from the jutsu library could only be accessed by paying through mission points. As the name suggested, mission points were earned by completing missions. The genin in basic training weren''t allowed to apply to official missions to earn mission points.
So for Takuma, the only way to earn mission points was through topping Group Yoshio''s Weekly Rankings.
"The way I see it, we need to win the fights if we want to top the rankings," Takuma said as he stopped on a rooftop and watched the building across the street as Nenro ran atop the roof while a young man hung his washed laundry on the clothing line to dry. Nenro apologetically nodded for disturbing the man and immediately jumped to the next roof.
Ai giggled at the sight. She then asked, "Taro said something like that, right?"
Takuma nodded. Taro had pointed out that the teams that grabbed the first place in the last three weeks had collectively won most fights throughout the week. He had shown them a tally as proof that he had drafted sometime they weren''t looking.
"Yoshio said that the final tournament is a competition among instructors, and I''m pretty sure they have put money into it. I mean, why wouldn''t they. So, by giving out mission points, Yoshio is trying to reward the team with the most combat ability who would then win him the final tournament," Takuma analyzed. If the other teams hadn''t figured it out yet, it was only a matter of time before everyone did.
Combined with Taro''s win tally, it was safe to infer that fights had a considerable weight in Yoshio''s secret/internal grading system.
"Uhm, that''s gonna to be tough," Ai said with a little blush on her cheeks.
Takuma was no longer the weakest person among his peers. He had gone from the bottom of the barrel to the top fifteen out of the twenty-five people group. He didn''t win many fights, but he had a better record than Ai, who won more than Taro. Nenro and Masaaki were the reason why their team was able to bag the third and sometimes second place¡ª Nenro hovered in eleventh or tenth place, but it was Masaaki who consistently made it into the top ten rankings, which, other than him, was occupied by the clan and shinobi-born kids. The buzz-cut bald kid with gap between his front teeth hit like a tank.
"If we want to be on the top, you, me, and Taro will need to win more," said Takuma with a shrug. It was the plain truth. "That and complete the drills faster and better than everyone else¡ª if we can do that, it''s only natural we will be on the top."
"It sounds easy," she sighed.
"Not to me," Takuma pursed his lips and knew that she understood it as well. He had been trying to polish his taijutsu skills. He had observed Nenro and Masaaki fighting. They possessed a fluidity in their movement, and he tried to ask them what it was, but they didn''t seem to know what he was pointing out. He lacked what they had.
If they wanted mission points, something needed to change soon.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The change came quickly.
"Today, we''re going to work on chakra control," Yoshio announced after another grueling conditioning drill. He did his customary round through the grid and let his baton eat while correcting the postures. "Takuma, how did you train your chakra control¡ª if you did, that is?"
"Through Leaf Concentration Practice, sir!" Takuma said in a sturdy voice, his body rigid in attention.
"So, what are we going to do today?"
Takuma thought about what they had been doing these days¡ª the same old academy stuff, so he was going to repeat his words, but as the words formed in his throat, he felt Yoshio''s heat behind him, and he swore he could feel the cold baton as well.
"The Tree-Climbing Practice, sir!" he took the risk and changed the answer at the last moment.
Yoshio, who had gripped his baton ready to strike Takuma, smacked it back into his palm and stared at the back of Takuma''s head for a solid few seconds. Takuma felt the gaze trying to boil his brain through his skull.
"You''re correct for a change," said Yoshi, "and you''ve ruined my day."
Takuma held back the biggest grin from splitting his face and put on his best stone-cold stoic face as Yoshio passed him by, giving him a displeased look.
"Today, we''re going to learn the next step in improving your pathetic chakra control. Follow me! The last one to arrive will have to do thirty pushups with their heaviest teammate on their back," saying that Yoshio took off and the genin, who had just done a long conditioning drill, had to follow the absurd pace set by the chunin instructor.
Yoshio only stopped when they reached an area with a tall wall in the middle. It was just a single gray concrete wall just standing in the middle of the empty field. They had to crane up their necks to look at the wall that looked to be around four-stories tall.
"Even though it''s called the tree-climbing practice, you lot are going to do it on a wall," Yoshio said. He then paused and looked at Takuma. "So, you were technically wrong... this improves my mood."
Yoshio walked to the wall and started to climb up the wall without using his hands. He walked halfway, removed one of his legs, and crossed it over the other thigh. "Gather chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb the tree using the same concept of sticking as the leaf concentration practice. Just here, the weight is different, and the sole of your feet is a difficult place to gather chakra. If any of your numbskulls didn''t know, better chakra control means you can cast jutsu easier. The second purpose is to develop a sense of building chakra in your body. A shinobi is constantly moving in the heat of battle, and processes like molding chakra and directing it gets difficult when most of your mind needs to focus on other things¡ª you need to practice chakra control until it becomes instinctual, and the tree-climbing practice is the place where you start."
Yoshio jumped off the wall and landed on the ground with his bulky body throwing up a lot of dust. He continued, "This is how you''re going to do it. You will climb up the wall and walk down the other side."
Then a grin appeared on Yoshio''s face that disturbed Takuma. The sound of weight shifting of feet around him told that the rest of the group thought the same.
"The first team to complete the exercise successfully will be rewarded. All the members will get a very generous cache of mission points," Yoshio announced.
The moment Yoshio finished, Takuma knew how he was going to make up for the mission points he had lost out by not being the top team.
CH_2.5 (036):
If Takuma could say it, he would say it up close to Yoshio''s face. For all his bulging muscles and overwhelming masculine energy, the chunin instructor was softer than Maruboshi. Takuma definitely feared Yoshio''s metal baton, verbal harassment, and the punishments for mistakes, but he would take all of that in a heartbeat as opposed to the penalties that Maruboshi imposed upon failure. Even the much more difficult tree-walking practice didn''t seem as daunting and dreadful as Maruboshi''s version of leaf concentration practice with multiple objects of heavier and heavier weights with grinding penalties to boot.
Takuma looked at his peers on either side as they started with a run up on the ground and used that momentum and speed to try rushing up the wall. He didn''t know who started it, but soon everyone was using the same running approach. Only two people hadn''t adopted the strategy¡ª Takuma himself and Taro.
Takuma had his past trauma of wanting to fail the least, even if it meant he tried less than others¡ª the trauma of losing money still haunted him. As for Taro, he simply stood at the back, observing everyone. Takuma gave Taro a fleeting glance before focusing on the wall in front of him.
While the tree-walking practice and leaf concentration practice operated on the same concept of ''sticking'' using chakra, one key difference between the two exercises set them apart. The difference was the difference in mass(or force caused by mass) in action.
Yesterday, when Yoshio announced the tree-walking practice and the mission point reward, he had distributed the scroll on the tree-walking practice. Unlike a jutsu scroll, this scroll didn''t have any hand seals and directions, as the exercise didn''t need any. Instead, the tree-walking scroll was a theoretical research piece on how leaf concentration and tree-walking practice worked. And after having embarrassed himself in front of Maruboshi upon skipping the text walls in the Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Jutsu) scroll, Takuma had spent time reading the scroll in an effort to learn the technique quickly and bag the mission points.
Takuma placed his hand, palm flat, on the wall and channeled chakra through his chakra pathway system and out of the hand''s tenketsu(chakra points). He pushed his hand down slightly, and instead of sticking, the hand slid down. Even the slightest tug was enough to dislodge his hand when he used the amount of chakra he used to stick a stack of coins.
''Mass''s going to be key here,'' Takuma thought as he pressed one finger on the wall and applied a constant downward pull, dragging his finger down¡ª until it suddenly stopped as Takuma felt a force adhering his finger to the wall.
The theory scroll was complex. Takuma disliked that it was clearly written by an academic for other academics in the classic research paper language that had trumped him back at college when he needed to do secondary research for assignments and projects. He wasn''t that. He hadn''t researched chakra; his knowledge was that of a layman. Every sentence and paragraph had taken him thrice over to understand. But he had gained something out of it.
While twenty or so people ran toward the wall, Takuma stood near the wall with his hand raised straight above. He jumped as high as he could and tried to slap his hand on the wall at the top of his leap and keep them on the wall as he inevitably slid down. When compared to others, he looked downright stupid.
Nenro was doing the exercise beside him and asked, "Takuma, what are you doing?"
Takuma shushed harshly and said, "Go away, don''t bother me," without looking at his teammate.
Takuma jumped again and slapped his hand at the peak of his vertical reach. He slid down again¡ªbut a tiny bit slower than before. He jumped again, and this time his hand was blown away from the wall as he crashed his back on the floor.
"Are you alright?!" Nenro came to him again.
"Yeah, yeah! I''m alright, thanks!" Takuma got up.
"Do you want me to help?" asked Nenro. Where Nenro practiced, there was a white chalk palm print on the wall fifteen feet above the ground.
Takuma shook his head at his teammate. "Maybe, tomorrow. But not today, my friend, not today," he smiled before facing the wall again.
Due to the nature of chakra ''sticking'' where only the correct amount allowed perfect adhesion, anything less would form a weak bond, and anything more would blow the person or object away¡ª Takuma couldn''t stand on the ground and adhere his hands to the wall and start scaling the wall like Spiderman. Even if he stuck his hand on a spot and then tried to dangle from it, the weight change would erase the adhesion, and he would fall. If he tried to compensate chakra for the weight before dangling, his hand would be blown away as, at that moment, the chakra was much more than required for just the hand to stick.
Chakra ''sticking'' was different from glue in such a way. Something Takuma had learned from the scroll.
He could dynamically regulate chakra as mass(or force) changed¡ª which was needed to actually tree-walk as with every step, a force was applied on the surface, requiring a change in chakra quantity to maintain the adhesion¡ª but his proficiency was still away from that level.
So, he jumped, and after numerous tries of slowly sliding down or being blown away... Slap! Takuma slapped his hand on the wall while simultaneously releasing chakra through tenketsu.
And with one hand stuck on the wall... he dangled.
Takuma looked down and he could see his feet off the ground. "Holy shit, I did it," he muttered to himself. He looked around, and he could see the other genin staring at him. He waved to Masaaki, who waved back with his jaw slightly open.
They had yet to be able to stick a point on the wall. All of them were trying to run up the wall, taking the next step as soon as possible before the loose adhesion on the foot collapsed due to excessive force so they could plant the other foot on a higher point. That wasn''t true tree-walking.
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Takuma remembered. Yoshio had walked up the wall and then had stopped halfway through and remained there, even removing one foot to showboat. Staying on the spot on a vertical surface¡ª that was true tree-walking.
Looking up at the height of the wall, Takuma could see a lot of distance for him to cover. He raised his free hand and tried to place it on a higher spot, but in doing so, he put force on his adhered hand so he could push his body upwards a little¡ª force increased, and the applied chakra was suddenly not enough to maintain the adhesion. Takuma''s hand came off the wall, and he slid down rapidly.
Slap! He hurriedly slapped his other hand on the wall and applied the same amount of chakra he had done for the correct adhesion, and it worked; his fall stopped, and he dangled with his other hand supporting his weight. Only, instead of gaining height as he had attempted, he lost several feet of it.
"Shit," he cursed. Takuma sighed. He was now in the same position as the others. They could run up but not stick. He could stick but not climb up.
But he wasn''t worried because he had read the scroll. He needed to increase the chakra output dynamically as the force against the wall increased.
''Do it slowly,'' he thought¡ª it was like letting up the clutch, you did it smoothly. He strained his arm as he pulled himself up and placed the other arm higher up on the wall, and in one fell swoop, he outputted the chakra on the higher hand while letting the lower one go.
"Okay!" Takuma yelled out loud, hyped for the one step he had taken.
He immediately tried to climb higher and ended up messing up the chakra output and ended up slipping a couple feet before catching himself. This time, he cursed himself out loud.
Climbing using chakra was different from traditional climbing, as Takuma wasn''t using his legs to secure leverage. He used his hands as absolute holds and then pulled himself up with them without using his legs to push himself up. From the ground, it looked like he was dragging himself up the straight wall. Doing it this way was tiring¡ª his shoulders, elbows, and wrists felt exhausted and weak. If he wanted the chakra to act like sticky gloves, he would need a lot of practice in regulating his chakra according to the force shifts¡ª for now, he had to do it this way.
When he looked down, he saw that he was several meters high. He had already scaled three out of four stories height. Takuma looked up, and even though the slow deliberate climb had his body hurting, he raised his other hand.
He was going to make it to the top.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Yoshio, on the other side of the wall, sat on an outdoor chair with a report in his hand. Even though he was training genin brats, he still had to do damn paperwork.
''They need to pay me more for this shit,'' he grumbled as he filled what felt like the hundredth dotted line.
He hadn''t gone to check how his group was doing on the other side of the wall. They weren''t academy students anymore, and it wasn''t his responsibility to baby them. They needed to work hard if they wanted to succeed. He would go observe them secretly just before the end of the session (which was whenever he wanted it to end) to see who all was slacking and punish them like the pathetic weasels they were. He didn''t mind if they hadn''t made substantial progress. As long as they put in the work, they would eventually get it¡ª which was the important thing. Of course, if someone showed substantial progress that satisfied him, they could slack off. Results did matter, after all.
"Wooh!"
He heard a voice and craned his neck up to see a figure standing on top of the wall with his hands raised up. He narrowed his eyes to identify who it was and his eyes widened when he saw it was Takuma.
The weakest of his group... of the current of the batch. The only one to fail two graduation attempts. Some failed one of them, but none failed two¡ª none had done it in a while. Which was why it had been such a conversation among the instructors.
He was waiting to see a lazy brat unfit to be a shinobi walk into the basic training, and he was ready to whip the kid into a functional bottom-of-the-barrel genin, the type who eventually became career genin¡ª but the person who walked in contradicted most of what he had seen on the report. Yes, he was barely skilled in the basic bukijutsu, but other than that, he was decently competent in taijutsu and could perform the academy three well (how much chakra he was wasting was another topic). He was disciplined and seemed to gel with his team. If Yoshio had to point something out, Takuma seemed a bit too rigid and needed to talk more.
He was no way the best genin he had got, but at the same time, he wasn''t the worst he had seen. And he could appreciate those who put in the work.
''Didn''t expect him to get to the top first,'' Yoshio thought¡ª he assumed it would be one of the clan kids.
But then he saw Takuma starting to climb down.
''What the hell''s he doing?''
Takuma climbed down on his hands instead of his feet as he explicitly instructed. Yoshio could tell that Takuma was using chakra but on his hands and not his feet. And what was supposed to be the harder part of the challenge¡ª as walking down the wall meant that gravity was now working in favor, which made sticking to the wall much harder while rapidly coming down as opposed to when running up where you could lean your body forward while rushing; without proper technique, their hold would weaken, and they would plummet down¡ª had turned into Takuma climbing down flat against the wall, looking foolish.
The climb down was excruciatingly slow, showing the boy''s inexperience with the technique. Takuma eventually made his way to the bottom without messing up.
"Wooh!" celebrated the brat, his arms limp by his side.
"And what is this celebration for?" Yoshio asked as he got up with the baton in hand. "Genin Takuma, you do remember I said that the challenge would only be considered successful when you scaled and climbed down the wall without using your hands."
Takuma straightened up, assuming proper stance. He looked forward in the distance, not meeting Yoshio''s eyes. "Sir, I remember, sir!" he said loudly.
"Then what was that you just did?"
"Sir, as you said, chakra is notoriously difficult to gather near the feet. However, it''s the easiest to gather chakra in hands. I used my hands to familiarize myself with the process so that I''d be able to progress faster when I switch to feet, sir!" said Takuma.
Yoshio couldn''t find words for a moment. The logic made sense. Because people used their hands so much in their daily lives, it was instinctively easier to gather chakra in their hands, as opposed to legs, which, while people regularly used a lot, were the furthest from the heart, where chakra was produced.
He decided to throw a hypothetical at Takuma. "Do you not fear embarrassment that everyone will learn the technique when you are still floundering with your strange hand climbing, left behind alone?"
Takuma didn''t look fazed at all. "Sir, I intend to win the mission points, sir!" he said.
Yoshio scoffed as any respectable instructor would do. "You need all of your team to complete the challenge before any other team. As it stands, you''re the furthest behind everyone, which places your team behind everyone else."
But he could appreciate the effort and sentiment.
He decided to not punish the brat for making zero official progress.
CH_2.6 (037):
"What are you doing today?"
Takuma raised his head from his feet to his three migrant teammates, who were looking at them with curious(or dubious) looks.
"Training for the tree-walking practice?" said Takuma, his tone twisting in the end. It was the second day after Yoshio adjusted their training regiment to add one and a half hours of tree-walking(which they did on a wall).
"It has ''practice'' in the name, you know," Ai made air quotes. "It''s the training exercise to improve our chakra control and walk on any surface... People don''t train for a training exercise; that doesn''t make sense."
Takuma raised a finger as he said, "Actually, that''s not true. People who can''t do a pushup can be taught to do the pushup motion against the flat wall, then at a slight angle, then on the floor with bent knees, basically making incremental progressions to the actual pushups. It works with a lot of exercises. I''m doing the same here."
"That''s not the same! What you mentioned is raising the difficulty..."
Nenro noticed Ai fold her arm and step forward, her expression turning sharper. He intervened by placing his arm between Takuma and Ai. "What Ai is trying to say is if training for tree-climbing will involve some actual climbing?" Nenro asked.
"Huh? I climbed yesterday. Got to the top and down," Takuma had scuffed his hand badly by all the slipping and dragging his hands against the grainy concrete¡ª nothing the shady guy couldn''t fix, but still pretty painful after an hour and a half of dragging his hand against hard concrete.
"With legs, you dummy," said the usually cutesy girl of the group.
Nenro rubbed the top of Ai''s head, squishing her neck down a bit. He said to Takuma, "You did something so different yesterday and somehow completed the challenge on your hands. It was startling. So when we saw you doing something else again, we got interested. Maybe it would help us complete the challenge quicker?"
"Teach us!" Masaaki''s voice in the short distance rattled the other''s ears.
Takuma shrugged. He had no qualms about telling them. They were his teammates, and if he wanted to win the mission points, he needed his team to be the first to complete the challenge.
"Okay, so listen, yesterday after training¡ª"
"Wait, let me get Taro," Ai interrupted and ran off to get their last teammate. She returned with Taro in tow, who flailed his limbs frantically as he was dragged on the ground.
Masaaki threw his head back in laughter. Nenro sighed and shook his head. "You could''ve politely asked him to come with you," he said.
"I did."
"No, you didn''t, you wild woman!" Taro raised his protest.
"I asked you once, but you started grumbling. I didn''t want to waste time because I knew there would be no end to it. We only get ninety minutes of practice for this exercise. You left me no choice."
"No choice? No choiCE?! You¡ª"
Takuma didn''t need to listen more to decide he was siding with Ai. In the few weeks of working closely with Taro, and what he knew from the time before, Takuma knew there was no one more lazy than his ex-classmate. Taro was lazy incarnate. He didn''t outright slack off and not complete the tasks assigned to him¡ª only he tread the thin rope by merely doing the minimum amount to get by without pulling getting into trouble. And he was very good at it.
"Alright, both of you fight later," Takuma clapped his hand to get their attention to him. "I already told you about the sticky-hand climbing yesterday." The moment he returned from his successful climb, everyone crowded him about what he was doing. He had been polite and told the gist of his approach so as to not burn any bridges with the group because even though they were separated into teams, a lot of the time was spent together with the group. Afterward, he took his group aside to share some details.
No one had given the sticky-hand climbing approach a try, though, not even his teammates. He didn''t blame them; he technically was with the least amount of progress.
"Today, I''m doing a simpler version of the tree-climbing practice," Takuma continued. "Like the pushup example," Ai furrowed her brows, "I''m doing what you guys are doing but on a less complicated surface, which is flat ground," he pointed down.
He had yet to climb the wall using the standard tree-walking style. Instead, after thinking about it for a day, he came up with another step to make progress more painless as possible.
"... By walking on the ground, you can take your time to apply the grip with chakra, eliminating the complexity that comes with a vertical surface," Taro, who was still on the ground, said while staring at Takuma''s feet with his brows furrowed ever so slightly. "You don''t have to worry about falling to the ground while you regulate the chakra between your soles as you take a step forward."
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"Exactly!" Takuma pointed at Taro as that was precisely the crux of the simpler version. "I can do it slowly as gravity isn''t hungry to pull me back down to the ground"¡ª as the saying went, what goes up eventually comes down¡ª "and I can take it as slow as I want while everyone else is trying to sprint up." He continued and pointed at his feet. "I''m trying to make every step stick to the ground without... this... happening!"
Takuma pushed the chakra to the sole of his front foot. The topsoil burst under his foot, and at the same time, he was thrown back onto the ground, unable to retain any semblance of balance.
He sat up with a groan. The feeling of being thrown back was annoying. "This exercise is perfect for getting a sense of how weight and force distributes between the two legs as you walk. If you can do it on the ground, you would have an infinitely easier time doing it on the steepest of walls."
"It makes sense," Taro nodded.
"Right?" Takuma smiled. "Start with both feet sticking to the ground, then release one foot and raise it up while adjusting chakra for the increased weight on the backfoot. Plant the forefoot on the ground, secure it with chakra, and only release the backfoot when you have affirmed the grip on the forefoot... and then repeat the process."
"Let''s give this a try," said Ai. Nenro and Masaaki quickly agreed. All of them opted to do the ''ground-walking'' without trying the hand climb like Takuma. Nenro even said that directly doing it with feet made more sense and involving hands seemed like an additional unnecessary step.
Takuma didn''t agree, but he also didn''t argue. Who was he to tell them how to do things? The hands exercise worked with him; who knows if it would work for everyone.
"Hey, where are you going?" Masaaki called when he noticed Taro walking away. Everyone looked to see Taro going back to his original spot.
"Back to the wall," Taro jutted his chin to the tall concrete structure.
"You''re not doing Takuma''s thing?"
"No, you guys go ahead; I''ll stick to the normal method," Taro said.
"What the hell?" Masaaki frowned heavily, sounding upset and confused. "Didn''t you say that Takuma made sense? Why''re you not doing it then?"
Taro stopped and turned. He looked disinterested in the conversation with his lidded eyes and hands slipped into his pant pockets. "I did say it made sense, but never did I say it was correct...."
"Huh?"
"No one has tested Takuma''s approach before. Hell, even he himself hasn''t tested it before. He just came up with it after yesterday''s session, who knows if it would work. The logic made sense, but a lot of things make sense on the surface, but not all of them actually work. I would rather try out an approach everyone knows works than try something whipped up by a rookie genin with less than a day''s worth of thought."
Taro glanced at Takuma. "No offense, but given your past performance, we both know you aren''t exactly reliable regarding this stuff."
"You! How can you say that?" Masaaki sounded upset but looked more confused. Even Nenro and Ai looked uncomfortable with the confrontation.
"Everyone, let''s not fight," Nenro stepped forward, the mediator in any conflict in the team and group, "let''s talk about it peacefully."
"He''s right," Takuma suddenly said. The trio looked at him in surprise. "Everything Taro said is right. We don''t know how well my progress on the ground would translate on the wall. Even if it does work, who can say it is worth it from a time standpoint. What if just grinding it out on the wall from start to finish is faster than my approach of gradually increasing difficulty."
It upset him. Taro''s words about his reliability hit a place he didn''t want to admit hurt. He might be on the same rank as every one of his peers in basic training, but his reputation remained the same. He was still Takuma, the genin who had failed two graduation attempts, the genin who despite being a graduate of the Konoha shinobi academy wasn''t given a chance to test against a jonin, the same person who had lost all fights but one, the genin who had barely inched into genin rookie... he was still all of those things... none of them had disappeared.
Takuma clenched his fist until he was white knuckling and looked up at Taro. "Still, I will continue on with my approach," he said.
"You do you," Taro shrugged before walking away.
Takuma closed his eyes for a moment to calm his emotions down before opening them to look at his feet. He summoned the two energies in his body and melded them together to create chakra that flowed from his feet to the farthest part, the soles of his feet.
"Hey, Takuma..."
He looked up at Nenro and winced when the chakra that reached his feet didn''t create a strong enough sticking grip and fizzled out.
"Yes," he sighed.
"... I think we''re going through the normal route," Nenro said with pursed lips. His shining confident charm seemed to be dull in the moment as he matched eyes with Takuma.
Takuma nodded. Who was he to tell them how to do things.
Nenro walked away with Ai, who looked regretful as she followed her boyfriend. Masaaki looked conflicted as he looked between Takuma and Nenro and Ai; in the end, he walked after his academy friends with his head hung down as if he was guilty.
Takuma looked down at his feet and tried to mold chakra, but a hollowing feel stopped him. He knew what it was; he had felt it a lot in the past year. He was used to it. It shouldn''t have bothered him. But who knew that after a few weeks in the company of a team with whom he spent most of his days, being all alone again would sting so much.
''Don''t waste your time,'' said a voice, ''remember you''re trying to get stronger to survive¡ª to thrive¡ª you can''t waste time worrying about others when you know how this world is and what''s to come.''
He was right. Takuma had no time to waste. He had no special talents to rely upon or a clan to support him. He needed to do it on his own, and there was only one way to attain his goals¡ª to work more than everyone else, and better than anyone else.
''¡ªonly you can guarantee your success¡ª''
And thus, he molded his chakra.
CH_2.7 (038):
Yoshio stretched his legs as he got up from his outside chair and pocketed the scroll he was working on. Keeping the tree-walking practice at the end of every training session worked very well for him. He got one hour of free time that he used to complete work other than training the brats, which allowed him to call it a day immediately after the training ended.
As intended, he had already completed the day''s work. For the last thirty minutes, he would observe his group to gauge their progress.
He weaved the hand seals for the Body Flicker Jutsu(Shunshin no Jutsu), and a moment later, he was on the other side of the wall, in a place a distance away from his genins, so they wouldn''t notice him. Even if they had guessed when the training ended, thirty minutes was enough time to observe them in hiding to see if they were actually working or just pretending in the last few moments.
It was a real problem. Yoshio knew it was because he had done it when he was a genin(though he was in a jonin-lead three-man cell). His sensei had found out about it and whooped his ass into the ground¡ª he saw no reason why his genin should be any different.
It was already the fourth day after his tree-climbing practice announcement. Yoshio expected that most, if not everyone, would be able to gain decent proficiency by the end of the third week, enough to scale up and down the wall. Though, he expected those more efficient with their chakra and those from shinobi clans to start making significant progress by the end of the first week¡ª after that, it would take them three to five days to complete the exercise. Generally, clanless kids with shinobi parents followed soon after and would be done by the end of the second week with a day or two of leeway. The remains would then complete theirs all over in the third week.
''Let''s see how much they have improved today,'' Yoshio took out a small notebook upon which he had noted everyone''s maximum height from yesterday. Tree-walking improved gradually but consistently until the moment the ''sense'' for it kicked in, and then it was easy to improve it to a decent level.
His group was still in the gradual progress stage.
He checked the teams one by one, and as expected, they seemed to be following the norms. Clan kids were doing well, those with shinobi parentage seemed to be competing, and civilian-born seemed to follow along nicely at their own pace.
Yoshio arrived at the last team, Team-5. His eyes first went to the group leader, pretty boy Nenro. The kid had talent, even though he was a recruit from outside Konoha¡ª and not from one of the major cities which had ''respectable'' academies, but from a small-town academy¡ª Nenro was competing with some of the clan kids. His skill set was balanced and refined, which meant he would have many choices in the future. Yoshio liked him. He worked hard enough, knew how to communicate with others, and was well-liked¡ª if the cards were played right, he could see a potential chunin in the making. The chunin position traditionally valued leadership more than anything else and the boy''s natural charisma would do wonders for him in that regard.
After noting down the progress, Yoshio moved on to Ai, the girl from the same town as Nenro. If he was being honest, she had a lot of things she could improve upon. Ai could perform the general rookie genin skillset learned in the academy as well as anyone else, but they could be raised to another level if she polished her basics. He decided to push her more during the drills and force her to improve. Surprisingly, Ai was higher on the wall than even Nenro. Her chakra control seemed to be great¡ª girls tended to be better at chakra control¡ª but she was doing phenomenally. Yoshio noted the observation for his end of basic training report that he needed to formulate for the counselor. He looked forward to seeing if she would be one of the first to complete the challenge.
It was then time for the third brat from the same academy. Yoshio took pride in his responsibility as an instructor, and he had broken down many genin to be made better in his career. But Masaaki was one of those tough cookies who either had super mental strength or was dense as a brick because the boy didn''t break down even a little bit. Yoshio had tried to make the boy be a little more serious or at least put on a serious front, but the boy was as outwardly jovial as he was when he arrived. At the same time, he liked the people of Masaaki''s type¡ª they were simple and straightforward and turned out to be generally nice people, and he enjoyed working with nice people. Plus, the boy could hit hard¡ª no one in his group hit as hard as Masaaki¡ª the boy would''ve gone far if he was born Akimichi.
The next one gave Yoshio some headaches. Through his career, he had learned that it was the lazy yet intelligent ones that did well. If they were the right type of laziness, they would take action and make choices that would make their time easier. And they were the types who ended up in important leadership positions. But basic training was his domain, Yoshio didn''t care for laziness, be it the wrong or right type¡ª he wanted everyone to be working themselves to the bone so that he could say they had done all they could have. But the damned brat did just enough to avoid his baton. Yoshio saw a potential he could beat out, but he was held back because the brat was being tricky.
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''I will get him,'' Yoshio thought. There were plans for the future that would force Taro to act with more initiative.
''Now, how''s the weird kid doing today?'' Yoshio''s eyes went to the final member of the team.
Yoshio didn''t care what method anyone used as long as they got the job done, so he ignored Takuma''s unorthodox approach and even looked upon it with interest. But it had been two days since Takuma had done anything but take strolls in the field. Yoshio wasn''t a fool and saw what Takuma was trying to do from the blown-up spots littered around where Takuma practiced. However, Takuma had not shown any real progress, which was worrying.
Every day in basic training was precious. There was a lot to learn, but not enough time to beat it in. The genin already had five years of training; the state couldn''t hold them in training anymore. The more time Takuma spent showing nothing on the wall, the less time he would have to catch up with everyone else.
''I should talk to him today... or should I give him one more day,'' Yoshio was thinking when he saw Takuma walk towards the wall. Was Takuma going to try climbing the wall?
Takuma walked to the wall and touched it for a few seconds before moving a few steps away from it.
He''s going to run, Yoshio could tell.
And that Takuma did. He ran to the wall and placed one foot on the wall, then the second. He leaned forward as he pushed his feet against the wall, and the first step quickly followed, then second, third, and fourth¡ª before he suddenly pivoted his entire body to face sideways and came to a skidding stop.
But Takuma didn''t fall. He stood perfectly perpendicular to the wall with his feet firmly planted on the vertical surface.
Yoshio moved closer. None of his other genin had been able to stop themselves on the wall. They would hurriedly climb until they could no longer.... No, he was wrong. Takuma had been able to stay on the wall, only it was with his hands.
The other twenty-four pairs of genin eyes were now also staring at Takuma. Yoshi could sense their thoughts right now. The weird kid had been able to do something none of them could yet do.
''Well done,'' Yoshio thought. Takuma had shown progress, substantial progress, and that was enough. Yoshio was about to mark Takuma''s progress when he twisted his feet to face upward along with his entire body.
It couldn''t have been more clear what he wanted to do, but before Yoshio could even look up from his little notebook to complete the thought, Takuma had taken off.
He ran. One step at a time, Takuma ran up the wall with cheers following up from the ground. The entire wall was empty, sans the one person who continued to scale the wall without hands.
One meter... two... three... five... ten...!
Takuma had already crossed three-quarters of the distance when his feet skidded. The grip from the chakra disappeared in an instant, and Takuma lost balance.
''So close,'' Yoshio narrowed his eyes. For a moment, he thought Takuma would make it all the way to the top in one run, but it seemed that he was wishing for too much. However, this was enough, more than enough. Takuma''s performance would set a fire under his and even other groups and make them play catchup.
With lost grip, the fall started, and Takuma began to plummet. But out of nowhere, Takuma slapped his gloved hands on the wall as he slid down. The next moment, the sole below the toes of his shinobi boots were skidding against the wall.
It was like someone decreased the playback speed on Takuma as his fall slowed down until he was mid-way through the wall with the tip of his fingers and the toes of his feet tethering him to the surface. Takuma shifted his feet until the soles of his feet were wholly pressed against the surface. He then slowly released his hand from the surface and straightened, for a moment, he flailed around, eliciting gasps from the audience, but Takuma steadied himself and was again standing on the wall.
He shifted his head to glance down at the ground for a moment before looking back up. One step... second... third... fourth... fifth... Soon Takuma was already past his highest point, and then beyond.
On the top of the wall, two hands with frayed gloves grabbed the edge before Takuma pulled himself up and sat down on the top with his shoulders gently heaving. He looked down at all the people who were looking up at him. For a moment, he stared at them. Then he stood up, his eyes still on them. He raised one hand and began beating his chest as he let out the loudest yell that reached the bottom without getting any quieter.
With his notebook and pen in still hands, Yoshio looked atop the wall with surprise in his eyes. The climb was in no way perfect. Takuma had slipped once, and even with the miraculous recovery, it was still considered a broken run. Not to mention, coming down from the wall with tree-walking was the harder part.
Clap. Clap. Clap. But Yoshio had to give it to the boy. In four days, the kid had scaled up the wall. Faster than even the one-week - ten-day estimate he had set for clan kids. It went against his image, but he clapped. The kid deserved it.
Taking his lead, the entire group began to clap for the solitary person standing above them as they looked up at him.
CH_2.8 (039):
As the winter warmed, biting winds turned into cool breezes, which Taro appreciated greatly. If he was to struggle under the sun all day long, then it would very well be with gentle currents keeping him nice and fresh, something that was difficult to maintain with most of his time spent in the gruesome basic training inflicted upon him by the musclebound gorilla of an instructor, Chunin Yoshio.
He wanted to sit, if not lay down on the grass and enjoy the pleasant weather, but the fear of Yoshio''s beating kept him standing¡ª the madman broke bones first and thought about it later.
But he had come to appreciate the time spent staring at the large wall as his groupmates tried to run up the wall using only their legs and chakra to scale the wall to complete the tree-walking practice challenge set by Yoshio.
He would prefer if he had a book in hand to read because watching them put in so much effort and struggle to make it just a few steps higher on the wall than before was honestly exhausting. Alas, reading time outside was limited to when he was patrolling the beat or during lunchtime if he was luckily left alone.
However, things had changed on the wall. Back at the start, every person in Yoshio''s group would be boosting up the wall, falling down, and then trying again. Repeating the process until the time was over, and they could return to their sweet homes. But for the last few days, the wall had turned empty.
He looked at the ground between him and the wall and a dozen people awkwardly walking around, pulling up grass and bursting the ground with their insufficient chakra control. Every step was slow as they took time to apply the chakra grip and then detach it before taking the next step and repeating the process over and over in hopes that it would allow them to scale the wall better and faster.
''Idiots,'' he thought.
Hadn''t they seen how Takuma had done it while practicing on the ground? His awkwardness had lasted less than fifteen minutes before reassuming a natural gait. It wasn''t that Takuma had learned something they hadn''t¡ª he still blew up the ground under his feet plenty of times on the first day. Takuma''s ''easier'' ground exercise was to eliminate the vertical complexity?¡ª and made them understand the natural motion of the foot when someone walked.
In the backfoot, the heel rose first, putting the weight and pressure on the front half, making it so that the chakra going to the entirety of the sole''s surface needed to be redirected to only the tenketsu present in the ball and toes to counteract the shift in surface area. The same action happened in the forefoot but the opposite¡ª the grip needed to be established the moment the heel made contact before the chakra was evenly distributed to the entire sole when the whole foot was planted on the surface.
By not walking naturally, they were wasting most of the benefits derived from the exercise. Taro silently shook his head. Making all that effort only to waste it because they weren''t putting it in a proper manner.
He glanced at his teammates. At least there was someone who wasn''t wasting their efforts altogether. Nenro, Ai, and Masaaki clearly had some additional pointers from Takuma as they walked naturally when walking on the ground. Smart of Takuma to leave the finer detail to only his team and let the others struggle their way to the realization¡ª it paid off as Nenro, Ai, and Masaaki had already moved onto the wall and were scaling up to good heights.
Takuma''s ground-walking exercise had swept over the group like wildfire after he had successfully scaled the wall in four days, faster than anyone¡ª much, much faster. So much so that it was already the sixth day, and no one else had made it atop the wall. That had swayed more than half of the group to follow in his footsteps. He glanced up at the wall; some still followed the traditional method, those who had a shinobi background in their family or clan like him.
Maybe the other guys didn''t want to admit that Takuma, the dead last orphan from the academy, could be better than him. Or perhaps they simply were getting the hang of tree-walking through the traditional approach and didn''t want to go the other route.
''Or maybe their mom forces them to practice tree-walking at home after they''re run ragged from a long day of harsh training,'' Taro thought. The time dedicated to tree-climbing practice in the training regiment was his time to rest. After making sure Yoshio was actually not keeping an eye on them, Taro had found that as long as he practiced in the last half hour, Yoshio wouldn''t break his legs. His mom made him practice tree-walking for an hour at home, so he worked the same ninety minutes as everyone else¡ª and he really didn''t want to work more than that.
In his opinion, it was a win-win for everyone.
A rackety scream followed by a loud "FUCK!" sent birds in the trees flying away with their flapping wings echoing in the field. Taro''s eyes twitched¡ª it had happened a couple times a day, but he hadn''t gotten used to it.
Everyone looked at the wall, or to be precise, tried to imagine the scene behind the wall. The front side of the wall was for climbing up, but only those who had scaled up to the top could go on the other side to practice coming down. And out of twenty-five members of Yoshio''s group, only one had reached the top and thus practiced scaling down on the other side.
Takuma cursed when he was frustrated; he had done so since they were in the academy and had gotten in trouble for it. Taro had heard Takuma curse more than speak when they were in the academy, but that was because Takuma pretty much never talked to anyone when they were in the academy. Even now, Takuma mostly spoke when he was spoken to.
There was another loud scream, and Taro''s eyes automatically moved to the left of the wall. After half a minute, Takuma came into view with his hand holding his opposite shoulder as he limped to the Iryo-nin sitting in the distance under a carousel umbrella. Yoshio didn''t appreciate cursing while in the presence of a superior-ranked shinobi, and the madman had no qualms about hurting the offenders to get his point across. Takuma was a fool to not understand after having a kunai slice his ear the first time around.
"Oooh!"
Taro turned his attention away from Takuma to the wall and found himself looking at Ai running up the wall. She rose up, and in a couple seconds, Ai was in the lead, leaving everyone else on the wall behind. Ai didn''t stop and seemingly had gotten the key to chakra control as she only stopped when she reached the top of the wall.
The second person in the group to reach the top wasn''t from a shinobi clan, she wasn''t even from the Leaf village. That was going to sting many people. Taro glanced at the ''proud'' members of Leaf''s shinobi clan.
''Good for them,'' Taro was happy for his teammate''s success.
And he was happy with the breeze on his face.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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.
"Taro, you need to practice more."
Apparently, others weren''t happy with his happiness, which wasn''t surprising to him as other people seemed to think to make his business their business and poke their noses where he didn''t ask them to. It was quite annoying if he was being honest.
Taro gazed at his teammates standing in front of him. Usually, they would practice at the wall, but today they seemed to have gained an unwanted interest in him.
"May I ask why?" he said. "I''m doing well enough." He wasn''t last in the group because Yoshio punished the people lacking behind, so he had kept himself in the middle of the pack, where it was safe.
"Because you''re going to make us lose," said Takuma standing a step behind others with his arms crossed.
It was the first time since Taro had turned away Takuma''s approach that he said a word to him. Takuma had clearly taken some offense to that. They were still civil, but just not on talking terms.
"What he means to say is that we want our team to be the first to complete the challenge," Nenro interjected and said with a disarming smile. Taro had to say Okubo Momoe had nothing on Nenro when it came to popularity; his teammate was disgustingly popular among their rookie batch. Mister Sunshine seemingly could get along with anyone thrown at him.
"Is it really important for us to come first?" Taro sighed.
"It absolutely is," Ai said. "I want to win the prize."
''Ah,'' Taro forgot Ai''s obsession with coming on top of the weekly leaderboard. They had to do it. But it seemed she was more interested in the prize than coming first.
''''Well, to be honest, I''m not interested in coming first," he shrugged.
"Eh, why?!" Masaaki sounded confused. "If we win, we get mission points. We can buy jutsu from that, you know. How cool it would be to learn cool jutsu! So, come on, let''s come first¡ª we can even brag about it. It''ll be fun."
''Too bright,'' Taro sighed. It was like Masaaki had an IV drip of sugar solution attached to him, keeping him hyper every second of the day.
"Na, I''m fine," he said.
Mission points were the internal currency prevalent in the Leaf shinobi organization. They had many uses and could purchase everything from everyday groceries to vacation packages. But one of the most pervasive uses was to access jutsu from the official jutsu archives maintained by the state. With enough mission points, any shinobi could purchase a jutsu scroll and increase their military strength. It was the primary way for shinobi to gain access to the jutsu of their choice¡ª and similar systems existed in the other four major shinobi organizations.
However, Taro wasn''t in dire need of mission points. It was true that he was a rookie genin who needed to learn more practical jutsu to use them on the field, and mission points would be vital for him to not only keep himself safe but also grow as a shinobi... would be... but for him, he didn''t need to slog for hours to get few measly points.
After all, he could just ask his¡ª
"Oh, you pathetic piece of shit!" said Takuma, his brows hooked and mouth pursed in anger.
"Takuma, that was rude!" Ai was shocked as she scolded Takuma.
"No, that was warranted." Takuma pointed at Taro, "He''s a spoiled piece of shit who doesn''t want to work to gain things. He doesn''t care about coming first in the weekly leaderboards or winning the challenge because it doesn''t matter to him! Does it, Taro? Tell me I''m wrong."
Taro narrowed his eyes. He didn''t appreciate the tone Takuma had taken with him.
"What?" said Nenro.
Takuma snorted, a strange expression on the usually calm and silent guy. "He doesn''t care for mission points because they don''t matter to him. He doesn''t need to work for them because his parents are shinobi who can use their mission points to buy any jutsu scroll he wants. He told me his mom is a chunin, and what''s a simple D-rank jutsu to a chunin, she could probably dump any amount for her pathetic son."
That was an exaggeration, and what was the repeated use of pathetic to describe him?
"Takuma, calm down," Nenro placed his hand on Takuma''s shoulder.
Takuma shrugged it off and grabbed Taro''s collar to pull him up. "Not all of us are as coddled and sheltered as you are, who can beg mommy and daddy to get them new toys whenever they want. Some of us have to work for our own shit and not be a mass of utter uselessness with no redeeming quality. You''re the laziest motherf¡ª"
Before Takuma could continue, Nenro and Masaaki pulled him away from Taro and made him stop talking.
"Alright, alright, I''m stopping," Takuma pushed them off and walked a few steps away from them.
"Hey, Taro, come on, let''s try," Ai said, her usually upbeat tone mellowed down with a pleading in her eyes.
Ai was cute, and for a moment, Taro contemplated agreeing. The charm of girls was dangerous, Taro thought. Instead, he said, "Takuma''s right. I don''t need the mission points," at least not for a while, "everyone from shinobi clans or those who have shinobi parents get help, and so will I. There''s no need for me or anyone else like me to win the challenge or come first in the weekly rankings."
Takuma, who was facing away, turned to face Taro. "You know, I thought you were a smart guy. I once told you that," he said, shaking his head. "But it seems I had judged wrong. You''re the most idiotic person I know. Kids with shinobi parents don''t have to come first? Yeah, sure, that might be true, and they might not care about coming first or winning," Takuma pointed at the wall, "but at least they''re fucking trying out there, trying to get better and improve themselves. You, on the other hand, are not only wasting your time but also screwing us along." Takuma scoffed, "Why stay in the Genin Corps, you said that to me. That if you have to be a genin, there are many other options. You had said that so nonchalantly. But you know what I think? You''re going to be a career genin because no one will take a useless, lazy piece of shit like you because you''re a mommy''s boy who can''t do anything by themselves. Who would like to hire someone like you? Go screw yourself."
Saying that, Takuma walked away in a huff. Masaaki threw Taro a look before running after Takuma.
"I don''t want to agree with what Takuma said, but as you''re acting now, I can''t help but agree with him," said Nenro before walking away with Ai.
Taro watched them before sighing. He had simply told the truth. People with shinobi children had a clear advantage against civilian-born shinobi. There was a reason why so many Jonin came from shinobi clans¡ª they had the resources and connections that allowed them to allow talented members to rise to the top.
''¡ªYou''re the most idiotic person I know¡ª''
He disagreed with that. Instead, he was being smart. He was doing what was expected of him, nothing more, nothing less.
''¡ªYou''re going to be a career genin because no one will take a useless, lazy piece of shit like you because you''re a mommy''s boy who can''t do anything by themselves. Who will like to hire someone like you?¡ª''
Taro flicked his neck. He was an efficient person. Doing above and beyond what was mandated wasn''t slacking off. He did not desire to be the best at anything because that would only attract more work. He preferred the middle because it was the coziest and most hassle-free.
''¡ªbut as you''re acting now, I can''t help but agree with him¡ª''
Taro''s eyes twitched as he recalled how Nenro, Ai, and Masaaki had looked at him. He covered his face with his hands and groaned.
"Shit..."
He dropped his hand to his waist and hung his head with squinted eyes.
"Shit."
He had to do it now, didn''t he? He couldn''t take being insulted by the dead last to his face. What would people say if they heard it? They would come to him and laugh and bother him. That sounded totally annoying. What if he scaled the wall before them¡ª then they wouldn''t be able to say anything because they were below the guy who got insulted by the dead last.
''Yeah, let''s go with that,'' he thought.
And with that, Taro took a step towards the wall.
CH_2.9 (040):
"Come on, you lazy bastard, you can do it!"
Takuma yelled at the top of his lungs with his hands framing his mouth as he looked up at the wall with three people on the other side of the concrete wall. Standing alongside with him were Nenro, Ai, and Masaaki, along with another three genin from another team standing in the distance, yelling to the two genin on the wall beside Taro. There were more genin who observed, but none of them were vocal in their support.
Taro, on the wall, clicked his tongue at the sound of Takuma''s voice. He glanced at his competition, both in different lanes than him¡ª one was standing a few steps below him, while the other was barely a foot above him. He clenched his jaw, looked directly at the ground, and took a step forward that turned into a couple of quick steps until he was at the same height as the guy previously in front of him. He stepped on the brakes and used both his legs to grip the wall to stop the gravity from pulling him to the ground.
The front foot''s grip proved insufficient, and it slid a few inches. His team on the ground gasped. Only the solid grip on the back foot kept Taro on the wall as he hurriedly fixed the grip and stopped himself from plummeting to the ground. Taro bent his knees, placing his hands on the wall, and tucked his head down as his shoulders rose and fell.
"Sir, that counts as a disqualification!" said Cho, a teammate of the two guys competing against Taro, to Yoshio sitting behind the crowd on his foldable chair.
"Bullshit! He''s still on the wall. Are you blind?" Ai said viciously and glared at Cho threateningly.
Yoshio looked up from his newspaper to eye Ai. "I don''t appreciate the crass language in front of me, Ai. Drop down and give me forty immediately, you filthy maggot," he said.
Ai growled in frustration as she got down to do her pushups. Cho looked ecstatic with glee and stuck her tongue at Ai.
Yoshio glanced up at the wall. "Taro''s still on the wall; his run continues," he said to Cho''s chagrin.
On the wall, Taro''s competition both moved forward, immediately pushing him into third place and crossing three-quarters way down from the top.
"He''s not going to make it," Masaaki bit on his thumb''s nail as he stared intently at Taro. "He always falls after crossing the halfway mark."
"I believe in him," Nenro said, one hand clutching his blonde hair.
Takuma breathed out. He felt jumpy watching Taro competing on the wall. It was day nine of the tree-climbing challenge, and half the people had already made it to the top of the wall. Out of them, he, Nenro, Ai, and Masaaki had already completed the climbing down part of the challenge, leaving only Taro behind them¡ª putting them on top as the favorites to win the tree-walking practice challenge.
But they had competition. Another team had three members who had completed the challenge and had two members attempting to successfully climb down without falling down. Making it Taro versus two others for the mission point prize.
Takuma wished he was in Taro''s position. He would rather it be him in the clutch to bring the prize home than pin hopes on someone else, even if it meant he had to shoulder the blame if he failed. Unfortunately, somehow his dead-last status had betrayed him the one time he actually needed it, and now he had to watch Taro struggle on the last stretch. He could tell that today was going to be the deciding day as compared to yesterday the three had cut down their failure rate by huge margins. They were still falling but much further into their walk down.
''Why couldn''t I have been dumped into a Yamanaka?'' Takuma lamented. It would''ve been so much easier if he could''ve just taken control of Taro''s body and won the challenge.
''You wouldn''t have been able to cast the needed jutsu, you dumbass,'' his voice mocked him in his head. Takuma sighed. Indeed, that would''ve been the scenario.
Taro got up from his crouching position and started walking, taking heavy thumping steps, moving closer to the ground. He passed the other two but didn''t stop moving or even slow down and kept walking.
"Don''t fall!" Takuma yelled.
A vein twitched on Taro''s forehead. "You don''t think I know that?!" he yelled.
"Shut up!" Ai yelled at Takuma.
Masaaki''s nail biting got aggressive.
Nenro''s other hand was now clutching his neck.
Taro made the bold move and started running, which was infinitely more complex. Takuma screamed inside his mind, which continued until Taro reached the bottom, stopped near the very bottom, and then smoothly stepped on the grass.
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Takuma raised his hand, yelled in celebration, and jumped on Taro, with Masaaki and Ai joining the pile.
"Getuf me!" Taro waved his arms and legs on the bottom of the pile as Takuma and others laughed atop of him. After they untangled, Taro turned to Takuma and said, "I''m going to get out of Genin Corps before you. Mark that."
A comeback response formed in his mind, but Takuma chose to simply smile. He was just thrilled at the moment. The team had grabbed the number one position, which meant he was going to get his first mission points as the reward.
Yoshio relieved the flimsy-looking chair from bearing his large frame and got up. "That marks the end of the tree-walking practice challenge," he said. "I can''t believe that the team with the two-time failure got first place. I fear for the future of Leaf shinobi."
Takuma didn''t mind. He had gotten used to Yoshio''s verbal abuse. It would feel strange if he didn''t hear Yoshio berate in some way at least once every day.
Yoshio ordered them to gather up front, where he addressed everyone in his group.
"You all have been part of basic training for nearly a month now and have shown varying levels of improvement, disappointing mostly, but improvements nevertheless, and I''m sure a lot of you are feeling good about yourself," Yoshio said as he walked between the five-by-five grid (with three missing spots) of at-attention genin standing in perfect posture.
Takuma was indeed feeling good about himself. So much so that he was going to buy some of that expensive meat he saw at the butcher to make himself a scrumptious meal tonight.
"If you think you have figured it out, think again because what we were doing till now was what my grandma can do, and she''s been dead twenty years," Yoshio yelled at them. "From tomorrow, we''re going to do some real shinobi training, so enjoy today because you''re not going to do it tomorrow."
Takuma would''ve rolled his eyes after hearing such threats day after day, but when the person who said it held no hesitation to beat the crap out of them for practically any offense, Takuma just couldn''t ignore the threat as nothing.
"As the final tournament is a month away, and I want to win so that I can rub it in my friend''s faces, from tomorrow, the restrictions on sparring will be lifted," said Yoshio. Takuma moved his eyes to see if others knew what Yoshio was talking about. "From tomorrow, usage of ninjutsu and genjutsu is permitted. Weapons of your choice are now allowed. Smoke bombs and explosive tags are fair game. Anything that you think you can use to kill your opponent, bring it from tomorrow because I''m going to allow it to be used."
Yoshio''s words echoed in Takuma''s ears. Their spars had been restricted to taijutsu and the standard shinobi weapons like they had been in the academy. Even in his spars against Maruboshi, the rules had been the same. An unrestricted spar was unknown territory for him.
"Every spar you''re going to be part of from here on out will be unrestricted, as that''s what real life is like. The spars are going to teach you how to incorporate other skills into your fighting skill which I suppose for many of you is nothing but taijutsu."
Takuma raised his hand. "Sir, what if we don''t know any ninjutsu other than the academy three?" he asked.
Yoshio''s hearty laughter sounded sinister to Takuma. "Then you better use those mission points to buy some jutsu because I''m sure many of your friends here already have jutsu in their arsenal, prepared to be used." Yoshio came by Takuma and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "And I''m going to make you spar with each other every day. They''re going to use those jutsu on you every chance they get, and while I''ll make sure you don''t die, there''s only so much I can do about the pain... I''m sure you understand, right, Takuma?"
Takuma stood rigid as Yoshio''s hand left his body, but he could still feel it weighing down on his shoulder. He glanced around the grid and saw the others looking at him; some had a hint of smiles on their faces. Cho had an especially nasty grin on her face.
He wasn''t looking forward to tomorrow.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"What''re you going to buy?" Masaaki asked as they walked home together after training ended. Nenro and Ai had taken off together, and Takuma''s place was in the opposite direction. "Are you going to buy a jutsu?"
"It doesn''t make sense to save the mission points in this situation," said Takuma. "We can only get mission points if we rank number one in the weekly leaderboard, and spars are a big part of it. With ninjutsu included, competition is going to get tough; if we don''t learn jutsu of our own, we''re definitely going to be left behind." He was no Rock Lee who could make a career out of taijutsu¡ª he needed supernatural weapons of destruction to help him. "And I really don''t want to get thrashed in every spar... believe me, I tried that, I''m over it¡ª not fun at all."
Plus, he was sure these new spars would hurt a lot.
In their group, not a single group had ranked number one multiple times. And while their group hadn''t placed number one, they had been number two twice because of Nenro and Masaaki''s sparring and because they had never messed up in the drills. With the unrestricted spars, their positioning was yet again at risk.
"I have no idea what I''m going to get," Takuma said. He didn''t even know what jutsu there were in the library and if there were any good ones he could buy with his mission points. He just hoped there was some variety. "What about you?" he asked.
Masaaki shrugged. "I''ll talk with Nenro and Ai... Do you want to come with us tomorrow?"
Takuma shook his head. He was going to consult with Maruboshi, the wisest person he knew, about which jutsu he should choose. It was an important choice because, with his track record, it could take anywhere from one day to two months to learn this jutsu, and if he was going to get his ass kicked into the dirt while he worked hard to learn this jutsu¡ªit better be good and worth the pain and effort.
Even though he could see the hard days in front of him, he couldn''t help but feel excited about learning a new jutsu. This was going to be his first ''practical'' jutsu¡ª a significant addition to his toolbox that would define his combat style.
Takuma said goodbye to Masaaki before heading toward Maruboshi''s home to visit his teacher, whom he hadn''t seen in a month since he had started basic training.
CH_2.10 (041):
Takuma rested his temple on his palm as he flipped through the thick pages of an old binder in front of him, reading the small font that populated the page.
He knew choosing a jutsu would be difficult, but spending three hours flipping through D-rank jutsu catalogs in the jutsu archives for the last four days hadn''t been part of his plan. Ninjutsu divided into five elemental categories, the various jutsu that didn''t fit in the elemental categories, and genjutsu¡ª there were so many choices to pick from. While not unlimited, there were double-digit jutsu in each elemental release, the same with genjutsu and the miscellaneous category.
The freedom of choice was paralyzing.
Only if the timing had been different. His initial plan of relying on Maruboshi''s rich shinobi experience had fallen on its head when he went to Maruboshi''s house only to be told by the neighbor that Maruboshi had left for a mission last week and wasn''t scheduled to return for the next couple weeks.
Takuma groaned. If only the mission points had arrived a week earlier, he wouldn''t be having this problem. ''I should''ve prepared for my first jutsu the moment I knew about mission points,'' but Takuma didn''t have that foresight.
He pushed the binder away and pulled in the pocket notepad to add another jutsu to his shortlist. Not all D-rank jutsu priced similarly, and with the mission points he had, he could only get those within his price range. Seeing the more expensive D-rank jutsu made him want to hold back on the purchase and maybe try to get more before buying one, but knowing that wasn''t a choice, he was grateful that his poverty had restricted his choices¡ª if not, he would be visiting the archives for weeks trying to pick one out.
He flipped through the tiny pages, each featuring a jutsu that interested him. Earth Release, Water Release, ninjutsu that fell under the bukijutsu category, genjutsu, and many others that served defensive or offensive purposes.
Takuma stared at the list for who knew how long before he got up and placed the catalog binders in their place on the shelves. The jutsu archives were separated by grades E- and D-rank jutsu were placed in the same library, while C- and B-rank were stored in other locations. He was curious to know if there was even an A-rank library, as those jutsu were considered in the same category as precious treasures. According to Taro, even jonin had difficulty raking up enough mission points to purchase A-rank jutsu.
That''s why it grinded his gears to think there existed a clan that could just copy jutsu by seeing someone perform them. He could understand why Orochimaru was so obsessed (read_as: horny) for Uchiha''s Sharingan. Choosing his jutsu really put the Sharingan''s cheat-like abilities into perspective.
''If I knew something like this would happen, I would''ve read the Rasengan training chapters until I was dreaming about them,'' Takuma regretted not being a massive Naruto fan. If he knew how Rasengan worked, not only could he learn it without forking out mission points, he would have a powerful B-rank jutsu or whatever rank Rasengan was considered¡ª if it was good enough for the protagonist and the Fourth Hokage, it was more than good enough for him.
He moved deeper into the archive until he arrived at the section in the back with a small counter. The counter was embedded into the wall and was made from heavy steel. Takuma looked at the shinobi standing behind the counter through the glass that was lined with a chain-link fence.
"I would like to exchange my mission point for a jutsu," Takuma said.
"... ID," said the shinobi after staring at Takuma for a few silent seconds.
Takuma slid his shinobi registration card through the semi-circular cutout in the glass where it met the steel counter. The shinobi took it and, without looking at it, passed it to someone behind the wall. He tried to lean his head to check but couldn''t spot anyone. He assumed it had gone for verification of some kind.
The shinobi and Takuma stared at each other for the next two minutes. Takuma was sure the shinobi was playing the staring game with him because the man hadn''t blinked once since the start.
When Takuma''s ID returned, the shinobi said, "Which jutsu would you like to exchange for?"
"Raiton: Shokku," Takuma announced his choice.
As the name suggested, Raiton: Shokku (Lightning Release: Shock) was a lightning-type jutsu. It was a simple jutsu that sent out a lightning bolt that caused light shock damage and stunned them for a moment. It was a Pokemon move if Takuma had seen one. But that wasn''t the reason he had chosen it. Of course not. The jutsu had a simple enough usage that it could be used in a variety of situations, whereas there were jutsu that would only work when certain conditions were met.
Like the immortal guy in Akatsuki (whose name Takuma couldn''t recall even if his life depended upon it) used the strange jutsu that required the target''s blood. It was super powerful, but it wouldn''t work in the absence of a blood sample.
Takuma preferred if his jutsu had a simple use case that he could spin it in any situation. Thus his choice. Shooting a lightning bolt was as simple as it could get.
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There was another stare down as the shinobi behind the counter handed a slip of paper to the person who Takuma couldn''t see. This time Takuma didn''t try to blink, but he lost midway through. His opponent was too formidable and stoic.
"Check your details and sign the form if you consent for the mission points in your account to be deducted in exchange for receiving Raiton: Shokku," said the man, pushing a form and pen from the hole in the glass. "Please know that the transaction will be finalized once you sign this form. You can''t return the jutsu scroll afterward with the excuse that you''d like to exchange it with another one."
"I understand," Takuma gave his verbal confirmation and checked the form before signing it.
The shinobi checked the form before finally pushing a light lime green scroll through the hole. Takuma checked the scroll name and registration number unique to Raiton: Shokku as he was instructed on the first day he came to the archives.
"Thank you," Takuma said as he stared at the scroll in hand.
Was his choice correct? He honestly didn''t know. Only time would tell if he would come to regret his decision.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Congratulations, Team-5, you were number one last week on the leaderboard," said Yoshio first thing on Monday morning.
"Oh, come on!" Takuma all but yelled at the announcement.
Yoshio''s eyes sharpened as he glared at Takuma. "Do you have any problem with my decision, Takuma? I can revert my decision and give the points to another team," he said, raising his steel baton.
"Sir, no, sir!" Takuma said loudly as he felt Ai pinch and twist a point in his back. The girl was a glutton for mission points.
"That''s what I thought," Yoshio said. Then told Takuma to do thirty pushups with Ai sitting on his back.
After the pushups, the group went for their daily run around the large running grounds. There Ai elbowed him in the side and hissed, "Are you mad? What would you''ve done if he took back our points?!"
"Sorry, I already said I''m sorry," he said. "I just feel like an idiot."
"Huh, why?"
Takuma felt like crying. "I went to the jutsu archive yesterday and exchanged my points for one," he said. He would''ve waited one day if he knew they would be number one in the rankings. He would''ve had so many more choices if he had waited. "Why did we win so suddenly?!"
"Why''re you complaining," Ai elbowed him again.
"The tree-walking practice challenge," Taro chimed in his flat voice. "The next team took two more days. I thought it was obvious we were going to win." Taro''s two competitors in tree-walking practice weren''t able to get down without falling for two more days.
"Why didn''t you tell me?!" Takuma felt like not running anymore and just drop to the ground and go to sleep to escape the frustration he was feeling.
"How the hell was I supposed to know, stupid? I can¡¯t read your mind," said Taro.
The conversation ended there. Takuma knew that no one was going to talk about their jutsu. Secrecy and the element of surprise was a powerful tool. They were friends and training teammates, but they fought each other in sparring and everyone wanted to win; thus, keeping the secret gave them an advantage. Even if it only lasted only one fight before people started to strategize against the jutsu.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After the conditioning start of the day, Yoshio told them to gather around to start the first sparring sessions. Unlike the academy, there was no fighting circle. Yoshio calling the fight and submission was the only way to reach the end of the battle.
"Takuma and Kameko," Yoshio announced.
''Shit,'' Takuma clicked his tongue as he got up from where his team sat and made his way to Yoshio. He glanced to the side and saw a girl with a bob cut dressed in a white and lavender skirt-kimono with a sword scabbard attached to her hip.
Taketori Kameko from the Taketori clan was the second one to complete the tree-walking practice challenge after him. She was in his academy classroom, and one of their class''s better fighters. Given that she was in the Genin Corp, her jonin sensei had failed her. But from what Takuma had seen, she was definitely not Genin Corp material¡ª she should''ve been in a jonin-led team.
"You know the rules. Get started," Yoshio said before walking away.
Takuma made the Seal of Confrontation, and he swore Kameko''s usually cold and stoic eyes were glaring at him as she mirrored him.
''Shit.'' He had noticed that look since the day he had completed the tree-walking practice challenge. It wasn''t overt, but anytime their eyes met, Takuma knew she was bothered by him completing the challenge before her.
"Start." The moment Yoshio''s word sounded, Takuma jumped back to make some distance between them because he knew that was the best decision from the spars he had seen since Yoshio''s unrestricted combat announcements.
*Shing* Kameko put her hand on the sword hilt and unsheathed her katana. The sharp blade shimmered under the sun.
The "better" fighter in the academy had been a Taketori clan member who wasn''t allowed to use a sword. Taketori literally meant bamboo cutter and was a shinobi clan specializing in their special swordplay that revolved around¡ª
Kameko stepped forward, and suddenly Takuma felt cornered even as he jumped back as the girl in front of him erased distance faster than he could create.
''Shit!''
Takuma put his kunai in front of him as he saw the shorter girl breach his personal space, and before he could even put on his guard, she swung her sword at him.
*Riiip!*
¡ª revolved around speed.
CH_2.11 (042):
*Riiip!*
Takuma couldn''t completely escape the sweeping sword. The tip of the blade edge sliced through the fabric of his vest, splitting the threads when it wanted to split the skin beneath it.
The ground under Takuma''s feet exploded as he threw himself back faster than before with desperation as the scent of Kameko''s forged steel blade lingered under his nose.
Kameko leaned back and eased her stance, choosing not to immediately pursue Takuma. Instead, her cat-like eyes followed him as he escaped beyond the reach of her blade.
Takuma put his hands on his chest, feeling his chainmail undervest through the tear in his vest with one hand while his other held the kunai in front. He looked down at his hand to see if the swing had drawn blood to find only sweat on his fingers. His ears picked up a sound, and he looked up to see the flash of Kameko''s blade cover his vision.
He brought up the kunai, and sparks flew as metal met metal. Takuma took a step back to stabilize himself as he felt the weight of the heavier long blade pushing against his wrist. He looked up at Kameko and he was close enough to see the specks in her yellow eyes¡ª
So he headbutted her in the face.
"Ugh," Kameko disengaged and fell back away from Takuma, who threw the kunai at her that she deflected with the sword. Takuma rushed forward and slashed at her with a kunai, aiming to end the fight early. Kameko shrugged off his first and second strikes with the edge of her blade and sent a jab to Takuma''s stomach. He sidestepped as his kunai altered the stab''s direction.
Takuma stepped in further, grabbed the wrist of Kameko''s sword arm, and bent it. Kameko mirrored the move and they grappled, tripping and falling in the grass. There was a scramble, a dropped sword, a gut punch, a curse, a retrieved sword, and a heavy kick, and then both were back up, circling.
Takuma didn''t waste any time and rushed in to overwhelm her. A poor choice as a horizontal sweep almost cut Takuma''s face off. He fell back and touched his nose to this time find blood on his fingertips. He eyed the blade that granted Kameko an extended range he lacked, and he decided to keep his distance.
Kameko had the opposite plan as she closed in the distance again, keeping her sword parallel to the ground and aimed at Takuma''s chest. Takuma did his best footwork to avoid the sword. A slit appeared in his sleeve above his shoulder as he pulled back. Takuma hurled the kunai in his offhand in a shoddy throw and it flew a little higher than intended.
Kameko shifted her head to let the kunai pass. For a moment, Takuma had breathing room as he escaped out of sword''s range. But then Kameko swung her sword and Takuma saw red.
The sword passed by, missing him by an inch, and yet a spurt of blood gushed out from a long wound that suddenly split open on his chest in the same place where Kameko had ripped his vest. Even if he mistook the blade missing him, the light chainmail under his vest didn''t do anything, and as Takuma fell down, he could see the clean continuous line slit from one side to the other.
Kameko eased her stance, and without sparing a glance to her blade, she deposited it into the sheath as she peered down at a trembling Takuma who was looking at his bloodied hands.
"Get up," Yoshio said as he arrived beside the pair.
Takuma writhing on the ground tensed his muscles for what seemed like an excruciatingly long moment before he forced himself to get up with his face twisted into an extreme grimace with sweat pouring out of his body at an alarming rate.
His vision blurred as he raised his bloodied hand to form the Seal of Reconciliation. Kameko had to adjust her part of the seal to grab his shaking hand.
Then without saying a word, Takuma started walking away from the group with no one other than Kameko tailing behind him. She didn''t help him even as he struggled to take steps, swaying dangerously from side to side, almost falling down many times.
"Ooh, now that''s a nasty one."
Takuma''s destination was the shady guy shinobi who worked as the basic training''s medic as his qualification as an Iryo-nin (Medical Shinobi).
Shady Guy got up from his foldable chair as Takuma collapsed on a stretcher under the medium-sized tent with three tents and a few boxes with supplies.
"You got lucky, huh girly, snipping him just in the right place to make him lose blood," said the Shady Guy as he pulled off Takuma''s vest, chainmail shirt, and cotton undervest, causing him to scream in pain as it disturbed the wound sending a sharp screeching pain through his body.
"I don''t get lucky," Kameko muttered with her sharp eyes narrowing.
Shady Guy chuckled as he checked Takuma''s wound. He weaved hand seals for an iridescent green glow of Shosen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Jutsu) over his hands that he placed over Takuma''s wound, and after some time, the blood stopped leaking out of the exposed internals. Shady Guy stopped his healing jutsu and then proceeded to clean up the wounds. He then cast another Shosen Jutsu to finally close Takuma''s wound before dressing the semi-stable recently healed wound that could still catch infection or other complications. He then walked to one of the cold boxes and pulled out a glass vial with a dark brown opaque tint whose contents he made Takuma drink.
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"There... all good again," Shady Guy slapped Takuma on one cheek to snap him out of his dizzy haze.
Takuma didn''t feel all good in any form. He wasn''t used to the feeling of getting an injury, only for it to be healed within the next twenty or so minutes. His head felt heavy and a shiver gripped his body as he got up from the stretcher to return back to his team as mandated by Yoshio. The feeling was horrible.
Every time someone was injured, they were sent to Shady Guy to get healed. If the injury was minor, like a shallow cut on the arm, people could return in a couple minutes as if they had never been injured. If the injuries were major, like a deep cut that hemorrhaged blood to the point of serious blood loss, they would end up like Takuma¡ª there were worse cases as well.
No one was allowed to help the injured party drag themselves to the medical tent if they could do so themselves, even if barely. The person who had inflicted the injury would accompany the person in case they collapsed. Yoshio wanted them to get used to what he called functioning under damage. He wanted them to function unaided after they were gravely injured to secure themselves away from danger and survive until they were patched up¡ª he then wanted them to operate to a competent degree right after getting healed so that they wouldn''t become an absolute burden. Of course, Yoshio talked in idealistic terms, as overly serious injuries could outright disable the shinobi from any movement¡ª but any ability to function under life-threatening harm was absolutely valuable in survival.
"I''m leaving," Kameko announced and walked away without waiting for a response.
Takuma didn''t feel like replying to her and focused on trudging his way back to the group, where he dumped himself with his team, lying down on the ground with his arm over his forehead.
"You sure suck against fast people," Masaaki commented as he peered down at Takuma directly over his face.
"Shut... I know," Takuma mid-way abandoned his attempt to argue and just accepted the comment. It was true. Faster, quicker opponents were his bane based on his win-loss statistic¡ª ironic, given that his win was against a nimble opponent. But unlike Aimi, his defeats came from opponents who could deal significant damage while being fast like Kameko. He just couldn''t keep up with them with his taijutsu. An important factor that he included in his decision when choosing Raiton: Shokku (Lightning Release: Shock) as his first jutsu.
He turned his head towards Taro. "What was that?" he asked.
Taro, the person who knew most about essentially everything in the team, eyed Takuma briefly before drawling out the answer. "Taketori clan practices their special brand of swordplay, something that is classified as a high-ranking kenjutsu. And it''s not as simple as swinging a sword in a certain way. There are actual jutsu combined with the swordplay that makes it a high-ranking bukijutsu," he shrugged. "She simply used a jutsu from her clan."
"She didn''t weave any hand seals," Takuma mentioned his observation.
This time, it wasn''t Taro who answered, but it was Masaaki who spoke up. "It''s bukijutsu. Kenjutsu is a type of bukijutsu. A lot of it is based on top of a fuinjutsu base. Maybe there''s something in her sword. If not, then there are a few instances that don''t require hand seals at all. The Samurai that serve as Daimao''s retainers use swordplay that doesn''t require hand seals to activate¡ª maybe it''s something like that."
Takuma was surprised to hear an opinion from Masaaki. His jovial and goofy teammate was many things, but he was not a person who would express profound knowledge in conversations. His reputation was a strong guy who operated more on polished instinct than learned understanding. Takuma glanced at Nenro and Ai, and while they shrugged, they didn''t seem surprised by Masaaki''s sudden bout of knowledge. Takuma attributed that to childhood friends knowing much more about Masaaki than he could''ve learned in a mere month. It took years to truly know a person.
"It''s their clan''s jutsu, speculation is pointless without further evidence. We can just infer from what we know," Taro said in conclusion.
Takuma didn''t know if he agreed with the first part, but he did concur with the second part of the statement. He now knew that Kameko could potentially slice her opponents even if the blade of her sword didn''t reach him¡ª essentially extending the reach of her blade. Was it a wind element jutsu? Or something elementless that simply created a cutting surface on top of the sword? Whatever it was, she could extend her range.
The important question that needed to be considered was the upper limit of the extension. Was it a couple inches, or could she seemingly double the length of her blade¡ª maybe even more.
"That headbutt was funny!" Masaaki laughed merrily.
"Ugh, I felt that from here. My nose felt warm when you did that," Ai grimaced as she glanced toward Kameko''s team. "She''s lucky that you didn''t break her nose."
"I tried to do just that," Takuma said with a frustrated sigh, "she ducked her head at the last moment." He had gotten his chest cut open; the least she could do was get her nose bloody.
"I''m still surprised she used a jutsu against you," Taro said as he watched the ongoing spar.
"What do you mean?" Nenro asked.
"She good. He bad," Taro replied, not even bothering to form a complete sentence.
"I hope you''re my next opponent. I''ll show you who bad," Takuma commented as his head got clearer. He sat up on the ground and took a swig from his canteen before speaking: "She was probably pissed that I completed the tree-climbing practice challenge before her and took that out on me," he clicked his tongue.
Takuma took another swig from his canteen as he looked at the ongoing spar with his own spar replaying in his mind. His mind automatically went back to every split-second of the fight, and it was then he noticed the small crater hole in the ground, and after a couple seconds of staring, he recalled that he was the one who had made that.
''Hmm?''
CH_2.12 (043):
Takuma yawned wide enough to fit three fingers into his mouth as he poured over the unfurled scroll that flowed down both sides of his lap onto the grass of the training field, the same he had once used with Maruboshi.
Reading complicated theory written in a jutsu scroll at four in the morning wasn''t an exciting prospect to shoo away the lingering haze of sleep. But it had to be done. He couldn''t outspeed Kameko, nor could he face her head-on with taijutsu, especially not against her swordplay. Whatever remaining chance of dwindling victory was slashed down to nothing when chakra-backed bukijutsu got involved.
He needed ninjutsu to create an advantage for himself. A tool that would give him a chance at grabbing victory. And Raiton: Shokku (Lightning Release: Shock) was the tool of his choosing.
Every element on the chakra transformational wheel was versatile in its own right. Earth was the reliable rock of protection under the feet. Fire burned with destructive rage. Water flowed with an elegance that could, at any moment, bring about natural disasters. Air was the ever-present resource that could be commanded to shear through anything sharper than any forged blade ever could. Lightning similarly held power ranging from malignant thunder to trickling electricity, capable of vibrating and creating a cutting force that could pierce any object.
Takuma placed the scroll to the side and walked a sufficient distance away. The jutsu, as any other, required him to weave hand seals that would guide and transform the chakra to suit the jutsu''s requirement. The output, in this case, was supposed to be a bolt of lightning coming out of the hand to shock the target with damage and a short spell of paralysis.
It was perfect for him. He could fire it from a range, allowing him to disengage from close combat to some extent, and when the target was struggling from the paralysis, he could then move in close to inflict some punishment. It covered his weakness in taijutsu and gave him an offensive boost.
Weaving hand seals, Takuma channeled his chakra and pointed his arm forward. A few sparks of bluish-white lightning arced around the length of his arm and gathered in front of his palm, condensing into a bolt that shot forward, but before it could fly even a few inches, the bolt fizzled away.
Takuma clicked his tongue and jerked his hand to shake away the smoke. The jutsu wasn''t working for him. While it wasn''t something he was unfamiliar with as Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Jutsu) and Kawarimi no Jutsu(Substitution Jutsu) came slowly to him.
However, Raiton: Shokku wasn''t like them. He had picked up the jutsu reasonably quickly. The tree-walking practice had granted him enough chakra control to learn D-rank jutsu¡ª or at least, Raiton: Shokku.
''But not enough to do it properly,'' Takuma sighed. While the jutsu activated successfully, the resulting electric bolt was nothing like it should be. The thin bolt barely traveled a couple feet, and while Takuma hadn''t experienced it, from the looks of it, the bolt didn''t seem capable enough to do any significant damage.
With each passing week, Yoshio would announce his weekly rankings, and one team would be crowned as number one. Team-5 had aced the rankings once, which had once made them contenders for the spot in the final tournament ''representing'' Yoshio. But just last week, Kameko''s team had gained their second number one position in the rankings, putting them on top. And Cho''s team, who had lost out to his team in tree-climbing practice, were slated to win this week(according to Taro), which would also be their second time as number one.
Team-5 needed another number one on weekly rankings to remain a contender for the final tournament¡ª they needed to do it quickly.
And for that, he needed to win more.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Yuu and Takuma."
Okazaki Yuu grinned when he heard the other name being called out. He glanced at his opponent of the day as he strolled out to the middle of the field for the spar.
Takuma was always a fortunate opponent to fight. It meant a victory with a satisfying beatdown was in the bag. The same it had been ever since they were in the academy. Yuu had yet to lose a single fight to Takuma. Even the two times they had fought in basic training, he had swept the floor with Takuma.
Yuu smirked as he raised his hand to form the Seal of Confrontation that Takuma mimicked. Yuu didn''t say anything. He waited until Yoshio turned back to walk away, and only when he got the signal to start, he spoke, knowing that everything was fair game within the confines of the spar and the sadistic piece of shit instructor wouldn''t find an excuse to swing his baton.
"Yo, Takuma. You look boring as always," said Yuu, his smirk widening. "We haven''t fought much since we left the academy. I miss those days, we got to play a lot more than we do now. We had so much fun, neh?"
His uncle had always told him that provoking the opponents did wonders during fights. Mistakes and hasty decisions in anger were easy to exploit and deliver a solid thrashing. Mind was as important as the body during combat. Everyone in the family disagreed with his uncle. His father said that angering the opponent could make combat more aggressive and challenging to manage if not appropriately handled.
Yuu felt his uncle''s words always made sense to him. Especially when he was able to get in solid hits at Hiji during their spars after provoking the Inuzuka with comments like he smelled like a dirty dog that made him sloppy. The Inuzuka clan was much stronger than the Okazaki clan; they had been there since the creation of the Leaf village¡ª so it felt great when he got in hits at Hiji.
He also just liked the expression of anger that appeared on his opponents'' faces. It was like they were telling him of their own volition that his tactics were working.
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Not with Takuma though, Yuu narrowed his eyes. Takuma had a stone flat expression on his face as he put some distance between them when Yoshio announced the start. It was always like that since Hiji¡ªhe and his group would go play with Takuma to have some fun, who never gave them any reaction no matter what they said.
It was unsatisfying to see that. But that just made the spars more entertaining because, during the fights, Takuma would struggle against them, and one could know more about the person through sparring than they could ever know through simple facial expressions.
Yuu wasted no more time and lunged ahead to get in the first hit. Takuma tried to get out of the way, but Yuu''s first initiative made him unable to dodge, so he raised his shoulder to absorb the kick. The contact sent Takuma spinning, stumbling a few steps back. Yuu saw the slight slack in Takuma''s block arm and knew he had done damage, so he didn''t relent and charged forward.
Takuma recovered his footwork and scurried away from Yuu, who came at him swinging. He blocked two thundering blows and was already staggering as Yuu continued to send in one blow after another.
Yuu felt great. It was times like these that told him that Takuma was still the same dead last he had been in the academy. That the tree-climbing practice challenge was a fluke and that there was no way the dead last could be first in anything. Behind him, his friends gibbered and cheered in turns.
"He''s done," one of them said.
"Burn him," another hooted.
Yuu was happy to oblige.
Takuma continued to be pushed back, unable to get in a single hit. He almost stubbornly kept his guard up, using his hands, arms, and legs to protect his torso or head from any of Yuu''s attack. He seemed so desperate to stop the incoming attacks that he tried to unsuccessfully grab Yuu''s punches and kicks.
Yuu whipped his dominant leg with all the power he could muster from his muscles, and he was sure he could see Takuma''s body curve around the place on his arm where the kick made contact. A grin made its way to Yuu''s face as he pulled his back, intending to get another kick from the same leg in quick succession.
But suddenly, he couldn''t separate his leg from Takuma''s arm for a moment, and when he pulled, Takuma got dragged along. Only for a moment, though, as the next second, his leg was back to the ground, and Takuma was swaying as he staggered on his steps.
What was that? Yuu thought. Did something on his shoe catch the fabric of Takuma''s clothes?
"Fuck it," he heard a crude whisper.
Yuu couldn''t think straight as Takuma sucked air into his lungs, bellowed, and ran for Yuu. The crowd cheered, and Yuu didn''t move. He stood there and launched his foreleg into Takuma''s chest with a front kick. Takuma folded like a book as he flew back.
*Poof!*
A thick cover of white smoke erupted in front of Yuu and obscured Takuma completely.
''What?'' Yuu backed up and alarmingly looked at the smoke, his eyes darting left and right to see through the haze to locate Takuma.
Suddenly four Takumas emerged out of the smoke. They had jumped high and were coming down at him with kunai in their hands. As the smoke cleared up, six more Takuma ran out of the smoke, charging toward him.
Clones. Yuu''s mind immediately identified the jutsu in front of him. How did you identify the real from the clones? Shadows! But did the clones in the air cast shadows? What if the real Takuma was among the ones in the air?
Before Yuu could do anything, one of the clones in the air came down with his foot facing his face. Yuu moved to the side to dodge, and his eyes moved to the ground¡ª no shadow; it was a clone. He was about to lightly push the clone to release the jutsu when he heard footsteps.
Yuu immediately turned back and saw a Takuma cocking a punch toward him. He ducked and launched a punch on instinct that went through the clone. He looked around, and all Takuma were attacking him. He felt overwhelmed because he didn''t know which one was the real one.
It was then that he felt a kick to the back of his head that rattled his teeth and sent him to the dirt. Before Yuu could react, he felt another kick to the side of his head that rolled him face-side up.
Yuu could no longer tell if the Takuma looking down at him were clones or if his blurry vision had multiplied many times over.
"Fuck you and that mutt," he heard Takuma say over the piercing ringing noise that had started after the second kick.
Takuma dropped to his knees and then started dropping 12-to-6 elbow strikes down onto Yuu''s face, who had one hand pinned down under Takuma''s knee while the other hand was fended off by Takuma''s other hand.
Yuu couldn''t even tell when everything went dark.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Stop!"
Takuma forced himself to get another elbow strike down on Yuu''s bloody and battered face and stepped away from his academy bully, feeling the aches in his body from all the hits he had taken¡ª
''All for nothing,'' Takuma clicked his tongue.
"Boy you didn''t hold back, did you," Yoshio said as he squatted near the quivering Yuu, who suddenly stopped shaking and went still. "Ah, got knocked out¡ª lucky for him, his friend will take him to get treated. Right, Takuma?"
Takuma knew the rules. The assaulter would go with the injured to the medical tent without helping them. But if the latter party was knocked out, then the assaulter would need to carry them to the tent. He slung Yuu over his shoulder and stomped his way to the medical tent.
"Oh my, even his mother couldn''t bear to look at him. You did a number on him, boy," Shady Guy commented after Takuma dumped Yuu on the stretcher.
Takuma didn''t reply or wait and walked back to his team and sat down with his team.
"Why''re you sulking? You won, you know," said Ai.
"I had to use clones!" Takuma spat. "I wasted it, dammit!"
Bunshin no Jutsu(Clone Jutsu) was supposed to be a one-time surprise tactic. Overwhelming his opponent with ten or so clones who didn''t know it would come as no one used Bunshin no Jutsu in fights. It wasn''t going to work when his opponent knew that he could use that. Now that he had used it, everyone in the group knew to look out for his clone blitz.
The one-time game changer¡ªwasted. And his experiment wasn''t even successful.
Takuma wrapped his arms around his knees and stared at the ground. He needed to get better at Raiton: Shokku or find a different way to get stronger before the final tournament.
CH_2.13 (044):
Takuma dumped his backpack onto the ground beside his foot as he looked at the large board tied up on the metallic chain-link fence with barbed wire weaved not only the top but also through the chain-link that made up the fence''s body.
¡ª> Training Ground: No. 42 <¡ª
The board also had warnings about the area being a restricted property... only for shinobi use... stay out... danger... and many other notices all pointing to turn away, all written in bright red¡ª not the feel-good Coca-Cola red, but the kind that screamed hazard.
Seeing the trees with trunks as thick as houses stretched over multiple stories tall with canopies so dense with green that not a single ray of light trickled down to the ground, Takuma was completely fine obeying the warnings and returning home. Alas, orders were orders and needed to be obeyed.
"Takuma!"
Hearing his name, Takuma turned away from the grim-looking forest to look at the trio of Nenro, Ai, and Masaaki walking towards him with Masaaki waving his hand above his head like an excited child.
"Mornin''," he said. Even though it was still dark, with sunrise a couple hours away.
"You sure packed light," Ai said, looking at Takuma''s backpack.
Takuma glanced at the trio''s backpacks on their shoulders and saw that their packs were larger than his and packed to the stitches. To him, it looked like they had overpacked.
"I travel light," said Takuma. He had been taught to pack light, carry only essentials, and be resourceful for anything else needed at the moment.
"So, this is it, huh," Nenro gazed at Training Ground No. 42. "What can you tell us about it?"
Takuma stared at the roots of the trees to see if he could spot some mushrooms. He had researched the area when packing his supplies as he was taught. But then Takuma noticed that the trio was looking at him.
"Huh, who me?"
"Who else... none of us are from here."
Takuma blinked. It was true. To everyone else, ''Takuma'' had always been a Leaf village resident and even he had been living in the Leaf village for over a year.
"I... don''t know much," said Takuma. "Never got to explore the restricted parts of the village, wasn''t allowed, you know," he glanced at the looming forest, "but from the looks of it, the training ground is a forest-type terrain to maybe emulate deep forest for practice. From what I read, some risky flora and fauna roam there, creating a somewhat dangerous ecosystem for outsiders. So, not your average forest. An abundance of poisonous fruits and mushrooms, a special species of blood-sucking leeches, spiders that can blend with the environment¡ª invisible to predators but attractive to prey... so yeah, there''s a lot of interesting¡ª"
Takuma looked back. Ai looked pale and blue.
"O-Oh, should I have not said something?" he asked.
"She hates leeches," Nenro wrapped his arm around Ai and rubbed her shoulder. "We once slept at a dairy farm, and in the morning, she woke up to find six leeches stuck to her, sucking blood."
Takuma wrinkled his nose. That sounded horrifying to wake up to. And it looked like it left behind a trauma on Ai.
"Well, there''s something we can do to keep them away," he said to Ai.
"Really?" Ai removed her face from Nenro''s shoulder and looked hopefully at Takuma, who nodded.
There were herbs that could be mulched into a paste that worked like repellents to keep the leeches away.
"Crying first thing in the morning, you guys sure are lively," said Taro upon arrival and lazily waved his hand to them with a light bag on his back. "Why''s she crying?" he asked.
"Ai doesn''t like leeches," said Masaaki.
"Then this is going to be terrible for her," Taro chortled shortly.
Nenro glared at him as he pulled Ai closer.
Takuma shook his head. The reason why they all had gathered away from their usual training grounds was that three days ago, Yoshio had announced that they would be doing an outdoor expedition to make the genin experience how to camp outside when they were outside the village for missions and couldn''t find a town to lodge before sundown.
It was quite a basic skill to have, which was why Maruboshi had Takuma go through outdoor camping training. Which was why he was excited to hear they would camp outside. He felt an affinity for the great outdoors¡ª the scenery was beautiful, the air was clean, and despite his not-so-stellar experience with his first trip, Takuma had some great times on the subsequent trips¡ª something about camping under the trees, away from the city noise and light felt great.
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But as he looked at Training Ground No. 42, the dark forest, which he had read about in the archives, didn''t look too appealing. But he was hopeful nevertheless.
One by one, more and more of Yoshio''s group began to arrive at the training ground, all with bags on their backs, looking worriedly at the forest.
"Isn''t that the instructor?" Masaaki said, pointing towards the forest.
Takuma turned towards the forest and saw Yoshio appearing out of the woods, accompanied by several shinobi. He walked through the gate in the fence and faced them.
"Looks like everyone is here," Yoshio said after peering at them. "Welcome to Training Ground No. 42. As you can see, it''s a forest, and you all will spend the next few days exploring it. Do some fun activities. Have a great time together in the great outdoors."
"I don''t like this. He''s going to screw us over. I can feel it," Taro muttered loud enough for the team to hear.
Takuma couldn''t agree more. There was nothing fun or great about how Yoshio had said those words. What did he mean by fun activities?
"The objective of this excursion is for all of you to get used to operating outdoors during missions or simple traveling. It was for that reason Training Ground No. 42 was chosen¡ª but that''s only part of the reason why we are doing this," Yoshio continued as a smile appeared on his chiseled face. "I previously said that you''ll be traveling with your teams... I lied. Everyone will start separately from each other, so if you prepared your supplies jointly... too bad."
Takuma saw that the trio looked aghast. It seemed they had done precisely what Yoshio mentioned. Team-5 hadn''t planned for joint preparation, but it seemed the trio had done so themselves.
"Every one of you will get one of these five tokens," Yoshio raised his hand to show five tokens, each in a different shape. "All of you will start separately at different points of the fence, with the control tower somewhere in the forest as the goal. Five tokens, each of a unique shape, are needed to enter the tower. The first two sets of five tokens will be granted entry and rewarded, while the remaining fifteen will be declared failures and have to shovel shit in a stable for a week."
They were made to queue and given a token each.
"What did all of you get?" Masaaki asked as he returned from the line. "I got the circle token."
"Square," Nenro raised his triangular wooden chip.
"Triangle," said Ai.
"Diamond," Taro showed his rhombus-shaped tile.
Takuma walked to the group and saw his teammate''s tokens before showing them his pentagon token. "We need to make a plan to converge somewhere in the forest so we can then travel together to the tower," he said.
"Probably the right thing to do, but we don''t know anything about the forest. How should we decide the meeting point?" Nenro said.
Takuma slung his backpack off his shoulder and took out a scroll. He unfurled it to show a map. "So, as you can see, a river¡ª"
"You brought a map with you?" Taro stared between the map and Takuma.
"Huh, yeah. The day after he told us where we were going, I searched to see if I could find something. I asked the archive manager, and she straight up handed me a map," Takuma said¡ª libraries were awesome. "So, as I was saying. You see this river..."
The fences around Training Ground No. 42 made a circular perimeter around the forest. A river entered from the north and then split soon after entering the forest. The stream that headed southwest exited the forest in one piece, but the second stream that headed southeast branched one more time at two places. The tower that Yoshio mentioned was situated right in the middle of the forest.
"We don''t know where we will enter, so I say we head toward the water," Takuma ran his finger over the river on the map placed on the ground. "We meet at this split and then head to the tower together," he pointed at the first split in the southeast stream, which was right next to the central tower. "So, wherever you enter the forest, head towards the water, follow the stream and make your way to this split¡ª don''t try to tread the woods, it''s dangerous. Yoshio told us we are going to be in here for two days. You need water for those two days, which is really easy to get if you''re near a bunch of it. I will repeat, try to get to the water as soon as possible and then use it as a guide."
Rivers were overpowered. They provided water and food, and as such, they were a great place to camp. And in the real world, civilization settled near water, which was why if you followed water, people could eventually get to towns or villages.
"It will be difficult if we enter from the wrong position," Taro pointed out how the river streams were further from some places than others.
"Cover as much ground as you can during the mornings," said Takuma. "Wake up at first light and utilize most of your time to cover as much distance. I hope all of you have brought some food?" All of them nodded. "Good, ration it out, so you don''t have to waste time hunting for food¡ª but don''t let yourself get dehydrated. When you make camp, drink as much water as possible and boil enough for the journey. Don''t drink standing water. Don''t eat anything you don''t absolutely know you can eat..."
He rattled off everything he learned from his excursions and made sure they made it to the point well and in one piece.
"You sure know a lot about camping."
Takuma slung his backpack over his shoulder as one of the shinobi that came along with Yoshio called his name. "I do. I was trained for it. Alright, see you guys soon," he said before jogging to the shinobi.
Ai turned to Taro. She asked, "Do they teach this in the academy here?"
"The basics, sure. We even went out a couple times, camped near a forest... but what all he said, they didn''t teach any of that," Taro shook his head. "... where did he learn it?"
Takuma ran to the shinobi, who handed him a red flare rod.
"If you''re unable to continue for any reason, shoot this towards the sky and stay there, we will come and get you," said the shinobi and then asked if Takuma understood, who nodded.
The same shinobi then led Takuma and four other genin, and they traveled for one and a half hours before they stopped. He walked to a gate locked with multiple locks, and after unlocking every one of them, he turned to Takuma.
"You enter from here," he said.
Takuma walked inside, and the shinobi then locked the gate behind him before taking the rest of the group with him. Takuma watched them until they were out of view, after which he turned towards the forest.
He looked at the sky; the sun was about to come up¡ª meaning it was time to start covering ground.
CH_2.14 (045):
The forest in Training Ground No. 42 was unlike any forest Takuma had trekked in. The trees were giants compared to anything he had seen, with canopies so thick that they only let soft glimmering rays of light through the gaps. Every tree trunk was colonized by a shroud of parasitic vines that covered the base of the dark brown trunks in green, making everything above look burnt¡ª though he could sense a bottomless vitality residing in them¡ª he was going to die first before these trees perished.
The ground was bizarrely uneven, with grass and moss covering it, making it look flat even though it was not. He saw finger-sized worms burrowing into the ground and bugs that would bloody his entire palm if he squashed them.
He had yet to encounter animals other than the occasional chirping of birds, which he couldn''t identify, for he had yet to study bird calls.
Takuma looked up at the trickling light piercing through the canopy and re-affirmed his direction. For once, he considered himself lucky as he had entered the forest from the southeast direction. According to the map, he had two river streams closest to him¡ª one that flowed to the south and one that was more in the general east direction.
He didn''t know exactly at what point the shinobi had dropped him off, so he couldn''t identify which river stream was closer to him. Takuma flipped a coin and decided to head northwest towards the stream that flowed south. Not only did it flow close to the central tower, but it was also a straight path to the meeting point.
He wondered where his teammates had entered the forest and hoped that none of them got a northeastern entry, as that was the most challenging region. The nearest river stream was only accessible through a deep trek through the forest, which wasn''t ideal¡ª the longer you stayed in the woods, the higher the chance of encountering potential dangers.
He himself had been trekking a couple of hours and felt that it was only time before he encountered something problematic. Though he kept his fingers crossed and wished for another bout of luck to reach the river without any hiccups along the way.
*Crunch*
Takuma immediately turned towards the sound. Was it a wild animal? He preferred not to encounter any predators, for he had yet to fight one and had no idea if he could win¡ª or win without injuring himself to a point he couldn''t continue.
Cursing himself for jinxing a perfectly good situation, Takuma tried to pinpoint the source of the sound. He heard it again and, this time closer, turned himself back to find that the source wasn''t an animal but a groupmate of his.
"Kaede..."
Takuma glanced at her hands, which held a gleaming kunai in each hand. She peered at him cautiously while darting her gaze at the surroundings.
"It''s Umeda for you," said the tall girl with long limbs that granted an advantage in close combat. Something Takuma was envious of. He had long legs, but his wingspan was only slightly above average, making his reach sometimes somewhat lacking.
"Umeda, it is... then...." Takuma trailed off when he noticed that Kaede didn''t have her backpack on her. He knew she had it on before; he remembered seeing her carry one. She didn''t look scruffed up or injured in some manner, which probably meant she hadn''t lost it¡ª
The realization struck him suddenly. He could be wrong, but Takuma said it anyways.
"I don''t want to fight you."
Kaede''s eyes sharpened as she and Takuma moved around in a circle. Observing each other
"And yet you take out your kunai," she said.
Takuma gripped the kunai he had just taken out. "You can''t blame me for protecting myself," he said as he threw his backpack behind him on the ground. "Let''s just part ways peacefully. There''s no need for us to fight. There''s no shortage of those tokens. Every team has the right combination to get into the tower. You don''t want mine. I''m assuming that''s what you want," he finished.
"Not really," Kaede said, smirking. "I don''t need your token. I just need to separate it away from you. As you said, all teams have the tokens to make it into the tower without fighting the other teams. But only two teams can win. That''s tough odds. However, if I''m to get rid of even a single token from another team, an entire team is suddenly out of contention. The odds have suddenly improved. There''s now a fifty percent chance of us winning. The returns are too great for the little effort needed."
Takuma gripped his kunai harder. He hadn''t thought about that. In his goal to reach the water as quickly as possible to secure a safer situation, he had ignored the fact that, unlike his usual outings, he wasn''t operating in a vacuum. This time, he had other people in the forest alongside him¡ª who were competing for a prize and had the motivation to obstruct him.
"... I will leave you here," Takuma said.
"What?" Kaede sounded confused.
"If we fight and I win¡ª"
"You think you''ll win?" she scoffed.
"Our sparring record is split evenly," Takuma said, he kept his tone and expression flat and calm, "so yes, I do think I can win here. And if I win and you get injured enough to not continue, I''ll find your emergency flare and take it away, making sure you can''t call for help."
Kaede froze and stopped in her tracks. Takuma knew he had hit something. He stopped and continued.
"I''ll leave you here all alone in this dark and dangerous forest with no way to contact outside. You will definitely be bleeding, attracting the animals in the woods to you. You see where I''m going with this?"
"... You wouldn''t," Kaede said, disbelief in her voice.
Takuma couldn''t see the horror in her eyes, so he continued. "I don''t like to fight, really. I''m not good at it, so I derive no pleasure from it. Especially not in here, the woods. So, if you force me to fight and I win¡ª and if I know myself well, which I do¡ª I''ll take revenge because you forced me to fight and put my life in danger here in the forest. I wouldn''t care if you were my groupmate who suffered daily beatings together... I will leave you alone here."
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Now Takuma could see it. There was the realization in Kaede''s eyes that he wanted to see. He really didn''t want to fight, and if it took horrifying the girl with lies about what limits he was willing to go, he was ready to do it. He wasn''t going to leave her alone without help if they did fight, of course not¡ª but fear was an effective motivator, he knew that firsthand.
"What''s your decision? Do you want to risk it just because Yoshio said that only the first two teams will win? Do you like Yoshio so much? Are you so desperate to not shovel shit that you''re willing to risk your life? If you do go ahead, I will accompany you."
Takuma assumed a combat stance with his kunai pointed forward. Looking ready to fight Kaede.
Kaede stared at Takuma in a moment of long stretched silence before she started to step back until she disappeared between the trees.
"We can always travel together, you know!" Takuma tried to call out to her¡ª but got silence in return.
He sighed. That was close. He almost got into a fight after only a couple hours.
"I''m going to use this every single time."
He was relieved that the wild encounter with Kaede went well, but it did give way to a worry. Kaede''s approach of stealing a single token to eliminate an entire team was valid. If one person had thought of it, others would think of it as well.
Which meant that there was a chance his teammates might get targeted as well.
''Please let them reach the meeting point in place,'' he thought.
For now, all he could do was move onwards and reach the meeting point, hoping that others would as well.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Should I be worried about something?" Taro looked at the sword-wielding girl staring at him, which looked more like a glare, but he was sure it was just her natural expression, so he didn''t judge her.
Kameko stared at Taro with her hand on her sword hilt for a long moment before she turned her back to him and started walking ahead.
Taro followed after her. When she turned back to him to glare at him, Taro just raised his hand and shrugged. "We''re going the same way, don''t worry, I''m not going to disturb you. And we both know what''s going to happen if I attack you," he said.
Kameko scoffed with her chin raised before turning away to start walking again.
Taro had no opposition to her behavior. As long as he could pass the annoyingly tiring walking through the forest with ease and uneventfully, he was fine tagging along some prideful display from the princess.
There was a shuffle in the bushes, and Kameko''s hand was again on her hilt as she held the scabbard. Taro also pulled out his kunai as he placed himself a little bit behind Kameko.
A person appeared from within the bushes, and his eyes widened when he noticed them. "Geh, Kameko!" he croaked before pushing back into the bushes and running away.
Kameko clicked her tongue before she started walking again.
Behind her, a smirk appeared on Taro''s face. He couldn''t have found a better bug repellant than the girl in front of him. As long as he kept following her, getting to Takuma''s meeting point was going to be as easy as taking a walk.
Life was good.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Masaaki ducked underneath the huge claw strike and drove his large knuckle duster into the large inky jaguar''s gut, sending the lithe big cat''s body into the tree trunk behind her.
"Is that all you got, big kitty," Masaaki laughed as he slapped his thigh. "Come on, let''s play some more."
The jaguar, however, didn''t seem to want to play and skipped away into the woods with her tail between her legs.
Masaaki pouted as he deposited his knuckle duster into the packs.
"Now... where am I?"
Masaaki looked around the dark forest and groaned as he had no idea where he was. He looked around until his eyes fell in the direction the jaguar had run in.
He decided that it was the direction to go in.
And he did it while humming a song to pass the time.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Nenro looked down at the ground while perched up on a thick branch of a tree. He watched as a guy walked out of the bushes while looking around as if trying to look for something.
He had spotted that he had a tail half an hour ago. He tried to lose the tail, but whoever it was, kept glued to him, no matter how much he tried. Seeing that he couldn''t lose the tail, he decided to ''lose the tail.'' Nenro waited until the guy was directly below him until he jumped down. Nenro had already landed on the ground, crouching, when the guy noticed him¡ª but it was already too late by then.
Nenro shot forward, wrapped his arm around his groupmate''s neck, and started choking him out.
"It''s nothing personal," he grunted as he kept the struggling guy in control. "And while I don''t mind you tailing me, I would prefer it if you didn''t."
The guy flapped his legs and arms, trying to claw at Nenro''s arms, trying to hit him from the back and everything to escape until he couldn''t do it any longer and just dropped unconscious.
Nenro dropped the guy to the ground and then knelt beside him to find the token, which he pocketed. He then took out the emergency flare from the guy''s backpack and aimed it at the sky.
"Sorry about this," he muttered before pulling the tab.
The flare tore through the canopy and rose to the sky before bursting up in a bright red light.
And after making sure the guy was safe until he was found, Nenro left, continuing on with his journey to Takuma''s meeting point.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ai looked up at the bright red flare lighting up in the distant sky.
''Already?'' she thought, surprised at how quickly the first flare had been fired. Ai wondered who it was for a moment before continuing onwards.
Ai''s time in the forest had been an uneventful one. She had seen a couple baby foxes along the way, but she avoided them in fear of facing the ire of their parents, who she was sure were nearby. Other than that, her journey had been smooth sailing.
"Oh?"
Ai heard a trickling sound. She started running forward, and with each step, the sound grew louder until she was standing on a gravel rock facing a wide and deep river with clear water flowing under bright sunlight. She squinted her eyes; it had been a couple hours since she had seen so much sunlight.
"Well, that was easy," she said.
Looking at the sun, she affirmed the direction before heading towards it, knowing that as long as she followed the water, she would reach Takuma''s meeting point.
Forest treks were easy.
CH_2.15 (046):
The forest that grew in the confines of Training Ground No. 42 was a significantly large area but not big enough that a trek from the boundary to the center would take more than a day.
Takuma gazed at the central tower. He could just see the tip of the building with antennas fixed on the top as he walked along the river. The sky only had an hour to ninety minutes of sunlight left, after which it would be unwise to travel any further. He would cut through the short forest distance to reach the tower if he didn''t have to wait for his team.
His journey had been mostly smooth, and he considered himself early to the meeting point, and didn''t think that anyone would be there before, given that his river route was one of the shortest.
As he continued his march over the riverside gravel, he heard the sound of water grow louder. After fifteen to twenty minutes, he found himself at a bend where the river stream cut into two sub-streams¡ª one which he followed and the other that split again later down the route.
He had reached the meeting point.
"Yo."
Unexpectedly, he wasn''t the first one to get there.
Taro was already there. "You got here quick," he said.
"Not faster than you, though," Takuma dropped his backpack beside the large rock on which Taro sat.
"I just followed her," Taro pointed his thumb over his shoulder. Beyond the gravel, under the tree line, sat Kameko with her eyes closed and her sword laid in her lap. "It looks like others had the same idea as you."
"It''s basic to follow the water for direction," Takuma shrugged.
Taro pulled a face as his shoulders dropped. "She didn''t follow the water," he said. "I had to follow her through the forest until we reached here... it was horrible¡ª so horrible." He sighed before asking in a more serious tone, "Did you meet someone along the way?"
"Twice," said Takuma. "I negotiated with one to part ways peacefully and hid from the other. Pacifist strat. What about you?"
"Pacifist... strat, what? Whatever, I don''t wanna know.... We met four people, and she scared three of them and beat the crap out of the fourth one¡ª he pulled the flare. I didn''t have to do anything other than just mind my step and maintain a constant distance from her," Taro pointed to Kameko.
Takuma could see that happening. With her personality and combat prowess, Kameko had a reputation for being someone not to be messed with. That sword of hers made long and deep cuts, and no one wanted to be spurting blood in the middle of the forest, waiting to see who would get there first¡ª the shinobi or the forest residents, desperately hoping it would be the former.
"I see no one else''s here yet," he said.
Taro shook his head. "I just hope they''re here soon. I would prefer to get to the tower before dark and go straight home. Leave the rest of them to struggle for another day."
Takuma decided to treat some river water for drinking. It had already been a few hours since he had his last drink, and after the all-day activity, it was high time he got some more. By the time he had the fire setup ready and the water boiling, more people had arrived at what turned out to be a common meeting point for multiple teams.
"Aww, I wasn''t first," Ai was one of them, "that sucks."
"How does it feel to lose to Turtle Taro?" Takuma smirked at Ai.
Ai groaned as she received the water canteen from Takuma.
"Hey, I take offense to that. And it''s not like you can say anything, I arrived before you as well," said Taro.
"That''s only because you had the killer rabbit Kameko''s help," Takuma bantered as he kept an eye on the other who had arrived.
There were a total of three teams at the meeting point. Takuma, Taro, and Ai from Team-5. Kameko was joined by one of her teammates. And finally, there were two more members of another team. None of them had their complete teams, which meant no one could move forward to the final step of entering the tower. They were in a deadlock until every member of the team arrived at the place.
''Or maybe we''re wasting time here, and the other two teams are already in the tower.''
The three teams remained in their area. Kameko and her teammate sat beneath the trees. Takuma and Ai made their place around the big rock that Taro was sitting on. While the other group stayed stationed near the river, cautiously looking at the others.
The silence between the groups was broken by a sudden loud sound.
"Ah! I found it!"
Masaaki came running out from the woods on the other side of the river with small branches and dead leaves sticking out of his clothes and hair. His face was all muddy, and he looked like he had come out of a mining cave. He stretched his arms above his head and looked up at the sky before gazing at the river. A grin appeared on his face. Masaaki dropped his backpack on the ground and ran towards the rivers before jumping into the water with a loud cheer.
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"That idiot," Ai sighed.
"It is pretty hot here," Taro said, eyeing the river.
When Masaaki came out, Takuma passed him the water canteen that Masaaki chugged down empty in a second.
"Did I not tell you to head towards the river? Why did you come running out of the woods?" asked Takuma.
"Oh, that was good," Masaaki said after emptying the canteen. "I tried to find the water, but no matter where I walked or how much I walked, I couldn''t find water." He pointed at the river behind him, "I did find this river, though, and I found you guys, so I guess it''s all okay."
Ai saw that there was a tear on Masaaki''s clothes. Worried, she asked, "Did you find others on the way?"
"Huh, no, I didn''t find anyone. I did meet a couple of cats, though," said Masaaki, grinning. "Played with them a bit. They scratched me up a little bit," he lifted his backpack to show a large rip in the fabric.
Takuma stared at the rip in the bag, and even without his experience in fabric stitching, leather work, and equipment repair, he could tell that rip didn''t come from the claws of a wee bit cat. But Masaaki looked fine, so he decided not to pursue the line of questioning.
"Now, we just need Nenro, and we can go to the tower," said Ai as she handed a dry towel to Masaaki.
Taro looked up at the sky. The sun had already pulled halfway down, and blue had already begun to blanket the sky. "Let''s hope he can make it soon, or else we might have to camp here for the night," he said.
Takuma nodded with pursed lips. He would''ve been perfectly fine and happy camping by the river for a night, admiring the starry sky with his teammates, if not for the fact that they would have to shovel shit for a week.
Just as the riverside had begun to settle down again after Masaaki''s loud entrance, the peace was once again disturbed by a red emergency flare ripping into the sky, leaving behind a smoke trail as it climbed up¡ª brighter than the flares were earlier in the day against the bright sun. The location of the flare was relatively nearby to their position.
"How many does this make?" Ai asked as everyone watched the smoke trail.
She got nothing in response. No one knew the exact number. While the flares made it to the sky with the canopies blocking the view, the people inside the forest couldn''t tell all the time when the flare was launched.
But they all hoped no one from their team had been eliminated.
"What are they doing?" said Taro suddenly.
They all looked and saw that the two near the river had gotten up and walked to Kameko and her teammate. Kameko was up on her feet before they could even reach her with her sword in hand. The two guys raised their hands and showed their palms, signifying peace¡ª and then began whispering something to Kameko, who frowned for a moment before her eyes widened.
"Get ready. They might strike," said Takuma.
"Huh, why?" Masaaki asked.
"No fucking idea, but we need to be ready."
They didn''t stand up and assumed combat stance, but all four of them did keep an eye on the others. There was silent tension between the two parties that grew louder with each passing moment.
"Does anyone know how to read lips?" Masaaki asked.
"If you shut up for a second, we might be able to hear something," Taro whispered at Masaaki.
Takuma tried to strain his ears to listen to what they were and even tried to look at their lips to see if he could make it out words, regretting that he didn''t have friends in his life who didn''t play the lipreading challenge with loud music pumping through headphones.
Eventually, one of the guys from the other team walked toward them.
"Be cool, be cool," Ai whispered to them as she crushed Takuma''s arm in her grip. But it was also she who suddenly shouted, "What do you want, Rei?!"
"Hey, I have a proposal for you guys," said Rei with a smile.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Taro said out loud.
Rei shook his head. "No, no, this is beneficial, definitely," and seeing that they were listening, he continued.
"The four of us," he pointed back near the trees, "are ready to go to the tower and need one more member to come along with us, and we will get inside and get the number one¡ª"
"What are you talking about?" Ai interjected, frowning. "You can''t just gather five random people and enter the tower. You need to do it with your team."
Takuma nodded. The first two out of five teams entered the tower to not get punished¡ª and hopefully, got some reward.
Taro suddenly whispered, "Oh no," he closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "oh no, he said it... Yoshio said it. How did I miss that? It was there in front of me..."
Takuma frowned. What was Taro talking about? The instructions from Yoshio were clear...
''¡ªEvery one of you will get one of these five tokens¡ª''
''¡ªAll of you will start separately at different points of the fence, with the control tower somewhere in the forest as the goal. Five tokens, each of a unique shape, are needed to enter the tower. The first two sets of five tokens will be granted entry, while the remaining fifteen will be declared failures and have to shovel shit in a stable for a week¡ª''
Takuma''s heart leaped up his throat as he recalled Yoshio''s instruction.
"The first two sets of five tokens...." he looked up at Rei. "Nothing in the instruction said anything about the team."
"What?" Ai frowned, confused. "I don''t understand."
Takuma looked behind Rei at Komeko and company. He could see why they had joined hands. His team already had four members assembled, with only Nenro remaining. Expecting three members to arrive faster than one single person from another person was a tough wish¡ª especially not knowing who was eliminated. So when Rie and his teammate approached Komeko and her teammate, he could see why she so readily agreed.
"Which token do you need?" Taro said to Rei.
Four people meant four tokens. The Rei-Kameko coalition needed one more token¡ª meaning they needed only one more person.
"The pentagon."
Taro... Ai... Masaaki¡ª all their heads turned as their eyes fell on Takuma.
Takuma, on the other hand, could feel the token with negligible weight grow heavy in his gear pouch.
CH_2.16 (047):
Takuma could feel everyone''s eyes on him as he stared at Rei.
"I''m assuming you have the pentagon token," said Rei, smiling. "Come with us, and we will sleep under a proper roof tonight. Who knows, maybe we may very well be back at our homes by the end of the day. What do you say, let''s go?"
Takuma didn''t remove his eyes from Rei as he asked Taro, "How sure are you about the rules?"
"You''re considering it?!" Ai exclaimed in disbelief as she stood up.
Takuma didn''t respond to her. Instead, he turned to Taro. Kameko, Rei, and their two teammates believed the rules to be two sets of five tokens, not the first two teams. In the moment, he didn''t know what to think¡ª and Taro seemed to be the best person to ask for an opinion.
"H-Hey, Takuma. They possibly couldn''t mean any five people. The instructor must''ve meant teams. He must''ve misspoken," said Masaaki, but even he sounded doubtful.
Ai nodded in agreement, "Yeah, let''s not overthink it!"
Takuma kept his gaze fixed on Taro.
"... A shinobi must look underneath the underneath," Taro repeated the quote that Takuma remembered seeing on the academy walls¡ª one of the shinobi rules.
"Taro!" Ai shouted at him. She knew as well as Takuma knew what Taro meant to say. A shinobi was supposed to discern the truth of any situation¡ª and in this case, the truth was dangling right in front of them, without hiding.
Takuma squinted his eyes shut as he rubbed his face.
"Uhm, if you''re worried about Yoshio''s words, you don''t have to, you know," Rei took out the triangle token from his person and held it in front of them in his palm. "The tokens are not customized in any way to distinguish between the teams. I compared mine against the other four, and there are no special signs on any of them, which clearly tells us that Yoshio really meant any set of five¡ª not teams."
"Ai, your token," Takuma turned to Ai, who had the triangle token in their team.
Ai snorted and turned away from the group, clearly unwilling to participate in whatever was happening. Takuma asked again, but she refused.
"Ai, please," Taro also asked.
"You, too¡ª why?!"
"We need to confirm if he''s telling the truth. If we can confirm there''s a difference between the token, then we can put this behind us and wait till Nenro arrives."
Ai gritted her teeth in frustration before throwing her token at Taro and walking away from the group but not before giving Takuma the stink eye. Takuma felt bad, knowing where she was coming from¡ª but he quickly turned to Taro, who was comparing the tokens.
"They are... identical," said Taro. He looked at Takuma, "What''re you going to do now?"
"I don''t know," Takuma sighed.
"You tell him to turn the hell away and not disturb us!" Ai yelled from a distance.
"We should hurry, you know," said Rei, not sparing Ai one look. "It''ll be getting dark soon... and who knows, someone might come along and take away the chance."
The meaning was clear. This was a transactional operation. They needed five people to get to the tower, and he only happened to have the token they needed. The moment someone else with the pentagon token came along, they would offer them the same deal.
Takuma thought about it. There was a reward on the line. Knowing Yoshio, it would be mission points, which Takuma desperately needed. Raiton: Shokku (Lightning Release: Shock) wasn''t coming along as he expected¡ª it was now functional but nowhere near usable in real fights. If he couldn''t get into the final tournament to win the C-rank jutsu, he better start his mission points savings early to buy one on his own.
More powerful jutsu meant a boost in combat ability... which he desperately needed. Even if he didn''t know the future, the world of shinobi was chaotic and thus dangerous. He needed to get stronger to secure himself by getting stronger, or else the chances of him finding himself lying in some ditch leaking blood remained rather high.
He had to make a decision. He looked at Taro, who stared at him impassively, giving out nothing. Masaaki, the person who could shine in the darkest of woods, looked worried as he gazed at Takuma, but he didn''t say a word to dissuade Takuma. On the other hand, Ai didn''t even look at him, her frowning gaze fixed on the river water with her arms crossed, showing her closed body posture. And even though Nenro wasn''t here, Takuma could picture the prince-guy saying that he would support any decision Takuma made¡ª because that was the kind of guy he was.
"No, can''t do it," he said with a long groan.
"What?" Rei uttered in surprise.
Takuma stood up, pressed his hands into his face, and sighed in resignation. "Thank you for the offer, but you''ll have to find someone else to complete the five. I''ll not be joining you four," he said.
Ai turned her face to Takuma with her eyes glittering, her anger draining away as if washed away by the river beside her. Masaaki''s imaginary dog ears perked up as his entire person glowed. Even Taro sighed a breath of relief.
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"Are you serious?" Rei said as if he couldn''t believe it.
"I am¡ can''t believe it either."
He recalled his days when he was in the academy. How he felt from the moment he entered the classroom in the mornings, watching everyone spend time in their social and friend group¡ª how it felt to train alone in the evening¡ª how it felt to return to the empty home and do the chores in silence. It was the same every day as he operated his way through the same ''day'' over and over again on his own. He didn''t like anything about the rest of his days except for the early morning training.
He remembered how it felt when Taro questioned his ground-walking exercise and how the other three had left. That moment made him feel that he had returned to the most miserable year of his life, but worse¡ª it felt worse when something was taken away than when it was never there in the first place.
Takuma didn''t want to experience that ever again.
It was okay. He would grind Raiton: Shokku harder until it was usable. He would take more missions in the future to save more mission points. Until he got a stronger jutsu, whenever that was, he would try to improve his plateaued taijutsu. He would work harder to make up for the missed opportunity.
... He just didn''t want to be isolated again.
"You heard him; go away, shoo," Ai stood between Rei and Takuma and badgered him until he walked away.
Takuma sat down again with a heavy sigh. He turned to Taro and asked, "What would you have done?"
The lazy teammate shrugged. "I don''t know. I wouldn''t know until I was offered the same opportunity."
Takuma could appreciate the answer. It felt more real than a simple negative or positive.
"Why did you refuse?" asked Taro.
"... A shinobi must see underneath the underneath," Takuma said as he leaned back, rested his weight on his hands, and stared up at the faint shadows of the stars that could finally appear with the sun''s overwhelming shine fading away. "I just followed your advice..."
"Huh?"
Takuma shook his head. He had simply decided to believe. Only time would tell if the gambit would pay off... He wished it would pay off¡ª he would be fine even if he didn''t win anything for it.
He smirked and jutted his chin to Ai. "I can''t live without her constant yapping in my ear. I fear that I have dug myself into a relationship that I can''t see myself escaping¡ª really toxic, actually."
"I don''t yap. Why don''t you admit that you''re too shy to say it," Ai playfully kicked his thigh.
"I''m happy that you stayed, Takuma!" Masaaki said with a bright and loud smile.
"Me too, buddy, me too," said Takuma before sighing.
"It''s not all over, you know," said Ai. "Nenro can still come here before they get their fifth member. We can still win, I believe we can!"
It was true. Both parties had four members¡ª the fifth member could arrive for any of them. Takuma really hoped Nenro would arrive first. In fact, Takuma was surprised Nenro hadn''t come earlier.
But then another person did arrive, and it wasn''t Nenro. Rei immediately approached the girl and entered communication.
"She could have the wrong token," Ai said nervously. Takuma gulped and nodded.
But then Rei turned towards Kameko and shot them a thumbs up with a smile. Upon seeing that, the group began to pack up, getting ready to move.
"Should... Should we fight them?" Masaaki asked, looking between the team and the group about to leave.
"It''ll be four against five, and with Kameko there, I can see mutual destruction as the only outcome. Not worth it," Taro said.
"I don''t know about that. Mutual destruction seems pretty good right now," said Takuma, dipping a hand into his pouch that held his three explosion tags. He lipped one of them, ready to stick one on a kunai and chuck it toward the group.
"We should wait for Nenro and try our chances here rather than bleeding here so close to the tower," said Taro.
"Are we going or not?!" asked Masaaki.
The team remained tense and still as they watched their competition until they disappeared into the forest.
"... Shit, we just watched," Taro muttered.
"Well, Nenro usually makes the final decision," Ai sighed and kicked the gravel.
Takuma let himself lie down on the gravel and sighed. Now that Kameko and Rei had left with another person, who very well could''ve been him, Takuma wondered if his decision was the correct one. Team-5 was a temporary assignment for basic training. They weren''t like the genin led by a jonin who stuck together for years. As far as he knew, genins part of the Genin Corps didn''t stay together after basic training. In fact, he had zero ideas what his life would be like after the basic training.
He didn''t regret his decision, but he did entertain the possibility in his mind.
"Oh, everyone''s here," they heard the voice they had been waiting for.
The entire group turned over to look across the stream to see a battered Nenro waving at them. He was caked in mud, there was a bandage covering his upper arm, and a cut had almost split his headband. Upon seeing him, Ai immediately jumped over the river to fuss over Nenro, checking his injuries. While Nenro didn''t seem too injured, he did look like he had been in a nasty fight.
"What happened to you?" asked Takuma after Nenro came to their side.
"Somehow, three team members ended up finding each other... and I ended up finding them," Nenro cracked a kink in his neck. "It turned out they didn''t like me very much, and we ended up getting into a scuffle. I lost them somewhere, good for me because I was on the verge of pulling the flare."
Takuma could see that happening. Everyone liked Nenro¡ª but did they? A completely positive reaction was impossible on any topic. There will always be people who will hold opposing reactions. It wasn''t a bad thing to have opposing views, but in cases like this, it could cause more harm than good.
People could be cruel, Takuma knew that very well.
"Let''s go to the tower," Masaaki directly got up and swung his backpack over his shoulder.
"Can you stand in there for a few more minutes?" Takuma asked.
"I can go on all day long," said Nenro with his usual smile, which looked as good as it would if he was squeaky clean out of a bath.
"The day is about to end," said Masaaki.
"Read the vibe," Takuma chuckled as he slapped Masaaki on his back. Inside, Takuma was thrumming with urgency.
They needed to hurry and get to the tower as soon as possible before it was too late.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Too late," said Yoshio.
Was what they got when they reached the tower.
CH_2.17 (048):
Two days after the Training Ground No. 42 excursion, Takuma walked into his group''s usual training area like he routinely would, but today he had switched his usual back waist pouch with a slightly larger one to accommodate the raincoat and boot covers he had carried to protect his clothes from the smell when they went to shovel shit in a stable.
He wasn''t looking forward to that at all.
"Mornin''," he greeted his team after a day''s break.
Nenro and Ai reflected his energy. While Taro responded with his usual nod that didn''t show if he was feeling his normal self or if he was down at the prospect of the one-week worth of punishment.
"Good morning!" Masaaki greeted back as vigorously as always.
"So loud..." Taro sighed.
Takuma wanted to make a hungover comment but held back, knowing it wasn''t the right time. He looked around the field and saw that the entire group had a low feel to them today. As he observed his groupmates, he noticed something strange. For a moment, he couldn''t put a finger on it, but then it struck him.
"They had a fight, didn''t they."
While everyone knew everyone in the group, most of the time, people usually only hung out with their teammates. But today, Takuma saw that the other teams were broken up¡ª not talking to each other.
"It''s obvious that those who didn''t win weren''t onboard with their teammates ''betraying'' them," Taro, sitting with legs crossed down on the ground, muttered his comment as he peered at the group with his head laying on his palm.
As it turned out, neither of the winners were from the same team. Like Kameko and Rei, the other winner was also made up of people from multiple teams. And as Taro said, those who won saw no fault in their view, but those who were left behind didn''t see the winner''s choices the same way.
"It must''ve been really awkward in their rooms afterward," Ai said with a slight grimace on her face.
After entering the central tower in the forest, everyone was healed by Shady Guy and then sent to their rooms that they shared with their teams for the night. Team-5 had gone to sleep really quickly after washing up, but it was easy to imagine what had happened in the other rooms.
"To have slept in the same room after all that, that''s tough," Nenro said. The rooms were barely large enough for five people to sleep semi-comfortably. "Thank god we didn''t have to go through that."
"Preach," said Takuma.
"Instead, we had to listen to his snoring all night long," Taro half-glared at Masaaki, who flushed.
"I can''t help it!"
Nenro consoled Masaaki by telling him he was too tired to notice any snoring.
"Gather up!" Yoshio had arrived.
The group did, and they did it with perfection. After more than a month and a half of training and beatings, they had a level of discipline ingrained into their bones that they kept even with the tension that strained the air between the teams.
"I''m severely disappointed by this group''s performance in the forest excursion. Even though I had booked the training ground for two days, I was expecting us to leave the forest early on the second morning. But the fact that I had to delay our exit by a few hours because all of you weren''t able to make it to the tower in time embarrassed me a ton. I couldn''t believe that the genin, who I had trained for so long, were so pathetic. If I''m not coming across properly, I will say it outright¡ª I''m disappointed in you lot."
Takuma, who was standing near the back, saw a few people bowing their heads.
"Despite that, I promised those who completed the challenge the fastest a reward. I''m tempted to withdraw the reward, but as everyone knows, I''m a man of my word. Those who won, step forward," said Yoshio.
Takuma held back a snort.
Ten people stepped forward and naturally made a line. Takuma noticed that the other five had three members from Cho''s team. And he knew the rest of Cho''s official team hadn''t been out of commission¡ª which meant her team would have entered the tower together... but they didn''t.
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"All of you completed the objective assigned to you as fast as possible. For that, I commend you and reward each one of you with mission points," said Yoshio.
Takuma sighed. It seemed his gambit was a failure. He had made a ''wrong'' choice.
"Cherish these mission points earned through the betrayal of your teammates," Yoshio continued.
''What?'' Takuma looked at Yoshio, surprise covering his face.
"I''m sorry," the usually taciturn Kameko narrowed her eyes. "The rules didn''t say we have to complete the challenge with our teammates. We didn''t betray anyone."
Yoshio marched in front of Kameko, and his large muscular frame towered over Kameko as he stared down at her. "Tell me I misheard you not saying sir as you addressed me. Did I mishear, Taketori Kameko?"
Kameko stared up at Yoshio for a moment before gritting out: "...Sir."
Yoshio grinned broadly before he said, "Indeed, there was no role in completing the challenge with your team. But answer me this, did you discuss the challenge with your team before you entered the forest?"
"... I did... sir," said Kameko.
"Did your team plan to complete the challenge together?"
"... They did, sir."
"Did you at that time tell them about the possibility of you going off on your own without them?" When Kameko stayed silent, Yoshio pressed her, "Did you tell them or not, Taketori Kameko?!"
Kameko''s face twisted as she spat out the answer, "No, I didn''t, sir."
"So you planned to complete the challenge with your team but left that plan to complete it with other people. That sounds like a betrayal to me, Taketori Kameko," said Yoshio as he leaned toward her before pulling away and looking at the other nine people. "All of you betrayed a part of your team for an unknown reward. I hope you understand what this says about yourself. What would it look like to your peers who will be part of the same mission as you in the future. Think about it¡ª you treat others how you want them to treat you."
Taro, who was standing in front of Takuma, leaned back a little and whispered, "Is that what you meant when you said¡ª seeing underneath the underneath?"
"Yeah, something like that," Takuma whispered back. In truth, he was hoping Yoshio would deem them as victors because they completed the challenge as a team and they would get a mission point reward, but he accepted looking at the humiliated ten winners was an incentive.
Yoshio continued, "I''m someone who appreciates loyalty, and in this group, only one team showcased it," he turned towards Team-5, and Takuma felt everyone''s eyes on them, and he unconsciously perked up, "which is why this week, I declare Team-5 as number one on the weekly rankings."
Takuma''s mind, upon hearing Yoshio''s words, did some mental operations, and he came to a simple conclusion. Number one on weekly rankings equaled mission points. They were going to get mission points¡ª he couldn''t be happier. His gambit had paid off. It also meant Team-5 had their second win on the weekly rankings.
"We will continue today as usual, but the fifteen who lost the challenge will follow me to the ranch after training to serve their penalty. Now get ready¡ª"
Ai cut off Yoshio and exclaimed, "Huh, but sir, you said that we were loyal, shouldn''t we be excluded from the punishment, sir!"
Yoshio, who had turned away, turned back towards them and gazed at Ai, and there was a pause before he said, "Shinobi Rule No. 04: A shinobi must always put the mission first." He looked at everyone as he continued, "This world isn''t fair, children. Loyalty in the field is paramount because who else can you trust with your back but your teammates, yet there will be times you''ll be asked to put the mission first, even if it means putting the same teammates in danger if it means mission success. We are shinobi. We are men-for-hire. We put our lives at risk for our village and country... and we put our lives at risk for people who''re willing to pay an appropriate price."
He looked at Team-5, "You valued your team loyalty higher than the reward. I praise you for that, but at the same time, it is the truth that you lost the challenge. Your life as a shinobi will test you from time to time, and you''ll have to make choices whether you like it or not. That is the truth of this life of ours."
"B-But, sir, how can we..."
Yoshio shook his head. "I don''t have the answer to that. Only you can answer that for yourself.... I''ll suggest this: Form your Nindo and follow those beliefs so you don''t regret your choices."
Takuma clenched his hand into a fist. He didn''t recall a lot of Naruto''s story, but he did remember Hatake Kakashi''s belief in putting loyalty before everything else, even rules. It wasn''t the belief itself that jumped at Takuma, but the history of how he had arrived at the belief. Kakashi''s father (whose name Takuma couldn''t remember) had chosen to commit suicide after he put his teammates'' safety over a mission¡ª he had been disgraced by his peers, which had driven him to take his life.
Yoshio''s words about life not being fair and making difficult choices made Takuma think about that. Two days back, he had made a choice that didn''t have life-altering consequences¡ª but the trade he was in would throw choices his way, which would have much more serious consequences.
Life was not fair.
Takuma knew that fact very well.
His existence here in this world was proof of that fact.
CH_2.18 (049):
The effects of Yoshio''s forest ''lesson'' could be seen entrenched in the group as they approached the last days of the basic training. Team-5 operated the same as before the forest challenge, but the same couldn''t be said for others. The two winning coalitions had members of the four teams, meaning that at least one member in each team had chosen to give up completing the challenge with their teams to win the reward.
"The teams are broken," Takuma commented while watching Ai spar against her opponent. "If we''re careful and play our cards right, we can get into the final tournament."
Yoshio''s group consisted of five teams of five competing against each other on the weekly rankings leaderboard. No one could claim they knew exactly how the rankings worked as the criteria for grading was absent, and Yoshio only disclosed the rankings at the end of the week. But through some clever observations, the group members had deduced that the sparring record for every week held significant weight in the criteria.
But that didn''t mean that sparring was all that mattered.
As it stood now, out of the five teams, three were in the lead with two No.1 rankings in the weekly¡ª Team-5, Kameko''s Team-3, and Cho''s Team-1.
Team-5 got their second No.1 in Week Six from the forest challenge and were the latest to do so.
Unexpectedly, it was Team-2, a team that hadn''t been No.1 before, to ace in Week Seven due to them preventing the abduction of a wealthy civilian merchant''s wife and daughter while patrolling their route¡ª a single incident that had rocketed them to win the week. Proving that sparring wasn''t the end-all criteria.
Week Eight, however, didn''t have any outlier events that could sway the rankings, neither did it have any challenges that had helped Team-5 win their two No.1 rankings.
Looking at the history, the chances didn''t look good for Team-5 as they had never won a No.1 ranking based on sparring alone. They could even be considered in the same category as Team-2.
But things were different for Yoshio''s group in Week Eight. Teams of strangers had learned to operate as cohesive units in their time together, but the forest challenge had thrown a wrench into the smoothly running teams. The number of mistakes during team exercises made up of a lot of training schedule, were as high as they were in the early weeks when the teams weren''t used to each other.
Which presented Team-5 with an interesting situation.
Takuma pumped his fist and cheered as Ai sliced a gash into her opponent''s arm. He grinned, "We have been the best team this week by far. Luck has been with us this week. Nenro and Masaaki haven''t lost a single fight. Ai is going to win this one. I have been doing decently," even when he was holding back his brand new trump card for the final tournament, "and surprisingly your record isn''t in the red."
"Stuff it," Taro grumbled. Taro''s record was always more losses than wins. Takuma didn''t say it out loud, but it felt great to have a higher win record than Taro¡ª when just last year, Taro would''ve pounded him into the ground.
"If nothing crazy happens and we keep winning, we can ace this week," Takuma ripped the grass beside him.
"If we keep winning, that is," Taro replied.
In front of them, Ai threw her kunai, which embedded itself into her opponent''s thigh, bringing them to their knees. Yoshio called the fight.
Taro continued, "As you said, we have been lucky with our pairings. But there are only so many people. It''s only time before we get matched against someone powerful," he glanced at Kameko, the strongest in their group, "that might drag us down."
Takuma had considered that option, but he still thought they had every chance at winning as long as they continued to perform well outside of sparring.
Ai returned from lugging her opponent to the Shady Guy''s tent. "Did you see that? I totally tricked him into committing when he shouldn''t have," she had a healthy sheen of sweat on her.
"I saw. It was amazing," Nenro smiled as he handed a towel to Ai. He continued and added to the ongoing discussion, "I agree with Takuma. If we keep doing whatever we are and others don''t suddenly get back into tune, I think we have a good chance."
Yoshio called for the next pair, and Masaaki stood excitedly as his name was called. He pushed his hand into his back pouch to pull out a knuckleduster around his fingers.
Takuma gazed at the shining metal adorning Masaaki''s hand. He didn''t use jutsu, but with those things around Masaaki, he didn''t need to. Masaaki had broken bones with simple punches. Takuma glanced at Kameko. In his opinion, if Masaaki had an accompanying bukijutsu, he could rival Kameko''s kenjutsu.
''We can do this,'' he thought.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It seemed the luck was true with Team-5, as it was already Thursday, and things had gone as Takuma had expected. They had kept a favorable win rate, and the other teams struggled with their synergies.
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But not all things were up and up.
''She looks pissed,'' Takuma thought as he looked at Cho in front of him. The girl''s charred brown twintails looked particularly evil right now, matched by her eyes that were viciously staring at him. She still held a grudge against Team-5 for winning the tree-walking challenge before Team-1.
Takuma and Cho stared at each other as Yoshio walked away. There was no official starting point. Technically, they could attack the moment Yoshio called their names.
Takuma usually didn''t make the first move, preferring to react and counter. But today, he made the first move. He pulled away from Cho, but at the same time, he threw three shurikens at her.
Cho''s problem, Takuma thought, was that she tried to get through fights without taking a single hit. It made her too defensive, which gave him the opportunity to press her.
The moment the shuriken left his hand, Takuma canceled his backward motion and charged toward Cho. In the small window, as she dodged the shuriken, Takuma laid a low kick into her shin. Cho cried as she was forced to kneel. Takuma pressed ahead aggressively, but Cho grabbed his arm and threw him over her as she rolled.
Takuma skidded on his landing and immediately ran back towards her. Cho, with shame and anger on her face, pounced into attacking. Takuma should have backed down, let Cho''s aggression break on a wall of defense, but in the heat of the moment, he opted to match aggression with aggression.
They crossed blades, broke apart, and swung almost like drunks, each missing twice until Cho clapped Takuma on the side of the head with the hilt of her kunai. Takuma wavered, and Cho hit him again, hard. He dropped to a knee, and Cho brought her kunai down, going for a ''killing blow.'' Takuma got his kunai up in time to block, then rolled away before lurching to his feet.
Cho tried to give him no space, but she wasn''t aggressive enough, and Takuma successfully traded blows to get into a position to defend himself. He decided to immediately gamble his newfound breathing space and went in for an elbow drill into Cho''s shoulder, and then, as she hopped back in pain, he cracked her in the neck. Cho made a strange high-pitched sound as she went down.
Takuma dipped into his pouches, and senbon were the first weapons he found, so he threw them. Cho, despite clutching her throat, rolled away and the thin senbon embedded into the yellow ground.
Takuma clicked his tongue and moved towards Cho, but as he whipped his head, a wave of dizziness struck from when he was hit in the head. He gritted his teeth and hid his stumble within a step and looked toward Cho with a glare that shouted punishment¡ª but his eyes widened when he saw the two hands facing him making a bird hand seal. Still lying on the ground, Cho raised her head to face him and smiled viciously through the grimace.
Air rapidly distilled around her accompanied by the sound of flowing gales before a burst of winds assaulted Takuma with the force of a truck. He felt his body flatten against what felt like a solid wall of wind. All of the air was knocked out of him, and when he hit the ground, did he find a rushed breath return to him. His world turned into a poorly drawn water painting dripping in water as colors swam in his vision.
Cho unsteadily got up to her feet and ran towards Takuma, who had been tossed several feet away by the wind blast from Fuuton: Boufuu Kyouzuu no Jutsu (Wind Release: Gale Surge.) As she arrived near Takuma, he suddenly swung a kick and swept her legs, and the already unsteady Cho sacked to the ground.
Takuma couldn''t hear anything but a sharp ringing as he pulled himself up. His vision was trying to make him puke his guts out. He straddled Cho and smashed her in the head, and luckily it hit despite his swarming vision.
It would''ve been fine if Takuma had grabbed Cho''s head and pounded it against the ground. But in the state of nausea and anger, he made the hand seals of Raiton: Shokku(Lightning Release: Shock) that he had practiced so much he could do it in his sleep¡ª it just wasn''t his fault the jutsu didn''t work well for him. He pressed his hand against Cho''s chest as the arcs of lightning snaked around his hand, and then¡ª Zap! Cho''s body spasmed as if she was having a stroke. While the jutsu couldn''t travel far or cause the amount of damage it was supposed to¡ª at point-blank range, it was as effective as a heavy-duty taser.
Cho raised her quaking hand towards Takuma''s face, but it fell back to the ground halfway up.
Takuma removed his smoking palm and didn''t care anymore. He got off Cho and collapsed on the ground beside her. He looked to his side and saw that she was curled up and jittering. Face hot and heart drumming, but victorious, Takuma put his hands up, and he didn''t care if it would make him feel miserable, but he yelled.
He had won.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma hadn''t felt worse in his entire life. One would think that a day would be enough to recover from a fight with minor cuts, but Cho''s wind release jutsu had left a deep stinging pain in his body. It was so bad that he loathed the idea of standing.
"Will you stop groaning?" Ai shot him a glare.
Takuma groaned as he stretched his back and felt the pain in his bones. "I can''t... I can''t do it today. If he makes me fight today, I''ll throw hard. Fuck the final tournament. I don''t need the C-rank jutsu, I''ll figure it out," he whined. He had skipped his early morning training because of the pain.
Takuma ignored Ai and continued to groan and did it louder when she hit. He only stopped when Yoshio arrived, and they had to file into the grid. He met eyes with Cho and glared at her when she had the gall to glare at him when she was the one who had made his life miserable!
"The final tournament is going to be held tomorrow and the day after that," were the first words that came out of Yoshio''s mouth.
For a moment, Takuma forgot about the pain.
"I''m going to announce the weekly ranking for this week early," Yoshio continued. "The team with the highest number of wins will participate in the final tournament as my representatives. One of you guys better win. I don''t appreciate getting embarrassed in front of my co-workers."
Takuma felt more restless than ever. Why couldn''t he just get to the point?!
"... No.1 for this week''s ranking is... Team-5," Yoshio turned to Team-5. "That makes you a three-time No.1¡ª which means you''re going to the final tournament."
Takuma blinked as he stared at Yoshio''s face.
It felt so... anticlimactic.
"I disagree!"
Takuma turned towards the sword-wielding girl who had spoken up.
Now, that felt more climactic.
CH_2.19 (050):
"I disagree!"
Takuma didn''t have the time to rejoice or even completely take in the announcement. He turned his head toward Kameko, who had dared to raise an objection. While it did surprise him that the objection came, it coming from Kameko didn''t surprise him one bit.
The group didn''t make a single peep. Even Ai, who Takuma was expecting to break into a celebratory dance, stood unmoving. Everyone waited for their instructor... to react.
The hulking Yoshio arrived in front of Kameko with silent steps. The difference in stature couldn''t be more pronounced as they faced each other. One looking down, the other frowning up.
"Insubordination will cost you among shinobi, Taketori," said Yoshio, his thick voice heavier than usual. Takuma hid a wince¡ª Yoshio''s use of the family name was sparse, but everyone knew why and when he chose it, and that''s what made it more impactful. Yoshio continued, "This is my group. I''m your instructor. My word is the divine law. You don''t get to disagree with my decisions, genin."
The taciturn Kameko seemingly found her voice as he talked back at Yoshio. "I''m by far the strongest in this group. I deserve to be in the final tournament. I can understand why Ando and Seno were chosen¡ª but I can''t see any merit in Oishi participating in the tournament... sir."
Ando Masaaki and Seno Nenro wrinkled their brows but schooled their expressions for the most part. Oishi Taro, though, pulled a fed-up face with no attempt to hide the emotion he was feeling.
"You speak less, so I didn''t notice it. You don''t use the word, sir, enough in your vocabulary."
Takuma stood on the opposite end of the grid to Kameko, but he could very clearly feel a pressure seeping out of Yoshio that made his already looming frame look more menacing than ever. Takuma felt as if the atmosphere was bearing down on him, compressing his chest and shoulders. It wasn''t just him; everyone else in the group looked a varying level of very uncomfortable.
Was it chakra? It had to be chakra, Takuma thought as he glanced at Yoshio from the corner of his eye. He was scared that the feeling would enhance if Yoshio turned his attention to him.
"Did you not understand when I said that the team on the top would represent me in the final tournament? I''m feeling frustrated right now. How can someone not understand words as simple as that?" Yoshio''s words drummed in their ears.
"I''m strong¡ª"
"I don''t give a rat''s ass if you''re stronger, genin. It''s my choice, and I will make it any way I want to!" said Yoshio, thundering. Takuma held back a flinch even though he was steps away from them.
Yoshio raised his hand and pointed in the distance toward Shady Guy''s medical tent. "I can break his bones a hundred different ways, and he would fail to stop me ninety-nine times if given a chance. I could give him the key to my home for assassination when I''m at my most vulnerable¡ª and I''ll still survive even if he jumped me in my bed while I sleep." Shady Guy, noticing they were looking at him, looked up from his book and gave them a wave. "And yet, because he practices the rare iryojutsu(medical jutsu), he''s considered more valuable than me in most situations. Strength is not everything, get that through your head."
Takuma stared at the Shady Guy. Princess Tsunade, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, the to-be Fifth Hokage, had pushed for any mission team to have an Iryo-nin, a healer, on the squad. The practice was accepted as having an Iryo-nin shot up the team''s survival rate to the moon. It was a great enough difference that every single shinobi village adopted the practice. She was lauded for her contribution to the shinobi organization.
And yet, most teams didn''t have an Iryo-nin on them. Iryojutsu was a complex field of ninjutsu and required time and effort from a qualified shinobi to be effective. Most shinobi didn''t even have the prerequisite of fine chakra control to step into the field. As such, there just weren''t enough Iryo-nin to go around, which made them a sought-after commodity.
It was no wonder Shady Guy could spend a good part of the day idling under a tent doing seemingly nothing important. He could do it because he had the leeway to do so.
Takuma had to give it to Kameko for her persistence because she didn''t back down. "But it''s a combat tournament. I am more valuable," she said.
The pressure bearing down on the group disappeared with Yoshio''s sigh. He spoke, "You''re very... very lucky that I don''t want to get into annoying trouble with your clan," Kameko''s eyes sharpened. "Let me put this straight. It''s a fighting tournament of genin who haven''t even completed a single mission, not seen the real threat of a blade thirsty for their life¡ª none of you are real shinobi. To me, it''s a fun little bet with my co-workers, so," his volume suddenly shot up, "I don''t care if you''re more valuable! It might be a big thing for you, but for me, it''s about the same as cockfighting! Get it straight in your head if you think that you somehow hold some importance in my eyes, because you don''t!"
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Takuma felt offended. He graduated from the academy, he wore the forehead protector of the Leaf, no one couldn''t deny he was a shinobi. Did he express his displeasure? No. He wasn''t very very lucky like Kameko, and there wasn''t anything holding Yoshio from skinning him alive.
Somehow, he no longer felt the joy of getting to the final tournament. Yoshio didn''t care if he was sending the strongest within his group¡ª it was, as the man had put it, a fun bet with his co-workers. For Takuma, however, obtaining a C-rank jutsu was a key mark even in his life.
He felt small.
The difference between someone like him and Yoshio was too great... and Yoshio was only a chunin. Takuma couldn''t even imagine what he would look like in the eyes of a jonin. What was he worth in the eyes of the top brass¡ª was he just a dispensable pawn? He didn''t think he wanted to know that answer.
The thought alone made his stomach sink.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Cheers!"
Celebrating the win did bring Takuma''s feeling of joy back.
He took a sip of his honey banana shake and looked around the restaurant. Taro didn''t eat out much, so he didn''t have a recommendation; the trio was from outside, so they had no idea either. The responsibility fell on Takuma, who was equally as clueless¡ª but he ended up recommending the same restaurant that Maruboshi had taken him to. And here they were. He did tell them it was a little on the expensive side, but they didn''t seem to mind.
It was his first time eating out after Maruboshi had taken him out on convocation day and the second time overall since he had found himself in the world. The first time around, the celebration had turned from happy to sad real quick when he heard of his assignment to Genin Corps. Takuma looked at his team, and he had to say... Genin Corps wasn''t that bad.
"Yoshio sure dug into Kameko," said Masaaki. "I felt bad for her."
"I didn''t," Ai said as she flipped through the menu.
Nenro asked, "Did you all feel the pressure coming from Yoshio when he was talking to her?"
Takuma nodded. "It was really heavy. It felt like I had a weighted vest on me. Some kind of chakra manipulation, for sure," he looked at Taro.
"Why are you looking at me? I don''t know," Taro said with a half-confused half-frustrated face. "Why do you guys, you in particular," he pointed at Takuma, "think I know the answer to everything? I don''t know!"
Takuma did think Taro would know.
"Maybe he was exerting his chakra outwards," said Nenro with an inquisitive look on his face.
Takuma shook his head. "It has to be more than that. I exert chakra outwards when I walk up a wall, but it doesn''t happen then. And if he is exerting his chakra outwards¡ª is he pushing it out of all the tenketsu all at once? Isn''t that like really difficult? Also, how does it flow out so evenly," he didn''t remember seeing anything like that when he read the manga.
"Order first," Ai pushed the menu into Nenro''s face as he tried to reply, "then you can talk all you want." She looked at Takuma and then pointed at the menu on the table.
The food was great. Last time around, he was stressed about the Genin Corps, so the experience didn''t stick.
"How are you feeling about the tournament tomorrow?" Masaaki asked with a broad grin on his face. "I''m feeling excited. Who would we get to fight against? Hey, do you know?" he addressed the last part to Taro.
"Again, why are you asking me? I was with you the entire time," replied Taro, sighing.
The ninety-seven genins in their batch were divided into four groups. Three groups of twenty-five and one with twenty-two people. The groups trained in the same zone were allocated to the basic genin training, but they didn''t share the same training field.
Takuma didn''t know about the others in his group, but he didn''t meet the genin from other groups other than sometime in passing. If they met eyes, he would nod to them, but other than that, he didn''t have much interaction outside his group.
"Twenty people," he said. "Four groups, five people each. If it''s single elimination... it''ll be four or five rounds, depending on if we get a first-round bye."
"Or we could get eliminated in the first round."
Everyone looked at Taro, who shrugged. Takuma could see Taro tapping out in the first round if the fight got tough. Takuma... didn''t want to see that happen. Taro was an easier opponent to fight than most other people. If Taro went far and somehow met him in battle, it would be easier for him to win a fight.
"I won''t go easy on anyone if you fight me," Masaaki announced with his arms crossed.
"Neither would I," said Nenro.
"Try me," Ai smiled.
They naturally looked at Takuma, so he thought for a moment before saying, "I''m going to do whatever it takes to get that C-rank jutsu, even if it means beating all of you and whoever fights me into a bloody pulp."
He had a faint smile on his face, but he was serious in what he said. He had invested too much to convert the chance of obtaining the C-rank jutsu. For the next two days, Team-5 would no longer be a team. Every man for themselves, no holds barred.
"Ah," uttered Ai before looking sullen. When Nenro asked, she answered. "Team-5 is over, isn''t it... The teams were only supposed to hold until the end of basic training."
''Ah,'' Takuma had forgotten about that for a moment.
For Genin Corps, missions were assigned by the Leaf Genin Resource Command¡ª everything from mission objectives to the teammates was pre-described for them.
Today indeed, was the last day for Team-5.
There was a silence between the group for a moment. For the last two months, they had fought each other, they had laughed with each other, they had eaten together, they had trained together. They had spent a majority portion of the waking day with each other.
It was a short time, but they had become a team¡
"Doesn''t matter. We will still be a team, even if it''s not official, and we will still be friends," Nenro raised his glass of water and said, "To Team-5."
" "To Team-5." "
CH_2.20 (051):
Takuma furrowed his brow as he twirled the shuriken in his hand as he tried to locate the target. The thick white mist obstructed his vision, hiding the painted wooden stump from him. It was so thick he wouldn''t walk outside with the visibility he was left with in the fear that a car would run him over.
The quiet of the morning helped him focus as he tried to recall the position of the stump. But his mind had other plans as it let the thoughts of the tournament creep in. Less than two hours remained before he had to head to the training field for the tournament and fight like a prize fighter for the C-rank jutsu that was on the line. He was going to fight people who he had never seen fight before¡ª even his academy classmates in other groups were an unknown as he had only ever seen them use taijutsu, the rest of their combat style was a mystery to him.
He needed to face five(or four if he was lucky) people and win. He was worried¡ he had never won four fights in a row. His record was dotted with losses. Now he was going to face the best from each group and the chances of him winning five straight against the elevated opposition didn''t look great.
But, he had to win.
Takuma threw the shuriken into the white mist and a moment later the sound brought back the thud of the shuriken hitting the wooden stump. He walked through the mist and reached the tall wooden stump with the red and white target that had no shuriken on it. He had missed the target by an inch. He sighed, the nerves were getting to him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"See, I told you there was money on this!" suddenly Takuma was not feeling the nerves from before.
The training field which was usually full with only the genin in basic training was host to a small crowd of shinobi who were definitely not in basic training. All of them shinobi and from the color of their flak jackets, all of them were chunin.
"They''re not even trying to hide it!" Takuma could see someone going from person to person with a laminated paper, collecting money.
"Do you think we can participate?" said Taro, a look of calculation flashing in his eyes. "Because I think if we work together, we can make some serious change."
"Are you talking about match fixing?" asked Nenro.
"I didn''t say that, but if you want to put it that way, sure."
Takuma glanced across the field at the team from another group with their chunin instructor. Some distance from them stood another team with their instructor. All the teams had their chunin instructors with them which prompted him to ask the question, "Where''s Yoshio?"
Masaaki pointed to a group of chunin and among them stood Yoshio''s towering figure laughing with them.
"I¡ I think it''s the first time I have seen him laugh," Ai said with a weirded out face. It was indeed a strange sight to see Yoshio laugh.
Takuma caught Yoshio''s eyes, who then walked towards them. "I hope all of you''re ready to show your best today," he said. "All of these people are here to see you perform. It''d do you good to put up a good impression, and who knows, they might look at you favorably in the future."
What did that mean? In Takuma''s eyes it was obvious all of those people were here only for fun. He couldn''t think more about it as a shinobi walked to the middle of the field that had been left empty¡ª clearly to be used as the fighting stage.
"Don''t disappoint me," Yoshio said to them before walking away to rejoin the people he was previously talking to.
"Welcome all to another iteration of the rookie genin tournament," the shinobi announced with a charming host smile on his face. "Today, we will see twenty of the best rookies fight for the tantalizing prize of a C-rank jutsu. Until yesterday, they were teammates, but today, they''re going to clash against each other to prove that they''re the strongest! Are you excited to see who rises to the top and who gets crushed behind."
There were hoots and cheers across the crowd.
''God, it''s like a gladiator colosseum,'' thought Takuma. It also told him that this tournament was in no way official.
The announcer continued, "As there are twenty contestants, we will have to weed some people out to make a proper bracket. That''s why the first round will be a preliminary consisting of four matchups."
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The announcer then named the people part of the preliminary round. Two people from each team were chosen. From Team-5, Ai and Taro were called up.
"People with the worst records?" noted Masaaki, bluntly.
"At least, you''re not fighting each other," said Nenro, "meaning both of you have the chance to move to the next round."
Both lost their fights.
"I did say that it was a clear possibility," Taro shrugged, unbothered about his loss as he rolled his shoulder that had been cleanly dislocated in the fight.
Ai did look genuinely down as Nenro consoled her.
Betting money exchanged hands in the audience before the announcer took the stage again.
"The genins fought valiantly and while some lost, they''re winners in our heart," the announcers said some nice words and then got boo-ed at from the crowd. He ignored the crowd like a deaf person and continued, "Now that we have a proper bracket in hand, we can get started at the real fun," he said and money once again began to exchange hands.
"Let''s begin with the round of sixteen," the announcer read from the slip in his hand. "The first game matchup is going to be Yoshio against Chinatsu, represented by Takuma and Ohta."
Takuma got slapped on his back by Masaaki as he stepped out, as did the Ohta from Chinatsu''s team. There were hoots and cheers as they took the stage. Ohta was taller than Takuma, almost as tall as Masaaki, but was wider than him¡ª Takuma could see Ohta growing into Yoshio''s build if he hit the gym twice a day.
They faced each other as the announcer addressed them. "You know the rules," he said. "Don''t kill each other or lop something off that can''t be fixed. Stop the fight the moment I say so. As long as you follow that, you''re good. Do you both understand?"
Takuma nodded while Ohta replied with a ''yes''.
"Good, then take it away, young fellas. Make the fight as entertaining as possible."
The moment the announcer moved away, Ohta started to speak.
"I heard you''re a big loser."
Takuma was surprised by the sudden trash talk, but he indulged after a moment''s thought. "Oh, yeah? Do you know what I heard? I heard you choke big time, so this fight is going to be really easy for me," he said. Ohta''s team had two of his academy classmates, so he knew who must''ve said that about him.
"Oh, who said that?"
"Your mom did," Takuma grinned, "when I visited her last night¡ and you know what, she was doing the same thing as you," he then mouthed: ''choke''.
Takuma hadn''t heard that since he had come to this world. But boy did it work like a charm. At first, Ohta was surprised, but anger soon overtook him and he rushed like a raging bull. Takuma quick-stepped out of reach, avoiding a kunai slash to the face, and countered with a front kick to the gut. Ohta folded in half as he flung backward, but he was as strong as he looked as he regained his balance before he hit the floor and landed with his feet dragging tracks on the ground.
Ohta snarled and rushed forward without skipping a breath. Takuma threw himself backward and Ohta''s swinging kick sliced air, a handspan from hitting.
Following up, Takuma closed the distance, and Ohta, having being enraged by Takuma''s comment, attacked with unadulterated aggression. Takuma blocked every swing and hit, and though he was ratcheting up the pace, he did it slowly. If he was to take advantage of Ohta''s rage, he was going to do it thoroughly. He used no true attacks but blocked and countered with precision, while pushing the pedal on the pace.
Ohta''s heavier build matched his fighting style, he wasn''t a nimble fighter, and his heavy swings showed that he was power hitter. The fighting style suited Takuma because he could actually keep up and control the momentum. Which was why even though he lost regularly to Masaaki, he found Ai more challenging.
The needle on the pace had moved to a point where Takuma felt rushed, and he knew that Ohta was slower than him. The rage and free space to attack was the only reason why Ohta hadn''t noticed how unfavorable the pace had become.
Takuma made his move. Ohta swung his arm wide, Takuma ducked under it before taking advantage of Ohta''s momentum to step in and stamp a fist into the face. Ohta''s aggression suddenly came to a panicked halt. Takuma danced on his feet, bringing himself to the side. He kicked behind Ohta''s knee.
Ohta, forced to kneel, hurriedly turned his torso back to bring his hands in a better position to block. He caught the late glimpse of a kunai coming down and then it was the pain that told him there was a kunai embedded behind his shoulder. The screams ripped through the gallery''s cheers as blood spluttered out in the air.
Takuma didn''t let his feet rest for a moment. He glided from Ohta''s left to right and slipped two senbon into the base of Ohta''s neck, pushing them deep into the resisting flesh, avoiding anything vital as to not kill. He had spun a full circle around Ohta and for the ''finishing blow'' he grabbed Ohta''s head and made him kiss his rising knee, caving Ohta''s face in.
Takuma grabbed another kunai to continue but he saw Ohta dropped to the ground on his back, falling on the kunai left in his back, digging it deeper. Ohta passed out before he hit the ground.
"And, that''s it!" the announcer called the fight.
Takuma let the breath go he didn''t know he was holding and took a couple unsteady steps back. He could hear his heartbeat as he watched the two young Iryo-nin in charge of injuries rushed in to take Ohta away. Takuma stared at Ohta''s broken face and he stared at the pool of blood he had left behind as the announcer grabbed his hand to raise it as the victor.
"You did great, Takuma!" Nenro greeted him with excited slaps on the shoulder.
"The knee to the face? A great touch," Masaaki nodded in appreciation.
"How''re you feeling?" asked Ai.
Takuma stared at his friend''s face. What was he supposed to say? That it didn''t feel real. Everything had gone by so quickly and smoothly. That he was expecting his plan to fail or at least face some hiccups along the way. That he had seen the fight go an entirely different way in his mind.
"I''m feeling¡"
He thought about the last two months. He had worked hard. He had contributed to the team that had won in the group. He had been the first to complete the tree-walking challenge. He had won some tough fights which he didn''t think he would''ve been able to win two months back.
The stunned disbelief gave way to something else as he thought about it.
"¡ confident."
CH_2.21 (052):
Nenro watched Takuma walk away with Ai to the medical tent to get the light bruising on his body treated. The fight had been interesting but not how he had expected it to go. Takuma exchanged words with his opponent, Ohta, who then seemingly went into a rage. The entire fight until the end was a barbarian swinging wildly and getting lead by the nose. Whatever the conversation was, it did wonders because the fight was fairly one-sided and effortless from the outside.
"I don''t know about you all lovely people, as much fun as it''s to watch a good ol'' fashioned bloody beat down, I wouldn''t call that a competitive fight," said the announcer and stared at the paper in his hand. "So, how about we move to the opposite of the bracket in hopes of a more entertaining matchup."
''What bracket?''
They hadn''t shown them the tournament bracket, which was a problem because he didn''t know who he would fight until the last moment, and neither could he prepare for his next fight by studying possible opponents. But it seemed the spectators had been made aware of the bracket.
''I wonder if I can sneak a peek at the bracket¡.''
"Round of sixteen, the second matchup¡ª Ryo versus Yoshio, represented by Kai and Nenro!"
Nenro narrowed his eyes. He didn''t appreciate the way the announcer worded the matchup. He wasn''t representing Yoshio. The tournament had nothing to do with their instructors. This was them competing to win and get the prize.
"Go knock him out," said Masaaki with a grin. Nenro gave him a smile before jogging out to the field and facing his opponent.
Kai had a wiry build with sharp features framed by his long bangs. Combat style unknown. But Nenro knew Kai was from the Leaf village and came from a family with shinobi, which meant that the chance of encountering a jutsu during the fight was higher than average.
But Nenro wasn''t worried. Victory was inevitable.
''He looks tense.'' Nenro raised his chin slightly and slowly stepped away from Kai. He made no attempts to hide or rush as he retrieved a kunai for each hand. Kai reacted like a cat who had his tail stepped on and threw the kunai immediately after pulling it out. Nenro turned his body to let the kunai pass by and threw one of his kunai. Kai hurriedly moved to dodge, and the kunai could only get a lick at his cheek, leaving a thin curtain of blood trickling down from the shallow scar.
Nenro didn''t let a beat skip and blitzed toward Kai. To his credit, Kai already had another kunai ready, and his arm was already halfway into a throwing motion. Nenro, knowing a thrown kunai at short range was dangerous, reacted and dropped down into a slide tackle and took out Kai''s legs.
Using the forward sliding momentum, Nenro pulled himself up to his ready to keep Kai on the ground, but Kai was already pushing off the ground towards Nenro. Blades met; sparks flew. Nenro swiped his other elbow, but Kai pulled his face back and grabbed the kunai with both hands to disengage and thrust it into Nenro''s chest. Nenro twisted his body out of the way just in time to let the kunai prey on his vest rather than his flesh.
Neither chose to put distance between them, and the brawl ensued.
Nenro had to give it to Kai, he was nimble. His attacks weren''t making enough contact as, at the last moment, Kai would slither away out of reach or out of the way. Nenro realized he was fighting a losing battle if he stayed close. The decision was quick. Nenro took a weak-side strike into the thigh as a sacrifice to get into a position and nailed a solid hit into Kai''s side before disengaging and pulling away faster.
Kai, understanding his advantage and not wanting to give up, pushed ahead while keeping down the pain with gritted teeth and grunt¡ª only to see a kunai spinning along its length in front of him¡ª and tied from the hilt''s loop was a red-bordered explosion tag.
His widening eyes shined with the glow of the explosion tag as he looked past it at Nenro with the ram hand seal.
*Boom!*
Nenro crossed his arms over his torso and tugged his knees inwards as the hot wave from the explosion tag collided into him. He hit the ground and skidded on the field on his side. He had been hasty. The timing on the explosion tag was too quick.
Nenro didn''t linger on his mistake and got to his feet. His ears rang, but he ignored his impaired hearing and narrowed his eyes at the light dust cloud. Nenro couldn''t even get steady on his feet when Kai appeared, sprinting out of the dust cloud. The vest on his arms and upper torso was torn apart, and the skin burnt underneath, and yet, Kai rushed forward with anger burning in his hand.
Nenro calmly raised his hand and formed the ram hand seal.
Kai''s body suddenly froze and fell to the ground like a statue. His momentum skidded him forward until he stopped near Nenro''s feet. Kai looked up at him with confusion and fear while trying to struggle to move as if there were ropes constricting his body.
Genjutsu Shibari (Genjutsu Paralysis)¡ª complete.
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Nenro knelt on one knee before dangling a kunai above Kai''s neck. He looked up at the announcer/referee, who nodded back.
He had achieved victory.
Nenro stood up, and his eyes swept across the crowd. The chunin were exchanging money they had bet¡ª some pissed, most happy. But his attention went towards the genin who were all gazing at him. The smart ones were observing, taking in every fight and their moves. With each fight, they knew more about their possible would-be opponents. He had given up one of his cards in the fight. They would use that knowledge in the future, beware of the tricks and techniques he was likely to pull.
Fights would only become harder¡ª
He finally looked towards Masaaki, who stood with his arms crossed. There was the usual bright smile on his face, but Nenro could see the undertones.
¡ªespecially against someone who already knew him so well.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Match-7¡ª Yoshio versus Maki, represented by Masaaki and Kenta."
Kenta watched Masaaki walk into the field from where he stood with his team. Unlike him(and everybody), who walked straight to the announcer, Masaaki took a detour and waved his raised arm at the audience with a big smile plastered on his face.
"¡ Is he serious," muttered Kenta to no one.
He, however, got a reply from the announcer. "He looks confident in himself and his chances of victory in this fight, and he''s showing it to the people. If they feel the same as he does, they''ll put money on him¡ª if they put money on him, they''ll cheer for him¡ª if they cheer for him, they''ll boo you," said the announcer with a smile.
''What''s that use for?'' thought Kenta. And it didn''t matter if Masaaki was confident. Mere few people would bet for an outsider when the opponent was from the Sarutobi clan. The country bumpkin, a fool, was just wasting time.
Masaaki eventually made his way to the center of the field, the broad grin still flashing on his face. The announcer quickly recounted the rules to them before walking away, but as he talked, Masaaki pulled out two knuckle dusters from his pouches and leisurely put them on. The shiny glint of the silverish-metal glimmered under the sun.
"Let''s have a good fight," said Masaaki, still smiling.
Kenta narrowed his eyes. He didn''t like that smile. Did he not care about the fight? Was he not taking him seriously? Was this all fun and games? Whatever it was, he didn''t like the smile.
Kenta shoo-ed the thoughts away and wielded the combat stance with his bo-staff ready to strike. He was confident in his ability to win against Masaaki before, but when he saw the knuckle duster, he was more certain. The short-ranged knuckles were a poor match against his staff''s extended reach.
This fight was going to be an easy win¡ª a simple stepping stone to winning the tournament. Winning the tournament would show everyone that it was a mistake not to have been assigned under a jonin-led team. He didn''t belong in the Genin Corps among all these people. He was from the Sarutobi clan, the Third Hokage''s clan. They were among the great clans of the Leaf village. His talents were wasted in the Genin Corps, and he knew if given a chance, he could show what he could really do.
By winning the tournament, he would catch the attention of a chunin and have them consider him for their teams during some of the more important missions. If he couldn''t get a jonin leader, then the best mission under the best chunin leaders was the lowest he was willing to go.
Kenta exhaled, and his breath seemed to boil. He poised his bo-staff and readied for a swift victory with minimal efforts wasted. He needed to save energy, there was still another fight on the first day.
The moment the announcer took a step back, Kenta took a quick fore-step and swung his bo-staff in a downward smash. He was planning to crack the shoulders to disable the arms before striking the legs to finish it off¡ª quick and efficient.
Masaaki didn''t attempt to dodge and instead raised his hand to catch the staff against his knuckle duster. It was like hitting an immovable wall with no give. Instead, Masaaki used his strength to push back immediately and took big steps to invade Kenta''s personal area.
Kenta''s moment of shock vanished as he felt the weight overwhelm him. He slipped the staff off Masaaki''s knuckle dusters and tried to slip the staff below the raised arms to up-strike him in the neck. He didn''t get the chance.
Masaaki''s arms moved faster than Kenta thought possible, hitting him below his ear, snapping his head sideways, and sending him stumbling with half of the muscles in his neck wrenched out of place.
Head ringing and neck on fire, Kenta righted himself, only to be hit again. He raised his bo-staff, pointed it forward for cover and distance, and was struck in the shoulder by a vicious kick. He whipped his bo-staff at Masaaki''s head through his shaky vision, slicing through empty air before taking a bone-numbing blow to the leg that swept his lower body with such force that he lost his balance.
He reeled and limped back, swinging wildly. Masaaki, out of reach and smiling, stalked him.
Kenta''s heart hammered, and his breathing was unsteady. He attacked anyway, but the swing was ducked under. He swung again and was dodged again, a torso pull back. He heaved himself back, desperate to make space, and heard the noise of shouts.
He looked to the noise''s source, and his heart sank. It was the chunin, they were cheering¡ª cheering for him to be finished off, cheering for his opponent''s victory.
It made no sense, he thought. He was Sarutobi Kenta¡ª why were they cheering for someone who wasn''t even from the Leaf village?! This couldn''t continue. He was representing his clan. It was his duty to win, not to sully the Sarutobi name.
Kenta screamed as he pushed chakra into his bo-staff, which glowed silver. He charged forward to deliver a thrust for Masaaki''s chest. The staff extended at the last second, suddenly increasing the attack''s range. Masaaki dodged, and Kenta corrected, his staff blasting back the other way, hitting nothing. He rebalanced, spinning low, whipping the extended staff to break Masaaki''s shin. It didn''t connect, so he adjusted, ready to strike, and was battered to the ground by the hard metal flats of two steeled punches.
He gasped. The pain was excruciating, and for a breath, he thought his back was broken. It wasn''t, but as the feeling in his body flooded back, it felt like someone had whipped hot coals into his skin.
"Was that all the bukijutsu you knew?" the outsider said, his voice booming. "What a disappointment."
Kenta spat, tasting blood, and forced himself to his feet. He wouldn''t be disrespected by the likes of the outsider. He surged up, staff first, screaming obscenities, and Masaaki simply side-stepped, and Kenta staggered past, crumpling, then collapsing beneath the pain and blow to his shoulder from Masaaki''s downward elbow strike.
"I guess that''s it," Kenta heard the announcer''s voice.
He wanted to protest¡ª to shout that he could continue. His heart burned to fight¡ but his everything else screamed mercy. He opened his mouth only to cough blood¡ and he couldn''t get the words out, he chose not to get them out.
The last thing he saw before darkness overtook him was the smiling figure of the outsider waving his raised hand.
CH_2.22 (053):
The atmosphere at the training field was like the peak of the cherry blossom season, and people had come together to picnic and view the cherry blossom¡ª just that they weren''t here to see the beautiful nature, but people duke it out in combat.
"Almost half of the people in the tournament are from our team," Ai declared, her tone braggadocious. Her nose almost seemed to lengthen from pride. With the Round of Sixteen over, eight genin remained. Takuma, Nenro, and Masaaki were among those eight.
"Now that I''m out of the tournament, can I participate in the festivities," Taro said as he took a bite from his lunch and eyed the chunin who had been betting ryo the entire morning.
Takuma ate the roll he had packed from home and eyed the genin who had remained and were participating in the Round of Eight. He still didn''t know the bracket¡ª none of the participants knew, the chunin had kept the bracket from them. He glanced at Masaaki, who was munching down kara-age (fried chicken) with no care in the world. Out of everyone remaining, Takuma didn''t want to fight Masaaki the most. The totally one-sided brutal bashing he had dealt to his opponent without breaking a sweat or a crack of his smile had left an impression. Moreover, Masaaki was one of the people who hadn''t showcased a jutsu. If Takuma were to fight Masaaki, he would fight him after knowing the jutsu he might face in battle.
As for his other teammate, Nenro was the one he was most willing to fight. Given that they were from the same group and team, he had sparred often with Nenro and was, thus, most familiar with him in terms of combat style. And while he had missed Nenro''s fight and hadn''t seen the genjutsu used in action, he knew that it was the paralyzing kind. As long as he had a clue, he could make something out of it.
"I wish all of you get to the next round tomorrow," Ai said with a grin. "Then our team would hold three out of four spots in the semifinals. Then the chance of winning the tournament is all but guaranteed."
"Possible if you don''t get matched against each other today," Taro commented.
Masaaki laughed. "Bring it on. I''m ready any time, any day," he said, getting a shoulder slap from Ai.
Takuma and Nenro made no comment. The chance of them meeting in the Round of Eight was high. Takuma even thought that the genin weren''t shown the bracket because the instructors could arrange the match-ups to be the most interesting for the chunin audience. Whether his conjecture was true, they would know tomorrow.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Round of Eight, match one¡ª Maki versus Yoshio, represented by Kame and Takuma."
Takuma dapped Masaaki and Ai before jogging to the middle to meet his opponent. Yuhi Kame was a short and petite girl with a long thin ponytail that sat over her shoulder and a distinct pair of ringed red eyes. If not for her eyes, he would''ve not remembered the one person he ''knew'' with whom she shared that trait and family name¡ª Yuhi Kurenai. One of the few characters he knew to have genjutsu as part of their primary skill set¡ª the infamous woman who had tried to use genjutsu against Uchiha Itachi.
Just like her relative, Kame had shown genjutsu in the first round. He didn''t know what genjutsu it was, but her opponent did seem to go somewhere else with their unfocused eyes.
He was a tad bit worried. Even though Yuhi wasn''t a shinobi clan, they were still a shinobi family. Unlike Nenro, chances of Kame knowing some strange genjutsu he might not even have read about was high.
''Disrupt the chakra and you''ll be fine,'' Takuma said to himself.
"Let''s have a good fight," Kame said to him as the announcer moved away to give them space.
Before she could even complete her sentence, Takuma charged at her, closing the distance. In the last fight, Kame had conformed to the stereotype of a genjutsu specialist being poor at taijutsu. But it seemed she was ready for it as Kame pulled back and flexed her wrist for a senbon to appear from inside her sleeve that she threw at Takuma. Not expecting the hidden weapon strike, Takuma moved his head to get out of the way of the large needle that would''ve pierced his mouth through his cheek.
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It was only a moment, but in the split-second Takuma paused, Kame had made a comfortable distance between them. Takuma clicked his tongue and continued his chase for her, but as if used to it, Kame continued to be on the move.
"Is running all you can do?!" after a while, Takuma spat out the line. It was after he had said it he realized how cliched his words were.
Kame didn''t make a single peep. She remained in motion, dodging any throws that Takuma threw. She had definitely trained for this type of combat situation. It was annoyingly reactive and required deep patience to practice. She had to wait until Takuma gave her an opening to counterstrike.
But it seemed Kame wasn''t that into waiting. She chucked a kunai toward Takuma. In a second and a half the kunai flew towards him, Takuma raised his kunai to deflect it, but he noticed something red wrapped around the kunai''s hilt.
Explosion tag.
The emotions didn''t reach his face before his instincts took over, and he dropped to the ground in a forward sliding motion as he contracted his body to minimize his surface area. The next moment the tag exploded, and Takuma felt the force slam into him, rattling his bones, as he slid forward. He pushed through the ringing in his ear and tried to locate Kame, to find her weaving hand seals.
''Shit''
Blood drowned the world in red. The glaring rays of the afternoon sun were replaced by the eerie chill of a blood moon. Whatever wasn''t red had taken over a shade of the darkest browns. It was a sight straight out of a nuclear apocalypse or what Hell looked like.
Takuma felt his heartbeat flare up as if a hand was wrapped around his heart, squeezing it to beat faster and faster¡ and faster. He frantically turned towards where his team sat, only to find that he was alone. The entire training field was devoid of human life, even the chirping of birds was absent. His only company was the whispers out of the woods framing the field.
Where in the world was he? Where was everyone else? How did he get here¡?
As soon as the thought ended, the ground shook, and cracks appeared everywhere in the field. Fingers poked out cracks, pushing the topsoil out of the way¡ª and emerged from the ground were rock golems of various sizes¡ª ranging from short quarter-lings to towering monstrosities surpassing human limitations.
Takuma''s heart leaped to his throat as he looked at the horde of rock golems moving closer toward him. He wanted to run, but the golems approached from all directions. He calculated the possibility of fighting the golems, but their numbers only equated to certain death¡ for him.
He was going to die. Why so soon? For what had he endured the last year? He hadn''t even completed a single mission. Didn''t this make everything not matter anymore?
But as Takuma spiraled down deeper into darker thoughts, he found himself staring at Kame walking towards him. All of a sudden, his surroundings didn''t look as they did before¡ª the environment looked flat, and the golems didn''t look as opaque. He remembered what his surroundings and situation looked like before, and the fear began to drain. He noticed his ears didn''t ring anymore, and his skin didn''t burn, which shouldn''t have been possible with how close the tag exploded to him.
The fear began to drain away.
And with each step Kame took towards him, the clarity returned to him.
''This is a genjutsu,'' he thought. ''Of course, it is.'' How else would the surroundings change so drastically so suddenly? And no way someone in the Genin Corp¡ª in basic training¡ª would be able to use a Doton jutsu that would create golems in such numbers and sizes. It had to be a genjutsu.
He was about to raise his hands, make the seal, and break the genjutsu-, but as Kame walked towards him, he changed his mind.
"Apart from running, I can do this," Kame said, raising a kunai.
Takuma raised his fist faster and decked her in the jaw.
As Kame hit the ground, the genjutsu broke like shattered glass. The sky returned to blue, birds chirped their beautiful songs, and people''s cheers entered his ears. He looked around to find the genin and chunin had returned while the golems had disappeared.
He took out a shuriken and dropped it near Kame''s face, making her flinch, ending the match with a supposed death strike.
The announcer came beside him, grabbed Takuma''s hand, and raised it as he spoke in his host voice, "Takuma with an excellent, last-second comeback! How he turned the tables on what seemed to be a done fight! And with this, Takuma has secured his place in the semifinals. Give it up for him."
Takuma jogged back to his team amidst the cheers.
"You won!" Ai squealed as she hugged him.
"I did, didn''t I¡"
Taro, noticing something, asked Takuma, "You don''t look thrilled about it? Is everything alright?"
Takuma didn''t know what to say. Well, he did. But instead, he said,
"Yeah, I just can''t hear in one ear, and my skin burns¡."
"Ah, sorry!" Ai immediately separated from him.
Inside, though, he had two thoughts¡ª
One, the genjutsu cast on him didn''t seem to work well,
Two, things seemed to be going swimmingly well for him¡ª and for some reason, it made him really uncomfortable.
CH_2.23 (054)
Even in his wildest predictions, Yoshio wouldn''t have guessed that three of the five genin representing him in the genin basic training final tournament would make it to Day-2. The final tournament happened every year during basic training. It had never happened before¡ªthree of the final four genin coming from his group, from any one group. By design, the final tournament wasn''t supposed to have the strongest genin as participants, as the qualifying criteria was being part of the best team. The teams in a group were deliberately crafted to be balanced in every category, from combat to overall competence. No instructor was allowed to send cherry-picked combat proficient genin.
The fact that neither of the three genin were the strongest from his group (the strongest being Kameko) was a surprise. And he very well didn''t think he would feel proud about it.
The rookie genin basic training happened every year, and he spent two months with a new set of genin for those two months. But it wasn''t just that, he was an instructor for many other training programs for genin and even new chunin. He met new people throughout the year, and it was rare he formed close connections with his charges, especially when they hated him from the inside because of what he put them through during the training.
But facing the bombardment of praises from his peers for his training capabilities. The talk had even somehow reached his direct supervisor, a jonin, who usually weren''t interested in rookie genin, and had led to a small talk regarding the tournament.
It brought him an amount of attention, something he could leverage for his career.
He looked at his three genin standing together, about to find who they would be fighting in the semi-finals. The chances of one of them winning the entire thing was very high. If one of them did win, he could use that to start a run for the discussion of his promotion to tokubetsu jonin, or who knew, if he was lucky, he could be a jonin by the end of the year.
If one of his three did win¡ he would give them an additional reward.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The number in the crowd was larger than yesterday. The number of chunin present in the field had more than doubled, and the ruckus they made had turned from a picnic park to a packed festival. Along with the chunin crowd, the rest of the genin from basic training had joined the audience. He could definitely imagine cars tailgating food out of their open backs to feed the ruckus crowd enjoying the festivities.
"I''m feeling nervous," he said to the other two.
Nenro, who was similarly scanning the crowd, nodded. "This does feel a tinge¡ overwhelming," he said. He raised his hand to wave at Ai and Taro, who were among the crowd.
Masaaki, however, didn''t look any different. He adorned his bright smile on his face, looking like he had enough energy to move mountains and still have something to spare in the tank. That confidence was something Takuma had grown envious of¡ª if he were given an opportunity to steal traits, Masaaki''s sun-like self-belief would be one of the first things he would swipe.
They stood beneath the familiar medical tent that all of them had seen plenty of during the basic training. The crowd had formed a ring to create a more than large fighting arena for the fights. While the tent was part of the ring, earthen walls were erected on either side to keep it away from the crowd. And with the medical tent came the Shady Guy, who sat on his outdoor recliner, watching the crowd without a worry in the world.
Takuma''s eyes naturally went to the fourth competitor, the one from Chunin Chinatsu''s group. He knew her¡ª she was his academy classmate, after all. Her name was Arisu. The girl had large but sharp metallic amber eyes with a head of shoulder-length green hair held up by her forehead protector. Like every other genin in the basic training, she wore the standard Leaf shinobi gear, but she had one addition in the form of a sash with a black shuriken sigil marked upon wrapped around her waist.
Takuma stared at the black shuriken clan sigil, recalling what Taro had told him about which clan it belonged to.
''¡ªFuma Arisu, huh¡ It''s not talked about a lot, but it''s also not a secret¡ª the Fuma clan are distant relatives to the Uchiha clan¡ª.'' Something that came as a considerable surprise to Takuma. ''¡ªThey don''t have the red-eye thingy, of course¡ª but if you trace it back, you can find their origins with the Uchiha. Also the reason why the Fuma clan is heavily involved in the Leaf Military Police Force¡ª''
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It was also in the same conversation that he found that the Taketori clan, as in Taketori Kameko, was a shinobi clan with close ties to the white-eyed Hyuga. While the Taketori didn''t share a blood connection with the Hyuga as the Fuma did with the Uchiha¡ª they shared a close political tie with each other. From what Taro had told him, the Taketori clan had been allied to the Hyuga from even before the formation of the Five Great Hidden Shinobi Villages.
However, it was Arisu who was Takuma''s opponent today. He observed the girl. From what little Takuma knew about her from being in the same class as her for a year, she was a taciturn girl who only opened up to those close to her. He could recall the fleeting times he had caught her conversing with Izumi and that small group of friends¡ª but other than that, she was a quiet girl.
As the Fuma clan didn''t have a kekkei genkai (bloodline limit), Arisu didn''t have any genetically-gifted special ability he needed to be worried about. But she was strong, he knew that from their academy days.
Takuma looked between Arisu and Nenro and Masaaki. He would shortly know which two would be his opponent today.
Whoever it was, he was ready for them.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Come on, Kakashi, don''t drag your feet! We''re in the prime of our youth! Wipe that sleepy look off your face and show me some energy!" said the tall and muscular man with a strong jawline, a somewhat large nose, and black hair¡ª but his most noticeable features were the shiny bowl-style haircut and thick eyebrows.
Kakashi sighed. Just like after years of training, his ears had honed to pick up even the faintest of sounds¡ª years of listening to the boisterous and booming voice, which was louder than many people''s shouting voice, had made Kakashi''s ears resilient to Gai''s voice which usually only had two modes¡ª loud and extremely loud.
"Or is acting aloof like this is the secret to you being cool?! Damn you, Kakashi!"
It was not. It wasn''t anything like that.
"Either speak quietly or don''t speak at all," said Kakashi as he pulled up his face mask a little more. "Why are we here? I''m not interested in seeing rookie genin fight. Isn''t this only for chunin, we can''t be here anyway." He was sure many people here wouldn''t be comfortable in the presence of jonin among them when they were clearly gathered to enjoy and have a good time.
"Don''t be like that. This tournament happens every year. I wanted to come here when I was a chunin, but somehow I missed it every year because I didn''t notice the time while training," said Gai as he peered at the crowd from the tree branch he spectated from.
As ridiculous as it sounded, Kakashi could see that happening.
Kakashi sighed. He didn''t want to be here. He had returned from a particularly grueling mission as part of the masks, which had made him use the eye a little too much, and that, had its effects. He wanted to use the well-earned break to rest, and not get pulled around the village by Gai.
But he knew arguing with Gai rarely resolved matters in a peaceful manner. He also didn''t want to fall into one of the competitions between rivals, as Gai liked to call every time he got the opportunity¡ª so he turned to the other person who he could reason with.
"Kurenai, you see the problem¡" he stopped when he noticed that the red-eyed woman with untamed hair reaching her upper back and very unique red eyes (different from his red eye) framed by purple eyeshadow, dressed in red mesh armour blouse under the broad material that resembled bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns.
Kurenai, the genjutsu mistress, was also peering intently at the crowd. "Which one of them defeated Kame?" she muttered to herself.
It was then Kakashi realized why Kurenai had agreed to Gai''s invitation. They originally didn''t hang out much, much less after Asuma left the village to serve as part of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi. She had tagged along because she was interested in the tournament.
He sighed again. If he was stuck there, he might as well watch the tournament. He had never been part of a rookie genin tournament. It was a Genin Corp genin exclusive event, and he, as a genin who had been assigned under a jonin, never experienced anything similar. He didn''t even have a ''normal'' genin experience. Having graduated early, he was placed under a jonin sensei without accompanying teammates and had been trained alone. It was not until after he was promoted to chunin did he receive his teammates¡
Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment and stopped the thoughts that he knew came with when he thought about when he thought about them¡
He gazed at the crowd. He could see the genin in this part of the basic training, wondering how many were actually functional shinobi. It had been a while since he had worked with anyone who wasn''t exceptional at what they did.
"My dear people," the announcer took the center of the field, "I couldn''t feel any happier to have this big of an audience to host. I feel honored to be part of this with all of you." There were loud cheers from the crowd. "After yesterday, we have four genin remaining, who will be competing for the crown. By the end of the tournament today, we will know who will get the prize!"
Gai leaned in and whispered to Kakashi. "I heard they''re competing for a C-rank jutsu," he said.
Now that was a tantalizing reward. For genin right out of the academy, there was nothing better than a C-rank jutsu. Anything less they could earn it through missions, anything more would be too difficult for them to learn for a while if they weren''t proficient in chakra manipulation.
Then they were told that three out of four genin were from under the same instructor and how rare it was for that to happen. Kakashi was confused for a moment before Kurenai explained how the selection worked.
He looked towards the tent and saw how the three boys stood apart from the girl. He recognized the sash from the girl¡ª the other three, he couldn''t pinpoint any features shared across members of the clans.
"For the fight of the semi-finals¡ª we have Yoshio versus Chinatsu, represented by Takuma and Arisu."
CH_2.24 (055):
Takuma kept his eye on Arisu as he walked onto the field among the cheers, hoots, and jeers. Arisu did the same and locked eyes with him. Takuma didn''t look away and kept eye contact with the girl. It wouldn''t do for him to lose the mental battle before the fight even starts.
"Takuma," Arisu spoke first. "I am amazed that you have made it this far."
He wasn''t surprised and expected that response from every classmate he met. He shrugged, "I mean, it was only two fights. In fact, I''m surprised that you''re in the Genin Corps. Definitely thought you''d be living it high under a jonin''s teachings¡ it seemed I was wrong."
Arisu narrowed her eyes.
To Takuma, Arisu, with her stoic demeanor, sharp eyes, and no-nonsense air, seemed more like an Uchiha than Izumi. But that may be because he only had Sasuke and Itachi as his image of what an Uchiha was supposed to be.
The announcer repeated his pre-fight instructions before backing away.
Arisu slowly backed away and put some distance between them. Takuma also didn''t make any sudden movements and took out a kunai from the pouch wrapped around his thigh. They began to move around in a circle, keeping constant distance, gauging each other to see if the other would make the first move.
Takuma abruptly changed his course and briskly walked straight toward Arisu. With a deliberately loud grunt, he threw the kunai with as much force as he could produce. Arisu side-stepped and caught the kunai that cut through the air. She glanced at Takuma to see him now rushing towards her.
The equilibrium was broken.
From the moment she caught the kunai to the next moment she threw it back as she took another kunai that she sent in the shadow of the first, Arisu''s movements were fluid as though combat was forged into her bones.
Moving more on instinct than with sense, Takuma dodged the kunai, stumbled when the second one forced him to shift his body awkwardly to avoid it, straightened up, hands high, to catch the arms that held the large dagger hissing through the air towards his skull. Arisu screamed as she tried to force the dagger tip closer to Takuma''s head.
Takuma fell backward with his back on the ground and used the momentum to kick Arisu over his head. He was up the next second, and so was Arisu, who had landed on her feet with a cat''s grace. Arisu slashed and stabbed with her dagger while Takuma dodged and evaded, his hands empty, not given a moment to retrieve a weapon. Arisu continued to push Takuma back with aggressive movements until she got one in.
"Argh!" Takuma gasped when a stab left a cut on the side of his forearm. He gritted his teeth, and targeting a short rest in Arisu''s movements, he stomped on her foot as he headbutted her in the forehead, leaving her off balance to react in any meaningful way when she got kicked in the gut, sending her several flying feet.
Wanting to cement the momentum on his side, Takuma ran towards Arisu, and picked up the dagger she had dropped after being kicked. As with any shinobi, getting hit was second nature. Arisu had already shaken away most of the hit and was on her knee with her hands joined together.
It took a moment for Takuma to register that Arisu was weaving a jutsu. And then another moment to decide whether he should stop or continue onwards. He dug his heel into the dirt, but the moment he stopped, he was hit by a wall of wind that sent him flying back. He knew what this jutsu was because he had been hit by it once before. However, recognizing after the fact, was no help to him at all.
He hit the ground¡ª head first.
Takuma hadn''t felt more disoriented in his life, and he had been kicked in the head multiple times during the academy. The ground had turned gray, and everything went and came out of focus. He tried hard to concentrate, but his mind refused to obey.
But one thing on the boundary among the audience did catch his attention immediately.
''Is that¡''
He didn''t see Arisu flying towards him, feet first.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Arisu hit your boy so good that he got drunk."
Yoshio clicked his tongue as he peered down at the woman beside him. She was honestly a beautiful woman with a stunning figure, regal looks, and for most measures, had a good head on her body. One probably couldn''t ask for more. Only if she didn''t have that crude mouth attached to her, she would be perfect.
"The fight isn''t over," he said. He wanted to fight back with a witty quip, but seeing Chinatsu''s girl dropkick a distracted Takuma in the chest didn''t leave him with much creative freedom.
"You did a good job training your bunch, Yoshio. For them to have made it this far, it''s more than enough," Chinatsu smirked when she saw a staggered Takuma barely avoid Arisu''s blade. "But as it is every year, a child from a shinobi clan or family will win this year as well. Be proud, you managed to get two outsiders and the worst of the Leaf''s batch to semi-finals. And one of them will even get to the finals."
Yoshio glared at Chinatsu, who shrugged with a raised brow and smile.
There was a trend in the basic training final tournament. The winner would always be with a shinobi background. Maybe it was an easier access to jutsu, or an increase in effort put after not getting picked up by a jonin, or peer pressure, or maybe it was because the civilian genin who could match were taken by jonin, while good clan/family genin remained unselected¡ª whatever it was, probably a combination of everything and some more, the trend continued.
Yoshio removed his eye from Chinatsu and observed the fight. Takuma still struggled. Any and all momentum had completely shattered after he was thrown back by the Futon jutsu. As bad as it looked, Yoshio still thought that Takuma could win. The kid had been beaten worse than this and had still won.
"Don''t worry though, if you beg nicely, mamma would maybe share a portion of her winnings with you. After all, Arisu would be winning by thrashing your genin," Chinatsu winked at him with a smirk.
Yoshio ignored the crazy bitch and kept his eyes on the fight. He frowned when Arisu all but walked into Takuma''s personal space without an iota of resistance. He would''ve broken every bone in his opponent if they strolled in like Arisu had done.
''Come on, brat. Get back into it.''
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
She was going to the finals, thought Arisu as she stepped close to Takuma, who didn''t put up any resistance.
For a second there, she was worried as the fight had progressed a bit too fast and out of her control in the start. But fortunately, Futon: Boufuu Kyouzuu no Jutsu (Wind Release: Gale Surge) had seemingly done the trick. She had casted the defensive jutsu to throw the approaching Takuma back to give her space, but she didn''t think Takuma would become doozy. It seemed he had hit his head. A surprise much welcomed by her.
She kneed Takuma in the stomach. He covered his stomach and coughed spittle. He was stubborn and refused to go down. She could''ve ended the fight by sticking a kunai in his gut and leave him bleeding to end the fight, but the comment at the start of the fight had pissed her off.
The look from her father when she had told him that the jonin had failed her was the most distressing thing in her life. She had never seen him so disappointed. After that, everyone had a look of pity in their eyes. Even Izumi''s efforts to cheer her up seemed like sharp barbs digging into her.
She didn''t need to be reminded of that by the dead last.
"I might be in Genin Corp," she leaned in, whispering it into Takuma''s ear, "but you''re not ever going to get out of it, dead last."
Deciding that she had enough, Arisu decided to end the fight. But as she was pulling away, she felt a hot breath near her ear before she felt something wet against it, followed by something solid touching her ear. Her heart rate spiked through the roof when she felt a hauntingly clear sensation of teeth grip her ear. Shocked, she jerked her head back. Bad move as when she did that, the teeth dug harder in and Takuma pulled.
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Arisu screamed from the intense ripping pain. Her hand instinctively went to her ear and when she looked at it, her palm was covered in her red. Arisu looked up at Takuma. The boy had blood on his lips, red staining around his mouth.
"Thank you for not hitting me in the head again," he said between sharp breaths that matched the rise and fall of his shoulder. "It took me a while to get my head right, it would''ve been tough if you had kicked it in."
"You bit my ear!" Arisu screamed at Takuma.
"Uh-huh, ripped a chunk right off," he spat, "and the taste of metal did the trick, woke me right up" Takuma said. "Sorry can''t lose this fight," he gestured to the side with his chin, but Arisu didn''t look. He was obviously trying to bait her into looking away. "Let''s go, I''m ready for round two."
He then charged at her.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Did he just bite her ear?" Kurenai commented in shock.
"I think he did," Gai commented, surprised as well.
Kakashi was shocked as well. He had seen many things in and out of combat, but someone biting their opponent''s ear off during a fight was a first. For the first time, he felt interested in watching the fight. "Takuma, was it? While I appreciate the effort, with the beating he took, the chances of him winning are quite low," he said. "Do we know if he knows any jutsu?"
Both Gai and Kurenai shook their heads.
"I know that he''s from a civilian background," said Kurenai.
"If he has gotten this far, he must''ve gotten mission points through the training program," Gai noted. "He must''ve bought a jutsu, only a fool would hoard the points."
Or there was a chance that he bought the jutsu but didn''t have enough time to learn it, thought Kakashi. But he doubted that was it. D-rank jutsu were easy to learn. He had learnt his first one in less than an hour.
Takuma lunged at Arisu, but the girl holding her bleeding ear jumped multiple times to put a large distance between them before Takuma could reach her. She glared at Takuma, who started to jog towards her, and took out a finger-sized scroll from her person.
"A storage seal scroll?" Gai put his hand above his eyes as he peered at the field.
"Fuma Arisu," said Kakashi, he had picked up the name from the crowd ahead of them.
Kurenai and Gai immediately understood and looked to the field as Arisu unfurled the scroll and planted her blood-soaked thumb on to the seal for a large weapon to appear with a puff of smoke. They didn''t even have to look to guess that it was the Fuma Shuriken(Wind Demon Shuriken).
Four curved blades as big as Arisu''s arm attached to a large ring sat in her hand. All blades were pointing the same direction but Arisu punched the dull-side of the blades and the four blades rotated along the ring to align themselves into a cross-shape, thus assuming the traditional shuriken shape, just much more terrifying than the one that could fit on atop a palm.
Takuma stopped his run, a cautious look in his eyes as he stared at the large weapon in Arisu''s hand. She wasted no time and rotated her body on her heels to generate centrifugal momentum to throw the large weapon.
Kakashi could hear the blades cutting through the air from where he sat. While not exclusive to the clan, the Fuma Shuriken had been made by the Fuma clan. The sheer size of the weapon signified its use against larger opponents or against a horde of enemies who needed to be sheared down. The Third Hokage himself was known to frequently use a straight double-edged fuma shuriken in combat.
Takuma immediately ducked below the fuma shuriken or else it would''ve lopped his head off. The next moment, he turned back and kept his eye on the shuriken.
"He''s observant, good," Kakashi nodded in approval. Many had made a mistake of treating the fuma shuriken as nothing but a large shuriken¡ª many of them had their heads lopped off without them knowing it.
Arisu raised her hand. A metal wire almost invisible to the eye became visible and the shuriken that was already turning and coming back, suddenly shifted and spun along a line that headed towards Takuma, who again side-stepped to avoid the large meat shredder. Arisu frowned and pursed her lips as the shuriken hit her hands, the weight causing her to take a few steps to stabilize herself.
"Not optimal in an open field like this," said Gai, shaking his head. "She''d be better off engaging in close combat."
As if she could hear him, Arisu ran towards Takuma with the fuma shuriken in her hand. She hit the blades and it began to rotate like a fan. She threw the shuriken and used the metal wires to keep it in control as if swinging a scythe on a chain. Takuma jumped away from the reach. The shuriken revolved around Arisu like the Earth did to the Sun, and she increased the leash for the shuriken to go further, farther than where Takuma was at.
"She''s trying to trap him in the wire," Kurenai narrowed her eyes.
The metal wire grazed Takuma''s arm and snapped him out as he jumped up to get to the other side of the wire before it could wrap around him. Arisu pulled shuriken to her and with frustrated yell, she collapsed the shuriken and pulled it apart into two parts, each having two blades¡ª that she wielded like dual-swords by the rings, only unlike swords, she had a pair of two shuriken blades.
Seeing Arisu charge, Takuma raised his hands to weave hand seals.
Kakashi perked up. What jutsu had the ear-biting kid chosen? Which element suited him? How did the jutsu fit into his combat and how would he change it. All those thoughts went through his mind only for him to recognize the hand seals.
"Bunshin no Jutsu?"
A large puff of smoke covered the field only to be cleared away immediately to reveal two dozen or so Takuma standing in its place. It wasn''t an elemental clone jutsu, or as unlikely would''ve been the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Shadow Clone Jutsu)¡ª but the simple illusory clone.
What was this Takuma trying to do?
Arisu faltered for a second with shock and apprehension, but when her eyes went to the ground near Takumas'' feet, fury returned in them, stronger than before. She roared as she sprinted towards the clones and the clones did the same, but without any sound.
From Arisu''s point of view, she maybe wouldn''t have been able to see it through the horde of clones blocking her view, but from Kakashi''s vantage, he could see it clearly. One of the Takuma, most definitely the real one, was hanging back, only slowly walking forward¡ª his hands joined to make another set of hand seals.
"Kakashi?" Gai spoke.
Kakashi knew what he wanted, so he stared at the hand seals. "Raiton¡ Shokku," he predicted.
And as Arisu swung her wide blades to cut away the clones into non-existence, the real Takuma was revealed to her. They were only a few feet apart. Takuma had his right hand up, the left holding it. Snakes of blue lightning arced around his arm, meeting to concentrate in front of his palm.
Before she could react in any meaningful way, the lightning orb turned into a bolt that zapped into her. She tried to put the fuma blades in front of her but the lightning bolt was faster and struck it in her chest.
"It''s¡ weak?" Kurenai turned to Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded. He knew the jutsu. It was one of the firsts he had learned to cast. But the jutsu wasn''t this weak. "He either hasn''t practiced it much, or Raiton isn''t his affinity¡ª could be either, could be both," he said.
Takuma briskly walked towards Arisu while weaving hand seals. Another lightning zapped into Arisu''s body. Takuma didn''t stop and now only a couple steps away from Arisu, who had been forced to kneel, zapped another lightning bolt into her.
"But if you use a spoon enough times, it can dent the skull."
Kakashi sent his friend a look at the analogy. But it was true. Takuma''s weak lightning bolts did damage, and as long as they did that, pilling up would affect the body.
Thinking about damage, Kakashi asked, "When is the finals?"
"After lunch," said Gai.
"¡ Isn''t that bad?"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma''s body throbbed in a hundred different places. Arisu might not have hit in the head, but she had absolutely thrashed him everywhere else. His legs screamed at him to let off the weight but he couldn''t fall just yet.
He still had to finish this fight and win another one. He couldn''t rest before it was all over.
Arisu coughed and wheezed on her back as her body shook and quivered. Takuma had to give it to her that even after taking three lightning bolts to the chest, she was still holding onto her fuma blades.
"G-Give up," he said to her.
Arisu cracked open her eyes and stared up at him. She weakly raised one of her fuma blade, her entire shaking badly as she did.
Takuma shook his head, "You''re not going to be able to do anything with¡ª"
The base of one of the two blades glowed and the blade detached from the ring and shot into Takuma''s thigh. He screamed in pure agony as the large blade shredded his flesh and grazed the bone before it exited his body. He fell to one knee as the shock overtook him. He didn''t know that the blade could turn into projectiles.
Arisu screamed through her pursed lips as she sat up and used one of the blades to prop herself. She dragged her feet towards Takuma. "Y-You¡ give up," she said.
Takuma felt the world go in and out of focus as he fell to the ground. His vision throbbed with his accelerated heartbeat. He truly felt like an avatar in an FPS game after they had been shot, but with the added pain, shock, and fear.
But he couldn''t lose. He bit his teeth and spat, "Fuck you," and kicked her legs out.
What proceeded was an embarrassing tussle on the ground as both of them beat each other with bare fists after Takuma kicked the other fuma blade out of Arisu''s hands. The deep cut in the thigh won out against the three lightning bolts as Arisu got out on top and started beating Takuma''s face in with punches that lacked any and all grace.
Takuma started to feel drowsy and cold. He knew it was because he was leaking blood like a tap. He couldn''t muster any strength to throw Arisu off. And as he got his face bashed in, red tainting his vision, he thrashed his hand around until he felt something that cut him. He grabbed around for it and felt a grip.
He knew what it was so he used it.
Arisu felt something thump into her body which then felt cold. It was the stabbing pain in her shoulder which told her that the first thing that she felt was a stab in her side and that her own dagger was now sticking out of her shoulder.
Takuma breathing through his mouth because his nose had stopped working pushed Arisu to the side, blood leaking out of her. He stared at the bloodied sky and tainted clouds.
Unknowing to both, the announcer had arrived near them. "Whichever one of you gets up first wins the fight. I''ll give you a count of ten. If neither of you gets up, both of you lose," he said.
Takuma didn''t hear anything beyond ''win the fight.'' All he could feel beside pain was his heart thumping in his chest. The pain overtook his sense of touch so he didn''t know when he had gotten up until he was staring down at the blurry silhouette of Arisu.
He looked at the announcer, who spoke something which sounded like gibberish to Takuma, who hoped that it was something about winning because he collapsed on the ground unconscious the very same second.
CH_2.25 (056):
When Takuma opened his eyes, he was staring at a moss green tarp roof. One eye blink later he remembered where he was and he shot up for tearing pain shot up from every part of his body. He groaned and grunted painfully as his body forced him to fall back on the stretcher bed lying upon.
"It would be unwise for you to move, young Takuma."
Takuma''s groaning stopped as he turned his head to rest his eyes on the familiar wrinkled face that he had associated with the answer to any question he could ever have.
"I knew I wasn''t conjuring you up because I hit my head," he croaked his words with a smile that only went halfway because his face hurt. It had been two months since he had seen his mentor, but it felt like an eternity. It was because of the basic training which consumed his life that he hadn''t noticed how much he had missed his mentor.
Seeing Maruboshi was also one of the reasons he hadn''t given up when he got his leg absolutely shredded. He had fought many spars, and he had lost in front of many people, but Maruboshi was the one person who hadn''t seen him lose (except to the man himself)¡ª and he preferred that his mentor never saw him lose. And apparently, he was willing to go to some lengths because his body was killing him.
"That would have been worrying if you imagined me because of a head injury," said Maruboshi.
Takuma wanted to chuckle but groaned instead when the pain spiked in his leg. He subconsciously braced himself by clenching his muscle, which set off pain receptors throughout his body like nothing.
"I worked hard to fix you," came another familiar voice, "and I''d appreciate it if you don''t worsen it so quickly after."
Takuma glanced at Shady Guy, who wiped his hands with a bloody cloth. The lanky iryo-nin looked as shady as ever with his do-rag and blackout glasses.
"Is he in condition to continue?" Maruboshi asked the Shady Guy.
"What do you think?"
"I won?! I mean, I''m fine. I can fight!" Takuma interjected, feeling the rush of elation of victory that was then taken over by a worry of not being able to fight in the final. Not fighting in the finals wasn''t an option, he had too much invested in the tournament. Sunk-cost fallacy could fuck itself for all he cared. He wasn''t going to give up now after the beating he had taken just to get to the finals. "What''s happening with Masaaki and Nenro? Is their fight done?"
"They are fighting as we speak," said Maruboshi.
"I have to see it," Takuma said as he attempted to get up, but Maruboshi gently pushed him back to the stretcher.
"I believe being in a condition to fight is a prerequisite to participate in the finals. If you truly want to fight, it will be best for you to rest."
"But¡" Takuma shut his mouth. Even if he did manage to scout something by observing the fight, if he couldn''t haul himself to the fight, all of it''d be for naught.
He turned to the Shady Guy. "How long before I''m able to move without pain," he asked.
"Not today at least," said the Shady Guy before an expression of thought appeared on his mind. "Though I believe I can always give you something extra to dull the pain enough for you to move around enough."
"I''ll take it."
"Now Takuma you do not have to partici¡ª"
"Give me the painkillers," Takuma interrupted.
The Shady Guy and Maruboshi shared a glance before the former nodded and walked away, leaving the mentor and student alone.
"I don''t know what that was, but I still want those painkillers!" Takuma yelled after the Shady Guy. He turned to Maruboshi and narrowed his eyes. "I''m fighting in the finals," he declared.
Maruboshi stared down at Takuma, who had his face and half of his body covered in gauze bandages. Takuma didn''t look more like a mummy than a patient under care.
"Is there nothing I can do to have you change your mind?" asked Maruboshi. "Fighting in an unstable condition can be dangerous. Shinobi are resilient and iryojutsu can be miraculous, but the body must not be treated lightly. Every tool needs to be maintained meticulously for optimal performance."
The thought of asking a C-rank jutsu as the condition to forfeit crossed Takuma''s mind, but he squashed the thought. He couldn''t ask Maruboshi to buy him a jutsu. He needed to earn it on his own.
He shook his head.
Maruboshi sighed. "I wonder if I made a mistake in my teaching for you to turn out to be so stubborn."
Takuma tried to smile through the pain in his facial muscles. Damn, Arisu! She had truly bashed every part of his face thoroughly. If he was a basketball player, he would''ve absolutely rocked a black face mask as he went out to play. Black-mask Takuma, dropping daggers on the dime.
"The finals are after lunch. Depending on how long your friends'' fight go, you have a little under two hours to rest. Let us hope that is enough time for you to recuperate enough."
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"It better be enough," Takuma sighed. "I spent all my mission points so that I could win the tournament. I''d be behind by a lot if I don''t win."
He turned his head to the side to look in the direction of the fight. In the distance, the crowd of shinobi blocked him from seeing anything that was happening in the fight.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Nenro clutched his arm as he looked cautiously at Masaaki, who shook his head with a jerk. Nenro felt his arm through his fingers¡ª he could still move it, so it wasn''t broken, at least not completely, but he had close to no feeling in it.
He was careless.
Getting close to Masaaki was dangerous, he knew that. It was dangerous even if Masaaki was under the binds of a genjutsu. If he had been cautious, he would''ve been able to avoid Masaaki striking him with those knuckle-dusters of his right after suddenly breaking the genjutsu.
"You almost got me there," Masaaki said, an excited grin resurfacing on his face as he raised his fist back into a fighting stance. "Should''ve known to be clear of your genjutsu in the first place."
Nenro didn''t chuckle¡ª no, he couldn''t. He felt like he was on pin-pricks waiting for Masaaki to suddenly make a move. Everyone hid their skills and cards for the final tournament. Masaaki had done the same. Everyone who had fought Masaaki knew how powerful the punches from him were, but they didn''t know the upper limit. No one knew because he hadn''t shown them. But Nenro knew.
That''s why he had to be careful. Every strike potentially meant a chance for the start of the end of the fight to begin. If Masaaki got a solid swing in, he could use that to drag him to a painful loss.
That''s why he had a sturdy vambrace under his vest to soften the metallic blow of Masaaki''s knuckle-dusters.
As he predicted, Masaaki charged at him without warning.
Nenro tried to get out of the way, but Masaaki predicted his movements, so he was forced to twist his body to make the fist miss by a fraction, but Masaaki was fast, and Nenro was forced to block with his arm. The contact spun him around, putting him on his ass, and the pain was instant. It vibrated up his blocking arm, into his shoulder, and down his back.
He jumped to his feet, scurrying away from Masaaki, who came at him swinging like a charging rhino. Nenro blocked two thundering blows and could no longer feel his forearms. But he couldn''t take a single moment to rest.
Masaaki came on.
Trying to shake some feeling back into his arm, Nenro danced out of the way of his larger friend''s next swing but had to use his arm to block Masaaki''s follow-up. The collision of knuckle-duster and the vambrace came close to tearing the protection from his arm.
Nenro could feel his soul almost leaving him. He had never been hit harder. Every hit vibrated his body like a damn bell.
But he needed to continue. He sucked air into his lungs and faced Masaaki, who swung his fist in a wide swing.
He ducked beneath the arm and thrust his fist into Masaaki''s gut. Masaki stepped off the line of the thrust and swiped at with his other fist. The punch belted Nenro aside, lifting him off the ground and flinging him through the air. He hit the sand hard and the air was blasted from Nenro''s lungs. Head spinning, chest burning, he rolled to his knees. Masaaki was still coming for him.
He knew winning a close combat was impossible against Masaaki. Even Kameko had to utilize the complete length of her sword to keep Masaaki at a length because even a glancing blow could do bruising damage. So, he needed some space.
Masaaki closed in on Nenro and was only a few feet away until he was within striking range when something was flung towards him. His eyes instinctively followed the object which turned out to be Nenro''s vambrace. But what made Masaaki''s eyes shrink was the explosive tag stuck to the surface.
Masaaki came to a screeching halt and jumped to the side as the red tag burnt and an explosion ripped through the field, throwing Masaaki away like a rag doll.
There was a gasp or two across the audience.
Nenro stood up, staggering sideways as his feet betrayed him after the explosion from a higher grade of explosion tag that he had prepared for emergency use. He would apologize to Masaaki for it later, but right now, he needed to win the fight.
He began to weave his hand seals with his shaky hands immediately, knowing that he didn''t have long. He kept his eye in front and as he expected, even before the bloom of dust could clear up, Masaaki jumped out of it, he no longer had a smile on his face.
This was it.
Nenro sucked in all the air he could into his lungs and with the last hand seal, he could feel his chakra move to the tenketsu in his lungs, transforming the air. He let it go and breathed out a cloudy mist that shot out in a stream for a length before fanning out.
Katon: Enbu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mist Waltz Technique)
Masaaki again stopped and immediately looked to both sides but before he could make a move to escape out of the mist, something entered his periphery and he caught a kunai out of the air. He looked down at it and his pupil narrowed when he noticed an explosion tag hanging from it.
Masaaki couldn''t have been quicker to throw the kunai away and crouch down into a fetal position to minimize damage. The kunai flew through the mist as the tag burnt, but it didn''t explode¡ª instead, at the emergence of the first spark of the flame, the entirety of cloudy mist caught on fire.
Nenro coughed as he got rid of the leftover residue combustible mist from his lungs. Katon didn''t suit him, it never did from the start. But it was the right choice for the situation.
''It should be over now¡ª''
His breath caught as he felt a wave of vibration pass through his body and a split-second later the fire plume was cut in half, revealing the figure of Masaaki with singed hair, darkened skin and parts of his clothes still on fire. He cocked his arm and the knuckle-duster bathed his fist in a white light and when he punched another vibration wave cut through the air, pushing the fire away from Masaaki.
Nenro knew that Masaaki practiced bukijutsu. He had known that from when they were in the academy. It was a retired shinobi who had given Masaaki the knuckle-duster, taught him how to use them, and was probably also the person who gave him the jutsu that he just used.
But that wasn''t the part that Nenro was focused on. Masaaki already had a wide frame, but right now, Nenro could see that his muscles had bulged even further.
This was it. Masaaki was going serious now.
He needed to be careful now. Every attack from now on was going to be brutal. He could lose the fight if he missed even a beat.
If he was hit¡ª
Masaaki took a step forward and covered several feet in a single push. Nenro watched Masaaki close in on him but it was only when Masaaki was a couple feet from him that he could react¡ª and Nenro acted¡ only to be full-body tackled by Masaaki before he could even move.
Nenro couldn''t win, not against this. As he flew through the air, he thought to call for mercy and end the foolishness before Masaaki killed him.
¡ But he couldn''t lose because he always won.
Nenro rag dolled across the field, hitting and rolling the ground multiple times before coming to a stop. He almost reached the edge of the field, where the spectators stood.
And when Nenro stood up, the crowd behind him went mad.
Across the field, Masaaki clenched his fist and the knuckle-dusters released a lethal glow.
CH_2.26 (057):
He felt a pang of pain in his chest every time he took a breath into his lungs. The ringing in his ear was deafening. Every twitch of a muscle pulled on his singed skin, a reminder that he had just bathed in fire. The only thing helping him concentrate through the bouts of dizziness was his sole focus on the one who had put him in the state and the want to return the favor.
Masaaki tightened his grip, feeling the metal against his fingers and palm as he felt the chakra flow through his body into his special knuckles. The moment the metal absorbed the chakra, he shot towards Nenro like a bullet.
Nenro was many things, but he wasn''t faster than him. He couldn''t play keep-up. Once in range, it was dodge, block, or strike back.
Masaaki swung his fist hard enough to disembowel, glowing chakra metal or not. Nenro dove to the dirt, letting the swing spin the big man half around, and then Nenro was back up, slamming his foot in the weak space below Masaaki''s ribs. The kick hit Masaaki square, struck the bones.
The crowd howled, their rapture rising as Masaaki looked down to see where he''d been hit. The explosion tag had hurt him to the bones, the kick just made everything worse. His eyes thinned to slits and his fingers dug over his knuckles, pushing more chakra in. He cocked his arms, and went for Nenro.
Nenro gripped his kunai with one hand, his body facing to the side as Masaaki ran towards him, the stance indicating that he was ready to stand ground and fight. When Masaaki closed in, Nenro jumped back and twisted his body to reveal a paper ball in his other hand that had been hidden from Masaaki''s line of sight.
Once again, Masaaki''s full-on forward charge threw him into the path of the incoming paper ball. Masaaki recognized the paper ball instantly because he had helped Nenro making them at home. But it was too late as the ball exploded in a burst of black smoke.
"Fight me openly, Nenro!" he roared. Despite knowing it was a simple smoke screen, he instinctively stopped, but only for a moment as Masaaki ran again.
The moment Masaaki was out, he caught sight of Nenro who stood in front of him, not running. He checked to see if Nenro was holding something annoying yet again only to find his hands joined to make a hand seal.
"You¡ª"
Masaaki felt himself bound by ropes that snaked around his body, not leaving a single inch unrestricted. He moved his eyes down and saw ropes around his body, but as he looked longer, he noticed how they were translucent.
Genjutsu!
It was Nenro''s Genjutsu Shibari (Genjutsu Binding)! There were no ropes; he just needed to break it.
Nenro dropped the kunai and dipped both his hands into his back pouch to retrieve all the shuriken he could fit in his hands that he hurled them towards Masaaki.
The moment Masaaki interrupted the flow of his chakra in his body to break the genjutsu, half a dozen shuriken dug into his torso. He let out a howl as the sharp metal tips dug and clung onto his body. He dropped to his knees and fortunately, half of the shuriken came out.
The fight couldn''t go out like this. He wasn''t smart like Taro, he couldn''t talk like Ai, or make friends like Nenro, he didn''t know strange things that according to Takuma every shinobi should know.
But he had one thing¡ª he could fight.
''¡ªMasaaki, you''re a strong child, these will make you even stronger¡ª''
The old man at the smithery had said himself when he had given him his knuckles. He was stronger than anyone in the academy. Everyone had said the same after he had beaten everyone back at Inaho. But when they came to the Hidden Leaf village, the jonin they tested against had rejected them.
Ai and Nenro hadn''t made any mistakes, none that he had noticed. It made him think, was it because he wasn''t strong enough? No, that couldn''t be it. Maybe it was because no one knew him in the Leaf village that they didn''t know.
It was a mistake that the jonin hadn''t selected him, Ai, and Nenro. He was going to prove it. The first step was to win the tournament and show everyone that he was strong.
Masaaki roared as he swiped his hand and dislodged the remaining shuriken.
He scrambled to his feet, but Nenro moved with speed, the kunai bearing arm already swinging. Blocking was improbable, so with no other choice, he dipped down to one knee to avoid the deep stab in return to have the blade graze his shoulder, adding to his already agonizing injuries.
Masaaki looked up at Nenro and with the momentum of his entire body with him, he dug a chakra-infused uppercut into Nenro''s body. The blow sent Nenro flying and he crashed into the dirt on his back, but then forced him to tumble head over heels until his face was on the floor. Nenro groaned and coughed into the dirt as he tried to get up and failed.
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On will alone, Masaaki dragged his feet towards Nenro. The world was tilting, his chest was a maze of agony, and he still hadn''t caught his breath, but he lifted his fists and he pointed it at the man he called his best friend.
Nenro had somehow gotten up, vomiting a mouthful of blood as he did. He couldn''t even stand properly on his feet and swayed left to right.
Nenro punched him. Masaaki didn''t feel anything. Nenro hit him again. The punch was so weak that even his pierced front didn''t feel anything. He knew the fight was over. Nenro could no longer fight.
"I-I¡ win," Masaaki raised his fist¡ª
¡ªand fell to the ground.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma was conversing with Maruboshi when Shady Guy''s apprentices rushed in with two stretchers. He was lying down so he couldn''t see, but it only took a moment for him to realize that only two other people were fighting today. And he knew it was Nenro and Masaaki when Ai rushed into the tent a second later.
He laid on one side of the tent with Arisu''s stretcher bed beside him. Masaaki and Nenro''s bed were placed across from them.
He fought through the pain and got up despite Maruboshi''s protest to look at his teammates and friends. They looked terrible. Both of their faces had begun to swell and through the tears on their clothes, he could see nasty cuts and tears. The sight of Masaaki''s burns made him grimace. If not for the miraculous power of iryojutsu, Takuma would''ve felt heartfelt pity for the damage done to their bodies would affect their quality of lives moving onwards.
"Ai," he called, his voice breaking.
She looked towards him. Her eyes were filled with worry, her features wrought in agony and distress. She wasn''t crying. That would be ridiculous. Everyone knew what they were getting into from the day Yoshio announced unrestricted combat. It was only natural for them to injure each other miserably if they tried¡ª such was the power they wielded. But that didn''t spare anyone from seeing their loved ones batter each other to the ground in front of their eyes.
She glanced at her childhood friends once more before walking over to Takuma.
"They seem to have gone overboard," he commented, trying to smile, in spite of knowing how ugly it would look on his face at that moment.
Ai half-chuckled. "You don''t look any better. I came to see you before when you were still unconscious. Taro wanted to come, but they only let one person in," she said, touching Takuma''s bandaged face. "¡ They fought really hard. Even you. Too hard, you know."
"I can see that," he paused before asking, "so, who am I beating next?"
"Nenro," Ai sighed. She looked neither happy nor upset about it.
Now that surprised Takuma. He was a hundred percent expecting Masaaki to clean the floor with Nenro, but it seemed he was mistaken. He looked at Nenro who in many ways looked worse despite Masaaki''s ghastly condition.
And again, he had missed another one of Nenro''s fight. And it wasn''t like the event was live streamed or even recorded where he could pull up the VOD to see what he had missed. The fact that he wasn''t present during two out of Nenro''s three fights was worrying. While they did regularly spar outside of Yoshio''s sparring matchups, the difference between light sparring and the real-deal-putting-the-body-on-the-line fighting was a wide chasm.
Takuma broke out of his thoughts and noticed Ai looking at Maruboshi, who was observing the treatment going on Masaaki and Nenro''s side.
"Ai, this is my mentor, Maruboshi Kosuke. I wouldn''t be here today if not for his tremendous help and support every step of the way," he said. Maruboshi looked at Ai and smiled, and Takuma introduced the other side, "This is Matsushima Ai, one of my teammates," he pointed to the other side, "those are my other teammates¡ª Nenro and Masaaki. I''ve been getting beaten together with them."
"It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, young lady," Maruboshi bowed like a gentleman.
Ai was left flustered for a second before she returned the bow with her greetings. Takuma smirked seeing her lagging in communication like that.
The tent flaps were pushed aside for Yoshio and the other chunin instructors to enter alongside him. Yoshio scouted the scene in front of him and his gaze stopped in surprise when he saw Maruboshi. He bowed to him, that Maruboshi returned. No words were exchanged between them. Takuma felt Yoshio giving him a peculiar look for a moment before he turned to speak to Shady Guy.
"Will they be in condition to fight?"
"First of all, don''t enter my space of work without my permission," replied the Shady Guy with his back to them as he operated on Masaaki. "If they want to fight, I can patch them enough for another fight. It''ll hurt much worse afterwards."
"I''m ready to fight, sir," Takuma voiced his opinion.
"Noted," Yoshio nodded.
"But they''re so injured," Ai joined the conversation. "Neither of them is clearly ready to fight. Can''t we postpone the fight to another time¡ sir."
Chinatsu, Arisu''s chunin instructor, sneered. "Postponement isn''t in the room, much less the table. Didn''t you see the crowd outside? They took time out of their work to come see the fights. They won''t come another time. If one of them isn''t in the condition to fight or willing to fight, it''ll automatically count as a forfeit and the other will be crowned the victor." A nasty grin appeared on her face. "Of course, if neither of them is up for the fight, that''s fine as well¡ª it''s just that no one will be getting the final prize," she gave Takuma a stink eye as she finished. Maybe she was pissed that Arisu didn''t win.
A frown appeared on Ai''s pretty little face as she turned to Yoshio, who nodded.
"I am fighting," said Takuma.
Ai looked at him and seemed to want to say something, but didn''t. She knew as well as him that after coming this far and having been beaten so much, there was no way that he was going to back out now.
The question now was if Nenro was willing to participate in the fight. And from the looks of it, they would only when Nenro was in a condition to voice his thoughts.
The answer came almost immediately. From across the room, Nenro said in a breaking hoarse voice,
"I will¡ fight."
Takuma peered across to Nenro''s bed. He couldn''t see the expression on his face as Nenro was lying down, but Takuma could see the trembling hand that was balled up into a fist.
At that moment he knew Nenro was going to make it in time for the fight no matter what.
CH_2.27 (058):
Takuma breathed out a shaky sigh as he hobbled out of the medical tent. Whatever Shady Guy had given him had dulled the pain, but his body felt stiff like a wooden plank. He would be as good as a standing target if he entered a fight like this. He needed to regain functional combat mobility before the fight started.
"You have been busy the last two months," Takuma said to Maruboshi, who accompanied him out. "I haven''t seen you once since I''ve been in basic training."
"A mission took me and a team outside the village. We were posted on a trade route with reports of being targeted by bandits and thieves targeting cargo caravans. What was supposed to be a quick string of arrests turned into rooting out a cartel hiding deep inside a forest."
"That sounds exciting," Takuma said, stretching his torso.
Maruboshi shook his head. "It was not. We had to ensure not to make our presence known. If the travelers got to know that shinobi were hunting down bandits, they might take a different route to avoid any problem, which would affect the toll fee collection on the route. The patron didn''t want that. We pretended to be travelers and went back and forth along the route, waiting for a bandit to target us. When we got one in the trap, we found out about the cartel growing in the forest. Then we had to plan how to root them out with the numbers we had. It took a lot of time in the jungle to find them. What was supposed to be a somewhat long C-rank mission turned into an almost B-rank mission purely on the scale of the problem we ended up dealing with."
From Maruboshi''s sigh, Takuma felt he shouldn''t have asked.
"How has your time as a genin been?" Maruboshi asked with a smile.
"I have been punched, kicked, slashed, stabbed, thrashed, had my bones broken, and anything else you can think of, more in these two months than in my entire life," said Takuma. "On the other hand, I learned how to tree-climb, so I guess that balances things out," he had multiple times pretended to be Spiderman in his home by scaling the walls and ceiling, friendly neighborhood vigilante style.
He appreciated Maruboshi''s company. He didn''t like to think about tests, presentations, and interviews on the day they were supposed to happen. His preparations would end the day before, and the day itself was for relaxing before nervousness kicked in at the last moments. This kept his mind off the fight.
"I would''ve never expected you to choose a Raiton(Lightning) jutsu for your first. I had pegged you to have chosen either Katon(Fire) or Futon(Wind) as your first," said Maruboshi.
"Maybe I should''ve gone that way. Shokku is weak," Takuma clicked his tongue. He had to use the jutsu thrice on a prone Arisu, and she could still overpower him in the ending tussle. If not for the lucky dagger, he might''ve not won the fight. "I visited your home when I was deciding, but you had already left," he sighed. He wished he had chosen one of the alternatives. Even then, he hadn''t chosen either Katon or Futon as his second jutsu.
"Did you check your affinity before choosing your jutsu?" asked Maruboshi.
"Affinity? How do you¡."
Takuma trailed off when he noticed Yoshio walk towards them. He glanced behind Yoshio and saw that the shinobi had returned for their lunches.
"Is it time?" he asked.
Yoshio nodded and walked into the medical tent.
Takuma turned to Maruboshi. "I guess this is it. Wish me luck." The time for nervousness had arrived. He felt his body temperature rise as it would always in moments of high stakes.
"You have worked hard. I believe that you will win. Do you believe you will win?" asked Maruboshi.
Takuma nodded.
"That''s all you need."
The tent flap was pushed apart, and Yoshio stepped out, followed by Nenro, accompanied by Ai. Their eyes met, but neither said any words and chose to observe the other.
Takuma smiled dryly. Nenro was wearing a fresh set of clothes. Except for bruises on both sides of his jaw and the black eye on the right side, Takuma couldn''t see any visible injuries. This meant that if he wanted to hit somewhere it hurt, he would need to find it through Nenro''s reaction. On the other hand, Takuma was wearing the same set that had shredded, ripped, and torn all over from his fight with Arisu, readily showing the bandages underneath.
"Any of you want to forfeit before we head over?" Yoshio asked.
Both shook their heads.
They had fought too hard for this particular fight.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
There were more people in the audience than before lunch. The line around the field had thickened, and many more shinobi were perching in the trees to observe the fight from a distance. A few people went around the crowd, collecting money for the rampant betting that was the main attraction of the tournament.
The announcer walked to the middle of the field and stood at the center for a moment until he had everyone''s attention.
"Every year, a new batch of genin joins the shinobi, pledging their services to the Hokage, the village, and the nation. To protect those who need safety, help those who need assistance, and strike fear in the hearts of our enemies," said the announcer, and the shinobi around them replied in agreement. "We put these genin through training, and at the end of that, we chose the best, and they participate in this tournament to prove themselves. The one who prevails gets rewarded.
"Yesterday and today, we saw these genin fight, and now two of them remain," the announcer raised his arms, pointing to Takuma and Nenro, who stood on the opposite sides. "Takuma and Nenro, both of them fought valiantly. Even now, they''re injured, coming straight from the medical tent. Isn''t this what being a shinobi is like? Facing danger when you''ve just barely got out of another with your life?"
The response from the crowd was the loudest.
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"I think I have said enough. What remains is for these two shinobi to decide the victor," said the announcer before stepping back.
Takuma didn''t hear a word that came out of the announcer''s mouth. His attention was focused on Nenro, who had his eyes closed. When the announcer finished his opening speech, Nenro opened his eyes, Takuma stood from his kneel, and both walked into the field.
Takuma observed Nenro¡ª was there a limp in his leg, which side he preferred, was there an asymmetry in his arm movements, or anything that would tell him where to focus his strikes. But Nenro seemed to come prepared or had been healed well because he gave nothing away.
As they approached each other, Nenro''s stride quickened until he was running towards Takuma, who silently pulled out a kunai. Nenro, racing into range, leaped for him, and Takuma feinted with a kunai throw before raising his leg to kick, catching him somewhere in the side. The power in Nenro''s jump and the angle of Takuma''s kick took them tumbling to the ground, and then they were rolling and fighting, with Takuma trying his best to batter or stab Nenro.
He jabbed a senbon into Nenro''s calf, pulling it out immediately to draw blood, the heavy smell of blood no longer made him retch. They scuffled a little more, and Nenro got his legs around one of Takuma''s thighs and pushed off.
Takuma screamed, pain assaulting him. Desperate not to get body-locked, Takuma thrashed around and caught Nenro''s chin with his foot. He scooted back, scrambling to his feet, his left knee ready to give out from under him.
Nenro dipped into his weapons pouch, and as the arm pulled to the front, Takuma caught the sight of something red. He was already sprinting before he even completely processed that Nenro was pulling out an explosion tag.
Surprised by Takuma, Nenro''s arm holding the tag-added kunai froze for a moment too long. He couldn''t throw it now without getting into the explosion''s range. The hold changed, and he slashed it at Takuma, who twisted out of the way, but not without pulling the fluttering explosion tag away from the kunai.
Both realized that the position had switched. Takuma tried to pull back, but Nenro stuck to him. It took one fist to the face and two to the chest for Takuma to realize that holding the tag had essentially handicapped one of his hands. If Takuma couldn''t use the tag, he needed to get rid of it. So, he let Nenro tear it.
Nenro grabbed the tag the very second it came into his range. As his eyes went to the tag, he missed the elbow of Takuma''s other hand smashing into the side of his head. The tag was ripped in half, but Nenro stumbled only to get a spinning hook kick to assault his face. Takuma then completed the combo with a straight kick into the chest that sent Nenro flying several feet.
Takuma, not wanting to waste the opportunity, chased after Nenro, but as he took one step forward, his leg exploded in pain. His knee buckled so badly that he was forced to kneel. It was the foot that Arisu had sheared with her fuma blade and the same foot that Nenro had gotten a hold of. He must''ve torn what Shady Guy had patched up.
"FUCK!" he screamed.
That was all the time he had to acknowledge the pain spike as he somehow stood up and started to weave hand seals. If he couldn''t stab, he was going to shoot. Takuma''s hands moved sluggishly as it took an ungodly amount of effort to direct the chakra with the pain clouding his focus.
Nenro looked like an undead zombie when he got up. He looked like he couldn''t stand in one spot with the amount he swayed. When Takuma shot the lightning bolt, it took an ugly jump to the ground for him to dodge.
Takuma screamed in frustration as he readied another Raiton: Shokku(Lightning Release: Shock). But as the lightning bolt formed in front of his palm, Nenro threw a bunch of shuriken at him. Takuma bit his tongue as the shuriken flew toward him. He couldn''t hold the lightning bolt and shoot at command as it only zapped forward the moment the orb was complete.
He waited till the last moment, hoping for the jutsu to complete before the shuriken poked holes in him. He dropped to the ground to escape the wide spray of shuriken, and the lightning bolt, finally ready, shot toward the sky
The pain in his leg made Takuma dizzy. As he got up, his vision blurred, and he almost fell back down. By the time his vision was back up, Takuma was watching Nenro forming hand seals.
"That''s not how you do that jutsu," said Nenro as he aimed his open palm toward Takuma. Arcs of lightning snaked around his arm, concentrating into an orb in front of his palm. "This is how it is done."
Takuma''s eyes widened as the orb turned into a lightning bolt. Everything was different¡ª the speed, the power, the intensity¡ª Takuma''s version was outclassed in every single way. He tried to get away, but his leg betrayed him, and the lightning bolt struck his shoulder.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Nenro watched as Takuma dropped to the ground. He felt drained. He had used Genjutsu Shibari(Genjutsu Binding) twice and Katon: Enbu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mist Waltz Technique) once against Masaaki and now using Raiton: Shokku against Takuma had used too much chakra.
If he was in his top condition, he could cast another Enbu no Jutsu or Shokku¡ª but right now, with the injuries he had, he knew that a single weak cast of Genjutsu Shibari would be a stretch for him.
He dragged himself towards Takuma. The fact that the announcer hadn''t interrupted meant that Takuma hadn''t been declared unable to fight. He took out a kunai to end the fight with a ''fake'' stab.
He had won. In a few seconds, he would''ve proved he was the best among his peers. And he would''ve established that in front of a crowd of chunin. They had bet money on every fight, and in doing that, they had seen his name, spoken his name¡ª and they''ll remember that name. If the chunin considered him valuable, they would choose him when they assembled teams for higher-ranked missions. He needed that to rise quickly in the ranks. His plans for getting selected by a jonin hadn''t been successful. If that had succeeded, he wouldn''t have tried so hard¡ª but in the Genin Corps, where the mandatory service as genin was thirty months, he needed positive looks for higher-ups with power to fast-track it.
He looked down at Takuma, shaking while grabbing his shoulder with painful groans. There was no competition. Takuma had fought well, but Nenro knew from the start that as long as he survived Masaaki, he would win.
"I will treat you to lunch later," he muttered and knelt to end the fight.
Takuma stopped shaking, and the next thing Nenro knew, dirt was thrown into his face.
Nenro hurriedly squinted his eyes and started rubbing them to get the dirt out of his eyes in alarm. It was a beat later, he realized that Takuma had been pretending to be prone. He was in danger.
''I need to get away!''
But it was too late as he heard a painful roar before Takuma''s hands slammed into his ears. Nenro didn''t need the ringing in his ear and the urge to puke to realize that his eardrums had just ruptured. He kicked on instinct and his foot made contact.
Nenro scuttered away and stood up as he continued to rub one eye as his other hand held up a kunai. He felt exposed and scared. He couldn''t see anything, and neither could he hear anything. His sense of smell didn''t help him at all.
He managed to painfully open his eyes to see Takuma standing in front of him. Pain marred his face, and he looked absolutely terrible. But that wasn''t Nenro''s focus. His one eye was fixed on the hand seal formed by Takuma''s hands.
What was that jutsu?! How had Takuma managed to hide another jutsu till now?!
The sunny day with a clear sky suddenly turned into winter without cold as thick mist suddenly invaded the surroundings. Within seconds, Nenro went from being able to see the horizon to not seeing what was a few steps in front of him. He couldn''t see in any direction. Even when he looked up, the mist was all he saw.
Was this genjutsu? He immediately tried to interrupt the mental energies to break the genjutsu, but the mist didn''t disappear.
This wasn''t a genjutsu.
It was then he realized why Takuma had damaged his ear rather than when he could''ve used that effort to stab him.
He couldn''t see anything. He couldn''t hear anything. He had been trapped.
*Thwip*
Nenro felt a thud in his back, and he knew he had been hit with something. A grunt escaped him, and three more things pierced his body.
Nenro closed his eyes. He couldn''t take it anymore. The fact that he could feel sharp pain despite having been given medicine that dulled the pain told how much damage had been done to his body. If only it wasn''t Masaaki that he had fought.
But he couldn''t give up.
He could win this. He always did.
He just needed to push through¡.
And those were Nenro''s thoughts as he collapsed down to the ground with four kunai sticking out from his back.
CH_2.28 (059)
Recovering after the final tournament taught Takuma the importance of¡ª if he could put it plainly¡ª not getting his body fucked up during a fight. Even with the miraculous power of iryojutsu, the recovery period was just plain awful. There was a limit before the iryojutsu healing became a burden on the body, and natural healing with time was needed to get it back to top shape.
Around-the-clock stiffness, spikes of pain on even the slightest movements, and the annoyance that came along with everything were just miserable. Even after almost a week of bed rest, he felt frustrated that his body wasn''t moving as he wanted it to. However, he was thankful to be out of bed. As much as he enjoyed rest and looked forward to sleeping in his bed after a tough day of work¡ª the sweet instant sleep that came after collecting fatigue throughout the day was a bliss of the highest kind¡ª but spending every moment tied to a room got tiring real quick.
Dressed in the Leaf shinobi uniform, Takuma walked into one of the administrative buildings in the shinobi cantonments in the village. He asked around and found his way to one of the many small offices lining a corridor. Takuma knocked on the door and stood by the threshold until Yoshio called him in.
"Come sit," said Yoshio from behind the neat but packed desk with documents, stationary, desk decorations, and photo frames. The sight of the burly chunin, with the body rivaling a professional bodybuilder, sitting behind an office desk looked strange to Takuma''s eyes.
"Good afternoon, sir," Takuma said as he sat across from his instructor. The room was a small office with one wall covered with filing cabinets, drawers, and shelves, filled with files, scrolls, and paperwork. The other walls were covered with calligraphy hanging scrolls, a fish ink print, some old weapons, a collection of fuinjutsu tags under a photo display, and other shinobi-related knick-knacks
"How''re you feeling?" asked Yoshio as he set aside the documents he worked on.
"Stiff, sir. Iryo-nin''s healing has worked wonders as always, and I believe I''m ready for duty."
"Good, good. It wouldn''t have looked good if you were absent during your batch''s briefing." Takuma''s batch of genin had been given a ten-day break till the start of the following month before they officially started as on-duty genin. "Do you know why I called you here?"
Takuma gave his words a short thought. "My reward for winning the final tournament," he decided to be direct. The thing that kept him alive during his recovery was the thought of his pending reward. He looked forward to his first C-rank jutsu.
Yoshio grinned with a snicker. "Right, the reward. I didn''t expect out of everyone in the batch, you''d be the one to receive it. I bet myself that it would again go to one of the clan brats who didn''t appreciate it. A fresh surprise for it to go to someone who it''d truly help," he got up from his desk and asked Takuma to follow.
They exited the building, and Yoshio led them deeper into the cantonment where they arrived at a heavily guarded building with high and thick walls. The building was unmarked and looked unremarkable in every way except for the fact that they had to go through three layers of security, each with increasing levels of security and a number of shinobi who scrutinized both Yoshio and Takuma with unguarded suspicion and distrust. They checked their shinobi identification and asked them to submit their weapon packs on the counters before letting them enter.
Yoshio handed one of the guards something and told him something while Takuma was submitting his weapon packs. The same guard then led them into the building.
"What is this place, sir?" Takuma whispered to Yoshio as they followed the guard.
"It''s the C-rank jutsu archive," Yoshio didn''t hush his voice.
Takuma couldn''t have been more shocked. The D-rank jutsu archive hadn''t been anything like that. He had been let inside the archive after a simple ID check. The amount of security seemed overkill. Takuma wanted to know more, but the vibe of the place kept him silent. He would ask more questions when they got out of the premises.
They were led to an empty room with nothing but a small desk and a few chairs with a single shelf fixed on a barren wall that held a few binders. Yoshio told Takuma to sit down before turning to the guard, who handed Yoshio a square slip of paper.
As Yoshio sat down, Takuma looked at the guard, who didn''t go out and continued to stand near the wall next to the door, staring at them. He made hard eye contact with Takuma, who was the first to avert his eyes.
"Here, hold this," Yoshio handed the slip of paper to Takuma.
The paper was rough, unlike the commercial paper made by machines; instead, it felt like handmade craft paper with an uneven surface. It had a dirty, dull grayish tone and was smaller than a standard post-it note.
Takuma looked up at Yoshio, confused, not knowing what to do with the slip.
"Your Raiton jutsu, it doesn''t work good for you, does it?" said Yoshio. "You must''ve felt it difficult to learn and improve your proficiency in it. Nenro used the same jutsu¡ª that''s how it''s supposed to work and not how you do it."
Takuma pursed his lips, feeling bitter. He had looked back on the fight in his recovery. After the surprise that Nenro had chosen the same jutsu as him and hadn''t said a word to him about it, his thought had gone to how much better this teammate was at the jutsu than him. It wasn''t even a competition. It wasn''t just that. Nenro knew three jutsu¡ª two ninjutsu and one genjutsu¡ª and from the sound of it, he was better at the other two than he was at Raiton: Shokku(Lightning Release: Shock). It filled the quota for the regular dent in his confidence.
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"Don''t feel bad about it, it''s only partially your fault," Yoshio said.
"What do you mean?" Takuma sighed, a headache overcoming him.
"Every person''s chakra has a level of affinity towards one of the five basic nature transformations: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning. Learning ninjutsu matching your affinity is much easier to learn and improve in than one that''s not your affinity. I believe the reason why you were so much worse than Nenro is that he has a high affinity toward lightning, while yours is pretty low. That''s why shinobi find their highest affinity and stick to it as the jutsu came easier to them."
Takuma frowned at the paper slip as he listened to Yoshio. He felt like he was forgetting something.
"That," Yoshio pointed at the paper slip, "will tell you your highest affinity."
Takuma''s frown deepened before his brows went to his hairline. "No, no, no," he remembered¡ he remembered what he had forgotten. The paper slip. He knew what the paper slip was. He had seen it used in the manga once when Naruto learned his Futon: Rasenshuriken.
"What happened?" asked Yoshio, confused.
Takuma grabbed his head as he groaned. "I knew this existed, but I forgot. I didn''t check my affinity when I chose my jutsu. I wasted mission points, time, and effort."
If he had checked his affinity against the paper slip, he would''ve known which element to focus on. The time saved on learning jutsu, he could''ve put into improving his lacking taijutsu skills. There were so many things he could''ve done.
"Not necessarily," said Yoshio.
Takuma looked up at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Yoshio pointed at the paper slip. "Do you know how much one of these small slips costs? If you bought one, you wouldn''t have been able to buy your jutsu. Chakra Induction Paper is made from a special tree grown and fed with chakra. The tree needs to reach maturity before it can be processed into paper and the maturity period is twenty years. The care put into growing that tree is massive, making them rare. This small slip would''ve drained your mission points, and even then, you wouldn''t be able to buy it."
Takuma ogled the slip in his hand. Suddenly he felt anxious holding something so precious. He put it down on the table, fearing it would get wet from his sweaty hands.
"For most people, it''s beneficial for them to go through all five releases to find their affinity because that''s cheaper than buying one of these," said Yoshio. "I bought this for you, this wasn''t supposed to be part of the reward. I was going to bring you here, let you look at the catalog, and whatever you chose, it was yours."
"Why?"
"Let''s just say you winning the tournament was good for me."
Takuma wouldn''t lie by saying that he didn''t feel touched.
"Now, channel some chakra into the slip and get this moving. I don''t have time to sit with you for the entire day,"
That felt more like it.
Takuma picked up the slip and channeled chakra into it. He felt the paper absorbing the chakra, and almost instantaneously, the paper turned a dirty brown like a litmus paper and crumbled away into dirt.
He looked at Yoshio. "Earth?" he asked.
Yoshio nodded. "Yes, earth. You have the highest affinity toward Doton jutsu. That''s surprising. I thought it would be water with how well you performed Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu. But it seemed I was wrong. Was it easy to learn that jutsu?"
"¡It was easier than Raiton: Shokku," said Takuma. He had picked up Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu(Water Release: Hiding in The Mist Jutsu) after being sick of failing at Raiton: Shokku(Lightning Release: Shock) as a second option which fortunately ended up working better for him.
Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu covered the surroundings in a thick mist and allowed the shinobi to control the thickness with their chakra. When the opponent lost their visibility and the means to defend against attacks, it was time to strike in the ''dark'' and finish them. It was a useful jutsu he remembered being used by Zabuza during the ''Bridge Arc.''
"You must''ve worked hard on it, and it paid off," Yoshio got up and walked to the wall shelf to retrieve a binder. "These are the C-rank Doton jutsu accessible to everyone with enough mission points. Whatever you choose¡ª doesn''t have to be a Doton jutsu¡ª it''s already paid for. Choose one and let him know," Yoshio pointed to the shinobi guard. "Take your time, I''m leaving."
After Yoshio left, Takuma began to flip through the catalog. Compared to the D-rank archive, there were lesser options in C-rank library''s catalog, but the options were still enough that he knew he wouldn''t be able to choose on the spot.
He turned to the shinobi guard. "Is there any way I can get a copy of this binder to take home?"
"No," the guard frowned. "Nothing inside this facility leaves the premises. If you want to read the catalog, you read it in this room. If you''re granted access to a jutsu, you read it here. Nothing will leave the premise."
"Wait¡ I won''t get a jutsu scroll if I buy one?!"
"No."
Takuma''s mouth hung for a moment before he gulped and asked, "May I ask why? I mean, I got the D-rank jutsu scrolls to take home."
It wouldn''t have been a problem if a jutsu scroll was only a set of hand seals as that could be memorized in a single sitting, but it wasn''t just that¡ª the research that came after the hand seals and the rudimentary tenketsu chart was the critical part about the jutsu. The research material described the intricacies of chakra that happened while casting the jutsu and how the transformed chakra interacted with the mind and body. For Raiton: Shokku, there was an entire section on how the lightning bolt was made and how making a mistake during the casting could electrocute the user. There were specific instructions on how not to do that and what to do if the casting was interrupted in the middle so that the shinobi could avoid a backlash. The Suiton: Kirigakure scroll had vital information like how to dynamically control the density of the mist after casting¡ª if he didn''t read that portion of the scroll, he wouldn''t have been able to adjust the mist''s thickness, and it would come out a random thickness as he wasn''t skilled enough to get it right every time during casting.
"Do you want to be kicked out?" asked the shinobi guard.
Takuma promptly shut up, even though he thought the guard was rude. He could guess why the jutsu scrolls weren''t issued for those who purchased them. Giving out copies of jutsu meant inviting piracy and illegal copies. The state wouldn''t like a black market of powerful jutsu scrolls floating around in the wild.
A large disclaimer on Takuma''s D-rank scrolls warned him not to copy the scroll''s content and sell the copies(or original). Everything was forbidden, highly illegal, and a criminal offense punishable by law. And Takuma didn''t want to do that. The shinobi court of law wasn''t kind to those who broke its rules¡ª the punishments were much more severe than their civilian counterparts.
The only thing you could do with the scroll was to sell it back to the state, who did buy back the original scrolls if a shinobi wished to sell them back.
He sighed again. With no choice, he opened the catalog and began reading.
It looked like he would be visiting the C-rank jutsu archive a lot in the future.
CH_3.1 (060):
The first day of Genin Corp had arrived and all the rookie genin, dressed their best, had gathered in a large hall to start their journey as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.
Takuma glanced to his right at his friend, wondering how he should start. He felt awkward¡ª he didn''t want it to be, but after what had happened, he couldn''t blame the vibe between them to be such. He decided to keep it simple,
"Healed?" he asked. Taro and Ai had visited him during the recovery period, even Masaaki had visited after he had somewhat healed from his less serious injuries (he got a yelling from Ai for it). Nenro, like Takuma, was on bedrest¡ª neither could visit the other as they recovered.
Nenro, who was gazing around the complex, looked at Takuma. "For the most part. Did some training with Masaaki yesterday, there was some sluggishness here and there, other than nothing much. What about you?"
"A little stiff in the shoulder," said Takuma. Was it just him who felt awkward? Nenro didn''t seem to be any different from usual. It made him feel awkward for other reasons, but he also felt better that nothing had changed in their relationship. Instead, Takuma even felt closer to Nenro after exchanging serious blows. He lightly chuckled, "Training with Masaaki? What did you do; chase around butterflies?"
Masaaki was as eccentric as he was strong. One moment he trained as if his life depended on it, but then the next moment he would stare at the clouds with a listless stare or get distracted by the simplest of things.
"He wanted to spar," Nenro sighed. "He came on so hard I was sweating in seconds. If he had used his bukijutsu, I would''ve been sure that he was treating the spar as a rematch."
Speaking of Masaaki, the guy was standing among the group of girls, Ai''s kunoichi friends, with his arms crossed as he towered over them, listening to their conversation with a serious expression while they laughed and giggled. It was a chuckle-worthy sight.
Takuma looked to his other side at his other friend and asked, "So¡ what''s going to happen today?"
Squatting on the ground was Taro, who looked up at Takuma. "¡ Listen, I appreciate you all thinking that I''m some sort of know-it-all¡ª but it''s not good. You''re building up this unrealistic image of me¡ª one day one of you will ask me something that I won''t know, and that high-high pedestal that you''ve put me on will crumble. I''ll be fine because I know I don''t know anything, but you guys will suffer¡ª come face-to-face with the fact that the image of me that you perceived as reality was all a lie that you yourself wove. It touches me that you think of me so highly, but it also breaks my heart thinking of the inevitable bitter future to come."
"So¡ do you know?" Nenro asked.
Taro hung his head for a moment. He sighed, "It''s nothing special. We will be shown the mission desks, given a tour of the facilities, and told what we have to do every day until the day we die. I don''t know, mom didn''t tell me much about it. She did yap a lot about working hard and making the best of my time."
Takuma leaned towards Nenro and whispered, "We should visit Taro''s mom with gifts and offerings. If we get into her good graces, we won''t need Taro anymore. We can just ride her coattails to an easy life."
Nenro imitated a great serious nod which would''ve looked real if his lips weren''t twitching up.
"It''s not whispering if I can hear it," said Taro.
Takuma smiled. Team-5 was no longer a team, but he was glad they could still hang around like this and joke around. A part of him was afraid that he would be left alone with Masaaki, Nenro, and Ai going their own way and Taro returning to his academy friends. He was glad that didn''t happen.
"Attention!"
A loud voice cut through the chatter in the large hall. Everyone turned to the speaker and saw a girl in her mid-teens dressed in the shinobi gear. The little identification strap on her uniform told she was a genin. She was accompanied by a guy of similar age to the girl.
"I''m Saki and this is Nobuo," she pointed to the guy. "We will be giving you a rundown of the general rules that you''ll have to follow while in the Genin Corps. We will be starting immediately. Chunin Yoshio and Chinatsu''s group will follow me, the rest will follow Nobuo. We will not be waiting for those who''re not here yet. It''s their loss. Let''s begin."
The crowd of rookie genin separated into two and they began to follow their ''guides''.
The hall they had gathered at was part of a sprawling complex built for the Genin Corps. The complex had multiple buildings and facilities to be used by the genin. It wasn''t flashy like a commercial corporation''s campus, but from the obsessive cleanliness and people dressed in uniform running around, it was definitely a military establishment.
They were first led to the Mission Desk Central with multiple desks. To Takuma, it reminded him of an ''Isekai'' adventuring guild building with tellers/ receptionists working behind counters assigning jobs to the adventures¡ª just in this case, both the receptionists and the adventurers were shinobi of the Leaf.
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"As you guys are still rookies, the resource command doesn''t trust you with choosing your own missions," the girl named Saki was blunt, "which is why until they think you''re able to handle yourself, the command will assign you the missions. For a year, you''ll have to participate in missions assigned to you¡ª whatever and whenever those missions maybe. After the year ends, you will go through a performance review. If the command thinks you''re capable, you''ll be allowed the choice of missions. But that''s in the future, so all you need to care about is to properly complete the missions assigned to you.
Everybody understands?" she didn''t wait for a reply. "Good, let''s move on."
They exited the mission desk central and were led to another building, larger than the mission desk central¡ª though from the looks of it, this new building was deserted compared to the bustling Mission Desk Central.
"This is the Learning Resource Center, LRC for short," said Saki as they walked through the building. There were tons of classrooms inside, most of them empty, but once in a while they could see shinobi teaching other shinobi. Though it did seem strange that in the considerably sized classroom, the ''student'' strength didn''t once go over five heads.
They arrived at yet another big hall. Like the Mission Desk Central, there was a long row of reception desks, but unlike the Mission Desk Central, only one of them was occupied behind the glass with a bored looking shinobi who seemed to be flipping through a magazine behind her counter.
Saki pointed at the large wall across the empty row. In the middle of the wall, covering half of the wall''s length was a railway/airport style information board stating various details like course subject, instructor name, code, price, and level. It was an analog type board with painted slates inserted into rails to make rows of information.
"By paying mission points, you can take courses from your fellow genin, chunin¡ and in rare situations, even jonin if they decide to hold a course," there was a light of longing in her eyes as she talked about the jonin. "The codes there can be used to get a course outline for more details at the receptionist."
Takuma looked at the board to see what type of courses the Learning Resource Center offered. Foraging, Personal Finance, Traps, Water Walking Practice, 10 Ways to Improve Patron Impression, Catch a Chunin''s Attention in 100 Days¡.
Takuma couldn''t help but wonder if those courses belonged better on social media ads. For him who hadn''t been on social media for more than a year, the clickbait was almost tantalizing.
"Let''s move on!" Saki commanded and they continued onwards.
She led them towards the training facilities available to the Genin Corps. Moving target practice with complex movements, indoor arenas that would shoot kunai towards you for dodging practice, durable dummies for various use, indoor arenas, outdoor fields, places specializing for practicing ninjutsu(for example, an entire area of sand to practice Katon(Fire) jutsu).
"Any and all of these facilities are available to you," said Saki before adding. "Friendly advice, the training facilities are almost always occupied. If you want it, book them in advance¡ª the waiting line usually extends a week or two. If you don''t book them, you won''t ever get to use them."
The rest of the tour was filled with rules, the unofficial dos and don''ts, and hotspots in the Genin Corps complex. Takuma appreciated Saki clueing them with the unofficial side of things.
As the tour wound to its end, the group ended up stumbling into someone Takuma actually recognized.
"Are these the new batch of genin?" said the man wearing black sunglasses and the bandanna forehead protector covering his entire head. It reminded Takuma of Shady Guy, who dressed the same, but unlike the sarcastic Iryo-nin''s lanky and wiry build, the man has an average build and his smile wasn''t shady.
"Yes, sir," said Saki. She turned to the group and introduced the man. "This is Chunin Ebisu. He works as a counselor. If you¡ª"
Ebisu interrupted her, "May I?" He continued when Saki nodded, "As introduced, I''m Chunin Ebisu. I''m a counselor currently working with both genin and chunin. What is counseling and why do I need it¡ª you might think. All of you have just recently become shinobi, so many of you might not know but there are all types of shinobi, all important to the village. When you spend more time being a shinobi, you''ll encounter these types of shinobi. But you might have already noticed how some people are better at certain things and you yourself are good at certain skills. As you grow as a shinobi, there will come a time for you to decide what type of shinobi you want to be. In what area do you wish to develop?
"That''s where counseling can help you. Such decisions can be at times overwhelming. However, a simple helping hand to help you make sense of these decisions and help you logically guide you through the decision and progression process can be a boon. We can sit down and discuss your strengths and weaknesses and learn how to leverage them for your best future. If you have a goal, I can help you understand what needs to be done to reach it. So, if you''re ever in doubt regarding your growth as a shinobi, visit me. My doors are always open to people willing to work hard to achieve their goals," he finished with a smile.
This Ebisu was different from the one Takuma knew. The Ebisu he remembered from the manga was grumpy¡ª but if he remembered that was because every time he appeared it was with Naruto, and at that time the prejudice against Naruto stood strong. This Ebisu smiled and seemed like a likable person.
Takuma also didn''t know that Ebisu worked as a counselor. But it somehow made sense. He was the Third Hokage''s grandson, Konohamaru''s teacher. To be given that job must''ve meant that Ebisu was skilled in teaching. Counseling made sense when Takuma thought like that.
One of the genin in the group raised their hand and asked a question, "What if we don''t have anything we''re good at."
If he was the Takuma of before, he would''ve asked that question. But not now. He was really good at Bunshin no Jutsu(Clone Jutsu). Still, Takuma was interested in hearing that question because him being good at making illusory clones didn''t mean jack shit when looking at either the small or big picture.
Ebisu replied, "It''s not that you aren''t good at anything. Instead, you simply haven''t found the skill you''re going to be good at yet. There''s no need to worry. I can help you with that. We can work together to find your strengths and build on them."
That was a banger answer, thought Takuma. If he didn''t have Maruboshi to advise him, he would''ve gone to Ebisu for counseling. Who knows, maybe he would give it a try in the future.
And with that, the first day at Genin Corp came to an end.
CH_3.2 (061):
Takuma gazed at the sign of the multi-storied building situated in the industrial district. It was his first time in this part of the Leaf, and it had taken a bit before he found the address. Panka Couriers¡ª said the blue and white sign over the entrance. He looked down at the mission slip in his hand that he had received from the Mission Desk Central with the mission specifics. On it, Panka Couriers was written under the patron''s name. He had arrived at the right place.
His first mission. He felt jittery like a child about to go on their first errand. He knew D-rank missions were busy work and odd jobs, but he still felt nervous and wanted his first mission to go as smoothly as possible without any problems.
Even from the outside, Takuma could tell that the building was a large warehouse. Long and tall shelving racks covered the floor. In the back, Takuma could see people packing items in boxes and packages. He talked to the first person he saw, who walked him to the owner''s office.
"Boss, a shinobi is here for the job."
Inside the office, a pot-bellied man in a white cotton shirt that hugged his torso was sitting behind a desk with a towel hanging from his shoulder. The man raised his top-bald head from the papers on his desk and looked at Takuma.
"Shinobi¡ you''re here for the job?" asked the owner.
Takuma nodded and showed him the mission slip. The owner studied it for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, this is the one," he said and asked Takuma to sit down.
The mission, if Takuma could use that word for this job, was to work as a delivery man for Panka Couriers. According to the contract, he was to work for an entire week with a minimum quota of deliveries in a day. A certain number of package deliveries counted as 1 D-rank mission, and as long as the patron had enough work for him, he could do as many deliveries as he could, and at the end of the mission, he would be paid for the amount of D-rank missions he had completed. There were a couple more stipulations in the contract, which ensured that neither side could exploit the other.
All in all, it sounded like a simple enough job.
"It''s good that you''re here, one of the boys left suddenly without warning, and I couldn''t find anyone to replace him," said the man. He stood up and asked Takuma to follow him. They walked deeper into the warehouse, where the owner was introduced to one of the employees.
"This is Ran; he will be giving you work," said the owner before leaving Takuma with Ran.
"Have you done this before?" asked Ran. He was a tall and well-built man dressed in a sleeveless vest, blue pants, and a yellow hard hat on his head.
Takuma shook his head.
"Alright, listen well then," Ran pointed at the map behind him on the wall. It was the map of the Hidden Leaf village, but it was marked differently than the maps Takuma had seen before. "We have divided the village into areas, and we divide the packages according to the areas, so when you go out to deliver, you will only serve one of those areas. You go straight to the area and then move around to deliver the packages. You will either get your load from here, or we will tell you to go to a client, and you will pick the load from there and then deliver it."
Ran then showed him the ''equipment''¡ª a bag so large that when Takuma hung it on his back, it towered over his head. It was to store small and medium-sized packages. For large packages that couldn''t be carried on the back, carts were used to transport them around the village.
"Donkey or horse pulls them, but shinobi usually pull the carts on their own."
Takuma nodded. Shinobi didn''t use horses for travel. Why travel by foot when you could jump from tree to tree and cut through a forest or outlast a horse which would tire down long before a chakra-enabled shinobi who could run for hours. Even when cargo was involved, shinobi would use storage seals to put away the weight and travel by foot.
Like most shinobi, Takuma didn''t know how to ride a horse or control a cart-pulling animal. As for storage seals, he had only learned how to imitate the fuinjutsu script and chakra application to make the most basic storage seal that could only hold a few kilograms. Maruboshi, pushed for time, had chosen not to explain any theory behind the scrolls and only taught Takuma to make a monkey copy so that he could make a scroll without understanding what he was doing.
After a final explanation of how to approach delivery orders to take the least time and the rules, do''s, and don''ts while delivering the packages, Takuma was off with the most oversized bag the warehouse had filled to the brim.
The bag was heavier than anything an average person could lug around, but for Takuma, it was simply a heavy bag. Other than the fact that it hindered his mobility due to its size, Takuma felt he could do deliveries all day long and get employee of the week by a long shot.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Enthusiasm could take humanity to the stars. For Takuma, it took him to overperforming to the point that on Day-5, the owner sent him home earlier because they didn''t have anything left for him to deliver when he returned in the middle of the work day to get another load. By the last day, Takuma had done everything from solo small-package deliveries to cart deliveries to pick-and-drop deliveries.
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He had even accompanied another employee for a delivery run who had told him that his route order was terrible. The only reason he could do so much was that he could brute rush through the order deliveries faster than people who knew how to order their delivery route properly.
That was fine for Takuma. He was only in the delivery business for a week. By the end of the week, he had completed eight D-rank missions in his first week, which got him a commendation from the owner that turned out to be a plus point for Takuma as it went on his record.
But, at the same time, eight D-rank missions were all he did during the week. He didn''t train, meet with friends, relax at home, hike on a nearby nature trail, learn other skills, or do anything. Every moment of his ''work'' time went into fulfilling deliveries.
Before the contract, he had visited the jutsu archive every day to look at jutsu, but in the week, he had only visited once. He decided it wasn''t worth it to dedicate that much time to missions. He needed time to train and do other activities. As long as he did two to three missions a week, he would make the monthly minimum, and he could supplement more to ensure he wasn''t seen doing the bare minimum.
After he submitted his signed and stamped mission slips back to the mission desk, he was told that he could take a week off before returning to take missions which he complied with and spent the hours every day for the rest of the week in the jutsu archive, looking at C-rank jutsu, trying to figure out what he should choose. He looked at Doton (Earth Release) jutsu, he looked at Raiton (Lightning Release), and he looked at Raiton jutsu at the D-rank library¡ª as Doton was supposed to be weaker against Raiton and he needed to know which Doton jutsu could be completely screwed over with a weaker Raiton jutsu and avoid those jutsu.
''Fuck me, choosing Raiton as my first jutsu,'' Takuma felt he couldn''t blame anyone but himself for choosing the one affinity opposite his primary affinity.
The chakra induction paper only showed the primary(highest) affinity, and while it could be possible that Takuma wasn''t weakest at Raiton as just having Doton didn''t mean he was automatically weakest with Raiton, but from his proficiency with Raiton: Shokku (Lightning Release: Shock) it was very well possible that he was dog shit with Raiton jutsu.
Takuma had entered his free week intending to choose his C-rank jutsu. By the end of the week, he had achieved his goal.
His choice¡ª
Doton: Tsuchi Domu (Earth Release: Earth Dome)
His first jutsu, Raiton: Shokku was an offensive jutsu, something he chose to increase his firepower; even if it didn''t go entirely as he wished, the jutsu did provide him a boost in offensive power. His second jutsu was Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu (Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu), a supportive class of jutsu, something he had chosen to hinder his opponent while allowing him to put his existing options and weapons to better use. Other than his two D-rank jutsu, he had Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu), which Takuma had plans to incorporate into his fighting style under certain circumstances.
Takuma''s fights while competing in the basic training final tournament were one of the most valuable experiences he had gained regarding combat. The second day had especially told him, through his beaten body, that he lacked a defense option. The long recovery period and his weakened state in his fight against Nenro clearly indicated that he needed to protect himself.
Moreover, he had also noticed how, similar to him, none of his opponents had a defense option. Nenro had shown Raiton: Shokku, a genjutsu, and a Katon (Fire Release) jutsu¡ª all three fell under the offense classification. Yuhi Kame was a genjutsu user, and while that fight hadn''t lasted very long, she hadn''t shown any sign of using a pure-defensive jutsu. And finally, Fuma Arisu utilized her fuma shuriken from a distance to target him and had a modification in melee¡ª she had only used bukijutsu against him and, yet again hadn''t pulled a pure-defensive jutsu against him.
While all of them were still early in their growth as shinobi, and they could pick a pure-defensive jutsu in the future¡ª his fights did tell him that if he could outlast his opponent by taking comparatively less damage, the chances of victory skyrocketed in his favor.
And with the offensive capabilities, everyone had shown him, it was only wise for him to choose a defensive jutsu.
Fortunately for him, Earth was the most associated with protection, and Doton had good options for Takuma.
His first choice was Doton: Koka Jutsu (Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu). By utilizing earth-natured chakra, a shinobi encased their body in rock from the surroundings, creating an armor. This casing could also create extendible weapons to strike a target with.
Takuma liked the jutsu as not only did it provide him with a great defense, but it also provided him with an option for boosted melee offense by extending the casing armor to form bludgeoning weapons to strike the opponent with. For the first three days, his heart stuck to the jutsu, but a single point shattered his favorability towards Doton: Koka Jutsu.
The armor added weight to the user''s body. Takuma was a poor match against faster and more agile opponents, with his taijutsu capabilities unable to keep up. His recent opponents had been a genjutsu user with weak taijutsu capabilities, a bukijutsu user who hurled around a heavy chunk of pure metal as her weapon, and a half-beaten shinobi who leaned towards strategic use of genjutsu to hinder opponents and use ninjutsu to deal severe damage from the distance.
But he knew the reality against the nimbler opponents. Further reducing his speed wouldn''t do him any good.
So, he turned his eye to another jutsu and stumbled upon Doton: Tsuchi Domu, which according to its description, was a simplified version of B-rank jutsu Doton: Iwa-He (Earth Release: Rock Shelter)¡ª he didn''t know what made it a simplified version as it wasn''t mentioned, but both jutsu created domes around the user.
It was a simple jutsu, which Takuma liked as it meant that it could be utilized in various situations without any circumstantial limitations.
The second alternative that Takuma considered was a Doton: Doro Gaeshi (Earth Release: Mud Overturn). Another defensive jutsu that brought a mud wall up for protection. Due to its composition, the jutsu was highly effective against Katon jutsu, but for the same reason, it was weak against Raiton jutsu¡ª and for a Doton jutsu which was already vulnerable to Raiton to be weaker didn''t seem like a positive outlook. The reason he had considered the jutsu in the first place was that the primary affinity for a great majority of people in the Land of Fire was Katon¡ª and having a jutsu strong against Katon seemed like a legitimate option.
However, in the end, Takuma decided to walk toward the side of neutrality and confirmed his choice to be Doton: Tsuchi Domo.
Takuma turned to the shinobi with him in the room. "I have decided," he said.
The shinobi stepped closer, asked Takuma''s choice, and walked out with Takuma''s shinobi registration¡ª and when he returned, he had a jutsu scroll with him.
Takuma looked at the scroll on the table in front of him, and with nervous hands, he rolled it open.
It was time to start learning.
CH_3.3 (062):
"This isn''t what I thought I would be doing as a shinobi," said Ai, grumbling as she pulled out weeds in an old lady''s garden.
This was precisely what Takuma thought he would be doing when he became a shinobi. And with hundreds of thousands of people capable of supernatural feats doing the same things across the lands, he didn''t mind doing menial jobs.
"I want to drink something cold. Let''s get a milkshake when we are done with this," said Takuma, working his hands to de-weed the garden. D-rank missions weren''t always solo endeavors. Random genin would be teamed together as per the requirement of the task, such as the patron wanting to get the job done faster, which would need extra labor.
In the months he had been a genin, he had worked a mission with Masaaki and the current one being his first with Ai. With multiple years of genin doing D-rank missions, it was already a surprise that he was teamed up with two out of four teammates. Even today, he and Ai were accompanied by a third genin (an older one) that they didn''t know.
"How''s shinobi life suiting you?" asked Takuma.
"Hmm? Unexpectedly not difficult at all. When compared to basic training, I don''t even notice doing the missions, you know. The pay is a little shit though."
The compensation for D-rank missions was shit, especially when the mission was a multiple-day affair or when there were multiple genin on the same mission as the pay was split between them. Moreover, the state took a commission for themselves before handing them what remained. If not for the permanent base pay they got outside of missions, working D-rank missions wouldn''t have been worth it. And they never knew when they would be getting a good quality mission or they would be forced to work a mission with shit pay. The latter happened more than the former.
Takuma looked at Ai, "You shouldn''t stop training. Who knows when we will get a C-rank mission," in which there was a chance to encounter bandits or highwaymen¡ª it was better to be prepared than dead in a ditch, "and you can''t be a chunin if you aren''t stronger, we can''t stop training."
"Isn''t it still too early to think about that? We still have two and a half years before we can even apply, and then we will need recommendations for it," said Ai.
Two and a half years seemed enough to get some recommendations, thought Takuma. But at the same time, he hadn''t been in contact with any chunin yet. His interactions had been with his fellow genin and the receptionist at the mission desk, who were also genin. He needed some way to get in touch with some chunin and work with them.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
That same week, he got to talk to a chunin.
Just that it wasn''t the chunin who he thought he would be talking to.
"Takuma, fancy meeting you here."
Takuma, who was walking down his usual route back home, stopped beside the caf¨¦. Sitting on one of the outdoor tables was Shady Guy with tea and daifuku. If not for his shinobi uniform, he would''ve looked strange in his small blackout shades and the headcover bandanna. Maybe he still looked weird, but after seeing him for two months, Takuma had gotten used to that style aesthetic.
Shady Guy waved at Takuma as he said, "It''s been a while, how about you join me for some tea. Come on here, let''s catch up."
Takuma was baffled for a moment about how to respond. He and Shady Guy didn''t know each other very well¡ª shown by the fact that Takuma didn''t know the man''s name and addressed him as Shady Guy. However, Shady Guy did close his bleeding wounds and heal his broken bones on multiple occasions¡ª which did warrant some form of familiarity and intimacy.
So, he decided, what the heck, why not, and went down to sit down with Shady Guy.
"How''s genin life treating you?" asked the Shady Guy.
"¡ Fine, I guess," Takuma provided an uninspiring answer. "I mean, it''s one job to another. It almost feels like a very short-term temp worker. I guess it does give you exposure to many jobs, which is good because it helps when you do them later. But you know, is this the kind of thing I want to gain exposure to? Like, I know I gotta pay my dues before I can do some real stuff, but right now, it feels like I''m wasting my time."
Before Takuma knew it he had gone and spoke a little too much of things he didn''t want to speak about during a small talk. Much like answering ''how are you'' with anything other than ''I''m fine, how about you?''
"Sorry about that," said Takuma, raising his teacup to hide the red on his cheeks.
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"It''s totally alright; I know how it feels. D-rank missions aren''t fun for anyone," Shady Guy smiled. "I mean, making shinobi do trivial chores when we are trained to do so much more is almost disrespectful. Do you know before the formation of villages, shinobi clans used to be locked in battle with each other, waging wars for survival and dominance. In those days, the civilians served the shinobi, and in return, they would get protection from getting pillaged, killed, and having their women raped by other clans¡ Now, civilians are patrons, and we do odd jobs for money.
"But I suppose some things have to be a certain way whether we like it or not."
Takuma didn''t say anything in response to that. It was true; he knew the history from the history books. But the way Shady Guy had put it had some clear connotations to it. He didn''t want to comment on anything that would give Shady Guy any ideas.
Shady took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Still, don''t you think it''s nonsensical that after years of shinobi academy and the grueling months of basic training you''re made to do menial jobs. Look at the statistics¡ª on average, it takes a year to a year and a half before a Genin Corp genin can do a C-rank mission. It makes no sense to train people and not have them do what they were trained to do."
Takuma didn''t know that statistic. A year and a half of just D-rank missions?! That was a ridiculously long time! He didn''t want to do a C-rank mission immediately and still wanted to get his skill up at Doton: Tsuchi Domu (Earth Release: Earth Dome) before he ventured onto an assignment with the possibility of meeting bandits. Even with his track record, he didn''t think it would take him an entire year to learn a C-rank jutsu to a practically usable level. He could already perform it and believed it would only take a bit more time before he could reliably use it in the heat of battle.
"I see you agree with me. I always liked you, Takuma. You worked hard in the basic training, always giving it your best every day, and in the end, showing it to the clan kids, nay everybody, that you are the best of the bunch," said the Shady Guy. "Which is why I will share a little secret with you."
He uncrossed his legs and leaned his lanky frame forward. "What if I told you there was a way to utilize your skills? Doing something more up the shinobi alley and gaining much more value than what you would doing the pathetic D-rank missions."
Takuma would lie if he said he wasn''t interested in what Shady Guy had to say. But he also felt caution about what it could be about. When he thought about shinobi skills, it could be anything from robbery to murder to overthrow the government. On the top of his head, he could think of ten bad things for one good thing Shady Guy could propose to him.
"¡ And what might that be?" he asked, prompted by his curiosity. He guessed listening to it won''t do him any harm.
"I will tell you, but you must not tell anyone about it. Believe me, if you do, I will know about it," said Shady Guy, his smile deepening, but it held no humor.
Takuma silently swallowed before nodding.
"You see, many shinobi felt unsatisfied with the dull routine of D-rank tasks and wanted something more dignified of their station, something more exciting, an opportunity that allowed them to make use of their skills. And what skills suit a shinobi more than the art of combat?"
Hearing that from an Iryo-nin felt wrong in many ways.
Shady Guy''s smile turned pleasant, "So many years ago, we don''t know who started it, but a group of shinobi began fighting each other to make them feel more like something different than daily wage workers¡ to feel like what they actually were. Other shinobi caught wind of these shinobi and, feeling attracted, joined this group¡ and soon, something of a ring was formed. And that ring has continued on till date with shinobi from every generation, every batch participating in it¡
"I think you were brilliant in the final tournament. You were not the favorite. You were not the underdog. You were not the dark horse. People didn''t even consider you an option. Every round, they thought it would be your last. Every win, they thought it was luck. Till the very end, the odds remained high against you because they kept betting for your loss¡ª and yet¡ and yet, in the end, you won it all.
"So, I''m offering you an invitation to join the Ring."
Out of all the things that Takuma thought Shady Guy would say, he didn''t think it would be this one. From the sound of it, what Shady Guy described was an underground fighting scene with shinobi-grade fighters beating up each other¡ to feel more like shinobi?
He didn''t think that last part stood true at all.
There was something that Shady Guy mentioned which told Takuma that there was something more.
"And how does this provide me more value?" asked Takuma.
"Excellent question," Shady Guy smiled. "The Ring has existed for a very long time, Takuma. Many of our members have risen through the shinobi ranks and understood how the ring contributed, and have since become very generous sponsors. If you participate, the ring will compensate you with money¡ª"
So, it was a gladiator''s ring, thought Takuma. He was sure the fights would have an audience who would be betting on the fights. There was money to be made for everyone, but as it happened for every gambling den, the house always won¡ª the sponsors who invested would make more than they put in.
"¡ª and with mission points."
All of Takuma''s thoughts came to a halt. The incentive of participating in what seemed to become more and more like a modern combat sport league just jumped various levels.
And Shady Guy seemed to sense that as his smile turned into a grin.
"You know what the D-rank missions pay. There''s something that offsets the shit ryo compensation, but there''s nothing there to do the same with the mission point compensation."
If his time as a mission-completing genin had taught anything, it was that the D-rank mission''s mission point compensation was miserably frustrating. They paid in a fraction of mission points! He had one mission in the five months of missions that had paid a full single mission point.
Only recently, he had collected enough to afford a D-rank jutsu. From what he had gathered from others, it took four months of hard work in terms of hours to gather enough for a D-rank jutsu. And the difference between D-rank and C-rank jutsu costs was staggering. It would take him a year and a quarter of hard work and savings to afford a C-rank jutsu.
It had him realize how generous the basic training had been with mission point rewards.
"We can pay you more," Shady Guy leaned back into his chair as he said,
"So¡ what do you say?"
CH_3.4 (063):
"You can change here," said the old farmer pushing open the door to the wooden shed. "Good job today. You really helped me out, boy."
Takuma thanked the farmer and entered the shed to change his clothes. Helping as a farm hand was a common D-rank mission. Strong shinobi were majorly effective in all kinds of jobs from tilling to repair work across a farm or livestock ranch, as such a significant portion of the genin population was involved in some part of farming throughout the year.
Today, he had dragged a farm tiller across the large field all day to help prepare it for the sowing for a new crop.
Takuma changed out of his dirty shinobi gear into the change of civilian clothes he had brought along with him. His day''s work was over, and all he wanted was to go home and take a shower, but before that, he needed to go shopping for groceries.
He sighed as he pulled the shirt over his shoulders.
"¡ªYou can take your time before answering me¡ª"
Shady Guy had left Takuma with those words and a way to contact him, and since then, the conversation had been the one thing occupying his mind. No matter what he was doing, a part of his mind was always thinking about how to approach the invitation.
It was clear that Shady Guy hadn''t extended the invitation because he had good intentions for him, and thinking otherwise would''ve been the height of naivety and foolishness. With what Takuma knew, it was most probably that Shady Guy gained some incentive to get a new fighter into the underground fighting ring.
Who better to employ as a recruiter than someone who had been observing a group of people daily over a two-month fighting period. Shady Guy had two months to watch him fight¡ª not just fighting, he had two months to observe everything about him. The Iryo-nin must''ve seen something in him that led to the invitation.
What was that something? Was it something positive, meaning he would flourish in the fighting ring? Or was it something negative, like he was an easy target to dupe with the promise of mission points?
It could be either.
The way he saw it, a crossroad of two choices stood before him. The safe option¡ª reject Shady Guy''s invitation and continue on with his life, or the risky option¡ª take a chance with the opportunity in front of him to earn an additional source of money and mission points.
He was conflicted because the invitation was a one-time thing. Shady Guy had told him that he would wait for a couple days, and if Takuma didn''t have an answer for him, he would consider the offer rejected. What if the offer was legitimate, and he could gain more mission points fighting? He felt declining the invitation would have him miss out on an opportunity that could prove to be beneficial for him.
The decision continued to plague him.
As it stood, if he couldn''t resolve his confusion by Shady Guy''s deadline, he would let the opportunity pass.
Takuma grabbed the local produce he bought directly from the farmers and departed from the farm on the village''s outskirts dedicated to large farming fields and plantations and began running towards the urban city part of the village. He liked the rural part of the village with its openness and quiet, so much different from the crowded and noisy city. It was one of the reasons why he liked farming jobs, as it took him away from the city. He had lived his entire life in metropolitan cities, and even now, he lived in the Leaf village¡ª but he knew if he ever bought a house for himself, it would be away from the city. It helped that he could literally run to the city if he needed something.
The open field turned into suburbia, which then turned into the densely built tall buildings of the center of the Leaf village.
Takuma was tired. He had left home before the sun-up to get to the farm for the work that started at sunrise, and the sun was setting by the time he had left. He wanted to get the remaining grocery and get home so he could relax.
With those thoughts, Takuma entered the shopping street he frequented for grocery needs.
"Takuma!"
A voice that sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn''t put the finger on it, called him, and it made him look. Looking at the person did connect the dots in his brain.
"Izumi?"
Standing in front of him was Uchiha Izumi. It had been well over half a year since he had seen her (or any of his classmates who had been selected by a Jonin). She didn''t look much different from what he remembered; the only difference was that she now wore a forehead protector.
"It''s been such a long time! How are you?" Izumi stepped closer to him and looked him up and down. "Hmm, you have grown taller¡ you''re as tall as me now," she pouted.
Izumi was right. He had grown taller in the half year, enough to force a change of wardrobe because his clothes no longer fit him properly. Izumi was tall for a girl, and it had taken Takuma a year and a half of proper nutrition to catch up.
"Coming from somewhere? You have mud on your face," she giggled.
"Had a farming mission," Takuma immediately wiped his face with his sleeve. "What about you, how is the genin life suiting you?"
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"Oh, an absolute delight. Last week we went out of the village to deliver a package to another city," Izumi crossed her arms, teeming with pride.
"Was that your first C-rank mission or something?" he asked.
"It was the first good C-rank mission. The other ones were boring work like doing background checks."
''So, the Jonin-team genin have already done multiple C-rank missions,'' thought Takuma. He felt something churn inside him. If they were doing C-rank missions, it meant they were earning more mission points.
He knew there would always be a gap between the Genin Corp genin and Jonin-team genin¡ but it was the first time he could feel it.
"That''s good for you," he said after swallowing down the bitterness. Izumi wouldn''t need to participate in the underground fighting ring for mission points. The girl before him didn''t even need to do missions for jutsu. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu) was a C-rank jutsu, and it was supposed to be a coming-of-age rite for Uchiha¡ª Izumi would be handed down something that had taken two months of grueling time culminating in a tournament of physical misery to just obtain.
He felt really bitter at the moment.
And the prospect of the fighting ring seemed more and more appealing.
He was about to ask for his leave when Takuma heard a voice from just behind him say,
"Izumi, I''ve completed my errand, shall we leave?"
Takuma was startled because he didn''t know someone was standing behind him. He had developed a vague sense of people nearby his personal space¡ª but he didn''t have any inkling that a person was standing behind him.
He turned back to look, and the moment he laid eyes on the person, he was no longer just startled. His heart began to beat faster as he clenched his jaw to keep himself from gasping as he stared into the onyx eyes of the boy in front of him. Every hair on his body stood with a cold shiver as his skin tightened and goosebumps rose.
Memories he had set aside as he got busy with his life jumped back in, and he recalled that in a few years, only three of Izumi''s clanmates would walk this land, and she wasn''t one of them. And it scared the living fuck out of him that the boy in front of him was one of those three people¡ and was also the one who had wiped the great Uchiha clan from the face of this planet in a single evening.
In that moment the reason behind why the Uchiha clan had been eradicated didn''t matter to Takuma. Any person who could commit parricide and mass murder could definitely snap his head without him knowing.
He hadn''t been more terrified than now in his entire life as he faced the Clan Killer¡ª
Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi gave Takuma a glance as he walked past him and stood beside Izumi.
Izumi, unaware of Takuma''s thoughts, spoke with a smile. "Ah, let me do the introductions. This is Takuma, my classmate from the academy," she then pointed to Itachi, "and this is Itachi from my clan. Takuma, you must remember Itachi, he was in our class in the first year. It was such a big commotion when he graduated early from the academy," she sounded proud, but Takuma wasn''t paying attention.
Itachi nodded in greeting but got nothing in return.
"Takuma?"
Takuma snapped out of his petrified stance and barely got his nerves back into control.
"Ah, my apologies. I was so starstruck for a moment"¡ª he was not¡ª "I mean, who doesn''t know Uchiha Itachi. And yes, I vaguely remember that time"¡ª he did not¡ª "Graduated after five months in the academy at age six¡. Promoted to Chunin at ten¡. I mean, does anything more need to be said?"
It didn''t take meta-knowledge to know about Itachi. It was a big deal when Itachi made Chunin. The entire shinobi circle was talking about the ten-year wonder kid, and the talks had reached the academy. It was in the early days of Takuma''s arrival into the world¡ª a miserable time for him, so he had mostly ignored the gossip and chatter.
From what Takuma remembered, there was a chance that Itachi was already in the ANBU. He was the youngest ANBU inductee in the Leaf''s history, after all.
"You flatter me," Itachi said politely. "Which Jonin are you assigned under?"
The question could''ve been seen as a slight against Takuma, and if Takuma didn''t know the person in front of him, he would''ve definitely thought that Itachi was trying to insult him¡ª but he knew that the question was innocent enough.
Izumi caught the potential of a misunderstanding and immediately interjected,
"Itachi¡ª"
"Genin Corp," said Takuma.
"Ah, is that so," Itachi''s eyes widened a fraction before he nodded. He moved on swiftly, "If you''re from the same batch as Izumi¡. Did you participate in the Genin Corp''s basic training tournament?"
"Huh, what''s that?" It seemed Izumi hadn''t heard of the final tournament.
"I was invited to spectate, but I don''t enjoy those types of competitions," said Itachi before giving Izumi a brief explanation about the final tournament¡ª his explanation was from the Chunin viewpoint.
Unlike her clanmate, Izumi looked genuinely interested and turned to Takuma, "Did you participate?" she asked.
"I did. In fact, I won the competition," Takuma said with a smile-¡ª he wanted this interaction to end immediately.
"Oh, congratulations!" Izumi said, her face glowing up.
"Thank you," Takuma nodded. "Now, while I would like to catch up with you and get some tips from you," he glanced at Itachi, "I have an early day tomorrow. And I''m sure you guys are busy as well, so I unfortunately have to leave. Let''s meet up sometime later, alright?"
Takuma made sure it didn''t seem abrupt before parting with the pair. He walked and kept walking without looking back; not for a moment did he stop, not until he was inside his home with the door locked behind him and the curtains drawn.
He had forgotten¡
The desperate training to catch up to his academy peers¡ the stress of passing the academy graduation test¡ the grueling basic training¡. the hours devoted to learning jutsu in the efforts to win the final tournament¡ the day-in-and-day-out loop of D-rank missions.
He had gotten so busy and sucked into living his life day by day, doing the things required by him, that he had forgotten about what truly lay out there in the world and the future.
He was not ready. He knew that, of course¡ª but the abrupt meeting with Itachi had made him come face-to-face with it. The Uchiha massacre was so close. He didn''t know when exactly it was going to happen, but he knew that Itachi was really young when it happened. If he had to give his best estimate, he would say that it was two years away at best.
''Fuck, fuck, fuck,'' his back was drenched entirely, and his heart was bursting in his chest.
It wasn''t just the Uchiha massacre that was looming in the future.
Akatsuki had already been formed. Obito had started the ''new'' Akatsuki with Pain. Orochimaru had already left the Leaf and had joined Akatsuki. After the Uchiha massacre, Itachi would join Akatsuki as a double agent, which meant they were already perceived as a significant threat before the massacre. Orochimaru would then break away from Akatsuki and form his own village¡ª the Hidden Sand''s attack along with Orochimaru at the Leaf village was so near.
He could be killed in that invasion.
Takuma didn''t have the time he thought he had.
He was living as a genin, doing things that other genin would do, thinking that if he continued to do things he was doing, he would progress. But that was not enough.
He needed to do more.
That night, Takuma wasn''t able to go to sleep¡ª his mind kept him locked in with his own thoughts.
CH_3.5 (064):
How did one get stronger? The question ran through Takuma''s mind more than it had ever. His previous answers to the questions had been: follow whatever Maruboshi taught¡ observe others'' combat style in basic training and thus learn how to counter them more effectively¡ train to improve at his ninjutsu arsenal¡ and add more jutsu into his repertoire.
But now those answers seemed ineffective. He no longer trained with Maruboshi; both he and his teacher had their lives and couldn''t follow their daily training; no matter how much Takuma would''ve loved to continue, he couldn''t ask Maruboshi to adjust to his schedule. Yoshio''s mandatory sparring sessions in basic training were no longer available; he could spar with Ai, Nenro, and Masaaki (Taro refused to spar), but their schedules seldom matched. He continued to train his ninjutsu, but he didn''t have mission points to get more.
Even his total training time had reduced. During basic training, he would train by himself in the morning and then train more under Yoshio¡ª but now, while he trained in the morning, he worked the rest of the day. On average, with the varying type of D-rank missions, he worked four to five days a week; he had tried to reduce that number, but it proved difficult when the choice of mission wasn''t in his hand.
And when he wanted answers, Maruboshi was again out of the village on a C-rank mission, escorting some business caravan somewhere.
He thought about ways to get more powerful on his own, using his esoteric knowledge about this world to his advantage¡ª but nothing seemed viable to him. He could snatch a Sharingan or Byakugan, but that would get him killed immediately. He could steal the Forbidden Scroll of Seals stored at the Hokage''s Residence like Naruto did¡ª but the chances of getting court-martialled were inevitable. Every scenario he thought ended up in a dead-end.
Takuma sighed as he sipped the cold lemonade he bought from a food stand inside the Genin Corp complex to beat the scorching summer heat. He had just got a D-rank mission that would have him work the night shift as a security guard at a state food warehouse. He absolutely hated work at night¡ª it wrecked his sleep cycle and disturbed his regular schedule of things.
"That''s not a sigh due to the weather, is it?"
Takuma looked up and, to his surprise, it was Ebisu sitting down on the neighboring bench.
"No, it is not," said Takuma, making small talk.
"Would you like to share? Many times, simply speaking things out to someone resolves the problems."
Takuma chuckled, "Is this a way to get me to visit your counseling? I''d speak about my problems to you, you''d say some words to me, I''d feel better¡ª and you''re hoping that I''d be impressed enough that I would come visit your office for a session. I didn''t know you worked as a salesperson, counselor."
Ebisu smiled, "If you think about it, everyone''s a salesman. All of us are putting up a version of ourselves in front of others to make them find us appealing in some way. We do it in front of our peers, friends, partners, bosses, and even strangers. Some do it poorly, others do it well, but everyone does it whether they see it so or not. And as to answer your other question, I''d be delighted to have you visit my office for a session."
Takuma glanced at Ebisu. He had a much different image of Ebisu in his mind. A stricter, no-nonsense, more straightforward man¡ª but this one was somewhat of a talker.
"You know, I wouldn''t mind a session with you," said Takuma, "unfortunately, you take mission points, which I can''t spare. If you took ryo, I''d probably already be in your office planning my shinobi career with you."
While the counseling session with Ebisu didn''t cost nearly anywhere close to a D-rank jutsu, they cost mission points nevertheless. Even if they cost a fraction of a mission point, he wouldn''t use them for a counseling session when he could save that fraction up for a jutsu.
"I''m sorry, but I didn''t get your name," asked Ebisu.
"Takuma."
"Well then, Takuma, it''s nice to meet you. How about I give you a quick session here without charge, and you decide whether an official one is worth the mission points or not," said Ebisu with a smile. "What do you say?"
Takuma thought about it for a moment before getting up from his bench and taking a seat beside Ebisu.
"I will take that as an agreement," Ebisu put aside his beverage and sandwich plate.
"How do I get stronger?" Takuma opened up the conversation. If this was going to be a free quick session, then he was going to be direct and blunt to get the most out of it.
Ebisu took a moment of silence before replying, "It would depend on your skill set. I''m assuming you''re talking about your overall skill set and not just physical strength." Takuma nodded. "I will need to know more about you to give a useful answer," said Ebisu.
"Doton(Earth Release) affinity, completed basic training, I don''t specialize in anything, but I know a C-rank Doton jutsu. Other than that, I know two more D-rank ninjutsu," he gave Ebisu the names of the jutsu, "I consider taijutsu as my weakness¡. That''s about it, I guess," said Takuma.
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"You know your affinity; that''s extremely helpful," Ebisu looked pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah, but I don''t have the mission points to buy more jutsu," sighed Takuma.
"Progress takes time, Takuma¡ª but I understand your plight," Ebisu fell silent for a moment. "If we were to focus on the bigger picture, given that you know your affinity and already have a C-rank jutsu, learning more ninjutsu seems like one path for you. But if we are to look at what you can do right now¡ hmm, which sounds better to you: cover your taijutsu weakness with something, or do you wish to eliminate taijutsu as a weakness?"
Takuma was baffled by the question. "Isn''t eliminating taijutsu as a weakness a better option? I mean, if I had a choice, why would I keep a weakness at all?"
"People aren''t made equal. Everyone has their own strength and weakness, their own talents and shortcomings. Elemental affinity is an example. Sometimes it''s better to further nurture your strengths than to pointlessly bash your head against a mountain," Ebisu pushed up his glasses. "Do you think taijutsu is something like that for you? Of course, I''m not saying to stop taijutsu training altogether, but you need effort management."
Did Takuma think that his taijutsu had reached a dead-end and that he needed to cover it up with something else? His spars and fights passed through his mind. From the day of his first spar to his first win against Airi to his blood-splattering wounds in basic training to his wins in the tournament¡. Did he think he couldn''t improve anymore?
No, he didn''t think that.
"What would I use to cover up my taijutsu," he asked.
"You can work towards becoming a ninjutsu specialist and add an aspect of distance or range to your combat. Or, perhaps work on your bukijutsu¡ª weapons are an important part of combat and add much to your combat style, and there''s a chance they might add what you''re missing to your close-ranged combat."
Takuma sighed. He had three jutsu. If he could use Raiton: Shokku like Nenro, he would''ve definitely tried to find and create opportunities to pick his opponents out from a distance. Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu would also work well to keep people away, but there was a caveat that he himself couldn''t see in the mist¡ª Takuma had to rattle Nenro to ensure he didn''t move so that he could nail him with the kunai.
As for weapons¡ Maruboshi used a sword. His teacher had a prosthetic leg with a sword inside; it was one of the scariest things that Takuma had seen. He didn''t have plans for picking up kenjutsu, but if he ever did, he would like it to be with Maruboshi.
He turned to Ebisu and asked, "What about¡ genjutsu?"
Ebisu hummed, "Genjutsu isn''t like ninjutsu, Takuma. Sure, you can pick up a genjutsu scroll and learn it¡ª but if you genuinely wish to learn genjutsu, you must learn several basics and theories. In many ways, genjutsu is closer to iryo-jutsu. That''s the reason why we have so few true genjutsu users in the village. It takes a lot of time and effort to learn genjutsu to a functional level. Integrating it into your combat is another undertaking. However, once you know those, you have the freedom to create whatever you''re capable of.
"My advice for those looking towards genjutsu has always been that if you aren''t ready to commit yourself to properly learn genjutsu, then learning individual genjutsu from scrolls is a waste of time and resource."
Takuma licked his lips as he wondered if he wanted that level of commitment. He was vaguely aware of how much effort it took to become an iryo-nin¡ª it was quite similar to becoming a doctor back in his world.
He was aware that genjutsu didn''t work properly on him, but Takuma didn''t know if that would translate to his learning ability. He never had a chance to check that out. He had enough to buy a D-rank jutsu, but he didn''t want to use those hard-earned mission points on an experiment. His experience with Raiton: Shokku hadn''t been pretty. Takuma knew his primary affinity, and it made sense to go towards his strength than do something risky. Six months was a long time.
"I will continue working on my taijutsu," said Takuma. The next time he had mission points to spare, he would buy a genjutsu scroll to test it out. Until then, Doton was the way to go.
"Well, if it''s like that, then taijutsu is your answer," Ebisu smiled as he showed a clenched fist. "Out of every skill in a shinobi''s reach, taijutsu shows the most visible improvement. The more you use your body, the more your physical energies make the body stronger. You become faster, stronger, reflexes and senses improve, your endurance rises¡ª not only that, your body becomes more resilient to damage.
"A shinobi difficult to kill is the worst enemy. Taijutsu is what raises that difficulty for most shinobi."
Takuma wholeheartedly agreed with that statement. Currently, the person he thought was the hardest to kill in the village was Might Gai, the monster of taijutsu. The chapters in which Gai fought the Jinchuriki Madara were his favorites; it was also one of those scenes for which he had seen the anime clips. Even from personal experience, Masaaki was the hardest to get down in their group. Despite not seeing it with his own eyes, he had heard enough to know how much damage Nenro had to do to put Masaaki down.
"There are jutsu that integrate with taijutsu, but you can invest in them later; for now, you can refer to the Hidden Leaf Kata from the general archives and start practicing," advised Ebisu. "Meet with your friends and spar with them¡"
Takuma could do that. The Hidden Leaf Kata was free for him to refer to, and it was an entire style of taijutsu available to every shinobi. If he worked out a system with Masaaki, Ai, and Nenro, he could alternate reliably between the three and maybe even get Taro in the mix to spar with one person daily.
"¡because the best way to improve taijutsu is to, put it simply, fight¡"
Takuma''s mind went blank as the words echoed in his skull.
"¡ the more you fight, the more your body will learn. For taijutsu, doing is the only way to learn¡"
When he looked back, it was clear to Takuma that the basic training spars and the final tournament were more valuable to him than his year at the academy and his spars with Maruboshi. The fear of bleeding and broken bones made him improve drastically more.
"¡ Thank you, counselor."
He had a decision to make.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Have you come to a decision?"
Takuma had called Shady Guy with an answer in mind, and as he stood in front of him, he thought about it once more¡
"I will participate," he said.
If he could get stronger and get more resources to get even stronger. If he could get more mission points, he would be able to save up for his genjutsu experiment. Taking one risk to take another risk¡ didn''t sound like a great deal, but it was his decision.
A smile stretched up on Shady Guy''s face. He stepped out of the dark street and stood closer to Takuma with an outstretched hand.
"Then I must say, merry cooperation."
Under the moon''s silvery light, Takuma shook the hand and sealed the deal.
CH_3.6 (065):
Takuma looked around before walking into a random street in the Leaf village, which was actually a pre-decided meeting spot decided upon by him and Shady Guy the day before.
"Oh good, you''re here," said Shady Guy when he saw him. He pushed off the wall he was leaning against and looked Takuma over. "And thank god, you''re not wearing your uniform. I was worried because I forgot to mention it; it would''ve been a problem if you had come all dressed up."
Takuma was wearing a black set of a full-sleeved t-shirt and full-length pants. But he still had his light chainmail vest under his shirt and his weapon pouch and kits strapped around his body. He absolutely didn''t go anywhere without his weapons. No one could convince him to leave his weapons behind.
"I don''t want to, but I''ll ask you one last time," Shady Guy said, "do you want to do this? If I take you, and then you decide to back out there, it''s going to make everyone very unhappy. None of us want that."
"Yeah, I''m sure; let''s do this," said Takuma. He didn''t want to change his mind, but he couldn''t help it when his mind played volleyball with the decision, tossing it back and forth.
"I like that spirit. Keep it up and you''ll do great in the ring."
Takuma never liked Shady Guy''s smile; it made him look overly shady.
Shady Guy then led him through the village. They ran, jumped through the roofs, smuggled their way through alleyways, and even strolled through roads before they reached a dingy bar tucked in a backstreet.
Takuma stared at Shady Guy. He had lived in the village long enough and had seen enough of it to know that Shady Guy hadn''t taken the shortest route to the place. And from what he had been taught, he knew that the entire journey was the standard maneuver to get rid of a tail. It screamed that Takuma wasn''t trusted.
The bar was crowded and loud with people with four of them behind the counter busily making drinks and three other roaming around the establishment serving drinks. Takuma scanned the place and the people to find many people staring and following him with their eyes.
"Why are they staring at me?" he whispered to Shady Guy.
"Who wouldn''t stare at a kid in a bar?" said Shady Guy, nonchalantly. He didn''t stop for a moment and led Takuma from the entrance to the backside of the building with a broad flight of stairs stretching underground.
No one stopped them until they reached the base of the stairs, where they found a middle-aged man sitting on a barstool. Takuma''s eyes immediately went to the empty left arm sleeve and the ugly prosthetic on the left leg. The man got up, and Takuma saw the burn marks near the neck. He could safely assume that everything was connected.
The man patted Shady Guy on the shoulder and then limped to Takuma, who held back a flinch when he felt the heavy hand land on his shoulder. He stared into the man''s eyes as he felt a sliver of chakra enter his body.
"To see if you have a Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu) over you," said Shady Guy when Takuma looked at him.
The man grunted before returning to his barstool and banging on the heavy metal door. A slit opened in the door, and two eyes peeked at them for a moment before it opened with a creak.
They walked into a circular room with a large booth built into the wall with three people behind a glass wall. Takuma instantly recognized it like one of the betting counters he had seen on a horse track. On either side of the counters were tunnels, and when he strained his ears, he could hear cheers whispering through to him.
"Not there. You''ll get to see plenty of those later," said the Shady Guy as he pulled him towards a smaller tunnel that was wide enough for two people while the other could fit four comfortably.
The smaller tunnel led them to a narrow corridor with rooms on either side. Shady Guy knocked on the farthest door and walked in when he heard a voice. The room was a messy office with a bunch of random stuff decorating the space. It was almost too gaudy and show-offy with a thick red rug beneath their feet, a heavy desk that was obviously made from good wood, and beautiful paintings. It could''ve been done tastefully, but it was not. As shown by the fact that a third of the room was taken up by an indoor bar with shelves worth of bottles sitting on them with a yellow backlight illuminating them.
"Enomoto! How nice of you to finally show up," said the large fat man sitting behind the desk. "I was starting to think I''d never see your ugly mug again!"
Takuma had seen Akimichi adults in the village. All of them were fat, but they were also tall and had a wide-frame, and a single glance was enough to tell them that the extra fat on them wasn''t a hindrance. But the man in front of him was just fat with the worst protruding belly, double-chin, drooping face, and marshmallow arms he had seen since coming to the world.
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''Enomoto,'' Takuma glanced at Shady Guy.
"What can I say, boss. I''m a busy man," Shady¡ª Enomoto walked directly to the bar. "The village is always in need of one of its finest chunin iryo-nin."
The fat boss man clicked his tongue. "You''re lucky that your apprentices put in the honest work, or else I would''ve snapped that twig that you call your body," he said with a snarl.
The fat boss then turned his face to Takuma, and the snarl turned into a greasy smile. "Ah, so you''re the one Enomoto has been talking about. Come child, don''t be shy; take a seat," said the man in his hoarse gravel-like voice. "What is your name, child?"
"¡Takuma."
"Takuma¡ Takuma¡ hmm, we might have to work on that," said the boss man, sounding displeased as he raised the spirit bottle that looked small in his hand.
Takuma''s eyes twitched. It wasn''t his fault that his name was that¡ª and you know what, he liked his name; if someone didn''t like his name, they could go fuck themselves.
"Oh, look at my manners. Would you like something to drink, Takuma? You can take anything from the bar. Enomoto will make you something if you want, but I won''t trust the bastard. Who knows when he might slip me some poison," said the fat boss.
Enomoto didn''t sound offended and even chuckled as he poured himself a drink. "Boss, you should introduce yourself to the kid before you offer him something to drink."
"Oh my, I might have had a little too much to drink today," said the fat boss before he took another big gulp straight from the bottle. "I go by the name Tsubura, and I run this lovely establishment¡ª you should call me boss¡. Now, I''m led to believe that you will join us as a fighter."
Takuma nodded.
"Good, very good, we here at the Ring always appreciate young blood joining us," said Tsubura. "And I''m sure Enomoto stuffed all sorts of promises of rewards for fighting with us."
"Mission points and ryo," Takuma replied. If it was anything else, he would get up and leave.
"Yes, mission points and ryo" Tsubura''s smile pushed the fat on his face. "Every time you win, you win mission points and ryo. Of course, if you lose, you get nothing at all. Having a long winning streak will add a bonus to your winnings, but the moment you lose, those bonuses vanish¡ª woosh!"
"¡ So, I get nothing at all if I lose," asked Takuma.
"No consolation prizes."
"¡Understood."
He would''ve preferred if he got something for fighting, but it seemed he would need to win if he wanted monetary benefits out of this commitment.
"Now, let''s discuss some terms. These are the terms we give every beginner and are non-negotiable," Tsubura leaned forward, and his weight fell on his table, creaking the wood. "You fight thrice a week, so you will have to work out your mission schedule around our schedule¡ª we will tell you in advance, so be prepared. If we schedule a fight, you can''t skip it for any reason¡ª of course, there are some exceptions, but they''re few.
"Your minimum tenure is six months¡ª which is seventy-two fights. You can''t back out before those six months. If we need someone outside of their schedule, and you''re available, you can fight, and we will adjust that into your fight count.
"Finally, we will hold your winnings earned in the first thirty-six fights."
Takuma was following the terms and conditions and thought while they would require a bit of effort from him, he could manage. He was even fine with the seventy-two fights and six-month commitment. But the last one pushed the brakes on his mind.
"Wait, what do you mean?" he asked.
"All of your winning in your first thirty-six fights will remain with us until you complete all of those thirty-six fights. We call it the big payday. Many rookies throw a big party on that day¡ª it makes everyone happy."
"But why?!"
"Hmm? It''s insurance that you don''t leave us all of a sudden. Consider it a test of loyalty. Stick out half your contract period, and we will start paying after every fight," Tsubura smiled brightly.
Takuma clenched his fist in his lap. What that meant was that he was going to fight in the Ring for three months without seeing any money until the very end. It was indeed a test of loyalty. He didn''t trust them at all.
"Do we have problems?" asked Tsubura.
Takuma glanced at Enomoto, but he just shrugged. Fucking Shady Guy!
"¡No, let''s go with that," sighed Takuma. "What is keeping me from ditching after three months?"
"When you have accumulation of winnings in your accounts, you won''t think of leaving," Tsubura grinned before adding a few more points to the conditions he had set.
"Now, I don''t know if Enomoto has told you about the categories we run here," asked Tsubura.
"Categories? No."
Weight categories didn''t make sense in the world with chakra.
"It''s simple; we run categories like taijutsu-only, plus weapons, plus ninjutsu, tag team duo, 2v1, 3v1, 4v1¡. you get the point," said Tsubura. "As you''re just joining, you''ll start with taijutsu-only, and you can stay in that category, but after thirty-six fights, we will assess a move if you desire.
"You can even fight in multiple categories if you sign a second contract with us."
Takuma thought about the categories, and he could see himself fighting in a couple different ones given a choice. He wanted to fight in different categories. It would give him more exposure to different people. Starting out in the taijutsu-only category seemed perfect for him as he could experiment with the Hidden Leaf Kata.
"Any questions?"
Takuma nodded, "Yeah, how many people fight in the Ring?"
"More people than you might think," Tsubura leaned back and took a large swig. "Rookie genin come to the village every year," he smiled, "I''m sure you will meet familiar faces in the ring¡ª but experienced genin also come to the village every year. People come and go, but the special ones stay in the village, and I must say our payouts are attractive for them to stay with us.
"I hope you too stay with us for a long, long time."
Takuma didn''t know if he agreed with that sentiment.
"Now, let''s see how you fight," Tsubura stood up from his chair.
Takuma blinked in surprise as he looked at the giant blob of a man.
"Now?"
CH_3.7 (066):
Things had moved faster than Takuma had ever expected. One moment he was listening to unreasonable terms and conditions from fat boss man Tsubura, and the next moment he was looking at a ginormous caged arena inside a dark back tunnel. It turned out there was an open spot they needed to fill.
"I hope you''re ready."
Takuma looked back at Enomoto, aka Shady Guy, and made a face of unwillingness and displeasure.
Enomoto laughed, "Don''t be like that. Your opponent is fairly new as well and has only fought a few fights in the Ring. Consider it a test drive, so you can be prepared the next time you fight."
He could''ve observed a fight or two, and that would''ve been enough. He didn''t have to prepare in such a way. Takuma looked at the ongoing fight; the two men were fighting fiercely, with the substantial crowd cheering wildly with each sounding hit and show of blood. But what caught his eyes the most were the masks that covered the fighter''s faces.
"Those masks," he turned to Enomoto.
"Here you go," Enomoto raised a cream mask with viridian highlights that covered the top-right quadrant like a leaf. "You don''t want to bump into these people during the day. Believe me, there are some gambling junkies who will pester you to no end to get even the smallest bit of information if it could help them place a better bet. It''s better if you don''t have to interact with the spectators outside of here."
Takuma stared at the hard mask in his hand and frowned when he felt something like a cloth behind it. He pulled it to find a black ski mask.
"Masks break often," Enomoto explained when Takuma gave him a look.
Takuma sighed as he pulled the ski mask over his face before putting on the mask. Thankfully, it fit well and didn''t feel like an annoyance he had to move around in.
"Looking good," smiled Enomoto. "Now, give me your weapon packs, all of them."
Takuma wanted to protest but decided that it would be meaningless and unstrapped every weapon on him. "There better not be a single thing missing from here," he said as he handed Enomoto his weaponry.
"Don''t worry, I don''t have the habit of stealing from poor genin," smirked Chunin Enomoto.
Takuma clicked his tongue in response to the jab. Iryo-nin were especially loaded.
"One last thing."
"What now?!"
"Take off your shirt. Fighting bare-chested is a rule for men in the Ring."
Takuma sighed in frustration as he pulled off his shirt and shoved it into Enomoto before facing the arena. The fight was over, and the announcer was raising one of the men''s hands as the winner.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on a repetitive breathing pattern as he waited for himself to be called up for the fight.
The last time he fought seriously was during the final tournament; everything after that had been shadow training and light sparring with friends. He knew this would be nothing like that, and his opponent would be coming to take his head, and that if he wasn''t the same, it would hurt a lot.
He didn''t like getting hurt, so he needed to hurt back to make sure that didn''t happen.
From the arena, the announcer''s voice boomed, "Introducing the newest entry to the Ring! Once again, a Nameless enters the grounds to prove himself. Would he conquer or get crushed in the trenches?! Only time will tell! Today we see him fight and see if his fists have the right to climb to the top!"
"Go," Enomoto pushed Takuma.
Takuma took in a deep breath before jogging out of the tunnel. There were metal chain mesh walls on both sides with people on both sides banging on them as Takuma ran past them. He entered the ring, where his opponent waited for him. When he entered, a sliding door dropped from above with a heavy thud and sealed the entrance.
As he stood in the arena, Takuma felt that maybe it was good that he got to fight before he started fighting regularly. Watching a fight from outside wouldn''t have told him how restrictive space felt with the solid metal wire mesh surrounding the arena. The arena was significantly larger than an MMA octagon arena, but he could tell that managing space here would be drastically different than anywhere he had fought before.
He needed to be cautious about his positioning at all times.
Standing in front of Takuma was his opponent, adorning a similar cream mask with maroon highlights. One glance told that the man was much older than Takuma. He was taller and had an adult''s body frame and muscles.
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Even if Enomoto told him the man was fairly new, an older shinobi would have more experience in general.
The announcer stepped out of the ring, and the fight started when the metal door fell behind him.
Takuma wasn''t planning to move immediately, but he noticed the man staring at his torso. It took but a moment for him to realize that he was looking at the scars that marred his body. When he realized that, Takuma charged ahead, and the man snapped his gaze back¡ª but it was enough for Takuma.
He was already on him and swung his fist. The man used his arm to block the strike, but the force against the unprepared stance was enough to send the man stumbling back. Takuma struck again and the man caught a foot in the chest. The man hit the ground and rolled on the ground a couple times before he was up and charging towards Takuma.
Takuma let the man strike and waded through a running hook before sending an elbow in the face. The mask didn''t break, but the man stumbled, loosing his balance.
If Takuma had learned anything from Masaaki, it was that if the opponent was going down, you didn''t wait for them to go down, you dragged them to ensure they didn''t get up. Takuma jumped the man, shoved him to the ground, and placed himself above¡ª but before he could rain down punches, the man threw him off to the side.
He grunted in frustration as he got up and took out the man''s legs with a sliding tackle. He then grabbed the man''s leg to put it in a lock so he could pop a joint out but got kicked with the other leg.
He floundered back as the man got up and charged with an angry growl.
The man crashed into Takuma with a shoulder tackle and sent him flying to the edge of the arena. He felt the cold metal mesh dig into his skin as the air rushed out of his lungs.
Takuma landed on his feet and caught his breath as he saw the man charging towards him like an angry bull.
His hand went to the side of his thigh for a kunai, but his fingers grasped for air. He couldn''t force a delay. Takuma lugged himself off the mesh and raised his arms just in time to catch a kick to the head¡ª another spinning kick thrashed into his arms.
The barrage continued from the raging man, and soon Takuma felt his arms numb and grow heavy as he kept them up and held his stance steady to not get blown off into oblivion.
His eyes peeked through and around his guard, fixed on the man¡ª his body making little movements to not let any hit get through.
The sounds of the crowd, which was all he could hear in the arena, dulled down, to be replaced by the sound of his thumping heart and the swishes of the man''s swinging arms.
It was all but for a moment, but he felt he could truly see the man. He could feel an anger seep into the movements. He knew these movements. They resembled his own when he would spar against Maruboshi and couldn''t make any contact. He would grow angry and start swinging wildly.
There was a second of separation, and Takuma deliberately opened his guard slightly.
Suddenly, he could tell what was going to happen next.
''Knee strike to the stomach with a cross to the face.''
And at the same time, Takuma could see what he would be doing in the next moment.
The man opened with a knee strike to create distance while making Takuma lower his guard. Takuma stepped in at the opportune moment, slapped the knee down, and then like magic, the wild cross came for his head.
Takuma heard a ''swip'' as the arm slipped past his ear.
Time slowed down as Takuma saw the opening he knew was coming.
Like a piston in an engine, Takuma''s jabbed and his fist crunched into the man''s throat.
The man''s aggression vanished as his eyes bulged out; his body closed in on itself, with his arms moving back into a guard as he stepped back. Before he could complete his guard, Takuma''s cross smashed into the man''s chin. As the man staggered like a drunk, a kick thrashed into his calves, putting him to the ground before jumping onto the man''s chest feet first.
Takuma felt the bones bend as his weight pressed down.
The moment ended, and the world returned to Takuma as he mindlessly kicked his opponent.
He heard a loud siren, and at the same time, the announcer, who had at some moment entered the arena, pulled him away, and sent him stumbling to the ground.
Takuma sat on the arena''s floor in a daze as he stared as the announcer and another man tended to his opponent.
Over his breathing, all he could hear were the ruckus cheers of the crowd.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"What do you think?" asked Enomoto from a balcony area that overlooked the arena from above.
Tsubura lit the tobacco in his pipe and puffed the embers as he looked down at the arena at the new kid as the announcer paraded him around to the people.
Enomoto sure knew how to pick them. The kid fit the mold to the fault. An orphan, assigned to the Genin Corp, rookie with barely any experience, a quiet personality with few friends, a regular mission record, trained every single day, and a decent fighter¡ there was that close connection to another shinobi, but Enomoto had assured him that it wouldn''t be a problem.
Many people in the same place as the kid career-wise didn''t want to fight in the Ring. They were still na?ve and threw themselves into missions, trying their best as the good little shinobi they were. The young''uns continued to slave away at the missions for the rest of their minimum service period, only to find out they couldn''t get enough chunin recommendations for the Chunin Exams. The lucky few that did receive recommendations had wasted their time as laborers and failed to improve themselves as shinobi¡ª none of them got promoted on their first chance.
The foolish would keep trying like idiots.
Chunin promotions were for the smart ones who knew what they were doing from early on or those who had connections and people to guide them to be in a capable place.
It was difficult to get those smart ones.
The kid wasn''t a smart one. He did train every day (who knew how long that would last), but there was no effort to make meaningful connections, or pursue alternate routes for promotion or an assignment shift. The kid was bound to get stuck in the Genin Corp for a long time before he got out if he ever did.
The way Tsubura looked at it, he was doing the kid a favor. Win fights, get money and mission points. If the kid knew what was good for him, he would put both in the correct place. It was only time before he would be put on a C-rank mission with an "observer"¡ª if the kid did well, he would get pulled into a chunin''s team rotation.
The proven way to either get a chance at promotion or at least shift out of the Genin Corp.
"You did good," he said, "I like him."
The kid was dull in a fight, but that was everyone when they started out. It would improve as he continued to fight. The kid had won his first fight, but it didn''t come as a complete surprise¡ª the kid was the winner of the basic training tournament.
"What are we going to name the kid?" asked Enomoto.
Tsubura looked down at the boy before smiling,
"Let''s go with¡ Scars."
CH_3.8 (067):
Takuma rolled his neck and bent down to grab his ankles to stretch his spine. He waited for his ''name'' to be called. After two weeks of visiting below the surface of the Leaf village, he had gotten somewhat used to the cold and (thankfully) dry tunnels and arena of the place that he bled in front of a crowd of zealous people who wanted to see the conflict in its most primal form.
"The Ring''s latest fighter, adorned in the scars of a hundred blood battles, wearing the green leaf over his face," the announcer''s voice boomed outside the tunnel, "holding a 4-3 record¡ SCARS!"
Takuma ran out off the tunnel into the wire-mesh passageway connecting into the domed-arena. The steel trap door rose up and Takuma skipped the steps with a jump and hopped on his toes on the white floor of the arena, the best backdrop for red to shine.
Into his third week at the Ring, Takuma didn''t know how to feel about his fighter nickname. It''s what he was called by the announcers, plastered on the betting sheets, posted on the scoreboards. Regardless of how the announcer put it, none of his scars were gained in battle, all of them were a gift from the previous owner. In most cases, as long as a cut was healed by iryo-jutsu before a certain time limit and the iryo-nin was decently competent, the injury didn''t leave behind any scars. Even if the injury wasn''t healed within the time limit, there were procedures that could eliminate most scarring¡ª a practice popular and fairly common with shinobi, especially kunoichi.
Takuma never bothered going through the procedure because the scarring on his body never bothered him or obstructed his life in any manner.
Was he ever curious about where the ''boy'' got enough scars that even the average shinobi would pause and stare? Of course, he was curious. But between no leads and having a life to live, Takuma didn''t have the time and motivation to dig something up that from what he could tell didn''t have any effect on his life other than that he wore full-sleeves clothes throughout the year.
In a way, they were coming to his advantage in the Ring by becoming his defining characteristic and helping him sell the Scars branding. It had only been three weeks, but Takuma had spent just enough time to understand that the Ring had high points of similarity to a combat sport organization. If he got famous among the audience (gamblers) he could bargain for a better payout per fight.
And he had to give it to whoever it was who thought of it¡ª Scars was a banger identity.
His opponent entered through the opposite end of the arena. Similarly, to him, his opponent wore a cream mask with blue claw highlights. Like most of his opponents, the man in front of him was a fully-grown adult. This one was a ''big guy'' to boot with bulging muscles on a tall and wide frame. The man could give Yoshio competition in musculature.
"¡ with a record of 25-21¡ THRASHER!"
Thrasher beat his hairy chest and raised his hands as he jumped around the arena to rouse the crowd.
From the Thrasher''s record, Takuma could see immediately that the man had some experience in the Ring and that he had actually gotten paid with having more than thirty-six fights on the record. He felt himself salivate thinking about the payout for twenty-five wins.
Takuma didn''t let the forty-six percent loss percentage give him any overconfidence. Having a win-loss percentage closer to fifty percent was widely common in the Ring. Fighters fought in such a massive volume anyone who had a winning percentage closer to sixty percent was considered good in the Ring. Thrasher''s fifty-four percent win percentage did make him a decent fighter.
''Stat-wise, I''m better than him,'' thought Takuma. He was cruising with a cool fifty-seven percent win percent in his seven fights. He quickly shook his head from the useless thoughts.
The announcer finished his hype trail and stepped out of the arena. Thrasher slammed his massive bear hands together as he looked down at Takuma, who could feel a grin behind Thrasher''s mask that looked too small on his big head.
The moment the steel trap door made a thud behind the announcer, Thrasher charged at Takuma. Takuma felt the arena beneath him tremble as he skipped back on nimble steps keeping in mind the edge of the arena behind him. Getting cornered was never wise, especially with a big man such as Thrasher as his opponent.
Thrasher let the full force of his meaty arm loose, swinging against Takuma, who ducked under the arm and got behind him. With a swift push against the floor, Takuma leapt high and spun to crunch a solid spinning kick into the side of Thrasher''s head, snapping the beefy neck to the side.
The impact left him satisfied as he hopped a step back.
It wasn''t enough as the giant hobbled for barely a step before charging towards Takuma with hands fashioned into claws. Not wanting to get caught, Takuma kept light on his feet and made use of the arena floor.
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Takuma admittedly didn''t have much experience with those much taller than him. Size difference didn''t mean as much as it would''ve if chakra didn''t exist, but there were still a few nuances that one had to keep while fighting someone differently sized than you. For example, the concept of ''reach'' still mattered and a person''s wingspan provided an advantage.
Thrasher had longer arms and legs than him, and while Takuma wasn''t one to stereotype, his opponents burly muscles were clearly indicative of a hard hitter. He didn''t want to get too close and get conked in the head.
In a rare moment, he found himself as the faster party in a fight and he took full advantage as he skirted around Thrasher and precisely planted body shots. Thrasher''s muscles might be tough, but there was only so much they could do before damage reached the soft and squishy organs.
Thrasher was angry, Takuma could feel that, and it made the next breath even more astounding. Takuma took a quick forestep to close in the distance and committed his full body behind a heavy hook to the body only to be blocked by Thrasher who condensed his body behind a closed guard.
Before Takuma could move back, he felt a quick jab dig into his shoulder. The force twisted through his body and knocked Takuma back on staggering feet.
An angry growl sounded behind Thrasher''s mask as he raised his arm and hammered it down towards Takuma''s face like divine retribution. Takuma used whatever momentum he could from his unsteady stance and parried the strike with a redirecting blow to the side of the incoming arm.
Takuma''s attention immediately turned to make space and get his stability back, but before he could do it, Thrasher grabbed his arm in a vice grip and spun him. Takuma felt as if a stretched bungee cord pulled tugged on his body through his arm. In an instant., Thrasher had both his arms in his grip.
Takuma heard a rough voice,
"Got you, boy."
Thrasher raised Takuma''s body before slamming him down into the hard floor of the arena. The ground cracked under the force. Takuma felt his entire back hurt to the bone, pain throbbing in waves. Takuma gasped for air as it rushed out of his lungs.
He had been beaten worse before; getting hurt was Takuma''s forte. He tensed his muscles to get his body in control as Thrasher raised him for another smash down. He smashed his legs into Thrasher''s chest, who simply grunted in response as he continued to raise Takuma''s body.
Takuma wasn''t done.
In an instant, the two energies melded in his body and chakra shot through the chakra pathway system. For a split-second, his soles stuck to Thrasher''s chest before the concept of tree-walking turned into a weapon and Takuma overloaded the chakra output.
There was no sound but both Takuma and Thrasher felt the force surge through their bodies. Within a split-second, they caught eyes behind their masks, and it was a question of who would give first.
Fortunately for Takuma, and unfortunately for Thrasher, having an overwhelming force hammering down his chest could''ve been absolutely lethal. Thrasher let go of Takuma''s arm and both of them were flung away from each other.
Takuma got up on his feet and he staggered several steps to the left as his feet trembled like a newborn faun from the force of the chakra not having a free direction to launch Takuma into, so it ran rampant inside his legs. He had no feelings in his feet and his knees hurt like hell as he tried his best to not fall down.
Even though he was fighting in the "taijutsu-only" category and jutsu wasn''t allowed, chakra wasn''t banned. There was a reason the arena had a dome covering it. The arena ground wasn''t the only surface that the fighters could fight on. The entire arena was valid space.
He had paid money to watch a fight between high-ranking fighters in the "taijutsu-only" category. The fighters utilized the dome by sticking to it and added another dimension to the combat.
Takuma watched as the steel trap door rose and the announcer entered the arena and walked to Thrasher who was rolling on the ground. Unlike Takuma, his opponent hadn''t gotten up after the clash.
The announcer knelt beside Thrasher and after a few seconds, the announcer stood up,
"Thrasher is unable to continue," he looked to Takuma, "Scars is the WINNER!"
Takuma raised his arms up and the crowd erupted into cheers. That was all the energy he had. The trap door slid up and he walked out of the arena while the crowd banged on the wire-mesh as he walked by them.
He entered the tunnel and his legs almost gave out but he continued as Yoshio''s training bared fruit until he reached a room and then his knees buckled.
"We got one," said a woman and a man helped her to get Takuma onto a bed. "What happened?" she asked Takuma.
"My legs got busted," Takuma groaned as he balled the sheet laid on the bed. He wasn''t dying but pain was never fun.
A few minutes later, Takuma''s tense muscles eased up as the iryo-jutsu alleviated the pain from the damage he had inflicted on himself.
As he sighed in relief, he muttered to himself,
''5 to 3¡''
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Later that night, Takuma hobbled from his kitchen and dumped himself into a chair in his living room. He took out a sheet of paper and began scribbling his experience in the fight against Thrasher.
He had made a mistake in judging Thrasher''s personality. He had sensed anger and increasingly rash moments and had decided that if he continued, Thrasher would devolve into a wrecking ball that he could exploit to no end. He had committed more and more to offense, becoming overconfident that if Thrasher threw anything at him, he could handle it.
But Thrasher had reigned in his anger during battle and if not for Takuma''s last second gamble, he would''ve lost terribly and been hurt horribly. There were people who would become cold while in rage. He didn''t think Thrasher was capable of that.
He wouldn''t do that again. Emotions were an essential part of combat. Anger and rage could make movement sloppy, cloud judgment, and lead to mortal injuries and death. But he needed to make sure that he wasn''t underestimating his enemy.
''Can''t do the chakra overload like that again,'' he grunted to himself as he got up from his chair. Its effectiveness was proven today, but he didn''t want that turned on himself. He needed to figure out how to utilize the overload in a different way.
Takuma took a double-sided tape and added the page to the line that had four other similar pages. Above that line was another line with three more pages with the details regarding his losses.
He stepped back and sighed.
There were going to be seventy-two pages on the wall, and he needed more pages on the winning section than on the losing section.
That was his main goal for the next six months.
CH_3.9 (068):
''¡ªa shinobi is much more than the chakra he wields¡ª''
Did Takuma fully understand the depth behind the meaning of the words that Maruboshi had said to him nearly a year ago? The answer would be ''No''. His teacher had put him through many different skills that he initially thought would be of no use to him. To this day, there were skills he thought he would never ever use.
However, at the same time, the cycle of D-rank missions had shoved him into many paths of life. He had done more different things in his life than ever before. From farming in the soil to sewing with a needle to construction work under the sun to balancing books in an office to standing at a gate and smiling at people as they walked by¡ª he had done a lot of jobs. And surprisingly, some of Maruboshi''s teaching had helped him along, and he had learned much more things along the way that had come to his aid in one way or another.
Looking back at it, he was surprised at how little his previous self knew. The stupid college bozo wouldn''t have been able to survive in the world if he was one day kicked to the street to fend for himself.
So, while he didn''t fully agree or even understand his teacher''s words, Takuma had to agree that having knowledge and skill of various kinds was beneficial in general.
Simultaneously, he was still a shinobi. He believed that if he was to learn different skills, they should be more suited to his job title and not just anything until he could call himself a jack of irrelevant trades. His time was better suited to learning and trying things he deemed more useful.
Which was why he decided to test out something practical and valuable to him in the future¡ and not all because he thought it was fun and something he always wanted to do.
Across the street from him was the headquarters of the Hidden Leaf''s¡ª nay, the Land of Fire''s¡ª biggest publishing house¡ª Sume Publications. Takuma didn''t have time to read many books in his time here, but he did follow the newspaper, and book reviews were a thing in it, and he had heard much about books from Sume Publications.
Takuma wanted to see how deep he could get into the building without getting caught. He could, of course, transform as one of the employees and walk into the building, but the risk of getting approached and talked to by someone was high. If that happened, his disguise would be outed with his inability to talk back¡ª he could act rude and ignore everyone or pretend as if he was in a hurry, but that wasn''t ideal.
Moreover, as useful as Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu) was, trained shinobi could catch flaws. They had gone over it during basic training, looking for flaws in each other''s transformations. And while Sume Publications was a civilian establishment, he didn''t want to use that tactic. It was a self-restriction.
He had something else in mind.
Takuma looked down at the simple set of repairman clothes¡ª they were the equivalent of the high-vis vest¡ª and tucked the ladder under his arm and picked up the red toolbox before jumping down from the building''s roof.
He walked up to the entrance of the building where two shinobi stood guard. Even though it was a civilian establishment, a couple of genin guards were hired by the business. The building was both the headquarters and a large printing press. In the Leaf village, a shinobi hub, having one or two genin guards, was considered the basic level of security for those who could afford it.
Taking a calm breath, Takuma crossed the road with his head held high. He had the toolbox, ladder, and a clipboard with blank paper¡ª that was all he needed. Even if they were shinobi, they were still humans. He just needed to believe that this was where he belonged. He could do it.
Without slowing down or looking at the guards, he walked past them into the building. Takuma felt their eyes on him, and for a moment, he felt his heart skip a beat, but as he kept walking, they didn''t stop him.
His lips twitched upward as he stepped inside the building. It worked! ''Holy shit, I didn''t think it would actually work!'' he cheered to himself. But as it turned out, a simple suitable disguise and the right attitude were all he needed to get into most places.
Putting away his smile, Takuma continued. To his surprise, even the receptionist didn''t stop him as he walked deeper into the building.
Well, better for him.
His destination was on the floor with the editors, specifically fiction editors. His target: Shindo Eru, a senior editor for Semu Publications.
The reason why Takuma had chosen Semu Publications and Shindo Eru was that he knew both. During one of his delivery stints, he had been asked to deliver a package to Semu Publications, and the recipient had been Shindo Eru. He had been in the building once and had seen the man once.
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If it wasn''t his first exercise of the type and he wasn''t participating in the Ring and thus short on time, he would''ve chosen a fresh target and would''ve done scouting¡ª but since he still had to do missions, he deemed that experience as scouting.
As long as he entered Shindo Eru''s office without raising suspicion, he would consider it a win.
From what Takuma remembered, Shindo Eru''s office was on the edge of an office space that was shared between junior editors in an open-cubicle style. Shindo Eru, being a senior editor, was given his own closed office. For Takuma to enter the office, he needed to go through an entire floor of people without raising any eyebrows.
He had delivered the package directly into Shindo Eru''s hands in his office¡ª and he could''ve used the delivery boy''s identity again, but that would''ve only given him a few seconds in the office, and that''s only if Shindo Eru was in his office. If the man wasn''t in his office, he would''ve been forced to hand the faux package to someone else.
He could hide somewhere, but that would''ve restricted his reconnaissance options as an unknown person would''ve stood out.
But, a repairman?
Takuma opened his ladder under a bulb just outside the office space with a direct line of sight to the office and pretended to work while observing the premise to figure out how he could get into the office and stay for a reasonable amount of time.
An ideal period to try getting into the office would be lunchtime when people go out to eat, but that was a little over an hour away, and he couldn''t wait that long without someone figuring out that something was wrong. And, from the looks of it, Shindo Eru wasn''t in his office.
Even if he could stay until lunch, he didn''t have that kind of time. He had a fight right after lunch; as he was still a new fighter, his fights were not at times one could call primetime. He needed to be out and away to get prepared for his fight.
"Is there something wrong with that?"
As Takuma was peering around, a voice called out to him. He looked down and saw a bespectacled woman with documents cradled in her arms staring up at him.
Even though he was expecting someone to talk to him, it still surprised him. It took him a moment to reply, "Ah, there''s nothing wrong; it''s just routine maintenance work, miss," he said with a smile.
"Then can you help me with the light above my desk, it has been flickering lately," said the lady.
"Sure, where is it? I will head over there after I''m done with here," he said, keeping the pretense. Inside he was annoyed about the hindrance in his mission, but he kept the pleasant mask on the outside.
Contrary to his expectations, the woman pointed inside the office space. Takuma''s eyes shined. He smiled and assured the woman that he would be there to help her in a jiffy. He followed the lady with his eyes, and her desk was a pebble''s flick worth of distance away from the office. Lady luck was with him today.
He counted two minutes before heading to the lady''s desk, and she showed him the bulb that was bothering her. Takuma set up his ladder and began his pretense.
"Hmm, this looks like it has reached the end of its life; we will need to change the bulb and put in a new one, miss," he climbed down from the ladder. "I don''t have one that will fit in this socket right now, but how about I exchange this bulb with one from a less inconspicuous place. That way, you won''t wait until we order a replacement."
"That would be really helpful, thank you," the woman smiled.
"Then, I will go search for a matching one," Takuma said, pulling the nigh invisible string wrapped around his pinky.
*Thud!*
The woman turned and gasped when she saw that a pile of paper on her desk had fallen down. She turned and saw that Takuma was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh, where did he go?"
. . .
Takuma silently closed the door to Shindo Eru''s office behind him. He grinned as he looked inside the empty office. The tricky part was done, now all he had to do was complete the task and take his exit.
The office had a messy desk filled with stacks of paper in envelopes that looked like manuscripts. There was a bookshelf with a lot of books. Takuma could''ve stolen them, but he didn''t want to cause harm to the man (or the people who had sent the manuscripts). This was just an exercise.
Other than the furniture and decorations, there was a large metal almirah. When Takuma pulled on the handle, he found the doors locked.
''This is it; this is a proper place,'' he smiled.
Takuma took out his lock-picking kit from his person and got to work. It took a little under two minutes to pick the lock and¡ click!
He was in.
There were more documents inside, a packed lunch, a jar of candy, a change of clothes, a formal suit, and more. None of the things interested him. He just wanted to test out his lock-picking skills on the ''field.''
And for the final step¡ Takuma picked up a blank paper and a calligraphy brush from the desk
Takuma grinned as he put ink on the page.
. . .
Getting out was easier. Takuma threw a smooth decoration pebble from Shindo Eru''s decorative bowl across the office space and made a large glass jar fall. The crash was loud enough that it caught everyone''s attention for a moment, which was sufficient for Takuma to sneakily get out of the office.
He replaced the woman''s bulb, packed his stuff, and walked out of Sume Publications with no one knowing any better.
And later that day, lady luck continued to shine on him as he got a sub-three-minute knockout on his opponent.
It made him think if he should go prowling into buildings as a ritual before fights.
It was a good day of quick in-and-outs.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Shindo Eru looked up at the faintly flickering light bulb in his office with a frown before looking down at the manuscript envelope. He pulled out the manuscript with the title:
[Icha Icha ¨C Part 1]
¡ª Jiraya
As he got ready to read the first manuscript by the one of the three great Sanin, Jiraya, another folded page fell out of the envelope. It was an unruled page, different from the manuscript paper.
He spread it open,
"Huh?"
Written on it in bold writing were the words:
[BIG DADDY WAS HERE]
Shindo Eru frowned before shaking his head.
He could never understand the eccentric minds of shinobi.
CH_3.10 (069):
"Standing victorious at a record of 9-6, I introduce¡. SCARS!"
Takuma ran into the arena and locked onto his opponent. A woman that went by the fighter alias Purplewind with a winning record of 36-35 ¡ª an almost equal split. And from the looks of it, she was about to complete her initial contract; one more win would mean she would complete her contract with a winning record.
And that win wouldn''t be against him, Takuma declared to himself.
"So, you''re the new rookie, eh," Purplewind, wearing a grey sports bra and shorts, looked him up and down before scoffing, "you don''t look like much."
Takuma didn''t respond to the pre-fight chatter and moved in for the attack.
Purplewind had experience and immediately switched modes. She struck faster than the wind and blocked Takuma''s first and second strike in less time than it took to blink. Takuma squared his legs and reset the tension in his foot with a quick hop before lifting off the ground as he twisted his body to put all the momentum behind his elbow that rammed into the block guarding Purplewind''s head.
The crowd roared as the fight''s momentum turned to eleven right off the bat.
Purplewind''s footwork all but teleported her a step back as she created enough space before swinging her leg like a scythe toward Takuma''s torso. Takuma didn''t have a millisecond of rest as the moment his feet touched the ground, he bent his body back into a bridge, barely avoiding the vicious leg strike as it whiffed a few inches above him.
His senses and mind worked together to birth a flash of battle instinct. Even with Purplewind not in sight, he tensed his muscles and shot up a leg like an arrow on a tense bow. Baam! His leg countered Purplewind''s jackhammer fist.
He called upon his abs and backflipped himself off his hands back upright. His guard barely went solid before Purplewind''s both feet sent him flying across the arena. Takuma gained balance mid-air and held himself steady as his feet skidded across the floor on re-contact, all the while he kept his eye zoned in on his opponent.
Purplewind didn''t wait for Takuma to hit the ground and was already charging toward him to maintain the pressure. Takuma shot forward the moment the sliding momentum allowed him.
The two fighters met in the middle. Takuma buried a punch into Purplewind''s gut while her uppercut nailed Takuma square in the jaw. She was flung back and barreled as her feet failed to grip the ground. He staggered on the spot and felt his body go through a hard reboot with a momentary blackout.
Takuma shook his head as his eyes refused to stabilize the world. When he could barely make sense of his vision, he immediately searched for Purplewind and found her jumping through the air toward him. His first instinct was to nail her with a Raiton: Shokku (Lightning Release: Shock), but reason took over him the next moment, and he got ready.
Purplewind landed on the floor and immediately sliced her leg in an arc. Takuma effortlessly pulled his torso back to let the strike pass him and then bashed his head into her. It didn''t do the damage he was expecting as Purplewind crashed him to the ground.
No grace was spared on the floor as they battered each other with the fervor of a zealot. He pulled on her tight hair bun to jerk her back to the ground. She kneed him in the crotch as he tried to scamper away. Both tried to get up but were more focused on ensuring that the other didn''t regain footing before them.
Purplewind got a bit of space and instantly maneuvered into barring Takuma''s arm into an arm lock.
Takuma''s danger sense screamed hard. Wrestling locks weren''t popular with shinobis because they meant a commitment to contact for a period of time, and that opened the aggressor to vulnerability to getting stabbed. Striking was the bread and butter when fighters held superhuman strength and could lift several times their body weight.
But there were no weapons in the current fight, and the Ring wasn''t a combat sport.
Takuma knew that if he didn''t act soon, Purplewind wouldn''t stop at bending his arm until he tapped out¡ª she was going to snap his arm. A broken limb was practically a guaranteed loss, and the damage would then reflect on his life outside the Ring.
He roared as he lifted himself up and Purplewind''s body with him and slammed her head into the arena floor with as much brute force as he could muster. He could feel the opposing pressure on his stiffened arm loosen a fraction; he didn''t let it pass him and pulled his arm free.
Wanting to re-group, Takuma pulled back away from Purplewind. She got up and also didn''t rush into things, and maintained distance. The two fighters circled around the arena, observing each other with their nerves ready to burst into action at a moment''s notice. The crowd mimicked the image inside the arena and fell into a murmuring hush, making the underground cave seem emptier than it was.
The balance broke like a crack in a glass. Takuma and Purplewind moved at the same time and met in the middle. Blows were exchanged in a matter of seconds. The pain was beginning to simmer in his body, and Takuma knew he needed to finish the fight before he made a slip, and Purplewind punished him for it.
He jumped to avoid a sweeping leg and focused on his feet to remain agile to avoid Purplewind''s attempts to get something that wasn''t a glancing blow. He looked for an opening, anything he could use to counter and drag her down into defeat.
He found one.
Purplewind, who was hot on his tail, keeping close to build pressure, paused for a blink of a second. It created space, and Takuma knew this space would disappear soon, so he decided to go in and exploit it.
He stiffened his calves, switched out of the reverse gear, and hopped an inch to reset his feet to go in for the hit. He leaped forward with a raising knee strike and a punch below the ear to get her vulnerable.
But in the same breath, Purplewind pushed the knee strike aside, and before he knew it, he had a fist an inch away from him. It was fast. Much, much faster than anything he had seen from Purplewind. She hadn''t suddenly gotten faster, as if she had been holding back the entire time; this was a matter of timing¡ª pitch-perfect timing.
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And then the fist hit him in the throat¡ª a staple in the Ring.
Before he could even feel the aftermath of his throat punched in, Purplewind kicked him below the ear, snapping his neck. He was mid-air, and the strike spun 180 degrees until he slammed his head on the ground.
Everything after that was a blur as he was hit more, and he couldn''t defend until he blacked out.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
He didn''t do anything wrong,
Was Takuma''s conclusion as he stared at the fight summary stuck in the loss section of his wall.
There was nothing wrong with his decision to exploit the opening he saw. Yes, it wasn''t a particularly great opening, but it also wasn''t bad. It wasn''t his choice that had led to his defeat.
''Did she bait me?'' he clicked his tongue. Even if she did, how did she predict his moves so accurately? He could''ve gone in a completely different direction. It was uncanny how well she had responded. Her counter to his counter was so perfect that he couldn''t respond until the end. She simply picked the best move.
The fight had gone well until that point, which in some way, made it his worst loss to date. The only thing worse than that would''ve been if he had choked away a dominant performance.
Takuma sighed in his frustration as he flicked the paper. The fights weren''t recorded, so he couldn''t even go replay the fight to see if he was missing something.
He concluded that he needed to get better with his opportunity selection.
With that, he went to sleep.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Currently running hot with a fourteen-fight win streak, an old name in the ring, the master of combat¡ª BISHOP!"
Takuma watched a man only a few inches taller than him walk into the ring with an eased swagger. He could tell it was a grown man and not a growing child, which meant that the man was short in height. Like some of his other opponents, Bishop interacted with the audience before the fight, hyping the people up.
Takuma was told to ignore the audience, to act like a stoic, battle-hardened figure. It supposedly went better with his branding, and Takuma was satisfied to uphold that. He used the time to loosen his legs as he observed Bishop. The crowd was the biggest Takuma had seen. It was his first time fighting on a Friday night¡ª he was supposed to fight in the morning, but when he came in, they told him that he would be fighting in the evening.
Every one of his opponents was an unknown to him because he was only given the timing of his fights and not who he was going to fight. He could find that out easily by dropping by the betting counter, which had the fights listed a couple of days in advance, but that didn''t help him as he would need to go watch his opponent fight, and till now, he didn''t have the time to go watch a fight.
He needed to study the opponent during the fight.
Bishop''s audience work was over, and unexpectedly, he walked towards him until he was only a couple meters away from Takuma, who took a few steps back. It was unusual to start a fight at a close distance when the arena had so much space.
"I''m going to pound you, boy," Bishop said with a pop. His brown hyena mask enhanced the mocking of the words.
Takuma tilted his head, confused. Well, he was not confused¡ª this was clearly trash-talking. However, Takuma wasn''t in the mood to reciprocate because, unlike Bishop''s whopping fourteen-fight win streak, Scar had a two-fight losing streak. He hadn''t lost twice in a row before Purplewind; he didn''t want to extend that loss streak to three.
The announcer backed out of the arena, and Bishop kept his eyes on Takuma. The moment the metal door slammed closed, Bishop raised his guard, but unlike Takuma''s expectations, Bishop didn''t come at him with bellicosity. The man simply kept his guard up and stayed light on his feet.
Without a word, Takuma attacked.
In the beginning, they flowed with each other, letting their strikes dance. Then flow gave way to force and Takuma started his offense. Fighting an opponent closer to his size felt comfortable as Takuma circled, attacked, and defended only when he must, pushing Bishop, seeking to push the man past the limit of his prowess.
Bishop, however, seemed unbothered by the aggression and kept his guard up. He dodged what he could and blocked the other.
Takuma felt in complete control of the fight, and yet he didn''t seem to be able to land solid hits.
''He''s¡ slow?'' Takuma observed to himself. No, ''slow'' wasn''t the correct term. Bishop was lightning-quick in his dodges as he weaved around Takuma''s attacks. But it was like Bishop had no sense of urgency in his movements.
Why was Bishop satisfied to follow Takuma''s pace and practically hand the momentum to his opponent?
Takuma led with a fury of strikes, targeting everything from the head to the legs, but Bishop continued to be on the defensive. Even when Bishop took hits, he didn''t look bothered. And Takuma knew this wasn''t an ability to attack¡ª he knew better than anyone else what it felt like to be unable to attack while under offense, the entire first year of his existence as Takuma, he had struggled with that¡ª this wasn''t that.
What was Bishop planning?
Takuma suddenly checked if he was going too fast. He was familiar with the tactic of cranking up the pace of the fight slowly until the opponent couldn''t maintain it¡ª and strike at the breaking point.
But no, Takuma found that he wasn''t over-pushing himself. He wasn''t getting baited.
What then?
"Okay, that''s enough from you, boy," Bishop said, his tone relaxed.
Takuma''s instincts acted faster than his mind, and he sensed danger. He immediately shifted his stance to fall back¡. He didn''t see the strike coming. He only felt the front of his mask bending until the solid fist struck his nose.
It''s broken, Takuma could tell even before he could gather himself up after the attack.
Bishop darted in, Takuma reached up to block, and Bishop''s left cracked him in the ribs.
"Ack," Takuma wheezed, pain coursing in his side as he backed away. He hadn''t been hit this hard in his life. How could he hit so¡ª
Bishop hit him again, forcing out another cry of pain.
Whatever part of Takuma''s mind was clouded with pain was focused on pain, but every time he tried to rebalance, he was hit again. He dodged one strike to his strong-side, only to get bashed in the weak-side. He wasn''t even allowed to brace himself as Bishop laid heavy strikes that brutalized him one hit at a time.
Takuma''s body burned, and his vision blurred white as he fell to the arena. The crowd''s noise grew distant as his body contracted itself to protect him, but no other attack came.
He closed his eyes to the sight of Bishop''s back with his arms spread wide.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma stared up at the ceiling of the Ring''s medical room with a dazed look. His nose was broken, his entire body purple and bruised. The iryo-nin had said he was lucky to have gotten out with a slightly cracked rib and nothing else. Bishop had clearly placed his hits deliberately.
He felt powerless.
For the entire fight, when he attacked, he couldn''t do damage, and when he was attacked, he couldn''t defend. He hadn''t felt this powerless since his entry into this world.
His moves were predicted. Any opening he showed was exploited. Bishop had barely broken a sweat the entire fight and still broke him down with leisure.
He didn''t know where things had gone wrong except for the fact that Bishop outclassed him in every way possible.
"Are you ready to leave?"
Takuma turned his head slowly to the side towards the iryo-nin who had treated him a couple times. She was a young brunette with freckles on her face. She seemed to be cleaning up the medical room, ready to leave or, at least, end her shift.
From what he knew, she was Enomoto''s apprentice. And as expected of Shady Guy, he had rolled his apprentices into the Ring.
"Yeah, just give me a minute," he said, not looking forward to lugging himself back home.
He thought he had jinxed himself. He had not wanted to get a third continuous loss and had then handed the win to Bishop on a bruised platter.
"You know¡"
Takuma glanced at the iryo-nin.
"¡ you have a tell."
CH_3.11 (070):
"You know¡ you have a tell."
Takuma''s eyes widened as the words registered in his mind. He jolted up from the bed¡ª "argh!" ¡ªand was punished by the pain stabbing in his ribs. He fell back on the bed and shivered in wait for the hurt to pass.
"They shouldn''t have paired you against Bishop," the freckled brunette sighed, but there was no pity in her tone.
"I-I have a tell?! What is it?!" Takuma spat as the pain abated. Other than being crippled, having a recognizable tell was the worst thing for a fighter. A ''tell'' meant that he was doing something that was giving away his actions, and if the tell was being picked by his opponents, he was practically telling them what he was doing.
Did his opponents pick up on his tell? Was that why he had lost thrice in a row?
The iryo-nin continued packing her duffle bag as she said, "How would I know? I don''t watch scrubs like you fight."
Takuma didn''t have the time to feel offended. "Then why did you say I have a tell?" he asked as he gingerly sat himself up.
"I heard someone in the passing." She slung the leather bag over her shoulder and glanced at Takuma, "Look, you can stay here if you want, but don''t fall asleep because if someone doesn''t wake you up, you''ll be stuck here because they lock down the place at night," and with that, she headed towards the door.
"Hey, wait! Can we talk, I want to know more," Takuma jumped off the bed and winced as the pain stabbed him.
"No, thanks."
She didn''t even look back and walked out of the door.
"I will buy you dinner!" shouted Takuma in a last-ditch effort.
But the echoing footsteps continued to move away¡ª until they stopped. Takuma, who had hung his head, raised his head in surprise as the footsteps moved closer.
The iryo-nin stopped at the room''s threshold. "Any place I want?" she asked.
Takuma nodded immediately. He had savings, and even though they were earmarked for the future, he could make some concessions for today.
The young woman smiled,
"Then let''s get going. I''m getting hungry."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma silently watched the iryo-nin as she conversed with the waitress about the menu. The waitress was uncomfortable looking at Takuma''s swollen face, which was in the process of de-inflammation. It was because Hidden Leaf was a shinobi hub that they were even allowed¡ª it had desensitized the civilian public to a level. So, he quickly gave his order and passed on the menu.
Contrary to his expectations, the place the iryo-nin had chosen wouldn''t make him lose sleep, but it would definitely make his wallet shed weight.
"My name is Takuma," he introduced himself after the waitress left.
"Oh, we are sharing names, are we?" she rested her hand on her palm with the elbow on the table.
"It''s uncomfortable if I keep you¡ª hey and you."
She narrowed her eyes briefly before shrugging, "Well, we already know our faces; I guess it doesn''t matter. My name is Sango. Thank you for the food."
In the Ring, the fighters were advised not to exchange identities, and any communication they had was to be behind a mask and using their fighter aliases. The only people supposed to know their faces were the Ring employees, such as the medical staff. However, it was openly known that many fighters didn''t really heed the advice.
Takuma hadn''t revealed his identity to anyone. The only people who knew his face were the medical staff and the guys in the scheduling room who gave him his fight schedule. He hadn''t made any efforts to get to know people, nor had anyone approached him.
"Where exactly did you hear that I have a tell?" asked Takuma.
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"You fought her¡ what''s her name¡ Purplewind, yes," Sango snapped her fingers. "It was after your fight¡ª she and her friends were chatting in the bar."
Takuma''s eyes thinned. Everyone fought in the Ring for one common reason: to profit from their wins. The Ring, having been run for a long time, the fighters had made themselves familiar with the ''system,'' and they had grouped themselves to exchange information to maximize their wins. Takuma didn''t know much about how these groups operated, but it definitely involved paying an entry fee and acting in the group''s interest. The group, in turn, had connections with the staff and could provide extra benefits to the members.
"By any chance, is Rhinohide part of that group?" asked Takuma, hoping his lingering suspicion would be unfound.
Sango had a wry smile as she nodded.
Takuma closed his eyes and sighed. Rhinohide was the man who he had fought before Purplewind. His suspicion was correct. The group had bribed someone in the scheduling room and had set up their fights against him because they knew they could win.
"Is Bishop also part of that group?" Takuma sighed.
"Hmm, no, Bishop isn''t part of the group. He no longer fights actively in the Ring. When he fights," she chuckled, "is for fun, and he always picks opponents that he knows he can beat easily? like you" she pumped her brows. "He puts on a show, brings in the crowd, and because of that, they let him do whatever they want."
Thinking back to it, Takuma now realized why he was bumped to a Friday evening spot. He was used as a prop so that Bishop could entertain the crowd, which he had done with a vicious, one-sided beatdown. Takuma closed his eyes. A group of fighters was apparently targeting him, and the people on the staff put him against a showoff because he wanted to beat someone up.
"Don''t feel bad about it, kid," Sango smiled with a hint of sympathy. "Bishop''s a chunin who uses the Ring to blow off steam. Your loss was decided before you knew that you were fighting him."
Takuma opened his mouth to express his outrage, but only a resigned sigh came out in the end. The Ring was a place for genin; the fighters were all genin. The moment a shinobi got promoted to the chunin rank, the rewards that were once attractive became unsatisfactory. The promotion was accompanied by a fat pay hike because of the bump in the danger level of the missions. Getting beat in an arena in front of people was no longer an appealing proposition for a chunin.
The lavish food spread arrived. Sango started immediately while Takuma stared at his food with his chopstick lying limply in his hands.
"¡ Should I join a group?" asked Takuma. If he was being targeted by a group, then joining another group that could protect him seemed like the logical option.
"You can¡ but they''ll take you for everything you got, kid," said Sango as she indulged in the exquisite dishes. "What''s your record again?"
"9-7"
"Eh, that''s okay-ish, but you''re squeaky new. You bring absolutely nothing of value to a group. Most of them won''t even look at you, and those who do offer to take you in," Sango chuckled, "will make you their bitch! They''ll demand a large cut of your winning when you get paid for their ''effort''. Who knows, some of them might even make you lose fights on purpose."
"So, you''re saying that I shouldn''t join a group?"
"Hey, hey, hey," Sango raised both her hands as if in surrender, "I''m not telling you to do anything. I''m just telling you what might happen to you. The decision is all yours. It''d be horrible if I told you to do something, then you did it, and didn''t like the outcome¡ª I''ll still have to heal you after fights, can you imagine what that''d be like? Awful is what it''d be."
It wasn''t a surprise that Takuma had no appetite for the rest of the meal in the expensive restaurant.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Was Takuma a greenhorn to adversity and challenging situations?
No, he was not¡ª if someone dared tell him otherwise, he would shove his hand up their ass and take it out of their mouth.
Was he best at solving those challenging situations?
Given his track record, Takuma would be the first to say he wasn''t the best.
So, he turned to the person he thought could help him the most.
"Perhaps it is my age talking, but it doesn''t seem that long ago when we used to meet here every day, early in the morning, young Takuma."
Takuma, who had been warming up, greeted his teacher with a smile. He hadn''t seen Maruboshi in a minute, but the old shinobi looked like he had picked a wrinkle or two since they had met. He, however, didn''t let that make him forget the fact that the old man could wipe the floor with him.
"It''s been a while for me," said Takuma, kipping to his feet.
"Let me look at you," Maruboshi made Takuma stand in front of him. He gave Takuma a look down before nodding in satisfaction, "You are growing more and more every time I see you."
Takuma scratched the bandage on his mostly healed nose.
"Now tell me, child, for what have you called me here today?" asked Maruboshi.
Takuma always appreciated how direct Maruboshi could be at times. "I apparently have a tell when I fight," said Takuma. "I need you to help me hammer it out. I''ve been getting absolutely battered in spars, and they won''t tell me what''s the tell."
Maruboshi''s almost closed eyes widened in a sharp glare. "That''s serious, child. Having a tell can be dangerous if it can be spotted and used against you. And from what you said, your tells have been successfully used against you. We will definitely need to work them out, but before that, I will suggest that you change your sparring partners. I do not believe them to be proper people if they won''t share your tells with you¡ª what''s the use of sparring if not help improve each other."
Takuma didn''t know how to reply except to nod. He prayed for his imaginary sparring partners as they had incurred the wrath of his teacher.
Maruboshi took a few steps away from Takuma. He held his hands behind his straightened back. "Come, child; show me how much you have improved," said Maruboshi with a smile. "After that, we will fix you."
Takuma hadn''t sparred against Maruboshi since the day before graduation. If there was one yardstick he wanted to measure his progress against, it would be Maruboshi.
He grinned as he assumed his combat stance.
CH_3.12 (071):
Maruboshi faced his student, anticipation hidden behind his eyes. It had been ages since they had met like this, and he wanted to see how Takuma had improved in that time. The last time he had seen Takuma in action was during the basic training tournament, so he had a rough measure of where his student stood back then, but in the two fights he had seen, one of them had been fought in an injured state.
He wished to experience Takuma''s progress firsthand.
"Come, child," he smiled.
Takuma assumed a stance.
''A solid stance¡ good,'' he noted to himself.
Takuma wasted no time and dashed for Maruboshi and launched a barrage of punches mixed in with palm strikes, trying to overwhelm him. Maruboshi parried away the attacks and batted away a strike here and there to check for Takuma''s recovery.
''He still likes to open with his hands,'' Maruboshi hid a smile as his student''s habits surfaced in his mind.
Takuma planted his leg hard into the ground and used it as a pivot to launch a vicious spinning back kick for the side of Maruboshi''s head. Maruboshi''s eyes widened a fraction as he received the kick with his forearm. He struck with a straight punch for Takuma to bob his head to let it slide past his head while simultaneously adjusting his positioning to create just enough of a gap between them to launch the next attack.
Takuma chambered his leg to build muscular tension before lashing out toward Maruboshi''s head, who pulled back at the last moment to make it miss. Takuma pulled his leg toward his torso as soon as the kick missed and immediately punched out with a front kick for a speedy second strike.
Maruboshi simply caught the kick with his hand and pushed Takuma back with it.
''He has gotten more aggressive,'' Maruboshi moved closer to Takuma.
Takuma spun in the air to land on his feet. The moment Maruboshi entered his eyes, he launched a flying kick that Maruboshi thwarted and did the same with every strike Takuma unloaded before touching the ground.
"I see you have picked more of the Hidden Leaf kata. A fine choice," said Maruboshi as he mimicked Takuma''s stance. "It''s the choice of the majority of the Leaf shinobi. A tried and tested taijutsu created by the First Hokage himself for the generations of Leaf shinobi to follow."
For the first time, Takuma paused in his attack and circled with deliberate yet light steps.
Maruboshi held back from switching to offense. He wanted to observe more before he stopped the fight. He glanced down at Takuma''s feet, and just at that moment, Takuma dashed again.
''No weapons?'' Maruboshi hummed. He knew better than most that bare-hand taijutsu wasn''t his student''s strong point, which was why he had ensured that Takuma was comfortable wielding his kunai so that his opponents would, at the very least be conscious of the blade and had drilled in the importance of using shuriken and senbon to create distance whenever needed. Takuma had never taken to the latter advice to the level Maruboshi wished, but as long as he was aware of the option, Maruboshi wasn''t overly worried¡ª time and experience were great teachers.
Maruboshi spoke calmly as he danced with Takuma. "The motive behind the Hidden Leaf kata is to allow the shinobi who practice it to create their own tai¡ª"
Takuma threw a feint, and from its shadow came a strike toward the throat. Maruboshi struck the arm on the side, redirecting it. Unfazed, Takuma let the arm fly as he bent his knees and launched an elbow strike aimed at the groin. Maruboshi shifted his leg and let his shin meet the elbow.
Maruboshi looked at Takuma in a different light than moments before. His student had been fighting.
When he had trained Takuma to fight, his focus had been to teach Takuma the basics of taijutsu so he could protect himself. He had taught Takuma to protect himself first and strike others second. And, he knew that the basic training taught the genin to incorporate all other combat skills into one to get them prepared and experienced with real-world combat scenarios.
Takuma had never tried to target points like the throat and groin when he was still in the academy, and Maruboshi couldn''t remember any point in the tournament fights where Takuma had tried to target them. If his memory served him well, Takuma focused on knees, head, and body shots to damage.
It was clear that his student had either fought or seen someone who fought with those moves and had adapted them into his own moves.
''Is it from his sparring partners?'' Maruboshi thought as he parried a heavy hook punch from Takuma.
"You have grown interestingly, young Takuma," said Maruboshi.
He thrust a palm into Takuma''s crossed arm guard that staggered him back a few steps. Takuma didn''t get to re-group as Maruboshi closed the distance in a single step.
A strike to the shoulder destroyed Takuma''s upper body stability. Takuma saw the knock to his side placed perfectly below his guard coming, but the previous strike robbed him of his ability to guard. Maruboshi swept Takuma''s legs as he finished with a punch down at his chest to slam him into the ground.
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"Get up," ordered Maruboshi. The familiar command made Takuma follow it subconsciously. He was on his feet with a ready stance. "Ease up."
Takuma breathed a sigh and bent forward by his hip with his hands resting on his knees. "I can still feel the hits on me," he groaned.
"You have clearly improved," said Maruboshi.
Takuma smiled.
Maruboshi continued, "However, I''m curious as to why you didn''t use your weapons."
Takuma froze, it was for a fleeting moment, but Maruboshi noticed. Takuma awkwardly chuckled as if embarrassed, "Me and my sparring partners haven''t been using weapons. Getting injured with a mission around the corner can be bothersome. I guess I was still in that mindset."
''Half-truth as a lie,'' Maruboshi couldn''t help but feel a conflicted sense of pride.
"So, what do you think?" asked Takuma. "Were you able to figure it out?"
Maruboshi pointed at Takuma''s feet. "It''s small but evident at the same time. You square your feet before you jump. You do it before a running start and even before a standing jump. It frankly is a glaring indication of what''s about to come."
"Ugh, for it to be visible to you after just one fight," Takuma let out a frustrated groan.
"I was deliberately seeking it out."
Takuma groaned as he sat down on the floor with his knees half-bent. "I''ll need to get rid of it," he sounded half-worried and half-frustrated.
"That you''ll need to do."
Maruboshi crossed his legs as he sat down on the ground in front of Takuma and watched his student pull on grass as he stared at the grass with a faraway look.
"How are the missions going?" asked Maruboshi.
"Hmm?" Takuma thought for a moment before shrugging. "Nothing special, I would say. I like the fact that I''m jumping from job to job, so things don''t get monotonous. It would be nice to have an office job, at the same time, every day, around which I can build a daily schedule¡ªbut I think I prefer what I have right now. I get to meet some nice people, you know. There are some awful shitty Patrons, too, though."
Maruboshi studied Takuma, "How have you been spending your mission points? Ninjutsu, perhaps?"
Takuma clapped his hand and jumped up to his feet. "I did learn one that I want to show you," he said as he skipped several feet away.
Takuma immediately weaved hand-seals that Maruboshi partially recognized to be for a Doton jutsu.
He sensed a charge of chakra permeating into the ground.
''I need to ask him to work on his chakra control,'' thought Maruboshi.
Using more chakra than required by the jutsu not only wasted the chakra but also alerted the enemy. It wouldn''t be a problem for Takuma in the short term, but once he encounters skillful opponents, they could sense chakra discharge¡ª not to mention sensor type, who could pick up chakra signatures from a distance¡ª wasting chakra while casting jutsu was nothing short of sending up a flare.
The ground around Takuma broke loose into soil particles and rose up to the sky until they met a point two meters above the ground, forming a thick earthen dome.
Maruboshi knew that Takuma was given the reward of C-rank jutsu for winning the basic training tournament. He knew there were two dome-shaped Doton jutsu. Narrowing from that, he recognized the jutsu as the Doton: Tsuchi Domu (Earth Release: Earth Dome).
After a moment, the dome crumbled from the top, and Maruboshi saw the thickness of the dome, he found it surprisingly not lacking by much. Even though the thickness of the ''wall'' only partially showed the defensive capability of the wall and the real strength came from how tightly the ground particles were held together by the chakra, it was still an indication of the progress that Takuma had made.
''He must be blessed with a strong Doton affinity,'' Maruboshi felt joy for Takuma. A strong primary affinity went long ways in terms of combat strength and survivability.
The dome crumbled enough to reveal Takuma, who stood up. "I love that I chose this," he chuckled. "I used the jutsu to create myself a tent while I went camping last time¡ª imagine using a C-rank defensive jutsu for camping." He patted at the dome wall, "I just need to master it enough that I can crumble it away from the side rather than the top to give me more escape options."
Maruboshi stood up and waved Takuma to him
"Yeah?"
"They are dangerous people. You know that, right?" said Maruboshi.
Takuma looked confused. "Huh, what do you mean?"
"I know they offer mission points," the moment Maruboshi said that Takuma froze like a stone statue.
"You know¡ª"
Maruboshi silenced Takuma with a finger on his lips. He didn''t want Takuma to say anything to him. Even though he already knew about it¡ª the less he knew, the better it was for both him and Takuma. He would have preferred not to talk about it at all, but Takuma was his precious student. He needed to say something about it.
"I don''t like what they do," he continued. "I don''t blame you, child. The allure of mission points is strong, and I do know that they pay handsomely." Takuma looked like he wanted to say something, but Maruboshi continued on, "But, I want to make things very clear, Takuma. Those people are not good people. No matter how they act, no matter how well they treat you¡ª they don''t care about you. They only care about themselves. Don''t trust them, for the moment you lose your value, they will scavenge and extort what remains before throwing you out."
Despite not having a liking for what it stood for, Maruboshi couldn''t deny the aid that it provided to the shinobi. It was a darkness of the Leaf village, but even the darkness gave something or it wouldn''t exist, but it also took away. He had seen good, talented, competent people who had been tied down by their circumstances rise from their problems with the aid that it gave them. However, he had also seen how it had ruined similarly good, talented, competent people.
What people got out of it differed from person to person.
He simply didn''t want Takuma to be the person who lost more than they gained.
"D-Do you want me not to¡ª because I will if you ask me not to," Takuma stuttered as he asked.
Maruboshi shook his head as he ran his hand through Takuma''s hair. He was honored that Takuma held him in such high regard. And that made him so profoundly sad. "I do not want to dictate your choices, Takuma. I have cautioned you about the nature of that place. No matter how valuable it might look, it is a gateway to a place that drags people into the darkness¡. If you want to continue, that is your choice. If you wish to leave, even that is your choice. The one thing I wish is for you to be careful.
When the time comes where you think it is time to leave, do not think about it, simply leave without looking back."
Maruboshi smiled sadly.
He couldn''t tell Takuma what to do.
For taking this away from Takuma would mean that he would need to replace it with something else.
He possessed that something¡ alas, he was unable to provide it to Takuma.
And for that, Maruboshi despised himself for his own¡ cowardice.
CH_3.13 (072):
¡°Is he part of the group?¡± asked Takuma in the shadow of the fighter¡¯s tunnel.
Standing behind him, Sango, the brunette iryo-nin, nodded. ¡°Uh-huh, Bearpelt is part of the group, alright.¡±
Takuma narrowed his eyes as he hummed, ¡°Thank you.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t thank me, I just got a meal at any place I like.¡±
¡°Any place you like, but capped at X00 ryo,¡± Takuma said sharply to Sango. He didn¡¯t want to empty his wallet for a simple yes or no answer.
He turned back to look out to the arena at the average-sized man with a rotund belly covered with body hair that covered every inch of his front and even on his back. This was the first person he was fighting from the group after Purplewind.
He couldn¡¯t let someone run over him and allow them to go unpunished¡. In this place if he let people push him around, they¡¯ll take that as an invitation.
Takuma clenched his fist and ran out of the tunnel when the announcer called his introduction.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kunio rotated the shoulder, feeling the kink in his shoulder. It still pained from the slam during his last fight. But he wasn¡¯t worried; his opponent today was the kid. Kunio smiled behind his bear mask, thinking about the opponent.
They had caught a delicious prey in their grasp. They had found a tell in the kid¡ª and what a treat it was.
It was commonplace practice for group members to share information about other fighters among themselves to increase the chance of victory. But when a group had an in with the scheduling office, they could hunt down their prey and get some sweet mission points while enjoying dealing out a beatdown.
¡°Battling it out against the mighty Bearpelt is the rising star with the record of 11-7, SCARS!¡±
Kunio turned his body to see the skinny kid skip past the stairs to enter the arena. They met eyes, and neither looked away. The kid had some guts. Kunio grinned, walked directly up to the kid, and looked down at him.
¡°What are you looking at, brat?¡±
Kunio could see Scar¡¯s black eyes staring up at him, unblinking. ¡°Nothing, just wondering who has bigger boobs between you and your mama because not many can rival that bosom of yours,¡± said Scar and made squeezing gestures with his hands.
Kunio¡¯s face contorted and his skin turned red as he screamed, ¡°What the fuck did you say, boy!¡± He shoved Scars and was about to take the brat¡¯s head out when the announcer pulled him back.
A smile appeared in Scars¡¯ eyes as he shouted. ¡°Oh, did that hurt because it¡¯s true? Hey, I¡¯m curious. Can you see your dick when you look down? I doubt you¡¯d be able to see the raisin-looking micro-cock even if someone jacked it hard, you fat fuck face!¡±
¡°Fucking let me go!¡± Kunio screamed his lungs off as he glared at Scars.
¡°Bearpelt, just let me go out of the arena, and then you can do whatever you want,¡± the announcer said as held the shinobi fighter back.
¡°Get off of me!¡±
¡°Do you understand what I said?¡± said the announcer, tightening his grip around Kunio¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Try to start the fight before I exit, and I¡¯ll disqualify you.¡±
Kunio clicked his tongue and turned away from Scars. ¡°Yeah, I get it!¡± he spat and shoved the announcer when the man loosened his grip on him. He didn¡¯t charge at Scars. He could wait a few seconds before he destroyed the boy. The fucking brat had to pay. He was going to make him pay.
The plan was to exploit the Scars¡¯ tell and have everyone in the group fight him and get those victory mission points. They couldn¡¯t all go one after another because that would look too suspicious, and they had to fix the schedule so that Scars would have other fighters outside of the group. The plan after everyone in the group had fought the kid was to sell the information to other fighters who were going to fight Scars and take a cut of their fight winnings.
¡®Fuck that!¡¯ Kunio gritted his teeth.
He was going to break every bone in the boy¡¯s body and then leak the information to everyone in the Ring who was willing to listen. He wanted Scars to lose every fight, starting with the one with him. Scars was still new and had a large part of his contract in front of him; Kunio wanted to see Scars beaten blue and black for the rest of his contract without being able to get out of it.
No one got out of their Ring contract without completing their obligations.
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Kunio turned to face Scars. The announcer was talking to Scars, but the boy was staring at him directly. The look only served to fan the flames of rage in him. He was going to break the boy to the point they would need to delay his fights¡ª even if that meant he would get some pushback.
The crowd was rowdy from the pre-fight altercation that the Ring didn¡¯t see happen much as the announcers would be out of the arena after a short introduction, and the fighters would take out any grudge between them during the fight.
It was exciting.
The crowd grew louder, demanding for the fight to start at this very moment.
The announcer walked away from Scars, and as he walked towards the exit, both fighters took walking steps towards each other¡ª but everyone could see that they were rearing to go, and the brawl would start the moment the metal gate fell.
The crowd fell silent in anticipation.
And so it happened,
*Thud!*
The gate closed, and Bearpelt and Scars charged each other with the smaller crowd creating enough noise to rival the peak of weekend night primetime fights.
Kunio knew he was stronger than Scars and planned to use his size and strength to overcome the smaller opponent. He¡¯d make a play out of it for the watching crowd, embarrassing the brat. Then, after a time, he¡¯d crack the boy¡¯s skull, putting him out of commission. It was cruel, and that¡¯s what Kunio desired. Since the boy wanted a fight, he¡¯d give it to him. When they would come asking questions, he¡¯d tell them that he had controlled and pushed the blame upon them who let a child enter the Ring.
Kunio, bigger, with longer arms, came in range first and sent a thundering blow for Scars¡¯ neck. His hands moved faster than an untrained eye could track, ripped through the air, keening as it went. Scars swept beneath it and stepped closer to smash an elbow just below the chest.
Kunio grunted as the force knocked him back a few steps. But he was immediately back and thrusting a palm strike only to find Scars, with his shoulder raised, launching towards him. Kunio was a heavy man so the collision pushed Scars back a couple strides, but it also threw Kunio to the ground.
Before anyone could even draw a breath, Scars jumped the fallen Kunio, and both men were clinching on the ground. Scars planted a knee into Kunio¡¯s gut before Kunio grabbed him by the neck and rolled to the top.
¡°Got you, you little fuck,¡± Kunio laughed and raised his other fist to start the massacre.
He looked Scars in the eye and saw no fear or even the slightest bit of tremor. The next thing he felt was intense pain in the crotch. Scar kicked Kunio in the groin and was followed immediately by a throat strike.
Kunio¡¯s eyes bulged and his veins flared as he couldn¡¯t scream or even grunt as he tried to take a breath over the dreadful sensation of being choked assaulted him.
Scars grabbed Kunio¡¯s hand holding his neck, and as the grip loosened, he got up from under Kunio, grabbed his wrist and snapped it. In the heat of the moment, Kunio flung his arm as hard as possible, and fortunately, it hit. Scars was sent flying away, and it gave Kunio time to gather himself back up.
His heart was thumping against his ribcage as he staggered around with his eyes searching for Scars. The flame of rage had been doused with the cold splash of panic. He backed away and put some distance between them as Scars immediately got up.
Kunio¡¯s eyes went to Scars¡¯ feet and saw them square up for a moment before Scars dashed. A flash of hope glimmered in his eyes as he readied for a leap/jump from Scars. He raised his guard at the last moment, fighting through the pain in his broken wrist, when he saw Scars ready to leap¡ only for Scars to whip out a low kick to his knee.
Kunio¡¯s heavy body weight crumbled with half of his footing breaking down as the bashed knee gave away. Scars grabbed Kunio¡¯s broken wrist, twisted it more, and yanked Kunio to the ground with it, all the while eliciting a pathetic scream from the man.
¡°You¡¯re not the one paying attention, you know,¡± said Scars as he held Kunio¡¯s arm up and placed a leg on the back of his shoulder. ¡°Your shoulder is hurting, isn¡¯t it¡ let me fix it.¡±
Kunio looked up and found himself staring into a pair of frigid cold eyes, with nil emotion in the dark pools of black. He knew what was about to happen and opened his mouth to beg, but Scar snapped the shoulder clean without a ripple in his eyes.
The crowd¡¯s enthusiasm fell into a hushed silence as Kunio¡¯s screams cut through the underground cavity. It wasn¡¯t like they hadn¡¯t seen harsher injuries in the Ring¡ª blood and breaks were part of the experience¡ It was the prolonged screech of the scream that got through many.
Scar dropped the arm and stomped on Kunio¡¯s face, which stifled away the scream of anguish.
¡°Tell your group they know where to find me. I¡¯m waiting for every single one of them.¡±
He walked away from Kunio as the announcer entered the arena.
¡°Do you want to continue, Bearpelt?¡± asked the announcer as he squatted by Kunio.
¡°¡ N-No,¡± said Kunio through gritted teeth as pain assaulted his body.
He could continue to fight, but it wasn¡¯t worth fighting. Even if he won, injuries would only pile up. It would put a disturbance in his life in and outside the Ring¡ª he couldn¡¯t afford a prolonged absence from either shinobi duty or his Ring fights.
And though he wouldn¡¯t admit it¡
¡ the dark frigid eyes frightened him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As Takuma entered the fighter¡¯s tunnel, Sango was waiting for him. She walked towards him with a smile but stopped to stare at Takuma, her previous expression fading.
¡°Is something wrong?¡± asked Takuma.
She stayed silent for a moment before hesitantly asking, ¡°Are you alright?"
¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m bruised or anything. The fat fuck went down easy,¡± he said and noticed that she was still staring, ¡°What is it? Is something wrong?¡±
¡°¡ No, it¡¯s nothing,¡± she said. ¡°Now, come on. Let¡¯s clear out of here for the next fight.¡±
Takuma flashed a smile Sango couldn¡¯t see as he still wore his mask.
As they walked to the medical room, Takuma reflected back on the fight. He felt satisfied with what he had accomplished with Bearfelt.
He had sent a message¡ª he wasn¡¯t to be taken lightly. He wasn¡¯t going to be seen as a weak player on the board. He was going to make sure they didn¡¯t think they were looking at him like a weak na?ve kid to exploit.
If they wanted to hit him, he would hit them back.
The conversation with Maruboshi had blindsided him, but seeing his teacher¡¯s reaction, had left him with a lot to think about. He had decided that if the Ring could provide him the value he seeked, he would continue to swim in it.
However, he understood that he swam with sharks, who would devour him if he showed a hint of blood.
He was here to take things from it, and not the other way around like Maruboshi had warned him about¡ and for that, he couldn¡¯t let anyone underestimate him.
If it took for him to repeat Bearpelt to make it that way, then he would do it as many times as he deemed it necessary.
CH_3.14 (073):
"How is duty treating you? I hope you''re at least diligent in front of the patrons."
Taro glanced at his dad walking beside him as they returned home from his dad''s workplace, Mito Hospital of Leaf. The best thing he liked about his dad was that they could let the silence sit between them, with it never being awkward. There were hours'' worth of spans where both had sat together in the same room without speaking to each other, and Taro looked back at those times as perfectly blissful.
Taro appreciated that, which was why he didn''t feel annoyed at the frustrating question his mom sprung up on him like clockwork every few days.
He said, "It has its ups and downs¡ and I haven''t received a legitimate complaint against me yet."
"So, you mean someone did file a complaint against you."
Taro clicked his tongue, "It was one of those patrons, you know. The assholes¡ª"
"Language, Taro."
"¡ª who are awful to everyone no matter how well you do. Thankfully, they had a record of demanding more than what was stated in the request. I got out scot-free when I refused to do anything other than what the mission stated."
Taro''s dad sighed. "It''s good that you held your ground; that was the right choice. But be careful about handling these types of situations. Be as polite as possible, and if you have partners on the mission, make sure they''re there to be a witness. These people can get you in trouble sometimes."
Father and son fell silent as they entered a shopping district to shop for groceries. Another thing Taro liked about his dad was that shopping was quick with dad. His dad knew what he wanted to buy beforehand and stuck to the list without getting distracted by other things, only to ultimately not buy any of it. They were out of the shopping district the moment they checked off the last item on the list.
"Have you thought about what we discussed earlier?" asked Taro''s dad.
Taro groaned audibly upon hearing his dad bring that up. And here he thought he would be safe until he reached home.
"I believe it''s high time you make a decision. Your mom thinks you should''ve already made a decision a month back," said Taro''s dad.
It had been a few months back when his parents sat him down and told him that he needed to choose what he wanted to do with his career. Having two chunin parents, they could get him out of the Genin Corp before the minimum mandatory period, but they needed him to decide on a ''destination.''
They had asked him where he wanted to go? Taro honestly had no idea where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do. And it wasn''t like he hadn''t given it a thought¡ª he had contemplated on it, but nothing had clicked to him. How was he suddenly supposed to decide where he wanted to go when it had only been half a year since he became a shinobi?
In his mind, he thought he still had time. He had a little under two years on his Genin Corp service, but when his parents said they could get him out early, he knew they were expecting him to move out before the service period was over.
It wasn''t like he didn''t feel grateful¡ but he didn''t need that right now.
However, when Taro looked around, he could see that he was indeed lagging behind. Ai had already decided that she would join the Medical Corps and had begun preparing for the exam and interviews. Multiple times over the past month and a half, he had seen Nenro in the company of several chunin¡ª and if he knew Nenro, Taro knew he was making moves to get out of Genin Corp early. Masaaki, who hadn''t expressed any plans about where he was heading, had told him recently that he was training with an "uncle" stronger than the Masaaki''s mentor back home who, according to Nenro, was at least a chunin; Taro had no idea who this uncle was, but he could guess it was a chunin¡ª even Masaaki was building connections.
As for Takuma¡ he didn''t know what Takuma was doing. Taro hadn''t seen much of Takuma in recent times. Whenever they did talk, Takuma''s plans for the future never ended up being brought up.
A majority of his other friends had also begun planning for things.
''Well, at least I have some companionship,'' Taro sighed to himself.
When he didn''t know what to do, his parents gave him some options. His dad was an Iryo-nin and had expressed his desire that if Taro wanted to become an Iryo-nin, he would support it. His mom had been urging him to either follow her into the Torture and Interrogation (T&I) Division or become a lawyer like his uncle.
Did he want to go through these fields? Even though it had improved recently, his dad worked late a lot. His mom worked regular hours, but once in a while, she wouldn''t come home at night and would even get called away to work in the dead of night. As for his uncle, he traveled most of the year¡ª which Taro, a homebody, disliked even the thought of.
"I need more time," Taro said to his dad.
As they crossed a red bridge over water, Taro looked over at the flowing stream and halted when he saw a figure dressed in black clothing standing on top of the water.
Taro''s dad stopped as well, followed Taro''s gaze, and saw the figure. He narrowed his eyes. "Is that a map he''s reading?" he said before asking: "Taro, have you been practicing the water-walking exercise? Chakra control is vital for a shinobi. Moreover, superior chakra control is a requirement if you wish to be an Iryo-nin."
Taro ignored his dad and leaned against the bridge''s railings. He shouted, "Takuma!"
Takuma, his brows furrowed, looked up at the bridge. He waved his hand up high with a smile when he saw Taro.
Taro turned to his dad. "You head on home; I''ll talk to him for a bit and meet you at home."
Taro''s dad looked at Takuma jogging on water towards them.
"How about we invite him home for dinner?"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Oishi," said Takuma as he sat down in Taro''s living room.
"Oh please, Takuma; I''m delighted to host one of Taro''s friends," said Taro''s dad, "he doesn''t bring many of his friends home. I simply had to jump at the chance. Did you know he once complained about there being too many people at his seventh birthday?"
Taro rolled his eyes as he deposited himself beside Takuma on the couch.
Taro''s dad sat across from them with a plate of refreshments between them. "Takuma, if my memory serves me right, you won the basic training tournament?" he asked.
"That''s right, sir," said Takuma. He had multiple images of Taro''s dad in his mind, but seeing the scholarly man with an elegant air to him was surprising. With how sloppy and lazy Taro was, he expected something else.
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Maybe he got it from his mother, he thought.
"Impressive, really so," Taro''s dad smiled. "Taro told me that you graduated from the Leaf''s academy, and I vaguely remember seeing you at the graduation ceremony. Were you two friends back then?"
Takuma could feel Taro''s eyes beside him. Both of them knew he had no friends when they were in the academy, and even though Taro didn''t do anything to him, he also didn''t do anything to stop Hiji and his group from bullying him.
"I only got to know Taro closely in the basic training. He helped me a lot from here and there," said Takuma, flashing a smile at Taro.
"He says that, but then he picks up a nasty fight with me during the training."
Takuma softly smiled, "And that only brought us closer."
Taro''s dad chuckled. He asked, "Now, I''m curious about what you were doing in the middle of that stream, Takuma. I could see you were practicing the water-walking exercise, but you also had a map in your hands for some reason?"
"Well¡ as you could see, I was practicing the water-walking exercise¡ª the map was to get better at cartographic reading, and the map I was using adds stakes," said Takuma. There was no GPS in the world, and if he was going to venture out of the village someday, he needed the ability to read a map. Maruboshi had taught him the basics, but he was trying to advance his skills.
"What might you mean?"
Takuma handed the map he was reading to Taro''s dad.
"This¡ is a high-quality map, Takuma," Taro''s dad said after observing the map. "It must be expensive."
Takuma nodded. "It is expensive. The maps are high-quality, finely detailed, printed on a water-resistant fabric-threaded paper, and every time I take a total dip into the water, I force myself to buy another map from the cartographer." He could see confusion in their eyes, so he continued, "I buy a different map every time, and it does expand my collection¡ª but these maps are out of my price range, I can''t keep buying them¡ and that adds pressure on me to do better."
"You''re an idiot," Taro said immediately. "Does that even work?"
"Believe me, it works," Takuma said bitterly. Maruboshi''s added punishment to his leaf concentration exercise had changed something in him. He performed better when stakes were involved, and even now¡ªhe hated losing money.
He accepted the looks from the father-son duo. He didn''t need to tell them that he had been thinking about doing water-walking exercises with hot water in his bathroom mini-tub.
"Sir, I know you''re an Iryo-nin," said Takuma. "I was wondering if I could learn iryojutsu or anything that would help me if I get injured on the field. And our teammate Ai is preparing for the Medical Corp; if you can give some tips on that all, it would be extremely constructive."
Taro''s dad took a breath and looked at the roof for a moment in thought before nodding. "Okay, I can absolutely help Ai if she''s trying into the Medical Corp," he turned to Taro, "invite her to dinner when she''s free, and we can talk it out," he then turned back to Takuma. "As for learning iryojutsu, I fear enrolling into the Medical Corp or finding a willing teacher are the only two viable ways to learn. Iryojutsu needs a base of knowledge before you can do any practical healing, especially if you wish to do it consistently when you''re injured in the field
"I can, however, recommend to you some of the first-aid courses that we run at the hospital. Correct knowledge of treatment before you can get proper help can boost your survival and even aid recovery by preventing further damage. In fact, I urge you to take these courses in the near future."
Takuma filed the advice about the courses in his mind. But he also asked, "Would you be my teacher if I wished to learn iryojutsu?"
"Only if you join the Medical Corp and perform well in your exams and interviews," Taro''s dad smiled. "I''ll be happy to have you as one of my apprentices then."
Takuma shook his head. At least, he asked.
"I will leave you two boys and start on the dinner preparation," Taro''s dad told Takuma to sit tight when he offered to help.
Takuma turned and saw Taro staring at him with a studying gaze.
"What?" asked Takuma.
"Nothing. Water-walking, cartographic reading, iryojutsu¡ just glad to see that you''re still trying to learn all sorts of things."
"A shinobi is much more than the chakra he wields," said Takuma sagely.
"Huh, what¡ª"
They heard a voice from the front of the house call out, "I''m home!"
The steady footsteps moved through the front corridor until a tall woman with shoulder-length hair, dressed sharply in the standard uniform of the T&I department, entered the living room. She had a confident and disciplined posture, and even at the end of the working day, she looked like she had just gotten dressed.
"Well, color me surprised. It gave me a second of pause when I saw an extra pair of shoes outside," Taro''s mom said as she peered at Takuma. "To think Taro would bring a friend home."
"Dad invited him."
Takuma stood up and greeted Taro''s mom, "Good evening, ma''am. I''m Takuma, Taro''s teammate from basic training."
"Takuma¡ ah yes, Taro mentioned you," Taro''s mom asked him to sit down as she sat where Taro''s dad had been sitting. She gazed at Takuma.
Under her gaze, Takuma suddenly felt conscious. He subconsciously straightened his back and couldn''t help but feel that the woman was studying him, looking straight through him. He wasn''t worried about her finding out about his ''secret''¡ª if a Yamanaka couldn''t find out, he wasn''t concerned about anyone finding out. But he did worry about his second identity getting out. He didn''t think he gave out any clues regarding the Ring¡ª he didn''t carry his mask around, nor did he show any skin, and he hadn''t suffered any significant injuries that would give it away.
He was fine, or so Takuma told himself.
"Tell me, Takuma, what are your plans for the future¡ª after Genin Corp, where do you want to go?" asked Taro''s mom.
"Oh my god, mom!" Taro exclaimed loudly, sounding thoroughly fed-up, a rare emotion for Taro. "At least, ask him how he is, chat with him about the weather, maybe discuss general news or something, warm him up before bringing that up!"
Normally, Takuma would''ve felt awkward, but the person in front of him was a chunin in the T&I division. This was an adult who was currently very active in the Leaf shinobi organization. And he assumed that being from the T&I division, he believed they would be very aware and in touch with the shinobi scene.
So, he jumped at the opportunity.
"To be honest, ma''am, I''m not sure where I want to go," said Takuma, leaning forward. "Week after week, I''ve been doing these D-rank missions, doing my best, but I feel like I''m not going anywhere. Yes, I''ve been getting ryo and mission points that I can invest in myself¡ª but I still can''t see a clear path I can follow."
"Hmm¡ from what you said, I infer that you don''t have plans to go into a specific division," said Taro''s mom.
Takuma shook his head, "As of right now, I don''t think any of the technical divisional routes is for me."
"Then, I assume you know that a chunin promotion is the only way to get out of Genin Corp," she asked.
Takuma nodded. "After the mandatory period, I will be eligible for the Chunin Exams, but to participate, I need recommendations from chunin."
"You don''t need to participate in the Chunin Exams," said Taro''s mom.
"Umm, what?"
"You can get a field promotion. Technically, all promotions are field promotions."
Field promotion¡ that was the first time Takuma was hearing that. He asked Taro''s mom more about it.
According to her: "As long as you collect enough merit, you can be directly promoted without participating in the exam. Chunin Exam, in its essence, is a genin submitting an application saying that they''re ready for a promotion, but a field promotion is when you gather enough merit that the promotion committee decides to directly promote you. Then there''s also the element of recommendations. Recommendation means much more in field promotion as you''re not actively seeking them out as you would during the Chunin Exam," she finished.
Takuma thought about it for a moment. If the Chunin Exam was a performance to get eyes on them, field promotion sounded like putting the head down and doing the work until you got noticed.
Taro''s mom could see Takuma wasn''t feeling enthusiastic about field promotions.
"There are many ways to get a field promotion, but the most reliable way is to get into a chunin''s permanent squad. They take C- and even B-rank missions, and even though you don''t get paid C- or B-rank mission rates as the pay is split up, your record still reflects you completing C- and B-rank missions. Stay on the squad long enough, and the promotion department will notice you, and if your chunin leader recommends you, promotion is all but guaranteed," she said.
Takuma wondered how he could get on a chunin''s permanent squad. ''I''ll need to ask how Nenro managed to get chummy with so many chunin,'' he thought.
"All of that sounds a hassle," said Takuma, sighing, "and made me pretty interested in the T&I division. How much of it is torture and how much of it is interrogation?"
Taro''s mom smiled as she leaned back into the couch and crossed her legs. "Well, do you think there''s a difference between the two?" she asked.
"Of course, there is. If there wasn''t, they would''ve just named it the Interrogation Division."
Taro''s mom turned to Taro with a smile, "I like him." She looked at Takuma, "If you want to join, complete the selection process¡ when you enter, we will see if you have the stomach for the operation theaters," she then shrugged, "or you can do something that catches the big boss'' eye and he might poach you for the team¡ but that''s true all around."
That¡ was new information for Takuma.
If he could do something eye-catching, he could get into a division.
And that got his mind turning for the rest of the day.
CH_3.15 (074):
Tsubura walked into one of the VIP booths that overlooked the arena. He gazed down at the people standing around the caged arena, waiting for the next fight to start. He could look down at them, but they couldn''t look up at him because of the one-way windows. Every arena hall had five such booths built into the walls for people who wished to spectate the fights in privacy.
Of course, most of these booths went unused throughout the year as the fights capable of attracting that sort of crowd were few and far between.
He rested on one of the chairs with a groan, feeling a stretch in his lower back that he adjusted as he asked one of the watchers. "That''s the kid?"
"Yes, boss."
Tsubura peered down at the fighter in the green leaf mask with a body riddled with scars entering the arena. Scars. He remembered the kid Enomoto had brought him. It had been nearly three months since then, and Tsubura wasn''t expecting to hear about the kid until the end of the contract.
"What''s the problem?" he asked.
Watchers were his eyes and ears littered around the Ring. They were barmen, cleaning crew, fighters, staff handling betting and scheduling, or even people in the audience wordlessly watching the fights. They kept a finger on the pulse, looking out for the erratic behavior for him.
For a watcher to bring him a case in the taijutsu category and not outright put a strike and penalty against Scars meant they weren''t sure if it was going against the rules. Tsubura looked down at the fight and watched as Scars scrambled with another teenager on the arena floor.
"Chakra augmentations," said the watcher.
Tsubura''s beady eyes narrowed at the fight below.
Scars stepped back to skirt a hook and bobbed his head to dodge another strike before choosing the perfect timing to retaliate with a hip kick. Scars'' opponent had his lower body stability disrupted and tried to put some distance between them, but Scars took a quick fore-step and struck out with a calf kick from his back leg. The attack that should''ve hobbled the opponent suddenly struck out with such force that the other fighter''s legs slapped against each other as the footing was taken out altogether.
Scars didn''t spare a second for recovery and immediately pounced on his opponent and started battering him to keep the man grounded and unable to get out of the predicament.
"That was augmented," Tsubura didn''t need to be an expert to tell that the calf kick struck with an unnatural force, and yet he didn''t see any hand seals or signs that he had pre-cast the augmentation before the fight.
He was well-versed with chakra augmentations; it was his clan''s specialty, after all. He knew how rare chakra augmentations were. Chakra naturally nourished the body and raised a shinobi''s strength, speed, reflexes, and endurance, among other things¡ª that''s what allowed shinobi to survive against weapons of ninjutsu and made taijutsu a viable tool. At the same time, it could also be used actively to temporarily enhance the body''s capabilities.
The caveat for it all was the difficulty and rareness of chakra augmentations of the body. They were challenging to master and proficiently use in actual combat as the techniques were complex and usually locked behind clan doors.
And Tsubura knew Scars wasn''t a clan kid.
He watched the fight as Scars'' opponent kicked him off to get up. Scars didn''t rush and stalked around like a predator looking for an opportunity to nab his prey. Tsubura judged the damage done by Scars and found it to be significant but not in the same vein as what one could deal with chakra augmentations.
"What tipped you off?" Tsubura asked the watcher
"Unnatural bursts of strength while striking," told the watcher. "The medical staff tells me that he has been leaving one or two nasty bruises on his opponent every fight; he even left one of the fighters with a cracked shoulder that could have easily been a shattered shoulder if it was touched once."
"Just strength?"
"Nothing but a few heavy strikes every fight. I believe he has been trying to keep it down to not catch eyes."
That could mean many things. It could mean Scars was keeping it down, as the watcher said. It could also mean he wasn''t well-versed in using the augmentations and was testing the technique during fights, or it could mean whatever chakra augmentation Scars was using was only limited to strength.
The two fighters brawled in the arena''s center, exchanging blows with Scars pushing his opponent back. Scars'' opponent was clearly more skillful between the two fighters, but the limping leg had handicapped the ability to showcase the skill to the limit; pairing that with Scars'' aggressive approach, there was very little breathing room.
Scars pried his opponent''s guard open with a jab before sneaking in a decisive palm strike toward the chest. Tsubura found it strange why Scars hadn''t focused his attack on the legs, tearing down what was already broken. It was inefficient.
Nevertheless, the palm strike stamped the chest. Tsubura could see the next few seconds before they happened¡ª Scars was going to target the side with a nasty body shot and then needle an uppercut to the jaw through the flimsy guard, all but finishing the fight.
Instead, he saw Scars move to retreat his palm, and almost bizarrely, the opponent got pulled along with the palm. It wouldn''t have been shocking if Scars had gripped body hair to pull the fighter towards him, but there was none on the body, and the palm was flat.
At the moment, Tsubura knew what Scars had been doing.
Scars pulled the opponent closer and landed a vicious sharp hook to the side of the head, snapping the neck to the side. The opponent went down. Scars followed him down to land finishing blows to ensure that there was no continuation.
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It seemed three months were enough for the kid to become a Ring fighter.
"Ask someone to bring Scars to my office before he leaves," said Tsubura as he got up from the chair.
It was time to decide Scars'' future in the Ring.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma kept his senses peeled as he followed the man who told him that the boss, Tsubura, had asked to see him. He had considered himself gotten used to the dingy corridors lit by old yellow bulbs nearing the end of their lives. But the unexpected summons had him glancing over his shoulder¡ just in case something was afoul
He studied the man who he was following. Takuma knew the man worked in the Ring; he had seen him walk around in areas not accessible by the audience and once seen him sit behind a desk in the scheduling office. It made Takuma cross-off the possibility of this being a play by one of the fighter groups to jump him. He couldn''t be entirely sure though. There was regulation in the Ring, yet he had heard rumors of misplay between fighters outside the arena.
Takuma only let his shoulders relax when they arrived in front of Tsubura''s office, which he remembered from his one initial visit with Enomoto. The man knocked on the door and peered inside before opening the door halfway and letting Takuma inside. The door closed behind Takuma, leaving him alone in the room with Tsubura, who sat on his oversized pompous throne-like chair behind the gaudy desk.
"Takuma, my boy, come sit down," said Tsubura with an oily smile on his fat face, "or do you prefer Scars now."
"¡ I prefer Scars," said Takuma. The less someone said his name down here, the better it was for him.
"If that''s what you wish for. I myself would be more than happy to use the name I gave you," Tsubura eyed him with a peculiar look in his eyes that Takuma couldn''t really place.
"I was told you wanted to see me?" asked Takuma. "May I know what this is about?"
"I saw your fight today. It was enjoyable. I could clearly see how far you have come in the three months you have been here."
Takuma clenched his fist. The Ring''s boss watched his fight. He didn''t have an iota of good feelings well up inside of him. The fight wasn''t against someone exceptional like Bishop, or during a primetime slot, for someone this higher up to come watch his fight.
Only one thought crossed his mind. They had noticed him using the chakra during the fights. It was during basic training when he had subconsciously pushed off to evade an attack using overloading chakra through his feet. Ever since that day, he had pondered about using that overload in combat.
He had tried to experiment with it but had been unsuccessful for months in making any progress. Eventually, he narrowed the problem down to a lack of chakra control, which he had tried to improve by practicing the water-walking exercise. The improvement had been slower than tree-walking as he had to juggle his time between missions, Ring fights, housework, and other training and endeavors. Moreover, the water-walking exercise was much more comprehensive than tree-walking. There was much more nuance to consider when a water surface could be standing water, a gentle stream, harshly flowing rivers, and all sorts of water flowing patterns.
Eventually, he found a way to use the overload in combat. Using chakra to gain speed by pushing off the ground was largely inefficient, hard on the knees, and all but impossible to control. But he had found that he could extrude chakra through the tenketsu of his fists and feet, creating an additional force that could do great damage if done properly. If done properly.
The difficulty was staggering. There was no jutsu scroll or research that he could refer to. He had to experiment with it all on his own. His success rate was abysmal, and the amount of chakra he wasted was just terrible. Thankfully, he was fighting in the taijutsu category. His success rate plummeted even further during actual fights when he had to focus on not getting hit while keeping track of opportunities to strike.
It was still very much a work in progress and something he would abandon immediately if the fight got tough. Thankfully, the regular fights allowed him to test things out and gain some valuable insight from them. It helped that as long as he landed one solid hit, the chances of victory boosted like a rocket.
''It''s okay,'' Takuma said to himself, ''you read the fine print, and you aren''t doing anything wrong.''
"I''m happy that you enjoyed the fight, sir," he said to Tsubura.
"It was a good fight, indeed. I was surprised to see the use of chakra augmentation," said Tsubura. "How long have you been using chakra to supplement your strikes, Scars?" He peeked into a manilla folder. "Nineteen wins in thirty-one fights¡ a whopping sixty-one percent winning rate. That puts you in the upper echelons of the fighters, Scars. How many of these would you say came from that extra boost of chakra? How many ryo and mission points would you attribute to the little trick of yours?"
Takuma held his posture to not give out anything. "I wasn''t aware I was doing anything wrong. I don''t believe what I have been doing is against the rules," he said.
"Oh, it''s not against the rules; who said that?" Tsubura leaned forward. "It simply upsets the balance of the fights, makes the pairings unfair¡. We don''t see chakra augmentation down here; it''s a rarity, after all, and what you have been doing is simply a derivation that every shinobi learns. You''re a smart kid, Scars; I appreciate that.
"Which is why I will ask, do you intend to continue using the chakra augmentation because I have to make decisions based on your answer."
Takuma gazed at Tsubura, acting like nothing was wrong. And from what Takuma looked at, there was nothing wrong with it. As Tsubura had said, there was nothing in the rules that forbade him from doing so. He thought about it for a moment, considering what could be the further response from Tsubura.
"I''d like to continue to use it," said Takuma.
"Very well, then we would need to make some changes," said Tsubura. "The opponents that you''re currently fighting are at a clear disadvantage if you continue using chakra augmentations¡ so you have two options: we either increase the quality of the matchups that we pair against you, or you move onto another category¡ I''m thinking¡ the weapons category. I will let you choose."
Takuma wanted to protest about the sudden changes but held his tongue. He was given a choice that he needed to make. And to be honest, the choice was obvious.
"I''ll move to the weapons category," he said.
His ''chakra augmentation,'' as Tsubura had put it, was unreliable. The only reason he was able to practice it in his fights was that his current opponents allowed him enough breathing room to do so. If the quality of opponents increased, he would be on the back foot trying to keep up. At least in the weapons category, he would be allowed to use weapons like his opponents and maybe even continue using the chakra augmentation.
"Excellent, excellent," said Tsubura, "we usually don''t allow category change this early in a fighter''s career, but you''re an exception," he said while stamping a stamp on a paper that looked like a form. "With thirty-one fights, you only have five fights before your payday. I''m sure you''re looking forward to it."
Five fights. That was less than two weeks. He was indeed looking forward to it. He had a sixty percent win percentage, which was good, meaning that he would get paid more than the usual rookie.
Takuma stood up, ready to walk out, when Tsubura spoke,
"A friendly advice, Scars. Stop using that chakra augmentation." Takuma turned back to face Tsubura. He continued, "You''re not the first to think of using tree-walking like that¡ª by far not the first one and you''ll not be the last one. It doesn''t work. You must''ve already felt the restrictions involving the recoil. One shift from your opponent, and you''ll get hit back by a nasty recoil, or it won''t work at all and potentially expose you to a counter. You can learn to be better at it, but why give time to something with no future when you can learn something else."
Takuma stared at Tsubura. "Thank you for the advice, sir," he said before walking out.
Was he going to stop?
He might not be the first one to think about using the tree-walking concept as chakra augmentation¡ª but he could be the first one to do it successfully.
CH_3.16 (075):
The kunai felt strange in his hand. Throwing practice had continued to have a place in his training regiment, but it had been a while since he had held it in a melee grip; to use the kunai as a blade rather than a throwing dagger. Three months of training with bare-handed brawling had left his fingers feeling stiff.
Now that he was transitioning to the weapons category in the Ring, he needed to re-familiarize himself with wielding his weapons for active combat. It was time to scrape the rust off.
"You told me you wanted to talk. I''m unsure if a kunai has a place in conversation."
Thankfully, he had just the way to warm himself up before the Ring fights. If he was going to be slashed, he very much preferred fewer cuts to heal afterward.
"Come on, let''s spar; I haven''t sparred with you for so long," said Takuma as he skipped on his toes. "Weapons allowed. No jutsu. And for god''s sake, don''t whip out your explosive tags."
"So long? It''s only been two weeks," Nenro sighed as he pulled off his thin cotton sleeveless vest, folded it neatly, and placed it beneath the tree''s shade. "It was that one time and you all have deemed me to be some sort of pyromaniac," he walked to the open field to face Takuma.
"It''s your fault for whipping out a grade-two explosive tag," said Takuma, holding the kunai in his right, dominant arm. "And I do want to talk to you about something."
"I did come to talk," shrugged Nenro as he took some steps back with one hand in his back pouch.
Takuma closed the distance and swung his kunai in a diagonal overhead slash. Nenro pranced back as Takuma unleashed a quick volley of swings. The arm hidden behind Nenro''s back whipped out, and a senbon flew out. Takuma leaned his head to the side and heard the faint rip of wind as the senbon passed him by.
"How did you make friends with so many chunin?" asked Takuma as he countered Nenro''s low kick with his own and raised the same leg to Nenro''s head.
Nenro barely stopped the swift strike at the last minute and stumbled back. Even while his balance was disrupted, Nenro threw a shuriken to stop Takuma just as he was about to charge in, giving him enough time to regain his balance.
"You''re my friend, Takuma," said Nenro, as he armed himself with a kunai in both hands, "if I was being generous, I''d call them my work acquaintances. They''re my connections, a relationship built upon both sides being beneficial to each other," he smirked, "but, of course, if they ask me, they''re my dear¡ dear friends."
"How are you beneficial to them?" he asked. Takuma retrieved shuriken in both hands and sent them hunting toward Nenro. He tried to think how he could be useful to a chunin and couldn''t come up with anything.
Nenro''s arm moved faster for an untrained eye to move, and he deflected the shuriken with dexterous skill. He shrugged, "They like me; they enjoy my company. I know how to make them laugh, flatter them at just the right time, and make them feel I understand. When you know what people want to hear, it''s easy to make ''friends,''" he winked.
Takuma was only half-surprised hearing Nenro. His friend had always been one of those people who attracted others, wanting to be friends with Nenro. However, he always thought others would be trying to appeal to Nenro and not the other way around.
Nenro''s hand swung from a blind spot, and it was already halfway through when Takuma noticed Nenro had thrown something. He hurriedly raised a kunai to strike a stone away from him. He couldn''t take a pause as a shuriken followed closely, and Takuma had to awkwardly bend his torso to evade that shuriken.
Nenro took advantage of the situation and came on to Takuma with a kunai in a two-handed grip over his head.
Instinct flew through him, and Takuma let himself fall to the ground on his hand to free his leg that he used to kick Nenro in the chest, sending him stumbling back a few feet. It was as he knew; weapons added an element of range that he had gotten used to not facing. But it wasn''t a problem.
"How do I do the same?" Takuma asked as both he and Nenro got up.
Nenro grunted as he rubbed his chest. "Cultivating connections requires time and effort," he said. "If you''re trying to build a connection to someone higher up than you, then they need to see some value in you. Of course, you can always start with simply getting close to them, build something of a friendly relationship, and then asking them for something; however, that takes time to build up to a level where they''re willing to do you a favor¡ª but if you show them value, they''ll be much more agreeable to do something for you."
"What if I don''t have time?" Takuma asked as he slammed his shoulder into Nenro.
Nenro took a step back and tried to get in a body shot that Takuma caught. "Make some then. Few things come easily, this is not one of them¡ª you''ll have to put in the effort."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Takuma swung an elbow for Nenro''s head as he pulled the grabbed hand down. Nenro grabbed the incoming elbow with his other hand in a firm grip. They stared at each other for a moment before both made their moves.
Takuma bent the arm in his grasp while Nenro used the hand holding Takuma''s elbow to smash into Takuma''s face. The fist made a solid hit. Takuma turned his face back to Nenro, and instinct took over as he kneed Nenro in the groin, followed by a hard headbutt. He stepped back and was about to strike Nenro in the throat when he realized that he had let habit take over.
"Ah, oh my god, I''m so sorry," he said in a hurry.
Nenro groaned hard as his leg stuck together as if glued, trembling faintly. "W-Why would you do that?" he croaked. "We were just sparring."
Both of them were fighting at half-speed and were pulling their punches. Even though weapons were allowed, neither wanted to cut the other. Until the last moment, Takuma had kept all of his trained instinct, the aggression and brutality that was demanded in the Ring, in check. They had accidentally leaked out when Nenro had stuck his head.
"Yeah, really sorry about that¡ just came out, you know," Takuma said with a wrinkled nose.
"No, I don''t know," Nenro finally stood straight, still groaning.
Takuma could only chuckle awkwardly.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma breathed out as he closed his eyes and concentrated on the crowd noise coming from outside the tunnel. Takuma''s body was covered with a sheen of sweat from the warmup in preparation for the fight.
The weight of the kunai case around his thigh and the weapon pouch tied around his waist hanging behind him that he got so used to that he normally never felt anymore, but at the moment, that weight felt pronounced. Scars only wore his mask, black shorts, and black shinobi sandals in the arena, but today, he had boiled leather arm guards and shin protectors.
He focused on the crowd noise, trying to empty out his thoughts. From what Sango had said, fights in the weapons category tended to last shorter than in the taijutsu category. The involvement of sharp weapons chipped away at the fighter''s ability to fight faster than blunt fists.
The announcer called for him, and Takuma went running into the arena. The weapon category fights were fought in a different arena than the taijutsu category. The dome that covered the arena was made of a solid metal grid that could handle heavy loads and bashing, but for the weapons category, they had added a second layer of finely threaded metal mesh to stop weapons like senbon from escaping the arena and poking a viewer''s eye out.
But the thing that attracted Takuma''s gaze was the arena floor. The white base was no more visible as the red blood had dried on the surface to give it a dirty-brown cover. Enough blood had spilled to cover the large arena''s floor. Standing there, he could smell the scent of blood, even though he knew it was just his imagination¡ª he had never seen so much blood before.
His eyes went to his opponent, Bloodshot, and found the lithe woman staring at him with a short sword in one hand and a kunai in the other. Takuma stared into the woman''s black eyes and felt compelled to draw a kunai in each hand. The gleam of the short sword blade made him wonder if it was a correct decision to exit the taijutsu category.
The moment the metal door shut behind the announcer, Bloodshot shot forward like a quick cat.
*Screech!*
Sparks flew as Bloodshot''s short sword clashed with Takuma''s kunai. She raised her kunai and swung it down at Takuma. Takuma pushed the short sword back and twisted his body to make the kunai miss by a few centimeters. He kicked the woman in the gut and stabbed for her short sword arm. Bloodshot grunted as she staggered back and saw the kunai coming for her flesh.
She moved faster than before, and her kunai arm grazed against the incoming kunai, the two opposing forces sending both arms flying. Bloodshot was already spinning back on her pivoting. Takuma pulled his torso back as the short sword swung for his life.
The tip of the blade grazed Takuma on top of the chest, missing the neck by a few centimeters. A thin cut split the skin as a few droplets of red peeked from inside.
Takuma jumped back and threw the kunai in his left for Bloodshot''s chest.
Bloodshot dropped to the floor, her posture like a wild animal on fours, her eyes locked onto Takuma. She shot forward, and Takuma felt his heart lurch from not being able to secure any time or space to gather himself.
Slash, thrust, jab, jab, jump, clash!
Takuma didn''t need to be told about Bloodshot''s dual-wielding combat style as he experienced the quick barrage of blood-hungry blades. He wasn''t allowed to draw a second kunai as every muscle fiber on his body moved in concordance that his blood was to be kept inside his body. His body felt stretched to the limit as the one kunai only allowed him to counter the short sword, Bloodshot''s kunai came close to hacking his body far too many times for Takuma''s comfort.
He was well aware that he was rapidly moving toward the edge of the arena. He knew he would be cornered the moment he hit the dome, and Bloodshot knew as well what that would mean with the way she was brandishing her blades, not allowing Takuma to travel anywhere but towards the dome wall.
Takuma needed to act quickly, and he decided to summon his only other weapon. He was going to overload his fist with chakra, break something in Bloodshot, and turn the tide to finish the fight quickly. It was his only choice.
''Sorry, this is going to hurt,'' he told himself.
Bloodshot slashed her short sword down, and Takuma raised his arm to it. He unsuccessfully stifled a scream as the blade tore through the leather arm guard and dug into his flesh below. His knees buckled a smidge, but he couldn''t stop to feel the fear of the metal reaching his bone and immediately charged his fist with chakra and aimed it just below her chest. He didn''t want to shatter her ribcage, but a cracked rib was totally within the rules.
The chakra flowed through the tenketsu as the clenched fist moved forward and struck Bloodshot.
*Baam!*
Takuma felt his shoulder pop out of its socket as the nasty recoil from the overload fist shot through his arm muscles and bones. He had failed, Takuma knew from the spiking pain that he had put too much chakra than required, and now he was getting punished for it.
The punishment didn''t end with that.
Bloodshot cried as the chakra fist assaulted her body. She fell to her knees, her hand leaving the short sword to grab her side. Her body quivered as she leaned closer to the floor as though she was about to fall any second. She glared at Takuma with hate in her eyes and shouted through heavy guttural breath as she dug her kunai deep into Takuma''s gut until the entire blade was sheathed within his body.
Takuma felt light-headed, and the last thing he felt before darkness overtook him was the heavy taste of metal in his mouth.
CH_3.17 (076):
Takuma stepped up to the front of the queue for one of the reception desks in Mission Desk Central. It was the reception desk assigned to him. Every mission assignment and completion submission happened on this desk.
"Good evening, Michi," said Takuma to the receptionist who took the evening shift. He handed her the signed and stamped mission completion receipt for yet another D-rank mission.
Michi, the brunette with a reddish tint in her curly locks, glanced up at Takuma and nodded. She was a woman of few words. Or maybe Takuma was wrong, and she was a socialite, but the constant stream of shinobi at her counter and the pressure of keeping the line moving made her not speak much on the job.
As he was needlessly contemplating and imagining Michi''s life, the receptionist shinobi quirked one of her brows. "Your next mission¡ª" she started.
"Ah, may I hold the next mission for a short while? I would like to take a few days of rest," said Takuma, interrupting. He wanted to do a few days of intense boot camp for the coming Ring fights. The weapon category fights differed from what he had in the academy and basic training. The tempo and intensity were harsher, yet every move was deliberate and thought after.
"You might want to take this; it''s your first C-rank mission," Michi looked up at him. "If you pass this on, you might not get another for a few months. I''m fine with that if that''s what you want."
"I will take that mission, thank you very much," Takuma said instantly. He was ready to exchange a couple losses in the Ring if that meant he could get going on his first C-rank mission. This could be the gateway to more C-rank missions and a chance to meet different chunin shinobi that he could add to his network, as Nenro had said. "So¡ what is the mission?"
"The details of the mission will be revealed by the chunin team leader in charge," said Michi as she drew up paperwork. "You''re to report to the de-briefing tomorrow, and the mission will officially begin two days after that." She slid the introductory mission statement through the slot in the glass pane. "All of the information is present in the document. Your mission completion submission is filed, and the payment will reflect in your account in five to six business days. Good luck."
Takuma stared at the document in hand as he walked out of the queue feeling dazed.
His first C-rank mission, Takuma swallowed. He wasn''t sure he would sleep tonight from tomorrow''s expectations.
He read to the bottom, and his eyes widened when he saw the name in the team leader column:
Umino Iruka
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma looked at his wristwatch, which had no strap on it because he didn''t wear it, and kept the timepiece in his weapons pouch. It was ten minutes before the meeting time, an appropriate time to arrive in advance. Ever since he had joined the Ring, he kept his schedule tight and strived to arrive five minutes before a commitment. But he wanted to be safe for his first C-rank mission and arrived earlier.
The location for the meeting was a large hall with seating inside the Shinobi Complex that shinobi used for all things from eating to catching up with friends to discussing joint missions. He searched for the reserved table in the hall and walked over to find two people already sitting at the table.
One of them he recognized as the chunin team leader, Umino Iruka.
"Good morning," said Takuma in greeting, his eyes briefly lingering at the horizontal scar that stretched across Iruka''s face, cutting through his nose and the edges resting on top of his cheeks. "I presume you''re Chunin Umino?"
"Good morning. You can call me Iruka," said Iruka, and the other person, a genin, nodded in return.
Takuma sat down at the table and observed the two people. Iruka was young; Takuma pegged him at maybe around sixteen to seventeen years old. Except for Itachi, who Takuma had met in passing, Iruka was the youngest chunin he knew. It was honestly surprising as the other genin sitting across Iruka and beside Takuma seemed to be older than Iruka by a year or two.
"My name is Takuma," he said and gave him his shinobi registration card for verification.
Iruka looked at the file in front of him and nodded.
The other genin introduced himself as Dai, and as far as first impressions went, the man was either aloof or taciturn. Whereas Iruka looked nervous, he hid it well, but Takuma could see that the young chunin lightly fiddled with the mission file, and his eyes darted between him and Dai.
Soon, the third genin arrived. A girl perhaps one or two years older than Takuma. She quickly introduced herself as Emiko and sat beside Takuma, placing him in the middle.
"Now that everyone is here, we should start," Iruka addressed the three genin sitting across from him. "The objective for our mission is fairly simple. A group of thieves has been targeting herb supply deliveries to pharmacies. They have struck multiple delivery carriages with herb orders and stolen the consignment en route. It has created problems for the farms and pharmacies who both take losses from each theft."
"I heard about that in the news," said Emiko.
''I should start following the news,'' thought Takuma before asking: "Did they hire shinobi to guard the consignment?"
"The farms use shinobi guards for deliveries that contain expensive produce, but the thieves have been targeting deliveries that can''t have shinobi guards as it cuts into the profit and makes it financially unfeasible," Iruka''s file had multiple tabs and post-it sticking out from it. "Civilian guards are sent with the delivery carriages, but the thieves are easily able to overpower them.¡ two civilian guards have been killed by this gang of thieves."
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Takuma took that information with a healthy dose of surprise. It was only his first C-rank mission, and death was already involved.
Iruka continued, "What makes this mission important is the client¡ We aren''t hired by the farms or the pharmacy but by the Leaf Military Police Force."
"By the Uchiha?" asked Takuma, baffled. Even the other two genin looked at Iruka with surprise.
"By the Leaf Military Police Force¡ but yes, by the Uchiha," Iruka said seriously. "The police have been working on this for a while now, and they even sent their members undercover as civilian guards with the consignments to catch the thieves in the act, but the thieves never struck any delivery that had undercover shinobi on it."
The cogs fell into place inside Takuma''s mind. "There''s an insider giving the thieves information," he said.
Iruka nodded. "That''s what they realized as well. The investigation is already in its final phase, and they have narrowed down the informant''s identity. They don''t have enough proof against the person, but they''re confident it''s him. They have decided to feed the informant incorrect information about which carriages have undercover shinobi and which ones have civilian guards. As long as the thieves follow up on the incorrect information, we will know the suspect is guilty, and the police can interrogate the thieves to get all the proof they need."
Takuma understood the tactic, and as long as the police identified the informant correctly, the plan would be successful if the thieves went for the bait. But he had a question,
"What is our role here, sir?" They weren''t police, and from the looks of it, the police had a good handle on the situation; he didn''t understand how they factored into the equation of things.
"The Police Force is short of people, and that''s where we come in," said Iruka, "We will be going undercover in one of the many carriages as guards. In the best-case scenario, the thieves target another cart, and we don''t see any action. Worst case, our cart gets targeted, and we apprehend the thieves with the temporary authority granted to us." There was some tension among the genin that Iruka sensed as he followed up with, "You don''t have to worry. I''ll be there, so there''s need to worry about things going wrong. And all of you are trained shinobi, you shouldn''t be worried about civilian thugs."
Takuma nodded. He felt nervous¡ª yes; it was his first C-rank mission, after all. But he wasn''t worried about losing his life.
"Any questions?"
Takuma had one. "I don''t see why this mission has a chunin as the team leader, sir. The thieves are civilians, are they not? Doesn''t it seem overkill?" Not all C-rank missions had a chunin shinobi attached to them. Experienced genin regularly served as team leader for C-rank missions. A group of four genin could handle a band of civilian thieves, and attaching a chunin to the mission didn''t seem warranted.
"You''re correct in thinking so," Iruka closed his file. "This mission was requested at the very last minute¡ª something else must''ve come up for them to need outside assistance. The Uchiha don''t trust outside people easily, which is why they requested a chunin for the mission, to ensure that nothing would, nothing could go wrong."
That was one way to handle the situation, thought Takuma.
And he kept Iruka''s slip of the tongue to himself.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat in the consignment cart, and he was thankful as they got out of the countryside and entered the urban city. His butt hurt from the bumpy road and the non-existent shock-absorbers on the horse-pulled cart. As much as he loved the countryside, he didn''t appreciate the bad roads.
He looked toward Emiko, who was under Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu) to look like a man in his late twenties, sitting across from him with the cart filled with actual production to make it look as authentic as possible. Even he was under the guise of an older man. The carriage was covered entirely, with no way to look outside other than lifting up the fabric¡ª which they avoided doing in case someone was watching. Dai sat outside with the driver while Iruka followed them from a distance in stealth.
"We will be entering a crowded area soon," a sound mixed with a little bit of crackle came from the earpiece he wore in one ear. Takuma looked up at Emiko, who nodded. The thieves were known to use areas with just enough people to take advantage of chaos while maintaining a low possibility of shinobi deciding to act like a Good Samaritan.
Takuma readied himself in case the thieves attacked their¡ª
*Boom!*
A loud explosion interrupted his thoughts.
"They''re here," said Iruka through the earpiece.
Takuma undid the string holding the back flap on the carriage and stepped out. He looked over the carriage and saw a large cloud of smoke waft over the entire area.
"Smokescreen, be careful," said Iruka.
"Roger," replied Takuma. Emiko and Dai sounded their confirmations. Short-range comms were available in this world, but they only worked when a shinobi was standing still, jogging, or running moderately¡ª the moment a shinobi tried to move freely, the earbud would come off, or the cable would disconnect. So while they were convenient, they didn''t work all the time.
As planned, Emiko stayed at the back of the carriage as Takuma walked forward. Dai was to remain in the driver''s seat in case the thieves tried to take the entire carriage with them. Iruka was there somewhere to provide backup, maintain coordination, and issue orders.
A figure appeared through the smoke, and they had a sword in hand. The man had his face covered with a bandana, and he tried to speak something, but Takuma stepped close to the man and dug a punch into their gut before he could say anything. As the man went down, another appeared in Takuma''s vision.
"Fuck off!" yelled the man and swung the sword for Takuma, who sidestepped and decked him in the jaw. He dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Takuma heard the clinking of metal from the other side. He jumped over the carriage and landed behind another man, who stopped. A mistake as Takuma kicked him behind the knee, forcing him to kneel, and then delivered another kick to the head, snapping it to the side. Takuma turned away before the man hit the ground and faced the fourth man, dressed similarly to the others.
This one came to a screeching stop, and a gasp escaped him: "Shinobi!"
He tried to run in the other direction, but Takuma was already in the man''s space, grabbing him by the neck. Takuma applied enough pressure on the carotid arteries, and it took mere three seconds of struggle, scratching at Takuma''s hand, for the man to go limp. He removed his hand and let the man kiss the floor.
The smoke began to clear up, and a fifth man appeared before him. Neither of them moved from their spots and looked at each other. The man had a sword on his back that wasn''t even taken out; he tried to reach for it.
"Don''t," said Takuma. "It''s over now. If you don''t want pain¡ just lay down on the ground with your hands behind your head," that maneuver wasn''t taught to him, but he assumed if it worked in one world, it would work in another.
The man trembled, his eyes going to his companion who had been choked into unconsciousness right in front of his eyes.
"It''s over," Takuma said, "do you understand? Nod if you do."
The man nodded.
"Then do as I said."
The man slowly got to the ground and put his hand behind his head.
"Good work, team. The thieves are under our control," came Iruka''s voice.
"Well, that was easy," said Takuma.
CH_3.18 (077):
Takuma stood beside the five tied-up thieves, four unconscious, while the fifth trembled like a wet puppy. The carriage and its goods were secured, and the civilian driver they had brought along with them because neither of them knew how to drive horses safely. As long as the mission was concerned, they had completed it flawlessly.
If there was more to the gang of thieves other than the informant and the five thieves¡ª that was the Leaf Military Police Force''s problem.
"Did you have to hit them so hard?" Iruka asked as he stopped beside Takuma.
"I''m sure I didn''t break anything," said Takuma. He had controlled his strength, but he didn''t have a measure for what a civilian could take. He also successfully negotiated a peaceful surrender from the last guy, so as long as Takuma was concerned, he did well. "I will be more careful next time around."
Iruka glanced at him before nodding. From the looks of it, the chunin wasn''t displeased with him for anything.
"You handled everything on your own; we didn''t even need to be here," said Iruka.
"I only acted with such freedom because Dai and Emiko were in their positions. If not for you in my ear, I would''ve acted with much more conservation and caution. The team was essential for the execution to be as swift as it was," Takuma knew better than to hoard all the credit and make a terrible impression.?
"Hmm¡ I have sent Dai to the Police Force headquarters. We will be free after the officer in charge comes here¡ maybe we will have to accompany him to the headquarters for statements," said Iruka.
Takuma noticed how Iruka''s shoulder, which had been quite tense since they had met today, had lowered in relief.
"It was my first C-rank mission," said Takuma, seeking some answers. "I''m glad that it went well."?
"I wasn''t aware of that," said Iruka, his expression showing a flicker of panic that subsided as soon as it came up. He sighed, "It seems I didn''t prepare enough. Like you, this was my first time leading a team on a C-rank mission or truly leading any team on any mission."
''Knew it,'' thought Takuma. Ever since they had first met, he found that while Iruka did a good job at leading, he also seemed to be stressed about literally everything. It was clearly a sign that Iruka wasn''t used to it. "For them to give you a mission with the Police Force as the patron must mean they trust you with responsibility, and from the looks of it, you''re keeping up the trust they have entrusted you. Good work, sir," he said with a smile.
It could also mean many other things.
Iruka nodded appreciatively. The young chunin wasn''t as hard-ass about hierarchy as Yoshio, which was why Takuma spoke to him as openly as he did. Takuma was following the advice he was given to make a great impression.
The officer from Police Force arrived reasonably quickly. As Takuma would expect, the officer was an Uchiha. A man with dark hair, which he wore in a topknot, and dark eyes with pronounced tear troughs. He wore the standard attire of the Leaf shinobi, including a flak jacket, and the shoulders of his shirt were emblazoned with the symbol of the Police Force. He arrived with a few men in tow.
"Chunin Yakumi," Iruka stepped forward.
"Chunin Iruka," Yakumi nodded. He looked over to Takuma and nodded, Takuma returned the nod. "I assume these are the thieves," he looked at the tied-up people.?
"Yes. It went as planned. I hope this will be enough to wrap this up," said Iruka.
Yakumi motioned to his men, and they placed shackles on the thieves. "I believe it will be," he said. "I''ll need you and your team to come to the headquarters for statements before you''re free of your duties. I appreciate that you handled the situation well. This case had the farms and pharmacy eat our ears off¡ we will be able to put this matter to rest now," his stone-flat face showed a crack or two of annoyance.
"Anything you require from us," said Iruka, and they were off to the headquarters.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The Leaf Military Police Force headquarters was what Takuma had expected it to be. Dominated by the Uchiha clan. Wherever he looked, he found shinobi wearing clothes with both Police Force and Uchiha fan crests on their clothes. He did notice there were shinobi that didn''t have the Uchiha fan crest on them and didn''t look like standard Uchiha.
When he pulled them aside to ask, they told him that they were loaned to the Police Force from the Genin Corp. The Hidden Leaf village was big, and the Uchiha clan wasn''t enough to provide enough manpower to cover the streets of the entire village.
Yakumi had already taken his statement, and he had to say, while the Uchiha officer had been stern, their interaction had been perfectly pleasant and professional. He had no complaint with their treatment and was re-evaluating his opinion about the Uchiha.?
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Takuma was refilling his water canteen when he abruptly heard a voice behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
Takuma turned his head to come face to face with metallic amber eyes glaring¡ staring sharply¡ at him. He recognized the girl immediately and was about to reply when he felt cold water from his overflowing canteen touch his finger and hurriedly turned back to turn off the tap.
"Arisu, what a surprise seeing you here," said Takuma, turning back to the girl he had fought in the semi-final. It was purely out of reflex prompted by the memory of the fight that his eyes went to Arisu''s ear.
She noticed and immediately released the locks tucked behind her ear to cover it with her shoulder-length hair. Her sharp stare turned into a glare pretty quickly.
"I can''t really tell that someone bit your ear, it looks brand new," Takuma chuckled awkwardly.
"Someone?" snapped Arisu.
"I bit it off," said Takuma. "But to be fair, you did try to take a chunk of thigh off."
"You bit my ear first!"
"Did I?" smiled Takuma. He didn''t want to be on bad terms with Arisu. Except for the semi-final, they had never really interacted much during the academy out. And he didn''t count bickering during the heat of battle as a sign of a bad relationship.
As Takuma gazed at Arisu, he noticed, like all the people in the Police Force, she too wore the standard Leaf shinobi gear. But what attracted his attention was the Police Force sash around her arm.
"You work here?" he asked, surprised.
"I do, why?" Arisu asked, still a little snippy but much less than before.
"Weren''t you in the Genin Corp like everyone? When did you move to the Police Force?"?
Arisu sniffed, "Fuma clan have been serving in the Police Force since it was founded. Our members move out of the Genin Corp after a couple months of service. I was transferred to the Police Force after four months."
Takuma stared at the girl in bafflement. He had been slogging every day in the Genin Corp, doing one D-rank mission after another, and here was someone who had already moved into THE Leaf Military Police Force
The reputations associated with the Police Force were many. The obvious one it being completely controlled by the Uchiha, which was true. Even Takuma knew that the majority of the higher-ups in the Police Force were Uchiha. Another thing known about the Police Force was them being strict and harsh against crime, especially shinobi who committed crimes. It was a near-unanimous consensus that the Police Force ruled their affairs with fear. They were a big reason why a place filled to the brim with chakra-wielding shinobi was able to maintain a civil environment.
While the civilians generally liked the Police Force as it was an institution that kept them safe from the ''what-ifs'' of living among shinobi. In the pages of history, shinobi hadn''t been kind to the normal folk. On the other side of the coin, many shinobi disliked the Police Force for the power they wielded over them. The restrictions didn''t suit many shinobi. It was a position that most law-enforcement institutions suffered, no matter what the world.?
But below all of that, regardless of like and hate, everyone agreed that the Leaf Military Police Force housed and trained elite shinobi. "Elite shinobi who monitor fellow shinobi." It was a place many shinobi desired to be a part of despite knowing how closed off it was because of the control Uchiha exerted over the force.
At that moment, Takuma envied the girl in front of him. He didn''t know what perks the Police Force provided to its members, there was no doubt they were more resourceful than what he had now.
"What are you doing here?" asked Arisu.
Takuma sighed as he stared at the girl. "Just completed my first C-rank mission."
"Oh, what was it?"?
"It was issued by your Police Force, actually. We just caught the Herb Robbers."?
"What?!" Arisu shouted, attracting the attention of the nearby people. "I wanted to be on that case! They told me I wasn''t ready for a case like that!"
Takuma took in the girl before him. Unexpectedly, even Miss Police Force had something she was envious of. He took in a swig from his canteen as he walked by her.
"Well, I did beat you up in the semi-final. Who knows, if you try a little harder, they will let you wear the big-boy pants," he said.
"What did you say?!"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The life of a Genin Corp genin was going through the chain of D-rank missions without thinking much about anything else. Most genin didn''t even think there was anything else to think about. They did their jobs, got paid, and enjoyed the peaceful lives that the no-danger D-rank mission warranted them.
Most of the time, it was a question of when people realized that they had been stuck in the same position for a long time. This was when they would realize that there was much to be done if they wished to advance in their careers. The problem they would face then was that they lacked the resources to make that progress happen.
The Genin Corp wasn''t a place with abundant resources for genin to progress. Most would find it difficult to find resources and would once again be lulled into the embrace of comfort they were in before. Those who did find a way to get their hands on ways to progress on the ladder would compete with others like them for what little their surroundings had to offer. Only a portion of them succeeded.?
Takuma had always known that he couldn''t stay still and had to advance if he was to survive what was to come. Even then, he had been trapped in the swamp that was Genin Corp for a long time. If not for the Ring, he would''ve been no different than the swarms of people around him.?
It was only now after his first C-rank mission did he find that the swamp had let go of one of his feet. But only for a little while. It was a chance for him to get his second foot out. If he didn''t make the most of it, the swamp would take both his feet again.
Fortunately, an opportune time had arrived his way.
Takuma stared at the building sign that hung over the lonely building that looked too big for how empty it was.
Learning Resource Center
It was like the last time he had seen it. The place where shinobi held courses for their fellow shinobi in exchange for compensation. A place that should''ve been brimming with shinobi wanting to learn and expand their skillset seemed to be a place people didn''t even look at as they passed the building by.
And Takuma couldn''t understand why he was called to this place¡
"Takuma, my dear rookie."
Takuma didn''t need to turn to recognize the voice as that of Enomoto. He turned to the man and saw him smiling with his eyes covered with his small blackout shades.
"Excited?" asked Enomoto.
"I''m confused," Takuma pointed to the Learning Resource Center.
"Good," smiled Enomoto. "Let''s get you paid."
CH_3.19 (078):
"How are you feeling, Takuma?" asked Enomoto as they headed into the Learning Resource Center (LRC) building. "Last I heard, you haven''t been doing well in the weapons category. Congratulations on moving up to the category. Every win means more money now."
Takuma indeed hadn''t been doing good in his latest fights. In his first five weapon category fights, he had only won one. Of his four losses, two had been one-sided, one he could''ve won if he hadn''t fallen first, while the last one was his if he hadn''t been blindsided at the last moment and stabbed in the gut. The four losses had ruined his record. 20-16. He had gone from a 61% winning percentage to a 55% winning percentage¡ª he had gone from the top of the crop to just good enough.
Different weapons added the dimension of range to the fight. He looked down at his heavy feet dragging across the floor. He needed to get faster and nimbler on his feet to decrease his chances of getting slashed or bludgeoned.
"How is this place going to help me get paid?" asked Takuma.
Enomoto looked at Takuma and his lips curled into a small smile. "An influx of mission points can look suspicious if it suddenly appears in your account. We need a reason for the money to come into your account," he said.
They entered the enormous hall with a long row of reception desks, but unlike Mission Desk Central, only one was occupied by a bored-looking shinobi. Across the reception desk row, on the large wall, was an information board stating various details like course subject, instructor name, code, price, and level.
"Wait here, I''ll be back in a second," Enomoto walked towards the reception desk. Takuma followed after him. Enomoto quirked his brow, "Curious, aren''t you? Be my guest; come along."
They walked to the receptionist, who looked at them with a half-lidded gaze as if bored out of his mind. Through the glass divider, on the counter, they could see a house of cards by the shinobi stacked to an impressive height.
"One opening form, please," said Enomoto.
The receptionist caught the sight of Enomoto''s flak jacket and sat straight up in a hurry in the presence of a chunin, slamming his knee below the counter table that knocked over the house of cards so meticulously stacked.
The genin receptionist outright ignored the falling cards and pulled out a form with haste. "Here you go, sir. If you need any assistance with the form, please don''t hesitate to ask," he said.
Enomoto smiled as he pulled the form towards him through the slot in the glass and walked away without saying a word. As they walked away, Enomoto spoke, "Mission points coming into your account might seem suspicious, but what if we created a reason for them to be there," he raised the form, "and what better reason than to open a course in the esteemed Learning Resource Centre and get paid by your fellow shinobi."
"Huh?" Takuma stopped in his steps as he tried to make sense of the situation. A light bulb moment struck his mind, and he understood what Enomoto was talking about. "We''re laundering mission points?!"
Enomoto also stopped and looked around the empty hall, glancing briefly at the receptionist. "I appreciate that you already know what we are doing; it saves me time," he said to Takuma, "but if you know that, you should also know to keep it down. So, let''s be a little hush-hush."
Takuma sighed and followed Enomoto, and they sat down at a table in a room beside the large main hall. He thought about what they were doing.
The mission points he earned through his wins weren''t legitimate, and if he were to put them in his account without reason, it might look suspicious if someone was looking for any reason. Mission points were a virtual currency with no physical tokens, so Takuma couldn''t stash them in his toilet under the flush. He needed to receive them in his mission point account.
To make the illegitimate mission points legitimate, they needed to come through a legitimate source. Takuma was coming to realize why they had come to the LRC. He looked at Enomoto, filling the form with an unexpected familiarity, and knew that the shady iryo-nin was filling a form that would open a new course in the LRC.
It made sense. It wouldn''t look odd if the mission points came through the LRC because Takuma taught a course.
But he had one question.
"Who''s going to pay for the courses?" he asked. "From whose account will these mission points come from?"
Enomoto flashed him a smile as he continued filling out the form. "That''s for me to know and you to not find out. Curiosity is good but also know that it did kill the cat. I can tell you there will be no danger to you if we do it this way." He glanced up at Takuma, "It has worked for thousands of people for decades, and it will work for decades to come."
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Takuma leaned back with skepticism floating in his eyes.
"Do I need to pay a commission to LRC for running the course because if I do, I demand that you guys pay for that commission on top of my winnings," said Takuma.
"Only if your course requires you to rent out some equipment," Enomoto slid over the filled form and tapped his finger on an empty dotted line. "Time to come up with a course name and try to make it plausible. Something that you can actually teach¡ just in case someone comes asking."
Takuma first looked over the entire form to see what all Enomoto had filled. Enomoto only watched with a smile as Takuma did so. After making sure there was nothing hidden in the form, Takuma thought about a course and wrote one out on the paper.
Enomoto pulled his glasses down as he narrowed his eyes at the form, "Trash talking: The verbal art of mental victory?" He looked at Takuma, "What is this?"
"It''d be better if you ligma," Takuma wasn''t sure if he was able to keep the smile off his face.
"Ligma?"
"Ligma balls! Because believe me, getting real familiar with these two nutsacks slapping against your face would be infinitely better than fighting me, bitch!" Takuma leaned back again and shrugged his shoulders, "Something like that. No need to applaud or anything.."
Enomoto stared with a baffled and speechless expression. He removed his small blackout shades and cleaned them with his handkerchief. "I sometimes don''t understand the children these days. If you want to go with that, why not, let''s go with that," he said. "After the course is approved, submit the course code to Matsui, and he will start signing up paying students for the course. You will get paid by the end of this week."
Enomoto wore his shades back and got up. "You''re going to get a lot of mission points, and from here on out, your winnings won''t be held back." The smile reappeared on his face, "You have done good, Takuma. Enjoy the fruit of your labor." He paused for a moment before he said, "I like you, kid, if you want to make some extra on the side, come look for me."
Takuma tilted his head, confused. Enomoto flashed him a look but didn''t say anything and walked away, leaving Takuma with a tap on his shoulder.
That day, Takuma exited the LRC leaving behind two applications: Trash talking: The verbal art of mental victory, and Lockpicking: Locks are begging to be opened.
One for work and one just for fun.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Thank you for coming," said Iruka as Takuma sat down across the table from him. They sat in the same hall Takuma had first met Iruka during his first C-rank mission.
"It''s okay, sir," said Takuma, greeting Iruka. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something important."
It was a surprise for Takuma when he found a pigeon knocking on his window with its beak as he was washing his dishes on a Sunday afternoon. He recognized the pigeon to be one of those carrier pigeons trained by the messenger towers around the Hidden Leaf. When he slid open the window, it was as he thought as he found a letter scroll written in the Hidden Leaf shorthand system.
Fortunately for Takuma, he had a lot of practice in his shorthand skills (it was all that Maruboshi used when they exchanged letters.)
To his further surprise, Takuma wasn''t expecting to get a letter from Iruka. The letter was short and only asked to set up a meeting. Takuma accepted and sent the pigeon back with his reply. He guessed what the meeting could be about but thought he was being too optimistic.
"Are you familiar with the concept of team leaders?" asked Iruka.
It seemed being optimistic was fine from time to time.
"Chunin or experienced genin leading a team of genin for C-rank missions¡. Or, Jonin or experienced chunin leading a team of chunin for B-rank and even A-rank missions," said Takuma. He was well aware of it.
Iruka nodded, "Correct. Currently, I''m in the process of working on forming my team. I was impressed by how you handled yourself on the mission¡ and because of that, there might be a spot for you on the team¡. Are you interested?"
Takuma silently took a breath. He felt his heartbeat rise up gently. This was it. He didn''t think it would come this quickly; he had thought it would take another half year if not more, and that he would''ve had to go through multiple chunin or even genin to get a chance.
But here it was. A chance.
Takuma steadied himself immediately. A chance was all it was. It would only mean something if he could make something of it.
"I''m wholeheartedly interested, sir," Takuma said.
"Good, then you wouldn''t mind answering some questions, would you," said Iruka, taking a scroll from his person. Iruka spoke as he read the scroll, "While I was impressed by your performance, I see that your academy scores don''t reflect the same. Why is that?"
Takuma didn''t answer the question immediately. There was no need to blurt out an answer without thinking. He gave it a thought before saying, "I have no excuse for my poor performance during my academy days. It was a folly on my part, and it cost me. However, you will find that I have worked on myself to be the shinobi that sits before you today. I won the basic training tournament, never had an infraction on my record in all the missions I have completed to this day, and you have personally seen my performance during the mission."
Iruka looked back down at the scroll, which supposedly had intel on Takuma, his expression not giving away anything. Takuma didn''t know if Iruka liked his answer or not.
"You say you''ve improved, and I''ll agree that you have, but others who were better than you from before have improved as well. There are genin who are older than you, who have been working on themselves longer than you¡ª what puts you apart from others?" asked Iruka.
Takuma took out a scroll of his own and placed it in front of Iruka. "That''s what sets me apart from others," he said.
Iruka looked intrigued as he opened the scrolls, but as he read through them, his eyes widened. "You know all of this?" asked Iruka.
Takuma nodded, "I know every one of the skills on that scroll. From foraging for food to tailing someone, I can do everything on that list."
Iruka blinked and continued to read the scroll for a few more moments. "Do you always have this scroll ready with you?"
"Of course not."
"¡ Then you prepared this for today?" an expression of realization came over Iruka''s face as he spoke. "You knew this was going to be an interview?"
Takuma shrugged with a hint of a smile.
Iruka leaned back into his chair with a small sigh.
"Very well¡ Genin Takuma," he smiled, "welcome to the team."
The smile widened on his face as Takuma said,
"Glad to be here."
CH_3.20 (079):
Takuma put his hefty duffle bag in the locker, choosing to put it in the very bottom. Putting it down on any of the higher shelves would risk them breaking from the weight.
He closed the locker, and a long thin mirror on the locker door reflected his image. He only wore his black shorts and the leather guards that protected his forearms and shins. His fight for today was about to start in less than fifteen minutes.
He looked at his bare torso. He had picked up many more scars since he had begun participating in the weapon category. Most shinobi fighters wielded swords or bladed weapons, which left cuts on his body after every fight. He had been cut during the basic training as well, but Enomoto was a chunin who could heal wounds without leaving scars, but genin like Sango, his go-to iryo-nin, didn''t have the proficiency in healing the cuts without leaving scars.
He touched the ugly scar on his abdomen inflicted upon him by the Bloodshot. She was honorable enough to stick the kunai in a place that didn''t do a lot of damage, but it left behind a reminder like every other big wound did.
The scars he accumulated from fighting were much different from those that had come with the body. The new ones were often ugly and jagged, reflecting the ferocious intent behind them; the old ones were all thin and neat and uniform and clean. The new ones were mostly put expertly where it would hurt the most; the old ones were literally everywhere¡ª
Takuma squeezed his eyes shut as a sharp lacerating pain assaulted his head. He touched his temple and breathed deeply, waiting for the pain to settle. He reminded himself again that it was unwise to think about the boy''s past. It only brought him the worst of migraines.
He opened the locker to pull out his Scars mask and put it on as he exited the one-person changing room. The tunnels were damp and silent, but as he walked past similar changing rooms, bigger changing rooms, he could pick up muffled conversations from inside. As he moved towards the fighter''s tunnel, the sound of the audience washed over him.
In reaction to the sound, Takuma''s posture straightened, and his stride sharpened as though his body had been attuned to the cheers of people with an imminent battle. He nodded to the Ring employee there to confirm he was ready. The man nodded back and walked away.
"¡ the rising rookie Scars!"
Takuma jogged out of the tunnel; his feet felt light like a feather as he jumped into the arena. His opponent was already there. Bluehare. The petite man squatted near the opposite end of the arena, blue highlights framing the mask''s eyes.
Takuma dipped his hands into his back pouch as he gazed at Bluehare. After thinking about it for a moment, he pulled out a kunai each in his hand and ensured his cache of shuriken was in a place he could pull them from in a split second if needed.
As the announcer began to walk out, Bluehare stood up and walked toward Takuma. He took two kunai as well. Takuma cracked his neck and began moving as well. He wasn''t going to get caught near the edge of the arena.
The metal gate slammed down and at the same time, the two kunai clashed with sparks flying. Tiny metal shards were stripped away from the blades'' edges as the fight began with a metallic screech.
The petite Bluehare was a furious slasher, his hands blurred as two kunai whistled as they cut through the air. Takuma moved through the arena dodging and deflecting Bluehare''s slashing salvo. He moved at a constant pace, and while Bluehare was on attack, Takuma was leading him through the floor.
He wasn''t able to outrun Bluehare, but he kept moving. His feet didn''t stop for anytime longer than a second.
The Ring masks covered facial expressions, but Takuma kept his ears peeled and his eyes observed the rhythm of Bluehare''s movement.
The fighters of the weapons category were divided into two generalized categories: the first category wielded weapons other than those in the standard kit (kunai, shuriken, and senbon)¡ª they wielded swords, staffs, daggers, among other things; the second category was the category that only wielded the standard kit.
Takuma hadn''t faced enough of the first category to have a great grasp of every type of weapon and the variations that came with types and fighting styles. Those opponents were difficult for him, and he knew the only way to gain a better battle sense for them was to fight more and more of them. The second kind, he was more familiar with, but even then, everyone had their own way to wield their weapons and create variation through the addition of their own taijutsu skills; however, as he wielded the same weapons, he had a comparatively easier time.
Takuma caught a grunt from Bluehare and flicked his shoulder back to let a slash pass him by. His eyes followed the swing¡ it had a little more weight behind it than Bluehare''s average swing.
And yet, most of the Ring fighters were better than him at wielding weapons. Takuma knew for a fact that he was the only weapons category fighter in his rookie contract. The rest of them had vast amounts of experience over him.
He was at a disadvantage.
And yet¡ that wasn''t anything new. He was used to it by now.
Takuma opened his side to Bluehare and as the experienced fighter he was, Bluehare took a swing for it. Takuma, having set up the opening, blocked that attack.
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*Screeeeee!*
The fight that had been constantly on the move suddenly came to a stop as Takuma lured Bluehare into a prone situation. As Bluehare overcommitted himself to swing, Takuma raised his other kunai and struck it down without mercy.
A painful cry pierced through the arena, cutting through the noisy audience as Takuma''s kunai dug into Bluehare''s shoulder, tearing through the deltoid muscle. Best case scenario, one arm was lost for the fight; worst case, he had at least impaired it.
Takuma left the kunai in the wound and took a step back to ready a kick.
Bluehare roared, louder than what one would expect from such a petite man and with unexpected speed, swung upward diagonally from his overcommitted space. The tip of his kunai cut a long ribbon across Takuma''s chest and upper abdomen.
Blood splattered, staining both their masks and body and adding to the brown on the arena floor.
Takuma had found that feeling pain regularly didn''t decrease his ability to feel pain at all. It only helped his ability to endure the pain. He still felt every sharp pang of it. Takuma stumbled back a few steps. It just seemed that Bluehare had a great pain endurance.
It''s okay, thought Takuma, focusing harder against the fleeting feeling that was hitting him. Every exchange had a risk associated with it. The risk had given him something, but it also took away.
He just needed to get better at minimizing the possibility of loss.
Takuma built the tension in his body and released it through his leg that bit into Bluehare''s lower side. When the petite man buckled to the side, Takuma rushed in and socked Bluehare in the face.
Bluehare staggered back but very soon regained his balance, he jumped away to put some distance between them. One beat later, Takuma chased after him, motivated to not let Bluehare get away. Unexpectedly, Bluehare didn''t continue running and stood his ground with a kunai in the hand with the good shoulder, and his other arm was clenched in a low guard with Takuma''s kunai still sticking from the shoulder.
As Takuma leapt for Bluehare, he noticed Bluehare''s body leaning to the side where he had kicked him.
''That''s not right.''
His kick was effective, but it shouldn''t have done that much. Takuma''s focus moved towards Bluehare''s entire posture and he noticed that Bluehare had for some bizarre reason kept his injured shoulder to the front while his good shoulder was on the back.
Why would Bluehare do that?
Takuma''s eyes widened. Bluehare was injured.
Bluehare was injured before coming to the fight. Takuma''s kick to the side had worsened that injury.
In that split second, Takuma changed his strategy. He readied a kunai in his weak hand and kept his right hand free. He landed a few feet away from Bluehare and rushed ahead. He ducked under a sloppier slash from Bluehare and jumped for a rotating kick to the injured shoulder to expose Bluehare''s hidden side.
The moment Takuma landed on his feet, he struck Bluehare''s injury with the kunai and dragged the blade down to open whatever it was. His hand and wrist were dripping with blood by the time Takuma pulled his hand back.
Bluehare''s was a resilient fellow as while having a kunai butchering him up, he stabbed Takuma just below the chest. Leaving a kunai there. Takuma cried in pain and fell back. It took his all to resist the panicking urge to pull out the kunai.
However, even in pain, he knew the fight was over.
Bluehare raised his trembling hand in the air and a sharp shrill horn shrieked through in the arena. The fight was over. Bluehare had surrendered.
Takuma kept his eye on Bluehare until the emergency staff entered the arena. Only then did he turn his back to his opponent to walk out of the arena with the staff rushing after him.
He had finally won another one.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Somewhere in the Leaf village, under the late-afternoon sky, Takuma sat on a tree stump with his arm raised up as Sango held a Shosen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Jutsu) to his side, in the spot where Bluehare had stabbed him the day before.
Fractures and clean breaks in bones aside, wounds in the weapon category were harsher than in the taijutsu category. Sharp blades split the flesh and made fighters lose a lot of blood. When injured, more often than not, the injuries were of such a degree that a single healing session wasn''t enough.
Ring had the policy to provide one healing session per fight. That one session was enough that treated wounds would naturally heal with a shinobi''s heightened healing capabilities, but maybe not in time for the next fight, which was always around the corner in the Ring.
And Takuma might be a rookie, but he wasn''t going to be caught with an old injury. He had made that mistake once during his third fight in the weapons category, never after that.
"And that''s about done," said Sango, ending the jutsu. "A good night''s rest and you will be fit enough to fight tomorrow." She applied a balm on the spot that had gained yet another scar and wrapped a bandage around his torso.
Takuma put his chainmail vest and black full-sleeved shirt back on. "Thank you," he said and handed a wad of cash to Sango, who received it with her manicured finger.
"This is thanks enough," Sango counted the money with a gleeful look of fulfilled greed in her eyes.
Takuma was about to leave when Sango said behind him.
"Even though this is good for me, I care about my patients, so I will tell you. You might want to move back to the taijutsu category. The weapons category fighters fight twice a week to give their bodies enough time for natural healing. Your contract still has you fighting thrice a week. If you''re not careful enough, the injuries will pile up," she said.
"If that happens, I''m counting on you to give me a full course," said Takuma with his small smile.
"They say the customer is always right," Sango said and raised the wad of cash she had just earned. She threw him a bottle of blood supplements before leaving. "You know how to find me."
Takuma caught the bottle with an appreciative nod and left as well.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma stared at his wall of notes.
He hadn''t just ignored Sango''s points. He knew that if he kept getting injured, they would catch up to him. But now wasn''t the time to step off the gas and move down to the taijutsu category.
Weapons category provided him opportunities that helped him despite the danger. He was able to use the fights that emulated real combat far better than just the taijutsu in the taijutsu category. Earning mission points was only half the reason Takuma had joined the Ring. The other half of the reasoning was that he wanted to get better at fighting.
Going back to the taijutsu category opposed both the reasons. Yes, he wasn''t winning as much in the weapons category, but he believed he would improve, and when that happened, he would earn more per fight in the weapons category.
And finally, if he moved down, the Ring wouldn''t "allow" him to practice his very-much-in-the-works chakra augmentation. The weapon category allowed him an opportunity to test out a developing skill and gain valuable feedback that he wouldn''t get otherwise.
His current situation was more beneficial for him.
And to keep it beneficial for him, he needed to get injured less.
Takuma stared at the wall.
Every opponent he had fought was featured on the wall. Lengths of yarns went from post to post, creating a wide network of connections with a hundred more notes covering half of the wall.
CH_3.21 (080):
"Report, Takuma. Over."
Perched on the rooftop, Takuma peered down at the streets of the Hidden Leaf with a pair of binoculars, keeping an eye on an entourage of carriages working its way through the streets. He pulled the walkie-talkie to his face and pushed the button.
"Route-A is clear. No suspicious activity in sight. Over," he replied.
Joining Iruka''s team hadn''t been a disappointment. As he had expected, he had been getting a regular stream of C-rank missions, and on top of that, his load of D-rank missions had been cut down due to that. He had more time to himself¡ well, sort of, he had just replaced work with a different kind of work. But as the saying went: ''if you do what you love, you''ll never work in a day.''¡ª and he didn''t love his work.
Takuma loaded up his legs and crossed the wide street in one leap to the rooftop on the other side and began following the principal target. This time, the mission was protection detail for a wealthy businessman, his family, and their posse who came to the Hidden Leaf village for business and pleasure.
Three teams had been hired for the protection detail, and Iruka''s team was one of them. One of the teams was in charge of protecting the businessman, and the second team was responsible for the family. Iruka''s team was in charge of recon and support for the first two teams and providing another layer of protection for the client. For five days, they were to ensure that the client and his family were safe from danger.
Takuma ran ahead to inspect the final part of the route as they moved closer to the destination. The entire party would live at a luxury inn for their stay. At the entrance, a small crowd of people gathered around the front, blocking the access. The inn staff was trying to keep the people in check, but they were clearly having trouble.
Most of the crowd had signboards with words of protest painted on them. ''Stop making £¤£¤ off the suffering of the community'' ''Your greed is destroying lives and livelihood'' ''Resist the injustice'' ''We will not let this pass silently.'' The protestors weren''t violent, but they weren''t budging in front of the inn. The crowd wasn''t just them; Takuma could spot journalists and camera people by the side, ready to take pictures.
"Obstructions on the front entrance. Clear the route. Over," came Iruka''s voice.
"Changing route. Over," came another voice.
"On it. Over," Takuma replied to Iruka.
Takuma stepped off the ledge on the inn''s roof and landed directly in front of the crowd with a hefty thump, surprising them enough to have them step back (including the inn staff). He gathered chakra into his throat and raised his hand to keep the crowd''s attention.
His voice boomed as though spoken through a loudspeaker: "You''re encroaching upon private property and hindering a business from conducting its operation. If you don''t vacate the premises immediately, you can be charged for the violations. For everyone''s sake, please step away from the building and clear the entrance so the inn can continue its business."
The protestors didn''t seem to take Takuma''s words kindly and only responded with more vigor and louder demonstrations.
"Do as I say¡ NOW!" Takuma''s chakra-laced voice rippled out, cutting and drowning out the loud protests.
He had been practicing how to alter and modulate his voice using chakra to use it in conjunction with the Transformation Jutsu (Henge no Jutsu) to draw out the latter''s full potential. It was still in the works, but it was coming in handy at the moment like a glove.
A murmuring hush fell through the protestors as they stared at Takuma. There was no fear in their eyes, but heavy caution surfaced in their eyes. Both they and Takuma knew he couldn''t attack them unprompted; it was against the law. But it didn''t erase the fact that Takuma was a shinobi and dangerous. Law or not, it was logically clear the civilians didn''t want to take the chance.
Even if they only stepped outside the property line, the crowd backed away from the inn.
"Stand to the side, an inn can''t do business if patrons can''t enter," Takuma shouted again in a no-nonsense voice. It was only then that the crowd split into two groups. "Thank you," he said, but they ignored him immediately and began protesting again.
Takuma turned to the inn entrance and nodded to Dai, the older genin from Iruka''s team, who had been positioned at the inn. Dai nodded back and re-entered the inn. The inn staff thanked him and got back to their work.
"Hey, shinobi!" One of the journalists to the side called out to Takuma. He looked at the lady dressed in a chic, easy-to-move, modified blue cheongsam with gold embroidery. Takuma looked around to ensure everything was okay before walking to the lady.
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"Yes, ma''am. How can I help you?" he asked. Takuma shot a glare at the cameraman behind her, who had clicked snaps of him while he was dealing with the crowd. He once owned an Instagram account with zero posts, and his camera roll had a few clicks, none of which were his own. He didn''t like to have his photos taken.
"Hey, handsome," said the woman, flashing her pearly whites. "Why do you think Miyahara is coming to the Hidden Leaf? I heard it''s about the permits to use the lands on the outskirts. Is it true that the state leased the land to him?"
"I''m sorry, ma''am. I''m not privy to that information," Takuma said.
The woman leaned forward, and Takuma could smell her sweet perfume. "Oh, come on. Don''t be like that. You''re a shinobi, you must know something," she said.
Takuma shook his head, "You''re asking the wrong person, ma''am. I''m just security. Would you please also step back and give the entrance some space."
The woman clicked her tongue and leaned away from Takuma. All the pretense from before faded away, and she looked irritated. "Ugh, you''re useless," she said.
Takuma wasn''t surprised. The woman was a good actor, and her act seemed genuine; however, the situation was what it gave away. Who would act like that in front of a stranger all of a sudden?
He scoffed, "And you might as well be a pedophile. Saying: hello, handsome to a twelve-year-old is just pathetic. I mean, how desperate are you?"
The woman couldn''t have snapped her head back to him faster, or she would''ve snapped her neck. "What did you say?!" she said, her eyes widening.
Takuma shrugged, "You''re not deaf, are you."
"You fucking kid!"
Before Takuma could rip more into the woman, his walkie-talkie came alive and crackled,
"The principal has entered the inn. Over."
Both looked at each other, and the woman''s eyes sparkled. Her sneer turned into a dazzling but mocking smile. "Look at that; you are useful, after all."
It was Takuma''s time to click his tongue. They knew the possibility of obstructions along the route; the inn''s entrance was part of that. The three teams had planned contingencies for a series of interference all along the way. An obstruction at the entrance, even if controllable, meant that the entourage was to be redirected to enter from the back entrance of the inn. The reason why Takuma had to control the crowd at all was for show and to give the people an impression that the entourage was coming soon and coming from the front so they would keep sticking there and don''t go exploring the back entry.
Takuma put his walkie-talkie on silent for the moment to not let the woman hear more of the information.
"Well, thank you very much for that. We will not have to waste any more time here standing around," Takuma could hear the gleeful smugness in the woman''s voice. She took out a card from who knows where and pressed it against Takuma''s chest. "If you ever have more information to share, you can contact me anytime, sweetie."
Takuma glared at the woman as she walked away with her cameraman before looking at the card. Sugai Kaori. A junior journalist at the Red Ink Post. Takuma knew the Red Ink Post, one of the Leaf village''s staple newspapers.
He sighed, put the card aside, and returned to his post. His eyes went to the protestors and their signs. The group had young and old; some looked angry, others looked tired. Their clothes and attire told everyone here were common folk who lived regular lives¡ and had been screwed over by a rich person.
And he was a shinobi¡ a mercenary for hire, who worked for people who offered enough money. Something that his client, the rich businessman, had plenty of.
Takuma took a deep breath as he continued to stand there watching the people who had been wronged by his client, knowing that if they created problems, he would have to deal with it, whether he liked it or not.
He truly didn''t love his job.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
By now, it had become a routine for Takuma to come to visit once a week, and the clean, almost sanitized rooms of the C-rank jutsu archive had long become familiar with it. He had visited so much that he had come to recognize the guards and their exact rotation. He could now predict who would be with him in the room while he read through the jutsu scroll.
And he was sure they recognized him because one of them had delivered the scroll for Doton: Tsuchi Domu (Earth Release: Earth Dome) without him asking them for it.
However today, he was there for a different reason¡ or for a different jutsu.
Takuma closed the catalog and completed the form that had been given to him to fill out. He turned to the guard and stood up to hand her the form and a demand draft with the amount of mission points needed to purchase the jutsu.
"One Doton: Jihibiki Kansei no Jutsu (Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu), please," he smiled.
The guard took his form and payment and walked out, leaving Takuma alone in the room
He breathed out heavily.
Now that he had made a choice, he wondered if it was the right one.
Doton: Jihibiki Kansei no Jutsu had entered the contention around the same time Takuma was choosing the Doton: Tsuchi Domu. The jutsu allowed the shinobi to sense vibrations and tremors in the ground through touch; Those vibrations or tremors indicated movement that the shinobi could sense.
The reason it had appealed to him was that he knew how well it could work with the Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu (Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu). Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu worked well in obscuring the enemies'' vision and giving them a considerable disadvantage¡ª but the jutsu didn''t discriminate¡ª it gave him the same disadvantage as his enemy. His visibility went down as well.
As such, he needed a way to locate his opponents.
And he believed Doton: Jihibiki Kansei no Jutsu worked well in that situation as it gave him an additional sense. If he could sense the location through vibrations, he could reliably attack his opponents.
''It''s okay; it''s the right choice.''
Takuma nodded to himself.
With this transaction, he had made one-half of the purchase he had planned to make after getting the first payment.
Now, he just needed to get his third D-rank jutsu and bring his jutsu count to five.
CH_3.22 (081):
Three months of gladiator fighting in front of a crowd for Ring had earned Takuma enough for him to be able to afford a C-rank jutsu. His purchase of Doton: Jihibiki Kansei no Jutsu had been only possible because of the Ring, and Takuma was every bit thankful for that. However, the Ring¡ª err, his LRC course on lockpicking¡ª wasn''t Takuma''s only income source. He was still a shinobi who earned a proper wage through hard work. His nearly nine months of missions had made him enough for a D-rank jutsu. He saw no use in saving the mission points and spent them.
Takuma stared at the three scarlet D-rank scrolls and the two light lime green handmade scrolls he had made for C-rank jutsu on his living room table.
He cleared his throat as he picked up the scarlet scroll that was in pristine condition, unlike the other two that had gained some wear, like a textbook at the end of the school year. Reading the title still gave Takuma mixed feelings¡ª
[Genjutsu: Kasumi Jusha no Jutsu (Mist Servant Technique)]
His first genjutsu¡ he had finally bought it.
Takuma hadn''t thought much about when the old man at the academy graduation test had pointed out that he was under a genjutsu¡ª he didn''t even know that he was under a genjutsu until the old man had informed him. Even then he couldn''t actually tell that he was under a genjutsu, and disrupting his chakra had released him from the genjutsu''s grasp.
Things had been different when he had fought against Yuhi Kame. That time, he could tell he was under a genjutsu and even partially see-through it, which allowed him to win the fight at the last moment.
Just in case he was overthinking it, Takuma had asked Nenro to cast Genjutsu: Shibari on him. The result was Takuma suddenly finding him in the tight constriction of ropes that had appeared out-of-nowhere and restricted him without any wiggle room¡ and yet, the very next moment, the ropes felt fake and he didn''t need to stare to tell they weren''t real. A single pulse of his chakra had undone the genjutsu.
Once he could chalk it up as happenstance, twice he could accept it as coincidence, but for the facts to slap him thrice in the face¡ª Takuma couldn''t help but acknowledge the pattern.
Genjutsu didn''t work well on him.
Even the devil''s advocate''s argument of the caster lacking skill didn''t hold up¡ª but one of the three was from the Yuhi clan of genjutsu, and the old man was at least a chunin.
Looking into genjutsu seemed like an obvious choice. The purchase of D-rank genjutsu was the result of that.
The source of unease was that he didn''t know if his interesting circumstances converted to learning ability. What if genjutsu didn''t work well on him, but he had dogshit aptitude towards the field. It wasn''t like he could test his genjutsu affinity¡ª and he already knew his elemental affinity. The only way to know was to buy a D-rank genjutsu and try it out. The problem was that mission points were still precious to Takuma. He couldn''t afford to make risky investments and buying a genjutsu scroll read like a risk to him.
The safest bet was to buy another Doton jutsu. Logically speaking, genjutsu wasn''t even the second choice. His experience with Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu was immensely positive and Takuma wanted to learn another Suiton jutsu to increase the diversification of his jutsu arsenal. He had even picked out a D-rank Suiton jutsu.
¡ However, in the end, he took the risk. Thus, the unease.
Takuma sighed. It was already too late to go back on his purchase. On top of that, he couldn''t waste time procrastinating about decisions already set in cement.
He had two jutsu to learn.
¡ª¡ª¡ª.
Fuse, or Slash Baron as he was known in the Ring, sat down in the leather recliner in the VIP with a glass of neat whisky from the bar built as part of the room. Unlike the flat masks that fighters wore in the Ring, Slash Baron wore a mask fashioned closer to venetian masks with pronounced features. The paint on the mask had cracked to cause patterns akin to water-parched lands during droughts, showing the mask''s age.
"Is that him?" he said to the only person besides him in the room.
She nodded.
Slash Baron narrowed his eyes at the fight in the arena. He could see where the kid got his name. His entire body, toe to neck, was covered in old and new scars. The new ones told him much about the battles the kid had been in recently. And if he knew Ring fighters, he knew almost all of them were from the Ring.
"Scars, rookie contract, weapons category," she said to him.
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In the arena, Scars moved and skipped on his feet as he ran backward while his hands, wielding kunai, moved in a blur, creating a show of screeches and sparks as his opponent tried to drown him in a flurry of strikes.
Slash Baron noticed the kid was showing the symptoms of someone who had just recently come out of the taijutsu category. The kid wasn''t taking advantage of the distance that the standard kit weapons provided. Everyone knew about it, but habit and comfort were tough things for people to break¡ª especially for fighters, when a habit was engraved into the bones, it took breaking those bones to get rid of it.
''And yet he''s moving,'' he thought.
Scars moved through the arena without stopping. Even though Scar''s opponent was on the offense, the direction and motions were being directed by Scars. The combat was being fought on the run, and it was clear that Scars wasn''t letting his opponent get a stationary position to get comfortable in.
"Who brought him in?" he asked.
"Enomoto."
Slash Baron clicked his tongue. He didn''t like that name at all. Not at all. The bastard was good at what he did, but the personality behind that skill was just plain awful.
"Are you sure he is worth it?" He didn''t know this Scars kid outside the conversations he had with the other members, nor had he observed the numerous fights others had. All he knew was that Scars was being talked about in the circles.
"55-45, fifty-five percent record."
"Nothing special," he said.
"Yes, but you aren''t considering the category change."
Slash Baron shook his head. They were shinobi, and every fight they fought was different. On the field, there was no consideration for something like a ''category change.'' They needed to be ready for any and all possibilities. A shinobi needed to have adaptation running through their veins more than blood.
But he couldn''t discount Scars'' age. It was clear from the musculature and frame that the person in question was a kid. There was potential there. The question was if the kid would be a good fit, and more importantly, a good prospect.
"He has shown signs of learning a chakra augmentation jutsu."
Now, that was more like what he wanted to hear.
Suddenly there was activity in the arena. Scars'' opponent disarmed one of Scars'' kunai and went in for a body stab. Scars'' hand that had been forced to part from his kunai turned into a fist, and just the right muscles flexed as Scar placed a hook to the side of his opponent''s neck, just below the ear.
The opponent was tough, as the solid hit didn''t faze her as much as it should have. She recovered enough just at the moment to deflect the Scars'' kunai that would''ve opened up her like a pig on a butcher''s table.
Slash Baron anticipated a brawl coming up¡ª
Scars'' opponent leaned forward to reach for a jab, and her front foot was already readying to act as a pivot for a rotating kick. But suddenly, Scars redirected the jab with a quick smack before jumping several meters away from his opponent.
The kid dipped into his weapons pouch and unleashed a salvo of shuriken on his opponent.
The opponent who had already committed to the kick was stuck in her movements. She recovered fairly quickly for ''Ring standards'' and tried to jump out of the way, but the flying sharpened metal stars were already upon her.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Her quick hands deflected three shuriken¡ a valiant and yet futile effort as six other shuriken pierced her like darts on a dartboard. She dropped to the ground like a marionette without strings, and Scars rushed towards her with two kunai gleaming in his hand.
The opponent, however, raised her hand in a half claw which made Takuma stop.
A forfeit had been called.
"Distance," said Slash Baron, commenting to himself. He sipped on his drink, finding the selection available in the bar to be subpar at best. "Hmm¡ alright, let''s at least see if the kid''s interested."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma was in his locker room changing into his clothes when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up, utterly surprised. In his more than three months using the single-person changing rooms, not once had he heard a knock on the door.
He didn''t reply and put his ski mask and the Scars'' mask over while attaching his weapons pouch back on.
"Scars," a deep and smooth voice came from outside, "my name is Slash Baron; I was wondering if we could talk about something."
Silently, Takuma took out a kunai and dipped his other hand into his pouch, ready.
"I know you''re in there, and I just want a conversation. You have my word that there will be no funny business."
Takuma didn''t give two shits about some stranger giving him their word. It literally meant nothing if he didn''t know the person.
He looked down at the space beneath the door and could see from the slight shadows that multiple people were outside. The speaker was using ''I'' a lot, and yet it was clear that he had company.
But he couldn''t stay in the room in case the people outside were malicious. If they decided to kick the door in and blitz, he would be trapped inside a constricted space. He needed to get out or at least create a path of escape in case he needed to.
Shit! This really wasn''t a suitable situation for him, thought Takuma.
He unlocked the door, and it opened with a loud creak.
Takuma had to raise his eyes and crane his neck to look at the giant''s face that stood in front of him. Three more people accompanied the giant, and every one of them was wearing Ring masks. Except for the giant, who had a type of mask that Takuma hadn''t seen before here below the ground.
"Good day to you. My name is Slash Baron. I''m the leader of the Troupe," said the giant.
Takuma had zero idea what that was, but from the context, he deduced that the Troupe was the name of one of the teams in the Ring.
He nodded to them while looking over the group with a critical gaze. Just from their body language and the vibe they were giving out, he could tell they could be problems. But the main problem was Slash Baron¡ª the man was sending his instincts screaming danger and issuing flee signals.
The man was extremely dangerous.
Slash Baron''s eyes went down to Takuma''s feet. "Ankle weights," his voice carried a smile in it, "an old practice, but effective nevertheless. I haven''t seen many youngsters use them these days. I appreciate the effort. They will not disappoint."
Takuma bit the inside of his cheek. The first thing he did after removing his equipment was put on the ankle weight. His feet suddenly felt much heavier. He had been using ankle weights for a little while but not enough that he felt comfortable fighting in them.
"I apologize if this made you uncomfortable," said Slash Baron. "We have been following your fights in the Ring and are interested in offering a spot in the Troupe.
"Can we take this discussion somewhere else?"
CH_3.23 (082):
The sky had taken a darker shade of evening blue as Takuma followed Slash Baron and three others who he assumed to be part of the Troupe. The destination they arrived at was a rooftop of a vacant building of a higher length than its neighbors. An appropriate place for a meeting to take place in private.
As Takuma jumped to the rooftop, he glanced down at the street and saw moderate civilian presence nearby. He felt optimistic that if he tried to escape, he would have ample witnesses in case things went south.
"I wasn''t told about the extra company," Takuma said. In his view of observation, he could sense and spot more people on the rooftop. He spotted two people through the windows in the storage room on the roof, one hiding among the air conditioning units and another two near the white water tanks with pipes going down into the building.
Slash Baron sat down cross-legged on the floor in the center of the roof. "As the leader, I believe in the inclusion of members while making decisions that affect the team as a whole. The addition of another member is one such decision."
Takuma leaned against the raised ledge of the roof, away from the Troupe members. Wearing the Ring masks while above ground felt foreign, but everyone here had their masks on to protect their identity.
"Why should I join your team?" asked Takuma.
"Because we''re gracious enough to invite someone like you, brat!" said one of the Troupe members who hadn''t hidden
Takuma kept his eyes on the Slash Baron. "Lovely, but that doesn''t sound appealing enough," he said.
"Step back, Hotclaw," Slash Baron said to the man with three red claw-like markings on the mask. He turned to Takuma, "All the benefits any team could provide to someone like you, Scars. Information about opponents, greater freedom in scheduling, help in contract negotiation when your rookie contract expires, access to our contacts in the Ring¡ and much more. We can make your time easier in the Ring."
Takuma turned his neck to gaze at the village as it began to light up as the night approached. Joining a group would tie him to an organization inside the Ring. Maruboshi''s words surfaced in his mind about the darkness that dragged people in if they weren''t careful. Takuma thought himself responsible enough to take care of himself in the circles he walked in. However, he understood the dangers and limitations.
The offerings from the Troupe sounded useful. Iruka was a flexible leader and allowed Takuma a more than reasonable amount of time without asking many questions¡ª time that went all into the Ring. He had compensated from his side by taking fewer and fewer D-rank missions and only doing C-rank missions under Iruka, which were barely enough to meet his quota. Freedom in scheduling would help a lot in that regard.
However, nothing really good came for free.
"And what would it cost me?" asked Takuma.
Slash Baron''s mask hid his expression, his body was like a monk in meditation, and even his voice was calm and tempered. "Provide information that might help us¡ contribute to the funds that we use to pay our contacts¡ perform differently in certain fights when we ask you to¡ and work in favor of the team so that the team can work in your favor."
Takuma glanced back at Slash Baron. All he got from that he would need to pay up and lose fights. He had very recently spent his mission points for jutsu, and ryo left his hands after almost every fight. He did think that he would get returns if he made these ''investments,'' but currently, he was in no condition to wrestle the gains away in case they tried to pretend that they didn''t exist.
"I am grateful for this invitation," Takuma stepped away from the ledge, "but I don''t feel the time is right for this arrangement. Perhaps we can collaborate in other meaningful ways."
From the moment the Troupe had arrived at his changing room, Takuma could feel that one of them was impatient. The man had been the one to bark when Takuma had asked a simple question. So, Takuma wasn''t surprised when Hotclaw lit up like a firecracker.
"A meaningful collaboration?!" Hotclaw scoffed, his voice dripping with mockery. "What the fuck could we gain from a kid like you?!"
Takuma shrugged at Slash Baron. "Inclusion of members in matters that affect the entire team¡ Looks like said members aren''t really excited about the decision. I don''t think a hostile environment will benefit either party."
"You¡ª"
Slash Baron silenced Hotclaw with a look before standing up. He said, "I understand your decision, and yes, we would be glad to collaborate with you when the opportunity arises."
Takuma nodded. Slash Baron seemed calm, but Takuma didn''t know if that was an act. There was a chance that the Troupe might bear a grudge due to him rejecting their offer.
There was a risk¡ but on this side of the Hidden Leaf¡ª if someone pushed, you pushed them right back. A show of weakness was nothing but that.
Takuma raised his hand to point at Hotclaw. "Hey, dipshit. I''ll forgive it this time because of how polite your leader has been this entire time¡ª but talk to me like that again, and I''ll break more bones in your body than that mush you call a brain of yours can count. Watch your back and fucking pray that you don''t meet me in the arena."
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Takuma stood there for a moment until he saw a glimpse of registration in Hotclaw''s eye before jumping into the street below and vanishing out of the Troupe''s sight.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"I will kill that brat!"
Slash Baron turned to Hotclaw; faster than it took to blink an eye, he had Hotclaw''s neck in his grasp. "I don''t understand what warranted that behavior," said Slash Baron calmly as he lifted Hotclaw off the ground while Hotclaw desperately tried to claw at the grip that choked his neck. "If you had a problem with this, you could''ve told me beforehand. What made you think that it was wise to do when an outside company was present?"
"B-Bo¡ss, I-I¡ª"
Slash Baron dropped Hotclaw to the ground, and the latter coughed while trying to breathe. No one on the roof said anything about the sight in front of them, and they watched silently.
"Perhaps it''s good that you did that," said Slash Baron. "I didn''t bring it up before because you weren''t hurting anybody, but you don''t think I didn''t notice your use of the team''s name to do some personal side-betting, did you?"
All eyes sharply turned to Hotclaw, who shrunk under their gaze. Using the team''s name meant using their reputation. A lousy bet meant lowering their reputation and making ''negotiations'' difficult in the future, which was why utilizing the team''s name during betting was a team decision. It didn''t help that Hotclaw had been pocketing the money even though he was using the team''s name.
"B-Boss, that¡ª!"
Slash Baron kicked Hotclaw in the stomach, sending him crashing into the ledge, cracking the concrete from the impact. "There''s going to be a change in the matchups. Hotclaw is going to lose his winning streak and go on a losing streak for the foreseeable future."
And just like that Hotclaw''s future in the Ring took a drastic turn.
Slash Baron sent the Troupe members away and stared at the village from the roof, listening to the sounds of the village that always did the trick to calm him down. He heard someone land on the roof even though they were trying to be silent.
"He refused," said Slash Baron.
"¡ Do you want to try again?" she asked.
Slash Baron shook his head. "I don''t think he would''ve joined if we didn''t bend over for him," he sighed but wasn''t bothered by it. He didn''t lose anything from a prospect rejecting him. There were an unending number of prospects for him to choose from.
"Are you going to cut him loose?"
"No, I don''t believe so. His experimentation with chakra augmentation is noteworthy. We might pick this up again if he''s able to make something of it," Slash Baron shook his head. "For now, we will keep an eye on him."
"Understood¡ Is it because he is like you?" she asked.
Slash Baron laughed, "I was nothing like the kid!"
He removed his mask and looked at it with a sigh. A look of reminiscence floated in his eyes as he held it in his gaze. "It''s been so long since I have worn this one that it feels foreign, yet it feels like it was only yesterday when I had it on in the arena."
"You can always go have a little fun. I''m sure they would be more than happy to accommodate the Troupe''s leader."
"Don''t insult me by comparing me to scum like Bishop," Slash Baron put his mask back on¡ª "My Ring days are long over."
These days he wore a different mask.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
At the Leaf Military Police Station, a group gathered in the leader''s office. All of them wore the standard Leaf shinobi uniform, but all of them either had a sash with the Military Police emblem around their arm or had the emblem stitched directly on their sleeve.
There was a knock on the office door.
"¡ Enter."
The door opened, and a young man with short, unkempt messy black hair, onyx eyes, a relatively broad nose, and well-defined eyelashes that turned upwards at each end, stepped into the office. He was dressed similarly to the others but without the Police emblem on his uniform.
Uchiha Yakumi, who was among the group, greeted the young man. "Shisui," he nodded.
Uchiha Shisui gazed at his clan members, noticing how every one of them was a high-ranking member. If he had doubts about what this meeting would be about when he was summoned, looking at the gathering in front of him cleared every doubt about what the agenda would be.
He nodded back before looking at the person sitting behind the table.
"Clan Head," Shisui said respectfully.
Uchiha Fugaku nodded in return. "How is ANBU fairing for you, Shisui?" he asked.
"Not much different from my post here, Clan Head. Protecting the village and its people from harm has always been our clan''s responsibility," Shisui said. He could see a few people nodding, but at the same time, he could feel the glares of others.
"Anything of interest that you might wish to share?" asked Fugaku.
"Nothing that hasn''t been said in the report," said Shisui. He met eyes with everyone who glared at him without letting anything away. He was ANBU, they were not¡ª and because of that, they couldn''t do anything but take his word for it, whether they liked it or not.
They got what he gave.
Fugaku hummed as he gazed at Shisui for a moment. "How has my son been doing?"
So, they wanted to know about Itachi, thought Shisui as he said, "He has been assigned under Hatake."
The name brought another wave of displeasure, but it was in all the people this time. He agreed with them on this matter. Hatake Kakashi having their clan''s eye was a blatant insult to their clan¡ª and yet it was true that the man used their clan''s gift better than most of his clan did, though he or any of his clan members would never say it out loud.
"Itachi has been acting strange," said Fugaku. The man had no emotion on his face as he talked about his son. "Ever since he has joined ANBU, he hasn''t attended any meetings, nor has he been consistent with the reports¡ Would you know the reason for such behavior?"
Shisui, of course, knew the reason¡ª but he couldn''t say it.
"Hatake runs a tight ship. And this is ANBU we''re talking about, even Itachi would need time to adjust," he said. "I suggest giving him some time to familiarize himself with the new situation."
It was at this moment one of the members raised his voice. "Does he not understand his role? He must understand what this position means for the clan!"
Shisui stared into the eyes that had turned red in the moment of outburst.
''Such hatred,'' he thought with pity as he stared into his clan member''s eyes.
Fugaku hummed, and the angry man closed his eyes and appeared to be attempting to calm down. Such was the position of the Clan Head in the hearts of the clan members. The man had led the clan with competence and example, symbolizing what an Uchiha was supposed to be for both young and old.
"I see," said Fugaku. He looked at Shisui, "Keep an eye on him and report if he shows any suspicious activity. Both of your positions are very important for the clan."
''Just our positions, huh,'' Shisui couldn''t help but be bitter at that statement.
"As you command," he bowed. "Is anything required from me?"
"That would be all," said Fugaku.
"Then I will take my leave," Shisui said before exiting the office.
Outside the office, he stopped across a window in which he stared at his reflection. His onyx eyes, which were so similar to his clan members, stared back at him.
With one thought, he could turn them red¡ª
And with another thought, he could change everything¡
CH_3.24 (083):
Takuma recalled the time when he was a kid. One night, he was thirsty and walked to the kitchen in the dead of night for some water. He had gone from his room to the kitchen without switching on any lights on the way, even though there was complete darkness inside the house. That day, his kiddy self had been proud of himself for getting back to his room without ever walking into something. He thought of his home as a territory where he could walk without sight.
That little kid was dumb as a rock, was what Present-Takuma thought as he had a bandana covering his eyes. His heartbeat felt louder than before as he tried to stretch his senses beyond normal.
*Fwip!*
Takuma heard something from his right and immediately tried to move his body, only to be hit by a tiny rubber pellet in the upper back. He cursed bloody murder as the pain from the rubber pellet hit him.
*Fwip!*
Takuma shut up immediately when he heard another sound, but his body froze up when he couldn¡¯t figure out the source. He was punished by another rubber pellet hitting him square in the chest, bringing about another bout of annoying pain.
Why the fuck did rubber pellets hurt so much?!
*Fwip!* ¡°Ouch!¡±
*Fwip!* ¡°Shit!¡±
*Fwip!* ¡°Fuck!¡±
Takuma continued getting hit by the rubber pellets until a blaring alarm sounded in the room, marking the end of his time there. He removed the bandana and looked down at his body which was riddled with red dots from getting hit by rubber pellets. Once again, he failed to evade at least 90% of the rubber pellets shot at him.
He looked around the room. Hundreds of holes dotted the concrete walls with tube-like extrusions barely peeking out.
¡°Thank you! See you again later,¡± Takuma said loudly.
¡°Sure man, shoot you sometime later,¡± came the reply from within the walls. Motion detection wasn¡¯t used in the chamber to track him. There was a person who aimed rubber bullets at him.
Takuma pulled on a shirt and switched his shorts with pants in the changing before walking out to the counter. A middle-aged woman sat behind the counter with a newspaper in hand. She glanced up at Takuma as he handed her the booking/usage slip along with a payment of ryo for using the facility. There were many such facilities in the Complex that shinobi could use for training¡ª the rubber pellet room was one such facility.
He sighed. To turn Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu into a skill that could be used without certain conditions, Takuma needed to gain the capability of operating in extremely low visibility. After some research, a lot of which came from the Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu scroll itself¡ª a shinobi could turn a mix of their chakra-enhanced sense of hearing, touch, and smell into something that could be practically used in active combat.
An example that Takuma knew was Zabuza. A premier user of Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu, who had turned the jutsu into a tool for peak assassination. He didn¡¯t know if he could ever get as good as that, but he at least wanted to get himself to a practical level.
Essentially, he needed to become a discount Daredevil¡ª or even a full Daredevil if it was possible.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma pulled out a kunai from his opponent with a grunt and pushed her away. The woman fell to the ground with two stab wounds¡ª shoulder and gut¡ª a very large and ugly bruise on the right side, cuts slashed around their body, and a badly swollen wrist. The sweat and blood from her injuries mixed together, putting on a miserable sight.
But he didn¡¯t have the energy to feel bad about what he did. He had five senbon sticking out of his arm, shoulder, chest, and stomach. Three nasty gashes¡ª side, arm, leg¡ª had bathed his body with blood. His ski-mask behind the Scars¡¯ mask was soaked in sweat, sticking annoyingly to his skin. When he went to pull on it, his eyes caught the kunai dripping with blood.
He wanted to throw it away but couldn¡¯t¡ª they cost money, so he wiped the blood off his shorts.
The medical staff fetched both him and the woman to the medical room, where Sango took care of him behind a curtained-off bed where no one could see his face. He closed his eyes and let the iryo-nin work on him. There were no words spoken between them. Both of them had done this enough that they knew Takuma didn¡¯t like to speak (or do anything) after fights.
¡°Today or tomorrow?¡± she asked.
Takuma opened his eye a crack to look at her. It meant that he needed a private session to get fixed completely. But of course, he already knew that the moment the fight had ended. He had taken too much damage in the fight.
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¡°¡ Today,¡± he replied. Tomorrow, he had to attend a briefing for the next mission Team Iruka was going to take. Something about tailing a husband to see if the man was cheating on his wife. The wife was a high-ranking civilian with enough money to turn a simple tailing mission into a C-rank mission.
Later that day, Takuma met with Sango again after dinner time at the tree stump where they usually met and continued their healing session to fix Takuma up.
¡°Alright, done,¡± Sango said, finishing up her work by tying up a bandage.
Takuma got up from the tree stump, jumped on his feet, and stretched his body to check his status. Sango might have been a genin, but in Takuma¡¯s opinion, she did a great job because he always felt great after she was finished with her work.
¡°Go home and just rest for today,¡± said Sango. ¡°No morning training.¡±
¡°Yup,¡± Takuma no longer felt lethargic as he did after the fight. He felt tired and weak, but he knew that, like always, he would be fine after a night¡¯s sleep. He was still going to train tomorrow.
¡°Do you have anything else you want me to look at, something that might be bothering you,¡± said Sango, eyeing him critically as if she thought something was wrong that he wasn¡¯t telling her.
¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Takuma said as he took out a cash clip and handed it to Sango, who looked skeptical while accepting the decided-upon payment.
Takuma¡¯s face fell when they split up to go on their own ways, and a severe expression came upon him. Sango did a great job, but her sessions were expensive. For the past two months, Takuma had been availing her services around twice a week¡ª and he had racked up a substantial bill. That one activity had raised his expenses by a lot.
On the other hand, his job frequency had gone down. He hadn¡¯t taken many D-rank missions as of late, and the C-rank missions with Iruka only paid only a little better, if not as much as a D-rank mission as the pay was split among the team. And the base pay he got as GN-1 pay-grade genin, while higher than average, wasn¡¯t enough to support his current expenses. The Ring¡¯s ryo payments had only put a temporary stopper on the drain on his savings, but that would only last for so long¡ª
He needed to find another way to get money.
And, unfortunately, he knew where to get it¡
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma leaped from roof to roof as he moved through the village. Like any big city, the Leaf village had a vibrant nightlife where its people slept late. But his destination was away from that part of the city, somewhere where the quiet of the night maintained its peace. He was dressed in black, merging with the night¡¯s shadows, with his face covered with a blank mask.
He recalled the address given to him and pulled in front of what looked like a grocery store. Takuma observed the area from the roof across the store before sneaking down toward the back of the store.
As instructed, Takuma knocked on the back door. He heard what sounded like a sword pulled out of its scabbard and stepped back with a kunai ready in his hand. The eye slot in the door slid open, and a pair of eyes peered out. The eyes frowned deeply as soon as they saw Takuma.
¡°Senju Hashirama was the first Hokage,¡± Takuma said, his voice distorted using chakra.
The frown didn¡¯t ease up as they stared at each other for a few more seconds before the eye slot slid shut, and the door opened. The eyes belonged to a man, and Takuma recognized the body language to be of a shinobi.
¡°In,¡± said the man.
Takuma followed the man inside the building, and they immediately headed down to a basement floor beneath the grocery store. On the way, they met four more men who all had bearings of shinobi, and they eyed Takuma with caution and a threatening demeanor even though they made no direct moves against him.
They walked through the open space used as storage with lots of shelves across the floor and boxes of recognizable retail brands and products on them filling the space. The back of the basement had a small office with a single window covered with blinds from the inside.
The man knocked on the office door and peered inside briefly. Takuma heard a brief conversation mentioning him as the ¡®kid.¡¯
¡°In,¡± repeated the man as he held the door open.
Takuma stepped inside and joined the two men who occupied the office.
One he knew, the other he didn¡¯t.
¡°On time, I see,¡± said the familiar iryo-nin with small blackout shades and a bandana covering his head. Looking as shady as the day Takuma had met him,
Enomoto smiled, ¡°Come sit down, kid.¡±
¡°So, this is the kid, eh,¡± said the other man with a thick accent not native to the Leaf village. The man with the thick accent was a middle-aged man with pale skin, not an unhealthy pale, but a natural paleness. He had a head wrap over a head of gray hair that flowed down the back. But it was the light amber with so much depth that commanded Takuma¡¯s focus.
Takuma wordlessly sat down in front of them.
¡°Not showing your face is one thing, but no introduction, that¡¯s just rude,¡± said the man.
Takuma glanced at Enomoto briefly before turning back to the old man.
¡°Tobi,¡± said Takuma, throwing the alias of this world out.
The old man chuckled, ¡°I would be a fool to take that as your real name, brat. But since Enomoto here has vouched for you, I shall address you by Tobi¡ You can call me by my real name, Ryuu.¡±
¡°Great, so now that everyone knows everyone, let¡¯s talk business,¡± said Enomoto, clapping his hands. ¡°Now, Tobi here needs a way to earn some extra cash, and Mr. Ryuu here can provide an opportunity for that to happen. The question is if you want to take that opportunity,¡± he said the last part to Takuma.
¡°What¡¯s the job?¡± asked Takuma. If it was a fucking multi-level marketing scam, he was going to be out of the door before they could finish their pitch.
Enomoto glanced at Ryuu, who pushed his office chair back and reached down behind the table where Takuma couldn¡¯t see. But Takuma could hear¡ª and he heard clicking, and he knew instantly that Ryuu was opening a safe. His curiosity peaked as his mind raced to guess what kind and model the safe was¡ª and if it was something he could open.
Retail locks were easy to access, but safes weren¡¯t things most people had access to. If not for Maruboshi, who had introduced him to a master locksmith with access to storage safes, Takuma wouldn''t have been able to practice safecracking. Even now, from time to time, when he had time, Takuma would visit the master locksmith to practice on safes.
Ryuu retrieved a large transparent ziplock bag and dumped it on the table.
¡°This is the opportunity, Tobi.¡±
All of Takuma¡¯s thoughts about safes and locks vanished without a trace as he stared at the dried green herb that peered through the transparent plastic.
CH_3.25 (084):
Takuma couldn''t move his eyes away from the zip-lock bag filled with a dried-up herb that looked strikingly identical to what he had seen before. And from what he knew, it was very much illegal in the Hidden Leaf. He was coming to realize what job Enomoto was planning to offer him.
"How kid is the kid again?" Ryuu asked Enomoto.
"Young," replied Enomoto.
"Wouldn''t he then not know what the product is? That would be a problem."
"That... is a possibility," Enomoto said, turning to Takuma. "Do you know what this is, Tobi?"
"...Yes, I know," Takuma said - and simultaneously, he didn''t know what they called it here.
Ryuu didn''t hide his skepticism and distrust as he leaned forward. He took a fat joint from his person and placed it on the table before Takuma. "Then you wouldn''t mind sharing one with me, would you?" he said with an open flame burning from a lighter.
Takuma didn''t like that look on Ryuu''s face and picked up the joint. He lit it up, lifted the mask halfway, and took a hit before passing it back to Ryuu. The old man took a hit as he kept an eye on Takuma. The joint went to Enomoto, who then passed it to Takuma, who took another hit. When the joint came back around, Takuma refused it.
"That''s enough for now," said Takuma. He didn''t know how this body would react to the weed. Back when he was in college, it had taken him three "sessions" before he had gotten his first high, and right now, in the company of two people he didn''t trust much, Takuma didn''t want a bad trip. Two hits were enough.
"Well, look at that," Ryuu grinned, "the kid does know some stuff."
Enomoto stared at Takuma in bafflement. "Kids these days are crazy," he said. "As a medical professional, I recommend using chakra to protect your lungs while smoking. It''s a practice that every shinobi should follow."
Takuma had to agree with him. A twelve-year-old smoking without coughing his lungs out could be a jarring sight.
Ryuu scoffed as he took another deep hit. "So, you''re a Ring fighter, eh?" he said, exhaling a large puff of smoke.
Takuma narrowed his eyes behind his mask and turned to glare at Enomoto. There was a reason why he had only agreed to come here with a mask and had given a fake name. He didn''t want to give out who he was, and if Ryuu already knew that he was a Ring fighter, then he didn''t know if he could work with Enomoto.
"I don''t know what he''s talking about," said Enomoto, raising his hands.
Ryuu lifted his chin and scratched underneath. "A ski mask beneath the hard mask - that''s a Ring thing if I have seen one, kid," he said with a laugh. "And if you want to hide the fact still, don''t glare at him," he pointed at Enomoto - "it only confirms that I was right."
Takuma bit the inside of his cheek and felt the cloth mask on his skin, which he had gotten so used to wearing for the last several months that he didn''t even notice he was wearing one. He hadn''t considered that a habit would give him away, but that was what usually gave people away¡ªfucking habits! Takuma took a silent breath to calm himself down. He knew he couldn''t do anything to dissuade Ryuu, so he stayed silent. He just didn''t want to give away anything else about himself.
"Listen, I''d prefer to know who you are, but since he vouched for you, I''ll do business with someone who doesn''t show me his face," Ryuu pointed to Enomoto. "As long as you pay up and don''t jeopardize me and my business, we don''t have any problems."
Takuma wanted to earn money, so he had no reason to rat out Ryuu. Plus, Enomoto knew too much about him, so if he tried to screw something up, the chances of getting some serious pushback were really high. But he had to ask,
"Why does him vouching for me work for you?" Takuma pointed to Enomoto. He needed to know how the relationships worked in this equation to understand the dynamics of it all.
Ryuu looked at Enomoto with a half-amused smile, who nodded. Then, Ryuu said, "Well, he sells me the product, so his word does mean something to me. Also, my business going well means his business is going well."
Takuma looked at Enomoto, and he just couldn''t figure Shady Guy out. He was a chunin¡ªan important iryo-nin at that. On top of that, he was a supplier of iryo-nin for the Ring (his apprentices) and a recruiter for the Ring. Now, he was supposedly a drug lord. At this point, if Enomoto told him that he was the Third Hokage''s illegitimate son, Takuma would consider it.
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"Then why can''t you sell directly to me?" Takuma asked Enomoto. There was already an established relationship between him and Enomoto¡ªhe didn''t get why they had to introduce Ryuu and bring in an unnecessary middle-man.
"Well¡ first, you''ll need a lot of money if you want to buy from me because I only sell wholesale, so to speak," Enomoto smiled. "Second, my clients need to have an established infrastructure to move the amount of product that I sell to them. Third, I simply don''t like to deal with ground-level sellers¡ªlet''s just say distance is good for me.... And, unfortunately for both of us, Tobi, you don''t meet any of those three points."
Takuma glanced at both of the adults in front of him and remained silent for a moment before asking, "And from the job, I''m assuming you want me to be a street dealer."
"Good, you''re quick to pick things up," Ryuu said as he was getting bored and impatient with the conversation. "If you have the capital, I will sell you the product. Just a warning, I don''t sell on credit. If you want to buy, it''ll be only when payment is settled upfront."
Takuma was coming to understand the structure. Following Enomoto''s analogy¡ª Enomoto was the wholesaler who supplied the weed, Ryuu was a retailer one step down the ladder, and he himself was going to be the street vendor actually selling the product. Takuma didn''t know if there was someone above Enomoto¡ª only that he himself would be at the bottom of the ladder.
Takuma stared at the ziplock bag of weed, and as far as what he was going to be doing to earn money, he didn''t mind selling weed. As a college student, he had smoked weed many times; while not as extensive as some because of money issues, he was a fairly regular user. It hadn''t been legal where he lived, but he knew cannabis was a great recreational drug. He didn''t have any qualms about selling weed to people. It checked out with the Good YouTuber Philosophy¡ª only endorse/sell things you yourself use.
However, there were some problems that he needed to consider. He didn''t know the street rates. If he was going to do this business, then he needed to know the cost price and the selling price¡ª and if those rates were far enough apart for him to make enough profit to cover his current expenses and were worth enough for the time and labor he needed to put in to make the entire thing work.
So, he straight up asked them about the rates.
Ryuu quoted a rate¡ª and was immediately rebuked by Enomoto.
"Don''t try to screw the kid over," he said.
Ryuu clicked his tongue and gave him the rates again, and this time, the cost price was lower. Takuma made a note of that behavior before he began calculating what and how much sales he needed to make it worth his while¡ and after some while, he concluded that this could work. It would be rough on his savings to get that first supply, but he wasn''t a stranger to tough times, and if this could improve his monetary situation, he could tighten the string on his purse.
He knew accepting this offer would bring changes to his life, and it needed commitment if he wanted to make this work.
"Alright, let''s do this," said Takuma with determination in his eyes.
Ryuu grinned, "Happy doing business with you."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma''s life had never been busier. A combination of Ring fights, missions, training, and selling weed had cut down his sleeping hours to five hours in total. If only he had a way to get some of that bullshit'' passive income.''
He had to confess: on the first day, he wasn''t sure what to do with the stash of weed he had in his house because he had no customers. The first thing he had done was to decide where to keep his stash; while the quantity was low, he kept it hidden in his home but decided to find a better place away from his place in case the business grew.
On the other hand, as it turned out, selling was easy when there was substantial demand, a lack of intense competition, and a market where customers didn''t do intense research and price comparison.
"Shen, my man, how are you doing today?" Takuma dapped up a young adult who was one of his customers. He thought that if he were friendly with his customers and made them feel comfortable, they would be more open to approaching him more often.
"Hey, Jin," said Shen, looking around a street with a public park on one side and a street full of restaurants on the other side.
''Jin'' was one of the identities that Takuma had created to interact with his customers. Takuma wasn''t a weed dealer, but his other identities were. His civilian customers weren''t able to tell that he was using Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu), and his shinobi customers who could tell weren''t able to tell what was behind the disguise¡ªonly that he was disguised, which worked for both parties.
"Don''t be like that; look at me," Takuma gripped Shen''s hand, stopping the young man from letting his nervous eyes wander around. As long as they acted like two friends who met on the street, no one was going to look at them. "So, how much do you want today?"
"¡The same as last time," said Shen.
"Excellent, we can make that happen."
"Can I also get some rolling paper and filters as well?"
"Of course, we can do that as well," Takuma smiled. He had brought a lot of rolling paper and joint filters in bulk so he could sell the ''accessories'' as well. If the customers could get everything required directly from him and simplify the purchasing process, they would keep coming back to him. "You know the deal, payment first." But, simultaneously, he had to set boundaries and be strict when it came to dealing. A balance was necessary for good business.
Shen took out a few bills of cash and handed them to Takuma.
"Nice doing business with you, Shen," Takuma (Jin) smiled after he counted the money with a glance. "You know where to find me the next time."
Takuma turned back and walked away. Behind him, Shen patted his satchel bag, looked inside, and found that the weed, rolling paper, and filters were already in his bag. Being a shinobi with great sleight-of-hand skills was a great skill for dealing illegal stuff.
CH_3.26 (085):
Shisui cut off the flow of chakra swimming through his body, and all the momentum from Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Jutsu) left his body, and he perfectly stopped on the ground with no extra steps needed for stabilization. His control over the jutsu had reached such mastery that the blades of grass around his feet didn''t so much as flutter as he came to a stop.
He looked in silence at his young clanmate, Uchiha Itachi, the kid whom he considered a brother. Itachi stood in front of the Memorial Stone with the names of the brave heroes who had laid their lives down for the village.
"You wanted to talk to me?" asked Itachi, without looking away from the Memorial Stone.
"The clan has been worried about you since you joined the ANBU. You haven''t been regular with your¡ duties," Shisui said.
"Worried. You mean, they''re suspicious," said Itachi.
"Yes."
"They asked something of you?"
"To keep an eye on you."
"Father?"
"He was present and was the one to give the order."
Itachi turned to Shisui. "What do you think?"
"While not all of them think you''re against the cause, some of them have begun to think that you might not be as enthusiastic about the cause as they think you should be," said Shisui.
"The cause," Itachi shook his head.
Following the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox''s Attack, the Hidden Leaf''s leadership began to suspect that the Uchiha were behind the attack due to the Sharingan''s ability to control the beast. From that point onwards, the Uchiha were placed under close surveillance to find the truth¡ª something accomplished by accumulating all of the Uchiha property scattered around the village and giving them a large section in one part of the village after the devastation caused by the beast''s rampage. While it was true that a large amount of the Uchiha property had been destroyed during the rampage, most of the clan agreed that the reallocation to one section was solely for surveillance reasons.
This mistrust and isolation from the rest of the village created feelings of ill-will amongst the Uchiha and ultimately rekindled the hatred harboured towards the ''Senju-influenced'' government ever since the Uchiha had been side-lined by giving them control of the Leaf Military Police Force.
That resulted in the beginning of the cause¡ªled by the Clan Leader, Fugaku Uchiha¡ªa coup d''¨¦tat to overthrow the Hidden Leaf regime and instate the Uchiha on top of the village.
In preparation for the coup, the Uchiha started inserting its members within Konoha''s command structure to act as spies. Shisui himself was among those spies who made it to ANBU and relayed information to the clan. Itachi was placed in ANBU as well, and while his role was the same, in some ways, he was a more critical piece than Shisui.
The Hidden Leaf''s ANBU division was structured directly under the Hokage, but most ANBU reported to the ANBU Commander, the operating leader of the division. Only a small group of ANBU was directly under the Hokage''s command. When Shisui joined the ANBU, the Uchiha clan wanted him to be placed under the Hokage''s direct command, but he never got that opportunity.
On the other hand, Itachi was directly placed under the Hokage and had access to more sensitive information. Contrary to what the clan expected, Itachi became uncooperative with their needs. Unfortunately for them, the person tasked with keeping an eye on Itachi was also not in support of their operation, unknown to them.
Neither Shisui nor Itachi supported the Uchiha coup d''¨¦tat because they knew it could trigger a Shinobi World War. They agreed that the Uchiha had been mistreated and deserved better as one of the founding clans and the village''s protector. They even supported the vision of an Uchiha one day sitting on the Hokage chair. However, they didn''t believe that the coup d''¨¦tat was the way to achieve that.
"What are you thinking?" Shisui asked Itachi. They had met when Itachi graduated from the academy. Even then, Itachi always wore an indifferent expression, but with time, Shisui had learned to identify Itachi''s facial quirks to recognize that his friend had made a decision.
"I believe it''s time to let Lord Hokage know about this situation," said Itachi.
Shisui narrowed his eyes at the statement. Telling the Hokage meant betraying their clan, even if it was for the greater good. He licked his lips, thinking about the implications of such a decision.
"Do you disagree?" asked Itachi.
"Do you think it''s wise to involve the Hokage? It could result in tensions rising," Shisui replied. He had been withholding information from the clan, but revealing their secrets and operations to their enemies was not a light decision.
"Silently opposing the plans won''t lead us anywhere when the entire clan is bent on destroying everything this village stands for," Itachi''s calm voice had a rare heated tone. "We can''t do anything on our own. We need help."
''Oh, Itachi¡ if only you knew,'' thought Shisui. He could potentially resolve the situation on his own, but he didn''t want to take that route because of the ramifications.
Shisui sighed, "Alright¡ let''s get the Hokage involved, but we discuss what all we disclose to him." He wasn''t ready for his solution, which he considered to be extreme¡ª for now, involving the Hokage seemed to be the most logical option.
Itachi nodded and returned to gazing at the Memorial Stone, as if remembering the names etched into the stone.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma entered the Udon joint from the staff door and walked into the transfer area right outside the kitchen.
"Orders 40, 45, 47, and 50 are delivered," Takuma yelled out as he tore away the order slips hanging from the counter and threw them into the trash.
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"Good job, kid!" came from inside the kitchen.
D-rank missions were no longer viable for Takuma. His dealer income was already earning more than his monthly allowance when he was under the state''s care¡ª which wasn''t a large amount, but it settled his medical expenses. If not for Sango''s treatment expenses, he could have lived off his drug income as he had done before he was a shinobi. The only thing he was potentially missing out on was the mission points. Mathematically, however, being in top condition before Ring fights, thus increasing his chances of winning, earned him more than doing D-rank missions. He didn''t want to do D-rank missions, and the only reason he did them now was when C-rank missions with Iruka didn''t meet his minimum quota. He had taken the D-rank mission as a delivery boy for an Udon joint because Iruka was away on a mission as part of a Jonin team.
As Takuma craned his neck to peer at the clock hanging near the ceiling, he heard, "Takuma!"
He looked out to the small dining area. Three very large people occupied the largest table that could accommodate ten people. One look at them, and Takuma knew they were from the Akimichi clan. It was the fourth smaller person that had called out to Takuma. He could only see a hand as the large Akimichi blocked the view.
Then Masaaki peeked through.
"Oh, Masaaki!" Takuma called back, thinking why Masaaki was in the company of Akimichi.
"Join us!" said Masaaki.
Takuma turned towards the kitchen and shouted, "Boss, can I take my break right now?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
Takuma shouted his thanks and turned back to Masaaki. "Give me a minute; I''ll be right there."
After saying that, Takuma walked out of the staff''s back entrance that opened up into a back alley. The moment he stepped out of the diner, he no longer looked like himself, and instead, he was a blonde man with a bright smile. He walked into the back alley on the other side of the street, where a middle-aged woman waited for him.
"Miss Shimada, my favorite customer," Takuma smiled widely. "How are you today?"
Miss Shimada was a civilian housewife that one could find in any residential area. The only difference was that she was one of Takuma''s highest-grossing customers.
"Very good, thank you," Shimada said in an uptight manner without a hint of a smile on her face.
"Just like always," said Takuma. She never smiled. "What can I do for you today?"
"Double my usual," she said, taking out a thick cash clip of crisp fresh-of-the-printer notes. Takuma could almost smell the hot printer smell from them.
"Right up," Takuma dispensed the product after counting the cash. "Do you need something else, Miss Shimada?"
"No," she said while walking away from him.
"Just like always, then."
Takuma also walked back into the diner, undoing his disguise. He walked to Masaaki''s table, which now had a tremendous amount of food on it. Takuma had memorized the menu, and their bill was going to be large and very good for the business.
"Come, sit beside me," Masaaki said. The Akimichi beside got up so that Takuma could go inside. Takuma didn''t want to, but he sat between the Akimichi and Masaaki and was promptly squished between the two. "D-rank mission?"
"C-rank, actually. I''m spying on the boss inside to get evidence for money laundering. This entire joint is a front," when Takuma spoke without lowering his voice, all four looked towards the kitchen with surprise. "I''m joking; of course, it''s a D-rank mission." Masaaki and the biggest Akimichi laughed immediately while the other two followed awkwardly. "¡ or is it," Takuma said with a small smile, and they quieted down. "Na, I''m just pulling your leg; it''s a D-rank mission¡ I''m Takuma, by the way."
He was in a good mood after making the sale.
"Look how you got them. That was side-splitting," laughed the biggest Akimichi, who looked somewhat familiar to Takuma, but he couldn''t put his finger on it.
"This is the old uncle I was talking about," Masaaki introduced the old man. "Akimichi Choza."
Takuma furrowed his brow for a moment before they shot up when he finally recognized the man sitting across from him from a shinobi magazine. It was Akimichi Choza, the Clan Head of the Akimichi Clan. Which meant he was Akimichi Choji''s father.
"I-It''s a pleasure to meet you, sir," Takuma tried his best to be proper and polite in front of the Head of one of the village''s biggest and most influential clans. "I was in the same academy batch as Akimichi Hideaki, and I must admit, that boy is strong."
This was a huge situation that he wasn''t prepared for. Takuma could feel the extra product in his pouch grow heavy, and it took a lot of self-control to not push it deeper into his pouch. He was in grave potential danger.
Choza turned to the Akimichi beside him.
"Doto''s son."
"Ah, Doto''s son, yes. If I remember correctly, he''s learning under a Jonin," Choza nodded with a gentle and full smile. "No need to be nervous, Takuma. As you''re on your break, be our guest, and eat with us."
"Thank you, sir."
After the introductions happened and the table began to eat with vigor, Takuma focused on the situation. He glanced at Masaaki, who was shoving in without a care in the world, and remembered all the times his friend had brought up training under an "old man." Not once had Takuma thought it would be Akimichi Choza. He had no fucking idea how Masaaki had managed to get into this situation.
"I have to ask, how did you two meet?" said Takuma.
Masaaki looked up from his Udon bowl. "I was training with my bukijutsu one day when the old man came up to me. We fought¡ª"
''They fought?!'' Takuma exclaimed.
"¡ªand then he took me under his wing."
Takuma felt his head churn. Here he was getting banged up in an arena three times a week, losing sleep selling weed around the village, laundering mission points out of LRC¡ª and Masaaki was somehow training under Akimichi Choza.
He looked at Choza, who nodded and then at the other two Akimichi. One of them answered him.
"Clan Head saw potential in Masaaki and generously decided to help him reach his best potential. Masaaki is now under the care of the Akimichi Clan," he said arrogantly, but the mouthful of food made it come out anything but.
Takuma was once again confused. Masaaki had everything to gain from it, but what did the Akimichi clan gain? The confusion must''ve shown on his face as the Akimichi beside him leaned down to whisper.
"Masaaki is sponsored by the Akimichi clan. In return for the resources the clan provides for him to grow as a shinobi, he will work for the Akimichi clan and its interests."
Takuma''s eyes widened as an inkling of understanding entered his brain. He glanced at Masaaki to see if he could discern any signs that showed Masaaki was being mistreated¡ªbut other than the bandage on the side of his neck, Masaaki looked to be fine.
The meal lasted close to an hour, with the plates coming and going from the table. Akimichi ate a lot and was good for the restaurant industry of the Leaf. As they were leaving, Takuma saw them off and asked to talk to Masaaki alone,
"You go ahead; I''ll catch up," said Masaaki to the Akimichi.
Takuma waited for them to be outside of earshot before asking, "You''re working for the Akimichi now? Do you understand what that means? Are you fine with that? They''re not mistreating you, right? What kind of things¡ª"
Masaaki put his finger on Takuma''s lips. The usual happy-go-lucky expression had mellowed down to a small smile with seriousness showing through in his eyes. "I understand my current arrangement perfectly well, Takuma. The old man had made it very clear the day he invited me to join the clan," he said.
"How long will you have to work for them?" asked Takuma, still worried about Masaaki.
"That''s between me and them," Masaaki said. He looked at his hand as he clenched his fist, "I want to get stronger, and if they can make me stronger, then I will continue working for the Akimichi clan. And it''s not like they''re terrible¡ªeveryone I train and spend time with are lovely people."
Masaaki smiled, "You worry too much, Takuma. I''m not dumb¡ª"
"I never said that."
"Yes, I know. I understand what I agreed to, and it wasn''t an on-the-spot decision¡ª I thought about it long and hard before I agreed to the old man''s deal. You don''t have to be worried about whatever bad things you''re worrying about¡ª they''re good people," Masaaki patted Takuma''s shoulder hard and heavy.
Takuma breathed out as his shoulders loosened. He was still worried about his friend, but something from Masaaki told him that he had it under control.
"They''re really treating you well?" asked Takuma.
Masaaki nodded with a smile.
Takuma sighed, "Alright, just¡ just take care of yourself."
"I will!" Masaaki grinned brightly as ever.
CH_3.27 (086):
The arena reserved for the weapons category was filled with anticipation on a Friday evening. It was a prime fighting spot in the Ring. The fighters who got an opportunity to fight on weekend spots knew they were under the spotlight - a sign that they were valued. It was reserved for veteran fighters, fighters on long winning streaks, and rising fighters to gain popularity that would elevate them to the next level.
It was a stage of opportunities.
¡°I wanted to see Ironbull go against Lady Fir,¡± sighed a man in the audience.
The second man beside him spoke, ¡°I heard she got called away on a mission.¡±
¡°I was there when Lady Fir fought Ironbull last time. I so wanted to see the rematch,¡± said the first man. ¡°I don¡¯t even know the substitute. What¡¯s his name again?¡±
¡°Scars,¡± replied the second man. ¡°He has a 42-29 record. Pretty good.¡±
¡°42-29?¡± the first man quirked a brow. ¡°That¡¯s seventy-one fights. Then this is his last fight on the rookie contract,¡± he knew a thing or two about how the contracts worked in the Ring. ¡°Are they trying to get him to extend his contract by having him fight in a prime spot?¡± It was a known observation that many Ring fighters left after their first contract ended.
¡°Could be¡ but then why would they pair him against Ironbull? It¡¯s like putting a newborn calf against a¡ well, bull. Scars is going to get slaughtered.¡±
The first man shook his head, ¡°Ironbull is from the jutsu category - and the fight is in the weapons category. We don¡¯t know how well Ironbull will fight with his ninjutsu tied up.¡±
The second man laughed at that. ¡°You forget that Ironbull spent a year and a half in the weapons category before his first hiatus. And haven¡¯t you seen the tetsubo he wields? Ironbull will win this one, no doubt about it.¡±
The first man cringed at the mention of the tetsubo. He had seen several Ironbull fights, and the man swung the war club like a demon on a rampage. The Ring might have desensitized him to the shinobi violence, but the memory of Ironbull crushing his opponent¡¯s thigh with his tetsubo was still seared in his mind. His bones quivered at the mere thought of what it would be like to have the war club whiff past him.
¡°I already put money on Ironbull,¡± said the second man. ¡°If you haven¡¯t, do it quickly before the counters stop accepting bets.¡±
The first man wasn¡¯t the gambling kind but wondered if he could let his purse strings loose and put some money on what seemed to be an already decided fight. He wouldn¡¯t lose his money and would even make some winnings, no matter how minuscule, because of the odds.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A sheen of sweat covered Ironbull¡¯s bronze body as he walked into the fighter¡¯s tunnel with his bull mask that had a scratch on the lower left corner. Waiting for him were his team members, as they would be before any fight.
¡°Leader, about this Scars¡ª¡±
Ironbull raised his hands. ¡°My equipment,¡± he said. The Ring staff checked the equipment before fights, and he didn¡¯t like to remove it once he had put it on, so he had them check it before he put everything on in the tunnel itself.
¡°Go ahead,¡± he said as he put on his guards.
¡°Scars uses the standard weapons pack, partial to the kunai the most. He is¡¡±
Ironbull listened to the intel gathered by his team on his opponent. He hadn¡¯t heard of this Scars before, it was decided that he would be fighting the fellow because Lady Fir had withdrawn from the fight.
He frowned behind his mask as his mood soured. The foul woman had beaten him twice before, and this time was supposed to be his victory. He had been preparing for a fight against her for months¡ªhours spent recalling her patterns and movements, coming up with counters, and digging for openings.
All wasted. Who knows when they will get to fight next.
He was in no mood for this fight, and the only reason he had agreed to fight the nobody was because of the money. His contract promised great amounts of ryo for every fight, and he wasn¡¯t going to let that go away. It wasn¡¯t his fault that Lady Fir had withdrawn from the fight. Tsubura would have to kill him by sitting on him before he let a single ryo escape his grasp.
¡°¡ a seven-fight win streak,¡± the intel continued, ¡°that is attributed to the chakra augmentation¡ª¡±
That interested Ironbull. ¡°Chakra augmentations?¡± he asked.
¡°Strength augmentations.¡±
Ironbull hummed. He had fought people stronger than him, but he hadn¡¯t fought anyone who used chakra augmentations.
¡°It¡¯s time,¡± one of the staff members came to inform that it was time.
Ironbull raised his arm for one of the members to hand him his trusted iron-cored tetsubo with iron studs covering the surface.
¡°My tetsubo versus his strength augmentations¡ªlet¡¯s see who breaks first.¡±
With great fanfare, Ironbull entered the arena with his team members forming an entourage that followed him to the metal gates of the cage. The audience cheered in a frenzy as Ironbull lifted the tetsubo off his back and above his chest in greeting to the people who had come to watch. They were there to see him, and Ironbull made it so they felt like they were being seen.
From the other side, the opposite of the pomp of Ironbull¡¯s entry, Scars entered the arena quietly as the crowd¡¯s cheers drowned the announcer¡¯s introduction.
When Ironbull noticed Scars entering the arena, he walked towards him with his tetsubo dragging against the arena floor. Usually, the announcer would stop the fighters from approaching each other before the fight, but as Ironbull walked to Scars, the announcer didn''t say anything.
"You''re just a kid," said Ironbull, looking down at Scars.
The size difference between the two fighters was apparent as they stood near each other. Ironbull was broad and tall with bulging muscles suitable to lift the bulky tetsubo. Scars, on the other hand, was lean and short with wiry limbs that didn''t seem capable of holding any significant strength.
Scars looked up at Ironbull and tilted his head. "Ironbull, huh...with those things, Ironcow would be more suitable, don''t you think?" he pointed at Ironbull''s bulging chest, "Got milk? ¡ª Mooooo."
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Ironbull laughed rowdily before staring down at Scars. He raised his tetsubo a few inches before letting the edge fall with a thump.
... thump
... thump
... thump
He finally said, "You''re funny, kid. Try not to break quickly, or it won''t be fun."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
*Clang!*
The metal doors fell, and Ironbull charged towards Takuma with his tetsubo dragging on the floor behind him. Takuma felt for the metal in his weapons pouch and threw a volley of shuriken at his larger opponent.
Ironbull raised his war club with two hands and angled it to deflect or block the projectiles.
Takuma threw another volley of stars while moving back unhurriedly as Ironbull closed in the distance. He noticed the handle on the tetsubo was long with enough space for a two-handed grip, meaning that it was a two-handed weapon.
He recalled his experience facing two-handed weapons and based his strategy around it.
Ironbull leaped into the air, and as Takuma expected, he held the tetsubo in a two-handed grip and swung it down executioner-style. Takuma sidestepped at the last moment, and the metal ring on the blunt club''s end cracked the floor.
Opportunity, thought Takuma, and without a doubt, he moved in for a stab in the chest with a kunai. Ironbull released one hand from the tetsubo and backhanded Takuma, sending him back staggering, but not before the kunai left a gash just above Ironbull''s arm guard, spurting blood.
"Argh!" Ironbull groaned, his facial muscles twitching. The next second, the war club was up and swinging. Instincts took over Takuma like strings on a puppet¡ªhe bent his knees, and his back turned parallel to the floor as the tetsubo passed by above him, close enough that he could smell the wood, metal, and a faint scent of blood.
"Pesky little thing, aren''t ya!" Ironbull laughed as he expertly swung his tetsubo in a downward swing that Takuma jumped away from to dodge with two kunai hurling towards Ironbull''s face.
The tetsubo moved with surprising dexterity and blocked against the kunai before they could hit Ironbull. Takuma narrowed his eyes as he put a strain on his legs, pushing him away from Ironbull, who once again gave chase.
If there was one thing he had developed in seventy-one fights in caged arenas was a sense of distance. He knew that the edge was near. A plan formed in his mind.
Takuma slowed down, and Ironbull took a mere second to barge into range. The tetsubo split the wind with a horizontal swing for Takuma¡¯s head, who squatted as the tetsubo neared and jumped with all his might as it passed.
In mid-air, Takuma turned back, grabbed onto the links of the cage, pushed with his feet, and in a moment, he was above Ironbull. Takuma looked down, and Ironbull looked up¡ªtheir eyes met as Takuma raised his leg and brought it down in a Rock Lee-styled axe kick to the back of Ironbull¡¯s head.
Under his feet, Takuma felt the neck snap down.
Next step, he thought.
In a reverse grip, a gleaming kunai was already in Takuma¡¯s hand as he landed on the floor¡ªand he stabbed it into the wrist that still stubbornly held onto the war club.
Ironbull screamed as his grip on his war club
gave Takuma a chance to seize it and pull away.
Takuma stared at the screaming man as he moved away.
¡°I wonder how strong a bull is without its horns,¡± he murmured as gears behind his eyes began to turn.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°You dirty brat!¡± Ironbull roared with a glower as he pulled the kunai out of his wrist. When he looked up, Scars was nowhere to be seen. He turned back and immediately found the kid with his tetsubo lying by the kid''s feet.
Scars stared at Ironbull as he raised his foot and stomped it down on the tetsubo. Under the unnatural force, the wood cracked as it splintered and flew away in all directions.
Clink¡. Clink¡. Clink.
Ironbull looked down and saw one of the iron studs rolled by his feet. He looked up only to come face-to-face with three kunai flying toward him. His instincts screamed as he dodged away¡ªand yet, one of the kunai embedded itself into his shoulder.
His heart thrummed as he smelled blood. Ironbull reached up to his shoulder and pulled the kunai with a grunt.
¡°Moooo¡¡± sang the brat as he kicked the broken tetsubo towards him.
Ironbull breathed in a shaky sigh and growled with hatred bubbling in his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± Under an enraged haze, he rushed towards Scars and picked up his broken tetsubo on the way¡ªthe outer wood might have been splintered, but the iron core was still intact.
Splintered wood would dig into the flesh¡ªand he wanted it to hurt.
Scars ran towards him with a kunai in each hand, and the two met in a metal clash. Ironbull swung the war club only for Scars to stab a kunai in the wood and push it away while the second kunai flew for his head. Ironbull turned his head away to dodge the kunai and, with bared teeth, slammed his head into Scars''. The boy reeled back, and Ironbull swung the tetsubo with his good hand, sending the boy flying.
Scars rag dolled across the arena, feeling the splinters of wood digging deeper into his flesh, and shook his head to stabilize his vision only to see Ironbull¡¯s tetsubo coming down for his head. He jumped back, and his eyes glanced at the ground for a moment.
Ironbull pulled the war club up to swing it again, feeling the pain from his injured shoulder, when he noticed Scars pulling senbon out of his pouch. He flexed his muscles and angled the tetsubo just before they could pierce his neck.
It was then he heard,
¡°You need to rely less on that club and learn how to dodge.¡±
The ground beneath Scars cracked and exploded as he all but teleported into range with a cocked arm with bulging veins. Ironbull moved the arm with the injured wrist in the way of the body shot.
Crack!
Before the pain could even hit, Ironbull knew that the bone in his arm had shattered. One thought passed through his mind¡ª¡®chakra augmentation.¡¯
A guttural and deep cry escaped Ironbull that was immediately cut off as¡ª
Crack!
¡ª Scars'' other fist dug into Ironbull¡¯s torso, shattering ribs.
Ironbull coughed up blood as his vision blurred, and he began to feel faint. He tried to raise his tetsubo in front of him. His weapon, which hadn''t felt heavy in his hands for ages, now felt like it was trying to pull his arm down towards the floor with an immense weight.
Scars raised his leg and kicked Ironbull in the front, sending the larger man flying across the arena.
Sango watched from the fighter¡¯s tunnel as the metal gates opened, and Takuma walked out with the people slapping the mesh barriers as he walked past them. Most of them didn¡¯t look happy. She knew those angry people must¡¯ve lost their money and feared that they would swarm him if the barriers gave away.
She was about to call out to him when she heard footsteps behind her, and her breath caught when she saw a fat man that looked like he was made of tires trod out from the shadow with two guards behind him.
She recognized him¡ª Tsubura, the Ring¡¯s boss.
Tsubura glanced at her for half a moment before looking away at Takuma with a greasy smile.
¡°Ah, my proud boy, Scars. That was¡ª¡±
Takuma cut him off the moment he stepped into the tunnel, ¡°So much for balanced opponents, eh, boss,¡± he spat and stepped close to Tsubura. The two guards stepped ahead between Takuma and Tsubura. Takuma continued, ¡°My contract just ended, boss. And if you want me to continue fighting, then you either pay me more or¡ª make these fights balanced!¡±
Tsubura¡¯s smile didn¡¯t even twitch as Takuma spewed the heated words.
¡°From what I can see, you¡¯re relatively uninjured while Ironbull is going through a tough time right about now,¡± his smile turned greasier, and his eyes sharpened. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, the fight was unbalanced¡ª maybe we should¡¯ve paired you against a tougher opponent. What do you say, boy?¡±
Takuma glared at Tsubura before walking away with heated steps.
Sango followed after him to the medical room, where the moment they entered, Takuma collapsed on the ground. Sango immediately locked the door and rushed to Takuma¡¯s side. Other than some bruises and wood splinters cutting into his flesh, Takuma was relatively uninjured.
It was his arms¡ they were trembling aggressively and had turned a worrying red. She looked down at his leg, and even though it was much better, she could see similar signs.
Sango, having seen this before, began the healing process with haste. ¡°You idiot,¡± she cursed as she removed his mask to help him breathe better. ¡°Either figure it out already or stop using the augmentation.¡±
It was almost every fight where she had to heal bruising, internal bleeding, bones with hairline fractures, or outright muscle tears. He had been using the chakra augmentations for months now, and after healing him so many times, she had realized what exactly Takuma had been doing. She had researched to make her job easier and had found that his ways were primitive. When she tried to make him give up, as she couldn''t see it reaching a point where Takuma was envisioning it, he had ignored her advice and kept on using it.
¡°I-I¡ used it three times in a row,¡± Takuma eeked out.
¡°What?¡±
¡°In a row,¡± Takuma said again as his chest rose up and down. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to do it three times in a row.¡±
As Sango looked up at Takuma¡¯s face, even though it was twitching with pain, there was a gritted smile on his face. She looked down at his arms only to notice that even though it had only been a minute... his arm was already looking stabilized.
CH_3.28 (087):
"This here is the mission scroll for a mission that will take us out of the village."
Iruka held up a deep royal blue scroll in front of a group of six genin who were part of Iruka''s genin roster that he had chosen while working on a C-rank mission as a team leader. Takuma sat among the genin, gazing at the scroll. In the two years he had been in this world, the farthest he had gone was to the rural outskirts of the village and to the nearby wilderness for camping. This mission promised to take him out of the village¡ª the prospect of that interested him greatly.
"This is a special mission¡ as in, another chunin and I will be leading two teams for this mission. Moreover, because of the nature of the patron''s request, this mission is classified as a quadruple C-rank mission," Iruka gazed at all six genin, "which means with both teams in charge of two C-rank missions, you will be paid twice as much, and your record will reflect another two C-rank missions."
Takuma peeked at the other genin, their glimmering eyes and straightened posture showing their interest.
"And just like every mission we do, I need a team of three genin¡ who I''m going to choose from you six," said Iruka. "Who all is interested?"
Five out of six hands shot up in an instant. The one person who didn''t raise their hand looked nervous, but Iruka didn''t question them about it. Instead, Iruka continued, "Great, let''s have quick one-on-one chats with everyone right now, and by the end of them, I will have the team decided"¡ª but then he looked at Takuma¡ª "You''re coming on the mission, Takuma. I''ll be choosing the other two from the remaining four."
Takuma felt others'' eyes on him, but he kept his gaze on Iruka and graciously nodded, "I won''t disappoint, sir." No matter how others felt about this sudden decision, he felt great about it.
"Before we start, may I have a word with you," Iruka said to Takuma. They walked to the roof''s edge, where Iruka leaned his back against the rails as he spoke, "I hope you understand why I chose you like this."
Takuma said, "I''ve been on all but one C-rank mission you have floated for us," that one mission was Iruka trying out a different combination, "I don''t see why this mission would be any different." None of the others have been on nearly as many missions as Takuma had been with Iruka.
Iruka smiled, "You''ve been effective and efficient in all the missions we have done together. I would be foolish if I didn''t select you for every mission¡ And now that you''re selected, I want you to pick the other two. Give me a reason, and I''ll take it into consideration¡ Face them while you tell me."
Takuma quirked a brow, "Do you want them to hear me, sir?"
"I want them to know that we are talking about them¡ª if they could hear us, good for them. How would you do it?"
Interesting, Takuma thought as he, too, leaned his back against the railings and faced the other genin.
"I would read their lips," replied Takuma. He had been developing his sense of hearing for Suiton: Kirigakure Jutsu, but his training involved picking up faint noises, the direction, and speed for locating them¡ª not precise words and inflections.
"I didn''t know you could lip-read. I can''t do that. That''s good to know," said Iruka, surprised and impressed.
He didn''t have lip-reading on his resume (list of skills) that he had shown to Iruka when they had met, as he didn''t have sufficient accuracy. The process of learning how to lip-read had been interesting¡ªhe got to know that only around 30% of the language was noticeable through sight. Too many words and syllables were so similar that one couldn''t tell them by lip-reading alone. The words weren''t so simple, and tics, mumbling, accents, and mouth covering made straight "reading" near impossible. Much of lip-reading was an observation of visual clues, context, and a healthy dash of guesswork.
For the last year, he had watched people''s facial clues like tugging of the lips, movement of the brows, creases around the edges of the eyes, head movement, and their gaze, and the nuances and subtleties of body language such as their arms'' locations, the position of their shoulder and hips, strong or slouching postures, and distance between people¡ªto better ''understand'' people from a distance when he couldn''t hear them.
"What''s the mission?" Takuma asked first¡ªif he was to make a recommendation, he needed to know the specifics.
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"Eradication of bandits terrorizing a village in the Land of Frost," said Iruka. Takuma was about to say something when Iruka continued, "but that''s a front¡ªthe main mission is information trade with Hidden Frost Village shinobi."
Takuma quirked his brow. An information trade¡ªjust the sound of the mission intrigued him, and that too with another village''s shinobi. He glanced at the genin, who were either sneaking glances or directly looking at them.
"Yumiko and Dai," he said.
"Why?"
"Dai knows how to follow orders, and I trust him to do his job. Yumiko is a great listener, and she collates on-point plans, which makes cooperation very comfortable."
"What about Ichimaru?"
Takuma matched eyes with Ichimaru, a genin who was only a couple of years older than Takuma, and clicked his tongue as he shook his head, "He is result-oriented and tries to lead, but he isn''t willing to listen... And I personally don''t like working with the fucking prick."
Ichimaru had his arms crossed and furrowed brows, but from the looks of it, he didn''t look like he heard what Takuma said.
"Strong words," said Iruka, "unexpected from you."
Takuma shrugged, "I was trained to work with anyone," Maruboshi had been adamant about flexibility as an important trait for a shinobi, "but if I can influence the team structure, I will choose Dai and Yumiko¡ªI work well with them."
"Anything else?" asked Iruka.
Takuma shook his head.
"Good," Iruka stepped away from the railings, "now, wave them all goodbye and get out of there. I don''t want them to talk to you about what we discussed here."
Takuma peered at his chunin team lead, surprised. Today''s Iruka was different. The Iruka he knew was a straight arrow, which Takuma found refreshing because a lot of people he talked to these days were all devious bastards ¡ª but the young chunin had a faint glimmer of trickery behind his eyes.
"As you wish, sir."
Takuma waved at the rest of the Iruka roster before falling backward over the roof railing and disappearing into the streets away from everyone''s view.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Shisui flickered onto the top of Fourth Hokage''s monument on the Hokage Rock, landing on one of the Fourth Hokage''s hair spikes, and immediately stilled on the spot to let the ANBU guards hidden all around him take his presence in and relax so they wouldn''t jump at him.
"Lord Hokage," he knelt down and announced his presence.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, gazed down at the village as it was being bathed by the red light from the sun falling from the sky. "The Fourth stood right here that night, facing the Nine-Tails attack, all alone. If that day he had let that ball of vicious hatred hit, we would''ve lost many more lives than we already lost," said Hiruzen. "He died saving the village that I had spent my entire life protecting... To this day, I regret that he died and an old man like me somehow continued to live."
Shisui continued to kneel as he silently listened. He remembered the day Nine-Tail had descended upon the village as if it were yesterday. The uncontrolled palpitations of his heart as he felt the heavy chakra and pure hatred bearing down on everyone and everything in the air were forever etched into his mind.
Hiruzen breathed deeply. "The conversation with Fugaku... didn''t go well."
Shisui pursed his lips. Everyone across the village knew that the Hokage met with the Uchiha Clan Head today. He wasn''t part of that meeting, but he did participate in the clan meeting that happened afterward.
The sentiment was shared by the Uchiha clan. The only thing the Uchiha had been remotely pleased about was that the Hokage had promised the Leaf Military Police Force an infusion of shinobi that would solely be controlled by the Police Force ¡ª and thus controlled by the Uchiha.
Did that mean that there was no choice but to do something extreme?
"Lord Third ¡ª"
"This village has taken so much from me." Hiruzen''s words shocked Shisui. "This village robbed my mother''s husband away from her... It made my wife wait uncountable nights all alone, worrying about her husband when he should''ve been with her... It stole away precious time that my children deserved with their father as they grew up... It took my wife from me... It took my sensei away from me... It took so many of my friends away... Because of this village, my youngest doesn''t talk to me anymore... This village.... I have given my life to this village... Some days I wonder if all of it was worth it ¡ª and yet, for some reason, I love this village more than most things in my life," Hiruzen paused to take a breath. "I will not see this village fall on my watch. I will protect this village until my dying breath..."
He turned to Shisui, "And the Uchiha Clan is part of this village, Shisui. Today might not have gone well, but worry not, I will do everything in my power to keep this village intact and the Will of Fire burning strong¡ªeven if it''s the last thing I do. So, do not worry, Shisui, we will find a way."
Shisui stared up at Sarutobi Hiruzen and couldn''t remember the last time he had seen the man not in the traditional Hokage attire. Even now, Shisui could tell that the man in front of him, at his age, was ready for battle under that attire. In that moment, he became cognizant of the fact that this man had fought in three shinobi wars for the village.
He wondered if he could continue to serve the village for such a long time... He didn''t have an answer for it.
Shisui opened his mouth, wanting to continue what he was trying to say before, but closed it after a thought. He stood up, "I''ll provide any support from myself to make that come true, Lord Hokage. Please don''t hesitate to ask."
The man in front of him had spent too long worrying about the village and was still doing it right now. Right now, he would support all efforts towards peace.
And, in case everything failed and things didn''t improve for the better¡ª
''I''m going to make peace, even if it means that I have to force it on this village.''
CH_3.29 (088):
Seeing it three times didn''t make Tsubura''s office and his face any less ugly or gaudy. One would need to be either blind or willfully ignorant to disregard the obnoxious tackiness.
"At least the chairs are comfortable," Takuma thought as he sat down across from Tsubura and placed his mask on the table between them.
"People are talking about you now," Tsubura''s mirthful gaze had a flash of amusement in them. "Kids are beating bags for other fighters, and an easy-to-palate one-sided beatdown for everyone to enjoy¡." Takuma didn''t hide his displeasure¡ªthe connotation was clear; they expected him to be a ''beating bag'' when he was signed. "¡ but look at you¡ª Scars, the kid with a rookie record that is compared with the greats, as they say. How much was it? 41-31? It''s great¡ª"
"43-29," Takuma interrupted. His record wasn''t the cream of the crop, but his record told a promising tale for a rookie. As for the so-called greats, there were many. The Ring was an underground fighting scene for genin¡ª who knew how many of them made it to chunin.
Tsubura cackled deeply, "And I thought you to be a fool to reject the Troupe, but it seems to be working for you. Scars with no friends. He comes into the arena, fights, and then leaves. So boring, but gives a kid like you a particular charm."
Takuma was again reminded that the unbearable man in front of him was the Ring''s boss.
"You so unexpectedly defeated Ironbull. It was a great upset and, thus, a brilliant fight! Many eyes will be looking at you now, and I''m sure it will bring similar offers as that of the Troupe, but if you rejected the Troupe, I don''t see you accepting others." Troupe was one of the oldest and most successful crews in the Ring. For many, rejecting them was a fool''s choice.
"My contract is officially over," Takuma swerved the conversation to the point. He didn''t want to make small talk with Tsubura.
"Let''s talk business then," Tsubura rapped his meaty, gold-ringed fingers on the table. "Looking at your performance, I say that the standard second contract will do good. It''ll increase your payout per fight, but for it, you''ll have to commit for an entire year, and I''ll have you stay in the weapons category as you''re doing well in it."
"I want to move into the ninjutsu category," Takuma said.
"I can''t give you that," Tsubura rejected promptly. "You have to be in the Ring for a certain amount of time and build a reputation worthy enough to be in the ninjutsu category."
The ninjutsu category was the Ring''s most prestigious category. It was the place where the top talents gathered. The shinobi fighters could use their complete skillset during the fights in the ninjutsu category. It was also the category with the most spectacle and, thus, the fights that the audience was most interested in watching. And for Takuma, most importantly, the ninjutsu category paid by far the most.
Takuma said, "I''m not asking to join immediately."
He knew he wasn''t ready for the ninjutsu category because Ring''s ninjutsu category had special rules. Two of those special rules that concerned Takuma were: no genjutsu and no jutsu that obstructed the audience''s view.
The no genjutsu rule was because it made the fights boring for the audience. Similarly, jutsu that obstructed the audience''s view made watching unfeasible. Those two rules eliminated two of Takuma''s D-rank jutsu¡ªGenjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu and Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Without Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu, Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu was mostly useless.
Lightning Release: Shock was his weakest jutsu, something he wasn''t proficient in. His only offensive jutsu being his weakest wasn''t optimal at all.
Leaving him with one good option in the form of Earth Release: Earth Dome.
"I want you to give me a chance at the ninjutsu category at the six-month mark," said Takuma. He wasn''t ready now, but he could be in six months.
Tsubura''s fingers rapped on the table again. The sound of gold hitting wood echoed in the room. "...What will you give me for it?" asked Tsubura. This was a negotiation; if Takuma wanted something, he needed to give something back.
"Five fights every two weeks," said Takuma. The three-fights-per-week contract was exploitative; it made a Ring fighter''s life tough with injuries and time management, which was why the fighters reduced the number of fights to two fights per week during the second contract. Takuma was offering 26 more fights in the one-year commitment that Tsubura was asking of him.
"Not enough," Tsubura said.
"...I''ll participate in the 2v1 category."
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Takuma''s words seemed to do the trick as Tsubura leaned forward.
The 2v1 category was widely unpopular as no fighter was winning much since it was more difficult with double the opponents. And losing didn''t give any mission points or ryo. So it made no sense for Ring fighters to participate, and thus it was close to a dead category¡ªnothing was to be said about 3v1 and the desolate 4v1 category.
2v1 was yet another type of spectacle, and from what Takuma had gathered, another fighter in the category would be very good for the Ring as it would bring in more people to watch, make risky bets, and lose money¡ªand that was his offering.
"I''ll only give you this if the 2v1 fights are a minority, and I mainly participate in the weapons and taijutsu categories," said Takuma. He still wanted to earn mission points, and he wasn''t delusional enough to believe that fighting in the 2v1 category wouldn''t decrease his winning percentage.
"Oh, you beautiful child, you have yourself a fabulous deal," Tsubura smiled.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Here, here," Ai raised a glass of cola and gathered the table''s attention. "I propose a toast to Takuma and his first mission outside the village. The baby bird is finally leaving home."
Takuma raised the glass, as did Nenro, Masaaki, and Taro. In celebration of Takuma''s upcoming C-rank mission, Ai threw a party at the trio''s house. The house was their meeting location when they didn''t want to go out¡ªTaro''s home had his parents, and Takuma''s was small (and had the product).
"I''ll bring gifts for you children," said Takuma with a smile.
"So, what''s the mission," asked Taro, picking up a chicken drumstick from the spread.
"Bandit clean-up in the Land of Frost," said Takuma, piling the food on his plate.
"Land of Frost is far, isn''t it?" Nenro asked. "And they have their own Hidden Village; I wonder why the client asked our village."
"That''s right, actually. If you think about it, isn''t the Hidden Cloud a better option for them?" said Taro. Land of Frost shared a border with Land of Lightning¡ªwhile Land of Fire and Land of Frost had Land of Hot Waters between them.
Takuma took out the mission briefing scroll he had been carrying around to read in his free time and tossed it to Nenro. Taro leaned to look at it as well while Nenro opened the scroll. Unlike many B-rank missions, and all A-rank missions¡ª C-rank missions didn''t have confidentiality clause attached to them.
"¡ Information trade?" Nenro muttered.
"Oh, so it''s a cover mission for another objective. That''s a good mission right there," said Taro. "This double team situation is also interesting."
"It''s neat, right?" grinned Takuma. The mission actually sounded like a shinobi mission.
"You''ll get to meet foreign shinobi as well," said Ai, who was reading from over Nenro''s shoulder. "I saw a convoy from the Hidden Sand last month from a distance. Their gear was different from ours, just like it said in the textbooks." Genin like them didn''t get to see foreign shinobi.
"Any idea what kind of information you''re going to trade?" asked Nenro, still reading through the mission scroll.
Takuma shook his head. "That''s the chunin''s business. The genin are on a need-to-know basis. And I''m not curious¡ªit might be above my pay grade, and I don''t want to get into trouble by poking my nose somewhere." His aspirations with the mission were to complete it as smoothly as any other and do some sightseeing on the way.
"Masaaki, what do you think?" Takuma asked Masaaki, who was shoveling food in his mouth.
Masaaki looked up and gave a thumbs-up. "You get to beat up some bandits, nice!"
Takuma shook his head. Of course, that was what interested Masaaki the most.
"Looks like you got a nice chunin to serve under," said Taro.
Takuma nodded in deep agreement. As a team leader and mission provider, Iruka was a great option. He glanced at Nenro, who had told them that he was working under three chunin as all of them had too big of rosters and couldn''t provide C-rank missions on a consistent basis¡ªas such, Nenro had to get them from multiple sources.
The fact that Takuma didn''t have to seek another chunin showed how well he and Iruka worked together.
"I''m lucky to have come into contact with a new chunin," said Takuma. Iruka had only been a chunin as long as Takuma had been a genin. "I was literally the first addition to his roster. Things could''ve gone differently if he had been more experienced and had an established roster."
Ai said, "Don''t cut yourself short like that. Fortune favors the prepared¡ªyou got a chance, and you grabbed it. Give yourself some credit. Don''t you think so, Nenro?"
"Huh, what?" Nenro looked up from the mission scroll. "A young chunin is a great find. Umino Iruka, was it¡ªhe isn''t from a clan, correct?"
"His parents were shinobi, but he doesn''t come from a clan," answered Takuma. Parents that had died in the Nine-Tail attack.
"You were really fortunate then. If he had been from a clan, the roster would''ve been his clanmates. Four of the chunin I know solely work with their clanmates," Nenro sighed.
"Don''t worry, guys; when I make chunin, you all will be on my roster," said Masaaki, raising a drumstick.
"Cheers to that," Takuma raised his glass.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma turned onto the street to arrive at the decided meeting place and saw a group of people already there. He saw Iruka, Yumiko, and Dai, along with four others. He was on time, but it seemed he was the last one to arrive.
"Good morning," he greeted as he joined his fellow genin.
"Let''s do a basic introduction before we leave," Iruka struck a conversation. "We will have a lot of time to get to know each other on the way."
Iruka started, and his genin followed. As they were introducing themselves, Takuma noticed a flash of displeasure in the other chunin''s eyes. It was barely noticeable, but he was able to clock it. It made him wonder if they did something wrong.
"Shimura Raiden," said the other chunin. The man had shaggy black hair and a resting mean face. He didn''t wear a standard uniform and was instead dressed in a black muscle shirt, baggy grey pants, and a set of matching wrist guards.
''A clan chunin,'' thought Takuma and looked at the genin to see if they bore a physical resemblance to the man, but they looked different.
"Izuno Aya," said the girl who looked like a lithe cat with pale skin and dark hair.
Takuma recognized the clan''s name. Izuno was a low-level clan in the Leaf village that practiced a special form of taijutsu.
"Onikuma Yuko," said the next girl. She was a brunette tomboy with green eyes.
Takuma was surprised. The Onikuma clan practiced a hiden-jutsu that was said to give them a tremendous boost in physical capabilities. He didn''t know the exact details as he had never witnessed it.
"Aburame Susumu," said the final genin. Takuma didn''t need the name to recognize that the guy in front of him was an Aburame because every single person from that clan wore some sort of eyewear.
''¡ All of them are clan shinobi,'' thought Takuma.
CH_3.30 (089)
The dual team of eight shinobi made their way through the trade roads, and with no civilian in their company, they traveled at speeds comparable to that of galloping horses. The green scenery of the open domains of the Land of Fire made for a calming sight as they moved forward on their journey to cross one country into another for the purpose of the mission.
Iruka looked at his team of three that ran in front of him. They maintained the three-point formation with Dai in the front and center, Takuma in the middle and left, and Yumiko in the back and right. He glanced at Raiden''s team to the side. Unlike him, Raiden was at the head of the formation, with his team following him in the reverse triangular formation.
Even though it hadn''t been long since they had started their journey, neither team had broached any conversation with the other. Inter-team communication was vital in multi-team missions such as the one they were currently on for building synergy and cooperation. The silence between the two teams wasn''t ideal.
And it wasn''t as though they were unknowing greenhorns. Dai had been a shinobi longer than him, Yumiko had three years under her belt, and the Raiden''s team was from the same batch and had two years of shinobi experience¡ª only Takuma, the youngest, had a single year as a shinobi, but he expected more from the mature youngster.
''Should I open up a conversation?''
Iruka decided he would do so if they didn''t break the ice before long.
An opportunity for discussion came soon when they arrived at a crossroads. Raiden shot him a look, and Iruka nodded in understanding and stepped back, letting the genin take care of the situation. Their job was to guide the genin but also observe how they conducted themselves during this mission.
"We leave NC-44¡ get on NC-13, and take it until we are on NC-48, which we take to its end, and then get on NC-67 to the border," said Izuno Aya, her tone showing confidence in herself being right.
"That''s adding a day of needless travel," Yumiko shook her head. "NC-44 goes deep into the east. It would be better to follow it and then take the secondary routes all to way to NC-67, which will take us to the border as you said."
"I calculated the distance, we aren''t wasting any time as you''re suggesting," Aya narrowed her cat-like eyes.
"So did I, and I find it to be the optimal route," Yumiko shot back.
The general practice for missions that required extensive travel was to plan the routes before they left the village. Even now, Iruka had the preferred travel route prepared, but they hadn''t shared it with the genin. Moreover, none had asked for it from their own side.
Just when it seemed an argument was about to break between the teams, Takuma spoke up.
"We continue on NC-44 for thirty-six hours until we reach the Miya Lake Town and then use NC-21 as a connection to NC-67 to the border." Everyone''s eyes turned to Takuma, squatting in front of a map with a piece of creased paper in his hand.
Iruka stepped closer and gazed at the map and paper in Takuma''s hand. The map was exceptionally well-made and looked more expensive than the one he owned. As for the piece of paper, it seemed to be an itinerary.
The route that Takuma had planned was different from what he and Raiden had planned. Iruka looked at Raiden to find the other chunin standing near Takuma, frowning down at the map and itinerary.
"Why would you take NC-21? That doesn''t make any sense," Aya disagreed wholeheartedly.
"If we divide the travel into three legs. In the first leg, we travel for a day and a half and reach the Miya Lake Town¡ª in the second leg, we travel non-stop, exit the country, travel across the Land of Hot Water, and enter the Land of Frost in one go¡ª we take a rest in the Land of Frost before reaching our destination," Takuma traced his finger over NC-44 until he reached a point on the map. "Our travel budget is limited¡ª"
"What travel budget?" asked Onikuma Yuko, surprised.
"It''s on the mission briefing scroll," said Takuma nonchalantly. "As I said, we have a limited travel budget, so we must use our funds prudently. Miya Lake Town has a military garrison that would provide us with free food and lodging as we rest. I''ve no problem camping outside, but sleeping on a proper bed would be better for everyone. We can use the budget for lodgings in the Land of Frost and simultaneously inquire about the best route to our destination. After that, I''m sure the ''client'' would be more than happy to provide food and a place to sleep when we arrive at the destination."
Iruka hid a smile. He was impressed and proud that Takuma had considered the mission budget while planning the route and that he had found a place that would be able to provide them with free food and lodging. He looked at Raiden, who nodded, although grudgingly. Iruka sighed. Given Raiden''s reputation, Iruka wouldn''t have worked with the man, but he had gotten the mission through his teacher''s recommendation. He was still new and couldn''t be picky about things.
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"We will follow Takuma''s route," Iruka announced.
Aya and Yuko looked to Raiden, who grunted an acceptance. They didn''t look pleased¡ª as for Aburame Susumu¡ Iruka could never tell what an Aburame was thinking.
Iruka turned to Takuma and found him staring briefly at the other Raiden and his team before turning away.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Among land mammals, humans were known for their sheer endurance. The reason humans could dominate when so many more powerful and vicious species equipped with killing weapons roamed the lands was due to that endurance. Humans could run for hours while using relatively small amounts of energy, while others got tired far before. The sweat glands and lack of fur on their bodies allowed humans to keep a cool body temperature while exerting effort. As a species, they would chase down their prey until it got tired and strike at the opportune time for victory.
When that same species was introduced to chakra, it elevated that endurance to another level. Shinobi were faster than horses and more tenacious than camels, and while they also used other transportation methods when the need arose, their own two legs were the best and most reliable mode of transportation.
"I can see the town," Dai announced from the front.
Takuma breathed out deeply. They had been on the road for thirty-seven hours, and he felt that it was high time that he made love with a bed. His body could''ve gone for a couple more hours, but his mind was calling for a shuteye.
The first leg of the journey had gone swiftly with no problems. Apart from the Land of Earth, which was ridiculously rich in natural mineral reserves, the Land of Fire was the second most prosperous nation on the continent due to the vast arable lands. The National Corridor (NC) system laid across the country was a reason and an outcome of that wealth, connecting the country with properly established trade routes. The well-documented corridors were the reason why Takuma was able to accurately estimate the travel time. They had only taken an hour longer than it was supposed to.
If he were to point out a problem, it would be Shimura Raiden. The man had made not one but several veiled remarks about him, Dai, and Yumiko whenever they had stopped along the way, while he had said nothing about his own team taking such breaks. Iruka hadn''t retaliated, but he had sharply asked Raiden to mind his tongue.
Miya Lake Town started out as a military rest base in the Second Shinobi War and was then turned into a waterfront town after the war ended. Nowadays, it was used as a rest stop for merchants and trade caravans because of its strategic location near a national corridor. Tourists visited the town because of recreational fishing and boating in the Miya Lake. Moreover, the military garrison in the town was a sign of safety which made it even more popular for merchants and tourists alike.
As Takuma had expected, the garrison welcomed the team with open arms. The presence of two chunin carried weight in the Land of Fire, especially when they were posted in the Hidden Leaf village, and the sole chunin in charge of the garrison was very inviting and had extended his warm hospitality.
"That was good food right there," Yumiko said, stretching her hand above her head as they headed to bed.
Dai nodded as he burped behind his hand.
"The seafood was really fresh," said Takuma, satisfied. The food had a different savor than what he had tasted in the Leaf village¡ª it was a nice change of pace. Unfortunately for them, they would be leaving before the sun rose the next day.
They entered the room appointed to them. The garrison had appointed a shared room with bunk beds to genin while the chunin were given their own rooms.
Raiden''s team was already there, and the moment they entered, the room''s vibe turned awkward. Six of them had been in close vicinity for the past day and a half, even if it was spent in transit, but except for the little argument that had happened, they had barely spoken to each other. They hadn''t shared resources, not even a strip of beef jerky had left one team to another.
Takuma decided they needed to breach the awkwardness so the coming week won''t go the same.
"This is my first time out of the village. What about you guys?" Takuma asked after climbing his bunk and dangling his legs off the edge.
He watched as Susumu walked past by not uttering a word. He shrugged and looked at the girls, who were busy making their beds.
"I haven''t been outside the village," Yumiko said when Aya and Yuko didn''t reply. "It''s exciting, isn''t it. So many sights to see, places to explore. I wonder what the Land of Hot Waters and Land of Frost will be like. I packed warm clothes for the Land of Frost."
Dai also spoke in his deep voice, "A few times¡ this time will be my first time outside the country."
"Pfft!"
Takuma turned to see that it was Yuko who had stifled her laughter. Aya was smiling widely as well.
"Oh, do you have something funny you''d like to share?" Takuma asked, his expression friendly¡ª but inside, he knew they were laughing at him.
"It''s nothing," Yuko waved her hand. Aya turned her head away.
"¡ Wow, you guys are boring," Takuma drawled, all the friendliness draining away from his voice and face.
Yuko and Aya looked up at Takuma and saw his apathetic impression, and as Takuma was sitting at a height, it looked like he was looking down at them.
Yuko frowned. It seemed she didn''t enjoy Takuma''s expression, "Alright, I will tell you. I found it hilarious that your friends had to step in to save you from embarrassment from getting ignored."
Takuma slowly shrugged, "I mean, that''s what friends are for. What else were they supposed to do when I was talking to exceedingly uninteresting people like you. And it wasn''t embarrassing for me, you should be ashamed of yourselves for not being able to hold a simple conversation."
Yuko''s frown sharpened, and even Aya stepped up as well.
"You''re trying to pick a fight here?" Aya asked.
Takuma jumped down from his bed. "I mean, we did radio silence for more than a day, and then you laughed at me when I tried to extend a friendly hand here. I''m not going to apologize for taking offense when my good intentions are giggled away¡ by a bunch of simpletons."
In the late hours of the evening, the two teams from the Leaf village, who were supposed to be cooperating for a mission, faced off against each other.
CH_3.31 (090):
Takuma stood off against Raiden''s team. He had tried to be friendly and they had laughed it off. It was fine if they didn''t want to be friends¡ª he couldn''t fault them for not wanting to be chummy¡ª but he couldn''t allow them to look down at him and his team. If they were going to be working together, a dynamic had to be established¡ª and his team wasn''t going to be the bitch in that dynamic.
"You should hold that tongue; it''ll get you in trouble," Onikuma Yuko, the tomboy, narrowed her eyes and stepped forward.
"I won''t get in trouble¡ at least not here," said Takuma, unfazed. "I doubt that your dense head could differentiate an insult from praise."
"You''re trying to pick a fight with us?" asked Izuno Aya, the girl with cat aesthetics.
"Not really," Takuma shrugged. "I''m just making sure that everything is clear between us. I understand if you guys don''t want to have a friendly relationship, but I will not see us disrespected."
Aya scoffed, "Respect has to be earned."
Takuma laughed, "You guys haven''t done shit that would make me value your respect. Just keep that attitude of yours to the side and we will be good. Capiche?"
"What will you do if we don''t do that," Yuko cracked her knuckles.
Takuma flicked his wrist and a kunai slid out of his sleeve. He raised his hand and pointed the blade towards her face. "If we''re going to fight, then let''s do it here because at least they would be able to fix the damage before we leave. I don''t think you''d like to be opened up on the road. I haven''t hunted a bear yet; I don''t mind changing that during this outing."
Yuka''s eyes widened threateningly. "Oh, you won''t be able to touch me without getting your bones crushed."
"I doubt that very much," Takuma''s tone was taunting.
"Takuma, enough," Dai put a hand on Takuma''s shoulder.
Takuma glanced back at his teammates and then glared at Yuko and Aya for a moment before replacing the kunai back into the hidden mechanism. He didn''t forget to shoot a look at Aburame Susumu before turning back to his bed. The Aburame was observing but didn''t say a word, so Takuma didn''t know what exactly he was thinking, and assumed that Susumu would stand by his team.
Raiden''s team didn''t fan the flame and all six genin returned to bed soon after.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Next day, early in the morning, just as the sun was coming up, Takuma was eating porridge in the garrison''s mess. The night had passed peacefully without any surprise attacks during sleep. He had checked his body to ensure the bug boy hadn''t done something unsightly with the insects that he grew in his body.
He glanced at Yuko and Susumu sitting on a different table. The relationships between the two teams had deteriorated and was worse than when they had started off, but Takuma was satisfied because their team had put up a firm front.
Takuma turned to his team. "I''m sorry if you two felt that yesterday went too far. I had no intention to pick a fight with them, but they were looking down on us," he said. He didn''t feel particularly apologetic about what he did, but he made a decision on behalf of the team without consulting them¡ª he owed them an apology.
"What''s done is done, there''s no use crying over spilt milk," Yumiko commented softly. "What we must do now is to not let this escalate into a needless tension that hinders a mission."
Takuma nodded.
"¡ Shimura Raiden looks down on civilian-born shinobi," Dai''s baritone voice reached their ears
"You knew Raiden before this?" Takuma asked the second oldest member among both teams (save Raiden).
Dai nodded, "We kept an eye out for chunin. Just as they scouted us, we took note of them in case opportunity arose for us to be part of their rotations¡. When Raiden became a chunin, he immediately attracted the attention of genin wanting to be on his team¡ª"
''Did Dai target Iruka because he was a new chunin?'' thought Takuma. As chunin were on a lookout for genin, the same went the other way round.
"¡ª some of my friends and I tried to get into his rotation¡. All of them got rejected," Dai glanced at Yuko and Susumu, "and every one of them, myself included, were civilian-born shinobi."
"Did he say that to your face?" Yumiko frowned.
Dai shook his head. "No, we didn''t know it back then. We thought he didn''t consider us suitable, and moved on. Rejections are more common after all. It was sometime when Raiden had established rotation did I notice every one of them were from clans¡."
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A silence fell between the three. They were all civilian-born shinobi and were well aware of the rooted class prejudice against civilian shinobi by those from clans. They were looked down on because of lack of pedigree. Like any discrimination, it was done behind closed doors, outside of the public eye¡ª but when one really looked, it was everywhere.
Of course, not everyone was like that. The Akimichi clan taking Masaaki under their wing showed that at least some people in the Akimichi clan valued people for their skill and potential instead of their ancestry.
"¡ So, that''s why he was so put off," murmured Takuma. During the travel, Raiden didn''t look particularly chipper. He must''ve not liked working with civilian-born shinobi.
Just then, Raiden came into the mess hall followed by Aya. Raiden''s black muscle-shirt clad body and the perpetual mean face made him look threatening as he walked past his team and stood over them.
"I heard you had some choice words for my team yesterday," Raiden''s black eyes glowered down at Takuma.
Takuma glanced at Aya, who had a flash of superiority in her eye. He felt it bubble inside him, the urge to lash out and lay out some nasty words about complaining to daddy, but he held the urge, even though his tongue was begging to let his thoughts out.
"Look at me when I''m talking," Raiden commanded. "Did your parents not teach you basic manners? Why do I even need to ask¡ of course, they didn''t," there was a knowing tone in Raiden''s voice that screamed that he was looking down at him without outright saying it.
Takuma didn''t know what to say. Unlike Raiden''s team, Raiden was a chunin, and he couldn''t talk back to a higher-ranking shinobi.
"Apologize to my team, all of you," Raiden said not only to Takuma but Yumiko and Dai as well. "Make it genuine and bow deeply."
Fortunately, Takuma didn''t need to talk back.
"I don''t think so." Iruka walked into the mess and had a crease between his brows. "If you have a problem with them, come to me, and I''ll do the needful¡. You don''t get to order my genin, Raiden."
Raiden narrowed his eyes at Iruka and shot a glare at Takuma, Yamiko, and Dai before walking away to his team. Iruka walked away to the food line and made himself a plate before sitting down with the team.
"Any of you mind telling me what happened?" he asked.
Takuma recalled the events for Iruka, who stayed silent and didn''t touch his food until Takuma was done.
"You were rash," said Iruka after listening. "And while I don''t agree with the way you did it, you were right to stand up for your team." His tone was serious. "However, from now on, we don''t pick fights with them. If they provoke you, report to me, and I''ll take it up with Raiden."
"Do you think he''ll punish them?" Takuma asked. He doubted that Raiden would find fault in his genin. "He''s overly biased to clan shinobi, I don''t think he would punish them for us," he made sure to keep his low to a whisper so that it won''t be picked up by the other table.
"I won''t deny that he''s partial to clan shinobi, but Raiden is still a chunin with a great track record. Shimura shinobi are drilled with operational priority, and Raiden embodies those teachings. If something interferes with the completion of the mission, he''ll address it regardless of his personal views. At the bottom-line, you can trust him to do what''s required," said Iruka.
Takuma was skeptical if that was true, but he didn''t have any points to argue. He took Iruka''s word and was comforted in the fact that Iruka was in his corner.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Right after the breakfast, the teams left Miya Lake garrison and continued their journey. They entered the Land of Hot Waters that sat between the Land of Fire and Land of Frost. The mission didn''t warrant it so they entered through official channels without deception.
Takuma exited the small questioning room with a sigh. "Do they always spend this much time at the border," he asked Iruka. He had been outright interrogated and the experience reminded of customs at airports.
"Get used to it. Inter-country travel will always be like this for shinobi with very few exceptions. Always make sure to have all the correct papers because they will turn you back if you are missing even one thing," Iruka said, seemingly not bothered.
Takuma sighed. He guessed that was to be expected. Letting a foreign shinobi into the country even if Land of Hot Waters was allied with Land of Fire was a national security risk. He got it, but it didn''t make it any less annoying.
"To think we need to do this a couple more times," Takuma groaned.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Land of Frost was as the name suggested. It was a cold country with temperatures in the single digits all year round. After living in the hot Hidden Leaf for two years, Takuma felt the effects of the cold seep into his bones, making him thankful for packing a warmer set of clothes.
"This is it," said Iruka as they stood a distance away from the fenced village, hidden in the bushes.
A wooden board stood in front of a fenced village entrance that said¡ª
[Shiyuka Village]
Even though the true mission was the information exchange between Hidden Frost village and them, the bandit clearing mission was still very real and their responsibility. It was their cover, the sole reason they were in the Land of Frost¡ª they had to do to maintain that cover. Before they could make the information exchange, they had to complete this before moving on.
Takuma recalled the mission briefing. The situation in the Shiyuka village was interesting as the common modus operandi was to hit places they could profit from, and then quickly move on before any authority could touch them. Bandits gangs were always on the move to ensure they weren''t caught.
The bandit gang in Shiyuka had taken root in the village, which made them different.
According to the client, it was the villagers who had invited the bandits into the village to protect them from the increased bandit activity that had popped up in the area. The bandit gang had accepted the proposition and agreed to provide protection in exchange for money. It worked out well for them as the bandits did as they promised and kept the other danger away, and peace was achieved.
Alas, good things always came to an end.
Hidden Frost launched a wide-scale clean-up around the area. Because the bandits had protected the village, the villagers hid the bandits from the shinobi by integrating them into the village as common folks while the clean-up was going on.
The problem? The bandits never left¡. They stayed in the village and what had been a mutual agreement turned into extortion.
The villagers weren''t able to oppose them because of fear, but they also couldn''t take it silently as the bandit gang''s greed grew and their demands grew more.
So, they contacted shinobi to take care of the stuff.
"Let''s clear this up quickly," said Raiden. "Collect information and meet back here in an hour¡ Disperse!"
And within a second, the eight shinobi disappeared.
CH_3.32 (091):
Sneaking into a small village was in many ways more challenging than sneaking into a larger settlement like Miya Lake town with a walking patrol and shinobi guards.
Because of the village''s size, the community was close-knit where everyone knew everyone, which made blending into the crowd impossible as the chances of getting recognized were 100%¡ª even the use of Transformation Jutsu to disguise as a resident wasn''t feasible if someone called out for a conversation.
In such a case, the only way to gather intel without having an inside man was to not be seen at all.
Takuma stood in the shadow of two buildings, looking at a group of people sitting around a table outside on the tavern''s porch, drinking booze in the middle of the day, having a loud and rowdy conversation. The people passing by kept their eyes straight ahead without sparing a glance at the group¡ª not even when they blew up in loud laughter.
Humans didn''t work like that. Unexpected sounds and sights attracted attention, even if it was for a split second. Every person walked past the tavern like they had stiff necks¡ª it was clear they were consciously not looking at the people. There was a scent of fear in the air.
The group looked like any other resident, but Takuma could tell from that observation that they were special in some way, and with the knowledge about the bandit presence in the village, he was sure they were the bandits. He noted their faces and stealthily made his way to a spot where he could pick up their voices.
"¡ I like the priest''s daughter better."
"Bullshit, you can''t compare her to the blacksmith''s wife. She curves just at the right places¡"
"I bet she''s a dead lay."
"It''d take actual experience to convince me¡ and who knows, the blacksmith might not be able to pay up, and compensate in other ways."
Takuma had no interest in their perverse conversations, but he made a mental note to make it painful for these guys when the hunt started.
A short jockey arrived on the street, trotting on his horse. Takuma stepped deeper into the shadow as the horse neighed and stopped in front of the tavern. The man spoke to the group, "The boss wants to see the protection fees gathered in the office. Be there on the dot at five in the evening. No delays."
Takuma''s eyes shined. That was usable information.
As the horse trotted away, Takuma thought to follow it, but a peek at his strapless wristwatch told him it was time to regroup. He followed the horse with his eyes for a moment before disappearing from his hiding spot.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
When Takuma arrived, everyone but Aburame Susumu was present. He silently stood by his team without needing to be told the meeting would start when the final member came.
However, time passed, but Susumu didn''t come back.
"Should we go take a look?" Iruka asked Raiden.
Raiden took out a small glass vial the size of half a thumb from his person. Inside the transparent vial was a small bug that Raiden released. The bug spread its wings, fluttered above their heads, and flew around in circles for a few seconds before buzzing down back into the vial.
"He''s not in danger," said Raiden, putting the vial back into his pouch. "Let''s discuss without him."
Iruka nodded, "We will go first¡. The report holds true¡ª the bandits have taken over the village. They''re armed with weapons and black powder. I couldn''t spot any shinobi presence among them, but we can''t discount the possibility¡ª don''t let your guard down." Iruka continued to give more details about the bandits.
"They''re planning to meet five in the evening to pool the protection fees they extort from the villagers," Takuma said after Iruka was done.
"From the horse rider?" Raiden commented; it seemed he had also spotted the man going around the town.
Takuma nodded. "He said they''ll be meeting at ''the office.'' I don''t know where that place might be. However, it won''t be a problem¡ª we can follow the identified bandits to the location."
Most of the time, the information provided for C-rank missions was scarce. It could be because the representative that talked with the clients didn''t bother to collect extensive information, or the client themselves didn''t volunteer a lot of information¡ª the number of C-rank missions that were accepted through the channels every day was large enough that the representative and client couldn''t sit down for hours to discuss everything. As C-rank missions held a very low chance of mortal danger to shinobi, extensive information collection wasn''t given weight, nor was it economically feasible.
In most cases, the responsibility to collect information fell on shinobi on the field, who could rely on their judgment to pursue specific avenues they deemed necessary.
Takuma finished his report by listing the bandits he had spotted.
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As the others were giving their input, Susumu returned.
"I hope you have a good reason to be late," Raiden narrowed his eyes at his genin.
The Aburame nodded, "Thirty-one bandits in total¡ª five are currently outside the village, in the woods, hunting. They''re going to meet at the village''s community hall in the north around five in the evening. None of them wield chakra. We can strike when they all gather."
Takuma peered at Susumu. The Aburame had overshadowed all of them in terms of the importance of information. He had told them the number of targets, how many were currently in the village, the meeting place, and that none of the bandits had experience with chakra. Takuma''s eyes swept over Susumu''s body, knowing that all of that information was collected through insects and bugs that Susumu was festering inside his body. While he didn''t wish to house insects inside his body, he couldn''t help but feel envy at the ability they granted Susumu. He would''ve never been able to figure out if any of the bandits had experience with chakra if he didn''t see them use it. He also didn''t have a method to track thirty-one people in real-time.
"Rest for now. We start when they''re all in one place," said Raiden to all.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Shimura Raiden faced his team as they made preparations for going against the bandits. Six genin were more than enough to take care of thirty-one civilians, even if they were martially skilled. And he and Iruka were there, so the bandits stood no chance.
But neither he nor Iruka were going to lift a finger. They were here to observe.
He glanced at Susumu, who stared at an insect on top of his finger. Raiden was more than satisfied with Susumu''s performance till now. He followed orders without complaints, held substantial insight, and produced exceptional results¡ª a perfect template for a shinobi. His Aburame clan background and the clan jutsu only elevated him.
Even if Susumu''s father hadn''t asked him to take him under his guidance, Raiden would''ve gladly taken him into his team. The child was a great find.
He turned towards the girls. Yuko and Aya. He had been working with them for over six months when their parents had requested him to take them under their wings. Onikuma and Izuno¡ª they couldn''t hold a torch to Shimura or Aburame, but they were still proper Leaf clans. He had worked with their shinobi and had found them satisfactory for their station.
Yuko and Aya were like what one would expect teenage girls to be¡ª overly concerned with how they looked and dressed, needlessly stressed about not fitting in, childish romance, and all other things that came with that age. He wished they would conduct themselves with more maturity and dignity, but he had worked with plenty of teenagers to know that was a tall ask. As long as they were competent shinobi, he could overlook their other flaws¡ª which they were steadily working towards. He was satisfied with that.
Raiden turned his attention to the other team.
Umino Iruka. A chunin at sixteen, an achievement that not many shinobi attained. That and the fact that Iruka''s parents were shinobi was the only reason he had agreed to work with the younger chunin when the recommendation came in. But Iruka had disregarded every suggestion he had so generously given him about his team for the mission.
He furrowed his brow at what Iruka called his team. Dai, Yumiko, and Takuma. He couldn''t see why Iruka had chosen them. They were undisciplined enough to fight with the other team. Raiden had presented him with suitable candidates¡ and he still chose these lackluster individuals. Raiden shook his head in disappointment.
"¡ All of them are inside," the insect on Susumu''s finger now flew around his outstretched finger.
"Good," Raiden nodded. "We have to leave tomorrow early in the morning; I want you to be well rested, so get this over swiftly and cleanly."
""Yes, sir!""
Iruka addressed his team, and with that, the six genin moved toward the community. Raiden looked to Iruka, who nodded and headed towards the back door while he walked in through the front door.
The building that the village called a community hall was a one-story building smaller than his family compound. It was just one big room with pillars bearing the roof''s weight. Inside the hall, the bandits stood around with two men sitting behind a table with stacks of ryo piled upon them. One of the two men was cursing at the man standing in front of the table, who had his head bowed down, taking it in.
"¡ you can''t even do simple things! Useless! Fuck out of my sight!"
Raiden couldn''t see any sympathy in the eyes of the other men. On the contrary, they even looked to be enjoying the scene of seeing their comrade getting chewed out.
''Undisciplined swine, all of them,'' thought Raiden as he closed the door behind him.
It was then the man who had been cursing noticed Raiden.
"Who the fuck are you?!" he yelled.
Raiden had no reason to answer the rude question, so he crossed his arms and stood there silently and observed the men to conceive the plan on how to clear them out as fast as possible, even though he wasn''t the one who was going to do that.
Three men nearest to Raiden drew their swords and dagger as they approached him, but before they could touch him, each found a kunai sticking out from a part of their body. Raiden frowned when a drop of blood stained his shoe.
He looked up as his team descended into the hall. Raiden looked at the man who had been cursing a few moments before, who he guessed was the leader. Raiden saw a flash of understanding pass the eyes as he gawked wide-eyed at his team.
Everyone had changed out of their shinobi uniform before exiting the Land of Fire. Walking around another country in the shinobi uniform was inviting trouble, and they didn''t want any. But even without the uniform and headband, it was easy to figure they were shinobi. The kunai itself was a weapon that only shinobi used.
"Shinobi!"
What followed couldn''t even be called a brawl for how one-sided it was.
Raiden observed the six genin running through thirty-one grown men like it was child''s play¡ª which it was.
He followed his students, and they were doing well. They incapacitated swiftly and placed kunai cuts with the precision he expected from them. His eyes also went to Iruka''s team, and they weren''t faring as well¡ª it would be embarrassing if they did.
"Hmm?"
Raiden caught Takuma and noticed that out of all of them, he was the only one not using a kunai or any weapon. The boy clobbered the men with his fists. Raiden thought it to be inefficient, but his eyes naturally followed the boy, and he couldn''t help but notice that each strike was placed where it would hurt the most without hitting any vitals. The boy was collected as he dodged sword strikes and countered, showing experience in his moves.
The leader tried to run out of the back, but Takuma jumped over the table, grabbed the chair the man had been sitting on a few moments before, and threw it for the leader''s head, knocking him out before he could escape the hall.
It took barely two minutes before the fight was over.
"Good work," Iruka walked inside from the back exit. "Tie them up while we inform the villagers."
Iruka walked out, and Raiden followed after him. He wanted to ask the boy why he didn''t use the kunai, but it didn''t matter¡ª perhaps the boy wasn''t fond of kunai.
The cover-up mission was over, now they simply just needed to get past the niceties before they got onto the real mission.
CH_3.33 (092):
"Want help?" Takuma asked Yumiko and Dai, who were patching up the men they had slashed.
Yumiko looked up from the chest wound she had made at Takuma. "How are you done so quickly?" she asked. "I''m still on my first."
"Didn''t cut them open," Takuma knelt beside Yumiko and began helping her treat the wound. They were Leaf shinobi in a foreign land¡ª they had no ''authority'' to kill in the Land of Frost. As such, no killing. The cuts that Takuma''s teammates had made weren''t fatal¡ª and he himself had gone with the unarmed assault because he thought it would be a hassle to treat the bandits. It was more efficient to bruise them until they couldn''t move.
Yumiko turned her eye to the five bandits he had beaten up. They were lying flat on the ground on their belly with their hands and feet tied.
"What''s that?" she asked, pointing at the thing of white around the restrained bandits'' wrists and ankles.
"Zip-ties," Takuma said after glancing at his bandits.
"Zip-ties¡ as in what they use in packing?"
Takuma nodded, "They''re compact, tough, super hard for a civilian to break if you place them properly, and as much I like ropes and knots, zip ties are so much easier," which was why many police organizations back in his home world had been using zip ties along with traditional handcuffs.
Takuma helped Yumiko and Dai patch up their bandits, stripped them of their belongings, and confiscated any and all weapons to ensure they didn''t try to plan an escape later on. With five fewer people to take care of, they were done before Raiden''s team, who, just like them, didn''t have a dedicated iryo-nin on their team.
The nice thing would''ve been to help them out.
Did they? No.
Neither Takuma nor Yumiko or Dai had any interest in helping them out. Dai stayed inside to keep an eye on the bandits while Takuma and Yumiko walked outside to see the villagers gathering around the community hall. The screaming and shouting had pulled them to the hall, and with no noise pollution in the quaint little village, it seemed that the sounds had reached quite far as the number seemed to keep increasing as more and more people emerged from the streets beyond.
Takuma and Yumiko stayed silent as Iruka and Raiden addressed the villagers. There was a great commotion that reached its peak when they finally realized that the village''s bandit problem had been solved. They cheered so loud that Takuma, who had gotten used to the up-close raucousness of the Ring, had to cover his ears.
"This means we''re getting great feedback, right?" Takuma whispered to Yumiko.
"We better," Yumiko smiled.
A middle-aged man, the village chief, followed Iruka into the community hall, and when he returned, he raised his hands into the air and yelled,
"WE''RE FREE!!!"
What followed was a festival with great food, booze, and ecstatic vibes heating up the people in the cold village. The Leaf shinobi were pulled into the celebration despite Raiden''s resistance, but Iruka convinced him, and they participated in the festivities.
"Where did you go?" Yumiko asked Takuma, who returned to the large bonfire that the villagers had started.
"Nature called," Takuma lied through his teeth. He glanced back at a few village youngsters who grinned at him, but he shot them a chilling look and placed a finger on his lip¡ª which made them scurry away from the bonfire, away from the celebration. The cold weather of the Land of Frost rendered a low supply; however, the demand was high¡ª and the crazy markup because of that was just too good for Takuma to pass on.
Iruka came to them with flushed cheeks and slightly raised lips. "You three did good. I''m proud of all three of you," he sounded happy.
Takuma looked at the tankard of mead in Iruka''s hand and wondered if he was drinking too much, but Takuma also knew that shinobi with their chakra-altered bodies could process alcohol much faster than regular people. He hadn''t drunk alcohol in this body, but if the alcohol buzz was anything like his weed high that he came out so much quicker than in his previous life, it took a lot of anything to get a shinobi inebriated.
"What''s going to happen to the bandits, sir?" asked Yumiko.
Iruka''s buzzy look turned serious as he looked in the direction of the community hall. "The village will follow the Land of Frost''s laws and punish the bandits accordingly¡. They don''t have the capacity to hold these people in any form of prison, so those bandits will probably be hanged, or if some people get lucky, they''d be kicked out of the village with no supplies¡ and it''s tough outside in this cold. Punishments in villages like these, away from big cities, can be much laxer or harsher depending on the crime¡. If we were Hidden Frost shinobi, we could''ve mediated, but we can''t do anything."
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Takuma knew this world to be much different than the one he had come from. He knew better not to see this world through the lens of morality molded in his past, but he couldn''t altogether leave it all behind with a snap of his finger.
"I''m going to sleep," Takuma sighed as he got up.
Whatever happened to the bandits, he didn''t have anything to do with it. After leaving the village in the morning, he had no reason to return.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The following day the Leaf shinobi left the Shiyuka village as soon as the sun came up, leaving the villagers after ensuring they wouldn''t be overrun by the bandits they had caught. The cover part of the mission had gone well¡ but now they had to do the real mission.
"Listen up because this is important!" Raiden addressed the group as they ran on the road. "We''re going to meet Hidden Frost shinobi, so I want everyone here to be on their best behavior! From the moment we make contact to the moment we enter the boundaries of the village, I want all of you to be laser-focused with every fiber of your being dedicated to this mission. Don''t let your guard down even for a second!
"There''s a reason why Hidden Frost organized a face-to-face exchange and did not send the information by a carrier eagle¡ª this information is important for both the villages. Your village is relying on you¡ª your country is relying on you! Complete this mission and prove they were right to entrust you with this responsibility."
Takuma clenched his fist and kicked the ground harder. He felt his heart pick up beats, pumping his blood in anticipation.
He was finally doing something of importance. Yes, he didn''t have Nenro''s connections, Masaaki''s new clan backing, or Taro''s parental support¡ª but he was doing something of importance that none of them had done. They discussed the missions they went on, and neither of them was as important as this one. A hand-off with foreign shinobi. For the C-rank mission category, where shinobi contact wasn''t anticipated, this mission was the top-tier mission for the category. He had just saved a village from a continuing future of exploitation which was a great mission in itself, but now he was going to do something that made it look lackluster.
This was a turning point, Takuma could feel it.
After four hours of travel, they arrived in the middle of nowhere. They had passed through a large belt of agricultural villages before arriving at the edge of a natural forest where a one-structure stone shrine stood.
Takuma had seen these types of shrines during his treks around the Leaf village. They were shrines dedicated in honor of local deities such as forest guardians. He hadn''t been religious in his previous life, but after finding himself in a new world, he wholeheartedly believed that there were existences belonging to higher planes. How else would he find himself in this world, in the boy''s body?
So, he made sure to clean the shrines he found.
"A kilometer into the forest is a clearing," Iruka stood beside the shrine with a rough map in his hand. "That''s where we make contact with Hidden Frost shinobi. They''re allies, but we will still be careful. If you have any preparations, do it now before we head in."
Takuma pulled up his pants and tightened the straps on his weapon packs and arm and shin guards. He took a breath and imagined a mask over his face. His restless heart settled down a level as he felt a focus rise within him. He would go in and come out. That was all.
The two teams headed into the forest, and soon they arrived at the clearing. The situation could''ve turned two ways¡ª if they arrived first, they would''ve set up traps as they waited for the Hidden Frost shinobi¡ª but as it turned out, they were the last to arrive with a group of Hidden Frost shinobi already present in the clearing.
Four shinobi, three men and one woman, dressed in shinobi gear with a blue and gray color scheme that matched the Hidden Frost. They all had pale skin, suiting the cold weathers of the Land of Frost. Something to notice was that all of them had swords on their backs.
Takuma judged their gait, balance, how they held themselves, where they were looking, the sword length, and everything he had learned to look for in fighters. Then, he compared it with kenjutsu users he fought in the Ring to prepare himself in case things went south.
They looked at the eight Leaf shinobi in nervousness. It was understandable; they were outnumbered 2-to-1, and if a fight ensued, the odds weren''t looking to be in their favor.
''If one of them is a jonin, then that might be different,'' thought Takuma, but there was no way to tell that.
"The weather is warm today," said the leading man, older than the other three Hidden Frost shinobi.
Raiden responded, "You think so? I feel the weather is just right. Perfect for tea, actually."
"You think so? How about we go have tea after this."
"It''d be my pleasure."
The Hidden Frost shinobi eased. The secret code which tested their identity was confirmed, and they could initiate the transaction.
"The information?" Raiden immediately got down to business.
The Hidden Frost shinobi nodded and took out a pack of three scrolls from his pocket. They looked like any other scroll would, and from a glance, there was nothing special about them. The Hidden Frost shinobi and Raiden stepped toward each other as the rest stared at each other with a healthy dose of tension hanging in the air.
Takuma''s eyes followed the two men who were about to exchange information. From the looks of it, the second part of the mission was going to be boring¡ª and Takuma was fine with that because boring was simple, and simple was always good during missions. According to Takuma''s standards, he did enough fighting in the Ring and wished for zero action during missions. If surrender was an option, Takuma would''ve demanded it from the bandits¡ª but they had to scare and injure the bandits so they wouldn''t rise up.
*Crackle*
''Hmm?'' Takuma looked towards the sound.
For a split moment, he thought it was a branch breaking or something similar, but immediately, his mind shot up similarities between what he heard and what his Lightning Release: Shock sounded like.
Before realization settled in¡ before Takuma could even turn his neck completely¡ before anyone could react¡ª a lightning-covered kunai shot out of the evening shadows of the forest around them and¡ª
Takuma jolted, his eyes widening as the lightning streak disappeared¡
¡ into Raiden''s body.
CH_3.34 (093):
A heartbeat''s worth of time was all it took for everything to unravel.
It was so quick that Takuma could barely spot the kunai before it stabbed Raiden. But the lightning streak that shot from the trees was enough to send all of his alarms blaring.
"Ambush!"
Takuma''s kunai were ready in his hands before the warning shout left Iruka''s mouth. He felt his muscles taut, nerves flare, and his heart pounded in his chest as his eyes darted around the clearing and the forest to catch four more lightning streaks zap out of the shadows, one of them flying toward Dai.
Takuma felt jarred as though he was a machine infected with rust while he stepped forward in the path and parried the lightning-coated kunai headed towards his teammate.
Clang!
"Gah," Takuma grunted as the parry felt closer to deflecting a heavier sword blade. Whatever jutsu, it packed a rocket punch behind the light kunai.
Takuma couldn''t take a moment''s rest as shadows moved in the forest and¡ª
*Thud*
*Thud*
It was just on the edge of his peripheral vision, faint enough that he didn''t register the image, but the sound made him look¡. Takuma turned to see that while he had obstructed the kunai coming for Dai¡ª it was only one of four.
Two others had found their mark.
Yumiko and Aya were no longer standing.
Blood sputtered out of Yumiko''s mouth as she reached for the kunai sticking out of her throat. The girl trembled like a newborn thing. Their eyes met, and Takuma came face-to-face with despair, disbelief, pain, and a deep begging for help in her eyes¡ before all the turmoil of emotion vanished and the gaze turned dull along with Yumiko''s efforts. Her hand fell to the side as her body went limp.
Yumiko was no more¡
All thought left Takuma''s mind; his eyes couldn''t leave Yumiko''s body despite the sight in front of him being the most gruesome he had seen in both his lives.
A sense of panic grabbed Takuma''s heart as he gripped the kunai about to fall from his hands, and looked around wildly just in time to see four figures jump out from the trees. They wore Hidden Frost shinobi gear with half-masks obstructing the bottom half of their faces.
"Frost has betrayed us!" Raiden yelled, and despite having a kunai sticking out from his abdomen, he charged at the Hidden Frost leading man in front of him, and within a snap, Raiden and the man were engaged in combat with sparks from blades flying into the air.
Before Takuma could get a hold of himself, he was already in a nightmare of metal and blood. Weapons flashed in and out of Takuma''s sight; he fought wildly, he didn''t remember yelling, but his throat was hoarse. It was a shallow but biting cut to the leg and a pull by Iruka that snapped him out of the rampant confusion.
Takuma tried to thank him, but the chunin had moved on, his kunai swinging at the Hidden Frost shinobi that had emerged from the forest. Both of them seemed to be an equal match, just like Raiden and the Hidden Frost shinobi he was fighting.
''I''m going to die here,'' he thought.
Takuma pivoted to the side on instinct to dodge a sword strike from a Hidden Frost kunoichi, and on further instinct, he stabbed and swung at her limbs and face. He saw an opening in her stance and jammed a foot into her knee, forcing her to kneel, and thrusted a kunai down for her shoulder, only for her to receive it into her arm with a scream.
The Hidden Frost kunoichi tried to stab Takuma in the chest with her sword from the kneeling position, but Takuma parried it and took the chance to jump away from her.
The thoughts of death swarmed Takuma''s mind as he looked at the shinobi fighting around him.
''I need to hide,'' Takuma''s hand rose, and the hand seals for Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu began to form. The thick mist would hide him.
''You can''t do that,'' a cold voice spoke in his mind. ''It''ll hide you from them, but it''ll also turn your allies blind. You''ll die here if they''re not alive to protect you.''
The chakra in Takuma''s tenketsu system dissipated as Takuma''s hands jolted to a stop. He couldn''t do that.
''I can''t die here,'' Takuma thought again¡ª he wasn''t ready to go yet. He had spent two years in this world¡ª one of them was utterly miserable, and the other wasn''t particularly enjoyable; he had worked hard every single day to be where he was currently. He had lost one good life, and he wasn''t going to let this one go before at least he got to a point where he could enjoy this messed up life.
''I''m not going to die here.''
Takuma pushed his panic down; it numbed down but still bubbled underneath the surface. That was enough.
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His opponent had gotten up and pulled the kunai out of her arm. Takuma clicked his tongue. He had made a mistake by backing away when he had her on her knees with a kunai in her arm¡ª he could have finished the fight at that moment.
''No matter,'' thought Takuma.
He pushed the ground and closed the distance. The kunoichi tried to stab him, but he parried it swiftly¡ª despite not having learnt the sword, with his experience against swords, he could tell that she was a relative beginner. He grabbed her other hand with his free hand and disrupted her body balance with a sharp tug before elbowing her in the face. She made an errant but weak swing that Takuma received with his arm guard. The blade dug into the leather but didn''t reach the flesh.
Takuma still had the kunoichi''s wrist in his hand and was about to kick her feet out so he could pull her shoulder out of the socket¡ª but before he could do so, his senses blared, and he jumped back just in time to avoid a sword thrust that would''ve pierced his heart.
The Hidden Frost shinobi held his sword vertically while he checked on the kunoichi. She nodded to him, and he faced Takuma. Just from the looks of it, Takuma could tell that this man was much more experienced. He equipped himself with another kunai.
The man and Takuma pushed toward each other, and metal screeched as the blades met. Takuma tried to push the sword away, but the man was quick to disengage and thrust a riposte for the chest. Takuma redirected the sword blade up, but it grazed his shoulder, drawing blood.
Takuma ignored the pain, and let go of the kunai in his right hand as chakra flowed through his arm. But as he was about to cock his arm back for the augmented punch, the kunoichi emerged from within the shadow of the shinobi with her sword heading towards his throat. Takuma''s free hand gripped the sharp blade before it could skewer his throat. The sharp edge sliced his naked palm, triggering another bout of pain. Takuma cursed as he jumped back to make the distance.
The Hidden Frost duo weren''t keen to give him space and gave pursuit.
''Shit!'' Takuma had close to zero experience fighting multiple opponents. He leaped further back, dipped into his weapons pouch, took out a kunai with an explosive tag, and threw it toward them.
Boom!
The Hidden Frost duo dug their feet into the ground and jumped to the side just when the tag exploded. It took them a couple seconds to collect themselves and get back on Takuma''s tail. They sprang out of the dust cloud only to find themselves facing a group of black-clad Takuma clones running toward them. The Hidden Frost duo glanced down at the clones'' feet and saw shadows.
They froze up for a second, but they couldn''t dawdle when they were suddenly outnumbered 5-to-1 and took defensive stances. Their swords began to hum a shrill yet soft noise. The woman stepped forward and swung her sword in a wide, swift arc¡ª but when her sword mowed down the four clones in a single strike, the clone bodies turned into a mist as they stalled for a moment before putting themselves back together.
Immediately, both Hidden Frost shinobi fell back a step while continuing to cut down the clone, but no matter how many swings, the clones would turn into mist before they were all good again. Their two-on-one advantage was turned on its head, and they were now on the back foot. In the rush of the battle, they didn''t notice how the clones weren''t trying to actually hit them¡ª that they were the only ones making contact with the clones and not the other way around.
The Hidden Frost man swung his sword straight down with a powerful yell, but the clone stepped back to successfully dodge the reckless strike. However, the next second, the clone turned into mist as a kunai emerged from the clone''s stomach and struck the unprepared man in the same place.
"Roshi!" the kunoichi yelled for her companion. She cut down another two clones before rushing for him, only to get nailed down by six shuriken that came from within the clones.
Takuma emerged from within the clones made from Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu with a kunai held in both hands that he sheathed into the man''s body before throwing it into the woman''s clavicle; he avoided the heart but made sure she stayed down.
They were done, Takuma judged his two enemies. But then¡ª
''This isn''t in the Ring,'' said the same cold voice. ''The fight isn''t over when the opponent no longer wants to fight. It''s over when they''re dead¡''
Takuma shook his head. These shinobi should be kept alive for interrogation so that they can find out the reason for the betrayal. They were in a foreign land, and the Hidden Frost shinobi could provide all sorts of information they could use to safely return home.
Yes, keeping them alive would do more good¡ª
The Hidden Frost man suddenly thrust a gleaming kunai for Takuma, who saw it coming and firmly grasped the offending arm before snapping the wrist and confiscating the kunai. Takuma raised the same kunai and aimed it for the man''s shoulder...
''This isn''t the Ring¡''
In the last second, he redirected the kunai, and instead of stabbing the shoulder, he struck a little to the right¡ for the neck. The spluttered blood out of the mouth, the blood soaked Takuma''s hand through the wound, and slowly, the light left the man''s eye.
Takuma stood up, still holding the man''s kunai, and walked to the woman, who was trying to reach for the man with a trembling hand, weakly calling for the man. He kicked her shoulder to make her face upward, stepped on her wrist that held the sword before squatting down¡ and stabbed her in the heart¡
He watched life leave her eyes with a myriad of emotions flashing in her eyes that remained affixed on her dead companion.
Takuma stood up and felt his feet lose strength, making him stagger before catching himself. He stared at the two enemies¡ª two people¡ª that he had just killed. There they laid, murdered on the field by him. They were trying to kill him but got killed instead. At that moment, only three things existed in the world¡ª Takuma himself and those dead bodies that just a few moments ago were breathing, living individuals. He looked at his hands dripping in blood¡ª it wasn''t a new sight, he had blood on his hands at least once a week¡ but today, blood on his hands had a different meaning.
He felt¡
"Takuma!" came Iruka''s yell.
Takuma snapped out of the vacuum he had secluded himself in, and before he could look, he felt a heat on his cheek. He finally turned to see a giant fireball heading for him. His eyes widened as he immediately jumped out of the way, but not in time to completely avoid the raging fire.
"Fuck!" Takuma patted the clothes, skin, and hair that had caught fire. Flames that used chakra as fuel were hotter and stuck to things they wanted to burn, like a lite version of napalm. He knew that and so tried his darndest to get rid of the flames that could seriously burn him. He stumbled on something that tripped him to the ground. Takuma immediately rolled on the wet ground and finally snuffed the flames.
He scrambled to his feet and glanced down at what had made him fall.
It was Dai, his head crushed.
Takuma''s stomach lurched, and he stumbled away from the body, bumping into Susumu, who sliced him across the arm with an errant swing. The cut was not a bad one, but Takuma''s arm lit up in a line of pain. He hissed at the sting, and when he glared at Susumu, the Aburame had left his side and was fighting his Hidden Frost opponent.
Takuma swallowed the anger, knowing it was an instinctual attack¡ª an accident. He felt tired and so much more, but still equipped another kunai¡
The fight wasn''t over.
CH_3.35 (094):
Takuma swallowed the little saliva left in his dry mouth, trying to focus his fuzzy mind on the field around him. The wounds didn''t hurt as much as they should; instead, they sapped his energy, weighing his body down like lead.
He tried to ignore the dead bodies of Yumiko, Dai, and Aya, but they seemed to stare at him as he surveyed the field. Iruka and Raiden were fighting two Hidden Frost shinobi, and the two matchups looked evenly matched. Takuma knew they weren''t his battles. He turned to the other genin and noted Susumu fighting one opponent and Yuko taking on two people at once. Susumu was doing fine, but Yuko was clearly struggling¡ª her left leg had a large gash on her that hindered her mobility.
Yuko''s hands had turned into something like a demon''s¡ª her arm below the elbow had bulging musculature with deep purple flesh and sharp-clawed hands. Dark purple veins covered her visible skin, giving her a menacing look matched by her bloodshot eyes and feral expression.
Onikuma clan''s hiden jutsu¡. Takuma wasn''t aware of the specifics, but he knew the jutsu allowed the clan members to gain enhanced physical capabilities, but they are prone to an unstable mental state, rendering them to act like feral beasts.
Takuma clicked his tongue as he clenched the kunai until the metal hurt his sliced-up hand¡ª the pain brought clarity. He threw the kunai hard at Susumu''s opponent to give him an advantage and charged toward Yuko and her two opponents.
"Hey!" Takuma shouted at Yuko.
The transformed Yuko looked toward Takuma and growled at him. She threateningly stepped toward him, but a volley of shuriken stopped her as Yuko dodged before charging at the Hidden Frost shinobi, who had thrown them, with a vicious roar.
''She can''t differentiate between enemy and ally,'' Takuma speculated with deep displeasure. He glanced at a dead Hidden Frost shinobi with a gaping hole in his chest and animalistic gashes. It was clear that Yuko had killed him, and she was now handling two more enemies, but with her mental state, she could quickly become a liability¡ª he didn''t like this type of jutsu at all.
He made a quick decision and blitzed one of Yuko''s opponents and tackled him. They rolled on the ground, exchanging blows, and Takuma kicked the man in the stomach to separate them from Yuko and her opponent.
"You¡ª" the Hidden Frost man looked like he wanted to say something but bit his lip and charged for Takuma.
Prepared for the fight, Takuma chucked an explosive tag tied to a kunai at his opponent. It blew up in their face, punching them to the ground. Takuma slowly stepped towards his opponent while weaving hand seals, and the moment the Hidden Frost shinobi got up in a panic, he nailed him with a Lightning Release: Shock, blasting him to the ground once again.
Takuma readied his kunai and moved in for the kill, only to be blindsided by a kunai digging into his left hip. Perhaps it was because of the adrenaline that the sharp pain didn''t kick in immediately, and Takuma knew from experience it would take half a minute before the pain spiked¡ª but he wasn''t expecting his leg to fall asleep, go numb and cold¡ª the kunai had likely struck a nerve. His balance crumbled, and Takuma was kneeling on the ground, his face scrunched at the uncomfortable feeling jittering his leg.
He immediately looked up to find his assailant and found Raiden kicking the Hidden Frost chunin, which given the angle, could''ve been the only one to strike him.
"Fuck!" cursed Takuma.
He couldn''t take out the kunai because it plugged his wound; nonetheless, he still needed to get his mobility back. He forced himself to stand up and shook his leg to release the pressure on the nerve, but nothing seemed to work. He put the kunai back into the pouch and tugged himself away from the opponent, who had pulled himself up to his knee, staring at Takuma with delirious eyes.
Takuma bit his tongue as the pain tortured his body. He couldn''t afford to get into close range with his opponent as that would most definitely spell trouble and disadvantage for him. So, he began to weave the hand seals for Lightning Release: Shock for another attack.
It was at that moment that every hair on Takuma''s body stood up. The sixth sense that only those who practiced chakra screamed at him¡ª he had only felt like this once before when Yoshio had directed his chakra at them. Both he and his opponent turned towards the source and saw Iruka''s opponent weaving hand seals.
Even through his hazy consciousness, every fiber in Takuma''s body told him this was unlike anything he had ever seen or faced and absolutely not something he could make contact with. If he was ever clear about something in his two lives, it was the following: this would be the end of him if he let the jutsu strike him.
Takuma abandoned the current hand seal chain and switched to a new one. Through his trembling hands, Takuma weaved the signs with Earth alignments. It was a race, and fortunately for Takuma, whatever the Hidden Frost chunin was casting was more complex and longer than a C-rank jutsu.
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The air in the clearing whirred with harsh energy as arcs of sharp lightning sprung from the shinobi, going into the ground and air alike. The ground cracked as pure unadulterated lightning screamed out in waves targeting everything in its path with pure malice for everything in its path without bias.
Falling was faster than kneeling for Takuma as he dropped to the ground and pushed his palms against the dirt, and in accordance with the Earth Release: Earthen Dome, the ground arose to form a protective dome around Takuma.
Bang!
Takuma flinched when a lightning arc struck the dome, shaking the structure. But with the jutsu cast, he couldn''t do anything but trust his skill, as the only thing between him and the terrifying Lightning Release jutsu was a layer of earth held up with chakra.
Bang!
A chunk of earth was blasted off the dome, letting the evening light in. Takuma huddled into a fetal position on the ground, minimizing his surface area to protect himself.
Bang!
Another chunk blew off.
Bang!
Then another¡ and another¡ and another¡ until Takuma was practically lying under the open sky.
Earth Release jutsu were weak to Lightning Release jutsu, but Earth Release: Earthen Dome had done its job of protecting, and Takuma was infinitely glad for it. Takuma lay there shivering, scared that the jutsu wasn''t over. He wanted to get up, but he had no energy left; his body felt cold, and parts of his body hurt worse every passing second as though someone had stuck ice cubes on his skin¡ª if it was the Ring, he would''ve already called it quits.
''You have to get up.''
Takuma coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet¡ª one good and one numb¡ª and looked around with a swimming vision. He weakly pulled out a kunai and faced his opponent, only to find a partially burning corpse. He turned his sight away to the other side to find Yuko and her opponent on the ground, with the opponent stabbing her repeatedly while screaming.
For a moment, he stared at them with a dull gaze. A hundred thoughts packed in his head, ninety-nine of them told him that it was okay to lay down, that he had done enough, and that everything would be fine.
He momentarily stared at the kunai in his hand before dragging himself toward Yuko.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Iruka pulled the short blade from the Hidden Frost shinobi''s chest and pushed the dead body to the ground. He felt exhausted¡ª physically, mentally, and chakra-wise. He was about to fall on his knee, but a heat cut through the Land of Frost''s cold and snapped him out of his daze. He jumped away to avoid the fire from touching him. He looked at Raiden, who was spitting out flames at his opponent from his mouth.
Iruka could tell from the flaming man that the battle was over on Raiden''s end. He turned his attention to the other side of the clearing to see Takuma slicing his kunai across the neck of another Hidden Frost man kneeling over Onikuma Yuko, who was already dead.
Gazing at his favorite genin, Iruka knew this experience would affect Takuma¡ª death always did. He didn''t need to look around to know that only four of the sixteen people involved were alive. He, Takuma, Raiden, and Susumu, with a swarm of bugs buzzing around him.
The next second, Susumu dropped to the ground. Iruka ran towards him; fortunately, the bugs didn''t obstruct him. Iruka examined Susumu¡ª there were injuries, blood loss, and signs of chakra exhaustion.
He glanced at the bugs buzzing around Susumu and recalled what he knew about Aburame. At birth, clan members are offered their bodies to several special breeds of insects as a nest, residing just under their host''s skin. The insects would then live in symbiosis with their host from that point on. In return for using insects as weapons, the host provided the insects with nutrients and chakra.
''They''ll continue to draw chakra from him,'' Iruka felt cold. Right now, Susumu was low on chakra, and if the insects in his body continued to draw on the remaining amount, the reserves would dry up, leading to Susumu''s death. If it was an experienced Aburame, Iruka wouldn''t have worried, but Susumu wasn''t that¡ª he needed help from his clan, or else he would die.
"Iruka," Raiden''s voice croaked.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Iruka asked, observing Raiden''s body. The chunin he had fought had done a number on Raiden.
"Patch me up," Raiden wheezed. "W-We have to get out of¡ here."
"You''re in no condition to go anywhere," Iruka grimaced at the large cut in the lower abdomen infected with some form of poison¡ª he had no idea how Raiden had managed to remain standing, much less win the fight.
''I''ll have to carry him,'' thought Iruka.
"Wait here."
Iruka rushed to the last person alive and found Takuma weaving hand seals before pressing his hand to the ground.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"¡ Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu," Takuma barely whispered. "There''s no one within a kilometer but us¡ I-I should''ve done it before this happened."
Iruka pursed his lips. That wasn''t Takuma''s responsibility. He knew that Takuma could perform that jutsu, and it had slipped his mind¡ª it was his fault for not ordering Takuma to check their surroundings for an ambush.
Iruka checked for the wounds on Takuma. Except for the kunai in the hip, and a few shallow cuts, Takuma didn''t seem to be in danger. He had a decision to make.... Iruka bit the inside of his cheek, knowing that there was only one choice, which wasn''t good for Takuma.
"Takuma¡ I''m afraid I have to leave," said Iruka.
Takuma looked up at Iruka, confusion peeking through the exhaustion. "What do you mean?"
"Raiden and Susumu are in grave condition; they need medical attention. I can carry them both across the border, but I''ll need to be alone to travel faster," said Iruka. If Takuma traveled with him, he would need to slow down to match Takuma''s pace, extending their time on the road, thus decreasing the chances of Raiden and Susumu''s survival. "You''ll need to travel back home alone, Takuma¡"
It was unfair for Takuma to be left alone, but if he was to increase the chance of Raiden and Susumu''s survival, this was the only way. Iruka realized he wasn''t giving a choice to Takuma, but they had already lost four Leaf shinobi today, and Iruka didn''t want to lose the rest of them. As long as Takuma traveled under the radar, he could cross the border without any problems.
"¡ I understand," said Takuma after a long pause. He looked up at Iruka and nodded with a tired yet firm expression. "I don''t have much of a choice, do I¡"
Iruka put on an apologetic face, but Takuma waved him off.
"I''ll patch up Susumu; you should get Raiden ready. I want to leave here as soon as possible," as he said that, Takuma pulled the kunai out of his hip.
CH_3.36 (095):
"I''m ready to leave," Iruka looked uncomfortable with two people hanging off him. Raiden was tied to Iruka''s back while the lighter Susumu was in a princess carry. "Are you sure you don''t want to leave together?"
"You should get them to safety," said Takuma, tightening the bandage around his shoulder wound. "I''ll catch my breath for a second before starting out myself."
In truth, he felt pissed beyond words and wanted some time alone to calm himself down. Iruka was his team leader, who was leaving him alone in a foreign country whose shinobi had just betrayed them. On top of that, he was being asked to travel across two countries alone. He didn''t want to see Iruka''s face any longer in case he blew up at the chunin.
"¡ I understand," Iruka said quietly, "but don''t stay here for long. We don''t know when someone might come here looking."
"Yes, sir," Takuma went quiet and didn''t look at Iruka.
"Get home safely, Takuma," Iruka said, and moments later, he disappeared into the woods.
Takuma, leaning against the tree, looked up at the sky that had grown dark. The overcast clouds blocked the stars from view. At no point since receiving the mission had Takuma thought it would go the way it had gone¡ª he lost Yumiko and Dai, the two people he liked working with¡ª he lost two friends. He bitterly questioned whether they would be alive if Takuma hadn''t recommended them to Iruka.
After staring at the sky, Takuma stood up with a groan. He was thankful to Taro''s father for recommending the first aid course¡ª without it, he would be in a much worse condition than he was in right now, which wasn''t good, but anything was better than the worst. He walked to the backpack he had thrown away during the fight and took the hand ax from it to chop the nearest trees down for lumber. He gathered all the materials he needed to start multiple fires before heading to the dead bodies of his comrades lying around the clearing.
''¡ªA shinobi''s body holds the village''s secret that our enemies can use against us. We can''t allow them to get our secrets for they can endanger us¡ª''
One of Maruboshi''s many teachings echoed in Takuma''s mind as he dragged Yumiko, Dai, Aya, and Yuko''s bodies into a line before stripping their bodies of gear and then redressing them in the plain clothes they had changed into the moment they had exited the Land of Fire. Yumiko''s and Dai''s wouldn''t hold many secrets, but Yuko and Aya had secrets pertaining to the Onikuma and Izuno clans.
He didn''t care about any of that. They were shinobi who had lost their lives for the village¡ª they needed the best funerals he could provide them.
Takuma made four pyres from the wood he had chopped and laid the bodies of his friends and comrades on them before lighting them up on fire one by one. Takuma didn''t know if they preferred to be buried or cremated¡ª in the field, the only option was to be cremated to leave no evidence behind.
"I''m sorry¡ I''m so sorry," tears streamed out of Takuma''s eyes as he lit fires on Dai and Yumiko''s pyres. He recommended them to Iruka, but when the time came where he should''ve been protecting them, he was floundering on the field in panic like a pathetic loser. If only he had been prepared, he could''ve saved them, and they would''ve been alive.
"Please forgive me¡." He didn''t particularly like Yuko and Aya, but that didn''t mean they had to die. They were young shinobi who didn''t deserve to die like this¡ª he had seen how excited they had been the entire time since they had left the village. The memories of the two having fun in the Shiyuka village flashed through his mind as he bowed his head in shame. Why did he have to fight with them?
Takuma dropped to his knees and prayed to the guardian of the forest to guide their souls safely to the afterlife so they could attain the peace they deserved.
Takuma didn''t care if the fire and smoke from the funeral pyres attracted attention; he refused to have their funerals simultaneously as the Hidden Frost shinobi who had killed them. Only after the fires had died down did Takuma turn to his dead enemies. Despite his disgust and hate for them, Takuma gave the Hidden Frost shinobi the same treatment because they deserved basic human decency.
Soldiers didn''t start wars. Takuma knew the Hidden Frost shinobi were only following orders, but it didn''t matter¡ª they had murdered his friends. Takuma lit their pyres on fire and briefly prayed for their souls before going through their gear.
The information they were supposed to obtain, if it existed in the scrolls, had been burnt to a crisp. He wanted to see if there was anything of importance he could find among their belongings. Unfortunately for Takuma, except for the map to the meeting place, he couldn''t find anything of importance¡ª
"Hmm?"
Takuma stared at the two kunai in his hands. They had come from the two Hidden Frost chunin shinobi, one from each¡ª but as Takuma looked at the two kunai, they were different¡ª one had a leaner blade while the other had a longer grip. He looked at the other kunai in the weapon packs and found that there were indeed two distinct types of kunai¡ª the first type belonged to one of the chunin while the second type belonged to the other chunin.
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Weapons like kunai were an essential part of a shinobi''s life. They were so important that they needed to be forged exactly to a template dimension and weight. The blacksmiths forged so many of them that no matter where you went in the country, you''d find the same kunai everywhere without any discrepancies.
However, every country had its own way of forging its weapons. His own kunai were different from both types in front of him. Hidden Frost must have their own specifications¡ª but it was beyond strange that they had two different types as shinobi liked their tools to be uniform.
Takuma searched the genin''s weapons and found the same¡ª two types of kunai. He then went beyond comparing the shuriken and the other gear¡ there were two distinct types of everything.
"What is happening¡ª"
A chill rose up Takuma''s spine as a thought passed through his mind.
Every country had its own way of forging its weapons.
"They''re not from the Hidden Frost," Takuma muttered to himself. He swallowed the saliva as the conclusion shaped inside his brain. He looked at the gear¡ª one chunin and three genin had the first type of gear while the other chunin and other three genin had the second type of gear.
One team wasn''t from the Hidden Frost.
He recalled the genin he had pried away from Yuko, who had tried to say something to him before silencing himself. Another thought passed through Takuma''s mind¡ª
''What if the Hidden Frost hadn''t betrayed them¡ What if this was someone else¡ What was the information Hidden Frost was trying to share?''
"But who?"
Takuma didn''t have the answer to any of those questions.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Iruka sat on a bed in a medical ward of a border post on the Land of Fire-Land of Hot Waters border. He hadn''t ever felt this exhausted in his life?¡ª the last sleep was already over two days ago. His Chunin Exam hadn''t been this tough on his mind and body. The day and a half straight of sprinting with two bodies while his own body was injured were one of the toughest ordeals. It didn''t help that he smuggled himself across the Land of Frost border to avoid any contact with Hidden Frost.
And yet, despite all that, his mind disallowed sleep no matter how much his body demanded it. The long, arduous travel without treatment had put Raiden and Susumu in a critical condition for which they were being treated by the iryo-nin¡ and Iruka''s heart couldn''t stop worrying about how Takuma was faring alone in foreign lands.
He sighed heavily into his hands covering his face only for the faces of Yumiko, Dai, Aya, and Yuko to flash behind his eyelids. He had lost four genin in a C-rank mission which rarely had any deaths.
"No, no... no¡ why¡"
His body contorted from the inside thinking about the mission, and he couldn''t think about anything else. All he wanted was for his mind to stop going there, but it was all he could think about.
"Chunin Iruka¡"
Iruka tiredly looked up at the head iryo-nin of the border post. He had been treating Raiden from the moment they had stumbled into the camp.
"How are they?" asked Iruka.
"Aburame Susumu has been stabilized, but we can''t do anything about the insects feeding on his chakra¡. We were able to neutralize the poison in Shimura Raiden''s body" ¡ª Iruka felt a wave of relief pass through him ¡ª "unfortunately, he wasn''t able to survive the damage already done to his body¡ Chunin Shimura Raiden had passed away. I''m sorry¡"
Iruka felt his mind go blank at the sudden news. Had he been too slow? Was that why Raiden failed to survive¡ª because he wasn''t able to bring him to treatment fast enough? That one thought now plagued Iruka''s mind.
"We have already called for the Aburame clan for their help; they''ll be here as soon as possible. We''re in the process of contacting the Shimura clan to inform them about Chunin Raiden," said the iryo-nin.
Whatever said after didn''t filter into Iruka''s mind as he continued to fall into the tragedy he had been served. He didn''t notice when the head iryo-nin left him. If Takuma didn''t return safely, Iruka would''ve lost six people and salt on the wounds, the information they were sent to retrieve was absent.
He had failed worse than anyone could on a mission.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
For the first time in very long, Takuma didn''t enjoy sleeping outside in nature under the open sky. The Land of Frost''s cold hurt his wounds¡ª he could take the pain and discomfort during the day spent running, but he didn''t appreciate it when it messed with his sleep at night. Nothing had made him appreciate Sango''s medical care after every fight and their personal session than the days he had spent without healing as he traveled secretly through the Land of Frost.
''Just one more day,'' Takuma thought.
Illegally crossing borders wasn''t hard. Any type of border patrol could only cover so much ground, leaving many unprotected spots where people could cross in-and-out of countries. The real problem was surviving harsh undeveloped terrain that sat on the borders and reaching the nearest settlement only for them to reject shelter to the immigrants. He didn''t have that problem. Takuma had the gear and experience to sleep outside every night, enough rations to feed multiple shinobi, and he could cover ground much faster than any civilian, even with his injured body.
He had already crossed out of the Land of Frost into the Land of Hot Waters, and in the morning, he would skip the first line of border towns with shinobi presence and rest at one of the towns at a comfortable distance from the border. While he was ''safe'' in the Land of Hot Waters, Takuma didn''t want to meet any shinobi in his current condition.
Takuma snuggled into his sleeping bag with painful groans and closed his eyes to get some sleep¡.
A few hours later, Takuma snapped his eyes with his body drenched in sweat. His labored breathing couldn''t beat out the sound of his rushing heart in his ears. He stared at the cloudy sky through the insect net and saw the beautiful moon, whereas a few moments ago, he was dreaming of Yumiko and Dai''s smiling faces that quickly turned lifeless and bloodied. They didn''t say anything¡ª they were dead after all¡ª but they simply stared at him with their dull eyes as though judging him for being alive.
After drinking some water, Takuma went to sleep again¡ only to wake up to the same images.
Takuma looked to the side at the fire that burned slowly, providing him with some much-needed warmth. He stared at the fire for a moment before reaching into his pouch for a joint that he lit on the embers.
Takuma didn''t know when he closed his eyes, but somewhere while blowing smoke at the moon, sleep overtook him¡ª and this time, they didn''t visit him in his dreams¡ because he didn''t dream at all.
CH_3.37 (096):
Sneaking into a town wasn''t tricky for Takuma. He scaled a wall, dipped into alleyways, and stayed in the shadows. A walk around the town found him in the less affluent part of the town at a distance from the main districts, a place much like where his home was situated in the Hidden Leaf.
He glanced at the "hotel" sign as he entered the three-storied building that hadn''t seen maintenance in many cycles, something reflected by the interior. The floorboards creaked under his feet, the furniture setup in the tiny lobby was grimy, and the front counter was an old desk with scratches and dirty stains on the wood.
The woman sitting behind the reception read a woman''s magazine with a cover as absurd as her over-the-top makeup and hairdo. She glanced at Takuma when he knocked on the countertop, giving him a look over. Takuma wore a fresh set of clothes that hid his bandaged wounds, but all of that was covered by a hooded travel cloak.
"Room for the night," said Takuma, modulating his voice to be a smidge fuller, "with water in the bathroom."
She pointed to the crooked board hanging on the wall with room prices that had been crossed out and written over multiple times. Takuma chose the cheapest room and put down some paper bills on the countertop, revealing his bandaged hand.
"We don''t take that," the woman pointed at the Land of Frost currency that Takuma had put out.
Takuma stared at the woman, and a silence fell between them before the woman sighed in annoyance and took the foreign currency. "It''ll cost more," she said pointedly, and Takuma gave her what she asked of him. Only after that did she take a key off the wall key hanger and toss it on the counter.
Takuma took the key and went to his room on the second floor. The room ended before it could start and had the basics of the basics in the form of a double bed, a dingy cupboard, a small study table with an old chair, and a less than pleasant bathroom.
First thing first, Takuma checked the entire room. He tested the door locks to see if the inside bolt was intact, checked the cupboards and side tables, lifted the bed for bed bugs, cleaned out the bathroom, and finished testing the integrity of the window grate¡ª which was weak enough for Takuma to kick out in case he needed to make an emergency exit.
He locked the door, reinforced it with nylon wire, and immediately jumped into the bathroom. His injuries weren''t severe, but they weren''t shallow enough to be left alone. The only reason he had stopped at the town was to treat his injuries to prevent infections. He planned to stay here for the day before starting the second leg of his journey back home.
Takuma took out the length of gauze that he had stuffed in the deep-deep hole in his hip with a long groan. He bathed, properly irrigated the wound with water treated with a few drops of iodine because he wasn''t sure about the water quality in the town, and then redressed the wound while smoking another joint to help dull the pain. After repeating the process a couple more times, he ate his rations and drank plenty of water before crashing on the bed for a couple hours of rest.
A poor bed was better than an outdoor sleeping bag, and by the time Takuma woke up, he had overslept for several hours. The sun was already up. He looked at the clock in his room, and his checkout time was in two hours¡ª not wasting any more time, he got dressed and was out of his room before the minute pointer could move quarter way across the clocks circle.
The woman was behind the counter again, her hairdo as ridiculous as yesterday. He wordlessly handed her the key and walked out when she acknowledged him. Takuma felt her eyes on him as he exited the building but ignored it.
However, it seemed that the gaze spelled trouble. Just when Takuma walked out of the block, a trio of men approached him.
"Hey man, where you from?" asked one of them.
Takuma ignored them and turned into an alleyway.
"That''s rude, oye," said the second man.
"Yeah, what''s with the hurry? We only wants to talk to you," the third man smiled as he cracked his knuckle.
The trio followed Takuma into the alleyway, where he was waiting for them. They weren''t capable of anything but screams, which were stifled almost immediately. Takuma walked out of the alleyway a few moments later, leaving behind the battered trio to be found later that day by the time Takuma had already left.
Takuma didn''t pursue the matter with the hotel and left the town. Every minute spent away from the Hidden Leaf made him feel sicker.
He just wanted to get home.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"The Hidden Frost betrayed and launched an attack during the exchange," said the tokubetsu jonin in charge of Iruka, who solemnly nodded. "You lost four genin in that attack. Unfortunately, Chunin Shimura Raiden died at the border post due to his injuries. Genin Aburame Susumu is out of danger¡ But you left one genin¡ª Genin Takuma¡ª as you rushed to get Shimura and Aburame back to the country."
"¡ Yes, sir," said Iruka.
"Even if we assume Genin Takuma can return home, less than half of the team made it back on a C-rank mission. Even if it was a multi-ranked mission, it doesn''t change that it was a C-rank mission¡ª and you even failed to get back the information¡ This is difficult, Chunin Iruka."
"¡ Yes, sir."
Iruka had no words. The facts were as follows: the mission had failed, and they had lost shinobi¡ª and even though it wasn''t his fault, this mission would cause difficulties between the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Frost, and in some ways, he would have to suffer the brunt of it. And they might have faced an equal number of opponents and had ''won,'' but to lose a chunin and four genin was unacceptable. They were from the Hidden Leaf, one of the five great shinobi villages, while the opposition was the minor village of Hidden Frost¡ª this type of loss was a slight to their reputation.
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There was no silver lining to this mission. Iruka wasn''t even allowed to wait at the border post so he could wait for Takuma and was forced back to the Hidden Leaf only to be put in a room with T&I personnel who were put in charge of the aftermath of the situation.
Iruka knew the reason why a tokubetsu jonin was put in charge. Raiden was from the Shimura clan, an important chunin who had the potential to be a jonin in the future, who had now died on a C-rank mission. They were looking for foul play. It didn''t help that Izuno and Onikuma clan members had died, and an Aburame had come close to death¡ª on a C-rank mission. Shinobi didn''t die on C-rank missions.
"Did you recognize any of the Hidden Frost shinobi?"
Iruka shook his head.
A bingo book was thrown on the table. "Try again," said the investigator, with a stare that wouldn''t take no for an answer.
"Tell me about Genin Takuma," the invigilator asked as Iruka looked over the bingo book with Hidden Frost profiles.
Iruka looked up from the book and furrowed deeply. "What do you mean?"
"You left him behind? He agreed to that?"
"He had no choice in the matter¡ He followed the orders I gave him," said Iruka bitterly.
"And he must be bitter about it," the investigator looked at a file. "To be left behind on his first mission outside the country¡. Do you think he''d defect because of that?"
"What?"
"I mean, he doesn''t have any family here. And to be left behind right after being in a fight for his life, there must be some anger because of that¡ª amplified as he''s alone in a land with no friends¡. I have seen men defect for much less. Do you think he''ll defect?"
"Takuma won''t defect," said Iruka with disgust. "He''s a shinobi who the Leaf should be proud of. He will be back home soon."
"If you say so," the investigator shrugged. "He''ll be back¡ if he''s alive, that is¡."
Iruka bit the inside of his cheek and returned his gaze to the bingo book.
The door to the interrogation room opened, and a genin peered inside, "Genin Takuma has crossed the border and is now getting treated at the Deguchi border post."
The investigator turned to Iruka and smiled, "Looks like you were right. Very well then, let''s get our boy back home¡."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma breathed a sigh of relief as his feet touched the familiar pavements of the streets he had walked so many times. He looked behind at the inner-city gates behind him and the weight weighing his heart down ever since the ambush lifted. He closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief.
He was back home.
"Come on, let''s get a move on."
Takuma looked back at the two genin who had escorted him from the Deguchi border post to the Leaf village.
''Escorted,'' Takuma clicked his tongue¡ª more like detained.
They had stuck to him like glue ever since he had appeared at the border post. His reception at the border post had been warm and respectful¡ª a chunin iryo-nin had treated his injuries¡ª he hadn''t been treated that well since Enomoto¡ª and they had made him feel as comfortable as possible. But then the order from Hidden Leaf came¡ª he was to return to the village as soon as possible. Takuma had been more than happy to oblige; there was nothing more he wanted but to return home.
However, he was told that two genin would accompany him back to the village. Upon asking, he was told they were escorts because he had just been healed. Takuma found it strange, but he graciously accepted their offer. But the entire time on the road, his two ''escorts'' tried to subtly control his actions.
"Where should we go?" asked Takuma.
"Err, to the," one of the genin took out a slip of paper, "the T&I Force headquarters¡."
"And where''s that?" asked Takuma. He had got them talking during their travel and knew for a fact that neither had been to the Leaf village¡ª even now, their eyes were darting from place to place like country bumpkins in the big city for the first time.
"¡ W-We don''t know," their voice grew smaller at the end.
Takuma sighed. He knew they were following orders, but it pissed him off regardless.
"Come, follow me," Takuma sighed, and he led them to the T&I Force headquarters situated in one the most protected regions inside the village, for which they had to go through two layers of security.
When they finally reached the headquarters, Takuma was allowed inside while his escorts were stopped at the door. He was sat down in a small interrogation room.
"Genin Takuma," a shinobi entered the room soon after. "I''m Tokubetsu Jonin Shiroma. I just have some routine questions about the Hidden Frost mission."
Shiroma sat down across from Takuma and set down some files on the table; the topmost one had Takuma''s name on it. Takuma looked up from the file to Shiroma, who was now staring at him silently. Takuma stared back¡ª and a silence settled in the room.
"How was the journey back home?" asked Shiroma.
"Lonely," replied Takuma.
"Yes, you were ordered by Chunin Iruka to return home alone. You must''ve been hurt by that order, Takuma. To be left behind by your team leader¡ª must''ve been tough."
"It''s not my place to question orders, sir," Takuma answered calmly. "Chunin Iruka did what he felt was the best for the team. I simply followed the orders."
"But to leave someone who hasn''t been out of the village, much less out of the country¡ was that wise?"
"Chunin Iruka''s decision to go ahead and get Chunin Raiden and Genin Susumu the help they needed showcased his trust in my ability to handle myself in tough situations. I''m flattered if nothing else," Takuma said. He knew what the investigator was trying to fish for, but he wasn''t going to give it to him.
Shiroma hummed. "Can you tell me about the mission? Start from the beginning and narrate your recollections of the events. Don''t leave anything out."
Takuma gave his account. He told him everything except for a few things. First of all, he omitted the conflict with Raiden''s team. And as they arrived at the meetup with Hidden Frost, Shiroma interrupted him and asked,
"Don''t you find it strange that the Hidden Frost betrayed us? They''ve been our allies for a very long time¡ª why so suddenly?"
Takuma said, "I found it strange, yes. And I also think that things weren''t as simple as they seemed on the surface," saying that Takuma began unpacking weapons on the surprisingly large table. Shiroma was surprised by Takuma''s action, but he didn''t seem worried. Why would he? A tokubetsu jonin had no reason to be worried of a genin.
"What am I looking at?" asked Shiroma.
There was a row each of kunai, shuriken, senbon, explosive tags, smoke bombs, and a single short sword. The numerous weapons covered the entire table.
"Do you notice the difference between these weapons? This here is a kunai I purchased from the supply," Takuma pointed at the first kunai, "then there''s this one that I picked up from one of the Hidden Frost shinobi," he pointed to the kunai with a thinner blade, "and this one here is from another shinobi," which had a longer grip. "Do you notice how each set is different? Of course, we would expect our kunai to differ from Hidden Frost''s¡ª but why would Hidden Frost shinobi have kunai different from each other on them? And it''s not just the kunai. Everything on this table is of three different types. One of them is mine, and thus from the Hidden Leaf, while the other two are from the Hidden Frost¡."
Shiroma looked up from the table to Takuma. His previous carefree expression of observation he had pointed at Takuma was nowhere to be seen¡ª it had been replaced with something that showed that he was hanging off every word that Takuma said with a hint of alarm in his eyes.
"Sir¡ it''s either that Hidden Frost has changed the designs of all of their official weapons recently, which is unlikely based on how I found them¡ª Or one of the teams that we fought wasn''t Hidden Frost and were only disguised as them." Takuma probably had never held someone''s attention as firmly as he did at the moment,
"I''m sure we have samples of weapons from other villages lying around somewhere in our archives, and if we compare them with these¡ we will know the third party''s identity."
CH_3.38 (097):
After Takuma put down his discovery in front of Shiroma, the investigation took another direction altogether. Gone were the pointed questions about his actions and feelings, replaced by a lengthy discussion about the involvement of a third party. For hours, they talked about the battle, recording the profiles of the shinobi Takuma had fought, the shinobi he had not fought but noticed, and every aspect in brain-squeezing detail.
There was no clock in the room, and Takuma didn''t know how much time had passed until he was out of the building and saw the early evening sky. His genin escorts were no longer there, and Takuma couldn''t care less. Instantly he felt tired from spending a day in a tiny room answering questions about a very unpleasant situation, bringing up memories he didn''t want brought up. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply to collect himself.
"Takuma¡"
He opened his eyes to find Iruka standing in front of him. A wave of emotion hit him, but Takuma clenched his fist to keep them from bursting out.
"I''m glad to see you''re fine, sir," Takuma straightened his back.
"Takuma¡ I can''t say how relieved I was when I heard that you had reached the border safely," Iruka said as he walked to Takuma and put a hand on his shoulder. "Takuma, about the mis¡ª"
"Would you accompany me somewhere, sir?" Takuma cut off Iruka and locked eyes with his team leader.
Iruka was silent for a moment before he stepped back and nodded.
Takuma nodded back, and they were off. Iruka followed Takuma''s lead as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Not a word was exchanged between the two, but Takuma could feel Iruka''s gaze on his back, but he ignored the man and picked up speed.
They soon entered a well-to-do residential district in the eastern part of the village. The homes in the district were known to attract upper-middle-class and lower-upper-class families looking to build or buy their family homes. Their destination was a home in that district.
[Taguchi]
"Takuma, why are we¡" said Iruka, wide-eyed.
Taguchi¡ as in Taguchi Yumiko.
Takuma opened the front gate and stepped onto the property, snapping Iruka out of his daze. "Takuma, stop! What''re you doing?" Iruka grabbed Takuma by the arm and stopped him.
"They lost their daughter; I''m going to pay my respects," said Takuma, not looking at Iruka. He pried Iruka''s hand off his arm and walked inside towards the front door.
"Takuma, it''s already late! We will come tomorrow," Iruka tried to convince Takuma.
"No, we have to do this now as soon as possible," Takuma said as he rang the doorbell. If not for the T&I Force interrogation, he would''ve headed here right after entering the Leaf village.
The door opened, and a young man, probably in his early twenties, opened the door. From the first look, Takuma saw the similarities between Yumiko and the young man. They had the same eyes and nose. It was Yumiko''s elder brother.
"Yes?" asked Yumiko''s elder brother, his eyes going to Takuma''s headband. Then he noticed Iruka and recognized him. It seemed Iruka had come to pay his respects before.
"Good evening. I apologize for disturbing you so late. My name is Takuma. I was with your sister on the Land of Frost mission¡ May I come in?" asked Takuma.
Yumiko''s elder brother seemed conflicted but nodded a moment later. They entered the house, and Yumiko''s elder brother led Takuma to the room where they had established Yumiko''s shrine. Takuma knelt in front of the shrine and gazed at Yumiko''s picture. She was smiling in the picture. It was so much different from her serious demeanor during meetings and missions. Takuma closed his eyes, and instead of praying, he apologized to Yumiko, confessed his regret, told her how much he missed her¡ and simply talked with his teammate.
After a while, Takuma got up and left the shrine room to the living room where Yumiko''s parents had joined her elder brother and Iruka. They didn''t seem to be talking, and the vibe of the room was awkward with a sense of hostility in the air. As Takuma sat down, he noticed Yumiko''s mother glaring at Iruka.
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"¡ You say you were with Yumiko on the mission," Yumiko''s father spoke. The older man looked tired, and every wrinkle on his face seemed sorrowful.
"Yes, sir."
"Are you the one who got left behind?"
Takuma looked at Yumiko''s father and nodded.
"You, who got left behind, made it home alive, but my daughter didn''t. Why is that?" asked the mourning father.
"¡ I''m sorry, sir," was all Takuma could say to the grieving man.
A hush fell in the room before Yumiko''s elder brother broke it, "If that was all, I''d ask you to leave. Today was a tiring day for us, and we''d like to rest."
Takuma nodded, but then he took out a water canteen from his backpack that he had been lugging around and placed it on the table. "The team''s decision for me to travel alone allowed me to take time to perform the funeral rites," there were gasps as Yumiko''s family looked at the water canteen, understanding what was in there. He didn''t have containers he could store the ashes in, so he used their respective water canteens as ''urns.'' "I couldn''t get her back to the village, but I could do this, so I did."
Takuma then took out a package of Yumiko''s personal effects he could fit in his backpack and placed her headband over the package. He tried to halt the tremble in his hand as he put the package in front of them, but his hands refused to stop shaking.
"Thank you for hosting us," said Takuma as he got up. "I''m sorry for disturbing you this late in the day¡. I''m sorry for your loss."
The sobs from Yumiko''s mother as Takuma walked out stayed with him for the rest of the day and beyond.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"I''m sorry for your loss."
Iruka watched Takuma bowing his head to Onikuma Yuko''s family as he passed Yuko''s ashes and personal effects to her family before heading out just like he had done with Yumiko''s family and with Izuno Aya''s family. Iruka had visited the families when he had returned and hadn''t thought he''d be returning so soon.
By the time they exited the Onikuma clan compound, it was already dark.
"I''m going to use my break for this week to visit Dai''s family," said Takuma.
Dai''s family wasn''t from the Hidden Leaf. Dai had come to the Hidden Leaf from his home when he was eleven after his academy graduation and had stayed ever since. Iruka wasn''t sure if Dai''s family had yet gotten the news of their son''s death. Another department handled those responsibilities. Takuma could very well be the first time they would hear about their son''s death.
Iruka stared at Takuma. Even now, he was in disbelief that Takuma had disposed of the bodies. With Raiden''s and Susumu''s lives at risk, he had left at the moment''s notice without giving Takuma any instructions regarding what to do with the scene. In hindsight, he had expected Takuma to bury the bodies in rough graves, but for him to cremate the bodies as described by the proper field directives surprised Iruka. He knew many who would choose to bury in the same situation as it was safer than lighting fires that attracted attention.
"I''ll come with you," said Iruka.
"No, it''s okay. I''m sure the aftermath of the mission will force you to be busy. It won''t be wise for you to leave the village while the investigation is ongoing," said Takuma, not looking at Iruka.
"Takuma¡ Dai was my teammate as well," said Iruka, feeling a bit insulted. Takuma remained silent. "What do you want me to say, Takuma? You won''t even look at me," said Iruka.
Takuma snapped his head to Iruka, fixing him with a glare, and like trapped pressure suddenly released, he erupted, "YOU LEFT ME THERE ALONE!"
Iruka was once again startled, not because of the accusation¡ª that was expected. However, he hadn''t seen Takuma raising his voice like this and acting with such heat. The genin he had taken under his wing had been even-tempered, calm, and under control no matter what the situation.
"You left me there in favor of Shimura and Aburame! I was your team, NOT THEM!" Takuma yelled, frustrations rolling off of him. "Do you know how it felt to chop wood knowing that it''d be used to cremate my friends! Do you know how it feels to run through an unknown country with their ashes in my backpack, hiding in fear, looking over my shoulder every other moment in fear, not knowing when Hidden Frost shinobi might come and kill me! I had to do that while being injured the entire time! I''d be dead in a ditch if a simple three-man genin cell had found me¡ª that''s the condition I traveled through Land of Frost AND Land of Hot Waters!"
Takuma rubbed a hand over his face and temple.
"I¡ si-¡ Ir¡ I was¡ª ugh!" Takuma started the sentence many times over before stopping and changing his word until he grew frustrated and kicked the ground.
"I''m sorry, Takuma," said Iruka. He knew if a similar situation presented itself in front of him, he would do it again¡ª as long as people like Raiden and Susumu could be saved, he''d take the risk. But, he also recognized that it was completely unfair to Takuma, and he was justified to feel the anger, betrayal, and frustration he currently felt.
He had left Takuma in a place with his dead teammates. He could only imagine how that had affected Takuma.
And he knew what was about to come in the following few days was going to again hurt Takuma. The past few days hadn''t been great for himself, and he had found himself doubting his ability to lead¡ª he had made several misses during the mission that he shouldn''t have made, and in some ways, those misses contributed to where they were today.
If only he had tried to smoothen out the friction between the teams and help them better work with each other¡ if only he had asked his team to maintain a formation during the exchange¡ if only he had asked Takuma to check the surroundings¡ª maybe things would''ve turned out differently.
He needed time¡
However, what had happened was all in the past. He could only look in the future¡ª and Iruka wanted to salvage his relationship with Takuma. He needed to take care of his best genin and make sure that his decisions weren''t going to affect Takuma''s future.
Fortunately for him, he knew exactly the thing for it.
¡ He just needed to make sure his plans worked.
CH_3.39 (098):
Takuma woke up to the sound of his doorbell. He glanced at the bedroom wall clock, telling him it was already eleven in the morning. He had returned late last night from his journey to Dai''s parent''s house, and he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep after returning home.
He pulled himself off the bed, grabbed his weapons pouch, and kunai in hand as he walked to the door while the doorbell rang again. He cracked a peek through the peephole, and his sleep vanished a level as he opened the door to Taro, Ai, Nenro, and Masaaki in front of his house.
"This is a surprise," Takuma said as he returned the kunai to the weapons pouch. "What are you guys doing here?" He could guess why they were here altogether. It was obvious.
"How are you?" asked Ai, worried as she looked him over.
"I''m fine," Takuma fully opened the door and stood aside. "Come inside."
All four entered the apartment, instantly crowding the small living room more than ever. Takuma had two chairs for his small dining table¡ª there used to be a two-seater couch that Takuma had long ditched¡ª as such, Nenro and Masaaki had to sit down on the floor while Ai and Taro took the two chairs. Takuma served them with refreshments before sitting down on the floor.
"This is the first time you guys are here, isn''t it," said Takuma to his friends. He had been to Taro and the trio''s home, but they hadn''t been to his. "How do you like my humble abode?"
"You should''ve told us," Taro spoke. "It doesn''t feel good to know about these sorts of things from the rotating gossip."
Takuma pursed his lips, feeling his friends'' gazes on him. "I didn''t have the time," he said. "I was in the village for a night before I was out again. I was going to tell you guys today."
"Did you have to leave so quickly? Where did you go?" asked Ai.
"I had to," Takuma said¡ª he didn''t answer the second question.
"¡ What happened?" Masaaki asked.
"The mission went wrong, people died." The particulars of the mission were under lock because of the international relations implications between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Frost, so he couldn''t divulge the particulars to anyone, and he didn''t want to. "The remaining team had to go ahead to minimize our casualties, and I was asked to follow, which I did. The injuries made the journey back home a hassle and took a lot of time¡ but other than that, the way back was uneventful."
Ai and Masaaki were worried while Nenro and Taro were searching.
"You all don''t have to look at me like that," Takuma shrugged. "Things went south, but I''m here now, and the problem with the mission doesn''t happen often¡ª it was a C-rank mission, for god''s sake. Worry about me when I''m doing B-rank missions; I''ll dump all over you guys then."
They didn''t laugh, but Takuma saw a smile or two of relief crack up on their faces.
"What is that?" Nenro pointed at the wall across him.
Takuma looked up at his information wall that detailed his Ring fights, combat records, notes on skills he was learning, some of his drug dealing records, and other things he needed to visually track.
"All kinds of things," said Takuma with a small smile. The notes were openly displayed, free for anyone in his house to read, but Takuma wasn''t concerned. They were written in a combination of two ''otherworldly'' languages that didn''t exist in the world. He knew for a fact it was nigh impossible to decipher an unknown language¡ª especially language as complex and fully formed as he was using. There was no known language to use as a reference or obvious picture references that could give meaning to a particular sentence. It was a dead language(s). It was another skill he could add to his repertoire as a creator/user of coded language, but for that to happen, he would need to teach the language to someone else, but that wasn''t in Takuma''s plan¡ª a way to store information only accessible to him was a huge advantage.
"I don''t recognize the language," Nenro said.
"That''s the point. Don''t worry about it. It''s some stuff I''m working on. It helps me keep track of random things."
"You created a new language to keep track of¡ random stuff?"
Takuma shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do," he gave a nonsensical answer that seemed to make sense but didn''t on a second thought. He didn''t mind these four people finding some stuff about him that didn''t make sense, except he didn''t want to explain.
"Never let your guard down," Takuma suddenly said, making everyone take their eyes off the wall. "When you''re outside, always be on the lookout¡ª keep track of your surroundings. Maintain active communication; sound out abnormalities so your team is aware of them. Rely on your teammates, but never become dependent. Trust, but not blindly. Even if someone is your ally, if you don''t know them personally, be conscious around them. You''re responsible for yourself on the field, never forget that, even for a moment."
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The room''s vibe immediately turned grave as Takuma looked at them severely. He didn''t want them to one day go out for a mission and not return. He was aware of the unavoidable risks if they continued to grow as shinobi and eventually got dangerous missions; however, if he could even remotely reduce the risks by making them aware, he would scream his words from rooftops.
"What are you going to do next? What did they say?" Taro asked.
"My chunin team lead is taking a break for some time, so I''m stuck to D-rank missions until he starts retaking C-rank team missions. I''ll have to start Monday to safely make the monthly quota," Takuma sighed¡ª he wanted a slightly longer break but had to work to not get penalized.
Ai frowned, "They aren''t reclassifying the mission to a higher ranking?"
Takuma shook his head, "Not yet. It''ll happen after they complete their investigation¡ª it''ll be a while before I see the effect of reclassification if it happens."
Because of how the mission had gone, and the ongoing investigation, the two C-rank missions that should''ve been added to Takuma''s record were put on hold, which meant he was coming short of his mission quota. He had to work overtime to meet that quota. If the investigation went well, those two C-rank missions would be added later, or the classification might get elevated to more C-rank missions or even a B-rank mission¡ª but who knew when that might be.
"Do you want me to talk to one of my chunin?" asked Nenro.
"No, I''ll take it easy for a moment. I''ll tell you when¡ Thanks," Takuma sighed.
The two weeks had been longer than he had expected and planned for before leaving the village. He had to return to his dealing in the village and get his usual life back on track.
¡ It was alright, he needed to work right now.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"I''m fine," Takuma told Maruboshi, who slightly cocked his head. "Everyone remotely aware of the mission has been asking how I am. I just answered if you wanted to know."
"But you are not¡ fine, are you?" Maruboshi replied. "Doesn''t seem that way to me."
"Should I be smiling constantly so people would leave me alone?" asked Takuma, feeling the irritation bubbling up inside of him. He had gotten sick of random people who he had perhaps talked to once or twice coming up to him, all but demanding to know what had happened on the mission as if it was their birthright.
He looked at Maruboshi, and his half-glare softened as he audibly sighed. "I''m sorry, that was unwarranted. I¡ just," he sat down on the tree stump in the same training area they had met during the time Takuma was in the academy.
Maruboshi sat down on the grass in front of Takuma. "You do not have to apologize to me, child. I understand what you are feeling right now."
"Do you?"
Maruboshi stayed silent for a moment. "Unlike you, I was on a jonin team when I was a genin"¡ª Takuma knew about that, Maruboshi had mentioned it in passing¡ª "my teammates were as close to me as my blood sister, if not closer. My jonin teacher was strict, but he was closest to what I had to a big brother. The way I taught you during the year was majorly based on how he taught us¡. Do you know where they are now?"
Takuma slowly shook his head. He could tell where Maruboshi was going, but the exactness of it was lingering out of his reach.
"They all are dead," Maruboshi stared right into Takuma''s eyes. "They did not die one-by-one during their own missions or during the war. They all died on an inconsequential mission while our team was still operational. And they died due to me because I made a reckless decision¡ª my teammates got wiped before I could move a finger, and my teacher had to sacrifice himself to allow me a chance to escape.
Do you know how close we had to be for a jonin to sacrifice himself for a genin? Closer than family."
Jonin were infinitely more valuable than genin. Everyone knew that. The jonin knew, the genin knew, and it was universally understood that if the entire ship was sinking and there was no way to salvage the situation, the jonin''s life was a priority¡ª even if the rest of the team had to die, the jonin had to come out alive.
"Did you never ask yourself, why I''m still a genin?" asked Maruboshi.
Of course, Takuma always had that question in the back of his mind. But he never asked because it would be rude.
"¡ They held back your promotion because of your team''s death?" Takuma took a guess.
"Would anyone still be a shinobi if the village kept them down with no future prospects? Especially at my age?"
Takuma shook his head.
"No, I would not have been. I have rejected promotions at least twice yearly for decades because I do not think I can lead shinobi on missions. I led my teammates to death once; I do not want to do it again," Maruboshi firmly grasped Takuma''s shoulder. "But you are different, my child. You are bright, competent, and hardworking¡ª the type of shinobi this village needs and deserves. You cannot get bogged down because of this mission. What happened was not your fault. You were not prepared for the mission that you faced. So do not blame yourself for their deaths."
Takuma closed his eyes and bowed his head. His heart felt like lead again.
"I can''t get them out of my mind," Takuma held his head in his hands. "They''re always there when I close my eyes."
"It''s okay, it''s okay," Maruboshi rubbed his arm. "What you''re feeling right now is normal. Death of close ones is not easy¡ª it never was, it never will be."
"How do I get them out?" Takuma asked. Yumiko and Dai always came smiling, but it always changed to them being dead. He didn''t want to think about them, but his mind betrayed him. It was as if they were etched behind his eyelids.
"The dead are remembered and survive through the living, Takuma," Maruboshi said. "You have to grieve¡ take it one day at a time. In my experience, you do not do anything special or different to cope, you just do. You just keep living and put one foot in front of the other. Everyone says time heals, but I don''t know if that is true¡ª" Takuma looked up at Maruboshi¡ª "but it does often help you forget. Life will be good again¡ just in a different way."
"That sounds terrible," said Takuma, tears welling in his eyes.
Maruboshi hugged Takuma, "Death always is, my child."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"W-What¡ did you say?"
Takuma stared at Iruka sitting across from him with a baffled experience.
"Genin Takuma, your transfer out of the Genin Corp has been expedited and finalized," said Iruka as he placed a scroll on the table in front of Takuma. "You now fall under the directive authority of the Leaf Military Police Force¡ effective immediately."
"¡ What?"
INTERLUDE_3.1 (099): External Perspective on the “Outsiderâ€
¡ªA DIRECT CONTINUATION OF CH_3.4 (063)¡ª
"Your friend was startled when he saw me," said Itachi.
Izumi, walking beside Itachi on their way home, looked up at him. She didn''t notice Takuma being startled, but Itachi had been more perceptive than her, even though they possessed the same set of eyes. "Of course, he was startled. You sneaked up on him; I''d be surprised as well," she bit on her candied apple.
"No, it was more than that. Fear. He was scared of me."
"You''re overthinking it," Izumi rolled her eyes. "Why would he be scared of you? I don''t think you two have met, have you?"
Itachi shook his head. "Tell me more about your friend," he asked.
"Hmm?" Izumi tried to think about her quiet classmate. "I don''t know what to say. He was quiet. Alone. I don''t think I ever saw him talk to anyone in the class except for some small chats here and there. Not a good fighter, but he''s smart¡. Actually, there was something strange."
Itachi looked interested.
"Before our last year at the academy, he was decent at everything. Nothing special, but at least he didn''t suck. However, when we started last year, he became plain terrible no matter what we did. Taijutsu, throwing, leaf concentration exercise, academy three, tactical exercise¡ª it was like he turned into a first-year toddler who couldn''t do anything. I don''t know if he was pretending to be terrible because he returned to being pretty decent by the end of the year."
"Any reason he would pretend?"
Izumi recalled how she and her friends used to chat about Takuma''s sudden lack of skill. Back then, they had mused if it was a ploy for attention. They weren''t sure how it was supposed to work because Takuma''s reputation only plummeted, and the only attention he got was from Hiji and his posse. On top of that, Kibe was pissed at Takuma for his acting. Even if attention was the motive, Takuma should''ve dropped the act, but he didn''t. If it was an act, he kept it till the very end.
"I couldn''t tell ya," Izumi said¡ª she had no idea.
"Is he trying to build a narrative?" said Itachi.
In the years they had known each other, Izumi had somewhat figured out how to read Itachi''s expression. What she saw was a mix of fascination and curiosity.
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"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Except for their family background, the earliest thing on a Leaf shinobi''s file is their academy records. If the file is surface level, they''ll have graduation test results¡ª if it''s detailed, they''ll add the transcripts for the entire last year and the teacher''s report into the mix," Itachi said in a speculative tone. "I wonder if your friend knows about that and is trying to build an image. An academy student with grades on the floor rapidly improves in a matter of a year. He reaches a level that other students took years to achieve. And it doesn''t finish there. He won the Genin Corps'' basic training tournament, which puts him atop his batch, except for those like you who are being trained by jonin. That''ll be permanently put on his record, furthering the narrative.
"Now, it''s not making graduation¡ª it''s one of the best in your batch in one year. That''s a pretty good story right there," Itachi seemed satisfied with his conjecture.
"Best in the batch that went to the Genin Corp," Izumi hummed. "Wouldn''t being part of a jonin team be a better¡ narrative?"
"It''d be better," Itachi nodded. "Perhaps his plans didn''t go according to plan¡ª they rarely do."
Izumi snapped her fingers as she said, "Now that you say that, Takuma wasn''t there on the day when we met our jonin. He was the only one not there."
"That sounds like an unexpected failure," said Itachi.
Izumi had to say the picture that Itachi had put forth was compelling, but she felt he was reaching for things here. If it was true, then Takuma was an excellent liar because she didn''t think that he was pretending¡ª at least not for an entire year.
"But none of that explains why you think he was scared of you," she said.
"Perhaps it was because of the clan?" Itachi''s eyes flashed for a moment.
"Umm, I don''t think so," Izumi could see what Itachi was thinking. The Uchiha clan didn''t have the greatest reputation in the village. Them being Leaf Military Police Force and the Nine-Tail attack all those years ago had lowered the respect that the clan once held in the eyes of the village populace. They had grown stronger every year, but with strength came enmity. And, the Uchiha clan had never lacked enmity.
She continued, "I didn''t get the sense he was prejudiced against us from when we talked. However, he does hold our skill in high regard¡ª at least he did mine¡ª and while Takuma tried to hide it, he clearly wanted to know how I trained. He was¡ inoffensive in his approach."
"Many hold our clan''s powers in high regard," said Itachi.
"That they do," Izumi sighed.
The clan elders had often said¡ª they still did¡ª that people outside the clan would try to get closer to get something from them, to use their position as the Uchiha. Izumi had ignored their words while she was in the academy; the people she was close to were her friends¡ª but she had only been out of the academy for less than a year, and she already understood what the elders were talking about.
People with their duplicitous smiles and honeyed words came from the woodwork. She realized how much of a glasshouse/greenhouse the academy had been, and the wild gardens she walked through now didn''t have the creature comforts the safe walls once provided her.
"How''s little Sasuke?" Izumi pushed those thoughts aside and turned the subject.
"He doesn''t like to be called little now that he''s in the academy," a soft smile tugged on Itachi''s lips.
Izumi giggled. "I can hear him pouting as he complains about being called little. Makes me want to tease him about it."
"You''re going to do it the next time you see him, aren''t you?" Itachi sighed.
Izumi grinned wildly.
Interlude_3.2 (100): Behind The Scene
In a small conference room inside the offices of the Leaf Genin Resource Command, a group of men and women sat around the table with overflowing loads of manilla folders ready to slide off the tabletop. These men and women looked exhausted with their messy hair, unkempt clothes, and mugs stained with coffee from repeated refills without cleaning.
"Who''s next?" Ayano closed a manilla folder and with it she closed her eyes. They had been going through the piles and piles of genin for weeks without any semblance of breaks.
A selection committee had been formed the day after the Hokage had announced that the Leaf Military Police Force would be getting an influx of genin and a few chunin. The people in the room made up the committee in charge of selecting the genin who would be transferred to the Military Police Force.
"This one is from Momo city," Rai had his feet kicked up on the table as he leaned his chair on the back two legs. "He has a decent mission record, no complaints, his SOP is lackluster," his nose wrinkled, "but his team leader''s feedbacks are so generic¡ª he obviously fished for them last minute." The committee discussed the application and decided it belonged in the ''maybe'' pool.
It was shocking how quickly, after the official announcement, applications flooded their post-box from all around the Land of Fire. Hidden Leaf village was the center for Leaf shinobi, but it wasn''t the only place with standing shinobi. There were outposts and other big cities with shinobi stationed in them who had heard of the announcement and had scrambled to be part of the illustrious Leaf Military Shinobi Police. In some ways, the response from outside the village was much more enthusiastic than the village itself.
With hindsight, the number of applications shouldn''t have been a shocker because of the Uchiha''s prestige. In the village, they were a clan with a reputation close to: ''love to hate them'' because of how powerful and skilled the Uchiha were known to be. The applicants were clearly hoping to get in some of that action and catapult their careers, even though they had no idea how the Uchiha would treat the outsiders they were getting. Some didn''t even care about the Police Force; they only wanted to get posted at the Hidden Leaf with dreams about boosting their career.
Ayano smiled bitterly at the thought. Until she was a chunin, she hadn''t taken a step into the Hidden Leaf. She was only called to the Hidden Leaf after her promotion. She remembered how excited she was to see the letter saying that her posting had been transferred to the Hidden Leaf. Her life had been a constant state of excitement and cloud nine feeling¡ª she was going to the Hidden Leaf, after all! Finally, all her dreams were going to come true. She would climb the career chain, sit beside the famous names she had heard, and be a respected peer.
All her excitement had turned into an unceasing pool of muddy worry and anxiety when she realized how different the Hidden Leaf was from her previous posting. The competition was unlike what she had ever experienced¡ª it was a dog-eat-dog world with a disproportionate number of people vying for available opportunities.
Sometimes Ayano wondered if staying where she was would''ve been better.
Even now, the new openings in the Leaf Military Police Force were dwarfed compared to the number of applications submitted.
"Next?" Ayano sighed.
''It would''ve been so easy if they were choosing the best of the applicants,'' thought Ayano, rubbing her temple¡ª but they weren''t doing that.
Ayano looked at her fellow committee; they were hired to select ''suitable'' candidates for the new positions available in the Police Force¡ª not best¡ª suitable candidates. The higher-ups didn''t want to hand Genin Corp''s best genin over to the Uchiha. Instead, they were to choose genin who were a level or two below the best, people that would barely satisfy the Uchiha. But they knew the best genin would apply for the Police Force. It was an unknown land with splendid opportunities not available ever before; it was only natural that those ambitious enough would brave an exploration.
Thus, the formation of the selection committee.
Their purpose was to shortlist suitable candidates before forwarding them to the Leaf Military Police Force. Who the Uchiha selected was no concern of theirs as long as they did it from the subset of people they had chosen for them.
"We have one with recommendations," Vashu held up a file for everyone to see. A red and blue post-it note each were stuck on the file''s cover.
Rai whistled, "A jonin and chunin recommendation each. Now that''s some serious juice behind an application."
Ayano pursed her lips, feeling a migraine coming through. The communications that went out regarding the Military Police Force positions had explicitly made sure not to mention the word recommendation, so applicants won''t bother their chunin team leads for official letters of recommendation. Instead, they had mentioned feedback from supervisors/team leads, which some applicants had abused and had gotten statements from everyone they had worked under¡ªand no one considered feedback and recommendations in the same breath.
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Alas, some people had still gone ahead and stuffed letters of recommendation into their applications.
A chunin recommendation meant they had to consider the applicant seriously and work out an excuse that would hold under some scrutiny¡ª that wasn''t difficult for the committee to do. However, a jonin recommendation wasn''t something they could ignore. The selection committee was headed by the jonin, but even that didn''t allow them to overlook another jonin. A jonin recommendation meant they had to put the applicant into the candidate list.
"Who is it?" Ayano sounded tired.
"Takuma, no last name, orphan¡ oh, he''s from the last year''s batch¡ª a rookie," Vashu read from the file. "Oh, he joined Chunin Umino Iruka''s team," Vashu closed the file and lifted the blue post-it note. "Ah, it was Chunin Iruka who recommended him."
"Iruka, isn''t he the one involved in the thing in the Land of Frost?" asked Rai.
"Oh yeah, that''s right."
"Who''s the jonin?" asked Ayano.
Vashu looked. "Yamanaka Madoka."
Ayano made a displeased face. Not only was it a jonin, it was a jonin from one of the big clans. At this rate, they had to ensure the Uchiha would take the kid.
"Iruka is part of Jonin Madoka''s squad," Rai said. "She was his jonin teacher out of the academy. Iruka must''ve asked her to write a recommendation for this Takuma kid."
"Who the hell is this kid?" Ayano asked. Even if Takuma was part of Iruka''s team, it must''ve been for less than a year¡ª why would Iruka ask his jonin to write a letter of recommendation for a kid barely out of the academy? "Is he one of those special kids?"
"Actually, no. The kid''s record is all over the place," said Vashu, his brow furrowed. "He had terrible academy grades but somehow won the Genin Corp''s basic training tournament. He started out with great mission output, but recently he''s barely making quota. And yet most of his recent missions are C-rank with D-rank missions used as filler to make quota. Not a single complaint has ever been registered against him¡ but he was part of Iruka''s Land of Frost mission."
Vashu held up the file, and the open page was almost entirely redacted. The selection committee didn''t have the clearance to view the contents of the mission.
"Put him in," Ayano said. "He matches the criteria, and it''s not like we have a choice with that jonin recommendation."
Vashu picked up the file and threw it in the ''approved'' pile.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Setsuna Uchiha read through the candidate dossiers sent to him by the ''selection committee.'' He flipped through the files, and he knew they weren''t the best¡ª and he wasn''t expecting the best.
The best were clan-trained shinobi, but he knew the Leaf''s elite clans wouldn''t send their shinobi under the Uchiha''s command. Setsuna didn''t find that insulting¡ª the Uchiha wouldn''t send their own to serve under another clan. However, he did receive shinobi belonging to minor clans and some prominent shinobi families in hopes of building ties with the Uchiha.
Setsuna would consider them and see which clans could provide them with benefits, political support, and loyalty. Fugaku had driven the conversation with the Hokage to remove the restrictions of external recruitment imposed by a portion by-laws written by the Second Hokage when the Leaf Military Police Force was inaugurated
After decades, the clan had seen an opportunity to strengthen themselves, and they weren''t going to let it go to waste.
Setsuna opened another file and saw the career of a clan-less shinobi laid in front of him. On paper, the man was a shinobi with a stable and respected record, but under the deception painted by ink on paper, he saw the signs of an undisciplined man with problems peeking through. He sighed and threw the file into the rejection pile that only grew larger than the garbage can near the headquarter mess.
He picked up another file, and it was a clan-less shinobi. The record was ordinary, but in the feedback and background check performed by the Uchiha themselves, he could see a woman beloved by those who spoke about her. He gave it a deeper look and smiled when he saw a dedicated shinobi who helped the community she belonged to. He wrote down the name and registration before placing the file in the accepted pile.
Unlike many of their peer clans, the Uchiha had never had formidable relations with clan-less shinobi. Setsuna considered that a weakness of their clan''s leadership. Any man or woman with a hint of talent could become a formidable shinobi with enough hard work. And Setsuna had seen clan-less shinobi achieve merits rivaling those from clans. He knew potential when he saw it.
Which was why he applied for the position; to be in charge of those coming into the Police Force. Many¡ª most¡ª in the clan disagreed with him, but he could see the potential in the clan-less shinobi¡ª those who had talent but weren''t provided with the resources to make those talents flourish.
The Uchiha could provide them with that, and in exchange, they would serve the clan and its interests.
There was a knock on the door, and Setsuna called the person in.
"Sir, the file you ordered."
Setsuna took the file from his assistant and read the name on the file:
Takuma¡ª 055-0037
Takuma''s application had been among the many selection committee had sent to his office. Takuma had his strengths and disadvantages like most applicants¡ª but he had one thing unique to him, something not a single other applicant had in their file.
A part of Takuma''s file had been redacted.
Even the background check they had ordered couldn''t reveal the redaction¡ª which meant the level of clearance was higher.
Setsuna was interested in Takuma. He was going to accept the application, but before he could do that, he needed to know what was behind the redaction. As such, he sent it to someone who had enough clearance.
Setsuna opened the file and began reading about the recent Land of Frost mission that Takuma had been involved in. And the more he read, the more engrossed he became in the information that was not visible before.
Three kills¡ Field disposal of bodies¡ Retrieval of critical information¡ The ability to operate independently.
The notes painted a picture for Setsuna, and he liked that image very much.
He was going to accept Takuma before, but now he was going to increase his classification and who Takuma was assigned to when he came to the Police Force.
Setsuna closed the file and placed it in a third pile.
CH_4.1 (101)
"¡ What?"
Takuma stared at Iruka with a countenance he wasn''t sure he was showing. The words which had come out of his team leader''s mouth were one of the last words he expected to hear, the last words he ever wanted to hear.
"I am going to the Uchiha?!" asked Takuma.
"To the Leaf Military Police Force, but yes¡ to the Uchiha," Iruka smiled.
Like any shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, he had heard about the Leaf Military Police Force being opened to outsiders for the first time since its inauguration. Normally, the prospect of being moved out of the Genin Corp would be exciting news, but the Uchiha was one of the two places he didn''t want to go¡ª the second one being the ROOT. Which was why he hadn''t applied for it.
"Are you going to the Police Force?" asked Takuma.
Iruka shook his head.
"You''re kicking me out of your team. What, because of the mission?" Takuma felt betrayed.
The mandatory service for a genin in the Genin Corp was thirty months; only after that were they able to transfer out if an opportunity presented itself. From the very first day in the Genin Corp, one of Takuma''s goals had been to get himself out of the Genin Corp by the end of the thirty months. It could''ve been through the Chunin Exam or transfer into another department¡ª Takuma was open to almost anything.
Getting recruited by Iruka had eased the burden on his shoulders. Becoming a regular in a chunin''s team was a stable opportunity to continuously pile C-rank missions on his record while churning mission points in the Ring to add jutsu to his arsenal. In fact, before the Land of Frost mission, he planned to approach a few more chunin he had met through Iruka. He could''ve even asked Nenro to introduce him to his chunin connections. He hadn''t chosen a department to target, but his current progress rate would have been ample for the Chunin Exam. In his opinion, things were progressing steadily.
"I''m not kicking you out of the team, Takuma," Iruka sighed. "The team is disbanded¡ I''ve taken an alternate job which doesn''t allow me to maintain an active field team."
"Job, what job?"
"A teacher at the academy."
The heat and panic in Takuma''s head momentarily cooled as he stared at his team lead. Iruka working as a teacher for the academy was something he knew very well.
"¡ Did you want to become a teacher?" asked Takuma.
Iruka leaned in his chair as the tension left his body. He looked away into the distance as he said. "My parents died during the Nine-Tails attack. I was suddenly an orphan, much like yourself. I was alone after that¡ My academy teacher back then, Seno Hisashi, became a parental figure at a time I desperately needed one," Iruka smiled. "I knew from the moment I graduated that I wanted to become an academy teacher. I don''t think I can be a parental figure¡ª a cool older brother that I can manage."
Takuma could barely muster a half chuckle.
"I didn''t think it''d be this soon," Iruka sighed. "I wanted to stay on the field for a couple more years before I applied. But a position recently opened up, and because of the mission''s failure, it seems the right time to step away from the field. There''s an unfavorable opinion around me right now, and getting meaningful missions will be difficult¡"
Takuma could see the unwillingness in Iruka''s eyes. He could see that Iruka wanted to be an academy teacher, but he wanted to do that on his own terms¡ª not to be forced by the circumstances. Takuma understood that feeling.
"¡ Nine-Tail''s jinchuuriki is going to be in the academy. How do you feel about that?" Takuma asked, his attention focused on Iruka''s face, body language, and words to not miss anything. Iruka''s history made it so that the man would hold a grudge against a certain yellow-haired kid studying in the academy right about now.
Iruka''s hand on the table clenched, a bitter expression appeared on his face, and his body stiffened as he shifted in his seat.
"¡I know," he said.
"It''s like a kunai sealed in a scroll," Takuma said. "He''s the jailor."
"I understand that!" Iruka closed his eyes. "It doesn''t change the fact I lost my parents. You understand how that feels."
"No, I don''t know how that feels¡ I never knew my parents, so I don''t know how having parents feel. It doesn''t bother me," Takuma turned his head to look away.
"You''re lying," Iruka''s expression softened.
Takuma didn''t reply. He never knew the boy''s parents, but he knew his own parents, and they had been taken away from him when he found himself in this world. Takuma would give anything¡ª everything¡ª if he could see them one more time, to be able to hug them once and tell them that he loved them more than anything. If he could see his elder sister''s smile again, tell her to take care, advise her to dump her pathetic girlfriend and find someone else, and say his goodbyes, he wouldn''t mind giving up anything asked in return.
"¡ I knew he''d be there when I took the job," Iruka sighed. "I know how to conduct myself in front of a child. I won''t do what you''re fearing."
"If it helps, he''s an orphan like me¡ just like you. He''s in need of that parental figure your teacher was for you. More often than not, orphanages aren''t good places for children."
Iruka nodded.
Takuma could only take his word for it and put his hope in the source material.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Later that day, Takuma walked home from the grocery store. His mind returned to his transfer to the Leaf Military Police Force. He was no longer in the Genin Corp. His body felt haggard, and the jute bag filled with groceries, usually weightless, seemed heavier than the heaviest dumbbells in the gym.
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A decision out of his control had put his life in danger. He had no idea when the Uchiha Clan massacre happened, but he was sure it was close in the future. And him being in the Leaf Military Police Force put him directly under the crosshair of two mass murderers who wouldn''t hesitate to kill anyone put in front of them. He didn''t want to be one of those people, but the recent developments had become a real possibility.
Takuma couldn''t even blame Iruka for it, even if he wanted to. The man was only looking out for him by placing him in a situation beneficial for his career. Working for the Uchiha was a huge(huge!) opportunity for someone like him, and working in the Leaf Military Police Force was a prestigious position with lots of additional benefits. He would''ve enjoyed that if he didn''t know the future caveat. Sometimes knowledge was a curse¡ª a curse he was thankful for.
He could feel the assignment scroll burning a hole in his weapons pocket. It had been a few hours since Iruka had handed it to him, but he didn''t have the courage to open it and look because he knew the moment he looked, it would become real. But Takuma knew he couldn''t delay looking anymore.
As Takuma walked through a playground, he caught a head of sun-yellow hair stepping out of the playground, and he couldn''t take his eyes off the kid who slowly trudged past him. In the two years he had been in the Hidden Leaf Village, Takuma hadn''t met the protagonist of the world even once¡ª he had deliberately not made any contact, and thankfully, he hadn''t accidentally bumped into him as well.
Perhaps it was Fates mocking him because the first time he had ever mentioned the kid, he had appeared before him. There was no mistaking it¡ª sun-yellow hair, whisker-like markings on cheeks, and cerulean blue eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tail''s jailor, the Child of Prophecy, was in front of him.
Maybe he sensed the gaze because Naruto stopped and looked back at Takuma. Naruto''s brows furrowed.
"What?" he sounded defensive.
Takuma had imagined a lot about how he would feel and react when he saw Uzumaki Naruto for the first time, and despite all he had imagined, all he felt in the moment as he looked at the kid in front of him was just that.
''A kid,'' he thought.
Naruto might have the Nine-Tails sealed inside of him, he might have great things in his future, he might even be the savior of the shinobi world, the future Hokage of this village¡ª but right now, all Takuma saw was a simple kid in front of him.
"Come here," the words left Takuma''s mouth before he could even entirely process what he was doing.
Naruto looked hesitant. He looked around before slowly walking towards Takuma with the hem of his shirt balled up in his tiny fists. Takuma knelt so he was below Naruto''s eye line to make him feel safe.
"What''s your name, kid?"
"Naruto."
"Nice to meet you, Naruto. Where do you live?"
Naruto pursed his lips, "¡ Little Hope Orphanage."
"Oh, yeah? I used to live in the Mini Miracles Orphan Home."
"You did?" Naruto seemed surprised.
"I did when I was your age," Takuma smiled. "Do you like Little Hope Orphanage, Naruto?"
Naruto once again hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Not too much," he said. "Everyone is mean¡ and no fun."
"Do they hit you?" Takuma doubted the Hokage would allow Naruto to live in a place of physical abuse,
Naruto shook his head. "No one smiles¡ and others don''t play with me."
"I see¡ Do you go to school, Naruto?"
"I do. I go to the shinobi academy," Naruto looked up at Takuma''s forehead. "You also went there, right?"
Takuma was dressed in his shinobi uniform because before Iruka contacted him, he planned to take on a D-rank mission. He usually didn''t dress in the shinobi uniform when he wasn''t working, but today he hadn''t bothered to change out.
Takuma touched his forehead protector and smiled, "Smart one, aren''t you? I did go to the shinobi academy, the same one as you. You know, they gave me my own house when I turned ten years old because I was attending the shinobi academy."
"Really?!" Naruto had the most animated reaction since the start of their interaction. He sounded so excited at the prospect of getting his own house and moving out of the orphanage.
"I promise," Takuma smiled. "Do you like the shinobi academy, Naruto?"
"I do!" Naruto grinned. "We play outside. Tag, Hide-and-Seek, Races, Catch-and-Pass¡ª and-and-and¡"
Takuma smiled. He hadn''t been a first-year academy student but knew the curriculum disguised physical training as games. The goal was to lay the foundation for teaching the children to appreciate training for training''s sake and partly as a teamwork-building exercise.
"¡ It''s fun, believe it!" Naruto smiled.
Takuma couldn''t hold back his laughter. He couldn''t believe he was hearing that verbal tick in person.
"¡ S-Studying isn''t fun though," Naruto frowned. "It''s so boring¡."
Takuma smiled, "What about chakra? Do you like chakra, Naruto?"
"Charka¡ oh that, it''s too com-com-comp¡ª"
"Complicated?"
"Yeah, that, it''s too difficult, believe it!"
Takuma chuckled, "First of all, it''s called chakra¡. Second, chakra doesn''t have to be complicated," he took out a notepad from his person and tore an edge. His chakra held the piece against his finger as he showed it to Naruto. "Do you know about the Leaf Concentration Practice, Naruto?"
Naruto nodded with a frown.
"It''s okay if you don''t understand the complicated things. You can take those parts slowly," Takuma said. "All you have to do is to take a piece of paper¡ª leaves can be a bit smelly¡ª and just try to stick them with your fingers¡. Sticking paper to your fingers is easier, then you move onto your arm, then to your forehead, and finally, you do it with your feet."
Takuma had no idea what he was doing. His explanation seemed too complex¡ª and well, not fun. He paused to take a breath and realized what exactly he was doing. If Maruboshi had been here, he would''ve done it a thousand times better. Takuma had been interacting with Naruto¡ª Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tail''s jinchuriki¡ª Takuma had no idea who was keeping an eye on Naruto, and he couldn''t get on those people''s radar because of all the shady shit he had been up to as Scars and Tobi. Getting on a surveillance list of some kind for any reason was the last thing Takuma wanted. Because if they found what he was up to, they could get suspicious that he was trying to get close to Naruto for some ulterior motive.
Even without all of that, Takuma had no interest in interacting with someone like Naruto.
He needed to wrap up quickly.
"Do you want to be a shinobi, Naruto?" Takuma asked.
"I do. Shinobi are cool!" Naruto grinned.
"Oh, thank you," Takuma smiled. If it were any other child, Takuma would''ve told them to be anything other than a shinobi. But Naruto had to be a shinobi for everyone''s well being. "Well, if you want to be a cool shinobi, you need to pay attention to what is being taught in the academy, okay?"
"Even if it''s boring?"
"Even if it''s boring," Takuma paused. "Let me tell you a little secret." Naruto leaned, looking interested. "If you become good at the things taught at the academy, everyone will want to be your friend."
"Like they want to be friends with the jerk?" asked Naruto.
Takuma was momentarily confused, but he realized Naruto was asking about Sasuke. "Yeah, just like that¡ jerk. Who''s nicer between you and him."
"Me, believe it!"
"Now, if you''re better than him and nicer than him, wouldn''t everyone want to be your friend? Then, you''ll have lots of friends," smiled Takuma. "Even the jerk would be your friend; wouldn''t that be nice?"
"I guess so," Naruto didn''t sound convinced.
Takuma reached into his grocery bag, took out a chocolate bar he had bought as a stress purchase, and placed it in Naruto''s hand. "Now, it''s getting dark, and you should go back home. Take this with you and share it with your classmates tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay!" Any child would be happy to get sweets.
"Now go along, okay?" Takuma stood up and ruffled Naruto''s hair.
Naruto ran away with the chocolate bar in hand, and Takuma, too, turned to walk away when he heard Naruto call out to him,
"What''s your name, big bro?"
Takuma turned, thought for a moment, and said, "You can just call me big bro when you see me the next time," he winked, waved his hand, and turned to walk away.
He turned the corner and it took his all to continue walking at a steady pace¡ just in case someone was watching.
That was more contact than Takuma wanted with Naruto or a walking nuke like him for a very long time.
CH_4.2 (102)
Takuma couldn''t stop his foot from shaking as he sat outside the office of Uchiha Setsuna, the chunin-in-charge of hiring the new ''officers'' of the Leaf Military Police Force. He knew for a fact that not all the new hires had a meeting with Chunin Setsuna¡ª he had contacted others selected into the Leaf Military Police Force only to find none of them had meetings scheduled. Takuma had zero idea why he was meeting Setsuna, which only served to jitter his nerves.
"Genin Takuma," a woman, the assistant, sitting across the room behind a desk, looked up at Takuma. "Chunin Setsuna will see you now. Please head in."
Takuma nodded and headed to the office door but backtracked to the assistant and whispered to her. "Hello, ma''am. I must say, you look absolutely gorgeous today. Do you happen to know what this meeting is about? Like, is he angry or happy, or...."
The woman looked up at him with a firm stare, with no words as a reply.
"¡ I mean to look so stunning in the uniform requires some serious skill and charm," Takuma tried one last shot.
"¡ ¡"
"Nothing?" Takuma nodded. "Alright¡still absolutely lovely¡I''ll head in now, thank you."
Takuma knocked on the door and entered when he heard the word. The office was simple, clean, and looked spacious despite the moderate size of the room. A simple desk with a painting behind it, two chairs in front of the desk, a two-seater couch below the windows with a small coffee table, and one open and one closed cabinet each. Most importantly, it didn''t smell of booze and smoke like that of another head of an organization that Takuma worked with. Takuma noticed a set of engraved kunai decorating the walls, which were issued as awards of merit and bravery from the Hokage.
Takuma stood at attention in silence in front of the desk while Setsuna read some documents on his desk.
"Sit down," Setsuna said after five minutes.
Takuma knew it was five minutes because of the wall clock. A time too long to stand in silence in a person''s office after being called by said person. Takuma sat down, back straight, in the chair across from Setsuna. The silence extended for another minute or two before Setsuna looked up.
"Tell me about the Land of Frost mission."
"I''m sorry, sir. I can''t divulge the specifics due to the orders given to me and the ongoing investigation," Takuma''s reply was immediate. After being asked the same question hundreds of times in every way imaginable, he had the answer ready on his tongue.
"I''m your boss, Genin Takuma. Are you sure you don''t want to answer my question?"
"I have standing orders not to answer any questions regarding the mission to anyone outside the investigation," Takuma said calmly, but his heart slightly picked up the pace.
He didn''t want to be on the boss''s bad side on his first day, but he also couldn''t ignore orders from the investigators, and he personally also didn''t want to talk about the mission.
Setsuna finally looked up from his papers, and Takuma''s breath was taken away as he found himself staring into red eyes with two black tomoe gently spinning around the pupil. It was the first time Takuma had seen it¡ª Uchiha''s Sharingan. He couldn''t help but be transfixed by the hauntingly enchanting red eyes.
Takuma wondered if this was how Orochimaru felt.
"Are you sure, Genin Takuma?"
"¡ I have my orders, sir," Takuma said, staring into the eyes.
Setsuna withdrew away from Takuma unhurriedly. His eyes regained their original onyx hue as Setsuna peered at Takuma with an intrigued and inquisitive stare. "I praise your obedience and ability to maintain your professional integrity, Genin Takuma. It is an exceedingly rare quality these days," he declared.
Takuma exhaled as he expanded his focus to observe Setsuna as a whole. The man possessed the typical Uchiha characteristics of jet-black hair and onyx eyes, yet he had a noticeably square jaw compared to other Uchiha, who had sharper features. He wore his hair in a short, low ponytail, adding a rougher edge to the disciplined soldier.
"May I ask the purpose of this meeting, sir?" Takuma inquired.
"What do you think?"
Takuma didn''t answer as he didn''t have one. He had no idea why Setsuna had called him to the office while the other recruits gathered in an auditorium to start the mandatory seventy-five days of training before they could work in any official capacity. From the conversation, Takuma would''ve believed Setsuna wasn''t pleased with him, and even though Setsuna had praised him ¨C that could''ve very well been sarcasm.
"I''m afraid I don''t know, sir."
"Your track record makes you suitable for the Leaf Military Police Force," Setsuna retrieved a file and opened it on his table. Takuma''s eye twitched. He hated it when someone read his file in front of him; it meant someone had looked into him behind his back and knew things he didn''t have an awareness about.
Setsuna continued, "The number of C-rank missions you''ve done in the short time you were with your chunin is considerable."
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Takuma had been the only genin in Team Iruka to be on every single C-rank mission procured by and issued to Iruka. He had done enough to nearly match Nenro, who had been working with chunin longer than him.
"But it''s the type of mission that interests me more," a sardonic smile stretched on Setsuna''s face. "Chunin Iruka didn''t get good missions, did he? Look at all this dirty grunt work. Tailing spouses, taking night shifts at guarding warehouses, outsourced background checks, babysitting upstarts, collecting unpaid debts, repossessing assets, keeping protests in control.... Next time you meet Chunin Iruka, tell him to choose better missions once in a while¡ª but I suppose you get what you get when you follow a new chunin with no background to lean on."
Takuma schooled his expression. When applying for a new job, you never badmouthed your previous employer because that only showed the interviewer that you would badmouth them in front of outsiders. Regardless, Takuma had no intention of criticizing Iruka to anyone but the man himself.
"Short as it may be, my time with Chunin Iruka has been integral to my growth as a shinobi." Iruka was the reason he had double-digit C-rank missions on his record¡ª when all was said and done, he didn''t care what kind of missions he had done to get that result.
Setsuna knocked on his desk twice. "Exactly. These missions are why you were selected and why I''ve called you here," he said. "When you do genuine work, it shows. I''ve seen a hundred applications pass my desk with double, some even triple, the number of C-rank missions than yours. All of them had fluff, easy jobs, used as filler to pad up their records," he had a sneer on his lips. "You have none of that, Genin Takuma. Which is why you''ll be put into special training with a few others who meet the criteria."
Takuma was surprised, but he didn''t show it¡ª as for if he was successful, Setsuna did a great job with his straight face. He digested the information presented to him and thought about how to react.
"What makes this training special?" asked Takuma. He couldn''t reject the training, so he might as well set up his expectations.
"Training we give to our closest allies."
That meant there was training above it that Uchiha used for themselves. Takuma wasn''t complaining. He hadn''t been trained by the methods employed by the shinobi clans¡ª exposure to any level of clan training was welcome.
"And what after this special training?" asked Takuma. Special training meant a higher investment in him, which meant they''d require returns proportional to that investment.
Setsuna said, "That depends on how you perform in training."
Takuma mused on how he would rank above the other recruits who would be going through the ''regular'' training. Thoughts about time management passed through his head. His second contract with Ring was about to begin in a couple of days, and he needed to get back to dealing to support that. He didn''t know how intense and time-consuming the special training would be, and if he would be able to juggle everything.
''I have to,'' Takuma said to himself.
If he could prevent what happened in the Land of Frost, he would do everything in his power to make that possible.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The iron strained the muscles on Shisui''s arm as he curled the dumbbell. Shisui breathed out as he slowly brought the weight down, straining his arm again. He looked back at the door to his home gym, and a second later, the door opened, and Itachi stepped into the room.
"How did the mission go?" Shisui asked, continuing to work the dumbbell.
"Success."
That could mean various things. The mission went exceptionally well, and they completed the objective¡ªor it could be that while the mission objective was met, people died. But Shisui wasn''t interested in how the mission went. He didn''t even know what the mission was¡ªit was classified, only known to Itachi''s team.
"They held the new recruit orientation yesterday. They say it went well," said Shisui.
Itachi hummed, sounding disinterested.
It still bothered Shisui how disinterested Itachi sounded with clan matters; he only seemed interested in his own missions and the problems the village was facing. Not that Itachi was doing anything wrong in showing interest in the village and his duty as a shinobi, but the clan was still his family, and ignoring clan matters was disrespectful.
Shisui dropped the weight on the ground and got up from the bench. He grabbed the towel and faced Itachi, who was looking at himself in the full-length mirror in the corner.
"Clan Leader addressed the recruits¡ª"
"I told Lord Hokage everything," Itachi said, not removing his eyes from the mirror.
Shisui''s mind and body went cold. He stared at Itachi in the mirror''s reflection in shock from what he had heard. He knew what Itachi meant. The Uchiha clan was planning to overthrow the current regime and place themselves atop the Hidden Leaf village as the rulers. Both of them were opposed to their clan''s plans and had decided to stop it from happening for the sake of the clan, village, and nation.
In deciding so, they had gone to the Hokage and told him about what the Uchiha were planning. However, they had purposefully held back most of the information and had decided and agreed on what to divulge. The Hokage was told that the Uchiha clan was dissatisfied with their treatment in the village and was gathering their allies and support to push back against the regime. They framed it so it was perceived that the Uchiha were going on an aggressive political offense that would cause great tension within the village and could create conflict, disrupting the state of the village and its operations that extended past the village boundaries and throughout the Land of Fire.
They purposefully held back the information that the Uchiha were planning a Coup D''¨¦tat that would destroy the village beyond repair. Shisui didn''t want the village to suddenly brand the Uchiha as enemies and declare them as traitors; as such, he wanted the information to come out at a gentler pace so the Hokage wouldn''t make any drastic decisions. The plan was to disclose parts of the information as the situation warranted eventually.
But now, Itachi had told everything to the Hokage... without asking Shisui.
Itachi looked at Shisui in the mirror''s reflection and found Shisui''s eyes red with three tomoe spinning rapidly. He turned away from the mirror to face Shisui directly and opened his mouth to speak, only to freeze up. When he looked into Shisui''s Sharingan, he no longer saw the three-tomoe design¡ª instead, he found himself gazing into two four-point pinwheels.
"... S-Shisui?"
Green translucent flames erupted around Shisui, and before Itachi could move a muscle, an enormous skeletal arm sprang out from the fire and pinned Itachi to the wall. The mirror shattered, and the wall behind Itachi cracked from floor to ceiling. The entire building shook as if an earthquake had passed by.
"Itachi, you know very well that I trust you with my life," Shisui said, his face set in stone, but his eyes burned with anger and perhaps a twinge of madness. "So, I would like you to think very carefully and tell me why you decided to go behind my back. Understand that right now, I don''t find myself very trusting towards you and that if your answer doesn''t satisfy me, I''m very tempted to, and capable of, erasing the person called Uchiha Itachi and putting a puppet in your place who wouldn''t endanger the clan.
"Do you understand, Itachi?" The skeletal fingers tightened around Itachi, constricting and contorting his body. "Now... answer me."
That day, Itachi would narrowly escape with his life and learn about the existence of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
CH_4.3 (103):
"Setsuna¡"
Uchiha Setsuna stopped to look back as he was about to exit the Leaf Military Police Force.
"Yakumi?"
The one to call out to him was Uchiha Yakumi, one of the squad supervisors.
"Can we talk about the recruit you''re sending me tomorrow?" Yakumi asked.
Setsuna looked at his wristwatch. It was already past working hours, and he wanted to return home to his family. Talking about work after hours was his least liked thing to do, but looking at Yakumi and thinking about the man''s reputation, he deemed it prudent to have the conversation with him.
"Let''s talk over tea," Setsuna sighed¡ª if he was being made to work after hours, he would make Yakumi pay for some evening tea and sweets for his children.
"What do you want to know?" Setsuna asked Yakumi sitting across from him in the busy tea shop inside the Uchiha complex.
"Who''re you sending me?" asked Yakumi, setting his teacup down.
"You must''ve gotten the file."
"I read the file; that''s why I want to know why send him to me? This Takuma kid¡ I don''t see it."
Setsuna sipped his tea. "You don''t like what you saw?"
"All I saw was an inconsistent record with too many irregularities for my liking. I''d much rather appreciate someone reliable than someone with high peaks sprinkled between lows."
The special recruits were to be sent to departments Setsuna and the instructors had chosen for them by observing them during the training period. Their locations were based on the recruit''s skill and the department pecking order. Not all departments were equal¡ª based on the crimes, media attention, and politics, departments in the Leaf Military Police Force were considered of varying importance.
Yakumi''s department happened to be among the top of said pecking order, if not the very best. While most departments weren''t genuinely excited by the incoming recruits because of their origins¡ª if they were going to get recruits, they needed to be the best. Yakumi''s department head insisted (demanded) that they get the best of the recruits¡ª and Yakumi''s squad was the one to receive the recruit.
Setsuna couldn''t say he hadn''t seen this coming; Yakumi''s department was strict about who they let in, no matter the recruit''s background.
The dossier Setsuna had sent consisted of Takuma''s shinobi file without the censored information (he couldn''t go around spreading confidential information to anyone when it took his jonin supervisor''s clearance to get it) along with Takuma''s training reports and logs.
"I want to know what''s not in the file," asked Yakumi.
Setsuna crossed his hands and thought about the question. If it had been the normal recruits, he wouldn''t have an answer, for he hadn''t directly supervised or trained them, but Yakumi was asking about one of their new special recruits, who he had worked closely with for the past two and a half months. The training had finally ended, and the trained recruits would be joining official duty from tomorrow.
"Before training, I too worried about his inconsistency," said Setsuna. He was mostly interested in Takuma''s C-rank mission record. "But¡ he''s ''strangely'' competent."
"What do you mean?" Yakumi asked, hearing the inflection.
"He''s a slow learner, but once he gets the hang of it, things stick in his mind like glue. That''s not the strange part¡ª the strange part is how he seemingly already knows all sorts of things that our people usually learn on the job through the years."
Setsuna recalled how Takuma knew precisely where to pat a person down to find hidden bundles and packages; when the recruits were taken to an arson scene, Takuma already knew how to sift through debris to look for the source of fire; he could crowd control with ease through clear instructions delivered using his chakra-enhanced voice; had an unexpected amount of knowledge of major and minor gangs and groups around the Leaf village; when he was sat down at a desk in one of the precincts, he guided the civilians and visitors as if he was used to doing it.
"One thing I''m sure you''d appreciate is that he listens and follows." Setsuna had seen many recruits who thought they were hot-shit when they entered duty, wanting to take charge and acting as if older shinobi didn''t know crap. Takuma wasn''t like them. "He keeps his head down, does his work, and¡ he observes. There was a week where I worked every day with the recruits when I noticed that every time, he''d be the last to speak¡ª he isn''t mute or sparse with his words¡ª Takuma observes first, takes people''s points, and only then presents his thoughts."
Those were the traits he had seen in many leaders. Whenever a topic was in discussion, they never put their thoughts out first so as to not taint others'' views and lead everyone to accommodate the leader''s view through their own. Instead, they went last to get everyone''s perspectives and only then spoke their own. Of course, that wasn''t all a leader was.
And Takuma wasn''t without faults. He lacked initiative, didn''t display charisma to gather people, and was frankly overly cautious, as if someone was constantly out to get him¡ª perhaps beneficial in the field, but those types of people weren''t well-liked from the get go.
"If you''re worried about him being a slacker, you shouldn''t be," said Setsuna. "You and yours will like him."
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Yakumi didn''t look convinced. Setsuna wasn''t even sure why Yakumi even wanted this meeting because, from the looks of it, watching Takuma work from his own eyes was the only way to get the doubt and skepticism out.
"I don''t like this new system you''re trying to push," Yakumi frowned. "There''s a reason why our people work in other departments before transferring to ours. It''s a tough job. Do you think a kid like him will be able to take what comes with it?"
Setsuna had thought about it. Assigning people from outside the clan (and their allies) into every corner of the Leaf Military Police Force was supposed to be a message to all the clans in the village: The Uchiha were coming out of their shell, catching up to all of them who had been recruiting outsiders to boost the ''human talent.'' It was also a message to everyone else: if they wanted resources and opportunities, the Uchiha clan was now a destination.
It was a declaration: the Uchiha clan was changing. And if anyone thought to underestimate them, they would come to regret it.
He understood Yakumi''s department was hard to enter, and it was so for a good reason, but if he wanted to make the message mean anything, he needed to create an image that the Uchiha were fair. That even outsiders could reach places that one would think were reserved for clan members¡ª even if it was half the truth, as long as people perceived it as entirely truthful, that''s all that mattered.
Takuma was to be such an example. A walking, living, breathing poster of Uchiha''s fairness and generosity, their willingness to work with those who showed promise. That if a shinobi named Takuma could join one of the most prestigious departments of the Leaf Military Police Force¡ª so could they.
"I''m sure he''ll be fine," said Setsuna¡ª or at least that''s what Setsuna hoped.
He had chosen Takuma for a reason. The psych evaluation attached in the confidential report, done after his Land of Frost, during the course of multiple interrogation sessions, showed him to be mostly mentally stable. What Takuma had gone through wasn''t easy for a greenhorn shinobi.
First blood, losing comrades, giving them field funerals, and then crossing two nations all alone¡ª if Takuma could keep himself together after all that, then Setsuna hoped that the boy could keep himself together doing the job Yakumi''s department did.
"It''s dangerous territory you''re treading, Setsuna," Yakumi warned.
Setsuna nodded. "I know, my friend. I know¡."
If Takuma could not?
Well, sometimes sacrifices were needed for grand causes to be successful.
He and the clan could only learn from their experiences and get better¡ª just like how their Sharingan allowed them to grow stronger from every enemy thrown their way.
Setsuna looked at his blurry reflection on the tea''s surface.
One day, the Uchiha would take what was rightfully theirs¡ and that day would be soon.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat down in the corner of a large office space with a book on crime scene investigation and mapping in hand. Perhaps it was because of his experience in the academy, but Takuma found natural crowd noise to be the background noise for concentration. He read the text blocks on the pages, reading the academic text that was a slow slog to get through, but it was something that one of the teachers had recommended¡ª and Takuma was feeling a strong sense of imposter syndrome, and learning more was the only way to keep it under control.
"Genin Takuma."
Takuma looked up from his book to see an Uchiha standing before him. He could tell from the looks. Takuma closed his book and stood up to greet the man,
"Good afternoon, Chunin Yakumi," said Takuma.
"You know of me?"
"Yes, sir. I was the outside help on the Higurashi pharmaceutical case," it didn''t have a name back then¡ª but the media had given it one.
A look of remembrance flashed across Yakumi''s face. "Chunin Iruka was the one we brought in. Yes, I remember it now. And you were part of his team back then? I heard about the Land of Frost mission. How is he doing?"
"He has decided to take a break away from the field and has joined the Shinobi Academy as a teacher."
"An admirable route," Yakumi nodded, but his tone held no such sentiment. Takuma could tell that he had said it just for the sake of saying it. Yakumi continued, "Let''s not waste any more of our day. It''s time to introduce you to the team."
As Yakumi led him, Takuma felt nervousness creep up with every step. The training was something of a honeymoon period. It was tough, in some ways as brutal as the training under Taskmaster Yoshio, but it was very much an instructional training course where he was okay as long as he did what was asked of him. Do this, get that, and as long as he did it correctly, he was praised/not punished.
But the actual job was different because the inside of the classroom was nothing like the real world.
Since he had found himself in the world, Takuma had never thought he had been handed something he didn''t deserve. All of his skills he had worked to the bone to achieve them; his academy graduation gained through a year of misery; he had won the final tournament through grit and decisions that set himself up for victory; for his D-rank missions, he worked like a laborer; he got his Ring ''membership'' because of his win at the final tournament and the gains through the Ring were an outcome of blood and sweat; he had nabbed his position at Iruka''s team through a great impression and had retained his spot in every mission through pure results; even his drug dealing''s earnings were a result of good service.
But the opportunity at the Leaf Military Police Force had come out of left field. He hadn''t sought it, nor had he wished for it. Iruka had thrown it in his lap as a way to take care of him.
Maybe because of that, Takuma felt he didn''t deserve to be a part of the very illustrious organization. He felt that he needed more time, more skills, and more merit to earn.
He felt he wasn''t ready for it.
"You''ll be working under me¡" Takuma buried his thoughts and focused on Yakumi, who continued, "So, I''ll say this straight to your face. I dislike this arrangement, and you shouldn''t be with us¡."
That did wonders for Takuma''s anxiety.
"People work hard to be in the position you''ve been handed on a silver platter. These aren''t my thoughts, but everyone''s." Yakumi walked one step ahead of Takuma and spoke without looking at him. "You will be under constant observation, your moves will be gone through with a fine-tooth comb, and your peers will try to pick your faults to undermine you¡ª so beware, make a wrong move, and it''ll be announced and paraded through the department."
Takuma felt his feet turn into heavy stone. He pulled on his vest around his neck to let some air in as he kept his lips sealed shut. He felt Yakumi''s every single word like a hammer through his body, mind, and spirit.
He was a drug dealer and underground prizefighter about to join official duty in the police. After the Uchiha, who would soon all be killed, he was the person in the most danger due to his occupation. Being under observation was the last thing he wanted.
But it was about to become his reality.
They arrived in front of large double doors that were fully open, and a raucous coming from inside. Yakumi turned to Takuma and pointed at the red strap around Takuma''s arm with the Leaf Military Police Force insignia sewn into it.
"You don''t deserve that." Yakumi looked Takuma in the eye. "But if you do the work, do it well, and prove without a doubt that you deserve to be here¡ª then I''ll personally help you to shut every doubter down.
Genin Takuma, welcome to the Leaf Military Police Force."
With a heart that drummed in his heart, Takuma looked above the double doors with a plaque bolted on the wall.
[Department of Organized Crime]
CH_4.4 (104)
When he was young, Takuma used to be super conscious of what other people thought of him. The feeling was so severe that he would even worry about what a passing-by stranger thought of him; as such, he would try to present his best-cool-proper self whenever that sensation of nervousness arose.
As he grew up, Takuma realized how unnecessarily over exaggerated his thoughts were¡ª just like he didn''t care about other strangers, they too didn''t care about him. With hindsight, it was so obvious. Ever since that realization, except for the little things here and there, like holding his breath until the person passed by, so no one would see him out of breath, Takuma gradually stopped caring what other people thought of him.
But strangers and people he knew were two different entities. There was still a part of Takuma which was conscious about what his family, friends, and acquaintances thought about him. He could only let his hair down in front of his parents and closest friends.
Though, ever since coming to the strange world, that conscious feeling had been forgotten due to the fact that he simply didn''t have the time to think about what others thought of him at all times. He was too occupied, stressed, and tired for his thoughts to even look in that direction.
Simply put: He didn''t give a shit what others thought!
However, as Takuma sat smack dab in the middle of the Department of Organized Crime''s offices, he felt like a hundred eyes were staring at him. The conscious feeling he had long forgotten seemed to return in full force.
Takuma no longer had any doubt about Yakumi''s words about people looking out for his every move because it had only been half an hour since he had joined the department, and it was already this bad.
Yakumi had to step away due to some urgent matters and had asked Takuma to set up his desk until he returned to give him a tour and brief him on his duties. In that time, not a single person had come to converse with him¡ª not even as much as a ''welcome.'' Takuma sat there, feeling the gazes and picking up whispers.
He wasn''t happy with being left alone and turned into a pariah. All that did was make working difficult¡ª if he couldn''t properly cooperate with others and refer to them for help and guidance, working in most workplaces would become difficult very soon. And his time alone in the academy with Hiji and his group had taught him an important lesson. People tend to take advantage of those who they think wouldn''t bite back. If he were alone here, they would try to screw him over difficult cases or try to push their mistakes onto him.
He needed friends and collaborating peers to make his work life functional.
"¡ª You¡"
Takuma turned away from the desk and looked to the side at a girl who had suddenly appeared beside him. The metallic amber eyes scowled down at him with her arms crossed with a displeased expression on her face.
"I never thought I''d be this happy to see you," Takuma smiled, standing up to greet her. "It''s been a while, Arisu."
Fuma Arisu, his academy classmate, tournament opponent, and someone he considered an acquaintance with whom he had a good relationship, in spite of the girl''s tendency to glare and scowl at him whenever they met. He could only attribute that to her being a sore loser. That trait of hers was in itself a charm point as it made for some great banter.
"What does that mean?" Arisu''s scowl deepened.
"I mean, look around; the people around here don''t seem to like me," Takuma whispered. He followed it up with a smile, "Except for you, of course."
"I don''t like you very much either," she said.
"So you do like me a little," Takuma flashed her a smile.
Arisu rolled her eyes. "Something came up, so the captain will be busy. He has asked me to get you started. Let''s go. I''ll give you a tour," she said.
"Captain?"
"Captain Yakumi."
Takuma''s brow quirked. "We''re on the same team?"
"Unfortunately."
At that moment, Takuma knew he was going to stick by Arisu. She was the only person he knew here, on the same team as him and around the same age as him. Arisu fell right in the strike zone for the first person to build a relationship within the Police Force.
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"Thanks. Let me treat you to dinner after this," said Takuma.
Arisu eyed him for a moment before nodding. "I''ll take you up on that offer."
Takuma followed Arisu with a smile as she gave him a tour of the Leaf Military Police Force headquarters. The training was conducted in a separate facility owned by the Police Force, and this was the second time he had been in the headquarters. He diligently listened to whatever Arisu pointed out. She told him about the people on the hierarchy chain, people to look out for, who were the go-to people, who to not mess with, and all the office comfort things one needed to know.
"So, we don''t work out of a precinct?" Takuma asked. The Police headquarters was built near the Uchiha Sector and next to the village''s prison. But there were precincts and police stations around the village where the squads worked out for better service.
"There are sites around the village not accessible by the public that we use, but Organized Crime doesn''t have regional distribution. Your desk here in the office is the one you''ll be working out of as long as the case doesn''t require you to move to an external site."
As Arisu showed him around, Takuma noticed how she seemed to be well-liked as she shared small greetings and friendly words with a considerable number of people throughout the headquarters.
"How long have you been working here?" Takuma asked Arisu
"This month will mark one year," said Arisu.
''Three months in Genin Corp, huh,'' Takuma sighed to himself. "And how long in Organized Crime?" he asked.
"Seven months."
"You had five months in training?" Takuma asked, surprised. The training he had was the same given to Uchiha allies like Fuma Clan; as such, Arisu should have the same two-and-half month training he had.
"I didn''t have a training period¡. It was already decided from long ago that I''d be in the Police Force somewhere down the line, so I was given the basic training before I was a genin¡. I was in the Department of Shinobi Fraud before I moved to Organized Crime."
Takuma gazed at her back. He mused if he should read into the words and between the lines. From how she phrased it, the choice was made for Arisu without asking for input. Was she in the Police Force against her choice¡ª parental pressure, perhaps? He also noted that she had gotten the training beforehand, making him wonder if that was the norm for the Fuma clan or if Arisu was special in some way. He decided to look into that.
"That''s why everyone dislikes you," Arisu said, glancing back at him. "It took half a year to get the people to warm up to me, and at least I did five months in Shinobi Fraud before I got transferred to Organized Crime. You hopped into Organized Crime without doing time anywhere. It''s like you didn''t pay your dues," she said.
"Any tips?"
"They''re pissed, so don''t try to worsen their impression," she said. "The only way to make people like you is to do your job; if you make a mistake, own it and try to correct it; take responsibility and show a willingness to learn and help¡ª eventually, they''ll warm up to you." She sighed, "I''ll help you, try not to worry about it."
They eventually ended back at the Organized Crime offices, where Takuma once again felt eyes on him.
"Do you have any other questions before I run you through the case you''ll shadow me on?" Arisu asked.
"Yeah, just one question¡ Do we have a narcotics department?" Takuma asked, sounding as nonchalant as possible.
"Hmm, narcotics? No, we don''t have a separate one. Organized Crimes handle narcotics," Arisu said as she searched for a file in a pile on her desk. "Why? Do you want to work on drug cases?"
"I don''t know, maybe," said Takuma as he stared at the workplace he would be working in.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma dragged his feet back to his house after a hectic first day. It wasn''t the toughest day he had experienced, but the first day in a new environment drained his energy as quickly as a plug at the bottom of a tub.
He deposited himself in a chair in his living room and completely slumped as he stared at the wall littered with papers. He then glanced at the four large rectangular packages, each more than half his height. He stared at the packages for a good while, his mind protesting against getting up, much less doing work.
But with a mighty groan, he lugged himself off the chair and started to pull off the pages, and sticky notes stuck to the wall one by one and sort them on the small dining table. After half hour, the wall was clean, with stripes of paint missing due to the tape and adhesive used to stick the pages to the surface.
Takuma walked to the packages and tore the brown covering away to reveal a corkboard. He took out his toolbox, and measured the corkboard and wall twice each before hammering the nails into the wall. He then took the new four corkboards and placed them side-by-side to make one large cork surface on his notes wall.
He walked to the other side of the living room, where a stack of stationery sat in the corner. He took out a sticky notepad and wrote down words on it as he walked to his new wall and stuck paper in the middle of the corkboard with a thumbtack.
[Organized Crime]
He had walked himself into a lion''s den. Organized Crime handled narcotics-related cases. In the months he had been working as a drug dealer, he hadn''t been blind to what was happening around him. Enomoto''s and Ryuu''s business was fairly organized, with everyone doing their role as cogs in a larger machine which made the entire operation run with a profitable smoothness.
He always knew the risks associated with it¡ª and his ''Tobi'' persona, along with his multiple dealer identities, were there to safeguard him. He was confident with how he conducted business to know that he wouldn''t be the cause of a potential downfall. However, he didn''t have that confidence for factors outside of his influence.
The other dealers, Ryuu, Enomoto, and other competitors. They could screw up and cause him, the little guy, some serious trouble. He needed more protection.
And now that he was inside the source of ''danger,'' it provided him with an opportunity to access a place that others wouldn''t even dream to get their greasy paws on.
Takuma didn''t know how valuable his position was, but he knew that it was valuable.
However, he was willing to find out.
CH_4.5 (105):
Takuma walked into the room, minding where he stepped and what he touched. The room was a bedroom, twice as large as Takuma''s bedroom. It also had much more personality to it due to personal knick-knacks, items, and how everything tied together to showcase the owner''s personality.
Speaking of the owner, she was right in the middle of the room, lying down on the bed¡ in the pool of her blood that had long soaked into the silky soft sky-blue sheets.
"That''s a dead lady," he muttered with a disgusted face, not because of the dead body but because of the putrid smell that had seeped into the bedroom. The body had reached the point in putrefaction where the smell started to become horrid.
"Way to state the obvious," Arisu remarked snarkily, but her eyes were transfixed on the dead woman.
The young woman, who seemed to be in her mid-twenties, had a ball of cloth stuffed in her mouth, and just below her chin was a dagger stuck in her neck from which all the blood had dribbled down her neck, clothes, and bedding.
"A robbery gone south?" Takuma commented.
"From the looks of it," said Arisu, fanning her notepad in front of her face.
The wardrobes and closets in the room were all open, with clothes and items thrown out on the floor. The entire house mirrored the bedroom with things sprawled as if someone had raided the home.
Arisu glanced at Takuma. "This is your first time at a murder scene¡. How''re you feeling?"
Takuma stared at the lady. It was a gruesome sight, one he would have preferred not to look at all, but at the same time, he couldn''t take his eyes off the dead woman. Perhaps it was because of all the crime scene photographs he had seen during the training¡ª but Takuma doubted that was the reason.
"¡ I''m feeling fine," Takuma said. He simply observed, taking every aspect of her through his eyes.
"Enough chit-chat; let''s get to work."
Takuma and Arisu looked to the bedroom entrance as a young woman in her early twenties entered the room. She had short cropped black hair and the standard Uchiha onyx-eyes hidden behind red-shaded aviators with a shiny red bead earring hanging from one ear.
Uchiha Kano, another chunin in the Police Force, was part of Organized Crime. She was one of the senior officers under Yakumi, who was a Captain. Down the ladder, Takuma and Arisu were junior officers.
The Police Force had the policy that everyone had to be dressed in the standard shinobi uniform; as such most of the Uchiha shinobi came out to be low-key, and even outside of duty, he hadn''t seen an Uchiha'' dripped out'' as to say, but Uchiha Kano with her pixie-cut hair, red aviators, and earring, had to be the most dripped out Uchiha Takuma had seen.
"Takuma, what''s the investigation focal point," asked Kano as she put on her rubber gloves but didn''t step near the dead body or the bed.
"This bedroom," answered Takuma.
There was a method to investigate crime scenes. A homicide had a different investigative approach to that of a burglary, but to ensure a thorough process, a few standard steps were outlined in the Leaf Military Police Force manual to ensure a thorough process.
The first step when investigating a crime scene was to establish the "scene dimensions." To do that, they had to define the investigation focal point, the area where the crime occurred or the victim was found¡ª the main area of disturbance. Then, radiating out from that point, investigators established an area that was sizable enough to likely contain all relevant physical evidence that may be present. It was easier for investigators to condense the size of a scene at a later point than to discover that sensitive evidence outside the scene had been damaged or destroyed by other responders, media, or onlookers. In addition, potential paths of perpetrator entry/exit were identified.
Safety was paramount during the initial approach to the scene. Weapons, biohazards, chemical hazards, and even intentional traps could await the people approaching the crime scene.
In this case, the definition of investigation focal point was easy enough due to the nature of the crime. The dead woman was found in her bedroom, and from the blood present on the bed, it didn''t look like she was killed somewhere else and then later transported to the bedroom.
Yes, the entire house was ransacked, which increased the area substantial evidence could be found, but because a dead body was present, the bedroom was the focal point, the place they would base their strategy upon.
Kano hummed. "Who entered the home before us?" she asked Arisu.
Arisu flipped her notepad open. "The landlord and five of the neighbors," she said. "The landlord and one more person entered the bedroom itself."
Kano clicked her tongue in displeasure.
The second step in investigating a crime scene was to secure the area. According to the basics of investigations: ''Every contact left a trace.'' Everyone who entered or exited the scene would add or subtract material from the crime scene, so securing the area quickly was crucial. To control access, the scene was to be cordoned off.
In this case, the house was part of an apartment building, located on the second floor. They had moved everyone off the second floor, and even though the possibility of finding evidence in the hallway was close to zero due to the amount of activity, they had still done it to give themselves some space.
Moreover, Takuma, Arisu, and Kano needed to be removed from the list in case they left behind a trace, while the five neighbors and one landlord needed to be considered as additions to the list. One of them could be the perpetrator, and removing them from the list just because they entered the scene afterward was putting them outside the scope of the investigation¡ª and they might even have done it purposefully to save themselves.
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To ensure they weren''t a person of interest, the investigators would need to interrogate them and confirm their alibis, among other things, to eliminate them from the suspect list.
All of which meant extra work¡ª and thus, the reason behind Kano''s displeasure.
"Write down their names and addresses, and ask them not to leave the village anytime soon," said Kano.
"Already done," said Arisu.
Kano looked at them and smirked, "Good, then let''s chatter, shall we."
The third step in investigating a crime was to create a plan. Before any evidence could be collected, the investigators first needed to develop a theory regarding the type of offense that had occurred. Knowing the kind of crime aided the investigation and helped the investigators anticipate the evidence that could be present. In some circumstances, this required gathering information from witnesses or persons of interest.
Based on that information, the crime scene team would develop an "evidence-collection strategy" taking into consideration weather conditions, time of day, and other factors. That way, when the investigators collected the evidence, they''d better know what to look for¡ªthus potentially increasing the quality of evidence that might be collected.
"It''s a robbery," said Arisu.
"But then why kill her?" Kano countered before asking: "Who''s she?"
"Machia Hirano," Takuma flipped open his own notepad. "Twenty-six years old. She had been working as a receptionist at the Green Flag Restaurant for four years. The restaurant''s owner called Hirano''s home when she didn''t show up to work on Monday and called her landlord when she didn''t come in on Tuesday. The landlord went to her home this morning and found her like this¡ª the door was unlocked. According to the landlord, she had been living here for two years by herself. And, she doesn''t have any family¡ª parents passed a few years back."
"Any eyewitnesses?" asked Kano.
Takuma shook his head. "Nothing we have heard as of yet."
"She tried to fight back, and the perpetrator killed her in the struggle," Arisu picked up the point from before.
Takuma looked around, but from the state of the apartment, no sign of struggle was evident at first view. With all of Hirano''s belongings on the floor, they would need to clean everything up before they could recognize if there were signs of struggle.
"Could be," said Kano. She squatted down, gently lifted the dead woman''s hand, and checked under the fingernails. She pulled her aviators down her nose and Sharingan came to life. "Uh-huh, there''s some red down here. She must''ve scratched the suspect while they struggled."
Kano got up and pushed her aviators back up. "Alright, during evidence collection, let''s look for evidence tied to signs of struggle when we sweep the place."
She continued, "The question that arises is that if there was a struggle, why didn''t any of the neighbors get a whiff of what was happening in here?"
Arisu pointed at the balled-up cloth in the woman''s mouth. "She couldn''t have screamed to the limit with that in her mouth," she said, "but we have to consider how the killer got in because the door isn''t damaged, and with a struggle, I don''t see her inviting the killer in."
"Maybe she knew the killer, and she let them in, and that''s how they got in without problems and were perhaps able to ambush her before she could make a ruckus," said Takuma before pointing at the air-conditioner in the room, which was rattling like a pile of screws and bolts. "That probably kept the body cold enough to slow down the decomposition and putrefaction and maybe even dulled any noise that might have been made here."
Kano again stepped to the dead body and began checking for things Takuma didn''t understand, so he silently observed, trying to learn. The way Kano had been talking to them was for their benefit (mainly for Takuma''s benefit), so they could get better. He was given the opportunity so that he would make the most of it.
"The body had already entered the stage of secondary flaccidity," said Kano.
"What''s that?" asked Takuma.
"When someone dies, the body enters the stage of primary flaccidity where all of the muscles in the body relax. All of the muscles in the body relax; eyelids lose their tension, the pupils dilate, the jaw might fall open, skin sags, and the body''s joints and limbs are flexible. As muscles relax, sphincters release and allow urine and feces to pass," said Kano.
Kano wasn''t only a chunin, a senior officer (from Organized Crime, which put her on a higher tier than some other senior officers)¡ª but she was also an iryo-nin, which came in pretty handy during cases involving homicides.
Takuma made a face but quickly schooled his expression.
Kano continued, "As part of primary flaccidity, the body then experiences pallor mortis, algor mortis, livor mortis¡ª which you can learn about on your own time¡ª it''s rigor mortis which happens next, where chemical changes within the body''s cells cause all of the muscles to begin stiffening."
Takuma, of course, knew about rigor mortis. It was mentioned plenty of times in movies and shows for him to remember what that meant.
"After reaching a state of maximum rigor mortis, the muscles will begin to loosen due to continued chemical changes within the cells and internal tissue decay. That process is known as secondary flaccidity," she said. "During secondary flaccidity, the skin will begin to shrink, creating the illusion that hair and nails are growing. Rigor mortis will then dissipate in the opposite direction. Once secondary flaccidity is complete, all of the body''s muscles will again be relaxed.
"Her body is already losing the stiffness, and if we take the air conditioner into consideration, I''ll say that she was killed sometime on Sunday. We will have to take the body to the coroner to know the exact time," Kano finished and got up. "Alright, let''s start the photoshoot, and then we''ll bag and tag all the stuff."
Step four to crime investigation was to conduct a walkthrough of the scene. An initial survey of the scene was then conducted to prioritize evidence collection. Kano walked around the room and identified valuable evidence, and Takuma and Arisu took notes and captured initial photographs of the scene and the evidence. The crime scene was documented to record conditions such as whether lights were on or off, the position of shades and doors, the position of movable furniture, any smells present, the temperature of the scene, etc.
Takuma was the designated photographer¡ª he wasn''t good enough to click award-winning shots, not even enough that people would use his photographs as their wallpaper or put on posters, but he had gotten good enough with a film camera to click some dank crime scene photos and to click them quick enough that he wasn''t getting in the way.
After Kano was done pointing stuff out, they moved onward to step five, which was to document everything related to the crime scene which garnered interest.
Takuma being the photographer, had to do it in a certain way. Every identified piece of evidence was to have three photographs¡ª an overview shot (the entire crime scene), an establishing shot (to properly show the location of the object of interest with respect to everything else), and a close-up shot (to show any details of interest.) Numbered tags along with a scale were present in the photographs as well.
On the other hand, during the evidence-collection process, it was crucial that the crime scene investigator followed proper procedures for collecting, packaging, and preserving the evidence, especially if it was of a biological nature.
The body was taken early during the process and sent off to the coroner, who had total authority over it and had to prepare the reports regarding the death.
After they were done, the last step was to conduct a secondary survey and a review to make sure they hadn''t missed anything and as a quality control step.
And that¡ was step one of the crime investigations.
They still had to do so much more before they could come even close to closing the investigation, and with it, the case.
CH_4.6 (106)
"She didn''t let her attacker in." Takuma slapped crime scene photographs on Arisu''s table. "Whoever it was¡ª they broke in."
Arisu looked away from presumably a file from another case. She squinted her eyes as she regarded the photos that were shots of Machia Hirano''s (the victim) front door lock.
"What am I looking at?" she asked.
Takuma pointed at the photo, specifically the scuff marks and scratches around the face of the lock. "It''s obvious from the color of the scratches on the lock that they''re new. The landlord told us the door was open, so it''s clear that he didn''t try to break in¡ª and he''s the landlord; he would use a key if he wanted to enter¡ª which means it was someone before the landlord. Whoever it was, they weren''t good at it, as they tried to force the lock open instead of picking the pins inside."
"You can tell that from¡ scratches?" Arisu asked, skeptical. "What if she was drunk and made those scratches with her keys when she was trying to enter her house?"
Takuma went silent for a moment. He looked at the photographs, and from the angles he had taken, he couldn''t tell if there was damage to the lock. He clicked his tongue?¡ª he needed to get better at taking images.
"That is a possibility, but I''ll go back and take a look just to be sure," Takuma sighed. He had to go check it because identifying the entry of the killer was crucial for the investigation. They could focus their attention on certain suspects if they knew how the killer entered the house.
Takuma heard someone call out his and Arisu''s name. They gazed across the room to see Kano exit her office waving a file towards them as she walked towards the interrogation rooms.
"Ah, they must''ve brought in the lover." Arisu packed the stuff on her desk as she got up.
"What, who did they bring in?" asked Takuma, confused.
"Hirano''s boyfriend," said Arisu. "The next-door neighbor told us that she heard Hirano and her boyfriend often fight when he visited. We called him in for an interrogation. Come on, let''s see how he performs."
Takuma didn''t know about the interrogation. It turned out that unlike shown in police procedural shows, law enforcement worked on multiple cases at a time. Takuma was involved in three more cases other than the Hirano Murder Case.
''I''ve got to make sure I''m caught up with what''s happening,'' Takuma told himself. He had to ensure that he was kept in the loop on every case he was on, or else he would be left behind on every one of them. There was a limit to how much he could rely on others, and it was his responsibility to keep himself up to date on everything.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma looked through the two-way mirror at the small interrogation room with one table with two chairs across each other and one extra near the corner. The table was big enough to take up most of the room, and the space left around it was only sufficient for one person to barely walk around comfortably¡ª giving the room a cramped feel.
That was by design, of course. There were a few different types of interrogation rooms designated to and modified by Organized Crime¡ª and this one was to make the person being interrogated as uncomfortable as possible so they couldn''t relax.
And right now, inside the interrogation room, Kano sat with Hirano''s boyfriend while Arisu and Takuma watched them from the viewing area on the other side of the mirror.
From the looks of it, Hirano''s boyfriend looked like a usual chap, if not a little blue. But that''d be expected¡ª his girlfriend had been murdered, and from the looks of it, their last conversation had been a fight. A part of Takuma''s mind felt sympathy for the guy, but the other part regarded the boyfriend as the potential killer. It was a type of mental conflict new to Takuma. He couldn''t say he was a fan of it.
"Where were you last Sunday?" Kano''s voice came through the speakers in the viewing area.
"A-At my home," answered the boyfriend.
"Do you have someone who can vouch for that?"
"¡ No, I was alone."
Kano hummed as she stared at the boyfriend, who squirmed under her gaze. The time of Hirano''s death had been determined to be on Sunday, somewhere in the evening. The first step in eliminating anyone on the suspect list was to see where they were throughout the day. The more clarity and detail they could provide about their location and actions on that day, the safer they would be as long as they were away from Hirano''s home.
"I aspire to be like her," said Arisu.
She had admiration in her eyes as she gazed at Kano and the interrogation. Takuma looked at Kano, who was his supervising officer, with Yakumi as his commanding officer. He didn''t know much about Kano, but he did look up to her as much as one would do if they worked with someone who held considerable experience and knowledge over them about a job or craft.
"Kano was part of a jonin team out of the academy. After she was promoted to chunin and her team disbanded, she applied for the Police Force. Because of her medical background, the higher-ups wanted her to continue working as a field shinobi as an iryo-nin, and if she wanted work in the Police Force, she was given a position in the coroner''s office because they suited her skills," said Arisu. "Given her skills, it made sense, but Kano wanted to work in the Police Force as a crime investigator¡ª so she fought for the position and started out in Shinobi Fraud and worked her way to Organized Crime, all the while facing resistance from the higher-ups in the Uchiha Clan and Police Force¡"
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Takuma looked at Arisu and recalled how she also had done a stint in Shinobi Fraud before moving to Organized Crime. He mused if Arisu was copying Kano due to her admiration.
"She persevered, and here she is, one of the best investigators and interrogators in the Police Force," Arisu sounded proud. "I heard she got offers from ANBU but rejected them because she wanted to work in the Police Force."
"Is she really that good?" Takuma looked at the interrogation happening in front of him. Unfortunately, he didn''t have enough experience with interrogations to differentiate between bad, good, and great interrogations.
"Of course, she is!" Arisu gave him a stink eye before the look of admiration returned to her eyes. "Ask anyone in the Police Force, and they all will say the same thing: You can''t lie in front of Uchiha Kano!"
Takuma looked at his supervising officer, and she didn''t seem to be doing anything special other than asking questions, writing down the answers, digging through follow-ups, and repeating the process. Her line and direction of questions were sound and solid but wasn''t that what one would expect from someone experienced?
"Do you know why she wears those shades?" asked Arisu.
Takuma shook his head. Kano wore her red aviator shades as much as she didn''t. She wore them both outdoors and indoors, be it during the day or late in the evening¡ª there was no time or place where Kano thought that her shades weren''t welcome.
"Because they hide her Sharingan," Arisu said.
Takuma''s eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. Daily, he was surrounded by people who could use Sharingan, but because he could look everyone in the eye, he wasn''t worried as long as their eyes stayed onyx. But what about Kano? The first time he had seen her, it was with her shades. And he had quickly made it her default look. He could even say that seeing her without her shades was out-of-place¡ª like it was weird to see someone who wore spectacles without them.
"Sharingan doesn''t allow the Uchiha to tell lies from truth," Arisu continued, "but it can do so much more, and Kano has figured out a way to use her Sharingan to tell when someone is lying. I once asked how she did it. Kano said that it was cold reading turned up to eleven. Of course, I think she was underplaying it. I''ve seen it on display¡ª it''s like she can read their minds, target and prod their thoughts until they''re willingly spilling out their guilt and truth in front of her."
It was known in the shinobi circles that the Fuma Clan was the Uchiha Clan''s closest ally. That fact was evident by how many Fuma Clan members were in the Police Force. In the entire village, the Fuma Clan might be the one who knew the most about the Sharingan next to the Uchiha Clan because of how closely the clans worked with each other.
"There''s no one in the entire Uchiha Clan who can use the Sharingan like her," Arisu declared proudly.
And Takuma would''ve been impressed if his head wasn''t occupied by the thoughts of his interactions with Kano. Had she used her Sharingan on him? Had he unknowingly divulged some of his secrets?
Arisu smirked, "I''m willing to bet she ''read'' you on your first meeting."
That did wonders for Takuma''s anxiety. As in, it made him plunge deeper into it.
Maybe Takuma had let his worries show on her face because Arisu slapped him on his back. "Don''t worry about it. If she didn''t like you, she would''ve already called you out, and Kano would definitely not still be working with you," she said.
Inside the interrogation room, Kano stood up, exited the room, and walked into the viewing area. She had her red shades in her hands and rubbed her eyes as if fatigued.
"He doesn''t seem to be lying. They fought often, but I don''t think he did it. The crime scene doesn''t match what we usually see in crimes of passion. He has some alibi, which should clear him out. However, we can''t strike him out just yet." Kano turned to Takuma. "Check the alibi out and go ask Hirano''s friends if they ever heard or noticed signs of violence on her¡. What happened to you?" she noticed how tense Takuma was.
Takuma shook his head, straightened up, and schooled his expression. "Yes, ma''am," he said, taking the notepad from Kano.
Kano glanced at Arisu, who only shrugged.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma followed his orders and checked the boyfriend''s alibi, which cleared him of suspicion. But before returning to the office, Takuma took a detour to Hirano''s house to check his lock theory. The house had been released from police custody, and the landlord had already started the clean up on the house while Hirano''s family had taken out their late daughter''s belongings.
However, according to the landlord, they hadn''t changed the locks, which allowed Takuma to photograph the lock and the door for signs of damage.
"Knew it," said Takuma as he squatted before the door lock. The door''s wood was lightly splintered; combining that with the scuff marks, it was clear that someone had tried to brute force the lock open without a shred of delicacy. It was a miracle that the lock was still functioning, and the damage wasn''t clearly visible until closely observed.
He quickly took the photographs so that he could show them to Kano.
But as Takuma was clicking the photographs, a thought passed his mind. Brute forcing the lock would''ve made noise enough to alert the person inside that someone was trying to break in. If Hirano was aware of the fact, why didn''t she scream? Not screaming wouldn''t make sense. Even if he assumed she was asleep and was a heavy sleeper, the sound should''ve been enough to wake someone up.
''What if she did scream?''
Takuma looked at the door beside Hirano''s house. Hirano had two neighbors¡ª one on each side. One of them was a couple who were on vacation at their parent''s house and hadn''t been home when the murder happened. The other one was a single woman who lived alone like Hirano.
In fact, she was the one who gave them the information about Hirano''s boyfriend and their fights.
''She could hear them fighting,'' Takuma thought¡ª which meant if something went down in Hirano''s house, there were great chances she would''ve been able to hear it.
And if Takuma recalled correctly, the woman was home during the estimated window of Hirano''s death.
Takuma stood up and walked to the next door, and pressed the doorbell. He put his ear against the door and listened in. He heard the noise of falling, a groan, and then what sounded like someone getting up and walking towards the door with irregular but rushed steps.
Takuma stepped back from the door. As it slowly opened, Takuma caught the sight of the engaged latch and then a woman peeking through the gap.
"W-What is it?" said the woman.
"¡ Good afternoon, ma''am. I''m from the Police Force, and I was wondering if I could ask you some more questions about your neighbor, Hirano," asked Takuma as he looked down at the woman.
"I''ve already answered all the questions you all asked before."
"I''m aware, ma''am. I just have some more questions I quickly need to get out of the way. It won''t take more than a few minutes," he said.
Takuma gazed at the woman. She was lightly shaking as if feeling cold even though the weather was warm and the sun was at its peak. From the gap visible to him, he could see her clammy and sweaty, pale skin, unkempt hair, dark bags under her unfocused eyes, and a god-awful smell as if the woman hadn''t bathed in days.
Takuma, by no means, was an expert, but he had been a dealer long enough that he had seen most of the stuff that came with the territory. He had been to places, seen people, and knew what the bottom of society looked like when they let go of everything for just one thing, and one thing only that gave them joy.
So, he felt confident when he could tell that the woman wasn''t suffering from a ridiculously high fever¡
¡ and instead, she was going through severe withdrawals.
CH_4.7 (107)
Takuma sat at his desk, his foot tapping an impatient rhythm on the floor as he stared at Kano''s office. After hyping himself about it for a bit, he went and knocked on the open office door.
Kano hummed without looking up from the documents.
"It''s about the Hirano case," said Takuma.
Kano heaved a deep sigh of subdued frustration. Takuma understood where that was coming from. The Hirano murder case should''ve been the responsibility of the Department of Homicide. It wasn''t like the Department of Organized Crime didn''t see murders; on the contrary, fifty percent of all deaths were directly caused by or related to organized crime. But there were no signs that the Hirano murder case was related to organized crime. The only reason the case had been forwarded to Organized Crime was that Homicide was swamped with other cases. The Hidden Leaf village was the hub of shinobi¡ª and shinobi-on-shinobi crimes were unsurprisingly high for various reasons.
"I believe I have a solid lead to solving the case," said Takuma.
Kano looked up. "What is it?"
Takuma placed the photograph of Hirano''s damaged door and lock on the table. "After checking after the boyfriend, I went back to the house to get some more photos. As you can see, someone tried to force it open, which leads me to believe that Hirano didn''t let her killer in willingly. We found blood and scratched skin under Hirano''s nail, meaning she didn''t sleep through it all, leading me to believe there was an audible struggle. Even if we somehow assume that Hirano didn''t make a peep, just forcing the door should''ve made enough noise.
And while I was there, I recalled how Hirano''s neighbor was the one to give us the boyfriend tip¡ and ma''am, the walls are thin. I put my ear to the door and could faintly hear footsteps; a struggle would''ve been clearer," and he had taken his enhanced hearing into account.
Kano leaned into her chair. Takuma had her attention.
"I''m assuming this has something to do with the neighbor?" she asked.
Takuma nodded. "She''s a junkie, ma''am. I questioned her, and the signs of withdrawal were clear as day. It seems she hasn''t had a fix of whatever she''s hooked to." He gave her a description of what he saw.
"And? Are you saying she killed Hirano for money?" Kano didn''t sound satisfied.
Takuma shook his head. He hesitated before speaking out his thoughts, "Ma''am¡ I believe it was one of the enforcers."
Kano''s eyes sharpened at the words. She reached for her aviators on her desk and fiddled with the shades for a moment. "And how would you know about the enforcers, Officer Takuma?" she asked.
"¡ I live right next to the eastern slums, ma''am," said Takuma. "Every third person in my neighborhood is hooked onto something, and most of them can barely afford their¡ hobbies." He looked Kano in the eye. "Enforcers are akin to regular guests in where I live¡ I''m well aware of what they are."
It was true. Takuma''s residence wasn''t in a great place. People lived miserable lives, and drugs were their way to cope with it. But due to the nature of drugs, people tend to indulge beyond their means¡ª and that''s where enforcers came in.
When people weren''t able to pay up, enforcers were sent to collect debts. Enforcers were symbols of fear, lingering in the corner of people''s minds, reminding them of the consequences¡ª and most of the time, that worked. Fear was a great deterrent. People paid up by any means possible. However, there were times when fear didn''t work, and people slipped up. That''s when enforcers did their job¡ª after all, fear needed to be built.
They threatened, confiscated property¡ and in some cases, they even killed.
Takuma''s knowledge about enforcers didn''t end there. Enomoto and Ryuu had their enforcers as well. Enomoto used his enforcers to threaten retailers like Ryuu if they weren''t able to pay up for their purchase¡ª while Ryuu used his enforcers against dealers like Takuma and lent them to the dealers to deal with problematic customers.
Because Takuma didn''t reveal his true identity, Ryuu refused to sell to him on credit. Takuma didn''t need enforcers because of how he had developed his clientele, his business practices that revolved around customer satisfaction, and because his bottom line was to pay up Sango''s bills and not turn maximum profit¡ª he didn''t have many problems cutting people off if they refused to do business upfront.
And if someday he needed an enforcer¡ Takuma preferred to deal with his customers on his own.
"It may be a reach, but I think there''s a chance that an enforcer might have mistaken the target," said Takuma. "However, I think we might be able to confirm if we bring in the neighbor for questioning. I''m sure she must''ve seen something." Takuma didn''t push the questioning to be safe because he didn''t have solid proof to put behind his conjecture.
Kano stayed silent, leaving Takuma standing without an answer, and with every second, Takuma thought if he had indeed overreached.
"Alright, bring her in; I''ll interrogate her." Kano sighed, "It''s not like we have any other leads to follow."
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Murder cases went two ways. They were either easily solved, or cases died due to the lack of eye-witness to identify the murderer or a lack of clear proof tying someone to the murder. As long as the police had an eye witness, motive, and some evidence¡ª suspects usually broke down during interrogation and confessed to the crimes. But if there was a lack of leads, it became harder with each passing day to nail down the guilty party.
Every cold case was a detriment to the department.
"Yes, ma''am!" Takuma clenched his fist, confidence filling him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"You really went ahead with that lock thing, didn''t you?" Arisu glanced at Takuma as they stood in the viewing area of the interrogation room.
Takuma watched Kano and Hirano''s neighbor in the interrogation room. The woman looked as bad as before, if not worse. It was clear that she hadn''t been getting her fix and that she was too deep beforehand for the withdrawal period to pass quickly on its own without help. With her condition, bringing her wasn''t difficult. Takuma threatened her a little bit with some drug-related criminal charges, and she had no choice but to comply.
"She''s in a bad condition," Arisu frowned. "Perhaps she''s the one who killed Hirano for the money and belongings."
"She wouldn''t be like this if she were the culprit," Takuma said. Let''s say the money and valuables stolen from Hirano''s house were used to pay off the debt or a part of it; the dealers would let the woman go and supply her with some more drugs, and with how the woman was suffering, she would take the drugs, and the cycle would continue. "Whatever it is, I''m sure if Kano is as good as you said, we will have the truth soon."
"Of course, she will!" Arisu harrumphed.
Takuma already had the name of the enforcer. For obvious reasons, he couldn''t reveal it due to the source of it. Takuma as Tobi had kept his identity hidden, but that didn''t mean he was invisible. Dealers had some level of interaction and awareness of each other, and Takuma was no different. He knew the other dealers, even those who sold different drugs than him. Territory, corners, and customers were an essential part of the drug space, and some ''etiquette'' needed to be followed to maintain peace among wholesalers, retailers, and dealers. No one wanted conflict to arise, especially not the people on the bottom rung, most of whom were barely earning a living.
Especially not when conflict would attract the Police Force''s attention to them. Unlike many drug organizations that had law enforcement in their pocket, the ones in Hidden Leaf Village operated without any assistance. The Leaf Military Police Force was the biggest enemy.
Takuma had prodded around, and the answer had come about. Of course, no one could be sure, and even Takuma didn''t have any proof, but the probability of him being right was high.
It was as Arisu said. Kano didn''t take much time to get the truth.
"You were right," said Kano as she entered the viewing area. "She was there when the attack happened, she even got a glance of the killer and said she can identify him." Kano looked at Takuma. "It seems you were right. It was most probably an enforcer¡ª which we can confirm after we get an identification¡ª and he indeed mistook the target," she sighed, "to think it''d be so idiotic as mistaking the target."
As it turned out, Hirano''s neighbor was in serious debt due to drugs and couldn''t pay. When she couldn''t get drugs from one dealer, she approached another, offered her body to extend a line of credit and surprisingly did it multiple times¡ª a strawberry, as they called them in the business¡ªthe debt continued to pile up. It seemed the people got fed up with her and decided to get rid of her due to her actions.
A hit was probably issued.
Takuma could see where things had gone wrong. He didn''t know where any of his clients lived. He knew their general area of residency, but their exact addresses were unknown to him. He never visited their home as transactions happened elsewhere, so he didn''t care. Takuma believed that somewhere along the line, the home address had been miscommunicated. Moreover, there were no nameplates in front of the houses¡ª only house numbers. The killer had gone into the wrong house, not asked any questions as it was a hit, and done the deed without listening to a word Hirano might have said.
"As soon as we identify him, bring him in," Kano said.
""Yes, ma''am!""
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"The target is Nakai Gorou," said Arisu, holding a photograph in front of the three people. One of them was Takuma, and the other two were beat officers who were inducted alongside Takuma but weren''t given the same training as him. "He''s a former genin, left the system three years ago, and since then has been known to be part of the Haru Group, working as an enforcer for them."
Genin were signed to a whopping ten-year contract after they graduated from the academy. Only after that ten years could they leave the shinobi system to pursue other occupations. Every genin was subjected to that contract, and if they were trained after the academy in some technical field, as in iryojutsu and fuinjutsu, that contract was extended. When a shinobi was promoted to chunin, that contract was extended even further, and the same for jonin.
Every year, genin left the shinobi system throughout the nation. Some went to be employed by private organizations or whoever could pay them¡ª and the market existed as these ex-shinobi were cheaper, but they were also less skillful. Others switched their occupation altogether and did something unrelated to the shinobi world.
There were also people who ended up joining illegal organizations who wanted shinobi in their ranks to boost their strength and standing. Especially in the Leaf Village, every criminal organization worth its salt had ex-shinobi (or even current shinobi) in their ranks so they could survive.
Nakai Gorou was one of those ex-shinobi and was employed by the Haru group and was involved in many illegal activities. Drug peddling being one of those activities.
"He comes to the casino every Wednesday," Arisu pointed at the building in the distance. "He''s in there right now, and according to the intel, he will be out in some time. When he gets out, we will bag him. Officer Takuma and I will take charge." She turned to the beat officers. "While you two will provide backup¡. I don''t believe there will be much of a problem with our numbers, but let''s be careful nevertheless."
After the briefing was done, Arisu turned to Takuma, who was checking his gear.
"Nervous?" she asked.
"Hmm? Not really," Takuma shrugged. "Well¡ I''m worried about civilians getting involved."
Arisu narrowed her eyes. She thought he would be nervous about a potential combat situation, but from the looks of it, he looked pretty relaxed. She wondered if he was experienced¡ª and then recalled the rumors about the Land of Frost mission, which had been working its way around the department. She didn''t know the details, but from what she had heard, there was a clash. Perhaps that''s what gave Takuma his confidence.
"Hey¡ª"
Arisu trailed off when she noticed Nakai Gorou exiting the casino.
"Get ready, let''s finish this quickly," she said.
Takuma nodded, his eyes following Gorou like a hunter stalking his prey.
CH_4.8 (108):
"Nakai Gorou."
Gorou had an average height but had a build so wiry that it looked like he hadn''t eaten in weeks. Upon hearing his name called, he looked back at Arisu standing a few feet away from him. His eyes went to the Leaf Military Police Force''s red armband around Arisu; his face turned displeased. Standing behind Arisu was one of the beat officers, giving Gorou a stink eye.
Arisu caught Gorou''s reaction and was prepared if he ran away, but she didn''t make any hasty movements.
"¡ How may I help, officer?" Gorou''s tone didn''t hide his disregard.
"We''d like you to come with us for a talk," said Arisu.
Gorou''s eyes narrowed. "May I ask what this chat is about?" he asked.
"No, you may not," replied Arisu.
"Then let''s do it some other day, officer; I''m busy today," Gorou turned to walk away.
"I''m afraid you don''t have a choice," said Arisu as the sound of metal clinked from the heavy handcuffs with thick bracers in her hands. "You''re under arrest."
Gorou paused and turned his neck to eye the handcuffs in Arisu''s hands. He then continued walking without sparing another look at the two officers. And before Arisu could say anything, Gorou unclenched his fist for a ping-pong ball-sized smoke bomb to drop on the ground, and before anyone could react, a wall of smoke rushed out, blocking out the part of the street.
A wave of panic immediately hit the area and the screams of civilians as they ran away from the smoke.
Arisu took out her walkie-talkie from her person. "We got a rabbit!" she yelled.
She ran through the smoke and barely spotted Gorou jumping over the wall. She kicked the pavement and shot forward toward Gorou, who immediately swerved into the narrow alleyways away from the main street.
Arisu clicked her tongue and followed him in. This part of town was densely populated with old planning codes and poor construction, making buildings crowded, with lots of narrow alleyways and tight streets. Every corner was a chance for Gorou to disappear and get away. It was a chase where Arisu had to be hot on his tail, as a moment of delay could potentially allow Gorou to escape.
Gorou took a sharp turn to the right; Arisu followed, retrieved shuriken from her bag, and the moment she turned right, a volley of shuriken cut through the air for Gorou¡ª but before the shuriken could bite into Gorou, he slid down on the ground. The shuriken flew over him and dug into the stone wall. Gorou used his momentum to stand up and ran into another corner without missing a beat.
Arisu gritted her teeth and pushed harder, but the moment she turned the corner, there was a poof of smoke, and two Gorou split up and dashed into opposite corners. Arisu faltered. In the rush, she missed the chance to check the shadows on the clone.
''Which one is he?!'' Arisu''s mind turned furiously.
At that moment, the walkie-talkie on her belt crackled to life,
"Your right. Over."
Arisu didn''t spare a glance to the left and charged into the right corner, and Takuma was correct as she could see Gorou''s shadow.
Gorou looked back with a smug smirk on his face which drained and turned into a frown the moment he saw Arisu on his tail. He clicked his tongue, jumped into the air, and started climbing the wall.
"He''s coming towards you!" Arisu yelled into the walkie-talkie.
"I see him. Over."
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Gorou climbed to the short rooftop and looked around in a hurry to chart a path to follow and escape. He turned his head only for a kunai to enter his sight. He immediately moved his body away, and if it were only that, it would''ve been fine, but then Gorou noticed a burning tag fluttering on the kunai''s tail.
"Shit!"
Gorou immediately jumped away, but he was a beat late, and the force from the explosion hit his back and threw him against the raised ledge of the roof. He groaned but immediately got up and saw Takuma standing two roofs away. However, he couldn''t take a proper breath as another kunai lined towards him¡ª this one lined with an explosive tag as well.
"Crazy fuck!" Gorou jumped down from the roof and landed behind Arisu and the officer with her. "Fuck you!" Gorou kicked the officer into Arisu before running away with staggered steps.
"Gah!" Arisu almost fell but steadied herself at the last moment. "You alright?" she asked the beat officer.
"Y-yeah!"
That was all the confirmation Arisu needed before she started chasing Gorou.
"He''s heading towards the ''Haru'' district," Takuma said through the walkie-talkie.
Arisu clicked her tongue.
Gorou was from the Haru Group, and the Haru district was an informal area in the village that was occupied (controlled) by the Haru Group. Arisu understood what Takuma meant. If Gorou entered the Haru district, they wouldn''t be able to get him. Someone somewhere in the area would hide him and cover for him. Even if they tried to look for him, as long as Gorou stayed in the Haru district without doing anything stupid, it would be incredibly difficult for them to catch him.
"Try to cut him off," said Takuma.
"On it!"
Arisu sprinted faster than she ever had.
Knowing that Gorou was heading towards the Haru district, Arisu knew she had to force him into one of the main streets. It was clear that he knew the area better than all of them combined, and if they let him weave through alleyways and side streets, it''d be inevitable they''d lose him¡ª but if she was to force him to the main street, ''controlling'' Gorou would be easier.
She took out half her cache of kunai and readied herself to force Gorou out. As they approached a corner, Arisu expertly placed a kunai to Gorou''s left and immediately followed it with another to make sure he didn''t go in that direction. It had the intended effect, and Gorou shot to the right. Arisu kept doing that, throwing in direct strikes to ensure he didn''t know what she was trying to do.
It didn''t take a lot for Arisu to lead Gorou to the main street, and as Arisu skidded out of the narrow alleyway, she grabbed a storage scroll in her weapons pouch that contained her Fuma shuriken. She hadn''t been able to use it in the narrow space, but now in the big street, she could unleash it, and by god, she wanted to do it.
Gorou had pissed her off, and she wanted to take some of the frustration¡ª
"Ah!"
But Arisu hadn''t considered that the main street wasn''t much better than the narrow alleyways. Instead, the new space problem was because of civilians crowding the place. She clicked her tongue. The Fuma shuriken was a weapon that caused brute destruction, a weapon that was a hammer rather than a scalpel. If she threw it here, she would mow down civilians along with Gorou.
She growled at Gorou, but then her eyes went further to the red wooden archway that acted as the entrance to a market¡ª and to the so-called Haru district. A crowd of people moved in and out of the market.
There was no time to contemplate. The crowd presented another problem. Even if she gave Gorou chase into the Haru district, which she could because nothing was stopping her, the crowd would add another level of difficulty as Gorou could hide in the crowd, use them as obstacles, or worse¡ª take hostages in desperation.
"Gorou¡ª"
Before the rest of the sentence could exit her mouth, a blue blur shot out of a side street and thrashed into the Gorou. An exchange of momentum took place. Gorou turned into a blur, and Takuma became visible. He had shouldered Gorou, who went flying into a building beside the road.
The impact cracked the wall¡ª and just when Gorou''s feet touched the ground as he slid down, Takuma was already beside him. He grabbed Gorou''s face from the front and slammed the back of his head into the wall repeatedly before bending him down to place a devastating knee strike into his liver.
Takuma let go of Gorou, who fell down at Takuma''s feet.
As one would expect, there was a large commotion due to the sudden outbreak. People who lived in the Hidden Leaf village had become desensitized to shinobi and the occasional violence that came with living in a village full of mercenaries. One would expect people to get as far as possible to avoid the fighting, but instead, they began gathering around Takuma and Gorou, trying to get a look at what was happening.
Arisu made her way through the viewing crowd to reach the front, where Takuma had already switched from chase-and-apprehend mode to crowd-control mode. He kept people away from Gorou, who was completely knocked out on the ground without a hint of consciousness.
"You really are vicious, aren''t you?" Arisu said. He had bitten off her ear while fighting during the tournament, and the way he handled Gorou was a bit too heavy-handed.
"My experience tells me that an overwhelming force is often the best way to diffuse situations and end fights," Takuma said as he tied Gorou up and put his unconscious body over the shoulder. "Let''s get going. I''m tired because of all the running around."
CH_4.9 (109)
Takuma watched through the two-way mirror as Kano battered Gorou into a purple-and-blue pulp. The man had bruises so ugly that even his mother couldn''t love the swollen and bloody face. Kano had been going at the man for a few hours already, and Gorou had already fainted countless times under the interrogation, woken up, and been thrashed again¡ª but the man refused to speak up.
The Hirano murder case proceeded swiftly after Gorou''s arrest. They had blood from under Hirano''s fingernails and after matching it to blood samples procured from the man himself, it was clear beyond any doubt that Gorou was the killer. They had the neighbor as an eye-witness placing Gorou on the scene, his blood on the victim, and a charge sheet in the Police Force records telling a history of involvement in the drug trade¡ª they didn''t need anything more to put Gorou away for a good few years.
Capital punishment existed in the Hidden Leaf Village and Land of Fire, but the value of life was much different in a world riddled with strife and where with war was fought with superhuman mercenaries. Gorou killing one person didn''t warrant putting him to death.
No, Gorou had something else planned for his future. If he were lucky, he would spend time in imprisonment, but that was unlikely. Gorou was once a shinobi, and possessed a body strengthened by chakra. Letting an able body be idle in captivity was a waste. Instead, Gorou would be sentenced to a few years as an unpaid ''slave'' down in the mines, digging for coal or whatever mineral that needed to be mined out.
Takuma didn''t envy Gorou one bit. He had heard stories about how criminals were treated down in the mines. None of those stories had the word ''pleasant'' associated with them.
Kano left Gorou alone in the room and walked into the viewing area. She removed her blood-stained leather gloves and slumped down in the vacant chair.
"He isn''t opening his mouth," Kano clicked her tongue.
They had already gotten Gorou for the murder, but they wanted more from him. Kano wasn''t beating the life out of Gorou for the fun of it. They wanted Gorou to name someone in the Haru group and implicate them for ordering the hit. But Gorou had kept his lips zipped.
"I would''ve taken the deal we offered him before," Arisu commented.
They had offered Gorou a lowered sentence, less time in the mine, but he had rejected it and kept his mouth shut, which had led them to use force. They knew the Haru group higher-ups behind Gorou, but they needed Gorou''s willing word to create a tie to them so they could progress the matter.
"He''s scared," Takuma stared at Gorou. "He knows we won''t kill him, but that can''t be said about the people from the Haru group¡. If he opens his mouth, even going to the mines for a few years won''t be safe."
The problem was that Takuma didn''t know how to exploit the fear. He didn''t know how to either overshadow Gorou''s fear of the Haru Group or relieve that fear on a condition.
"We''ll try again tomorrow," Kano sighed as she stretched her arms and legs, "and if he still refuses, we move on."
Technically, they were already ''done'' with the case with Gorou¡ª getting their hands on someone in the Haru Group was them trying to make something extra of the situation.
"Alright, it''s getting late; get out, both of you," said Kano. She turned to Takuma. "Just one last thing. I don''t care how you apprehend a suspect resisting arrest as long as you don''t damage public property. A portion of the repair costs go out of our budget, and we already don''t have much of that. So, let''s try not to drain our wallets."
"Yes, ma''am." Takuma understood and did a mock salute.
He wholeheartedly understood where Kano was coming from. The Hidden Leaf Village was always in a state of damage and repair due to the presence of shinobi. Things broke due to careless use of chakra and strength, which made the government spend a significant chunk of the budget towards the maintenance of the village to keep it livable.
Takuma sighed. Of course, in the real world, disparities existed. In impoverished areas such as where Takuma lived, funds often didn''t make it through, and when they did, they were insufficient and needed to be stretched, which led to the usage of poor construction materials. The roads around his house had new potholes whenever it rained.
He could kick down light poles, crack walls, dig holes in the ground, and it would be months before anyone would move their ass to fix stuff.
Takuma shook his head and took his leave. He changed into casual clothes in the locker room before heading into the town.
Being a shinobi often turned distance into displacement. It was like marking a spot on the mini-map and heading toward it in a straight line. Takuma avoided roads by jumping roof to roof, and occasionally watching the people below him. Watching people go about their lives as he leaped over them was one of his favorite sights.
He soon reached his destination and threw a black ski mask over his face before entering an old diner from the back entrance. The diner was manned by a mother and her son in his early twenties. The back of the diner could be seen through the kitchen but not by the dining area. Both of them saw Takuma enter, but neither gave him a second glance and went back to work.
Both of them were civilians and ran a legitimate diner, but they also hosted one of the entrances to the Ring exclusive to staff members and fighters. He didn''t know what deal they had made with the Ring, and he didn''t care.
Takuma entered a back room with a well-sized hole in the middle. He stepped over the shallow wall and jumped inside. The depth was around twenty feet, and it opened up to a rough tunnel with yellow bulbs lining the ceiling that opened to the familiar corridors of the Ring. He went straight to his single-person locker room that had his gear.
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There was a knock on the door, and Scars exited the room to meet the Ring employee.
"Ready?"
Takuma nodded and slowly walked to the arena entrance.
Being rough and heavy-handed with Gorou wasn''t just to finish things swiftly; it was also to ensure that Takuma himself didn''t get injured. As it stood, Takuma''s most important asset was his body; if he got injured, it was an annoying hassle until he got fixed. He moved around a lot these days. Furthermore, he already had an occupation that risked his well-being¡ª he didn''t want to add another one.
"¡ Scars!"
Takuma ran out of the tunnel and entered the cage to the crowd''s cheers. He turned a full circle to look at all the people around the arena; it had grown double in size since his first contract days. It no longer came as a surprise to him. His fight spots had improved, making the audience improve naturally¡ª plus, he had a nine-fight win streak, attracting the gambling audience to him.
Takuma stretched his back and rolled his shoulder as he turned to face his opponent, only surprised to see a young teenager standing across from him. Ninety-nine percent of the people he fought were young adults and adults, and there were sometimes people on the cusp of adulthood¡ª but he hadn''t had someone as young as the guy in front of him. From the looks of it, his opponent couldn''t have been older than sixteen years old.
The question was, why would they pit someone as young against him? This was the 19th fight on his second contract, and he had won 14 of them¡ª a stellar record. And if you include his 42 previous wins, he was still cruising on a sixty percent win percentage.
"¡ and going against him is the Fall Hornet with a record of 13-15."
''Not even 36 fights,'' Takuma frowned.
Takuma put the thoughts aside as the announcer exited the arena and turned his attention to his opponent, Fall Hornet. The fight was in the taijutsu category, which somewhat explained why someone like Fall Hornet had been matched against him due to Fall Hornet still being an inexperienced fighter¡ª but it still didn''t explain why fight against him.
The moment the doors fell down, Takuma shot toward Fall Hornet, who assumed a stance instead of creating distance between them. If Takuma was Fall Hornet, he would''ve made a distance between them, given the gap in their record, but seeing that Fall Hornet assumed a stance, he was either confident or inexperienced.
For a moment, Takuma wondered if there was something strange with Fall Hornet and that the guy might be one of the prodigies¡ª perhaps even someone who was in a jonin team. But he put that aside almost immediately. He was on the attack, and hesitating while on offense was the last thing one should do.
He planted his foot on the ground as he pivoted and lashed out a spinning hook into Fall Hornet''s side, who went for an arm block. Fall Hornet''s legs couldn''t keep him on the ground, and he went flying to the side.
Takuma stepped on the pedal and chased after Fall Hornet as he tumbled and rolled on the ground while trying to regain his balance. Fall Hornet regained control and slid back on one knee and one foot. But when he looked up, Takuma came down at him with a punch that knocked him down despite having a block up.
Takuma didn''t miss a beat and mounted Fall Hornet on the waist and rained down strikes on his face while Fall Hornet tried to raise his joined arms to block, which didn''t go well as Takuma got in most of his punches.
Crack!
Fall Hornet''s mask cracked¡ another crack appeared¡ and another¡ until the bottom left quarter broke away, exposing the black ski mask beneath it.
Perhaps it was panic from part of the mask coming off that Fall Hornet''s arm shot up and grabbed Takuma''s hands. The fight slowed down as Fall Hornet gripped Takuma''s wrists as the latter tried to push his fists forward.
Takuma stared into Fall Hornet''s brown eyes, one of which had almost closed up due to the swelling caused by Takuma''s beat down. Takuma felt Fall Hornet''s arms shake; he put a bit more force, and the arms buckled as Fall Hornet groaned under pressure.
"You should be careful with your hands," Takuma said, his voice modulated with chakra. The next moment, Takuma opened his fist and grabbed Fall Hornet''s wrists as he jerked the grip off his wrists. "You''ll be in dire trouble if you lose one of your main weapons."
Takuma gripped Fall Hornet''s wrist tightly and twisted them the wrong way. Fall Hornet''s one eye widened. He began to shake and push underneath Takuma while trying to free his hands in desperation. Takuma felt the bones move underneath his grip before he felt the snaps.
Fall Hornet screamed as he felt his wrist break.
Takuma let one of Fall Hornet''s wrists go and launched a brutal elbow strike down on Fall Hornet''s face that knocked the lights out of him.
"Scars! Victory!" the announcer screamed.
Takuma stood up and frowned down at his opponent. The fight was easy, which was good for him; it meant more money, mission points, and he didn''t have to hire Sango for healing sessions¡ª but he couldn''t help but feel a bad taste in his mouth. Now, after the fight had ended, it was clearer than ever that Fall Hornet shouldn''t have fought him.
At that moment, he felt like he was Bishop and Fall Hornet was him.
"With this victory, Scars has established a ten-fight win streak, showing why he''s one of the rising stars!"
Takuma stepped out of the arena while the announcer hyped him up. He didn''t like to participate in the hype as it didn''t serve a purpose for him, as he didn''t need his ego stroked after every win. But he couldn''t lie that the ten-fight win steak felt pretty great¡ª so great that he wondered if he should go out to celebrate.
"Ah, Scars, my prized boy."
As soon as Takuma entered the tunnel, his mood soured upon hearing Tsubura''s voice greet him. His mood worsened when he saw the Ring''s boss'' fat face. He wanted to punch it, but Tsubura''s two bodyguards prevented him from making a move.
Why was Tsubura here?
"I must commend you for your stellar performance, boy," Tsubura said with his greasy smile. "You''re making people very happy with your fights."
''You mean I''m making you happy with my fights,'' Takuma snorted internally.
"Which is why I think it''s a great time to take things to the next level," Tsubura continued. "It''s time to make good on your contract, boy. It''s time for you to breathe some new life into the 2v1 category."
Takuma''s eyes narrowed. It had been three months since Takuma had started his second contract with the Ring, and in that time, he had jumped between the taijutsu and weapons categories, accumulating wins on his record. The opponents had gotten tougher, but so had he. The cream-of-the-crop record was proof of it.
Takuma attributed most of it to fear. He had become cautious now that he was in the Leaf Military Police Force; he had become more critical about his safety. He didn''t want to walk into training rocking a visible injury and get questioned about it¡ª he could use the training excuse a couple of times, but if it happened repeatedly, it''d be nothing but suspicion.
He believed that the raised stakes had made him better at fighting.
But now, with 2v1 introduced into the fray, Takuma felt the stakes rise once again. He felt the stress grow inside him, but he took it in.
He could do it; he had gotten better.
"It''s fitting, don''t you think? 20th fight and a ten-fight win streak on the line at your 2v1 debut," said Tsubura. "¡ I''m glad that the planning went well. Your next will be a memorable one."
Takuma''s eyes widened behind his mask.
He realized why he had fought Fall Hornet today.
He glared at Tsubura as the bad taste in his mouth worsened.
CH_4.10 (110):
Takuma sat on the sole bench in the fighter''s tunnel. Beside him stood a Ring employee, and one look told how tense he was¡ª anyone would be tense while standing close to Takuma as he was now. Even though his face was hidden behind a mask, and the dark tunnel obscured his eyes, the vibe coming from the body language was heavy and oppressive.
It couldn''t be clearer that Takuma wasn''t in a good mood.
"¡ The fight will begin shortly," said the employee.
Takuma nodded without looking up.
His debut in the 2v1 category was supposed to be a ''momentous'' day, and he wished to be in peak condition for the fight, but for the past three days, his mood had been in flames ever since his last fight.
If given a choice, Takuma wouldn''t participate in the Ring. And while aware of his feelings towards the Ring, he was cognizant of the fact that, as it stood, his life revolved around the Ring. His fights were arguably the most important part of his training, the majority of his income source, the reason behind why he sold drugs, and why he had to be so careful with everything about his personal life. Life could''ve been so much easier if the Ring wasn''t part of it¡ª but he still did it because of his future.
And perhaps it was because of that that Takuma took the Ring quite seriously. Every victory brought money, but every fight also carried the risk of injury and death to him and the opponent¡ª even though every fighter knew not to make mortal strikes, anything was possible in the heat of the battle.
Strangely so, Takuma had developed a sense of pride in what he did. For him, it took a lot of work to perform in every battle. He had to train for it, ensure he was in tip-top condition for the fight, and then actually fight while keeping in mind to minimize injuries to reduce future risk and expenditure. Which made every win precious¡ª making it hard-earned.
So, when he realized that Tsubura had rigged the fight against Fall Hornet to get him an easy win, that pride of his had been hurt. When he should''ve been happy for the quick and easy no-injury win, he felt the win was cheap. Takuma told himself he was needlessly caring about it too much, but no matter how much he repeated it to himself, he couldn''t convince himself not to feel absolute shit.
He didn''t think he had been angrier in his life.
He felt insulted.
"It''s time," said the employee.
Takuma stood up from his bench and walked to the exit. The announcer was finishing introducing the duo fighting him. He closed his eyes and focused on the crowd''s noise and cheers¡ª it was larger than usual, perhaps even larger than when he had fought Ironbull, his biggest fight in the Ring.
The hype surrounding 2v1 was huge. The arena chosen for it was also one of the larger ones to accommodate the capacity. He hadn''t been to the Ring since last week, but he had heard from one of his clients that they would watch and bet on the fight.
Takuma heard his ''stage name'' called and walked out of the tunnel sedately. Immediately, the noise levels rose and hit him like a wall. He didn''t look at anyone no matter how much they rattled the mesh walls around him, calmly walked into the arena, and only then did he look around and the crowd was indeed larger, people standing around banging shoulders against each other, screaming their throats out in anticipation of a bloody battle.
Takuma had done public speaking a couple of times, and the eyes of the crowd had bothered him, but strangely enough, the crowd in the Ring didn''t do anything for him. He had fought in front of a paltry group of few and a packed crowd¡ª they were both the same. When there was a person in front of you trying to break your bones or stick pointy metals in your body, there was no time to worry about crowds.
He then finally looked at his opponents for the day. Seeing two people in the arena other than him was somewhat strange. He hadn''t seen a 2v1 fight due to their rarity; the few times they were held, he wasn''t free to go and watch them. Adding one more person made the large arena feel smaller, which was true when you considered how much distance an average person could cover and command.
But he did know his opponents. The Ring informed the fighters about their opponents beforehand. When Takuma was new, the competition he was fighting was bottom of the barrel, so not much information was available about them. However, as he collected wins and the fights got more formidable, the opposition also rose in quality and thus had more details about them due to their popularity.
The Ring staff also got friendlier when he signed his second contract, giving him tips and tricks when he dropped by the offices after every fight. Takuma was genuinely able to understand why Ring fighters joined teams.
He squatted down as he stared at his opponents.
Two men. One of them had a simple red circle on the plain mask where the nose was supposed to be, and the source of his name¡ª Clown Nose. And his partner for the fight¡ª Stonehands, a name that allegedly came from abnormally large hands, disproportionate to the man''s height and better-suited someone seven feet tall¡ª big enough to palm a basketball comfortably.
Both of them were on their second contract, each having more fights than him¡ª but they had records worse than him. From what the announcer had announced, it seemed both had a sub-50%-win record.
It made sense for them to have a worse record than him. It wouldn''t make sense from a betting perspective if both members of the duo were of the same level as the solo opponent. A balance needed to be struck so that the audience could see both sides winning¡ª two people working together to defeat a stronger opponent or a comparatively stronger fighter edging out a victory against two people working together in tandem¡ª only then would the betting odds work.
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Takuma kept his eyes on his opponents, who whispered to each other; because of their masks, Takuma couldn''t read their lips, and the crowd noise made it impossible to eavesdrop. But he was able to read some of their body language.
''They haven''t made a plan,'' thought Takuma.
He stood up and walked towards them as soon as the announcer began to walk towards the exit. Seeing Takuma suddenly move, Clown Nose and Stonehands broke their conversation and moved away from each other, taking positions in a hurried manner.
As it was Takuma''s first 2v1 fight, Tsubura had made it in the taijutsu sub-category, meaning weapons weren''t allowed. Takuma clenched his fist as his stride widened, and he was sprinting by the time the announcer stepped out.
Stonehands ran forward and stood in front of Clown Nose, who began to move sideways.
Takuma saw Stonehands raise his massive hands into fists, ready in a fighting stance to engage him in a battle. But Takuma didn''t slow down, and the moment he was in Stonehands'' range, Takuma leaped over Stonehands'' head, passing him without a confrontation.
"Wha¡ª"
Takuma didn''t look back at Stonehands and zoned in towards Clown Nose, who was taken by surprise. Takuma did a short hop and planted a spinning kick that was blocked but followed by two more kicks before his feet touched, one of which caught Clown Nose in the hip.
"Ugh," Clown Nose grunted lightly, but the kick didn''t seem to do much damage as he whipped out a punch towards Takuma''s face that he dodged by shifting his head to the side and followed by an uppercut body shot, digging his fist below Clown Nose''s chest.
Clown Nose''s body folded, opening up opportunities to deal more damage to Clown Nose, but Takuma was aware that he was fighting two people.
He grabbed Clown Nose''s shoulders with both hands and fell on the floor, pulling Clown Nose with him before kicking Clown Nose over him. Stonehands, who was rushing towards Clown Nose and Takuma, was again met by an unexpected surprise when he saw Clown Nose thrown towards him. Stonehands had no choice but to catch his teammate instead of attacking Takuma.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Clown Nose replied. "Y-Yeah, I''m good. Let''s¡ª" But before he could even finish his sentence, Stonehands pushed him to the side.
It was because Stonehands saw Takuma over Clown Nose''s shoulder.
Takuma took a quick step towards the duo and wanted to hit Clown Nose on his back, but when he saw Stonehands push Clown Nose away, his eyes flashed, and he simply changed the target. His tensed arm shot out with chakra flowing through the muscles, augmenting a devastating strength in the strike.
Bang!
Stonehands'' arms raised to block met Takuma''s fist. He couldn''t stay on his feet and shot back like a cannonball from the force that screamed out of Takuma''s chakra augmentation.
The crowd raised a crazed ruckus, filling the underground with an energy that could only be seen in a gladiator arena.
Despite the successful attack, Takuma clicked his tongue. His skill with chakra augmentation had come a long way since he had first broken his arm using it¡ª and the recent fights in the taijutsu categories especially had helped him grow the skill. While he was far from perfect, and the augmentation still backfired occasionally, his control had surged. And with that skill increase, Takuma added another layer of experimentation to the chakra augmentation.
He had begun trying to focus the burst of chakra that surged out on impact in an effort to concentrate the damage into a smaller area.
But it hadn''t gone that way right now, and instead of the chakra concentrating into a shorter area, it had expanded, thus diluting the damage over a larger area¡ª which had sent Stonehand flying instead of perhaps inflicting a tiny hair-line fracture into Stonehand''s arms.
Takuma didn''t ponder the moment and turned to Clown Nose and charged him. They hadn''t communicated beforehand, and from what Takuma understood, the best way to manage a 2v1 fight was to separate them and then deal with them one at a time.
Clown Nose had enough time to gather himself and was ready when Takuma came at him, and within an instant, they exchanged strikes with speeds that blurred their arms to the untrained eye.
Clown Nose screwed a punch into Takuma''s side, but not without Takuma striking a palm strike behind Clown Nose''s ear. Takuma stumbled a few steps due to the pain in his side, but he bit the inside of his cheek when he saw Clown Nose grabbing the side of his head in pain.
He skipped a step forward and launched a taekwondo-styled high side kick that clipped Clown Nose''s chin before digging into the throat.
Takuma felt a wave of exhilaration shoot through him that erased all the anger he was feeling from before the fight. He never knew the feeling of landing a satisfying strike before coming to this world, but after over two years of learning combat, he cherished every time he got to experience a perfectly executed strike. There were few things that could match that experience.
Even before Clown Nose collapsed to the ground, Takuma knew that he was done. And as he expected, Clown Nose crumbled flat down on the arena floor.
Takuma turned away from Clown Nose and faced Stonehands. He didn''t rush forward, and neither did Stonehands, whose arms were now trembling. Both of them knew that the dynamics of the fight had changed¡ª with Clown Nose out of the game, the fight was no longer 2v1.
It was now a regular fight¡ª but a regular fight between two fighters who weren''t on the same level.
Takuma didn''t take the foot off the pedal and charged for Stonehands, who shook his hands and got ready for the clash. Takuma took to the air with his leg stretched forward, but before it could hit, Stonehand''s giant claws grabbed onto Takuma''s leg, and he swung Takuma around with surprising strength. The giant hand wrapped around Takuma''s ankle like a cuff.
Takuma had his entire balance and momentum stripped from him, but while he was being pulled mid-air, his eyes were trained on Stonehands, giving him a place to focus. He bent his knees, and before he was slammed to the ground, he snapped a kick into Stonehands'' upper chest.
Stonehands'' grip loosened around Takuma''s ankle, but the momentum was already enough to slam Takuma into the arena floor, knocking all the air out of his lungs. He freed his foot from Stonehands'' grip but was left in a worse position than him.
It took a moment for both fighters to recover before they were back into the fight. Stonehands went for a stomp that Takuma avoided with a roll to the side and immediately struck out with a sweeping kick to take out Stonehands'' legs, getting him to the ground.
Takuma immediately rolled to the side and jumped on Stonehands'' back, and the next moment, one of his arms snaked around Stonehands'' neck while the other arm locked the head in between two arms before Takuma began applying pressure.
Stonehands must''ve felt the danger from what was happening as he started to thrash around while trying to get Takuma off his back, but Takuma wasn''t going to let the opportunity go as he kneed Stonehands in the back while increasing the pressure around Stonehands'' neck.
"Rargh!"
Stonehands tried to stand up, and with his superior strength, he was able to stand up with Takuma on his back with legs wrapped around his waist. But the moment Stonehands was able to stabilize himself, his eyes partially rolled up, and he stumbled back for a couple of steps before falling again with Takuma, not letting the pressure around the neck go.
Stonehands hands clawed for Takuma''s arm for a few moments before the entire body went limp.
Takuma let go of Stonehands and stood up with labored breathing while looking down at Stonehands and then at the unconscious Clown Nose in the distance.
And then he raised his arm, which the crowd took as the signal to go cause an underground earthquake.
CH_4.11 (111):
Takuma sighed as he knocked on the heavy metal door, uncharacteristic of a grocery store''s back door. The sun had long set down, and he was hungry because he hadn''t had the time to have dinner¡ª but here he was, hungry and exhausted after a day''s worth of hard work, most of it spent outside under the sun.
He heard a pair of footsteps that abruptly stopped. The slot in the door slid open, and the man behind the door sighed before opening the door. Unfortunately, the guard behind the door wasn''t the only one in the corridor; another man stood in the middle of the corridor.
He and Takuma met eyes, and almost straight away, the other man clicked his tongue upon seeing Takuma and walked past him, exiting the building with a displeased face. Takuma didn''t say anything or acknowledge the man and simply fixed the mask over his face that imparted him another identity.
The fact that he hid his face didn''t sit well with many of the dealers under Ryuu; they didn''t like to be so closely connected to someone they didn''t know anything about. Takuma couldn''t blame them, and as long as they didn''t mess with him, he didn''t mind facing their displeased reactions from time to time. However, if they tried to disrupt his business, he would find where it hurt most and strike them there.
Ryuu''s grocery store acted as a front for his drug dealing business. The first floor ran a profitable grocery business, while the basement was the drug shop that racked in even more, selling a commodity with a demand that never seemed to dwindle.
Takuma walked down the familiar stairs to the basement almost every week to renew his stash; it was a bother to visit every week, so much so that he had arrived today to increase his order so that he could cut his visits to every other week.
In the basement, one of Ryuu''s men acknowledged Takuma.
"Late, aren''t ya, Tobi." While many disliked Takuma, he wasn''t without ''friends.'' Some people were civil with him, and he usually only interacted with these people.
"Work''s a bitch," said Takuma, his voice distorted. He handed the man two thick stacks of cash and told him the order.
"Oh? This is more than usual," said the man as he counted the cash, "and you''re getting more of the better stuff today, huh."
"Got me a few folks who can afford the better stuff," replied Takuma. There were different strains of weed, some more potent, some providing a different experience than others¡ª people had their preferences, and they had their budgets. Recently, Takuma had found a few clients who could afford the better stuff, and he was more than happy to fulfill their demands because the better quality always had a better margin.
The man took out the produce, weighed it, and packed them in zip-lock bags before handing them to Takuma, who double-packed them in heavy-duty zip-lock bags. With the exchange done, Takuma was about to leave when the man spoke to him,
"The boss wanted to see you."
Takuma looked deeper into the large basement, where a small office made from sheet metal stood. After their first meeting, Takuma had only met Ryuu occasionally?¡ª once a month on average. Other than those, he usually only dealt with Ryuu''s underlings who worked directly for him.
"Why?" asked Takuma. "Did he say why he wanted to meet me?"
The man shrugged his shoulders as he marked some entries into a ledger. "If he did, he didn''t tell me. You should hurry, it''s already late, and I doubt he''ll be happy if you keep him waiting much longer."
Takuma sighed. He was tired and wanted to go home, but he couldn''t say no to his supplier. He walked to the office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Takuma stepped inside the room and was immediately hit by a sweet smell lingering in the room. His eyes went to a candle sitting in the corner of the room, releasing wisps of smoke. It was a special-made candle, crazy effective at getting rid of smells¡ª one of Takuma''s best-selling accessories that he had to buy from another shop to sell to his clients.
"You wanted to meet?" he asked.
"Sit," Ryuu said from behind his desk. He read an old leather book with a title that Takuma couldn''t spot because of the faded leather. "How''s the business going?"
"Decent," said Takuma.
Ryuu chuckled, "Don''t say that to other people."
"What''s this about?"
"In a hurry, are you?" Ryuu looked up from his book.
"It''s getting late, and I''m sure both of us want to return home now."
"That''s why I like you, kid. So straight to the point, it''s refreshing," Ryuu closed the book and looked up at Takuma. "I want you to do something for me."
"I refuse," Takuma directly shot down the topic. "We are supplier-and-dealer. I pay you upfront, and you give me the product. There''s no need for anything to be added to our dynamic."
"Well, things change, kid. It''s the natural world order," said Ryuu, unperturbed, "and if I say I want you to do something for me, you don''t have a choice in the matter."
Takuma''s eyes narrowed behind his mask. "What if I refuse?" he asked.
Takuma didn''t see this coming. Until he had stepped into the office, nothing had given him any inkling regarding the current situation. He would''ve prepared in some ways if he had seen it coming. Even though he didn''t know what Ryuu was asking him, Takuma did not doubt that it would be bothersome.
"If you refuse, we end our little business right here," said Ryuu with a smile. "I like you, kid, but you aren''t an easy one to work with. In our business, trust is everything¡ª and there are things that give substance to that trust, which you don''t really have. I love working with you, and you''re a good customer, but the fact remains that I know nothing about you, and you know everything about me¡ª who I am, where I work, who I deal with¡. That''s not fair, don''t you think?
Simply put, I need the incentive to put myself at this risk."
Takuma felt his heart grow heavy. He had finally begun to feel comfortable with dealing and had built a good amount of repeat customers who were coming back in their cycles, which brought him a reliable income.
He had moved to a new stage in his career and life¡ª however, things hadn''t changed much from before. Before Takuma had joined Iruka''s team, he was like any Genin Corp genin who took a comfortable base pay and tried to bolster it with a day-in-day-out series of D-rank missions that paid peanuts.
Then Enomoto gave him the ticket to the Ring, another avenue to additional income¡ª which he didn''t see for three months, but at that time, he didn''t have a need for it, and when the bulk pay hit, he had utilized the mission points to buy himself a new set of shiny jutsu while keeping the cash in the bank to collect some interest. However, that money wasn''t given the time to collect as the entry to the Ring''s weapons category brought an additional expense in the form of Sango''s treatments. With a bump in lethality, he needed support that would allow him to keep fighting and maintain a normal life, but that support was costly, and it quickly ate into that cash pool sitting in the bank.
If it were just that, Takuma wouldn''t have many problems. His other source of income was enough for a comfortable life¡ª not one of luxury and indulgence, but one where he wasn''t sacrificing basic creature comforts¡ª the stable infusion of C-rank missions under Iruka brought an income higher than most Genin Corp genin.
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However, he had more expenditures. Ring provided him an opportunity to improve his combat prowess while earning¡ª other skills weren''t so ''giving.''
Improvements cost money.
Learning new things cost money.
If he wanted to work on his shurikenjutsu skills, he needed to book training facilities with moving targets, plus the buying and maintenance costs of kunai and shuriken that would chip and bend after repeated use. Locksmithing required him to buy new locks to keep himself up to date. Working on safes had him pay experienced locksmiths for their time and access to safes to practice on. Training facilities for his work towards seeing in low visibility while fighting with the Hidden Mist Jutsu cost money. New high-quality maps for cartography were costly as he built his collection (and maps weren''t the only things he had gotten in the habit of collecting).
Takuma was even learning how to ride a horse on the weekends because no other shinobi seemingly knew how to, and he thought it to be a unique skill in case he needed to pretend to be a civilian merchant. He had recently enrolled himself in a class that taught how to work a field radio for communication and had bought himself a second-hand radio for practice that took a lot of space in his small house. Similarly, he had worked on Morse Code proficiency during his first year as a genin, which had similarly cost money.
He attended the first-aid and other field emergency treatment classes in hospitals for practice because the last time he had stuffed gauze into an open wound in a foreign land, it was overly messy, revealing that attending those classes once wasn''t enough and that he needed practice. Those classes were quite affordable, but they still cost some money.
There were ten other things that poked tiny prick-sized holes in the water bag known as his ryo reserves.
Working in the police force came with yet another set of requirements that had him learn new things¡ªthe training period had felt like he was back in school with a lot of theoretical (and practical) learning regarding how to investigate and process crimes and the shinobi law.
He had books that the Police Force gave him free of cost, and his status as a shinobi and Police Force member granted him access to the general shinobi libraries and the Police Force archives¡ª but that didn''t mean he didn''t need to buy new books which he always needed on hand due to their importance. Those books, once again, were expensive.
In this world, Takuma realized how lucky he had been to have access to the internet, where he could get a seemingly infinite amount of free information and knowledge at his fingertips¡ªwithout that all-important utility, accessing various resources cost money if he wanted to learn anything.
If he could choose one motto to live his life by, then it would be Maruboshi''s words that Takuma spoke to himself every day:
''¡ªA shinobi is more than the chakra he wields¡ª''
And thus, he couldn''t stop learning.
He couldn''t afford to let go of the drug dealing money because it enabled him to continue learning. The Police Force might have been a big step forward for his career, but when it came from a monetary standpoint, Takuma had only gotten a 15% pay hike from his Team Iruka days¡ª the Police Force had used their reputation, and the current political unrest to lowball their new recruits, who couldn''t say anything in the face of the great opportunity they were given. Takuma was one of the lucky ones, the special recruits, who had gotten a pay hike¡ª most of them were either earning as much or in some rare cases lower than before.
He was satisfied with what the Police Force did for his resume, but he really expected them to pay him more.
Mission points might be an important currency in the world of shinobi, but cold hard cash (ryo) still made the world go around. Civilians and practically every career genin preferred ryo because the former couldn''t use mission points, and the latter no longer used mission points as much.
Mission points could be used to buy equipment and other things, but Takuma had decided to earmark every single mission point for jutsu purchases¡ª and nothing else.
He had even fucked himself in the short-term by the terms of his Ring contract. It was biased towards mission points over ryo. From per-fight winnings, to win-streak bonuses, his contract made sure it would maximize his mission points. It was good for him in the long-run, but not so much when he looked at the short-term.
As it stood, Takuma was not living paycheck to paycheck with close to no ryo savings, but he cut it close every month¡ª and he didn''t care about savings that much as he thought investing in himself was better, but that didn''t mean he didn''t understand the importance of saving money for a rainy day.
Street dealing, with its lean margins, had finally begun to grow to a level that he could actually save a little bit.
He weighed the pros and cons, and the result told him that the best possible thing for him was to stay with Ryuu and continue. Changing things now would halt his business, tear his clients away from him, and would set him back several steps that would be a pain to climb back up.
"So be it," said Takuma as he stood up. He would build his business back up. "Short it may be, but it was a good run. I wish you continued success."
He would go to Enomoto and have the chunin introduce him to one of the other suppliers under Enomoto. Ryuu wasn''t the only one who bought from Enomoto; there were a couple more suppliers who bought from Enomoto.
"Did you ever think why Enomoto brought you to me?" Ryuu asked as Takuma turned his back to him. Takuma paused with his hand on the doorknob. "You''ve been doing this long enough to understand how unique your position is. Do you think someone else would be willing to work with you without knowing your identity? Do you believe Enomoto would vouch for you another time?"
Takuma bit the inside of his cheek.
He couldn''t deny Ryuu''s pointed questions. In the several months he had been dealing, he hadn''t met a single dealer, no matter the supplier, who hid their identity as he did. It was because of Enomoto''s vouching that Ryuu accepted Takuma. And as Ryuu said, the chances of Enomoto vouching for him another time might not work if the supplier didn''t want to work with Takuma. Enomoto couldn''t ¨Cwouldn''t-¨C force them. It was bad business.
"As far as I know, I was the only one even willing to meet with you when Enomoto told us about your condition," Ryuu continued. "How do you think it''ll look to others on the outside when they see me and you fall out?"
It''d be terrible.
As Takuma began to rethink his decision, he realized that he was being overly optimistic. His one advantage had become the biggest hindrance, keeping him from moving on.
At the same time, he didn''t want to slow down his progress as a shinobi. He was in the Police Force, and from his chance meeting with Naruto, he knew the little blonde was already in the academy. Takuma didn''t know when the Uchiha massacre would happen, but he knew it was close. He had to keep learning; make himself more valuable.
"Sit down, kid. If you leave now, even if you agree later, the offer will be closed," Ryuu said. "The way I see it¡ª you get to keep your identity a secret, and I get a little something out of it. Disagree if you will, but this is your best option. You''re a shinobi; treat me as a patron and what I ask you as a mission. It''s simple if you look at it that way. In return, just like a patron, I''ll pay you in the form of a discount on the product."
Takuma disagreed wholeheartedly, but he sat down.
"What''s the job?" he asked.
"I want you to deliver something across the village."
"Why can''t your people do it?"
"Because my men are known for their association with me. We can''t be connected to this. You, on the other hand, are an unknown; change your look a little bit and drop the package at the destination¡ª nothing more, nothing less."
"What''s in the package?"
"The less you know, the better for everyone," said Ryuu.
"This has been great." Takuma stood up. "I''ll not do a job if I don''t know everything about it." He understood where Ryuu was coming from, but after the Land of Frost, he preferred to know more, even if that knowledge later became a curse later on.
Ryuu didn''t say anything.
Takuma shrugged and moved to exit the office. It was a pity that he would no longer be able to work with Ryuu, as that was the most stable thing for him in the drug business. He knew that the chances of getting another supplier were on the floor.
Even if he revealed his identity and became like every other dealer wouldn''t work because when people knew that he was in the Police Force, they wouldn''t touch him with a ten-feet pole.
It was over¡ he would find some way else to earn more, or else cut down his classes.
"Soldier pills and other medicinal mixtures."
Takuma''s lips curled briefly up behind his mask before he turned back and sat down.
"Who''s the recipient?" asked Takuma.
"You''re to drop the package in a location. Someone will collect it after you''re gone," said Ryuu.
Takuma let the room sit in silence as he matched his eyes with Ryuu.
Ryuu sighed, "Are you sure you want to know, kid? Sometimes it''s better not to know and leave things behind."
"I don''t want to do this, but if you''re going to have me do this job, I need you to answer all of my questions," said Takuma.
"The Maiko Triad," answered Ryuu.
Takuma''s eyes narrowed when he heard the name. He knew about the Maiko Triads from both his time as a dealer and from the information binders he had to memorize during the Police Force training period.
They were dangerous people; some very not nice shinobi.
Takuma''s eyes shined.
"Alright, let''s do this," he said.
"I knew you wouldn''t refuse me, kid," Ryuu''s words along with a few chuckles followed Takuma as he walked out of the office.
Takuma looked up at the starry sky outside and sighed as he lit a blunt.
He had agreed to Ryuu, but that didn''t mean he was going to do it. From the looks of it, he most probably was going to do it¡ª but not before he paid Enomoto a visit to see if he could get some help from that avenue before he was forced to fulfill his commitment.
He felt twice as fatigued as before, but his appetite had been thoroughly killed.
CH_4.12 (112)
Takuma clicked his tongue as he stomped into Ring''s medical room with a nasty cut on his dangling and dripping right arm held into place by his left. A gambit not paying up and instead resulting in failure was one of the worst feelings during a battle, especially when the result was losing the dominant arm and dangerous blood loss.
He deposited himself onto a backless stool; wordlessly, curtains created a boundary, hiding him from the rest of the room. Frustrated about his loss, Takuma removed his mask and chucked it at the curtain.
"Grumpy today, aren''t we," Sango said as she attached the Velcro tabs to seal the curtains.
Takuma removed his sweaty ski mask and dropped it unceremoniously on the table. He had lost his winning streak, his winnings per fight were going to reset to the base state without the streak bonus, and his dominant arm was going to feel weak for a couple of days¡ª he felt like smashing things to ease the frustration bubbling inside him.
Instead, he just closed his eyes as Sango patched up his arm in silence.
Eventually, he asked, "What did he say?"
"He says he''s busy," Sango replied.
This either meant that Enomoto didn''t want to meet or didn''t want anything to do with the conflict between Ryuu and Takuma.
Takuma held back a sigh as the answer stroked the flames of his frustration. The relationship between Takuma and Enomoto was one ''controlled'' by Enomoto¡ª most of their interactions were initiated by Enomoto, leaving Takuma without a way to contact him. So, the last time Takuma had wanted to contact Enomoto, he had done it through Sango¡ª so this time as well, he had done the same.
In case Enomoto was actually busy, Takuma couldn''t wait for a time to open up in Enomoto''s schedule, as Ryuu had already given him the date when the delivery needed to go down.
It seemed he had no choice but to go through with the delivery.
"Take this." Sango gave him a little sachet of a rusty brown powder. "Mix it with a glass of water and down it in a gulp because it tastes horrible."
Takuma took the sachet, stared at the contents inside, and felt the gears turn in his mind. He looked up at Sango, who was cleaning up the table.
"Hey," he said, "I might have a job for you¡."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"This is it."
Takuma looked at the two large black duffle bags on the floor.
"Don''t screw this up. If this doesn''t reach the Maiko Triad, you''re going to be the one to blame. Then both us and them will come hunt you down, and it won''t be good for you, you bastard. You better not screw up!"
Takuma ignored the chatter, knelt beside the duffle bags, and began checking the straps and zip of the bags to check their durability and find the weak points. He then stepped away and pointed at the bags,
"Open them," he said.
"What?"
Takuma glanced at one of Ryuu''s underlings and pointed at the bags,
"Open them. I want to see what''s inside."
He had to verify Ryuu''s words about the contents being soldier pills and medicinal mixtures before he sent them across the village¡ª and to ensure the bags were booby trapped in any way.
"Show it to him," said one of the underlings further back.
The underling near Takuma clicked his tongue and unzipped both bags to reveal packs over packs of soldier pills, medicinal mixtures, and even some vials with liquids.
''There''s no seal,'' Takuma noted.
The underling scoffed, "Happy?"
Takuma wasn''t happy. He knelt beside the bags and dug his hands deep inside to check every corner to ensure nothing was hidden underneath.
"Looks about right," said Takuma and zipped everything back on his own so they wouldn''t be able to sneak anything at the last moment. "Give me the location," he asked.
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He got a piece of paper with the address that was burned immediately after Takuma memorized the address.
"Alright, I''ll get going."
Takuma adjusted the ski mask on his face. Today, he didn''t have a rigid front mask and simply put on a ski mask with black paint around his eyes and mouth to cover everything.
He stepped out of the building different from Ryuu''s grocery store. They had arranged the pick-up spot to be away from Ryuu''s store so there wouldn''t be any connection in case someone was looking.
By the time Takuma stepped out, the sun was already down, and the sky was perhaps half an hour from turning completely dark.
Takuma didn''t take the shortest path to the destination and instead ran around the village, popping in and out of streets and alleyways, even sometimes running into crowds under the guise of Transformation Jutsu, which he changed every couple of minutes. It was a standard practice to lose a tail which Takuma wasn''t sure he had, but he still spent an entire twenty minutes running around the village until he was satisfied that he didn''t have someone following him.
He couldn''t use Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu because of the village''s population density and architecture. There were too many people for him to tell if someone was following him¡ª and even if he went somewhere deserted, the jutsu couldn''t sense if people were on the buildings.
After he was sure no one was following him, Takuma entered a random building and went to the top of the staircase, where he sat down and opened the duffle bags.
He took out a couple of the soldier pills, one of each mixture, and took out fresh vials from his person and took a drop or two out of a few filled vials for each medicinal liquid. He sampled everything that was available and stored it on his person before repacking everything, leaving no proof that anything had been tampered with. The quantity of everything was so much that he was sure they wouldn''t notice anything was missing.
Once he was done, Takuma once again stepped out of the building, and only then did he make a bee-line towards the destination.
He had only been to this part of the village a few times, and most of it was in passing, but he knew that it was a little inside the edge of the Maiko Triad''s territory. Takuma entered the block stealthily, covering his tracks, and applying every trick and tip he had learned in his time as a shinobi.
From one street across, Takuma looked at an abandoned building through a pair of binoculars. It was difficult to make out much due to the dark sky and the lack of light, but he wanted to see if there was anyone inside the building.
He was asked to drop the bags in the middle of the second floor; after which his job was done.
Takuma spotted a half-open window on the third floor and decided it would be his entry point. He hopped on the roof before putting power and chakra in his legs that launched him to the side of the building. His feet met the side, and immediately chakra grabbed onto the surface. He didn''t make any noise but still moved into the building in case someone looked up.
The building seemed to be like every other dilapidated building of which Takuma had seen several around his neighborhood. He located the staircase and silently stepped onto the second floor, where he couldn''t detect any presence.
He threw a rock to see if he could make someone hiding flinch, but nothing made a peep or shuffle.
After a while, Takuma finally let his shoulders drop and walked to the middle of the floor, where he gently placed the bags before leaving the building the same way he came in.
He didn''t stop to look at who would come to collect the delivery because he knew that even if someone wasn''t inside the building, someone around the block was keeping an eye out ¡ª he didn''t even need to check.
If Takuma were confident in his stealth ability, he would''ve hung around, but he wasn''t, and he didn''t like the chances of combat in case he was met with multiple combatants in an area unfamiliar to him.
It was a pity, but he already got what he needed.
The winds that day were cold, bringing a little relief to the heat of the summer.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat across from Sango in a restaurant of her choice. Of course, like every time they ate together, it was his treat. If it were another girl, he would''ve only treated someone this much if he was trying to court her¡ª but in the case of the girl in front of him, these dinners were strictly business.
"So, show them to me," Sango asked after placing her order.
Takuma took out the samples he had stolen from the delivery and placed them on the table. Sango picked the pouches and vials and observed them with lazy eyes that had a sharp gaze in them.
"Can you tell me who made these?" asked Takuma.
"Possibly, if there isn''t anything special about them, but I''d need to test them to know the specifics," said Sango. "Why do you want to know?"
Takuma shrugged, not giving an answer.
"It''d cost you," she said.
"I''m ready to pay¡ª"
"Mission points," Sango interjected.
Takuma''s eyes sharpened. He wanted to call it off, but at the same time, he didn''t have a choice. Sango was the only person he could go to. He knew two other iryo-nin, but both of them were non-options. He didn''t want to involve Enomoto, and he couldn''t explain to Taro''s dad why he wanted to know where the unknown samples came from. Applying for an identification request in the Police Force would be too risky if he was asked to explain the origin of the samples.
Thus, Sango.
"Half in mission points; half in ryo," he said.
"Mission points," she repeated.
Takuma wanted to groan but kept his expression straight.
"Okay... but only if you find a match. If you fail, I won''t pay jack shit," he said.
Sango glared at him as if she felt insulted.
Takuma didn''t mind. If he was going to pay in precious mission points, then he wanted guaranteed results.
"¡Okay," she said.
Takuma narrowed his eyes but shrugged.
Sango pulled the menu that she had pushed away earlier and called,
"Waiter!"
¡ This bitch.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma walked into the Police Force''s archives, not the one with all the informational books, but the one with the case files and information dossiers. He patiently filled out a form and joined the short line at the counter with other Police Force members, who were there with their objectives.
When his time came, he passed the form to the person behind the counter.
"What do you want?" asked the man as he browsed the form.
Takuma answered,
"Whatever you can give me about the Maiko Triad."
CH_4.13 (113)
Arisu stared at the man slumped against the wall with no life in his eyes. The numerous gashes and bruises, the kunai handle sticking out of the chest, and the blood on and around the body told a story of a struggle better than any amount of words could. It was a horrifying sight, but Arisu continued to stare in an effort to find the chain of events that had led to this.
Turning away from the man, she looked to the middle of the building''s ground-floor lobby, where another body lay with a sword sticking out its gut, surrounded by a pool of blood staining the dirty gray floor.
Two dead men on the ground floor of the apartment complex didn''t come as a surprise to her. She had seen many similar situations, especially in the type of neighborhood they were called to. And the blade tracks and shuriken in the walls, sole prints on the ceiling, and light jutsu damage around the scene made it evident they were dealing with shinobi.
''What a waste,'' she sighed to herself.
Arisu saw Kano enter the building and walked to the second man to join Takuma.
"Is everything tagged?" asked Kano.
"Yes, ma''am," Arisu replied.
Takuma, who was observing the second man, pointed over at the dead body with a pen as he spoke, "Brutal¡ A lot of bruising on the front of the neck, from the lower leg I can tell that the other guy was really trying to hobble this one by striking the calf and knee¡ and look at this," Takuma pointed at the man''s left eye, "he even tried to poke the eye out¡ª that other guy was trying to impair him to get in the murder strike. Straight for the liver." Takuma touched the sword blade with his pen, making a ting against the metal.
"Same for that one," Arisu pointed at the man against the wall.
"Any signs of a third party?" asked Kano.
Arisu shook her head. "No, from the looks of it, only these two were involved." The wounds and state of the violence around the scene were congruent to a scene created by two people fighting each other. "We will have to look deeper after tagging everything to know for sure."
Kano squatted by the dead body and observed in silence for a minute before sighing,
"Well, haven''t we seen this before," she sighed.
Takuma titled his head.
"Any identification?" Kano asked.
"We got one of them," Arisu held up the shinobi registration card she got from the dead shinobi.
Takuma held up the same for the second guy.
"Good. Yup, this checks out. Let''s wrap this up," Kano took the registration cards from them.
"What was that about?" Arisu asked as Kano walked away to the other body.
Takuma stared at Kano. From the looks of it, he also found her behavior strange, but he shrugged.
"She will tell us later. Come on, I want to get out of here," he said.
Arisu frowned. It was Kano who had told them to come to the crime scene to inspect it. And she knew that the Homicide department was swamped and that they had to shift case load to other departments. It wasn''t that Organized Crime didn''t handle killings¡ª in fact, they handled more killings than Homicide due to the fact that there were a lot of deaths connected to organized crime.
The fact that Kano had ordered them meant she knew the connection.
''Why not tell us right away,'' she thought.
¡ª¡ª
.
"We got confirmation on the identity from the two we found in the Rabani building," Kano said to Arisu and Takuma after calling them into her office.
Arisu furrowed her brows a smidge. They already knew the two men from their shinobi registration, and they had already gone to their houses and talked to their neighbors about them. She was confused as to what confirmation Kano was talking about.
"I see you''re confused," Kano said to Arisu, surprising her.
"¡ Yes. What''s this about, ma''am?"
"Close the door," Kano said to Takuma, who stood up and closed the office door. "I will preface what I''m about to tell you by saying that you are not allowed to discuss what I''m about to tell you with anyone outside the Force. Don''t gossip about it with others if it''s unrelated to a case¡ª and if you have any questions, come to me, and I''ll tell you what you need to know¡."
Arisu was even more confused but stood up straighter as she was about to get some answers. In the couple days of the investigation, the case seemed to be an open and shut case, with the two shinobi killing each other over some conflict. The friends of one man didn''t know the other, and neither did their close mission team members and peers¡ª which did raise questions about the reason behind the fight.
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They hadn''t found the signs of a third party on the crime scene¡ª but that didn''t mean there wasn''t one involved indirectly.
The crime scene was called the Rabani building, a cheap apartment building in one of the downtrodden and low-income districts of the Hidden Leaf. Neither men''s home were anywhere near the Rabani building, and after some digging around, they found that one of the men was ''seeing'' a woman who lived in the building. After they interrogated her, the woman admitted that she knew one of the men but refuted knowing the other one. From the looks of it, she wasn''t lying. So, they eliminated the theory of a love triangle gone wrong.
One of the theories they were considering was of an assassination. One of the shinobi was asked to kill another one. It was illegal, and the punishments were severe for the person issuing the hit and the assassin¡ª but it still happened here and there in a village full of shinobi. Arisu was following that theory and had asked for their bank records to see if she could find something there; they were supposed to be delivered tomorrow afternoon.
"We will be closing the investigation," Kano''s words snapped Arisu out of her thoughts. "The two killed each other; that''s it."
"What! Why?!" Arisu stood up from her chair.
"Sit down; I''m not done yet," Kano said.
Arisu reluctantly sat down and stared hard at Kano, her eyes demanding an answer.
Kano sighed, "¡ Those two were part of something called The Ring. Do you know what that is?"
Ring? Arisu shook her head. "No, what is it?"
"It''s an underground gladiator arena where shinobi fight each other in front of an audience for money," Kano''s words shocked Arisu. "Those two were fighters in the Ring, and one of our contacts in the Ring tells us that they had a fight a week back. The loss didn''t sit well with Kimoto, and well¡ he decided to have a rematch. The contact tells us that Kimoto was very dissatisfied with the fight and wanted to reschedule one, but the Ring refused to do so any time soon, which might have led him to find Mihara at his sidepiece''s home.
Now you have the motive, and from the crime scene, we don''t see a third-party involvement. A clear close-and-shut case. Process it as such."
Arisu was shocked and turned to look at Takuma, who looked to be taking in the information.
"How¡ is that still going on?" Arisu asked. She knew for a fact that shinobi weren''t allowed to fight each other as a sport. Any sort of underground combat was prohibited.
And from Kano''s words, she clearly knew about it; the Police Force knew about it. If they knew about it, why had they let something like that exist?
"It''s an open secret of sorts. We know about it, but we don''t do anything about it because we are told to do so," Kano explained. "It''s used as a tool to train Hidden Leaf shinobi''s combat preparedness. The fighters that fight each other get better due to the exposure to combat and earn while doing it, allowing them to grow stronger if they wish to do so.
Helps a lot of clanless shinobi develop¡."
Arisu once again glanced at Takuma beside her. He must''ve noticed her looking at him because he looked back. He didn''t have much expression on his face, but that was him most of the time.
Takuma turned back to Kano. He asked, "You identified them instantly when you arrived at the scene. Did you know one of them or both from before and that they were from the Ring?"
"I didn''t know them."
"Then how?"
"It doesn''t happen often, but we do see cases like this. I''ve seen a few of them in the last few years. The Ring fighters all fight a certain way, influenced by each other, it keeps changing year by year, but some things are carried over¡ I have formed an eye for the injuries which Ring fighters usually inflict¡ª it''s not anything unique and there are other unrelated cases with similar injuries, so we usually confirm with our contact inside the Ring. But this time, we were given the information by our contact beforehand that an incident had happened."
Arisu was still reeling from the discovery of an apparent underground gladiator. She had lived her entire life in the Hidden Leaf, and to suddenly find out that there was something so big was jarring when her first exposure to it was through a double murder.
"How big is it?" she asked.
"Bigger than you might think," said Kano. "It has been here in the village for a long time. You''ll find people older than me and people as young as you in the Ring."
"Fuck me," Arisu cursed.
Takuma asked, "This Ring¡. What is our relationship with them?"
"Not much. We know to ignore their operations, and they make sure not to come to the surface. When cases like this and some others do arise, they provide us with anything we want to make them go away because that''s good for both of us."
"Do we have a list of the Ring fighters on file?" Takuma asked.
Kano shook her head.
Takuma leaned against the chair. He was done asking questions.
Arisu asked a few questions before they left Kano''s office.
"You don''t seem too surprised by the Ring," Arisu said to Takuma¡ª not anywhere close to as she was.
Takuma sat down at his desk. "I''ve heard about something like that existing. Didn''t think it was real, but can''t say I''m that surprised to know now it''s real, you know." He looked at her. "You get to hear a lot of things when you live in a place where I do."
Arisu knew where Takuma lived. It was in the opposite direction to her home. She had never been to his part of the town but had seen areas like that while on cases. It wasn''t a good place to live¡ª and she didn''t know why someone like him would continue to reside there. She couldn''t imagine living in a place like that.
"Would you have joined the Ring?" Arisu asked. "Kano said that it helps a lot of clanless shinobi¡ª help them develop."
Takuma laughed. He looked up at her and pointed at his arm where the red Police Force armband sat. "I''m part of the Leaf Military Police Force¡ª an officer of the esteemed Organized Crime division¡ª do you think I can be in any better place to develop as a shinobi?"
Arisu couldn''t deny his words. Except under a jonin teacher, the Police Force was perhaps the place to be.
As she looked at Takuma, Arisu couldn''t help but remember the Takuma of the past when they were in the academy. Dead last. Someone who couldn''t hit a target, win a spar, cast a jutsu, if his life depended on it. Someone who had failed the academy graduation test twice before passing at the last chance. Takuma hadn''t even been given a chance to try out for a jonin and was directly put into the Genin Corp.
Seeing that guy in the same place as her after two years honestly made her feel¡ insecure. She couldn''t help but compare herself to him and couldn''t help but wonder if her effort was lacking in comparison to Takuma.
"I want to finish the damn paperwork as soon as possible," said Takuma as he tidied up his desk.
Arisu shook her head and got herself back together. There was no use thinking about those things. If she felt she was lacking, then all she had to do was up the work she was putting in.
"Yeah, let''s do this."
CH_4.14 (114):
Inside a locker room in the underground expanse of the Ring, two men prepared for their upcoming fight in silence. As dictated by the tradition and rules, they wore simple clothing: a pair of shorts, the two-mask set that hid their identity, and a pair of arm and shin guards allowed in the weapons category.
"How do you feel?" asked Smoking Tiger.
"My dear is feeling happy today," replied the other man, Razor, as he stroked his unsheathed sword with gentle caresses.
Smoking Tiger sighed. He and Razor belonged to the same Ring team, and he had long gotten used to the eccentric man''s behavior. He wondered if it was the age difference; he could no longer understand today''s youth and their antics.
"Did you go look at the fight I asked you to?" asked Smoking Tiger as he sat before Razor.
Razor nodded.
"And?"
"It ended quickly," said Razor, his eyes still admiring his sword.
The fight had indeed ended far too quickly. Smoking Tiger was there as well and wished it had lasted longer to learn more¡ª but it was what they got, and they had to work with what they got.
"¡ but," Razor looked up, "I think he''s easy to cut."
Smoking Tiger glanced down at Razor''s sword. The blade was spotless; not even a speck of dust was allowed to mar the blade''s gleam. Razor treated and maintained his sword better than anything in his life, perhaps even better than his own body. But all of that ended the moment Razor entered the arena. At that moment, the sword stopped being treated as an ornament and assumed the role for which it was forged¡ª a tool of killing.
"My dear is thirsty today; I hope she''ll be able to quench her thirst," Razor''s toothy smile looked horrid on his angular face.
Smoking Tiger shook his head. He turned his head to the locker room''s door just a second before there was a knock on it.
Smoking Tiger grabbed his sword and stood up. It was time for the fight.
As they walked to the arena, Smoking Tiger spoke to Razor, "I hope you remember the plan."
"I take care of everything while you stand back?" said Razor.
Smoking Tiger sighed again. The actual plan was for Razor to be on the frontal offense while Smoking Tiger looked for opportune moments and lapses in concentration to get in critical strikes. It put Smoking Tiger out of the spotlight, but he didn''t mind it¡ª he got paid the same, being on the back foot reduced the risk of injuries, and while there were advantages of being in the spotlight, as long as his peers and Ring administration knew his value, he had enough bargaining power during contract negotiations.
They walked out into the tunnel and entered the caged arena amidst the cheers of the crowd there to see their fight.
"I can''t get used to this," Smoking Tiger sighed as he looked at the crowd. 2v1 crowds were larger than the normal 1v1 fights. He usually only saw half of the people in the crowd, and they weren''t as rowdy as they were now. The draw of 2v1 battles was crazier than anything in the Ring, even reaching the level of fights in the ninjutsu category.
"Really? I see no difference," Razor replied in a merry voice as he waved to the crowd. "Come on, old man; show the people some love. Let''s get them heated up as much as we are."
Smoking Tiger wasn''t heated, but a little waving wouldn''t do any harm. But as he raised his arm to wave, his instincts spiked, and he looked to the other side of the arena a moment before the announcer''s voice blared through the microphone.
"¡ SCARS!"
A man¨C no, a child-¨C entered the arena. It was their opponent for the day. The fighter wore a mask with a green leaf, but his name came from the numerous scars that riddled the boy''s body. Scarring was nothing new for a shinobi, and especially not for a Ring fighter who fought in the weapons category as most people had blades as their weapon of choice, but something was odd about the scarring¡ª a mix of battle scars and what seemed like surgical scarring¡ª it created strange imagery.
According to the rumors and gossip floating around the Ring, he was less than fifteen years old, making him a little over half of Razor''s age and quite a bit younger than Smoking Tiger, who had ten years over Razor.
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Smoking Tiger didn''t believe that Scars was fifteen even though the physique matched the claim. The reason behind it was quite simple. Why would someone as young as a fifteen-year-old who was allowed to participate and had won 2v1 fights be in the Ring in the first place? If someone could be the single fighter battling a duo at such a young age, they wouldn''t be dragging themselves into the Ring.
Someone as talented as that would either be from a clan, who didn''t allow their children down in the Ring¡ª and if he wasn''t from a clan, he would''ve been scouted by a chunin or perhaps even be part of a jonin team¡ª those type of young genin lived a different type of life than the genin who fought in the Ring. They didn''t belong in the same world.
He believed that Scars simply looked young for his age and was, at the very least, a couple years older than the rumor told him to be, and that was a soft assumption.
Smoking Tiger looked at Razor. Due to being on the same team, they knew each other''s real identity, and because of that, he knew Razor was part of a chunin team and was doing quite well for himself. He was a talented young man with some unfortunate quirks that led him to enjoy fighting. If Razor dedicated his time elsewhere, Smoking Tiger believed that he would be able to advance his career. It was truly unfortunate that Razor continued to fight in the Ring.
As for an old man like himself, Smoking Tiger didn''t want to risk injury in every fight. But his missus was pregnant with their fourth child, and raising children was expensive, and raising three with another on the way was more than difficult on a genin''s income. He fought so that he could bring in more money to the household, give his children a good upbringing, and secure a retirement for himself and his wife¡ª and his contract was set up in a way that he got more ryo than mission points.
"Are you ready?" asked Smoking Tiger.
"Absolutely," replied Razor, his voice tinged with a wild hoarseness as he stared at Scars.
Smoking Tiger sighed. He wanted to go back home and spend time with his children. But it was time for work.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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"So, this is the Ring."
Arisu took in the other world that existed under the village.
"Uh-huh, enjoy it," Kano muttered as she got comfortable in the comfy chairs in the VIP booths that overlooked the arena. Unlike Arisu, she seemed used to it. So much so that she had gone ahead and placed a small bet on the fight they were going to watch.
It all started when Arisu couldn''t get the Ring out of her mind and ended up asking Kano to show it to her. Kano agreed, and they planned to spectate an evening fight after work. They had entered through a back-alley bar that acted as an entrance to underground passages and caves that housed arenas and betting booths used by civilians and shinobi alike to watch fights and gamble on them.
"Who made these tunnels?" asked Arisu. She wondered how long it would''ve taken to dig out the underground
Kano shrugged. "Never bothered to look it up, and it doesn''t matter." She glanced at Arisu, "You shouldn''t be surprised by this. We live in a shinobi village; there are probably a hundred hidden underground structures like this of various sizes littered around the village."
Arisu couldn''t deny that. She hadn''t visited them, but she knew there were a couple of hidden passages on the clan grounds. If her clan had one, probably others had one, ANBU definitely had a few of their own, and so did many of the departments for their own use.
"So, who''re we watching today?" Arisu asked Kano.
"Well, I asked the teller about the most interesting fight today. He told me about the 2v1 fight they''re having today," said Kano, looking down as the announcer entered the arena. "It seems they don''t have many 2v1 fights on the regular, so I thought we might as well watch that. It''s between, uhm, Scars versus Smoking Tiger and Razor¡ Huh, weird names."
"Who did you bet on?" asked Arisu.
"On Scars."
"Really, why?"
"I don''t know. Two versus one doesn''t seem that difficult, and the odds were better if I bet on the single guy." Kano looked at Arisu, "You should''ve placed some money."
"Not for me," said Arisu.
"Well, your choice," said Kano. "Say, why didn''t Takuma come?"
"I don''t know, actually. He said something about hanging out backstage at the Kibuchi Theater and observing how the actors get ready¡ He does a lot of strange things," said Arisu.
A few weeks back, they were talking, and the topic of the weekend came up. Everyone was talking about what they were doing that weekend, and Takuma said he was going to open a stall at the monthly flea market and see if he could make some profit from "goods" he had collected last month¡ª something about learning and polishing sales skills.
"Ah, that''s smart," said Kano.
Arisu turned to Kano. "What do you mean?"
"Transformation Jutsu is good enough for civilians, but any shinobi who''s paying attention can tell signs. That''s why shinobi specializing in spy work and infiltration learn how to disguise themselves by using physical means like prosthetics and makeup. And who better to start learning from than from the people who help actors with their makeup and costumes," explained Kano.
"But you can''t learn to disguise in one day, can you?" asked Arisu.
"Of course, not. Learning how to do a believable disguise takes time. But him going there and meeting the people creates connections. He gets to know people who he can go back to later when he wants to learn," said Kano.
Arisu once again felt Takuma''s effort coming through from another place. It was like a race where she could feel someone breathing down her neck while trying to pass her.
"Oh, look, they''re starting up," Kano said, pointing at the arena below.
Arisu looked down and saw three people in the arena. Two were standing together while another one was standing on the opposite end of the arena.
"Now, that''s young," Kano commented with a frown.
Arisu looked at the fighter standing alone. That must be Scars, she thought. And as Kano pointed out, the Scars fellow was way younger than the other two fighters. He looked closer to her age.
CH_4.15 (115)
The moment the fight began, Razor shot straight toward Scars without the pretense of any planning. He drew the sword out and pointed it at Scars, who armed himself with a kunai in each hand and charged for Razor.
Razor grinned behind his mask when he saw Scars taking charge and swung his sword in an aggressive downward strike that Scars took on with his kunai. Sparks flew as metal clashed. Scars pushed the sword away and immediately swiped for Razor''s gut, but Razor''s footwork moved faster, and he skipped an inch out of range.
With the swipe, Scars'' body moved in the direction of his swing, committing him to the movement. Razor had already drawn his sword back, ready for the next move, now in a position to strike.
"Got you!" the glee oozing in his voice.
Razor thrusted the pointy end toward Scars'' shoulder. He wanted to take one arm away so he could have an easier time working on his art on the ''canvas.'' He wished to put on a good show and was sure that the audience would appreciate it as well.
As Scars'' body moved behind his swing, his other arm shot up and forward. The blade met through the leather arm guard, and the blade sliced the surface fairly deep but didn''t reach the skin¡ª and with the upward arm movement, Scars disrupted the trajectory.
Razor clicked his tongue. He pulled back his sword in an attempt to slice through the leather and draw some blood from a skin wound, but Scars now moved faster. Scars put the weight on his back foot and struck out with his front foot for Razor''s knee. The ankle dug into the kneecap and immediately hobbled Razor as his entire balance was kicked into disorder.
Scars freed his arm away from the sword and once again swiped for Razor, and this time, it worked. Blood spurted out of a cut across the chest; the wound was shallow due to Razor''s last-moment desperate dodge.
Razor didn''t look down at the wound as any moment looking away from his opponent could lead to his death; he didn''t need to look down as the warm blood on his skin and pain over his chest told him everything. He didn''t appreciate having his body and blood used as a canvas.
As Razor tried to push away to get some space, Scars dropped the kunai in his hand and clenched it into a fist. Razor skipped back, but Scars took a swift fore step and whipped out a body punch. Razor closed his body into a defensive position and brought his block closer to stop the punch, but in the split second before the fist made contact with Razor, he was abruptly pulled away from the punch''s trajectory.
Smoking Tiger pushed Razor away behind him as he faced Scars.
"This ain''t going to be this easy, young buck," said Smoking Tiger.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Smoking Tiger brandished his sword as he set himself between Scars and Razor. He couldn''t let his partner get taken out in the first bout of the fight¡ª that would most definitely spell the end of the fight.
In truth, he believed Razor was an equal match to Scars. In fact, their team, too, believed that¡ª which was why they immediately accepted when the scheduling office gave them a choice between Razor and another team member. Smoking Tiger was chosen as the aid to provide Razor with the edge he needed and, well, keep him focused and not let things get crazy.
Scars was on an impressive win streak, much more impressive when one considered he had 2v1 sprinkled among those wins. Smoking Tiger could only imagine the rising win-streak bonus he was going home with after every fight. Not only would this win give Smoking Tiger and Razor some notoriety in the Ring by taking down a big shot, but it''ll also get them the incentives their team promised them.
Smoking Tiger knew that he couldn''t stop Scars, which was why Razor needed to be in fighting condition.
His eyes shifted to Scars'' clenched fist that he had saved Razor from. That fist was well-known in the Ring; as far as Smoking Tiger knew, Scars was the only one to use chakra augmentation in the Ring. The uniqueness of it and the damage it could do made it threatening¡ª so much so that many had lodged complaints against Scars and had pushed for banning the chakra augmentations from the taijutsu and weapons category¡ª but they hadn''t gotten anywhere with it.
Scars was too big of a draw to restrict now. The people had seen him use chakra augmentation, and if he suddenly stopped using it, they''d be dissatisfied. And he was sure the amount of 2v1 Scars was participating in influenced the management''s decision, allowing him to use something everyone else thought should''ve only been permissible in the ninjutsu category.
Smoking Tiger blocked and evaded a spray of shuriken from Scars but immediately jumped back in when Scars tried to bypass him to get to Razor. He slashed at Scars, who had reequipped himself with a kunai in both hands like he always did.
Smoking Tiger didn''t believe he could beat Scars, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t hold him back. He took charge and pushed Scars back with aggressive swings that Scars effortlessly blocked, but Smoking Tiger was able to push Scars away from Razor¡ and he was able to create enough time.
Smoking Tiger deflected one of Scars'' kunai strikes and jumped back as Scars swung the kunai only for Razor to switch in and block the other strike seamlessly.
"I''m back, baby!" Razor yelled with an expression filled with fervor, blood still dribbling from his chest, but he didn''t seem bothered at all. He stabbed Scars and nicked him in the shoulder.
Scars retaliated with a sudden kunai throw at point-blank range that cracked Razor''s laugh, but like a madman, Razor completely ignored it and immediately left a deep gash in the back of Scars'' right hand.
Smoking Tiger smiled behind his mask, and the moment he saw the gash on Scars'' hand, he positioned himself on that side, and the moment he saw an opening, he lunged in with a thrust that ripped through the side of the already injured arm. The arm guard took a chunk of the thrust, but Smoking Tiger was satisfied with it. He stepped back and gave Razor the space, who immediately turned up the aggression to eleven and pressured Scars back while getting a few slashes.
"That''s more like it!" Razor yelled. "Today will be a great show."
Scars hobbled back a few steps as Razor landed a solid strike to the calf and almost brought Scars to his knee.
Smoking Tiger saw an opportunity and moved in.
Scars deserved the reputation he had in the Ring as even with his shoddy balance, he parried the next slash from Razor and rolled on his back to evade the downward slash from Smoking Tiger all the while regaining the balance at the end of the backward roll.
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Razor and Smoking Tiger didn''t want him to recollect himself and straightaway charged in to pile more pressure on him.
And their efforts paid off as Scars froze up in the face of two assailants.
Smoking Tiger left a gash in the side with a well-placed thrust while Razor aimed a downward slash for the neck that instead caught the shoulder and dug deep due to the momentum and gravity.
''We got him,'' thought Smoking Tiger.
But the next moment, faster than he had moved in the fight or the fight they had previously seen, Scars palmed Razor''s sword up out of his shoulder while launching a terrifyingly quick palm strike into his stomach that launched Razor back like a cannonball.
Out of pure instinct, Smoking Tiger followed Razor¡ª and instantly realized his mistake¡ª he had looked away from his opponent in the middle of the fight. More importantly, he had looked away from Scars, someone who had just demonstrated that he could use chakra augmentation. Smoking Tiger hastily looked back at Scars, fully expecting to get socked in the face, but Scars suddenly jumped all the way up to the cage surrounding the arena.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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"Chakra augmentation," Kano whistled. "Now, that''s interesting."
She wasn''t expecting to see chakra augmentation down in the Ring. There were several types of chakra augmentations that affected different attributes, depending on their use case. Many clans held some variant of chakra augmentations that suited their combat style.
Chakra augmentations weren''t restricted to clan shinobi. There were plenty of augmentations in the jutsu archives¡ª even though most of them, in Kano''s opinion, weren''t practically usable¡ª but they were only usually used by chunin who specialized in combat. She was surprised to see a genin in the Ring use chakra augmentation, and from the looks of it, he seemed to be decently proficient in it.
"He could have finished the fight right there," Arisu said, shaking her head.
"That was a mistake." Kano agreed. The one named Smoking Tiger had looked away¡ª a grievous mistake¡ª and Scars should''ve punished Smoking Tiger for it. It would''ve taken a single kunai stab in the right place to end the fight for Smoking Tiger. She turned to Razor, who was quaking as he attempted to get up.
Both Scars and Razor were injured, and she didn''t know if either had shown their complete hand, so she couldn''t predict how the fight would go between the two. Scars was the superior fighter because he was going solo, so if she had to, she would go with Scars¡ª especially with the chakra augmentation he had shown.
"Ring fighters are good at attacking vital points." Given that they were at Ring, Kano decided she could give a quick few pointers to Arisu. It wasn''t part of her responsibility, but Arisu was from the Fuma clan, Uchiha''s closest allies, and she liked Arisu well enough to help her out here and there.
"It''s interesting, you know," Kano said after recollecting the points of interest that had already happened in the fight until then. "Every clan has developed their combat style after years and decades of adjusting, improving, and optimizing to create something unique to them¡ª suitable to their bloodlines and traits. Older clans like mine and yours with old roots in the Warring Era had honed their combat through true combat in the turbulent times of chaos, blood, and death.
It''s that pedigree, rich culture, and tradition that makes us better than others."
Uchiha''s Interceptor Style, Fuma''s Shadow Windmill, and others were developed through long years of effort by entire clans that had accumulated into what they were today, and were continued to be developed by the current generation and would continually be developed by the future generations.
Kano continued. "The Ring is doing something similar. A group of shinobi who learn from each other through repeated combat, which, while not exactly actual lethal combat, is dangerous enough. Each one of them brings something unique to them, even if that something isn''t special, due to the nature of combat, people learn even if they don''t actively intend to.
In many ways, it''s similar to how clans develop their styles. It''s not as effective as the methods that the clans have perfected, and the Ring very well doesn''t have the pedigree, and it''s highly inconsistent due to the competitive and adversarial nature of it all¡ª but they have, without a doubt, created a style of combat flexible enough that it successfully becomes the foundation¡ª a competent foundation¡ª of so many Hidden Leaf genin that go through this.
Observe them, Arisu. Many look down at this place, and they aren''t completely wrong, but you can''t deny that there''s something that you and even I can learn if we want to."
Arisu looked away from Kano and down at the arena. Kano didn''t know if Arisu took her words seriously, many in their position wouldn''t, but Kano had done her job; now, it was up to Arisu to proceed from here on.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Smoking Tiger cautiously but hastily skipped back towards Razor while keeping an eye on Scars, who remained hanging from the cage.
"Razor, how''s your condition? Can you continue?"
Razor lifted his hard mask above the mouth slit in the ski mask, and spat out blood. He clutched his lower chest in agony.
"I-I can," he coughed, "fight¡ fight!"
''Did he break a rib?'' Smoking Tiger bit the inside of his cheek. The place where Scars had punched had bruised horribly. It didn''t look good. This kind of injury wasn''t optimal, but if it was only as bad as it looked, Razor could continue to fight. Plus, they, too, had injured Scar, and if his time hanging on the cage and his lack of attack on Smoking Tiger, it seemed they had done significant damage.
There was a sudden burst of cheers from the crowd that made Smoking Tiger look back. Scars had dropped down from the cage and was now standing in the middle of the arena, staring at them. Beside him, Razor stood up and took his sword that Smoking Tiger had retrieved.
Smoking Tiger spoke, "I have a plan; we should¡ª"
"Shut up," Razor snarled and recklessly charged at full speed toward Scars.
"Razor!"
"I will kill you!" Razor screamed as he drew his sword, bloodlust oozing out of him.
Scars threw a trio of kunai at Razor, who effortlessly deflected them with his sword.
"How dare you make me¡ª" yelled Razor.
"Razor, look out!" Smoking Tiger tried to warn.
Razor hadn''t noticed that right after the kunai, Scars had thrown a surujin (a rope with weights on each end) in their shadow. The rope directed by the weights caught Razor''s legs and rapidly wrapped around them, snapping them together, and tripping Razor down to the ground.
Razor fell.
Scars ran toward his fallen opponent.
Smoking Tiger ran towards his partner. Alas, he was much slower than Scars. Scars reached Razor first.
Razor tried to swing his sword at Scars, who dodged and kicked him in the face. A kunai appeared in Scars'' hand, and he immediately used it.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Blood spurted out of Razor''s shoulder. He screamed as the same kunai dug into his side. And before he could react, Scars stabbed Razor''s thigh and dragged the kunai down to the knee, leaving it there.
By the time Smoking Tiger reached them, it was clear that Razor wasn''t going to be continuing the fight.
Scars looked up, and Smoking Tiger froze when he felt the cold eyes pierce him. He felt a bloodlust blast his body, and it felt like someone was stabbing his body with a hundred kunai. Compared to Razor, who was a maniac for blood, it felt on a completely next level.
He got a very strong sense that there was a real possibility that things could go terribly wrong and end with his death.
He couldn''t believe that he had considered Razor and Scars on the same level.
Smoking Tiger immediately jumped back and raised his hand in the air, declaring forfeit. His heart leaped in his throat when Scars ran after him with Razor''s sword in his hand.
Fortunately, Scars stopped the moment Smoking Tiger declared forfeit, and a sharp horn shot blared through the arena, announcing the end of the fight.
Smoking Tiger couldn''t calm his heart well past after the fight had ended.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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Takuma laid with his eyes closed in the medical room while Sango treated his injuries.
He had made an egregious mistake. He had frozen during the fight. He might have very well knelt in front of his opponents and given them free swings at him. He had panicked.
In that moment when Razor and Smoking Tiger were upon him, the image of two sword-bearing fighters had overlapped with the memory of the two Hidden Frost shinobi who had almost killed him in the Land of Frost. Something in his consciousness had made the connection.
He clenched his fist. He had defeated the Frost duo; he was alive while they were dead¡ª even if Razor and Smoking Tiger triggered that memory, it shouldn''t have elicited that reaction from him. But the truth of the matter was that it did, and that fact unsettled him deeply. It didn''t help that one memory dragged more memories out to the surface.
It left an undesired taste behind.
"Hey, ease your arm," Sango said, displeased.
Takuma took a deep breath and eased his body, but it didn''t help ease what he was feeling.
"I found what you told me to find out," Sango said after she was done patching him up.
Takuma opened his eyes and looked at Sango.
Perfect.
This was exactly what he needed to take things off his mind.
CH_4.16 (116)
The knock on the door made Kano glance up from the paperwork at Takuma standing at her office door. She motioned him to come in as she ticked some boxes and filled over the dotted lines. One day she would die, and she was sure the damned paperwork would be the reason behind it.
"Is it about the Shirogumi Robberies?" she asked. It was one of the cases Takuma was handling as the second investigator.
"No, ma''am," Takuma placed an open letter envelope and two sheets of paper on the table. "I was going through the anonymous public submissions¡ and well, I came across this one. I think this one might have some weight behind it."
Every police precinct had these submission boxes and postbox addresses where civilians could send anonymous ''tips'' about crimes in their neighborhood or crimes they had witnessed to the Police Force to consider without divulging their identity.
Kano was skeptical. The anonymous tips were mainly baseless accusations by people who didn''t like their neighbors, jealous business owners hindering their rivals, people with grudges who wanted others to get into trouble, building owners who didn''t appreciate their tenants but couldn''t kick ''em out because of the lease agreements. It was stupid people trying to get others into trouble¡ª and they wasted time because it wasted a lot of manpower to process those submissions and chase the leads which looked real¡ª which would then not pan out.
Of course, it had been long since Kano had touched the anonymous submissions. It was grunt work. She had long left the part of her career where she was required to do grunt work. Takuma, on the other hand, was precisely in that part of his career. Before him it was Arisu who handled the submissions, but the moment Takuma came in, she dumped the chore to him.
"You think so?" Kano picked up the letter. The two pages were printed by a typewriter, giving no indication as to determine what kind of person wrote it through the handwriting. They could send the letter to the Intelligence Division to analyze the linguistics, but that would be an overreach for an anonymous submission.
She read the contents of the letter with disinterest, but by the time she was past the first page, she could see why Takuma thought the submission was legitimate. The detail with which the things were laid out was well-thought and written, which made it easy to digest. But the point which made it look legitimate was the subjects mentioned.
One of the state pharmacies is illegally supplying to the Maiko Triad.
The way it was presented made it so that a Police Force member would read and appreciate the points mentioned in writing, making it convincing. The organizations and groups around the Hidden Leaf were made up and supported by shinobi¡ª active or discharged¡ª and were involved in a number of gray or outright illegal activities hidden behind the veil of legal fronts. They did everything from robberies to collecting payments for ''security.'' A lot of them were highly territorial and had well-defined areas where they operated and clashed against their neighbors, which was the source of many homicide cases that came to Organized Crime due to the inter-gang conflicts. Shinobi deaths far outnumbered civilian deaths.
Maiko Triad was another one of the territorial groups that ran labor scams, contract frauds, security extortions, and a variety of other offenses in their territory. They were a big organization in the Hidden Leaf with several chunin associated with the organizations at its helm; of course, due to the nature of it all, when asked, everyone would refuse their involvement.
"Looks real, but as usual, nothing of substance we can use," Kano sighed as she dropped the letter on the table. It might have been a better submission than most, but nothing new she hadn''t seen before.
The Police Force got hundreds of those submissions, and perhaps a couple of them looked legitimate. It took a hundred potential legitimate tips for them to get one lead that actually turned into something tangible.
"Should I drop it then?" asked Takuma.
"No, don''t do that," said Kano. Even if she didn''t appreciate the abysmal return on effort, she couldn''t ignore it just because she didn''t like it. "Forward it to either Yoshiaki or Miwa. Both of them have worked on the Maiko Triad before; they''d be the best to follow up on this."
"Yes, ma''am."
As Takuma exited the room, Arisu walked in with a stack of files in her hand. She opened her mouth to speak, but Kano raised her hand to silence her and silently took the files.
Paperwork would kill her someday.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma walked out of Kano''s office with the letter in hand and gazed across the Organized Crimes offices. He was satisfied with how the conversation had gone with Kano; he had hoped Kano would take charge, but he knew with Maiko Triad involved, she would forward them to those with experience and not needlessly increase her workload.
"Found something in the tips?" Arisu asked behind him.
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"Yeah, just a little something. Hey, who do you think is less busy right now¡ª Yoshiaki or Miwa?" asked Takuma.
Arisu thought for a second before telling Takuma that Miwa had just closed one of their major cases last week and thus would have more space on their docket if Takuma wanted to present them with the submission to follow up on. On the other hand, Yoshiaki was in a critical stage of two of their cases, regularly making that team pull overtime to ensure everything went right.
"Thanks," Takuma smiled and headed towards Chunin Uchiha Miwa''s cabin before re-routing himself to the other side of the office where Uchiha Yoshiaki''s cabin was situated and knocking on the door.
"Enter."
Yoshiaki was a slender man with broad shoulders. Like all Uchiha, he had black hair and onyx eyes with a mix of a few facial features one could find in the Uchiha Clan. He was older than Kano and had been part of the Police Force since the very start; as such was much more experienced when it came to police work, unlike Kano, who had joined the Police Force after completing her stint under a jonin team lead.
Yoshiaki was an admired figure not only in Organized Crime but also throughout the Police Force.
"Sir," said Takuma.
Yoshiaki didn''t attempt to hide the sourness that overcame his face when he looked at Takuma. The man looked like his day had been ruined by Takuma breathing the same air as him.
No man was perfect. And unfortunately for Takuma, one of Yoshiaki''s flaws was his prejudice against civilian-born shinobi. It wasn''t to the level where he despised them, but when Takuma was put in Organized Crime, that had apparently crossed a line in Yoshiaki''s mind. He was one of many in Organized Crime who were against the special recruits training program and their subsequent transfer to major departments. Ever since day one, the man had shown no pretense and had put forth his displeasure for everyone to see.
"What?" said Yoshiaki snipingly.
"An anonymous submission that seems promising." Takuma tried to put the letter on the table, but Yoshiaki cut him off before he could even take a step forward from the office''s threshold.
"Why are you giving me those? Chunin Kano is your commanding officer."
"Sir, it might involve the Maiko Triad," replied Takuma. "I thought¡ª"
"I don''t care what you think, genin," Yoshiaki''s eyes narrowed. "Give it to me."
Takuma didn''t mind the unfair behavior and handed the letter as he was going to do before being needlessly berated.
Saying Yoshiaki read the letter would be an exaggeration; he barely skimmed the pages before dropping them on the table. If he had Sharingan activated, Takuma would''ve given him credit, but he could see the disinterested onyx gaze cruising over the lines.
"This is a hoax," Yoshiaki dropped the letter on the table. "Maiko Triad won''t do this; they have no reason to buy medical provisions. Take this away and get out."
''Well, they did buy up medical provisions. I was the one who delivered it to them,'' Takuma thought¡ª but he couldn''t argue with Yoshiaki. He picked up the letter and turned to walk out of the office. Yoshiaki had refused him, but he still had Chunin Miwa he could pitch the anonymous letter.
"Wait," said Yoshiaki. Takuma turned back, a flickering hope in his chest. "I changed my mind. Let''s pursue that." He smiled, "And you know what? We are a little busy right now. How about you try it out? I''m sure you haven''t had an investigation where you were the first investigator. This can be your first stint as a lead. How about it? It''ll be a good experience."
Takuma held back the smile that threatened to break on his face.
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent. I''ll talk to Kano and have you report to me for this follow-through. We will see this through," said Yoshiaki.
"Thank you, sir. I won''t disappoint you," said Takuma.
Yoshiaki smiled. "You better not."
Takuma walked out of the room, and his smile drained, but inside he felt phenomenally great.
He wrote the anonymous letter to get a starting point for a potential investigation. He had read enough anonymous submissions to know how to craft one that would gain some traction with the chunin heads. He typed it out with a typewriter to ensure no one could trace it back to him. All he needed to do then was to present it to Kano, who he knew would see some weight behind it, but due to her lack of involvement with Maiko Triad, he would have to pass it over to one of the teams who did have it.
From there, Takuma knew that Chunin Miwa and Chunin Yoshiaki were the two options Kano would send him to¡ª those were the two names that came up the most in the police records when he was researching the Maiko Triad.
Both were viable options. Uchiha Miwa and her team were strictly professional with Takuma, while Uchiha Yoshiaki''s team mirrored their chunin''s opinion.
The reason why he had chosen to approach Yoshiaki first was because of that conflicting attitude.
Due to Takuma''s position as the newest member and the culture of Organized Crime, if anyone wanted some grunt work done, they could have Takuma do it even though he was part of Kano''s team. On multiple occasions, Yoshiaki and his team had dropped troublesome and even senseless work on Takuma, which they were supposed to do¡ª Takuma couldn''t complain¡ª and no one saw any fault because that''s how things were done in Organized Crime. The rookie had to earn the chops. All of them had done so at some point in their career.
Takuma knew that if he presented something to Yoshiaki, it would surely get rejected. But he also knew that there existed a possibility that Yoshiaki would try to burden him just because he could do it.
The letter was written in a way that convinced Kano, but it wasn''t enough that chunin like Yoshiaki and Miwa, who had experience with the Maiko Triad, would see it as a 100% deal. If it was too convincing, they would take the follow through on their own¡ª which Takuma didn''t want.
He wanted a case of his own.
If he went to Miwa, there was a strong possibility that she would use one of her own to pursue the matter. That possibility only strengthened as they had just offloaded a big case recently, allowing them to take on more work. If Yoshiaki had rejected him, Takuma would have gone to Miwa, showed it to her, and would''ve tried to get involved in the name of experience. If she, too, had rejected him, he would have volunteered to follow through and say that he had a hunch that this might be something. Unlike Yoshiaki, Miwa could have given him a chance.
That was the second option.
There existed a chance that Yoshiaki would once again try to push useless work on him as he had done before. Takuma had been in the office long enough to have observed a good number of people and studied them to ensure he didn''t say or act in a way to make them suspicious of him. He knew what kind of person Yoshiaki was. He knew that if presented with a chance, Yoshiaki would try to make Takuma''s life difficult.
And that guess had paid off.
Yoshiaki had told him to lead the follow through, and if it turned out something, he would get the lead as the first investigator.
It was time for him to get some traction running in the Leaf Military Police Force.
CH_4.17 (117):
Kano wasn''t happy with Takuma taking work from someone other than her, and it took some convincing and a promise not to let it affect his ongoing and future cases. However, Takuma wasn''t worried¡ª he considered time management to be one of his strong points. He did more things on a daily basis than most people. He knew how to distribute his time to get things done.
Getting the anonymous submission accepted by a chunin was the hardest part, but with that out of the way, Takuma could start with the plan he had plotted.
The Maiko Triad was still a dim room for Takuma. What he knew came from the existing reports in the archives, which did give an in-depth look into the organization, but he lacked the ground-level awareness that one would have if one were actively involved in investigating the Maiko Triad. Unlike Yoshiaki and Miwa''s teams, he didn''t have any contacts with informants and snitches who he could go for up-to-date information¡ª but that didn''t mean he didn''t have any leads.
His point of contact with the Maiko Triad was through Ryuu''s crew. The people involved on the day of delivery were well known to Takuma through his run-in with them when he visited Ryuu''s place to restock his supplies. He knew their names, the company they kept, and what circles they frequented.
All he needed to do was tail and observe them until they made contact with someone in the Maiko Triad. Takuma was aiming to build a relationship chain, gather evidence, connect the Maiko Triad to the state pharmacy, and discover the reason behind the medical supply purchase.
But his plan wasn''t without problems. Takuma was only one man without access to the broader Organized Crime''s departmental resources. He was given the permission and responsibility to follow up on an anonymous lead¡ª it wasn''t considered a "full" case. Until he had something substantial, he was on his own.
He couldn''t spend all of his time on the job doing stakeouts.
Takuma was forced to come up with a solution.
"Shen! Wassup, my man," smiled Takuma as he dapped up the man in an alley near the redlight district. He was under the guise of the Transformation Jutsu as one of the dealer personas he used to interact with his clients.
"H-Hey, Jin," said Shen, looking uncomfortable, his eyes darting around.
Takuma smiled. His usual policy was to meet clients at a place considered a middle-ground for both parties¡ª somewhere clients would feel safe and comfortable and a location where Takuma could get quickly without wasting too much time.
Unfortunately, Shen was no longer a client, and Takuma wanted to set a vibe to keep Shen on his toes. The young man used to be one of his regulars, but it seemed that Shen had run into financial troubles by getting fired from his job. Since then, he could no longer afford luxuries like weed. Takuma cut him clean off and told Shen to only contact him when he had money, which Shen could only do a few times¡ª nowhere close to when he was a regular.
"So, what do you got for me?" asked Takuma.
"I did what you said and listened to them," Shen said in a hushed voice. "They were talking about a delivery¡ and how they''re looking into buying more¡."
It all started when Takuma reviewed the information Sango had given him. According to her, the samples he had given to her could''ve come from a few state pharmacies that were known for producing the type of samples Takuma had given her. While Sango had reduced the potential origins by quite a bit, the number of pharmacies she had shortlisted were still a few too many.
Takuma had to cut it further. As such, he began looking into Ryuu''s crew, and there it was. Ryuu''s crew was a mix of active and retired shinobi, leaning heavily towards the latter. Takuma discovered that among the few active shinobi, one of them worked in a state pharmacy as a guard. It was a permanent assignment. He didn''t even need to think for a second. He knew which pharmacy was supplying the medical supplies to Ryuu, who was selling them to the Maiko Triad.
Takuma targeted the guard and began following him. He mapped out what a day looked like for the guard and found that he frequented a bar¡ª as did many of Ryuu''s men. It didn''t take long before Takuma saw Ryuu''s men meet with someone who he recognized to be part of the Maiko Triad.
He had found their meeting place.
Alas, Takuma couldn''t do anything from that point onward. The bar was a small establishment, the type that had few but die-hard regulars who frequented it enough for it to make enough money to stay alive. Takuma could enter one day and go unsuspected, but if he did it during a day when Ryuu''s crew was meeting, he ran the risk of scaring them off¡ª or he might have been denied at the door altogether.
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That''s when fortune favored Takuma in all its glory. The old barman had hired a helper to work with him to serve his customers¡ª and that helper turned out to be Shen.
His old client, Shen, whose new job didn''t pay enough to buy weed¡
It was easy from there on. Takuma called up Shen, told him that he wanted some eyes and ears inside the bar, and in return, he would supply the weed. Shen was initially hesitant, but when Takuma gave him a sample of a strain of a quality much higher than Shen had ever experienced, he agreed almost too quickly.
Just like that, he had ears on any conversation Ryuu''s crew and Maiko Triad might have in the bar. There was a real chance that they didn''t talk about anything of importance in the bar¡ª but they did.
Takuma grinned. "That''s what I''m talking about, Shen! I knew you could do it!" he enacted the most frat boy he could. "Spill it all, my man. What else did they talk about?"
"A-About the thing you promised," Shen looked at Takuma hesitantly.
It was Shen''s awkwardness that made him seem so harmless, which he was for the most part¡ª but there wasn''t a single person who walked the earth who was completely harmless¡ª people only needed the right motivation to do damage. Takuma had provided Shen with the motivation to do so to people who didn''t know they were being harmed.
"Of course, brother, I have it right here," Takuma took out a plastic bag from his person filled with some of his higher quality products. Shen reached for it, but Takuma pulled it back and placed his palm on his chest. "We have known each other for a while now, haven''t we? You know how this works¡ª payment always comes first."
Shen stared down at the palm on his chest and nodded as he stepped back. The awkwardness came back, and he once again looked nervous, all while his eyes darted to the bag.
"Now, let''s talk at length," said Takuma.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma ducked into the Police Force headquarters to finally escape the pouring rain that had left him soaking wet from head to toe. He groaned to himself; when the rain started to pour, he wanted to go straight home but had documents he needed to file before he could mark his work day as over¡ª thankfully, his pouch was water-proof.
He stood in the front reception area to allow the excess water to drip down before he headed inside. Unlike half the precincts around the village, the main headquarters closed down at night. Many people headed home, and a lot of them had umbrellas and raincoats ready as they headed out.
''Should''ve read the weather report,'' thought Takuma.
He looked at the road outside, watching the raindrops hitting the ground. He liked the rain. Even the most roaring rain slowed the city down, bringing it to a halt¡ª a nice change of pace. Takuma liked the feeling of walking the empty roads while the rain weighed him down. But it was only nice when he could afford to slow down along with the town¡ª something he didn''t have often these days.
"Takuma, if I remember correctly¡"
As Takuma watched the rain absentmindedly, he heard someone call out to him. He turned back, and all thoughts of rain slowing things down shattered as a high-speed train crashed through as he looked at Uchiha Itachi standing behind him.
"Ah¡ Itachi," Takuma replied. Even though he was taken by surprise, unlike the last time, he was much more composed. He had grown up a little since their first meeting. "It''s really pouring down today, isn''t it."
"It is," said Itachi.
"The potholes in front of my place are going to puddle," Takuma sighed. The roads were bad where he lived; fortunately, he could travel by rooftops. "But it''s good¡ª rain''s good. Replenish the underground reserves¡ª good for the atmosphere, good for the plants, and good for us¡ª great for everyone."
He turned to the taller person standing beside Itachi. "My name''s Takuma," he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
The man had short, unkempt, dark-colored hair, black eyes and a relatively broad nose, and well-defined eyelashes that were turned upwards at each end¡ª obviously, an Uchiha.
"Uchiha Shisui," said the man as he shook Takuma''s hand.
He might have grown, but there were only so many surprises Takuma could take at a time. It took some effort not to let his hand stiffen mid-shake.
"Oh my, Shisui of the Body Flicker. I''ve heard much about you, sir," Takuma didn''t forget that he was talking to a jonin. He called Itachi by his name due to how they were introduced, but he couldn''t do that with Shisui.
"I do not deserve that moniker," said Shisui. "There are plenty of people who are much better than me at the jutsu."
''So humble,'' thought Takuma.
Itachi then introduced them to each other. "Takuma is from Izumi''s batch. He won the Genin Corp''s basic training tournament," his eyes went to Takuma''s arm where the Police Force insignia was stitched, "and from the looks of it, he has joined the Police Force."
"That I have," said Takuma with a smile. "Junior Officer Takuma, Department of Organized Crime, at your service."
"Izumi''s batchmate, you say¡ which means you''re the same age as Itachi, and you''re already in Organized Crime? Now that''s impressive," Shisui commented.
"Please, you flatter me, sir. I haven''t accomplished anything compared to our friend here," Takuma pointed to Itachi.
Shisui shook his head. "Everyone has their own journey. Comparing those who are on a different path than yours does more harm than good. Be confident in what you''ve achieved, Takuma."
"Being in Organized Crime when you''re not an Uchiha is indeed impressive," Itachi nodded. "More impressive when you consider he isn''t from an allied clan."
An understanding seemed to dawn over Shisui. He asked, "So, you are part of the new initiative? If you don''t mind, I have some questions regarding your experience here."
Takuma was surprised, but he didn''t have any reason to refuse, so he agreed. There was no reason for either party to harm the other¡ª and Takuma guessed it would be good to make a connection, no matter how slight it was.
It was a pity though, Takuma thought. It was a first impression, but he liked Shisui enough.
It was a true pity that he was going to die so soon.
CH_4.18 (118)
Shen''s eavesdropping was a substantial breakthrough for Takuma. Through the conversations Shen had picked up, he was able to gather the date of the next delivery; unfortunately, those conversations didn''t include the location of pickup and drop-off¡ª from what Shen had told Takuma, the people seemed to have a predetermined location which didn''t warrant stating the exact address during conversations.
Having done the delivery once, Takuma knew of the locations, but those could very well be a set of locations, with the different choices available for safety purposes. Even if he was to assume there was only one set of locations, that information was unusable, for he couldn''t justify it¡ª and even before that, assuming something like that was unwise when he had no previous experience with planning such operations.
Given the circumstances, Takuma had to pivot his strategy.
"What''re you doing?" Arisu asked Takuma, who was going through a tower of folders on his desk.
"Looking into records of theft at state facilities," Takuma muttered as he went through the past several months of records to see if there were reports of missing inventory at state pharmacies.
Arisu frowned, "This is about the follow-up you were doing¡ you''re still doing that?"
"Uh-huh¡ still doing that," Takuma''s voice trailed off before he sighed. There was nothing worthy of suspicion that could be linked back to either Ryuu''s crew or the Maiko Triad.
In his opinion, the sheer amount of product he had delivered wasn''t something one could swipe away without it being reported. And if they were doing multiple deliveries, then there was no way anyone could hide it even if every member in the pharmacy were corrupt and under someone''s payroll. There had to be at least a report of it somewhere¡ª but the fact there wasn''t, meant they were doing something different.
"You''re wasting your time," said Arisu. "If the tip hasn''t given you anything yet, it''s bogus¡ª drop it already."
"I don''t have much time on hand; definitely not enough to waste," he muttered.
"Do you really think this is going to turn into something?"
Takuma swiveled his chair to face Arisu. "Think about it this way. If it does turn into something big, I''d be on the record of a big case, putting me up 2-0 on you."
"2-0?" Arisu frowned. "When did it go up 1-0?"
"The Higurashi Pharmaceutical case," he grinned. It was the first C-rank mission he was ever assigned; it was his first mission with Iruka. "And that was before I even joined the Police Force." He wriggled his brows at her.
"Oh, fuck off," she spat. "You got that job because we were short-handed. What your team did, I could''ve done alone."
"And they didn''t let you do it. What does that tell you?"
"Fuck you," Arisu kicked his chair, almost making him fall, before walking away.
Takuma laughed before turning back to the tower of folders. The sight of it made him sigh. A dead-end. He needed more groundwork before he could move to the next step of the process¡ª understand the entire operation and get an insight into how they pulled the con.
He stood up to gather the folders so that he could return them to the archives, but as he gathered the folders, a thought struck him from the banter he had with Arisu.
The Higurashi Pharmaceutical Case.
The mission that he worked with Iruka was part of a larger mission run by the Police Force. A group of thieves were stealing the raw materials meant for the privately-owned pharmaceutical business. They would hijack the shipments mid-delivery and then fence them off to people who couldn''t buy the materials in bulk due to regulations.
Takuma stared at the files as thoughts began to form in his mind.
"They aren''t stealing from the state pharmacies¡ they''re using it as the kitchen," he muttered. Takuma immediately picked up the files and ran to the archives.
Previously he had thought they were stealing from the product produced by the state pharmacies, that the guard was stealing from the inventory, and Ryuu was selling it to the Maiko Triad. But with the lack of police reports as far back as Takuma had looked, he had a different thought.
Takuma rushed into the archives and began looking into any and all reports for robberies of raw medical-grade chemicals and other raw materials from producers that worked in the Hidden Leaf. And as he expected, within half an hour, he had found multiple reports all filed within the one year¡ª each from a different part of the village, all from different businesses. Some cases were solved, some were ongoing, while others had gone cold due to a lack of leads.
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He took out his notepad and flipped to the page with the information Sango had given him about the ingredients used in the samples he had shared with her.
"Knew it," he flicked the notepad.
He found a third of the ingredients used in the samples among the products reported as stolen. All of them were restricted materials that needed proper permits to make, sell, buy, and use.
''There''s an iryo-nin cooking for Ryuu,'' thought Takuma. He had thought that guard was the sole party in the pharmacy, but it seemed he was only a contact, and Ryuu was in contact with an iryo-nin who was cooking for them using the materials they stole.
"Alright," Takuma smiled, "let''s see what we can do with this."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma stood outside Yoshiaki''s office with a file in hand that he needed signatures on. He knew very well that behind the closed door was Yoshiaki and his entire team engaged in some heated discussion about one of their cases which had apparently gone wrong. Yoshiaki had been given a talk down by Yoshio, and he was now giving it to his team.
Takuma knocked on the office door and opened it without waiting for a response.
All eyes inside the room went to Takuma as he half-stepped inside.
He started, "Sir¡ª"
"Out!" Yoshiaki immediately yelled. "GET OUT!"
Takuma did not attempt to try again or argue and immediately closed the door behind him. Naturally, he knew it was a bad time to approach Yoshiaki for a signature, and it was especially worse for him because the man hated him. It was clear before Takuma stepped inside the office that he was getting rejected.
And that''s precisely what Takuma wanted. This way, Yoshiaki wouldn''t be able to complain later by saying he wasn''t asked first.
He ignored the eyes of people who had caught the scene and walked straight to Kano''s office, knocked on the door, and waited on the threshold of the open office until she looked up and told him to step inside.
"Ma''am, Chunin Yoshiaki is busy with his team," Takuma presented the papers to her. "Can you sign these for me? I don''t think it''s wise for me to disturb him right now with what he''s got on his plate."
"Oh yeah, he got thrashed by Yoshio, didn''t he," Kano chuckled as she read the papers. "Hmm? You need an assignment of more people for a case. Which case¡ª wait, is this regarding the tip you were following?" She looked up at him, "That reached this far?"
Takuma nodded, "We think there might be something there worth looking for," he stressed the ''we'' to make it seem that Yoshiaki agreed with him, even if Takuma had given the man close to no updates about the situation. Takuma was sure that Yoshiaki didn''t even remember that Takuma was working on something.
"Look at that, didn''t expect it. Alright, here you go," Kano signed the papers. "Good job on sticking to it, Takuma."
"Thank you, ma''am," Takuma smiled.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The shinobi recruited into the Police Force were categorized into two categories¡ª regular and special. They entered at the same time but were given different trainings, and were assigned to different departments with varying levels of responsibilities. Because of that, even though all of them were genin, technically speaking, Takuma was at a higher rank than them. He couldn''t randomly order one of the new recruits to do a job for him, but he could very easily get the permission to assign them under him temporarily¡ª which was what he did by getting Kano to sign the order.
Inside one of the precincts across the Hidden Leaf, Takuma stood in front of a group of four shinobi. Beside him was a whiteboard with four photographs and some textual information to go along with them.
"These are the men possibly related to a string of robberies which we suspect are related to each other, performed by the same group of people," said Takuma. "We are looking to build a case against them and learn more about their operation. For that to happen, we need information. Unfortunately, we don''t have much of that¡ª which is why you''re enlisted to bridge that gap."
Takuma was only one man and dearly wished he possessed the Shadow Clone Jutsu. But he knew it wasn''t in his stars. He understood that he couldn''t keep all cards close to his chest and still expect to win. There wasn''t enough time for him to do all the things on his own, and he couldn''t be at eight different places at the same time.
The only option for him was delegation.
His heart was conflicted, begging him not to do it. Relenting control felt terrible. But his mind was clear that if he didn''t push some responsibility off him, the entire tower would go down with only him inside. He needed help.
"Each of you will be assigned a target who you will stalk as if they were the most beautiful girl in the world," said Takuma, eliciting a few chuckles. "Find out all you can about them, what they do every day of the week, where they go, who they talk to. Watch them¡ª but do not make contact with them. We are looking for a bigger score; let''s not waste it on some petty change. If they do something that warrants an arrest, dock it down, and we will use it later."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It was quick. Quicker than Takuma has expected. Too quick.
The officers returned with some really good info on the people they were tasked to follow. Perhaps Ryuu''s crew and Maiko Triad had gotten complacent after pulling jobs without a hint of resistance. It wasn''t strange. That''s how people got caught; they got careless.
Or, actually using a team of shinobi who knew what they were doing made tasks so much easier. He could see why people hired shinobi.
It turned out Maiko Triad and Ryuu''s crew were using the same gambit as they did with Takuma and outsourced the delivery process. Just this time, unlike Takuma, the delivery person was a gambling addict in desperate need of money, who was nowhere as careful as Takuma and babbled about the plan to a loan shark, who cornered him, to get some additional time on repayment. One of the officers who was tailing the guy caught the entire conversation as clear as a crystal.
''I guess, this is it,'' Takuma hammered down his excitement. It wasn''t time to get excited, everything depended on what came next.
He pushed his chair, and the wheels beneath it carried him to Arisu''s desk, who was reading a woman''s magazine.
"Hey."
Arisu jumped and immediately hid the magazine. She turned and fixed him with a glare, clearly displeased.
Takuma ignored that and posed the question he knew would interest her.
"How would you like to be the secondary lead on a potentially massive case?"
He needed some manpower, and Arisu was going to be the gateway to it.
CH_4.19 (119):
Takuma was well aware of his position in the Police Force. Being an ''outside'' hire, he lacked the pedigree that most Police Force members had in one way or another. He was neither from a clan that had members in the Police Force nor did he have immediate relatives paving the way for him. In the very tight-knit organization, which was the Leaf Military Police Force, he didn''t have many threads connecting to him or others¡ª but he did have some connections.
His partner, Fuma Arisu, was one of his few connections. Even though they were of the same rank, they didn''t hold the same power. Unlike him, she had the pedigree of the Fuma Clan and immediate relatives like her father and aunt working in the Police Force.
"I''m planning a raid for which I need some personnel," Takuma said to Arisu.
They sat in a corner booth of a busy restaurant that Takuma had booked for this conversation. He knew the owner from when he had worked here as a delivery boy and then had continued to buy lunch boxes when he was too busy to cook his own food because he liked the staff meals that the owner provided for the employees.
"I do not understand why we are having this conversation," Arisu asked, suspicious. "If you want a team for the raid, ask Kano for authorization; she''ll give you everything you want. Coming to me makes no sense."
"I''m working under Yoshiaki for this one, and you know it as well as I do, that he ain''t giving me the authorization for a raid," said Takuma. He could bypass Yoshiaki and commission a few ground-level officers by going to Kano, but a raid would reach Yoshiaki''s ear no matter what. "Even if Yoshiaki goes forward with a raid, he will throw me on the roadside."
"And?"
Takuma narrowed his eyes. "Don''t pretend you don''t know what I mean. I won''t be on the case report, much less getting any credit for the work I''ve put in. Yeah, so I hope you understand why I''m not so excited about that future."
In his position, if he let go of his control over the situation, he was never getting it back.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
"Some of your friends who would be interested in joining a very important Op. Perhaps throw in a couple of Uchiha in there, and I guarantee that this would be a grand success for everyone involved."
Arisu had the pull Takuma lacked. She could call people, and there was a strong possibility they would agree and show up. The best option was an Uchiha taking charge of the ''recruitment,'' but Takuma didn''t have someone like that¡ª Arisu was his best and only choice.
"You do understand we will get in trouble if we mounted a raid against explicit permission," said Arisu. "Any mistake from a mishap during the raid, or what comes after we get them will be used against us¡ª it will be used against me and especially you."
Of course, Takuma knew that, so he had done his homework. He took out the file he had built consisting of everything important regarding the case¡ª he left out some parts, such as Shen''s identity as his informant, things he couldn''t explain, which would get him in trouble.
He slid it across the table to Arisu. She shot him a look before reading what he had compiled.
For things to go how he wanted, Takuma needed to deliver something people couldn''t push aside and ignore. A result so substantial that even if he broke protocol, the result was meritorious enough for the higher-ups to sweep it under the rug. It was a risk, but a risk Takuma was willing to take.
Arisu muttered, "This¡"
"We are looking at a dozen or so arrests in the raid itself. One of them is sure to open their mouth and tell us more¡ª imagine the people we could connect this with. The Police Force could potentially get their hand on people they couldn''t before," Takuma leaned forward.
There was a reason why he had assigned men on Maiko Triad members and not just Ryuu''s crew to find out the delivery details. He wanted a strong case that could implicate more and more people because that''s what made this whole ordeal tempting. It was the future prospects that could be built on top of his ground-level case. Takuma wanted to give Police Force an excuse to get people into the interrogation rooms and have people implicate others in return for lenient sentences for the charges, which would be stamped on them if the raid was successful.
To cast a net as wide as possible and see what the haul brought in.
Takuma could see interest from Arisu. She wasn''t an idiot, and even if she couldn''t see as far as he did, she could tell that even in the moment, this was something that could turn big if successful.
He said, "And how would you like your name to be the next one after me? The secondary lead. All you have to do is to gather some people who would be interested, and that can be yours." Takuma didn''t want to split credit, but he wasn''t in the position to not do so¡ª and as long as he was cemented as the top contributor, the one in charge, no one could deny him rewards.
"Accept it, Arisu," he spoke again. "You know it as well as I do; you aren''t going to get anything like it for this cheap."
Every case where either of them was involved had Kano as the primary lead, with members of Kano''s team as secondary leads. That position was often shared by two or more people depending on the case. He was offering her a case without any direct chunin involvement, where she would have a much bigger slice of the pie¡ª and all she had to do for it was to convince some people to be the muscle.
Takuma backed off and gave her some space. Persistence had its place, but it was not here. He wasn''t asking her for a favor; he was actively offering her a valuable opportunity¡ª it was an act of give-and-take. He had presented his pitch; it was up to her if she wanted to buy into it.
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"¡ How many do you need?" she asked.
Takuma smiled.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Arisu stared at the group gathered in the off-site location maintained by the Police Force¡ª the people she had gathered for Takuma. They were armed to the teeth, ready for anything thrown their way. She couldn''t say she wasn''t nervous and doubting her decision to accept Takuma''s proposition. They ran the risk of offending the higher-ups by going behind their backs to run a multi-stage operation which could go wrong in so many ways.
Of course, Takuma had thought about those things. Arisu found how serious Takuma was when he explained the plan to her and gave a criterion of the type of people he wanted her to focus on during the recruitment.
In his words, he wanted sheeple. Takuma wasn''t looking for big names; instead, he wanted people who were overlooked for others, the ones who, because of that, would jump at the chance of being part of something big. He wanted people who could follow orders competently without much fuss. Most importantly, he wanted people who wouldn''t turn into bigoted morons when they saw an outsider like Takuma leading the operation.
That restricted her search pool quite a bit, but she managed to gather a team she thought was suitable for the job.
As one would expect, the majority was held by Fuma clan members. Not only were they the easiest to convince, but she also wanted the Fuma to have the biggest slice. Of course, she had gotten a few Uchiha as Takuma had insisted¡ª any amount of Uchiha would give them some validity, no matter how little it was. It was tough to shortlist Uchiha, who weren''t turned off when they heard Takuma was leading the operation. The rest were from minor allied clans who worked in the Police Force.
Arisu glanced back when she heard the door creak open and saw Takuma enter. She could see the heavier chainmail he wore inside from his fuller silhouette and protective pairing on his arms and legs. He was expecting and ready for combat.
"Ready?" he asked.
Arisu nodded. She wasn''t going to let her nervousness show. It was ''GO'' time, and she couldn''t let anyone doubt her.
"Good. Let''s start the final debrief."
Takuma clapped his hands to gather attention. The conversations came to a halt as everyone looked at Takuma, who asked them to gather around.
"I hope everyone''s familiar with their assignments by now. It''s important that both teams do their task perfectly for this to be a success," said Takuma to the people after he went with the plan for the last time. "The targets we are pursuing today are shinobi, so I request and expect everyone to display their best not because I think we aren''t capable enough, but because I don''t want any of us to die. It goes without saying, but protect yourself and your team. It''s not worth putting in this work and not live to see the result.
And, well, I''ll be kicked off the force, and my career as a shinobi will go to the shitter if any of you die. So, if not for yourself, try to live for me."
That bought some chuckles from the people.
Takuma smiled. "If we do this today, we will not only prevent illegal material from reaching hands where it doesn''t belong. We will also be taking it off the future market. This Op will affect multiple cases which have hit dead-ends and run cold by breathing a new life into them and avenues for multiple new cases to may open up. We are doing good, and all of it will be because of you good people gathered here. I should be thanking you, but I won''t."
He gave them a look over, "Let''s postpone that to the after-party when all of this is over, shall we? Courtesy of our lovely friend, Fuma Arisu. Give her a cheer."
Arisu sighed when cheers went up from the group.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, you cheap-stakes," Arisu said.
"You heard her, folks," Takuma said. "Let''s earn ourselves a party."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Arisu lay on her stomach atop the roof of a building, gazing at the warehouse across the street. It was Site-1, the origin of the delivery. According to the intel gathered by Takuma, the delivery man would collect the load from the suppliers.
Their objective was to take all the people inside the warehouse into custody. It was essential that everyone was arrested; as such, Takuma had given Arisu the lead on it. He believed they were the crew stealing restricted materials, and their arrest would provide a break for the cold cases. She was given the team of her choice to make it happen.
"The mule is out," whispered one of her teammates.
A man sneaked out of the warehouse with a large courier-sized duffle bag on his back. Everything about him screamed jittery and nervousness. His eyes darted everywhere as he ran with skittish steps.
"Go," she said.
As planned, one broke away from the team to tail the delivery man just in case.
"Final check," she said and checked her gear.
Her cousin, who she had recruited, said, "Should we move in?"
"No, two more minutes," she said.
Takuma had put down a wait time before they could breach as a precautionary measure in case the suppliers wanted to give Maiko Triad a heads-up that the delivery was en-route.
"Sign is GO," Arisu sat up. "Secure the exits."
They had procured the building plans, and Takuma had done a recon of the facility to get them a solid picture, upon which they had built a breaching strategy.
Arisu tilted her head closer to the mic and spoke, "Move in."
Arisu and her cousin entered from the front. She released two Fuma shuriken from their binding and assembled them within the next two seconds¡ª they were two sizes smaller than her primary weapon, but she couldn''t use her baby here¡ª she couldn''t afford her targets dying or having parts of their body sliced off
"Cover," she whispered to her cousin¡ªno more words were exchanged between the two Fuma clan members.
It didn''t take long for them to make contact. Two of the four men had their backs to her. The moment they made eye contact, she issued the warning,
"Leaf Military Police Force. All of you are under arrest. Surrender NOW!"
Of course, she wasn''t expecting them to do anything like that. Her voice made them snap into action. The first man who saw her ran away for the back exit.
''Stupid move,'' Arisu clicked her tongue. She wound her arm back and threw one of her shurikens at the runner. It sliced forward like a laser, passing between two men who immediately backed away in surprise and fear.
"AAAAAAAHH!"
The shuriken''s large sharp metallic edge found its target in the runner''s back. He was thrown to the ground; his momentum dragging him forward as he fell.
In the mean time, the other men drew their weapons, and Arisu was under attack with a spread of kunai and shuriken, but before they could hit, her cousin stepped forward with hands forming a seal. Her lung puffing up with air that she spat out in a powerful gust that blasted away all the projectiles.
Arisu took no measure to protect herself, knowing that her cousin would take care of it, and threw her other shuriken. This one traveled close to the ground, and the target tried to dodge it with a vertical jump. Unfortunately for him, in the last second, the shuriken took a sharp upward turn and embedded itself into his thigh.
The second scream changed the game.
Arisu released the invisible chakra thread and equipped herself with two kunai as she walked forward toward the remaining two.
One of them was smart enough to drop to his knees and raise his hands in the air.
The other one wasn''t so smart and ran for the back. Arisu didn''t give chase and kept her attention to the three men. She couldn''t go complacent until they were stripped of their weapons and properly restrained.
Behind Arisu, her cousin spoke,
"One is coming your way."
Not five seconds later, they saw the bright glow and whisps of fire from a Fire Release ninjutsu from one of the dirty grilled windows.
"Target has been placated," came a crackling sound through their comms.
"Excellent work, team," spoke Arisu. "Let''s wrap this up."
CH_4.20 (120)
Takuma and his team waited at the drop-off point in silence. They had been lying in wait for two hours, patiently waiting for the delivery to arrive. Arriving early allowed them to hide without sounding any warning bells. Though he couldn''t deny that doing nothing for two hours was tiring, he felt like going to sleep.
But then his comms came to life.
"The delivery has arrived."
The entire team''s comms ran on the same frequency. Takuma had instructed one man to follow the delivery man so they could be informed and start getting themselves ready after a long period of time.
"Wake up, people," said Takuma. He stepped half out of the shadow and peered at the building designated as the drop-off point. It was a different location from where Takuma had dropped off his load, but just like his one, it was also on the edge of Maiko Triad territory.
The delivery man stopped in the middle of the street in front of the building and looked around like an idiot for a few seconds before heading inside.
In the two hours they had been perched around the building, they had detected the presence of two men who had arrived half an hour before. They were hiding near the building. It was clear that they were the men from Maiko Triad there to collect.
It took five minutes for the delivery man to exit the building and bolt in the direction away from the Maiko Triad facility as fast as possible.
"Follow him," Takuma said into his comm.
"Roger."
"Roger."
And as planned, two men¡ª one from Arisu''s team, who had been following the delivery man, and another one from Takuma''s team went after the delivery man. Their orders were to follow the man to a distance before arresting him. Sending one man might have been enough, but Takuma didn''t want to take the risk.
"They have moved," came from the comms.
"Hold," Takuma replied, "we will follow when they move out."
"Are we sure we don''t want to catch them right here?"
Takuma looked at his comms with a frown. "No, we''re following the plan. No deviations."
The plan was to follow the two men to their final destination and arrest everyone they found there. With the work he had put in, Takuma wasn''t satisfied with getting two goons. There was a reason why he had brought five other people along with him (six if you considered the one man he had sent after the delivery man)¡ª and it sure as hell wasn''t for two people.
The two Maiko Triad members left the building, and one had a large duffle bag on their back. Takuma gave the order, and the entire team followed them at a distance. Most of them kept to rooftops while their target stayed on the streets.
"Why¡ Why aren''t they being more cautious?" said one of Takuma''s teammates.
The two men were strolling through the streets without a hint of worry. They were jogging at best and showed no signs that they had an entire big bag of illegal goods.
Takuma replied, "It''s the Maiko Triad territory, and they haven''t been caught before. They have no reason to be cautious. And looking unbothered is the best way to deflect unwanted attention." Plus, the bag they used was the standard one most delivery men used.
Their nonchalant attitude represented what Maiko Triad represented in this part of the town. They had no fear, and Takuma had spent multiple weeks witnessing that as he did some study of the Maiko Triad. Takuma told his team to ignore the carefree attitude and keep vigilance.
Eventually, they reached their final destination, which seemed to be a dry cleaner shop.
"This is it," said Takuma before addressing one of his teammates. "Minoru, if you will."
Minoru was a well-sought-after sensory-type shinobi who could sense chakra signatures emanating from shinobi. Anyone could feel the presence of chakra when it was especially powerful or released in large enough quantities. However, only sensory-type shinobi had the ability to sense chakra at their own discretion, allowing them to detect it in non-combat situations, as well as tell individuals apart by their unique chakra signatures.
How did Arisu get someone like Minoru on the team? As it turned out, Minoru was socially-awkward, someone who struggled with networking and communication, which held him back in comparison to his more well-spoken and socially-competent peers, even though he had a gift not everyone had.
Takuma was elated when Arisu brought Minoru for him. He felt he had gotten a scout as good as a Hyuuga¡ª well, not really, but Takuma was more than satisfied with what he got.
"Ten people inside," Minoru responded after half a minute. "Two of them are civilians."
A sensory-type shinobi could read the chakra signature to determine if someone was a shinobi or civilian from the amount held inside their body. And because of that, they could even¡ª
"Is there a chunin inside?" Takuma asked and waited with bated breath to receive an answer. A lot depended on the reply. The Maiko Triad had chunin in their ranks, but they were the top-most leaders. Takuma didn''t believe one would be present, but anything could happen.
"No," answered Minoru.
Minoru''s short answer relieved Takuma more than Sango''s healing on a searing wound.
"Alright, it''s time to breach, people," said Takuma. "The enemy outnumbers us by two people, and two civilians are in their midst. We need to be careful about how we handle them. Minoru, where are the civilians?"
"In the front. Shinobi in the back."
That made their work much more manageable.
"Minoru and Shinju with me; we enter from the back. Rest approach from the front¡ª secure the civilians before engaging," Takuma issued a command.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
The dry cleaner shop wasn''t big enough to mount a stealth attack, and the density of people in that space made it so they couldn''t pick off people one at a time, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t employ a little bit of stealth to get themselves an advantage.
The back doors of the building were the standard heavy-duty industrial double doors. Alas, the sturdiness of the door panels didn''t mean anything if a poor lock as a weak link turned everything useless. Takuma knelt beside the door and worked on the lock as silently as possible to not alert anyone inside.
*Click!*
The door was pushed open slowly, and the trio of Takuma, Minoru, and Shinju entered the building. The back hallway was lined with boxes and other things that hadn''t seen use from the coating of dust on them.
Minoru signaled to the left door down the hallway. Takuma himself picked up low chatter noise from the same direction.
With silent steps, they shuffled to the door. Takuma took out a kunai with a tag on its tail before looking at the other two. They nodded, and Shinju whispered into her comms: "Go in 3."
Takuma quickly stepped in front of the door and took a mental snapshot of the room. Four people around a table with the large duffle bag sitting on it. No windows that could be used as an escape route. There was another open door in the room, and by deduction, the other four targets could be in that room.
As Takuma processed that, he threw up his kunai into the room.
"Hey!" he yelled, and everyone looked at him¡ª and, in turn, caught the kunai in their field of vision.
Takuma stepped away from the door and closed his eyes a split moment before the flash tag on the kunai went off.
Not wasting a millisecond, Takuma began weaving hand seals.
Minoru was next to step to the door and threw a regular explosive tag at a height above the four Maiko Triad men who were temporarily blinded by the sharp flash.
*Bang!*
The explosive blast threw the blinded men off their feet, further disrupting their balance.
Minoru stepped away, and Takuma switched in. He weaved the last hand seal and felt the chakra gather in his chest and throat. He took a deep breath before spewing water from his mouth in a waterfall-like manner, focusing it on the two men closest two him, swamping them with a force of a rampaging river. He moved his head to the side, and the other two got the same treatment, slamming them into the wall.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
His newest C-rank jutsu, among others, that he had acquired in preparation for the Ring''s ninjutsu category.
He held the water barrage and pressure for a few more seconds before stepping inside. Behind him, Shinju finished her hand seals. The water that had pooled and flowed out of the room rippled, and four thick tentacles rose from the water and whipped the four prone men before wrapping around them like slithering snakes restricting their prey.
"Leaf Military Police Force. Surrender at once! Stay down, or it''ll only hurt more!" Takuma shouted. He should''ve done that before he blasted them with water, but it didn''t matter. They had illegal military-grade medical drugs¡ª that was more than enough cause for Takuma to get rough with shinobi.
The duffle bag was in surprisingly good condition after the explosion tag though many things had spilled out due to the surprise attack they had mounted. Takuma picked up the bag and threw it to Minoru outside the room to secure it.
From ahead in the building, the noise of struggle could be heard.
Takuma headed towards the front to provide the other team back up. However, he wasn''t worried as the general combat capability of a Police Force member was substantially higher than their peers; plus, the other team had an Uchiha with them¡ª though that Uchiha had yet to activate his Sharingan.
Suddenly, one of the men who Takuma and his team had followed appeared out of the corner and landed a solid punch on Takuma''s face.
Takuma was forced one step back. He looked back at the man and whipped a punch of his own with chakra flowing out on impact. The man doubled over as Takuma''s fist bit into his stomach, making the man spit out fluids.
"Infants punch harder than that," Takuma said as he kicked the man square in the face, knocking him cold out.
Takuma weaved hand seals and lightning arcs of Lightning Release: Shock snaked around his arm as he entered the room. He raised his arm to shoot the first Maiko Triad person he saw, only to find that the second team had taken care of the mess.
"One of them ran out," one of them said. "We have to find him."
"It''s okay; we took care of him and the others," Takuma smiled as he put his hand down and dissipated his chakra.
"We did it, everyone," he smiled and felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.
It took a long time to plan for this operation. In his seemingly already full life, he had to find more time to collect information, manage an informant, tail people, and carefully work around office politics¡ª all the while treading a fine line of a possibility that it was all for nothing. It was his first time leading a team¡ª not to mention a team with more than ten people¡ª even now, he felt it wasn''t real.
But now, all of it was over.
"We fucking did it!"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma might have been overly emotional when he thought it was all over. In fact, arguably the most difficult part of the ordeal was yet to come.
"¡ª you better keep that sewer rat of yours in check, Kano! I want to see him suffer¡ª"
Kano slammed the door to her office behind her and sat down at her desk, all the while staring at Takuma sitting in front of her desk. It was already late at night, but because Takuma and his team had arrested so many people, it had attracted attention, which had brought chunin like Kano and Yoshiaki to the office.
"You know, there''s showing initiative, and then there''s going above not one but two chunin''s heads to mount a high-risk operation with so many moving parts," said Kano.
It was scary, thought Takuma as they sat there under Kano''s gaze. He knew the look she had¡ª it was the one that she usually had when interrogating suspects. But the scary part of it was that she wasn''t even trying to hide her activated Sharingan behind her red glasses.
Takuma could clearly see the pair of red Sharingan trained on him. They judged his every twitch and movement. He couldn''t describe the feeling, but he could now first-hand understand why Sharingan was as feared as it was¡ª and it wasn''t even a combat situation.
"I understand why you wouldn''t want to work with Chunin Yoshiaki; given his words and actions towards you, I can empathize with why you would sideline him¡ª but me, Takuma?" she asked. "Have I mistreated you in any way? Have I not done enough to make you feel included? I might not have been chummy with you, but I believe treating you the same as anyone under my charge without any bias was the most respect I could give to someone in your position.
Was that not enough?"
"No, ma''am. You aren''t at fault¡ª"
"Of course, I''m not at fault. That was never in doubt, Genin Takuma. It was you and your group who launched an unauthorized operation today in a territory that has always been a sensitive area in the village. You have no idea how wrong this could''ve gone for you and for all those you had involved in it," said Kano. "Did you perhaps think that if you had come to us, we would''ve shut this down? That we would''ve not accepted it even if you had shown us sufficient proof. Do you think so little about me?"
"No, Ma''am; that''s not¡ª"
Takuma pursed his lips. He couldn''t deny any of the questions Kano had thrown to him. He knew why he had done it. For credit. But he couldn''t say that to Kano.
Kano heaved a deep sigh.
Takuma knew nothing he could say would solve this situation, but he had already accounted for this situation. He took out a case file he had kept at his desk and placed it in front of Kano.
"What is this?" she asked.
It was everything he had on the case, and it was formatted as such that it was a true case file¡ª he had checked and re-checked the file three to four times before he was satisfied. In fact, all it needed was a signature for it to become an official case file.
He knew what was at stake, Arisu and others knew what was at stake, but everyone else had no idea how long of a net Takuma had cast.
"Ma''am, I know what we did was wrong. We broke protocol that''s set in place for logical reasons. I admit I should''ve come to you. But I assure you that our actions were towards a just cause," Takuma started when Kano was already a few pages into the report and was beginning to understand Takuma''s vision.
It had convinced Arisu, and she had used it to persuade others as well, two of whom were Uchiha. It was proven what he had accomplished was valuable¡
However, he hadn''t revealed everything to Arisu¡ª he had withheld one fact from her.
His ace.
"Ma''am," Takuma called.
Kano looked up at Takuma, and while the Sharingan remained the same, he could tell the mind behind those eyes wasn''t focused on him.
"Today, we might have stopped a gang war from happening, which would''ve caused a lot of shinobi deaths."
CH_4.21 (121):
It wasn''t long ago, Kano remembered. The day Yakumi had dumped Takuma on her because he couldn''t be bothered with the new outsider, who was the representation of a broken status quo brought upon the new developments in the political battleground between their clan and the Hokage''s administration.
His situation wasn''t unique, per se. There were others in the same position as him; it was just that he was the one sent to the Department of Organized Crime, while others were not. Perhaps it was her bias speaking, but Kano considered her department to be different¡ª stricter. The people had pride in their station as most had earned their way to it.
Her first impression of Takuma had been simple. The boy felt like one of those people who only had the job on their radar without a hint of interest in office politics, chatting with colleagues, after-hours get-togethers, in-office bets and games¡ª in short, one of those really dull guys. At the same time, there was this veil over Takuma; she didn''t think anyone knew of his life outside work. He got to work on time and left the moment his work was done. Kano was thankful Takuma at least informed her before he left for home every day in case she had additional work for him.
So, she didn''t think Takuma would do what he had done yesterday, giving completion to his plans which, according to the boy, had been in the works for a good while. At least, now she knew what he did after work¡ more work.
And now she sat in her boss'' office. Yakumi was behind his desk, looking as stoic as ever with a hint of displeasure between his brows as he stared down Takuma, who was sitting beside her. To the side, Setsuna sat comfortably on a double-seater couch with a steaming cup of tea on the table next to him.
"Let''s hear about this gang war you claim you prevented, Genin Takuma," said Yakumi sharply.
Takuma wasn''t one to follow the proper dress code on a daily basis, but today he looked like he had spent an hour getting dressed up.
"The anonymous report that began it all wrote that one of the state pharmacies was supplying illegal medical drugs to the Maiko Triad," started Takuma. "At first, I didn''t put much thought into the motive behind the procurement. My focus was towards the ''how,'' ''what,'' and ''who'' of the situation. All the energy and efforts went into uncovering and outlining the supply chain of this operation.
However, as I began uncovering the details, I came across a string of unsolved cases regarding stolen raw medical-grade material from various refineries and producers. They were restricted materials used to make shinobi-grade medicines and combat enhancers. The medicines and drugs we seized yesterday had many of those stolen materials as part of their ingredient list."
Yakumi looked at Kano. She nodded. Having read Takuma''s references to those unsolved robberies in his report and the seized property. When those two things were put in front of her, it was clear, even without her iryo-nin background, that they were connected.
Takuma continued, "Of course, that wasn''t my first chain of thought. I was of the mind that if someone had stolen something like restricted material, they would try to sell it for a profit. So, I approached our black-market contacts, but to my surprise, no one had even heard a whisper of those materials listed anywhere. That is strange, sir. I understand concealment is the law in illegal circles, but not even having a rumor in the mill is unnatural.
My conclusion: the robbers had stolen the materials for self-use."
Kano caught Yakumi glancing at Setsuna, who hid his quirked-up lips behind his teacup.
What was that about?
"The question then was of ''why''," Takuma took out three spiral-bound files and handed one to each chunin.
Kano was flabbergasted. When did he have time to prepare those? He had been in her eyesight from the moment she had gotten into the office late last night.
"What you have are the recorded cases of conflicts between gangs. On the first page, there''s a graph of the rise in cases in the past year or so where known or suspected members of Maiko Triad are involved."
Kano didn''t intend to give voice to her thoughts, but they unintentionally leaked out.
"Smart."
Kano expected Yakumi to fix her with a glare but found her commanding officer occupied with the file in his hand.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
When she said ''smart,'' Kano meant it.
The Hidden Leaf village was a military state, and while the majority were civilians, the shinobi minority held the most power. A military state which ran on shinobi couldn''t maintain control when those same shinobi didn''t want to be under control. There were several groups and organizations which had nothing to do with official shinobi work and were simply people seeking to fulfill their own goals, desires, and greed. The administration ideally wouldn''t want those groups. They had tried to quash them and had failed on their quest. The Hidden Leaf village was where the best shinobi gathered; the administration couldn''t threaten to replace them with others if they refused absolute obedience.
There were case categories pertaining to gang-related crimes, but many of them were practically useless since combat and conflict were a regular part of the shinobi life. When two gangs fought, the people involved would claim they were training¡ª and even if the injuries were over-the-top for ''training,'' when chakra was involved, anything was possible.
So, as long as no physical property was egregiously damaged, gang-related charges didn''t stick. The Police Force had tried to push for changes in law, but they never got anywhere due to the gangs having collectively gotten influential enough to stop any attempted changes that would jeopardize them.
So, how did Takuma get the rising statistics? Even though officers couldn''t record when they encountered a charge they couldn''t stick, there were still ''records.'' Not on the people involved but on the officer''s side who was involved. Takuma had pulled the statistic of how many times officers had failed to stick the charges.
And those numbers had risen.
"Why would they need these drugs?" Takuma asked the question. "It won''t be for missions. No gang is buying wholesale for their members so they could get it for cheap. That''s not the relationship. No, I think the Maiko Triad is preparing for a territorial war to strengthen their position."
"Do you have proof supporting this?" Yakumi asked.
"No, sir. I do not. This is speculation on my part. Though, I wasn''t able to come up with an alternate reason they would be hoarding supplies," said Takuma. "Well, now we can get the truth out of the men in custody."
In the end, Yakumi didn''t say anything other than suspending Takuma for a week without pay.
Kano expected Takuma to be relieved and satisfied with what he had gotten. It was essentially a vacation after a hard case. But when they got out of the room, Takuma had a tight crease between his brows.
"What?" she asked.
"Those fuckers are going to divvy up the cases while I''m gone," he spat.
According to Takuma, this was the worst time to be suspended. Not only was he missing the interrogation part of the process, but he was also sure that people like Yoshiaki would steal the good cases connected to these raids. By the time he returned, all he could get were leftover scraps.
Kano sighed. She wasn''t happy with how Takuma had handled the situation, but she could see his point.
"I''ll try to hold something good for you," she said.
"Thank you, ma''am," Takuma looked relieved.
"But do something like this again and next time you''ll be out of my team." Kano couldn''t take insubordination from her team, even if it resulted in outcomes like this time.
Good for Takuma for grabbing an opportunity, but if he was going to do it again, then he could do it under another chunin.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma groggily packed up his belongings at his desk that he wanted to take home for a week. He hadn''t slept in more than 48 hours and wanted nothing more than the softness of his bed. All the reserves he had been pulling during the last day were running low, and his body had stopped his access to whatever was left on the bottom.
But as he was about to leave, someone called Takuma and felt the irritation from being sleep-deprived bubble up.
"Genin Takuma," Setsuna stood a few steps from his desk. "Let me see you out."
Takuma hadn''t seen Setsuna in a while. They had been in frequent contact during his training, but ever since he had started duty, their interactions had dwindled to run-ins which then turned into a couple of lunches when both of them were free.
"I must say, I wasn''t expecting any of this when I came in today," Setsuna smiled.
"Did they call you personally?" Takuma questioned. As far as he knew, Setsuna was in charge of recruitment and training; his responsibilities didn''t extend beyond that point.
Setsuna shook his head. "I was merely interested when I heard my secretary gossip. I had to see what you had done."
"And, what do you think?"
"I''m impressed," said Setsuna.
Takuma eyed Setsuna. What was the agenda here?
"I wasn''t expecting you, or anyone of your peers, to make a move this big so soon. I don''t know all the details, but I know Yakumi; he might have been displeased, for which he has cause¡ª but I could see the gears in that man''s mind turning; he was most definitely thinking if he could use what you gave him to eradicate a gang from the face of the village."
''He better do it, or none of this would be worth it,'' thought Takuma. From today onward, whatever success originated from this operation would be in some way connected to him. The more they achieved, the more he was to benefit.
"Now, I don''t disagree with Yakumi''s punishment for you, but I do believe a reward is in order. What do you desire, Takuma? I will try to compensate you within the reach of my ability," said Setsuna.
Takuma took in a deep breath, feeling the tiredness settle in his bones.
''A reward, huh,'' Takuma mused.
There were a hundred things he wanted, varying from impossible wishes of returning home to material wishes of a pay raise. But what could Chunin Uchiha Setsuna give him? What did he want from the man?
Takuma would''ve preferred to sleep on the offer and take some time to weigh the pros and cons of his wishes before giving an answer, but perhaps it was the fatigue and exhaustion that made him speak out the thing that stayed atop his mind.
"A teacher," he said.
"Pardon, I missed that."
"Get me a teacher¡ a genjutsu teacher."
CH_4.22 (122):
"Just how much time did he put into this," Kano muttered to herself as she went through Takuma''s case notes.
The boy''s notes were crammed with notes, stats, and his collated thoughts. There was a lot to go through. She appreciated the dedication Takuma had put in, but that same dedication made it difficult for others. She didn''t know what was important and what she needed to prioritize to get herself up to date as Takuma was temporarily out of the picture.
She wondered if Takuma had done so on purpose to slow down the investigation without him.
Kano shook her head. Takuma didn''t know he was going to be suspended.
Arisu knocked on Kano''s office door. "The people from T&I are here," she said.
The punishments of those involved with Takuma hadn''t been finalized yet. The department was focusing its resources to progress before the Maiko Triad could make moves to hide their people and wrongdoings. If everything went well, it would take at least a few months before prosecution ended and people were sentenced.
Kano stood up and walked out of her office to greet the person from T&I division of the Hidden Leaf''s Intelligence Department. Torture-and-Interrogation division was a support division that housed shinobi specializing in information extraction from people through various means. They were called by different departments when the latter required their services.
The Police Force used them frequently in important cases where information from people of importance was critical. ANBU had a long-standing relationship with T&I and had invested much in their training and growth. Even the Fire Daimyo and his Samurai availed T&I''s services in sensitive matters. T&I division played a massive role in protecting the safety of not only the Hidden Leaf but also the entire Land of Fire itself.
The Department of Organized Crime had deemed the current case important enough that they had called in the professionals to get the information Takuma wanted out of the people he had targeted.
The person they sent was a cleanly dressed, tall woman with shoulder-length hair, dressed sharply in the standard T&I uniform. She had a confident and disciplined posture, and when Kano met her eyes, she felt a sharp gaze peer through her.
Kano introduced herself. "Chunin Uchiha Kano. Thank you for coming; we have a lot of work to do."
"Chunin Oishi Yori." Yori shook Kano''s hand. "Then let''s start working immediately."
''Oishi,'' Kano recognized the name. She had heard of the name in the deep circles, the gossip of unorthodox methods, high success rate, and many more unspeakables¡ª much more than an average T&I member of Oishi''s station. ''But didn''t she stop working for everyone else but ANBU?''
What was she doing working on a case with the Police Force?
Kano led Yori to the conference room they had reserved for her.
"This will work fine," said Yori, setting her belongings on the big conference table. She emptied her bag and took out a large binder thick with papers.
Seeing that made Kano''s brow furrow. "Is that?"
"Hmm? Ah, I did some research of my own before coming here," said Yori.
"Are those Takuma''s notes?" Kano asked, this time a bit more forcefully.
"Yes, they are. Got them straight from the source," Yori smiled.
Before Kano could say anything, Arisu, who was in the room with them, spoke, her voice louder in surprise. "Oishi! Are you related to Taro by chance?" she asked.
Yori turned to Arisu with a smile. "You know my son? Let me guess, dear. Were you his batchmate?"
"Yes, ma''am."
"And you''re listed as the secondary in this case. It''s nice to see batchmates working together."
Kano interrupted the chat and returned the conversation to where she wanted it to be. "Chunin Oishi, I don''t believe I need to tell you the problem with obtaining case information from an outsider. You know better than most that this is restricted information."
"But I didn''t obtain it from an outsider, Chunin Kano," said Yori. "I received it from the primary investigator of the case, Genin Takuma. For me to do my job well, I need to know every aspect of the case. Who better to ask than the person who knows the most about the matter." Kano wanted to dispute her, but Yori cut her off. "If you''re worried about the legality of the situation, worry not. I only touched the material after the request was accepted and was given clearance. I do not want to step on your toes. Please remember, I''m only here to help. This case is still entirely yours."
Kano wasn''t satisfied.
"You say that you only looked at the materials after the request was accepted, but how did you have these materials in the first place? The only way to know details like the identity of the primary lead was to get it from us."
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The case was still in its infancy and hadn''t been publicized. The official case report was formed yesterday, and only then were Takuma and Arisu named primary and secondary lead, respectively. There was no way for Yori to know these details unless she had prior information.
"That''s easy," said Yori. "Genin Takuma personally requested me to take up this case. He is my son''s best friend, I had time, and well, he was very passionate and convincing about this case. I thought it would be a change of pace from what I usually do, so I thought, why not."
Kano looked down at the binder full of Takuma''s case notes. She recalled how one of the recommendations Takuma had given on how to proceed was to invite an interrogator from T&I.
It made her wonder if Takuma had planned this all along.
"Worry not, Chunin Kano. Not to toot my own horn, but I''m confident in my abilities. Takuma has done your department a service by getting me involved. I will be involved in this case to my utmost professional ability. It''s a great opportunity for the village, and I would like to see it succeed," said Yori, subtly revealing how she already had a great awareness of the case.
To maintain his control over the case even while he was away¡.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A week''s suspension with pay was clearly a vacation disguised as punishment. So, when Takuma found himself unable to enjoy the said vacation, he felt frustrated with himself. He tried to keep himself busy by catching up on hobbies(training) and giving his mind some rest, but his thoughts wouldn''t stop wandering to what was happening at work while he was forced to stay away.
He wanted to barge into the office to see what they were doing. To go bother Arisu and demand she gave him the details. Ask Taro''s mom to share what they were doing, but he held too much respect for the woman, and she was doing him a favor; he couldn''t bother her while she did her job.
Takuma heaved a sigh as he sat down on his living room floor to service his gear laid over a tarp. Once again, before he knew it, his mind wandered off as his hands absentmindedly applied a light coat of oil on his kunai, shuriken, and senbon to prevent rust.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Takuma could see his front door from his living room. Who could it be? Takuma thought as he got up. Was it one of his asshole neighbors again?
But before Takuma could step over the tarp, a loud bash stilled him. The lock on the door snapped, and the panel swung from its hinges, crashing into the wall, leaving the entrance to his house wide open.
"You have been a naughty boy, Takuma~."
Standing on his threshold was Enomoto, with two more shinobi standing at his back.
Takuma knelt back down on the tarp and made no attempts to hide himself collecting kunai. Enomoto didn''t seem to care and walked inside the house. The two shinobi with him didn''t accompany Enomoto inside and closed the broken door behind him, leaving Takuma inside with him.
"What the fuck is this? You don''t just break into someone''s home like this, Enomoto," Takuma spat. He knew what this was about; the timing couldn''t have made it clearer.
"Let''s not do the whole dance where we beat around the bush, and I try to force the truth out of your mouth," Enomoto said while looking around the house. The man didn''t seem to care that Takuma was armed; he even had his back to Takuma as he read Takuma''s notes wall. "It''s cozy, your house. It has that warm, lived-in feel, and I can see you have taken good care of your possessions. What is this?" Enomoto pointed at the notes pinned to the boards.
"I don''t know what you''re talking about," said Takuma.
"Oh please, didn''t I say I don''t want to do the entire thing?" Enomoto sighed. "Your name was the case file¡ª the primary lead. Don''t pretend, Takuma. Remember when you sent Sango to me to set up a meeting? You''d be a fool if you think you can get away with this. This risks my business interests, Takuma. I very much don''t like when those are hampered in any way."
Takuma squeezed his grip around the kunai. Enomoto had a contact inside the Police Force. He was under no delusion that Enomoto wasn''t aware he was in the Police Force. Who was it? Someone in Organized Crime, or someone who could access the case files, or just someone who could obtain the information by asking around.
"Of course, I have someone in there," Enomoto looked into Takuma''s eyes, startling him. "Don''t make that stupid face."
Enomoto pulled out a chair from Takuma''s small dining table and sat down.
"Get out of my house," said Takuma.
"I''m not going to do that. What are you going to do about it?" Enomoto said nonchalantly.
Takuma could attack Enomoto, but he doubted his chances against a chunin even if Enomoto was an iryo-nin. Moreover, any battle would wreck his house, something Takuma wasn''t keen on happening. He didn''t even need to mention the future ramifications if Takuma straight out attacked Enomoto.
The fact that Enomoto had come to ''meet'' him and hadn''t attacked him at first sight or ambushed him was a sign that Enomoto wanted to have a ''conversation'' of some kind.
"You didn''t seem to care when Ryuu was screwing me over," said Takuma.
"Of course, I didn''t care. Why would I? You were a small-time dealer, Ryuu''s my distributor, and he conducted his business perfectly well. And you''re not a green academy student; I don''t need to hold your hand because the world gave you a boo-boo. Handle the problem between yourselves."
"But now you''re interested?"
"I am. It would be strange if I weren''t. Your little stunt has put one of my distributors at risk and has extended an unrelated risk to me. No, let''s be honest; what you did was anything but small."
"It''s not my fault he''s doing business with the Maiko Triad."
"But it''s your fault that he almost got caught."
Takuma felt his frustration bubble up. He didn''t like the tone Enomoto was taking with him.
''Almost got caught?'' thought Takuma.
"What do you want here? I can''t stop this; the ball is already rolling," said Takuma. "If his men open their mouths, our people will get their hands on him."
"I agree with the first part; not so much about the second part," Enomoto crossed his legs.
"¡ You''re protecting Ryuu?" asked Takuma. From the conversation they had, it was clear that Enomoto had much invested in Ryuu, but Takuma thought Enomoto to be the type of man who would cut off his limb to stop the infection from spreading.
"Let''s say I still have use for the old man." Enomoto then smiled, "And Takuma? ''Our people''¡ª should I take that as where your allegiance lies? Because if that is so, then you hurt me. I thought we were friends."
"Friends don''t bust down friend''s doors," Takuma spat with a snark.
"I keep friends and business separate. Take that as a free piece of advice; it will serve you well in life," said Enomoto. "But enough about the old man, let''s talk about you. You have moved up in your life since the last time we met. The Police Force, eh¡ª Organized Crime at that. That''s a big jump. You make me proud. And seeing the moves you have made in your life, I think it''s natural for you to get rewarded. My dear Takuma, I think it''s time for us to become business partners. That sounds fantastic, don''t you think?"
Takuma did not.
Not at all.
CH_4.23 (123)
As Takuma''s mind raced in a dozen directions, Enomoto made himself comfortable on the worn-down cushion of the dining table chair. While Takuma had a frown between his brows, Enomoto looked like he was pleasantly waiting for his tea to steep at a friend''s house.
"I will admit, I was surprised when I heard you transferred to the Police Force. Didn''t think you would go for the job with your background." Enomoto picked up a grocery store sale pamphlet from the table. "It was a pity, I thought. Now that you were a dog for the Uchiha, you would stop working with the old man and pull out of the Ring. I get a cut every time a fighter of mine wins; it''s not a big amount, but when you have a dozen fighters, the small change adds up¡ª and you, my friend, are fairly adept at winning."
Takuma was aware of the dealings between the Ring and the scouts. Not every scout was like Enomoto, though. Most scouts who introduced shinobi to the Ring got a one-time, flat commission. Scouts like Enomoto, who received a cut for every win, were rare and had old and important relationships with the big boss himself. He assumed Enomoto had gotten the deal due to his position as the "Head of Medical Staff."
"But to my surprise, you didn''t stop on either avenue. Scars still fought; Tobi continued to deal." Enomoto glanced up at Takuma. "A Police Force office, mostly hidden behind secret identity, still mingling in our side of the town¡ª it was almost like the Police Force gained an undercover officer without effort. A terrible gift, if I may say. You wouldn''t blame me for being cautious when you suddenly attempted to lobby for a meeting with me."
Takuma tightened his grip around the kunai. Reputation was everything in the circles he and Enomoto frequented. People rarely waited long enough to gather evidence and confirm facts before taking action. If Takuma''s reputation devolved into an undercover officer, a rat, his time in the village would become problematic if the wrong people turned their eyes toward him. If someone like Enomoto spoke against him¡ª it was Takuma''s word against Enomoto¡ª and his word meant a whole lot less.
"What changed?" asked Takuma.
Enomoto wouldn''t have been sitting across from him if the former thought he was an undercover officer because then there was no leverage against Takuma.
"New information and a hunch, my little friend," Enomoto replied.
"Which are?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," Enomoto had the gall to laugh. "I''m here with an opportunity you can''t refuse, something that will benefit both of us immensely. A chance to become my business partner¡ª wasn''t that what you wanted before you became Ryuu''s dealer¡ª to conduct business directly with me?"
That was different, thought Takuma. "Thank you for giving me this chance, but I don''t have time on my hand right now. Let''s talk about this¡ª"
"You don''t understand, Takuma. You cannot refuse," Enomoto leaned forward, his body hunched as he rested his elbows on his thighs. He continued,
"I can kill you right here, you know¡ and no one will know any better."
Takuma felt his blood chill. He churned chakra in his body, trickling it towards his arms and legs, straining his muscles to react before a moment''s notice.
"¡ It''s always recommended to eliminate the problem from the root," said Enomoto. His black shades looked darker than ever; they looked as if they were sinking into his face as shadows deepened. "The only reason I''m not going to do that is because I like you. You''re a good kid, a better fighter. Unlike most worthless plebs that eat space in this great village, you have a future worth living for.
Do not let it go to waste."
''Following you would make my future worth it?'' Takuma didn''t let the snide thought reach his tongue. He knew about things that Enomoto could only imagine knowing. Enomoto was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. If Takuma wanted to follow someone, then he would go kiss the asses of pre-teens studying in the shinobi academy¡ª the real actors of the tragedy he was living in.
The thought made Takuma scoff at Enomoto, but a heaviness made its way into Takuma''s heart. If Enomoto was inconsequential, then Takuma, as he was right now, wasn''t even worth mentioning in the drafts, much less the footnotes.
He relaxed his body and let the built-up chakra dissipate.
Enomoto smiled.
"Good. Now we talk business," he said. "Now, you''re smart enough to understand the type of arrangement I''m talking about with you being in the Police Force and all."
Takuma sighed. "If you''re asking me to cover up for your dealings, you''re asking too much. I don''t have the influence to sweep things under the rug." Maiko Triad might be his first break, but it would take a lot more for him to rise among the ranks to have some real influence¡ª and he wasn''t an Uchiha, nor from an allied clan; he needed to make more deposits to have a chance at making substantial withdrawals in the future.
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"I have been doing this for some time already, Takuma. I run a tight ship, but I wouldn''t have survived this long if I didn''t have counter-measures in place," said Enomoto. He laughed, "And you''re correct; you don''t have enough influence, but I can help you change that."
Takuma was interested. "How?"
"You and the people who were transferred to the Police Force, to be blunt, are publicity stunts. No matter how much the administration and the Police Force like to paint this as a new era. The sheeple might eat it up, but those with brains know that unless Uchiha all die one day, they will continue to own the Police Force."
Takuma nodded in agreement. He knew that better than anyone.
"Be that as it may, getting into the Police Force is still a step up for most people. Especially you who ended up in Organized Crime¡ª that was a promotion. Even I would love to be in your position; alas, I am but a humble iryo-nin, not someone who wouldn''t fit in there."
Takuma jabbed, "Uchiha Kano, my boss, is an iryo-nin and a chunin."
"I hate that bitch."
Takuma was taken aback at Enomoto''s venomous tone. He wasn''t expecting that from the laid-back Shady Guy. Even moments earlier, when Enomoto was threatening him, he maintained a blas¨¦ attitude for the most part.
Enomoto cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you''re in a great position. And your stunt with Ryuu and Maiko Triad was a spark. I''m sure you garnered some attention due to that? What I''m offering you is the chance¡ª chances¡ª to replicate that."
It took Takuma a moment to understand what Enomoto meant. To understand what Enomoto meant any time, one needed to think about how it benefited him. Takuma had foiled an operation for the Maiko Triad and put them in further jeopardy. To repeat what he did with the Maiko Triad was to get someone into trouble for their illegal activities.
"¡ You want me to go after your competitors?"
Enomoto''s smile turned devious. "Smart boy. But no, I don''t want to go after my competition. I want you to go after the substitutes."
"Substitutes?"
"There''s only so much money people can spend on their vices; even addicts have a limit to the money they have," said Enomoto. "The problem is that the limited money pool is split between different products. Some prefer lighter stuff like what we sell; others feel harder substances are more their alley; shinobi themselves are biased toward opium. You know the reality¡ª competition is tough."
Takuma couldn''t help but agree. He had lost customers to other drugs. People were picky, and when they were chasing certain highs and experiences, they were quick to switch. Even if they didn''t switch, their purchase frequency went down.
"We command a limited portion of the pie," Enomoto traced a circle in the air with his finger, "but if someone was to kick the other products, we could encroach upon the vacuum created. Repeat it enough times, reduce the offerings available, and command a larger market share. A simple but effective plan."
It did sound simple, but when Takuma thought about the logistics of the plan, he could see complications. Even if they took out a major player, say who dealt heroin, the first dibs on the created vacuum were the competitors¡ª not the substitute. It would take substantial effort to claw market share to their side.
"Why not go after your competition?" asked Takuma.
Enomoto shook his head. "Because it''s a slippery slope. Let''s say I did sic you on our competitors; if you''re successful too many times, the people at the Police Force will get confident. The resources towards anti-weed efforts will increase, publicity around it will rise, and eventually, my operation will come under attack. It''ll be great for me for a while, but not in its long-term consequences. I prefer to deal with my competition on my own without external interference. Keep the devilish claws of the Uchiha away from me."
Takuma found the prospects of Enomoto''s offer¡ interesting. All Enomoto was asking of him was to do his job¡ª and do his job well. But at the same time, Takuma knew that one day Enomoto would come for the payment. The higher he rose, the deeper his fall would be.
But¡
"And how do you suppose you''ll help me?" asked Takuma.
"Information and contacts," Enomoto replied. "I have been playing the game far longer than you. I know a lot more about how things run and the people who run it. I can give you an inside source to all the dirt that you''d need to target the people that matter and, in turn, break down the operation, which I want you to get rid of."
''I want'' was the part that caught Takuma''s attention. It couldn''t be clearer that if he accepted, Takuma was going to turn into Enomoto''s hunting dog.
"Alright, deal," said Takuma.
He would let Enomoto guide him, and he would sink his teeth into whoever was in front of him. He didn''t have the privilege of clan shinobi, nor was he supported by a jonin. He needed to seize this opportunity.
Takuma didn''t know when the Uchiha clan would be a thing of the past. However, when it happened, he wanted to be ready. He would build a reputation, and when the time came, his resume would leave the decision-makers no choice but to pull him up. When the current Uchiha majority disappeared and with them their chokehold on the Police Force¡ª Takuma wanted himself to be standing in the rubble as a shining choice, but for that to happen, he needed accomplishments. He was too young and even if he was free and loose with his estimations, there wasn''t enough time to build significant accomplishments through traditional means. If he put his nose down and continued to simply work, Fuma and other Uchiha allies would overshadow him completely.
Enomoto talked about the vacuum and how he wanted to take advantage of it. Takuma wished to do the same; when the vacuum arrived, he wanted to be there to fill it up, and exploit it for all it offered.
"I knew you wouldn''t disappoint me," said Enomoto. A glimmer flashed past his eyes as he continued, "Do this well, Takuma, and I will put you in Ryuu''s chair¡ It''s time to move up in the world, my friend. It''s good up here¡"
And perhaps, one day, he would take Enomoto''s chair from him.
Takuma stood up and shook Enomoto''s hand with his kunai still firmly grasped in his other hand.
CH_4.24 (124)
It had been two days since Enomoto had barged into Takuma''s home and forced him into a ''business agreement.'' The conversation had given Takuma a lot to think about.
For one, he needed some blackmail ready as insurance in case Enomoto tried to kill him. With hindsight, he couldn''t believe he didn''t have something ready to go out in case he was killed. Not only would it protect him, but in case someone did kill him anyway, Takuma wanted to take them out with him. Revenge was best served cold¡ª over his cold dead body.
Secondly, he needed to re-evaluate what he stored in his home. Enomoto''s rude entry had made him question the safety of his more precious belongings while he was away. He had wanted to buy a safe for his home, but perhaps because he had worked with safes, he couldn''t make a choice, and the ones he actually liked were far out of his budget. Renting a storage locker in a reputable facility seemed to be the next best option.
Third, he had to think about the work he had in front of him. Enomoto wanted to start quickly and was already working on the first target he wanted Takuma to take down. For that to happen, Takuma needed to devise a plan to take over investigations so he could work with freedom, which was of utmost importance given the nature of his deal with Enomoto. Talking it out with Kano seemed to be the best option¡ª especially with how cross she was with him because of the Maiko Triad case, and surely, springing Taro''s mom over her with no warning did him no favors.
He needed to visit Ryuu for restocking, though he wasn''t looking forward to the bitchy mood the bastard would be in. Ryuu wasn''t a problem per se, but Takuma had enough on his plate and didn''t want to deal with a cynical old man who would undoubtedly want to ''chat'' with him to sniff out the person who had betrayed him.
On top of that, his first ninjutsu category fight was just around the corner, and Takuma wasn''t feeling satisfied with his command over the new jutsu he had purchased to replace the ones he couldn''t use in the Ring. He felt he needed a test run before his debut, but no one was available. Nenro and Masaaki were both out of the village and while he loved Taro and Ai to death, they weren''t exactly the level of opponents he was looking for. As for Maruboshi, they had an unspoken agreement not to bring the Ring in between them. He could go to his teacher and ask for a heavy spar, but Takuma knew the moment he held back the jutsu disallowed by the Ring, Maruboshi would notice and call him out. He also didn''t want to come up with and use lies and excuses to deceive Maruboshi¡ª it didn''t feel right from deep within.
Other than that, he had to get back into the groove of his other self-improvement activities, which he had let stagnate as he shifted focus to the Maiko Triad investigations.
The Police Force was offering courses on intermediate-level team combat strategy and battle tactics. The beginner-level courses were part of his Police Force training. They had served him well while he commanded his team during the raids; as such, he wished to take it to the next level, especially when it was being taught by an Uchiha and offered at a discounted rate.
Uchiha could attend the courses for fees amounting to spare change. The allied clans got heavy discounts depending on their closeness to the Uchiha and how much they had contributed in the past year. This year, with the arrival of the new outsiders, the courses were now open to more people. Takuma and other junior officers in special departments were offered the lowest discount level. Finally, those in the general force had to pay in full if they wished to attend.
Takuma sighed and focused on his posture and balance as he kicked the hard bark of the thick wood log. Body conditioning was one of the least enjoyable parts of training, and yet, it was arguably among the most important. Old fashioned it may be but strengthening his bones and muscles was still the most reliable way to increase durability and protect squishy organs against chakra-powered opponents.
As Takuma single-mindedly went about his training, his ears picked up a noise.
It had been several months since he had started practicing his sense of hearing for Hidden Mist Jutsu; the progress had been excruciatingly slow, but even tiny droplets from a leaking tap eventually filled a bucket¡ª Takuma''s sense of hearing reached another level where he could hear far and wide, pick-up hushed sounds, and most importantly identify objects and situations solely based on sound.
''Three¡ no, four people.'' By the time his thoughts caught up to him turning toward the source, he saw four people entering the clearing. Two men and two women. Three of them were his age, while the last man was much older¡ªthirties if he had to guess.
The kicker? He knew three of those people.
The group saw Takuma as soon as he saw them.
"Takuma, is that you?" A bright smile bloomed on the lithe girl''s face as she jogged toward him with her hand waving excitedly.
Seki Aimi. His academy classmate. They said you never forgot your first, and neither did Takuma¡ª his first spar victory, that is. To this day, the fight, the last spar he had in the academy, was clear as glacial water. He had beaten Aimi and had promptly cried afterward. Not the part he was proud of, but he owned it anyway.
"It''s nice to see you, Aimi," Takuma said with a hint of a surprised smile. Like everyone in his class, Aimi was never friends with Takuma, but he knew her to be one of the good ones.
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"What''re you doing here?" she asked. Aimi exclaimed when her eyes went to Takuma''s arms, "Wow, you really messed up your hands. What happened there?"
Takuma was dressed in a thin white tank top which left most of his arms exposed, showcasing the scars which were always hidden by the full-sleeved shirts that entirely made up his wardrobe.
"Yeah, you know, things happen," Takuma replied shortly as he walked to the outer garments (chainmail and uniform shirt) he had removed for training.
By the time he put on his shirt, the rest of Aimi''s group had arrived.
Takuma gave them nods in greeting. "Momoe, Hideaki, I''m glad you both are doing well."
Okubo Momoe and Akimichi Hideaki. Another two of his academy classmates. The former was the Rookie of the Year, the title''s importance boosted by the fact that Momoe came from a civilian background and had thus beaten all of the clan kids to achieve the top honors. The latter was from the Akimichi clan; the taciturn guy was the tallest and biggest in their class, and for some reason, Kibe, their teacher, would frequently pit Takuma against Hideaki, despite knowing they were a mismatch¡ª in his defense, back in those days, everyone was a mismatch for Takuma.
"I thought your Police Force friend was a girl," said the last man.
Takuma turned to the taller man, and he didn''t need to be told that the man was a jonin. There was something that Takuma couldn''t put his finger on, but that intangible feeling told him that the person in front of him could wipe him off the face of the earth without him knowing. Every jonin he had come across had given him that feeling.
"Junior Officer Takuma, sir," he greeted respectfully. "You must be thinking about Fuma Arisu, one of our finest classmates. I actually work closely with her."
The team''s jonin introduced himself as Sarutobi Kazuo.
Until very recently, he wasn''t the type to wear his shinobi uniform off-duty, but that changed when he noticed the subtle changes in people''s attitude towards him when he was in uniform¡ª both civilian and shinobi treated him with a bit more respect when they saw the Police Force insignia stitched on his sleeve. Since then, he was no longer in a hurry to change out of his uniform before he left office at the end of the day. Today, he had gone to the headquarters to collect his pay stub, and had gone in his uniform¡ª he didn''t bother to change afterward, and it wasn''t like he had to go work tomorrow, he could afford to let it go dirty.
Takuma had very limited interactions with jonin. They didn''t grow on trees, and someone in his position didn''t come across chances to interact with them every day. He walked past a couple of them every day in the Police Headquarters, but talking to them was another deal. Last he remembered, the jonin he had conversed with were Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui.
"You''re in the Police Force?" Momoe asked with a healthy amount of surprise. Hideaki and Aimi mimicked her expression.
Takuma nodded. He understood the reason behind their surprise. It had been over a year and a half since they had left the academy, and despite living in the same village, Takuma didn''t have much contact with his classmates. The last memory they had of him was of their batch''s dead last, and to then find he was in the Leaf Military Police Force was enough cause for surprise.
"What brings you all here today?" he asked.
Aimi replied, "We planned to do some training today, but someone forgot to book us a training ground." She turned to Hideaki, but the mammoth-sized teen looked away.
"I hope we aren''t disturbing you," asked Momoe. She was implying that they were going to use the clearing as their training field for the day.
They were disturbing him, but he couldn''t say that to their face. "Well, as long you leave this corner to me, you''re welcome to occupy the rest of the clearing," he didn''t need much space.
"Would you like to join us for the day?" asked Kazuo. "We are sparring today. Having an additional person in the mix would do everyone some good."
"I would love to," Takuma replied. He didn''t need to consider the offer for a second. The opportunity to spar against jonin-trained genin, people who had been shinobi exactly as long as he had been, was something he couldn''t let slip away from his hands.
He wanted to test where he stood against them.
"This is how we do it, Takuma," Kazuo began. "We start slow and easy with some light sparring and then step it up until we are using all we can. Additionally, our spars are usually time-restricted. You either try to defeat your opponent in that time or try to survive until the end¡ª both equally important skills to have."
"Understood," Takuma nodded. If you couldn''t beat your opponent, either run away or try to survive until help arrived¡ª no matter how long that took. Those were the rules of combat.
"Who wants to go first?" asked Kazuo.
Immediately, Aimi''s hand shot up in the air, her body stretching up along with the raised hands as she stood on her toes as though trying to gain attention in a crowd of hundred people, even though they were only four people.
"I want to!" she said.
Kazuo nodded, "Who should we¡ª"
Aimi spoke up again, "I want to fight Takuma!" She pointed at him. "Rematch!"
Kazuo looked at Takuma, who nodded, stepped forward, and faced Aimi.
"Start whenever you''re ready."
Before the sentence could leave Kazuo''s mouth, Aimi shot forward like a bullet.
''She''s fast,'' thought Takuma. By Ring standards, she was well into the upper echelons. He unhurriedly assumed his stance and kept his muscles loose. Aimi was fast, but not the fastest he had fought.
She didn''t hesitate to enter his personal space and started with a palm strike. Takuma rotated his torso out of the way and countered with a hard elbow strike to her face which she expertly caught with a grin. He didn''t respond to the grin. Takuma simply grabbed her hand, which had struck out, swept her legs, and threw her down with a judo throw.
"Woah!"
The next moment she was punched twice in the face, followed by a swift knee in her lower stomach. With her balance destroyed and the sudden blows that left her reeling, Aimi couldn''t react quickly enough when Takuma put her into a lock.
Her hands immediately went to her neck when she felt an arm tightening around it, restricting her airflow. She tried to claw at it, pull it apart, but Aimi wasn''t as strong as she was fast. Takuma kept his grip tight, and even when she tried to get it, he kept her near the ground, barring any attempts to find any position from where she could get any freedom.
"It''s okay to tap out before you go under," Takuma spoke with a grunt as Aimi''s small frame thrashed against him. "You can always try the next time, but if you go unconscious, it lowers your chances."
Aimi groaned before she finally roughly tapped out.
Takuma immediately let go and got pushed away from Aimi. He shrugged with a light smile as she glared at him before giving her a hand to stand up.
Takuma turned to Kazuo,
"I''m up for another round."
CH_4.25 (125)
Sarutobi Kazuo stood with his arms crossed as he watched one of his students thrash around as she was pinned to the ground, desperately trying to get out of the body hold the Police Force boy had her in. Aimi was taken down before the timer hit half a minute¡ª an embarrassing performance against a peer of the same class.
He was well aware Aimi wasn''t the strongest combatant, and neither did her talents lay in the craft of violence. His bubbly student''s aptitude was towards scouting and tracking. She could pick clues on a trail as though placed in plain sight and had the ability to join those signs into logical conclusions¡ª even Momoe, the smartest of his trio, couldn''t hold a candle against Aimi''s natural intuition and environmental awareness.
She might not reach the level of a Hyuga with their miraculous eyes or Aburame with their bugs; Kazuo firmly believed she could do a job better than most of the Inuzuka with their ninken.
''I wished she would take combat training more seriously,'' Kazuo found himself repeating the same thought once more.
If not anyone else, Aimi required adequate combat ability. Her talent ensured someday she would be alone in scouting situations deep inside enemy territory. Scouts usually operated in solitude due to the secretive nature of the task. Aimi was progressing well in the stealth department, but no one could be invisible a hundred percent of the time¡ª one day on a mission, Aimi was bound to be found while she was scouting. That day, her combat ability would keep her alive until she could secure backup.
"Hideaki, go up," Kazuo said after Aimi tapped out of the fight.
The Akimichi stood up and confidently walked toward Takuma while smashing his big hands together.
As Aimi walked back to them, Kazuo addressed the girl. "You took it too lightly," he said, knowing that if Aimi had been serious, the result would''ve been different. He ignored Aimi''s grumble and continued, "Always remember, any sharp blade is your friend when you find yourself in a hold like that. Don''t try to claw if you can stab your way out of it."
"Yes, sir¡"
"Now reflect on how you performed."
Aimi sat down beside Momoe for some post-fight retrospection, a routine he had worked hard to instill in his students. He wanted them to actively think about their performance instead of solely relying on his feedback.
Kazuo didn''t forget to give feedback to their guest. "Takuma, great job with the grappling." Full-on grappling had a scarce presence on battlefields due to the presence of weapons and jutsu, which made presence on the feet so much more important, but clinching and limb trapping added to taijutsu could elevate fighting style if appropriately utilized. It was refreshing to see someone as young as his students include such practices into their combat.
Now, he wanted to see if Takuma could perform as fluidly with Hideaki as he did against Aimi. His two students had wildly different fighting styles after all.
Right from the get-go, Takuma assumed a different stance than before. The wider stance provided a firmer base with his guard raised up front and high as opposed to the more agile position he had against Aimi.
"He was your classmate?" Kazuo asked Momoe. She nodded. ''Figures,'' he thought.
The change in stance made it clear that Takuma was expecting more force from Hideaki and that nimbleness would be an appropriate match for Aimi, who liked to move a lot while she fought.
"Your friend is adapting his strategy depending upon his knowledge of his opponents," he nodded in appreciation.
"Is that¡ special?" Momoe asked, skeptical.
Kazuo chuckled. He should''ve expected that sort of response from her, given that he had seen her do the same from the very beginning without realizing that not many did the same. "It might seem common sense to you, but people are creatures of habit. We find comfort in what we are familiar with and often find change uncomfortable. Every shinobi follows a combat style that suits themselves¡ª which in itself is recommended¡ª but they do themselves a disservice by getting too rigid through habits and disregarding dynamic adjustments during a battle against a new foe. Every opponent is unique, and by studying them while fighting, you can gain the upper hand. A capable fighter understands not only his own strengths and weaknesses but also his opponent''s¡ª and has the ability to find ways to somehow pit their strength against others'' weakness.
It''s inevitable that someday you''ll find a foe equal to you. The one to win the fight will be the one who makes the proper adjustments and enacts them. Your mind is just as important a weapon as any other¡ª learn to use it well."
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Momoe and Aimi turned to watch the fight, Kazuo''s words in their mind.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Hideaki predicted the fight would end well before the one-minute limit. He stretched his arms back to crack his chest as he watched Takuma assume a stance. Hideaki had forgotten about Takuma until today, but that was to be expected; Takuma didn''t leave much of an impression during their academy days. All he could remember was how easy Takuma was to beat during their spars. He didn''t think today would be any different. The opening spar between Takuma and Aimi came as a mild surprise, but she had bought it on herself by being stupid.
"Start!"
Hideaki didn''t take charge; he wanted Takuma to come to him. Takuma, too, didn''t move at the first second, but when he saw Hideaki wasn''t moving, he closed the distance, taking the first charge. Hideaki took the first tentative jab from Takuma, but instead of engaging in a probing stage through exploratory strikes, he went for a big money swing for Takuma''s chest.
Takuma looked surprised at the sudden 0-to-100 aggression switch but crossed his arms in time to block the rear uppercut. The punch made a heavy grunt escape Takuma as his feet lifted a centimeter from the force.
Hideaki was of the mind to pause to see Takuma come to terms with his power, but decided to follow up with a hook to put Takuma to the ground. The fight with Aimi had ended too quickly; he couldn''t allow his team to be looked down at. He was going to take Takuma down faster than he had done Aimi.
Unexpectedly, Takuma managed to raise his arm to absorb the power hook. Hideaki frowned, displeased his one-two combo had failed, and went to grab Takuma''s head so he could headbutt the lights out of him.
Moving quicker than Hideaki, Takuma lashed out for Hideaki''s knee. It hit just right, and Hideaki''s chunky leg buckled, sending a jolt up Hideaki''s body. The sudden disruption proved successful as two swift palm strikes from Takuma thwarted Hideaki''s attempt to grab his head before sending a lead uppercut into his jaw.
"Raawh!"
The usually taciturn Hideaki roared, sending a devastating kick into Takuma''s side, which threw him to the ground, knocking the air out of him. He had a heavy frown between his brows as he pursued Takuma, seemingly wanting to beat him to the ground.
Takuma recovered as quickly as he went to the ground and jumped back to his feet, and kept his feet moving while he evaded and blocked Hideaki''s onslaught of heavy strikes that undoubtedly looked like they would hurt. Hideaki pushed and pushed, his speed and power increasing every passing second. Takuma, who was once easily keeping a constant, comfortable distance was now struggling to keep Hideaki away, evidenced by the slow increase in the redirecting palm strikes and blocks replacing clean dodges.
While Hideaki was in control of the momentum, Takuma was the one with more clean hits scored on Hideaki, but every single blow of Hideaki did more damage.
"Caught you!"
Hideaki grabbed one of Takuma''s arms. Takuma tried to pull it away, but the larger teen''s grip and strength outpowered him. Hideaki raised his other fist with a smirk to sock Takuma in the head and end the fight with a satisfying blow to relieve the rising frustration about not getting many clean hits on his unexpectedly nimble opponent.
However, before he could do that, the unexpected happened again. Takuma used his grabbed arm as leverage and jumped; he tucked his knees into his chest and slammed both his feet into Hideaki''s chest, sending the giant tumbling away and freeing Takuma from Hideaki''s grasp.
Hideaki groaned as he felt the dull pain in his chest, but it wasn''t enough to keep him down. He got up and faced Takuma, who was already charging at him. Taking the challenge, Hideaki, too, took off, determined to win the exchange.
"Time''s up! Stop!"
Kazuo''s voice startled Hideaki. He looked at his teacher, unwilling to stop. He had no idea that the allotted minute had passed away so quickly. He looked at Takuma, who was dusting himself off.
"Takuma," he called.
When his ex-classmate looked up, Hideaki gave him a nod of respect.
There was no denying that Takuma had massively improved since they had last fought, and he had to commend him for that effort.
While he thought that, he also believed: ''I''ll win the next time.''
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Akimichi Hideaki was better at taijutsu than him.
Takuma thought that as he walked to the side. He looked at his hands; it had been only a minute, but he could feel Hideaki''s power in his bones. If the fight lasted a few minutes longer, Takuma knew he would''ve been taken down.
However, the fight surprised him. He had expected power from Hideaki (it wasn''t the strongest he had faced, but it was up there)¡ª but he had not anticipated the skill which backed up the power. From his experience, people with extraordinary power relied on it, partly disregarding the skill¡ª it was human nature to lean on your strengths. Hideaki''s movements were wild, but Takuma could sense the control behind every move.
''I guess I should have expected that from an Akimichi,'' thought Takuma. The Akimichi clan were the premier users of taijutsu in the village.
However,
''I''ll win next time,'' thought Takuma.
Combat was never just pure hand-to-hand combat. Takuma was much better when he had access to his weapons pouch, and he was destructive when he could use his chakra augmentations, and he had proof that he could be lethal if he could use jutsu.
Takuma opened and closed his fist to quicken his recovery from the light numbness in his bones. He gave Hideaki a sideways look, promising to himself that he would show ''power'' to Hideaki.
He gave Aimi and Momoe a nod as they passed him. It was their time to fight. He turned and followed Momoe with his eyes. The girl was by far the best in their class, he wanted to see how much she had improved in a year and a half and where he stood against that best.
His first Ring ninjutsu fight was near¡ª and the test run he wanted to do?
He was going to use his dear classmates as that test run.
As Takuma turned away, he didn''t notice Momoe turn and looked at him with an inquisitive look.
CH_4.26 (126)
So much had happened in her life that one-and-a-half years seemed like they had passed in the blink of an eye, yet the time before seemed ages ago. She held her time in the academy in fond regard¡ª it was a carefree, peaceful time, before she knew what it truly meant to be a shinobi. If she was being honest, she still didn''t know what it meant to be a shinobi. At least, that''s what her teacher kept saying to her. It was quite irritating, to be honest.
Anyway, look at her, being swept away by the memories.
Speaking of memories. She remembered Takuma. He was a quiet boy in her class, didn''t speak to anyone, always minding his own business, or was it that he had no one to talk to. What was the term for it? Socially awkward, that''s it. Takuma had no friends. What he had was bullies¡ª Hiji and his cohort had taken him as their target. To this date, she couldn''t figure out how that was a fun thing to do. She read it was something about the feeling of power over someone else.
She pitied him. She even tried to help him, but when he didn''t seem enthusiastic about helping himself, she gave up. By their final year, she had stopped her efforts almost completely.
In hindsight, perhaps making friends with Takuma could''ve helped him, but she didn''t go that far. Why would she?
Momoe hated him after all.
Civilian. That''s what her parents were, and before she received her forehead protector, that was her identity as well.
Shinobi. That''s what she was now.
Even though they occupied the same village, the two groups lived separate worlds.
Civilians lived their lives in safety, away from the violent turmoil of the world they lived in, but that safety came at the price of liberty. That didn''t mean they weren''t happy, but they had to sacrifice one thing to gain another¡ª though there were those like her dad who could live without sacrificing freedom (abundant money tends to have that effect). The civilians bankrolled shinobi, and yet the latter was conceived to be superior.
Then there were shinobi, who treaded danger and partook in the violence they themselves created. The life of a shinobi was hazardous, death could send an invitation every day, and one could only refuse the invitation so many times. Only the truly strong had the right to continue living¡ª but if history taught anything, even the strong succumbed before their natural end. However, that risk granted them power and authority. Evident by the fact that the village was created by a shinobi, and the head had always been a shinobi. Perhaps the people who had it best were the shinobi who didn''t go to the frontlines and instead used their skills in different areas. They had a lower ceiling than the traditional shinobi, but they were safe behind the village walls¡ª and yet they still belonged among shinobi. Of course, there were exceptions¡ª healers, engineers, seal masters¡ª who were looked up to by their peers due to their importance. And yet, the Hokage had always been those who displayed their strength on the battlefield.
Momoe had yet to figure out why, but she had noticed those from a long line of shinobi history didn''t appreciate when an outsider entered their world. Civilian-born shinobi were the outsiders. Perhaps they didn''t think that someone without the lineage and background could do the job they did as well as they did and didn''t appreciate the attempt.
And in a way, Momoe could see where they came from. Since entering the academy to this day, she had noticed how civilian students always lagged behind their shinobi counterparts. It was a generalization, but there was real-life proof for it. Most of the high-ranking positions in the shinobi administration were occupied by those from shinobi clans or families, and the percentage of clan jonin dwarfed civilian-born jonin¡ª those like the Fourth Hokage were considered anomalies. Even that was short-lived, and now, the Third Hokage was back in power.
She remembered the early years of her academy. Momoe wasn''t always at the top of her class. In the early days, when she couldn''t do the things she could do now, she struggled just like others. She would look at her classmates, who were better than her, and wondered how they got so much better (she didn''t know the answer then.)
But if they could do it, she could do it too, Momoe thought and began practicing what was being taught in the class. Slowly but surely, she began improving¡ª and before she knew it, Momoe was the top student of her batch. Highest theory and practical scores. If it was being taught in the academy, she could do it better than anyone else.
Along with that improvement in skill came popularity. The classmates who didn''t talk to her much before became her friends. She got several of her best friends for life from her days in the academy, so she wasn''t complaining. Who didn''t like making friends?
But, one day, as she was visiting the faculty room to give her class instructor a letter from her parents about leaving, she heard the instructors talking about her.
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"Okubo Momoe, top of the class. Impressive skill for her age," her class instructor said.
"They sure are," replied another instructor, "but we both know it''s only time before she gets left behind by the clan kids."
Momoe didn''t remember much from the rest of the conversation, but what she remembered stuck with her. Why would they think that she would be left behind? She didn''t know why those words bothered her. So, Momoe did the one thing that came to her mind. She continued to train to keep her position at the top. When the academy curriculum wasn''t enough, she began searching for skills that weren''t taught in the academy. Her parents helped her, for which she was grateful.
And yet, she could see it in the eyes of the instructors. They never considered her an equal to the clan kids. They would praise her, but they would carelessly give away clues through their actions. Her sparring schedule, as she noticed, would follow a wave patent with high-ability clan kids and low-ability students. Only when she effortlessly defeated the lesser skilled ones would she be pitted against the clan kids¡ª who would finally give her fair competition. But after one or two of those spars, she had to spend four to five spars with classmates who clearly weren''t her match. Only when she began to sweep the floor with clan kids did the instructors begin scheduling all her spars with those at the top of the class.
Eventually, she figured out why they treated her like that.
Because she was a civilian-born student. And civilian-born students weren''t skilled. They put her in the same category despite having her results in front of their eyes.
A prime example of her findings: Takuma
The worst student in the academy, someone who would be beaten in every aspect by students several years below them. He couldn''t do anything; it was so bad everyone wondered why he was even in the academy.
It was people like Takuma who ruined the reputation of civilian-born shinobi. The rest of the civilian-born might not have been as worse as Takuma, but none except her could match them.
In her eyes, Takuma became the symbol of why she had to work so hard to get the respect she deserved. Even when he improved, Takuma was still stuck at the bottom of the class; someone who needed three chances to pass the graduation test¡ª further decreasing the image of civilian-borns in her peers'' eyes.
Perhaps hate was a stronger word than she intended, but she definitely disliked him.
Only the manners instilled in her by her parents kept her civil with him.
She was happy when they graduated as she was put in a jonin team where she flourished. Kazuo wasn''t like her academy instructors; he pushed her harder than ever, but only because he saw the potential in her. Taught her skills and showed her aspects of being a shinobi she hadn''t even thought about before.
As for Takuma, last she heard, he was in the Genin Corp with no further news coming to her through her academy classmates. It wasn''t a surprise. She understood the dynamics of the Genin Corp¡ª even if someone in his position rose through the proverbial ranks, it would be several years before it would be noteworthy enough to make gossip about.
''But¡''
If Momoe weren''t seeing her through her own eyes, she would''ve thought it impossible. For a moment, she even checked if she was under a genjutsu.
Takuma was fighting on par with Hideaki. The same Takuma who couldn''t touch Hideaki if the latter didn''t want it during the academy.
"I can see why he got selected into the Police Force," Kazuo commented.
"He has gotten better," said Aimi.
''That''s an understatement,'' thought Momoe.
Everything from the skill behind his combat arts to speed, strength, and dexterity had improved drastically, more so when you consider that it only had been one and half years since they had last seen him.
''He has improved more than Hideaki?'' she thought.
If before Takuma couldn''t stand in a fight against Hideaki, he was now fighting him on the same level; it was either that Hideaki hadn''t improved one bit, or Takuma had improved much faster than Hideaki. She knew the former wasn''t true, so the latter could only be the truth.
''But how?''
Takuma dodged Hideaki''s bo-staff attack by backflipping and launched a volley of shuriken simultaneously. Hideaki tried to block them with bo-staff, but some of them hit him in the shoulder and upper chest.
Hideaki grunted in anger.
Seeing the opportunity in front of him, Takuma moved in immediately and began laying down a combo barrage of perfectly placed blows onto Hideaki, who, surprisingly enough, couldn''t seem to pick a chance to disengage or retaliate. There was an aggression behind his movements which Momoe couldn''t put the finger on¡ª one would expect the aggression to turn his movements crude, but Takuma showed focus through his choices. Each blow timed and placed in weak spots which hurt and hobbled. If Hideaki covered one spot, Takuma would hit another uncovered one.
But then Momoe and her team saw something familiar happen. Hideaki, who was being pushed back, smashed his foot into the ground and came to a stop. Within the next few seconds, he began matching blows with Takuma, and in the moments after, he was overpowering Takuma.
"Sensei," Aimi turned to Kazuo.
Kazuo nodded. "Hideaki, chakra augmentations aren''t allowed in this¡ª"
Before Kazuo could complete his sentence, Takuma landed a punch in Hideaki''s gut which sent him flying several feet.
"¡ª fight¡"
Momoe looked at Takuma. The look on his face had changed. Before, he looked calm and collected, but now there was a fire in his eyes and a grin on his face. He looked excited, eager, enthusiastic even.
They heard him mutter, "I didn''t think today would be the day I would face it for the first time. I''m glad. I am truly glad."
"¡ That was chakra augmentation?" muttered Momoe.
Kazuo nodded.
Momoe took a deep breath. The guy who could barely make a clone in the academy was practicing chakra augmentations now, a class of jutsu, challenging to learn and harder to master.
The punch, as strong as it was, wasn''t enough to keep Hideaki down; even if he was bleeding from the cuts, Takuma had been able to get in through the gaps in the chunky armor he wore. One of the hardest things to do in the world was to put an Akimichi down. He got up, gripped his bo-staff, and charged for Takuma, who, in turn, dropped his kunai and shot forward with bare hands.
CH_4.27 (127):
Takuma stared at his fist. The dull ache in his knuckles and wrist was surprising. He had long passed the stage where his hands would start hurting after a fight or training unless he overdid things by pushing himself. But here he was, three minutes against Hideaki had caused him to feel the sting.
He looked at the Akimichi, who was massaging his knee and had his other hand pressed against his aching abdomen. Takuma acknowledged that Hideaki was a monster in his own right. Not once had he faced an opponent in the Ring who could take beyond a few well-placed chakra-augmented strikes¡ª they always either quit or slowed down enough for him to finish the fight. But not Hideaki. Until the very end, Hideaki was in fighting condition. If the fight continued, Takuma was confident he would''ve emerged triumphant against Hideaki, but long fights were undesirable.
He knew why Hideaki was able to sustain and endure his assault. He fought fire with fire¡ª chakra augmentation with chakra augmentation. But unlike Takuma, Hideaki''s chakra augmentation was superior. Takuma''s self-created augmentations served a singular purpose, to increase the destructive power of strikes by discharging chakra at the time of impact. Hideaki''s augmentation, on the other hand, was multi-purpose and much more versatile¡ª it not only made him stronger; it increased his speed and improved durability¡ª Hideaki already had plenty of all there, and furthering those attributes made him scarier.
Takuma had won because he was more skilled in combat and used the experience forged in the Ring to overcome superior stats.
''I can beat him even if he went all out,'' he felt that from the bottom of his heart. Takuma had extensive experience with close-range combat¡ª clearly Hideaki''s strong suit, but Takuma''s comfort was a mix of close-range and medium-range due to his ninjutsu collection. He didn''t know Hideaki''s upper limit, but he felt confident that his own upper limit was higher than his.
"I would like to apologize, Takuma," Kazuo walked to him after speaking some words to Hideaki.
"Chakra augmentation shouldn''t have been allowed in this round. Hideaki broke the rules by using them first."
"I would''ve used it first if he hadn''t," said Takuma, confused. But he immediately realized where Kazuo was coming from. There had been many complaints against Takuma (Scars) in Ring for using chakra augmentation in the weapons category; many of his opponents thought that chakra augmentation belonged in the ninjutsu category and nowhere else¡ª but Tsubura had ignored them all, allowing Takuma to use his best weapon.
Kazuo had a satisfied expression as he nodded. Takuma was sure that the jonin was misunderstanding something, and he wasn''t going to correct that misunderstanding.
"I''m glad Hideaki forgot to book the training field today," said Kazuo. "Today will give them a lot to think about." He glanced at his students with a look that showed he cared about them, or at least that he cared about how they turned out as shinobi. Which was all one could ask from a jonin teacher.
"I''m glad for it as well," Takuma replied.
Very glad, indeed.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Remember, you have five minutes," said Kazuo, "and while you''re allowed to use everything, let''s not damage things that can''t be fixed."
Momoe gazed at Takuma in front of her. He was staring at his feet with hands in his weapons pouches, fiddling. His body language was calm, but she couldn''t tell anything beyond that. He hid it well. But she had seen his fights against Aimi and Hideaki, and they had already fought twice. The first fight had barely been one with them probing each other; the second fight they had fought, but unlike against Hideaki, he had been cautious against her.
As Kazuo stepped back, Momoe drew her sword out of the scabbard on her back. She had a sample of what he could do from his fight against Hideaki¡ª if he could push Hideaki, of all people, back with his bare-handed fists, then she wasn''t going to let him hit her. Her sword would keep him away from her while she cut him to shreds.
"Go!"
Momoe bent her knees, building stress in her legs as she raised her sword before shooting forward like a lightning bolt. Her sword was already slicing down at him before he could even catch the blade with his eyes.
*Clang!*
Her eyes widened a fraction as her sword clashed against the twin kunai. Her eyes caught Takuma''s look at her, still calm, but now there was a calculating glint behind them. The kunai forced her sword to the side as Takuma tried to kick her ankle from under her. Momoe jumped up, tucking her knees up while pushing her sword forward. Takuma tilted his head to the side to dodge the blade.
Both immediately jumped away. But only for a moment. The moment their feet set down on the ground, they snapped towards each other. Momoe deflected a kunai coming for her face, only to see a second emerge from the former''s shadow. She had to contort her body out of its way, and in doing so, she gave Takuma a chance to take her feet out with a sliding tackle.
But it took more than that to hobble a competent shinobi. Momoe took control of her body by turning mid-air. Momoe flew parallel to the ground as Takuma passed under her. She knew that she had to reach the ground quickly as Takuma would be coming for her.
And that he did; Takuma dug his heel into the dirt to slow himself down before shooting in the opposite direction toward Momoe. He didn''t bother to straighten himself and simply jumped head-first into her body before she could stabilize herself.
Takuma immediately positioned himself over her and started with a knee strike into Momoe''s abdomen. Momoe coughed but retaliated with a head smash in his face. Takuma floundered for a moment, which was all Momoe needed. She kicked him back and used her sword for all its advantage, leaving a gash in his side. She clicked her tongue when the chainmail under his clothes presented resistance which left the wound less grave than she wanted.
To her surprise, Takuma didn''t even react to the injury and smashed his fist into her face. Thankfully, it wasn''t chakra-augmented, or her face would''ve caved in. They further wrestled on the ground before Momoe threw him away.
For the next few seconds, neither made a move. They didn''t take small steps to probe each other or try to trick each other with feints. No, they simply stayed still with their eyes fixed on each other.
Takuma broke the stillness when he began to weave hand seals.
Momoe gritted her teeth, and her grip around her sword tightened. She took in a sharp breath as chakra began to seep into her sword. A smirk crossed her lips as she heard the familiar hum in the soft shrill she had come to love hearing.
She positioned it overhead and charged forward.
Whatever Takuma was going to throw, she was going to cut through it and slice him down at the same time.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kazuo smiled when he saw Momoe assume her favorite sword stance. When he had first met her and seen a sword on her back, he had a mind to scoff, more when he heard her say that kenjutsu was her specialty. Wet-behind-their-ear genin didn''t know enough to have specialties.
And he was right. Momoe wasn''t skilled enough to call kenjutsu her specialty. But Kazuo could no longer scoff because he saw what she knew and realized the potential in his new student.
The sword was to Momoe, what the Gunbai was to Uchiha Madara. They were made for each other.
So, Kazuo did what any sane teacher would do. He gave her the resources needed, called in friends and colleagues well-versed in the art of kenjutsu, and had her train under them. As he had expected, Momoe bloomed. She picked up an advanced kenjutsu style and paired it with bukijutsu-class ninjutsu that suited her perfectly.
He glanced at Takuma weaving hand seals. He liked the kid, but he didn''t have a chance against Momoe. The record between Momoe and Hideaki was skewed steeply in the former''s favor.
Takuma''s chest puffed and widened before he released a mass of high-speed water towards Momoe.
''Magnificently executed,'' Kazuo thought.
But¡ª
Momoe swung her sword down in a swift strike which split the entire water wave in two. It was as though Momoe was water repellent as not a single drop hit her¡ª all the water mass was pushed to the side. The force behind her strike was such that an arcing wave traveled out of the swing, cutting through the continuous jet of water until it reached Takuma and ripped through his clothes and chainmail, leaving a very long cut that went from shoulder down to his mid-thigh.
"Perfection," Kazuo muttered.
Momoe rode the momentum, and straightaway launched an offense.
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In response, Takuma¡ ran away.
Kazuo watched in surprise as Takuma ran away from Momoe. There were no other words for it. Takuma ran while Momoe gave chase after him. When she released wind cutters from her sword, he would desperately dodge¡ª he was nicked here and there¡ª but was never hit completely, even once. Even when Momoe managed to close the distance, he would somehow evade all her strikes.
They ran around in circles.
"What is he doing?" Aimi said, bewildered. "Is he trying to run the time out?"
Kazuo couldn''t think of another reason. If Takuma ran out the clock, the result would be a draw. But this was a spar; they were trying to practice combat. Running so he could force a draw wasn''t what he should be doing¡ª if he were on a defensive strategy, Kazuo would understand, but this was not it.
Suddenly, an explosion blew up the ground after Takuma chucked an explosive tag at Momoe, who cleanly dodged it.
Takuma knelt on the ground and began weaving hand seals.
The moment the dust cleared, Momoe darted toward Takuma. Kazuo could see she was frustrated. Not a clean hit, not even a blocked one, after so many swings was a frustrating feeling.
Takuma ran once again, but this time, he ran towards Momoe. For a moment, Kazuo was confused as nothing happened after Takuma weaved his hand seals. But then Takuma threw up two kunai into the air in front of him.
The water Takuma had sprayed from his previous justu came to life and rose into the air like magic and shot toward Takuma''s back into a large blob. The water blob wiggled before dividing itself into two parts. A second later, the tentacles snatched the kunai out of the air.
Kazuo recognized the jutsu.
Water Release: Eight Tentacles. A D-rank jutsu that did as it was named¡ª create tentacle-like appendages which could carry a reasonable weight. A versatile jutsu that he didn''t usually see used by those proficient in water nature. Kazuo realized what Takuma was planning. Momoe was fast with her sword, but if she had two more kunai to deal with at the same time, her speed would barely be enough to keep up.
And that''s what happened.
In an instant, the dynamic changed as Momoe fell on defense while Takuma pushed her on offense. The water appendages were strong, and the lack of any human anatomical limitation made defense difficult.
''But, two is his limit,'' Kazuo scratched his chin. The jutsu allowed for a maximum of eight tentacles, but the usage wasn''t that simple. Every tentacle needed to be consciously controlled; as such, the difficulty increased with each additional one. A person could control their two arms naturally without thinking because they were part of their natural physique and they had practiced doing so since birth¡ª however, a third or fourth or fifth arm was neither of those things. Extensive practice went behind moving new ''limbs'' smoothly in conjunction with their natural ones. Every additional arm raised the difficulty and stretched concentration.
He turned to Aimi. "I don''t remember seeing Takuma''s file when I was choosing from your batch. Why is that?" He was the first one to choose, which was how he got Momoe.
"He got directly sent to the Genin Corp," Aimi answered.
"Why would they do that?" Kazuo looked at Aimi in confusion.
Aimi shrugged. "I don''t know, maybe because he sucked back then."
Kazuo frowned and returned his eye to the spar.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Momoe grunted and huffed as she moved her sword faster than she had done in a while. The last time she had moved so fast was against a senior chunin while in training. Takuma was attacking her with three kunai at the same time. Two held by the water tentacles and one in his right hand. She glanced at his empty arm. That was an entirely different problem. She knew he was keeping it open to use augmented strikes if she gave him a chance.
Takuma''s style hadn''t changed much from before. He targeted her legs more than anyone she had fought, which was more annoying than anything. But now she had to deal with the two other arms that unfailingly attacked when Takuma created an opening to strike.
"Ugh!"
She yelped in pain as Takuma dug a kunai into her upper thigh. Momoe tried to load her sword with chakra but was immediately made to cut the connection by a chakra-augmented kick smashing into her upper arm. A sharp pain spiked through her arm, making her almost drop her sword.
Her mind raced, trying to figure out the next course of action. Her eyes darted at the water appendages holding the kunai. As though timing it, the tentacles chucked their kunai at her the moment she blinked. Her sword moved on instinct to deflect them before she had to reel her instincts in when Takuma jabbed the kunai in his left for her abdomen. The blades screeched noisily as Momoe successfully managed to dodge. Her relief was momentary as she was hit by an augmented kick straight on the cut in her thigh.
For the first time in the fight, Momoe backed off. She hastily swung her sword that cut off half a tentacle, before jumping back and creating distance to get a breath of time to compose herself.
Takuma didn''t follow her. There was a pause in which he stood still for a moment. The water blob on his back twitched before the water moved to the tentacle Momoe had cut off, replenishing it back to its original length. It was after that Takuma pursued her.
Momoe noticed all of that. Not only did the water mass she had cut not rejoin the water under Takuma''s control, he also had to pause for a moment to reallocate the water. Was it because Takuma wasn''t proficient at the jutsu, or was it an inherent limitation of the jutsu? Momoe didn''t know the reason¡ª only that if it happened once, the chances of it happening again were high.
''I just have to keep cutting,'' she thought.
Momoe took a deep breath and delved deep into her focus. She blocked out her surroundings, an unwise move, but they were alone with zero outside factors. She could afford to tunnel her concentration. The effect was instantly felt¡ª Takuma''s movements didn''t get any slower, but she could react better to them.
Slice! One of the tentacles was shortened by half. In return, she got stabbed once in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth from the pain as she lifted her sword and struck again. Slice! Slice! Slice! She cut both enough that they no longer had the range to reach her.
"Gah!" Takuma shouted hoarsely. She managed to leave a gash across his arm and chest.
The momentum changed yet again, and Momoe was on the offense, but she realized that with her leg and shoulder injured, it wouldn''t be long before he would regain the advantage. She could see it in his eyes. He was still calculating, trying to figure out her next move¡ª but as Momoe anticipated, Takuma paused to reallocate the water to regrow the tentacles.
''Chance!,'' she yelled internally.
Momoe raised her sword high above her head. It was a time-consuming move (every milli-second was important), but here she could afford it. Chakra gathered on the edge of her blade as she swung down.
However, the unexpected was a mainstay of the battlefield. Takuma''s two tentacles regrew, and two additional ones burst alongside the old ones. The four water appendages layered themselves atop one another in front of her sword. As her sword metal sliced through, she could feel how the water was much denser than its usual property¡ª most definitely a function of the jutsu.
It wasn''t enough. The chakra on the edge cut through the resistance and slipped past the water mass. But the fight had shown that the Takuma of today wasn''t the same as the Takuma of old. He crossed his arms in front and blocked the sword with his arm guards. Clang! The sword hit the metal plating, stopping the sword from reaching the skin.
Momoe clicked her tongue. But, she managed to cut a majority of the water mass, which was a positive. She immediately jumped back, and Takuma did the same. Her condition was a level worse than Takuma''s.
A direct confrontation was unadvised, she thought.
She gazed at him as the water tentacles returned from four to two. She briefly glanced at Kazuo before coming to a decision.
It was time to end the spar.
She dropped her sword, and her hands blurred as she formed hand seals.
''Fire Release: Incinerating Wildfire!''
The chakra bubbled in her lungs as she felt her body warm up from the inside. She loved how it felt when she used the jutsu. It was pure power. Power that she had control over. She breathed out, and pure chakra transformed as fuel burst out of her mouth, igniting into a wide spray of deadly fire.
The fire burned the grass and scorched the earth as it blew toward Takuma.
Momoe picked up her sword and stood up.
When the fire blew over, there remained but scorched ground. Momoe frowned. Her first thought was that she had erased Takuma into ash, but when she looked at Kazuo, he hadn''t made a move. Then it struck her, Takuma was fine. If he hadn''t been, Kazuo would''ve interrupted the fight.
She looked to her right. He wasn''t there. Then to her left. No sign. She raised her eyes to the sky. But he wasn''t there as well.
Crack.
A shiver went down Momoe''s spine when she heard the sound. She turned toward her back as the ground split open, and Takuma, his clothes burnt and his skin singed, leaped out of the earth. She barely had time to draw her sword and push chakra into it as Takuma emerged.
"I give up," Takuma raised a bloodied and burnt hand.
Momoe wasn''t surprised. She released the tension in her body and let her sword tip touch the ground as she lowered her arm, easing the burden on the injured shoulder. She didn''t realize how labored her breathing was; she could hear it over her thumping heart.
The fight was over.
Before either could as much as blink, Kazuo appeared between them.
"Both of you fought well," he said with a smile. He placed himself between them as though anticipating one of them to attack the other.
Momoe and Takuma looked at each other.
Neither of them wanted to continue.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"You cheating bastard! Who is the wench that seduced you?" said Sango as she treated Takuma''s wound from the spar. "You didn''t fight today. How did you get these?"
Takuma looked at her. He was too exhausted to engage in jokes with her. The fight was exhausting; Momoe was probably the most formidable opponent he had faced.
"I had a spar today. The people I sparred with took me to the hospital afterward," said Takuma. But after so much time getting treated by Sango, Takuma had to book a check-up with his trusted iryo-nin to ensure the hospital had done everything properly so he could have peace of mind.
"Must''ve gotten your ass kicked in light sparring. Look at all of these burns, these will be a pain to heal," Sango said, lifting the bandage over the part of the burnt skin. "How did these happen again?"
"B-rank Fire Release jutsu," Takuma answered shortly. He didn''t know the jutsu''s name, just that it was a B-rank jutsu.
"Oh, no wonder they''re so bad," she said. "Dodge next time."
He scoffed. He had dodged, only he had done it a moment late. The jutsu had once again dug out some bad memories. The moment the heat from the jutsu reached him, he remembered the Land of Frost. He had been licked by the wisps on the fringe of the same B-rank jutsu (it was stronger than what Momoe had cast)¡ª and had to roll on the ground to extinguish them.
Takuma closed his eyes as the image of Dai''s crushed head flashed through his mind.
He grunted again as Sango touched his side.
Unlike the Ring fight, he hadn''t stopped cold against Momoe. But that slight delay had cost him. By the time he decided to use the Earth Release: Hiding In The Rock Jutsu, she was already three-quarters way through her hand seals. It was fortunate that his hasty hand seals were enough to activate the jutsu, or he would''ve been an overcooked person.
The B-rank jutsu was unexpected. He didn''t think Momoe would whip out the big guns. They were both genin, but Momoe had access to a B-rank jutsu. And he was sure that she had access to more. If he had given her a chance, she would''ve shown him what she could truly do with her sword¡ª something he wasn''t keen on facing.
He had grown stronger since the Land of Frost, but he still had nothing to counter a B-rank jutsu like Momoe''s. His C-rank defensive jutsu, Earth Release: Earthen Dome, was ripped apart by a B-rank Lightning Jutsu, which wasn''t even aimed at him.
The divide between C-rank and B-rank jutsu was a canyon.
"Did you win?" asked Sango.
"No," said Takuma. He had decided to call it quits the moment Momoe had spit the first licks of fire out of her mouth.
"Do you think you''ll win your next match?" Sango asked after she was done patching him up.
Takuma stood up, stretching his body, pulling on the newly treated, still healing wounds, and getting slapped on his back for it.
"I will try," he said.
If all genin in Ring''s ninjutsu category were like Momoe, then the Hidden Leaf would''ve already conquered the world.
CH_4.28 (128):
The fact that he was excited about his suspension ending tomorrow worried Takuma. Even though it didn''t start that way, the week turned out to be a much-needed break. His head felt much lighter than it was before, and in conjunction, his physical condition, too, had improved. And despite getting burned two days back, he would describe himself as refreshed.
And to top it all off, he was going to meet his new genjutsu teacher today.
"So, who is it?" he asked.
"Her name is Uchiha Mikoto. She''s currently inactive but maintains the rank of jonin," answered Uchiha Setsuna.
Takuma''s jaw dropped. He came to a stop in the middle of the street and stared at his recruiting officer. He felt he recognized the name but couldn''t recall where he had heard it. But that wasn''t important; he was more concerned with the fact that he was a few minutes away from meeting a jonin.
"You could''ve told me that earlier, sir," he said. "I would''ve done some reading about the topics before coming here. I do not want to seem completely dumb before a jonin!" He should''ve done some reading anyway, but knowing his teacher was a jonin would''ve done wonders for his motivation.
"Is this your first time in the Uchiha Compound?" asked Setsuna.
Takuma nodded as he looked around. "I must say it''s lovely," he said. The Uchiha Compound was one of the newest constructions in the Hidden Leaf village, built after the Nine-Tails attack on the village. The entire Uchiha population was moved to a single area. The clan had turned their allotted area into a gated community with shinobi guards at every entrance. No one could enter if they weren''t a resident or had permission from a resident to do so. Due to the fact that the entire community was built at the same time, the architecture in the Uchiha Compound was uniform, and every building fit together like pieces of a puzzle. The buildings weren''t copy-pasted from a single template, and every individual one had its own unique design and charm.
He was aware that the Uchiha weren''t happy with the decision to move them, especially with the state prison right next door, but they had definitely made the most of it.
"I''m glad you like it," said Setsuna. "All your lessons will be conducted in her home. You''ll be given an entry pass which will renew every month so long as Jonin Mikoto deems it worth her time to teach you. Be clear that she''s volunteering to teach you and can end these lessons any time she desires to do so. I pulled some strings to get her to teach you, but from here on out, it''s up to you to maintain these lessons. You lose her; you lose your genjutsu teacher¡ª there will not be another."
Takuma nodded. He understood he needed to be on his best behavior from here on out. Few could order a jonin around, and there was no one who would force a jonin to teach him.
"How did you get Jonin Mikoto to volunteer?" Takuma asked. "And why did she agree?"
"She found free time on her hand. As for why her? Let''s just say it''ll motivate others when they see that one of their own getting the opportunity to be under the tutelage of a jonin."
''So, I''m a publicity piece?'' Takuma narrowed his eyes. His batch of outside recruits wasn''t the only one. They were only the first batch. The Police Force was planning another influx next year.
He now understood how Setsuna got a jonin to teach him. The higher the reward, the higher the desire. Setsuna wasn''t only motivating the people in his current batch; he was also attracting potential recruits with higher talent grades in the second recruitment. Setsuna was using him as a dangling bait for all people.
If he could do it, they could do it.
Takuma had no problem with getting a jonin out of this, but he didn''t have to like the attached strings that came with it. As far as he knew, he was the first one to get this sort of reward. If he angered Jonin Mikoto somehow, causing her to drop him as a student, many eyes would see that, and getting another opportunity like this would become difficult. He wasn''t well-liked by many in the Department of Organized Crime after his stunt¡ª and he knew people like Yoshiaki would use any chance to make his life in the office harder than it needed to be.
Their destination was in the center of the Uchiha Compound. From the size of the houses, the general spaciousness, the width of the roads, and the cleanliness, it was clear that it was a posh area within the compound.
Takuma followed Setsuna into a walled-off house. There was no name near the outer entrance, only a house number. The building was a traditional two-story Minka architecture with a meticulous garden with trimmed lush green grass and trees which looked too old for them to be planted in the past ten years. He bet there was a koi pond somewhere on the property.
Setsuna knocked on the door. "On your best behavior, Genin Takuma," he said.
"Yes, sir."
The door soon opened to reveal a woman who very much looked like a housewife. ''A gorgeous housewife,'' thought Takuma. The Uchiha woman was a fair-skinned beauty with long, straight black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. She wore a simple dark purple blouse with a red-plum skirt and a light-yellow apron worn over it.
Her beauty only stayed in his mind for a moment as Takuma could immediately tell that the housewife was a shinobi. The signs were clear, and she wasn''t trying to hide it.
It was due to his Police Force training. Before the training, Takuma interacted with shinobi so much that the traits became a norm for him. He couldn''t see past those norms. In training, he was taught to look for the signs, so they always stood out to him. In turn, Takuma began to study civilian posture and gait to see how they held themselves¡ª what were the difference between a desk worker and a construction laborer, how did age factor in, weight and height¡ª as there was no guide on the subject, Takuma took note of every trait he could feasibly observe.
"Jonin Mikoto, thank you for hosting at your home," Setsuna said respectfully.
"Polite as always, Setsuna," Mikoto smiled. She then turned to look at Takuma, who felt her eyes scan him. "You must be Genin Takuma. Come inside."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Thank you, ma''am," said Takuma as politely as possible.
"I''ll take my leave," said Setsuna.
Mikoto didn''t ask him to stay and headed inside.
Setsuna grabbed Takuma''s shoulder and whispered. "She''s a good woman. As long as you remain civil, I don''t think there will be a problem, but beware, you don''t want to offend her¡ª especially her. Take this opportunity to learn; it''ll do you good," he said.
The tatami room they settled in was bigger than Takuma''s apartment. It was mostly empty, with minimalistic decorations on the wall. The sliding doors were open wide to let a breeze in from the outside, showing the view of the garden¡ª and, as Takuma expected, a koi pond. Tea and snacks were waiting for them. Takuma wasn''t used to sitting in seiza; it wasn''t a part of his daily life, but seeing Mikoto sitting with her knees tucked made him do so too.
"Why do you wish to learn genjutsu, Takuma?" she asked.
"I believe it to be an interesting form of jutsu," Takuma answered. "On the battlefield, the mind is often your strongest asset. It''s a powerful place, and what you feed it can affect it in a powerful way. What can you trust more than your mind? How do you react when you realize that your mind was targeted and can be done so again? Moreover, rarity works to its advantage. I''ve conversed with many of my peers. Most of them can''t cast a genjutsu. Most have opted to learn how to spot and dispel genjutsu¡ª but even that is learned at varying levels. I know an exploitable gap in the ''market'' when I see one."
"If genjutsu is so powerful, then why is it not more widespread?" she asked.
"Because physical damage is much more visual than mental damage. If you break a bone, it stays broken. You never know with the mind; most people believe that a simple kai would reverse any damage done¡ª and you''re back to square one," he answered.
"That is true. Do you agree?"
"Genjutsu, like anything else, is a tool, ma''am. The ability to disorient or influence your foe in any meaningful way to increase the chance of launching a deadly strike is highly important. If genjutsu can open the gate to ending the fight, then it has its place on the battlefield." The only reason Takuma was alive today was because of Mist Servant Jutsu. It was the trump card that had turned the tide in his battle against two highly-trained shinobi.
Mikoto hummed as she poured herself some tea. "What about you? What is your experience with genjutsu?"
"Minimal. The times I have faced genjutsu can be counted on one hand. Mist Servant Jutsu is part of my arsenal, and only that." Most of his experience with genjutsu came from Maruboshi''s training to identify and break genjutsu, and from his spars against Nenro, who was the only one among his sparring partners who used genjutsu.
"Nothing more? No theoretical knowledge about genjutsu operation, deployment, and creation?"
Takuma shook his head.
"That''s not much for someone interested in genjutsu."
"Time is the main issue, ma''am, which is why I seek out a teacher. I don''t think I can take out enough time in my day to wade through the field of genjutsu unaided. I require guidance, a specific learning plan, so I don''t waste precious time searching for what''s important and not."
There was a limit to what Takuma could learn on his own. Learn effectively that is. There were a few topics that couldn''t be self-taught, and genjutsu was not one of them. He could learn genjutsu like ninjutsu or any other skill he had learned over the years. However, due to its complex nature, Takuma didn''t think self-teaching was a wise venture, which was why he had asked for a teacher more than anything else when offered.
Mikoto took a sip from her tea. Takuma glanced down at his cup. It had cooled down. He picked it up and took a sip nonetheless.
"Let''s talk about expectations," Mikoto said. "I''m doing this because my children now spend most of their day out of the house, leaving me a sizable portion of free time, which only lasts till three in the afternoon. So, our lessons will need to be wrapped up before that. It goes without saying; you will not be given an exemption in terms of your on-duty hours."
Takuma heaved a sigh. "I can use my break time for the lessons. One hour."
Mikoto smiled. "Forty-five minutes every weekday. I appreciate and demand punctuality. I shall wait five minutes before canceling that day''s lesson¡ª if you''re to come even a minute late, you''ll be turned away. No begging. Understood?"
"Yes, ma''am."
"Every Friday will be a test to gauge your improvement. By no means am I expecting you to be perfect, but I need to see the needle move in a meaningful manner¡ Even if that week''s yield is failure¡ª failure is meaningful in my eyes¡ª I require you to learn something from it. No progress for a few consecutive weeks will end our arrangement because it''s a sign that you''re not being diligent, or I''m not a suitable teacher, or you have no natural aptitude for genjutsu, or it might be that I have no longer anything I can -want- to teach you¡ª any reason it might be, I believe it''d be a waste of time for both of us to continue."
Takuma could feel the pressure bearing down his spine. His experience with progress hadn''t been completely positive. On top of that, he had no idea what were the standards of ''meaningful'' in a jonin''s eyes. He might be thinking that he was doing good, but come Friday, he was given a negative report card along with a strike.
"I''ll try my level best to teach you. Now, what are your expectations from our lessons?" asked Mikoto.
Takuma took a moment to compose his thoughts. "I hope these lessons help me learn, understand, and apply. I have no special expectations regarding the curriculum; I will learn whatever you wish to teach me, but I need to develop a proper understanding of every concept taught, so I hope repeated questions will not irritate you. Finally, by the end of our time together, I want my learnings to translate into practical application on the field."
"All of that depends on you, Takuma, but I will facilitate and enable you to gain whatever you need. If everything goes well, genjutsu will be part of your combat style," Mikoto smiled.
"You misunderstood me, ma''am. When I say field, I expect applications outside of combat. I have seen my senior officer, Uchiha Kano, use her Sharingan on crime scenes and in investigations. I wish to achieve similar usage." Takuma had some plans concerning genjutsu use out of combat, but he didn''t know how to go about achieving that. Though now, with a jonin as his teacher, the chances of eventual success seemed to have increased.
"¡Interesting, very much so. I will take that into account for my teaching plans," said Mikoto. "And one last thing; you may sit cross-legged from tomorrow onward if you wish, Takuma."
Takuma felt an embarrassed blush come up his face. Of course, she had noticed. "Yes, ma''am."
There was a sudden sound. By no means hidden, but faint due to the distance. Takuma''s sensitive hearing picked up the opening of the door, it sounded like the heavy front door; the rushed footsteps which sounded a lot like running. He titled his head. He had measured the distance from the front door to the hall¡ª even if he presumed an average stride, the number of steps he heard would''ve gotten the person here by now.
"Mom!" The voice was shrill. Male. ''A child,'' he concluded.
Takuma looked at Mikoto. It was her son. Then he recalled how she had said her free time ended around three in the afternoon. The academy a little after two in the afternoon. It seemed her free time ended when her son came back home.
"In here, dear!" Mikoto called for her son.
"I will take my leave then, ma''am," Takuma said as he stood up.
The sliding door opened, and a child entered the room with enthusiasm, only to come to a halt when he spotted Takuma.
"I''m sorry, mom. I didn''t know you had guests," said the son apologetically.
"It''s okay, dear," Mikoto stood up as well. "This is Genin Takuma from the Police Force. He will be coming here every day to work with me. Please, introduce yourself to him."
The son turned to Takuma and introduced himself formally. "Good afternoon, sir. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. It''s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your service."
Takuma felt the smile stretch across his face as he returned the greeting. "It''s nice to meet you as well, Sasuke. You''re in the academy, aren''t you? How''s it treating ya."
He was going to find Setsuna and kill the man even if it meant turning rogue.
CH_4.29 (129):
Takuma entered the headquarters after his one-week suspension with heavy eyelids. He hadn''t gotten much sleep last night. The events of yesterday bore heavily on his mind. The awareness he would be at Sasuke''s house five times a week was a stressful realization.
It went without saying that he preferred if things were different. But they weren''t. He was stuck with visiting arguably one of the most important buildings in the Hidden Leaf village. However, after a night of thinking, Takuma realized that things weren''t as bad as he initially thought. He was using his lunchtime for the lessons in the middle of the day. No one except Mikoto would be home¡ª so Takuma wasn''t worried about meeting with ''problematic'' people on a regular basis. He was going to learn genjutsu and get out as soon as possible every day.
When Takuma entered the Organized Crime offices, he felt eyes fall on him. He had expected that, so he walked to his desk while staring down anyone staring at him. Most of them turned their eyes away when Takuma maintained eye contact for more than a moment, some were frowning at him, but most surprisingly, a few even gave him appreciative smiles and discreet thumbs up as he passed by. One even wordlessly patted him once on his back.
He had not expected that reaction from anyone who wasn''t directly involved. It seemed some people liked what he and his team had done.
"Look who decided to show up."
Takuma had just dumped his bag on his desk when he heard the voice. He turned back to see Arisu before him, her arms crossed and a faint smile on her face. He had been completely cut from the department in his suspension, so it had been a week since he had seen her.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Ready to get back to work," he answered. "What about you? How''s the wrap-up going?" One week was more than enough to arrest multiple people, have multiple interrogation sessions, get confessions, and acquire ample information to implicate more people. He was sure by this point; they had already finished the lion''s share of their job and had passed the work to the state prosecutors who would press charges and present the cases in court.
"Still going at it. It has been a lot of work. Everyone had to put their hands together to process everyone we bought in," said Arisu. It was crucial that the department moved quickly to ensure that the suspects they brought in didn''t have enough time to get their stories straight, threaten people, and do things that might make their jobs difficult.
"Please tell me it''s at least as good as we thought it would be," asked Takuma.
"It''s much better," she said. "Big-wigs are very happy about it. A lot of good press."
"Yeah, I saw the articles. No wonder I got some smiles today," Takuma looked around the office.
"You know, some people came asking me if you had another big scoop planned¡ they would like to help, as they put it," said Arisu. "I mean, come on, big things like this don''t come every day¡" Takuma was smiling. "... do they? Do you have something planned?" she asked, stepping closer to him.
"I might have something. Why, you interested?" he asked.
Arisu was interrupted before she could speak.
"Genin Takuma. In my office, please," Kano entered the office and ordered as she passed by their desks.
Takuma took out a folder from his bag and turned to Arisu. "Well, wish me luck." Arisu had her mouth agape; her eyes stuck to the folder in Takuma''s hand as he walked away from her.
Takuma entered the office as Kano was setting her things down. He waited patiently by her desk, not speaking a word until she addressed him. He observed her, trying to check her body language, but the woman gave nothing away.
"Sending Chunin Oishi to assist in the investigation. Trying to be helpful, Genin Takuma?" she said.
Takuma didn''t apologize. If he did so, he would be admitting that he was at fault. He had made a suggestion in his report, which the higher-ups had deemed logical enough to follow¡ª and in return, they had got a competent interrogator to consult and oversee the process. He wasn''t at fault. In fact, he was the benefactor.
"I called in a favor for the sake of the case, ma''am," he replied.
"Yes, I can see that," she replied, sitting down behind her desk.
From the looks of it, she wasn''t mad at him, but she wasn''t pleased either. Meaning he was safe. As long as he continued to bring in the results, Takuma was sure their relationship as boss and subordinate would survive just fine. After all, Takuma wasn''t really interested in making friends with anyone with ''Uchiha'' in their name. That would only lead to hurt.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"What now, Takuma? Now that you''re back," she asked.
"Work as usual, ma''am," Takuma said before taking a page from the folder. "This is my request to not be disturbed during my lunchtime. I would be out for an hour every day without fail and wouldn''t be available through any means of contact except for the most concerning emergencies."
Kano received the request letter. "And why is that?"
"I''d be studying under Lady Uchiha at her house every day during my lunchtime," said Takuma.
"Lady Uchiha?" asked Kano as she read the letter.
"Jonin Uchiha Mikoto," answered Takuma.
Kano stilled for a moment before looking up from the letter. "Pardon?"
"I was given the chance to study genjutsu under Jonin Mikoto. And she''s only free during my lunchtime. This is a heads-up that I''d be absent during that time period, and in case my presence is truly needed, you can fetch me from there," said Takuma. He knew no one would come looking for him at that house unless it was truly important. They wouldn''t want to offend Mikoto; her status as a jonin was enough to keep most away. "You can confirm it from Chunin Setsuna. He''d be able to corroborate my claim."
He didn''t need permission from Kano as his lunchtime was his lunchtime. He was off-duty. But he understood that sometimes he might be needed, so this was his way of telling Kano where to find him.
"¡ I will do so," she muttered. Kano looked up at him. "Any other surprises you want to get out of your way before I let you return to work?"
"That depends on what surprises you, ma''am." Takuma placed the folder on her desk.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A proposition," he said. "During the week I was at home, I thought a lot about the Maiko Triad case. I believe the time I worked on the case was the most productive I have been. Due to how I handled it, I had to work alone, with help coming in the last stages. All that time spent alone forced me to learn faster and more than I had ever done in my life. I felt good about myself during that time¡ª I was good at what I was doing," those feelings were partially true; Takuma did feel great when his plans slowly came together; he was proud of what he had accomplished. "I would like to work on narcotics cases, ma''am. I live in a place with a big drug trouble. I see what they do to people who abuse them. I have seen civilians a little older than me ruining their lives. I want to stop that. I want to return to the community. What you have in your hand is a proposal to create a team that targets reducing the presence of drugs in the Hidden Leaf village. I want to go after every major and minor player that operates within our jurisdiction in hopes that one day our village might be narcotics free. No more lives lost due to the terrible substances which harm our loved ones, our youth, our shinobi."
If Takuma wanted to accomplish what he had planned with Enomoto, he needed control over the cases he worked on, so he could target whatever information Enomoto provided. If he had that freedom and hopefully a team behind him, the most difficult part of the challenge would already be solved.
Of course, Takuma knew things wouldn''t be so easy.
"You realize you didn''t pull the shutter on the Maiko Triad," Kano leaned forward in her chair. "We only got our hands on their low-level and some middle-level members. They''re still very much running strong. This would be appropriate," she pointed at his proposal, "if you had put an end to them. You''re overestimating your accomplishments."
Takuma spoke, "Ma''am, the truth right now is that the Maiko Triad isn''t going to wage a territorial war. Due to the fact we caught so many of them, they''re forced to take a step back and pull back their activities until the wind blows over. I did all that in less than two months while also handling other cases under you. Imagine what I can do if I can dedicate myself to one target¡ª imagine what we could do if I had a team with me. We don''t have a dedicated narcotics team within our department, I want to create a team specializing in such cases for maximum efficiency and impact. It''s a well-known fact that drug money bankrolls so many illegal operations in and outside the village. Money makes the world go round, and if we hit them where it hurts, the effects will show everywhere else."
He could see that Kano was still skeptical. He didn''t blame her, but he could help her.
"That proposal includes something akin to a proof-of-concept," Takuma pointed at the folder. "If you assign me a small team of my choice and let me work with them for a month, I will provide results that will prove the feasibility of this idea."
He opened the folder to a page and let Kano read over it. His time working under Iruka had taught him how to do paperwork. The young chunin was obsessed with proper paperwork and had forced his team to learn the appropriate way. Takuma had gone to Iruka during the week and shown him the drafts. As Takuma had expected, Iruka had torn into him about the mistakes and had him go through revisions. The final product was what Kano was reading. It was so polished that it glimmered.
"¡ Let''s say I push this up the chain of command, and it gets accepted there," Kano spoke after reading, "what would you do if you fail to come up with results."
"If I fail, my reputation will fall to someone who got lucky once. I will lose all the momentum I have going for myself. People will be less willing to listen to me. It''ll be a pretty bad setback," said Takuma.
"Then why are you smiling?"
Takuma didn''t know he was smiling, but he indeed was. "Maybe because if I succeed, I shoot up in the opposite direction. High risk; high reward. And I feel confident about this, ma''am."
Kano asked Takuma to leave. When he got to his desk, Arisu jumped him.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I can''t tell you," Takuma replied. She frowned, but he continued. "Until Kano gives it a green flag, it''s better if I don''t say anything. If it goes well, she will come to you with a choice; it''s up to you if you wish to accept it."
"What''s the choice about?"
Takuma looked her in the eyes and said,
"An opportunity to do something great."
Three days later, a temporary narcotics task force was formed.
Takuma was declared the leader.
CH_4.30 (130)
Enomoto rubbed the back of his neck as he stood in front of the door. He took a deep breath before entering the room to be greeted by the crowd gathered to watch one of the rare events in the Ring¡ª the debut of a newcomer in the ninjutsu category. It wasn''t every day when the Ring allowed one of their fighters to enter the ninjutsu category. A "regular" ninjutsu category fight was rare enough, but when a new fighter debuted in the arena, people with time, money, and influence on their hands used the fights as an excuse to socialize. He looked around the area, and as expected, he recognized everyone he laid his eyes on¡ªold shinobi with too much time on their hands and younger ones looking to network for their benefit. Enomoto wondered how many of them had actually come to watch the fight.
It was universally known that Tsubura''s sense of taste was horrible, but it seemed that even the Ring''s boss knew better than to force it upon his important guests. Tasteful music filled the room at an appropriate simmer so that people could converse without shouting; gorgeous civilian men and women served alcohol and food and to entertain if the patrons desired. The d¨¦cor was kept simple and spacious, with enough seating to maximize practicality and comfort without excessive gaudiness, which Tsubura was known for.
Enomoto picked up a glass from a waiter and sedately walked through the room to see who he should talk to first. There was some time before the fight, and he might as well make small talk with some people.
He listened for the conversations in groups and found the one he could slip into easily.
"I heard this Scars is quite young. How young are we talking?" said a middle-aged man Enomoto recognized from the Hidden Leaf Mining Division, the governance office which handled mining activities that came directly under the purview of the Hidden Leaf.
None in the group seemed to know the answer. Enomoto saw his chance and seamlessly stepped in.
"I believe he''s younger than fifteen," said Enomoto, garnering the group''s attention. "They say he was thirteen when he started, and it has been a year since he began, so fourteen would be a good guess, but the management might have fudged the numbers to put attention on his young age¡ª thus, fifteen or less."
In truth, Takuma was twelve and a half when he began. Being that young, Tsubura had decided to keep Scars'' age vague in case someone "above ground," as Tsubura put it so eloquently: "tried to bullshit my position away from me!" In truth, the whispers Tsubura had asked his team to spread were that Scars was anywhere from thirteen to fifteen as to put Scars as someone who had at least one year as shinobi under his belt and not some green-as-grass rookie who had been duped into joining the Ring.
"And who might you be?" asked the man.
Enomoto smiled and introduced himself. "Chunin Enomoto, iryo-nin from the Medical Training Division."
Enomoto saw interest rise in their eyes when they heard that he was an iryo-nin. He smiled and continued to make small talk with them as any iryo-nin would. Never had his decision to pursue iryo-jutsu when he was a new genin let him down.
"What more can you tell us about this Scars fellow?"
He took a moment to spin a tale. "Not much is known about Scars as he never joined a team," a smart move given Takuma wanted to keep himself as anonymous as one could be, "but I''ve heard a few things about Scars¡"
The group physically leaned closer to him. Many looked down on gossip, but it held a strong power over people. There were few who didn''t like to hear gossip. No one wanted to miss out on something others knew; it made them feel they were involved. And when people heard something interesting, they would pass it along regardless if they knew it to be true or not in an attempt to make them seem interesting and in-the-know.
"¡ It has only been a year since Scars appeared in the Ring arena, and he''s about to make his debut ninjutsu category," which was highly unusual; usually, it took several years of hard work to reach the stage, "and because of that, it''s believed that he''s from a great clan tasked with conquering the Ring as soon as possible¡ª and from the looks of it, he''s doing well."
If it were anywhere else, the charm would''ve been if Scars hadn''t been from a clan, but in the Ring, which didn''t see clan shinobi ever, a fighter from a clan held a certain charm to it. Moreover, almost everyone in the room belonged to shinobi clans or families; the story of a clan shinobi reaching Ring''s pinnacle at record speed established a sense of superiority over non-clan shinobi. He was simply telling the people what they would like to hear while chuckling inwardly, knowing Takuma was as far from a clan shinobi as possible.
The false gossip had its intended effect. They continued to look interested and now were looking pleased.
"Which clan?" asked a kunoichi.
"Nara or Yamanaka," replied Enomoto. They looked confused and interested, so he continued. "There have been several complaints against Scars about his use of chakra augmentations, so it was speculated that he''s close to Akimichi Tsubura¡"
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"The boss?"
"¡Indeed. But one look at Scars will tell anyone with half a brain that the boy isn''t an Akimichi. So, who else could have Tsubura overlook so many complaints but someone strongly allied with Akimichi? Thus, Nara or Yamanaka. Personally, I think it''s a Yamanaka. A motivated Nara, if one exists, would turn their eyes somewhere other than the Ring."
The group laughed in response.
"It seems the fight is about to begin," Enomoto commented as everyone turned towards the arena below. "Let''s get seated."
He enjoyed networking, but today, he had come to see Takuma. Now that they had deepened their ''friendship,'' Enomoto was more invested in Takuma than before, not to mention every Scars victory meant a bit more money into his pocket. It was chump change, but that change did build up.
"Chunin Enomoto, would you like to engage in some friendly betting?"
Enomoto looked towards the group. It didn''t happen often, but he was out-ranked by everyone in the group. He could clearly see in it in their eyes that they were trying to have some fun at his expense, who wasn''t part of their group. He wanted to laugh. They were looking down at him. He felt something inside him bubble up, telling him to wipe those smirks off their faces. It wasn''t a pleasant feeling because he knew he couldn''t do so.
"Since you seem to think so highly of this Scars fellow, are you willing to set"
He turned to look at the arena below; there stood Takuma donning his mask. He might have been the one to recruit Takuma into the Ring and had kept a check on his performance through the year, but when it came to personally watching the fights, he hadn''t seen many. Knowing the results was one thing, but knowing the fine details of how said fights progressed was another.
It wasn''t wise, he thought to himself. If he lost the bet, he would be humiliated.
''I should politely refuse and say¡ that I do¡ not partake in betting. I should refuse¡'' But with every passing moment, the smirks felt more and more like mocking smiles.
"Of course, I''m more than willing," Enomoto smiled, keeping the smile on his face, "Let''s spice things up, shall we?"
He wanted to see those smirks wiped off their faces.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Down in the arena, Takuma focused on his breathing with his eyes closed. Tsubura had come to see him when he was getting changed, and just the look of the blob of a man''s face was enough to anger him. No matter what Masaaki said about Akimichi''s greatness, he knew one of them was a spoiled piece of horribly gamy meat.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The arena was bigger, and the cage was higher. There was only one ninjutsu category arena in the Ring due to the rarity of such fights. According to Tsubura, Takuma would have to wait for at least a month before he got a chance to participate in another ninjutsu category fight¡ª and that was only if Takuma gave him more 2v1 fights, which Takuma was more than happy to give him.
Takuma resumed focus on his breathing. He needed to focus on the current fight instead of thinking about the next one.
The arena wasn''t the only different thing about the ninjutsu category. Takuma looked down at the gear he was wearing. Due to the involvement of ninjutsu, the fighters were allowed a set of gear of their preference approved by the Ring. Takuma had chosen what he usually wore during the day.
In the moment, the chainmail draped over his torso felt like an unbreakable armor. He felt powerful.
"Are you ready, sir?" the fight referee asked him.
Takuma looked at the man with a strange expression hidden behind his mask. ''Sir?'' But he nodded, nevertheless. He hadn''t been called that before. The respect in the man''s voice felt strange and foreign. The last time he had felt something similar was the gratitude from the villagers he had saved from bandits in the Land of Frost.
He shook the thought off his head and turned towards his opponent.
Viper. A tall and skeleton-like woman with a slightly hunched back and inky black hair that flowed beneath her butt. Her armor was lighter than his, which told Takuma that she was more concerned with her speed than protection. He noted down the observation for later.
But the most striking thing about her was her mask. Unlike the flat mask that most Ring fighters wore (including Takuma,) Viper wore a mask that was in the shape of a snake with a surface texture mimicking a snake''s scales. It was stylized to suit her. The mask reminded him of another stylized mask he had seen before. Slash Baron, the leader of the Troupe, a famous team in the Ring, wore a stylized mask.
When a fighter won their first ninjutsu category fight, they were rewarded with a stylized mask as a sign of prestige.
If Takuma won today, he would be awarded a mask of his own.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The person Takuma had thought of had come to watch Takuma''s first ninjutsu fight. In a private booth reserved for prestigious Ring fighters, a handful of them, all wearing stylized masks, sat to spectate the fight.
Among them was Slash Baron, sitting in the front. The other ninjutsu category fighters had left the seats around him empty. Most of them were active fighters, which meant they were genin¡ª and the few who had been promoted to chunin, too, didn''t dare sit near Slash Baron.
They could feel it. Even though they all wore stylized masks showcasing their status, the man sitting in the front was far beyond what they could handle. Their instincts as shinobi honed by numerous fights in the Ring told them that if Slash Baron wanted, he could kill all of them combined without breaking a sweat.
Which was why none of them said a thing about the woman Slash Baron had bought along with him, even though the booth was reserved for ninjutsu-category fighters.
"I didn''t think I would be hearing about him so soon," said Slash Baron to the woman beside him. "He has progressed much faster than you anticipated."
"Faster than I anticipated? You had a different opinion?" the masked woman shot back.
Slash Baron shrugged. "I hadn''t thought about him since I last saw him. I charged you to keep an eye on him for a reason."
The woman clicked her tongue.
Slash Baron chuckled before turning his eyes back to the arena.
''He has changed,'' thought Slash Baron as he observed Scars in the arena. The fight hadn''t started, but he could already tell from how Scars held himself to the progress the young shinobi had made.
He understood that Tsubura wouldn''t have allowed Scars if he didn''t think the latter wasn''t ready. It meant that Scars had indeed progressed enough that he had a chance to fight in the ninjutsu-category against opponents who would use ninjutsu to tear their opponents down.
Slash Baron looked to the woman at his side, ""So, what has he been doing outside the Ring¡ Sango?"
CH_4.31 (131):
Takuma had a particular way of initiating combat. He preferred giving his opponents the first move unless he knew beforehand that it would put him at a disadvantage. There was much to learn from how a person opened a fight. But if his opponent didn''t grab the initiative he offered, Takuma would generally go for the first strike.
He intended to do the same with Viper. After a long-drawn introduction (every ninjutsu category fight was accompanied with extra fanfare), the announcer stepped out, and the moment the bell rang, Takuma walked towards the center of the arena. Viper followed the same, and the distance between them narrowed. When the distance was appropriate, Takuma offered an invitation by opening himself, giving Viper an opportunity to attack. It was walking the line between tempting and taunting¡ª which he found was the most effective to get someone to attack you.
Viper''s stance changed. She upped her speed a level, but didn''t jump on the opportunity as many would. She had accepted the initiative but at her own pace. Level-headed, Takuma added a label to the woman.
Takuma equipped a kunai each in his hand; simultaneously, senbon appeared between Viper''s fingers, which she launched with zero-point delay. Instinct took over him as he jumped to the side to evade the long needles. Senbon were annoyingly difficult to dodge at close range¡ª they were fast, their small size made them difficult to block without a shield, and they could easily slip through gaps in armor when used by an expert.
Takuma jumped to the side with a dodge roll. He didn''t stop and initiated another roll. A wise decision as another volley of senbon struck the space he had vacated. Using the momentum, he kicked himself to his feet, twisted to face Viper, and threw the kunai at her. He was one beat slower than her as she released her senbon before he threw his kunai.
Takuma dodged the senbon he could and used his sturdy arm vambrace to intercept those he could not. The sharp needles dug pinholes into the leather but couldn''t break skin due to the tight wrapping beneath it. He breathed a sigh as he pulled the needles out before reequipping kunai.
Viper had effortlessly dodged the kunai. She wouldn''t have been here if she wasn''t able to. She grabbed one of Takuma''s thrown kunai and charged for him.
The two clashed. Viper used her open hand to grab onto one of Takuma''s hands, but their other hands clashed with their kunai''s sparking. Near constant movement during battle was beaten into every shinobi, but the fight in the cage came to a standstill as only their arms moved in blurred motions of thrusts, stabs, and parries, trying to stab the other.
Takuma let go of the kunai in his grabbed hand and gripped Viper''s wrist, pulling her down. With the posture disrupted, Takuma pushed her kunai-bearing away before stabbing down for the shoulder.
It was in that exact moment where Viper contorted her body in an eerie fashion. She let herself fall, getting herself completely out of the kunai''s route, making Takuma miss.
She dropped the kunai and grabbed Takuma''s arm with both arms, and used the momentum to pull him to the ground.
Takuma knew what would happen before Viper''s limbs slid around his body to put him into a hold. He couldn''t let that happen. Before Viper could solidify her hold, Takuma made an awkward move he wasn''t used to. He concentrated his chakra into his elbow and thrust it back in an augmented strike. The pointy elbow hit her on the top of her arm, making her grip loosen, allowing him to slip out.
He bit his lip behind his mask. Punches, palm strikes, kicks, he could do¡ª knee strikes were doable if he was in perfect posture¡ª but elbow strikes were yet to be added to his augmented repertoire.
The pain in his elbow spiked when he moved it. It was by no means out-of-commission, and he could tell the pain would subside eventually on its own, but the fights were usually short enough that he wouldn''t feel any noticeable difference until after. It was an annoyance that had the potential to be the deciding factor in his loss, but Takuma wasn''t worried about it¡ª only that he had been injured so soon after the start.
''I need to change the momentum.'' The short exchange was filled with information Takuma could use from now on.
Moreover, unlike him, Viper had been in ninjutsu-category fights.
Takuma raised his hand, ignoring the pain in his elbow, and began forming hand seals.
It was time to use his advantage known as the unknown.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
In the VIP fighter booth, Slash Baron leaned forward in interest as Takuma weaved hand seals. "Oh, he''s using it already? That''s fast¡ I guess that''s to be expected by a rookie like him."
From personal experience as a spectator and participant in ninjutsu-category fights (and numerous skirmishes on real battlefields,) shinobi were stringent with using ninjutsu. Chakra management was a very real and very important factor in attaining a victory¡ª which was why shinobi had to play a very careful game of speculation on how and when to expend chakra so as to not run out of it before the opponent. Failure to do so was one of the leading causes of death on the battlefield.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Isn''t it fine? The fights here end up fairly quickly. They don''t have to save up."
Slash Baron glanced at Sango. She was one of his several informants inside the Hidden Leaf. Sango was special due to her position and association. Not only was she an apprentice to Chunin Enomoto, who was a fairly big player in the drug business inside the Hidden Leaf, but she also worked in the Ring because of Enomoto''s position.
Initially, he approached her and converted her so they could keep an eye on Enomoto as he began to make moves and waves, but her role had also expanded into being an observer inside the Ring. Slash Baron liked working with her. She was good at her job, had close to no bad habits or vices which interfered with her work, and their relationship as handler-and-informant was fairly straightforward, which spared them from tip-toeing around each other with the exhausting thoughts of being betrayed.
Moreover, she was a pretty damn good healer. If she weren''t working under Enomoto, who only offered Ring professional exposure instead of hospitals, research facilities, or field missions as other iryo-nin teachers did, Sango would''ve already been close to being promoted to chunin. Despite that, from what he knew, her promotion was at most one year away.
The thought of her promotion made him sigh internally. Her promotion meant the end of their relationship as it would mean she would no longer apprentice under Enomoto and would also leave the Ring. Their deal was that in return for spying on Enomoto, they would pull strings and put her into a position of her preference after her promotion.
He had agreed, thinking that it would be a while until that day arrived, if ever, but who would''ve thought that she would come out on her own as an iryo-nin? After all, chunin iryo-nin were another grade of rare. In fact, if Slash Baron was still in his current place of occupation for the next few years, he was not against recommending her as a potential recruit for the division. That''s how good he believed she was.
"Habits sneak in, when you''re not paying attention," Slash Baron said as he observed the fight.
Arcs of lightning crackled out of Takuma''s hands, accumulating in his palm before shooting toward Viper. ''That''s pathetic,'' he thought. It was too weak. If that was the best Takuma could do, he might as well stick to the style he used weapons-category.
He continued, "For Ring fighters, a majority of their combat experience comes from the Ring. Experience is good, but you have to be careful how it affects you." He looked up at the cage around the arena. "The size of the arena, the cage restricting the space, absence of armor, all of these things mold combat styles more than people realize they do. Real life is different. The ground isn''t always so flat and even, spectators don''t drown every other sound, and the opponents aren''t always alone¡ª once you get comfortable, those come biting back. Anyone who stays in Ring long enough participates in hundreds of fights without armor. Eventually, everyone realizes that due to the lack of any armor, being aggressive is the best practice, as one well-placed hit can change the direction of the fight and end it quickly. They forget that it''s not like that in the field¡ª they become reckless, and when that one momentum-changing hit doesn''t pan out, they expose themselves to a deadly strike by a prepared enemy. It''s surprisingly common how many people end up converting ''Ring fights are fairly short'' to ''fights are fairly short.''"
Slash Baron felt a phantom pain a couple of inches below his heart. He momentarily closed his eyes as the memories of a cold enemy sword barely missed his heart. The injury had been soon healed, and any scar inside or out had been cleared away by a highly-skilled iryo-nin several years ago. The memory, however, remained in his mind as a scar that couldn''t be erased.
He had fixed those bad habits. But he knew several who hadn''t and had lost their lives. He didn''t need to look back to bet good money that several of the ''top fighters'' sitting behind him would show those same bad habits if they were made to fight.
"Ideally, a shinobi should have a usable amount of reserves left after an encounter to account for unexpected complications that may arise." He looked at Sango and could tell that she was no longer interested in what he was saying. All iryo-nin were like that.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Looks like your pick is going to lose, Enomoto. Badly at that. And here I thought you were some sort of Ring expert."
Enomoto chuckled with a hearty smile. "We never know. The momentum can change until the very last moment." But inside, he was seething like bubbling oil.
He didn''t need to peer between their words, whispers, and titters to realize he was perhaps the least influential person inside the group. Unlike their distinguished backgrounds, he came from a humble background of genin parents who retired as soon as possible and shifted into business.
They were probably thinking that they were better than him. These people knew nothing! He didn''t have their privilege. He had to put in real work to reach his position. What did they know about the countless sleepless nights and tired days he had put in. He had gotten his hands dirty to make connections they had been given without an iota of effort.
He was a hundred times better than all of these people!
He clenched his fist, digging his nails into the flesh to maintain his smile. Usually, he had no problem keeping his emotions deep down, but today they seemed overly enthusiastic to come out.
"We can always cancel the bet. It doesn''t feel fair. I heard only one in ten rookies win their first fight in the ninjutsu category. How about it?"
Enomoto glanced, keeping his relaxed face plastered on his face. "Once a bet is sealed, it''s rude to take it back. I¡ just can''t help but side with the underdog, so even if Scars losses, I will take the loss graciously."
The man scoffed as if bored by Enomoto''s reaction before turning away to watch the fight.
''Bullshit,'' Enomoto jeered internally. He couldn''t give two dirty shits about underdogs or favorites. He liked the winning side and only that. If someone with a winning history went into a slump, he would abandon them without hesitation. People were only good as long as until they were useful.
He looked down at Takuma, who shot a weak lightning bolt a third time, and for the third time, Viper dodged it effortlessly.
''He''s so bad,'' Enomoto''s eyes turned cold.
Takuma''s performance wasn''t inspiring confidence. What if he was like this at his job in the Police Force? What if his thing with Maiko Triad was luck, and he was going to give him crap results.
''If he can''t do it properly with all the help I''m giving,'' Enomoto looked down at Takuma.
Then he was going to the shitter.
CH_4.32 (132)
''This is a piece of cake,'' thought Viper as she dodged the fourth Lightning Release jutsu from her opponent, Scars.
She was delighted when Tsubura told her her next fight would be against a newcomer. The chance of victory jumped tens of points when the opponent was a newcomer instead of an experienced veteran. She was further delighted when her opponent was revealed as Scars. It was a surprise that Tsubura allowed him a chance at the ninjutsu category after just a year. It had taken her three years to get Tsubura to entertain a talk about a potential fight and another half year before the fight had happened. However, simultaneously, she wasn''t surprised that Scars only took one year¡ª Tsubura''s bias towards Scars had reached her ears.
If it were another scenario, she would''ve opposed Scars entering the ninjutsu category so soon in his career, but now that she was fighting him, she was all for it. She got to the undeserving man, got a substantial payout out of it, and bar Scars for at least another half year before he got another chance. It was a win-win-win¡ª all for her.
And right now, she was sure anyone watching could already tell that Scars wasn''t ready for the ninjutsu category. She had yet to use a single ninjutsu while he had launched four of the same jutsu¡ª a jutsu he was clearly not proficient at. She was confident she could take one of them head-on, and her chances of victory wouldn''t change.
In fact, the audience had seen plenty of his pathetic attempts at using ninjutsu, and it was time to show them a beatdown.
Viper was confident, but she was also aware that Scars was still a threat. His chakra augmentation had earned him certain infamy. The tales from the medical room circulated like a cyclic event in the Ring. She was aware that Scars was probably more experienced with chakra augmentation than anyone she had fought (outside of Ring) because he used it literally in every fight. Her team had gathered information; Scars used chakra augmentation as a momentum breaker and a finisher.
There was a sting atop her arm, just below her shoulder, that hadn''t gone away ever since Scars had landed a hit on her. Viper could tell that he could inflict much worse. On top of that, Scars was known to be quite liberal with his kunai use. One of her team members had fought against him, and he had dragged the kunai across his thigh after stabbing it fairly deeply.
She couldn''t carelessly get close to him.
Right now, Scars was still trying to use ninjutsu instead of his usual effective combat style, making it the optimal chance for Viper to gain an irreversible momentum shift to her side.
She jumped away from Scars and began weaving hand seals.
Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!
When Scars had first used a Lightning Release jutsu, Viper was worried because it gave him an advantage over her, who exclusively used Water Release jutsu. But after seeing his proficiency, she realized there was no disadvantage.
Highly-pressurized water bullets capable of taking chunks of human flesh shot at Scars, who moved like a top gymnast, barely moving away before the bullets could hit him. Each bullet left a sizeable dent in the ground, showing its destructive capabilities.
''Got him!'' Viper exclaimed internally.
Scars wasn''t fast enough, and Viper''s last water bullet hit him. The water bullet exploded, sending Scars flying away from the force.
Viper wasted no time and charged for her prone opponent with senbon, her weapon choice, in her hands. Her senbon were coated in a paralyzing poison that stiffened the muscle around the entry point.
Scars had managed to dodge most of her senbon¡ª but not all. A few had managed to strike him in his arm, which she thought his vambrace had stopped, but a few moments later, Scars looked like he had difficulty moving his arm.
If she could strike him in the legs or even just his other arm, she could take his most important weapon, the chakra augmentation away, making it levels easier to defeat him.
But just as Viper got in range, Scars'' arm moved suddenly, and a kunai was airborne.
Viper''s breath hitched for a split moment when she caught a fluttering red behind the kunai. An explosive tag. Her composure returned just as quickly. She realized there was no time to dodge, nor could she take the risk of grabbing the kunai to disable the tag. Viper moved quickly and dropped into a sliding tackle while minimizing her posture into a fetal position to reduce her surface area.
The tag sparked above her and exploded with near-perfect timing.
Viper felt the force slam down on her. If not for her sliding on the ground with her body held tightly, she would''ve been thrown away. Viper groaned as a momentary disarray hit her senses, but powering through, she got back up.
Baam!
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Viper''s eyes bulged out as she felt an overwhelming force assault her midriff. Standing in front of her was Scars, drenched in water. Her pain receptors hadn''t sent her brain the warning signs, but she could see his foot digging into her body.
When the force passed the threshold, Viper shot back like a missile. Her body traveled to the other corner, slamming into the cage''s upper section. The thick metal structure groaned as the force tried to force Viper through the mesh.
Viper suffering from the intensity of the attack, had no composure and fell to the ground on her front. She got up while whimpering in agony. Her inner ski mask stuck to her skin, the scent of iron overwhelming her nose. Her abdomen screamed in distress, but she worked through it and tried to locate herself and Scars relative to the arena. Her vision was half blurry, and her focus was shot. She saw Scars kneeling on the ground and immediately acted upon sight.
Fueled with largely defensive instinct and a tinge of anger boiled, she began weaving hand seals. Chakra rumbled and coursed through her chakra pathway network like a flood.
Water Release: Water Trumpet Jutsu!
The C-rank jutsu hit the arena with such a force that the stage trembled as waves of water spouted everywhere. Viper targeted the direction where she saw Scars, but spread her attack in case he tried to evade.
"Shit!"
Viper coughed, and more blood-soaked her ski mask. The kick had injured more than she had initially thought. As her focus returned, she realized that in the moment of instinctual response, she had overdrawn her reserves. It had made her jutsu much stronger than she had intended, which wasn''t a problem by itself, but her reserves were much lower than what she wanted after using a D-rank and C-rank each.
Viper took in a deep breath. Her calm returned, and she once again tried to locate Scars, and like an alarm blaring at maximum value, the realization that he was nowhere to be seen assaulted her. Her eyes darted everywhere. He had to be inside the cage.
Her reaction was instantaneous, and Viper started running in a zig-zag pattern while continuing to look for Scars. She didn''t know where he could hit her, so being on the move was the best way to minimize the risk.
Splash! The entire arena floor was covered with water. Viper threw senbon in the direction of the splash before getting a proper look.
Scars dodged them with a sliding tackle and was up and running the next moment, continuing his charge toward her.
Viper blocked Scars'' first strike with her forearm. She only found after the impact that it was augmented, and her leather vambrace did nothing to dull the impact. The punch didn''t break bone, but the force traveled and all but dislodged her arm out of her shoulder. The next strike followed immediately after, and a palm strike dug into her abdomen.
Viper felt more blood come out of her mouth. She recalled her previous plan to not come in close contact with Scars. The pain in her abdomen only confirmed that she was right.
As Scars wound up his arm for another punch, Viper gambled on time and agility and betted on herself. Before Scars could punch out, clearly slowed down by the chakra augmentation he was surely putting behind it, Viper pulled out an explosive tag. She held it in front of her.
Explosive Tag Hostage. It was a very popular tactic to hold an explosive tag in front when the enemy was in close range. By holding an explosive tag, the opponent was forced to jump away in case the user exploded the explosive tag, even if it took out both of them. Even if it was a popular tactic and the opponent knew what the user was trying to do, disregarding it wasn''t a wise choice because there was always a chance that the user was crazy enough to go through with it. No one wanted to take that risk.
''Now, go away,'' Viper thought¡ª she wanted some space, even if it was for a few seconds, and she was sure that Scars would like that too.
Scars jumped¡ toward her.
''What?!''
One of his hands shot toward the explosive tag. In surprise, Viper wasn''t able to keep Scars'' hand away, and he managed to rip the tag, rendering it useless.
Both fighters tumbled to the ground and had a tussle where Viper managed to headbutt Scars in the head and knee him in the groin. She could''ve used their floored position to force him into the hold but decided to move away. Taijutsu wasn''t her specialty, and she didn''t want to challenge that claim against someone like Scars, who could crack something.
But as Viper slid away from Scars, she decided that she wanted to at least get some advantage out of the exchange and went for her poisoned senbon.
"Huh?"
Viper looked down at her waist when she couldn''t find her weapons pouch, and to her horrifying realization, it wasn''t there. She almost snapped her neck when she looked at Scars and saw the boy holding her weapons pouch as he backed away.
He had stolen it.
Anger burnt through the surprise. She weaved hand seals, and Scars followed suit. Viper didn''t care and let Water Release: Water Trumpet Jutsu draw as much chakra as the jutsu desired.
A flood of water once again descended upon the Ring arena. This time, Viper saw Scars response, which was to slam down his palms on the ground after the hand seals for the ground to move, rise, and shift to form a dome around Scars.
The tides of water assaulted the dome, but the solid earth remained steadfast against the rageful waters.
Viper coughed as the water finally stopped. She felt a burn in her chakra pathway network from pushing the jutsu to a previously untrained level.
Before her thoughts could move away from the new pain she had taken on, the dome crumbled, and Scars exited like a racing stallion. He was weaving hands seals as he ran.
Viper didn''t move. She sneakily reached for a hidden compartment on her belt where an emergency set of senbon were hidden. They were coated with a poison that caused the muscles to spasm uncontrollably. It wasn''t allowed in the Ring, but she didn''t care, and knew that if she won, they would practically write the penalty with a slap on the wrist.
''I can take it,'' she thought.
Takuma''s Lightning Release jutsu wasn''t strong, and she could take the chance even with a jutsu slamming into her chest. She was going to use her own body as bait before striking a deciding attack.
Splash!
Instead of lightning arcs snaking around Scars'' arm, water around him rose and collected near his back. Two long and thick tentacles emerged from him, and before Viper could react to the Water Release jutsu when she was only expecting Lightning Release from him, the two tentacles wrapped around her hand and wrist, restricting them. Scars stopped in front of her and two more tentacles shot out and restricted her legs just as she was about to move away.
Viper tripped down, and as she fell, she saw a punch coming for her face, which was the last thing she saw before things faded to black.
CH_4.33 (133):
Takuma rotated his wrist as he glanced at the iryo-nin working on his injuries. Sango wasn''t available; she had told him beforehand that she wouldn''t be there to heal him after his biggest fight in the Ring. It bothered him because he, one hundred percent, preferred Sango treating him to anyone else who wasn''t a chunin or jonin because she was more familiar with his body than him¡ª but she had offered him a free session for being a loyal customer, which was a good deal.
Thankfully, Viper hadn''t inflicted any egregious injuries¡ªmore like he hadn''t given her a chance.
He had taken a risk by changing his usual strategy for the fight against Viper. His standard method was to observe, then dance with the opponent while either looking for an opportunity or creating one if it didn''t exist before using one of the opportunities to its maximum benefit and finishing the fight as soon as possible. This time, however, he had played a mental game with Viper¡ª laying traps like a hunter preparing to catch prey.
It was often said that between two equally skilled fighters, the smarter would win. Which was true, but people (even highly skilled ones) overestimated the value of intellect in combat.
Takuma believed instinct¡ª honed instinct¡ª to be the most used weapon in combat. When two people fought, shinobi or not, around 80% of the time, they didn''t think about the moves they were making. Every strike and maneuver weren''t the results of conscious thought but something subconscious instinct had been trained to do without relying on the "slow conscious systems." In the earliest days of his training with Maruboshi, the old shinobi had beaten the tendency to think about moves out of him and had built a foundation of instinctual movements upon which Takuma had built his fighting style.
Intellectual strategy came into play in the broader strokes of a battle which had a substantial role in the outcome. In the fight against Viper, Takuma had focused more than usual on those broader strokes.
He understood the context of the battle, which he used to his advantage; not using it would''ve been such a waste. Unlike his opponent, Viper, he was a big unknown. No one knew Scars'' element release of choice, his ninjutsu arsenal, or his combat style when ninjutsu were involved¡ª on the other hand, there was plenty of information available on Viper. Takuma had the information on Viper two days after the match-up was announced. He knew she exclusively used Water Release ninjutsu, that her weapon of choice was the senbon, and that she dipped her senbon in a paralysis poison.
Her defining traits were in the open. It didn''t make her easy to defeat, but it did give Takuma the opportunity to plan for them¡ªa privilege that Viper lacked due to zero information.
Takuma began with the paralysis poison. He couldn''t afford to get hit by one of senbon because he didn''t know the exact potency of Viper''s poison. The accounts he had heard ranged from mild numbness to something that could turn an elephant into a stone. Of course, he was told that her poison was "within regulation." To add some extra protection, he wore thicker clothing and wrapped a thick bandage around his arms, legs, and torso. It was a bit awkward, but the exchange was worth it because in the fight, a few senbon did hit him, but none were able to break skin.
It was an in-the-moment decision to pretend that his arm was infected because Viper was keeping her distance, and he wanted her to approach on her own accord instead of him chasing her.
Next was Viper''s elemental release of choice. She used Water Release ninjutsu. Takuma had choices from Earth Release, Water Release, but his weakest element, the Lightning Release, turned out to be the basis of the tactic he ended up creating.
The plan was to build a false image that Scars had learned Lightning Release ninjutsu by repeatedly using Lightning Release: Shock at Viper. He knew she would be cautious at first due to the type mismatch, but after seeing his poor performance with Lightning Release: Shock would alleviate her worries and would swing the needle in the opponent direction to overconfidence, which was what happened.
Getting hit by Viper''s Water Bullet Jutsu wasn''t the plan, but he got hit nevertheless. He lifted his head to see the iryo-nin''s hand over his chest with the iridescent green glow. Thankfully, he was only hit by one bullet, or else he wouldn''t have had the chance to forfeit, much less continue.
It was that hit that prompted Takuma to end the weak Lightning Release tactic and start using everything he had.
After kicking her to the opposite side of the arena, Takuma had used Earth Release: Hiding In Rock Jutsu to traverse beneath the stone floor, but Viper running around had ruined it. It was possible to use Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu while using Hiding In Rock Jutsu, but it was far away from Takuma''s skill level; he traveled blind. So, when Viper had moved, he had missed the opportunity to ambush her.
The ever-reliable Earth Release: Earthen Dome hadn''t disappointed, and he had effortlessly saved him from Viper''s C-rank Water Release jutsu while getting more than enough water for Water Release: Eight Tentacles, which he had used to finish her off in conjunction with a hearty chakra augmented sock in the face. The Lightning Release: Shock gambit had paid its dividend in the fight''s final moments as Viper was clearly expecting it, and the water tentacles had come as a startling surprise.
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However, the moment which gave him the most pride was stealing Viper''s weapons pouch. He hadn''t planned for it. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, which had paid off greatly. Yes, it had taken away Viper''s choices, but it had startled her, making her feel vulnerable. A moment of hesitation was enough to turn the battle.
He was satisfied with the battle.
Takuma closed his eyes to rest when he heard a voice more annoying than nails against a chalkboard.
"Ah, Scars, my sweet-sweet boy," Tsubura''s loud voice filled the medical room. "What a performance you put in front of us today. It made my day!" He laughed joyously.
Takuma opened his eyes with a sigh and turned his head to look at Tsubura. He saw that Enomoto had accompanied Tsubura. Their eyes met, but other than Enomoto wishing congratulations, they exchanged no other words.
"When can I fight my next ninjutsu fight?" asked Takuma. Ninjutsu category fights weren''t a daily affair. The Ring hosted perhaps two or three every month, which was a rare deal considering the number of fights that happened every single day.
"Hasty, aren''t you, boy," Tsubura grinned. "Not even off the iryo-nin''s bed and already looking for the next battle. Have patience, boy, we will get you your next fight eventually."
Takuma stared at Tsubura for a moment. He wanted to fight more ninjutsu fights. As long as he could increase his experience with facing ninjutsu, he was fine even if he lost and didn''t get the very generous ninjutsu-category payouts.
"I''ll no longer be participating in taijutsu- and weapons-category," said Takuma, gathering everyone''s attention in the room. Even the two iryo-nin in the room looked at him with surprised expressions. "I''ll only fight in the 2v1 category from now on. Set up duos; I''ll fight on their terms, with or without weapons. Announce to the teams that I''m looking for opponents, and if they have it in them, tell them to come fight me. I''m ready." He looked straight at Tsubura, "I''m patient, but do hurry, boss¡ I''m in the mood for a conquest."
Takuma had made it quite clear without saying it directly. He was giving Tsubura as many 2v1 fights as he wanted, but in return, he wanted more ninjutsu-category fights. It was the simple give-and-take transaction¡ª a language everyone in the underworld understood the best.
Tsubura remained silent for a moment. "What if you lose?"
"What if I don''t?" Takuma responded.
If he lost 2v1 fights, the audience would lose interest in watching him faster than a sinking rock. But if he kept winning, he would not only set off a rising interest in the audience, but the teams in Ring would also try harder to beat him. With every passing fight, he would be forced to show more of himself, and they would, without doubt, observe him and use that information against him by sending their prepared duos in hopes of a big payday. If he kept winning regardless, he would become a bigger draw for people than he was now.
"¡ Indeed, what if you don''t," Tsubura chuckled. "If that''s what you want, who am I to stop you, the great Scars¡ Come by tomorrow. We have to make you a new mask now that you have earned it."
Takuma nodded and turned his away, closing his eyes. The conversation was over.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"I want him," said Slash Baron.
Sango glanced at her handler. She quirked her brow as she asked: "Now?"
"Of course not," he scoffed. "He has the potential. I''m changing his status. We will be keeping an eye on him. See where he goes, and if he continues to progress and doesn''t fuck up, his file will, at the very least, reach the recruitment office. As for if they extend an invitation¡ well, that depends entirely upon how he progresses from now on."
"¡ You do realize that he''s not just Enomoto''s fighter, he''s also his business associate," said Sango.
"So?" Slash Baron looked at her. Sango could only see his eyes. "As long as he isn''t colluding with the enemy and passes our standards, we couldn''t give a fuck if he''s doing some business on the side. His weed dealing is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things; it''s beneath our jurisdiction. Even Enomoto isn''t that big of a deal, but we keep an eye on him in case he oversteps his bounds. I will have a problem if the boy gets caught because it will tell me he can''t keep a covert operation." He laughed, "He works in the Police Force. It''s so damn funny if you look at it."
"You don''t mind him breaking the law? I thought you guys had high standards."
Slash Baron stood up, laughing. The fight had ended a while ago, and everyone except them had left the room. "If we went out looking for squeaky-clean people in a village of mercenaries-for-hire, we would have to shutter down for not having enough people." He gazed outside at the caged arena. "There are many standards, but when it comes down to it, only a few things truly matter¡ªthings like the ability to get things done. I have no use for a law-abiding, tree-hugging patriot who can''t complete a mission. Things like loyalty," he scoffed, "there are many ways to ensure that¡ª high-level competence, that''s all that matters in the end."
Sango stared at Slash Baron''s back. She had been working for the man for two and a half years, and she didn''t know anything about him except for what little was known in the Ring, which wasn''t much. ''Time'' moved faster in the Ring¡ª people rose fast, but they were forgotten faster. Slash Baron, too, had been forgotten, turned into a legend¡ª and legends were seldom entirely true; they exaggerated and embellished.
But she was sure that he knew everything about her. It worried her before, but she had long since gotten over it. He had set up the conditions of their collaboration, and as long as she remained within those bounds, she would be the one benefiting the most.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
"Hmm? Well, nothing. Enomoto and Ring are still to be your main focus. If you can, try to get to know him more. What kind of person is he? His views, ideologies, goals, vices, flaws. I want to know what makes him happy, what makes him tick, what does he get up in the morning for¡. I want to know Takuma, Scars, Tobi¡ª whoever he is."
CH_4.34 (134)
Takuma sat in the same tatami room he had when he first visited the family home of arguably the most important Uchiha in the village. A cool breeze flew into the room from the wide-open sliding doors beyond which a picturesque garden presented a stunning scenery.
Takuma retrieved a brand-new notebook and pen from his bag and placed them in front of him. He wiggled his toes, recalling the basics of genjutsu he had read in preparation for the first lesson. His debut in the ninjutsu category had taken priority, rendering him unable to devote enough time to the pre-read, making him nervous; he didn''t want to appear as a fool.
The door to the room slid open, and Uchiha Mikoto entered with a plate of refreshments. She flashed him a smile as she sat in front of him. Takuma stared at the green tea steaming in beautifully hand-crafted ceramic cups.
"You may sit with your legs crossed if you''re uncomfortable," she said.
He was sitting with his legs tucked beneath him, and indeed, it wasn''t a position he was comfortable with as he always sat on chairs or crossed his legs on the floor.
Takuma felt a heat come up to his face. "Thank you for your concern, ma''am," he said but didn''t change his position from the seiza. It was better if he got used to it.
"Suit yourself," said Mikoto and picked up an alarm clock from the plate and placed it to the side but not before starting the 45-minute timer. "Let''s start with the easiest and most difficult question regarding the topic. What is genjutsu? I have had discussions with many regarding the definition¡ª some think it''s not important. In contrast, others believe that if you don''t understand the basic definition, how would you practice it properly."
Takuma gave the question a thought. He was of the mind that a definition of such a broad topic wasn''t important as a few lines couldn''t encompass the entire meaning, but he gave it a try nevertheless. "Genjutsu is a classification of jutsu, which allows a user to influence a target''s mind through their senses," he said, keeping it short.
"I was expecting more, but that is a valid definition," Mikoto elegantly picked up her teacup to take a sip. "If I had to add something, I would elaborate a little more. As you said, genjutsu influences the mind¡ª and ''mind'' is the correct word over the brain¡ª as genjutsu doesn''t change the physical structure of the brain, but it does influence the electric and chemical processes which are happening in your brain¡"
''So, like influencing the software instead of the hardware,'' said Takuma internally. He had once read about the difference between the brain and the mind on "ELI5." Brain was the hardware, while the mind was the operating system software which the hardware ran on. Of course, he didn''t say any of it out loud.
"Additionally, I would specify how genjutsu influences the mind. Genjutsu alters the target''s ability to perceive reality. Have you ever been under a genjutsu that showed you the impossible?" she asked. Takuma nodded, recalling the time during the basic training final tournament when he had been shown building-height stone golems by someone from the Yuhi clan. "Then you will know that deception of the senses isn''t an apt description when put in the larger context, which is why altering reality perception is a better descriptor."
Takuma thought back to his experiences and offered an example. "Like Genjutsu: Binding. The user binds the opponent in a genjutsu, rendering them incapable of movement. They truly believe that there''s a restriction that they can''t break."
Nenro used Genjutsu: Binding liberally during their spars. He had stopped using it on Takuma because it never worked, but in the past, Takuma felt like there was a jute rope around him. Masaaki, however, saw iron chains instead of rope¡ª but eventually, Masaaki stopped seeing anything physical and felt like he had been paralyzed. It told Takuma that genjutsu could change depending on the target.
"A good observation," said Mikoto. "Have some tea before it gets cold."
Takuma looked down at the ceramic cups before him. He looked up at Mikoto. "You''ll need a stronger genjutsu to trap me, ma''am." Takuma raised his hand and casted a kai to break the genjutsu. The steaming tea disappeared from the two ceramic cups.
Mikoto looked surprised.
"There''s a reason why I asked to be taught genjutsu, ma''am," said Takuma. "I''m well aware that not everyone has the mental capacity to use genjutsu. I have the aptitude. D-rank genjutsu doesn''t work properly on me; I can see right through them."
Takuma himself didn''t understand his resistance to genjutsu. He wasn''t immune because even the weakest of genjutsu, when used properly, did affect him; his advantage was to be able to see through them instantly. The one genjutsu he learned, Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu, had been learned without much difficulty. The concepts in the scroll took the same amount of time to understand as any other academic text, but the practical application was much easier¡ª the chakra flowed and transformed in his chakra pathway network with a buttery ease.
"A stronger genjutsu, you say¡ may I?" asked Mikoto.
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Takuma hesitated for a moment but gave her permission.
Mikoto blinked, and Takuma sucked in a sharp intake when her eyes turned into a three-tomoe Sharingan. The gentle and elegant housewife turned into a shinobi which sent his danger sense blaring.
Then Takuma blinked, and everything had changed. Sharingan was nowhere to be seen as Mikoto poured tea into the cups with practiced movements. He tilted his head briefly before shaking the slight confusion as he patiently waited. He was excited about the lesson, he wondered how they would start, and wished that his pre-read would be enough
But then he felt a tremor beneath him. Takuma uncomfortably shifted his numb legs and looked down just in time to watch an explosion rip through the tatami mats. He had no time to react and was thrown away by the force, which was so powerful that his back hit the ceiling before he fell down. The entire room was decimated as flames attached themselves to everything flammable.
Takuma screamed as the fire burned every inch of his skin, the flames sticking to him as though his body was the only source of fuel they could eat away at. Pain overshadowed panic as he tried to roll on the floor to stifle the flames, but nothing worked; the flames only grew hotter as his vision dimmed.
Through the thick grey smoke which filled his lungs and obscured his vision, Takuma spotted Mikoto, who had been thrown against a wall at an awkward angle, unmoving as flames covered her entire body. She made no sound. She was already dead.
''Huh,'' something in Takuma''s mind snapped. The pain melted away as if it had never existed. He looked at his body, and the flames were still there, but the hellish flames looked transparent. With pain and panic absent, Takuma gave the room a proper view, and it was the perfect scenery of a place hit by an explosion. And yet everything looked faded. With every passing second, the environment affected him less¡ªthe heat cooled until it was barely felt, and the smoke no longer hindered his breathing.
The next moment, a memory of Mikoto asking him permission remerged. The realization came at the same moment.
This was a genjutsu.
Takuma raised one hand and formed the kai seal.
A single burst of chakra later, he found himself sitting in the uncomfortable seiza position. Mikoto sat before him; the iris of her eyes red with three black tomoe gently spinning around her pupil.
"¡ Did I scream?" he asked.
"For the first few seconds," she replied. She had this peering look on her face. "It''s fascinating. You took a considerable time breaking the genjutsu, but it only took you a couple seconds before I found myself unable to manipulate you. I have no idea how you did that, but it was as though you detached yourself from the genjutsu so that it won''t affect you, even when you were firmly under the influence. How did you do that?"
"I have no idea, ma''am," Takuma replied honestly¡ª he had told Mikoto in the first place in hopes she would be able to help him. He had no control over the ''detachment'' he did, as Mikoto had put it¡ª he wanted to learn how to do it actively whenever he wished. The time between when the genjutsu took control to the moment he got out was enough for the enemy to strike him down.
"Hmm, this is interesting. I was not expecting this to be a topic of conversation in our lessons," said Mikoto with a contemplative look on her face. "Very well, I will try to see if there are any pre-existing studies on your condition, but for the near future, we will only focus on traditional genjutsu education."
"Fair enough, I shall follow your lead," Takuma bowed a little.
"Every genjutsu, no exceptions, works by disrupting the normal working of the mind and twisting it into something desirable for the user. The question arises: how does one disrupt the mind? It''s not like the body where you break a bone and call it a day," said Mikoto.
"Through chakra," said Takuma.
"Correct." Mikoto continued, "Due to the presence of the chakra pathway network, which is laid in every corner of the body, it''s the perfect target for a genjutsu user to get their hooks in a person. Chakra is an essential part of everyone, even for those who go without using it in their lives, because it''s the life force at the core of every living being. By influencing chakra, you can control the mind, and once you get the mind, you get the entire person.
"A question for you: how does one go about influencing another person''s chakra flow?" she asked.
Takuma knew the answer. "Through the sensory organs. The chakra pathway network is enmeshed within the body, transporting the chakra through the body and each organ as the circulatory system does blood. The density of chakra pathways increases near the sensory organs, making them the optimal entry point as they are the most easily influenced by external forces. By controlling the chakra in pathways around the sensory organs, one could have that exploited chakra circulated to the brain, where it could spread along the entire cerebral nervous system. The senses are our connections to the world around us; we need them to perceive our environment and interact with our surroundings. Our brain receives the signals from our sensory organs and converts them into what we actually perceive. There''s a direct connection between them, and once we can get a hold of the chakra flow in the cerebral nervous system, we can feed the brain fake sensory inputs, which the mind will interpret as the reality."
"You did some studying on your own; very well done," Mikoto sounded happy. "Everything you said is correct. If you wish to cast a genjutsu, you may use any of the five senses. Every sense has its advantages and disadvantages.
"Sight as an entry point is the fastest option, and research done on vision-based genjutsu outstrips everything else combined¡ª Hearing allows the user to cast genjutsu from incredible distances, many consider it the most dangerous¡ª Smell creates the strongest connection due to how our brain store memories, and can be the hardest to break¡ª Taste as an entry point is surprisingly the most balanced option, but it''s also the most restrictive¡ª and finally, Touch is the least conspicuous and allows the user to take their time to create a strong connection."
Takuma wrote everything down before his eyes went to Mikoto''s eyes which had returned to their onyx color. He mused¡ª
"The genjutsu cast using the Sharingan is all vision based," said Mikoto.
Takuma was startled. He bowed his head and apologized.
"You don''t need to apologize for simple curiosity, Takuma," she said. "And it''s not like that is a secret. No one else has contributed as much to the research on vision-based genjutsu. Not any entity in the Hidden Leaf or the entire Elemental Nations could match their contribution. Your position in the Police Force will give you access to a lot of that research. I would advise you to make thorough use of those resources."
It was decided what Takuma was going to be reading for the next several months.
CH_4.35 (135):
The lesson continued,
"If I remember correctly, you can use a genjutsu, correct?" asked Mikoto.
"Yes, ma''am. Mist Servant Jutsu," Takuma replied.
"Ah, illusory clones that act as though they''re made of mist when attacked and reconstitute from any injury," Mikoto mused out loud. "A question regarding this genjutsu: how do you establish the connection to a target?"
"It''s a visual genjutsu," answered Takuma.
"How do you know that?"
"It was in the jutsu scroll."
Mikoto looked surprised. "You read the attached research on jutsu scrolls?" she asked.
"It takes time to read the text, but it makes up for it by making the learning process easier. Reading the text beforehand makes solving mistakes and blocks easier as I''m already aware of potential problems that may pop up and am prepared for them," said Takuma.
Mikoto smiled. "¡ You''re correct; Mist Servant Jutsu is a visual genjutsu. However, I want you to be able to recognize the connection component of a genjutsu by studying the hand seals and the chakra pathways those hand seals direct the chakra into¡ª the final goal is to be able to judge the genjutsu''s connection component just from the hand seals."
"Understood," Takuma said as he took notes.
"Excuse me for a moment," said Mikoto and exited the room.
Takuma flipped to the last page of his notebook and started calculating how many mission points it would take to buy three, four, or five D-rank genjutsu so he could figure out the different connection components. Mission points weren''t a problem, but it would still be a significant purchase. The real problem was choosing the genjutsu. The genjutsu catalog in the jutsu archives didn''t mention the delivery method; they only said what the genjutsu did.
''I''ll ask which ones I should buy,'' he thought.
Mikoto entered the room and sat in front of Takuma.
"Here you go," she said.
"Ma''am, I was wondering which¡ª" Takuma looked up from his notebook, and his words died in his throat as he found himself staring at four crimson-red scrolls sitting before him. The color wasn''t the shocking part, but the paper seal which held the scroll shut. He recognized that seal design. It was unmistakably the official seal of authenticity imprinted by the village authority on every jutsu scroll created. He owned five such scrolls, and the only difference between his and the scrolls in front of him was that his scrolls were scarlet red.
"Ma''am?" Takuma looked at Mikoto.
"These are four D-rank genjutsu for you to study. In addition to the Mist Servant Jutsu, you now have five genjutsu in your possession. Study each of them thoroughly and compare them to each other to recognize which part of the hand seal and chakra flow establishes the connection component."
Takuma was stunned beyond words. He stared at the woman before him for a long while until she had to speak first.
"Takuma?"
He snapped out of his shock. "How much do I need to pay for these, ma''am? I was going to purchase a few on my own, but it''s more convenient if I can get the ones you recommend."
"You don''t need to pay me anything, Takuma," Mikoto laughed. "These scrolls come as part of our lessons, and you don''t have to return these to me as they''re yours to keep."
"B-But this is too much¡."
"Not for me. These mean nothing to me," Mikoto shrugged. "The compensation of an inactive jonin like myself from the village is such an amount that I can buy four of these scrolls every day, and it won''t put a dent in the amount I have. So, don''t feel burdened by these scrolls as they don''t hold the same value in my eyes as they do in yours. And if you still feel uncomfortable¡ I''m aware that you did a great service for the village and made the Police Force proud. Just consider it as gratitude from the Uchiha Clan. Refusing these would be a slight against me and my clan."
Takuma bowed his head deeper than before.
"You leave me no choice; I accept these gratefully," he said. "Please accept my heartfelt gratitude."
"Accepted," smiled Mikoto.
Takuma tried to gather himself, but the four brand new scrolls he had gotten for free and the fact he wasn''t even expecting to get them at all refused to settle down in his mind. He was truly startled and did not know how to react. He worried if he should''ve expressed his gratitude differently. And deeper than that, he couldn''t help but wonder if all genin under jonin teams got this sort of treatment from Day-1 after their academy graduation. Mikoto had dealt out four D-rank jutsu and said it meant nothing to her¡ª and it was only the second time he had met her. Takuma couldn''t help but imagine what all precious resources his classmates who were selected by jonin had received in the two years they had been out of academy.
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The feeling of indignation rose within him. All the hardship he had suffered in the past two years seemed insignificant. Why was he trying so hard for resources he fought for, shed blood, sweat, and tears for when some of his peers could get the same without batting an eye? How far ahead would he have been if he had it that easy? All of that effort, and he knew in an all-out fight, someone like Okubo Momoe would decimate him with a B-rank jutsu she had in her possession. Did she know what it felt like to fight in front of people for entertainment while knowing they wanted to see his blood spilled? Did she know what it felt like to sell drugs to people in hiding, fearing that one slip-up would end his life as it was? Did she know what it felt like lying to loved-one, to colleagues because he feared that telling them would damage the relationship he cherished so much after losing every loved one he had from a previous life? Did she know how it felt to know the future and live every day with the fact that people like him would be the first to die in the conflict to come?
He felt his resolve slip; the steel in his heart which made him get up every morning and kept him working to the end of the day until he couldn''t do any more crack. He was aware of the difference between him and a genin from a jonin team before, but it was now that the reality had truly struck him in the face that he was aware that the difference wasn''t as short as he assumed but that of a canyon which couldn''t be surmounted.
He couldn''t help but hate the unknown entity that had dumped him in this world, if it even existed. If he was to be sent to this world, why couldn''t he have been sent a couple of years earlier¡ª even a single year would''ve been enough. But, NO! He had to be sent with only one year to the most important turning point of a shinobi''s life. If he had more time, Takuma would''ve worked harder and made it on a jonin team.
He resented this world for being as harsh as it was. He resented the system which had created the inequality he suffered under. He resented those who held the privilege while he struggled in the mud. He resented this village¡ª
"Takuma, is something wrong?" asked Mikoto.
Takuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt his raging heart and pulled a curtain over it as he opened his eyes and looked at Mikoto. The woman in front of him was part of the problem, but at the same time, she was his benefactor who was teaching him genjutsu and had just now gifted him four jutsu scrolls.
"Just a little overwhelmed, ma''am," Takuma said, his voice softer than usual. "I feel an increased pressure not to disappoint you after you treat me with such generosity."
"Do you dislike being under pressure, Takuma?" asked Mikoto.
Takuma''s tired eyes widened. Before he knew it, a laugh escaped him. Did he dislike him being under pressure? "Yes, I do. I dislike it deeply," he replied.
From the day he had become Takuma, he had been under constant pressure without a single moment of reprieve. He could no longer recall what his days as a carefree college sophomore felt like. What did he do all day? He didn''t have a job with pressure to earn a living, had no chores at home, and no responsibilities other than studying, which he didn''t take seriously¡ª Takuma couldn''t recall going back to those days, and yet those days were all he wanted.
He hated every single moment of his new life. Yes, he had built relationships he cherished more than anything and learned more than he imagined he would; Takuma liked the current version of himself¡ª he was confident, competent, and an overall better person in every category that mattered. And yet, if given a choice, he would choose not to live the three years of his life.
But that was not a choice.
"But under pressure is when I perform the best."
Takuma felt a calm descend in his heart as a solid line of thought emerged from within his chaotic mind.
His one goal from Day-1 had been survival. Takuma now realized that his goal had been part of the problem. Survival meant continuing to live in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances. That type of existence was a constant struggle. He needed a new goal.
Survival be damned¡ª he needed to thrive.
The cracked steel in his heart became whole again, stronger than before.
He couldn''t change the world, not as he was now, and he didn''t know if he wanted to change the world. So, the only other option was to change himself. If he was dissatisfied with his treatment, he needed to reach a position where his current dissatisfactions became non-matters.
Takuma looked at Mikoto. "Ma''am, I will be a jonin of the Hidden Leaf one day. It''s one of my new goals."
Mikoto laughed. "Your new goal is to be a jonin? I thought that was the goal of every child of your age. What was your goal till now?"
"The old goal doesn''t matter, ma''am. Only the new one does."
"If you say so," said Mikoto, amused. "I expect to be treated to a lavish celebration worthy of a jonin when you achieve your goal."
"As you wish," Takuma said.
It didn''t matter if he wasn''t privileged to resources by his peers. If he wanted them, he just needed to get them in some other way, as he had done till now. Nothing had changed, only his goal. He simply needed to work harder, longer, smarter until he had everything he could ever want.
He hated this world, which made him hate his life.
No matter what it took, he was going to change that.
It was as simple as that.
The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Takuma looked at the time, and it wasn''t the time for an academy student to be back home. When he focused on the footsteps, he realized they weren''t from a child. The footsteps were heavy, uniform, disciplined, and strangely evoked a sense of authority.
He looked up at the door as the footsteps neared, and a figure Takuma recognized appeared at the door.
"Dear, you are home," Mikoto said in surprise. "Did you tell me you would have lunch at home?"
"No," said the man. "I came for some documents in my study."
The man had short, brown hair reaching his shoulders and onyx-colored eyes with visible creases below that gave him a naturally stern look. He wore the standard flak jacket, along with a black shirt with the Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin guards, and a black, open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom.
The man was Uchiha Fugaku, the Commander-in-Chief of the Leaf Military Police Force, the Head of the Uchiha Clan. One of the most politically powerful people in the Land of Fire, one of the shrewdest leaders through the generations, and one of the strongest shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, his talents were said to be only second to the Fourth Hokage, which made him one prime candidate for the same position.
Takuma stood up to greet his boss.
Fugaku turned his gaze to Takuma.
"This is Takuma," Mikoto introduced. She didn''t introduce her husband; there was no need to.
Fugaku nodded in greeting, which Takuma returned with a deep bow.
"Now that you''re here, would you like to have lunch?" asked Mikoto.
Fugaku nodded.
"Takuma, can we end our lesson here today?" Mikoto turned to Takuma.
"Yes, ma''am. I''ll take my leave," said Takuma, reading the room.
But as he was picking up his newly-acquired genjutsu scrolls,
"Genin Takuma, seeing that your lesson ended early," said Fugaku. "I would like to have a conversation with you."
CH_4.36 (136)
Takuma''s thoughts raced at the sudden invitation (read as: order) from Fugaku.
"Police Force business?" asked Mikoto.
"Something like that," Fugaku said. They exchanged a look that Takuma missed in his alarm.
"Very well, the food will be ready in fifteen minutes," Mikoto said before walking away.
Takuma followed Fugaku through the massive house. He would''ve mapped his route and observed the entry and exit points, but his mind was occupied by speculations which turned crazier with every passing moment.
They reached a study-cum-office with a minimalist interior that still matched the rest of the traditional aesthetic of the house. Ink calligraphies, poems, and woodblock prints hung on the walls alongside ceremonial swords, daggers, and kunai. Ornate vases and other clay works sat in displays, some of them beautifully elevated through repairs using the kintsugi method. On the other side, an entire wall was dedicated to a library of scrolls and books.
Takuma sat across Fugaku with a large desk between them. He had some time to gather himself, but by no means was he calm. He didn''t think this meeting was about his unsavory secrets, or else he wouldn''t have been allowed near the house, much less inside it, which could only mean the discussion was about his work in the Organized Crime Division. If he knew he was going to present his work and plans to the big boss, then he would''ve prepared for it. If he did it poorly, his team might as well be scrapped before the one-month trial period he had managed to negotiate. But if he did well¡ He straightened himself and went through the key points in his mind; he had to answer any question asked clearly and in the most complete way possible.
"How is the job treating you, Genin Takuma?" Fugaku gazed at Takuma with calm eyes. "You were part of our first expansion recruitment. I believe you''ve been in the force long enough to get comfortable in your position."
"The work is challenging but fulfilling, sir. My peers and supervisors did a great job of bringing a novice like me up to speed, and thankfully, I''ve been able to pull my weight inside the department," Takuma replied. He applauded the work, complimented his coworkers, and finished with a few words of humble praise for himself.
"Organized Crime, correct? That''s a difficult position to start as a rookie. To be able to perform under those expectations deserves nothing less than praise," Fugaku''s words were praising, but his face remained still, and yet, there wasn''t a sense of disconcertion in that. "I myself was part of the Organized Crime Division once; they do good work. I hope you''ll continue serving the village with all you have."
"Of course, sir," replied Takuma.
Fugaku then engaged Takuma in a line of questioning revolving around the Police Force from the point of view of someone in his position. All the questions were to the point and specific, and it was clear what Fugaku wanted to know; with each passing question, Takuma realized Fugaku was collecting information. It seemed the Commander-in-Chief wished to know the ground reality from someone who wasn''t in a supervisory position. Even though Takuma had very recently assumed his new position as the leader of the new narcotics team, which was a supervisory position, he was perfectly suited to answer the questions.
Takuma worded his answers carefully. He didn''t outright badmouth anything or anyone because that could get him in trouble, but he did offer some suggestions and add some of the insights he noted as a relatively new outside hire.
"I was informed that a narcotics task force was given the go with you as its leader," said Fugaku. "That''s a heavy responsibility for someone as young and new as yourself. Do you feel you''re equipped to handle it? If I remember correctly, you only asked for a month to produce results¡ª a month slips through the fingers before one realizes¡ Do you need more time?"
Takuma felt Fugaku''s eyes on him. Even without the Sharingan, the man before him was an experienced shinobi and commander in charge of an entire clan and the organization which enforced the law in a shinobi village.
"¡ No, sir. I do not require more time. My team will produce the promised results by the decided deadline," said Takuma. He considered jumping at the offer of more time but then wondered what impression it would send. It hadn''t even been a week since the team had been established, and if he, the leader, was already thinking about more time, then perhaps the new team hadn''t given their plans enough thought. "I''m confident that my team will exist past the thirty days given to us."
Fugaku nodded, a hint of approval flashing on his face, which disappeared faster than it appeared.
He said, "It seems you''re going through a good spell, Genin Takuma. You took a risk and hit it big in the Maiko Triad case¡ª converted that success into your own task force¡ª and you were even rewarded with genjutsu lessons from my wife, a jonin. I know a good streak when I see one¡"
Takuma chuckled. "I simply made most of my situation, sir."
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"¡ not to mention the massive victory you just scored in the Ring."
Takuma felt a cold shiver go up his body while his body temperature shot up several degrees within the span of seconds. Tremors appeared in his hands and clenching them into fists did nothing to settle them. It took every drop of his will and control to keep his face in check as he gazed at Fugaku, who looked no different from before.
"¡ Pardon, sir?"
"Your big victory in, I believe, the ninjutsu category, Genin Takuma. Or would you prefer me to address you by your Ring moniker¡ Scars." Every word out of Fugaku''s mouth was a sledgehammer against his head and heart. "Allow me to congratulate you. I was told that it''s a big event in a Ring fighter''s career to win their first fight in the ninjutsu category. I apologize if I get something wrong; I don''t keep up with the finer details."
"¡ I apologize, sir. I''m confused¡ You might have the wrong person. I''m not¡ª"
Fugaku shook his head. He didn''t even need to speak, and Takuma terminated his attempt to talk his way out of the ditch he was currently in.
"There''s no rule forbidding an officer of the Police Force from being involved with the Ring. We never needed one because we never had civilian-born shinobi in our ranks before your batch joined," said Fugaku. Takuma wanted to look away, but something in Fugaku''s gaze made Takuma maintain solid eye contact with the man. "I was conflicted about how to feel about this, even after having the time to think¡ I am still conflicted. On the one hand, I prefer if none of our officers have any connection with that organization, but at the same time, the Ring exists for a reason, and shinobi like you benefit from it. I''m sure you have reaped numerous gains; after all, you have reached the ninjutsu category."
Takuma was drawing zeroes on what to do in a situation like this. The person before him outclassed him in every single aspect of life. He was in real danger¡ª but he couldn''t simply sit there and not try anything. He picked a direction and decided to go hard in it.
"¡ Am I in trouble, sir?" he asked.
"Do you think you''re in trouble, Genin Takuma?"
"I don''t believe so, sir. As you said, the Ring exists for a reason, and I utilized it for all the benefits it could provide me¡ I made the best of what my situation presented to me," said Takuma as if he had done nothing wrong.
"Then why hide it? I didn''t see the mention of your illustrious career in your application," asked Fugaka.
"I didn''t want to be judged by my peers. You mentioned it yourself, sir. Ring only became an issue when civilian-born shinobi entered the Police Force; clan shinobi don''t participate in the Ring¡ª but I know its image in clan circles. The Police Force was a big opportunity, and I didn''t want to see it ruined because I did something else for the betterment of my career," said Takuma in justification. "I simply wanted to be treated fairly, and all it would take is one supervising officer to look at it negatively for my progress to be throttled."
Takuma stopped when he realized that his speech cadence had jumped up and took a moment to collect himself. He didn''t continue and faced Fugaku without a hint of fear on his face, even though, inside, his heart and mind were declaring an emergency. A lot depended upon how Fugaku would react to his justifications.
"¡ I don''t have a problem with your participation in the Ring. I get to have a shinobi in my ranks with extensive combat training without paying for it. And clearly, the Ring is not affecting your work," said Fugaku. But then he continued by saying, "The conflict arises when I wonder if your associations from that part of your life would affect your judgment as an officer of the Police Force. I hope you understand what I''m saying¡"
''Does he know?'' Takuma''s heartbeat spiked. He had no way of checking without directly asking and he wasn''t going to do that in case Fugaku didn''t know. "Takuma and Scars are two separate entities, sir. Scars only exist when I''m down in the tunnels; the moment I exit, I become Takuma, and when I don my uniform, I assume the responsibilities my position demands from me. Keeping my lives separate is the only reason why I have been able to come this far without ruining it all."
His identity as a Ring fighter contributed to only a fifth of his tension, panic, and nerves ready to burst; the rest was his status as Tobi, his work with Ryuu, and his connection to Enomoto. The Ring was an open secret that was actively ignored, but the drug industry was one hundred percent illegal and a target for eliminating any chance the Police Force got. If he got implicated, he would be crushed without any chance for rebuttal.
Takuma needed Fugaku to believe him.
"¡ I hope that is true, Genin Takuma." Fugaku leaned forward. "If I find that you''ve been misusing your position in the Police Force¡ I don''t need to tell you the outcome. I''m happy with what you have done till now and would hate to lose a shinobi like you. Keep that in mind when you''re at a crossroads and have a decision to make."
"Understood¡ sir," Takuma nodded.
It looked like Fugaku was done speaking.
Takuma, however, wasn''t done¡ª he had some pressing questions he needed to clear.
"Who else knows about this, sir?" asked Takuma.
"Not many people. Me, Jonin Sayuri (Head of Organized Crime), Chunin Yakumi (Kano''s direct supervisor), Chunin Setsuna. But it''ll be put on your file, so any Police Force jonin who wishes to look into your personnel records will know," answered Fugaku. That was a problem. Takuma opened his mouth to speak but was shut down by Fugaku. "It''ll remain in your Police Force personnel file, Genin Takuma. That''s not negotiable. Be thankful that we aren''t sharing it to the village-wide file."
Takuma closed his eyes and sighed. Now he had to be extra careful when dealing with a Police Force jonin in case they felt the need to look into his personnel file. He wasn''t in immediate danger, as checking personnel files was frowned upon. He needed to build influence inside the Police Force as quickly as possible so if one day someone did bring up his Ring involvement, it wouldn''t matter.
"You hid it well," Fugaku said. "It didn''t come up in the screening when we hired you. It was because you were going to be a regular at my house that we had to do another check." He looked at Takuma with a smile, "After all, we can''t let anyone enter this house, can we?"
Suddenly, Takuma was glad he used Tobi as an alternate identity for drug dealing.
"Does Jonin Mikoto know?" he asked.
"Of course, my wife knows. She was the first one to see the report."
Takuma couldn''t help but smile bitterly.
Why couldn''t he, just once, get an opportunity without a hidden caveat that always created problems for him?
CH_4.37 (137)
Takuma sighed deeply as he made himself at home on the quality cushion of the seating inside the private room of a high-grade barbeque restaurant.
"Don''t sigh like that; you''re not an old man," said Ai, bumping his shoulder with hers. The seating was a circular couch with an in-built barbeque grill in the table in between; a pipe fell from the ceiling with a very silent suction that would suck any and all smoke from the barbecue. It was a very Korean-style barbeque restaurant.
"People say I''m an old soul," Takuma smiled.
"What people? You''re like the most active person I know," Taro rebuked. He sat across from Takuma. "Old people don''t go learning a hundred different things every month. Do those things actually stick in your mind?"
"I know, right?" Ai joined in. "I was surprised when he fixed the plumbing at our house. And I had no idea you could work a field radio, much less that you had an official certification for it."
"I didn''t know a certification even existed," Taro commented.
Takuma didn''t realize that he was considered a man with many skills and technologically savvy by his friends and peers. He simply claimed to be an old soul because he was literally older than all of them.
"You seem tired. The Police Force''s keeping you busy?"
On Ai''s other side sat Nenro, looking immaculate like a teen male model as ever. There was not a single moment outside of training and sparring where Nenro didn''t look a hundred percent fresh and perfectly dressed, with not a single hair out of place. If Nenro had a course in the LRC (Learning Resource Center) on personal style, Takuma would''ve forked a real mission point to attend those lessons. Nenro gave them tips, and they helped, but he didn''t look anywhere as good as him.
"I was given a small team to lead. It''s not something I''m used to yet," said Takuma. He was much more comfortable on his own, and managing a team was a different skill set altogether.
"You''re already in a supervising position?" Nenro looked surprised. "They must be very happy with you. That''s very good, Takuma."
Takuma waved the compliment away. He didn''t want to tell them it was only temporary, and if he failed, it would set him back quite a bit.
He looked at the last member of their friend group sitting beside him. Masaaki was intently tending to the meat on the charcoal with focus. It seemed the Akimichi company had rubbed off on his friend. Out of all of them, Masaaki had changed the most. He had gone through a massive growth spurt; he had grown until he was at least a head taller than Takuma and Taro, who were previously the tallest among their group and had even filled out with his frame widening considerably. Masaaki wasn''t putting on fat like a traditional Akimchi, but he was getting big in his own way.
"What about you, Masaaki? How are the Akimichi treating you?" asked Takuma. Out of everyone in the group, Masaaki was the one he worried about the most.
"Good," Masaaki didn''t take his eyes off the grill. "I''ve started training for the Chunin Exam next year."
"Same for me as well," Nenro added.
Takuma was surprised by the sudden declarations from his two friends. It had been nineteen months since they had graduated from the academy. Genin Corp genin were mandated to serve thirty months in the Genin Corp. Takuma''s graduation batch had eleven more months before they could apply for the Chunin Exam. Even though Takuma had exited Genin Corp, the Chunin Exam restriction still applied to him. His Police Force contract also had a similar stipulation, but that didn''t matter as that would end before the Genin Corp restriction ended. All in all, he still had the same eleven months just like everyone else¡ª but he could get promoted through a field promotion.
As for Nenro and Masaaki, they were technically still in the Genin Corp. Technically being the focus word. Masaaki was under the sponsorship of the Akimichi Clan, and his situation was vastly better than any of his peers in the Genin Corp. Nenro, on the other hand, no longer took D-rank missions as he was a go-to genin for a couple of Chunin Teams who only took C-rank missions. If either of them tried, they could easily get out of the Genin Corp.
They didn''t do so because, despite all the negatives, Genin Corp had one unmatched advantage over other locations. That advantage was freedom. As long as a genin met their monthly mission quota, they were free to do whatever they liked. Nenro and Masaaki could easily fill the mission quota and were free to do anything in their considerable free time¡ª according to them, they were free an average of fifteen days a month.
Even Ai and Taro had at least a week or ten days free every month.
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Takuma, on the other hand, was working a full-time job in the Police Force with a fixed schedule.
By no means was this the norm, but his four friends were all competent shinobi and had managed to reach such a stage in their careers. Moreover, they shared resources, helped each other, and made each other''s life easier in the Genin Corp.
"You two also preparing for Chunin Exams?" Takuma turned to Ai and Taro.
Ai shook her head. "A rank promotion isn''t in my plans for at least a couple more years. I''m preparing for the Medic Corp examinations eight months from now. If I pass it, I will join iryo-nin training the day my thirty months end." She looked at Taro. "Mister Oishi is helping me prepare every Saturday."
Takuma knew about Ai''s desire to be an iryo-nin and how Mister Oishi, Taro''s dad, an iryo-nin, had offered his help to Ai. But Takuma didn''t know Ai was working with him so regularly. He felt guilty not knowing such an important thing.
"If you want to consult with a genin kunoichi iryo-nin, tell me I will introduce you to her," said Takuma.
"Someone in the Police Force?" asked Ai.
"No, she''s my primary doctor," Takuma answered, "but if you want to talk to a chunin kunoichi iryo-nin, I can introduce you to her as well. I know her well, she''s my boss."
"An Uchiha?"
"Uchiha Kano," said Takuma.
"I will think about it," said Ai.
Taro''s dad was excellent help, but he was a man. Even if it was one meeting, Ai could get a lot of help from women in the field. One word from Ai and he would set those meetings as soon as possible.
Everyone looked at Taro, who had already begun eating the meat Masaaki was serving him. He noticed them looking at him. There was a silence as he chewed and swallowed the meat before speaking,
"I''m going to transfer to the Leaf Analysis Division in a couple of months."
Takuma looked at his other friends, and they seemed as surprised as he did, which meant they were hearing this for the first time, and he wasn''t the only one not in the know.
Before the group could flood Taro with questions, he raised his hands and silenced them.
"I didn''t want to be an iryo-nin," Taro looked at Ai, "no offense, but it looks like a shit ton of work¡"
"It is," she shrugged.
"¡ and I don''t want to do whatever my mom does in the T&I Division. I mean, they don''t have the best reputation when they have torture in the name," said Taro.
Even though Takuma was suspended for the week while Taro''s mom was working with the Police Force on his request and didn''t personally witness her work, he was told that she was very proficient in "Enhanced Interrogation Technique"¡ª which was just a nice cover word for the use of advanced systematic torture to get the information with any means possible. She wasn''t permitted to use the entire breadth of her skills as most of it wasn''t suitable for the level of case and the charges being pressed against the people¡ª but Arisu told him that the screams were still horrible and it still took some time to clean the blood from the rooms.
He wasn''t going to talk to Taro about his mom and how she specialized in torture, regardless of if he knew it or not.
"What do they do in the Analysis Division?" Masaaki asked.
"Analyze information from our networks to recognize threats and mitigate risk. Or as mom said: the Analysis Division finds the threats and then sends people to whack ''em before they become a problem," said Taro. "You guys are always singing the praise of how incredibly smart and frighteningly intelligent I am, so I thought it would be the perfect job for me. I''m not that good at using my fists to protect the village, but I guess I can do a better job with my brain."
Taro was the weakest fighter in the group. And he didn''t take any steps to change or improve his combat ability. They had tried to pull Taro into training, but he did the bare minimum. There was only so much they could push him.
"I''m a bad singer," started Takuma.
"I don''t sing at all," Ai joined in.
"Vocals aren''t my strong suit, but I can play the harmonica," Nenro followed.
"You''re weak, Taro. It''s good that you have a good brain in your head," Masaaki didn''t pick up the ongoing joke but did reply in his own straightforward way.
"Have your laughs, but one day, I''m going to find a threat, and you guys will have to go take care of it like pawns doing my bidding," Taro scoffed. He then turned to Takuma, "I remember I wanted to ask you something."
"Yeah, sure. What is it?" said Takuma.
"I heard the Police Force is going to hire again this year. Are they?"
Takuma nodded as he ate yakitori off a skewer. "Yeah, I think they''re going to open the process in a couple months. But this time, they''re taking a lesser number, and the process will have some extra steps. The competition''s going to be tough. I feel I lucked out," Takuma chuckled as he ate more. The food was good, and Masaaki was absolutely goated on the grill.
"I have this friend who wants to get into the Police Force. He wants to meet someone in the Police Force to know more about what it will be like. I told him about you," said Taro.
Before Takuma could speak, others spoke up.
"Actually, I have a few friends who are interested as well," said Ai.
"I also have a couple of guys who are thinking about the Police Force," Nenro said.
Takuma looked at his three friends and pursed his lips. "Guys, it''d be tough. I mean, I can''t introduce this many people to an Uchiha. Kano is going to shut me down. I have an Uchiha, a genin, on my new team, but I don''t think we are close enough for me to bother him like this. You guys will have more success asking Fuma Arisu; if you three remember her from basic training, she would be able to hook you guys up with some Uchiha. I will ask her for you, don''t worry."
"Takuma," Ai spoke up. "They don''t want to talk to an Uchiha. They want to talk to you."
Takuma''s chopstick holding meat stopped midway between his mouth and plate.
"Me?" he asked, wondering if he had misheard Ai. "Why do they want to meet me?""Because you were in the same position as them. They want to talk to someone like them, someone who went through the process, got into a really high-up position right off the bat, and is now apparently leading a new team with an Uchiha on it," said Ai. "If it were you, who would you like to meet: someone who got in because of their clan or someone like you who worked hard to get in?"
"Me."
"Yeah, so will you meet them?" she asked.
"Sure."
That day Takuma realized he was a success story.
CH_4.38 (138)
The genjutsu lessons continued as usual. Neither Takuma nor Mikoto bought up the Ring part of his life, which was how Takuma preferred it. While he would''ve liked to create a close relationship with "Jonin" "Uchiha" Mikoto, Takuma was fine as long as he got genjutsu lessons out of it, which was the reward he asked for.
"Did you have a chance to look at the scrolls?" asked Mikoto.
"I did," he replied. Mikoto had given Takuma three days to look at the scrolls. Both of them realized that Takuma had a full-time job and thus took it into consideration while issuing her deadlines.
Takuma hadn''t been able to do anything the day Fugaku informed him that the Commander-in-Chief and some higher-ups were aware of his Ring identity. The next day, he went to Chunin Yakumi and Setsuna to talk with them about the new revelation. While Yakumi was displeased and ended their talk with: "The results of your team better be good," Setsuna straightforwardly said he didn''t care. He didn''t have the authority to meet Jonin Uchiha Sayuri, the Head of Organized Crime, with no notice and had to schedule a meeting¡ª her secretary had returned to him the next day saying that she knew what Takuma wanted to talk about and there was no need.
With that matter bearing down on his mind during the day, Takuma had to pull an all-nighter to read the scrolls. The four D-rank genjutsu were reasonably diverse; clearly, Mikoto wanted to use the four genjutsu as a basis for further studies by using them as examples. The four genjutsu were:
Genjutsu: Flower Hill¡ª a furious tornado of flower petals would cover the target, lasting a maximum of a few seconds, completely obscuring their view in all directions.
Genjutsu: Bell Sound Clone¡ª the target''s head would fill with overwhelming bell sounds with a light paralysis effect while they saw rudimentary clones appear in front of them.
Genjutsu: Haze¡ª the target''s vision of the entire area turned hazy and blurry; the more the target looked around, the higher haze and blur would be, potentially having a nauseating effect.
Genjutsu: Poisonous Stomach Hell¡ª the target would feel a sudden and acute onset of cramping, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. It was a simplified downgrade of a C-rank jutsu, which had more bodily effects with higher intensity.
"And what did you learn in regard to the connection component?" asked Mikoto.
"Flower Hill is a smell-based genjutsu, Bell Sound Clone is sound-based, Haze is touch-based, and Poisonous Stomach Hell is taste-based," said Takuma. "I have some questions regarding these."
"Correct on all four. Go for the questions."
"So, Flower Hill. It''s smell-based genjutsu, but there needs to be a smell that can be used as the "carrier" of chakra. Does that mean I will always need to carry a smoke bomb with a scent to be able to use the genjutsu? Isn''t that a big restriction? I mean, you don''t need anything for a visual-based genjutsu like Mist Servant Jutsu."
"Not all five senses were made equal. Some of them are simply easier to use," said Mikoto with a small smile. "Your comment of visual-based genjutsu not needing any aid is incorrect. The light entering the eye is the carrier, and well, light is ever-present. The "carrier" is the user themselves because the target is focusing on them. But it also presents a restriction¡ª you can''t use visual-based genjutsu from hiding or when the target doesn''t have sufficient focus on the user. It''s well-researched that the difficulty rockets when the user is standing in the peripheral vision when compared to then standing in front of them."
"It''s easy to get attention in a battle," said Takuma.
"It is," Mikoto said with a soft shrug. "As I said, not all senses are made equal. However, you''re underestimating Flower Hill and other olfactory genjutsu. You don''t require a smoke bomb. You can simply use perfumes, colognes, gels, and balms with distinct scents, which you can wear all day long, and once a target registers the scent, which they will once you get close enough, you can build a connection through that scent. If you''re indoors, you can use incense and candles and cast a genjutsu from hiding without ever facing them directly.
"Of course, there are restrictions on what scents you can use. It can''t be something they''re so used to that won''t work, but it can''t also be too distinct, which sets off a target''s alarms. Balance and care are needed. An expert olfactory genjutsu user can juggle the variables to make their genjutsu work with a high success rate."
Takuma repeatedly nodded as Mikoto explained and noted down her words. This is what he was looking for. The thought of applying a puff of cologne as he entered a battle or a party and using that scent to cast genjutsu on the enemy or target was an exciting prospect.
"My next question is about Haze," Takuma continued with his question. "As I was reading the scroll, the text strongly recommended targeting the neck or forehead as the point of contact for establishing the connection. From a practical standpoint, those are some difficult targets. No fighter is going to tilt their head up and give access to their neck, and the head is perhaps the most protected part of the body, not to mention that a lot of people wear their forehead protector¡ well, on their forehead¡ª doesn''t this make this genjutsu useless?"
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Mikoto laughed; Her laugh was pretty and melodic. She said, "The touch receptors in our skin are not uniformly distributed. Skin with hair on it is much less receptive¡ª torso, legs, hands, and the head¡ª and most of the time, all of that is covered with clothes. The neck, forehand, and the front side of your hand are the most receptive as they lack hair. For shinobi, hands will be mostly covered in calluses, making them an undesirable location. It is true that the majority of shinobi cover their foreheads. Leaving the neck as the best position."
"You can''t say touch-based genjutsu has any advantage in the field," said Takuma.
"I agree that touch-based genjutsu doesn''t have much use in combat. But during sex, touch-based genjutsu is always the choice."
Takuma was stunned speechless. Even with both his lives combined, he would only be in his mid-twenties; not to mention, Takuma was currently going through full-bloom puberty, and Uchiha Mikoto was a stunning woman. Moreover, Takuma wasn''t expecting the topic of sex to be part of his genjutsu lesson. If he wasn''t as busy as he was, thinking about sex would be a good chunk of his day.
"Ma''am?"
"You need to widen your mind, Takuma. Combat isn''t the only place where jutsu are used. Shinobi specializing in seduction and sexual espionage are one of the premier experts in genjutsu, and they use touch-based genjutsu extensively during sex. People let their guard down when they''re in bed¡ª and well, genital areas are much more sensitive than the neck and forehead."
"¡ T-That sounds about right."
"It is right," Mikoto seemed to be having fun seeing Takuma''s reaction. "Next."
Takuma cleared his throat and quickly noted everything down, but before asking his next question, he asked, "So, Haze is useless in battle?"
"As it is right now, yes, Haze is useless in battle."
Takuma frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Leave it for now. We will discuss it later in a future lesson."
Takuma wanted to know right now because he really liked the potential of Haze in combat and really wanted to get it working, but he let it go. He noted Mikoto''s comment and moved to his next question.
"I''m confused with Poisonous Stomach Hell¡ª actually, with all taste-based genjutsu. Do they require the target to ingest a hallucinatory agent like a drug or something?" he asked.
"No, no, no. Please, don''t confuse those two; they''re different," Mikoto waved her hand in emphasis. "Genjutsu, which use taste as a connection component, require the target to eat something infused with your chakra. Your chakra needs to interact with the taste buds in their tongue for you to gain control of their chakra flow. The more chakra comes in contact with their tongue, the faster and stronger genjutsu works. As you would notice, taste-based genjutsu also doesn''t have any presence on the battlefield, but it shines in other places. It''s surprising how people check for poison, but they don''t check for the presence of chakra in food and drinks."
"And drugs?" asked Takuma as he made notes.
"Drugs affect the brain and its functioning, which makes people much more suspectable to outside influence. Genjutsu becomes an extremely potent weapon when the target is not in their right mind. It doesn''t even need to be some rare drug¡ª alcohol inebriation is enough for genjutsu to work better."
That made sense. Takuma made his notes and thought about how well his Mist Servant Jutsu worked on someone high on weed. He almost wanted to test the before and after¡ª and who knows, he might actually conduct that experiment.
"Any questions on the Bell Sound Clone?" asked Mikoto.
"I''m sure the answer is in the scroll," Takuma hadn''t read the text in its entirety; there was a lot more to read for every genjutsu, "but the scroll said to create the bell sound every five to seven seconds to maintain the genjutsu."
Bell Sound Clone required the user to produce a bell ring even after the genjutsu was successfully in place. And unlike Flower Hill, he couldn''t apply a cologne and call it a day, he needed to continue ringing the bell every few seconds, which got in the way.
"If you don''t repeat the bell, the genjutsu will weaken, and the chance of the target realizing they''re in a genjutsu will rise. I understand where you''re coming from, but every jutsu has its use," Mikoto answered patiently. "Combat often happens between groups. Imagine you trapping an opponent in a genjutsu while your teammate takes them out with zero danger. That''s where genjutsu like Bell Sound Clone comes into play. Of course, not all auditory genjutsu requires recurring sound production, but it''s a common trait because it allows the user to keep the genjutsu''s hold on the target strong. Experts with high skill in auditory genjutsu are able to use their voice to cast genjutsu, which is extremely dangerous. You can close your eyes, but can you block all sounds when shinobi are able to modulate their voices?"
"I know how to modulate my voice," said Takuma, and his voice came out as highly distorted; it was the voice he used as Tobi. He could also increase the amplitude and pitch it up and down, and while he couldn''t perfectly mimic someone''s voice, he just needed practice to reach that level.
"Auditory genjutsu is an option you can explore," Mikoto said, and her voice sounded different. She sounded like another woman.
"Isn''t that the anchor from the radio station?" Takuma asked.
Mikoto nodded with a smile.
She was more skilled at it than him.
"So, it''s clear that Uchiha Clan specializes in visual genjutsu. I mean, with those eyes, it''d be illogical not to," Takuma looked at Mikoto, who nodded understandably. "But what about Yuhi Clan? They''re dubbed as Hidden Leaf''s premier genjutsu clan. Do they specialize in anything?"
"Hmm¡ as far as I understand, Yuhi Clan doesn''t specialize in one connection component as a clan. But individual clan members do tend to specialize in one sense as it''s naturally difficult to juggle multiple, and specialization provides a higher return on investment. If you look a little deeper, genjutsu users in the village follow trends¡ª if a popular genjutsu user makes their name using auditory genjutsu, novice genjutsu users would look at them and get influenced. But I''d suggest that you don''t fall into that and carefully research and use genjutsu to find what suits you."
Takuma had no idea which direction he would go, but he had five genjutsu, one from each sense, and an excellent teacher to guide him. He wasn''t in a hurry, and eventually, he knew he would figure it out.
CH_4.39 (139)
Shisui stretched his torso to relieve the tension from sitting in one place for too long and tweaked his neck and shoulder to get the kinks out with satisfying snapping clicks.
ANBU had trained him in stealth which often required staying in one place without moving for extended periods of time, but he dreaded the experience of sitting through one of Uchiha Clan''s monthly meetings to discuss the progress of their primary clan objective¡ª which at the current moment was overthrowing the current administration and establishing the new with the Uchiha at the very top.
Or, in fewer words¡ª a Coup D''¨¦tat.
Something Shisui was completely against.
They discussed their plans of establishing alliances with influential clans, investing more and more in the village''s business, thus increasing their share in the economy, and buying physical assets like prime real estate, fertile and commercial land, and valuable metals like gold and silver. Recently, the clan had even sent diplomatic envoys to the Daimyo''s court intending to get mining rights for precious mineral ores from reserves around the Land of Fire.
Before the formation of the Hidden Leaf village, in the Warring Era, the Uchiha Clan was the strongest shinobi clan in the Land of Fire, rivaled only by the Senju Clan. The clan had built the foundation of their wealth in that turmoil-filled era¡ª they owned vast expanses of land, some were fertile lands which they put to farming by employing common folk, and eventually, farming towns had sprouted with the Uchiha land as the backbone of the people living in those villages, others were filled with mineral reserves which they mined, and once again mining towns were born which expanded into industrial cities¡ª both existed to date. The Uchiha Cla also controlled one of the rare cases of privately-owned crude oil reserves.
All of it was gained by bloodshed and violence during the time when the law didn''t exist for shinobi. Even after the formation of the Hidden Leaf and its shinobi recognizing the Fire Daimyo''s position as the ruler of the Land of Fire, the Daimyo didn''t dare ask for what the Uchiha had gained by sheer force.
The Daimyo, with his vast Samurai vassal forces, knew better than to be adversarial to shinobi. In truth, the Daimyo and his samurai were stronger than any single shinobi clan, but with the vassal forces split into facing multiple shinobi clans, the Daimyo could only watch as the shinobi raided and pillaged across the Land of Fire. And Daimyo''s window of dominance truly closed with the inception of Hidden Leaf when all prominent shinobi clans joined hands.
Any action against Hidden Leaf shinobi would result in making enemies of the strongest force in the Land of Fire if not all of the Elemental Nations.
The Senju Clan was, once again, their only rival in terms of both owned wealth and military strength. Other shinobi clans like the Sarutobi, Shimura, Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame existed, and were strong in their own rights, but they couldn''t match the Uchiha and the Senju¡ª no one could, not even shinobi clans from outside the Land of Fire.
But perhaps both clans had enjoyed too much prosperity, and the scales of fate were uneven.
Soon after the creation of the Hidden Leaf, tragedy struck the Uchiha in the form of the clan leader Uchiha Madara, the man who had single-handedly caused the clan to soar to heights never seen before¡ª the same man forsook the clan who refused to turn against the village which had bought peace and stopped the bloodshed.
Uchiha Madara battled the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and lost his life. The place they battled became known as the Valley of the End. Statues of the two men were carved in the place of their final battle, in the memory of the two greatest shinobi that ever lived.
It was one of the most beautiful places on the mortal plane.
That battle had negative effects. The village was displeased with the Uchiha Clan, and many even turned against them. The system of a hidden shinobi village had its multitude of advantages, but it also came with its caveat, after all, there was no free lunch in the world. If it were before, it would''ve meant war, but the Uchiha had bought into the concept of a peaceful village¡ª they had to step back and take responsibility for their clan leader''s action.
If one were to ask any Uchiha, and they would say that was the moment the Uchiha clan stopped progressing. Even though they had lost Uchiha Madara, they were still the strongest clan in the Hidden Leaf, excluding the Senju. Even though no one truly understood it back then, the Uchiha Clan had fallen out of favor with the rest of the village, which didn''t improve after the First Hokage''s death as his younger brother, Senju Tobirama took command as the Second Hokage.
There was no man the Uchiha hated more than Senju Tobirama. They respected Senju Hashirama for his strength and because the man was the reason the Hidden Leaf existed in the first place¡ª but they hated the younger brother as Tobirama pushed the Uchiha Clan further down the hole they didn''t know they were in.
In Tobirama''s reign as the Second Hokage, the man isolated the Uchiha Clan. Slowly until the day he died in the First Shinobi World War, Tobirama had made sure the Uchiha were kept away from the village''s central administration as much as possible.
It was during the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen''s reign that the Uchiha realized what had been done to them. As much as 80% of the clan worked in the Leaf Military Police Force¡ª no other clan was concentrates as much in one organization as the Uchiha. Every other clan made sure to spread their members in as many aspects of the village as they could. Even clans like the Yamanaka Clan, who were perfect for T&I Division, had only a moderate presence there and had ensured they didn''t have all their eggs in one basket.
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Sarutobi Hiruzen was no better than his predecessor. While he didn''t take any measures against the Uchiha, he also didn''t do anything to improve their situation. The damage had been done, and the Uchiha were in their condition.
But they weren''t doing as bad as their co-founding peer, the Senju Clan.
The Uchiha Clan hadn''t let peace dull their blades, especially after Uchiha Madara''s death; they had ensured that the clan maintained their position as the strongest clan. Proper systems were put into place to help the clan''s future generations grow properly, and their clan''s bloodline prospered. The result of those efforts was that in the present, the Uchiha Clan was the strongest clan in the village. Their only competition in terms of military strength was the Hyuga Clan.
The same couldn''t be said about the Senju Clan. They let peace rust their blades. The younger generation wasn''t properly trained. As much as Senju Tobirama did for the improvement and standardization of training for the new Hidden Leaf shinobi, he had not done the same for the Senju Clan. On top of the Senju Clan enjoying the peace, they also suffered from low birth rates and higher infant mortality rates. On top of that, Senju Hashirama wasn''t able to pass on his legendaryWood Release to his progeny, and Senju Tobirama died before he could produce any children who could have inherited his potent Water Release affinity or his intellect.
Peace created a weak Senju generation, and those weak men floundered away the clan''s wealth until the clan''s name no longer existed in the Hidden Leaf. The only prominent legacy existed in the form of Senju Hashirama''s granddaughter, the legendary iryo-nin, one of the Legendary Sannin, Princess Tsunade, who had long since left shinobi service, no longer lived in the village and had withdrawn from shinobi circles.
The other clans, including the Uchiha, saw an opportunity and slowly ate the pie known as the Senju''s wealth. Half of it, which was too important for the clans to have, and they couldn''t decide how to split, went to the village itself, but what could be divided was distributed among the clans.
Two more Shinobi World Wars were fought, and the time came for the aging Third Hokage to choose his successor. He had fought in and survived three wars, and he had served the village well, but now it was time for the village to be handed to young blood. It was time for the Hidden Leaf to get its Fourth Hokage.
It was a chance for Uchiha to rise again by having an Uchiha wear the Hokage''s hat. They even had a prime contender in Uchiha Fugaku, the most talented of his generation and a war hero feared and respected around the globe.
However, the competition was tough.
One of the Legendary Sannin and the Third Hokage''s most talented disciples, Orochimaru. The man had done everything from participating in wars to working in ANBU to contributing to essential research, which had benefited the village by furthering their understanding of chakra.
Then there was Namikaze Minato, another war hero who had risen around the same time as Fugaku. He, too, was connected to the Third Hokage through the Legendary Sage Jiraya, the last of the three Sannin. Minato was Jiraya''s disciple. Minato was deemed the most talented shinobi in his generation as he was able to learn the Second Hokage''s Hiraishin and had somehow been able to improve it, which earned him the moniker of the Yellow Flash.
The Uchiha had invested a lot in Fugaku and had pushed for him in the political circles¡ª alas, the Third Hokage chose Namikaze Minato.
The Uchiha Clan was unsurprisingly upset that Fugaku didn''t win, but they thought the outcome was the second best after Fugaku as Hokage. Unlike the other option in Orochimaru, Namikaze Minato was a young man with an open mind, who the Uchiha Clan could build a positive relationship with
Moreover, they weren''t completely surprised by Namikaze Minato being chosen¡ª the young man was engaged to the Nine Tail''s jinchuriki, and it was clear that it played into the decision as the First Hokage was married to the previous jinchuriki. Keeping jinchuriki close to the village royalty was a common tradition among all the Great Shinobi Hidden Villages.
And by becoming the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato was royalty.
The Uchiha Clan pivoted to their new strategy of becoming close to the Fourth Hokage and his office, but before they could make any significant progress, the young Hokage had to sacrifice his life to protect the village from the Nine-Tail''s rampage.
Of course, the blame¡ was put on the Uchiha Clan.
Shisui sighed as he looked at the night sky. Why did these meetings have to run so late into the night?
As the clan members exited the clan community hall, Shisui smiled and nodded and exchanged passing words with people who were as tired as him and just wanted to get home and turn in for the day.
Ever since the formation of Hidden Leaf, the Uchiha Clan had entered an era of stagnation. They hadn''t weakened, but they hadn''t grown. In comparison, the other clans had taken advantage of the situation and had thrived. There was still a gap between the Uchiha Clan and others, but it was no longer as insurmountable as it once was. They were still the wealthiest clan in the Hidden Leaf, but they had fallen behind in other aspects. Their new rival, the Hyuga Clan, had become closer to them in terms of strength and had surpassed them in terms of prestige and influence within the village.
Shisui was in support of the steps the Uchiha Clan took to prepare for the Coup D''¨¦tat. They were increasing their influence, taking back power, making friends, and securing opportunities for the younger generation to follow. For example, slowly opening the Leaf Military Police Force was so that the Uchiha could decrease their presence there and spread their members throughout the village like other clans.
He simply didn''t like the motivation¡ª the end goal¡ª behind all these steps. If the clan changed the end goal to continued peaceful existence with the village while still doing what they were doing, he was willing to sit through any number of meetings.
He sighed. From the looks of it, that future was his wishful thinking as even those initially not enthusiastic about the plan were now slowly falling in line. He was losing potential future allies.
"Why not talk to me instead of sighing?"
Shisui glanced to his side to see Itachi standing beside him. Their relationship had been on the rocks for a while now, but Shisui couldn''t stay angry with his only ally¡ª and he saw Itachi as his brother, so he couldn''t break the relationship.
He only had his parents as his family, and his health hadn''t been too great. Shisui needed someone he could lean against for support. Even though he was the ''big brother,'' Shisui greatly appreciated the unmoving stability Itachi provided. Almost nothing phased the young genius.
"If they keep at this pace, the clan will be ready in two to three years, four if we are being pessimistic," Shisui sighed. "That''s not a lot of time."
"Really? I think that''s a lot of time," said Itachi.
Shisui chuckled. He sometimes forgot that his younger brother was only thirteen, and three years was indeed a long time for someone that young.
"You''ll understand when you grow up a bit more. Time passes faster the older you grow," he said. Shisui looked at Itachi, who had suddenly gone silent, and there was a peculiar expression on Itachi''s face. "What is it?"
After a good while of silence, Itachi finally spoke,
"¡ Shimaru Danzo came to meet with me."
CH_4.40 (140)
"Do not believe a word from that man''s mouth!"
It took Itachi everything to hold back his instinct to break Shisui''s arm as the latter pulled him in a Body Flicker without warning. He set Shisui''s words aside for a moment to see where Shisui had transported them and found that they were in the woods near the Uchiha Compound. Despite knowing Shisui''s skill with the Body Flicker Jutsu, Itachi couldn''t help but be amazed every time at just how good he was at the jutsu; speed, distance, control¡ª Shisui outclassed everyone else Itachi had seen use the jutsu. He wondered how much time he would need to hone the jutsu to be able to match Shisui.
Ages, he assumed¡ª there were people seemingly tailor-made for particular jutsu.
"Are you listening to me, Itachi!"
Itachi replied, "I am." He turned to face Shisui. "I''m well aware of Shimura Danzo''s reputation. I know better than to let my guard down around him."
"That is not enough," Shisui sounded as serious as he had ever been. "That man is dangerous. It doesn''t matter if you''re prepared for him, give him a sliver of an opening, or enough time to make a scratch, he will somehow get what he wants. People called Orochimaru the Snake; they don''t know that something more dangerous crawls in the roots of this village."
Itachi furrowed his brows, wondering what had made Shisui react so strongly from simply hearing a man''s name.
"Is it about ROOT?" he asked.
Shisui nodded and was about to speak when his eyes narrowed as he looked at Itachi.
"This isn''t about some petty departmental rivalry, Itachi," Shisui''s voice turned grave. "Danzo''s ROOT is something that shouldn''t exist. The worst part is that they operate with complete autonomy. Do you know what response we get every time we ask them specifics about a mission of theirs? They give nothing as they refuse to share any details. And because of "Elder Danzo," we can''t force them to turn things over¡ª WE! ANBU can''t get access! I don''t know why Lord Hokage allows ROOT to exist, but it does, and every day they exist, they operate under the name of the Hidden Leaf, doing who knows what for the supposed good of the village, with zero operational oversight."
Itachi had only been in the ANBU for a year and didn''t know about ROOT because of all the secrecy and fog surrounding them.
"Why does he want to meet you?" Shisui asked, half to Itachi and half to himself.
Itachi shrugged. He got no additional information except an invitation from a ROOT operative and the way to contact them when Itachi was free to meet.
"Do you think Lord Hokage shared our information with him?"
Itachi shook his head. "No, he has assured me that he has kept the risky truth to himself." The Hokage had initiated talks with the Uchiha Clan and thus had to work with his office as people needed to know to start the diplomatic process. But the Hokage had kept the fact that the Uchiha Clan was planning a Coup D''¨¦tat against the village a secret. The Hokage was still the only outsider aware of that hazardous information.
But Itachi could tell that every failed conversation with the Uchiha Clan thinned his patience and willingness to work using ''non-aggressive'' means. Sarutobi Hiruzen had been cooperative, but the man had been through three Shinobi World Wars¡ª once the "Kind Professor" stepped back, the "God of Shinobi" was bound to step out, and that man wouldn''t have any kindness if the village were threatened.
Shisui clicked his tongue. "Then the clan might have been too aggressive with their moves recently. Danzo might''ve gotten a whiff of something suspicious."
Itachi glanced at Shisui, wondering where he put Danzo on the scale of an omniscient devil to a highly trained bloodhound.
"¡ Do you know that we were once able to steal some of their mission details from ROOT?" said Shisui. "The information we got was that ROOT assassinated a series of influential figures in the Daimyo''s court. The ROOT treated them as threats because they spoke against the Hidden Leaf in the high political circles; those people hadn''t actually done anything to harm the village, just showed their detestation for the village''s policy. Danzo had them assassinated over the course of two years, making every death an accident or a scheme from the victim''s potential enemy. We weren''t able to prove anything¡ not a single death was ever connected to ROOT¡ or the village.
ROOT has poisoned an entire inn just to take out one man, they killed an entire caravan and staged it to look like a bandit robbery just for another person, and so much more¡"
The expression on Shisui''s face was a mix of pure anger and disdain. Itachi had known Shisui since before he could remember, and his current expression was rare enough for him to count on one hand.
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"I won''t meet him, don''t worry," said Itachi. He didn''t want to freak Shisui out after the last time.
"Tell me if he tries to pull something," Shisui''s eyes glowed until four-side pinwheels rotated in red, "and I might pay him a visit¡"
Itachi didn''t know why, but he felt a weight settle in his chest. He immediately changed the subject.
"How is your father doing?"
With a blink, Shisui''s eyes returned to normal. "Better than usual¡ well, as better as he can be. He recognized me for the entire last week." A peaceful smile surfaced on his face.
"That''s good. I haven''t met him in a while. I should visit," said Itachi. Shisui''s father had severe health complications from his injuries from the Third Shinobi World War¡ª he had even lost a leg. Due to that, Shisui had been pushed into the role of sole breadwinner for his family of three from a very young age. There was nothing Shisui cared about more than his parents. There was probably no one with better medical treatment in the Hidden Leaf than Shisui''s father. Whatever an Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan, who was a jonin, and was currently serving as an ANBU, could procure, Shisui had gotten more.
"He''ll be happy to see you. Bring Sasuke along if you want," Shisui smiled. "How about you? What''s happening in your life?"
"Things¡ have been a bit rough with father; these days, all we do is get into arguments every time we talk." Itachi didn''t want to discuss his relationship with his father, so he moved on. "Sasuke''s doing well in the academy; he has been pestering me to show him how to use shurikenjutsu," a soft smile bloomed on his face. "And well, I believe mother has been having the most interesting time of us all. She has taken a student."
Shisui looked visibly surprised. Uchiha Mikoto was a jonin who had been out of shinobi duty since Itachi''s birth, which was more than a decade ago. The only time she had done anything remotely shinobi-like was participating in the emergency during the Nine-Tail invasion. For her to take on a student wasn''t only a big deal in the Uchiha Clan but also village-wide. Every year, the village had to move jonin around for academy graduates. At least half of them didn''t want anything to do with green genin and had to be convinced to train the next generation of Hidden Leaf shinobi. For a jonin like Mikoto to take on a student meant there was potential for her to take more in the future. Every single jonin mattered.
"Who is it?" asked Shisui.
"A genin named Takuma, no last name," Itachi replied.
Shisui furrowed his brows. "Why do I feel like I have heard that name?"
"You have met him. Junior Officer Takuma of the Department of Organized Crime. You questioned him on how the new recruits were being treated in the Police Force."
"Ah, I remember now. He was a pleasant fellow, if a little shy. I remember his answers being intelligent."
"I don''t know any details, but he''s apparently doing quite well for himself in the Police Force. And mother says she likes him, so she''s probably going to continue teaching him." Itachi had to explain to Shisui the special circumstances of his mother and her new student and how it wasn''t a true jonin-genin mentorship but simply daily genjutsu lessons.
"Well, he must''ve done something right to get himself lessons from Lady Mikoto." Shisui hummed for a moment before continuing, "If they''re willing to prop up an outsider like this so early, then the clan really might be able to attract more talented people and phase themselves out." One of the Uchiha Clan''s goals was to reduce their concentration in the Police Force and spread them around more important positions in the village. They didn''t need that many Uchiha to retain control of the Police Force, but they did need people elsewhere for growth.
"I just hope he doesn''t crumble," Shisui finished.
"What do you mean?"
"The entire clan is in an aggressive mode right now. If our friend Takuma continues to perform well, they might try to push him as the poster boy. He''ll see more opportunities, which is good for him. But there''s a fear that he might be overwhelmed to the point he might break¡ There are many cases of shinobi being too lost in their work until they become too far gone and aren''t able to claw their way back out. Then comes opium, heroin, cocaine, painkillers¡ª anything to keep them working. It''s a bad cycle¡."
Itachi asked, "You knew anyone like that?"
"Not anyone close, but there are some right now in ANBU who''re ruining their health and personal life just to be able to work and not fall behind."
Itachi thought about if his clan could ruin a man, and they were very much capable of doing it. What was a single man against an entire clan? But then he recalled a conversation he had with Izumi¡ª Takuma''s academy batchmate¡ª and how she had told him about her observation of Takuma since their academy days and how much he had changed. A potential conclusion they had reached was that Takuma was always pretending to be less competent than he was, so he could use it later to have a jump in ability when he desired and exude a highly positive impression on others. He knew close to nothing about Takuma; they lived in very separate worlds. But from what little he had heard from others, it seemed Takuma had continued to climb up, grabbing opportunities on the way.
"I don''t think he will break," said Itachi.
"Oh? What makes you think he won''t?"
"Let''s just say that Genin Takuma is capable of a lot more than he shows."
Looking at everything, it was clear that his clan was laying the groundwork to potentially use Takuma as a poster boy. Yes, it would benefit Takuma but also bring him harm. It wasn''t just the things that Shisui talked about¡ª those were speculations based on very limited knowledge, unlikely to come true. But Itachi did know one thing solidly based on reality: the Uchiha Clan weren''t the only one running the Police Force. Ally clans had a significant stake in the Police Force.
And it was ugly human nature to feel jealousy and envy because of other people''s success¡ª especially those they thought didn''t deserve it.
Itachi liked to think that Takuma was using his clan just as much as they were using him; someone smart in his position would definitely do so¡ª and his impression of Takuma was of someone who understood a lot but spoke less. And he didn''t mind it. What relationship didn''t have aspects of selfish motivations¡ª some had them more than others. If Takuma was able to get what he wanted while the Uchiha benefited as well¡ª who was he to ruin good things for a single genin?
"I look forward to hearing about him the next time he comes up; I wonder how far he would''ve climbed," said Itachi¡ª until then, the man named Takuma would return to the dark recesses of his mind, forgotten until brought up.
The two Uchiha eventually left for their homes.
They, however, didn''t notice a figure observing them from the shadows
¡ª a figure wearing an orange mask.
CH_4.41 (141)
"What will we be learning today?" asked Takuma as he took his genjutsu notebook from his backpack.
It had been two weeks since Takuma''s first lesson with Mikoto at her home, and in just that short time, Takuma felt like he had learned more about genjutsu than he had known before. That knowledge in no way helped him create genjutsu or improve his ability to cast genjutsu he knew, but by no means was that knowledge useless. He could feel how the building blocks Mikoto was imparting him would one day be of tremendous use as he explored the world of genjutsu.
"Have you ever asked yourself why people don''t question themselves in the face of the impossible?" asked Mikoto. A plate of light refreshments sat between them as usual.
"What might you mean?" Takuma returned.
"There are genjutsu which can be created through realistic practical means, but most genjutsu often lie in the category which can''t be created or are near impossible to exist. So, my question to you is, why do we believe the truly bizarre we are made to experience while under the influence of a genjutsu?" Mikoto continued, "Why can a person see their long-dead loved one appear in front of them and wholeheartedly believe it to be true¡ª and experience the full force of emotions without doubting that the sight in front of them is false?"
Takuma was left speechless in the face of Mikoto''s question. He had no answer for it; he didn''t even have a guess. In fact, Takuma had never questioned how genjutsu worked. Before he learned Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu, the question was never in his orbit, and after he learned it, he simply accepted a genjutsu working as a fact. He was sure there was no explanation in any of the five genjutsu scrolls he currently possessed.
Takuma wondered why he had never questioned it. Was it because ever since Yuhi Kame had trapped him in a genjutsu which brought out genuine fear in him until he naturally slipped out that he accepted it as a universal truth?
"I didn''t know, ma''am." Takuma''s curiosity peaked, and he hung onto the next words Mikoto spoke.
"Until three decades ago, we didn''t have the answer as to how genjutsu actually worked. The creation of jutsu, be it ninjutsu or genjutsu, was such a long time ago that much of the knowledge had been lost through the passage of time. We knew that certain series of hand seals and molding chakra in peculiar ways would create genjutsu, and the knowledge of creating different effects was more than plenty¡ª but we didn''t know how genjutsu actually interacted with the brain and mind to cause the intended results."
Takuma nodded. Chakra and jutsu weren''t completely understood fields. Just like any scientific field, they too were studied every day by specialists and academics who devoted their lives to understanding the mystic force which made the impossible possible. It could be said that the study of chakra was still in its infancy, used only as a weapon because the researchers were shinobi, and the topics of research were funded by shinobi, making the research topics very biased towards militaristic uses. The only field with applications beyond warfare was iryo-jutsu which anyone could enjoy.
Takuma was sure one day, the secrets of chakra would be unlocked to a level where it would leak into normal lives. As for when that time would come, he didn''t know¡ª if the nature of this world didn''t change, perhaps he wouldn''t see it in his lifetime. The thought made him feel sorry for the world.
Mikoto continued, "However, four decades ago, we developed the technology which allowed us to inspect the brain." It was the invention of the MRI. "One of the experiments conducted in those early days was to study how the brain reacted under the influence of genjutsu¡."
"Oh!" Takuma felt excited learning about knowing such a piece of history.
"¡. the study resulted in us learning nothing."
"Oh¡"
"It was a decade after the initial study that one of the researchers noticed how the scans of the brain of someone under genjutsu looked similar to those of people suffering from mental diseases like schizophrenia," Mikoto smiled. "We simply didn''t have enough data when the initial study was conducted, but after a decade of studying all types of people, enough was recorded that previously asked unanswered questions gained answers."
Takuma released a breath he didn''t know he was holding and subconsciously sat up straighter. He was not a naturally curious person who asked questions, but learning new and interesting things was always a welcoming experience.
But then he focused on Mikoto''s words and realized what she had just revealed.
"I-Is there a chance of developing a mental condition because of genjutsu," Takuma asked with trepidation. Neither did he want to get a mental disease, nor did he want to subject anyone to one.
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Mikoto laughed as she hid her mouth behind her hand. She laughed for a good few seconds before calming down. "You don''t have to worry about that. A few studies have been done, and a correlation hasn''t been found yet."
Takuma breathed a sigh of relief.
"To put it crudely, genjutsu alters the brain''s functionality to something similar to mental diseases, but unlike mental diseases, the user has much more control and freedom. The brain is so disrupted that it loses touch with reality and begins accepting everything you throw at it, just like how an unstable mind accepts hallucinations as reality."
Mikoto took a pause and picked up her teacup. Knowing she had stopped for him, Takuma wrote everything he had not yet.
"What about when the target realizes they''re in a genjutsu?" asked Takuma.
He had talked to Nenro and others about how they felt at the point of realization, but unlike his experience of complete, instant detachment, their testimonials were different; according to them, they were still very much under the thrall of the genjutsu, and it took the effort to muster the intention to break the genjutsu. Nenro had specifically pointed out that the amount of effort required to break away depended upon the user''s skill level and that if someone was skilled, they could potentially pull the target back into complete thrall after they realized they were under a genjutsu.
"Brain and chakra are complex things beyond human understanding. The brain will try to correct itself, and if gaining control over another''s chakra was so easy, genjutsu would be everyone''s weapon of choice," said Mikoto. "There are internal and external factors out of your control, which can all lead to the target breaking free. The only way to reliably retain control is to have a strong one from the get-go."
Takuma scratched his head with the pencil. "Then what are the main criteria for a strong genjutsu¡ª its ability to maintain control over the target or affect the target the most? What''s considered the strongest genjutsu?"
Mikoto put her teacup down. "You''re still looking at genjutsu as if it''s ninjutsu. It is not. I have told you this before. While judging a genjutsu, you don''t judge the jutsu but the shinobi behind it. Let''s take your Mist Servant Jutsu as an example; can you change the connection component from visual to auditory?"
Takuma, of course, couldn''t.
"A true user could make that happen. A genjutsu is just a build-it-yourself jutsu that can be adapted according to the requirements of the moment. Why put in the effort and chakra to create a long-lasting connection when you only need the genjutsu to last for a few seconds¡ª similarly, why cast a ''strong'' torturing genjutsu when you only wish to detain the target and don''t wish to harm them? It''s all about managing effort and chakra."
"How long would it take me to become a true genjutsu user, as you put it?" asked Takuma.
"That depends entirely upon you. The faster you learn, the faster you''ll be able to achieve the goal," Mikoto shrugged. "As to answer your previous question. The strongest genjutsu¡ª as I said, I''ll look at the person behind it. What''s the quality of the strongest genjutsu shinobi? It''s personal preference, and others will give you different answers, but the strongest user would be the one to hold a target in a genjutsu even after informing the target they were in a genjutsu."
Takuma was baffled. How could that be possible? Any person who knew they were in the genjutsu would immediately break it. "Has there ever been any such shinobi?" he asked.
"The Second Mizukage, H¨zuki Gengetsu," said Mikoto with an undertone of respect. "It was said that with the help of his summon, a giant clam, he could cast a genjutsu so strong that even after informing his targets they were in a genjutsu, they would be helpless to break out of it. He could play with a hundred shinobi simultaneously without breaking a sweat."
If it was true, then Takuma could see the Second Mizukage as the contender for the strongest genjutsu user, but he knew two people who he thought held a stronger claim as the strongest genjutsu users. Both were from the same clan as his teacher in front of him, and one was her son.
Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. The former with his Tsukuyomi and the latter with his genjutsu, of which he couldn''t recall the name, only that it was ''Inception'' on steroids.
Takuma glanced at Mikoto''s onyx eyes. Those eyes were absurdly strong weapons, but what was scarier was that they could become even stronger. So strong that they had made Itachi and Shisui contenders to possessors of the strongest genjutsu. But the most terrifying part was that with the right extremely rare circumstances, the eyes could become even stronger.
He shook his head. It was useless thinking about those two monsters. He didn''t know when Shisui gained his Mangekyo Sharingan and if he had it now. As for Itachi, as Shisui was still alive, he didn''t have access to his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"A question to you, Takuma. What, according to you, would be considered the strongest genjutsu?" asked Mikoto.
Takuma contemplated the question for a moment. "My answer might change if I give it more thought. But at this moment, a genjutsu that the target wouldn''t want to leave is the strongest genjutsu," he said.
"¡ A genjutsu the target won''t want to leave?" Mikoto looked stunned.
"Life can be tough, ma''am. For many, it''s miserable. What if a genjutsu gives you everything you desire¡ª a happy life with zero problems? I would bet everything I own that you would find plenty of people who wouldn''t want to get out of something like that."
He looked outside. Due to the time of day and the building structure, he couldn''t see the sun shining. But he could imagine a moon¡ª a full blood red moon with nine black tomoe on its surface.
"A genjutsu that gives people the life of their dreams."
Takuma closed his eyes, and the faces of his family flashed before his eyes. He wondered if, in ten or twenty or thirty years from now, he could remember their faces, voices, the memories with them¡ the thought scared him to the core.
If given the choice¡ he didn''t know if he would be able to refuse.
He didn''t think his resolve was that strong.
He didn''t think his resolve would ever get that strong.
CH_4.42 (142)
Located several dozen kilometers outside the "official" border of the Hidden Leaf village, a sizable landlocked lake had become the center of the ecosystem for many species living in the surrounding area. The lake wasn''t a natural waterbody and was made by accident by the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama during experimentation with Water Release ninjutsu, which had altered the landscape permanently.
Initially, the area was destroyed and deemed too dangerous and unusable for any productive purposes, but in the following decades, the forces of nature assimilated the area, and a rich population of wildlife took it as their home. Since then, the area surrounding the lake was deemed as a wildlife reserve with near zero human activity.
At least, that was what everyone thought. Only a select amount of people actually knew that the supposed wildlife reserve was an operational site for the Hidden Leaf''s ROOT. The site was the closest to the Hidden Leaf except for the one in the village itself, but the wildlife reserve site was the busiest due to it being the main training site for operatives and was currently the main office of the ROOT''s leader Shimura Danzo.
On the lakeshore, a roofed pavilion stood. Under the roof, Danzo sat facing the lake, silently gazing at the serene scenery. The structure had no security against wildlife, but not a single animal approached despite it being so near the lake, which was the primary water source for all.
A masked shinobi fully covered in dark gray appeared just outside the pavilion with masterful stealth like a ghost incarnate. The figure kneeled and waited in silence. If it was a normal person, they wouldn''t be aware of the robed shinobi''s presence.
Danzo hummed from his throat, and the shinobi stood up to enter the pavilion arriving at his side.
"The parties at the northwestern border have agreed to sit at a negotiation table," said the robed ROOT operative. "They''re planning to send the message to the other side in a few days."
Danzo glanced down at his hands resting on his thigh. He asked, "Do we believe they''ll reach a common ground?"
"¡ According to sources, the pressure from the skirmishes is slowly becoming unbearable on Steam and the entire country; they want to end so they can continue on with their national affairs as normal. Due to Hidden Leaf''s help, their efforts are being felt the most currently, and they wish to use their momentum as the leverage before they run out of it."
Danzo turned his head to a place on the lakeshore to see a deer step out of the woods to drink at the lake. He observed the deer''s cautious approach for a moment until it dipped his head to drink water.
He returned to the robed figure and asked, "What if we provide them with the weapons and supplies they need? Perhaps even aid them by lending a couple of our experts for a few weeks. Will they still go to the negotiation table?"
"It''s a temporary extension at best. If we extend the offer, they''ll soon become completely dependent upon us¡. Which isn''t a problem in itself, but eventually, it will undoubtedly turn into diminishing returns."
Danzo had to agree. Since last year, the Land of Hot Water''s Hidden Steam and the Land of Frost''s Hidden Frost were engaged in a continuous series of skirmishes at the two nation''s shared border.
It all started when the Land of Frost, traditionally the Land of Fire''s ally, began strengthening its trade and political ties with the Land of Lightning. It wasn''t a problem at the start, but the increased closeness between the two nations extended to the Hidden Frost and the Hidden Cloud.
The Hidden Frost was a Tier-II shinobi village (The Great Shinobi Villages being Tier-I villages), usually suitable for a nation similarly sized to the Land of Frost. Historically, the Hidden Frost hadn''t been able to fulfill their nation''s request¡ª and thus, had to bring in external help. Due to being allies, whatever request the Hidden Frost couldn''t fulfill, they passed them to Hidden Leaf. While not official, the partnership was all but exclusive. That relationship changed when Hidden Frost opened their unfulfilled request to the Hidden Cloud, reducing the Hidden Leaf''s share.
Naturally, the Hidden Leaf didn''t take the news positively, but they couldn''t do anything to dissuade Hidden Frost from giving business to the Hidden Cloud because it was one of the terms in the deal between the Land of Frost and the Land of Lightning.
The Hidden Leaf, the only option in the Land of Frost, now had competition in the Hidden Cloud. Having competition meant that the Hidden Leaf now had to match or beat the competitive rates issued by the Hidden Cloud. In the present, it wasn''t a problem as the Hidden Leaf had spent years building an image in the minds of the Land of Frost populace, but it was only a matter of time before they would slowly lose a portion of the market share to an equally competent alternative. It was a huge change in (and loss of) revenue¡ª and the business that came from the Land of Frost was not something the Hidden Leaf could shrug off.
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However, in the end, it was only a natural result of the change in the market, and the Hidden Leaf could still take steps to keep the new player in Hidden Cloud down.
The problems began when the Hidden Frost suddenly began attacking border territories of the Land of Hot Waters.
Something to know about the Land of Hot Waters was that they were a country that was immensely popular as a tourist destination. The country relied immensely on its tourism industry, and any sort of conflict was a huge blow to its economy as it caused tourists not to choose the country. Another thing to be aware of was that despite being larger than the Land of Frost, its shinobi village, the Hidden Steam, was merely a Tier-III shinobi organization. Like the country where it resided, the Hidden Steam had strong inclinations towards pacifism. After years of reluctantly offering combat-related services, the Hidden Steam officially transitioned away from the typical shinobi missions; it prided itself as the "village that has forgotten wars." The village''s shinobi now worked almost exclusively within the Land of Hot Water''s borders, keeping the roads safe for tourists and performing odd-jobs for the many small settlements around the country.
The Hidden Steam wasn''t nearly equipped to face an assault from the Hidden Frost and, after a while, lost some of the Land of Hot Water''s border territory to the Land of Frost.
The Land of Hot Waters had to turn to the Land of Fire for help. The Daimyos of the two nations met and conversed, and after their diplomatic talks, Fire Daimyo decreed the Hidden Leaf to aid the Land of Hot Waters. The Hidden Leaf were getting paid for their services and thus had no problem sending their shinobi for the war effort.
And while it wasn''t known to the public, the leaders knew Hidden Cloud backed Hidden Frost.
But now, the Land of Hot Waters didn''t think the war was worth the effort as it was hurting the country more than anticipated and wanted to settle the conflict by offering trade concessions to the Land of Frost. They had even asked the Fire Daimyo to act as the enforcer for the peace agreement, who had agreed. If the deal was inked, then if Land of Frost broke the agreement, the Fire Daimyo would pull back aid and roll back trade relationships with Land of Frost which would hurt the smaller cold, snow-covered country a lot¡ª Land of Frost imported a lot of their food from the Land of Fire.
"And Lord Hokage seems to be in agreement with the course of action," Danzo commented. According to Hiruzen, if the Hidden Steam itself didn''t want to fight, then Hidden Leaf had no reason to be on foreign land, fighting in a conflict that was not theirs.
However, Danzo knew what was truly going on.
Hidden Frost was simply a puppet. The true creator of the "war" was Hidden Cloud, who wanted to break the connection between the Land of Frost and the Land of Fire, so the Land of Lightning could step in and take the Land of Fire''s place.
If the negotiations went through, then the Land of Fire would be put in an "adversarial" position against the Land of Frost. It would be like the Land of Fire was saying: "Do as we say, or else¡."
The Land of Frost, of course, couldn''t afford that. Not only was the Land of Fire their paramount trade partner. But that was only until they found someone to replace the Land of Fire¡ª and they just would happen to have a perfect, willing party in the Land of Lightning and the Hidden Cloud. They would completely replace the Land of Fire and Hidden Leaf until the Land of Frost didn''t have to worry about offending the Land of Fire.
And the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf couldn''t do anything about the situation. They couldn''t go and be like: "Be friends with us, or we will burn you to the ground."
That wasn''t Hiruzen''s style, thought Danzo¡ª if it was him, he could''ve done things differently.
Alas, Danzo wasn''t the Hokage.
If the Land of Frost were lost to the Land of Lightning, then the Hidden Cloud would be able to extend its military line closer to the Land of Fire by an entire nation. Moreover, the Land of Hot Waters with the Hidden Steam was worse than a sieve.
If the dynamic changed, the Land of Lightning would be closer to the Land of Fire than ever.
That was something Danzo couldn''t let happen.
"It seems it''s time to use the investment we made earlier," said Danzo, gazing at the robbed figure. "Where are the survivors of the Land of Frost incident right now?"
The figure stayed silent for a moment before answering. "Chunin Umino Iruka is an academy teacher. Genin Aburame Susumu is out of the village for clan purposes. Genin Takuma is currently serving in the Leaf Military Police Force."
Danzo hummed. He had lost a clan member in the Land of Frost incident. He knew lives would be lost, or else the investment would''ve been a failure¡ª but he had expected his clan members to survive. It was a true pity.
"Who was the one to identify that there was a party other than the Land of Frost among the attackers," asked Danzo. They had planted clues for the survivors to come to that conclusion¡ª it was good that someone had picked it up. If they had missed it, the ROOT would have had to implement the backup, which was so much more difficult to pull off.
"Genin Takuma."
Danzo hummed. "It''s time," he said. "Prepare the new intel report..."
The official investigation had only been able to find out that the other party was Hidden Cloud because of the equipment that had been recovered, but the report Danzo was about to give was going to have the names of the shinobi, the higher-ups who had ordered the attack in both Hidden Cloud and Hidden Frost¡ª all of it backed-up by official documents¡. All of it was manipulated by ROOT as an investment.
He was going to keep the Hidden Leaf in the war. For the sake of the safety of the village and nation.
"Yes, sir," said the robbed figure and disappeared the next moment.
Danzo stood up from his seat, ready to leave. He looked to the place where the deer had been drinking water.
The deer was long gone.
Standing in its place was a black-clothed figure with long hair growing to the back.
¡ª the figure wore an orange mask.
This wasn''t a ROOT operative.
Danzo went on alert because none of his hidden guards had moved. They hadn''t alerted him or come out of the shadows to protect him. He could sense them around him, but he didn''t know if they simply hadn''t noticed the figure or if they''d been taken out.
The figure turned toward Danzo, who noticed that the mask only had one eye hole.
And then he saw the red glow through the eye hole.
Interlude_4.1 (143): Changing Fate
Shisui couldn''t remove his eyes from the funeral wake arrangement. The photograph they used of his father was taken before the Third Shinobi World War. His father looked young, in his prime as a shinobi; his smile was brimming with vitality, and even the simple photograph could convey the confidence the man exuded¡ª so much different from the image Shisui had of his father in the recent year. The injuries suffered in the war had drastically changed his father¡ª the man wasn''t the same, physically or mentally.
The iryo-nin attached to Shisui''s father''s unit had been killed by the enemy in the same encounter that he had been grievously injured. Even though they had managed to prevail and wipe out the enemy squad, Shisui''s father wasn''t able to get proper treatment fast enough, and they had to amputate his leg to stop the infection from spreading. Shisui''s father''s shinobi career was all but over; people who continued on after losing a limb were rarer than a hen''s teeth. If it was just that, it would have been fine, but Shisui''s father had taken the abrupt change as bad as one could¡ª soon after, his health deteriorated, and his mind took it the hardest¡ª dementia overtook the once bright mind.
The clan had helped and subsidized the treatment. Shisui''s father had been a chunin for several years; as such, money wasn''t a sore spot even when Shisui''s mother was a housewife.
But Shisui remembered the earlier days when he had just graduated. Because his father had never activated his Sharingan, he wasn''t treated the same as other chunin who had activated their bloodline limit. Even though they had money, and the clan was helping, that help was only monetary¡ª they didn''t have the connections to get the best iryo-nin to look at his father.
Only after Shisui had become a jonin was he able to get the best treatment for his father. But perhaps it was too late by then¡ or else, Shisui''s father would''ve been alive today.
Shisui bowed his head, gripping the prayer beads in his hands tight enough to nearly crush them. Death was part of a shinobi''s life, but that familiarity didn''t make it any easier to face and accept. Especially when the person was the reason why Shisui was a shinobi in the first place. It was clear from the day Shisui was born that he was going to be a shinobi, and Shisui didn''t have any other aspiration¡ª he had only known being told that he would be a shinobi since before he could remember, and he was fine with it.
Ever since when he was in the academy and performed well, his father''s face would light up. Shisui had chased the feeling he had on seeing his father''s pride for his ever since.
He had trained harder and longer every day, and had not let go of the number one position in the academy until he was the Rookie of the Year. He had activated his Sharingan before most could pass the Uchiha''s rite of passage by mastering the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu; he had mastered his clan''s eyes when most were still awestruck at what a one-tomoe Sharingan could do. He had achieved the pinnacle of the Sharingan most Uchiha could only dream upon, knowing that it would only ever be that¡ª a dream.
''Pinnacle,'' a bitter arc tugged on his lips.
He had achieved the pinnacle most of his clan didn''t even know about. The memory of the day he had achieved the historical milestone was in many ways worse than what he was feeling now. He at least knew his father would never be the same as the man he admired and would even pass before his time¡ª but what he had done on that day his eyes had changed was not something he ever thought he would.
Shisui closed his eyes to calm down his heart which plunged deeper into an ocean of sorrow. He wished to drown but could not let him do so. Shisui glanced beside him at his mother, who looked devastated¡ª he had to be strong for her.
She was putting on a strong front for him just like he was for her, and if she saw her son crumble, she wouldn''t be able to hold it together. The years after the war had been far tougher for her than it had been for him. While he could take his mind off using work, his mother had remained at home, caring for her husband every day, watching the man she loved slip away.
He loosened his grip on the prayer beads and began moving beads so that if his mother looked, she would think he was holding up fine.
The wake had ended, and the guests left, Shisui had his mother sent to their only relative''s home to rest. He was going to stay the day and keep vigil overnight. Just when Shisui thought everyone had left, he felt a presence behind him. He didn''t need to turn to know that it was Itachi.
A lot of important people from both inside and outside of the clan had come to visit the wake. Not because they knew Shisui''s father but because they knew Jonin Uchiha Shisui and wanted to pay respects. Shisui hadn''t spoken to a single person; if the Hokage had visited, he would''ve not spoken to him. Itachi and his family had taken care of the guests for him and his mother¡ª and for that, he was deeply grateful.
"It hurts," said Shisui, not looking back at Itachi. "I could tell that father would never return to his former self, but there was this little thing in the bottom of my heart that refused to let go, the little spark that burned¡ª that father would recover back one day, any day now¡ª and I held on to it tight."
He stared at the picture of his smiling father.
Losing someone you loved was terrible.
War that took them away was terrible.
The people who fought in the war were terrible.
Shinobi were terrible.
He was terrible.
Shisui stood up and faced Itachi. He stared into Itachi''s eyes; they were so young, and yet they knew so much. He knew the story of when Fugaku had taken Itachi into an active battle to show him the reality of war to get rid of the romantic stories that children dreamt of. The motivation was right, but Shisui knew it had been too early.
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And yet that was partly the reason why Itachi was the person and shinobi he was today.
"¡ There''s no use waiting for the Lord Hokage and the clan to broker a peaceful agreement," Shisui said to Itachi. "With Danzo poisoning the ears of the council and other clan heads, the road to peace has become even harder."
They didn''t know how, but Danzo had somehow figured out that the Uchiha Clan was planning a rebellion¡ª he had all but accused the Uchiha clan at a council meeting he had called¡ª but he had no definite proof, so he could only point to the recent moves the clan had been making.
Of course, without any proof, neither the council nor the clan heads would move; it helped that the Hokage had reprimanded Danzo for what he was trying to do and hadn''t hidden it, meaning it had reached the ears it intended. But that didn''t mean the various clan and other powers wouldn''t safeguard themselves and pay closer attention to the Uchiha. Once again, after the Nine-Tails invasion, the Uchiha had eyes on them.
Danzo, being the snake he was, had been going around the village, whispering in any ears he found.
There was already tension building inside the village.
The problem lay with the Hokage. Their greatest supporter had promised to do everything to maintain the peace between the village and the Uchiha Clan¡ª but it was understood by both parties that once the situation crossed a line where that promise couldn''t be fulfilled, the Hokage would side with the village and protect it¡ even if it meant turning the entire village against the Uchiha and those who supported them.
War was a shinobi''s livelihood¡ª but it was terrible, so it couldn''t be allowed to burn in one''s home.
If nothing changed, the Hidden Leaf village would be in a war with itself.
That couldn''t be allowed to happen.
"It''s time for me to do that," Shisui glanced down at Itachi. "Danzo would keep spreading his poison until he gets the entire village, and the more he does, the more pressure the Lord Hokage will face. We need him to be at our side for the sake of the clan and the village."
"¡Are you sure?" asked Itachi.
"I need to give the Lord Hokage the comfort of knowing that the clan won''t rebel¡. Once he knows that, he will be the shield and spear we need. Once I convince him, he will make sure that Danzo can''t wrongfully accuse the clan¡ and once we ensure the clan won''t rebel, I can eventually take care of Danzo¡"
Itachi''s eyes widened as Shisui''s eyes changed to a pattern unique to him.
"¡ if he doesn''t stop, I''ll make him silent¡ forever."
Shisui had held onto the hope that one day his father would recover.
So, he knew the truth that it hurt.
Hope hurts.
If he wanted something, he needed to take it on his own.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Fugaku sat in a seiza in a secret clan basement of the Uchiha Clan. Around him sat other leaders and elders of the Uchiha Clan. He could sense their confusion as he was the one to call them but hadn''t given them the reason why they had been called to such a hastily scheduled meeting.
"Fugaku, why have you called us all here today?" asked one of the clan elders.
Ever since Danzo had begun spouting his mouth off, the clan meetings, which were mandatorily attended by everyone who was free now, were done in shifts not to attract attention in case someone was watching. It was risky for them to give clues that they were planning something. But today, Fugaku had called all of the "leaders", breaking the protocol he himself had established.
"Shisui has some important information," Fugaku addressed the people gathered. "He has some important information regarding a recent meeting between the Lord Hokage and Danzo¡ He wanted everyone to be here before he shared the information."
Fugaku himself didn''t know what Shisui wanted to talk about, but if Shisui, an ANBU member, had considered the information to be sensitive enough that it could only be discussed in the deepest underground basement, then he wasn''t going to argue.
Everyone turned their head towards the dark staircase, the only entrance, to the basement. Shisui appeared after a few seconds. He was dressed in a casual blue samue and was slightly drenched. It seemed the rain had begun pouring since they were underground.
"¡ Is everything alright, Shisui?" asked Fugaku.
Shisui gazed at the people in the group before facing Fugaku and nodding.
Fugaku observed Shisui. It had been a month since Shisui''s father had passed, and he could still see that the death still weighed on Shisui''s mind.
"What did you want to tell us, boy?" asked the same elder as before.
Shisui looked at the elder for a moment before stepping forward and sitting down, facing everyone in the room.
"¡ The Lord Hokage knows about our plans," said Shisui.
Fugaku''s eyes narrowed, and the sound of sharp intake filled the room as everyone sat straight at Shisui''s words, who gazed at everyone for a moment,
"He has known since last year. The reason he has been trying to reach out to us is in an attempt to stop the clan and fix the relationship."
Fugaku''s mind started to race. There were a hundred questions that suddenly became a matter of utmost concern. If the Hokage knew about their plans to overthrow the government, then every single clan member was in grave danger. He needed to change¡ª
"I thought perhaps if the village extended their hand, perhaps the clan would let go of their plan," said Shisui. Fugaku gazed up at Shisui. The way Shisui had said that had some very specific connotations. Before he could speak up, Shisui continued, "But I now believe that it''s too late for our clan¡. We can''t go back¡. Everyone in this room has made up their mind, and everyone else will follow whether they like it or not.
But, if I can change the minds of everyone here, I can change the direction of the clan¡"
A bad feeling settled deep in Fugaku''s stomach. Shisui''s words were ominous. It was clear that he had revealed the clan''s plan to the Hokage and had put the entire clan''s safety and future in jeopardy.
"Shisui¡ª"
Fugaku''s words died in his throat when Shisui looked up, and the Sharingan glowed in the dim room lit by oil lamps. But then the familiar three-tomoe design changed into something Fugaku had never seen before.
"Itachi hates the mandatory meetings¡. But I''m glad that when I said it was mandatory, everyone showed up."
"S-Shisui, what is that¡"
Shisui''s Sharingan had turned into a four-sided pinwheel. Everyone in the room dumbly stared at Shisui, but they looked like every nerve in their body was tense as if ready to move at a moment''s notice, but they didn''t and simply stared into the different eyes.
"Our clan''s cursed," said Shisui; his laugh was deeply hollow. "These eyes demand a terrible sacrifice for its power¡. Do not worry, elders; I made the sacrifice once, and I can make it again. For the clan''s sake, for the village''s future, I will make this sacrifice, I will carry the burden."
Before Fugaku, or the others, could do or say anything, pressure descended on their head. As they stared into Shisui''s eyes which slowly rotated, they felt as though their bodies had been detached from their control, and all they could do was gaze.
"It''s okay. You will not remember this. When you open your eyes next time, you''ll have a different worldview," said Shisui. "Do not worry; I will not cripple the clan. I agree that Uchiha needs strength, but we don''t need to ruin the village to get it. The Uchiha will be strong, and the Hidden Leaf will appreciate the clan for it."
The last thing Fugaku saw before his vision turned black was a tear slip down Shisui''s cheek.
CH_5.1 (144): ARC-05!!!
A big group of shinobi sat around in the thick bushes deep within the lush green forest that spanned hundreds of kilometers. They sat in silence, tending to their weapons, checking their ghillie suits, and applying face paint and insect repellent in preparation for the task that had made them travel so far from the Hidden Leaf village.
Nenro glanced at the three shinobi teams, including his friends, participating in the current mission. Until two months ago, he didn''t believe he would be traveling outside the Hidden Leaf into a deep forest away from most civilization for a mission¡ª usually, shinobi worked near towns and cities where their clients resided, but for the current mission, they had been hired to go deep into the forest.
The client?
Nenro looked to his front, where his friend Takuma sat on the ground with his legs crossed, observing a rough map of the area that they had drafted in the jungle itself in the past three days. Eight months back, Takuma had told them that he had been given the command of a small team in the Police Force, but if Nenro had been told that eight months later, Takuma would be recruiting him for a mission on behalf of the Police Force, he would not have believed it. After all, Takuma was an outsider in the Police Force, a genin at that; even if he was placed in a great position, there was a limit to the freedom he would have in the Uchiha home ground.
"Do you understand this, Masaaki?" Takuma said.
Nenro glanced to the right where Masaaki, his hometown friend, and roommate, was squatting and squinting down at the map.
"No," Masaaki replied.
Takuma didn''t look bothered; instead, he asked Masaaki what he didn''t understand and explained that part of the plan of action once more.
Nenro wasn''t the only one, Takuma had contracted Masaaki as well to participate in the mission.
Technically speaking, the Leaf Military Police Force''s jurisdiction encompassed all the Hidden Leaf shinobi¡ª current and, in some cases, even retired¡ª meaning no matter where the shinobi were, they could have a run-in with the Police Force if in suspicion of violation of the law. But, in reality, the Police Force only operated in the Hidden Leaf and some areas around it. They couldn''t stretch their hands more than that as they didn''t have any of the manpower to do it. The Uchiha were but one clan, and even with their allied clans, they only had enough people to cover ground inside the Hidden Leaf, which had the highest density of shinobi of any place in the world.
However, situations arose when the Police Force needed to operate outside the Hidden Leaf. In those cases, the Police Force would recruit shinobi to assist them, as generally, they couldn''t spare officers for excursions outside the village.
This was one of those situations. Nenro and Masaaki and their respective teams had been recruited to aid the Police Force for a mission outside the Hidden Leaf.
"What do you think, sirs? Any suggestions that you would like to add?" said Takuma.
Nenro wasn''t surprised that Takuma had recruited two teams, as there was plenty of precedent for it. The point of surprise was the composition of the two teams.
In the circle sat the chunin team leaders of Nenro and Masaaki''s team. They observed the map as well and worked for the past three days to draft it and construct the strategy based on it, along with Takuma and all three teams.
It all started when Takuma came to Nenro and Masaaki with the proposition of a mission outside Hidden Leaf''s borders. He told both of them that he needed two teams and had come to them because they were his friends. Takuma didn''t just want them, he wanted one of the chunin Nenro worked under, and he wanted to exploit the Akimichi connection through Masaaki. He explicitly told them he needed a chunin leading their teams and wanted them to bring chunin who weren''t arrogant jerks and would be willing to work together without their egos getting hurt.
Takuma hadn''t told them any details about the mission; he wanted to meet the chunin before revealing anything. That wasn''t common, but it wasn''t strange¡ª it was the Police Force, and they might want to keep details confidential until a few things were finalized.
He and Masaaki went to the chunin they liked working with and presented them with the possible opportunity for a mission collaboration with the Police Force. It wasn''t difficult to get the chunin interested when the Police Force was involved, and it only took a few days to set up a meeting. They thought Takuma would be bringing a Police Force chunin to the meeting, but when they arrived, Takuma was the only one there.
There was no Police Force chunin; Takuma was leading the operation.
It was then that Nenro realized why Takuma had asked them not to bring someone with fragile egos. It was going to be a Police Force mission, and with no chunin involved, Takuma, a genin, was the highest authority¡ª they would be technically working for him.
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Nenro did not think the meeting would go successfully, but surprisingly, Takuma sold the mission so well that the chunin agreed on the spot, knowing the stipulation that Takuma had the final say in any and all matters. He had managed to convince a chunin from a shinobi family that Nenro invited, and the Akimichi chunin Masaaki had brought along with him.
Only after the chunin agreed did Takuma share the mission details.
They were going to hit a big drug farm and laboratory, which was known to be the source of an in-demand stimulant currently popular in the Hidden Leaf.
Shinobi confrontation was expected¡ªmaking it an official B-rank mission.
B-rank mission¡
Nenro hadn''t been on a B-rank mission. He had done C-rank missions in high double-digits, but a B-rank mission wasn''t something even floated to him. He was well-liked by all the chunin he worked for, but his background as an outsider from the Hidden Leaf hindered him¡ª he hadn''t ever been considered for a B-rank mission by any of them. But Takuma brought him one¡ª and more importantly, Takuma had made it so that Nenro was the one to pitch it to a chunin. That was big. It had a significant impact on his reputation¡ª he could now be seen as someone who had connections in places high enough to get a B-rank mission.
Most B-rank missions were taken by teams made-up of all chunin and were usually led by a jonin, tokubetsu jonin, or a highly experienced chunin. Genin was rarely involved in B-rank missions because the base criteria for a B-rank mission was a conflict against enemy shinobi¡ª and genin were rarely ever in those situations; the most they faced were bandits, who were trained shinobi. The rare B-rank mission, which did come by a genin without fail, went to the genin teams led by a jonin leader.
It wasn''t in the cards for Genin Corp shinobi like them, even for genin like Masaaki, who was sponsored by one of the major clans.
Until now, that is¡
The current mission was a special one. According to the intel Takuma had, the drug farm was run by a rogue Hidden Leaf chunin (missing-nin) and had a number of civilians who were trained in chakra, making them genin-equivalent, protecting it. Two chunin and ten genin were a suitable mix of people to take care of the farm while the situation still qualified as a B-rank mission.
Moreover, the missing-nin was in the Hidden Leaf Bingo Book, making it attractive for the two chunin who could claim the bounty on his head if they apprehended the missing-nin. It was one the centerpieces of Takuma''s pitch during the meeting with the chunin.
"Looks right to me," replied the Akimichi chunin. The man was short, but big in the way that every Akimichi was.
"I have no problem as well," said Nenro''s chunin leader.
Even though Takuma was the client and the mission leader, he naturally had to give up some authority in the presence of two chunin. But if Nenro was asked, he had done it magnificently. Takuma had made them feel respected, made them feel valued for their experience, and had used their suggestions and advice every step of the way¡ª it not only made sense from a team synergy standpoint, but it was also common sense to listen to more experienced shinobi.
Takuma had kept his position as the leader¡ª someone who listened to his team''s opinions and incorporated them into the strategy, allowing the team to feel they were being valued.
And finally, Takuma had 100% left the missing-nin to the two chunin. They could approach that problem in any way they wanted without any real intervention from him as long as they got what he wanted¡ª the drug farm shutting down and more than enough evidence against those involved.
"How do you feel, Takuma? Your first B-rank mission, and you''re leading it. I don''t think I''ve ever known a genin to be in this position," asked Nenro''s chunin, smiling.
Takuma looked up from the map and lightly shook his head. "Not my first B-rank mission, sir."
Everyone was surprised. Even Nenro and Masaaki.
Takuma continued, "I was involved in the Land of Frost incident. The investigation closed last year¡ they categorized it as a B-rank." Takuma chuckled, which sounded hollow to Nenro. "This will be my second¡ and I sincerely hope everything goes fine this time."
Nenro looked at Masaaki, who shook his head. Takuma hadn''t told them that the investigation had closed.
Currently, the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost were at war against each other; the latter being the aggressor. But the truth of the matter was much bigger¡ª The Hidden Leaf was supporting the Hidden Steam while the Hidden Frost was being backed up by the Hidden Cloud. The Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud were engaged in a proxy war against each other on lands foreign to both. The two great shinobi villages weren''t officially at war against each other, but people understood that the two superpowers were currently going through a simmering conflict under the guise of supporting their smaller allies.
Nenro wondered if the Land of Frost incident factored into Hidden Leaf''s current stance.
He would have to ask Takuma about the details later.
The sound of chimes sang, and immediately everyone stiffened up and took out their weapons. They had laid wire traps that pulled on bells to alert them in case someone approached vicinity. They could hear the sound of footsteps and the rustle of bushes, and the tension rose until they heard a sharp whistle that calmed everyone down.
A moment later, three genin appeared into view. One each from Nenro, Takuma, and Masaaki''s team. They were the scouts.
"How was it?" Takuma asked his teammate, Minoru, a sensory-nin¡ªa valuable asset to the team. Nenro was surprised when Takuma told Minoru he worked for him as part of his team. He realized he didn''t know much about what Takuma did in the Police Force.
A valuable asset, thought Nenro as he looked around.
A B-rank mission was a huge thing for a genin, so when Takuma told the chunin he needed three genin each on their teams, it was clear that the chunin would try to sell the precious chance to have a B-rank mission on their resume to the highest bidder. It was an open secret, something Nenro was sure Takuma had anticipated.
Masaaki''s chunin had brought along an Akimichi and a Yamanaka, while Nenro''s chunin had brought along an Inuzuka and a Yuhi. On Takuma''s side, other than Minoru, who was a civilian-born shinobi, he had purchased a Fuma and an Uchiha along with them.
Nenro was sure that if not for Takuma insisting that Nenro and Masaaki be on the teams, they wouldn''t have been able to be part of something like this. For that, he was extremely grateful.
"It''s time¡ the chunin is on the farm," Takuma announced as he stood up after taking in the information from scouts.
Nenro took in a deep breath before he stood.
He had been given an opportunity, he was going to make the most out of it.
CH_5.2 (145)
Chunin Uchiha Kano sat in her office, reading the morning newspaper. Stamped on the front page as the main headline was Leaf Military Police Force''s most recent round-up of one of the prominent ecstasy gangs operating in and out of Hidden Leaf. It was a glowing article praising Organized Crime''s work isolating the network of people involved with a mid-size drug cartel.
She had gotten used to seeing such articles once a month since the Narcotics Team''s inception (now a fully-funded task force) nine months ago. The team of genin had all but launched a crusade against drug organizations in the village. Almost every week, without fail, they had made important arrests¡ª their momentum had only risen from the day he had made their first big arrest.
Kano searched for a particular name in the article, but just like always, it didn''t have a single mention in the article. The source of the article was simply stated as an ''officer in Organized Crime'' along with official comments from the Office of Jonin Uchiha Sayuri, the Head of the Organized Crime Department.
But she knew the source was Takuma, the supervising officer of the Narcotics Task Force.
After Takuma had taken his new position as the leader of the new team, his supervising officer changed from Kano to Yakumi, her boss. As such, Takuma no longer worked directly under Kano. She was still at a higher rank than him as a Senior Officer, but the chain of command had changed.
The Department of Organized Crime did have a role in what went out to the media, but as far as Kano knew, the Narcotics Task Force personally handled their own media communication with a simple external review process before anything went out. It was Takuma''s decision to keep his name out of the newspapers¡ª he deliberately directed attention away from him by putting a prominent jonin in the spotlight.
And no one except for Setsuna had complained about it, who was in charge of the new recruitments and wished to use Takuma''s recent success as the poster boy for the second batch of recruits, but Takuma had ensured his name stayed out.
From what Yakumi had told her, Takuma had established exclusive relationships with a few journalists in the Hidden Leaf. Every newspaper, radio, magazine would get some information from the Narcotics Task Force about their latest accomplishments, but Takuma would share a little bit extra with his ''journalist friends'' and, in return, those journalists would put the achievements front-and-center and paint them in gold. By no means was it a new practice, but Takuma had been quick to utilize it from day one when usually people like him, in charge of new initiatives, would try to put their name out extensively on every success.
Kano didn''t know why he did it, but Takuma had been particular about what went out to the media. If she had to guess, it was because he didn''t want to attract the envy of the people in the Police Force.
Even though he wasn''t attracting attention, the results had definitely been noticed. The Narcotics Taskforce''s recent request for an increase in the budget had been approved without much resistance, even though there wasn''t a single senior officer or even a chunin on the team. Even Yakumi, who was associated with the Narcotics Task Force, wasn''t actively involved in the day-to-day operations.
With the popularity and results of the task force, many senior officers in Organized Crime had tried to get themselves placed as the leader-in-charge of the task force to get credit for the work and set themselves up in a favorable situation, but shockingly, they had been unsuccessful.
"It''s because of him. All of it is directly tied to him¡ª all the information and contacts. Everything comes from him."
Yakumi had told her when they had gone drinking after work. Takuma was the only one connected to his ''confidential informants,'' who were the source of all information. Without Takuma, the task force would need to go through an overhaul and would need to figure out an alternate method of operation. That would require a lot of work, and anyone who was in charge would be under pressure to bring things back up to speed and be blamed when they failed.
Takuma, seemingly aware of the fact, had leveraged it to keep his position as the one in charge.
It was a risky move that would have offended many¡ª which it had¡ª and would''ve caused him to feel a lot of heat, but Takuma had been able to retain his position.
Jonin Sayuri had herself stopped entertaining any talks about a chunin or jonin to be put in charge of the Narcotics Task Force¡ª and there was even gossip that the orders had come from the very top from Chief Fugaku, who, according to the internal office chatter, was helping Takuma because he was his wife''s student.
But as far as she knew, they were only rumors because that situation was supposedly about to change.
According to the "gossip" floating around, the Narcotics Task Force was growing too quickly. It was on the verge of becoming too big for a genin to lead¡ª it was becoming too big for an outsider to lead. It was inevitable that the higher-ups wouldn''t let that happen.
Kano sighed as she closed the newspaper. She had no desire to get involved with the Narcotics Task Force; she was happy with her current position¡ª the perfect balance between active fieldwork and managerial duties, just what she preferred.
But, she was sure somewhere behind closed doors, people were engaged in talks¡ª especially right now, as Takuma was out of the village on a very important mission that could be disastrous for Takuma if it failed.
It didn''t help that the clan leadership''s sudden change to the goal had sent a shock throughout the clan. The Uchiha clan, which just a few months ago was planning and working towards overthrowing the village''s leadership, had now abandoned that goal. A lot of the clan was internally relieved about the decision as it meant the potential for a war against the village went away. The reason behind the sudden change had been attributed to the village''s recent willingness to work with the clan and the better treatment that had come with it.
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But that didn''t mean everything had changed. If a little bit of better treatment had solved the problem, the Uchiha would''ve never thought of overthrowing the current regime. Only the final goal had been changed; the clan had continued with its preparation and planned to amass power, diversify its presence in the village, build more political allies, and solidify its position as one of the most powerful clans in the Hidden Leaf, so that they wouldn''t ever again fall to a place where they had in the past few years.
In many ways, nothing had changed at all. The clan had simply calmed down a little because they were no longer working towards a radical goal.
Of course, not everyone was convinced. There was a group who was dissatisfied with the change and had raised their voices against the change, but with the entire leadership united¡ª which was rare as even though there were always arguments and conflict even if they were working towards the same goal¡ª there was nothing the dissatisfied minority could do.
Kano could sense a wave of change coming for the Uchiha clan; she just didn''t know how the Leaf Military Police Force would factor into it now that they had opened their doors to the rest of the village.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"How are you feeling?"
Takuma was doing one last check on his gear after the final briefing when he heard the familiar voice. He glanced back to see Arisu staring at him.
When the proposal for the one-month trial for the temporary Narcotics Team had been approved, Arisu was the person he had approached for recruitment. She was the second largest contributor in the Maiko Triad case and his closest connection in the Police Force back then.
He wanted her on the team. Initially, she was hesitant. She had a nice position under Kano, and what Takuma was proposing was brand new and thus came with a huge risk of failure. He had convinced her by saying that it was only one month and that someone with her family connections wouldn''t suffer if she did something new this early in her career. Luckily, Arisu''s parents thought the same, encouraging her to try it out.
With Arisu on board for at least during the trial period, Takuma was able to get most of the people on the Maiko Triad team and some more who became interested after the success of the Maiko Triad. The criteria had been the same as before¡ª only include people who were overlooked for one reason or another. And with office politics prevalent, there were plenty of people to choose from when Takuma was allowed to select from outside Organized Crime.
It had been eight months since the trial period ended, and Arisu was now the second-in-command of the Narcotics Task Force. There was a risk in staying on, but Takuma believed they had done enough in the eight months to justify that risk with plentiful returns.
"Well, trying to focus on the current mission," said Takuma. He scoffed, "Being away from the village has certainly helped to take my mind off things."
Takuma and Arisu had grown closer during their time in the Narcotics Task Force. He had come to trust her as his second-in-command and as a friend. So, Arisu was aware of Takuma''s thoughts regarding the current situation in regard to the Narcotics Task Force and Takuma''s leadership over it.
"You''re overthinking it; they might not take it away from you," Arisu said.
He laughed as he turned to her. "Let''s not kid ourselves here. That''s an option."
Takuma was well aware of the fact that they had grown beyond what an outsider genin like him could be allowed to lead and that very soon, the Uchiha would take control of the Narcotics Task Force away from him and give it to a chunin who had the most political pull/connections. And that he would be "demoted" but would still be forced to do the same work he was doing now for the Narcotics Task Force while all the credit went to the new leadership.
No matter how much he loathed that, Takuma wasn''t surprised that this seemed to be inevitable.
In the nine months, Takuma had been running the task force, all of his attention had gone towards making it as successful as he possibly could.
Enomoto had given him the information, connections, and dirt on the people he wanted to be targeted, and Takuma had been the most effective bloodhound for him. He had been more aggressive with his decisions, taken risks, and utilized tactics that would''ve gotten him in deep trouble if they failed¡ª but because they were successful, he had not only made Enomoto happy, but he had also increased his reputation inside the Police Force.
Takuma had gotten a big raise and bigger bonuses, which, when included with his Ring''s payout, which was considerably larger than before now that he only fought 2v1 and ninjutsu fights, had pushed him into a financial situation that Takuma no longer needed to deal drugs. It was a welcome situation as Ryuu, his supplier, had been prickly after the Maiko Triad incident, which would''ve landed him in big trouble if not for Enomoto; plus, the task force''s war against drugs had made Ryuu even more paranoid about who he worked with, so getting out had saved Takuma from a headache.
Most importantly, he had gained connections and a voice. After the success, his higher-ups in the Police Force were much more willing to listen to him because they had seen the wins he had gotten them, and he could get away with some stuff and had even been able to demand more money for the taskforce, which was rare for an initiative as young as they were. Additionally, because Arisu was his second-in-command, he was even "unofficially" backed by the Fuma Clan, the Uchiha''s closest allies. While not a big shot, Takuma was no longer a nobody in the Police Force.
On the other side, due to Enomoto, Takuma had gained a lot of connections in the underworld. "Tobi" now ran with Enomoto''s group, which had made Takuma familiar with a lot of dynamics and relationships among the several groups in the underworld.
Moreover, "Junior Officer" Takuma himself had gained a lot of confidential informants who reported to him in exchange for not arresting them for their crimes.
Takuma understood that without Enomoto''s information and connections, he wouldn''t be able to produce the results that he had, but he also understood the importance of making his own network of people. He not only needed supplied informants known to the entire Narcotics Task Force because keeping his team in complete darkness was not a good idea¡ª but he also needed another source of information just in case Enomoto was trying to screw with him.
While they had been wildly successful, Takuma could feel the dynamic change between him and Enomoto. For one, Enomoto did not like the fact that he was so close with the Uchiha royalty through Mikoto being his genjutsu teacher. And Takuma''s success in the Police Force had put a pressure on Enomoto that his blackmail on Takuma wouldn''t work if the Police Force decided to save their own.
So, while Takuma was happy that he was no longer completely subordinate to Enomoto, he had to be careful because Enomoto was a dangerous person.
Takuma sighed. He missed when he was a simple junior officer in the Police Force moonlighting as a low-level drug dealer¡ª those times were simpler times; things had become too complicated nowadays.
"I don''t want to talk about it now," Takuma said to Arisu. "Let''s focus on this mission. I want this to go well."
His experience with B-rank missions wasn''t positive; he wanted this one to go well to even the scales out.
CH_5.3 (146)
"We are going to enter through the west," said Takuma.
Takuma''s team was the weakest of the three teams due to the lack of a chunin leader, but he didn''t mind it as they weren''t going to face a chunin-caliber opponent. Moreover, according to the intel and on-site scouting reports, there was only one enemy chunin, while they had two combat-ready chunin on their side.
He was satisfied with the people he had hand-picked for the mission. Takuma gazed up at them. Minoru, Fuma Arisu, and Uchiha Gouki.
Minoru was a sensory-nin who had been of great help during the Maiko Triad mission, and Takuma had actively "courted" him to join the Narcotics Task Force because he saw the clear value in a sensory-nin. While Minoru wasn''t that great at traditional Police Force work, he made up for it when they went on raids by providing intel which kept the raiding party informed and thus safe. Minoru had been the top contributor in verifying the intel and identifying the number of shinobi at the farm in the scouting phase through his chakra sense abilities.
Arisu was his academy classmate, partner during their days under Kano, and now his second-in-command. Takuma didn''t want to bring Arisu with him because he wanted his second-in-command to be at the office in case any emergency arose; plus, he wanted someone he trusted to be his eyes and ears on the ongoing attempts to take the task force away from him¡ª but when Arisu saw the opportunity to have a B-rank mission on her record, she forced Takuma to take her with him, and when she really wanted something, Takuma couldn''t deny it to her because how much work Arisu had done in setting up the Narcotics Task Force.
Finally, Uchiha Gouki, the final member. He wasn''t Takuma''s first choice for the slot, but despite having autonomous control over the Narcotics Task Force, Takuma still worked for the Leaf Military Police Force, owned by the Uchiha. So, when the order came up from above to include Gouki on the mission, Takuma had to oblige. Gouki wasn''t a bad choice; in fact, Takuma liked Gouki enough. Gouki was a reasonable man to work with, didn''t flaunt his Uchiha status (despite it still giving him privilege), and was competent at the job he did in the Narcotics Task Force. Gouki was also one of the two Uchiha who agreed to work under Takuma in the task force, a bold move considering Arisu had been rejected by every Uchiha who she had tried to recruit for Takuma.
And¡ Gouki hadn''t activated his Sharingan. The man was about to turn seventeen this year and had yet to gain access to his birthright.
From what Takuma had gathered, unlike Hyuga, who were guaranteed the Byakugan from the moment they were born, not every Uchiha activated their Sharingan. Every Uchiha was put through the clan''s training system and was trained to be elite shinobi from early childhood. They had a lot going for them¡ª a strong clan-wide natural affinity to Fire Release, the Uchiha Interceptor taijutsu, which was a top-grade taijutsu style even without the Sharingan, a rich culture of shinobi training, and enviable opportunities for any member who desired them.
And yet, it was the Sharingan that turned an Uchiha into a superstar. The moment their eyes turned, they truly became an "Uchiha." Everything a clan member got before they activated their eyes, they got incomparably more of afterward.
The importance of the Sharingan didn''t need to be stated in the Uchiha clan¡ª it was felt.
As for Gouki, his chances of activating Sharingan became thinner with every passing day. Statistically speaking, if an Uchiha was to activate their Sharingan, they did it by the time they were sixteen¡ª when their emotions were in flux due to teenage pubescents, increasing the chance to activate the eye, which reacted to strong emotions.
Gouki had turned seventeen a month ago, and with every passing day, his chances plummeted.
The frontal lobe responsible for planning, organization, logical thinking, reasoning, and managing emotions developed completely by their twenty-fifth year in males, and those who were shinobi¡ª or, to be specific, people who practiced chakra¡ª developed their frontal lobe anywhere from nineteen to twenty-two depending on how much they used chakra on a daily basis.
Takuma had been learning a lot about the brain in his genjutsu sessions with Mikoto.
The older an Uchiha got without activating Sharingan, the more the chances plummeted of ever activating it.
But it didn''t matter at the moment.
"We follow the diamond formation. Minoru stays at the back. I''ll be leading the front. Arisu and Gouki flank the side," Takuma said. He sighed as he looked at his team, "Before we go, any of you faced a chunin in combat?"
Arisu''s and Gouki''s hands went up. Minoru looked at them in shock.
Takuma continued, "Which was not a combat exercise."
They put their hands down.
"I''m assuming those combat exercises were a chunin versus a group of genin." They nodded. "A piece of advice. A chunin fighting a chunin is a different ball game. When shinobi of that caliber fight, people like us tend to become collateral damage. You must keep their presence in mind constantly while you fight your opponent¡ª lose track of them, and you might die without getting a chance to avoid it."
In fact, Takuma was the most scared of losing track. He fought in the 2v1 category regularly, won regularly, and because of that, he often feared that his perception might have become limited to two people.
But fear was good¡ it kept him on his toes.
"Any more questions?" he asked. He wanted to be focused on the impending combat before memories started bothering him.
Gouki said, "You should rub some mud to dull the smell before we go. I like whatever you''re wearing, but it''s too much."
"Agreed," Arisu added.
"Glad you like it. I''ll give you the name and shop when we go back," Takuma said with a smile, fixing his ghillie suit. "Let''s move out."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The farm they were raiding was a mid-size operation site. It was the first "production" site they were targeting, and thus it made this the highest stake Narcotics Task Force had faced to date. The operation was run by a rogue Hidden Leaf chunin, fifteen genin-equivalent combatants, and thirty civilian farmers.
Leaving the rogue chunin to their two chunin meant they were outnumbered by five people, but Takuma wasn''t worried about that. They could deal with a few more people; plus, they couldn''t allocate any more budget to getting more people.
Civilians could be a problem if they decided to stupidly interfere, but the general instinct of a civilian was to run away from a conflict between shinobi, which Takuma was counting on. If they didn''t, a couple of explosive tags would do the trick.
"Try to keep them alive," Takuma whispered as they slowly moved through the thick bushes surrounding the farm. They needed enough people to bring back to the village, but casualties were inevitable.
As they reached the farm, Takuma''s team stopped and stayed in hiding.
Before they could raid, they needed the enemy chunin to be occupied to clear the way for them. Which was why the two chunin would move first, and in the commotion, the genin of all teams would finally move in. They would be sacrificing the element of surprise, but they would gain a level of separation between the two power groups, increasing safety.
"The chunin are on the move," Minoru whispered.
Takuma felt his team shuffle behind him. They were nervous. He was too, but for some strange reason, their nervousness gave him confidence.
"They have entered the farm," said Minoru.
Boom!
There was a large explosion.
"Hold," Takuma said when he felt them shift.
"Why?" asked Gouki.
"Hold," Takuma repeated. "Minoru?"
The answer came a couple of seconds later. "They made contact," said Minoru.
"We should move," said Arisu.
"Hold," Takuma repeated.
"Why?" she asked.
Minoru spoke up before Takuma. "They''re moving north."
"Go," said Takuma. They were far enough from them.
He stood up, retrieved a kunai with an explosive tag tied to its tail, and threw it deep into the farm.
Boom!
The moment the explosion blew up the crop, they moved in while maintaining the diamond formation. They laid low to give the ghillie suit some more use and blend into the produce for a few more movements.
"A group is forming to the right," said Minoru.
"Right," Takuma signaled, and they moved in that direction.
A group of five people came into view. They had their targets.
The confrontation started when Gouki launched a volley of shuriken toward the group.
One of the men stepped forward and thwarted the shuriken volley before alerting his group.
''A level of competence,'' thought Takuma, ''or they have gotten used to the terrain.''
The people on the farm lived on site for long periods of time because the farm had to be protected at all times, meaning they had the terrain advantage in terms of vision.
A kunai targeted Takuma''s heart which he easily deflected before abandoning the restricting ghillie suit. He took in a deep breath, and even in the commotion, Takuma could feel his heartbeat. ''Imagine a mask.'' Almost immediately, Takuma''s focus shot up, and he felt himself descending into a state he was familiar with every time he stepped into the arena.
A kunai slipped into his hand each, and he dashed towards the group, who were standing in the 2-3 formation. The two in the front broke away from the group as Takuma did¡ª one had a machete, the other dual-wielded batons.
Takuma blocked the two batons with his two kunai and immediately pushed him away with a kick in the stomach. He turned towards the other front man expecting to be immediately engaged with him, only to see the man still two paces away. He glanced at the back-three, and they had barely moved.
''They''re not used to cooperative combat, or they aren''t used to fighting with each other,'' Takuma deduced internally.
The other front man was slow, but Takuma wasn''t going to be a sleeping rabbit. He stepped forward, shifted to dodge the machete, and sliced at the wrist holding the blade.
"AAH!" the man screamed.
Takuma shut the man up before his throat could open up completely. A knee to the stomach folded the man over. Chakra flowed through the chakra pathways system until they reached the tenketsu in the elbow--¡ª Takuma brought his elbow down at the man''s back while expunging the chakra to augment the strike. Takuma held back because he didn''t want to break the spine, but he spread the chakra enough to clean the man out of any fluids he held in his stomach.
Before the man could kiss the ground, Takuma had already moved past him. He glanced at the man he had kicked away, who was getting up; he launched both his kunai into the man¡ª one to the thigh, second to the same calf. That would be enough to keep him down for a moment.
Takuma shifted his focus to the back-three. If the front-two were resilient enough to get up, his teammates were there to cover for them.
He weaved hands seals. The three men immediately panicked, which delayed their next move, giving Takuma more than enough opportunity to get close to them¡ª close enough that they could smell the scent he was wearing.
They recovered when they saw Takuma standing there, looking at them with his arms up and his hands in fists. They immediately jumped on him, but before they could land a single strike, it happened¡
The three men abruptly stopped; their eyes became hazy as they hastily bought their blocks up as though trying to protect them from something¡ª and it wasn''t Takuma.
Takuma, unphased, placed an augmented strike on each of them to knock them out before they could get out of the genjutsu he had put on them.
Genjutsu: Flower Hill
The genjutsu made the target seem like they were trapped in a tornado of petals which obscured everything and made them feel like they were about to be blown away. It obscured their vision and made them instinctively protect themselves from the winds. The downside of the jutsu was that it only lasted a couple of seconds before it automatically weaned off, but the genjutsu made it up with the absurdly strong couple of seconds while it was on.
And a couple of seconds was all Takuma needed to knock them out.
Takuma sighed and turned towards his team. Arisu had knocked out the man he had disabled with his kunai while Minoru and Gouki stood over the other man. They were looking at him. Minoru looked surprised, Gouki looked interested, and Arisu looked unbothered.
Takuma had no idea why Minoru was still surprised; he had taken him on every raid they had been inside the village. Gouki was a junkie who liked to spar; Takuma hadn''t sparred with him yet. Arisu wasn''t surprised because she had been with him the longest.
"Tie them up, we will go to¡ª"
"Takuma," Minoru interrupted. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at the ground, but he was clearly focusing elsewhere. "A-Another ''chunin-grade'' presence is closing in on us, and it''s closing in quickly. T-There are more with, b-but they''re not as strong."
Takuma''s eyes widened. He weaved hand seals and pressed his palms into the ground.
Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu
A thrum went out of Takuma''s hands, traveling through the ground. A moment later, the waves returned, and Takuma interpreted them.
"Four people." Takuma looked up at Minoru. "One of them has Grade-2 chakra levels?"
Minoru nodded.
Grade-2, or informally chunin-grade, was the bracket of chakra volume in a person which sensory-nin sensed. A genin could have more chakra than a chunin, but a median was calculated, and the grade brackets were created.
"They aren''t moving quickly." Takuma looked around him. They were in a thick forest, and the foliage covered any smoke the chunin had already created in their fight. "We have very little time, but it''s enough to prepare¡ª"
"Prepare?" Gouki interrupted. "We should inform the chunin."
"Of course, we inform them. But we prepare; we can''t just stand there doing nothing," said Takuma. He breathed deeply, "Gather the others¡ we are going to get everyone involved."
They were going to take out a chunin...
CH_5.4 (147)
Nenro followed the Uchiha from Takuma''s team at breakneck speed. They had just defeated their targets when the Uchiha came running in a second later, telling them that they had an unaccounted enemy team coming in.
"There''s a chunin among them; are you sure?" Nenro asked the moment he saw Takuma, a nervous edge in his voice.
As he finished the sentence, Masaaki''s team arrived as well, led by Fuma Arisu. They had similar tense expressions painted with anxiety and unease.
"Chakra levels confirmed by Minoru," Takuma was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his brows tense in concentration. He glanced at them for a moment before going back to staring hard at the floor.
Nenro glanced at the sensory-nin part of Takuma''s team. He had gotten over the fact that Takuma was leading people from clans like Fuma and Uchiha; he worked in a place with no shortage of those clan members¡ª but having a sensory-nin under his command was much more of a surprise. Sensory-nin were extremely rare. He was thoroughly glad that they had a sensory-nin among them.
"How can we be sure they''re an enemy force?" said the Yamanaka from Masaaki''s team.
The Inuzuka from Nenro''s team scoffed. "Of course, they are. Who else would come to a drug farm? Anyone besides us is an enemy." Despite the rough words, Nenro could tell that Inuzuka was agitated from the large brown ninken rubbing his head against his partner''s leg as though trying to calm him down.
"The question is, who are they, and why are they coming here?" asked the Yuhi on Nenro''s team.
''That''s not the question,'' thought Nenro, but before he could voice his opinion, Takuma spoke up.
"That''s irrelevant. We don''t need to know who they''re, only that the chunin among them will wipe us out," said Takuma. "But to guess, they''re probably a courier team visiting to collect a consignment delivery."
That made sense, thought Nenro. The farm was a production plant, and the produce they grew needed to go out so it could be sold. Nenro bit his lip¡ª their luck was horrible.
"This wasn''t taken into account," Akimichi from Masaaki''s team sighed, rubbing her forehead with a frown.
Takuma shook his head. "The delivery schedule wasn''t part of the intel package."
"We are unlucky," Akimichi groaned.
Nenro glanced at the people around him. Their expressions were darkening by the second. Everything had been going extremely smoothly to this point¡ª they hadn''t encountered a single problem from scouting to capture. The morale that should''ve been at a high had plummeted to a sinking low.
"We don''t have much time; a few minutes at best," said Takuma. "We need to come up with a plan to take them out, or¡"
"Are you insane?" the Inuzuku interjected.
"¡ at least survive until our chunin can replace us," Takuma finished. He looked at the Inuzuku, "We don''t have a choice. We can''t run or hide, and we don''t know when the chunin will finish their fight. We have no choice but to engage."
Nenro swallowed deeply. Running or hiding would turn them into deserters, and there was no worse fate than that of a deserter¡ª turning rogue would be a better choice than returning to the village if they decided to avoid this. Moreover, allowing the incoming chunin to go unchallenged would risk the lives of Hidden Leaf chunin. The priority was clear¡ª the highest-ranking shinobi were to be protected and supported so if everything went wrong, they would at least survive.
It was so much easier to replace a genin than a chunin and, similarly, infinitely simpler to replace a chunin than a jonin.
Everyone in the group knew that, so they realized they had no choice.
"We are going to ambush them," Takuma stood up.
"Who made you the leader?" Yamanaka narrowed his eyes.
Takuma turned towards him with an emotionless stare. "Do you want to be the leader? Do you have a plan? If you want to take responsibility, be my fucking guest, but if you don''t, shut the fuck up and listen. We don''t have time, and I want to survive this."
Yamanaka''s face twitched. He looked away and didn''t say anything.
"Anyone else? You have five seconds," Takuma looked at everyone, but no one spoke up. "Good, now open your minds and listen. The chunin is the primary target, but before we try to engage him, we need to take out the three genin with him. But, we can only spare two of us for three genin....
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Minoru and Inuzuka, you two will be responsible for the genin."
"Why them?" asked the Uchiha.
"Minoru is the weakest among us, he has the highest chances of dying against a chunin, but he will survive a genin. Inuzuka has his ninken; that makes up the numbers in a way," Takuma answered before glaring at Uchiha. "Do not question my decisions. I can''t keep repeating this; we don''t have time. Only ask if you have doubts about what you need to do."
Takuma''s voice was tinged with frustration and anger.
"I''ll wrap up the genin and join the rest of you against the chunin," said Inuzuka.
Nenro appreciated the man''s prompt response. It removed the tension and awkwardness before it could grow and allowed the conversation to proceed instantly.
Takuma seemed of a similar mind as he gave the Inuzuka an appreciative nod.
"The rest of us will be divided into three teams¡ª Tank, Damage, Support," said Takuma.
Takuma then explained the responsibilities. The ''Tanks'' were going to be the team responsible for drawing the attention of the chunin and absorbing as much damage as possible so that the other teams could operate without worrying about being attacked. The ''Damage'' team, as the name suggested, was all about dealing as much damage to the enemy as possible¡ª chunin didn''t mean invincible; as long as they got in enough damage, they could theoretically take them down. Finally, the ''Support'' team was in charge of filling any gaps that would pop up and doing anything they thought would help the other two groups.
But as Takuma''s explanation came to an end, Nenro could tell that everyone had one question on their mind. Who was going to be on the ''Tank'' team? It was clear that the ''tanks'' were going to be the people who would be suffering the majority of the brunt of the chunin''s damage.
They were going to be the people with the highest chances of dying.
Nenro thought there would be a spell of silence when deciding the team assignments, but he was proved wrong immediately.
"I will be a tank," Takuma said seamlessly after his explanation.
"I will join you," said Masaaki.
Nenro''s eyes widened as he stared at his two best friends volunteering for the most dangerous jobs. He felt a grimy feeling churn in his heart. A terrible scene flashed through his mind as he imagined a scenario where he lost the only two people he cared about in the group.
However, Takuma immediately shot that down. "No, you''re on the damage team." He then turned to Akimichi, "I want you to be with me on the tank¡ just the two of us."
"Takuma, let me come with you!" Masaaki exclaimed loudly.
"Shut up, Masaaki. Follow the orders," Takuma said to Masaaki while staring at Akimichi.
"I am an Akimichi. The job was made for me," Akimichi pounded her bo-staff into the ground.
"Thank you," Takuma half-smiled. His smile went away almost instantly. "The ''Damage'' team¡ª Masaaki, Nenro, and Gouki¡ª you three are responsible for taking him down. Without you guys injuring him, we don''t have a chance of surviving this. Don''t hold back, but be efficient. I do not want you gas out before we are through this."
Nenro, Masaaki, and Uchiha nodded. Masaaki looked dissatisfied, but he was following orders. Nenro himself felt nervous. He was going through the jutsu he knew and how to use them.
"I can do damage," said Fuma Arisu.
"I know. You''re on partial-damage duty," Takuma replied. "Arisu, Yamanaka, and Yuhi¡ª you three are in support. You guys are going to cover our asses. If someone''s in a bad spot, get them out. If you see a chance to attack, you go for it¡. If one of us gets injured, pull them away¡. Anything to increase the chance of survival EXCEPT tanking unless both me and Akimichi are dead."
Nenro stared at Takuma. How could he look so calm in this situation? How could he keep barking orders to nine people in such an abrupt situation like this? What was going through his mind? How was Takuma envisioning this would turn out? Did he believe they would be able to survive the upcoming battle? Was it his previous experience that gave him confidence?
Nenro had many questions but no way to know the answers.
"There isn''t enough time to formulate a traditional plan of action, so everyone will need to improvise the fuck out of it," said Takuma. "For this to go well, every one of us will need to be mindful of our surroundings and each other¡ª if we don''t support each other, at least some of us will be dead, and if we don''t get back up in time, it''s up to all of us.
"As for the ambush. This is what we are going to do¡"
After Takuma explained the ''plan,'' he asked the teams to split up before they positioned themselves for the ambush, but before they could move, the Uchiha spoke up.
"Are you not scared?" he asked Takuma.
Takuma, who had half-turned away, returned to look at the Uchiha and then gazed at the group. "I am terrified out of my wits," he said, "but I want to keep living, and that desire for survival is what keeps me going right now." He chuckled, "If I''m going to die, then it''s not going to be on a B-rank mission out here in the middle of nowhere. I want to die in a warm bed when my skin is wrinkled like a witch, and I have problems shitting¡ª which seems an unlikely scenario in our occupation, but it''s nice to have an end goal.
"And well¡ there''s a disgusting amount of porn in my house, which I would like to be disposed of before I die. Have to clear my browser history before I kick the bucket, if you know what I mean," Takuma laughed boisterously as he said that last part.
Nenro didn''t understand what Takuma meant, but he had gotten used to it after years of their friendship. Others, though, looked just as confused as he did when he didn''t know Takuma as well as he did now.
"If we live today, Arisu is going to take us all to the best restaurant in the village and foot the entire bill. Gorging ourselves to death is a much better way to go out," Takuma shot a rare grin at Arisu.
"Sure, why not," said Arisu with a small smile.
The situation hadn''t changed, but the mood was lightened considerably.
Takuma motioned to Akimichi, and the two stepped away to have their team discussion.
Despite knowing Takuma had been leading a team for three-quarters of the year, Nenro never thought Takuma to be the leader material. At most, Nenro thought Takuma would be a decent manager, but now observing him in the moment, Nenro could tell that even though he was rough around the edges and not as charismatic as some other people he knew, Takuma was definitely a leader material.
He sighed before turning to Masaaki and the Uchiha.
"Let''s share what all of us can do. We have a chunin to kill, and it''s going to take all we have¡"
CH_5.5 (148)
Minoru sat huddled behind a bush. His eyes scrunched in concentration as he opened his "sixth sense" to the outside world.
He was twelve years old when one random day, he suddenly could sense the chakra of people around him. At first, it was so overwhelming that his life was turned into hell. He couldn''t control his chakra sense, and they were dialed up to eleven¡ª and in a village teeming with shinobi-like cockroaches, it was literal torture for him. Every waking moment his senses were bombarded with other''s chakra emissions. Headaches were all but constant¡ª he couldn''t focus on anything, and even the littlest things became herculean tasks.
He didn''t know what was happening, and for a week, he tried to push through it, but then he passed by a roadside stall where a group of jonin were having a meet-up. He passed out in the middle of the road and had to be taken to the hospital, where he was finally told that he had the talent to become a sensory-nin. Minoru wasn''t happy about the news at all until he was informed that he would be assigned a teacher who would help him control his new sense.
It took half a year to get his ability under control. During that time, he lived on the outskirts of the village, away from the shinobi population and their chakra emission. He was taught to close his senses and, more importantly, regulate them so he could officially become the sensory-nin.
After his training, Minoru officially became part of the Sensory Corp¡ª which didn''t turn out to be as good as a deal he initially thought. One week after his training, he was called in to be informed that he was transferred to a conflict region on the Land of Fire ¨C Land of Rain border where Hidden Leaf and Hidden Rain (Amegakure) shinobi were stationed because of border disputes. Multiple sensory-nin were stationed on the border to monitor the Hidden Rain shinobi and their activity in the conflict region.
For three years, Minoru was on the border. At first, he hated it. He was born and raised in the Hidden Leaf and had no desire to live somewhere else, but slowly, he made friends and eventually got used to his new life. He became proud of his job; he was protecting his nation from outside forces.
But then the news came from home. The Leaf Military Police Force was recruiting¡ª for the first time, the Police Force was going to be opened to shinobi outside the Uchiha and their cohort.
Minoru was proud of his contribution and had made friends, but that didn''t mean he no longer missed the village. All of his family lived there, and he hadn''t seen them once since his transfer. He immediately sent an application, and half a year later, he was officially called back to the Hidden Leaf.
He was transferred to the Leaf Military Police Force.
Minoru was happy to be home; his family was especially elated at his return and new posting.
The new job¡ wasn''t as glorious as his previous one. He was no longer keeping his nation safe; instead, he was posted at a Police Force facility with sensitive information and material. He still used his sensory-nin talent, but now he was a security guard at a building. Yes, his pay was better, but he couldn''t help but feel dissatisfied with his professional life.
But then, Fuma Arisu approached him with a job. They didn''t know each other, but he worked with one of her cousins. She told him that there was a raid that could use a sensory-nin like him.
Looking back at it, Minoru had agreed too quickly.
But it had turned out quite well because not only did the raid do some visible good in the village by disrupting the Maiko Triad''s operation and opening a dozen more cold cases, but it also allowed Minoru to feel good about his job. Ten days after the raid, he was contacted by Takuma, who asked him to join a temporary Narcotics team that could turn into a full-on task force.
Looking back at it again, Minoru had agreed too quickly.
But things turned out quite well once again. He joined the Narcotics Task Force under Takuma''s leadership. And what followed were the most satisfying nine months of life. They went after actual bad guys, decimated drug trade networks in the village, disrupted money supply to potential illegal operations¡ª they did some real good.
And now he was on a B-rank mission. They had faced plenty of shinobi during raids, but this was different
"Minoru, update?" he heard Takuma''s voice from the earpiece.
Minoru spread his senses as far as possible. Not every sensory-nin was the same; everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. In Minoru''s case, his strength lay in his range; he could sense chakra from long distances, making him perfect for places like a nation border¡ª but he also had a weakness, the way he sensed chakra was "inconvenient." The higher the chakra emission, the brighter it appeared in his mind''s eye. When a shinobi with an enormous amount of chakra was standing close by to others with low amounts, the shinobi with the high chakra could mask the ones with low chakra levels.
He had once tried to look at the Hokage''s Office with his senses; the entire building looked like one big light splotch to his senses. He could tell there were several jonin in the building, but shockingly, the Lord Hokage overshadowed every single one of them.
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His accuracy was also not the best. The margin of error was quite high compared to some other people he knew. He could judge the bracket accurately, but the exact amount was hazy when the people were far away or were actively suppressing their emissions.
"One minute at most," Minoru replied.
He felt a ripple go through the chakra emissions through half of his allies. They were nervous. He was sure all of them were¡ª he was not good at sensing fluctuations either.
But Minoru didn''t feel overly nervous. The chunin coming for them had hefty chakra reserves, but their side also had someone with comparable chakra levels. His leader might be a straightforward person, but when he was in combat, he fought like a damned demon.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"One minute at most," said Minoru.
Takuma rubbed more mud on his body to cover the scent he was wearing. Even though it wasn''t strong enough to be smelled from a distance, he couldn''t let it risk the ambush. Plus, he had an additional vial.
He removed his earpiece as it would only get in the way of fighting and began focusing. The front end of the ambush wasn''t reliant on him, but there was a chance it could all go wrong, and the ''Tank'' team would need to step up to do damage control. He trusted his allies¡ª he needed to at the moment despite not knowing most of them personally, or else none of it would work¡ª but a little bit of skepticism helped everyone.
As his father once said: "trust, but not blindly."
Takuma''s enhanced hearing picked up footsteps, and he got ready to blaze out with augmented fists. The entire group slowly shifted in total silence to put the four-man squad within their circle of ambush.
Takuma''s nerves began to tighten as they slowly tightened the circle. A few seconds later, their targets finally entered the sights. Four men dressed in traveling cloaks came into view. They were traveling in the standard diamond formation, but perhaps they were so close to their destination that they seemed lax.
The lowered guard, the no suspicion of mishap, the fatigue from the long journey¡ª the pieces were all advantageous for Takuma''s side. They just needed to strike fast and hard to end things quickly.
''3¡ 2¡ 1.''
The moment the four men stepped into the middle of their circle, the ambush began.
''Step one. Yuhi would cast a genjutsu on the chunin.''
The chunin suddenly stopped and grabbed his head with a groan.
"Sir?" one of the genin exclaimed as all three accompanying genin took out their kunai.
It took all but two seconds for the chunin to raise his hand to form a kai hand seal.
''Step two. Before the chunin breaks the genjutsu, Yamanaka would use his Mind Body Switch Jutsu to take control of the chunin''s body.''
The chunin''s head jerked, and the hands froze mid-air a moment before they could form the kai hand seal.
"Hurry, c-can''t hold o-on!" the chunin suddenly yelled in a strained voice.
''Step three. Minoru and Inuzuka would separate the genin away from the chunin.''
Minoru and Inuzuka leaped out of hiding towards the three genin, revealing the team''s presence for the first time. Minoru kicked one of the genin deep into the forest while Inuzuka and his nin-ken dragged the other two in another direction.
Chains rattled in his arms as Takuma jumped out toward the chunin.
''Step four. ''Tank'' team will move in to restrain the chunin.''
Two chains shot out of the forest, wrapping around the chunin''s torso, trapping the arms snugly to the sides. Takuma and Akimichi jumped out of the bushes and tugged harshly on the chain, wishing they could rip the chunin apart.
''Step five. The ''Damage'' team will move in for the kill.''
Nenro and Gouki revealed themselves as they jumped the chunin. They stood opposite each other, weaving hand seals for two C-rank jutsu.
Fire Release: Great Fireball JutsuLightning Release: Lightning Bolt Jutsu
As Gouki breathed fire and Nenro shot a bolt of condensed lightning, Takuma felt the chains snap, and the loss of tension made him stumble back. On the other end, Akimichi, too, fell as her chain snapped.
"He''s free!" Takuma yelled.
The two C-rank jutsu met in the middle with the chunin as the target, but Takuma knew the chunin was free. His eyes darted everywhere to locate the chunin; every moment they didn''t have eyes on the chunin was a moment their chances of death increased.
Takuma caught a shadowy blur.
"Canopy!" he yelled.
Suddenly, two white glows erupted from within the forest bushery. Masaaki''s chakra metal knuckles blazed with his bukijutsu as he pounced like a wild animal toward the chunin, decking him in the jaw and sending the man crashing to the ground.
The chunin did a barrel roll to mitigate his momentum and stood up with a slight stumble. The travel robe was beyond tattered, and the chunin ditched it to reveal gear modeled after the Hidden Leaf shinobi uniform, but it was modified to be a bit heavier and was made up of darker colors. This was another Hidden Leaf missing-nin.
"An ambush¡ and a Yamanaka?" the chunin grunted as he rubbed his bruised jaw. He turned to look in the direction where Inuzuka was fighting the two genin; he sighed, "Useless grunts." The chunin then looked at everyone within his view. "Well, you guys fucked your chance, and I''m not charitable to give you another one."
Takuma ditched the chain and took out a kunai. He placed himself in front of the chunin while Akimichi walked behind him. Nenro, Masaaki, and Gouki stepped back but stayed in view. Yuhi and Yamanaka stayed hidden.
"Surrender, this is your final warning¡ I''m not charitable enough to give you another one," said Takuma.
The chunin laughed. "You all are already dead," he said.
Takuma cracked his neck before charging toward the chunin. He slashed for the chunin''s neck, but the chunin dodged and grabbed Takuma''s wrist. Takuma didn''t falter and shot out with a punch to the throat. The chunin laughed as he caught the fist, but his smile vanished when the punch almost made his shoulder pop out of its socket.
Takuma dropped the kunai and grabbed the chunin''s arm, and his other hand mimicked the moments until Takuma was clenching both wrists. He planted both his feet firmly into the ground and smirked. The chunin frowned and, without warning, slammed his head into Takuma''s face.
"Remove that smirk from your face, boy¡ª"
The chunin''s eyes widened, and he immediately tried to move, but Takuma tugged sharply on his hands to keep him in place.
*Shing!*
*Thud!*
The chunin''s body jerked as a giant Fuma shuriken struck him from behind, lodging itself in his back.
"I hope they don''t need you alive," Takuma said as he spat blood in the chunin''s face. "Because I''m going to reap the bounty on your head, and it''s going to be dead, not alive."
CH_5.6 (149)
Takuma felt the resistance from the chunin''s arms against his grip fade, and relief filled him. The last half hour had been more stressful than any raid he had conducted in the past eight months; they didn''t usually ambush chunin like this. Moreover, this time around, he had Nenro and Masaaki along with him¡ª Takuma couldn''t bear to lose the people closest to him on a mission he had invited them on.
"Akimichi, help me restrain him. Yamanaka, seal his chakra," Takuma called out. Yamanaka was a novice fuinjutsu user; he couldn''t completely stop the flow of the chunin''s chakra, but he could restrict the flow considerably, making chakra challenging to use.
Akimichi stepped forward with a chain in her hands while Yamanaka dropped down from the trees while rubbing his forehead; it seemed the Mind Body Switch Jutsu had strained him.
"Masaaki, Yuhi, go assist Inuzuku and Minoru," Takuma continued. "Gouki, check up on the situation with the chunin; see if they''re finished."
The team was about to mobilize when the chunin before Takuma began laughing.
"Dead, me?" the chunin said to Takuma. "You''re not going to touch me if I don''t want you to. And the dead one will be you, but unlike me, your head isn''t worth anything."
The next moment, the man turned into a humanoid made from solid earth. The now earthen wrist broke under Takuma''s grip a moment before the entire figure crumbled to the ground.
It was an Earth Clone.
Takuma''s heartbeat spiked as his eyes, only for a moment, went to the others; they looked as shocked as he was feeling. However, that single moment was a moment too much. By the time Takuma''s mind ordered him to look for the real chunin, it was already too late.
A hand shot out of the soil behind Takuma''s and grabbed onto his leg, and before he could do anything, Takuma found himself being dragged underground. He slipped right in without any resistance because the nature of the soil had changed, but the moment Takuma was underneath, the earth solidified in the blink of an eye, trapping him in a steel grip.
Behind Takuma, the chunin emerged from the ground. He had a kunai in his hand, and he was looking down at Takuma with a nasty grin on his face. He swung down the kunai for Takuma''s head, but it never reached as Masaaki crashed his body into the chunin at full force.
"Fuck¡"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It happened before he could think. He saw the chunin with a kunai looming over Takuma, and without conscious thought, Masaaki leaped for the chunin before he could harm one of his best friends. It was pure instinct, and Masaaki was thankful for them.
They rolled on the floor. Masaaki''s knuckle duster glowed as he dug a punch into the chunin''s chest. The chunin grunted as he kicked Masaaki off of him. The shinobi immediately got up and faced each other, watching each other''s every twitch.
"You are a strong boy, aren''t you, lad," the chunin smirked. He patted his chest, and the breastplate underneath the clothes clinked. "Parents must''ve fed you right. Are they still kicking? I might pay them a visit for the family secrets."
Masaaki frowned.
"You can come with me¡ or at least, your head can," the chunin finished.
Masaaki pumped chakra into his knuckle dusters and darted for the chunin. They began exchanging blows, with Masaaki turning up the aggression every moment, pushing the chunin, who had a smile plastered on his face the entire time as though unbothered by Masaaki.
"Boy, do you know the problem with bukijutsu?" said the chunin as he dodged a punch from Masaaki. "The weapon becomes the focal point of the combat style. A weapon can give you additional firepower, and that''s not a bad thing, not at all¡ª but more often than not, a weapon becomes a liability. Skilled shinobi don''t allow it to become a problem, but amateurs¡."
The chunin side-stepped the glowing fist, grabbed his wrist, and dug a palm strike into Masaaki''s elbow.
"¡ let their style skew around the weapon, and once an opponent learns how to bypass it, they can dismantle you at leisure."
Masaaki felt a sharp pain jolt through his arm. It was enough to stun him for a moment which was all the chunin needed to launch an all-out assault on Masaaki''s body. Blow after blow, hard strikes wrecked his body.
"You are a strong boy, lad¡ but I''m stronger," the chunin raised his hand for the final strike. But the strike never came down as he looked up to see Akimichi dropping down at him, a vicious look on her face and her prized bo-staff in her hands.
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The chunin jumped back immediately, and Masaaki stumbled away just before the bo-staff slammed against the ground, spreading cracks out from the point of impact.
"Good thing, he''s not alone."
The chunin looked back just in time to see a lightning bolt of Lightning Release: Shock slam into his body and Nenro standing in the distance.
The chunin clenched, and his muscles tensed as the current wrecked its way through him. He groaned as the current disrupted their natural rhythm of contraction and relaxation. But that only lasted a few moments as the D-rank jutsu passed out from his body. He took a jittery step towards Nenro and then a normal step, and then he was running.
*Shing*
A Fuma shuriken flew out of the trees and landed before the chunin, stopping him in his tracks. And the moment he did, his back felt a heat. He turned back, and a fireball was rolling toward him.
"Kids¡"
The chunin sighed before he began to weave hand seals.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Arisu watched the fire from Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu hit the chunin and engulfed the man. Gouki was an Uchiha; if the clan could claim one jutsu, it would be this one. The fire burned bright and hot, surrounding the chunin in its entirety. The chunin would be lucky to leave behind an unburnt patch of skin.
"We got him," she whispered with a sigh.
For a moment, it got really close. The moment they lost sight of the chunin, replaced by his clone, they were in grave danger. The real body could''ve been anywhere, but the chunin ended that worry by popping behind Takuma, which in itself was a scare if Takuma''s friend hadn''t rescued him at the last moment.
She pulled on the string attached to the ring of her favorite baby and pulled; she didn''t want heat and fire to damage the metal. The shuriken didn''t budge. She frowned. It must''ve dug into the ground a bit too deep. She tugged hard, but yet again, the shuriken didn''t budge.
Arisu squinted her eyes from atop a tree branch. Her shuriken was engulfed in fires, blocking a direct view of it. As the fire flickered, she saw a shadow of something move. It couldn''t have been a chunin; he would''ve been a crisp by now.
But then it hit her. Something was missing.
"There are no screams."
The chunin hadn''t screamed a squeak the entire while he was inside the fire.
The chunin wasn''t dead.
"Guys, he isn''t dead!" she shouted.
Then the shadow moved. Out of the fire came what could only be described as a rock monster. The entire figure was covered in hard grey rock in a scaley pattern. With every move, the rocks on the body also moved to accommodate movement. The chest was wide, waist narrow, the forearms below the elbow were shaped like spiked-clubs of sizes suitable for clubs, and the legs, too, grew wider until they were an elephant''s flat stompers near the feet. And the head was shaped as an inverted triangle like a spiked crown was placed on the head, leaving only the nose and eyes visible.
The monster (the chunin) rushed out of the flames and smacked Gouki with its spiked-club arms. It took one hit to send the Uchiha crashing through several trees, snapping the several tree trunks in the process. The monster then turned to Nenro and rushed toward him. Akimichi arrived in between them with her bo-staff in between them. She struck the monster with her staff, but it did nothing. The monster even stopped and let Akimichi rain down strikes on him, but it did nothing. The monster raised his hand, and with one swing, Akimichi was send flying away.
With the path clear, the monster continued after Nenro, who shot a lightning bolt. The lightning bolt crashed on the club-like arms and exploded the rock, leaving a dent, but that was it. The monster continued forward. Nenro jumped away, but the monster caught him¡ª the rocks moved to reveal a hand that gripped Nenro''s leg¡ª and dragged him back and slammed him to the ground. He raised his other clubbed hand and proceeded to pummel Nenro into the dirt.
"Let fucking go of my friend!"
Masaaki jumped on the monster with his fist, which was glowing in a blinding light. Masaaki''s strike created a crater in the monster''s back and then got in another strike which made the monster cry. The monster took Masaaki off his back and slammed him into the ground before stomping him down with his legs.
Masaaki shrieked as he got stomped on.
The monster suddenly grabbed his head and stumbled away.
Arisu, who was sitting on the tree, saw her chance. One look and she could tell it was Yuhi working her genjutsu and that it wouldn''t last long. Arisu jumped down, and even though she wanted to target the chunin, she remembered the words.
''¡ªIf we don''t support each other, at least some of us will be dead¡ª''
If they were going to survive this, they needed to cover each other''s back. Clearing Nenro and Masaaki was a higher priority than getting a blow on the chunin. And¡ well, Takuma told her she was on the ''Support'' team.
Arisu rushed to Masaaki''s side and put him on the shoulder. She moved towards Nenro, who was a few meters away. But as she was putting the second man over her shoulders, the situation turned once again.
Yuhi''s genjutsu only lasted so long against the chunin, and he snapped out of it.
Arisu immediately threw an explosive tag to get her some time, but the explosion was blocked by the thick arm, and it barely did any damage. She made a note of using a higher grade of explosive tag next time.
"You''re not going anywhere, girlie," said the monster.
He stomped the ground, and Arisu, who was about to jump away, had her balance disrupted away, and while the two guys on her shoulders weren''t a heavy burden for a shinobi like her, they did contribute to her slipping.
"Three''s the charm."
She could hear the snark in his voice. Her heart was pounding, she was close to death; she could feel it. The chunin wasn''t something they could face on their own. They had thrown a lot at the man, but he had thrown them around while they had failed to injure him in any significant way. Nenro and Masaaki were literally thrashed into the ground, and while they could still fight, the team was weaker than before.
So, knowing that, in the moment, she replied with the words which she felt the appropriate.
"Fuck off," she spat.
And unexpectedly, that''s what happened.
A large quantity of water slammed into the back of the monster, blasting him away. The next moment, Arisu barely caught the figure of Takuma flying by as he planted a kick into the rock-covered chunin, slamming him to the ground and creating a rather large crater around them.
"I knew you would need a jutsu to get hard," said Takuma.
CH_5.7 (150)
Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu
Takuma recognized the jutsu used by the chunin. The well-known B-rank jutsu would pull the surrounding earth onto the body and harden it to a rocky consistency. The jutsu worked the best when the material used was naturally rigid, but it could use even the most porous of sand into an armor that could handle boatloads of damage.
Takuma jumped away from the chunin and landed beside Arisu.
¡°Drop them,¡± he said to her. ¡°Come on, boys. Not the time to rest. I want my heavy hitters if we¡¯re going to survive through this.¡±
Arisu dropped Nenro and Masaaki on the ground, and the boys groaned as they got up. Masaaki punched the ground as he got up and pulled Nenro along with him, who was grabbing his head in agony.
¡°Are you both up for it?¡± Takuma asked as he kept an eye on the chunin, who was now getting up.
¡°It¡¯ll take more than that to take me down,¡± said Masaaki. Nenro nodded.
¡°Nenro, lightning is super effective. Use it,¡± said Takuma.
Takuma stretched his limbs. Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu was a simple D-rank jutsu that trapped the target in the ground¡ª it first softened the ground to pull the target in and then hardened it to trap the target. But in the hands of the chunin, the jutsu could harden loose soil into dense rock. He had to shoot chakra out of his tenketsu all over his body repeatedly to soften the ground enough so he could get out. Most jutsu couldn¡¯t be scaled up, but then there were those like his Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu that could create mist as dense as required and, in any volume, as long as enough chakra was pumped into the jutsu.
¡°Good,¡± Takuma clapped his hand to gain their attention. ¡°We go according to plan. Me and Akimichi will have his attention while you chip away at his armor. That armor uses chakra every second it¡¯s up and sucks up more chakra to recover any damage done to it. We either drill through the armor or drain him out of his chakra until he drops it. Pick your poison, ¡®Damage¡¯ team.¡±
Gouki landed beside him with a pissed look on his face, but he didn¡¯t look injured. A couple of tree trunks weren¡¯t enough to stop an Uchiha.
¡°The armor makes him slower; be on your toes,¡± Takuma told Akimichi.
He glanced back at the forest; still no sign of either Minoru or Inuzuka. He sighed before turning his attention back to the chunin, who was now facing them. The soil around him rose up, traveling up the legs and distributing to the damaged parts. A few seconds later, the armor was back to full integrity.
Takuma turned to Arisu and tossed her something. She looked at her palm to see a bell that was a bit too big to fit on a palm. She looked up at Takuma.
¡°Give this to Yuhi; tell her to ring it¡ª tell her to keep ringing it,¡± he said. ¡°Fall back and snipe him from a distance.¡±
Arisu jumped away, and Takuma weaved hand seals. The water from Water Release: Wild Water Wave rose up into a blob behind his back that extended into five tentacle-like appendages. Water Release: Eight Tentacles was a D-rank jutsu, but Takuma believed it to be mis-ranked. It was definitely a C-rank jutsu.
Jutsu rank classification wasn¡¯t an exact science. There were many factors involved in classifying a jutsu¡ª the learning difficulty, chakra requirements, damage, and intended effect in the case of non-combat jutsu, among other factors.
D-rank jutsu were usually easier to learn than C-rank jutsu, but Eight Tentacles was hard to learn, harder than any C-rank jutsu Takuma knew, and he had yet to learn it completely. But for the effect it provided, the jutsu was too tough¡ª but it was easy to learn at the same time. The skill floor was low while the skill ceiling was too high. As the name suggested, the jutsu allowed the creation of eight tentacles that could be freely controlled¡ª creating those eight tentacles was easy enough, and the difficulty matched other D-rank jutsu. The ¡®real¡¯ difficulty came in controlling the tentacles. Every tentacle was an additional limb that needed to be controlled consciously. The brain wasn¡¯t designed to suddenly have one more limb integrated, much less eight.
Takuma had to gradually train his brain to control the additional limbs. It was an arduous process. When Takuma had sparred against Momoe, he could manage two tentacles while moving and four while standing still. It had taken eight months of training between his Narcotics Taskforce to get his usage up to five tentacles when he was moving and six when he was standing still. The higher the number, the higher the difficulty.
*Ding*
Takuma tossed three kunai into the air that were snatched up by the tentacles. He left his hands and two tentacles empty for other usages.
¡°Come on, big guy. Let¡¯s dance, you and me.¡± Takuma charged for the chunin.
The chunin laughed and started running towards Takuma with heavy steps that shook the surroundings. The armor made him slow, but he was still agile, just not for someone his level. Takuma took to the air with a spinning kick, chakra pumping through his leg. The chunin punched out the impact shredded through the rock armor. Chunks of rock flew everywhere, but the moment they separated from the armor, they turned into soil.
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The two free tentacles snaked around the arm and propped him up, giving Takuma an additional moment of air time. He used the leverage to twist mid-air and landed another kick straight in the chunin¡¯s face. But the chunin was faster and blocked it with his other arm. More soil exploded.
*Ding*
¡°That¡¯s it, boy? I can piss this much off,¡± said the chunin.
¡°Nope,¡± said Takuma. ¡°There¡¯s a reason evolution gave us hands with fingers, and you exchanged them with clubs¡¡±
The three tentacles with kunai jammed the blades into the small gaps between the rocks before Takuma jumped away.
The chunin looked down to see three explosive tags dangling from the tail of the kunai.
*BOOM!*
The three Grade-2 explosion tags tore through the armor, leaving huge gaping hole-shaped vulnerabilities in the armor. Before Takuma even landed on his feet, he saw the holes already mending. He clicked his tongue¡ª the recovery was too fast.
But he wasn¡¯t alone.
The ¡®Damage¡¯ team picked up the hammer.
*Ding*
Nenro had his arm outstretched as a dangerous amount of lightning arcs circles around his arm. Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Jutsu looked a lot like Lightning Release: Shock because the former was a C-rank jutsu, and the latter was a weaker D-rank derivative. It made sense why Nenro would choose Lightning Bolt as one of his C-rank choices. Learning a derivative jutsu made learning the higher-rank jutsu easier. If Takuma¡¯s Lightning affinity had been any good, he would¡¯ve followed the same path as Nenro.
A shrill whistle followed a powerful lightning bolt that slammed into the chunin.
There was a huge canyon between C-rank and B-rank jutsu. The jutsu ranking system had a certain quality. The rank scaling wasn¡¯t linear. There was a jump from D-rank to C-rank, a sharper leap from C-rank to B-rank, and a rocket climb from B-rank to A-rank.
But there were cases when the jutsu rank gaps could be bridged. And those cases were known as affinity match-ups. Lightning Bolt might be a C-rank just, but because Lightning trumped Earth, it could do significant damage to Hardening Jutsu.
The chunin must¡¯ve known that because he tried to dodge, but the heavy weight slowed him down. The lightning bolt ripped rock on the left side of his body. There was still a thick layer remaining because affinity advantage could only do much when the two jutsu were of different ranks, and the chunin was clearly more skilled in his jutsu than Nenro was with his.
But it was enough for the next part.
*Ding*
Masaaki dropped in front of the chunin with his shining fists and laid down a brutal combo that made Takuma wonder for a second if he should extend the invitation to the Ring. It was getting quite boring underground, be it ninjutsu-category or the 2v1 fights, and Tsubura refused 2v1 ninjutsu-category fights to him because if he won one of those, none of the ninjutsu-category fighters would even consider a fight with him. Well, at least the money was good.
Masaaki¡¯s knuckle dusters tore through the armor like jackhammers against a paved road. Masaaki¡¯s bukijutsu was comparable to Takuma¡¯s augmented strikes, but unlike Takuma, Masaaki could do damage from a distance through concentrated shockwaves¡ª the simple knucklehead simply preferred to punch it out close distance.
The chunin backhanded Masaaki away but was blocked by Akimichi, who caught the arm. She looked like it was straining her to the limit to hold her down. Takuma narrowed his eyes, recognizing the signs of augmentation¡ª it was similar to what Akimichi Hideaki used, but she was not as skillful as him.
Akimichi pulled on the chunin to gain his attention, so he didn¡¯t notice in time when Gouki spat out globs of silver-tinged mucus all over the chunin¡¯s body. Akimichi jumped away and the next moment, a kunai whistled down from the trees with an explosive tag that lit the mucus on fire. The mucus was highly flammable as it took mere seconds before the entire chunin was on heat fire.
Fire Release: Incendiary Jutsu. A nasty C-rank jutsu which was napalm. It burned hot, adhered to the target, and the flames were super hard to extinguish.
Takuma clicked his tongue.
¡°Fall back,¡± he said.
*Ding*
The Damage team hesitated for a moment, but they jumped back as Takuma stepped forth.
¡°He¡¯s not done yet?¡± Akimichi asked, standing by his side.
Before Takuma could reply, a yell came from within the flames.
¡°Kiddy gloves are off you little vermins. I¡¯m going to kill you all!¡±
Takuma re-equipped three of his tentacles with kunai and sighed,
¡°It¡¯s a chunin with B-rank jutsu in his arsenal¡ he wouldn¡¯t have survived being a rogue if he went down so easily.¡±
*Ding*
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Akimichi Mika gripped her bo-staff till her knuckles were white as she saw the madness going on in front of her. Just a couple of minutes ago, they had the upper hand. The chunin was burning in high flames with armor riddled with chunks¡ª they just needed a few more blows to take a chunin.
And according to Takuma, it was not just any chunin. It was a chunin who had the ability to efficiently access the considerable amount of chakra reserves through B-rank jutsu.
But it seemed that it was a wrong decision to strip the chunin¡¯s armor because the armor seemed to be a defensive strategy. When it fell away, the chunin switched to an offensive strategy.
She looked to her right at a crater where Masaaki was stomped a moment ago. On her left, she saw Nenro hanging from a branch after he was punched out by earthen projectiles that weren¡¯t even aimed at him¡ª the chunin had unleashed an offensive B-rank jutsu at Takuma, and Nenro was caught in the crossfire.
Nenro, still hanging on the branch, twitched. Off balance, he fell off the branch but grabbed onto it at the last second, but the grip failed almost immediately, and he fell to the ground. Nenro groaned as he clutched his stomach.
¡°H-He¡¯s in bad shape,¡± said ¡®Nenro.¡¯
It was Yamanaka controlling Nenro¡¯s body. He had done the same with Masaaki. He hadn¡¯t been helpful in combat, but he had been able to take over control when someone was in trouble and move them away. It was annoying when Yamanaka took control of her body mid-air¡ª to be fair, she blacked out, unconscious¡ª it was mighty helpful that he kicked her back up when she was back on two feet.
¡°Try to get him back; we need people. Also, try to find what the fuck is taking Inuzuka so long!¡± she yelled before facing the front.
The chunin was a formidable opponent, and with the Uchiha the only member of the ¡®Damage¡¯ team still active and Fuma aiding him, they needed more firepower. She was going to switch to attack, leaving Takuma as the person to keep the chunin in check.
It was a dangerous choice¡ª for Takuma, but it was a choice she was making¡ª because, as far as she had seen, he seemed to be doing fine entertaining the chunin on his own.
CH_5.8 (151)
¡°Come on, sheep. Is that all you got?¡± asked the chunin.
He enjoyed the look on the kids¡¯ faces. The slow growth of displeasure, pain, anxiety, and exhaustion crept up on the brat¡¯s face as they continued to fight. It was only a matter of time before the little chicks got tired, and as they did that, he would drop them one by one until the fucking brat in front of him was the only one remaining.
He glanced at the small gap in the canopy. He could see smoke. There were more people than the brats. He, of course, knew that there was a chunin running the farm, and there was no way these little chumps could¡¯ve taken him out and still be in the condition to take him on. There was a good chance that there was a chunin leading the brats¡ª and if their numbers were to say anything, and taking the Hidden Leaf¡¯s standard team structure, it wasn¡¯t crazy to assume there were multiple chunin.
He was guessing two. The chunin running the farm was good, but the narcissistic fucker wasn¡¯t good enough to take on three peers at the same time.
At the end of it all, there were one or two chunin waiting for him on the other side of the brats. He wasn¡¯t proud, but he had suffered some injuries¡ª nothing serious, but against a litter of genin, he shouldn¡¯t have suffered anything.
All of it was because of the brat in front of him. The leader of the bunch. The lean brat looked like he hadn¡¯t trained a single day in his life, but there was a nasty bite behind his strikes. Chakra augmentation¡ª both him and the Akimichi chick. Then there was the pyromaniac Uchiha, the pesky little Yamanaka who was controlling people when they went down, the Fuma girl with her shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags, and there was even the Inuzuka fighting one of his genin¡ª there was an entire galore of clan kids here.
Which raised the question of who was the leader brat. He had been out of the village for five years, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint the background of the combat style. The brat wasn¡¯t from a clan¡ª his fighting style reeked of the Ring, and he was experienced, excellent body control, a surprising amount of skill in two chakra affinities¡ª a rarity for the age. The boy was the strongest, but that didn¡¯t explain why the clan kids followed him. To pull prideful clan kids into a line was something else.
¡®Well, whatever,¡¯ he thought.
He needed to finish this. He didn¡¯t know if there was a chunin or two waiting for him after he was done with the kids, so he preferred not to use more chakra than he had already. He had no problem running away, but he had built a good comfortable life for himself after leaving the village; it would be a huge pain if he had to start over. He figured he could use some chakra before going to see if the narcissistic fucker needed some help or if he had done the world some good and had left two heavily injured Hidden Leaf chunin for easy cleanup.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Play time¡¯s over, kiddo.¡±
Takuma caught a punch in the face, but he lashed out with an uppercut for the jaw. Unfortunately, the chunin caught that punch and threw him away, but Takuma¡¯s tentacles latched onto the chunin¡¯s arm to stay close. Takuma tugged on the chunin, but the man suddenly sped up and dug a palm strike into Takuma¡¯s gut. He felt a sheer physical force hit him. Instinctively, all five tentacles tried to latch onto the chunin, but he was sent back with such force that the water couldn¡¯t stay together, and the tentacles were ripped apart¡ª and the water tentacles were quite resilient because of the chakra flowing in the water.
Takuma flew back meters, and he had to concentrate hard to maintain his focus and balance mid-air. The water redistributed between the tentacles, and they jammed into the ground to slow him down. He dug his feet to slow himself further down but still ended up slamming against a tree trunk with rib-shaking force.
He shook his head to get rid of the dizziness and looked up just in time to see the chunin weaving hand seals before long thin earthen spears emerged out of the ground and shot toward his team. Gouki was hit by two spears hit straight, and he was all but skewered. Arisu was wielding her Fuma shuriken in close-combat mode and ripped two spears to threads, but a third one stabbed through her thigh. Akimichi had an impressive performance with her bo-staff and avoided all the spears aimed at her, only for the chunin to take her out after a couple of seconds of taijutsu back and forth.
¡°Now, it¡¯s me, just the two of us, brat,¡± the chunin looked towards Takuma as he held Akimichi by the throat. He threw her away as he made his way to him.
Takuma got up and cracked his neck. He was sure he had broken at least a couple ribs; his left leg felt off, a fracture for sure; his right shoulder felt sluggish and painful, he had screwed up his rotator cuff; there were three more things he could feel, and then a few more that would show up when the adrenaline would exit his bloodstream.
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All of his combatant teammates were out.
Yuhi and Yamanaka were within the trees.
¡°Stay!¡± he yelled.
He didn¡¯t want the two of them to come out.
¡°You should tell them to run. I¡¯ll get them after I¡¯m done with you. At least, this way, there¡¯ll be a fun hunt,¡± said the chunin.
The raids were always in teams, so Takuma never got the chance to use it in the field. The Ring didn¡¯t allow it because of the stupid rules. And he had gotten bored of dodging logs and rubber pellets.
¡°Oh, there will be a hunt, alright,¡± said Takuma as he began weaving hand seals.
The chunin stopped in his tracks and looked at his surroundings as a dense mist descended onto the area. The mist became whiter by the second, and visibility plummeted until no one could see further than they could reach with their hands.
Takuma breathed in deeply and felt the mist fill his lungs. He himself couldn¡¯t see that well in the situation, but he had been training his ears and nose for years. He had given more effort to this jutsu than any other thing¡ª and he barely saw any use.
That was going to change today.
¡°Let the hunt begin.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
He looked at the mist surrounding him. Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu. The kid seriously had some skill with Water affinity. He could barely see anything, but that meant neither could the kid. They were in the same situation.
¡°I can see you clearly, you know.¡±
He whipped a kunai in the direction of the brat¡¯s voice.
¡°That was not even close.¡±
The next moment, he was assaulted by an augmented kick into his knee. The chunin tried to grab the brat, but his instinct forced his body to catch the kunai that suddenly appeared before his face.
¡°Be careful, or you¡¯ll lose an eye¡ but that won¡¯t make any difference here.¡±
The brat¡¯s voice echoed. He was using some sort of voice modulation using chakra. ¡®Party tricks,¡¯ he thought, but he couldn¡¯t help but his caution growing. He had no way to blow away the mist, but that didn¡¯t mean he was trapped. He simply needed to run out of the area covered by the mist. He followed his internal compass and ran north.
But the moment he took his second step, he felt cold metal slice through his calf. It was a deep cut, and he almost lost balance.
¡°Don¡¯t try to ruin the game. You don¡¯t want a penalty, do you?¡±
The chunin, now hobbled, slowly moved. It was better to stay on the move rather than stay at a location the brat knew. Getting out of the mist was still his only option other than using more chakra to blow everything up around him. But he needed to reserve some chakra.
¡°Eh, this is a rigged game. I¡¯ll give you the penalty.¡±
Alarm bells rang in the chunin¡¯s brain, and he got ready for an attack. It didn¡¯t come. He waited for a second, two, five, ten, but nothing. But just as he released some tension and got back on the move, he got assaulted by a fist in the face, a kunai in the side, and a blow to the kneecap.
He bit his lip and waited for the moment the kid came close in for another attack, and the moment the brat became visible, he went for the grab. He got a kunai in his shoulder, but he got the hand in his grasp.
¡°Fuck you, kid!¡±
He landed a solid punch into the kid¡¯s face and was about to break the arm when water was suddenly forced into his mouth. The moment of shock made him lose his grip, and the brat picked up a chance to run away, but not before slamming a knee into the face. He had forgotten about the damn tentacle.
¡®Fuck this,¡¯ thought the chunin. ¡®I need to wall down.¡¯
It was clear that the kid wasn¡¯t going to play mind games with him anymore. He was going for the silent kill the next time he hit. Screw saving chakra. He was going to get rid of the genin and escape. Fuck this joint and job¡ª there was no shortage of work, and he guessed he could get to a comfortable spot in a couple more months.
He began weaving hand seals for a B-rank defensive jutsu that would cover him in a dome. But as he weaved hand seals, he heard a sound.
*Ding*
¡°Hmm?¡± What was that noise? He had heard that before. In fact, he had heard it a lot during the fight. Since when had it been going on?
And that¡¯s when it happened.
*DING!*
He froze up. He couldn¡¯t move a single muscle, and the sound of a bell filled his head, repeatedly filling his ear. The mist suddenly lifted, and he moved his eyes to find himself surrounded by a field full of the brat.
The broken nose on the boy did make him happy, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that he couldn¡¯t move. What had the brat done?!
He saw a kunai slip into the brat¡¯s hand¡ª every brat¡¯s hand¡ªand he started to struggle harder, but no matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t move. It was as though he was set in stone, a statue.
Shing. As his attention was on the brat, a short sword was shoved into his back and came out of the front. He looked down at the dripping tell. He could instantly tell the blade had gone clean through his heart.
¡ He was dead.
He looked back and found himself staring into the red eyes of an Uchiha. What a beautiful sight. It seemed he had helped an Uchiha activate his Sharingan. That didn¡¯t make the situation feel any better. He wondered if he could screw up the Uchiha brat¡ª traumatize him somehow.
¡°You were a tough fight.¡±
He turned back to see the brat had hobbled close.
¡°Genjutsu?¡± he asked.
The brat jammed a kunai into his throat, and only then did he nod.
¡°It usually only takes half a dozen or eight rings to work, but I had to be careful with you so I had it keep ringing. And well, there was no way in hell you were going to break free after several dozen bell rings.¡±
¡°B-Bo-H-h-oo,¡± said the chunin as he spurted blood. He didn¡¯t want numbers to be the last thing he wanted to hear.
A hundred little things passed through his mind. An entire lifetime of memories. There were happy ones, but he couldn¡¯t pick out happy ones from recent memories, all of them were so far in the past.
¡®Ah, this is not how I imagined it.¡¯
And with that, he drew his final breath.
CH_5.9 (152)
As the mist faded, the first thing Yuhi searched for was the chunin. Among the cardinal rules of combat was never letting the enemy out of sight. She held the bell tight and rang it again while her eyes scoured the ground, darting among the trees. Her sight finally landed on the chunin, who now had a short sword stabbed through the back and a kunai dug into the throat.
Takuma pulled the kunai out. The blood spurted as the chunin¡¯s body fell to the side. Takuma and Uchiha, still alert, stared down at the chunin for a few more moments before Takuma pressed his foot into the chunin¡¯s throat for a few seconds before pulling back. It was gruesome, disrespectful, and made her stomach squirm.
Her hold on the bell lightened; she no longer needed to ring it. As she dropped down from the tree, Takuma disappeared using the Body Flicker Jutsu. She jogged to Uchiha, her eyes sticking to the dead body.
¡°Where did he go?¡± she asked.
¡°He went to check up on Inuzuka and the Minoru.¡±
Yuhi noticed that the Uchiha was breathing heavily. The sheen of sweat had almost cleared the blood and dirt on his face. Then she saw his eyes. The tired but deep red eyes of the Uchiha clan stared at her.
¡°Y-You¡ your Sharingan.¡± She knew that he didn¡¯t possess it already.
¡°Huh, w-what?¡± Uchiha''s hand went to his face. It seemed he hadn¡¯t noticed. Yuhi pulled a pocket mirror from her weapons pouch and held it before his face. The Uchiha looked stunned as he stared into the mirror with his eyes widened. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he got the words out. ¡°I did it¡. I did it¡. Thank god, I did it¡¡±
He looked relieved as though a burden had been lifted off his shoulder. He laughed a weak chuckle as he stared at the sky. When he looked back down, the eyes had reverted to their original onyx color, and he looked exhausted like he could fall down the next moment.
¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked.
He nodded. ¡°Yeah, just tired.¡± He then sat down on the ground and stared at the dead chunin. ¡°We did it,¡± he said. ¡°We killed the bastard¡ and survived.¡±
¡°We did,¡± she said.
She noticed the short sword in the chunin¡¯s back belonged to Uchiha. He had been on the ground, risked his life, and from the looks, had landed the killing blow to the chunin¡. While she had hidden in the trees, ringing a damn bell again and again without knowing if it was working.
When Fuma gave her the bell and told Takuma would know what to do with it, she was confused. But it immediately struck her. A bell. A bell for the Genjutsu: Bell Sound Clone. Takuma wanted her to ring the bell for him.
She was deeply skeptical about Takuma¡¯s plan working. Bell Sound Clone was an auditory genjutsu and used the sound from the bell as the carrier of the chakra. She didn¡¯t think the plan would work because the bell was so far away from Takuma, and he had no control over the bell. For the genjutsu to work, the user had to load the sound waves with the chakra, and for the user to do that, they needed to know when the sound was produced. Takuma had outsourced that job, trusting her to do it for him¡ª he was lucky that she knew to ring the bell at equal intervals so that Takuma could count mentally to know when the next ring was coming.
Most importantly, lacing the sound with chakra was easier when the source was close. With her ringing the bell and Takuma moving constantly in battle, the simple task of imbibing sound waves with chakra shot up in difficulty.
¡°Did Takuma put the chunin in a genjutsu?¡± she asked. The fog from the Hidden Mist Jutsu obstructed her view of anything that was happening inside, so she didn¡¯t know if the plan was successful.
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said. ¡°It was very hazy, but I saw the chunin standing still, so I took the chance. Wait, I remember now; the chunin asked Takuma if it was a genjutsu. Takuma nodded after he stabbed him in the throat.¡±
Yuhi¡¯s eyes widened. It worked. Takuma pulled it off. He had managed to pull off the genjutsu while being in a disadvantageous position; not only was he gathering the chunin¡¯s focus on his own, the difficulty of casting the genjutsu had gone up due to the situation. But even in those circumstances, Takuma had managed to pull it off.
And she was supposed to be the genjutsu specialist in the group, Yuhi thought bitterly.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Arisu dragged her feet towards Yuhi and Uchiha. Her arm was killing her; she was hit directly by an earth bullet in her shoulder, and it had all but disabled it for the moment. She could tell it would take medical help and some physical therapy on top of it to get full functionality back.
¡°Yuhi, check him for injuries,¡± said Arisu. She placed a small scroll on the floor and weaved a release seal. A puff of smoke later, a full-sized field emergency medical kit sat over the open scroll.
Yuhi had Uchiha lay down and begin treating the ¡®Damage¡¯ team member. As Arisu turned to walk away, Yuhi called out,
¡°What about you?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine. Go look at Akimichi as well. I¡¯m going to see how the others are doing.¡±
She located Yamanaka looking after Nenro and Masaaki. Both were lying unconscious on the ground. On the other hand, Yamanaka was sitting beside them, holding his head with a pained look on his face.
¡°Are you injured?¡± she asked.
¡°No, no, I¡ I¡¯m fine,¡± Yamanaka replied with a groan. ¡°I overdrew my hand. Taking over five of you was a strain. None of you were actually cooperative with me.¡±
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Yamanaka had taken control over the bodies of Arisu, Nenro, Masaaki, Akimchi, and Uchiha at least once during the fight, getting them out of the danger¡¯s way or alerting them of risky situations. Arisu didn¡¯t like someone else taking control over her body and instinctually resisted, but she recognized Yamanaka¡¯s contribution¡ª he had probably, at the very least, prevented serious injuries, deaths even. She shivered at the thought that there were Yamanaka who could take over minds and bodies without the person ever realizing they were possessed.
¡°Especially him,¡± Yamanaka pointed at Nenro. ¡°He really didn¡¯t like me in his body.¡±
¡°It¡¯s an uncomfortable feeling,¡± said Arisu, ¡°but thank you for everything.¡±
Yamanaka waved her off. ¡°Everyone had a role. I just played mine. And I¡¯m okay not being in front, facing that monster,¡± he said.
Arisu nodded. She might not have been completely detached from the fight like Yamanaka, but she was more than comfortable snipping at the chunin with her Baby and explosive tags from a distance. She had gone close when Nenro and Masaaki had gone down and understood what risk everyone was facing.
¡°Can you carry them? Yuhi¡¯s doing emergency treatment. I can take one of them.¡± One of her shoulders was still good.
¡°No, I¡¯ll take them both,¡± he said, glancing at her bloody shoulder.
They returned to where Yuhi was treating Uchiha and Akimichi. Takuma hadn¡¯t returned yet. Her eyes went to the chunin. Blood leaking from the neck had pooled around the head and shoulder. She shivered when the intrusive thought of the chunin getting up and killing them all before they could react flashed past her mind.
¡°He¡¯s dead. I checked his pulse,¡± Uchiha said. Arisu gave him a nod.
Arisu had been working with Takuma since he exited training and entered active duty. They had gotten closer when she joined him in the Narcotics Taskforce¡ª working under him as his second-in-command made her privy to much of Takuma¡¯s day.
She knew that he woke up early in the morning to train every day, and he showered at home, but for the past few months, he had been showering at the office because he had been training more in the morning because he had to cut short his after-work short as he had started working late. She even trained with him in the morning a day or two every month, and Takuma trained early, and he trained hard¡ª called it a habit instilled into him.
But not once in the spars or raids had Takuma ever shown that he could use the Hidden Mist Jutsu. So when the heavy fog covered the field, her vigilance had shot up, thinking it was the chunin either trying to escape or, worse, wiping them out while they couldn¡¯t see. But as it turned out, it was Takuma.
She was well aware of how dangerous Takuma was in the field. They had been on plenty of raids and arrests for her to know how Takuma operated. Setting leadership aside, Takuma was aggressive as a combatant. He gave one chance for surrender before ensuring none had any attention to resist by using force that bordered on excessive.
A point that they had discussed and fought over multiple times. Keeping him in check had become part of her job. A job she had done well; they had complaints, but she had made sure nothing stuck. The Narcotics Taskforce was a new initiative, one led by a genin¡ª they had to be careful how they operated. Takuma was a good leader, a better manager, but no one could be perfect. Thankfully, Takuma wasn¡¯t a one-man department, and everyone covered each other¡¯s backs.
¡°Looks like everyone¡¯s gathered.¡±
Everyone looked to see Takuma emerge from behind a tree. He was supporting Minoru, who was limping, his foot bleeding from a nasty cut. Beside them, Inuzuka and his ninken were dragging three people behind them.
¡°Are they dead?¡± asked Arisu.
¡°Two of them,¡± said Inuzuka as he sat down on the ground. His ninken settled in his lap.
Arisu walked to Minoru. ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked.
¡°I¡ think I¡¯m going to stick to being a sensory-nin,¡± Minoru said with a pained look.
Arisu chuckled.
¡°You need to improve your combat abilities,¡± Takuma interjected with a frown. ¡°You can train with me once a week in the morning if you want. Give me a year, and I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t die in the field.¡±
Arisu chuckled as she shook her head. Takuma had been trying to train Minoru for months now, but the latter refused to accept Takuma¡¯s offer because Minoru knew he would be trapped if he accepted.
¡°Arisu, lie down. You¡¯re bleeding,¡± Takuma said as he laid Minoru down.
¡°So are you,¡± she said but followed the instructions.
Takuma poked her in the shoulder, and she yelped in pain. ¡°What the fuck!?¡± she hissed at him.
¡°I can still move my arms,¡± Takuma chuckled. ¡°You did a good job out there. We wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it without you.¡±
¡°I know; you should thank me more,¡± she said.
Takuma smiled as he disinfected her wound.
Arisu stared at Takuma. After a moment of silence, she said,
¡°Thank you.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Uchiha Gouki stared down at the ground. He didn¡¯t have the energy to lift his head or even raise his eyes. All he wanted was to sleep for a week and not do anything, which would be an appropriate way to spend time after a B-rank mission¡ª but he knew he wouldn¡¯t get to do that because the moment he revealed that he had activated his Sharingan, he wouldn¡¯t be left alone for a week. There would be relatives coming home to congratulate him, the ceremony that happened after an Uchiha activated their Sharingan; all the preparation involved in that. He would be swamped for at least a week.
Just thinking about it made him tired. He contemplated holding back the news for a week before revealing it to his parents.
¡°Congratulations are in order.¡±
Gouki glanced at Arisu, lying on the ground, getting treated by Takuma.
He smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know I had activated it. Yuhi had to tell me. The mist was so thick that I could barely see anything anyway.¡± Gouki glanced at Takuma. The Hidden Mist Jutsu was a known way to obstruct the Sharingan, but one required extraordinary skill in the jutsu to obstruct the Sharingan with great effectiveness.
Maybe it was because he had just activated it that Takuma was able to blind him even with the Sharingan activated¡ or Takuma was just that good with the Mist. He couldn¡¯t say for sure.
¡°Will you be staying with us?¡± Takuma suddenly asked.
Gouki furrowed his brow. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Yes, what do you mean?¡± said Arisu.
¡°Well, with the Sharingan, your status in the clan has changed. Doors which were closed before are now open. You probably can get any opportunity you want right now. Which raises the question: will you stay with us or move on?¡± Takuma said as he continued to treat Arisu.
¡°Of course, he¡¯ll be staying!¡± said Arisu.
¡°It¡¯s not a sure thing,¡± said Takuma. ¡°His situation has changed. He has new options in front of him now. He should take time to think them through and make the best decision for himself.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t want me on the task force?¡± asked Gouki. It sounded like Takuma was trying to kick him out.
Takuma laughed. ¡°Are you kidding me? An Uchiha with Sharingan; of course, I would want you on the team.¡± He looked up at Gouki. ¡°But that might not be the best course of action for you. I care for everyone on the team and want to see the best for everyone. As the person in charge of the task force, I would hate to lose you, but as a teammate, I would have you doing what you deserve.¡± Takuma pointed at Gouki¡¯s eyes with two fingers. ¡°Those upgraded eyes of yours change the situation¡. Think about it, Gouki.¡±
Gouki stared at Takuma, who moved on to treating Minoru.
He had been part of the Narcotics Taskforce from the very first raid on the Maiko Triad before Takuma had even floated the proposal. He had been there every step of the way. Seen their ups and downs and participated in their victories and losses. He had worked hard to make the Narcotics Taskforce what it was today.
He didn¡¯t want to move, but as Takuma said, he now had more options and, indeed, had a choice ahead of him.
And just like him, Takuma too had a choice in front of him with the situation brewing back at home with the change of leadership, which was all but sure to happen, looming on the horizon.
CH_5.10 (153)
Takuma gazed at everyone on the team, the nine people who had helped him bring down the chunin. He didn''t know half of them well. Nenro and Masaaki were his best friends, while Arisu was his second-in-command, partner, and firmest supporter inside the Police Force. Minoru and Gouki were his co-workers¡ª and he was their boss, which put a level of separation between them. Yamanaka, Yuhi, Akimichi, and Inuzuka, he had met them for the first time for this mission.
Despite that, he was glad none of them had died. It was a miracle. Even though he had planned and given appropriate roles to the people based on their capabilities to increase their chances of survival, he was operating under the assumption of the worst-case scenario.
"I¡ I would like to thank everyone here," Takuma addressed the group.
Their eyes shifted towards him.
"Today has been a tough day for all. The mission, even before this, was a stressful one because of the stakes involved, and I don''t need to mention the unexpected we just went through." He looked everyone in the eyes. "We had some arguments here and there¡ª which is to be expected¡ª except for my team, I haven''t worked with any of you." That went for Nenro and Masaaki as well; they were his friends, but he hadn''t worked with them except for two months of basic training, and that was two years ago. "But I have no complaints regarding this group. I''m thankful for how everyone conducted themselves today and their contribution toward the mission.
"I''ll be writing stellar reviews for all of you in the mission reports¡ Due to budgetary reasons, I can''t give you guys bonuses, but Arisu will be laying out a party when we return home." Everyone chuckled. Takuma glanced at the Uchiha. "And I''m sure Gouki will contribute to the celebrations."
"Count me in," Gouki smiled.
Takuma smiled before continuing. He first looked at Yamanaka. "It''s because of you that we all made it out alive. With you controlling our bodies, the vulnerability of every individual was cut short by several levels. If you hadn''t done that, looked after us, strained yourself, we wouldn''t be sitting here together, whole and alive. And for that¡ I''m eternally grateful. Thank you."
Yamanaka soaked up the praise and attention.
"Akimichi," Takuma turned to the girl, "it was a pleasure sharing responsibility with you. Without you, we would''ve gone down when the chunin had that rock armor on him before he even turned on the offensive. You''re one tough kunoichi. Thank you for keeping us all safe. You''ll be the Akimichi I would be looking for when I need the toughest shinobi."
He didn''t mind her switching to attack, leaving him alone to fend against the chunin. It was the right decision, and he commended her for it.
"I''m one call away; reach me any time," Akimichi weakly raised her bo-staff. Having been on the ''Tank'' team, she had taken a nasty beating. It was a testament to the Akimichi Toughness that she was even conscious now.
"Yuhi," Takuma moved. She was sitting close to him, so he reached out and grasped her hand. "You''re the reason we were able to take out the chunin. It had to be the Bell Clone Jutsu, but he was too much for me to handle. I couldn''t cast the genjutsu while contesting his attacks. Without the genjutsu, without you, I don''t know how to take him down. The fight would probably still be going on¡ª and as you can see, our chunin are still not here."
"Please," Yuhi looked embarrassed, "anyone could''ve rang that bell."
"I disagree," said Takuma. "In the heat of the moment, when the stress was at its maximum, I could only relay a simple instruction to Arisu. At that moment, you were the only one I trusted to understand what I was trying to do because of your knowledge. Even if I asked someone else, they wouldn''t have understood what I was trying to do, and even if they recognized the jutsu, there was a chance they would''ve abandoned the plan when they thought the situation down here become tough¡ª but you had the patience because of your understanding to stick to the plan and follow the instruction.
"Don''t cut yourself short. You played a crucial role in taking down the chunin. You earned the credit you deserved."
Takuma was just relieved that he had Yuhi nearby. The Hidden Mist Jutsu would''ve only stopped the chunin for a while before he would''ve been able to get out. Even if he was able to force him to flee due to injuries, if Takuma was able to get a read on the chunin in the short time he knew the man, the chunin would''ve tried to pull something in an act of final revenge. The genjutsu was the only way to get the chunin to stay and end the ordeal.
Plus, if the chunin escaped, he would spread the information regarding the busted farm to the drug network, which would be problematic for the overarching case the Narcotics Taskforce was working on. It was an overall positive outcome.
"Inuzuka and Minoru¡ and he went to sleep," Takuma looked at Minoru, who was sleeping on the ground. He turned to Inuzuka. "I''m sorry to send you out on your own. I''m a follower of the operational practice that a shinobi should have at least one partner with them during combat or any field function." He was taught that in the Field Tactics courses he took. "And sending you out to deal with those genin alone was a risky decision. But the genin were extra bodies that we couldn''t have interfering. Especially you, Inuzuka; you had to deal with two guys alone."
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"I wasn''t alone. I had a partner with me all along," Inuzuka pointed at his nin-ken, who wagged his tail under the petting.
"That''s true," Takuma smiled.
"Gouki, our star. The one to strike down the big bad," Takuma turned to the Uchiha. "I have told you this before; I will say it again. You have a lot of firepower, and you use it well. It''s a little bit difficult to use it in the village with all the people and buildings around¡ª but here, away from civilization, you can really see how much damage you can do." He looked around, and some flames and embers were still burning around them. If the forest had been any drier, they would have a forest fire. "And now you have gained another powerful weapon¡ª not bad for a day''s work¡ª train it, and train it well; you''ll be a force to reckon with in no time.
"And don''t forget us, little people, when you''re a big deal."
Takuma and Gouki laughed along with the rest of the group.
Minoru woke up. "Huh, what happened!?"
"Nothing, go sleep," said Takuma. "You did good out there today. Go rest."
"Mmnm," Minoru mumbled before closing his eyes. The poor guy was too tired after their ordeal. Takuma would''ve preferred if their sensory-nin was awake to keep an eye on their surroundings for more unexpected surprises, but he couldn''t force him to work in his condition.
"Arisu, my favorite Fuma," said Takuma.
"Oh, it''s my turn now, is it? Go ahead," said Arisu, catching up to what Takuma was doing.
"Despite the large amount of time we spend with each other, I don''t think I say it enough. You''re an excellent kunoichi, officer, and person¡ª I rely on you more than I have relied on anyone else," Takuma doled out praise without holding back. "Everyone goes to you first for advice before they even look at me because they know you''re the most reliable person in the office¡ You have the makings of a good leader¡"
Arisu frowned at him. Her eyes asked: ''What are you doing?''
Takuma shrugged. Both of them knew he wasn''t going to be in his current position for too long. Arisu might not succeed him immediately, but she was the best option when she met the other prerequisite.
His time was almost over. Even the success of the B-rank mission wouldn''t be enough. The day Fugaku had added Scars to Takuma''s Police Force personnel file, that day he had started the timer on Takuma''s progress in the Police Force. Everything would be used against him to take the fruit of his labor away from him¡ª and they had the smoking gun right under their noses.
Takuma flashed Arisu a smile.
He moved on to the next one. "Masaaki, you need to work on your defense. Your situational awareness can sometimes be shoddy, which gets you in trouble. It takes one bad injury for things to hit rock bottom. Aggression is good; I support it," Arisu scoffed; Takuma ignored her, "but there should be a method to the madness. The old Masaaki would pound the enemy into the ground and not get touched once. Other than that, you''re golden. The time with Akimichi has done you good. Keep it up. You''re my golden boy."
Masaaki shot a thumbs-up and groaned.
Takuma turned to Nenro. "If I learned anything today, I don''t want to fight you. That Lightning Release jutsu had some serious juice behind them. I envy you, my friend. You got the smarts and the skills. I know you''re already planning for it, but let me give you a vote of confidence. You''re ready for the next Chunin Exams. I believe when everyone sees you on that stage, they''ll know your true value. Go for it."
Nenro looked surprised, which was rare because he always seemed to be in control. Takuma smiled, enjoying the expression.
"I¡ Thank you," Nenro replied. "You want to join me in the exams?"
"I will think about it," Takuma smiled, but he knew that wasn''t possible. Nenro was simply being swayed by the moment.
Chunin Exams seemed to be the best plan of action for him. A promotion could give him leverage, which he could either use in the Police Force, or use it to transfer somewhere else. Switching jobs every couple years was a legit tactic for salary hikes and moving up the corporate ladder; Takuma wondered if it would work in the shinobi world.
With the praise session done, Takuma sat down and relaxed, but just as they were coming down from the battle''s high, the two Hidden Leaf chunin returned.
"Looks like you had an adventure of your own," said one of them, looking at the carnage around them.
"What took you so long?" asked Takuma. He kept the anger deep down. Taking on a chunin wasn''t part of their responsibility. Takuma had bought chunin on the mission for a reason.
"The bastard tried to make a run for it. We had to chase him down. He knew the terrain better than us¡ took some time to kill him," answered the second chunin.
Takuma sighed. He wanted to argue, but with everything over, he was too tired to have a dispute. He let it go.
"You recognize him?" Takuma pointed to the chunin they had killed.
The two chunin took out their bingo books and flipped through the profiles until they arrived at the right one. "Oh my, you guys scored decently. He has a bounty on his head. The pay is better if you had gotten him alive, but dead pay isn''t bad."
Takuma turned to the genin,
"Well guys, I think we have our party fund."
¡ª¡ª
.
Later that day, in an unknown location.
There was a knock on the door. The room was a simple office with absolutely zero personalization, no personality reflecting the user''s taste. There was only one decoration which hung from the wall behind the desk in the room.
"Come in."
The subordinate entered the room and greeted the person inside the room.
"I have a report, sir," said the subordinate plainly with no emotion.
"Speak."
"One of our farms was just raided. The one in-charge sent us a coded message. From the looks of it, the message was written hastily¡ It''s safe to assume that he is either dead or has deserted."
"What was the message?"
"Requesting backup. The farm was found by Hidden Leaf shinobi."
The man in the office stayed silent for a moment. "Was the man-in-charge part of the foundation?" he asked.
"No, sir. He was an outside contractor."
"The message said Hidden Leaf shinobi, not the ANBU?"
"Hidden Leaf shinobi, sir."
"Then there must be a trail. Find who was involved in the raid."
"Yes, sir."
"You may leave now."
The subordinate left and the man in the office returned to his work as though nothing had happened.
Behind him was a square wall-hanging with a motif of a golden tree with deep roots sewn into it.
CH_5.11 (154)
From the day they left the village to the day they returned. The mission took a whopping ten days to wrap up. They had to process the entire farm¡ª search the whole place for information, take samples of the crop and equipment, and then torch the remaining crop down to shut the site down permanently. Moreover, they had to stay on the farm for a couple of days to recover from their injuries, and their return journey was made slower as they had prisoners along with them.
The Hidden Frost incident had been the last time since Takuma had been out of the village for such a long time. The most time outside the village he did was on his regular hunts and overnight stays in the wilderness. But those only went for two days at tops ever since he had taken up his position in the Narcotics Task Force.
He wanted to go on hunts more often, but he didn¡¯t have the time these days. And because the mission had taken so long, Takuma could only take a two-day break before he was back in the Police Force Headquarters for work.
¡°An unexpected element during a B-rank mission that your plan didn¡¯t account for. You and the other genin were lucky that you survived the ordeal,¡± said Jonin Uchiha Sayuri, the Head of Organized Crime.
¡°As the saying goes, ma¡¯am: No plan survives first contact with the enemy,¡± Takuma replied. They sat in her office while Takuma gave the big boss a debrief of the mission.
¡°I have not heard of that saying, Genin Takuma¡ but those are some wise words,¡± said Sayuri, impressed. ¡°I shall remember them.¡±
Takuma smiled and nodded. He disagreed with the luck part¡ª luck was only half of the equation; the rest of it was pure life-risking effort. It made sense that not every saying from his world made it to this world, but he thought a war saying by a military man would¡¯ve made it to the world of mercenary shinobi.
¡°What¡¯s next?¡± she asked.
¡°I have contacted Tokubetsu Jonin Oishi for the interrogation.¡± Taro¡¯s mother had very recently gotten a promotion. ¡°We will get some hard actionable intel out from the farm help and the genin part of the delivery convoy and proceed from there. If things go well, we might have the location of the main distribution center.¡±
¡°How long do you think this will take?¡±
¡°Hopefully, soon,¡± said Takuma. ¡°I want to hit the distribution center as fast as possible before they get a whiff that we are involved. Right about now, they might be thinking that the courier stole the consignment and ran away with it¡. And for that reason, I would like to keep this away from the media. Nothing should go out until I say it¡¯s time.¡±
¡°Which means another mission soon?¡±
¡°Indeed. Speaking of which, I might need additional funds for the mission.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s discuss that after you have actionable intel that¡¯s confirmed by our sources,¡± said Sayuri.
Takuma wanted to sigh, but he had gotten used to this. Any time the matter of money came up, the subject would be changed. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t understand the budgetary conflicts between the departments; Takuma needed the money to run his small team. They ran a small weekly raid, targeting dealers much like Takuma¡¯s level when he was still dealing. But once a month, they tried to strike it big by hunting a supplier.
And because of Enomoto¡¯s intel, Takuma and the Narcotics Task Force had a 100% strike rate. Every time they had put their crosshair on someone, they had caught them with enough evidence to put them away for good and had resulted in significant disruption in the Hidden Leaf drug trade. True, Hidden Leaf village was just one ¡°city,¡± meaning they weren¡¯t putting any serious dent in the drug trade around the Land of Fire¡ª but Takuma chose to focus on the present and deal with the problems in his home ground before looking elsewhere.
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¡°Given that the distribution center is bound to be outside the village, will you be joining that mission as well?¡± asked Sayuri. ¡°Those in managerial positions don¡¯t remain operational in the field.¡±
¡°I¡¯m more hands-on,¡± said Takuma, ¡°and well, I simply like to be involved. Lead by example. Slum with my people in the mud. I don¡¯t mind going on raids, it keeps me sharp.¡±
¡°So you say, but you¡¯re aware spending more time away from here diminishes your chances.¡±
Takuma looked at his watch. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to leave now. I have prior plans with Lady Uchiha, and she is a stickler for punctuality.¡± He stood up to leave.
¡°Of course, we wouldn¡¯t want to keep her waiting.¡± Sayuri saw him off.
The woman was his boss¡¯ boss. She was essentially in charge of who replaced Takuma at the Narcotics Task Force, and he was going to be replaced; that much was set in stone. Nothing he could do was going to change that. The new outside recruits like him didn¡¯t have the power and influence yet; they hadn¡¯t had the time to assimilate. Takuma was cognizant of the fact he was a publicity case, but the need for publicity was over. The second batch of outsider recruits was already on active duty, and even if they removed him from his position, as long as optics were concerned, they were simply putting a reputable chunin/jonin over a team of genin, which still put Takuma in a good position.
But Takuma wasn¡¯t satisfied with that.
He could¡¯ve made a power play if he had more time, but he lacked the support¡ª and the Narcotics Task Force was too valuable. He couldn¡¯t even get Arisu to have the Fuma clan back him up. Why would they back him up when they could make a play for the Narcotics Task Force for themselves?
If he was being honest, he had no way to maintain his position in the Narcotics Task Force. He didn¡¯t have enough leverage to keep his position. His achievements weren¡¯t enough; politics still held more weight.
He only had one card¡ meta-knowledge.
Takuma stepped out of the headquarters and stared at the bright sun.
He knew the Uchiha were going to die soon, and when they did, he would be the prime candidate to lead the unit. With the Uchiha gone, all the other important positions will open up for the pickings, and one little task force would be easy to acquire¡ª then his achievement would be enough as the value of the Narcotics Task Force would significantly weaken in terms of politics.
However, with every passing week, the plan¡¯s viability seemed to dwindle a little. Takuma didn¡¯t have an exact idea of when the Uchiha Massacre took place, but he knew that it was high time it happened. But¡ Uchiha Shisui was still alive, and every day that man lived, the more Takuma feared that something had changed.
He had no proof that things had changed. He had tried to get some information about the Uchiha Coup, but if evidence was that easy to find, then other clans would¡¯ve already found it. Even though he worked in the Police Force, he was as blind as an ostrich with his head in the sand.
Takuma sighed.
It was tough working among the walking dead.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Sir, the information you asked about the farm raid,¡± said the subordinate.
The emotionless, middle-aged man behind the desk with buzz-cut light brown hair looked up from his desk. ¡°Report,¡± he said.
¡°The raid was conducted by the Leaf Military Police Force. The Narcotics Task Force in the Department of Organized Crime,¡± responded the young, equally emotionless subordinate.
¡°I believe that¡¯s a new task force.¡±
¡°Yes, sir,¡± the subordinate placed a file on the table. ¡°Led by a genin called Takuma, graduated from the academy two and a half years ago. An orphan of no notable lineage. He founded the Narcotics Task Force nine months ago. Under his leadership, the task force has conducted several significant raids around the Hidden Leaf. He was present on the farm raid as the lead. The rest of the people involved in the raid are on the file.¡±
The man picked up the file and flipped through it.
¡°Three teams filled with clan shinobi,¡± he said. ¡°Anything else notable about this Takuma?¡±
The subordinate placed a second file on the table. ¡°He was involved in the Hidden Frost incident we engineered. He was trained by Maruboshi Kosuke during his last year at the academy. Fights in the underground gladiator arena Ring under the stage name Scars. And he is currently being tutored by Jonin Uchiha Mikoto, the wife of Uchiha Fugaku.¡±
The last sentence got a reaction from the man. ¡°The nature of their relationship?¡± he asked.
¡°Strictly teacher-student¡. Additionally, we sent one of our own into the Police Force as part of their new recruits. According to the information, Takuma is about to lose the command of the Narcotics Task Force.¡±
¡°¡ No notable parentage; Maruboshi Kosuke, while, has connections won¡¯t present a problem; about to lose his important position¡ and a Police Force officer who moonlights as an underground prizefighter, that crosses the Uchiha connection.¡± He looked up at his subordinate. ¡°What is the status of the trainees?¡±
¡°Our trainees?¡±
¡°Yes, the current batch. Are they ready for a joint mission?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll relay the request to the Master Instruction. May I ask what this mission pertains to?¡±
¡°Assassination of a threat to the foundation.¡±
CH_5.12 (155)
¡°Binding a chunin in a genjutsu. You have come far,¡± said Mikoto, smiling. ¡°I remember the last time you couldn¡¯t exclude others from getting trapped by the genjutsu. Isn¡¯t it good that we worked on that?¡±
¡°The genjutsu would¡¯ve been useless if I caught my teammates in the genjutsu.¡± Takuma sipped on the tea he had gotten so used to drinking for the past several months. He didn¡¯t like tea. At first, he couldn¡¯t refuse because he didn¡¯t want to offend Mikoto, but by the time he got comfortable enough, he had developed a taste for it.
Takuma sighed. ¡°But, in that fight, I didn¡¯t feel like I had enough range. I know you said to train with the five I have, but I really need a couple more genjutsu of the visual, audible, and olfactory jutsu. Flower Hill is a momentary trap, and Mist Servant is better for crowd control than going against a stronger opponent.¡±
¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t consider those two jutsu useful?¡± she asked.
¡°I didn¡¯t say that. They have different uses, which I just mentioned. But I felt like I needed more options¡. That guy bull-dozed anything I threw at him. Sure, I was chipping away at him, but he was doing the same, and he had much more wood to chip away than me. The genjutsu gave me the key to put him down, and I need more jackpot keys like that.¡±
Ever since he had started training under Mikoto, she had restricted him to the five genjutsu he knew. For the past nine months, he only trained those five genjutsu and nothing else. Between theory lessons and having deep discussions about the philosophy behind genjutsu, Mikoto had made sure Takuma could cast the five genjutsu in his sleep.
¡°I can¡¯t stop you if you want to learn more, but I believe it¡¯s time to move to the next stage,¡± she said.
¡°Next stage?¡±
¡°You like Haze, right?¡±
Takuma nodded. Genjutsu: Haze was a tactile (touch-based) genjutsu that worked through contact. He couldn¡¯t use it because of the restrictions around a touch-based genjutsu during a battle, but he found the distorted vision caused by the genjutsu just so useful. He wished Haze had been a visual or auditory jutsu.
¡°It¡¯s time for you to learn how to change the connection component.¡±
Takuma perked up, sitting up straighter. The connection component was the sense target to plant the genjutsu. Bell Clone Jutsu was an auditory jutsu, meaning it used sound to cast the genjutsu¡ª but the connection component could be changed.
¡°You should change Haze¡¯s connection component from touch to vision,¡± said Mikoto.
They had talked about the topic several times. Takuma knew they would be doing it somewhere along the line, but he didn¡¯t think it would come soon.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t I first learn a few C-rank genjutsu?¡± he asked.
Mikoto sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t stop you, but as we discussed, pre-made genjutsu are crutches. You have to create your own and to do that, you need to understand the components. These five genjutsu are a good sample set. Experiment with them, and see what you can make from them before deciding if you want more practice material.¡± She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m here to help you start your genjutsu journey. I¡¯ll be there to help you along every step until you¡¯re ready to spread your wings and take flight.¡±
Takuma clenched his fist as his breath hitched for a moment.
¡®Don¡¯t¡ you know how it would end.¡¯
He looked up at the woman before him. She was the only other person after Maruboshi to have taught him as a teacher. A few more months more, and she would have taught him as long as Maruboshi had done. She even knew his secret like Maruboshi.
But she wasn¡¯t as close to him as Maruboshi was¡ he hadn¡¯t let that happen.
¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am¡ for everything.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A figure sat atop the colossal sculpture of the Fourth Hokage¡¯s face carved into the Hokage Rock. The mountain¡¯s shadow hid him from view as he gazed upon the Hidden Leaf village. One red eye stared from behind the one-eyed orange mask with black stripes. The mask was framed by long black hair that reached the mid-back.
Uchiha Obito, or was it Uchiha Madara now¡ stared at the village that was once his home. The village was peaceful. The people went on enjoying their lives. Even when she was no longer in the world, they continued to live on as though nothing had changed. He looked around the village. Anywhere he looked, a memory or two would surface. Happy memories¡ or at least, they were once happy. Now, everything seemed washed with an unfeeling grey. No matter where he looked, a sickening feeling grew in his heart.
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He placed his hand on his heart. It had been a while since he had felt anything; even though it wasn¡¯t pleasant, he was glad he felt anything. His feelings were a reminder of his goal.
To rid the world of the ugly.
To achieve absolute peace.
¡°Are you sure it was wise to join hands with Shimura Danzo?¡±
He glanced to the side to see a black head of Zetsu poking out of the mountain stone. The strange creature was his closest ally and had been with him since the day he had been ¡°reborn.¡± He was among the only few who knew the complete secret of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
¡°Perhaps it was not,¡± he sighed.
He had wished to exact some revenge on the Hidden Leaf and thought approaching Danzo would be the way to go. He had heard much about the old fossil¡¯s reputation and knew about his desire to become the Hokage. And he also knew that Danzo was the opposite of everything the Hidden Leaf¡¯s Will of Fire stood for¡ª and placing Danzo as the Hokage and seeing him twist it into his image would be a perfect revenge. It wasn¡¯t as straightforward as having the entire village and its people crushed to the core, but he thought it was enough.
But who knew that despite Danzo¡¯s reputation, the old man would possess a twisted sense of protection towards the village. He wanted the Hidden Leaf village to remain the strongest, and anything that threatened that, Danzo would go to great lengths to eliminate it.
¡°He wouldn¡¯t allow us to destroy the village. After all, what kind of king would want to rule over a broken kingdom.¡±
Obito had no desire to go against Danzo at the current point. The Akatsuki was currently busy with working missions to amass funds, plant spies, and ensure the members were happy so they would continue to remain in the group¡ª not all were like Kisame, who truly understood the importance of their mission.
¡°You should have given Orochimaru¡¯s words more thought,¡± said Zetsu.
Orochimaru had warned him against Danzo. The Snake Sannin had told them that if Akatsuki was to engage with Danzo in dealings, they needed to be very careful because if they gave Danzo any chance, he would backstab them if it benefited him in any way.
¡°At least we have him as an ally for now,¡± said Obito.
Danzo had hired the Akatsuki for some matter involved with the current proxy war between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Storm. It wasn¡¯t as big as what Onoki had them do for the Hidden Stone, but Danzo was a new customer, and it was normal for him to be cautious.
However, Obito had no desire to help the Hidden Leaf. Akatsuki would complete Danzo¡¯s request and increase his political influence based on his war achievements, but they would also make sure the Hidden Leaf suffered deeply in this war¡ª deep enough that it would hurt, and they would have to work for years to right.
Obito looked down at the village and suddenly spotted a child with bright-yellow hair running in the streets with a shinobi on his tail.
Uzumaki Naruto¡. His sensei¡¯s beloved child.
If it were in the past, he would¡¯ve felt something, but now, as he watched the child, he felt nothing in his heart.
¡°It¡¯s not your time yet.¡±
His whispered words flew with the wind.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
In a plain room with chairs (with built-in desks) a group of four young early teens sat facing a cork board with an adult man addressing him. All the people in the room had emotionless faces.
¡°This is the target for your mission.¡± The man used a telescopic teacher¡¯s pointer to point at an image. ¡°The target¡¯s name is Takuma. The target is a genin of the Hidden Leaf, and currently serves as a Senior Officer in the Leaf Military Police Force. He is in charge of the Narcotics Task Force. Your mission is to assassinate him. The dossiers in front of you have some basic information about him, but as part of this mission, you will be required to collect intel on your target and use it to complete the mission as efficiently as possible.¡±
One of the teens raised their hands up. ¡°Why is the target being assassinated?¡±
The man stared at the young teen for a moment. The children here hadn¡¯t been through their final initiation yet and had yet to be turned into perfect soldiers. And the one who asked the question was the youngest and apparently needed some more guidance. He made a mental note to communicate it to the master instructor.
¡°The target moonlights as a prizefighter and has built connections with the Hidden Leaf underworld. Our intel tells us that he has been taking bribes and is a deeply corrupt officer. He has let several groups operate without fear from the Police Force and is illegitimately profiting from it. The foundation has decided it has become imperative to remove him and set things right.¡±
It was all false as the target had been culling drug groups inside the Hidden Leaf at an unprecedented rate. But it was bound to cause problems to the foundation sooner or later. It was better to remove the head and let someone less effective take the position. Until the trainees stopped asking unnecessary questions and completed their training, painting a negative narrative was an effective method to have them cooperate.
¡°Understood,¡± said the young teen trainee.
The man nodded. ¡°The target is proficient in genjutsu, and utilizes Earth and Water Release ninjutsu. His experience as a prizefighter has earned him extensive experience in unarmored combat; expect him to have great close-combat defense. The combat recommendation against the target is to always work in duos to minimize the danger against genjutsu.
¡°Do not underestimate the target. He has actual on-field combat, and once traversed through an enemy state on his own after a mission with injuries, giving him some survival ability.¡±
He didn¡¯t think the four trainees were ready to be on active duty as ROOT operatives, but taking a single genin was well under their ability. If there was one thing he could think as a point of difficulty was the location.
¡°The target is situated in the Hidden Leaf, which means based on where you decide to assassinate him, you risk external interference from other shinobi. Take that into consideration while drafting your plan and more importantly, your exit strategy. You can¡¯t leave any evidence behind.¡±
The man gazed at the four trainees. Within a year, only two of them will survive. And the two who would survive would need to kill the other two to become true operatives. He wondered which two of the four would move onto to the final stage of their training.
A memory of a boy flashed through his eyes, but it faded away as soon as it came up. The memory once felt like he had been stabbed in the heart with a thousand needles, but now, it just elicited a dull feeling.
He had done so and so will these boys.
CH_5.13 (156)
¡°Why didn¡¯t you order anything,¡± said Sango after handing the menu to the waiter.
Takuma took a sip of water. ¡°I don¡¯t like to eat immediately after fights,¡± he said. He had just finished a ninjutsu fight at the Ring, and instead of taking her usual payment, Sango had asked him to treat her to a meal. He didn¡¯t mind taking his iryo-nin to dinner.
¡°Nutrition and rest¡ª two cornerstones of recovery. You should ensure that your body has enough resources to heal,¡± said Sango, nagging as usual when it came to personal health.
¡°I¡¯ll eat when I return home, not just now,¡± he sighed. The fight had been boring as usual¡ª boring was good, thrill-seeking risk was overrated¡ª but he wanted a challenge, or what use was him fighting in the Ring except for ryo and mission points. Well, it at least kept his body, mind, and instinct sharp; it didn¡¯t take much time for those things to dull.
¡°Rest well today, and do not forget to drink the mixture I gave you with hot water before you sleep,¡± she said.
Takuma shrugged. His opponent today had already fought him twice before, and Takuma no longer had any secrets (except for his genjutsu) in the Ring. All of his ninjutsu were already noted by the various teams across the Ring. They had been devising tactics to defeat him, and because he fought more fights than any other fighter of his class, they had plenty of time for trial-and-error improvement.
In some ways, Takuma influenced how the upper hierarchy of the Ring fighters fought.
His opponent today was a skilled Lightning Release ninjutsu user, the worst compatibility against Takuma, who was proficient with Earth and Water Release. Injuries were inevitable in the Ring because of the flimsy leather armor they allowed in the ninjutsu category, but today he had been squarely hit by a C-rank lightning jutsu in his chest. He had won the fight, but even after Sango¡¯s treatment, he still felt the burn, sting, and pain in and out of his chest. According to Sango, it would take a couple of days before he felt comfortable.
His pain tolerance threshold had improved leaps and bounds ever since he had joined the Ring¡ª but even if he could tolerate the pain, it didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t hurt. He hated when his body didn¡¯t behave how he wanted it to.
¡®The bastard pulled a new trick today,¡¯ he spitefully remarked.
When several Ring teams were planning to take him down, it was obvious they would come out with good plans. Every few fights, one strategy was bound to work, and Takuma had been grateful that they did. The more flaws his opponents discovered, the more he could weed them out and improve himself.
He was the sword, and the Ring was his whetstone.
¡°When was the last time you met Enomoto-sensei?¡± asked Sango.
¡°I met him in passing a good while back,¡± Takuma replied. The last time he met him was a month back. Even though Sango was Enomoto¡¯s apprentice, Takuma, and Enomoto¡¯s dealing were private. It was the only way for their secret to remain airtight. Both Enomoto and Takuma would suffer loss if their secret was to be leaked.
Sango hummed idly as she gazed at him.
¡°What?¡± he asked.
¡°You have changed.¡±
¡°How so?¡±
¡°You¡¯re calmer than before. Back when you were just entering the weapons-category, you were much more¡ twitchy, as if there was a threat behind every corner, ready to pounce at you. You seem settled down now; it¡¯s a welcome change.¡±
Takuma quirked his brow before sighing. He could see her point. Ever since he had taken over the command at the Narcotics Task Force, he had to manage a team of people. Working alone was easier than managing a group of people. He was so concerned with building the task force, introducing and training his subordinates about the drug trade in the Hidden Leaf that it left no time for him to worry about the other problems.
¡°I will be leaving Enomoto¡¯s apprenticeship soon,¡± said Sango.
¡°Really?¡± The declaration took Takuma by surprise. As long as Takuma had known Sango, she had been Enomoto¡¯s student. He hadn¡¯t seen him train her as they usually met in the Ring after his fights¡ª but he assumed he was doing something akin to a teacher.
¡°An opportunity that I¡¯ve been aiming for recently opened up. I got the offer recently¡ I got in,¡± she smiled.
¡°Congratulations!¡± Takuma was genuinely happy for her. She had been there every step of his journey through the Ring, having seen him through all his lows and highs. He was delighted that he got to be there to see her accomplish a goal. ¡°What¡¯s the new gig; when do you start?¡±
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¡°Takuma¡ I¡¯ll be leaving the Ring. I won¡¯t be able to heal you any more after the fights,¡± said Sango.
Takuma¡¯s smile slipped after the moment of confusion passed. He leaned against the backrest and stared at Sango. The thought she would be leaving him hadn¡¯t crossed his mind. He was still very much happy for her, but he couldn¡¯t ignore how Sango leaving made him feel. He wasn¡¯t averse to change, but this change made him uncomfortable.
¡°You don¡¯t have to make that face,¡± Takuma said to Sango upon seeing her worried face. ¡°I will be fine. I¡¯m in the ninjutsu-category now. The Ring will provide me with as much healing I demand from them¡. I¡¯ll just have to get used to trusting my body to another iryo-nin¡ª that¡¯s going to be a pain.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll recommend you a good one,¡± said Sango. ¡°They aren¡¯t as good as me, but they¡¯ll do just fine.¡±
Takuma smiled.
¡°Don¡¯t be a stranger, okay,¡± he said. ¡°Drop by time-to-time. In some strange way, I¡¯ll miss you extorting me for exorbitant meals.¡±
¡°Call me anytime you want to spend time with a lady,¡± Sango grinned.
¡°Pfft, a lady,¡± Takuma chortled.
¡°Fuck off, short-stack.¡±
¡°I¡¯m still growing!¡±
Sango had her fill of food and drinks, and they eventually parted ways, but before they split up, Sango said,
¡°I don¡¯t think we will be strangers, Takuma. I will probably end up working with you in the future.¡±
Takuma was confused, but before he could ask, Sango disappeared using the Body Flicker Jutsu.
¡°What did that mean?¡± he mused to himself to no avail.
The moon had pulled up into the starry sky by the time the meal with Sango ended. Takuma wanted to take a leisurely walk and take some alone time to retrospect, but he didn¡¯t have the time. He had to go home, have his meal, do meal prep for the next day, and complete his other chores. By the time he would do that, it would be time to sleep.
He could only enjoy the view of the village¡¯s nightlife as he briskly traveled atop rooftops.
Soon he reached the part of town where he resided. Not many people knew Takuma lived in a shady dump of a neighborhood. Not many would believe that a Senior Officer of the Police Force lived in a place like that. Takuma could¡¯ve moved, but he liked his small apartment. It had begun to become a bit crowded with his ever-growing belongings, but Takuma managed. He enjoyed the secluded silence of the place even though it was offset by the low-grade locality. Takuma¡¯s house was only safe because people knew he was a shinobi and an officer of the Police Force because of his uniform. They didn¡¯t dare mess with him because what might he do to them if they did.
His keys jingled as he reached his door. As he slotted the keys, he heard a sound that he almost missed. He would¡¯ve if his hearing hadn¡¯t been enhanced by relentless training. In a split second, his senses went into hyperdrive, pushing his entire being into combat mode.
He jerked to the side a moment before a kunai whistled past his ear, thumping into the wooden door. Before he could react further, another noise reached his ears. His eyes widened at the door, and he jumped back as fast as his body allowed it. As he jumped back, a sword pierced from behind the door, reaching for Takuma¡¯s gut. His eyes remained affixed on the glimmering blade as it narrowly fell short to reach his heart.
Takuma slammed into the wall of the open hallway.
Two, he thought¡ª there were at least two assailants.
Takuma looked down at the bottom of the door, where a white paper sat undisturbed. The ends of the paper slip were stuck to the door panel and frame. Any attempts to open the door would rip the flimsy piece of paper¡ª but the slip was still whole¡ª and yet, there was someone inside his home. That could only mean three things: the assailants either came in through the balcony window, or they noticed the paper slip trick when they opened the door and fixed it, or they were observing him and knew that he put a fresh paper slip every time he left home.
He went for the worst-case scenario, the last option. He immediately assumed that the assailants had vital information about him.
As the thought had barely ended, Takuma felt a shiver go down his spine as two masked and robed figures emerged from the shadows in the hallway, one from each side. Simultaneously, the sword in the door was pulled back. The person behind the door was about to make their second move.
Takuma¡¯s mind raced. The hallway was too narrow, and moving either side would trap him between the two flanking him. If he jumped out of the hallway, he would be vulnerable in the air, unable to change his direction, giving the one who threw the first kunai to nail him with ease. He needed to get down on the street to have some space to assess his situation.
He couldn¡¯t go left, right, up, down, or back¡ª which left only one direction. Takuma gritted his teeth and rammed his shoulder into his own door. The entire thing snapped off its hinges, and Takuma felt the door slam into the person behind it. He didn¡¯t have time to think; he stepped on the door (and the person beneath it) and ran deeper into the house.
Takuma clicked his tongue. It was clear that the group of assailants was either trying to kill him or at least capture him. He didn¡¯t want either. He wanted to grab more weapons, explosive tags, smoke bombs, and whatnot¡ª but he, unfortunately, didn¡¯t have them in a ready-to-grab package he could yank in a second. He had to do with what he had on hand.
He rushed to the balcony and smashed through the glass door and jumped down into the narrow back street with the sound of glass shattering filling the silent neighborhood. It took a few mere seconds for two figures to jump down as well, but by that time, Takuma had reached the end of the street.
He weaved hand seals, and a clone appeared from a plume of smoke. Takuma turned right while the clone sprinted to the left. It was the Clone Jutsu, creating a simply illusory jutsu, but with nighttime and no street lights due to the poor locality, the limitation of ¡°no shadow¡± was eliminated. Takuma¡¯s steps didn¡¯t make much sound, a discipline he had trained to use in conjunction with the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
He made sure they saw him, and now the only way for them to pursue him was to split up
They outnumbered him, they might have planned about this, researched him¡ª but they had chosen the wrong place to take him on. This was his neighborhood. He knew the terrain better than anyone else. No matter how much they researched him, as long as they were in his neighborhood under the cover of the night sky, he nullified their numbers advantage to some degree.
As Takuma finally had some breathing room to think, the question finally popped in his mind,
¡®Who the fuck were these people?¡¯
CH_5.14 (157)
The Clone Jutsu gambit was successful, but it only gained Takuma a few seconds, which he knew. However, a few seconds of stillness in a fight was all one could hope for. This was the first time after the Frost mission he had faced the element of surprise¡ªbut this was the first time he was the sole target. The four assailants coming after him were solely interested in taking his life.
He climbed up a building wall and stopped in the middle and stared down at the figure running at him. They were dressed in complete black with a gray mask peeking behind the hood.
He slipped a hand into his weapons pouch and tied one of his few explosive tag to a kunai as he wondered about the identity behind the assassins. His thoughts immediately zeroed in on the drug trade. It was obvious that his recent mission had threatened the drug lords¡ªby taking action outside Hidden Leaf borders, he had set a dangerous precedent¡ªand this could be their attempt to take him out. He was an easy, low-risk target because of his background, and taking him out would definitely force the Narcotics Task Force to review their future plans.
As the man neared, Takuma threw the kunai with an explosive tag on its tail.
The question was: Who was it? Which one of the drug lords had ordered the hit? Takuma felt very invested in finding the scum who had ordered the hit and then beat them to the inch of their lives.
The tag exploded, and the man was thrown back to the ground. Takuma didn¡¯t wait to see the man re-attain his balance before hitting the ground; he immediately turned his back to block a kunai from another assailant with his own.
That was all the rest he got.
¡°I¡¯m afraid this is not how one makes friends,¡± said Takuma as he pushed the man up the wall. ¡°If you wanted to talk, I have recently developed a taste for tea. We can chat over a late-night tea session.¡±
He got no response from the man. Takuma didn¡¯t mind; he wasn¡¯t expecting them to speak up from the get-go¡ªand he had more time to flare some choice words out of him.
Takuma sent chakra to his soles. The wall beneath him cracked, and he jumped high just when the second man reached him on the wall. He leaped over him and landed down on the road. The moment his feet landed on the ground, he took off again just a moment before a large volley of shuriken could butcher him.
He wasn¡¯t given a second of rest as three men surrounded him with swords drawn.
A kunai each slipped into his hands, and the moment the steel gleamed, the three men charged.
Takuma clicked his tongue and moved. He caught a sword between his kunai and used his full force to push him away, and began a mental stopwatch of three seconds. He turned back and launched the two kunai towards the second man, who used his sword to block them; the force behind the kunai sent sparks out on impact, but by that time, Takuma had already moved to the third man. Takuma dodged a slash for his torso and followed with a lashing kick augmented by chakra; number three blocked this strike but was pushed back a few feet.
¡®Resilient,¡¯ thought Takuma when his strike didn¡¯t blow away the No#3. These days, his Ring opponents spent most of their time in the arena dodging his strikes because every hit slashed away at their chances of victory by a significant percentage.
The three-second stopwatch went off, and Takuma returned back to No#1. The man was fast with his sword and right from the bat, had better kenjutsu skills than any other Ring fighter Takuma had faced; Takuma had to move his entire body constantly so as not to get cut by the sharp blade.
Within a breath, the three men were back on Takuma, and he pulled all of his 2v1 experience in the Ring to handle three men, which was difficult. Not only were there three men for him to handle, but they were also better at collaborative combat than any pair Takuma had fought. In less than fifteen seconds, he had gotten half a dozen cuts on his body.
But in return, Takuma did some damage to their clothes as well. He tore No#1¡¯s hood, shredded one of No#2¡¯s sleeves, and slit the hem of No#3¡¯s robe. They wore exactly the same attires from the boots, to the robe, to the mask¡ªhe had to distinguish themselves at a glance to better recognize who was who while he got to understand their combat quirks.
Suddenly, the three men jumped far away from Takuma simultaneously. The answer came before Takuma even had the chance to be confused. He felt a heat and looked up to see multiple basketball-sized fireballs descending towards him.
¡°Shit!¡±
Takuma immediately weaved the three hand seals for Body Flicker Jutsu, but the moment he pushed off at inhuman speeds, the fireballs hit the ground, and an explosive force slammed into Takuma along with the blasted pieces of road pavement. He hit the wall with his front side, barely protecting his face.
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What he couldn¡¯t protect was his injured chest from his Ring fight. His ribs made hard contact with a concrete wall, and whatever Sango''s work had done was undone in an instant. Takuma felt the taste of iron invade his mouth, and he knew there was some level of internal bleeding. He gritted his teeth as he slid down the wall to grasp control over himself before he even landed on the ground, No#2 sped towards him with a sword.
Takuma let his knees buckle to avoid a head-decapitation strike, but the pain in his chest didn¡¯t allow him to escape from the corner he had been trapped in. He went for the second-best option and threw a fast-acting smoke bomb, which covered seven feet of area in thick black smoke. Bearing the pain, Takuma swept No#2¡¯s legs and whipped a blind augmented kick that made contact.
He propped himself on his knee and weaved another set of hand seals, and mist solidified in the air, plummeting the visibility in the area.
Takuma rose up and took out one of the sachets Sango had given him. It was a painkiller; it wasn¡¯t an instantaneous drug, but he was hoping it would have some early semi-placebo effect.
A kunai silently came out, and he assumed stealth mode as he moved around the heavy fog of the Hidden Mist Jutsu. The lack of functioning street lights in the area already had visibility in the dumps, but with the mist filling the area, seeing anything was all but impossible even for Takuma, who was trained for combat under the mist.
But against four shinobi whose combat ability was unknown, it was a trade-off Takuma was willing to make. Moreover, the longer he stretched the fight, the greater the chances for someone reporting the fight to the authorities, leading to someone from the Police Force arriving at the scene.
He was taught to finish fights quickly, and stretching the situation for external interference went against the philosophy, but he couldn¡¯t see any other option. Escape was an unreliable option¡ªas long as he made it to a populated region, they wouldn¡¯t dare to assassinate him there¡ªbut fighting while on the run had increased risk and vulnerability, which increased with the number of assailants. Four people weren¡¯t great odds.
Plus, there was a non-combat issue with running. If he, the Narcotics Task Force¡¯s leader, ran today, he would be setting an example. If assassins could scare the leader, what would that say about the subordinates? He had to thrash this attempt right here and now so that no other drug lord would dare to send assassins after his people.
And he wanted information. He didn¡¯t have to kill four trained assassins; he just needed to kill three and capture one alive.
¡®Now, where are they?¡¯
Takuma¡¯s hearing sharpened as he concentrated, spreading around the empty streets. There was no ruckus. The Fire Release jutsu earlier ensured that none of the residents would dare come out. He simply hoped one of them would call the Police Force, but he also knew that the neighborhood he lived in didn¡¯t particularly love the Police Force¡ªthere was a chance they would instead let the situation pass before they informed the Police Force of the aftermath.
The sound of a skid of boots against the pavement pinged Takuma¡¯s ears, and his eyes widened. He quickly whipped back and blocked the sword with his kunai. Clang! Takuma knew the sound was enough to give the others an idea of his location.
He needed to move quickly.
Takuma skipped back a few feet, beyond what the current visibility allowed to be seen so that he could slip away, but the figure jolted forward, not allowing Takuma to escape.
¡®Fight it is then,¡¯ Takuma thought.
He launched ahead and aimed an augmented strike for the head, which was swiftly dodged by a quick side step. Takuma tried to follow with a quick hook kick to the chest, but his leg was grabbed. Without any hesitation, as soon as Takuma felt the grip on his foot tighten, he used the hold as a pivot to take off the ground to land an augmented blow right to the head. Baam! Takuma felt the satisfying reverb shoot through his leg.
The grip loosened, and Takuma landed on the ground. He sprang up and forward for the follow-up attack when a kick slammed into the side of his face.
The man, unphased by the augmented kick, retaliated when Takuma thought he had a clear view for a follow-up attack. The augmentation wasn¡¯t at full force due to his awkward position, but it was still enough to disorient someone for a moment, but here, it didn¡¯t seem to work.
His eyes went for his marking and found the man missing a hood. It was No#1. He wondered if it was just No#1 who was extra resilient or if it was everyone on the team. He added that to his combat analysis as a punch flew towards his face.
He pulled his torso and head back to dodge the punch. No#1 grabbed the momentum by its reign and launched a flurry of attacks on Takuma, who went on the defensive as he bobbed and weaved out of every single strike. Not a single attack after the initial kick touched Takuma.
And when he was ready, Takuma retaliated. He slammed a body shot into the pit of No#1¡¯s abdomen. An elbow strike assaulted the head next. Takuma grabbed No#1 by his shoulder to finish the combo and pulled him down for an augmented knee strike into the chest.
¡°Come on, bitch,¡± he whispered just loud enough so that No#1 could hear.
No#1 stumbled back to make space but immediately shot forward.
Takuma could hear every exhalation that preceded a strike. The time between the two events was extremely short, and usually, there was no use in tracking the exhalation pattern, but now, with zero visibility, Takuma used that breathing pattern to his advantage.
No#1 unleashed a flurry of sword strikes that Takuma dodged or blocked. They weren¡¯t as sharp and precise as before; the mist obstructing the vision was paying off. He side-stepped a sword jab and returned a low kick to the thigh that hobbled No#1. Takuma closed the distance, but the trained assassin wasn¡¯t one to go down easily; his sword hissed as it came for Takuma¡¯s neck. He diverted at the last second by his kunai so that it could only tear the fabric over his shoulder.
Crack! Takuma¡¯s strongest augmentation fist made unobstructed contact with the chest. He felt the familiar sensation of rib bones moving under the force of chakra that shot out from his fist.
¡°I¡¯m better than you at this,¡± Takuma spat.
¡°But unlike you, he¡¯s not alone.¡±
The voice was followed by a low shrill of a sword, and moved out of the way. However, the sword caught his upper arm and left a deep gash.
Takuma hissed in pain, but the twisted expression stayed on his face only for a second, soon replaced by a large grin.
¡°So, you guys can speak,¡± Takuma laughed, but he didn¡¯t feel good about it.
CH_5.15 (158)
Takuma retreated towards to where he had left No#1 but found the man to be missing. This was a great problem with fighting multiple opponents; help was readily available¡ªsomething he had recently taken advantage of against a difficult chunin.
He turned back to the second man and recognized him as No#3.
¡°I must confess, I don¡¯t believe I am someone important enough to warrant an assassination,¡± said Takuma. ¡°So, before I die, tell me who ordered this hit.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to know,¡± No#3 rushed him.
Takuma crossed his arm to block a punch that Takuma weaved back, making it miss by the width of a finger. Takuma tried to pull away, but No#3 stuck close, targeting Takuma¡¯s top to bottom, landing precise strikes in places that hit. Takuma didn¡¯t fall short and managed to disarm the sword on top of getting a couple of soft augmented hits in that did more overall damage.
¡°Come on, can¡¯t you give a dead man his last wish?¡± asked Takuma as he swung the sword at its owner. He then immediately turned and used the sword to block a sword strike from No#2. ¡°It¡¯s not that I''m asking too much, and this won¡¯t jeopardize your mission¡ or is it that you are afraid that I¡¯ll kill you and live to tell the tale.¡±
No#2 immediately became more aggressive. Takuma smiled internally and let the man think he had control of the momentum as No#3 joined the fight. A 2v1 was just the way Takuma liked it. He observed the two.
He hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but both No#3 and No#2 had shockingly similar fighting styles; the same went for No#1. They had their quirks and adjustments unique to them, but they followed the same combat style¡ªone Takuma hadn¡¯t faced yet¡ªwhich told him that they were trained at the same source, but more importantly, they were trained at the source.
No#2 quite easily disarmed Takuma off the sword he had stolen from No#3, who tried to reach for it, but Takuma kicked the sword away. No#2 used the opportunity to smash his knee into Takuma¡¯s face, disorienting him for a moment, which gave No#3 the opening to lay down a lethal combo of a punch to the liver, a palm strike to the chest, which sent Takuma¡¯s injury flare up worse than a wildfire, and he finished with a lacerating kunai strike to Takuma¡¯s right shoulder.
Takuma barely raised his arm to block No#2¡¯s downward strike. The sword clanged against his metal arm bracer; he didn¡¯t cut, but the power behind his strike sent a shock up Takuma¡¯s arm; he could already feel the bruise forming.
Takuma swept No#2¡¯s feet, but he jumped at the last second, and while in mid-air, No#2 threw his sword to No#3 as Takuma watched the blade fly over him and landed in No#3¡¯s grip, who swung it down without missing a beat. Takuma moved but got a deep gash on his face.
Takuma¡¯s first instinct was to open his eyes wide to check if his eyes were cut, but he could still see normally. The pain, however, ended Takuma¡¯s information collection process. He wanted to study their moves and observe their teamwork strategies more, but it was clear that he no longer had the luxury.
He grunted and jumped No#2, who didn¡¯t have a sword and took him to the ground. No#2 kneed him in the crotch. Takuma grunted in agony but snarled as he went for a kunai in the stomach that was deflected and ended up in a gash to the side.
His instincts screamed, and Takuma grabbed No#2 and pulled him atop, leading No#3 to slash his teammate. No#3 managed to pull back his swing at the last moment, but not before it had drawn some blood. Takuma yelled as he threw No#2 into the presumably startled No#3 before scampering off into the mist.
Takuma coughed and felt the taste of iron grow heavy. His face burned from the cut; the only silver lining was that the cut was below his eyes, which meant blood wouldn¡¯t drip onto his eyes, hindering his vision.
Bearing through the pain, Takuma weaved hand seals and slipped underground like fish in water using the Hiding in the Rock Jutsu. He emerged in a different position inside the mist and closed his eyes to concentrate on the sounds.
The sound of dull metal rang in his year. No#2 or No#3 had retrieved the discarded sword. He focused harder and heard the faint sounds of boots against the hard ground. The assassins were clearly trained to walk quietly, and they were clearly trying to cover their tracks more now that they had no idea where Takuma was, but as Takuma had said, he was better than them at stealth.
He stood up straight, resisting the pain to his shoulder and sides, and slowly weaved hand seals as he walked towards the sounds. He eventually came to a stop at a distance he thought would alert the two men and stood in silence.
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With each passing second, holding the chakra building up in his body from the hand seals made it difficult, but he persisted. It was extremely difficult and straining to hold chakra created actively for a jutsu¡ªbut he needed them in the proper position. The more he concentrated, the more Takuma heard his own heartbeat pumping faster due to the adrenaline, exertion, and blood loss. Holding chakra made his injured chest hurt, as though the chakra was threatening to tear his flesh and bones apart to jump out.
The two sounds slowly moved closer¡ª closer to him and each other¡ª until they were inside Takuma¡¯s strike zone.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
Takuma sucked in deep as the chakra bubbled with vigor inside his body before unleashing a large torrid water wave that hit the two at full force from a shockingly low distance only achievable by the fog from the Hidden Mist Jutsu that kept Takuma¡¯s position hidden.
The sound of water splashing and hitting drowned out all the others, making Takuma lose No#2 and No#3, but he didn¡¯t stop and began weaving more hand seals. Before Takuma could complete the hand seals, a voice hit his ear¡ª it came from the opposite direction. Takuma abandoned the hand seals, letting the chakra go to waste.
He skidded his boots against the ground, making ample sound, and then took a high leap into the air. There was no danger of getting sniped in the air because of the fog. Takuma weaved a new set of hand seals, and arcs of lightning buzzed around his arm, culminating in front of his palm. The lightning from Lightning Release: Shock made a crackling noise, echoing loudly in the silent surroundings.
The ugly grin on Takuma¡¯s face pulled on his wound, flaring up the pain, as he dropped down from the sky and shoved the mass of lightning at point-blank range in No#1¡¯s back. It was Takuma¡¯s weakest jutsu, but it stung like hell when shoved directly into the body.
No#1 screamed bloody, and Takuma pulled out a kunai to finish the deal when he felt someone sneak behind him. He pushed No#1 and whipped back to block a dagger. The figure was once again dressed in exactly the same attire, but the clothes weren¡¯t damaged in any way.
¡®Number Four,¡¯ Takuma almost blurted out, but he kept it quiet in case the assassins realized he was cataloging them by their clothes.
He got no response. No#4 swung his dagger in an aggressive dance with speed and a deadly technique. Takuma found his hand manipulated; every one of No#4¡¯s strikes was deliberately placed in attempts to pull Takuma¡¯s hand to a position that would make a defense against the next strike difficult. It was a masterful display of precision and understanding of the human body and knife work to be able to pull it off.
He had never faced such an opponent, someone with such high skill. Takuma fared well at the start, but eventually, No#4 got in a strike on Takuma¡¯s lower arm, which opened up a suite of opportunities that were immediately cashed in. Within the next couple of seconds, No#4 moved quicker than ever and left multiple minor but painful cuts across his body.
As Takuma hobbled, a light green glow appeared around No#4¡¯s left hand. A feeling of fear bubbled up inside Takuma. For the first moment, he didn¡¯t realize what the glow was, but the moment No#4 stepped towards him, the recognition alarmed in his mind.
It looked like an iryo-nin¡¯s healing jutsu.
No#4 was an iryo-nin. The assassination team had an iryo-nin. The danger assessment inside Takuma¡¯s head went up two levels. A team with an iryo-nin was a threat, and this one seemed to be proficient in combat as well.
There was no way No#4 would heal him, which only meant that No#4 was trying to do the opposite. Takuma recalled a conversation with Uchiha Kano about how, with some adjustments, an iryo-nin could turn one of their healing jutsu into something that could sever muscles and fry the nerves.
Takuma couldn¡¯t afford that.
But as he shifted his foot, a jolt of pain from his leg almost destroyed his balance. Takuma was sure it was No#4¡¯s skillful knife work mixed with his knowledge of human anatomy.
He went for the emergency measure.
Takuma threw the kunai in his hand at No#4, buying him a second, which he used to take out his lowest-grade explosive tag, which he triggered instantly before throwing it in between them. The tag wasn¡¯t anchored to a kunai, so it fluttered in the air with the edges burning.
It was a gambit he had used before, but this time, the stakes were higher as he had triggered the tag. He couldn¡¯t afford No#4 missing the tag because of the fog.
No#4 froze up and leaped back as the tag exploded, while Takuma could only contract into a tight fetal position, covering his head and ears as the explosive force slammed against him. Takuma was thrown away and rag-dolled against the ground several times.
Pain.
That was all Takuma could feel.
How long had it been since he had felt this amount of pain? Even the chunin from the Police Force raid hadn¡¯t pushed him this far. It was in his early days of Ring when he had felt so much pain¡ªwhen he was forced to armor-less, and his defense wasn¡¯t as good as it was today, which made deep stabs and gashes common after match.
He had not missed the feeling at all¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t deny that it brought a sense of strange calm.
In the face of real danger, his mind was clear. Perhaps, the existential dread he had carried with him in his first and even some part of the second year of his life in this world had tempered his mental resiliency¡ªthe possibility of imminent death didn¡¯t seem as terrifying as he thought.
Takuma weaved hand seals, and he felt a connection established to puddles or water around him. The liquid rose and flowed behind with a fervor, forming a large blob. He flexed his back muscles with his much pain, and eight glorious water tentacles shot out of the blob.
Takuma took out two more of Sango¡¯s painkiller sachets and poured the awfully bitter powder into his mouth. One of the tentacles rose and dropped a mouthful of dirty water into Takuma¡¯s mouth to help him down the medicine. He skipped double-dosing to directly triple-dosing himself. Takuma wished he had a soldier pill, but this was his only option.
CH_5.16 (159)
Six while moving; seven while stationary.
That was Takuma¡¯s limit with Eight Tentacles Jutsu. But today, that wasn¡¯t something that would work today. He was injured, and the four assassins had an iryo-nin among them, which meant they had slightly less to worry about injuries¡ª but even that small concession turned into a huge advantage when there was only one opponent to fight against.
First order of business, take out No#4; once the iryo-nin was out, the other three would become more cautious, which Takuma would exploit aggressively.
The tentacles rose as Takuma knelt down and placed his palms on the ground after weaving hand seals for Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu. A ripple went through the ground, which returned with tactile information for Takuma to interpret. When Takuma had first trained the jutsu, he could only see the presence of people in a one-kilometer area¡ªhe couldn¡¯t tell their direction or their exact distance from him. The jutsu returned too much data, and Takuma only knew how to interpret some of it.
Now though, after more than a year of gradually training the jutsu, he had learned to identify the direction the target was in. He still couldn¡¯t tell their exact distance from him, but that would come with more training.
Takuma tuned out everything past the cross-section they were fighting in, and as he expected, there were only four people in his immediate surroundings. Two of them were alone and moving slowly around in the fog, while the other two were huddled together. Takuma was sure one of them was the iryo-nin. It was a stupid move to not move up into one of the buildings and do treatment on higher ground¡ªbut a mistake he was thankful for.
Disregarding chakra consumption, Takuma weaved another set of hand seals and performed another ninjutsu. He sunk into the ground as Hiding in the Rock Jutsu became the mode of traversal for him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
No#4 had his glowing hand placed on his chest, healing the gruesome burn injury that had scorched his skin and bruised his ribs underneath. His mask had a crack on it from the explosive tag. If he had not jumped before the tag had exploded, he would be in a much worse condition.
They had the wrong intel. The target was a maniac. Who used an explosive tag at such close range? He knew of the explosive tag scare tactic due to its effectiveness, but it didn¡¯t involve actually triggering the tag. The moment he had seen the burning tag, every instinct, and logical mental process had made him jump away¡ªwhich was the correct decision.
¡°The target will be heavily injured,¡± he whispered.
¡°Understood,¡± No#3 replied.
¡°Can you proceed without healing?¡± asked No#4. No#3 had taken ninjutsu into the back, which required treatment, but with the target injured, they could finish the mission now and handle the injuries later.
¡°Affirmative,¡± said No#3.
No#4 judged that his injuries were now stabilized, and he could proceed for now. His skin still hurt, and his ribs were still painful, but it wasn¡¯t the pain amount he couldn¡¯t shrug off. As he stood up, a drop of water hit his bare chest, making him alert, only to realize that it was rain.
¡°Rain,¡± he whispered.
They were having a difficult time with the Hidden Mist Jutsu. They didn¡¯t have any Wind Release users; they couldn¡¯t blow it away; neither did they have Water Release users to override the mist. But if it rained, the mist would naturally weigh down, eliminating visibility-reducing fog. No#4 almost immediately trashed the plan as he couldn¡¯t predict the intensity of rain, and depending on uncontrollable natural phenomena wasn¡¯t wise. They had to find the target and eliminate him.
¡°Done,¡± said No#4.
But as they were about to move out, they heard something. No#4 looked down just in time to see a figure phase out of the ground. It was the target. He ejected from the ground with eight water tentacles floating behind, each holding two kunai. The next instant, all sixteen kunai were thrown towards him from a dangerous short range.
No#3 immediately jumped in between the kunai and No#4. It was normal for the team to protect the iryo-nin, and No#4 weaved hand seals despite seeing the kunai dug into No#3 despite the latter¡¯s best effect to deflect them. No#4 knew it would take more than some kunai to take No#3 down, and continued to weave hand seals for Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
But then the tentacles slithered like snakes and moved around No#3 to grab No#4, who felt the wet liquid water held together and partially solidified using chakra wrap around his body and more importantly his hands. Before he could complete the last two hand seals, his hands were harshly pulled apart.
Baam!
No#4 felt a strong gust of wind and force flutter his cloak and clothes. He stared in shock as No#3 in front of him slid down to the ground, leaving nothing between him and the target.
The target was a mess. There was an ugly cut on the right side of his face; the left side was burned. His clothes were torn and burned with plenty of unsightly cuts and bruises that he and his team had inflicted. He could tell the target¡¯s condition was one push away from serious. Most would fall apart in the target¡¯s condition¡ªhe now understood why the master instructor had assembled a four people team for a single genin.
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The tentacles spasmed and tightened around No#4¡¯s arms, legs, and torso. He tried to resist and overpower the tentacles, but the tentacles were iron chains refusing to budge.
¡°I¡¯ll keep one alive, but that¡¯s not you,¡± the target whispered as he thrust a kunai towards him.
No#4 closed his eyes, accepting his end. He was aware of the danger of the mission and knew that he could die on any mission. But he was honored to die on duty while protecting the foundation, and repay the life and purpose the Lord Commander had given to him.
Nothing happened in the next moment.
Clang! Clang!
¡°Ugh!¡±
No#4 opened his eyes to see two metal chains bound around the target¡¯s arms, who struggled against the chains. Their eyes met, and the target immediately chucked his kunai up, which was caught by an empty tentacle that struck out towards him, but before the kunai could reap his throat, the chains pulled, and the target was harshly pulled back¡ªand No#4, bound by the tentacles, went along with him.
The sudden pull disrupted the tentacle holding the kunai, lodging deep into No#4¡¯s upper abdomen. He spurted blood out of his mouth.
One of the chains rattled around the target¡¯s arm, and in a bright flash, a surge of lightning shot up the chain and electrocuted the target. The next moment, two arms clutched No#4¡¯s arm and pulled him away from the tentacles.
¡°Are you alright, brother?¡± asked No#1.
¡°Y-Yeah,¡± replied No#4. ¡°Leave me and focus on the target.¡±
No#1 and No#2 put No#4 down at a distance and disappeared into the fog.
No#4 felt wetness on his face, and a chill shot up through his spine, but then he looked up to see the fog clearing up as rain began to fall in earnest.
He wanted to heal himself, but instead of doing that, he turned back and hobbled toward No#3.
They needed to finish this now.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma got rid of the chains around him as his body spasmed from the Lightning Release jutsu. The pain in his chest was at an all-time worse as his heart burned with every beat. He was already tired from the Ring fight, and now felt he could collapse at any time.
He looked up as rain fell on the ground, erasing his Hidden Mist Jutsu. His biggest advantage was no more.
Takuma undid his Eight Tentacles Jutsu and let the water fall away. He weaved hand seals for Eight Tentacles Jutsu again, and this time, the water behind his back was double the previous time. The tentacles that formed from the water blob were thicker and longer than before.
He looked ahead, and as the fog dissipated, he could see two figures, but that was only momentarily as two huge fireballs bellowed toward him. Takuma calmly weaved hand seals, sucked in a deep breath, and then spat out a massive water wave towards the two C-rank fire jutsu.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
The water met the fire, and the flames were extinguished before they could even reach halfway. The collision released a huge amount of water vapor.
Takuma didn¡¯t move and observed. His gut told him something was coming, and it turned out right as thick earth spikes flew across the air¡ªit was an Earth Release jutsu¡ª but it wasn¡¯t just that. Bright and hot flames surrounded the earth spikes.
It was a combination ninjutsu.
The concept was simple: use two ninjutsu in harmony to become more powerful than a simple sum of the original. Not all justu could be used together in a combination, and the two components needed to be compatible. For example, a Fire Release jutsu could be boosted by a Wind Release jutsu¡ª or a Lightning Release jutsu could cause more damage when conducted through a Water Release jutsu. Incompatible jutsu like Fire Release with Water Release wouldn¡¯t work.
Takuma knelt down and quickly formed hand seals before pushing his palms against the ground.
Earth Release: Earthen Dome
Takuma felt the force of the combination jutsu against his shield. He knew it wouldn¡¯t last long. Earthen Dome was a derivative of a B-rank jutsu, and unlike the parent jutsu, it lacked the repair ability. Earthen Dome couldn¡¯t be repaired and strengthened by actively providing chakra after the initial expenditure.
Takuma weaved hand seals for Hiding in the Rock jutsu to slip into the ground. As the jutsu triggered, Takuma felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach. He was familiar with the feeling¡ªjust not during battle.
Perhaps for the first time in a battle, Takuma was concerned about his chakra usage. He hadn¡¯t run out, not at all, but this was the first time he had used so much in a fight¡ªand not a single of his enemies were dead.
But with the Hidden Mist Jutsu gone, he could unleash his other specialty.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
No#1 and No#2 stared at the aftermath of their combination jutsu. The jutsu was strong enough to tear through any C-rank jutsu¡ªand in this situation, it had also illuminated the surroundings in the form of fires and embers.
¡°Can you see the target?¡± asked No#1.
¡°Negative,¡± No#2 replied.
They looked at each other and slowly moved closer to the burn site.
¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m right here.¡±
The two assassins whipped around to spot the target standing before them with his hands together, forming a hand seal.
They moved to strike the target down when the situation suddenly changed. Dozens of clones stepped out of the shadows, phasing out of the grounds, jumping down from the buildings. In a couple of moments, the entire road was filled with clones of the target, and they were completely surrounded.
The two straightaway put their swords away and began forming hand seals.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma walked towards No#4 as No#1 and No#2 dealt with Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu. He had gotten really good at his first genjutsu¡ªhe could now create an illusion of multiple dozens of clones appearing simultaneously.
Takuma felt explosions go behind him. He turned to see small football-sized fireballs fly around. The explosions were followed by earth spears; Takuma had to dodge one of them. It didn¡¯t matter how many jutsu they used; they wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of the ¡°clones.¡±
¡®Use more chakra, exhaust yourself,¡¯ Takuma thought as he walked away from the two trapped assassins.
He eventually reached his destination, where No#4 was slumped against the ground, healing himself.
They looked at each other, and No#4 opened his mouth to yell, but two kunai thrown from the tentacles dug directly into his throat, instantly killing No#4.
The iryo-nin was down.
Shatter!
Takuma turned back towards No#1 and No#2. They broke through the genjutsu, and they did it fast. From their reaction to directly going for ninjutsu showed that they were deep in the thrall of the genjutsu¡ªaggressiveness was an indicator they completely believed the genjutsu¡ªwhich made the quick escape abnormal.
¡®Unless someone else broke them out¡¡¯
Takuma turned to No#4 and a tight smile appeared on his face.
¡°You didn¡¯t heal yourself, did you,¡± he whispered.
An iryo-nin¡¯s role was to heal his teammates. No#4 had done just that¡ªhe had healed No#3, who had then broken No#1 and No#2 out of the genjutsu. It was an excellent decision that snowballed into more good for the team.
¡°Good man¡¡±
Takuma turned to walk away when his left leg gave away. It was so sudden that the tentacles had to prop himself to stop him from falling on pure instinct.
He stared at his leg in horror, and it was shaking, but no matter how much Takuma tried, he couldn¡¯t move it at all.
CH_5.17 (160)
He needed to leave his neighborhood and head to a busy main street because no help would come where Takuma lived. But to do that, he needed mobility, which he didn¡¯t have currently because of the bum leg.
Takuma didn¡¯t dare look at his leg in fear the remaining three assassins would notice the glance and figure out the situation. But simultaneously, it didn¡¯t matter as they would figure it out anyway when Takuma moved.
The rain was now bathing the Hidden Leaf. Takuma¡¯s ears were filled with the sound of the heavy showers. The rain bore down on him, making his injured body feel heavier than any ankle weight he ever had. Takuma tried to look at the situation positively as his Water Release jutsu gained from the heavy rain¡ªbut the rain made the situation difficult as well¡ªhis trained ears were hindered, and every single surface in the area would become slippery.
Either the first dose of Sango¡¯s painkiller had kicked in, or his body was pumping enormous amounts of adrenaline through his blood because Takuma felt the pain dull a smidge, and his body felt more functional than it should be in his current condition.
But with his foot not operational, he was in no condition to engage three trained assassins.
He needed to escape.
The water tentacles behind Takuma shifted as one tentacle turned thinner and longer as it slowly extended behind him, heading towards the dead No#4. Takuma ordered the tentacle to swipe No#4¡¯s weapons pack to replenish his improvised arsenal. It was difficult as he didn¡¯t have a good view of No#4, and the rain only made it difficult.
Takuma turned to look at his front when he noticed the three assassins move. They spread out and moved to surround him. The tentacle behind him snatched the weapons pack and retreated quickly.
Takuma weaved hand seals for Hiding in the Rock jutsu and slipped into the ground. The urban landscape restricted his movement as building foundations underground made it so he couldn¡¯t just go anywhere¡ªthis would not have been a problem if he was at his best, but in his current condition, going any deeper than just below the surface wasn¡¯t possible. If he pushed it, he could end up buried alive beneath a city, never to be found.
Takuma turned to follow the road and had only moved a couple of meters when he felt the ground shake. Takuma felt his jutsu fail, and without a moment¡¯s delay, Takuma jumped out of the ground. In shock, Takuma looked around to see No#1 kneeling with hands on the ground.
Takuma recalled the earthen spikes he had faced earlier. No#1 was an Earth Release user. He had disrupted the ground, forcing Takuma to re-surface.
¡®Fuck!¡¯
There went that plan. He would need to take out No#1 if he wanted to escape using Hiding in the Rock jutsu¡ªbut Takuma was sure they, too, realized that, which was why No#1 stood a step behind No#2 and No#3 even though No#3 was the most injured among the three. They were protecting him so that Takuma couldn¡¯t escape.
As Takuma thought about what to do next, he noticed No#3 look toward No#4. It was a subtle head turn, and Takuma barely noticed it. Takuma thought about it for a moment before returning to his current predicament.
As Takuma thought, No#2 and No#3 charged towards him. In a hurry, Takuma did the first thing that popped into his mind.
Two of the eight water tentacles moved and wrapped themselves around Takuma¡¯s leg. He let his legs go limp and let his body weight be supported by the tentacles.
¡®Just treat them like feet¡ treat them like feet¡ just like feet.¡¯
While repeating the words in his mind like a mantra, Takuma jumped back, but instead of taking a big leap, Takuma ended up with a flimsy skip. No#2 and No#3 rapidly closed in, and Takuma had no choice but to engage them.
He dug into No#4¡¯s weapons pack, and thankfully, it had a stash of kunai, which he used to arm his tentacle.
Takuma felt horrible as he operated the tentacles at his feet. Without a solid base and nimble footwork, the rest of his body seemed awkward to move. It was the most awful he had felt in combat, so much so that he wanted to throw up.
No#2 swung his sword, and when Takuma went to the counter, the tentacle holding the kunai missed. The sword straight cut through the water tentacle. Takuma had to lurch back at the last moment to avoid the sharp edge, and due to the abrupt movement, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
¡°Gah!¡±
Pain shot through his body as a deep cut got pulled from the fall. He had barely squinted for a split-second, only to see No#3 stabbing his sword down towards his chest when he re-focused his eyes. With pure flight instinct, the tentacles pushed Takuma to the side, making No#3 miss.
Takuma¡¯s problems had just started as No#2 was ready with his next attack. Takuma didn¡¯t know what to do from his current position until he remembered he had tentacles. Like whips, two tentacles assaulted No#2¡¯s legs to make him stumble.
Another swing from No#3 threatened Takuma¡¯s life, but he didn¡¯t miss this time and successfully contested the strike. Another tentacle got in a counterstrike into No#3¡¯s side, and Takuma was about to get a final lethal strike to the heart when he saw No#1 in his field of vision.
The next moment, a shuriken came down at him. Every tentacle lurched in front to form a barrier, but Takuma knew that the shuriken would pierce through the water¡ªhe pushed chakra into the water to further solidify it so he could survive the attack.
The pseudo-wall didn¡¯t deflect the shuriken; instead, the shuriken entered the water but didn¡¯t make out the other side.
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Takuma didn¡¯t have the time to breathe a sigh of relief. The water tentacles moved, the shuriken floating inside moving along with them. Takuma turned the tentacles into a slingshot, flinging the shuriken out¡ªbut instead of returning fire to No#1, he aimed at No#2 and No#3 as they were more immediate threats. The two assassins immediately jumped out of the way of the shooting stars, but not before they could avoid all of the shuriken¡ªsome hit them¡ªand that gave Takuma a chance to regain footing.
He stood up with the tentacles wrapping around his leg. From his previous failure, Takuma was able to better control the tentacles as substitutes for his legs¡ªhe immediately headed towards an alleyway, stumbling along the way, almost falling. Even if he could move now, Takuma was nowhere near the mobility he would normally possess.
Fortunately for him, Takuma knew the alleyways better than his assassins.
In the night of the dark, Takuma moved through the narrow ways of the poorly planned part of the city, but today, it was all to Takuma¡¯s advantage. Not only were the alleyways narrow, but the construction companies who had built the houses had over-extended the balconies beyond the assigned plots. The balconies from two opposite buildings had a distance that could be covered with a small jump, putting the balconies directly above the alleyways, which made the streets down below partially blocked and thus inaccessible from the rooftops.
He weaved through the dark village, almost falling multiple times.
But before Takuma even left the block, the moment he entered the first alleyway, he felt something. But the feeling disappeared almost instantaneously, and Takuma had too much on his mind to care. All of his attention was focused on operating the tentacles.
His breathing was labored; the rain sapped the energy from his body, but he couldn¡¯t stop. He could feel the assassins on his tails; he could hear them over the noise. They were behind him on the road; they were atop the buildings, following him. It was Takuma''s frequent twists and turns that were keeping him safe.
He consciously kept away from main roads and kept to back alleys, knowing that if he gave them the space, they would nail him. He could tell that things were going well as he hadn¡¯t faced a single explosive tag to just blow him up¡ªbut he hoped they would use explosives or a flashy ninjutsu to create some commotion. That might not have done anything in his neighborhood, but it would work now as Takuma moved toward a better part of the town.
Takuma was avoiding the main roads, but his aim was a large Police Force precinct that would have night shift officers working in the building. The precinct wasn¡¯t accessible by back alleys, and Takuma knew that very soon he would have to travel out in the open.
Suddenly, No#2 dropped at the end of the alley Takuma was halfway through. It was an alleyway that opened to a main road.
Takuma got the scare of his life when he saw No#2 weaving hand seals. Time slowed for Takuma; he knew he had close to no chance of avoiding a ninjutsu in the narrow alleyway, and even if he pulled off an Earth Release: Earthen Dome in time, the solid concrete buildings around slowed the dome construction and he would get hit.
The other option was to disrupt the jutsu before No#3 completed it, but he didn¡¯t have any kunai equipped in his hands, and the tentacles didn¡¯t have enough space to build up the momentum to whip the kunai.
A genjutsu wasn¡¯t an option¡ªNo#3 was actively operating chakra for a jutsu, which meant, in that moment, he had better control of his chakra, and a genjutsu had a higher than usual probability of failing.
Takuma had less than a second to make a decision, and he made one in the moment.
The tentacles around Takuma¡¯s feet tightened. There was no water below his soles, and even though one of his legs wasn¡¯t working, he could still circulate chakra into it. He pushed as much chakra he could in the moment into the water tentacle and used his good leg to jump high up just before a stream of fire engulfed everything below him
The jump was pathetic; he barely jumped to a single-storey height. Takuma slapped his hand on the flat surface of a balcony¡¯s outside, and his training during the basic training right out of the academy kicked in, and his hand stuck to the surface like his feet would do with chakra adhesion.
His arm was strong enough to pull the weight of his body, and Takuma climbed up as fast as he could. The moment his good foot was on a surface, he kicked himself up and continued his way to the top.
Takuma reached the rooftop and turned his head to see No#1 and No#2 behind him on another rooftop.
The precinct was just a few blocks away, which meant Takuma only needed to cross a bit more distance before he could reach his destination. Takuma didn¡¯t have the leaping strength to cross the main road and onto the rooftop across the street, which meant he had to travel by road, which wasn¡¯t optimal.
By the time he went down from the rooftop, No#3 would be ready to mount another attack, and the other two would soon follow. But he had no choice; he had to survive his way to the precinct.
Takuma turned to the front and stepped forward when tragedy struck.
He slipped.
Cold rain fell from the sky.
Takuma¡¯s mind went blank as he found himself falling back into the narrow alleyway.
He could see the future in his imagination. He would hit multiple balconies on his way down; once on the ground, he would face No#3, who would take advantage of the situation and finish him off. Even if that weren¡¯t the case, the other two wouldn¡¯t allow him to live much longer.
He was as good as dead.
¡®Not yet.¡¯
All eight tentacles merged into one and shot forward to wrap itself around an iron rod before pulling Takuma up and flung him into the sky.
Eight Tentacles Jutsu wasn¡¯t meant to handle large weights. Its intended usage was to wield small weapons like kunai, shuriken, big daggers, and perhaps a sword or two¡ªbut the jutsu wasn¡¯t meant to support heavy weights and especially couldn¡¯t muster enough force to fling someone Takuma¡¯s weight into the sky.
It wasn¡¯t even meant to substitute legs like Takuma was using, but he had been pumping chakra into tentacles to increase their ability to bear weight. And in the moment, he was falling, Takuma did the same, he pushed so much chakra into the tentacles that it, for a very short moment, became able to fling Takuma into the air.
And because the Eight Tentacles jutsu wasn¡¯t meant to be utilized in such a way, it shattered immediately.
As Takuma flew in the air, he turned his body mid-flight and weaved hand seals for Water Release: Wild Water Wave.
No#1 and No#2 had rushed forward and were well within the range.
Water Release ninjutsu had a special feature. Most of them performed significantly well when there was a body of water present nearby¡ªor an alternate, if it was raining in the area.
Takuma then ejected a wave of water, which was twice as big as the biggest wave he had ever pulled off. It wasn¡¯t just the volume; the pressure behind the water was at another level as well. No#1 and No#2 had no opportunity to dodge and were hit by the wave.
But the happiness was short-lived as Takuma fell to the ground violently, missing the opportunity to do a roll to kill the momentum. Fortunately, his body was much stronger than a normal human. Unfortunately, he was in bad shape, and even the fall from a height that Takuma wouldn¡¯t feel in his knees sent a wave of weakness throughout his body.
Takuma groaned, and before even attempting to get up, he weaved hand seals for Eight Tentacles through the pain. The water collected from the puddles and rain pulled together in front of his chest. Two tentacles sprouted out and wrapped around his legs. As he forced himself to stand up, the water blob moved from his front to his back before six more tentacles spread out. Each tentacle felt as heavy as lead.
He knew his condition was worsening, and he didn¡¯t have enough time; his body would give out before he ran out of chakra.
He heard footsteps, and when he looked up, the three assassins stood around him¡
CH_5.18 (161)
Takuma turned around to look at the three assassins who stood around him at a distance. No#1 and No#2 looked injured and hobbled¡ªit seemed his Water Release: Wild Water Wave had done a good job. While No#3 looked tired, his cloaked body had lost the sharpness it possessed before.
Takuma dug into No#4¡¯s weapons pouch and realized he only had one kunai left. He brandished the final kunai, wishing they wouldn¡¯t notice it. He still had shuriken, but Takuma¡¯s mind was too tired to make a plan to create an opportunity¡ªhe was moving purely on willpower at this point.
But even his addled mind realized that he wasn¡¯t getting to the precinct. The fall, while not something serious, had broken Takuma¡¯s motivation to continue on. He knew that he was going to die¡ªit would either be on his way to the precinct, or it would be here.
He looked around. They were on a commercial street. It was already late at night, and the heavy rain had the street without any people. Takuma and the three assassins were the only ones left. There was a chance here that someone would contact the Police Force unlike his neighborhood where no one would even think about doing anything even close to that.
If he was going to lose his life, it would be while taking the three assassins with him instead of trying to make a run for the precinct and allowing the assassins a chance to escape after they kill him.
However, as Takuma raised his arms up, he noticed how none of them moved forward. It was strange. Until now, the assassins had been more aggressive than him. They had pursued, surrounded, and attacked him like hunters going after a prized prey. That aggression was now missing. With one of his legs not working, which Takuma was sure they had already noticed, it was the perfect opportunity for No#1 and No#2 to cast a combination jutsu and take him out for good. They even had No#3¡¯s support this time around.
¡°You¡ You don¡¯t have the chakra, do you,¡± he muttered.
Takuma didn¡¯t know if they heard him over the rain, but he assumed they did. The realization made him chuckle. No#3 probably had exhausted himself after the Fire Release jutsu from just before, and No#1 and No#2 were perhaps running low since Takuma¡¯s genjutsu had them use ninjutsu against an illusory army of clones.
Takuma wasn¡¯t any different, but he felt he could go on for a few more C-rank jutsu. Before Minoru had praised him for his chakra volume, Takuma had never really noticed that he possessed the ability to produce a high volume of chakra. Because he never had to worry about chakra, he never paid any attention to it¡ªeven now, after he was cognizant about the fact, he still didn¡¯t care about it as it wasn¡¯t a problem, and Takuma was busy juggling with real problems which needed solving.
Today was the first time he really felt the advantage that trait provided him.
But as Takuma¡¯s hopes were rising, he noticed No#3 reach for his pocket and retrieve something. It was barely visible in the faint lights from a lamp outside a shop. Takuma couldn¡¯t figure out what it was for a moment, but then No#1 and No#2 followed suit, and all three popped the thing into their mouths.
Takuma¡¯s breath hitched when he realized what it was.
¡°¡ Soldier pills.¡±
The faint hope in Takuma¡¯s heart shattered when he realized they had taken the miraculous combat drug. The soldier pill nourished the body and replenished the user¡¯s chakra. It was made up of powerful stimulants and nutrients that were near-instantly absorbed into the in-taker''s body. It was said that a soldier pill could allow a shinobi to fight for three days and three nights without rest. At the end of the three days effect, the user is brought to the point of complete and utter exhaustion.
The three-day fact was misinformation. The soldier pill was surely effective, and it could keep a shinobi in combat-ready condition for an extended period of time; the efficacy depended upon the shinobi who ingested it and the subsequent combat they participated in.
But none of that mattered because unless they collapsed in the next couple of minutes, Takuma¡¯s fate was sealed off. If the situation was dire before, it was impossible now.
At least the triple dose of Sango¡¯s painkillers was working in full effect.
The soldier pills worked as advertised, and Takuma saw the three assassins perk up almost immediately. No#1¡¯s and No#2¡¯s injuries were still there, but now it looked like they weren¡¯t bothering them as much. No#3, on the other hand, looked much better from a single glance.
Takuma felt a bitter taste in his mouth. The feeling of unwillingness rose from deep within, threatening to spill out, but Takuma kept it in check¡ªuntil he could not.
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Chakra made its way to Takuma¡¯s voice box, and he projected his voice.
¡°I killed your friend,¡± he yelled over the rain. ¡°I murdered him like the pathetic dog he was. He died on the side of a filthy road with a gutter below him where he belonged. He should be grateful to me because I gave him a better death than he deserves. After I¡¯m done with all of you, I¡¯m going to go back to his body and piss on it¡ just for the fucking fun of it¡ªand I would enjoy every single moment of it. I¡¯ll make sure that the iryo-nin open every single part of his body when they do an autopsy so that by the end of it, his body isn¡¯t recognizable from before¡ªand then I¡¯m going to dump the bloody mess into a ditch, never to see a grave or a funeral¡.¡±
Takuma felt his elation rise as he spat out the venomous words. It was clear from how well the four assassins worked that they had trained together for a long time, and it wasn¡¯t a reach to assume they were close. The camaraderie was built easily when people shed blood, sweat, and tears together.
He felt the burden on his heart lift with every single jibe. He noticed a movement from No#3. His body language had visibly changed¡ªthe man was holding back his rage, but some of it was leaking out.
Takuma pointed at No#3 with his kunai. ¡°And all of it will be because of all of you. You couldn¡¯t protect your iryo-nin; you let him die. You¡¯re a pathetic excuse of a shinobi, a scum who couldn¡¯t protect his friend¡ªor maybe he was just a tool for you to use¡ªa disposable pawn ready to be exchanged by another one¡. What a pathetic way to go, and yet so fitting.¡±
No#3 charged Takuma with the anger of 100 bulls with his sword-bearing. Takuma could barely stumble back a step when No#3 invaded his personal space and swung his sword. The blade sliced through Takuma¡¯s lower torso, leaving a deep gash in his side.
Takuma screamed in pure agony but grabbed No#3 by the shoulder before punching out with a chakra-augmented fist that sent No#3 flying in the air, but the trained assassin landed on his feet like a cat and charged back in immediately.
¡°Sho!¡± No#1 suddenly yelled. ¡°On your shoulder!¡±
No#3 didn¡¯t seem to hear No#1 or directly ignored his call, his hate-filled eyes focused solely on Takuma.
Boom!
An explosive tag on No#3¡¯s shoulder went off, and the man¡¯s head and upper torso exploded like a watermelon. Chunks of blown-up human hit Takuma on his face, but he ignored it and began laughing through the coldness spreading through his body.
¡°It looks like they were friends,¡± said Takuma. That was Takuma¡¯s last explosive tag. ¡°At least now they¡¯re together. Aren¡¯t I a generous assassination target?¡±
No#1 and No#2 were staring at No#3¡¯s remains, shocked, so they didn¡¯t react when Takuma was weaving hand seals, and by the time they looked up, it was already too late.
Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu
All but three tentacles retreated behind Takuma¡¯s back. Two of them remained around Takuma¡¯s leg while the final one traveled along the road to retrieve No#3¡¯s sword. He then slowly dragged himself around the two assassins as they moved around as though fighting a horde of enemies, even though there was nothing in the vicinity.
After No#3¡¯s final attack, Takuma was in no condition to physically run. His control over the tentacles was slipping, and he knew that if he tried to push it, the genjutsu would break. The chances of that happening were even higher as No#1 and No#2 were under the same genjutsu a short while ago. He had to be nearby and focused on keeping the two under the genjutsu.
He observed the two. It only took a moment for No#2 to use an Earth Release jutsu. The moment that happened, Takuma slowly sneaked behind No#2. There was a high probability that No#2 wouldn¡¯t follow up with another ninjutsu immediately after the first one, and No#1 was fighting his own imaginary horde.
By the time Takuma made his way towards No#2, his vision was blurred, he could no longer even hear the rain properly, and his body had gone numb from the cold. The sword in his hands felt like a heavy warhammer, but his fingers had lost all sensation, so his sight was the only way to tell that he was still gripping the sword.
Takuma clutched the sword, and summoning all of his strength, he swung the sword for No#2¡¯s neck, putting his body weight behind it. The sword sliced through 3/4th of No#2¡¯s neck but got stuck because Takuma didn¡¯t even have enough strength to swing properly.
But that was enough to end No#2. His body fell to the ground. Takuma tried to pull the sword out, but it refused to budge. After a pull or two, Takuma let the sword go and moved towards No#1, but one step was all he could do as he lost all control over his body and fell down next to No#2 on the road as the rain poured down at him. The Eight Tentacles immediately failed, and with it went the genjutsu over No#1.
No#1, the sole remaining assassin, snapped out the genjutsu and hurriedly looked towards No#2 to see his partner dead on the ground with Takuma lying down beside him. For a moment, the assassin stood there in silence, staring at No#2, but after a long ten seconds, No#1 walked towards Takuma with his sword in hand.
He silently stared at Takuma for a moment before kicking him face up. No#1 changed the grip on his sword so that the sword point was facing downward at Takuma¡¯s chest before stabbing down. But before the metal could reach the body, Takuma¡¯s arm moved, and the blade pierced through it, but in doing so, changed the trajectory, causing the sword to enter the wrong side of the chest.
No#1 hurriedly pulled out the sword for one more strike, but before he could stab it down, a kunai struck the sword. Startled, he looked in the direction of the kunai to see a group of shinobi running towards him.
No#1 turned to run away, but he unexpectedly stumbled to the ground. He looked towards his legs to see Takuma¡¯s shaking hands had grabbed his legs. No#1 kicked Takuma¡¯s head before running away, but before he could escape¡ª
¡°If you have come, you better stay.¡±
A figure appeared behind No#1, and before anyone could do anything, the figure snapped No#1¡¯s neck.
On the ground, Takuma weakly looked up to see a middle-aged man in casual clothing staring down at him. He had no energy to speak or do anything¡ªso he did the only thing he could do and closed his eyes.
CH_5.19 (162)
In a hospital staff room, Ai worked on a report that needed to be submitted the next day. Her day had started at seven in the morning, and she was in the hospital for her classes by eight. She looked up at the clock, which was about to turn eleven. She sighed, knowing it would already be midnight by the time she tucked herself in bed.
It had been a couple of months since she had joined the Medical Corp after passing her exams and had started her training under Taro¡¯s father, Dr. Oishi. Her days began with classes from eight until one in the afternoon, after which she would get a half an hour¡¯s worth of break before she had to volunteer in the public clinic until three¡ª she couldn¡¯t do much, but Dr. Oishi had told her to volunteer a set number of hours every week, so she did whatever the clinic had for her.
Then, her apprenticeship under Dr. Oishi started, and she tried to heal fish for three hours before Dr. Oishi left at six in the evening. After that, Ai would practice for another hour before going home¡ªbut today, she was feeling tired and knew that if she returned home, she would fall asleep, but that wasn¡¯t an option as she had a report to turn in first thing in the morning. So, here she was, working on her report in the hospital.
Her only reprieve was that tomorrow was a Saturday, and she only had her morning classes, leaving the rest of her day free. She completed her report and packed up to leave, but as she walked through a hallway, the double doors on the end pushed open, and a stretcher unit with nurses and night-shift doctors rushed.
She immediately hugged the wall to clear the way for them.
The person on the stretcher was wet from head to toe with so many wounds that he looked like he had been bathed in blood. The sight was so horrifying that Ai couldn¡¯t move her eyes away from it despite the sheer discomfort and shock, and dreadfulness she felt
As they rushed past her, Ai wondered what sort of incident the person had been to be in such a condition because, from the direction the nurses and doctors were heading towards, they were going for an emergency surgery.
Even though she was now stationed in a hospital that dealt with many shinobi cases and had been a shinobi for a few years, Ai wasn¡¯t used to the amount of blood and gore she had just seen, so the scene remained in her mind.
Ai stopped in the middle of the hallway.
It would be too busy during the morning, but at night, it was completely opposite. So, Ai was alone in the hallway with her thoughts¡ªwhich were suddenly focused on the second of time when her eyes followed the patient¡¯s face.
It couldn¡¯t be, she thought.
Ai turned back to the double doorways on the other end of the hallway. Hesitantly at the start, she walked towards them. She reached the part of the hospital that had the surgical suites, and the electronic board showed that only one of them was in use.
More people rushed past her towards the surgery suite.
Her heart began to beat faster as she followed after them with a brisk walk, stopping herself from breaking into a run.
She must¡¯ve made a mistake, Ai told herself. Her mind was playing tricks.
Nenro and Masaaki, her roommates, had told her much about their mission with him. She was horrified when she found out they had faced an experienced chunin and infinitely relieved that they had survived the ordeal without any deaths.
Ai reached the surgical suite, and the iryo-nin and nurses were already in surgery, and she could only peek through the glass of the door. Four iryo-nin sat in the designated places around the large fuinjutsu inscribed on the floor, which focused their iryojutsu on the patient in the middle who was currently being prepared.
She couldn¡¯t see the patient¡¯s door from the glass, but the worry in her heart made it so she had to resolve the knot. Ai then remembered that the patient¡¯s belongings, which would contaminate the sterile room, be dumped outside
Ai quietly walked into a side preparation room where a set of bloody clothes, ruined chain mail, scuffed shinobi boots, and weapons pouches sat on a table. Just seeing the gear only a shinobi would wear made Ai hurry up.
She dug through the belongings and found a soiled Police Force armband, which made her sift through the stuff with panic until she found a wallet. She almost ripped it apart as she opened it to find what she feared.
In her hands was a shinobi identity card with Takuma¡¯s face on it.
The horribly injured patient was her close friend.
What had happened? Who had done this to him? A hundred questions passed through her mind.
She rubbed a drop of blood over Takuma¡¯s picture and ended up smearing a blood stain over his face. She clutched the card and wallet in her tightening grip. Her feet automatically took her to the surgery suite¡¯s door, and she stared through the glass. In the room, Takuma¡¯s body was covered in a translucent glowing green as his unconscious body lay limp on the ground.
She couldn¡¯t hear what the iryo-nin and nurses were saying, but words were being exchanged, and everyone had tense expressions on their faces. And four iryo-nin charging the fuinjutsu seal itself showed how critical the situation was. The fuinjutsu seal was only used in most critical situations when the patient was in immediate danger of death¡ªand even then, in most cases, only two iryo-nin joined to operate the seal¡ªbut Takuma¡¯s condition demanded four iryo-nin.
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And all she could do was stand on the outside and do nothing.
¡®I have to do something,¡¯ she thought as she stepped away from the door and ran to a reception area on the floor to make some calls.
The first call she made was to her teacher.
¡°Hello. Mrs. Oichi? It¡¯s Ai speaking. Yes, sorry to call you so late. Can I talk to Dr. Oichi? Please, it¡¯s urgent,¡± Ai said, anxiousness dripping in her voice. ¡°Yes, Dr. Oichi. I-It¡¯s Takuma¡ªI-I was in the hospital when they brought him in. He has horrible injuries all over his body. They took him into surgery as soon as they brought him in. They¡¯re using the fuinjutsu seal with four iryo-nin. I-If you could come in, please.¡±
On the other side of the call, Taro¡¯s dad tried to calm her down.
¡°No, no, I don¡¯t know what happened to him. I don¡¯t know if he was on a mission, but he could¡¯ve been on a raid for the Police Force. B-But he wasn¡¯t wearing his shinobi uniform. I-I¡¡± Ai paused before nodding, ¡°Yes, please come soon. Thank you¡.¡±
Ai ended the call, and after taking a deep breath, she dialed one more number.
The phone rang four times before the other side picked.
¡°Ms. Kano? Ai this side, Takuma¡¯s friend. We met once last year; Takuma introduced us. I wanted to talk to a kunoichi iryo-nin¡ªyes, that was me¡. Takuma just came to the hospital, extremely injured as though he had been in a fight,¡± Ai told Uchiha Kano, Takuma¡¯s supervising officer in the Police Force, what she had said to Taro¡¯s dad.
Takuma had introduced them last year when Ai wanted to talk to a kunoichi iryo-nin to know what it was like to be a female iryo-nin. They had met for lunch and had a discussion, which had cleared up a lot of things for Ai.
¡°No, he was brought in alone,¡± said Ai. ¡°Yes, I will be waiting for you.¡±
Ai set the receiver down and leaned against the counter. Her eyes were squinted close, and her brows joined together. There was another kunoichi iryo-nin Takuma had talked about, but that went nowhere. Ai tried to recall if Takuma had told her anything but realized she knew nothing about Takuma¡¯s other iryo-nin friend, whom he considered to be his personal doctor.
¡°Shit!¡±
She was new in iryojutsu training, but she knew that the iryo-nin operating the fuinjutsu seal would eventually tire and could potentially need other iryo-nin to replace them. It was night, and the hospital wasn¡¯t operating at full capacity, but she also knew that the hospital would arrange another iryo-nin and that she didn¡¯t need to do anything¡ªbut the patient was her close friend, and she would do anything in her power to help.
So she called the two chunin iryo-nin she knew who would come to the hospital in the middle of the night. Taro was close to Takuma as she was, so his dad would come¡ªand Ai knew Kano would come if she told the Uchiha that there was no one with Takuma, meaning he wasn¡¯t on a mission¡ªand from the picture Nenro had painted for her, Takuma was in an important position in the Police Force.
Finally, Ai picked up and called home. Nenro picked up, and Ai told him everything about Takuma. Nenro then told her and Masaaki were coming to the hospital.
Even though it had been less than fifteen minutes since she had seen Takuma being pushed past her, Ai felt it had been hours. She felt absolutely exhausted and wanted to sit down, but her anxiousness made her pace along a hallway.
Barely ten minutes had passed when the doors on the other side of the hallway (opposite the doors to the surgical suites) opened. Ai looked up, hoping it was someone she had called, only to see an old man enter the hallway.
Ai sighed and leaned against a wall.
The old man stopped in front of her. ¡°Young lady, is your name Ai?¡± he asked.
Ai looked at the old man in surprise. He wore a navy blue samue (Japanese loungewear) and wore geta sandals that clicked loudly against the marble floor.
¡°Who is asking?¡± asked Ai, suspicious.
¡°My apologies. My name is Maruboshi Kosuke. Your friend Nenro called me a few minutes ago to tell me that my student Takuma was admitted to this hospital. I came as soon as possible. May I ask how he is,¡± said Maruboshi.
¡°I¡ I don¡¯t know, he is in surgery,¡± said Ai and told him the same she had told everyone else.
She had called Nenro at last, who in turn called Maruboshi, but the old man was the first to arrive. Ai knew of Maruboshi. Takuma talked a lot about him, and his words were always full of praise. She could tell that Takuma held Maruboshi in high esteem.
¡°I see,¡± Maruboshi looked towards the doors that led to the surgical suite. ¡°You looked tired, young lady. Would you like to go home and rest? I will be here in case anything needs to be done.¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s okay, I will stay,¡± said Ai.
¡°Very well. Then let me go make some calls,¡± Maruboshi said with a comforting smile.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The surgery lasted a full thirteen hours, during which Takuma came close to death multiple times as teams of iryo-nin worked hard to keep his broken body stable through extensive iryojutsu. As Takuma¡¯s friends came to know about it later, Takuma¡¯s heart had stopped by the time he was brought into the hospital, and it was a miracle that he was resuscitated.
He had lost too much blood, his body was in a horrible state, and his chakra reserves were low, which crashed his body¡¯s natural ability to keep itself alive.
The iryo-nin who had started operating on Takuma could not improve his condition and could barely keep him alive in his fragile state. When Dr. Oishi and Uchiha Kano showed up, they couldn¡¯t immediately help due to Takuma¡¯s fragile state and had to get familiar with Takuma¡¯s condition. Dr. Oishi was added to the second team when the first team couldn¡¯t continue, but Uchiha Kano was refused outright as her expertise lay in fieldwork and her inexperience with the fuinjutsu seals used in the complicated operations.
Takuma¡¯s condition didn¡¯t improve for the first two hours; instead, it began to deteriorate. For a moment, it seemed that Takuma wouldn¡¯t make it out of the surgery alive.
It was then two jonin iryo-nin came into the picture, especially invited by Maruboshi, who then took over Takuma¡¯s operation at the three-hour mark. Dr. Oishi joined them, marking a turning point in the operation.
While Takuma¡¯s condition remained unstable for the next several hours, the highly experienced and skilled jonin began to piece his body together one piece at a time. The problem lay within the organs which were ¡°butchered¡± during the fight.
Sometime during the night, Takuma¡¯s friends were told that an assassination attempt was the reason behind Takuma¡¯s condition. Kano reassured them that the entire Police Force¡¯s resources would be devoted to finding who targeted Takuma as the Police Force didn¡¯t take aggressions against their officers lightly.
However, by the time Takuma¡¯s thirteen-hour operation ended with Takuma finally stabilized enough to survive without the constant treatment by iryo-nin¡ªthe situation outside had changed drastically without anyone knowing.
CH_5.20 (163)
Takuma slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by such a blurry mess that he couldn¡¯t tell where he was. It took blinking dozens of times to get his eyes to focus, and even then, they went out of focus when he tried to look around.
From the beige ceiling above, the green curtain to his sides, and the smell of disinfectant in the air, Takuma deciphered that he was in a hospital. He felt a rush of relief¡ªhe had made it out of the assassination attempt alive. He tried to recall what had happened, only to find that he didn¡¯t remember anything after he had taken No#2¡¯s head off. It made him wonder what happened to No#1 and how he was still alive. Maybe the precinct nearby was alerted somehow, and they rushed to save him¡ªif that was the case, he was so happy they did because he didn¡¯t think he would¡¯ve been able to take out No#1 even if he tried his best.
Now that he was awake, Takuma had to alert the nurses of the fact. But as he tried to get up, his body refused to budge. It was as if his body was pumped with lead, and Thor had put the Mjolnir on his chest to nail him to the bed. When he tried to push it, pain shot through his body. He let go and rested his body, breathing heavily with a sheen of sweat on his body.
What had happened to his body?
Takuma craned his neck up with great difficulty to see that he still had his arms and legs. Apart from the breathing mask on his face and a few IVs in his arm, he didn¡¯t seem to be plugged into any other life-preserving equipment, which was a good sign. If something happened to his body, his life would be over.
He wanted to call out to a nurse, but he didn¡¯t have the energy to shout, so he continued to lay there on the bed.
Thankfully, he didn¡¯t have to wait long as a nurse entered his room a few minutes later.
¡°Oh my, I see you¡¯re awake now,¡± said the nurse.
Takuma frowned when he heard the nurse. ¡°What happened to my hearing?¡± he asked. His ears were trained to replace his eyes under the fog of the Hidden Mist Jutsu. He could immediately tell that his hearing was different¡ªit was so dull that he felt nauseous. ¡°I feel drowsy,¡± Takuma groaned.
¡°You¡¯re on some powerful medication,¡± the nurse patiently explained. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine when we take you off it. I hope soon.¡±
¡°How long?¡±
¡°Nine days,¡± she replied.
¡°What?! Urgh!¡± Takuma groaned. He convulsed as pain clutched his body.
¡°Easy now, you¡¯re out of danger, but your body still needs time to recover naturally,¡± the nurse fixed his oxygen mask. ¡°You were in an induced coma to protect your brain from a traumatic injury and lessen its load. Your condition became stable enough today to wake you up. How are you feeling? Any discomfort?¡± The nurse pulled off the sheet on his body and began checking him.
¡°I can¡¯t move my body, and I¡¯m drowsy,¡± Takuma muttered.
¡°You were ripped apart; it¡¯ll take time and physical therapy to get you back to your peak,¡± she said.
¡°Fuck,¡± Takuma muttered tiredly¡ªnow, there was no possibility he wouldn¡¯t lose position in the Narcotics Taskforce. ¡°Who brought me in? My memories are hazy.¡±
¡°The Police Force brought you in. I heard it was an assassination attempt, but not more than that. It must¡¯ve been serious; they have around-the-clock protection assigned to you?¡± said the nurse
¡°Protection?¡±
¡°There are Police Force members outside your room.¡±
¡°¡Can you send them in, please.¡±
The nurse helped him drink some water before leaving to get the doctor in charge of Takuma. A moment later, two Police Force officers came into the room. It took a moment, but Takuma recognized them as chunin¡ªa Fuma and a Uchiha.
¡°Is No#1¡ I mean, is the last assassin still alive?¡± he asked.
They looked at each other. ¡°They¡¯re all dead,¡± Uchiha replied.
¡°Then why is there a chunin security detail on me?¡± Takuma asked.
¡°It¡¯s not every day a Police Force officer is the target of an assassination attempt. We must be careful until we find who was behind this,¡± said Fuma.
¡°Any leads? Which one of the fucking drug lords tried to get me out of the way,¡± asked Takuma¡ªhe would need to talk to Enomoto to verify if his ¡°partner¡± wasn¡¯t the one to order the hit.
¡°We are working on it,¡± said Uchiha.
¡°¡ You can tell me, you know,¡± said Takuma. ¡°I work in the Narcotics Taskforce. This comes under my purview.¡±
They looked hesitant, but the Uchiha eventually said, ¡°We haven¡¯t been able to connect the hit to any drug lords. Apparently, no one even knew this happened before the papers blew it up.¡±
That was bad news. If they hadn¡¯t been able to pick even a rumor of the street chatter, then it meant someone had been meticulous about how they did things. Takuma didn¡¯t appreciate that the papers had publicized his incident, but it seemed inevitable.
But then the Uchiha stepped closer to the bed and whispered into Takuma¡¯s body. ¡°The bodies of the assassins have gone missing¡¡±
¡°WHAT?!¡± Takuma yelled before his body clutched up in pain.
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The Fuma hushed him. ¡°Be quiet, it¡¯s not public information.¡±
¡°H-How did that happen?¡± Takuma shivered in pain.
¡°We don¡¯t know that information. You¡¯ll have to ask the ones handling the investigation. They will come by later now that you¡¯re awake.¡±
He had barely been awake for a few minutes, and he was already feeling more exhausted than he ever had. Not to mention, his mind was now filled with the shocking information. The assassins¡¯ body had gone missing. How could four bodies go missing when the Police Force was the first to arrive at the scene? He couldn¡¯t imagine how someone could even pull something like that off. No wonder they had two chunin on guard duty¡ªthey must¡¯ve been worried that if someone could steal four dead bodies without anyone knowing, they could finish the job with Takuma.
¡°You¡¯re awake!¡±
Takuma turned his head and was surprised to see Ai on the door. She wore a standard Hidden Leaf shinobi uniform and had a book bag and lunch box in her hand.
¡°So, I¡¯m at your hospital, huh,¡± Takuma smiled, happy to see his friend.
Ai entered the room. ¡°When did you wake up?¡± she asked with a wide smile.
¡°Just now,¡± Takuma said. Seeing that the guards had let Ai inside, she must¡¯ve visited him before; that made him happy. ¡°How did you know about me? Did you read about it in the papers?¡±
¡°¡. I was there when they wheeled you back in,¡± Ai said heavily. ¡°Your heart had already stopped by the time you came in. They had to bring you back.¡±
Takuma¡¯s eyes widened. Not because his heart had stopped; with his condition, that wasn¡¯t surprising¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t imagine how Ai had felt by seeing him in the condition he was just after the fight. It must¡¯ve been horrible.
¡°All¡¯s well that ends well,¡± Takuma tried to sound reassuring.
Ai smiled, looking better. ¡°What happened? The guards won¡¯t tell me anything, but the newspapers are saying it was an assassination attempt.¡±
Takuma nodded. ¡°Probably one of the drug lords whose business I harmed or someone who was worried I would come after them,¡± he sighed.
¡°How can you be so nonchalant?¡± asked Ai.
¡°I would be angry if I had the energy,¡± said Takuma before asking Ai what had happened in the days he was in the coma.
Ai was an outsider and didn¡¯t know any of the insider information, but Takuma valued her opinion. And when he realized that it was because of Ai calling people that he was alive, he felt indebted to her.
¡°So¡ what¡¯s in that lunch box? I haven¡¯t eaten in ages,¡± asked Takuma.
Ai giggled. ¡°It¡¯s too early for you to have solid foods.¡±
As they talked, the iryo-nin in charge of Takuma walked in, and surprisingly, it was Taro¡¯s dad.
¡°How are you feeling, Takuma?¡± said Dr. Oichi. The man¡¯s smile was as kind as ever, and he even looked more scholarly in his white coat.
¡°Tired,¡± Takuma replied.
Dr. Oichi checked Takuma. ¡°A few more days, you¡¯ll be fit enough to be discharged. After that, it¡¯ll be physical therapy,¡± he said.
¡°I hope there is no permanent damage,¡± Takuma asked, hoping there was none.
¡°You were healed properly, so there shouldn¡¯t be any, but we will get to know during physical therapy.¡±
Takuma wasn¡¯t looking forward to that at all.
Eventually, Ai and Dr. Oishi left for their work, and the next visitors were the ones Takuma wanted to listen to the most.
Takuma was resting with his eyes closed when he heard footsteps in his room; he opened his eyes to see Kano, but then he saw Mikoto and tried to sit up to greet her, only to be punished by the pain.
¡°W-Welcome, ma¡¯am. You didn¡¯t have to come,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Rubbish,¡± Mikoto walked to his bedside and sat down on the chair. ¡°I had to come when I heard you woke up. How are you feeling? I hope the iryo-nin did a good job. We wanted to send our own, but we heard that you already had a jonin iryo-nin treating you.¡±
¡°What can I say, ma¡¯am. I must¡¯ve done something good in my last life to have such good people care about me.¡± Takuma was extremely emotional when Ai told him what Maruboshi had done.
Kano sat beside her after putting a luxurious-looking premium fruit basket on the bedside table.
Takuma got right to the point after the small talk. ¡°I heard that the assassins¡¯ bodies went missing. May I know how the fu¨Chow that happened?¡± He reeled his words in Mikoto¡¯s presence. Takuma¡¯s ¡°swearing switch¡± remained switched off in her presence.
¡°After you were taken to the hospital, the bodies were sent to the nearest morgue. It was already too late at night for an autopsy. The transport to a Police Force facility was scheduled in the morning, but by the time transport arrived, the bodies were already gone,¡± said Kano.
¡°But how?!¡±
¡°When our officers arrived at the morgue to transport the body, the staff was surprised. According to them, some other officers had already taken the bodies¡. Someone had impersonated Police Force officers and had done it well enough that the morgue staff had let them take away the body. They had used forged release papers, and the forgery was near perfect. It was enough to fool the morgue staff who have dealt with officers before.¡±
¡°So, someone just took four bodies, and no one knows where they are?¡± Takuma said, trying to come to terms with the ridiculousness of the situation.
¡°Four?¡± Kano spoke up. ¡°There were only three assassins.¡±
¡°What? No, no, no, there were four assassins. I stabbed No#4¡¯s neck in a street near my house, blew No#3 up with an explosive bomb, and beheaded No#2. Don¡¯t tell me No#1 escaped?!¡± Takuma said, a bad feeling bubbling in his stomach.
¡°Takuma, we didn¡¯t find any bodies near your house. There were only three assassins where we found you. The last one was killed by a jonin who was passing,¡± said Kano. Takuma could see the look in her eyes. She was hoping that Takuma would revise his statement.
¡°There was a fourth one, the iryo-nin of the group. I killed him first to take away their healer. And I made sure he was dead. So, he didn¡¯t just get up and leave. Someone took him. Come on!¡± Takuma couldn¡¯t help but yell. ¡°Do we have anything? Anything at all.¡±
Kano shook her head. ¡°We didn¡¯t find anything in your home, and the rain washed away any usable evidence.¡±
¡°And then we lost the bodies,¡± Mikoto sighed.
The atmosphere in the room plummeted.
Takuma felt a headache come over, and he asked Kano and Mikoto to leave. He knew Kano was there to interview him, but he was in no mood to answer their questions. And maybe because Takuma was the victim, a Police Force officer, and knew both of them personally, they left without insisting.
If Takuma were in a better mood, he would¡¯ve thanked them, but he didn¡¯t say anything when they left. Takuma asked the guards not to let anyone in except for the hospital staff, and the next time Dr. Oichi came by, he asked him to inform them that he wasn¡¯t feeling well enough to have visitors. He didn¡¯t want to see anyone until he had time to process his information and thoughts.
But it seemed that he couldn¡¯t even have that, as, in the evening, someone stopped by his room. Someone important enough that a Uchiha chunin couldn¡¯t just turn away directly.
¡°There¡¯s someone to see you,¡± said Uchiha.
¡°Turn them away,¡± Takuma replied.
¡°It¡¯s a jonin. He¡¯s the man who saved you.¡±
Takuma opened his eyes and looked at the Uchiha. And after a few moments, he nodded. ¡°Let him in.¡± It would be insulting to turn away the person who had saved him and not thank him.
The man who entered the room wore a grey kimono-shirt and black pants with the Hidden Leaf headband around his forehead. The man had spiky black hair, and his features were that of a serious man. Even though his expressions were relaxed, his eyebrows were slightly slanted, making him look like he was displeased.
¡°Thank you very much for saving me. I¡¯m sure I would¡¯ve been dead if it wasn¡¯t for you,¡± Takuma said. ¡°I want to stand up to thank you properly, but unfortunately, it seems I¡¯m not in the condition to do so. I hope you don¡¯t take offense.¡±
¡°Of course not. I¡¯m fine with just your words,¡± said the man, even though his voice were serious and straightforward. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that you¡¯re awake. I hope everything¡¯s fine and you¡¯ll recover fine.¡±
¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Takuma. ¡°May I know your name.¡±
¡°Ah, my apologies. My name is Kinoto.¡±
CH_5.21 (164)
In an underground facility under Hidden Leaf known only to a select few, Kinoto walked down a hallway lit with yellow light bulbs nailed to the walls with a line or jute rope where his footsteps trained to be silent still made echoing noise.
The facility was built deep underground, going further than any similar facility would generally be built. Because of that depth, the entire facility was reinforced against earthquakes to prevent cave-ins. The facility¡¯s purpose was secrecy, and because of the location, the whole base was covered in extremely complex fuinjutsu seals to prevent a particular white-eyed clan from peeking in from the surface.
Kinoto knocked on a door and waited in silence to get a response. He was a jonin of the Hidden Leaf, and not many places could make him wait, but the person behind the door could make him stay as long as the latter wanted.
After a moment, Kinoto entered upon getting the invitation. The room was an office without any adornments. Every room was furniture similarly in case they needed to abandon the facility, which required expedited destruction of ¡®evidence.¡¯
Three people were waiting for Kinoto in the office.
Sitting in front of the desk was the Master Instructor, a chunin of the Hidden Leaf who was in charge of training the recruits inducted into the foundation. He raised the young orphans and molded them into operatives beyond their peers; he was the one to mold the older recruits into loyal operatives dedicated to the foundation¡¯s mission. The Master Instructor was an essential part of the foundation.
Kinoto remembered his own training days. He hated the Master Instructor with a passion.
The next was Kon, an operative, who was the reason behind their current situation. The foundation had a strict flow of information, and every piece of information was on a need-to-know basis. But from what Kinoto had learned recently, Kon was involved in the drug trade, which funded the foundation¡¯s expenses.
But right now, Kon had made the mistake that led to four trainees¡¯ deaths.
And finally, there was the Leader. The man had built the foundation from the ground up with his two hands. Shimura Danzo, the Hokage¡¯s Shadow, the Darkness of the Shinobi. The man who protected the Great Tree from anonymity, warding off the enemies who wanted to burn it down.
Kinoto knelt down in respect and waited to be addressed.
¡°Rise, Kinoto,¡± said Danzo.
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°Progress report.¡±
Kinoto started. ¡°The bodies of the trainees along with their belongings are disposed of¡ªcremated, and ashes flushed. We got to them before the Police Force could inspect them. The Police Force has mobilized a substantial amount of their resources for the investigation, but they don¡¯t have any leads that would lead them to us. The foundation is completely cut off from the situation.¡±
Danzo hummed. ¡°What about the target?¡±
¡°The target was lifted from the induced coma earlier today. From my conversation with him, he¡¯s upset about the missing bodies, but he doesn¡¯t seem to know any more than the Police Force already knows. The trainees were careful enough on that matter.¡± Kinoto paused before asking, ¡°Should I dispose of the target?¡±
¡°No need,¡± said Danzo. ¡°The matter has already attained widespread attention. If he dies now, the matter will be taken off the Police Force¡¯s hands and into ANBU¡¯s. It serves our interest that the investigation remains in the Police Force¡¯s hands.¡±
Before Kinoto could reply, the Master Instructor spoke up, ¡°The target caused the deaths of four trainees. We have to retaliate!¡±
Danzo glanced at the Master Instructor, who shut up. He gave the same look to Kon.
¡°Your decisions led to this situation. I do not blame you for going after the target, but you grossly misjudged the capability of the target, which led to us losing years of resources we put into developing four trainees. This mission was not a time-sensitive one, and you could have taken time to research your target and have assigned appropriate operatives¡ªbut you judged incorrectly, which led to heavy losses¡. Both of you will be punished for this error.¡±
The Master Instructor and Kon looked displeased.
¡°Kon, you are to leave for the Land of Frost. You will be keeping an eye on the situation there and protect and develop our war interests,¡± Danzo ordered.
¡°¡ Yes, sir,¡± said Kon.
The war between the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost was ramping up, and it was a situation full of opportunity, but it wasn¡¯t somewhere people wanted to be. It was far from home, and the assignment there would mean working 24/7. It was a lot of tedious work of developing contacts, establishing presence in different circles, creating an information network, and other ground level tasks. And because Kon was a chunin, once he did all the work, a senior operative would eventually take his place once the grunt work was done.
No one liked that.
Danzo turned to the Master Instructor. ¡°You are going on a scouting trip to replace the four trainees. You are to hand over the command of the training villa to Niko; she will be in charge until you return.¡±
Kinoto felt a rush of joy upon hearing the punishment. Master Instructor¡¯s scouting days were past him and forcing him away from the ¡°training villa,¡± where Master Instructor¡¯s word was the law, where he was the King, was the ultimate punishment. Moreover, the Master Instructor hated Niko; their views on training were too different, and Danzo knew what handing over command to Niko meant.
¡°Understood, sir,¡± said the Master Instructor. His face was impassive, but Kinoto could see the slight twitching on his face.
Danzo asked the Master Instructor and Kon to leave.
¡°Do you have any upcoming assignments that require you to leave the village?¡± asked Danzo.
¡°No, sir,¡± said Kinoto.
¡°If any such assignments come up, you¡¯re to reject it. If there¡¯s something you can¡¯t refuse, you¡¯re to come to me, I will take care of it,¡± said Danzo. ¡°I want you in the village. You¡¯re to observe the Uchiha Clan, but that¡¯s a secondary priority.¡±
Kinoto nodded. They already had people observing the Uchiha clan. Adding him would be a waste of resources.
¡°Your primary principle is Uchiha Shisui. You are to watch him, document his every move. I want to know everything there is to know about Uchiha Shisui.
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¡°The full package?¡± asked Kinoto.
¡°The full package,¡± Danzo nodded.
The full package not only included surveillance on the primary target but profile building on people with three degrees of separation from Shisui. They were going to piece together what the world looked like to the person called Uchiha Shisui. Some of the foundation¡¯s full package missions were so successful they could predict the primary target¡¯s future decision before they had made them.
¡°What resources will I have access to,¡± asked Kinoto. Uchiha Shisui was a jonin of the Hidden Leaf, an ANBU, and a high-ranking Uchiha. He was a high-value target, which made the surveillance difficult.
¡°Anything you need.¡±
Kinoto nodded.
¡°When constructing your team, I want you to be stricter than our standard requirement. Keep the team small, but choose the most skilled ones. You can¡¯t let Uchiha Shisui or anyone else get momentarily suspicious.¡±
Kinoto was about to reply in affirmative when he noticed the look in Danzo¡¯s eyes. He straightened up. He knew the look meant that Danzo was asking him to listen very carefully and embed every word in his brain.
¡°Kinoto, if Uchiha Shisui finds you¡ Death is all but guaranteed. His eyes¡ are dangerous,¡± said Danzo. ¡°You and every member of your team will undergo the full juinjutsu (cursed seal) sealing. Anything less than that, and he will turn you into an open book. No amount of training you have will be able to prevent him from extracting information from you. Do you understand?¡±
¡°¡ I understand, sir. I will follow all the precautions,¡± Kinoto replied.
He had his assignment. It was now time to work it.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After Kinoto left, Danzo didn¡¯t immediately leave the underground facility. He was a busy man, and time was a precious commodity. Instead, Danzo took a moment to contemplate on his thoughts in silence.
Uchiha Shisui¡ He never thought an Uchiha would be able to attain the Mangekyo Sharingan during his lifetime. He had believed that Uchiha Madara was the last one to transcend the Uchiha dojutsu. But it seemed he was wrong, and someone had awakened those eyes again.
And with those eyes in the hands of an Uchiha, a danger now loomed over the Hidden Leaf village.
The person whom Danzo respected the most in this world was his teacher, Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage. He had built his way of life, and his Nindo, from the wisdom his teacher had imparted before he passed away heroically while protecting the village.
Tobirama hated the Uchiha. He had shown Danzo the danger they represented. They couldn¡¯t handle their gifts; the stronger they became, the greater the threat they presented to the village. Unlike the others, Danzo saw the truth behind the cursed clan. They couldn¡¯t be trusted with their powers.
And he was in the right to think that.
Until very recently, the Uchiha were planning a coup against the village, and if not for the special circumstance, they would¡¯ve gone forward with it.
Danzo had to give it to them. They had managed to keep the coup hidden for a time longer than he thought was possible. His ROOT had an impressive intelligence network in the Hidden Leaf village, and things of note rarely happened without him knowing it¡ªbut the Uchiha had managed to keep their intentions from him.
He had only become suspicious when Hiruzen had suddenly started peaceful diplomacy with the Uchiha. In his decades as the Hokage, the old fool hadn¡¯t extended the amounts of benefits to the Uchiha clan that he had done in the surprise move. When Danzo looked closer, he could see the cracks in the Uchiha¡¯s secrecy¡ªsomething was simmering under the surface, and the Uchiha were ensuring it stayed that way.
His suspicions were verified when he approached Uchiha Itachi and got rebuffed. He might be ROOT¡¯s leader, and Uchiha Itachi might be an ANBU, but he was still an Elder and on the Leaf Council¡ªit was insulting for Uchiha Itachi not to give him a proper meeting. That¡¯s when he knew that the Uchiha were hiding something.
But even then, he couldn¡¯t find out what they were hiding. His intelligence had failed him, which was worrisome, but more problematic was the source who finally revealed Uchiha''s secret.
Uchiha Madara.
The orange masked figure with the Sharingan who claimed to be the Ghost of Uchiha, the legendary shinobi who had founded the Hidden Leaf with Senju Hashirama.
Danzo was naturally skeptical, but with the Nine-Tails incident from a few years back that had set back the village quite a bit, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the figure was telling the truth. The man did possess the skill¡ªhe could walk into a ROOT facility and put his operatives down without a peep just to meet with him.
It was an experience Danzo hadn¡¯t had since his hay days on the battlefield.
The so-called Uchiha Madara presented a gift to him in the form of information: The Uchiha clan was planning a coup. And even gave him a way to verify. When Danzo checked, he found it to be true¡ªthe Uchiha had improved their relationships with various powers within the clan and were even making moves in the Daimyo¡¯s court.
In return, Uchiha Madara only wanted Danzo¡¯s friendship.
Danzo was no fool.
The Uchiha Madara of old hated the Hidden Leaf. Danzo¡¯s every instinct could sense that the man who claimed to be the Uchiha founder held the same malice against the village. He wanted to destroy the village.
Danzo couldn¡¯t let that happen.
And perhaps the masked man could sense that. The masked man knew how Danzo wished to be the Hokage¡ªand extended his help. When the opportunity presented itself, he would help Danzo become the Hokage.
But Danzo could tell the darkness that lurked within the man.
This was the Devil¡¯s Offer. He was being invited to dance with the devil. Accepting it would be seeking destruction.
Danzo had wanted to laugh. He was usually the devil extending the favor¡ªwho knew that one day he would be on the other side of the table.
He accepted the offer. He had played this game before, so he knew how to beat it. He would become the Hokage and find out the true identity of the man and then ruin him. If the man was truly Uchiha Madara, the dead were better when cold. If it were just another Uchiha pretending to be someone else, he would eliminate them.
Danzo entertained the idea that if it was indeed Uchiha Madara, then that meant his eyes were the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Uchiha might be cursed, but the Sharingan was a powerful weapon¡ªand it could be better utilized in capable hands¡ªhis hands.
¡°Mangekyo Sharingan,¡± he whispered.
Another pair of those eyes were so near him in Uchiha Shisui¡¯s possession.
He couldn¡¯t believe it when Hiruzen told him about what Uchiha Shisui had done. The young Uchiha had crushed the coup by manipulating his clan with his eyes.
A shiver went down Danzo¡¯s back. Uchiha Shisui¡¯s eyes were powerful. It could twist minds to do his bidding, all the while making others think that it was what they wanted. What a terrifying weapon.
Wasn¡¯t that perfect for him?
Danzo wanted those eyes.
And maybe he would get them. After all, an Uchiha in possession of the Mangekyo Sharingan was a threat to the village. And it was his job to eliminate those threats.
However, it was a pity that the Uchiha clan were no longer on the warpath. If Uchiha Shisui hadn¡¯t manipulated his clan, Danzo would have had enough justification to wipe out the cursed clan from the face of the world.
Danzo blamed Hiruzen. The old fool had kept it hidden from him. Danzo wasn¡¯t worried Hiruzen kept something this grave from him for such a long time¡ªthe village would be in deep trouble if the Hokage wasn¡¯t able to keep a secret¡ªand the fact that Hiruzen had shared Uchiha Shisui¡¯s actions with him meant that the Hokage still trusted him.
The Hokage¡¯s trust was a priceless commodity. It was nice to have it affirmed.
Now that he knew this information, Danzo could make suitable moves.
Maybe Uchiha Madara would be interested in knowing someone else had awakened the legendary eyes. Danzo wondered how the man would react.
Danzo stood up from his chair and was about to leave when he noticed the file on the table. He opened it to find that it was the file on the genin who had killed four trainees.
¡°Takuma¡¡±
Where did he know that name from?
Danzo flipped through the file, and the memory became clear. It was the genin who had survived the Hidden Frost incident.
¡°Interesting,¡± he muttered as he read the file.
The child was an orphan, a Ring fighter, a Police Force officer, Maruboshi Kosuke¡¯s protegee¡ªwhich was more surprising than anything¡ªhe was even learning genjutsu from Uchiha Mikoto and had managed to dispatch three similarly aged ROOT trainees who had gone through intense training for almost a decade.
This Takuma was a perfect candidate for a ROOT operative.
Someone who had access to the Uchiha patriarch¡¯s family and even had an indirect connection to the Hokage through Maruboshi Kosuke would be a massive asset for the ROOT.
Alas, it was already too late.
Turning loyalties through mental conditioning took time. Even if ROOT tried to convert Takuma, it would be a long and risky process with multiple points of failure due to Takuma¡¯s activeness in his career. It would¡¯ve been optimal if they had somehow gotten to Takuma while he was in the Genin Corp and then injected him into the Police Force¡ªwhich they had done, but their spy wasn¡¯t as successful as Takuma.
Danzo closed the file.
The Master Instructor was right. Someone had caused the death of trainees; they needed to retaliate. But not in the way the Master Instructor would have suggested.
He had other ideas.
CH_5.22 (165)
Takuma took a deep breath, grabbed the parallel railings on either side of him, and exhaled as he let his arms support his weight. He grunted in pain and extreme discomfort as he tried to walk forward; his legs and hips trembled like a newborn faun. To re-learn how to walk, something that was as natural as breathing, was a miserable experience.
¡°One more step,¡± said the nurse beside him.
Takuma had never felt humiliation like this ever before. He was a shinobi who could skip rooftops, scale mountains, and move at speeds unimaginable by civilians¡ªbut now he was worse than an infant who had learned to walk.
Sweat dripped from his eyebrows as he took labored breaths. He fought the instinct to let his uninjured arms take over the weight of his body weight from his legs and let them rest, but he knew this was the only way to return to form. He couldn¡¯t wait for the day he would return to the Ring and thrash opponents to the ground¡ªhe yearned for the rush.
¡°I-I can¡¯t do anymore,¡± Takuma said.
¡°A few more steps would be your personal best,¡± the nurse replied. ¡°Come on, you can do it.¡±
Takuma gritted his teeth and took trembling steps. He had thought only one of his legs was screwed up, but adrenaline had been supporting his other leg and even his spine during the fight. He was aware that he would fully recover, but the journey to the destination was miserable. It didn¡¯t help that his organs were shredded in the process and couldn¡¯t handle solid food¡ªhe was on a ¡°mush¡± diet.
¡°That¡¯s it! Good job!¡± the nurse cheered when Takuma made it to three-quarters of the path.
The moment he heard the praise, Takuma lifted his lower body up with his arms and dangled in the air, breathing heavily. He stared at the sweat drops that fell down on the mat below him.
He wanted to scream.
¡°Officer Takuma.¡±
Hearing his name, Takuma turned his head to see Jonin Uchiha Sayuri, the Head of the Department of Organized Crime, standing a distance away from him with two guards behind her. She was his boss¡¯ boss. She was the one to greenlit the Narcotics Taskforce, and the one Takuma used in the newspaper as spokesperson whenever they did a big bust to ensure he and the Narcotics Taskforce were in her graces.
¡°Let¡¯s talk,¡± she said.
They settled in the corner of the physical therapy hall. Sayuri¡¯s guard stood a distance away from them as the two sat around a desk across from each other.
¡°I must admit, I¡¯m surprised with your visit, ma¡¯am,¡± said Takuma.
¡°It¡¯s not every day one of my officers is almost assassinated,¡± said Sayuri.
¡°The Narcotics Taskforce was uncharted territory, ma¡¯am. We must¡¯ve scared the drug lords. I see this as a positive,¡± he chuckled. Sayuri smiled in return. Takuma could sense small talk about his health coming, so he cut it short. ¡°What¡¯s the reason behind this visit, ma¡¯am? I¡¯m sure this isn¡¯t just a social visit.¡±
He had been getting visits from his friends and colleagues the entire week. His Narcotics Taskforce subordinates, some colleagues from Organized Crime, Sango, Iruka, Aburame Susumu from the Hidden Frost mission, the genin and chunin from the farm raid mission¡ªpeople had been trickling in to see him¡ªand it was kind of them, but he was fed up with having the same conversation again and again.
Sayuri sighed as she set an envelope on the table.
Takuma looked at her in confusion as he ripped the envelope. Both the envelope and the letter inside had the official seal from a Hidden Leaf shinobi office stamped on them.
As Takuma read the letter, his confusion grew.
¡°Conscription?¡± he looked at Sayuri with a heavy frown. ¡°I am getting conscripted for the conflict between the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost? Ma¡¯am, I¡¯m not sure if you realize, but I¡¯m in no condition to serve in an office, much less at a battlefield.¡±
¡°Of course, you¡¯re not being asked to go immediately. You will be deployed after you pass the standard physical,¡± she said.
Anger began to bubble inside Takuma.
¡°And why are they conscripting from the Police Force?¡± Takuma asked, heeling his words from jumping.
¡°Every division has been asked to send some of their shinobi to help our allies in the Hidden Steam.¡±
¡°I see. But I can¡¯t go, ma¡¯am. The Narcotics Taskforce is at a critical stage. We can¡¯t let the drug lords think that the assassination attempt has us scared. It¡¯s time for us to increase the intensity and aggressively target them to show that we mean business. My team needs me; I can¡¯t leave them right now. You must stop this order.¡±
What Takuma said was true. The Narcotics Taskforce couldn¡¯t plateau right now. But the intention behind his words was to hear how Sayuri would reply.
¡°I agree with you. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the authority to stop the order. We can¡¯t be seen as not wanting to support our allies.¡±
¡®Bullshit,¡¯ Takuma spat. He asked, ¡°Then what happens to the Narcotics Taskforce? Who will lead it?¡±
¡°Someone capable will replace¡ª¡±
¡°Is it already decided?¡± asked Takuma. ¡°Am I already out? Is my replacement already chosen and they¡¯re preparing to take my place in the next few days? Or has that selection process not started yet?¡±
Sayuri didn¡¯t answer the question immediately.
¡°Who is it?¡± he asked.
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¡°Takuma, you must understand. We can¡¯t allow the taskforce to remain without leadership¡ª¡±
¡°Who is it, ma¡¯am?¡±
¡°Chunin Uchiha Yakumi.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Takuma scoffed.
Uchiha Yakumi was Kano¡¯s direct supervisor when Takuma worked under her and became Takuma¡¯s direct supervisor when he established the Narcotics Taskforce. Yakumi wasn¡¯t involved with the task force, but Takuma was required to give regular reports to Yakumi so that the higher-ups were in the loop.
¡°So, it¡¯s not that you can¡¯t stop the order, you don¡¯t want to stop the order,¡± Takuma said.
He had, of course, expected it. He had known this would happen for months and had even prepared himself for it¡ªbut now that it was happening, he couldn¡¯t help but regulate his burning emotions. He didn¡¯t care if he was talking rudely to a jonin; he felt a righteous anger burn within him.
Sayuri¡¯s eyes sharpened at Takuma¡¯s words. She had been passive until now, but her body language was enough tell-tale signs that had changed.
¡°Mind the words you use, Officer Takuma,¡± she said. ¡°This is the department¡¯s final decision. It will be announced later today, and the decision will go into effect in a few days.¡±
¡°And what if I ask Lady Uchiha?¡± said Takuma.
Sayuri¡¯s eyes narrowed as she glared at Takuma. ¡°Jonin Mikoto never joined the Police Force. Feel free to go to her if that¡¯s what you desire, but I don¡¯t think it will change anything.¡± She stood up to walk away but left behind a few more words, ¡°You might be her student, but she¡¯s Jonin Uchiha Mikoto¡ªdo you think she will go against the clan to support you?¡±
¡°Thank you for visiting, ma¡¯am,¡± Takuma said in reply.
After Sayuri left, Takuma stood up from his chair and yelled,
¡°Nurse!¡±
Rage was a good motivator.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°I can ask my husband to stop the conscription order,¡± said Mikoto, ¡°but do you think that will be wise?¡±
It had been three days since Sayuri had given Takuma the news. Because Takuma couldn¡¯t leave the hospital, Mikoto had to come to the hospital. At first, he wanted to transport himself to Mikoto¡¯s home, but after refusal by Dr. Oichi, Mikoto offered to visit him.
¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Takuma.
They sat on the chairs in Takuma¡¯s private room, which the Police Force was nice enough to provide for him while he recovered.
¡°Let¡¯s say that I ask him to stop the conscription order. Do you think you will be able to return to the Police Force and continue to lead the Narcotics Taskforce like before?¡± she asked.
¡°Can¡¯t he revert the change in leadership back to me?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°He could,¡± Mikoto shrugged, ¡°but why would he do you two favors?¡±
¡°You can ask¡ª¡±
Mikoto stopped him. ¡°I can¡¯t make Fugaku do anything he doesn¡¯t want to, Takuma. I never joined the Police Force, so I have limited sway over their affairs. Let¡¯s say I ask him. To reinstate you, he will have to go against Sayuri. Fugaku might be the Clan Head and the Chief of the Police Force, but that doesn¡¯t mean he can just do anything he wants. Organized Crime is Sayuri¡¯s department; he will have to give her something in return.
He won¡¯t deal with her for you. You are my student, not his.¡±
Takuma bit his lip. Mikoto was right; Fugaku won¡¯t help him. Fugaku knew about his Ring career; even though the man was fine with it, others would not. That was enough reason for Fugaku not to support him; it might damage his position in the clan and the Police Force.
¡°And are you sure you want to return?¡± said Mikoto. ¡°I can make the conscription go away, but because of your contract, you will have to go back to work with the Police Force. You will be made to work in the Narcotics Taskforce. Is that what you want? Let¡¯s say you somehow get transferred from Organized Crime to some other department. Do you think you will get the same opportunity as you did with the Narcotics Taskforce?
¡°And depending upon how much you pissed Sayuri, she might just feel vindictive, and release the information in your file that you so much want to keep hidden. Even Fugaku can¡¯t stop rumors.¡±
Takuma felt irked by how calm Mikoto was when talking about his career. He had known her for several months, so he knew that¡¯s how she was always, but it still irked him, even though she was making sense.
¡°So, you¡¯re saying I should just give up?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t lie; this situation isn¡¯t optimal for you, but you can still make something out of it,¡± said Mikoto. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but you must¡¯ve thought about pursuing a rank promotion soon.¡±
Takuma hesitated for a moment before nodding.
He had some plans for becoming a chunin within the next twelve-month period. There was a Chunin Exam in less than two months, but Takuma had no intention to attend. He was aiming for a field promotion¡ªhis achievements in the Police Force were coming along great, and he thought that if he continued to develop the Narcotics Taskforce, he would be able to rack up enough to get promoted through the Police Force.
Because the Leaf Military Police Force was a ¡°Division¡± like the T&I Division or the Intelligence Division, they had certain promotion slots every year¡ªmoreover, even individual jonin had one chunin promotion slot every year. Takuma was aiming for one of those slots to get promoted¡ªwhich was why he had doubled down with the Police Force.
His initial contract with the Police Force would have expired a month ago, but Takuma had signed an extension to show he was serious about a career in the Police Force.
Mikoto knew about the extension as it had come up in one of their conversations.
¡°A Chunin Exam is coming up. If you sign up now, what do you think about your chances of getting a promotion?¡± asked Mikoto.
¡°¡Not good,¡± Takuma sighed.
He was confident in his academic, combat, and survival ability; his resume because of the Police Force was also quite attractive. But there was a problem.
¡°I don¡¯t have a team.¡±
Genin, participating in a Chunin Exam, started preparation early. Nenro and Masaaki had started preparing when the exam was a year away. Every Chunin Exam was unique, but there was one thing common among all¡ªgenin participated in teams of three. And those teams were locked in early as the genin wished to improve their teamwork for the exams.
Nenro and Masaaki both had already locked their teams four months ago and regularly trained with them. Even Takuma¡¯s subordinates in the Narcotics Taskforce, who were participating, had already locked in their teams.
With less than two months from the exam, Takuma was doubtful he could get on a team. And even if he did get on one, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be a good one. A bad team could ruin a genin¡¯s chances in the exam.
Moreover, the upcoming Chunin Exams were being hosted by the Hidden Rock, and that cut into the registration time because of the travel.
It was already too late.
If he wanted a real chance, he needed to aim for the next Chunin Exam.
¡°So you can aim for the next Chunin Exam eight months from now, but you will have to work at a demoted position in the Narcotics Taskforce, which will reflect on your record,¡± said Mikoto. ¡°Or you can take the conscription and earn war achievements.¡±
Takuma was shocked. He couldn¡¯t believe Mikoto had just told him to accept the conscription.
¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised,¡± Mikoto chuckled. ¡°A war is a land of opportunity for a shinobi. A war is where shinobi careers take off, heroes rise, and legends are created. There¡¯s nothing more attractive than war accomplishments.
Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, became the ¡®Yellow Flash¡¯ in the Third Shinobi World War. The legend of the ¡®Sannin¡¯ was minted in the Second Shinobi World War. Hatake Sakumo came to be known as the ¡®Konoha''s White Fang¡¯ during the Second Shinobi World War and later became the Jonin Commander. Fugaku made himself known to the world during the Third Shinobi World War and became the feared ¡®Wicked Eye¡¯.¡±
Takuma unconsciously straightened up as he heard the illustrious names and titles. He had lived in this world long enough to know of the illustrious shinobi and their war accomplishments.
¡°It¡¯s obvious that most shinobi would be averse to wars due to the danger, but those who embrace it and survive are showered with rewards for their contribution. Make a mark, make yourself known, and they won¡¯t have a choice but to promote you. If you return to the Police Force after the war, even Sayuri will have no choice but to treat you fairly and respectfully.¡± said Mikoto. ¡°There¡¯s a golden opportunity in front of you¡ªit¡¯s up to you if you want to grab it.¡±
After Mikoto left, her words were the only thing Takuma had on his mind for a very long time.
CH_5.23 (166)
More time passed, and Takuma¡¯s physical status continued to improve until he was back in combat-worthy condition.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Takuma launched a volley of shuriken, but they were matched one to one by an opposing volley of shuriken.
The shuriken had barely fallen when Maruboshi rushed Takuma, who equipped his kunai and charged ahead. The shinobi met head-on, two kunai scraping against each other, creating a harsh noise.
Takuma sprang a palm strike at Maruboshi¡¯s chest with his free hand. Maruboshi grabbed the arm before it could hit and stabbed his kunai down at Takuma¡¯s shoulder. Takuma side-stepped the kunai and retaliated by flinging his own kunai up at Maruboshi¡¯s face at an inhuman speed with a wrist flick that Maruboshi evaded with a simple head tilt.
He clenched his hand into a fist as chakra rushed forth and aimed for the liver.
Maruboshi smiled with his patent ¡®ho-ho¡¯ chuckle and tapped Takuma¡¯s elbow to derail the punch trajectory completely. The tap was so powerful that Takuma had to clench his core to prevent himself from spinning around. He gritted his teeth and grabbed Maruboshi¡¯s arm to disarm him of his kunai and succeeded in twisting the wrist to release the grip.
Maruboshi did nothing to stop the disarm. Instead, he raised his other arm and thrashed Takuma¡¯s head with an elbow strike. Takuma felt his head churn and his neck snap down painfully. He stumbled back, shook his head, and charged back at Maruboshi with a growl.
Maruboshi kicked the ground, and his dropped kunai sprang up, which he then kicked toward Takuma, who, when moving to dodge, felt a twinge in his hip. He was a moment late, and the kunai left a very faint tear on his sleeve.
Takuma leaped to the sky and cocked his arm back into a fist. Maruboshi swiftly jumped away to evade. The fist shattered the ground, leaving a small crater around the point of impact. When Takuma stood up, Maruboshi was only a step away with his leg raised. Takuma crossed his arms and was sent flying back from the powerful impact.
Maruboshi didn¡¯t let off the pressure and dashed towards Takuma. The moment Takuma touched the ground, Maruboshi was already there with his next attack ready.
Takuma blocked a punch and caught an elbow strike, but Maruboshi smashed his head into Takuma¡¯s. Surprisingly, Takuma wasn¡¯t shaken; he whipped out a kick for Maruboshi¡¯s knee. It was a solid hit, giving Takuma a hold of the momentum. He immediately pushed on aggressively with a barrage of hits with augmentations mixed in.
Maruboshi fell back on defense with dodges and blocks without any signs of any counters.
¡°Your augmented strikes are stronger than the last time we sparred,¡± Maruboshi said.
He then caught Takuma¡¯s augmented punch with his hand and pushed him away before cocking back his fist. Takuma put his hand forth to catch Maruboshi¡¯s fist just as he had done, but the moment the fist made contact with the palm, Takuma felt an overwhelming force slam into him.
This wasn¡¯t an augmentation; Takuma knew what that felt like.
This was pure physical force.
As Takuma shifted his posture to direct the force better, his knee buckled, and he was forced to kneel. He immediately jumped back when the force passed, but Maruboshi was faster. When Takuma stood up, Maruboshi grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down into an upward knee strike. Takuma felt the air escape his lungs¡ªit wasn¡¯t a feeling he missed.
He fell to the ground with pain radiating from his ribs.
¡°Get up,¡± said Maruboshi.
Takuma spat the grass out of his mouth as he stood up.
¡°You are slow,¡± said Maruboshi. ¡°And you are weaker without augmentations.¡± He saw Takuma¡¯s hand on his lower back. ¡°Are you not completely healed, young Takuma?¡±
¡°No, I¡¯m healed. My body is just stiff and unresponsive. I need to train to bring it back to speed,¡± Takuma groaned. His lower back was stiff, his hip lost strength when he pushed it, and his leg got tired too quickly.
¡°Take care of your body; it is one of the most valuable tools a shinobi possesses.¡±
¡°I know, I know,¡± said Takuma before gargling a mouthful of water to get rid of the raw taste of the grass from his mouth.
Takuma passed the canteen to Maruboshi and gazed at his teacher for a moment before taking out a folded letter and handing it to Maruboshi.
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¡°What might this be?¡± Maruboshi asked as he opened the letter. ¡°Conscription? They are asking you to join the conflict in the Land of Hot Waters¡¡± He looked up at Takuma.
¡°Uchiha Mikoto thinks it¡¯s a good opportunity. ¡®War is where shinobi are made,¡¯ she says.¡±
¡°And she is right,¡± Maruboshi handed the letter back. ¡°It¡¯s also where shinobi end.¡±
That much was obvious; it was a war, after all.
¡°It seems my career in the Police Force is over, at least for now,¡± Takuma explained his situation to Maruboshi. ¡°She thinks participating in the war is the best way for me to gain a rank promotion.¡±
¡°The Chunin Exams of today didn¡¯t exist in my time,¡± said Maruboshi. ¡°Before the Third War, the Hidden Villages used to conduct the examinations for their own chunin. Before I decided that I did not want to be a chunin, I was aiming for a field promotion like you. So, my personal experience won¡¯t help you, but I can tell you what I have observed from other genin.¡±
According to Maruboshi, because the Chunin Exams were hosted in turn by the Five Great Hidden Villages, most genin didn¡¯t go to the foreign countries as that meant incurring travel expenses and a time period, they couldn¡¯t do missions¡ªand even the basic guaranteed salary was put on hold while they were traveling outside of the village. Most genin couldn¡¯t afford that¡ªyoung shinobi weren¡¯t known for their money management skills. Need more money? Do more missions. When it was hosted in the home village, most genin didn¡¯t take the Chunin Exam seriously and treated it as a way to luck into being chunin.
If a genin wanted to succeed at the Chunin Exam, they needed to be extremely serious, and even then, the chance was low as the competition was on another level. The best of the best from shinobi villages around the lands gathered in a single competition. Then, because of the examination¡¯s ever-changing format, some teams might suffer disadvantages depending upon the format.
Not to mention, to get a chance at a rank promotion, a genin needed a resume to support the promotion. Most genin didn¡¯t work on their resume, so even if they somehow performed well, they wouldn¡¯t get promoted until they accumulated sufficient achievements. Performing well in the Chunin Exam was always a positive as a positive result could be added to the resume, but for maximum chance, all the preparation needed to be done before participation.
¡°Do you think I should ask Mikoto to cancel my conscription order and aim for the next Chunin Exam?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°You can¡¯t base your decision upon my words, young Takuma,¡± Maruboshi said.
¡°I know, but I still want to know what you will have me do.¡±
Maruboshi sighed and didn¡¯t reply immediately.
¡°I believe your time will be better spent participating in the war.¡± Maruboshi paused. ¡°When you were in the academy, I thought you lacked the talent. I believed if you worked hard, you could reach the chunin rank, but that would be it¡¡±
Takuma was stunned at the words. The Maruboshi he knew always encouraged him to strive for the best, to pursue constant improvement¡ªbut now he was saying that Takuma¡¯s development was limited.
¡°¡ I was wrong,¡± Maruboshi smiled. ¡°You have grown faster than I had expected, young Takuma. So young, but you have already achieved an important leadership position in the Police Force at that. You are strong, resourceful, and dedicated to your job. I talked to your friends and some of your colleagues when you were in a coma¡ªthey all, without exception, told me that you work too much and that you are extremely good at your job. You were demoted because you were too good and elevated your position until it could not be handled by someone in your rank.¡±
Takuma would¡¯ve felt flattered if all of the work he had put in, all the sacrifice he had made to his personal life, had not led to him being removed from the place he had built with his two hands. When including the solo research he had done on the Maiko Triad, he had spent an entire year of his life building the Narcotics Taskforce¡ªall of that was stolen from him because of clan politics in which he had no standing.
¡°Preparing for the Chunin Exam will take time and effort. You will have to find people for your team, you will have to train with them, and create a functional rapport¡ªI¡¯m sure you know how difficult that can be when you don¡¯t have the right people. Moreover, you will be stuck in the Police Force for the next eight months¡ªI¡¯m assuming you will not be actively contributing any longer.¡±
¡°Fuck no,¡± Takuma spat. If he were going to be forced to work in the Narcotics Taskforce after being so rudely demoted, he would not put in hours anywhere near he did before.
¡°Language, child,¡± Maruboshi chided. ¡°Then you will be wasting a great portion of your day doing something you do not want to do. Why not put all that time and effort to better use? I wholeheartedly believe that you can not only better help the village by participating in the war but also help yourself better. Why dedicate time to something that will mostly become irrelevant after the Chunin Exams when you can gain essential experience that will always stay with you?¡±
¡°The only downside I can see is the danger that comes with the war. But you are a shinobi; that sort of danger will become regular if you continue to rise in rank.¡±
Takuma had been living in the world that his sensibilities had long since adapted. It would¡¯ve been strange if a relative of his suggested participating in a war when he had a choice not to¡ªbut in this world, a war was perhaps simply a big career opportunity.
¡°Take your time to think about it, young Takuma. Wars aren¡¯t pretty, but you learn a lot that you can¡¯t learn anywhere else,¡± said Maruboshi.
It was something Takuma had been thinking about since his talk with Mikoto, and he had grown tired of it. Every day, the option to go to war became more appealing because of what it could mean for his career¡ªand now, with Maruboshi¡¯s words, that appeal had only increased.
The only thing stopping him from making the decision was the Uchiha Massacre and his initial plan to stick it out, but even that had started to become doubtful. As time passed, Takuma began to doubt his blind estimates of the Uchiha Massacre. What if it wasn¡¯t close, and instead, it was still a year out or even more? With each passing day, Takuma became less and less certain about whether his plan was viable¡ªand now it was barely hanging by a thread because of how long it had been in the back of his head.
Takuma sighed. It was so often he wished he had just committed to the series and watched the anime, or at least, read the manga one more time to remember more about the events in the story.
There was no use lamenting something he couldn¡¯t change.
But he knew he had to make a decision.
So he did,
He was going to participate in the war.
CH_5.24 (167)
The sound of a walking cane was something Takuma hoped never became a permanent part of his life. He looked at the cane in his hand and sighed. He was fit enough to fight, but his leg was still weak¡ªTakuma could no longer feel any difference and hadn¡¯t once leaned on the cane, but Dr. Oichi had ordered him to carry it in case he needed it.
The past month had been the most difficult for Takuma. As a shinobi, he was very particular about his body. Not being able to move in the way he wanted was more restricting than anything else Takuma had ever experienced.
The experience also made Takuma realize how much he had changed from his former self.
In his previous life, he wasn¡¯t physically active other than commuting and whatever sports his friends played in the evenings. He didn¡¯t ever join a gym in college, nor did he seriously pursue a sport in school. But these days, he felt restless if he didn¡¯t do enough training every day¡ªand it wasn¡¯t just because of remaining at his peak physical condition¡ªhe enjoyed the feeling of slowly improving his physical capabilities. It had become a part of his life.
He never took charge of group projects or tried to have a ¡®leadership¡¯ position in the school or college; he never even joined a club or community. He didn¡¯t feel comfortable being in charge, juggling people¡¯s opinions, or being a moderator who could keep the group focused towards achieving a common goal. But after working in the Narcotics Taskforce, he didn¡¯t think of leading as something bothersome¡ªhe enjoyed the feeling when a team worked in unity. And the Narcotics Taskforce was his baby, he was personally invested that it would produce the best results possible.
He was a better man than before. Someone his parents would be proud of¡ªalas, they would never witness this improvement.
Takuma stopped in front of a building and looked at the plainly designed building, which had the highest levels of security in the Hidden Leaf. He was going to war, which meant he wouldn¡¯t be in the village for who knows how long.
It was time to invest in some new jutsu.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It was late in the evening, and Takuma was at home. He had a little more than a week before he had left the village, and he needed to take care of stuff at home before leaving. He had to pack all of his stuff and store it in a storage unit. Because he was leaving for at least several months, he decided not to keep renting his apartment while he was away. The landlord didn¡¯t make any fuss about it¡ªhis value as a tenant had dropped like a brick after the assassination attempt. His security deposit too had evaporated.
There was a lot of work to do in very little time. He was glad that he didn¡¯t have to go to work.
The bell rang as Takuma was packing up his furniture, wondering if he should sell the bigger stuff. He walked to the door and looked through the spyhole to see Ai standing in front of the apartment.
¡°Now, this is a pleasant surprise,¡± Takuma smiled as he opened the door.
Ai was about to say something but stopped as her eyes went to the kunai in Takuma¡¯s hand.
She sighed.
Takuma shrugged and invited her inside.
¡°Packing already, huh,¡± Ai said upon seeing the cardboard boxes.
¡°My house used to be barren when I was in the academy. I don¡¯t know when I bought so many things,¡± said Takuma. Only after he started to think about packing did he realize how much stuff he owned. ¡°So, what do you want to drink¡ªhot or cold?¡±
¡°Just water will do,¡± said Ai. ¡°I¡¯m not staying. I just came to drop your things.¡±
¡°My stuff?¡± Takuma said as he walked out of the kitchen, only to stop when he saw his clothes on the day of the assassination attempt. ¡°¡ I thought the hospital got rid of them.¡± Ai had returned his wallet with his essential identification cards, but he thought the other stuff was disposed of.
¡°The hospital staff asked me to return it to you. They forgot they had it stored somewhere,¡± said Ai.
¡°Thank you,¡± Takuma picked up the transparent package with his belongings. It was heavy because of the chainmail undershirt.
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¡°What are you going to do with them?¡± Ai asked.
¡°I¡ don¡¯t know,¡± he said.
When Ai left, Takuma stopped packing and sat before the package. After staring at it for a while, he opened the package and took the clothes in his hands. They were in tatters, and the blood had turned into dried stains. The chainmail undershirt was damaged as well.
¡°I had that one for a while, too,¡± Takuma murmured.
He put them aside and reached for his weapons pouch. Because he was going to war, he had replaced his entire gear with the highest quality one he could afford. But his old weapons pouches were with him for a very long time, and because he knew how to sew and work with leather, he had customized them to his preferences. The new ones didn¡¯t have those modifications yet.
Takuma emptied a pouch and turned it inside out to look at his old stitching¡ªthey were the work of a novice¡ªhe could do it so much better now. The thought brought a smile to his face. Takuma reached for the next pouch only to pause as he stared at it in his hands.
The pouch wasn¡¯t his¡
Then it struck him.
¡°This is No#4¡¯s!¡± he gasped and immediately started to look through. There were some ground spikes, a couple remaining shuriken, and a small dagger. Takuma pushed everything aside and observed the pouch and everything in it for a clue¡ªand he found a couple of things that attracted his attention.
First was the small dagger. The dagger was pitch-black from the tip to butt except for the sharpened edges. It wasn¡¯t a standard issue shinobi dagger; it had a unique design. He checked but couldn¡¯t find a blacksmith¡¯s touchmark. The second point of interest was the pouch itself. The flap on the pouch had a snap button on it, but the stitching used to fix the button was needlessly complex. There was a star pattern around the button, which was clearly the maker¡¯s mark.
¡°I need to turn this in.¡±
But as Takuma finished the sentence, his thoughts changed. It had been more than a month since the Police Force had lost the assassins¡¯ bodies, and they hadn¡¯t made any progress since then. The anger and irritation from the lack of progress had ruined his mood every time he thought about it¡ªwhich was every day.
Takuma stared down at the pouch and the dagger.
He knew what he was going to do tomorrow.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The first thing the next day, Takuma entered a dinky little shop far away from the main street. The location was terrible for a business, but Takuma was a regular customer.
¡°Boss!¡± Takuma yelled the moment he entered.
¡°Yeah, wait up!¡±
Takuma rested his cane against the counter and waited for a couple of minutes before a man dripping with sweat came out from the backroom. He had dark tan skin and short hair with gray streaks on the side.
¡°Oh, Takuma! Another order so soon?¡± said the man as he wiped his forehead with a towel.
The ¡°Boss¡± was a weaponsmith Takuma used for his weapons needs because of the lower prices than any other shop in the city. One would think that because of the price advantage, the shop would be near the main street, but the reason behind the low prices was that the Boss didn¡¯t have a weaponsmith license and didn¡¯t pay sales tax to the government, which brought the prices down. Takuma was introduced to the Boss and his shop during his early days in the Ring, and he had been a repeat customer ever since. He had even placed an order recently to replace all the gear he thought had been disposed of.
¡°Not today, Boss. I was wondering if you could help me with something else today,¡± Takuma put down the dagger and weapons pouch on the counter. ¡°Can you tell me who made these?¡±
The Boss put on his glasses and picked up the dagger. He studied the dagger from top to bottom for a while. He even tested the knife by throwing it on a random wooden board on his walls, which scared the crap out of Takuma.
¡°It¡¯s expertly made. Masterful craftsmanship. Whoever made these have decades of experience.¡±
¡°Really? I didn¡¯t notice anything special,¡± said Takuma.
The Boss chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s the point, isn¡¯t it? A weapon that feels nothing but right in the hand so the shinobi can focus on the enemy ahead.¡± He placed the dagger down. ¡°I can¡¯t tell right now, but if you give me some time, I might be able to tell you. If this was made in the Hidden Leaf, I might be able to find out, but if it¡¯s from outside the village, don¡¯t expect I will be able to get anything.¡±
Takuma was fine with that; as long as he got anything, that would be a new lead he could follow. The Boss took the weapons pouch as well.
¡°Just¡ be careful, okay?¡± said Takuma. ¡°Those belong to one of the assassins.¡±
¡°Oh my,¡± Boss looked at Takuma in surprise before laughing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boy. I will be careful.¡±
Takuma nodded.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma visited the Boss again a couple of days later.
¡°Couldn¡¯t find who makes these, boy.¡±
Takuma sighed. He knew it was a long shot. ¡°Thank you for looking,¡± he said.
¡°But I did find something,¡± Boss put the dagger on the table. The hilt was removed from the blade, revealing the tang. ¡°See this?¡± he pointed at the tang. Stamped into the metal was the shape of a tree, roots and all. ¡°This is the smith¡¯s touchmark. If you find the smith who uses this touchmark, you might be able to find who bought this dagger.¡±
¡°This is good¡ this is really good, Boss,¡± Takuma smiled.
¡°Really? I mean, a lot of smiths use some version of leaf and tree as their touchmark in the Hidden Leaf. You might not be able to find the one who uses this one.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the thing. ¡®Some version of leaf and tree as their touchmark in the Hidden Leaf,¡¯ which there¡¯s a great possibility that whoever made it is in the Hidden Leaf. That cuts down the search radius drastically,¡± said Takuma.
Boss smiled. ¡°The Police Force has ruined you, boy. I won¡¯t go out looking for this, but if I come across this touchmark, I will tell you.¡±
¡°That¡¯s more than what I can ask you, Boss,¡± Takuma nodded.
He felt great. This was a lead. A promising one at that. If he could find the weaponsmith, that could lead him to who ordered the hit.
But there was a problem. Takuma frowned. He had less than a week before he had to leave for the war and a lot of stuff to take care of; he simply didn¡¯t have the time to investigate.
He needed help.
Takuma sighed. It was time to turn to the ¡®proper authorities¡¯.
CH_5.25 (168)
Takuma observed the people on the road from the rooftop caf¨¦, sipping on a large glass of cold lemonade. There were only four more days before he had to leave the village for the journey to the Land of Hot Waters. He had made it his mission to enjoy the delicacies of his hometown before he was shipped off to war for who knew how long.
He had done his packing, and two days before his deployment, all of his belongings sans the stuff he had sold off would be shipped off to a storage unit, and he would surrender the keys to his apartment to the landlord before moving into Masaaki, Nenro, and Ai¡¯s shared house as a guest. In the next few days, he had planned to meet a number of people before he left.
His visit to the caf¨¦ was for that very reason. He was meeting someone.
Takuma felt someone looking at him. He looked to the side to see the waiter pointing him out to Kano. He raised his hand, and Kano walked right over.
¡°The cold drinks here are good. You should try some,¡± Takuma said as Kano sat down.
¡°You should¡¯ve come to the office,¡± said Kano.
¡°Should I order you something?¡± Takuma looked at her before sighing. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough self-control to walk into that building and contain my anger. I prefer doing it here where I don¡¯t feel the urge to bash some faces in.¡±
Kano was wearing her red shades so Takuma couldn¡¯t study her eyes, but he had known her long enough to understand that she wouldn¡¯t be offended by his words, which were obviously aimed at her clan members. But he also knew that she wasn¡¯t going to apologize for the clan and office politics, which had led to him being removed from his station.
¡°Did you bring my rewards?¡± asked Takuma.
Kano nodded and placed a storage scroll on the table. Takuma opened it and weaved hand seals.
¡°They are real,¡± Kano sighed.
Takuma ignored her and released the fuin-seal for multiple scarlet scrolls to appear on the table. The puff of smoke startled the civilians on other tables; Takuma ignored them and opened every scroll to check the contents.
¡°It does seem that way,¡± Takuma muttered as he continued to check.
The Police Force was in a delicate position after the assassination attempt. One of their officers was attacked at his home, and then they had lost the assassins¡¯ bodies. On top of that, they had managed to anger Takuma by booting him from his team. They were concerned by their recruitment program, which was still in its infancy, if Takuma, who was in the first recruitment batch and was by far the most successful, decided to badmouth the Police Force. They needed top talent in the Police Force to maintain the legacy, and Takuma¡¯s words could have a snowball effect. They were scared that if shinobi started to think the Police Force didn¡¯t care if one of their outside recruits almost got assassinated and had even demoted him.
So, after Takuma decided to accept his conscription, the Police Force extended a reward for his excellent service. Takuma understood the situation and recognized the hush money for keeping his mouth shut. Takuma wanted to badmouth the Police Force from the rooftops to placate some of his anger, but after giving it a rational thought, he decided to take the reward.
He asked for jutsu scrolls.
Scrolls of C-rank jutsu and above couldn¡¯t be taken out of the jutsu archives, and if a shinobi wished to study a jutsu they had purchased, they had to go to the archives to look at the scrolls. The scrolls had intensive information written on them with dozens of references to research papers, and because no stationary was allowed inside, copying the scrolls from memory was a chore. There was a niche black market for jutsu scrolls, but the discounted price wasn¡¯t enough for the risk. Both the Police Force and ANBU had a no-tolerance policy for the illegal trade of jutsu scrolls with extremely high punishments.
Takuma¡¯s ask was simple. He wanted C-rank jutsu scrolls he could own. It wasn¡¯t an impossible ask; bigger shinobi clans had their own jutsu archives and were known to distribute scrolls to their members. He was going to a conflict-filled foreign land and thus was losing his ability to visit a jutsu archive; he wanted personal scrolls he could study at his leisure.
Takuma understood that even though the reward was from the Police Force, he was actually dealing with the Uchiha clan. And there were not many things the Uchiha couldn¡¯t do in the Hidden Leaf.
As he had expected, they agreed. At first, Takuma had wanted them to foot the bill of the jutsu he wanted, but they had outright refused with no room for negotiation when they heard how many jutsu Takuma wanted. Takuma¡ªvery unwillingly¡ªhad come down to buying the scroll at a small discount from the Uchiha clan.
The sale of jutsu scrolls of C-rank jutsu and above was banned. Even the clans couldn¡¯t do it; they were only allowed to distribute scrolls to their members. So, the deal was highly illegal. But that was what made it binding. If Takuma broke his side of the agreement, the Uchiha clan would screw him by sticking charges against him. And even though they had sold the scrolls to him, they were the Uchiha clan, they were the Police Force¡ªthey were big enough to get out of it with a slap on the wrist, something Takuma couldn¡¯t do.
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¡°Everything checks out,¡± Takuma smiled as he put the scrolls away. ¡°Now, onto why I specially asked for you to deliver the scrolls.¡±
¡°I was curious about that as well,¡± said Kano.
Takuma took out No#4¡¯s weapon pouch. It had everything, including the small dagger inside.
¡°This is the fourth assassin¡¯s weapons pouch, the one you guys didn¡¯t know existed until I told you about it,¡± said Takuma. Kano stared at the pouch in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t have enough weapons that day, so I pulled it off his body after I killed him.¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t you give this to us before!?¡±
¡°Because it was with the hospital until now.¡± Takuma sighed, ¡°And my memories of the fight have gaps in it¡ I didn¡¯t remember that I had taken it until I saw it.¡±
He was too injured that day and even kicked in the head. Takuma remembered the fight, but some particulars escaped him. It was frustrating, but Dr. Oichi said that his memories would return eventually, but if he wanted something fast, a Yamanaka could help¡ªTakuma had no intention of opening his mind to a Yamanaka.
¡°Take out the black dagger from inside,¡± said Takuma.
¡°It¡¯s broken?¡± Kano asked as she held the separated blade and hilt.
¡°I removed the hilt. There is a smith¡¯s touchmark on the tang.¡±
Kano looked. ¡°We can track it. This is a great lead¡ª¡± She stopped and looked up at Takuma. ¡°You had no intention of giving this to us if you weren¡¯t going to the war, did you?¡±
Takuma shrugged. ¡°You guys lost the bodies. I looked around but couldn¡¯t find a weaponsmith with that touchmark. But the tree motif indicates that the smith might be in the village. The special stitching on the pouch flap is also an avenue you should pursue.¡±
¡°Anything else?¡± asked Kano.
¡°You can¡¯t expect me to do all the work.¡±
Kano put the pouch away.
¡°I heard you refused to be there when Yakumi officially took charge of the Narcotics Taskforce. You know Yakumi is just doing his job,¡± she said.
¡°My job,¡± said Takuma, sternly.
¡°Don¡¯t you think the rest of the team would¡¯ve felt better if you were there for a smooth change of command.¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t answer that one; not even a quip.
Kano sighed as she stood up. ¡°Be safe out there. Wars like this one can be complex. Follow your commander¡¯s orders, and stay out of trouble. Let¡¯s have a drink when you return...¡±
¡°¡ Alright,¡± said Takuma.
Kano nodded before leaving.
His gaze followed her until she was gone.
Takuma looked at the lemonade. The ice had already melted away with the condensation heavy outside the glass.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Sitting on a park bench with his cane sitting on the side as he fed bread to a flock of pigeons made Takuma feel old and slow. It was a strangely uncomfortable feeling, but he already had a loaf from the nearby bakery because he had come to the meeting early and had nothing to do. He was meeting a lot of people, but he didn¡¯t especially want to do this one. Unfortunately, it was an important one.
¡°Is that cane going to stick?¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t glance at the bench behind him. He could recognize Enomoto¡¯s voice everywhere.
¡°I don¡¯t think I can pull off a cane as a fashion statement,¡± said Takuma.
¡°I must say, I¡¯m disappointed to hear that you are leaving. I doubted our agreement would last long, but then you started to produce results and I started to¡ dream,¡± said Enomoto.
¡°That¡¯s new,¡± Takuma chuckled. ¡°Well, adding to the confidence, I thought I would continue on for at least a couple more years. Alas, you put your cart behind a horse with a short race life.¡±
¡°At least, they aren¡¯t putting you down after you fractured your foot¡ Well, you might soon die in the war.¡±
¡°Really? I mean, someone did try to take me out,¡± Takuma threw the last piece of bread to the birds. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to know who was behind that little prank, would you?¡±
¡°Why would I try to kill my gold-laying goose¡ª¡±
¡°The goose died in the fable.¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m not a colossal moron. Because it was you, I looked into it, but whoever it was, they didn¡¯t leave any clues behind.¡±
¡°That they didn¡¯t¡¡±
¡°Well, if you¡¯re leaving, that means my commissions from the Ring also stops. God¡ I will miss the returns on my investment,¡± said Enomoto. ¡°I do have a question though. Did you meet me first or did you make time for Sango before me.¡±
Takuma smiled. ¡°I came to you first. I value our relationship.¡±
¡°Aww, that¡¯s sweet.¡±
¡°But I like to leave the best for the last.¡±
¡°There it is.¡±
The conversation died as soon as it had started. Takuma and Enomoto weren¡¯t close. They were business partners connected through mutual benefit. Without that, they had no reason to associate with each other.
¡°Do you perhaps have a recommendation for a possible replacement?¡± Enomoto asked.
¡°Well, I can refer my team to you, but I fear that they would invite you to stay permanently.¡±
¡°Ah, that¡¯s too much hospitality for me.¡±
Takuma had no intention to give Enomoto¡¯s information to the Narcotics Taskforce. Enomoto was his asset; they would need to work with the informants the team had built since their inception¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t going to be pretty, the Narcotics Taskforce was still new. Right now, Takuma didn¡¯t care about how much effort he had put into building up the Narcotics Taskforce¡ªhe couldn¡¯t care less if Yakumi burnt the thing to the ground.
The feeling would pass, he was sure, but he wasn¡¯t mature enough to settle his feelings quickly.
¡°I figured that. You will either have to be satisfied with your current position or find a new way to trim down your competition,¡± he said.
¡°Being satisfied doesn¡¯t seem satisfying.¡± Enomoto stood up. ¡°Don¡¯t go dying in the war. Maybe we can work together when you come back.¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that,¡± Takuma replied.
Enomoto¡¯s footsteps stopped. He said, ¡°You never know. In the life we live, you never know what¡¯s going to happen.¡±
Takuma stood up as well and for the first time in the conversation, he turned to look at Enomoto.
¡°Enomoto¡ If I ever find that you were behind the assassins, I am going to kill you.¡±
Enomoto stopped walking again and turned. He smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to pull that off successfully, genin.¡±
¡°In this life we live, you never know what¡¯s going to happen,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Truer words haven¡¯t been said,¡± Enomoto smiled before walking away.
CH_5.26 (169): TIMELINE
Takuma stared at the class of children running an obstacle course. There were the few in the lead, competing against each other; the large middle pack; and the small group in the back, making up a trail. He was once in a similar situation, but it seemed so far away in the past that it looked alien to him.
¡°Thanks for meeting me here,¡± said Iruka, standing beside him.
¡°It¡¯s okay. Sorry, I couldn¡¯t find free time in the evening,¡± Takuma smiled at Iruka before returning his gaze to Iruka¡¯s academy class.
If it were only a couple of weeks back, Takuma would¡¯ve refused to set foot in the shinobi academy while classes were in session. He had zero desire to see Iruka¡¯s class of students. But Takuma was going away for war, and when Iruka asked to meet him, he agreed to meet him in the academy because Takuma had no free time in the evening. He wanted to see how the future of the Hidden Leaf was doing before he went away, which was why he had set up the meeting so that Iruka couldn¡¯t take him to a meal during the lunch break. He figured just seeing them from afar while he conversed with his old chunin leader wouldn¡¯t be strange.
¡°I didn¡¯t think you would be conscripted with your position in the Narcotics Taskforce,¡± said Iruka.
¡°Neither did I, but here we are,¡± said Takuma as he looked at the yellow-haired ball of energy in the front of the pack. The whiskered kid was athletically superior but lacked in dexterity, which made him lag behind the onyx-haired leader after every complex obstacle¡ªthough he seemed to be trying his best to be in the first position. ¡°My superiors in the Police Force said it would be good for me to take some time off from my duties before they relieved me of my duties.¡±
¡°War is not taking some time off.¡±
¡°It will be a change of scenery for sure.¡± Takuma looked to Iruka, ¡°How is teaching suiting you? Is it everything you imagined and more?¡±
Iruka chuckled as if he had heard a joke. ¡°Not at all. These kids, with their ungodly energy, can be nightmares if I don¡¯t handle them properly. They are a hassle and a half on a good day.¡± He smiled, ¡°But it is indeed more than I imagined. These children are so much better than when I was their age.¡±
Takuma knew that feeling. He had a cousin in middle school who was just so much smarter than him when he was that age. Kids were generally always smarter.
¡°That cane is worrisome,¡± said Iruka.
¡°Doctor¡¯s orders,¡± Takuma glanced at the cane he had been carrying for the last month. He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but he still sometimes felt stiffness in his lower back. It was improving every day, and even though Takuma didn¡¯t use the cane, it did give him a sense of safety.
¡°In situations like yours, the most important thing is the commanding shinobi under whom you will be serving. Did they give you a name?¡± asked Iruka.
¡°Yes, they did. In fact, I just got the information earlier today,¡± Takuma said. ¡°One Jonin Toridasu Kossori. Any idea who that is?¡±
¡°Can¡¯t say I do. But if it¡¯s a jonin, he will have chunin under his command; you will probably be assigned to one of those chunin.¡± Iruka glanced at Takuma. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± he smiled.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Takuma rolled his eyes. His relationship with his commanding shinobi and his peers was crucial. He didn¡¯t want a repeat of his initial days in the Organized Crime¡ªit had taken a long time to get the people to warm up to him. And unlike the well-protected Police Force headquarters, his new place was a conflict-torn border. He couldn¡¯t afford a rocky start.
¡°Act and perform like when you were working under me, and you will be just fine. They will be lucky to have an asset like you,¡± said Iruka. ¡°Your versatility will shine much better there than it ever did when you were working the same few types of C-rank missions under me.¡±
¡°I hope so,¡± said Takuma. ¡°So¡ that¡¯s the jinchuriki, huh.¡±
¡°¡Yes.¡±
¡°And how is that side of things going?¡±
Iruka sighed. ¡°It¡¯s as you said. He¡¯s the jailor¡ and he is just a dumb kid.¡±
Takuma was relieved to hear that. He would¡¯ve shit bricks on the spot if Iruka told him that he hated Naruto.
¡°Oh no, what now?¡± Iruka muttered.
Takuma followed Iruka¡¯s eyes to see Uzumaki Naruto running towards them with a heavy frown.
¡°Iruka sensei! Tell the jerk that I won the race,¡± Naruto yelled.
The ¡°jerk¡± in question was Uchiha Sasuke, who followed after Naruto with a relaxed walk. Unlike the Sasuke he had read about, the kid in front of Takuma was different. Sasuke was an aloof kid, but he lacked the coldness one would gain from a certain traumatic experience.
¡®He will gain that soon¡ª¡¯ Takuma shuttered that thought faster than it had come up.
Sasuke spoke, ¡°Even an idiot like you should be able to tell that the one crossing the line first is the winner.¡±
¡°This wasn¡¯t a race,¡± Iruka sighed. The young teacher looked like he was already tired. ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking, so I couldn¡¯t tell who won, so let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡±
¡°Eeeh! That¡¯s not fair!¡± Naruto pouted.
Sasuke didn¡¯t say anything, but you could see the crease between the boy¡¯s brows. No decision meant Sasuke couldn¡¯t concretely claim he was the first.
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¡°I was watching,¡± said Takuma.
All three sets of eyes locked onto him. Iruka had a pleading look, asking him to stop. Naruto looked outwardly immensely interested, while Sasuke¡¯s eyes held a subtle interest.
¡°Both of you crossed the finish line at the same time. It was a draw,¡± said Takuma.
As Takuma expected, neither looked satisfied. So, Takuma took out the secret weapon he had prepared before coming to a school full of children. ¡°Here you go, a reward for completing the course,¡± Takuma handed each of them a chocolate each.
What child didn¡¯t like sweets? The effect was immediate. Naruto jumped in giddiness as he opened the foil. Sasuke hesitated for a moment before picking up the chocolate from Takuma¡¯s palm, joy in his eyes.
¡°Thank you,¡± said Sasuke. ¡°What are you doing here, Mr. Takuma?¡±
Takuma had been visiting Mikoto¡¯s house five times a week, and it was natural that he would have some level of interaction with his teacher¡¯s family. Because of the meeting time and that they met during the weekdays, Takuma had close to no interaction with Fugaku, who was at work. As for Itachi, the number of times Takuma had talked to him could be counted on one hand; the ANBU shinobi wasn¡¯t home often, but when he was, Itachi stayed away while his mother was conducting lessons. Sasuke was the family member Takuma had the most interaction, but it wasn¡¯t a lot¡ªmuch like his brother, Sasuke considered Mikoto and Takuma¡¯s lessons as something not to be disturbed, and the little boy was very well-behaved. Takuma and Sasuke had only exchanged small talk occasionally, but nothing else.
¡°Your Iruka sensei here was my commanding shinobi before he became your teacher. I came to talk to him,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Mother told me you got injured on a mission. Is that why you haven¡¯t been coming to the house?¡± asked Sasuke.
Takuma smiled. There was no need to tell a kid someone had tried to assassinate him. ¡°Yes, I had a bit of a tumble,¡± he raised his cane. ¡°I¡¯m alright now. Not good as your teacher here, though.¡±
Iruka shook his head with a small smile.
Takuma then noticed Naruto staring at him. He had chocolate around his mouth. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asked.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Takuma before his brows went up. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re the big bro who gave me the chocolate!¡± Naruto shouted while he pointed at Takuma.
¡°Naruto! It¡¯s rude to point,¡± Iruka rebuked.
Takuma was surprised. He didn¡¯t think Naruto would remember. It was more than a year a go, and they had barely talked for a few minutes. That was like a lifetime ago in kiddy time.
¡°You met Naruto?¡± Iruka looked surprised.
¡°¡Ah yes, we crossed paths a while ago,¡± Takuma said as he gazed at Naruto.
¡°What¡¯s your name, big bro!¡± Naruto asked abruptly.
The memory of him telling Naruto to ask his name the next time flashed past Takuma¡¯s mind.
¡°My name is Takuma.¡± He took out the bag of chocolate from his bag and handed it to Naruto. ¡°Here you go; share it with the rest of the class.¡± He turned to Sasuke. ¡°Will you make sure everyone gets one, Sasuke?¡±
The two kids ran away to the rest of the class. A big bag full of chocolate was probably the most exciting thing to them right now.
¡°You never told me that you met him?¡± Iruka said.
¡°I had forgotten to be honest,¡± Takuma lied. ¡°I met him the same day you told me about my transfer to the Police Force. I didn¡¯t know he was the jinchuriki when I met him. I mean, it¡¯s not like I knew what he looked like. I was just consoling a¡ sad orphan.¡±
Takuma felt Iruka¡¯s gaze on him.
He did not feel guilty lying to Iruka.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°You should get out of the Narcotics Taskforce before it gets bad,¡± Takuma said before stuffing his face with a big piece of fried chicken.
Arisu, who was sitting across from him, raised her brow. ¡°Are you saying that because you were kicked out or because you¡¯re looking out for me? I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t tell right now.¡±
He had invited Arisu out for dinner before he left. He wanted to thank her for all the support she had given him since Day-1 of joining Organized Crime.
¡°Why not both? I won¡¯t give up my informant, so the performance will plummet after the team runs out of the current investigations. You should leverage your position into something promising¡ªlike getting assigned directly under a jonin. Let the Narcotics Taskforce be a stepping stone. Diversify and whatnot.¡±
¡°What if I think the team can continue at the same level without you?¡±
¡°First, I will ask you to stop lying to yourself,¡± Takuma smiled, ¡°but then I will say I¡¯ll be happy if you prove me wrong. If the team can continue working as usual, it will mean that we were able to develop an excellent team.¡±
¡°We, you say.¡±
¡°Give yourself more credit. The Narcotics Taskforce wouldn¡¯t exist if you didn¡¯t convince people to join. The team would¡¯ve been me and Minoru, and we wouldn¡¯t have made it out of the first trial month.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true. You would be nothing without me,¡± Arisu smiled as though pleased with herself.
Takuma simply smiled.
¡°You know I never asked you this, but why aren¡¯t you participating in the Chunin Exams?¡± asked Takuma. ¡°I think most people in our batch are going for it. And it¡¯s not like you¡¯re like Taro, who didn¡¯t go for it because he was lazy.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready yet,¡± said Arisu. ¡°I¡¯m in no rush to advance the ranks. I want to take some more time to learn before I start trying diligently. There¡¯s no use doing so half-heartedly when I¡¯m not ready.¡±
Takuma put his chopsticks down for a moment. ¡°Chunin is a leadership position. You have been managing a team for a while now, and you have done it with great success. I personally think you¡¯re ready for the exams if you want to, but if you want to take time, sure, go ahead.¡± He paused for a moment as he picked his chopsticks back up. ¡°And well, you¡¯re a Fuma. If you do well, you will be promoted through the Police Force.¡±
¡°You had to say it, didn¡¯t you,¡± Arisu narrowed her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that I¡¯m from a clan.¡±
Takuma shrugged and winked. ¡°Hey, your family background is a resource. It will be a waste not to use it. I would¡¯ve if I had it. A good shinobi uses all the tools in his repertoire.¡±
Arisu sighed and said no more.
Takuma raised his hand to order more food. He had been stuffing his face for the past few days, and today would be no different.
They eventually came out of the restaurant. Takuma took in a deep breath and enjoyed the cool air. The weather was nice enough that he wanted to take a walk and was about to ask Arisu if she would like to accompany him when she called out to him.
Takuma turned to face her, and even though he was a trained shinobi with excellent reflexes, he couldn¡¯t react when Arisu leaned forward to kiss him. It was a chaste kiss that barely lasted a couple of seconds, but Takuma froze up like an ice block.
¡°W-What was that?¡± Takuma exclaimed.
¡°A-A parting gift,¡± said Arisu, flustered, before immediately leaving with the Body Flicker Jutsu no less.
A thousand thoughts rushed past Takuma¡¯s head as he tried to make sense of what had just happened, but he immediately shut them down. He did not want to think about it because he knew where his thoughts would eventually lead him.
Screw the walk, he thought.
Takuma now wanted to smoke some weed and knock himself to sleep.
CH_5.27 (170)
??¡°Are you nervous?¡±
Takuma looked up from the portable charcoal grill with chicken on its way to become delicious yakitori to Taru sitting across from him. It was Takuma¡¯s second last day in the village, and he was spending the evening with his friends.
Because they were all busy people and it was a weeknight, and Takuma wanted a break from going out every day to meet people, he had bought his charcoal grill and a ton of meat they could cook on the roof of the trio¡¯s house. The evening was cool, and the company was merry. Nothing Takuma could ask for more from his last days in the village.
¡°Of course,¡± Takuma replied, keeping his eyes on the meat. ¡°Unknown land, unknown people, unknown situation¡ªeverything about it makes me nervous. But I¡¯m not averse to it all anymore. Now that it¡¯s decided, I¡¯m focusing on what I¡¯m going to do there.¡±
¡°And what are you going to do there?¡± asked Nenro.
Takuma shrugged. ¡°The first order of business is to get all cozy with my commanding officer. Nothing is more important than to get in the good graces of the person who can decide how my time in a foreign land will go. I just hope they¡¯re reasonable.¡±
¡°That¡¯s my boy,¡± Nenro smiled.
Takuma chuckled. He recalled the conversation he once had with Nenro about how to get on a chunin¡¯s team. It was only a few years back, but it seemed such a long time ago.
¡°I honestly can¡¯t see myself on the front lines,¡± Taro commented.
¡°Neither can we,¡± Ai said. ¡°It¡¯s better if you stay behind a desk.¡±
¡°Be honest with me; are they teaching you to torture people?¡± Takuma asked with a sly grin.
¡°As I¡¯ve already told you a hundred times. That¡¯s not my department,¡± said Taro.
¡°We know you¡¯re lying,¡± said Ai.
Taro rolled his eyes.
Masaaki slathered the chicken with a special Akimichi sauce. ¡°I don¡¯t think he has the stomach for it.¡±
Takuma smiled as he tended to the meat. The sound of his friends talking and quarreling was comforting. Who knew when would be the next time he would have this again?
¡®Why are you getting sentimental, you fool?¡¯
¡°Takuma?¡±
Takuma put on a smile as he raised his head. ¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Those are done,¡± said Masaaki.
Takuma looked down at the grill, and the meat he was tending was indeed done. He removed them from the heat and put them on the common plate.
He handed the tongs to Nenro and stood up. ¡°I need to stretch my legs,¡± he said while walking to the roof¡¯s edge, leaning against the railings as he gazed at the neighborhood. The scenery wasn¡¯t anything special as the building wasn¡¯t the tallest. At least the clear sky was full of stars.
¡°You don¡¯t want to leave, do you?¡±
Takuma glanced at Taro, who now stood beside him.
¡°Of course not,¡± Takuma replied with an unintended intensity. ¡°Why the fuck would I ever want to leave the village to go to a war? Fuck, I should¡¯ve dropped out of the academy when I still sucked!¡±
He took a deep breath to calm himself down and looked back at the grill. Masaaki, Ai, and Nenro were still chatting around the grill, unaware of his burst out. He sighed and returned back to gazing at the stars.
¡°You had the option to defer the conscription. Why didn¡¯t you do it?¡± asked Taro.
¡°Because of my stupid career. War achievements and whatnot,¡± Takuma clicked his tongue. ¡°Would you have deferred if you had the chance?¡±
¡°I¡¯m offended you even need to ask.¡±
Takuma would¡¯ve chuckled if he was in the mood. Taro was brutally honest with his desires when it came to work.
¡°Is your career worth it to actively put yourself in a dangerous position?¡± Taro asked.
¡°I want to say no, but yeah, it¡¯s important¡. Ideally, it¡¯s supposed to be an unending cycle. The further I get, the more resources and opportunities I will have¡ªand if you have those, you can use them to get further, which will get you more¡¡±
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¡°An unending cycle¡¡±
¡°Yes, but only ideally; there¡¯s always an end. The reward of the cycle is strength and influence¡. I want them both. I want to get stronger, and I want to be someone influential.¡±
He was only half-joking about dropping out of the academy. No matter how miserable his academy days were, somewhere deep within, he always held the dream that now that he possessed chakra, he would one day become a super shinobi. The delusion of being someone special. But the reality was different. To this day, he couldn¡¯t get rid himself of the feeling of being on a small raft in a vast, unpredictable ocean where one incident was enough to drown him. The feeling had only become worse since the assassination attempt.
If he had known what he now knew, he would¡¯ve dropped out of the academy if possible, lived a simple civilian¡¯s life, and lived his life to the fullest until his end, whenever that was.
But¡ that wasn¡¯t possible anymore. And he no longer wanted to be a civilian.
Takuma liked the current version of himself. He felt competent and skillful. He had more confidence in himself than at any other moment of his life. His identity was now attached to being a shinobi¡ªthat¡¯s all he knew how to be¡ªit was what he wanted to be better at it. The payoff from improving at something was an addictive feeling. He felt good about himself. Being better than the next guy felt great.
¡°But by trying to progress, you¡¯re inviting more danger that comes with it.¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t risk anything, you risk losing even more. Take the risk or lose the chance.¡±
Taro quirked his brow. ¡°Is that a shot at me?¡±
Takuma patted Taro¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Risk leads to greatness, my friend.¡±
¡°I¡¯m plenty great.¡±
¡°That you are, my friend. That you are,¡± Takuma smiled. Just having a friend hear him out vent to release the bottled-up tension was a luxury Takuma was glad to have. ¡°Now, my friends, what would you say if we were to indulge in some premium weed.¡±
¡°Weren¡¯t you a Police Force officer?¡± asked Ai..
¡°I was¡ a deeply corrupt one. Let¡¯s have some fun!¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°You didn¡¯t have to come, you know,¡± said Takuma.
It was five in the morning, and the sun hadn¡¯t risen, but the sky had lightened. Because of Takuma¡¯s injuries and rehabilitation, his deployment had been delayed. His batch of deployed had already left, which was why Takuma was going to travel alone.
¡°I had to see you off,¡± Maruboshi smiled.
Takuma had to leave early in the morning because of the distance, routes, and rest stops. He aimed to arrive at the base a day before his reporting date and familiarize himself with the location and people.
¡°Well¡ I was wondering if you could do something for me,¡± Takuma asked.
¡°Of course, child. What is it?¡±
Takuma took out a tiny scroll from his pack and gave it to Maruboshi. ¡°Can you give this to Uchiha Mikoto? Please do it so she doesn¡¯t know who it came from¡¡± The scroll was a simple ¡®letter¡¯ written with a typewriter, so his handwriting couldn¡¯t be traced, and he even ensured through multiple drafts that his writing style was significantly different.
Out of everyone Takuma knew, Maruboshi was the most capable one for the task.
¡°Whatever is in this scroll, you don¡¯t want her to know it came from you?¡± Maruboshi held the scroll up.
Takuma nodded.
¡°May I know what it is inside?¡±
Takuma shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s better that you have no connection at all. You have to ensure that she or the Uchiha clan doesn¡¯t know that you were in any way involved. As far as she is concerned, the scroll one day made it into her hands, and trying to find the source ends up in a dead end. Can you do it?¡± asked Takuma.
If Maruboshi refused, Takuma would stop in a town nearby. Use the Transformation Jutsu to change his appearance and then approach a kid on the street to mail the scroll to Mikoto¡¯s home address from the post office in the town. This way, even if someone tracked down the kid, they would hit a dead end because the civilian kid wouldn¡¯t be able to see through a Transformation Jutsu.
The problem was that it might not reach Mikoto that way. Maruboshi could get it into her hands without a doubt.
¡°I will deliver this scroll,¡± said Maruboshi.
¡°Thank you,¡± Takuma smiled. ¡°¡ I will leave now.¡±
¡°Take care, my child.¡±
They shared a hug before Takuma stepped out of the iconic gates to the original Hidden Leaf before it was expanded outwards as the population needed more housing and infrastructure.
With every step he took away from, the feeling of unease grew. He had left the Hidden Leaf plenty of times for hikes, wilderness stays, and missions¡ªbut this time, it was different. As he left, it hit him that he didn¡¯t have a home to return home to; he had been living with his friends as their guest for the past few days, but it was only then he realized that even if he turned back now, he wouldn¡¯t have a home to return; not only that, he had also sold a lot of his furniture and belongings.
His leave this time meant he wasn¡¯t returning for a few months at the least to a couple of years at most. No matter what, this was going to be the longest time he was going to leave the Hidden Leaf, a place Takuma considered to be his home and safe haven. Even after the assassination attempt, his opinion of Hidden Leaf hadn¡¯t changed.
But now he was leaving that haven¡
Takuma wanted to stop and turn away, but he knew Maruboshi stood there and would see his hesitation. He couldn¡¯t let his teacher, the person he respected the most, see his weakness. He clenched his fists before raising his hands to weave hand seals for the Body Flicker Jutsu.
He pushed the discomfort away and pushed ahead.
The feeling would go away when he left Hidden Leaf behind, thought Takuma.
At least, he hoped it would.
INTERLUDE_5.1 (171): Altered Flow of Destiny
Mikoto sat in the room facing her garden as she spent her afternoon with a calm flower arrangement session. For the past year, her afternoons had been occupied with her lessons with Takuma, but since the incident two months ago, that had come to a stop, and her days had returned to what they were before Takuma was a daily guest in her home.
But things had changed as well. Her sons had grown up. Itachi was no longer the child he was when Sasuke was born, and since his assignment to ANBU, her eldest son was never at home during the day. Sasuke, on the other hand, recently spent most of his weekends attending the clan training sessions with other Uchiha children¡ªtoday, though, Sasuke was out with his father.
She knew what the father and son were doing. Sasuke''s recent frustrations and the frequent absence of his usually never-ending energy worried her; it made her wonder if Fugaku¡ªeven herself¡ªwere putting too much pressure on their youngest by holding him to the same expectations set by Itachi. They were aware of how special Itachi was and that they couldn''t compare him to other children, but no parent wanted to think that one of their children was in any way lesser than the other.
Mikoto erased those thoughts and focused on the fragile flowers as she took a dainty pair of scissors to them.
There were familiar footsteps in the hallway, and Mikoto looked to the side to see her husband turn the corner.
"Sasuke?" she asked.
"He went out to play," answered Fugaku. He then took out a scroll from his sleeves and handed it to her. "This came for you. There is no sender on it, but I checked for traps or jutsu¡ªit has none."
Mikoto received the scroll and was about to unroll it when Fugaku sat beside it.
"Sasuke did it," he said. "He performed the Great Fireball Jutsu today. The size of the flames and the intensity of heat¡ they were strong and powerful."
Mikoto stared at her husband in surprise. His expressions were still stony as usual, but she could see the flecks of pride in his eyes and the slight tug on his lips that portrayed how he actually felt.
"He did?" Mikoto put the scroll down. "Tell me more."
She sat there smiling as Fugaku vividly described how Sasuke performed the jutsu that every Uchiha needed to master to be truly worth their clan name. Fugaku was full of pride that their son was an exemplary example of what their clan stood to be.
"Shall we take him to his favorite restaurant today for dinner?" Mikoto asked.
Fugaku nodded. His eyes then went to the flowers. He asked, "I heard your student left for his deployment."
"Takuma? He did the day before yesterday." She sighed, "I still don''t understand how Sayuri could let him go away to war. Wasn''t he good at his job? He could''ve done good." She turned to her husband, "You could''ve placed him somewhere else."
"The Police Force didn''t volunteer him for the war. The conscription order came from outside. They specifically asked for him; someone must''ve heard about him and thought he would do well in the war. As you said, he was good at his job."
"If he were a chunin, I would''ve agreed. But Takuma is a genin," Mikoto sighed. "I wrote a letter to his commanding jonin, asking him to treat Takuma fairly." It wasn''t Takuma''s fault that he was deployed late, which shouldn''t be held against him.
"That was a nice thing to do. It seems you enjoyed his company."
"He is a perceptive child with a knack for genjutsu. He is intelligent and eloquent, if not a bit rigid with his imagination. I enjoyed our lessons. It''s a pity that they had to end." She wasn''t even able to explore Takuma''s uncanny ability to snap out of genjutsu; if she knew their time together would be less than a year, she would''ve subjected him to more genjutsu to collect more information
"I wonder if I enjoyed them so much because I got the opportunity to teach genjutsu I lost with Itachi. They are the same age; they would''ve graduated together if Itachi hadn''t graduated early," said Mikoto. Itachi only needed to be taught the basics, and he would take it from there on his own at an astonishing pace¡ªshe had never gotten to teach him anything for long.
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"Where is Itachi?" Fugaku asked.
"He went out shortly after you left with Sasuke." Itachi hadn''t told her he was going out, but she sensed her son leaving the house. He might be ANBU, but she was a war-hardened jonin.
Fugaku hummed.
Mikoto knew her husband had entered his brooding phase, and it was useless to snap him out of it before he naturally emerged from it. Fugaku loved their sons, but his relationship with Itachi was not what Fugaku would''ve liked to have. In Fugaku''s eyes, Itachi''s behavior of going out on his own with his life and spending more and more time in ANBU was akin to a child''s rebellion¡ªand Itachi''s disinterest in clan matters was a bad behavior to be fixed.
She turned her attention to the scroll addressed to her and rolled it open. The writing was mechanical, printed on the paper from a typewriter. The first few sentences were a simple introduction that the author was an observer who had come across some valuable information about the Uchiha clan and the immediate danger the clan was in.
Mikoto wanted to stop reading. Letters like these were not uncommon; people seemed to have overactive imaginations about conspiracies that they wished were taken seriously. But Mikoto was curious as to why it wasn''t sent to the Police Force, and even if it was addressed to her, what was the reason, when Fugaku was a better choice.
As she continued to read, the claims in the letter were astounding and outlandish.
The author claimed that Danzo knew about the Uchiha''s plan to overthrow the Hokage and his administration and would use that as an opportunity to wipe out the entire clan due to his hatred against the Uchiha. The author further claimed that the Hokage was aware of the Uchiha''s plans as Shisui and her own son, Itachi, were working with the Hokage, and the Leaf Council¡ªDanzo, emphasized the author¡ª as double agents because Shisui and Itachi feared that the overthrow would fracture the village beyond return and would inevitably lead other villages to invade Hidden Leaf, leading to a fate similar to the Hidden Whirlpool.
Mikoto was about to dismiss the entire thing as a madman''s rambling. The author''s information wasn''t exactly reliable. It was outdated because the Uchiha had abandoned their coup plans months ago, and their relationship with Hokage was on an upward positive trajectory¡ªthe best it had been in decades.
She also didn''t appreciate that the author was calling her son a traitor to the clan.
But just before she burned the letter into ashes, she noticed the word that shouldn''t have been there.
"Mangekyo Sharingan?" she muttered out loud.
The letter then claimed that Shisui had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, and Danzo was aware of the fact and wanted the eyes for himself.
Mangekyo Sharingan was a well-guarded secret. There were only a handful of people across the lands who knew of its existence. And many who were aware of it only considered it to be a story made to enhance the legend of Uchiha Madara. Mikoto and those who had progressed their Sharingan enough knew that Mangekyo Sharingan existed as it was engraved in the Uchiha Tablet, but the clan had lost the information on how to achieve the eyes as no one had Sharingan advanced to decipher the Uchiha Tablet, which only revealed its secret as an Uchiha progressed their Sharingan.
"What did you say?" Fugaku, beside her, snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Mikoto and her letter in surprise.
"T-This letter."
She handed Fugaku the letter.
"We have to find where this letter came from," Fugaku said as he stood up.
Just at that moment, a Uchiha shinobi landed in their garden and immediately knelt in front of them,
"My Lord, Jonin Shisui was found dead. His body was found floating in a stream by civilian farmers." The man''s voice cracked for a moment. "F-From his body''s condition, it seems he was in a combat¡. And¡and¡and¡"
"Out with it," Fugaku urged.
"S-Sir, his eyes are missing."
Mikoto''s heart plunged as her eyes went to the scroll Fugaku had now crumpled within his first.
"Find Itachi; I want him at home as soon as possible," Mikoto issued the order as she rose up. She turned to Fugaku, "I''m bringing Sasuke home. You better find who sent that scroll and verify the information inside."
"Is something wrong?"
Fugaku and Mikoto turned back to see Itachi standing in the hallway with Sasuke by his side. Itachi had his brows furrowed, perhaps sensing the sharp tension in the room, while Sasuke looked worried.
"Mom?" said Sasuke.
"Sasuke, go in your room and do your homework," Fugaku spoke up before Mikoto could say anything. "Itachi, you''re coming with me to the headquarters."
"Why?" asked Itachi.
Fugaku''s eyes glanced at Sasuke before he silently mouthed the words to Itachi.
''Shisui''s dead.''
Itachi''s eyes widened. He looked stunned as if the world had ended¡ªbut the emotion disappeared as Itachi steadied himself not to let Sasuke feel anything was wrong.
Mikoto knew how close Itachi and Shisui were. Itachi was a genius, which led adults to treat time as their peer; they treated him like an adult. Shisui, on the other hand, treated Itachi like a younger brother. Shisui was someone Itachi could look up to, someone he could rely on. Shisui and Itachi''s bond was something that transcended blood.
Mikoto pursed her lips. "Come, Sasuke. I will help you with your homework. Your father and Itachi have some work to do." She stepped forward and took Sasuke''s hand.
"Mom, did I do something wrong?" asked Sasuke.
"Of course not, my dear. Father just has some clan business with your brother," she said.
Mikoto turned to Itachi and placed her hand on his shoulder, transmitting all the warmth she could to her son.
Itachi nodded to her. He knelt down in front of Sasuke with a smile and tapped his forehead with two fingers. "Sorry, Sasuke. We will train someday later," he said with a smile.
Itachi then disappeared with Fugaku.
In the rush of things and shock of revelations, none noticed that Itachi''s eyes were a hint of bloodshot, and if someone looked closely, the skin below his eyes were slightly red.
CH_6.1 (172)
Takuma had been in the Land of Hot Waters once, but he had only passed through the nation on his way to the Land of Frost. The journey was quite pleasant, even if he had nothing but terrible memories of the destination. If Takuma weren¡¯t on a clock and hadn¡¯t set aside time for sightseeing because of how long it took to get the pass from Dr. Oichi on his recovery, he would¡¯ve stayed at least two days in a tourist spot in the Land of Hot Waters.
The lack of time meant Takuma had to rush through the country and reach the border camp where he was stationed.
Takuma looked up at the sky; the sun was about to set. He had traveled during the night, but Takuma didn¡¯t want to rush because he had almost reached the camp, and pulling an all-nighter would leave him tired on arrival, something he wanted to avoid. Takuma decided he would camp for the night and then resume early in the morning to reach in the afternoon.
Takuma knew a township nearby could be used as a rest point, but it meant he would be ending his journey two hours before he usually did, but Takuma decided to do it. Within half an hour, Takuma found the town, and the first thing he noticed upon entering was how bustling with activity and people the town was. The streets were more crowded than what he had seen in Hidden Leaf, which was surprising considering that the town wasn¡¯t a prime tourist destination, nor was the town on a major trading route¡ªand yet, Takuma felt as though he was in a major city.
It was intriguing, so Takuma asked the next shinobi guard he found.
¡°Hey, is it like this year-round? Crowded, isn¡¯t it,¡± he asked.
¡°Not at all. I have been living in this town for a decade, and not once have there been this many people here,¡± said the middle-aged Hidden Steam shinobi.
¡°Then what¡¯s the occasion?¡±
¡°They¡¯re refugees displaced from their homes near the border. There¡¯s even a camp outside the town for those who couldn¡¯t afford to move. People have been moving westwards all year long. The war is ruining people¡¯s lives. It¡¯s a whole mess,¡± the shinobi looked deeply pained. It was expected; his country was toiling in a war they couldn¡¯t fight.
He turned to look at Takuma. ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re from here, little brother. Where are you going?¡±
¡°To the border.¡± Takuma introduced himself, ¡°Hidden Leaf shinobi, joining the war to help our allies.¡±
¡°Oh! I did think you weren¡¯t from the country. So, you¡¯re from Land of Fire, huh. Well, allow me to welcome you to the country.¡±
They got to talking and exchanging information. Eventually, Takuma asked the man for a recommendation for an inn or a hotel, and they parted ways.
The plan was to book a room, go out to have some good local cuisine, and then turn in early to start his journey early into the morning. Alas, things didn¡¯t go according to plan.
¡°You don¡¯t have any rooms? Anything would do,¡± Takuma said to the hotel staff behind the front desk.
¡°Can¡¯t help you. There¡¯s no space left because of the refugees. I doubt you will find a room in the city for a while. This town wasn¡¯t built to hold this many people. The folks with empty rooms in their home are renting them out to the travelers because of how much demand is there for a roof,¡± said the staff.
¡°Damn,¡± Takuma sighed.
¡°If you want a place to sleep, you can try the camp outside the town. You might get a piece of ground with a tent over your head. But be careful about your belongings, not much security. You will have to convince the shinobi there to let you in,¡± said the staff.
Takuma went to several more inns and hotels, but everything was complete booked. There was not a single room for him to sleep under tonight. Having run out of options, Takuma headed to the refugee camp. He had a tent of his own he could set up, but he needed a dry place, and the Land of Hot Waters had entered its monsoon season, which had made dry land sparse. There were shinobi managing the camp, so Takuma decided to ask them if he could sleep under one of their tents. He just needed a place on the floor, and he could sleep in his sleeping bag.
The camp was just an area occupied with poor-quality tents with tons of displaced citizens. The atmosphere was in stark difference from the town. The camp looked destitute and impoverished. As he walked through the camp, he could see people, and they seemed to have no energy in them.
The Land of Hot Waters wasn¡¯t a poor country. In fact, it was the opposite. The country was well managed, and the citizens lived a comfortable life. But looking at the state of the camp, Takuma gathered how much the war had taken it out of the nation and how the people had been affected. He felt thankful for having first lived in a peaceful modern era, and then when he was displaced, he found himself living in the Hidden Leaf.
After asking around, Takuma found the shinobi. There was a better-quality tent in the back. Through the flaps, Takuma noticed a Hidden Leaf uniform, and he headed straight in. Takuma was noticed the moment he entered.
¡°And who might you be?¡± asked the man
¡°Genin Takuma of the Hidden Leaf, sir,¡± Takuma replied and showed his shinobi identification.
The man smiled as he rose up to shake hands with Takuma.
¡°What a pleasant surprise. I¡¯m Genin Takashi. What brings you here?¡± said Takashi.
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¡°I¡¯m on my way to a border camp. I was wondering if I could get somewhere to sleep. I looked for a room in the town, but nothing was free. Just a dry piece of land for me to set up a tent would be more than enough.¡±
¡°Of course, of course,¡± Takashi was more than happy to host Takuma. ¡°There¡¯s no space in the staff tents, but you can stay in one of the civilian tents. You will have to share, but I will make sure the people in your tent are good folk.¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t ask more of you,¡± Takuma smiled.
As Takashi led him through the camp, Takuma opened a conversation.
¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why are you managing a refugee camp? Shouldn¡¯t the Hidden Steam handle this,¡± he asked.
¡°Agreed, and this camp is handled by the Hidden Steam. There are three Hidden Steam genin who manage this camp. I¡¯m only temporarily helping them out because this camp exceeded its intended capacity. I was at Camp Husk until a month ago, and they finally approved of my return, but they asked me to manage this camp until Hidden Steam can manage the situation. Two more weeks here, and I will return home,¡± Takashi sounded happy.
¡°That¡¯s good, congratulations,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Thank you. So, where were you stationed before this?¡±
¡°Hidden Leaf.¡±
¡°Oh, is that the truth? I have never been to the Hidden Leaf. What is it like? Do Hyuga really have white eyes?¡± asked Takashi.
¡°Hidden Leaf is a city that wakes up early and goes to sleep late. And yes, Hyuga have white eyes; quite striking if you ask me.¡±
They continued to talk about each other¡¯s home lives and the difference between their shinobi experience. Takuma noticed that Takashi didn¡¯t want to talk about his time in the Camp Husk, so Takuma stayed away from it.
¡°Here we are.¡±
They stopped in front of a tent. They stepped inside, and as Takashi had said, there were already people inside. Occupying the tent were two men, two women, and five children. It took Takuma one look to deduce that four adults were two couples and the five kids were their children. He could even assign the children to the couples based on their looks.
¡°This is Takuma; he¡¯s a shinobi. He¡¯s headed towards the border. He will be spending the night and leave early tomorrow.¡± Takashi was polite, but his words were firm; he was telling, not requesting.
Everyone in the tent looked at Takuma before nodding.
¡°Excellent. I would love to stay and continue the introduction, but I have work to do. Please make yourself comfortable,¡± Takashi said before leaving.
One of the men stepped forward and introduced himself. ¡°My name is Chiasa. You can sleep here,¡± he pointed at an empty space inside the tent.
¡°My name is Takuma. Sorry for disturbing you.¡±
The other adults introduced themselves as well. Chiasa¡¯s wife Miwa, and the other couple, Kichirou and Nana. The children weren¡¯t introduced. Takuma chatted with the adults for a bit before heading back into town for some food.
By the time he returned, it was mealtime in the camp.
Takuma entered the tent, and the two families were sharing what was clearly emergency rations distributed as relief for those in the camp. Takuma was no stranger to crappy packaged food. There were military rations that he had eaten several times¡ªthose things didn¡¯t taste good at all. And he was sure these civilian supplies were worse.
¡°Would you like some?¡± asked Chiasa.
¡°No, please, have your meal in peace. I will set up my bedroll here,¡± said Takuma.
As he set up his bedroll, the one named Nana asked him a question.
¡°You¡¯re a shinobi?¡± she asked.
¡°I am. I am a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf,¡± said Takuma as he unpacked the roll from his backpack.
¡°But, you¡¯re so young,¡± she said. ¡°How can you be a shinobi?¡±
¡°Young people can be shinobi, ma¡¯am,¡± he chuckled.
If it was before he lived in this world, he would¡¯ve been confused by Nana¡¯s question. In his former opinion, the world revolved around the shinobi. But that just wasn¡¯t true. Shinobi weren¡¯t ever present across the lands. They were in abundance in Hidden Villages like the Hidden Leaf, and they were densely present in all big cities, and important locations like border regions as a military force¡ªbut the presence of shinobi thinned as one moved away from those areas. In the deep countryside, people could go years between shinobi appearances.
Shinobi were mercenary-for-hire, and there was not much money to be earned in the boonies.
¡°They¡¯re sending children to war? How could they,¡± Miwa muttered in disbelief.
¡°Do not worry, ma¡¯am. I might look like¡ I might be a child, but I¡¯m trained in the art of combat. Both our nations want this war to end, and if they thought I wasn¡¯t right for the job, they wouldn¡¯t have sent me,¡± Takuma smiled as he sat on his finished setting up his bedroll.
Takuma looked around, and the tent was filled with what looked like personal belongings, but having just packed up his house, he could tell that the things in the tent were bare essentials. These people had left in a hurry.
¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± Takuma started. ¡°How did you end up here? I¡¯m assuming it was because of the war.¡±
Kichirou nodded. ¡°Two months ago, a shinobi came to the village, telling us to leave the village as soon as possible. They said the enemy had moved closer, and the village was in danger. Not all people wanted to leave¡. But we have children,¡± he looked at the boy and girl eating together, ¡°so we left to be safe.¡±
¡°W-We had to leave everything behind,¡± said Nana. The toll of leaving her home so abruptly was clear to her. All four adults looked exhausted; even the children, none seemed to be older than five or six, looked worse from wear.
Kichirou hugged her from the side. ¡°Two weeks ago, we got the news that the village was taken by the enemy. T-They don¡¯t know what happened to those who stayed behind.¡±
Takuma felt a spike in his heart. He glanced at the children. What would have happened to them if their parents hadn¡¯t made the right decision to leave?
¡°Mama?¡± one of Nana¡¯s children looked at her.
Nana hurriedly wiped the tears building up in her eyes and smiled as she pulled the boy into her lap, hugging him tightly as she whispered comforting things into his ear.
¡°¡ All of you from the same village?¡± asked Takuma.
They nodded.
¡°What¡¯s your plan from here on out?¡± asked Takuma. They had been in the camp for two months already; they had a roof over their head and food to fill their stomachs¡ªbut this was no place to raise children. He knew from some videos he had seen on the internet that refugees could live in camps for years, and there were even cases where an entire generation was raised in camps. He didn¡¯t want that for anyone.
¡°Some people are planning a caravan to one of the big cities. We are thinking about joining them. We don¡¯t know when this war will end, or if we ever will get to return to our homes. There will be work in the big city¡ we can start again,¡± said Chiasa, his voice hopeful.
It was a risky move. Leaving the camp meant no food, and there was no telling what would be waiting for them in the city. But if they were able to find work, it could indeed be a new start for the families. Their children could attend school and grow up in a decent environment.
The youngest of Chiasa¡¯s children, a girl, walked to Takuma and placed a plushie in his lap.
¡°You want to play?¡± he asked.
The girl nodded.
¡°Uni, come back here, don¡¯t disturb him!¡± Miwa said, hurriedly.
¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Takuma assured her. ¡°I can play.¡± He looked down at Uni. ¡°How do we play?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know how to play? Oh no, what should we do?¡± said Uni. ¡°It¡¯s okay I will teach you how to play. Listen carefully, okay?¡±
Takuma laughed.
Even in these destitute circumstances, children were glowing beacons of hope. As long as the children were nurtured, the future was bound to be bright.
¡°Okay.¡±
CH_6.2 (173)
¡°This is the princess, and this is her lady-in-waiting.¡±
Little Uni showed her ragdolls to Takuma. She would pick one, brush their hair, and straighten her dresses as she told him all about them. Takuma looked at the dolls in his lap; a part of him was fascinated by the stories Uni told him¡ªthey were childish and simple, but they were joyous and full of happiness.
Nothing Uni said was interesting, but Takuma enjoyed listening to her regardless.
¡°And this is my froggy,¡± Uni held up a green frog crochet doll. ¡°Mommy made it.¡±
Takuma was impressed. He knew sewing for maintenance purposes, and he was pretty good at it because of how often he ended up tearing them. But he had no experience in cosmetic skills like crocheting or pattern making.
¡°Is this froggy the prince?¡± he asked.
¡°Why would the froggy be the prince, silly.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Takuma smiled. It seemed that fairytale wasn¡¯t a thing in the world. ¡°Is there a prince or princess who this princess fancies?¡±
¡°Yes, there is a prince!¡± Uni looked around, seemingly looking for another doll, but there wasn¡¯t one. She stood up and ran to the bed she shared with her mother and looked around. Every moment, she didn¡¯t find her prince, was a moment her expression turned for worse.
¡°Mommy, I can¡¯t find the prince!¡±
Miwa started looking for her daughter¡¯s doll, but it seemed it wasn¡¯t in the tent. The moment Uni found that, she started crying.
¡°Maybe she left the doll in Hazuro¡¯s tent. The kids were there when we were getting the food,¡± said Nana.
¡°Did you have the doll with you when we went out, Uni?¡± asked Miwa.
Uni nodded, sniffling.
¡°We will go get it tomorrow, okay?¡± asked Miwa.
¡°I want it now,¡± Uni murmured.
¡°Now, Uni. Don¡¯t be like this. You will get the doll tomorrow,¡± said Chiasa.
Takuma stood up. ¡°I will get it,¡± he said.
¡°No, no, you don¡¯t have to.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. I want to have a little walk before I go to sleep. I will just grab it on my own,¡± Takuma didn¡¯t want to walk, but nature was calling, and he wanted to relieve himself before going to sleep.
Takuma grabbed his bag and exited the tent. He liked the two families enough, but he wasn¡¯t going to leave his belongings with anyone he didn¡¯t trust.
Almost immediately, Takuma was reminded why he didn¡¯t want to walk. His feet dug into wet mud that covered half of his shoe. He was lucky that he was partial to shinobi boots rather than open sandals. He sent some chakra into his soles to make walking easier and used his cane to inspect the ground, but the gross feeling of stepping into mud persisted.
Takuma first went into the bushes to relieve himself. The weather in the Land of Hot Waters was different. The country as a whole was cooler than the Land of Fire and much cooler than the Hidden Leaf village, situated in one of the hotter regions of the nation. And as he moved closer to the Land of Frost, the temperature went down. He loved the rain in general except for when he was traveling¡ªand the Land of Hot Waters didn¡¯t have the problem of mixing humidity with heat, which was a problem every monsoon season in the Hidden Leaf.
Tonight, in particular, was bound to be a good night because of a cool post-rain breeze guaranteed to make a fantastic sleeping experience.
After relieving himself, Takuma went to the tent specified by Chiasa, and thankfully, the oil lamps were still burning. Takuma peeked in to the tent shared by three families and asked them for Uni¡¯s prince doll. They seemed confused at first, but when Takuma spoke of Chiasa and Miwa, they understood and handed the ¡®prince doll.¡¯ The doll was dressed in clothes like those worn by the nobility from the Fire Capital, the Fire Daimyo¡¯s seat. Takuma chatted with the people in the tent for a bit before wishing them a good night.
Takuma gazed at the sky as he slowly walked back to the tent. Because he was close to the border without any big settlements, the sky was much clearer. The stars were more beautiful than he had ever seen in the Hidden Leaf. It was a sight to behold. If he weren¡¯t on a journey with a clock on it, Takuma would¡¯ve spent a night stargazing.
*Swish*
A sound alerted Takuma. He looked in the direction. It was faint, but he picked it up clearly. He recognized the sound clearly¡ª the sound of cutting through the air at high speeds with a flutter of a robe. It was a common sound in the Hidden Leaf, where shinobi used rooftops as a road system. He thought it was the shinobi managing the camp coming back from the town after dinner. Takuma decided to give them his thanks now as he wasn¡¯t going to get a chance to do so tomorrow because he was planning to leave early at sunrise.
Takuma headed for the shinobi tents.
*Boom!*
Takuma felt the air shift as an explosion went off. His instincts rang the alarm bells as screams and yells sounded in the camp. Takuma turned back to locate the source of the explosion only to see a large fireball from Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu barrel through a row of tents, scorching everything in its path leaving chakra-fueled fires in its wake. The ground shook, and Takuma saw a number of tents collapse. Arcs of lightning with flashes sparked in another part of the tent.
The camp was under attack.
The sounds he had heard weren¡¯t the managers. They were the enemies.
Takuma ran for the woods. He all but ripped his backpack open, took out his weapon pouches before throwing the backpack into a bush, and rushed into the camp.
He pushed chakra into his feet and took the air with a big leap. He easily cleared the tent tops and reached a height where he could get a look at the situation. It was brief, but enough. Mud flew in every direction as Takuma pushed himself to his destination using the Body Flicker Jutsu.
He almost slipped in the mud as he stopped in front of the burning tents. Dense smoke rose from the flames as a man dressed in black attire spewed flames and threw explosion tags all around him.
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Takuma almost vomited when the smell of burning flesh hit his nose. His being shook as he saw burning bodies slumped on the ground. Men and women, still alive, with their bodies of fire rolling in the mud to put out the fires on their bodies¡ªbut the chakra-fueled flames weren¡¯t easy to put out.
From beneath the deep shock bubbled a burning rage as Takuma shot forward with full might. He clenched his fist as waves of chakra flooded his arm.
¡°Hey!¡±
The black-clad shinobi turned. A startling surprise crossed his eyes as he saw Takuma. The surprise made the man slow, and he couldn¡¯t avoid the punch into the stomach. The man flew back like a cannonball and slammed into a burning tent that still stood.
A strong recoil almost dislocated his shoulder. It had been more than a year since he had last messed up the chakra in an augmented strike, but Takuma disregarded the dull ache and shot toward the tent.
The man in the tent coughed violently. He tried to get up, but Takuma appeared above him and slammed his heel into the man¡¯s ribs, cracking them brutally. Takuma bent down and cut the man¡¯s throat with his kunai, silencing his scream.
He dragged the man out of the tent and dumped him in the middle of the street so his body wouldn¡¯t burn because of the wet mud.
Takuma left the dead body there and shot towards the next area of disruption with Body Flicker Jutsu. It was dangerous to use the jutsu because it was hard to control¡ªwhich was why it wasn¡¯t used in combat¡ªand Takuma could rush into a ninjutsu.
When Takuma arrived, he saw another black-clad man standing over a kneeling down Takashi, the Hidden Leaf genin who was temporarily helping out at the camp.
The black-clad man raised his sword.
¡°No!¡± yelled Takuma as he rushed towards them.
*Swing*
*Thud*
Takashi¡¯s head rolled on the ground. His body collapsed beside it a moment later.
Takuma stopped in his tracks in disbelief and stared at the upside-down face of the man who had helped him a few hours ago as the blood from his neck dripped down onto his face, which was frozen in terror.
The cacophony of crackling fire, destruction, and screams around the camp struck Takuma simultaneously as his vision was focused on Takashi. He looked up at the black-clad man, who was now staring at him.
At that moment, as Takuma clutched the kunai in his hand, he knew one thing.
He was going to murder the man before him if it was the last thing he did.
He let out a battle cry as he charged for the man, who ran towards Takuma with his sword raised. Their weapons clashed. The katana was a two-handed weapon, but Takuma had one hand free. He went in for a throat-crushing augmented strike.
The man pushed his sword forward, throwing Takuma¡¯s balance. Takuma took a step back to stabilize him and pressed ahead with aggression. The two shinobi got locked in a deadly dance where Takuma pushed, and the black-clad shinobi received every strike with practiced grace.
Takuma struck his kunai and free hand as his feet remained on the ground, providing a solid foundation in the wet mud. His opponent¡¯s kenjutsu was some of the most skillful he had faced; the man used his sword to keep Takuma at a distance¡ªa solid defense and deadly offense that threatened to dissect Takuma if he wasn¡¯t careful.
Suddenly, the man switched gears. He exploited a gap in Takuma¡¯s aggression and, with one step forward, thrashed his sword down at Takuma repeatedly, who could only use one short kunai to estimate each downward deadly strike.
*Crack!*
Takuma¡¯s kunai snapped in half under the heavy strikes, and the sword blade sliced down at him. Thankfully for Takuma, his chainmail took the weakened swing, leaving him almost uninjured from the attack.
With the sword at the lowest point of the swing, Takuma took a step forward and slammed his forehead into the man¡¯s face. As the man faltered, Takuma followed with a spinning kick to the head. But as he stepped ahead for a finishing strike, the man unleashed a lightning-quick horizontal sword swing that missed Takuma only by a couple centimeters¡ªbut it did the job of stopping Takuma, giving the man enough time to jump away to create some distance.
Both shinobi stared at each other as they slowly moved in a circle.
The opponent was tough. He was weaker than the chunin Takuma had faced during the Farm Raid, but he was stronger than any of the assassins who had come for him.
The man changed his grip on the sword to weave hand seals. A streak of lightning sparked across the sword blade.
Takuma¡¯s instincts screamed danger. As the man dashed toward him, Takuma weaved hand seals before pressing his hands into the ground. Chakra seeped into the ground, and the wet mud rose around Takuma, solidifying under his command.
Earthen Dome!
The lightning-covered sword sliced the top of the dome like a hot knife through butter, but the rest of the dome stood.
Earth was weak to Lightning.
The man eyed the opening he had made¡ªTakuma was kneeling in the dome.
The man switched his grip to a two-handed reverse grip to stab the sword down into the hole. But before he could push the sword in, a kunai flew out, almost impaling itself in the head if not for the man to shift his head at the last moment. The kunai knicked him at the place where the neck met the shoulder.
The surprise broke the jutsu on the sword.
The man¡¯s eye naturally tried to look into the hole, but there was nothing but darkness inside the dome¡ª Takuma was gone. But then he noticed something casting a glow on the ground. Confused but wanting to find Takuma immediately, he turned away.
Two explosive tags stuck to the dome wall exploded, and the dome¡¯s hardened earth became equivalent to pseudo-grenade pellets, slamming into the unprepared man along with the force of the raw explosion from the tags themselves.
A distance away from the dome, Takuma emerged from within the ground.
Hiding in the Rock Jutsu
The man had flown in Takuma¡¯s direction. Seeing him on the ground, Takuma charged, adamant to end the fight.
The man pushed himself using his sword as support. He saw Takuma rushing toward him. His clothes were torn into shreds, revealing burnt skin under a chainmail. There was blood dripping down the side of his head. With trembling hands, he weaved hand seals. Thick lightning arcs snaked around his arm, merging into one bolt that then shot toward Takuma.
Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Jutsu
It was a delicate play of timing. The moment Takuma saw the lightning arcs of the C-rank jutsu, he prepared himself. With every muscle tensed in his body, Takuma dropped into a forward sliding tackle at the precise moment before the lightning bolt left the man¡¯s hand. The lazer-quick Lightning Release jutsu covered the distance in the blink of an eye.
Takuma felt every hair on his body rise as the lightning bolt shot past above him.
He breathed out and seamlessly got up and jumped up before coming down to slam an augmented fist into the man¡¯s jaw.
The man went down, but he didn¡¯t stay down. He tried to raise his sword to protect himself.
Takuma threw a kunai with as much force as he could muster. It pierced the man¡¯s wrist, coming out the other way.
The man screamed as he dropped his sword.
Takuma slammed another augmented kick into the ribs to put the bastard down.
He equipped another kunai and went in for the kill.
¡°No, don¡¯t kill him!¡± a woman¡¯s voice sounded in the distance.
But it was already too late, Takuma had already released the kunai. It went clean into the man¡¯s throat.
It didn¡¯t matter either way.
Takuma was too angry.
He raised his leg and kicked in the kunai deeper into the man¡¯s throat, ending his life if there was any doubt otherwise.
Takuma didn¡¯t ease up and immediately turned towards the voice with a kunai ready in his hand for another opponent.
Standing a few meters away was a young woman. Takuma¡¯s first instinct was to take her down, but then he noticed her clothes. She was wearing a Hidden Steam shinobi uniform.
Takuma released a deep breath. He didn¡¯t put his guard down; the woman could be one of the camp raiders, dressed in Hidden Steam colors to deceive people.
Before either of them could say anything, Takuma noticed a civilian man running away from the camp with a child in his arms.
¡°No,¡± Takuma muttered, a horrifying thought emerging in his mind.
He turned back and shot forward with the Body Flicker Jutsu, ignoring the woman calling out for him.
A few seconds later, Takuma stood in front of the camp he was planning to sleep in for the night. The was on fire, the flames covering the entirety of the shelter as they rose to the sky. The structure had long collapsed.
Takuma saw none of that. He weaved hand seals faster than ever in his life.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave.
He controlled the flow of the wave to spread the water all over the tent. The flames subsided, but the fire didn¡¯t go out completely, so he weaved hand seals again¡ and again.
By the time Takuma rushed into the tent, his logical mind had caught up to his actions.
A fear grew larger from the corner of his heart.
Another part of him didn¡¯t want to accept it.
¡®They must¡¯ve gotten out before the tent burned out¡¡¯
In the tent, Takuma looked around, and he found what he feared.
He dropped to his knees and broke down when he saw what lay beside burnt dolls.
CH_6.3 (174)
Four genin were in charge of managing the camp with more than four hundred people. Three of them were Hidden Steam shinobi, while the fourth shinobi was a Hidden Leaf shinobi helping out until Hidden Steam could replace him with one of their own. The four shinobi had hired people from the camp itself to manage the sheer number of people.
Yeri was a Hidden Steam shinobi managing the camp. She was one of the two shinobi present on the camp during the incursion, the second being Takashi of the Hidden Leaf. The other two were out visiting the town for food and drinks.
The camp was significantly distant from the conflict. There was no reason for enemy shinobi to be this deep in the Land of Hot Waters. This was why only four genin were assigned to the camp¡ªshinobi weren¡¯t needed to manage the camp; civilians could¡¯ve done it on their own, showcased by the fact that the Hidden Steam was taking such a long time to replace the Hidden Leaf shinobi loaned out to them. The four shinobi weren¡¯t expecting an attack and were thus lax on security and focusing more on ensuring the refugees were adequately managed.
The incursion happened very quickly.
By the time Yeri got out of her tent, two rows of tents were already on intense fire. The first thing she saw was a Great Fireball rolling through tents in the distance. She and Takashi sprinted to the different parts of the camp and found black-clad shinobi causing destruction, mindlessly killing civilians¡ªwomen, children, elderly¡ªno one was spared.
She understood that they were outnumbered when she found the first enemy. If she and Takashi were occupied by an enemy each, the rest could continue to wreak havoc on civilians powerless to stop shinobi. The remaining two shinobi needed to return quickly¡ªwhich they thankfully did. The violent fires were big enough to be seen from the nearby town.
Yeri finished off her first intruder in exchange of suffering some injuries. The next intruder wasn¡¯t difficult and surrendered with little effort when she was joined by the other two Hidden Steam shinobi. From the looks of it, Takashi had taken out an intruder¡ before he died at the hands of another.
And there was the other guy.
Takashi had told them that a Hidden Leaf shinobi was using the camp as a rest point on his travels to a border camp. They had no problems because of how little the shinobi had asked for such a short time.
So when Yeri saw a teenager fighting an intruder, she realized it was the Hidden Leaf shinobi. Yeri was grateful to him, but she didn¡¯t appreciate him ignoring her ask to capture the intruder instead of killing him. In cases like this, it was better for them to interrogate captives for information rather than kill them. They already had one captive, but it was always better to have at least two in case one of them didn¡¯t have complete facts or used two people to verify each other¡¯s information.
But things didn¡¯t stop there.
She glanced at the Hidden Leaf shinobi, who had introduced himself as Takuma, sitting in the corner of the tent. His breathing was labored, he was sweating a lot, and he was clutching a cane in his hands, but other than that, there was not even a single scratch on him.
¡®Just how much chakra does he have?¡¯ she thought.
The man had single-handedly put almost all the fires in the camp with his Water Release jutsu. It prevented a lot of loss because of the quick action. She was eternally grateful for that.
And yet, the camp was ruined; people had lost lives, and those who lived had lost their belongings. The war refugees who had been uprooted from their homes had lost their place of stay for the second time¡
Yeri clenched her jaw. She could still hear the screams; the smell of smoke made her feel nauseous.
She was charged to keep the refugees safe, but she wasn¡¯t able to do a thing. She had failed miserably. Everywhere she looked, her failure was thrown back at her¡ª the people who had lost their partners, the parents who had lost their children, the children who were now orphans¡ªeverything was her fault.
¡°Is the prisoner ready?¡± asked Takuma.
Yeri turned to see that Takuma now looked better than before.
¡°The other two are interrogating him,¡± she replied.
He stood up, and his cane clicked as he walked to the other tent.
Yeri followed after him. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±
¡°I would like to ask some questions as well,¡± he said.
As they entered the tent with the prisoner, Yeri stepped in front of Takuma. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you do that.¡± She was grateful to Takuma for the help he had provided, but she knew nothing about him. And this was the Land of Hot Water¡¯s matter, and she, as a Hidden Steam shinobi, couldn¡¯t let an outsider interfere.
¡°Miss, one of our brave shinobi died during this incursion. The Hidden Leaf will be more appreciative of our allies if they were¡ cooperative in this matter,¡± said Takuma.
Yeri narrowed her eyes. Hidden Leaf? Was this Takuma some bigshot? Was that why Takashi had let him stay without asking them?
¡°We lost a third of the civilians in the camp¡ªmore than a hundred people died. We can¡¯t just let you do anything to the prisoner,¡± she said.
¡°I simply wish to know the reason behind the attack so I can report it to my superiors, miss, so they will know why a shinobi so far from the battlefield is now dead, so they have something to tell to Genin Takashi¡¯s family. I¡¯m not asking you to release him in my custody¡ªhe will remain Hidden Steam¡¯s prisoner of war until both of our superiors decide otherwise,¡± he said.
Yeri bit the inside of her cheeks. She didn¡¯t trust him. He had killed two intruders already. And with Takashi dead, he might kill the last one in revenge as well.
If she had to be honest, Yeri didn¡¯t care if the prisoner died. The bastard was the reason why her countrymen were dead. She wished that he would die a horrifying death, and at the moment, she wanted nothing but to be the one to kill him¡ªbut she knew they needed him alive for his information.
¡°You can¡¯t kill him,¡± she said.
¡°I simply wish to have some questions answered, miss.¡±
Yeri stared at him, thinking about her decision one last time, before stepping aside and letting him proceed.
Inside the tent, the last living intruder lay on the floor with only his underwear on his body, his hands and feet bound with thick iron chains. His face was swollen beyond recognition, and blue-black bruises covered his body. The two Hidden Steam shinobi had done a number on him.
Takuma didn¡¯t go to the prisoner and instead turned to the table with the shinobi¡¯s belongings.
¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Yeri.
Takuma didn¡¯t answer and ruffled through the belongings. Yeri didn¡¯t see the point; they had already searched their belongings for clues, but they didn¡¯t carry anything else but weapons, rations, and other shinobi equipment.
¡°You wouldn¡¯t find anything,¡± she said. ¡°They were clearly here for a covert mission. I don¡¯t think they would carry anything that would connect back.¡±
Takuma held up a kunai. ¡°This is a kunai design used by the Hidden Frost. It¡¯s a very successful design, used by more than a third of the Hidden Frost shinobi.¡±
Yeri stared at the kunai. She had no idea the kunai was from the Hidden Frost; to her, it looked like any other kunai she carried. Maybe the hilt was a bit shorter than hers.
¡°Does that mean they are from the Hidden Frost,¡± Yeri asked, her fist clenched.
¡°Most probably, but it doesn¡¯t matter. The Hidden Frost could simply deny any involvement and declare them rogue elements. The fact all of their gear is of the easily purchased variety makes it another dead end¡ Not even a blacksmith¡¯s touchmark to track.¡±
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
¡°Then what are you doing?¡± she asked.
Takuma didn¡¯t reply and continued to go through the belongings. He turned their clothes upside down, checked every kunai and shuriken, eyed the explosive tags, leaving nothing untouched.
Rip! Takuma ripped a weapon¡¯s pouch, and his hands went still.
¡°¡People would like to believe that humans are a logical species, but the truth of the matter is that we¡¯re illogical beings who often ignore logic and operate on emotions. Drug addicts would not throw away their hidden stash even when they¡¯re at risk of their house being investigated. That¡¯s just how our minds are wired. I believe it¡¯s one of our strengths that brings us together,¡± from the two layers of torn leather, Takuma pulled out a photograph from a hidden pocket, ¡°but it¡¯s also our biggest flaw that ruins people if they don¡¯t keep it under check.¡±
Yeri gazed at the photograph of a man, woman, and child. It was very clearly a family photograph. She stared at the man in the picture and turned to their prisoner. The man smiling in the photograph was lying beaten in the dirt a few feet from her.
Takuma pocketed the photo and walked out of the tent.
¡°Where are you going?¡± Yeri asked as she followed him.
He went to the tent and lifted a metal table (a sturdy metal sheet as the tabletop supported by four legs). He carried the table into the prisoner¡¯s tent and used two bricks to prop one side of the table higher than the other.
¡°Lay him on the table,¡± said Takuma as he once again went out to bring in two buckets full of water and a rag. ¡°Make sure we never run out of the water,¡± he said to one of the Hidden Steam shinobi as he filled his canteen with dirty water.
Yeri understood what Takuma was trying to do.
¡°Are you sure you can do that?¡± she asked. It was quite easy to accidentally kill someone during waterboarding.
¡°I usually outsource my tough interrogations to a professional, but I have seen her work enough to give it a try,¡± said Takuma.
He took out a Hidden Leaf forehead protector and tied it around his head before turning to the prisoner.
¡°Let¡¯s face the truth here,¡± Takuma said to the prisoner. ¡°You¡¯re captured, all your companions are dead, and you are deep in enemy territory. There¡¯s no help coming for you; you¡¯re all alone, and it¡¯s in your best interest to cooperate because they can make your life hell if we want. So, answer our questions, and I will personally ensure that you don¡¯t suffer anymore.¡±
The prisoner stared at Takuma, both of his eyes swollen until the eyes were only a slit. The prisoner chuckled before spitting some blood to the side.
¡°Are you sure? One more chance before we start.¡±
The prisoner stayed silent.
Takuma sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s begin then,¡± he said as he put the rag on the prisoner¡¯s face and poured the water on the nose from the canteen.
Yeri narrowed her eyes as the prisoner began to struggle against his restraint as the water entered him. She didn¡¯t know how it felt, but from what she had heard, the feeling was worse than being drowned and then being pulled out for a moment before being drowned again and again until it became unbearable.
Takuma poured the water as the two Hidden Steam shinobi held the man down.
A few seconds later, he removed the rag and asked the prisoner if he was ready to answer a question. The prisoner wheezed and coughed, but said nothing, so Takuma put the rag on again and started waterboarding.
¡°Listen, you just killed hundreds of civilians. After that, it¡¯s natural that these people,¡± Takuma pointed to the Hidden Steam shinobi, ¡°won¡¯t care what happens to you. There¡¯s a war going on, and you¡¯re a prisoner of war¡ªyour future is bleak, but if you tell me what I want to know, I will ensure you¡¯re safe.¡± Takuma pointed at his forehead, ¡°See? I¡¯m a Hidden Leaf shinobi. I don¡¯t have the grudge they have for you.¡±
The two Hidden Steam shinobi seemed not to like Takuma¡¯s statements, but Yeri raised her hands and made them stop.
The prisoner refused to talk. He was again put through the process.
¡°Believe it or not, but I¡¯m the closest thing to a friend you can get in a situation like this.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what the people back home told you, but getting caught here isn¡¯t the end of your life. Prisoners of war get released all the time.¡±
¡°One day, this war will end, and the two nations will make merry. That day, they will use pawns like you and me as peace gestures. Prisoners will be released, and you will be back home, happy to be alive.¡±
¡°Your concern right now should be to remain alive in one piece. Adapting to these new circumstances is the top priority. I can make that easy for you.¡±
¡°Oh no, you can¡¯t go dark on me. Hey, wake up! Good, good-good-good. So, where was I¡¡±
¡°Okay, forget everything I said; let¡¯s start one simple question at a time. What¡¯s your name? My name is Tobi.¡±
¡°Why did you come here?¡±
¡°What route did you use to breach the border?¡±
¡°What was the purpose behind this attack?¡±
¡°Do you have any additional objectives other than this camp?¡±
¡°Do you have a handler in the Land of Hot Waters to help you coordinate, or was your team an independent operation?¡±
The interrogation process continued, and after a little over an hour of being waterboarded, Takuma stopped and exited the tent. Yeri thought that he had given up, but she was wrong.
¡°Giving him a break will allow him to catch his breath, and calm himself down to the point he could think in peace. When he tastes that peace, the return to torture will be more impactful,¡± he said.
¡°When will you use that photo?¡± she asked.
Takuma replied that it was not time yet.
That day, Takuma held four sessions of one hour each. They had begun a few hours before sunrise, and by the time they had ended the fourth session, it was already ten hours, and the day had already reached the early afternoon.
Takuma told them to rest for a few hours before announcing they would start another cycle of four waterboarding sessions. In the middle of the evening, they began again. The same table, the rag, and the source of water. The questions were repeated. But there was no reprieve as long as the prisoner refused to answer their questions.
This time, though, Takuma went through phases of chatting with the prisoner mixed in with periods of silence where no questions were asked; no matter how much the prisoner begged to stop, no one said anything to him.
Yeri held no pity for the prisoner, but this was her first time seeing someone tortured for information, and the sight of Takuma standing beside the chained prisoner whom her Hidden Steam companions were pinning down was something that instilled fear in her.
At one point, the prisoner thrashed so much when he was having water forced down into his body that he broke a bone in his arm, which scared Yeri if Takuma was going too far. When she asked her two companions, they seemed to lack any nervousness she felt.
Takuma remained indifferent through the entire process. He would be animated in the tent with the prisoner, but during the break, he would sit near the tent¡¯s entrance, keeping an eye on the prisoner in silence. While the Hidden Steam shinobi used the breaks to help the town civilians clean up the destroyed camp, and smooth out the temporary establishment for the remaining refugees, Takuma seemed to be cut off from the rest of the world.
Eventually, the last session of the second cycle arrived. The sun had already set, and everyone was tired.
¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Takuma said as one the final break of the day came to an end.
¡°What?¡± asked Yeri.
Takuma stood up and walked into the tent. The moment they entered the tent, the shivering prisoner began to struggle against his restraints. His breathing became labored, and there was fear in his bloodshot eyes as he squirmed on the floor.
¡°Are you ready to answer the questions?¡± asked Takuma.
The prisoner started begging to spare him, and his pleading became louder as the Hidden Steam shinobi placed him atop the raised table.
The prisoner was waterboarded once before Takuma stopped and spoke to the prisoner.
¡°This is the last session. Tomorrow, they will take you to the Hidden Steam. You¡¯re one tough man, my friend¡ Which is why a Yamanaka of the Hidden Leaf will be waiting for you there. If you don¡¯t know, Yamanaka have special ninjutsu, which allows them to mind-read. They will pull all the information out of your mind. I don¡¯t know if it will be painful or not.¡±
The prisoner looked horrified, but at the same time, he looked peaceful. Perhaps now that he knew his suffering was only for a little more, he relaxed.
But then Takuma pulled out the photograph and held it before the prisoner¡¯s face.
¡°I¡¯m going to give this picture of you and your family to them. The Hidden Steam wants revenge for the people you murdered. After they find the identities of your companions, they will send a team to all your homes who will kill your families¡ªyour family will be included, of course.¡±
Yeri stared at the prisoner whose trembling eyes were glued to the photo..
¡°¡But if you promise me to answer our questions here and now, there will be no need for the Hidden Steam to pay for the Yamanaka. They¡¯re at war, and Yamanaka¡¯s services are costly. You can save your family by answering the questions¡. That¡¯s the best I can do for you, my friend.¡±
The prisoner looked at Takuma, who urged him to talk.
¡°¡ S-Spare my family,¡± said the prisoner.
The prisoner had broken down.
In the next hour, the prisoner told them everything he knew.
His team was tasked to infiltrate the Land of Hot Water and set a camp on fire with the objective of killing as many as possible. Their motive was to cause chaos and crush the morale of the Hidden Steam shinobi and the entire Land of Hot Waters by causing a tragedy¡ª while also stressing the forces on the border to stretch themselves thin to cover a greater area to plug potential routes.
They had chosen the camp because they had gotten the information that it was the nearest camp of substantial size from the border with very low security. Their team of five people, which included one chunin, was deemed enough to complete the objective.
According to the prisoner, they were to report a handler waiting for them in a major city in the Land of Hot Waters where they would get further instructions. The prisoner didn¡¯t know who the handler was, but he gave up his handler¡¯s location. He also gave up the route he took to breach the border and who else was involved.
After Yeri ensured the prisoner was properly secured, she headed to the other tent, where she noticed Takuma staring at a doll in his hands. He must¡¯ve noticed her as he put the doll into his backpack.
¡°Do you need something, miss?¡± he asked without looking at her.
¡°A chunin will be arriving tomorrow to assess the situation,¡± she said.
¡°I will leave by sunrise,¡± he replied. ¡°I had given myself one day of leeway, which I ended up using here. I hope you will ensure that Genin Takashi¡¯s personal belongings and his ashes will find their way to his family.¡±
The first thing Takuma had done after putting out the fires was to give Takashi a shinobi¡¯s funeral. They had offered to help, but he had refused and completed all the preparations and rites by himself.
Yeri nodded.
¡°Why did you torture him for two days for revenge when you had that photograph from the start?¡± she asked.
Takuma turned to face her. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have believed me if I had threatened his family from the start. It¡¯s completely illogical for the Hidden Steam to target a genin¡¯s family deep within the Land of Frost as revenge. I needed to break down his mental state to the point where he would have believed the threat as something possible.¡±
She noticed Takuma hadn¡¯t refused her query.
¡°Please let me see you off tomorrow,¡± she said.
But the next day, when she and her companions woke up, Takuma had already left.
CH_6.4 (175)
As much as he was fond of the great outdoors, there was no joy in the last leg of his journey. Not sleeping for two days was not something Takuma couldn¡¯t bear, but with the travel and the refugee camp incident, his brain felt like a searing mess, and his muscles felt like lead had been pumped into them.
The beauty of the countryside didn¡¯t mesmerize him; the heaviness of his boots caked with mud didn¡¯t irritate him. Nothing mattered as he ran across the foreign lands to fight a war that had nothing to do with his nation.
He couldn¡¯t shut his brain down and mindlessly run. The events of the past two days swam around his mind, refusing to leave. He couldn¡¯t help but think about Takashi and the two families he had spent time with. All of them were good people. Takashi was so elated to return home, and the children were the bright spot in the two families¡¯ tents even when the times were rough¡ªnone of them were alive now.
¡®I should¡¯ve killed him.¡¯
As he recalled the prisoner, he felt a raging, burning sensation in his heart. The man¡¯s begging was akin to nails against a chalkboard. There were so many times he wanted to end the man¡¯s life for the sins he had committed, but Taro¡¯s mom¡¯s words kept him from displaying any of his true feelings during the investigation.
¡®¡ªThe suspect cannot ever be allowed to see frustration or difficulty in the interrogator¡¯s eyes. The moment they see that, the control passes over to their hand¡ª¡¯
She was the one Takuma always called for difficult interrogations, and because her services cost so much money, he was always there in the co-joined room with members of his team to observe her process through the one-sided window to get a learning experience out of it. The little he knew; it came from her.
Takuma pushed his anger down as he saw tall earthen walls come into view.
He had arrived at his destination.
His destination, the camp, was once a village that had been vacated due to the danger from the Land of Frost forces who had breached the border and occupied the Land of Hot Water¡¯s territory.
Due to the infrastructure and its strategic position, the shinobi forces had now occupied the village as their base of operation. Takuma couldn¡¯t help but recall Miwa¡¯s recollection of her own village and how this village was once home to people.
Takuma slowed down to a walk as a giant gate made from tall tree logs came into view. It was partially open, giving him a peek of the village inside. As he approached the gates, he noticed two guards standing guard with one more guard on the wall¡ªhalf of his body covered by the wall¡ªmaking it seem he was standing on a platform attached to the wall.
¡°Halt, identify yourself,¡± shouted one of the guards. Both the guards wore Hidden Leaf shinobi uniforms.
¡°Genin Takuma, Hidden Leaf, reporting for duty,¡± Takuma said.
The two guards exchanged glances.
¡°We weren¡¯t informed about any arrivals today.¡±
¡°I have documents.¡± Takuma wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue. After getting the permission, he took out a transparent pouch with his important documents. He handed them the documents necessary to prove his identity and deployment order.
¡°People are usually deployed in groups. Why are you alone¡ Genin Takuma?¡± asked the guard, reading his documents.
Takuma pointed to the cane strapped to the side of his bag along with his hand-ax. ¡°An injury postponed my deployment.¡±
The guard hummed. ¡°Wait here. I will go get these documents verified. Don¡¯t cause any trouble.¡±
The guards showed not a hint of hospitality from their actions, expressions, and body language. As the guard disappeared behind the gates, the second guard stood in his post, his vigilant eye fixed on Takuma. Takuma felt another gaze on him and glanced up at the wall. The shinobi atop the wall was gazing down at him; he had a kunai with an explosive tag dangling from his hand.
The two guards made Takuma feel tense. He would have tried to chat with them, but he felt exhausted, so he sat down on the ground beside his backpack. He emptied his canteen in one big gulp and then stared at the ground, waiting for the guard to return.
It took the guard ten minutes to return.
¡°Your documents checked out, and your arrival has been verified. Welcome to Camp Banana, Genin Takuma,¡± announced the guard. He had a smile on his face this time.
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The other guard eased; smiles appeared on his face. The guard on the wall pulled his kunai back and gave Takuma a wave.
The sudden change in attitude was surprising, but for some reason, it put him at ease; the guards were taking their jobs to keep the camp safe seriously. Takuma stood up and shook the guards¡¯ hands as they introduced themselves to him. The second guard even patted him on the back as the first guard led him into Camp Banana.
¡°Camp Banana has two Hidden Leaf jonin as its command,¡± the guard started as they walked across the village.
Takuma saw houses, shops, flattened roads, carts, barrels, hay stacks, and everything one would expect in a small village¡ªand the village didn¡¯t seem abandoned as shinobi had replaced the villagers.
¡°I¡¯m taking you to meet Jonin Toridasu¡ª Toridasu Kossori.¡±
¡°Will I be serving under him?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°You will be a part of his chain of command,¡± the guard nodded. ¡°The other jonin is Jonin Shirakumo Hayama. Both jonin have their own chain of commands serving under them, and for the most part, they both operate independently, but Jonin Toridasu holds the final say in critical matters and disputes.¡±
Takuma furrowed his brow. Two jonin sharing the command? He found it unusual. A chain of command needed to be clear so people knew who to report to. Even though the Narcotics Taskforce was small and a flat hierarchy would¡¯ve worked, Takuma had installed a clear chain of command to establish some structure in the inexperienced group. Having two jonin share power didn¡¯t seem efficient, and he could see things go wrong even if one of the jonin held a higher authority.
¡°You will only report to Jonin Toridasu¡¯s chain of command. Understood?¡± said the guard.
Takuma replied in affirmation.
He was then led into a two-story building near the village center. A Hidden Leaf shinobi sat on a desk opposite the door. The woman looked up at the guard and then at Takuma.
¡°Are you Genin Takuma?¡± she asked.
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Jonin Toridasu will see you now. Head in,¡± the woman pointed to a door.
Takuma thanked the guard, took a deep breath, put on his forehead protector, and knocked on the door.
¡°Come in,¡± said the voice.
Takuma stepped inside the jonin¡¯s office and was immediately surprised because he actually recognized the man.
¡°Genin Takuma,¡± Jonin Toridasu without any niceties, ¡°I must say that I don¡¯t have a stellar first impression of you. You¡¯re not late, but I expected you to arrive at least a day early¡ªthat much should be common sense. I require a certain standard from subordinates, and I hope that you will be able to withhold that standard.¡±
The man looked he had already stepped across fifty. He had a bald head, a round face, and a pudgy body. While every shinobi he had passed wore the uniform, Toridasu wore a flashy dark red kimono with a wood-brown haori over it. The kimono was tied using a sash with the Hidden Leaf forehead protector sewn in the front.
¡°My apologies, sir. I intended to arrive yesterday, but an incident delayed me,¡± said Takuma. His heart felt heavy. He hadn¡¯t been in the camp for an hour, and his commanding officer¡¯s impression of him was already less than optimal.
¡°And what might that incident be?¡± said Toridasu, his eyes said: ¡®This better not be an excuse.¡¯
¡°A refugee camp I was using as a rest point was attacked while I was staying there. I had to delay my journey as I helped manage the situation,¡± Takuma replied. He was ready to explain it all even though he had no desire to talk about it.
¡°I know about the attack. It was part of today¡¯s information packet,¡± Toridasu looked surprised. ¡°And you¡¯re saying you were involved? How would that be?¡±
¡°I was present during the incursion and was involved in subduing the intruders.¡± Takuma started. ¡°Out of the five intruders, we were able to secure one for interrogation. After the initial chaos settled, I interrogated the prisoner for information. The interrogation tied me up that I had to delay my schedule.¡±
¡°You interrogated the prisoner? Ah, you have a Police Force background,¡± Toridasu nodded. ¡°Walk me through it. The packet must¡¯ve been sent out early; it didn¡¯t have any mentions of extracted intel.¡±
Takuma walked Toridasu through the process and the intel he had extracted. Toridasu listened without interrupting until the end.
¡°This is troubling,¡± Toridasu sighed. ¡°The incident would put pressure on us to be aggressive in territory reclamation¡ I will have to discuss this with Hayama,¡± he muttered the last sentence. ¡°It seems I was wrong about you, Genin Takuma. You did good. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, and I welcome you to Camp Banana.¡±
¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Takuma bowed. ¡°But we have met once before, sir.¡±
¡°Oh? I don¡¯t remember meeting you though, Genin Takuma.¡±
¡°It was for a very short time, but you were the invigilator for my Academy Graduation Exam. You had asked me a trick question about how many shinobi stood in the exam hall¡ªone of them was sitting.¡±
Toridasu stared at Takuma for a moment.
¡°I think I vaguely remember you; it has been many years. But what a coincidence for us to meet here. That was the only year I volunteered to oversee the academy graduation examinations,¡± said Toridasu.
¡°Jina!¡± called Toridasu.
A moment later, the woman shinobi from before walked in.
¡°Please introduce Genin Takuma to his chunin team leader.¡± Toridasu turned to Takuma. ¡°You will be serving under her. Get yourself familiar with the team; they will be your family while you are in this camp.¡±
The genin named Jina led Takuma through the village. She didn¡¯t say a word to him, but neither did Takuma initiate the conversation. He was tired, but knew that his first impression on his team was important, so he built up his energy so he could at least force himself to be his normal self until he had a chance to rest.
In the western part of the village, there was a residential area.
Jina and Takuma stopped in front of a single-story home. She walked to the door and knocked.
¡°Chunin Mitarashi! Genin Takuma, your new subordinate, has arrived,¡± she shouted.
¡®Mitarashi?¡¯ Takuma wondered where he heard that family name.
¡°Pipe down, no need to break the door down,¡± a woman¡¯s voice came from inside. ¡°I¡¯m coming out. Give me a moment, for god¡¯s sake.¡±
Jina sighed before stepping back.
A few moments later, the door opened, and a young woman in her late teens stepped out of the house. She was an average-sized woman with a slender frame. She had light brown eyes. Her hair was of a dull violet color, styled in a short, spiky, fanned-out ponytail.
¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Takuma, huh,¡± she said. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Mitarashi Anko. Let¡¯s get along, right?¡±
CH_6.5 (176)
Takuma no longer needed to gather energy; he was now wide awake.
Having Orochimaru¡¯s student as his team leader was not something Takuma had imagined or dreamt of happening. However, surprising as it was¡ªhe didn¡¯t find the situation to be something he needed to remedy or to be on guard. From what he remembered, Orochimaru had abandoned Anko, and they hadn¡¯t crossed paths until the Chunin Exams.
¡°You know I read your file, but you truly are young. The Uchiha really gave you a team to lead, huh. You must be one of those geniuses.¡± Anko leaned against the door frame, standing on one foot while she used the other¡¯s heel to scratch the leg she stood up.
Takuma wanted to be humble in his reply, but she beat him to it.
¡°But then you started out in the Genin Corp, so maybe not.¡± Anko stood up straight. ¡°Or are you one of those late bloomers? Well, whatever. None of that matters now that you are here. You will be working under me, so do not expect special treatment. Get rewarded for good work, punished for mistakes¡ªsame as others, no exceptions.¡±
¡°That is fine with me, ma¡¯am.¡±
¡°Good, but drop that ma¡¯am crap. I don¡¯t like that shit at all. Call me by name.¡±
Takuma opened his mouth to say that wouldn¡¯t be respectful, but he was once again beaten to it.
Jina, beside him, spoke up. ¡°Chunin Mitarashi, that¡¯s not the proper etiquette. You must not¡ª¡±
¡°Genin Jina, I don¡¯t require you to tell me how I deal with my subordinates and team,¡± Anko cut her off in a stern, authoritative voice, in stark contrast to how laidback she was moments ago.
¡°M-My apologies,¡± Jina bowed her head, her expression resentful.
¡°You have done your task of leading Genin Takuma to me. Return to the old geezer before he starts making a fuss about tardiness and slacking shinobi,¡± Anko said, her voice returning to her initial tone.
Jina bowed before rushing away from the scene.
Takuma looked back at Anko and felt his impression and respect for Anko rise. He agreed with Jina about it not being proper etiquette; he was respectful to every shinobi who held a higher rank than him (bar Enomoto), and suddenly being asked to discard the practice he had followed from Day-1 was naturally uncomfortable.
Moreover, he believed that while there was nothing wrong with the leader being friendly with his subordinates, the subordinates needed to be aware that they couldn¡¯t disrespect the leader. A leader didn¡¯t need to be an asshole to his subordinates, but it should be clear that insubordination was not tolerated.
In one swoop, Anko had demonstrated that while she wanted to be called by her name, she was still his commanding officer and a shinobi of a higher rank.
¡°Now, where were we?¡± Anko turned to Takuma.
¡°You told me to call you by your name, Miss Anko,¡± Takuma replied.
¡°Drop the miss as well, Takuma. Doesn¡¯t suit me, don¡¯t you think?¡± she grinned, her dull violet eyes held a streak of roguishness.
¡°I understand¡ Anko,¡± Takuma conceded.
Anko turned back into her house and put on a pair of slippers. ¡°Walk with me. Let¡¯s get your housing settled with the quartermaster, and then we will meet the rest of the team.¡±
As the base was an abandoned village, the shinobi lived in the houses. And because of the village¡¯s size, they had plenty of rooms to go around. Anko told him that he could get a private room without needing a need to share. And when they reached the quartermaster¡¯s office, it turned out to be true. Takuma was given his own room in a shared-house.
¡°Oh, you will be sharing with Daiki,¡± said Anko as she peeked at his residential assignment.
¡°I¡¯m assuming he is one of the team members?¡± he asked.
Anko nodded. ¡°Toridasu and Shirakumo have ten chunin each under their command, who further have five genin each under their command. That¡¯s our main combat force. There are others, like the quartermaster and his team, the medical house, and the communication cell, but they are all in non-combat positions unless required.
¡°You and I are part of Team-9,¡± she said.
There were twenty teams from Team-1 to Team-20. All odd-numbered teams were under Jonin Toridasu, and the even-numbered teams were under Jonin Shirakumo.
¡°Ideally, every team would be balanced and follow the standard team structure, but this is reality. We don¡¯t have an iryo-nin on our team, but that¡¯s not anything unusual¡ Are you secretly an iryo-nin?¡± Anko asked, humorously.
¡°Unfortunately, not,¡± Takuma replied with a small smile. ¡°I was told that teams usually have an additional role other than combat. What is Team-9¡¯s role?¡± There were teams specializing in scouting, tracking, capturing, infiltration, assassinations, among various other specialties.
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¡°We are responsible for intel extraction.¡± Anko turned her gaze to Takuma. ¡°Torture and Interrogation. I hope you have got the stomach for it. If not, you will be forced to develop one.¡±
¡°¡ It won¡¯t be a problem,¡± he replied.
Anko smiled before slapping him on his back. ¡°But don¡¯t put us in the torture box just yet. Our job is intel extraction, and people aren¡¯t the only source of intel. We are also responsible for breaking codes on any communication that is intercepted. Information is a potent weapon; usually, when you know what¡¯s coming, it becomes infinitely easier to plan a counter against it.¡±
Takuma knew firsthand the importance of intel. He had built an entire sub-department from the ground up based on the inside information against drug networks.¡¯¡¯
¡°So, I have been meaning to ask. What¡¯s with the cane.¡± Anko pointed at the cane strapped to the side of his back.
¡°I had an injury. My leg sometimes gets sore. It has gotten to a point where it isn¡¯t a problem, but I still carry it just in case¡¡±
¡°This injury is from the assassination attempt?¡± she asked.
Takuma wondered what all was there in his file.
¡°Yes.¡±
Anko hummed. ¡°The topic of your late deployment will come up. I don¡¯t know how you wish to handle it, so I have simply told the team to ask you directly. You can handle it at your own discretion.¡±
¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t intend to hide. The media back home made it so the matter couldn¡¯t remain private. It¡¯s better to tell the truth than invent a lie which can be undone in an instant,¡± he said.
¡°I approve,¡± Anko smiled.
They talked a bit more until they reached their destination.
¡°We have arrived. This will be your home until we move the base,¡° said Anko.
Takuma looked at the single-story house with a large front yard. He could tell from the wooden fence stretching far beyond the building that the backyard was even bigger. The front yard itself could roughly fit three of Takuma¡¯s apartments.
¡°DAIKI!¡± Anko yelled.
¡°¡ Or we could have knocked,¡± Takuma sighed.
The door soon opened, and a two-meter-tall man, built like a professional bodybuilder, stepped through the door. He had to crouch a little because of his height. He only wore pants, so all of his shredded muscles were displayed in all their glory. He had umber brown skin, a shaved bald head, and a square jaw.
¡°What is it, Anko?¡± asked Daiki. His voice was a deep, rich, and smooth voice, fitting the man¡¯s appearance.
Both Anko and Takuma had to look up as they talked to Daiki.
¡°This is Takuma. The new team member I talked about.¡±
¡°Good to meet you. My name is Takuma.¡±
As Daiki stood before Takuma, a shadow was cast on the latter. Takuma wondered if Daiki was one of those alpha men type dudes who wanted to assert dominance
¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Takuma. My parents named me Daiki in their humble hopes that I would grow up big and strong. I must admit, I was looking forward to your arrival. Our teammates are all pleasant people, but I find myself desiring some male company. Now that you are here, I wish nothing more for us to get along.¡±
Takuma was stunned. He wasn¡¯t expecting such an eloquent way of speaking from a giant.
¡°He is our scout and tracker,¡± said Anko.
Takuma was surprised. ¡°Scout? I thought surely he would¡¡±
Anko laughed as she slapped Takuma on his back. ¡°These muscles are all for looks. He is weak as hell,¡± she said.
Daiki frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a crude way to put it, Anko. This is my preferred physique; I like the aesthetic. And when I look good, I feel good. It¡¯s simply a form of personal improvement.¡± Daiki flexed, and Takuma had to give it to him, Daiki looked like a prime specimen. ¡°And Takuma, judging someone by their appearance is narrow minded, not suitable for a shinobi. I hope you will treat me based on my actions rather than my appearance.¡±
¡°My bad.¡± Takuma shook hands with Daiki. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll treat me the same.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Daiki flashed a bright smile.
¡°Dump your stuff in your room, and then we''ll go meet the ladies,¡± said Anko.
Because the rest of Team-9 were women, they all shared a separate house.
¡°Daiki might look intimidating, but he is not a combat-forward shinobi,¡± Anko said as they walked. ¡°He can pull his weight, but he lacks the instinct to be a main combatant for the team. Among the remaining team, we have two combatants, but I want one more to even things out. So, I want to ask: what can you do?¡±
Takuma knew this was going to happen, so after more than two years, he had dusted his resume and updated it for potential employers. He took out a scroll from his person and handed it to Anko.
¡°What is this?¡±
¡°My list of qualifications and skills. I¡¯m confident in my combat ability, but I believe you would want to test them out.¡±
Anko didn¡¯t reply as her eyes were glued to the scroll.
¡°You know how to operate a comms radio?¡± she asked.
¡°Yes, I can. I know five of Hidden Leaf¡¯s code transformations to encrypt information in sensitive situations. I¡¯m also intimate with the standard radio¡¯s electronics and technologies, so I can repair it if needed.¡±
He even had a certificate for it.
¡°¡ I think you will fit in well even if you suck at fighting.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
They reached another house, and once again, Anko yelled instead of knocking on the door.
¡°IORI!¡±
A moment later, a purple-haired woman older than Anko dragged her feet out of the building. The woman had stunning looks and a body, but it was ruined by the bird-nest-like hair, deep eye bags, and messy clothes stained with ink.
¡°What?¡± she asked sharply.
¡°Ah, sorry. Did I wake you up?¡± asked Anko.
Iori looked pissed.
¡°This is Takuma. The new team member,¡± Anko quickly diverted Iori¡¯s attention to Takuma.
¡°Sorry to disturb you. My name is Takuma.¡±
The sleep-deprived woman looked at Takuma, and her eyes narrowed. Iori sighed and bowed to her with an amount of grace that looked out of place because of her appearance.
¡°I am Iori. Sorry to show you this unsightly appearance. I have not slept for the last few nights,¡± she said.
¡°Please, don¡¯t mind me. You can return to your rest; we can converse later,¡± Takuma said, understanding her plight. She looked much worse than he was feeling.
¡°Thank you, and yes, let¡¯s talk later,¡± saying that, Iori returned to her house.
¡°Send Kameko out, will you,¡± Anko called out after her.
¡°I thought Jonin Taridasu didn¡¯t appreciate tardiness,¡± Takuma said to Anko.
¡°The upright geezer might, but I don¡¯t give a fuck about those things as long as you do your job properly. One good part about him is that he doesn¡¯t micromanage as long we give him what he wants, which can be a problem sometimes¡ªbut nothing is perfect, so we take what we get.¡±
Takuma hummed.
Two minutes later, another woman exited the house, and the moment she did, her eyes narrowed in displeasure.
As for Takuma, he recognized her.
¡°Ah, it¡¯s you,¡± he muttered.
His academy classmate and the girl who almost cleaved him in half during the Genin Corp basic training.
Taketori Kameko.
CH_6.6 (177)
Taketori Kameko was his academy classmate, and the last time he had seen her was in the Genin Corp basic training when they were placed under the same chunin instructor but were assigned to different teams. They had gone separate ways, and Takuma didn¡¯t keep track of the classmates he barely interacted with during his year at Shinobi Academy.
Years had passed, but Kameko hadn¡¯t changed much. Her black hair was still styled in a straight-sharp A-line bob cut. Her cat-like eyes were sharp as ever, giving the impression that she was always glaring¡ªor maybe she glared every time she saw him¡ª and there was a prepared edge to her body posture as though prepared for any situation on a moment¡¯s notice.
¡°I must say I¡¯m surprised,¡± he started, ¡°to think I would be on the same team as a classmate.¡±
Takuma extended his hand for a handshake, but Kameko looked down at his hand before looking up at his face with a displeased expression.
Takuma sighed as he pulled his hand back. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s childish to hold a grudge for something so long ago?¡± he asked.
During the basic training, their chunin instructor had chosen Takuma¡¯s team for the Final Tournament. Kameko had raised her displeasure upon the announcement and had appealed for a change in decision, but Chunin Yoshio had shut it down then and there. It seems she was still hung up on that.
Kameko turned to Anko. ¡°Is there any way to change his team assignment? I don¡¯t believe he is a good fit for our team.¡±
Takuma frowned.
¡°Oh my, what¡¯s this? You two know each other? Kameko, why didn¡¯t you say anything before?¡± Anko looked at the two of them.
¡°The team needs a combatant, Anko. This man won¡¯t be able to fulfill that role. He could barely graduate. It¡¯s better for us to have nothing than him,¡± Kameko spoke bluntly and pointedly.
¡°Who are you to decide if I can or cannot fight?¡± Takuma frowned. He didn¡¯t appreciate the straightforward hostility. ¡°If I recall, I was the one in the tournament final. My impression of the esteemed Taketori clan dropped like a fat Akimichi the day you threw a tantrum because your spoiled ass didn¡¯t get what you wanted.¡±
¡°How dare you speak ill of the clan,¡± Kameko said with venom in her voice.
¡°If you don¡¯t want to listen to the truth, then shut the fuck up and don¡¯t spew shit from your mouth.¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t know if it was from being sleep-deprived or if it was the agitation he had been feeling since leaving the camp¡ªor perhaps both¡ªbut the moment Kameko opened her mouth, irritation and anger flared within him. He didn¡¯t want to fight with his teammates on the first day, but she started it.
¡°Now, now, let¡¯s not bite each other¡¯s throats,¡± Anko raised her hand. She had a troubled look on her face. She hummed while tapping her cheek with a finger as she looked at her two subordinates.
¡°It¡¯s a big problem if teammates can¡¯t work together¡ª¡±
¡°I will work with anyone; she¡¯s the one with the fucking problem,¡± Takuma glared at Kameko.
¡°¡ª but I can¡¯t just kick Takuma out just because you say so, Kameko.¡±
Kameko looked massively displeased.
¡°But,¡± Anko continued, ¡°it¡¯s also true that if Takuma isn¡¯t able to fulfill our requirements, asking the old geezer to allow a trade makes the most sense.¡±
This time, Takuma was shocked.
Anko shrugged. ¡°We haven¡¯t been able to operate independently since our temporary fifth member went home. Joint missions with other teams are all we have been able to do. I¡¯m tired of trying to persuade them when they can pair with someone else who does have a complete team, so despite what I said earlier about you fitting in even without combat ability¡ well, we need someone who can handle combat.
¡°So, given the situation, this is what we will do. Tomorrow, both of you are going to fight. If Takuma wins, the matter is over; he will stay, and you will have to work it,¡± she said to Kameko. ¡°But if Takuma loses, then I will trade you as soon as possible; you need to be at least as capable as her, so either win or hang in there until I declare a draw.¡±
¡°The stakes aren¡¯t equal,¡± Takuma said. ¡°If I lose, I get shipped out like inferior goods, but if she loses, she has to work with me, but that would have happened if she didn¡¯t bitch about it.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a good point. How about she takes half of your duty shifts for a month,¡± Anko suggested.
¡°Three months,¡± Takuma said boldly.
¡°Dream on,¡± Kameko scoffed.
Takuma ignored her and directly dealt with Anko.
¡°Tomorrow¡¯s fight is going to set my first impression, and if I end up losing, it¡¯s going to make my time here more difficult than necessary. I think three months is enough.¡±
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¡°True, but three months of fifty percent more work is tough. How about two months,¡± Anko countered.
¡°Anko!¡± Kameko gasped.
¡°Two-and-a-half,¡± Takuma gave his offer.
¡°Don¡¯t be greedy. Two is the best I can do.¡±
¡°¡ Fine,¡± Takuma shook on it.
¡°This discussion is now over. Prepare as much as you want for tomorrow. I look forward to seeing what both of you can show me,¡± said Anko.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kameko unsheathed her sword and checked the edge for one final time before the fight. She looked up at Takuma sitting in the distance, similarly checking his equipment.
The day they had finished basic training and had officially entered service, Kameko had put Takuma out of her mind because she didn¡¯t believe she would hear about him outside of perhaps academy reunions that happened every five years.
The dead last who barely graduated would spend years working farms and other odd jobs like most in the Genin Corp.
And for the first year, she didn¡¯t hear about Takuma. There was a gossip that he had joined a chunin team, but Kameko had dismissed it for what it was¡ª gossip. Why would any chunin take someone like him on their team?
But then, a piece of shocking news broke in their class circle.
Takuma had joined the Leaf Military Police Force.
And this news was real, verified by Oichi Taro and Fuma Arisu.
Arisu actually worked with Takuma as his partner.
Kameko couldn¡¯t believe it. How had Takuma managed to get into the Police Force when a lot of people she knew who had applied had not even gotten a rejection letter
And when that wasn¡¯t enough, she was hit with another mind-boggling news. Fuma Arisu had shared the news that Takuma had been given his own team, and she was joining the team. From there on, every month, she would see an article or two about the Narcotics Taskforce in the newspaper.
¡®Why?¡¯ Kameko had asked Arisu.
¡®We are doing something new and exciting¡ and he¡¯s really good at what he does,¡¯ was Arisu¡¯s reply.
Seeing that¡ Kameko had to admit that Takuma must have done something right, that he must¡¯ve had the necessary competence to reach such a position. If nothing else, then her parents talking about the news about the Narcotics Taskforce on the dinner table was proof that Takuma had accomplished something.
But¡ that didn¡¯t mean Kameko wanted Takuma on her team.
She still remembered the dead last who couldn¡¯t use the simple Transformation Jutsu, and had lost all of his fights in the academy. And even though he had won the basic training final tournament, she was completely confident in beating him into the ground.
They were stationed in a dangerous area in a war, and every mission had a component of danger that could very well lead to loss of life. She did not want someone in the much-needed combat-forward role to be a weakling like Takuma. She didn¡¯t want to put her and her teammates¡¯ lives in someone¡¯s hands with a dirt-poor combat history.
She was aware that Takuma would¡¯ve improved since the basic training, but she didn¡¯t want to take the risk of him joining the team long enough that Anko would find it difficult to replace him.
Kameko couldn¡¯t risk that.
Which was why¡
¡®I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t even have a chance to join the team.¡¯
Not many people wanted to join Team-9 because of Anko as their leader and her tainted past¡ªbut Kameko was sure she could pull someone in with her clan¡¯s pull.
¡°I think I might have been a bit reckless with this,¡± Anko awkwardly chuckled as she walked to Kameko.
Kameko looked at the crowd of shinobi gathered around. Based on the numbers, at least eighty percent of the Camp Banana had gathered to see her fight against Takuma as if it was an entertainment event. She had thought the fight would be a fairly private affair, but seeing so many of her peers gathered, who would judge her performance, made her feel nervous.
She gazed to the other side, and Takuma looked like the crowd didn¡¯t exist for him. He seemed completely relaxed, as if this was just another day for him.
¡°Can¡¯t you disperse the crowd?¡± she muttered to Anko.
¡°Not when those two are here,¡± Anko pointed with her eyes.
Part of the crowd were the two Hidden Leaf jonin running the camp. Both Jonin Toridasu and Jonin Shirakumo had come to spectate the fight.
Kameko, who hadn¡¯t noticed them, felt another wave of nervousness.
On the other side, Takuma stood up. He wore a simple half-sleeved shirt and shorts over a chainmail with arm and foot guards with boots. There was no heavy armor; in fact, he was dressed in minimal armor.
¡®Light armor? Is he aiming to use speed as a weapon,¡¯ Kameko analyzed. ¡®If so, then I might be at an advantage here¡¡¯
¡°I¡¯m ready whenever you are,¡± said Takuma.
Kameko took a deep breath. The nervousness didn¡¯t abate, but she turned her focus to the fight. She needed to win if she wanted Takuma off the team. And win, she would.
¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± she said.
Anko clapped her hands. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s not delay and start right away.¡±
She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly to gain everyone¡¯s attention. The crowd simmered down and focused on Anko.
¡°Today, to resolve a dispute; these two team members will fight. The loser will have to obey the winner¡¯s proposition. Place your bets, people.¡±
¡°Anko!¡± Kameko protested. How could they turn this into a gambling event?
¡°Hey, there isn¡¯t anything fun to do here. People gotta take what they can. See, even they approve,¡± Anko pointed at the two jonin participating in the betting.
Kameko looked at Takuma, hoping he would back her, but he was staring at her.
She held back a flinch. She could feel his gaze scanning her as though he was looking through her. His gaze went everywhere from her feet to her sword to the gear she wore. While she was worrying about other things, he was observing her.
¡°Do you know why I was deployed late?¡± asked Takuma.
Kameko knew about the incident. It was quite prominent in the newspapers.
¡°There were four of them, waiting for me at my home,¡± he continued. ¡°I was returning from dinner with a friend, so I was only lightly armed¡¡± Kameko started to feel more and more uncomfortable as Takuma spoke. ¡°The place I lived attracted the bad kind of people. Drug dealers who couldn¡¯t pay up their suppliers, people who had borrowed money from loan sharks, and most of the property in that area is owned by a really shady guy, and all of them employed shinobi for their collections¡ª so people in the area know not to interfere or try to report it to authorities because no one wants a shinobi knocking on their door.
¡°So, even when people heard the fighting, no one dialed the phone to help me¡ I was all alone. And then it started to rain heavily. Anything that could¡¯ve gained attention was drowned by the water and sound.¡±
Takuma touched his arm, and Kameko noticed the high volume of scars on both his arms.
¡°That day, five people entered the fight alive¡ only one of them was alive the next day.¡±
Kameko felt a shiver go down her spine.
He took out a kunai from his weapons pouch.
¡°Don¡¯t mistake me for the boy you studied with at the academy¡ He died a long time ago.¡±
CH_6.7 (178)
Kameko clutched her sword tighter as she stared at Takuma gazing at her with unblinking eyes.
What the hell? This wasn¡¯t the Takuma she remembered. The person she remembered always had a reluctant face during spars in the academy and acted overly cautious to his detriment during the basic training. So why did it seem like he was a whole other person altogether?
¡°Both of you ready?¡± Anko stepped forward.
Kameko released her sword from the scabbard while Takuma simply nodded.
Anko looked at both of them and nodded.
¡°Go on then, have at each oth¡ª¡±
Kameko blinked and saw Takuma¡¯s hand move up.
¡°¡ªer.¡±
Her eyes narrowed as a kunai flashed in her direction. She raised her sword, and metal rang as the kunai was deflected.
But then she gasped as two more kunai were a split-moment away from her. She hurried to deflect them as well. The first one was a clean redirect to the right, but when she moved her sword to deflect the third one, it felt like she was hitting an iron ingot. A jolt of vibration shot up her arm as she found her arm thrown back from the force.
¡®What power!¡¯
She had no time to be startled as Takuma rushed forward the moment he had thrown the first kunai. Kameko hurriedly balanced herself. His first move was to not let her properly wield her sword and struck out strongly down at her sword, but Kameko was prepared and met the strike strongly. It wasn¡¯t as strong as she expected and countered effortlessly.
With Takuma so near to her, Kameko got a hold of herself and prepared to cut him down. She wielded a sword, and he was using kunai¡ªshe held the range advantage. Her footwork flowed as she gripped her sword in both hands and began parrying and blocking Takuma¡¯s assault.
The way he handled his kunai was forceful and violent. She could feel the intention behind every strike of drawing her blood. It was barbaric in a sense. She didn¡¯t find that to be a fault; it was simply a way to fight. But she preferred finesse and skill.
Kameko¡¯s sword flowed, meeting Takuma¡¯s aggressive assault head-on. She let him push her back as she observed his fight style, but the moment she felt comfortable enough to mount a counter, she stopped and pushed him back.
The frown on his face as she pushed him back filled her with confidence. He became more aggressive. Kameko simply picked up pace to thwart anything he threw at her.
Takuma used his free hand to grab her sword arm and pulled. It was a common tactic though risky to go for a grab and disarm when the opponent had a sword, but Kameko was prepared for it and smashed her other into Takuma¡¯s face. He blocked it with his arm, but Kameko was able to pull her arm free.
Kameko decided it was time to grab the momentum and go on the offensive.
But just as she raised her sword, Takuma kicked her calf. The force almost made her stumble, but she lost the stance for her strike.
The next moment, Takuma¡¯s raised arm came down at Kameko with a kunai and she rushed to grab his wrist. A contest of strength ensued, and Takuma was stronger than Kameko. But Takuma didn¡¯t push Kameko and dropped his kunai. It landed in Takuma¡¯s other hand. Kameko¡¯s eyes widened as he pulled his hand back for a stab to the gut. Her sword arm moved quickly, and she swung for his neck.
Takuma ducked down a moment before the sword reached him.
Kameko didn¡¯t retreat and double-gripped her sword to slice it down at the crouching Takuma.
However, Takuma kicked her in the legs once more. It wasn¡¯t enough to stop her, but it slowed her down, and Takuma rolled away to evade the attack.
Kameko clicked her tongue and quickly switched gears to go after Takuma, who launched two shurikens at her from his crouching position. Not intending to let herself be slowed down, Kameko moved her sword to parry them, but when the first shuriken hit her, it carried a brutish force like the kunai before, yet Kameko pushed forth and also deflected the second shuriken.
¡®Heavy!¡¯
It was as though she was attempting to parry a heavy greatsword. How could one throw a shuriken so hard?
The second shuriken created a gap that Takuma jumped at. He blitzed Kameko and kicked her in the knee.
¡®He¡¯s targeting my legs,¡¯ Kameko realized as she was forced to stand still.
Takuma¡¯s fist came quick as a viper and smashed into the side of her face. She stumbled back. A palm strike struck her in the chest, followed by another punch to her liver. Kameko felt pain, but it wasn¡¯t anything she hadn¡¯t experienced before. She focused her gaze on Takuma and saw his fist moving towards her. She clenched her sword. She would take that punch and immediately counter with her sword. Cut him down where he stood.
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As she adjusted her posture to allow the best recovery, the fist dug into her stomach.
Kameko¡¯s eye bulged as in an instant all the air was forced out of her lungs. She felt a force slam into her body. She couldn¡¯t breathe nor react when the sheer force assaulted her body.
The grass around them fluttered from the wind displaced from Takuma¡¯s strike as Kameko flew through the air like a bullet. It was so sudden that the audience watching from a considerable distance had to scamper to clear the way as Kameko rag-dolled past them.
¡ª¡ª
.
¡°What the hell?¡± Anko muttered in surprise when she saw Kameko fly through the air.
¡°Chakra augmentations, isn¡¯t it,¡± commented Jonin Shirakumo beside her. ¡°And from the looks of it, he is decently proficient in it. His taijutsu is also commendable, it¡¯s clear that he has worked hard on it. You have got a good genin, Chunin Mitarashi.¡±
¡°It would seem like, sir,¡± Anko said as she watched the fight.
¡°Hmm¡ I expected him to be a genjutsu user. It¡¯s different from what I imagined,¡± said Jonin Toridasu.
¡°Why do you say that?¡± she asked.
¡°Well¡ just a hunch,¡± said Toridasu.
¡°Oh, ninjutsu so early? Is that wise?¡± said Shirakumo.
Anko turned to the fight to see Takuma weaving hand seals as he ran towards Kameko.
¡ª¡ª
.
Kameko tried to push herself up, but her knees buckled as her body shivered in pain, which spread out from her abdomen. She hadn¡¯t been hit that hard ever.
Chakra augmentation?
Kameko looked up and saw Takuma running towards her with hand seals. The shock of a possible ninjutsu attack woke Kameko up, and she stood up with great difficulty. She didn¡¯t know what was coming, so she went with the quickest jutsu with the most versatile defense she possessed. She weaved the hand seals.
As a pressured wave of water was thrown at her, Kameko held her hand forward, and a strong gust of wind shot forward, creating a pseudo-wall protecting her from the attack.
Wind Release: Wild Gust
The water slammed with the wind wall. Some of it was stopped, but the wave continued. Kameko gritted her teeth as she held strong while water pushed its way through the wind wall until it appeared on the other side.
Kameko gasped as the wave enveloped her.
But other than being drenched by a huge wave, Kameko remained uninjured. The wind wall did its part and took away most of the force behind the water.
She immediately picked up her sword and charged Takuma when she saw him weaving another set of hand seals. But this time, she chose to go on the offensive. She channeled chakra into her sword, and it hummed silently in her hand.
Her eyes widened, and she got scared when a globule of water rushed past her from behind, and then another, and another, until a whole lot of water flew through the air and settled behind Takuma.
¡®What is that jutsu?¡¯
She was cautious but didn¡¯t slow down or stop. She got her answer the next moment as she entered the range to attack, two water tentacles shot from behind his back, with two kunai protruding out from the front.
Instantly, her target changed from Takuma to the two tentacles. She parried the kunai, but they came right back. The next second, a third one came out, with a fourth following soon. The pressure went from zero to a hundred within a second, and as she got cut three times in a couple of seconds, Kameko considered backing off, but then an idea entered her mind.
She swung her sword at the tentacle itself. A portion of the water separated, and the kunai fell to the ground.
¡®Got it!¡¯
With the weakness identified, she would cut them down in an instant and go for Takuma.
Two hands suddenly shot forward and grabbed Kameko¡¯s shoulder.
¡°Huh?¡±
Takuma pulled her forward and was about to smash his forehead into her head, but she moved her head, and he got her shoulder. Kameko pushed his back and swung her sword in a horizontal strike. Takuma jumped back out of reach, and the sword passed through without cutting anything.
He said, ¡°That was a mis¡ª"
Takuma looked down as a line ripped in his shirt, and inside a very shallow cut appeared on his chest. The blade had passed through the chainmail and cut the flesh underneath.
¡°Kenjutsu,¡± he looked up at her.
¡°I am a Taketori, what did you expect?¡± she said, proudly.
¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Takuma stood straighter. He rolled his shoulders, and eight tentacles shot out of his back. ¡°But, I get your sword now¡. It¡¯s nothing special.¡±
¡°¡What?¡± Kameko¡¯s eyes sharpened. ¡°What did you say?¡±
¡°Taketori isn¡¯t anything special. If it is, you are not it,¡± said Takuma. ¡°If you¡¯re in-charge of combat in the team, I pity the guys because you¡¯re going to get them killed. You know what, I don¡¯t think I want to be on the team if I have to entrust my back to you.¡±
¡°Take that back.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think I will,¡± Takuma raised his hands wide. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on the team. I will allow you to cut me down so Anko trades me out. Come on, let¡¯s get this over with¡ or can you not even manage to do that.¡±
Kameko disliked him, but now she felt a burning hatred.
She raised her sword, and it hummed noisily as she pointed it at him.
¡°I will make you regret everything.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kameko was dangerous.
After seeing her swordplay, Takuma had to admit, it was one of the best he had faced. It was better than what he had experienced against Okubo Momoe and from the assassins. But he also knew she hadn¡¯t shown him any of her clan jutsu.
She was an unknown opponent. He had no frame-of-reference for combat style, so he probed her by putting pressure on her to see how she would react under an aggressive assault.
He concluded that Kameko had an offensive-type combat style. If he hadn¡¯t intimidated her before the fight and then overwhelmed her from the start, she would¡¯ve put him on the back foot with a high-powered offense with that sword of hers.
He glanced at her sword, which was humming ominously. He couldn¡¯t get hit with that sword. He could defeat her with his usual strategy, but he knew she would get one or two serious attacks in. He did not want that. He was too reckless during fights and traded damage instead of getting in hits through the opening.
He needed to learn not to take damage.
It was high time he changed his combat style to add some well-needed self-preservation.
¡®She gets riled up easily,¡¯ he thought.
And, well, a volatile mind was always an easier target.
And if he wanted Anko to have a proper measure of his ability, he needed to show her more.
¡®Sorry, but not sorry, Kameko. But I¡¯m going to use you to make a presentation.¡¯
CH_6.8 (179)
¡°He has got a foul mouth on him,¡± said Toridasu.
Shirakumo frowned. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a need to insult her and her clan¡ It¡¯s unsightly.¡±
¡°I like it,¡± Anko smiled. ¡°A shinobi needs to maintain calm during battle. He riled her up, and she is clearly falling for it¡ But I don¡¯t know if it was wise to do it to Kameko.¡±
Toridasu glanced at Anko and then at Kameko. ¡°A Taketori, is she?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma took a step back when he saw Kameko¡¯s sword hum dangerously. He didn¡¯t need to be told that he needed to avoid getting cut from that. It was bad that he was no longer scared of bladed weapons like swords from his time in the Ring¡ªhe needed to feel the fear to keep himself safe. Fear kept him on his toes.
Kameko charged at him with her sword. Takuma equipped six of his eight tentacles with kunai and left two free for other uses.
He could immediately tell the difference in her. She was clearly more aggressive than before, and her sword movements became sharper. Not the blade, but the movements; her strikes were becoming tighter, faster, flowing through the air, cutting through it as though no resistance existed for the sword.
Takuma might have insulted her sword, but it was mesmerizing.
Kameko gave Takuma a chase. Her footwork worked in conjunction with her arms as she slashed and stabbed at Takuma, who jumped around her, using his entire body and his tentacles to keep her sword away from him. With every sword strike, she chipped away at the tentacles. Not even the kunai worked as the chakra around the sword disturbed the integrity of the tentacle, taking little sips of water from the tentacles.
This was just like his spar against Okubo Momoe. Eight Tentacles was a bad fit against kenjutsu users.
Her sword was like his augmentations, but unlike him, who expunged his chakra outwards to create an outward-going force, her chakra stuck to the sword, vibrating at high speeds to create a razor edge, and from observations, it increased the sword¡¯s range by a significant amount.
With her non-stop aggressiveness, and raging offense, it was difficult to judge that invisible range.
Perhaps he was wrong to anger her.
She was skilled.
But, that wasn¡¯t enough.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°The Taketori sword. Even in the hands of a youngster like her, it¡¯s deadly as ever,¡± said Toridasu, fanning himself with a folding hand fan.
¡°She is apparently the most talented in her generation,¡± Anko commented.
¡°Oh? Did she say that herself? Isn¡¯t that tooting one¡¯s own horn?¡±
Anko shook her head. ¡°Her father wrote me a letter.¡±
¡°That would¡¯ve been embarrassing for Genin Kameko.¡±
¡°It would be if I told her,¡± Anko smiled.
The Taketori clan was one of the premier clans who had developed a style of deadly kenjutsu. The Taketori sword was a sword of swiftness and efficiency. They had existed since the pre-Hidden Villages Warring Eras and had developed their sword on the battlefield.
The Taketori ideal was pure offense¡ªdiscarding everything that hindered the sword¡¯s destructive capabilities and refining the remaining till the sword achieved its most deadly form.
Takuma¡¯s offense was fast-paced, but Kameko¡¯s was on a higher level. Her sword sliced through the air, every strike with the sole intention to draw blood. Takuma used force to push Kameko back, but she used sheer speed and finesse to leave him no choice but to retreat as anything else would have him come in the blade¡¯s trajectory.
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Kameko raised her sword high up and swung it down for a sharp cutter of wind to fly out towards Takuma, who hadn¡¯t stopped moving on his legs since he had insulted her. He hadn¡¯t been given a moment¡¯s rest. And as the wind cutter flew towards him, he slid under it on his knees, bending his torso backward as though the wind cutter was a limbo pole.
¡°A wind affinity. Excellent for kenjutsu,¡± said Shirakumo. ¡°It seems Taketori¡¯s future is going to be stable.¡±
Possessing an affinity towards the wind or lightning nature transformation was highly desirable for shinobi pursuing kenjutsu as they had the best compatibility with blade weapons.
¡°That said, these two are from the same batch?¡± asked Shirakumo.
¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡± Anko said.
¡°Just a thought about how people from the same batch can differ in just a few years. They have been shinobi for the same duration¡ but the difference in experience is plenty clear.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡®Why can¡¯t I hit him!?¡¯
Kameko gritted her teeth as she sheathed her sword, built chakra into the blade, and unleashed a strong and wide wind cutter as she unsheathed the blade with a wide swing.
She ran towards Takuma after unleashing the wind cutter. And as she expected, Takuma ducked under the cutter, and other than small cuts on his arms that he used to protect his face, he was left mostly uninjured. Knowing this would happen, Kameko unleashed a vertical wind cutter, but Takuma rolled away without even looking at the wind cutter.
She had been bombarding him with attacks, but not a single one had hit him.
It was getting frustrating.
She released two more wind cutters, disregarding pacing her chakra consumption.
Takuma weaved hand seals and disappeared into the ground.
Her senses were set on fire as she looked around everywhere in search of where Takuma would appear from the ground. She heard the ground crack, and she immediately dashed to the spot. Kameko switched from her wind cutter to the vibrating edge as she got into close range.
As she was about to slash her sword down, a figure appeared in her peripheral vision. There was no sound or any other indication that someone was behind her until she saw them. Self-preservation kicked in, and Kameko changed her target; she turned to slash at the new target, which turned out to be Takuma.
¡°Huh?¡±
Her sword went through Takuma clean without any resistance because there was nothing corporeal to cut. Takuma disappeared like he never existed.
¡®Clone Jutsu!?¡¯
Kameko¡¯s heart leaped in her chest as she turned back only to be slammed with pain. She looked down to see a gash in her side. It was a mistake to give her wound attention as she felt a powerful punch assault her face. One moment, she was standing; the next moment, she was on the ground. The air was knocked out of her lungs, leaving her breathless. Once again, she was reminded that Takuma knew how to use chakra augmentations.
Her vision was blurry, her ears rang, and she felt the strong urge to empty her stomach. The pain in her sides was actually the one thing that held her together as she got up. She didn¡¯t expect to get up; especially not being allowed to grab her sword.
Something was wrong.
Ding!
Her swimming vision settled, but as she regained focus, her sight was filled with dozens upon dozens of Takuma surrounding her.
She drew on her sword but found her body to be bound by paralysis. The more she struggled, the more her body felt like stone.
Then, from out of nowhere, she felt herself locked in a rear naked choke hold. And her paralysis didn¡¯t allow her to get out of it. Within seconds, she felt herself go faint, and before she went unconscious, a few words hit her ears as the dozens of Takuma disappeared as though they never existed and she felt control return back to her, but it was already too late.
¡°I will work with you, Taketori Kameko. I will give you at least that¡¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma let Kameko go after she went limp in his grasp. She fell down to the ground, and he stepped back. Immediately, two people came up with a stretcher to carry her off to presumably the medical house for the treatment.
¡°Good fight, come on, let¡¯s get you treated,¡± said one of the people helping Kameko on the stretcher.
He had only left a gash in her side, and with iryo-nin, that was but a light scratch. He was injured too, but the wounds were essentially inconsequential and even he could treat them on his own. It felt good to not come out of a fight with critical injuries.
¡°Thanks, you guys go ahead; I will be right there,¡± he said.
The man glanced at Anko and the two jonin walking towards them before nodding. He made sure Takuma knew the location of the medical house and then took an unconscious Kameko away.
¡°You¡¯re on the team, that¡¯s for sure,¡± said Anko.
¡°I¡¯m glad you liked the performance,¡± said Takuma.
He looked at Toridasu and Shirakumo and introduced himself to the latter.
¡°I followed the Narcotics Taskforce¡¯s work in the Police Force. It was quite impressive,¡± said Shirakumo.
¡°It was a team effort, sir,¡± Takuma replied.
¡°You created such a hubbub upon your arrival, Genin Takuma. I hope this won¡¯t become a regular thing around here,¡± said Toridasu, fanning himself. ¡°Though some excitement here and there is always welcome,¡± he laughed ¡®hohoho¡¯ like Santa.
¡°I came here to do my duty, sir. I will do that; anything other than that is just a bonus,¡± said Takuma. ¡°Now, if you will excuse me. I shall get myself treated.¡±
As Takuma left, the two jonin and Anko followed him with their eyes.
¡°What do you think he will do now?¡± asked Toridasu.
Shirakumo replied, ¡°If he¡¯s smart, he will take care of the situation as soon as possible,¡± he turned to Anko, ¡°and if he doesn¡¯t, you will have a problem.¡±
Anko shrugged with a grin on her face.
¡°If they don¡¯t get along, I will make it so they won¡¯t have a choice but to get along or their lives would be miserable the entire time they are here,¡± she said.
CH_6.9 (180)
When Kameko opened her eyes on a bed in the medical house, she found Takuma sitting at her bedside, reading a scroll. He looked up from his scroll at her.
¡°You¡¯re awake and fairly quickly at that. How are you feeling?¡± he asked.
She narrowed her eyes, showing her displeasure. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±
¡°Waiting for you to wake up so we can have a chat.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say to you.¡±
¡°Well, I do, and you will listen because I will only say this here,¡± said Takuma; something in his demeanor told her that she should listen. ¡°I won, so according to the bet, we will be working on the same team¡¡±
Kameko bit the inside of her cheek and clenched her fists. She sat up on her bed to be on the same level as Takuma.
¡°So, what? You¡¯re here to gloat about it?¡± she spat.
¡°¡ but I don¡¯t want there to be bad blood between us, so I¡¯m here to dispel the animosity between us for the sake of the team. I don¡¯t want to spend my time here locking horns with you. Therefore, I suggest we make peace. And as a token of my intention, I will forgo the two months of my tasks we decided for your punishment.¡±
Kameko stayed silent. It was clear from the look in her eyes that she was suspicious of Takuma.
Takuma stood up and bowed to Kameko. ¡°I apologize for bad mouthing you and your clan during the fight. I didn¡¯t mean any of that; it was simply a tactic to throw you off your calm. Your sword was dangerous enough that I had to resort to other tactics.¡±
¡°So, we are just supposed to become friends now?¡± asked Kameko, scoffing.
¡°Not really,¡± Takuma shrugged. ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯m not interested in becoming friends with you. All I¡¯m proposing is that we treat each other as professionally as we can. We don¡¯t need to be friends to functionally operate as teammates. I simply don¡¯t wish for unnecessary hostility.¡±
Takuma stood up and rolled up his scroll.
¡°I have said my piece. It¡¯s up to you if you wish to be civil with me; my peace offering will hold even either way. Rest well, I will see you tomorrow,¡± he said before taking his leave.
Kameko dropped back to the bed and sighed as she stared at the ceiling, thinking.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Huh, I thought she would give me a reply,¡± Takuma muttered as he exited the building.
Barely an hour had passed since the fight. It was a strange feeling¡ªthe fight was akin to a Ring fight, and he usually had those in the late evening, but today, the day had barely started.
¡°I should go talk to Anko,¡± he muttered.
¡°I¡¯m here.¡±
Takuma flinched and looked to the side to see Anko leaning against the wall. She waved to him as she walked to him. ¡°Yo, that was a good fight. Chakra Augmentation, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Water Release, Earth Release¡ªthat¡¯s a good amount of stuff in your repertoire. I must say I¡¯m liking you more and more as a member of my team.¡±
Takuma smiled. ¡°So, what do you think? How did I do?¡±
¡°Well, if you are asking,¡± Anko hummed. ¡°You wasted too much time at the start. If you had planned it better, you could¡¯ve ended the fight without using the genjutsu. You only hit her with a couple of augmented strikes, and those hurt her enough to make her not risk being close to you, even with a sword in hand. You heavily underutilized those and let her get in the cuts and knicks she did.¡±
Takuma lifted his hand and looked at his fist.
¡°It¡¯s more like I can¡¯t utilize the chakra augmentation,¡± he said.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°I made this chakra augmentation on my own¡ª¡±
¡°You created it on your own!?¡±
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Takuma laughed and waved Anko¡¯s surprise down. ¡°It¡¯s not that impressive.¡± He explained the base concept of how he used to overload the chakra adhesion (used for wall-sticking) to create power by expunging the chakra outwards. ¡°Because I don¡¯t have any experience in jutsu creation, and I was told once by someone that the base concept itself was flawed from an augmentation perspective, the use-case is quite restrictive.
¡°My augmentation has multiple variables I have to consider with every strike. Whenever I hit someone with an augmented strike, I experience a knockback recoil. I have long gotten used to it, but each recoil makes me slow down just a bit, but it¡¯s enough that I have to be mindful, or I can put myself at a disadvantage. I have to consider if I¡¯m using a punch, a palm strike, a kick, what kind of kick, or if I¡¯m using my elbow or knee; then I have to consider my opponent, where am I hitting them, how much force can they shrug off, and because of the recoil I have to think about the follow-up¡ªif I want a quick successive attack then I need a lower recoil to make the transition seamless, but if I can afford a moment of pause, I can go for a heavy hit.
¡°Moreover, the techniques¡¯ demand of control itself is a problem. In the start, I used to break the bones in my arms whenever I used the augmentation recklessly.¡± He looked at his hand. ¡°I have fractured my knuckles, wrist, and fingers more times than I can remember. I have gotten better through experience, but the flaws in the technique that caused the injuries in the first place still remain. I can¡¯t go above a certain power limit, or I would injure myself.¡±
He looked at Anko.
¡°Every augmentation is a risk. I have to mentally and instinctually calculate all of it to land a proper punch. If I didn¡¯t need to, every attack of mine would¡¯ve been augmented¡ªI have the chakra for it. I know that if I tried, I could¡¯ve shattered Kameko¡¯s jaw in one shot or caused heavy internal injuries in her abdomen, or killed her if I placed my hits properly on a vital¡ªin return, however, I would¡¯ve lost my arm. From a certain standpoint, a kill for a broken arm doesn¡¯t sound bad, but that trade-off is immensely risky.¡±
Iryo-jutsu was miraculous, but it couldn¡¯t solve everything. A broken arm not treated quickly could get complicated enough that amputation was the only choice.
¡°Sounds dangerous,¡± Anko said as they walked through the camp. ¡°If it¡¯s so dangerous, why do you still use it?¡±
Takuma had only one answer to the question. ¡°Because it makes me dangerous. When they realize that I can hit that hard, they become hyper-conscious of it. There¡¯s fear in their eyes, caution in their movement, hesitation in their intentions.¡± Takuma didn¡¯t realize that there was a grin on his face. ¡°And flawed doesn¡¯t mean useless; I figured a couple of things that work around it.¡±
He removed two kunai from his pouch and pointed at a nearby tree.
¡°Watch,¡± he said.
Takuma threw the two kunai one-at-a-time at the tree trunk.
¡°The second one was faster?¡± Anko commented.
¡°Let¡¯s see, shall we?¡±
They walked to the tree and saw that the first kunai was barely a quarter of its length into the thick tree bark, but the second kunai was more than halfway into the tree.
¡°It¡¯s brutish, but everything has its uses,¡± he said.
Takuma had figured out that he could propel the kunai faster and stronger by expunging chakra behind the kunai a moment before it left his hand. Force was a product of mass and acceleration; Takuma increased the acceleration with his augmentation technique and created a sharp jump in force. In return, he sacrificed accuracy, so he could only use it at close range or when he had extra time to aim.
¡°You used it against Kameko, didn¡¯t you,¡± asked Anko, unsure if her guess was correct.
Takuma nodded.
¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s particularly impressive, but I can see it having its uses,¡± she said. ¡°Would improving chakra control improve your augmentations?¡±
¡°Improving chakra control improves everything, ma¡¯am,¡± Takuma chuckled.
¡°Anko,¡± she reminded him.
¡°Yes, my apologies,¡± he replied. ¡°But it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t worked on chakra control.¡± He trained chakra control on a regular basis. But it was also true that he hadn¡¯t seen improvement in his control recently.
¡°I don¡¯t know what method you used, but you haven¡¯t used mine,¡± she said.
¡°Your methods?¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t know why, but seeing the glint in Anko¡¯s eyes as she coyly smiled sent alarm bells in his mind. Something in him told him otherwise, but he still asked, ¡°Will they help improve my chakra control?¡± If it improved his chakra control, his abilities all-round would improve.
¡°Of course, but it might be tough; if you agree now, I won¡¯t accept complaints later.¡±
Takuma¡¯s fingers twitched. He was wondering what kind of training Anko was talking about. Her behavior was tingling his instincts; the last time he had felt like this was with Maruboshi, who had put him through his ¡®basic training¡¯ during the academy. He had hated every second of the training because of how tough it was.
Takuma trained every day, but he didn¡¯t particularly enjoy it. Training was a way to grow stronger; as such, he did it every day.
¡®Maybe I should decline...¡¯
¡°My methods are actually my teacher¡¯s special methods,¡± she said.
Anko¡¯s eyes gained a particular look as though she was testing him, observing his every expression.
Usually, Takuma would notice the change, but the moment he heard that Anko¡¯s methods were her teacher¡¯s methods, his answer was decided, and he replied as enthusiastically as possible.
¡°I will take your offer, thank you!¡±
Takuma, of course, knew who her teacher was. Even if he hadn¡¯t read the source material, after living in the Hidden Leaf for as long as he had, he knew Mitarashi Anko and her teacher, Orochimaru of the Snake, one of the Legendary Sannin. One of Hidden Leaf¡¯s most wanted, currently rogue missing-nin, one of the shinobi with the highest bounty on their heads.
The man was terrible¡ª terrible, but great. Anko was a chunin, so he figured she would have some more advanced training methods, but Orochimaru simply gave her more credibility.
Anko looked stunned for a moment before she laughed and slapped Takuma on his shoulder a couple of times.
¡°You¡¯re an interesting guy!¡± she said. ¡°I will teach you, and I will teach you good!¡±
Takuma felt good. He had showcased his ability to the entire camp and had managed to build a good rapport with his chunin lead. It was not bad for a day¡¯s work.
CH_6.10 (181)
Lunchtime soon arrived, and Takuma lined up at the mess hall with a tray to get his food. As he was waiting in the line, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back to see the towering figure of Daiki standing behind him with a tray that looked tiny in his large hands,
¡°I enjoyed the fight in the morning,¡± smiled Daiki.
¡°I¡¯m glad you did,¡± Takuma replied as the line moved up.
¡°I was thoroughly impressed by how you combated Miss Kameko. We spar regularly, and I¡¯m always perplexed about how to overcome that sword of hers. The way you keep moving around the field to avoid her attacks was inspiring; it¡¯s a feat of footwork not to stumble in the face of an unending assault,¡± said Daiki.
¡°Let¡¯s just say not getting cut is enough motivation not to make a mistake.¡±
¡°On the contrary, don¡¯t you think the pressure would push people to make mistakes?¡±
Takuma glanced back at Daiki. ¡°Do you know what separates good fighters from great ones? The ability to operate under pressure. Between the two people possessing the same combat level, the one able to function the same under pressure will always be superior.¡±
His experience in the Ring had taught him that. Many fighters would buckle under the pressure when they had a long win streak on the line, when a lot of money was riding on them in the betting pools, or when they were scheduled for a fight on a special fight night.
Takuma preferred the pressure.
It was deeply uncomfortable, but that¡¯s what kept him on the thin line.
¡°Well said,¡± Daiki nodded.
¡°So what does Team-9 do on a daily basis?¡± asked Takuma. In his attempt to build a good rapport with Anko by making himself look like a desirable shinobi, he had forgotten to ask her what they did in the camp.
¡°Most days, not much. Each team only gets deployed for missions once, at most twice a month. When we aren¡¯t preparing for missions, the day is usually slow. If you don¡¯t have patrol, guard, or other duties, you are usually free to do anything unless the team leader has something else planned for you¡. Life at Camp Banana is slow until it¡¯s not.¡±
¡°Is that so,¡± Takuma hummed. From the looks of it, they had ample free time, which was great for Takuma as he needed free time to go through and practice his newly bought genjutsu. ¡°Well, Anko offered to train, so I guess I will have something to go to every day,¡± he said.
¡°E-Eh,¡± Daiko cleared his throat, ¡°training with Anko? Did you, by chance, take her up on the offer?¡±
¡°Of course, it¡¯s not every day one gets to train under a chunin,¡± said Takuma. He had been training genjutsu under a jonin for almost a year, but that didn¡¯t make him desensitized to guidance from chunin.
¡°Yes, yes, of course,¡± Daiki¡¯s eyebrow twitched.
¡°Would you like to join me for the training?¡± Takuma offered. ¡°I would also like to train with everyone so I can familiarize myself with how everyone operates. I¡¯m sure Anko wouldn¡¯t mind. It would be good for our teamwork.¡±
¡°A-Ah, I appreciate the offer, Takuma. I truly do. But I very much prefer to train alone,¡± said Daiki.
Takuma was disappointed, but he understood that everyone had their own methods.
¡°No worries, the invitation will remain open; you can join me anytime.¡±
Both of them got their food and searched for a place to sit. The serving area of the Mess was a huge tent placed adjacent to a building used as the kitchen.
¡°There¡¯s space there, let¡¯s go,¡± Takuma pointed to a table with people that had two chairs free. He wanted to converse and introduce himself to people outside his team.
Daiki placed a hand on Takuma¡¯s shoulder and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go there,¡± he pointed at an empty table in the corner of the tent.
Takuma noticed Daiki¡¯s expression and didn¡¯t argue. But when they sat down, Takuma asked the question, ¡°May I ask why?¡±
¡°Because our chunin lead is Anko,¡± Daiki said as he poked his food with the chopsticks.
¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Most people here aren¡¯t fond of Anko,¡± Daiki said, his voice barely above a whisper. ¡°It¡¯s¡. are you aware of her jonin teacher?¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t need to be told any further.
¡°Orochimaru, yes, I know,¡± he said, but unlike Daiki, he didn¡¯t lower his voice. ¡°No need to say anymore, I understand. It¡¯s fucking stupid behavior by a bunch of mindless sheeple.¡± He didn¡¯t bother looking back to see if anyone was listening to him.
He had grown in the era of social media. In the chronically online world, the concept of ¡®innocent until proven guilty¡¯ didn¡¯t exist, and people operated on frontier justice¡ªmisinformation could ruin a person¡¯s life because the internet full of people hiding behind their screens and handles assumed that everything on the internet was true and deem the person guilty even if they were not. Of course, not all victims of internet frontier justice were innocent, and the justice system wasn¡¯t perfect, but the moronic people with brains full of internet rot would jump on pouring their hate on a person from the second they saw what resembled damning evidence. The stupidity could be quelled by researching for a few minutes, but no one was willing to do that much before making up their minds.
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This world didn¡¯t have the internet, and if someone wanted to say something brain-dead, they could do so but, in turn, get punched in the face for it.
Takuma loved that.
And while he didn¡¯t mind people being suspicious of a criminal¡¯s friends and acquaintances¡ªhe, too, would be¡ªbut much time had passed since Orochimaru was declared a rogue, and Anko was declared innocent of any involvement in his dealings. But if people still thought that she was to blame¡
¡°Fuck ¡®em all. Let¡¯s eat,¡± said Takuma. ¡°After this, maybe we can go meet Iori? I wasn¡¯t able to talk to her yesterday.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a fine plan,¡± Daiki nodded.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After the meal, Takuma and Daiki went to meet Iori.
¡°Perhaps I should have coordinated with everyone so we could have lunch together,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Miss Iori doesn¡¯t usually partake in lunch. You will only see her in the Mess during breakfast and the evening supper. She¡¯s a light eater.¡± Daiki took out a pocket watch, which looked equally tiny in his hand as everything else. ¡°I believe she will be awake by now.¡±
¡°By now?¡±
It was already past noon. Takuma, in his previous life, had times when he considered opening his eyes before noon as blasphemy, but all the people were active shinobi on a battlefront. He had woken up at six in the morning and was going to do so every day unless he had night guard duty.
¡°Miss Iori¡¯s sleep schedule is unusual. She sleeps four to five hours twice, so while it may appear as though she is lazy, Miss Iori may as well be the hardest worker in this entire camp.¡±
¡°If I remember correctly, she is a fuinjutsu specialist,¡± Takuma looked at Daiki.
¡°Indeed. Miss Iori is an incredibly knowledgeable person with great skill when it comes to the sealing arts. Anko was quite happy with Miss Iori¡¯s assignment to the team.¡±
Takuma nodded. A fuin-nin had great utility, and were one of the most sought after shinobi for their services¡ªmoreover, they earned the same if not more than iryo-nin if they were good at their craft.
¡°Speaking of our teammates, it¡¯s shameful on my part, but I never got the name of our final teammate,¡± said Takuma. Anko¡¯s Team-9 had five genin¡ª Takuma, Kameko, Daiki, Iori, and the final unnamed one.
¡°Ah, Miss Rikku. She was there in the morning to witness the fight.¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t¡¯ve recognized her,¡± said Takuma. ¡°What is she like?¡±
¡°Miss Rikku¡ is stubborn. She means well, but she can be quite stalwart when it comes to her own opinion. There¡¯s no gray¡ªonly black and white. But do not worry, she is a straightforward kunoichi who doesn¡¯t like, as she would put it, ¡®bullshit¡¯¡ª so as long as you don¡¯t do that, I believe both of you will get along splendidly.¡±
¡°And what is this ¡®bullshit¡¯ she doesn¡¯t like?¡±
Daiki scratched his cheek. ¡°That I believe you will understand when you meet her,¡± he said.
Takuma quirked his brow before shrugging.
They reached the girl¡¯s house, and unlike Anko, who shouted in the streets, Daiki properly knocked on the door. The one who opened the door was Iori. Unlike yesterday, when the dark circles were as dark as charcoal, today they were lighter and seemed as though she had gotten some well-needed sleep.
Iori smiled upon seeing Takuma,
¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Takuma. I apologize for yesterday; I was simply not in the mental and physical condition to greet you properly,¡± she said.
¡°Please, there¡¯s no need for apologies. I heard from Daiki that your sleep schedule is unique. May I ask why?¡±
¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know. It somehow ended up like that when I came here. I¡¯m trying to get it back to normal, but there¡¯s this entire thing where I work better at night,¡± she sighed, ¡°they give me too much work. I¡¯m going to complain about it to Anko.¡±
¡°Your work?¡± he asked.
¡°Primarily helping the quartermaster with the production of explosive tags,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s tough and tiring work, but in return, I don¡¯t have to do any of the usual duties. It¡¯s probably not a great trade-off, but hey, at least I get some serious practice.¡±
According to Iori, Camp Banana got the majority of its supplies from the village, but because they had fuin-nin and iryo-nin on site, the supplies included raw materials to turn into supplies they desired, depending on demand.
¡°I wasn¡¯t there to watch the fight, but congratulations on winning. I¡¯m impressed that you were able to win against Kameko.¡± Iori giggled as she pointed back to the house. ¡°She¡¯s in there sulking. It¡¯s the second time I saw her like this¡. Would you like to talk to her?¡±
Takuma shook his head. ¡°I already talked to her in the medical house¡. However, I would like to meet Rikku if she¡¯s available. I haven¡¯t been able to introduce myself.¡±
¡°Ah, Rikku is out training. Maybe you can find her during the dinner service?¡± she said.
¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, Rikku is a combat-forward shinobi. Seeing that she¡¯s training must mean she takes her job quite seriously,¡± said Takuma.
Takuma knew a lot of people who didn¡¯t train regularly.
Iori laughed. ¡°That she does. But it¡¯s more like she can¡¯t stand still and needs to use up all the energy in her small package.¡±
Daiki smiled as he nodded.
It was little, but Takuma was able to imagine his final teammate. And he was able to properly introduce himself to three of his teammates even if one of them didn¡¯t like him much (the feeling was mutual).
Only one remained.
However, Takuma wasn¡¯t able to meet Rikku that day.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Early in the morning, Takuma stood in a farm field. It was six-thirty in the morning; the sun was up, but the air was chilly. Being a resident of the Hidden Leaf, which had a much warmer climate, Takuma felt the cold seep into his body. He had packed some warm clothes, but because he was training, he only wore a shirt and shorts.
Standing in front of him was Anko, dressed in a similar fashion, but unlike him, the cold didn¡¯t seem to bother her. She had a smile on her face and had her arms folded in front of her.
¡°Are you ready for training, Takuma?¡± she said.
¡°As ready as I ever will be,¡± he replied.
¡°Good.¡±
Anko leaned down and picked up something beside her, and threw it towards him. As it flew towards him, Takuma recognized it to be an armor-vest along with something else that he wasn¡¯t able to pinpoint. Before he could guess, the armor vest landed on the ground near his feet.
Thud.
¡°Hmm?¡± The sound was wrong.
Takuma leaned down to pick the vest up but wasn¡¯t able to because it was unexpectedly heavy. As he put in more strength, his eyes widened, as his arms strained as he lifted the vest.
And he realized what Anko meant by giving him the vest.
¡°No way, you gotta be kidding me,¡± he said to her.
¡°Step-One, you will not remove those as long as you¡¯re awake and not on missions,¡± she said.
Takuma looked down, and beside the vest, Anko had thrown what were clearly ankle and wrist weights.
Before they even covered an hour of training, Takuma took back what he said about being ready.
CH_6.11 (182)
Takuma wheezed as he ran around the farm with the weighted vest, ankle and wrist weights that were more like demons trying to pull him into hell than training aids. A burning and painful amount of lactic acid had built up in his muscles, and after a mere two hours of running with the weights on his body, he was finding it hard to lift his legs and swing his arms. He could sprint for a good chunk of the day, but the weights had slashed all of that to a less than two hours.
He was so slow that while he was trying his level best to run, Anko was keeping up with a light jog. She had been supporting (prodding) him to keep going despite his request for breaks. She had refused all of his requests other than his requests for water.
"Why are we doing this?" asked Takuma, unable to contain the whining tone.
"Finally. I was expecting to get the question an hour ago. You endured beyond my expectations," she chuckled. "Think about what that says about you¡ªyou may or may not like that about yourself.
"And to answer your question, let me pose one to you. It''s quite simple. What is chakra made of?" she asked.
"¡ It''s a product of two components found within every living being. The Physical and Spiritual Energy which fuse together to produce chakra," he answered.
"Correct," said Anko. "To increase your chakra reserves, one must increase the Physical and Spiritual Energies to be able to create a higher amount. It''s simple math. Next question: How can you increase your Physical and Spiritual Energies?"
Takuma spoke with difficulty as he continued to run. "Physical Energy is collected from each of the body''s cells and can be increased through training and exercise. To increase Physical Energy, you have to develop your body. The more you train your body, the higher amount of Physical Energy you will have."
According to the prevalent chakra theory, a person''s Physical Energy would gradually develop naturally from birth until they reached physical maturity in their mid-twenties. They would remain at that level for the next five to ten years before deteriorating as they grew older.
People who exercised or trained their bodies to extract their body''s potential would have much greater amounts of Physical Energy. Shinobi who used chakra and trained their bodies extensively could extend their peak and retain their peak physical potential beyond what was possible by normal people.
But the Physical Energy demanded effort.
Lack of exercise deteriorated physical health, which affected Physical Energy. A peak human specimen at the height of pure physical performance would start going out of shape within two weeks if they stopped training¡ª which would decrease the amount of Physical Energy they possessed. To have the highest possible amount of Physical Energy, a person needed to be in tip-top shape.
Physical Energy was also affected by injury and disease. An unwell body caused a decline in Physical Energy.
Takuma continued, "Spiritual Energy is derived from the mind''s consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. Keeping oneself at peace and achieving happiness, and gaining all types of different life experiences is the way to increase Spiritual Energy."
Unlike Physical Energy, which was straightforward, Spiritual Energy was much more elusive. There was no one way to increase Spiritual Energy as shinobi didn''t have a concrete way to increase Spiritual Energy reliably. The current chakra theory stated that emotion, life experience, and mental health were related to Spiritual Energy, but there was no consensus on how to harness those components to increase Spiritual Energy.
Spiritual Energies generally increased in a person as they grew up, and they continued to grow until old age when the body would start to deteriorate. There was no peak maturity age or peak period, as every person was unique.
However, Spiritual Energy was fickle.
Like Physical Energy, it was also affected by disease. Impaired mental health, negative stress, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction in life caused a decrease in mental energy. One day, a person could be at 100 points of Spiritual Energy, but the next day, that same person could go down to 80 points because of an adverse incident in their lives.
But simultaneously, negative emotions were good for Spiritual Energy. A person who had overcome depression would see an increase in Spiritual Energy as that was considered another life experience. A person grieving the loss of a loved one could be bad in the short term, but it could have positive effects later on.
Was indulgence good or bad? On the one hand, it made a person happy, which was good for the mental state, but on the other hand, indulgence without limit eroded a person''s fortitude against harder times.
Did Spiritual Energy grow more when a person lived a happy life of no difficulties or when they had to face challenges and hardships one after another, leading to a generally unhappy life?
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No one concretely knew how Spiritual Energies worked.
Anko slapped Takuma on his back, which almost made him stumble and fall. Almost. He cursed as he wanted to fall so he could rest, but it was already too late to take advantage of Anko''s slap for it and fall down.
"Alright, you can stop running now."
Takuma let himself fall down without hesitation and kissed the ground. He didn''t care what Anko thought about him and sprawled out without any shame.
Anko sat cross-legged beside him.
"Do you know that most people have higher levels of Spiritual Energy than Physical Energy?" she said. "In an ideal situation, people would have an equal amount of Physical and Spiritual Energy¡ªbut that rarely happens."
"¡ If the energies are in different amounts¡ which means chakra volume would be limited by the energy with the lower amount," Takuma muttered as he turned his face towards Anko.
"That''s right. And do you know that the difference in amount affects the quality of chakra?" she said.
"Quality of chakra? Chakra has quality?" he said. This was the first time Takuma had heard about it¡ªfrom his knowledge, chakra was all about quantity.
"Of course. You are aware that every jutsu requires a certain amount of chakra to perform it. If that amount isn''t used, the jutsu will fail or won''t perform as required," she said. "Most people, however, put in more chakra than needed when using a jutsu¡ª the extra amounts go to waste as chakra can''t be stored in the body. Shinobi train the jutsu by performing it repeatedly until they have got the right amount perfected.
"But do you know that people can reduce that required amount. It can be done by going beyond the mastery of the jutsu and understanding its intricacies¡ªbut it can also be done by producing higher quality chakra that possesses more ''power per unit'' so a lower amount can be used for the same effect."
Takuma didn''t know that. He had read some books and papers on chakra theory in his time at the Hidden Leaf, but this wasn''t a topic he had covered yet. But then Anko said something that shocked Takuma,
"You have a pretty severe imbalance between the Physical and Spiritual Energy," she said. "A severe imbalance means a lower quality of chakra."
"What? How do you know that?" Takuma asked, skeptical.
"It''s in your eyes," she pointed. "People with energy imbalance develop flecks in their iris. Your eyes are dark, so it''s not noticeable, but if you look closely, you will see that you have a rather high number of flecks in the inner region of the iris.
"Short, spotty flecks on the outer area of the iris means your Spiritual Energy is lagging behind your Physical Energy. Longer flecks on the inner area of the iris means your Physical Energy is lacking behind your Spiritual Energy," said Anko.
Takuma sat up on the ground, the heavy vest weighing him down. "I don''t have enough Physical Energy? But how could that be? I train every day without fail. Conditioning and taijutsu take up the largest measure of time in my training!"
His combat style revolved around getting close to the enemy and using augmented strikes to create openings. To be proficient in his style, he needed endurance and stamina along with agility and dexterity to always be on his feet so as to not get hit while in close-quarters. He trained his body more than he practiced his ninjutsu and genjutsu.
"Well¡ you''re either not training your body¡ or you have an abnormally high amount of Spiritual Energy in your body," said Anko.
"An abnormal amount of Spiritual Energy?" Takuma muttered.
Could that be it?
''Getting transmigrated into another world is one hell of a life experience. Did that cause me to have the abnormal volume of Spiritual Energy?''
"I don''t think training is the problem," said Takuma. "A sensory-nin told me that I am on a Grade-2 chakra scale," which was significantly high for someone Takuma''s age, "and if my Physical Energy is lacking, then it must mean that my Spiritual Energy is abnormally high; otherwise, I wouldn''t have been able to reach Grade-2."
"Oh, you had your chakra measured by a sensory-nin? Were you worried about your chakra reserves?" she asked.
"No, I hired a sensory-nin to my team," said Takuma.
He was never concerned with his chakra reserves as he hadn''t run out of chakra ever in a fight. He only ever paid attention to his chakra control and efficiency with jutsu. But now, Anko was telling him that he had an energy imbalance that was affecting the quality of chakra¡ªhe could no longer ignore it.
"I told you that I would be helping you with your chakra control, but I would advise that you take the energy imbalance seriously," said Anko. "I can help you with this, but I wanted to see if it would be a waste of my time¡ªwhich is why I told you to run with that on." She pointed at the vest. "If you had complained too much, I would''ve stuck with chakra control training, but you didn''t complain once.
She asked, "Do you want to train on the energy imbalance?"
Takuma''s answer was obvious. "Yes, I would," he said immediately.
"Good choice," Anko nodded, pleased. "But before we seal the deal. I must warn you of something. Are you aware of the genetic limit?"
"I''m not sure I am," said Takuma.
"As you said yourself, Physical Energy is derived from the cells in your body. But there is a limit to how much energy your cells can hold; once that limit is reached, you won''t be able to increase your Physical Energy no matter how much you train. You can continue to grow stronger and faster, but once you hit the limit defined by your genetics, your Physical Energy itself won''t grow."
Takuma stared at Anko for a moment as questions popped up in his mind.
"¡ Does that mean it''s possible that if I hit this genetic limit before I''m able to close the gap between my energies, I will be stuck with the imbalance?" he asked.
Anko nodded. "You''re still young, and your body is still growing, so I don''t believe you will hit that limit anytime soon, but if you continue to train your body diligently, you will hit that genetic limit one day."
"Is there a genetic limit on Spiritual Energy?"
"No, there isn''t," she said.
"So, let''s say I close the gap one day and then reach my genetic limit. But my Spiritual Energy, which is already abnormally high, will continue to grow, and someday I will again have an imbalance?"
"That is possible," she said.
Takuma sighed heavily. That sounded so bothersome. That even after all the hard work, he could once again find himself in the same place.
"Now, now, don''t feel bad. It''s an unfairness that all of us face," Anko patted his shoulder. "A good part about having excessive Spiritual Energy is that if you work hard on your Physical Energy, your chakra reserves will grow quickly. And unlike Spiritual Energy, increasing Physical Energy is so much more straightforward. So, cheer up now. You won''t get a chance to be happy while we train."
"Eh?"
Takuma felt a shiver go down his spine as he gazed at Anko''s playful smile.
CH_6.12 (183)
Early in the morning, Takuma roused from sleep without the help of an alarm. His biological clock was fine-tuned because of the routine he had followed for years without change. Even his new surroundings, the unfamiliar bed, and the weather could do nothing to disrupt his sleep¡ªbut he reckoned that his deep sleep was mainly due to Anko¡¯s rigorous training; he had fallen asleep the moment he had hit the pillow top.
Takuma slept in nothing but his underwear. He groaned in ache as he stood up from his bed, his muscles spiking with pain because of his training; he walked to his travel bag that he hadn¡¯t unpacked to take out a set of shirt and shorts along with the toiletries he had gotten from the quartermaster and headed to the toilet start his day. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before returning to his room to put on the weighted vest and ankle and wrist weights, and pick up his weapons pouch to take with him.
The house was silent as Takuma tied the laces on his dirty boots near the front door. Last night, his housemates had stayed up late at night, and it seemed none of them were early-rise types. He was invited¡ªit was a good avenue to get to know everyone, but he was tired and had to get up early, so after weighing the pros-and-cons, Takuma politely declined.
As he opened the door, the moist but cool early morning air hit him. The monsoon season had arrived, and it rained substantially at the border region of the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost.
It had rained last night. The pressed dirt roads were wet and muddy from the rain, and Takuma¡¯s already dirty boots picked up more mud as he jogged to start his day off.
The extra weight on his body changed how he moved and breathed forcibly. He had experimented with ankle weights before, but he wasn¡¯t consistent with them to achieve any substantial gains. Takuma hoped that someone overseeing his training would motivate him to keep up the weight training.
His body, while mostly healed, was also showing signs of strain. It was minuscule, but after the combat situations he had been in the past few days, Takuma could tell that he wasn¡¯t the same as he was before the assassination. His body¡¯s limits had changed, shortened by the injuries; he could do everything he was capable of before, but there was a 1-2% shortcoming he noticed he had developed. It wasn¡¯t much, but Takuma was concerned that that final couple percent would be all that mattered in a life-or-death situation.
Anko wanted him to develop his body to increase his Physical Energy to close the gap between it and his Spiritual Energy to correct his energy imbalance. Takuma hoped that this physical training would also help him regain the 1-2% he had lost.
The news about the imbalance and its effect on chakra quality wasn¡¯t a cause of worry to Takuma. He had been doing just fine until now, and with Anko¡¯s training, his situation was bound to improve as long as he wasn¡¯t completely screwed over by genetics. The path was straightforward¡ªtrain hard every day until the fault became a blessing; the more he trained his body, the more chakra he would be able to produce, and that of a higher quality than he currently produced.
There was no hidden catch; thus, he was happy.
Takuma reached the farm designated as the training ground by Anko. Seeing that she had not yet arrived, Takuma jogged around the farmland for a while before moving on to stretching¡ªstretching before training allowed the body to warm up, while stretching after a workout was a good way to let the body settle down gradually.
While stretching, Takuma heard footsteps and turned to greet Anko, only to see that it was someone else.
A short and petite girl with copper-brown hair was walking towards him. Her hair were cut in a horrendous bowl-cut style, and she wore an unflattering brown tracksuit. Takuma stood up from the ground and faced the girl who stopped a small distance from him.
She spoke first. ¡°Are you Takuma?¡± Her voice was crisp, her tone strong. The expression on her face was unwavering, and her firm body language landed a solid first impression on Takuma.
¡°My name is Takuma. Who might you be?¡±
¡°Heard you defeated Kameko. Fight me,¡± she said.
Takuma was taken aback by the sudden challenge. He stared at the strange girl, wondering who she was. She had found him this early in the morning to pick up a fight against him.
¡®How did she even know to find me here?¡¯ Then, a thought popped up in his mind.
He asked, ¡°Are you Rikku?¡±
¡°I am. Come on, let¡¯s fight,¡± said Rikku, the final member of Anko¡¯s Team-9.
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¡°Uhm,¡± Takuma wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. He was not expecting the first meeting with her to be like this. Kameko had picked up a fight against him, and he was more than happy to oblige so he could punch that annoying face of hers¡ªbut there shouldn¡¯t be any ill will between him and Rikku, and even from the looks of it, she didn¡¯t seem to be angry with him.
¡°You want to spar with me?¡± he asked.
¡°I want to see how strong you are,¡± Rikku said in reply.
Was this another test? Did Rikku, too, want to see if he was capable of being one of the combatants on the team?
¡°So? Are we fighting or not?¡± she asked again.
¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind, but only until Anko arrives.¡±
¡°Good,¡± Rikku nodded.
Takuma¡¯s hand went to the vest¡¯s clasp, but he stopped himself.
¡®¡ªYou will not remove those as long as you¡¯re awake and not on missions¡ª¡¯
Anko¡¯s words popped up in his mind. He glanced up at Rikku, who had assumed a stance. This was only a spar, and his spot was already guaranteed; he didn¡¯t need to prove anything. Moreover, the problem with his personal experience with ankle weights failed due to his inconsistency.
Takuma decided to keep his weights on during the spar.
When Rikku saw that, her brows furrowed.
¡°I notice that you don¡¯t have a weapons pouch on you. Should we make it a taijutsu-only spar?¡± he asked.
Rikku raised her fists up and center. ¡°You can use whatever you want.¡±
Takuma stared for a moment before shrugging. If she was going unarmed, then he would do the same.
¡°We start the moment this lands on the ground.¡± Takuma held up a shuriken in his hand.
Rikku nodded, and he threw the shuriken up into the air. In the moments that the shuriken descended from the air, Rikku fully faced Takuma and bent her knees.
¡®She¡¯s planning to make the first move,¡¯ deduced Takuma. He immediately switched to a defensive stance because of the training gear weighing him down.
The shuriken hit the ground, and Rikku shot forward with full force.
¡®She¡¯s not that fast,¡¯ he thought.
Takuma took a step forward the moment Rikku stepped into close quarters to close in the gap prematurely, attempting to throw her off by preventing a first solid, satisfying strike. Takuma threw in a jab as he shifted forward to get the first strike.
Rikku weaved her head to the side and threw a full-windup fist. The move was all but telegraphed, making it easy to block. Takuma used his hand to catch the fist, so he counterattacked, but when the fist hit his palm, a heavy force shot up his arm. It was so intense that Takuma¡¯s elbow buckled under the pressure.
While Takuma was surprised, Rikku followed up with a fast uppercut aimed at his chin. Takuma barely evaded the strike, but he felt a draft of wind brush his face.
¡®How can she generate so much force?¡¯
As someone who used chakra augmentation as his bread-and-butter, Takuma could tell that the girl before him was not using any form of augmentation. That one punch was purely physical force, and it was at least as strong as one of his augmented punches. He had only faced another person capable of generating that much force just from their body¡ªand that was his teacher, Maruboshi, who Takuma bet could take on jonin.
The distance between them was small, and Takuma would¡¯ve leaped back to make some if not for the weight. He went for the alternative and went for a lead hook to Rikku¡¯s face, but she bobbed her head in a dodge. The lead hook was just a setup as Takuma used his forefoot as a pivot and rotated his body to build momentum for a seamless spinning back fist into Rikku¡¯s head as she rose up.
The fist struck her solid in the jaw. Rikku staggered from the impact, and Takuma took advantage of the situation. He didn¡¯t have his usual speed, so making the most of every opening was paramount. Takuma unleashed a combo to do the most damage.
The spinning back fist flowed into a body shot followed by a palm strike to push Rikku away so he had enough space for a side-kick from his lead foot. He aimed for her face, but with the ankle weight, Takuma¡¯s foot only reached her upper chest despite Rikku being of a short stature.
Rikku fell to the ground.
Perhaps it was the strong punch from Rikku that Takuma didn¡¯t throttle his usual aggressiveness. He pursued the fallen Rikku to keep the pressure on. He jumped towards Rikku, tucked his knees to generate power, and aimed for the girl. He was going to use his full weight to dig both of his feet into Rikku.
Rikku rolled away to the side, and Takuma landed on the field, cracking the ground underneath his feet. Takuma turned towards her only to catch a foot on his chest. Once more, he felt an overwhelming amount of physical force that sent him flying into the air. He tried to control his posture in the air, but the weights made everything infinitely difficult.
Takuma wasn¡¯t even given the chance to properly crash on the ground as Rikku chased after him. He managed to crash on his back but immediately saw a thin foot coming his way; he covered his face with his arms. He dragged the ground with him as he was kicked, his arms trembling from the impact.
Rikku was once again within range as Takuma stood up. She struck out with a heavy strike that rang the bones in Takuma¡¯s arms. He felt them go numb. Rikku wasn¡¯t particularly fast, but neither was he in his condition. She had him on the defensive as she attacked him with powerful strikes¡ªhe could only use his augmented strikes at certain times, but she was continuously assaulting him with equivalent force.
He used his vest and weights as guards to dull the force, but because they were so heavy, every other strike almost made him topple.
¡°Kameko told me you were strong, but this is disappointing,¡± said Rikku suddenly; her brows furrowed as though displeased that her expectations weren¡¯t met.
Takuma felt irritation sizzle in his heart. Despite barely having exchanged a few words, Takuma roughly understood the girl¡¯s personality in front of him. As Daiki had told him, Rikku seemed to be the straightforward kind, someone who said whatever was on her mind bluntly without any tact. He didn¡¯t dislike such people, and he was somewhat experienced with the kind as Masaaki did that too occasionally, but this girl¡
¡°Fine then,¡± he said. ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t a glass cannon.¡±
It had been a while¡ª and even though he was trying to adapt his combat style to not take as much damage, even if it meant losing out attack opportunities¡ª he switched to ¡®Scars¡¯ mode.
CH_6.13 (184)
Rikku frowned as the boy in front of her stepped in close. It was a stupid move, and she punished him by punching him in the shoulder. Surprisingly, Takuma didn''t seem to be affected and kicked her knee.
She quickly caught herself before she could go off-balance and dug a punch into his side. She saw the flinch on his face, which meant he did feel it, but once again, he shrugged it off and attacked her with a closed fist. She raised her arm to block but felt a sharp sting. Rikku looked at her arm to find a senbon needle had gone clean through the width of her arm with the pointed edge sticking out the other side.
Baam!
As Rikku removed the senbon from her arm, she felt a devastating force hit her in the leg. It was utterly on another level from anything he had thrown at her. Nothing she could do could stop her from staggering, but she wasn''t completely helpless as she controlled herself enough to stagger away from him.
Takuma raised his arm with a kunai in his hand that he threw at Rikku''s shoulder.
Surprised, Rikku raised her arm to catch the blade. The kunai cut the inside of her palm because of her hasty move.
In an instant, Takuma closed the gap.
''Fast!'' she thought, aware of the fact that he was wearing weights.
Takuma grabbed her arm and twisted it so the back side was up, and in one seamless movement, he slammed his elbow down at hers, forcing it to go against its natural motion, and with came the pain along with the fear that Takuma would force it past the breaking point.
But instead, he used the same elbow to smash in her face.
Rikku dropped to one knee and brought her arms together to form a block, but Takuma grabbed both of her arms, pulled them apart before slamming his knee into her face. At the last moment, Rikku turned her face away so he didn''t get her chin or nose, but it was still painful.
This time, it was Rikku''s turn to shrug the pain off. She jumped Takuma, pouncing at him using the strength she built up in her legs to compensate for her light body weight. It worked as Takuma''s weighted gear worked against him.
They tumbled to the ground, and Rikku switched to wrestling, trying to lock Takuma in a hold so she could force him into submission. He struggled on the ground due to his weighted clothes and tried to struggle, but Rikku caught his head between her legs while restricting his hands with her own.
Rikku quickly got to work and tried to get him to submit. Takuma struggled for a moment before he stopped moving. Rikku thought he had given up and tried to push forward when Takuma suddenly returned with greater strength and freed one of his hands.
''It''s okay, I can take it,'' Rikku ignored the free arm and focused on making Takuma submit.
But when Takuma hit her in the side with one of those strong punches, she felt a stinging pain so bad that her grip went slack. Takuma escaped and rolled away from her.
Rikku had just stood up when she saw Takuma running towards her. She raised her guard, ready for the next attack.
''What''s it going to be? A punch, kick, maybe a palm strike, or is it going to be one of those stronger strikes?''
Takuma came to a sudden stop a meter away from her and kicked the ground, gorging the soil, and flinging the loose mud towards her. Rikku covered her face, but some mud hit her face and got into one of her eyes, making her squeeze her eyes shut as an instinctual response.
''Shit!''
Just as Rikku rushed to open her eyes, she got punched in the throat. Her breathing got cut suddenly, and she gasped and coughed in panic.
Takuma took out a kunai and slashed one of her arms before stabbing at her stomach. Rikku barely moved aside, but the kunai still got her in the side.
Without getting any time to respond in any way, Takuma kicked her in the calf so hard that she felt the stress on her knee and hip. She fell down and helplessly watched as Takuma swung the kunai down at her.
She closed her eyes.
"And that ends the fight."
Rikku opened her eyes to see Anko standing behind Takuma, holding his kunai-bearing arm.
"The winner is Takuma," she said with a grin.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Shouldn''t you stop them," Kameko said to Anko as they watched Rikku and Takuma fight from a distance. Neither of them had noticed that they had spectators.
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"Why? They''re just sparring," said Anko with a look of interest on her face.
Kameko sighed. With Anko like this, there was no convincing her.
Kameko was awakened by the sound of the door opening and closing in the morning. It was from the room across from her¡ªRikku''s room. She didn''t think anything of it as Rikku woke early in the morning, as did she.
But as Kameko gazed out of her room''s window to start her morning, she noticed Rikku walk out of their house. Rikku trained in the morning, but when Rikku walked in the opposite direction to her usual training spot, Kameko was intrigued. Then she realized that Rikku was walking to the fields that Anko used as the training spot when she wanted to do a training activity.
Anko hadn''t scheduled anything for the day. Then it dawned on Kameko that Rikku was going to meet Takuma.
''¡ªI want to fight him¡ª''
Rikku had said in passing when she had come to meet Kameko in her room on the day of her fight against Takuma.
''Don''t tell me¡''
Kameko quickly got dressed up and followed after Rikku. She knew how blunt Rikku could be, and she didn''t expect Takuma to understand that the blunt way of speaking was just how Rikku spoke¡ªshe knew that Takuma wasn''t above throwing poisonous words, and she didn''t want her team to have more conflict against Takuma. She had decided to work with him properly even though she didn''t like him.
By the time she reached the training field, it was already too late because they were already fighting.
"Now, this is a pleasant surprise."
Kameko flinched in surprise when she heard Anko beside her.
"Come on, let''s not disturb them," said Anko as she dragged Kameko to a distance to watch the fight.
With Anko wanting to watch the spar, Kameko had no choice but to join her. The first thing she noticed was the gear Takuma was wearing.
"He''s wearing weights?" she asked.
Kameko knew that Takuma was training with Anko, but not what type of training they were doing. All four team members had been offered training by Anko, but they had either refused or dropped out soon. Kameko followed her own training and didn''t want to change her routine, but she understood the value of Anko''s offer, so she went to Anko whenever something troubled her; Rikku only asked to spar with Anko once or twice every week; Iori wasn''t interested at all; Daiki who had accepted the offer had only lasted two weeks before quitting.
"I like it," Anko smiled.
Kameko, having fought Takuma, immediately noticed the difference in his movements. He was moving sluggishly, finding it difficult to move around with the extra weight, which wasn''t part of his body naturally. The weighted vest, which hugged his entire torso with equal weight distribution, was one thing, but the ankle and wrist weights were concentrated at a singular point, joints at that, were much more problematic. The arm and its two joints were essentially a system of lever machines, and with the weight concentrated so far away from the fulcrum, it got more difficult to move around. The same concept applied to the legs.
"He is at a disadvantage," she said.
"It doesn''t look like they are using weapons or jutsu," said Anko.
"Rikku''s strength is her strongest weapon. She will win if he doesn''t remove his gear," said Kameko. The handicaps both had overtaken weren''t equal.
"He has his chakra augmentation," Anko replied.
"It''s going to be nowhere as useful if he can''t move around," Kameko said.
The fight started with Takuma doing pretty well. Kameko noticed when Takuma felt the power behind Rikku''s punches. Unlike Takuma, who augmented his strikes, Rikku used pure physical strength; Kameko, for the life of her, couldn''t get used to the power that the petite frame could produce.
Naturally, things changed in Rikku''s favor when Takuma couldn''t move properly. He couldn''t dodge or evade and could only block, which itself was damaging.
But then things changed.
Takuma was suddenly faster with his movements becoming tighter and crisper. His fighting style changed drastically, switching from being forced to be on defense to becoming recklessly offensive, but it seemed to work as Rikku was suddenly on the back foot.
"She forced him enough to use weapons," said Anko.
If Kameko knew Rikku well enough, then Rikku wouldn''t pull out her weapons and stubbornly only use her body because Takuma was burdened by his gear.
As Kameko continued to watch, she found herself not recognizing the man in front of her from the man she had fought. She could still connect the combat style he used during their fight, but the one he was showing now was so different.
"This is very interesting," Anko whispered.
As Takuma temporarily blinded Rikku and took out his kunai, Kameko turned to Anko, only to see that her chunin lead was missing. Kameko looked back at the spar to see Anko standing beside Takuma.
Kameko rushed forward as well and helped Rukki get up.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes, I just got mud in my eyes," Rikku replied.
Kameko noticed Rikku''s bleeding wounds, but they weren''t serious enough for her to be rushed to the medical house. The iryo-nin weren''t going to be happy about healing Rikku so early in the morning.
Kameko turned to look at Takuma and found him on his hands and knees, wheezing, trying to catch his breath. Even though the weather was cool, he was dripping sweat from his face.
"I¡ hate¡ these," Takuma said as he could barely look up at Anko.
"Sometimes things good for you don''t feel good," Anko grinned.
''Ah, he exchanged longevity for speed,'' Kameko thought. Takuma probably pushed himself, burning his stamina in exchange for being able to move ''normally'' with the extra weight.
Rikku stood up with Kameko''s help. She faced Takuma, who was still on the ground, "You''re strong, for sure. Let''s fight again, seriously this time. I will bring my batons next time, so next time, fight me without the weight."
"S¡ Sure, whatever," Takuma said, stretching his words.
"Alright!" Anko clapped her hands. "Kameko, take Rikku to the medical house. We are already late for training."
"Training!?" Takuma exclaimed.
"Of course, I didn''t tell you to spar with her," Anko chuckled.
Takuma groaned as he got up to his feet.
"Next time, give me a day or two''s notice, you know," he said to Rikku.
"I understand. Let''s fight the day after tomorrow," Rikku nodded.
Takuma''s mouth opened and closed wordlessly before he nodded with a sigh.
Kameko supported Rikku as they walked to the medical house. On the way, Rikku didn''t say a word; she was naturally taciturn, but Kameko could tell that Rikku was in deep thought.
"Is something wrong?" asked Kameko.
"He is dangerous," said Rikku.
"I know."
"No, I don''t think you do," Rikku looked at Kameko. "What is your first instinct when you see an adversary?"
"¡Disarm and detain?"
"That is mine as well," Rikku glanced back at Takuma and Anko in the distance. "I don''t think that''s his first thought¡ I think his first instinct is to kill."
Rikku rubbed her throat where she had been hit by Takuma during the fight.
Kameko didn''t know if she agreed, but with the image of Takuma standing over the defenseless Rikku with his kunai, she could tell why Rikku would think that.
CH_6.14 (185)
Iori was in the best condition she had been in a while. She had woken up completely awake without a hint of fatigue, and the delightful shower she had taken afterward had freshened her up like a spring flower. Even the rain, which brought along the miserable humidity, couldn¡¯t bring her mood down.
¡°Kameko! Rikku! We are going to be late if we don¡¯t leave now!¡± Iori shouted from the kitchen as she removed the large stock pot filled to the brim with boiling water from the fire. Boiling water before consumption was mandatory in Camp Banana because of the season and their proximity to the forest¡ªthey couldn¡¯t afford disease to spread in the camp.
With Team-9 finally having five genin on its roster, Anko had asked for a team dinner to welcome Takuma¡ªit wasn¡¯t anything special, just the team sitting together for one meal.
Every chunin ran their team differently. Some chunin leads mandated that their teams ate their meals together, maintained their gear together, and trained together, all in the name of team building. Anko was on the other end of the scale¡ªshe didn¡¯t care how they spent their day as long as they performed in the individual and team exercises she conducted frequently¡ªbut if the team failed, they were made to go through grueling training to correct their mistakes.
Anko¡¯s team was motivated by their abhorrence towards her training to function together as a team.
It was a simple, hateful, but effective tactic, as expected from the Snake¡¯s student.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Iori said when Kameko and Rikku came down from their respective rooms.
As they were leaving the house, Iori noticed the bandage wrapped around Rikku¡¯s hand. ¡°Injured yourself during training? You should be more careful, you know,¡± she said.
¡°She sparred against Takuma this morning. Went to him first thing in the morning and issued a challenge and all,¡± said Kameko.
¡°It was a good spar,¡± Rikku nodded as if satisfied with what had happened in the morning.
¡°You were too rash,¡± Kameko shook her head.
This was the first time Iori had heard about that. She hadn¡¯t met either of the girls today because of her sleep schedule. She sighed as she gazed at her two teammates, ¡°You know what this looks like, right? He has been here barely a few days, and two of his teammates have already picked a fight with him. I haven¡¯t talked to him much, either. Daiki is probably the only one who has given a proper welcome; let¡¯s hope the big bag of muscles got along with him and it¡¯s not totally hopeless,¡± Iori sighed.
They hadn¡¯t known each other for a long time, but Iori believed she had a good grasp of her teammates, which was why she was worried that the relations with their newest member were already on the rocks. She was afraid that their first impressions were beyond what they could recover from.
Kameko was too proud, Rikku was a muscle head without a shred of tact, and Daiki was nice but the man was too self-absorbed with a hint of narcissism hidden under all the niceties. There was a great chance that they might end up unknowingly isolating Takuma.
¡°Now, I want both of you to listen to me carefully,¡± she addressed the other girls. ¡°Let¡¯s be nice to Takuma, alright? He¡¯s new. We have to make him feel welcome. At least for today, let¡¯s not argue with him if you disagree. I want us to get along with him.¡±
Kameko looked indifferent, while Rikku shrugged.
Iori felt concerned, so she decided to be blunt. ¡°I don¡¯t want to participate in Anko¡¯s punishment training. If he doesn¡¯t get along with us, we don¡¯t know what she might do if she isn¡¯t satisfied with our teamwork.¡±
As expected, being blunt was the right choice, as Kameko and Rikku showed they understood the gravity of the situation.
They reached the mess hall. The boys and Anko were already there. The girls picked up their plates and loaded them with slop. Iori sighed as she looked at her food; it was edible with the primary focus on nutrients, but that¡¯s all it was¡ªif nothing else, she missed her home because of the food.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this party started!¡± Anko was high energy, as usual.
¡°There¡¯s no fun in this slop,¡± Iori sighed.
Anko laughed. ¡°It¡¯s all in the vibes¡ªin the vibes!¡±
Iori glanced at Takuma. He had a small smile on his face as he raised his glass of juice. She could see traces of fatigue on his face, and he was still wearing a weighted vest. There was a reason why none of the Team-9 individually trained with Anko. She wondered how long Takuma would last. However, seeing him being careful with how he moved his hands because of the wrist weights was amusing as heck.
¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, Iori. How did you get into fuinjutsu? Did you aim for it from the beginning?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°Hmm? Not really. I guess it''s more like I fell into it,¡± Iori set down her chopsticks. ¡°My first contact with fuinjutsu was from a friend of a friend. My friend wanted to learn how to put together a basic storage seal, and she asked me if I wanted to tag along. I said, sure. And well, then I guess it just clicked¡¡±
After that, she found a retired shinobi who had opened a fuinjutsu workshop and officially entered an apprenticeship. She had been receiving training at the shop until the conscription order arrived.
¡°That so. I was wondering if you could give me some tips. I, too, only know how to make a basic storage seal, but I¡¯m not really good at it. I fail more than half of my attempts,¡± said Takuma.
¡®A chance!¡¯ Iori¡¯s eyes shined. ¡°For sure, let¡¯s compare our free time and make a plan. I¡¯m not sure if I will be a good teacher, but there¡¯s no harm in trying.¡± She felt happy that she had made a connection and was satisfied that Takuma was the one to initiate¡ªit showed that he was still willing to get along with the team.
Takuma turned to Rikku. ¡°We didn¡¯t get to talk in the morning, Rikku. Your strength was surprising, to say the least¡ it was for the first time that I felt I got a taste of my own medicine,¡± he laughed. ¡°My body stings in the places where you hit me.¡±
Daiki stepped into the conversation. ¡°Traditionally, chakra augmentations are a rare class of jutsu. Initially, during your fight with Miss Kameko, I assumed you possessed strength similar to Miss Rikku. I didn¡¯t think you were using chakra to augment your strikes. It was a fascinating experience.¡±
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¡°Well, you¡¯re not completely incorrect in your initial assumption,¡± Takuma spoke. ¡°My augmentations depend on the durability of my body. I assume you spend most of your training time with body conditioning?¡± he asked Rikku, who nodded. ¡°I do the same, and I could¡¯ve gone the same route as Rikku and spent time on my natural strength, but I found augmentations earlier in my development, and my focus shifted to durability and endurance. Personally, even without the augmentation, I still hit harder than most people.¡±
It was then that Anko chimed in. She said, ¡°Unlike ninjutsu and genjutsu, most taijutsu don¡¯t have any chakra component. But it would be wrong to say that chakra has no stake in taijutsu. The chakra inside of us nourishes our bodies. The more you train or abuse your body, the more chakra will seep into your muscles, bones, tendons and transform them. Chakra reacts to what you¡¯re trying to accomplish.
¡°If you¡¯re training for strength, chakra would react to it.¡± She pointed at Rikku, ¡°She trains to hit harder and harder, so her chakra reacts to it and develops her body in that direction.¡± Anko pointed her chopsticks at Takuma. ¡°From what you have told me, your conditioning training is balanced with a tilt towards endurance and durability, so that¡¯s how your chakra would elevate your body.¡± She turned to Kameko. ¡°Her kenjutsu benefits from agility and dexterity, and she trains for it, and her chakra aids her gain more in that direction.¡± Sitting beside her, Daiki got poked by her chopsticks in his triceps. ¡°He wanted bigger muscles, and his chakra responded to that partial cosmetic desire, and even though you don¡¯t need big muscles for strength, he grew bigger, but despite his size, he is weaker than our petite Rikku.¡±
¡®This is good, this is good!¡¯ thought Iori.
More shinobi than not didn¡¯t prefer to talk about their combat skill set and style, thinking that they would be giving out their secrets. They didn¡¯t even open up to teammates, and the only way to get familiarity with someone¡¯s combat style was to spar against them and learn through experience. The method was flawed and inefficient as people held back during spars, and it took ages to get a decent measure of a person¡¯s skills.
However, Takuma was actively speaking about his technique and having a discussion about it. Anko was to be praised for expanding on the conversation. But, it showed that Takuma was investing in the team by opening himself up in front of the entire team. It was an invitation to everyone that this was the chance to get to know him.
¡°¡ I heard a little from Arisu about what you guys did in the Police Force, but I never did get a clear picture of your responsibilities,¡± Kameko spoke to Takuma.
Iori looked between the two ex-classmates. She was aware that the two didn¡¯t get off to a good start, and from what she had heard from Anko, they weren¡¯t on good terms. Which was why Iori was proud that Kameko was the one to initiate a conversation. Moreover, it was an interesting topic as it involved the Uchiha¡¯s Leaf Military Police Force¡ª Uchiha and the Hidden Leaf¡ªtwo topics that interested all who had never been to the Hidden Leaf.
¡®Now, don¡¯t you disappoint me, boy,¡¯ Iori turned to Takuma.
¡°Narcotics Taskforce. As the name implies, we were a small group inside the Organized Crime department who handled drug-related crimes,¡± Takuma started.
¡®Bingo!¡¯
¡°I had this idea about a dedicated team who only handled narcotics. That way, they could develop a specialty toward a niche of crime, thus increasing competence and efficiency, which was lacking when the cases were being handled disjointedly. When I pitched the idea, Arisu joined me. Pretty sure the entire thing would¡¯ve failed if she wasn¡¯t with me,¡± said Takuma.
Takuma told them about what the Narcotics Taskforce did. Arresting people possessing drugs, catching street-level drug dealers, shutting down suppliers, and restricting the flow of drugs into the Hidden Leaf.
¡°¡ and while most of our cases dealt with psychoactive drugs, we are also responsible for combat drugs like soldier pills and other dangerous drugs and restrictive ingredients,¡± he said.
¡°They were quite popular and successful back home,¡± Anko smiled in praise.
¡°¡ I wouldn¡¯t say that,¡± Takuma shook his head.
¡°Now, now, don¡¯t be so humble,¡± Iori chuckled.
¡°No, it¡¯s nothing like that,¡± said Takuma. ¡°I¡¯ll be the first one to admit that the reason I pushed for the Narcotics Taskforce was purely selfish. I was an outsider in the Uchiha¡¯s kingdom; to progress my career there, I needed a way to claim ground, make myself stand out, and gain achievements. I knew that I would need to work harder than the people with legacies to get the same recognition¡ª that was the reason why I started the Narcotics Taskforce¡ªnothing more, nothing less. It was simply a way to climb the ladder.
¡°¡ I didn¡¯t really care about the cause¡ªbut when you come face to face with the victims on a daily basis. When you look at them in the eye, see how they live, hear their plight and of the people around them, it¡¯s¡ difficult to stay unaffected.¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t they just addicts? They ruined their lives by themselves,¡± Kameko said with displeasure.
¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± said Takuma. ¡°People who fall into drug addiction are ruining their lives; not only that, but they also make the lives of the people around them miserable. Then shouldn¡¯t we as a society try to raise these people who can¡¯t fall anymore instead of condemning them to lives full of misery?¡±
Kameko didn¡¯t say anything in return.
Iori didn¡¯t know if it was because she had asked Kameko not to disagree or if it was something else.
Takuma leaned back into his chair. The moment of silence on the table was filled by the chatter in the Mess.
Takuma continued, ¡°Sure, we brought a lot of important players to justice, but what about the victims? The addicts. The children and teens who got influenced into joining the trade from a young age. And to a degree, the small street-level dealers who did it because they couldn¡¯t see any other choice.... I sent most of them to prison, plantations, and mines because it was the law, and I followed it.¡±
¡°Is there anything wrong with that?¡± asked Anko.
¡°It¡¯s the law, so legally, no. But morally? Well, it sure didn¡¯t feel good all the time,¡± said Takuma. ¡°One of my long-term plans was to bring in some change into the law and education. Rehabilitation of the victims and education from a young age to educate the coming generation.¡± He sighed. ¡°I thought I would start on the plans when I made chunin and had a little weight to throw around¡ I should¡¯ve started those plans from day one, even if I had no grounds to promote them¡ I regret it nevertheless.¡±
Iori watched Takuma. The few times she had seen him, he was like most of the combat-forward shinobi she had seen¡ªstraight back, squared shoulders, and chin raised. But right now, his back was curved, his shoulders hunched, and his chin was pointing down. And she was sure it wasn¡¯t because of the weighted gear he was lugging around.
¡°What now, then?¡± Rikku spoke up. ¡°Maybe you can do that when you go back home.¡±
Iori closed her eyes. ¡®Rikku¡¡¯ She had no idea what happened in the Leaf Military Police Force, but if Takuma were in a position as important as Kameko and Anko had made it out to be, then he wouldn¡¯t be here on the border region of an allied country, fighting a war against a trade partner nation.
Unexpectedly, Takuma smiled,
¡°I don¡¯t need to. I have given my dreams to the team I built from the ground up.¡± He looked at Kameko. ¡°Our mutual friend Arisu shares my vision, and I think she and the team will achieve my dream in my place¡. Crap, that sounds like a ¡®death flag,¡¯¡± Takuma laughed.
The conversation might have gone down in energy, but it came right back up due to Anko, and the group rode on her energy till the end of the dinner.
The boys and girls split up and returned to their homes.
Kameko and Rikku walked forward while Iori and Anko tailed behind.
¡°So?¡± Anko asked.
Iori glanced at her chunin lead for a moment before starting, ¡°He knew what he was doing. He wanted to build a rapport with the team, and acted in a way to facilitate it. It feels good to know that he is someone who can read the room.¡±
¡°What about the thing about the addicts?¡±
Iori pursed her lips. ¡°It was either a genuine conversation, or he is really good at making people feel positively towards him.¡± The story had everything from a flawed hero as a start, a sad middle, to a hopeful end. ¡°Or maybe it was both of them¡ªtruths and half lies make for great tools.¡±
¡°So, he¡¯s good at talking. Let¡¯s see how he will be on the field,¡± said Anko.
¡°You mean?¡±
¡°We got a mission.¡±
CH_6.15 (186)
Takuma checked his gear for the n-th time before sighing as he leaned against the large earthen wall constructed from ninjutsu surrounding the village.
¡°It¡¯s amusing to see you this way, Takuma. I didn¡¯t take you for the type who gets nervous before a mission,¡± said Daiki, standing beside Takuma. He was similarly outfitted in combat-ready gear.
Of course, he was nervous. He was in an unfamiliar location, accompanying a team with people he barely knew, and they were venturing out of the camp, which was in a conflict-intense region. He had every reason to be nervous because it was the complete opposite of the situation he was used to¡ªhe knew the streets of the Hidden Leaf, he worked with a team he had built up from the ground, and he was aware of the power dynamics in the village.
¡°It¡¯ll pass,¡± Takuma smiled. He was more comfortable during the missions than the idle time before it.
By the time the rest of the team arrived, Takuma was unknowingly tapping his foot against the ground.
¡°Excited much?¡± Iori said to Takuma.
¡°Sure,¡± he replied.
Kameko looked around as she commented. ¡°Where¡¯s Anko? It¡¯s not like her to be late.¡±
¡°True, I¡¯m not late.¡±
All five genin flinched and turned their faces to Anko, who was suddenly standing among them. Takuma even had a kunai in his hand from the surprise.
¡°Everyone¡¯s here, so let¡¯s leave. We have a long day ahead of us; I would like for us to keep on schedule so we can take it easy later on,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s move out.¡±
¡°¡°Yup, yup!¡±¡±
¡°Yup, yup,¡± said Takuma, a full beat later.
Camp Banana was built on a strategic defensive location to halt the enemy¡¯s forward movement into the Land of Hot Water¡¯s territory. The location was chosen with broad coverage in mind. Camp Banana had access to numerous roads and trade routes in the area for quick deployment and shorter travel times. Hidden Leaf was given the responsibility to control the position because of its strategic importance, and because of that, two Hidden Leaf jonin were placed at Camp Banana.
The problem was a fixed infrastructure that couldn¡¯t be destroyed like roads that were very much usable by the enemy forces. To prevent exploitation by the enemy those routes needed to be kept under observation to prevent them from being exploited by the enemy.
For that purpose, hideouts and outposts were built in important places for scouts to keep an eye on and keep the enemy in check.
As the hideouts were being manned by people who required food and water for sustenance, the hideouts needed to be re-supplied with rations periodically.
That¡¯s where Anko¡¯s Team-9 came into play. They were charged to head north to hit a list of watch positions, and restock every hideout with enough rations to last the scouts until the next supply run. And as they visited each hideout, they were to collect detailed reports from each watch position about any activity the scouts had noted from the last visit¡ªcarrier birds took time to complete round trips and could only carry so much; as such, they were reserved for the most critical of information.
From what Takuma was told, the risk factor of the mission was low as they weren¡¯t going deeper into the field of combat. But they were still required to be vigilant about tails and ambushes as they visited the hideouts not to give away the positions.
Takuma was pleased to have a supply run as his first mission. Being new to the area, it was a great opportunity to understand the area and points of importance beyond what was specified on maps. Being aware of the terrain and territory was a critical advantage. Plus, the mission was perfect for him to observe his teammates and Anko to see how they operated¡ªthey had been working together for a couple of months, and it was expected that he would catch up to speed quickly.
So, he observed.
Because Anko¡¯s team had been a five-man band, they followed a pitchfork movement formation. Rikku and Daiki in the front with Anko between them and a couple of steps behind, forming a ¡®V¡¯¡ª behind Anko in a straight line, making up the shaft with Iori in the middle and Kameko as the rearguard. But with Takuma completing the team, they had reverted to the formation Anko preferred for her six-man group. Rikku, Anko, and Daiki made up the front ¡®V¡¯ while Kameko, Iori, and Takuma made up the back ¡®inverted-V.¡¯ The pitchfork had been a temporary alteration to the ¡®mirrored-V¡¯ formation, but Takuma took so long to arrive that it seemed that the team was more comfortable with the pitchfork.
It felt strange being at the back. As the team leader for the Narcotics Taksforce, he was always in the front. Even when he was working with Iruka, he always took the forward position. Being at the back was a new experience, and having his back exposed, an unpleasant one.
But he could see why Anko set the formation in the way she did.
Daiki was in the front because he was the tracker and scout, Rikku because she was one of the main combatants, and Anko in the middle, providing a stable backbone to round out the front, which was more susceptible to attacks. In the back, Iori was protected by being sandwiched between Anko in the front and two combatants, Kameko and Takuma, in the back, who had the responsibility of protecting the group from being hit from behind.
If he were to make a change, Takuma would¡¯ve switched his and Rikku¡¯s positions so he wouldn¡¯t have to match with Kameko. He had told her he would be professional and civil, but he preferred if they kept their interaction to a minimum.
During their travel, Daiki and Anko chatted to each other, with Iori chiming in, and Rikku seemed to be intently listening to them.
However, things were entirely dead on the rearguard.
Takuma sighed. He was bored. He glanced at his companion to the side.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He said, ¡°So¡¡±
Kameko looked at him. ¡°What?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t keep up to date with what¡¯s happening with our classmates. I was wondering if you would catch me up,¡± said Takuma.
Kameko stared at him for a moment. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t interested. You never showed up for any of the get-togethers and parties,¡± she said.
¡®I didn¡¯t show up because none of you fuckers invited me.¡¯ Of course, those thoughts went unsaid. Takuma awkwardly chuckled, ¡°Unfortunately, I let my personal social life slip away due to work. I am curious how everyone¡¯s doing though.¡±
¡°Really? If I remember correctly, you weren¡¯t interested in us during the academy,¡± she said.
Takuma shot her a look. He wasn¡¯t the only one who showed disinterest; the rest of the class, too, didn¡¯t seem to be interested in him. Why wasn¡¯t she just taking the hint that he was making idle conversation? He narrowed his eyes. No¡ she did notice the hint; she was just having fun at his expense.
¡®The little¡!¡¯
¡°Who do you want to know about?¡± she asked.
¡°Well¡ how about Uchiha Izumi? How¡¯s she doing?¡± he asked. After Taro and Arisu, Izumi was the person he was ¡®closest¡¯ to, even if it was just on the level of classmate acquaintances, much different from the other two, who were his close friends.
¡®I wonder if Lady Mikoto got my letter,¡¯ the thought passed through Takuma''s mind, but he pushed it away quickly.
¡°Really? I thought you would run into her with you working in the Police Force and all,¡± she said.
¡°If I ran into her, why would I ask you?¡± he sighed, looking pitifully at the silly girl who was asking redundant questions.
Kameko¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°She¡¯s participating in the Chunin Exams with her team.¡±
¡°That makes sense. I guess that most, if not everyone, who got selected by the jonin would be participating in the Chunin Exams.¡±
¡°They are.¡±
¡°Is it everyone¡¯s first time, or did a team make an attempt last year?¡±
It had been more than two and half years since Takuma and Kameko¡¯s batch had graduated from the academy. In a few months, both Takuma and Kameko would complete their third year as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.
She scoffed, ¡°No one takes the Chunin Exam after their first year. There was a team who participated in the last exam,¡± the Chunin Exam happened bi-annually, ¡°but they failed out in the first round. It¡¯s going to be everyone¡¯s first time.¡±
Having lived in the world for nearly three years, Takuma was, of course, aware that, on average, most genin participated in their first Chunin Exam after four or five years of service. That average was so because of the Genin Corp. But when only considering jonin-lead genin, many of them had their first attempt after their third year, with a few of the jonin teachers registering their teams right after the second year.
But he astutely remembered that Naruto¡¯s generation did all register for the Chunin Exams right after their first year, and thought that some jonin might have wanted to make a statement with their own genin.
¡°What about you? Were you planning to participate?¡± he asked.
Kameko wordlessly nodded.
¡°Oh.¡±
Not everyone had the option to defer conscription like Takuma. Even those with connections and access to jonin, people couldn¡¯t escape a conscription order. Escaping the conscription was a black mark on a shinobi¡¯s record, something that would stay with them throughout their lives, being a hindrance every step of the way. It was one of the worst things one could do for their career.
The only reason Mikoto had given him the option was because he had managed the Narcotics Taskforce before the order came. The case for Takuma was that he was needed at the Narcotics Taskforce to ensure its success and that his contribution at the Police Force was equal to or more than he would contribute at war.
Most other people didn¡¯t have that option. No one could reject the conscription just because they didn¡¯t want to go to war. Not even the precious clan scions could reject the order. Any selfish attempt to do so came with heavy scrutiny and punishment if found to be invalid. A shinobi village couldn¡¯t afford their shinobi to be averse to war, so no matter, clan or not, if they were called to war, they had to pack their bags and fight.
Takuma sympathized with Kameko. Having one¡¯s plans thwarted by unforeseen circumstances didn¡¯t feel good.
¡°Who else?¡± she asked, moving the conversation along.
¡°What about the Okubo Momoe?¡± he asked.
¡°The golden girl, huh,¡± Kameko¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°If she weren¡¯t participating, no one would.¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t know the girls well, and nor was he aware of the dynamic between them, but even someone as detached as him knew what was going on. Kameko¡¯s clan, Taketori, was the premier kenjutsu clan in the Hidden Leaf. She was burdened by the expectations that she would be the best with the sword and kenjutsu. It would¡¯ve been true if not for the existence of Okubo Momoe, the Rookie of The Year from their batch, who used the sword as her weapon of choice.
Their swordsmanship was often compared, and because Okubo was overall stronger than Kameko, the prevailing view was that Okubo was better skilled at kenjutsu than Kameko.
Takuma, who had fought both, couldn¡¯t give an opinion as Kameko¡¯s combat style heavily revolved around kenjutsu while it was only a part of Okubo¡¯s combat. Unless they fought each other using only kenjutsu, it was difficult to judge who was better.
He could tell that Kameko was bothered that Okubo, who had a civilian background, was seen as better than someone from a kenjutsu clan like her.
¡°Well, she probably would make chunin soon even if she doesn¡¯t get promoted right after the exam,¡± said Takuma. ¡°But those guys sure have it tough, huh, being used as show horses.¡±
The current Chunin Exam was a popularity contest, a show of strength, between the numerous Hidden Shinobi Villages. It was the ¡®alternative to war.¡¯ Every Hidden Village sent their best genin and made them fight each other to see who had the best young talent and thus the brightest future. The Chunin Exam was one big advertisement for the Hidden Villages to attract big clients and gain their confidence that their Hidden Village was the best.
This was why every genin on a jonin-led team was ¡®unofficially¡¯ mandated to participate in the exams as soon as their jonin deemed them ready, even if the genin themselves might not want to participate in the exam.
¡°I would love to be used as a show horse,¡± she said.
¡°It¡¯s a win-win for sure.¡± He laughed. ¡°Taro wouldn¡¯t have liked it at all though.¡±
¡°What about you? Did you prepare for the Chunin Exams?¡± asked Kameko.
¡°No, I was aiming and hoping for a field promotion,¡± said Takuma, ¡°but I would have loved to participate in the final round if nothing else.¡±
The Chunin Exams were altered every iteration to prevent genin from preparing for scenarios so that it would truly be a test of their preparedness. Every host had their own preferences, but because five different villages hosted, the exams were diverse in nature. But the final round was always the same¡ª Arena Combat¡ªthe best-of-best duking it out in a tournament format.
It was the only event open to an audience and the main ¡®advertisement¡¯ for clients.
¡°Huh, why?¡±
¡°I want to experience how genin from other villages fight. I wonder how different they are from us.¡±
The underground prizefighter in him wanted to understand how shinobi from other villages fought. What were the key differences in combat philosophies? What was the current popular meta? He wanted to see if he could take something from them and assimilate it into his combat style. The potential of it all excited him.
¡°Wait¡ does that mean none of the genin on a jonin-led team are participating in the war?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°If the team is younger than four years, they don¡¯t have to,¡± she said.
Kameko explained that the jonin stayed with the genin for four years, after which the teams were usually turned inactive if not for the jonin and the administration both wanting the team to remain active. The usual case for teams remaining active after four years was when all the genin had been promoted to chunin.
As the Hidden Leaf was an ally helping the Hidden Steam and the Hidden Leaf as a whole wasn¡¯t at war, the genin on jonin teams younger than four years weren¡¯t sent conscription orders.
¡°That¡¯s shit,¡± he said.
¡°We are about to reach the first hideout. Focus up!¡± Anko said.
Takuma and Kameko stopped talking and focused ahead.
CH_6.16 (187)
??Anko asked the team to stop a kilometer away from the first scout hideout.
¡°Why did we stop?¡± asked Iori.
¡°It¡¯s a concealed post. They have a clear view of their target location, but that goes the other way around as well¡ª we have to ensure it¡¯s safe to approach the post and we aren¡¯t compromising their cover and location.¡± Anko turned to Takuma. ¡°Send a message to them.¡±
Takuma nodded. He set his backpack on the ground, retrieved a portable communication radio, half the size of a shoe box, and began turning the dials to tune to the radio frequency of the radio in the post.
¡°You know how to work a radio?¡± Iori asked in surprise.
¡°l learned it last year,¡± said Takuma.
He had spent good money to join a short course, buy a second-hand communication radio to train, and studied a very thick instruction manual with detailed everything from maintenance and standard communication procedures to make himself competent with a radio. With their current equipment, they could communicate around two kilometers before the reliability tanked. It took up too much space in the backpack, however.
¡°The post has given their clear,¡± said Takuma. ¡°The instruction is to remain below the summit and wait for one of them to guide us to the hideout.¡±
¡°Excellent, let¡¯s go,¡± Anko nodded.
The post was built near the summit of a hill that oversaw a valley that served as a viable point of entry into the Land of Hot Water territory. Both sides knew its importance. The post was responsible for observing the valley and reporting their observations. If the Hidden Frost shinobi decided to use the valley as an entrance point, they needed to pick them out before they penetrated deeper into the territory.
One of the shinobi from the post met them behind the summit.
¡°It¡¯s better if only half of you come up,¡± said the scout.
Anko nodded and asked Iori and Takuma to follow her while Daiki, Rikku, and Kameko stayed behind.
As they reached the concealed post, Takuma could see why the location was chosen as a scout hideout. They had a vast view of the valley from a high altitude. It was a perfect vantage point.
The hideout itself was a hole in the ground on the slope of the hill. One look told that it was built from using Earth-Style ninjutsu. Perhaps because it was made with ninjutsu, the hole was very spacious for four people who lived in it.
It was standard procedure for each hideout to have four people who would take six-hour shifts keeping watch. Two people would remain awake, with one on the lookout and the other on standby, and the remaining would sleep and rest until their shifts. Standard procedure was at times broken due to a lack of manpower, but it was essential that every hideout had at least three people.
¡°Welcome,¡± said one of the scouts.
¡°I hope we aren¡¯t late,¡± said Anko.
¡°Not at all,¡± said the man.
Takuma noticed that all four scouts were Hidden Steam shinobi. He thought since they were making the supply runs, they would be supplying food and water to Hidden Leaf shinobi.
Iori handed the storage scrolls with rations to the scouts and sealed the garbage they had accumulated into empty storage scrolls. They couldn¡¯t litter as it could attract birds, which could attract the enemy¡¯s attention¡ªburying was an option, but taking it away from the site was the safest option.
Takuma watched Iori work. Storage scrolls were perhaps the most important part of logistics for shinobi. The simple ability to seal something into a scroll was of tremendous use. It eliminated the weight and space occupied, making it so that a civilian could carry more than the strongest shinobi. There were limitations to storage scrolls¡ªthey were one-time use only, and higher-grade storage scrolls capable of carrying a lot of weight were difficult to make, requiring masterfully skilled fuin-nin¡ªbut the world of shinobi would look much different without the existence of storage scrolls.
¡°Anything out of the ordinary?¡± Anko asked.
The scout handed Anko the report scroll.
¡°A few sightings here and there, but other than that, there hasn¡¯t been anything to be worried about,¡± the scout replied.
¡°Do you recommend we use the valley to advance?¡± she asked.
Takuma gazed out at the valley. If they had a good look at the valley, it was safe to assume that the enemy would be keeping on it as well. Any sign of aggressive advancement from either side could quickly turn the valley into a conflict hotspot with high tension from both sides.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
¡°No, our recommendation would be to be on the defensive stance,¡± said the scout. ¡°Mounting an advance would be a high-cost affair. The Frost scum would use the sloped mountains to pick at our troops while we struggled down at the ground. The potential for lost lives is too high. Our recommendation is in the report.¡±
¡°Thank you. That will be all,¡± said Anko.
The two sleeping scouts had woken up. Anko asked everyone some more questions before ending the conversation, which is when everyone relaxed.
She then asked, ¡°Any letters you would like to be delivered?¡±
¡°Yes, please.¡± The scouts handed Anko a thin stack of letters.
Takuma stared at the letters. He hadn¡¯t thought about it, but the people back at home would be worried about him. He decided that he would be sending letters periodically to his friends.
They exited as quickly as they came.
As they were walking away from the hideout, Anko ordered. ¡°Takuma, check if there are people nearby.¡±
Takuma was surprised but complied. He knelt on the ground and weaved hand seals before pushing his palm on to the ground.
Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu
The jutsu allowed him to sense the presence of people in a one-kilometer radius. He had gone from being able to sense the simple presence of people to being able to detect their presence to finally reaching a level where he could tell how far away they were from him. It worked best in the wilderness, away from any man made structures, as the jutsu couldn¡¯t search for people if they were on the higher floors of a building, making the jutsu much less useful in an urban landscape.
A thrum of earthen chakra rippled out from his palms as the epicenter. Takuma closed his eyes and waited for a few seconds before the ripples returned to him. He breathed out as he interpreted the input, filtering out the unnecessary until he had what he wanted.
¡°I sense ten people in a one-kilometer radius. From the directions, they¡¯re the four scouts, the three of us, and the rest of our team. Unless they¡¯re above ground, I don¡¯t sense any additional people,¡± he said.
¡°Let¡¯s move,¡± she said.
As they ran to the summit and down the other side, Takuma asked, ¡°May I ask why we did that scan? Do we not trust our own scouts? Was it because they¡¯re from the Hidden Steam?¡±
¡°I trust our scouts, even if they are from the Hidden Steam, but these guys are responsible for keeping an eye on the valley ahead¡ there¡¯s a good chance that they end up ignoring what¡¯s near them. There¡¯s no harm in checking; it¡¯s for their safety.¡±
¡°Understood,¡± said Takuma.
He glanced back at the vast valley for a moment before they left it behind.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Their next location wasn¡¯t another hideout; instead, it was a message drop location used for messages that couldn¡¯t be sent through carrier birds in fear that they could potentially be intercepted along the way. The messenger would personally deliver the message to the drop box, and someone else would collect it and bring it to the final destination.
So Takuma was immensely confused when Anko pushed away the leafy camouflage to reveal what looked like emergency supplies. She lifted a backpack out of the small hole and replaced all the canned food, sealed water, checked on the dry clothes, tent and survival kit, and the three weapons pouches.
¡°I thought this was a message drop location,¡± he asked.
¡°It is,¡± Anko laughed. ¡°As one of the commandments goes: a shinobi must look underneath the underneath¡ª but the problem is that they don¡¯t.¡± She used her hand to dig some of the ground out to reveal a tube container. ¡°When people find something hidden, they stop looking, thinking that they found all there was to be found. But in truth, they might have only found what they were allowed to find.¡±
Anko removed the cap from the tube without pulling the container out of the ground, looked inside, recapped the tube, and buried it back to hide it underground.
¡°This way, even if someone did somehow find this location, they might miss its real purpose because of the emergency backpack,¡± she said. ¡°But always remember, this is the final line of defense¡ªwhen approaching a hidden drop location, so you don¡¯t have a tail or someone waiting at the location in hiding.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The rest of the day, Team-9 went from place to place, visiting watch positions, checking up on the scouts, replenishing their rations, and receiving their reports. They moved quickly and with caution, and thankfully, they encountered no danger. The only hindrance they faced was the heavy rain they encountered.
Traveling in the rain was a hassle because they eventually got soaked even with their rain gear, and they struggled to find a good campsite to rest for the night. They ultimately found themselves in a shallow cave to camp under.
Anko spoke to the group as they were drying themselves in front of a fire,
¡°We had an easy time today, and I want tomorrow to be the same. We must be like ghosts tomorrow,¡± she said.
¡°Because of the mines?¡± asked Iori.
¡°Yes, the hideout near the gold mine is of utmost importance. We can¡¯t risk breaking their cover no matter what the cost.¡±
Takuma stopped tending to the fire, opened a map, and looked for the gold mine on it. He frowned when he saw that the gold mine was on the border, but it was in the Land of Hot Waters territory. Even if the border was a disputed territory, it was still well within the control of the Land of Hot Waters.
¡°Did the enemy take control of the mine?¡± he asked.
¡°They captured the gold mine quite early in the conflict. It was one of the first areas they targeted,¡± she said. ¡°From the previous reports, they have been directing the mined gold into their territory.¡±
A gold mine was an essential resource for a nation as gold was one of the most valuable metals. Losing territory was one thing, but losing access to an entire gold mine was a matter of another magnitude altogether.
¡°Why haven¡¯t they taken the mine already?¡± he asked.
¡°That¡¯s something only the people in the capital know,¡± Anko shrugged. ¡°The gold mine is the property of the Hot Water Daimyo, and he has left the decision to the Hidden Steam. They haven¡¯t made a move, so even if the Hidden Leaf wanted to retake the mine for them, we can¡¯t move unless they approve it.¡±
¡°What about the civilians in the mine?¡± asked Takuma. If the gold was still being mined, then it meant that someone was mining it.
¡°¡ The miners are all there as punishment,¡± Anko said.
Takuma sighed. He didn¡¯t need to be told more. Forced labor was an acceptable and popular form of punishment in this world. It was much more popular than traditional prisons as the governments were able to turn criminals into dirt-cheap labor. Many of the people Takuma had arrested and sent to trials were sent to plantations and mines. While they served shorter times than they would in a traditional prison, working in mines was a very arduous time.
The Land of Hot Waters had decided that the lives of the criminals in the mine weren¡¯t important enough for immediate rescue.
CH_6.17 (188)
For some reason, Takuma always thought that a gold mine would be a deep cave that was being excavated for its precious natural resource. The reason was his ignorance. What lay in front of him was a ginormous pit that spanned wide and deep with dozens upon dozens of mines with a complex system of rails connecting them.
"How many years did it take to dig this pit?" he uttered in astonishment.
"Not long, I presume. Shinobi use chakra and explosives to break the ground," Iori answered from the side. "And well, dynamite is a powerful thing."
''Ah, that''s right. Should''ve taken Earth-style ninjutsu into consideration,'' he thought.
Even though he stood at a far distance, he could see people walking in and out of the little caves with rail trolleys filled with dirt. They were the criminals of the Land of Hot Waters punished to work in the mines as forced labor. However, right now, they were working for the Land of Frost instead of their country. Even in a war, their lives remained the same¡ªwhat an irony.
"Where''s the hideout?" Kameko asked.
Anko pointed far away in the distance. "They''ve set up their base on the Land of Frost side to keep an eye on who and what goes in and out of the pit," she said. "We won''t be going to their hideout; it''s too dangerous¡ªwe could be spotted, and more importantly, we could ruin the scout''s operation. They will come meet us at a designated spot."
She looked at Takuma. "Take out the radio; we need to tell them that we have arrived."
As Takuma set up the radio, Anko took out a palm-sized notebook from her person and flipped through the pages.
"This is the frequency," Anko showed Takuma the page that had instructions on what frequency to use depending upon the day. "And this is the code to use. We will be sending through tones, no speech communication."
"Understood," Takuma nodded.
He took the pre-crafted phrase that would tell the scouts they were the real deal, translated it through the code Anko selected, and began transmitting it to the frequency. For ten minutes, Takuma sent the tones of dot and line beeps of the phrase on a loop. They waited for a while before a message came back in tones.
Takuma translated it. "Make your way to the rendezvous location," he said.
"Daiki and I will go to the spot. You four stay here and keep yourself hidden. Don''t take any unnecessary actions. Understood?"
""Understood.""
"If we don''t return in an hour, go to the next location on the map and send a message to the camp through the carrier bird. One hour on the dot, don''t wait, don''t try to look for us. Understood?"
""Understood.""
The second reply was much more somber than the first one.
"Good, we will meet you here in an hour."
After saying that, Daiki and Anko stealthily moved away and disappeared into the landscape after a few moments.
The reason Anko only took Daiki with her was because he was the only one among the genin who knew how to mask his chakra signature. Every shinobi had an elevated chakra signature, and sensory-nin could pick up those signatures and locate the shinobi. It would be unwise to assume that Hidden Frost hadn''t stationed at least one sensory-nin at the gold mine.
There was a way to mask the chakra signature and suppress their presence to evade the senses of a sensory-nin. Daiki had learned how to mask himself as part of his scouting and tracking skillset, and Anko knew it as well.
Takuma had the skill on his to-learn list, but he hadn''t gotten to it yet.
"Imagine how much money you would have if you could own a gold mine," Iori whispered, gold shining in her eyes.
Takuma explained, "In the Land of Fire, upon discovering a mineral deposit, the owner is forced to sell their land to the Daimyo for a great profit. Entire towns are relocated if they''re built upon a deposit. After that, the Daimyo''s palace either handles the mining on their own, but more often than not, the Daimyo grants the mining rights to another party and takes a portion of the profit from the sales."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"How do you know that?" asked Rikku.
"The Uchiha Clan holds various mining rights. They''re currently trying to get the mining rights for a gold deposit from the Daimyo," Takuma said as he gazed at the pit. "Shinobi clans don''t earn their wealth by being shinobi¡ªthe huge majority of their wealth comes from other sources. Mining, oil, manufacturing, farming, pharmaceuticals, or wherever the money is¡ª training and developing shinobi gives them strength, which allows them to continue their ventures without fear.
"Power and wealth¡ªthat''s a shinobi clan."
That had been the truth long before the formation of the Hidden Villages. The shinobi clans had been amassing their wealth in the Warring Eras, competing with each other for resources and power in entire regions.
"Clans must be filthy rich," she said.
"Stupidly rich," said Takuma.
He took out a pair of binoculars from his backpack and observed the pit while he (and the others) lay on their stomachs. He had visited the quartermaster and had issued out binoculars for reconnaissance. As long as the chunin lead approved, a genin on their team could check out any equipment they needed for a mission.
Takuma gazed at the pit, and now that he could better see the movement of the people, he tried to locate the shinobi. It wasn''t difficult to distinguish the shinobi from the criminals because of their attire.
"How many shinobi do you think are guarding the pit?" he asked.
"That''ll be in the scout report," Iori answered. "Why?"
"I was wondering if Camp Banana would be enough to take it back."
"We have two jonin," she hummed. "I don''t think Hidden Frost would station more than two jonin here. A takeback is not implausible; it would depend on¡ª"
Kameko interrupted her. "Hidden Frost might not, but what about Hidden Cloud? They might have stationed more jonin here. This is a gold mine, after all."
Takuma had to agree with Kameko. A gold mine was enough potential motivation for Hidden Cloud to protect it as long as they got a portion of the gold output. If they maintained control of the mine long enough, Hidden Cloud could cover a considerable cost of funding the Hidden Frost in their invasion.
"Maybe that''s why they aren''t taking our help," Takuma put down his binoculars and turned to his teammates. "Are they scared that if we help them retake the mine, we would demand that they share the gold output? Or maybe someone higher-up has already set up that demand, but that''s why the Hidden Steam hasn''t agreed¡"
"That''s pure speculation," Kameko said in counter.
"That it is," Takuma went back to gazing at the pit.
"It''s going to be difficult to take it over with all the workers," said Iori.
"Do you think they will care if those people die?" asked Takuma.
"¡Are you really suggesting that?" Iori sounded horrified.
"They aren''t caring now. They might not care afterward."
He got no reply, not even from Kameko. Takuma continued to gaze through his binoculars. Due to the potential value that the gold mine held, retaking it wasn''t enough, they would need to defend it from the enemy''s retaking attempts. The gold mine would require the constant presence of the military as the Land of Hot Waters would want to continue mining¡ªthe nation was at war, which wasn''t cheap, and gold would very much help.
In Takuma''s view, the gold mine was as much of a liability as it was an asset.
"I think it''s a mistake for them not to do anything while the enemy mines precious gold. They''re essentially bankrolling their enemy," Takuma said as he continued to study the pit.
The weather wasn''t with them as soon the rain started to pour heavily, and the lack of vegetation around them made it difficult for them to find any natural shelter, forcing them to endure the cold rain in their rain gear as they waited for Anko and Daiki.
"How long has it been?!" Rikku shouted over the rain.
Takuma looked at his small timepiece. It had been three-quarters of an hour since Anko and Daiki had left. He and the rest of the team were hiding underneath the rain for half an hour. From all the hideouts they had visited yesterday, none had taken them longer than fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. Anko should''ve already been back, even if it was a high-priority area.
Had something gone wrong?
"They''re here!" Kameko pulled on her backpack and pointed.
Takuma looked to see Anko and Daiki running towards them. Anko pointed away from the pit, and without a word, the team ran in that direction.
"Later!" Anko shouted as they dashed away from the pit.
None in the team were in the mood to talk because of the rain. They were dripping and cold and wanted nothing more than to find shelter from the rain. Takuma noticed from Anko and Daiki''s grave expressions that whatever they had learned from the scouts wasn''t good news.
They eventually found shelter.
"What happened?" asked Iori.
"Five jonin!" Anko said, her tone serious. "They have five jonin and thirty-odd chunin guarding that mine. The scouts haven''t even been able to count the genin properly, but they''re probably a hundred of them scurrying around in the mines."
Takuma was taken aback. For comparison, Camp Banana, with its two jonin and twenty chunin, was responsible for a much vaster area, while it was safe to assume that the shinobi in the pit were there only to guard the mines. That amount of troops was far overkill.
"Are they Hidden Cloud jonin?" asked Kameko.
"Three of the five are potentially from Hidden Cloud. The scouts can''t be a hundred percent sure," Anko rubbed her forehead.
Kameko was right. The Hidden Cloud had an invested interest in ensuring that the mine remained under their control.
"The scouts think that the enemy is using the gold mine as an excuse to build their troops to further penetrate the territory. I think I agree with them," said Anko. "There might be a big battle in our future."
Takuma looked at the sky and the falling rain.
It might be the time for him to take out a ninjutsu scroll or two and bring them to a field-usable state before he might need to share a battlefield with jonin.
CH_6.18 (189)
Dear Teacher,
I hope this letter finds you in good health.
My journey to Camp Banana went smoothly bar one incident that showed me the true ugliness of the war. I was so wrapped up in the thoughts of danger I would face and the accomplishments I might achieve that I shamefully forgot the pain and suffering that war causes to people, the true victims, who want no part of it.
Perhaps for the first time, I felt dirty about being a shinobi as one day I might have to do the things that cause pain and suffering to innocent people.
I now serve under Chunin Mitarashi Anko, the former student of the traitor Orochimaru. She is an interesting personality to say the least. She''s helping me with the energy imbalance that affects my chakra. I get along with my team as well; they are a diverse bunch. Though, I ended up fighting two of them within a few days of my arrival.
My first mission with the team was a supply run to scouts. It went smoothly, but we found something concerning. There might be a big battle in my future.
The worrying news has dowsed the camp in tenseness. The signs are subtle, but they''re everywhere. People performing maintenance on their gear, the increase in the number of people training in the morning, and how often the news from our supply run comes up in conversations. It couldn''t be more evident that the shinobi in the camp are anticipating a battle.
I''m no exception to it.
The weighted gear I have started wearing for training now feels heavier after returning from the supply run.
Your student,
Takuma
PS: Did she get my letter?
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
He sat on the floor of his room with the door latched and locked. A scarlet scroll sat near his feet with a notebook and pen in his hand. Takuma was studying one of the C-rank ninjutsu scrolls he had purchased before leaving the village.
Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu
In the silence of his room, Takuma read the text. The theory and rationality behind the jutsu were interesting despite the fact that Takuma had to read each paragraph thrice to gain even a basic understanding of the genius behind the jutsu.
"Fucking amazing," he muttered.
To Takuma, every jutsu, no matter its rank, was a stroke of genius¡ªhe couldn''t imagine how someone went about creating jutsu. The academic text in every ninjutsu scroll seemed so complex, and yet everything, when put together¡ just worked. To him, all of it seemed like a miracle.
The Water Clone Jutsu was always one of the jutsu he had his eyes on it, but it was also the jutsu Takuma was most hesitant about acquiring because of the reputation of being chakra-extensive that was attached to every corporeal clone jutsu type.
The stakes were much higher performing a chakra-extensive jutsu rather than using ones that required low chakra inputs. In the scenario when the jutsu failed to achieve what the user intended, the losses would be low as the chakra used was considerably less.
His chakra augmentations took so little chakra that he could spam it without caring about failure. On the other hand, Water Release: Wild Water Wave took significantly more chakra; thus, the punishment for missing or getting blocked by the target was harsher¡ªwhich is why he preferred Water Style: Eight Tentacles as the jutsu could be used for an extended period of time with very little chakra expenditure.
Chakra management had been the reason Takuma had prioritized other jutsu over the Water Clone Jutsu. However, he had reached a level of comfort that he could introduce a chakra-extensive jutsu into his combat style¡ªhis chakra reserves afforded him the use of those types of jutsu.
As the name suggested, the jutsu allowed the user to create a corporeal clone from water. The clone would possess 10% of the user''s total chakra and comparable physical attributes to the user. The clones were much less durable than the user and would revert to water after sustaining enough damage¡ªthe amount of damage required to revert a clone to water depended on the mastery of the jutsu, the user''s physique, and how large was the 10% of the user''s total chakra.
The Water Clone Jutsu, like most corporeal clone jutsu, fundamentally favored shinobi with high chakra reserves.
"As expected, nothing comes for free," Takuma pursed his lips as he read the scroll.
Each clone contained 10% of the user''s total chakra. One would think that the user, at full tank, would be left with 90% of their chakra¡ªbut that wasn''t the case¡ªthere was a cost for making a clone.
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"Up to ten percent¡ fuck me," Takuma sweated upon reading the numbers.
There was an additional cost that was deducted for making a clone. An inexperienced user could end up requiring an additional 10% of their chakra to make a single clone¡ªin turn, potentially parting with their 20% chakra for each clone. Increasing the mastery of the jutsu and increasing water nature transformation were two ways to reduce the cost of creating a clone, and theoretically, the cost could be brought down until it was in decimals. The experienced users were able to bring the cost down to 1-3% of the total chakra.
"It''s expensive, for sure."
Takuma could imagine losing 15% of his chakra on a clone that was defeated within seconds of being created. Just imagining it gave Takuma a pit in the stomach. The total potential risk was huge, but in his imagination, he could also see the vast potential. Two of himself working together in perfect unity to dismantle an opponent.
He shook off the excitement and focused back on the scroll in the silence of his room.
Unknowingly, a small smile appeared on his face.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"You want me to teach you how to mask your chakra?"
Daiki stopped pumping iron and looked up at Takuma in surprise.
"Yes, please," said Takuma with a small bow.
"Sure, but may I ask why?" asked Daiki.
From what he understood, Takuma was a combatant. He was able to beat both Kameko and Rikku, trained with Anko every day, and lugged those heavy clothes of his around all day. Why would he devote time to a non-combat skill when he could be training combat, especially when their team had brought back the news of the five jonin in the mines?
"Because it''s a useful skill," said Takuma.
"That''s it?"
"Do I need any other reason?"
"No, but why not focus on combat? Aren''t you worried?"
Takuma sat on the ground outside their house. He shrugged, "I''m already doing whatever I can. If I do more, I''ll run myself into the ground. And putting all of my time and mind space into preparing for a battle is more stress I need in my life¡ªdoing something different can be a good stress relief."
"¡I don''t mind, but I''m a busy person as well; I''m sorry, but I don''t believe I will be able to give you much of my time. If that''s fine with you¡"
"That''s absolutely fine. Tell me when you''re free, and I will alter my day around it," Takuma smiled. "We can trade skills if you want. I''m a mean lockpicker if you want to learn how to unlock all the doors out there."
Daiki was confused if that was some sort of euphemism.
The next day, Daiki and Takuma met at the front of their house in the evening.
"I''m so ready. So how do we do this?" asked Takuma enthusiastically.
"First order of business, we visit my friend," said Daiki.
"Your friend?" asked Takuma as they walked.
"The practice of Chakra Masking was developed in response to the rise of skilled sensory-nin and their detection abilities. Sensory-nin are often the biggest defense and security assets, more so back in the day before masking was developed. And while one can learn how to mask chakra without them, it''s a comfort to have a sensory-nin to track progress," asked Daiki.
"Your friend is a sensory-nin?"
"Indeed. One of two sensory-nin in Camp Banana."
Sensory-nin were extremely rare among the shinobi population. Out of all the numerous scouts they had supplied rations to, there was only one sensory-nin among them stationed at the gold mines, and that too only due to the gold mine''s worth to the Land of Hot Waters.
"Won''t he take offense to us using him to make his job harder?" asked Takuma.
Daiki laughed.
"Feel free to ask him that question," he said.
Daiki led the two to the tall earthen walls around the village that housed Camp Banana. Daiki looked up near the top of the wall and shouted,
"Hajime!"
One of the people on guard duty looked down, and Daiki could see the sigh as the tension left the man. Hajime stood still momentarily before speaking to the other guard and jumping down. Sensory-nin''s extended chakra sense could be taxing on them when used for an extended period of time. Daiki was grateful to shinobi like Hajime, who kept them safe in dangerous places like the border.
Hajime was a short and muscular man in his mid-twenties. His physique wasn''t as good as Daiki himself, but he could respect the effort Hajime had put into his physique: broad chest and shoulders, thin waist, and splendid arms. But one thing Daiki envied from Hajime were his legs¡ªthe thick thighs and bulging calves¡ªDaiki hated to admit, but when it comes to legs, he couldn''t compete. Daiki won everywhere else, of course.
"You''re Takuma, the new guy," Hajime introduced himself to Takuma. "The name''s Hajime. Daiki tells me you want to learn chakra masking?"
"Yes, I think it''s a useful skill to have. Are you sure you don''t mind helping us out with you being a sensory-nin?" asked Takuma.
Hajime seemed confused. "What do you mean?" He looked at Takuma and then toward Daiki with the question in his eyes.
Daiki said, "He''s worried that you would be offended because he''s making it hard for sensory-nin." He couldn''t help but laugh.
Hajime, too, laughed as he patted Takuma on the shoulder. "Don''t worry about that, kid. If you can learn to mask your chakra, we can train to sharpen our senses further. It''s simply a race to see who comes out on the top¡ªnow that''s exciting, isn''t it?" There was a huge grin on Hajime''s face.
Daiki leaned towards Takuma and whispered, "He''s super competitive. Never play cards against him."
Takuma nodded.
"Hey, I''m not deaf," said Hajime.
Daiki then turned to Takuma. "You can come find Hajime whenever you want to see how much progress you have made. He has assured me that he will check you out every time you visit him."
"Yeah, come at me," said Hajime.
Takuma turned to Hajime and bowed lightly. "Thank you for your help."
As Hajime was still on guard duty, Daiki and Takuma left. They continued their walk around the camp.
"As you know, chakra is the sum of Physical and Spiritual Energies. When a shinobi performs a jutsu, they actively mix the two energies to produce the required amount of chakra. However, there''s always some amount of chakra naturally being mixed by the body that continuously flows through the chakra pathway network," said Daiki.
Chakra was present in every living being. Be it plants, animals, or civilians who never practiced ninjutsu¡ªany and every living thing had chakra flowing through them.
Daiki continued, "Chakra masking is slowing down that natural chakra flow. The lower you push the flow, the harder it gets for the sensory-nin to detect the chakra inside your body."
Takuma frowned and seemed contemplative for a moment. "Is that even possible?" he asked.
Daiki smiled, knowing that Takuma had just tried to see if he could control the natural flow, which was imperceptible to most people, including shinobi.
"There''s a trick to it. I will be teaching it to you," said Daiki. "But I must warn you. If you''re careless or push it¡ you will die."
CH_6.19 (190)
¡°I can die?¡±
That sounded needlessly ominous to Takuma, but the surprise lasted only a few seconds. There were a hundred different things that could kill him, and there were plenty of shinobi who knew how to mask their chakra.
¡°How so?¡± he asked.
¡°Are you aware of chakra exhaustion?¡± asked Daiki.
¡°When a shinobi uses up all of their chakra¡ which leads to death. Does that have something to do with the risk of death associated with chakra masking?¡± asked Takuma.
Chakra was akin to the life force, and using it all up was a well-documented cause of death among shinobi. There was a reason why chakra management was so crucial among shinobi, as running out of chakra literally spelled death, even if they defeated their enemies.
Daiki continued, ¡°There¡¯s the traditional chakra exhaustion or Type-1 chakra exhaustion¡ªwhen you use up all your chakra and there¡¯s not a drop left in your body and you die. But there¡¯s another type of chakra exhaustion, Type-2 chakra exhaustion. That passive mixing of chakra by the body is essential for keeping your body alive. If, for any reason, that passive mixing is cut off, you are immediately under the threat of death.
¡°Your organs start to fail. Your heart slows down, your lungs can¡¯t filter air, the kidneys can¡¯t clear toxins from your blood, your brain starts to shut down, and the sensory organs stop communicating. It¡¯s hazardous. One moment, you¡¯re healthy, the next moment, you are in a worse condition than a hundred-year-old man under round-the-clock care.¡±
¡°And we are trying to limit that passive chakra mixing,¡± Takuma commented.
¡°Indeed. We shinobi who train to utilize chakra are different from civilians. Our bodies naturally produce excessive amounts of that passively mixed chakra. We can limit that flow because we have an excess of it, but if you push it too far and accidentally cut the flow¡ªwhich is not difficult to do¡ªyou push yourself into a high risk of dying by Type-2 chakra exhaustion,¡± said Daiki.
¡°I have a question,¡± said Takuma. ¡°Let¡¯s say I accidentally cut the passive mixing of chakra. What if I then actively mix chakra and manually circulate that?¡±
¡°Excellent question. The problem here is that when you cut the passive mixing, you then become unable to mix chakra actively. I haven¡¯t done it, so I don¡¯t know the sensation, but someone with the experience told me that it¡¯s akin to tripping a fuse. You simply lose the ability to mix the two energies. You could be completely rested with full tanks of both energies, but once you cut that connection, you will be unable to do anything with those full tanks.¡±
Takuma hummed. He focused inside, and it was as easy as a thought to command his Physical and Spiritual Energies to mix and have a gush of chakra flowing through the chakra pathway network. It was an uncomfortable thought to lose something that seemed so natural.
¡°The fact we know all of this and that you said you talked to someone with experience¡ªmeaning they lived to tell the tale means that there¡¯s something more to it,¡± Takuma asked Daiki.
¡°That there is,¡± Daiki smiled. ¡°If you cut off the passive mixing of chakra, it resumes after some time. However, that time varies from person to person. It could be a few safe seconds or a couple of minutes, but you¡¯re dead by that time. And it¡¯s not constant¡ª one day, your passive production could kick start within a quarter of a minute, but another day, you¡¯re struggling for two minutes without a peep.
¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s dangerous. There¡¯s never any surety in it.¡±
Takuma breathed out. He thanked himself that he delayed learning chakra masking. If he were in the village, he would¡¯ve picked up a guide scroll to learn at his own pace because he couldn¡¯t have taken time off his already hectic schedule to learn from a teacher. Now, with all the free time he had at Camp Banana, Takuma could learn directly from someone experienced like Daiki.
¡°That¡¯s why Hajime wasn¡¯t worried and laughed. He doesn¡¯t have to risk his life to detect chakra signatures, but you have to put yourself at risk to hide from him,¡± said Daiki. ¡°Most don¡¯t progress after attaining a basic level of proficiency because of the fear that if they push it further, they¡¯re putting themselves under greater risk¡ªtrue, but if you want to be great, you embrace that risk.¡±
Daiki smiled as though the prospect of living on the edge of life and death was thrilling to him.
Takuma gulped.
It was true, then it was a very dangerous way of thinking.
¡°Before I teach you the trick, a few other things to remember,¡± said Daiki. ¡°It should be obvious, but you can¡¯t actively mix chakra while trying to limit the passive mix¡ª that defeats the purpose of it all. The more chakra you have in your body, the louder you¡¯re to a sensory-nin.
¡°Second, it¡¯s unhealthy to limit the passive mix. We have an excess amount, but our bodies have adapted to that amount as our natural, and you¡¯re essentially doing something unnatural to your body. Limit your chakra for too long regularly; you will feel sick, tired, and weak. So, no overdoing it in training.¡±
¡°Aye, aye, sir,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Let¡¯s head back home to start and hope you don¡¯t die.¡±
Takuma laughed.
As they turned back to move to their home, they encountered a small entourage of Hidden Steam shinobi walking towards them. They were immediately recognizable as everyone was dressed in Hidden Steam colors. A middle-aged man led the group. The group''s body language suggested that the man was an important personage, or at least higher-ranking than others.
¡°Who are they?¡± Takuma whispered to Daiki.
He was aware that there was a small group of Hidden Steam shinobi in Camp Banana for ¡®coordination.¡¯ But it was plenty clear that Hidden Leaf was in charge of all missions that came to Camp Banana. The Hidden Steam group had some say and power¡ª but not much.
¡°That¡¯s Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou,¡± Daiki whispered back. ¡°He¡¯s the highest-ranking Hidden Steam shinobi in Camp Banana and the one in charge of the Hidden Steam shinobi here.¡±
¡°So a big shot,¡± Takuma said.
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As they passed by each other, Takuma¡¯s eyes met with Benzou. Takuma sent a respectful nod to Benzou, which the older man returned. The interaction ended as they passed by each other.
¡°He looked stressed,¡± said Daiki.
¡°Who won¡¯t be after getting that kind of news,¡± Takuma assumed Benzou, who was stationed at Camp Banana so close to the gold mine, would be stressed about the presence of five jonin in his territory.
Takuma said,
¡°Well, I hope he and the other higher-ups make the right decision.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Iori smiled at the sun shining bright in the sky. It was a rare day that the sun had risen so brightly, so Iori had pushed a table out in the open as she worked on her seals with the sunrays warming her. The near-constant overcast sky was depressing, so she greatly appreciated every moment of sunshine she could get.
Iori hummed to herself as she worked.
¡°You¡¯re in a good mood.¡±
She looked up to see Takuma walking towards her.
¡°Ugh, just looking at you makes me tired,¡± she said. He wore weighted gear every second of the day, and Iori couldn¡¯t imagine herself lugging that around all day long, even though she spent most of her time making seals in her room.
¡°And I can¡¯t imagine myself sitting in one place all day long,¡± Takuma replied as she sat on the ground beside her.
Iori was working, but she didn¡¯t mind some company. She could make explosive tags in her sleep after creating thousands, if not tens of thousands of them. Having a conversation partner wasn¡¯t a bad thing right now.
¡°That ink is expensive, isn¡¯t it,¡± said Takuma.
Iori glanced down at her inkpot of the special chakra ink used for fuinjutsu. The chakra ink was a base for creating seal-specific inks by adding other ingredients. There was also an ink slab on her table on which she had mixed a blend specially designed for explosive tags. There was an entire population of fuin-nin who seldom touched a brush to make seals and entirely focused on making chakra ink and developing ink blends for a variety of seals.
¡°It is expensive,¡± she said.
¡°You know, I always wondered about this. I was wondering if you could answer my query,¡± he said. ¡°I use Grade-1 explosive tags, but whenever I go into a weapons store, there are so many different types of explosive tags¡ªbut all of them are Grade-1. I noticed all of them have different patterns. What¡¯s the deal with that?¡±
Iori laughed, ¡°They¡¯re not patterns; they¡¯re called formulas. Do you buy your explosive tags randomly every time you need more?¡±
¡°No, I chose the kind my teacher recommended.¡±
¡°That¡¯s one way to do it. Maybe that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t notice,¡± Iori¡¯s hand moved on the tag paper as she drew the formula in a swift and unbroken manner without a hint of hesitations in her brush strokes. ¡°A seal can be broken down into three basic components: the seal formula, ink blend, and the fuin-nin putting together a seal. These three basic components decide how the final seal will turn out.¡±
She turned to look at the spread of explosive tags she had created and picked up one where the ink had dried. ¡°Here, look at this. Do you have an explosive tag on you?¡± Iori gave the explosive tag to Takuma.
¡°Always,¡± Takuma took an explosive tag from his pouch and held the two tags beside each other.
¡°Notice the difference?¡± she asked.
¡°Yeah, the patterns¡ª the formulas are different,¡± he said.
¡°Correct. There are dozens of different formulas that could be used to make an explosion tag. Every one of them results in an explosion, but they all achieve it in a different way, and that¡¯s where the difference lies¡ª if you burn both of those, you will notice the difference in detonation time, explosion direction, and concentration¡ª and there are other factors like durability against tamper, success rate, and shelf life.
¡°And then there¡¯s the fuin-nin side of things that don¡¯t concern the shinobi using the tag. The time it takes to complete a seal, its sensitivity to chakra, and the actual functionality.¡± She pointed at the tag she had given to Takuma. ¡°That tag is going into an emergency cache deep in the battlefield. The formula used has a long shelf life; that tag will last for a year before it starts deteriorating and becomes a dud. It will explode just like any other tag, but because we can¡¯t access emergency caches every month, that tag needs to last long for it to be useful in the cache.¡±
¡°Wow,¡± Takuma gazed at the two tags in his hands. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to it, isn¡¯t there.¡±
¡°There is. Half of it, you don¡¯t need to know, but every shinobi should be aware of the important half. Like a shelf-life option¡ª if you know how long the tag will last, you will know when to replace it.¡±
¡°Where do I learn all of this?¡±
¡°Just ask the shop to give you the catalog. Every tag on sale will be listed there, along with all the necessary information. That tag must be your teacher¡¯s preference, but you can choose your own.¡±
¡°This is a whole lot more interesting than I thought it would be,¡± Takuma said. ¡°What about the ink blend? How does that come into play?¡±
Iori held up her ink pot. ¡°This is chakra ink¡ªink infused with chakra. You use this as a base and add other ingredients to make a blend suited for a purpose. You can¡¯t use the blend for an explosive tag to create a storage seal. Good quality increases shelf life and reduces the chances of pulling a dud. A tag cheaper than its contemporaries almost always means they are using a lower-quality blend.
¡°This base chakra ink is not cheap, and you have to add other ingredients on top of that. I¡¯m telling you, the real money is in selling this stuff. If I had the money, I would open a chakra ink factory. But it costs too much to enter the competition¡ª the Hyuga crushes anyone who dares enter the market.¡±
Takuma stared at the ink pot for a moment.
¡°Yes, I remember now. It wasn¡¯t my department, but I do remember there being cases of ink theft,¡± he said.
¡°Police Force, right. Yeah, this stuff can sell for a lot if you¡¯re able to get a hand on it. I have a liter of it hidden in my bedroom,¡± Iori winked.
Both of them laughed.
¡°And I assume the third component is a fuin-nin¡¯s skill,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Yup, you can have the greatest formula and the highest quality blend, it¡¯s all useless if you don¡¯t have the skill for it,¡± she said.
¡°No wonder you guys make bank,¡± said Takuma.
¡°I¡¯m still waiting to make bank,¡± Iori sighed.
Takuma stood up and patted her on the shoulder.
¡°You will make it one day. I believe in you. Don¡¯t forget the little old me when you become a lady of vast riches.¡±
Iori laughed, ¡°Thanks. You going?¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it for today. I¡¯ll see you later, alright?¡± Takuma said as he walked away while waving.
Iori watched Takuma and sighed. Just watching him walk away was tiring.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Did she find out?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°If she did, she didn¡¯t say anything,¡± replied ¡®Takuma.¡¯
Takuma stared at his water clone, impressed with what he had just accomplished. Iori just had an entire conversation with a water clone without realizing she was talking to one. He was hiding behind the house as he couldn¡¯t be away from the water clone lest it would return to water, which was a limitation he was completely fine with¡ª there was only so much one could ask from a C-rank jutsu.
¡°So, what did you talk about?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°We got into a conversation about fuinjutsu and fuin-nin,¡± the clone replied.
Takuma listened to the clone carefully, not intending to miss out on any information. Unlike the Shadow Clone Jutsu, the Water Clone Jutsu lacked the information-transfer-on-jutsu-release feature. Which was why the Water Clone Jutsu couldn¡¯t be used for reconnaissance missions or for the cheat-like training exploit.
¡°And that¡¯s about it,¡± the clone told Takuma everything about their conversation.
¡°Alright, I will remember it,¡± Takuma nodded before releasing the jutsu. The clone turned into a water splashed wide on the ground.
Takuma stretched his arms up above his head and decided to head back home. When he reached the building, he noticed one of the Hidden Leaf shinobi with a handful of letters. He immediately broke into a jog.
¡°Hey, is there anything for me? I¡¯m Takuma.¡±
¡°Takuma, Takuma¡ found it, yeah, there¡¯s one,¡± said the man.
¡°Nice. Thank you,¡± Takuma said as he opened the letter on the spot.
It was from Maruboshi.
A smile appeared on Takuma¡¯s face as he read his teacher¡¯s neat and flowing brush calligraphy. The first two paragraphs were routine. He chuckled at how formal Maruboshi sounded in writing. As Takuma read further¡ª
¡°Huh¡¡±
The Hidden Leaf shinobi looked up at Takuma, whose expression had flipped from joy to grave solemnity.
¡°Is something wrong?¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t reply because he didn¡¯t hear it.
All his attention was focused on the one line he had just read.
[¡ªThe Uchiha Clan has accused Shimura Danzo of Bloodline Theft¡ª]
CH_6.20 (191)
In the early morning, with dew still fresh on leaves and mist lingering in the air, Takuma stood in the small farm field that had been overtaken by weeds from the lack of care. Slowly and deliberately, he practiced his hook kick. But his body moved on its own as his mind was elsewhere.
Yesterday, he had received Maruboshi¡¯s letter and had found the earth-shattering news.
The Uchiha Clan had accused Shimura Danzo of Bloodline Theft.
The letter was fairly short, without extensive information regarding the incident, but Takuma could fill in the gap.
Maruboshi had said that Uchiha had recently lost a clan member, and their eyes had gone missing. The news floating around didn¡¯t mention the shinobi¡¯s name, but Maruboshi discovered that the Uchiha clan had recently lost Jonin Uchiha Shisui. Even without Maruboshi¡¯s deduction, Takuma would¡¯ve assumed the dead to be Uchiha Shisui.
It meant that Shisui had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan.
He ignored the goosebumps on his arms and continued to kick forth.
Takuma realized that he was the reason why the Uchiha clan had accused Danzo of the bloodline theft. His letter to Mikoto had been largely focused on Danzo as the biggest threat to the Uchiha clan. It had been particularly harsh on the man to ensure that Mikoto would understand that the clan needed to beware of the man and his diabolical machinations.
Despite the restlessness in his heart that had kept sleep away from him last night, Takuma was glad that the Uchiha clan had taken the step. Their very public accusation would bring the spotlight on Danzo, binding his hands to an extent, preventing him from making drastic moves behind the scenes¡ªmoves like dooming the Uchiha clan.
His letter had definitely thrown Shisui and Itachi under the bus, but in Takuma¡¯s view, it had to be done. By revealing their backdoor dealings, he had made it so that the two would suffer the ire of their clan, for they had betrayed the clan even if it was for the good of the clan and village¡ªShisui was already dead, and people¡¯s opinion mellowed out when judging the dead, but Itachi was still alive. Takuma couldn¡¯t say what steps the Uchiha clan would take against Itachi.
Takuma couldn¡¯t ease his restlessness by throwing himself into training. The anxiety overflowed in his heart. He stopped kicking and sat on the ground with his head between his hands.
His letter to Mikoto wasn¡¯t well thought out. He was aware of the radical consequences his letter could cause, and he had deliberately ignored everything so that Mikoto would know what was coming so she could at least protect herself.
By revealing that one of the village elders like Shimura Danzo, who was openly known for his Anti-Uchiha position, had gone ahead and stolen an eye or a pair of eyes from Uchiha Shisui¡ªa pair of the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan¡ªthe Uchiha clan which was already dissatisfied with the village, they could be pushed over the edge and outright launch their coup against the Hidden Leaf.
Not to mention, now that the Uchiha knew that Shisui and Itachi had already communicated the clan¡¯s plans to overthrow the current administration to the ¡®enemy,¡¯ they would be wound up tighter than ever, ready to pounce at anything that smelled slightly as a danger to the clan.
Takuma knew that he had poured fuel all over the village and had thrown a match into the mess to light the fires of unrest all over the Hidden Leaf.
He didn¡¯t regret his letter to Mikoto, but the thoughts of ¡®What-If¡¯ plagued his mind. He had lost hours on end simply worrying, filled with anxiety, about the gravity of his actions. He had sought to protect Mikoto from a horrifying future that he knew was coming, but in doing so, he might have pushed her into another future drowning deep in danger.
¡®What have I¡ª¡¯
¡°Is everything alright?¡±
Takuma flinched and jumped up to his feet on pure instinct. He was so deep into his thoughts that he didn¡¯t notice someone walk behind him. With chakra flowing through his left arm and the right hand in his weapons pouch, he turned to face the voice, ready to attack whoever it was.
A few steps away from him stood Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou from Hidden Steam.
¡°Easy there, no need to be so jumpy,¡± Benzou stepped back, his hands raised in defense while showing that he didn¡¯t mean any harm.
Takuma immediately eased up and went into an apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. You took me by surprise,¡± he said. ¡°How may I help you, Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou?¡±
¡°I noticed you and came to see if something was wrong,¡± said Benzou. ¡°May I sit with you?¡±
Takuma hesitated. There was a delicate balance in how Takuma needed to interact with Benzou. He needed to be respectful as Benzou was a Tokubetsu Jonin, but he couldn¡¯t be too reverential as Benzou wasn¡¯t Hidden Leaf shinobi as such, he didn¡¯t have any authority over Takuma.
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¡°Please,¡± Takuma motioned, and the two sat down together.
¡°May I ask what troubles you?¡± asked Benzou.
¡°Some trouble at home,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Family?¡±
¡°I¡¯m an orphan, sir.¡±
¡°Well, hello, fellow orphan,¡± Benzou smiled.
¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Thank you, but it¡¯s been too long.¡±
Takuma nodded. ¡°What brings you here, sir? Early morning training?¡±
Benzou chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s a fault of mine, but I¡¯m not an early riser. I couldn¡¯t sleep last night and thought perhaps an early morning walk would do me some good.¡±
Takuma could wholeheartedly relate. ¡°Something stressing you, sir? Is it the gold mine situation?¡±
Benzou glanced at Takuma for a moment before nodding.
¡°It was my first time seeing the gold mines. I was surprised by the large pit,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Hmm, did your team bring back the news?¡± Benzou asked, surprised.
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°What a coincidence.¡±
Takuma gave a brief smile before saying, ¡°If I¡¯m not overstepping my boundaries, may I ask what the leadership¡¯s current position is towards the jonin occupying the gold mines? They don¡¯t tell genin like us much.¡±
¡°We want to take back the mines, but we don¡¯t have the resources to defend it. Because of its value, there¡¯s no doubt the enemy would attack it again. By simply attempting to take over, we risk losing people and then more while defending the mine from subsequent attacks,¡± said Benzou.
Takuma was surprised. He truly didn¡¯t expect Benzou to answer, and he was simply making conversation. It seemed that the issue was bearing down on Benzou more than what Takuma was thinking.
He wanted to suggest that Hidden Leaf could help defend the mine, but he remembered the conversation he had with Kameko and Iori at the gold mines. There was a chance that the Hidden Steam feared that Hidden Leaf would want a cut.
¡°¡ Then how about you make it so that there¡¯s no need to defend the gold mines,¡± said Takuma.
Benzou looked at Takuma in confusion. ¡°What might you mean?¡±
¡°Destroy the infrastructure, fill up the holes, free the miners¡ªmake it so they can¡¯t pick up the shovel and start digging. Revert the entire operation to a state where the enemy will have to bring in manpower and investment to rebuild the infrastructure and reintroduce their labor into the mines to make it functional. And if they do try to rebuild, it will take time, and we can use that time to harass them and hinder their progress, wasting their time and resources,¡± Takuma said nonchalantly.
¡°What!?¡± Benzou looked shocked. ¡°How could we destroy the mine which provides the country with wealth?!¡±
Takuma shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not doing that right now. Right now, the gold mines are funding the enemy¡¯s war coffers while the Land of Hot Waters is not only not getting anything, but you are losing every day through opportunity cost. You can always rebuild after the war is over, but you cannot take back what the enemy has already stolen.¡±
From where Takuma stood, the gold mine was a past asset that had turned into a current liability. To him, it was clear that the best course of action of the least pain was to destroy the liability. If the higher-ups couldn¡¯t balance the equation with the gold mine on it¡ªthen it was better if they took it out of the equation completely.
¡°You can even reduce the risk of fatality that comes with taking over the mine. The solution is already there,¡± Takuma said.
Benzou stared at Takuma wordlessly.
Takuma continued, ¡°There¡¯s an open valley which is a potential corridor into either territory. Use it as bait. Make it a decoy to lure away the troops from the gold mines, which are relatively close by, and when they¡¯re weak, hit the mine hard and fast so they don¡¯t know what hit them.
¡°It¡¯s the type of bait-and-switch I like,¡± Takuma smiled.
Takuma looked at Benzou, and he could see the conflict on the man¡¯s face. He knew where it was coming from; his time as the leader of the Narcotics Taskforce and the politics of it all had taught him a lot.
He stood up to leave.
¡°I understand, sir, that this idea won¡¯t be accepted with open arms, and some might dislike you for suggesting it. But this is a war on your nation, sir. I believe it¡¯s your duty to try everything in your power, even if it means getting burned a little,¡± said Takuma. ¡°And you know¡¡±
Benzou looked up.
Takuma smiled, ¡°If this goes through well, you will be showered with praise, and your country will be grateful to you. It¡¯s simple risk and reward, sir¡. I will take my leave now.
¡°Have a good day, sir.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat on the floor of the living room of his house in Camp Banana. He groaned in discomfort as he followed the passive mix of chakra move through his body. It wasn¡¯t something he had ever felt before Daiki had taught him the trick. As he focused on the natural flow to reduce the mix, he felt uncomfortable¡ªas though he was doing something extremely wrong.
¡°Is it supposed to feel like this?¡± Takuma asked Daiki, who was nearby doing the dumbbell press exercise.
¡°What does it feel like?¡±
¡°Like I¡¯m doing something I shouldn¡¯t be.¡±
¡°You are doing something you shouldn¡¯t be, my friend. Keep going,¡± said Daiki.
Takuma grunted as he slowly tried to limit the passive mix. It was a difficult task as a moment of lapse would either have the flow return straight to normal or dip down into dangerous territory. He couldn¡¯t push harder because of the apparent death scenario through Type-2 chakra exhaustion.
It was very delicate work. He could tell that this would¡¯ve been easier if his chakra control was better and how this could be used as an exercise to improve chakra control. A bad exercise as the risk to reward ratio was terrible.
¡°It becomes much easier after practice,¡± said Daiki.
¡°I know, I¡¯m not complaining.¡±
¡°If you say so.¡±
Takuma chuckled with hints of irritation. ¡°Shit!¡± he yelled when he lost focus, and the passive flow went back to normal. He knew that he was nowhere close to being able to use chakra masking in the field. It took too much of his focus to keep it up.
Takuma stood up and stretched his legs. He wanted to take a break and see what his water clone was doing in his room.
They suddenly heard a shout from outside their house.
¡°Takuma! Daiki!¡±
The two looked at each other, knowing who it was.
Takuma stepped out of the front door and opened it to see Anko standing in front of the building with an umbrella to shield her from the drizzle that had been pouring for hours.
¡°What?¡± he asked.
¡°Get ready and meet me at the house near the t-section in ten minutes. Bring Daiki with you,¡± said Anko. ¡°Emergency meeting.¡±
¡°What¡¯s it about?¡±
Takuma looked back to see Daiki towering behind him.
Anko replied,
¡°The gold mines.¡±
CH_6.21 (192)
Palpable tension was something Anko had long grown used to in her life; she had been part of many a mission where a lot more than a wad of cash was at stake. Worrying about upcoming missions, spending days reviewing the briefs, and thinking if her team for the mission would scheme to secretly get rid of her because of her association with the snake traitor¡ªthat was all a regular part of her life.
But now she found herself leading a team on a mission where a lot more was at stake. There was a real risk that at least one of them would not come out of it alive because of the nature of the mission. She hadn¡¯t ever led a team on something as important as the upcoming mission¡ªand she worried as most of her team wasn¡¯t as experienced as she would¡¯ve liked them to be.
¡°We have received the orders to take back the gold mines,¡± Anko broke the silence in the room. ¡°A portion of Camp Banana will stay to defend the base, but a majority will move to raid the gold mines.¡±
She paused to take in their reactions.
Kameko had her resting frowny face, Rikku was staring at her with a serious expression, Iori stared at her ink-stained hands, Daiki looked openly worried, and Takuma didn¡¯t show much except for the fact that he was listening.
¡°When do we leave?¡± asked Kameko.
¡°A week from today. Be ready to sit in multiple briefings in the following week. There¡¯s a lot of moving parts involved, and everyone needs to be on point,¡± said Anko.
¡°Will our two jonin be joining us at the gold mine?¡± asked Takuma.
Anko nodded. ¡°Yes, both of them will be joining us.¡±
¡°Two of our jonin against five of their jonin doesn¡¯t seem like a balanced mix,¡± said Takuma.
His words brought a pause to the room, letting the sound of rain fill up the silence. Anko felt their eyes shift to her, seeking the answer to a very important question. She could see the worry shoot up their faces; even the stoic Kameko was fiddling with the hilt of her sword.
She answered, ¡°We have a plan. I¡¯m sure all of you remember the valley we visited during the supply run. Three days from today, a mix of Hidden Leaf and Hidden Steam troops will move and create a faux camp at the valley¡¯s base.
¡°The plan is to scare the enemy forces into thinking we are using the valley as an entry point. They would react by moving their troops around and creating a defensive camp of their own to counteract ours. Because we have the element of surprise and lead preparation time, the enemy would need to scramble to pull together enough forces for a quick response¡ªthe gold mines¡¯ proximity will ensure that at least two jonin will be relocated from the mines to the valley.¡±
¡°A bait-and-switch?¡± Takuma said, a smile growing on his face.
¡°You could say that,¡± said Anko.
Anko was well familiar with her team members¡¯ files.
Iori, as a fuin-nin, had sparse field experience. Daiki had a considerable amount, but most of it was tracking civilian bandit groups. Kameko was strong, but her file reflected a lack of missions that would help her prepare for a chaotic clash between two large shinobi groups.
As for the other two, Anko wasn¡¯t worried about them. Rikku, who was older than Anko, had enough real field experience to handle herself in a high-stress scenario. As for Takuma, she didn¡¯t need to look at his file to tell that he would be fine¡ªshe had spent enough time with him, observing him, to know that he might as well thrive in the situation¡ª he was even smiling just now.
¡®What a freak,¡¯ she thought.
Anko continued, ¡°Usually, after taking the mines, we would need to keep it protected, but that¡¯s not the case here. The higher-ups have decided to destroy the mines to avoid devoting manpower while ensuring the enemy can¡¯t exploit the mine. Our mission is to go in, clean out the enemy, clear out the miners, and destroy the mines before leaving.¡±
Anko wholeheartedly supported the decision, and she had to give it to Hidden Steam¡¯s Benzou for advocating the idea. She didn¡¯t think that wimp had the balls for it. Anko knew Toridasu had been displeased because he had been tasked by people in the village to get a supply of gold from the mines for the Hidden Leaf in exchange for protecting the mines. Now that Hidden Steam had decided to blow it all up, the plan had gone obsolete. She didn¡¯t like all these backroom dealings the higher-ups were doing; she wanted no hand in it and was glad that it went to the shitter.
¡°We will be thoroughly brushing up on our team training, starting tomorrow first thing in the morning,¡± Anko said. ¡°No fucking around, got it?¡±
She looked at both Kameko and Takuma. They didn¡¯t get along, but she wanted to clarify that she wouldn¡¯t take any petty infighting on the field. Looking at it statistically, there was a significant chance that at least one of her genin wouldn¡¯t make it out alive.
She wanted to keep that number to only one.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn¡¯t having a good month. He looked at his smoking pipe that had thrice the amount of tobacco he usually smoked, and the increased amount did absolutely nothing for his stress. He took another puff regardless.
It was far too late in the night, and he was stuck in his office. After decades of being the Hidden Leaf¡¯s Hokage, he had devised systems and office practices that had ensured he could leave office at healthy times in the evening¡ªbut all of that had seemingly turned moot recently as he and his old body had to start his day early and forced to end his work late every night.
The very formally written scrolls on his table made it so tonight was no different. The scrolls were official and openly public support for the Uchiha clan in their bloodline theft accusation against Danzo.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The Hyuga and the Uchiha clans had never gotten along since the inception of the Hidden Leaf village due to their rivalry over being part of the Three Great Dojutsu. Moreover, they were by far the two most powerful clans in the Hidden Leaf and had gone back and forth through the years to take the top spot. Only once in a blue moon did the two agree with each other on any matter, which also happened after some biting back and forth.
But the moment the Uchiha clan accused Danzo, the Hyuga clan announced their complete support for the Uchiha clan. It was perhaps for the few times in decades that the two clans had stood on the same side without any secret motives.
It shouldn¡¯t have come as a surprise to Hiruzen that they joined hands as the laws pertaining to bloodline theft were made by the Uchiha and Hyuga as they were the biggest Hidden Leaf clans with kekkei genkai¡ªand it was not only crucial for them, but for the village and the nation that their lineages were protected.
However, after decades of seeing them fight, Hiruzen couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by their solidarity.
The two most powerful clans joining hands was headache-inducing, but the Hyuga clan wasn¡¯t the only one to announce their support.
The triad of Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans had taken Uchiha¡¯s side. The three Hiden clans of the Hidden Leaf were worried that if someone was bold enough to commit bloodline theft, then their Hiden jutsu were the clear next target. They couldn¡¯t allow this to become a damaging precedent. In the same vein, the Aburame clan, which was infamous for not taking sides during conflicts¡ªand had been accused of being fence sitters¡ªalso had thrown in their support for Uchiha so early in the matter.
There were open support letters from minor clans like the Fuma and Taketori clans, who were allied clans of Uchiha and Hyuga, respectively. While many minor clans refrained from saying anything, surely because of Danzo¡¯s influence, there were some others who showed their support for the Uchiha.
Even Hiruzen himself wasn¡¯t left untouched.
He looked down at the Sarutobi clan¡¯s letter of support urging him to bring the matter to justice.
He had taken the position of the Sarutobi clan head very young, since before he was named Hokage, and had retained the position for decades. But he had promptly passed it to the younger generation when he had stepped down as the Hokage and passed the office to Minato.
Hiruzen was aware that the Sarutobi clan was planning to show their support openly, and despite having considerable influence over clan matters, there was nothing Hiruzen could do about it. He only wished he could¡¯ve convinced them to stay their hand for a few more days.
He was left with the aftermath.
How was he supposed to proceed when his own clan was supporting one side? He couldn¡¯t even blame them because they were right, even without having the complete information¡ªhe knew who was to blame because he knew the entire truth.
Hiruzen closed his eyes and gave his weight to his chair.
He had known Danzo since they were children. Back then, there was no shinobi academy, and they were the first generation of shinobi trained by the Hidden Leaf as a new shinobi village. Their education was overseen by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, himself. Hiruzen knew that their teacher had used them as his test subjects to finalize the structure of the first shinobi academy. He was proud of his involvement in a project that now spread all around the Land of Fire and grew the young future into capable shinobi.
Because of the training under Tobirama, he and Danzo had spent much time together from the time before they received their forehead protectors and became shinobi to fighting side-by-side in a war. They had spent more time than today¡¯s three-genin jonin-led cell did¡ªthat formula was a refinement of the five-genin jonin-led cell system developed by Tobirama.
Their teacher had truly used them as experiments.
Hiruzen looked up at the framed portrait of the Second Hokage hanging among the four Hokage portraits.
To him, Senju Tobirama was his teacher first, the Hokage second.
Hiruzen pulled him out of nostalgic memories.
He had entrusted his back to Danzo. He trusted the man to protect his life if it ever fell in danger during the war. That trust was the reason why when Tobirama had declared Hiruzen the Third Hokage amidst the First Shinobi War and before his untimely death¡ªHiruzen had asked Danzo to be his right-hand man.
Danzo had been the Jonin Commander of the Hidden Leaf for years before he stepped down to create and set up the department today known as ANBU. The current ANBU hated the man, and it had changed a lot through the decades, but the current ANBU standard operating procedure, playbook, and training systems all stemmed from the work Danzo had done during its foundational years.
Perhaps it was when Danzo started working on ANBU that cracks emerged in their relationship.
Hiruzen couldn¡¯t even remember it anymore; it had been so long, but they argued about something they couldn¡¯t agree upon. After that argument, the things they agreed on began to dwindle, and their arguments rose. Somewhere along the line, Hiruzen couldn¡¯t call Danzo his friend. They argued, disagreed, and fought too much to be friends. He couldn¡¯t recall when the last time was that they had talked about something that had nothing to do with village matters.
Despite being unable to call him a friend, Hiruzen still trusted Danzo as a comrade. He was still someone who cared about Hidden Leaf and someone who was very good at their job. Hiruzen had continued to cherish Danzo as an important shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.
But if Hiruzen had to choose when things went beyond the point of no return¡
It would be the creation of ROOT.
Yes¡ Hiruzen smiled bitterly.
The day Danzo had offered to take over the burden of the darkness from him was the day they both knew that they could never go back.
¡°Ichi,¡± Hiruzen called as he set down his pipe.
As though appearing from nowhere, a masked shinobi kneeled before his table.
¡°Yes, Lord Hokage,¡± said Ichi.
¡°Have you found him?¡± asked Hiruzen.
¡°Yes.¡±
Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°He refuses to come here?¡± he asked.
¡°Yes.¡±
Hiruzen heaved a sigh.
¡°I remember now, I remember what this reminds me of.¡± A chuckle of pure bitterness and sorrow escaped Hiruzen. ¡°Do you know what it is, Ichi? You were there.¡±
Ichi didn¡¯t reply.
¡°This reminds me of Orochimaru. He, too, refused my summons because he knew he couldn¡¯t be here. Now Danzo refuses my summons...¡±
Hiruzen¡¯s wrinkled face twitched as he grabbed the shoulders of his chair, cracking the wood under his grip.
Ichi tensed up when a wave of pure, unadulterated chakra flooded the room, shaking the windows¡ªshaking the entire building. He looked up at Hiruzen with worry in his eyes behind the mask.
For a moment, it seemed that the building would collapse under the pressure.
¡°I truly thought he wouldn¡¯t turn his back on the village. What an old fool I am.¡±
Hiruzen took a deep breath, and the pressure from the chakra let up as though it was not there.
¡°Any word from the ANBU commander?¡± asked Hiruzen.
Ichi replied, ¡°They are ready to execute the first wave of raids.¡±
¡°Tell them to go ahead with their plan when we reach Danzo,¡± said Hiruzen. Ichi stood up to leave, but Hiruzen stopped him. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but is Uchiha Itachi still under Hatake¡¯s team.¡±
¡°¡Last I heard that is true,¡± said Ichi.
Hiruzen didn¡¯t blame Ichi for not knowing. The Hokage¡¯s ANBU operated separately from the Department of ANBU. The latter was stringent with information to even their own.
¡°Tell the ANBU commander to send me Hatake and his team along with Uchiha Itachi if he¡¯s not on the team anymore.¡± Hiruzen sensed Ichi¡¯s reluctance and confusion. ¡°It will be good to have a Uchiha and the Sharingan to be there when I meet Danzo. I can¡¯t bring Uchiha Fugaku with me, and he might not trust my words, he might not trust his son, but he will trust Hatake.¡±
Ichi looked like he wanted to say something, but he disappeared without saying a thing.
Hiruzen stood up from his chair.
It was truly time for him to talk to his former friend.
CH_6.22 (193)
Under the cover of night, Hiruzen stood in front of the gratings that blocked off the entrance to the sewer system of a city not far from the Hidden Leaf.
¡°They have built a base in the sewers?¡± he asked.
¡°Yes, Lord Hokage,¡± answered one of the ANBU-nin beside him.
¡°I shouldn¡¯t be surprised,¡± said Hiruzen, gazing into the darkness his eyes couldn¡¯t peer through, ¡°but I assumed he would choose a nicer base for his hiding place. His penchant for comfort and cleanliness has been clear as he has climbed up in the years.¡± Hiruzen was the same; his old bones demanded clean surroundings and a comfortable chair to sit in.
¡°What is the possibility of stealth?¡± Hiruzen asked for the sake of asking.
¡°Close to nil¡ none,¡± the ANBU-nin corrected himself.
¡°Let¡¯s proceed then. I shouldn¡¯t keep him waiting.¡± Hiruzen understood his old friend well enough that if Danzo were indeed hiding in the base, he wouldn¡¯t run away without a conversation. He smiled bitterly. It also meant that Danzo was confident in his ability to escape.
An ANBU-nin stepped forth while unsheathing his sword. In the blink of an eye, the sword returned to the scabbard after imperceptible slashes. There was no commotion; the air itself didn¡¯t move as cuts appeared in the iron bars, and a portion of grating fell away, detached from the rest.
Hiruzen rolled his shoulders, feeling the weight of his armor as he stepped into the sewers. The shinobi gear had come a long way since his hay days. The young people these days wore their thinner chain mails and flak jackets¡ªhe stuck to his plate armor; he liked the slight weightiness. He was too old to learn new tricks.
The corridors of the sewer were grimy, with water and gunk flowing in between. Hiruzen had to physically stop himself from recoiling at the rotten smell that permeated the entire area. Perhaps this was why Danzo had chosen this base, so Hiruzen would have to walk through this mess to meet him.
¡°Which direction?¡± Hiruzen turned to ask the Hyuga among the ANBU-nin.
¡°Something is blocking my eyes, which means someone is trying to hide something,¡± said the Hyuga ANBU-nin as he stepped ahead of the group of shinobi to lead the way.
There was no hiding from the Hyuga and their Byakugan. Through the years, some fuinjutsu seals had been developed to stop the Byakugan¡¯s vision, but because Byakugan was needed to test those seals and the Hyuga had ensured that none of their clan members would ever help in creating something that would give up their Dojutsu¡¯s advantage¡ªthe anti-Byakugan seals weren¡¯t very good. The best ones could block the Byakugan¡¯s vision, but when the all-seeing eye encountered something it couldn¡¯t perceive, it clearly indicated that someone was trying to hide from them.
There were ways to evade the Byakugan, but that had more to do with tricking the Hyuga, who used the Byakugan, than the eyes themselves.
The small company of shinobi walked through the sewers, where the silence was only interrupted by the flow of water and the squeaks of rats. The silence was then shattered with bright flashes of fire and lightning.
¡°Incoming,¡± the calm voice of a sensory-nin alerted the group.
Hiruzen didn¡¯t need to take a single step as ANBU-nin stepped before him to protect him. Hiruzen gazed ahead in the sewer, and the light from the ninjutsu flooding the tunnels showed him the enemies. Masked shinobi who looked no different from the Hidden Leaf ANBU were attacking them,
¡®What¡¯s the point of all of this?¡¯ he thought with a sigh.
The flurry of ninjutsu in the constrained space ruthlessly stripped away the bricks on the walls, and the entire structure shook. The people living above the ground would probably be startled by the sudden earthquake assaulting their homes and buildings.
Hiruzen raised his hands to weave hand seals to perform a jutsu before the jonin around him erased the part of the city from existence. But before he could even mix chakra, Danzo¡¯s ROOT shinobi dropped to the ground like flies, like someone had cut the marionette strings from a puppet. Even the ANBU-nin protecting him were confused by the sudden change in the situation.
¡°We should move onwards.¡±
Hiruzen turned back to look at the ANBU-nin standing in the very back. The fires from the destruction cast a light on his front, and Hiruzen could see the two Sharingan rotating in the man¡¯s eyes.
It was Uchiha Itachi.
¡®Genjutsu¡¡¯ Hiruzen guessed. ¡®What terrifying power¡ and so young.¡¯ Hiruzen was envious and glad that the Uchiha clan had produced such a youth. But what Hiruzen valued more in the young man wasn¡¯t his talent but the Will of Fire that burned brightly within.
Itachi reminded Hiruzen so much of the father when the current Uchiha clan head was young.
Hiruzen recalled the day Fugaku had informed him that he had named his youngest son after Hiruzen¡¯s father, Sarutobi Sasuke, in hopes that little Sasuke would grow to be just as strong as a shinobi. He shook his head. Time and circumstance had changed the man, and Hiruzen knew he was partly to blame. Hiruzen wondered in worry if Shisui¡¯s death would change Itachi the same way Fugaku had changed.
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¡°Let¡¯s move,¡± Hiruzen said after the fuin-nin sealed the ROOT-nin so they would still be there after they returned. There was information to be extracted from Danzo¡¯s pawns.
They encountered more resistance, but they couldn¡¯t stop the Hokage¡¯s party for long. It wasn¡¯t surprising. Hiruzen knew Danzo wouldn¡¯t use his best men to buy time. All of this kerfuffle was simply an annoying game to drag the affair out more than it needed to.
¡°Was the city informed to clear out the area above?¡± asked Hiruzen.
Ichi replied, ¡°Yes, Lord Hokage. The collateral casualties will be the lowest possible should the situation spring out of control.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that,¡± Hiruzen said.
They soon reached the entrance of the underground bunker built well beneath the city, where no normal person would stumble unless they were searching for the location. The heavy metal door was covered in fuinjutsu seals, protecting the bunker from intruders.
¡°Stand back,¡± Hiruzen said as he stepped forth.
He weaved hand seals and clapped his hands together for jutsu formula seals to spread out in the air before white smoke puffed out and a black bo-staff with gold ends of great thickness and length appeared in his arms.
Summoning Jutsu: Monkey KingTransformation: Adamantine Staff
¡°¡ªHas getting older given you dementia that you have forgotten your manners, Hiruzen!? Summoning me directly in this form¡ª¡± The deep voice of Monkey King Enma immediately admonished his long-time friend and summoner.
The surrounding ANBU-nin gazed at the staff in shock and awe. It was the Third Hokage¡¯s weapon of choice, whose heavy use through the decades of warfare had contributed to the legend of the ¡®God of Shinobi.¡¯
Hiruzen smiled apologetically. ¡°Apologies, my dear friend. I require your help, and this day has already been too long for me¡¡±
¡°¡ªWhat is the problem, Hiruzen?¡ª¡± asked Enma with a hint of concern for his friend.
¡°Danzo,¡± was all Hiruzen said.
¡°¡ª¡ I see¡ª¡± Enma replied. For a moment, the ANBU-nin sensed that the Hokage¡¯s summon was looking at them. ¡°¡ªI never liked that man. I warned you to be careful, and yet my sage advice fell like stone on your deaf ears!¡ª¡±
¡°Yes, and I shall resolve that today, dear friend,¡± said Hiruzen.
Enma hummed.
Hiruzen turned to the ANBU-nin. ¡°I care for no one less, but we can¡¯t let Danzo escape. We must catch him today; cripple him if you must, but don¡¯t kill him.¡±
He turned to the bunker door. He lifted the bo-staff, and the weight strained his arms and body. He had used Enma¡¯s weight to great advantage in his youth, but it had become a burden with his aging body. His golden years of taijutsu and bukijutsu had long past after all.
But whatever he had now was more than enough.
He dug his feet into the ground and struck the bunker door with Enma. The adamantine staff was akin to Vajra¡ªunbreakable and unstoppable. The fuinjutsu seals protecting the door were shredded and destroyed by pure unadulterated force. The metal groaned as the door bent at the point of impact, but before the bo-staff could tear through the metal, the door came off its hinges, blasting it back into the wall behind.
Hiruzen exhaled deeply and stepped into the bunker where a receiving party of masked ROOT-nin awaited him.
¡°I will say this only once: surrender and step aside, and I will let you live. Get in my way, and I will gut you where you stand.¡± Hiruzen slammed the bo-staff on the ground, his bloodlust and chakra mixing together to create an oppressive environment.
The ROOT-nin stepped back, drawing their weapons in defense. Hiruzen could smell the fear lingering in the air, but seeing they refused to surrender, there was only one response.
¡°Death it is,¡± said Hiruzen, his eyes losing their luster. He ignored the calls of his ANBU guard and stepped forth.
Two ROOT-nin charged him. Hiruzen swung his bo-staff as they struck out with their swords, their strikes boosted by bukijutsu.
¡®Danzo trained them well, but¡¡¯
¡°¡ªWeak!¡ª¡±
They were nothing when compared to Enma.
The bo-staff extended its length at the last moment, sweeping the ROOT-nin in one stroke, smashing them into the walls. Hiruzen raised the bo-staff high and slammed it on the ground¡ª the entire bunker shook as if hit with a high-magnitude earthquake.
Hiruzen took out four shurikens and threw them at the ROOT-nin. A split second after they took to flight, the four shurikens turned into eight¡ sixteen¡ thirty-two¡ sixty-four, and barraged the ROOT-nin, who had limited space to dodge and could only defend them head-on.
Hiruzen threw his bo-staff toward the ROOT-nin on the left while he rushed to the right. Enma transformed back into his original body and jumped on the group of ROOT-nin with the ferocity of the monkey king.
On Hiruzen¡¯s side, a ROOT-nin weaved hand seals for a ninjutsu.
¡®Boar, tiger, snake, tiger¡ Fire-Release.¡¯
The first few hand seals reflected in Hiruzen¡¯s eyes.
He deduced the ninjutsu¡ and moved to counterattack. Hiruzen¡¯s hands moved faster than the ROOT-nin and completed his ninjutsu a split second before the ROOT-nin despite starting considerably later.
A stream of water slammed into the jet of flames and extinguished the fire before it could even pick up significant heat. Steam sprayed out of impact, and the ROOT-nin squinted his eyes, trying to peer through only to see Hiruzen breaching his personal space with a kunai.
He tried to parry, but Hiruzen¡¯s strike was a feint.
The second kunai strike went through the ROOT-nin¡¯s chest and heart, passing clean through the body. The kunai appeared out from the body with the Hokage¡¯s arm deep in the ROOT-nin¡¯s body. Hiruzen watched the light leave the ROOT-nin¡¯s eyes before pulling his arm out of the body.
He turned to face another ROOT-nin. Before the masked shinobi could react, Hiruzen weaved one-handed hand seals as he pulled the sword from the man he had just killed.
The ROOT-nin flinched and jumped up¡ªbut it was too late as two earthen spikes shot up from the ground, tearing through the metal floor; they went clean through the man¡¯s legs, fixing them to the ground. A split second later, Hiruzen drove the sword through the man¡¯s heart.
Hiruzen pushed the dead man to the side and, without even looking, shot his arm to the side and tightened his claw grip.
The space, which had been empty a moment before, shimmered, and another ROOT-nin became visible. Hiruzen lifted the man in the air, and as he stared into the ROOT-nin¡¯s eyes, Hiruzen tightened his grip and crushed the man¡¯s neck with one hand.
Without a word, Hiruzen dropped another body to the ground.
He looked to the other side of the bunker, where Enma had literally ripped a man¡¯s body into pieces and was pummeling another one into the ground.
In the half minute, they had entered the bunker if, including Enma¡¯s contribution, six men had died due to Hiruzen while his ANBU guard had been only left with two ROOT-nin to contest against.
His skin was wrinkled, his back was crooked, there was barely any muscle on his body¡ªhe very much looked like a sickly old man. But with three dead men laying at his feet, his arm dripping from someone else¡¯ blood and not a sign of exertion on his body¡ªthere was no denying it¡
Sarutobi Hiruzen was still one of the deadliest shinobi on the planet.
CH_6.23 (194)
With Enma, back on his shoulder in his bo-staff form, Hiruzen led the group through the bunker. There were a few traps that Hiruzen crushed on first notice, but no more ROOT-nin popped up to stop him.
Hiruzen could tell that it was time for him to meet Danzo.
¡°Don¡¯t forget my words,¡± he reminded his guard.
They soon reached the core of the large underground bunker, where both the Hyuga and the sensory-nin in the group informed them that Danzo was behind the door before them. Hiruzen didn¡¯t bother waiting and slammed the metal door down.
Standing on the other side of the corridor was Danzo, alone without any guards, as though he was leisurely waiting for them to arrive.
Hiruzen scowled at him as his former friend, but before he could speak, mini-crossbow turrets mounted on the walls around the room shot multiple kunai with explosive tags on their tails at Hiruzen and the ground.
Hiruzen flicked his wrist, and a gust of sharp wind pulsated outwards, blowing away the kunai barrage and cutting every single explosive tag in half, forcibly rendering them defused.
¡°Is that all, or do you have more juvenile mechanisms to throw at me?¡± Hiruzen asked, slamming the bo-staff down and shaking the floor.
¡°They were a welcome for you, Hiruzen. This is the first time you have ever visited one of my homes. A bit too late though,¡± Danzo said calmly as his eye drifted over the ANBU guard behind Hiruzen. He lingered on Itachi standing in the back. ¡°And I see you have brought companions.¡±
Hiruzen noticed Danzo still had his two eyes, black pupils in both.
¡®He hasn¡¯t transplanted Shisui¡¯s eyes then,¡¯ he concluded.
There was a reason why a clan like the Uchiha, who were so fiercely protective about their dojutsu, had allowed an outsider to retain and wield one of their precious eyes. Hatake Kakashi had obtained the eye that had given him the moniker the Copy Ninja from his friend and teammate who had died during the Third Shinobi World War¡ªand everyone, including the man himself expected the Uchiha to come knocking on his door so much so that Kakashi had taken the initiative to visit the Uchiha to return the eye.
But contrary to everyone¡¯s expectations, the Uchiha clan had allowed Kakashi to retain and wield their eyes. It was an absurdly shocking incident that had been on everyone¡¯s lips for months; everyone aware of the matter could only speculate why the Uchiha would do so.
Hiruzen himself couldn¡¯t understand the reasoning. What was the ploy? He had initially thought that the Uchiha clan was trying to gain Kakashi¡¯s favor and bring him under their umbrella¡ªbut he disposed of that idea faster than it rose¡ªeven the Uchiha wouldn¡¯t use their precious Sharingan as a bargaining tool.
He found the truth later through his successor, Minato, Kakashi¡¯s jonin teacher.
Uchiha wanted to know how the Sharingan would react and function in the possession of someone who lacked their bloodline. Like all the kekkei genkai-possessing clans, the Uchiha wished to study their dojutsu further and boldly used the situation with Kakashi as a way to do that. It was a risky move, but it paid dividends as they found a lot more about the Sharingan.
When transplanted into someone who lacked the Uchiha bloodline, the Sharingan remained activated. Kakashi had tried to solve the problem as the Sharingan drained his chakra constantly, restricting his other abilities due to the ever-present load on his chakra reserves, making chakra resource management an altogether new challenge.
It wasn¡¯t a problem with talent as Kakashi knew how to use the Sharingan better than the majority of the Uchiha clan¡ªsomething the latter would never admit as the truth displeased them.
Seeing Danzo without the red in his pupils meant he hadn¡¯t yet transplanted Shisui¡¯s eyes.
¡®We must catch him alive to locate the eyes,¡¯ Hiruzen thought.
¡°Why did you do it, Danzo?¡± he asked with the feeling of sorrow in his heart. ¡°You sacrificed a young man¡¯s life with boundless potential¡ for what? So, an old man like you could have a second wind? You sacrificed the village¡¯s future so you could hoard more power?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to insinuate, Lord Hokage,¡± Danzo said, eyeing the ANBU-nin who entered and spread out in the wide corridor. Against Hiruzen and his guard, he stood alone.
Hiruzen sighed in disappointment. ¡°Only you knew the truth. It could have only been you. I blame myself for trusting you with the information. You are a disgrace to the village, to our teacher, and to the Will of Fire.¡±
¡°Your anger has blinded you, Hiruzen. I wasn¡¯t the only one to know, was I? There was another one.¡± Danzo¡¯s eyes briefly lingered on Itachi. ¡°Maybe a genius got envious and sought to gain more power.¡±
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Hiruzen glanced at Itachi. The young Uchiha looked like he wanted to jump at Danzo and shred him into pieces.
¡°Your means, your way of dealing with problems that plagued the village and the nation¡ was necessary,¡± Hiruzen started, gazing at Danzo with a somber tone. ¡°They kept us safe, and I and the village were grateful for it¡ª¡±
Danzo scoffed.
Hiruzen continued, ¡°So I allowed you to operate as you wished. Perhaps it was because you produced results, or maybe it was because our friendship blinded me that I granted you autonomy¡±¡ª Danzo¡¯s brown knitted together¡ª¡°but you should¡¯ve known better than anyone what would happen the moment you turned your weapons against our own¡ªit¡¯s your responsibility to deal with threats like yourself currently.¡± He sighed. ¡°I blame myself for this situation. I pushed the darkness onto you when you offered to bear it. I should have considered it more; I should have known that, given your history, it would turn out like this¡
¡°Power corrupted you, Danzo. I imagine our teacher saw this coming, so he made me the Hokage rather than you. He was wiser than both of us combined¡¡±
Hiruzen gazed at Danzo. The man he knew always hid his emotions. No matter the situation, Danzo would conceal his thoughts and schemes behind the cold, stone exterior. That¡¯s what made him the dangerous shinobi and strategist he was.
But Hiruzen knew Danzo better than most people¡ªhe knew where it hurt the most.
¡°¡You are correct. It is your fault, Hiruzen,¡± Danzo stood there just as calm as before, his voice flat and controlled, but if the venom in his eyes was any indication, Hiruzen knew his words had gotten through. ¡°Everything I did was because of you. All my actions were in the hopes you didn¡¯t ruin the village our teacher helped build. If you wish to shoulder the blame, then feel free to do as you forced me to take the actions I did.¡±
¡°How much are you going to disgrace yourself, Danzo? At least be honorable to take responsibility for your actions,¡± Hiruzen said, exasperated.
Danzo shook his head.
¡°Don¡¯t try to twist my words, Hiruzen. I know what I did, but you forced my hand. You were leading the Hidden Leaf into weakness,¡± he said with a hint of anger. ¡°It all started after the Second War, your policies and decisions slowly began to soften. Your iron rule became more malleable. It wasn¡¯t obvious then, but with hindsight, I could see that the once fierce Third Hokage had reached the tail end of his prime.
A mocking smile appeared on his face. ¡°I always wonder what was the catalyst. If one was to ask me, it was the Slug Princess¡¯ downfall. Tell me, Hiruzen¡ªdid seeing your student suffer because of the war crack your shinobi heart?¡±
¡°Danzo,¡± Hiruzen warned.
Danzo continued unperturbed. ¡°That softness of yours was why the Hidden Stone and the Fence-Sitter Onoki dared to declare war against us, which led to the Third War. Your weakness let the smaller powers in and outside our borders dare to harbor even thoughts of rebellion. Oniki saw your weakness and sought to take advantage. Your weakness was the reason why Hidden Cloud and that generation of Raikage dared to enter the war because they didn¡¯t see us as strong enough to fend off two nations
¡°Would they have thought that when the First Hokage founded the village? Would they have dared when the Second Hokage led our glorious village into prominence? Would they have dared it when the Hiruzen of old was keeping everyone under his heel?¡±
The memories drove away Hiruzen. He was as na?ve as any youngster in his youth. Power was the truth; power was absolute. He didn¡¯t understand what the Hidden Leaf stood for, what the Hokage¡¯s true duty was supposed to be. It was training his dear students that led him to enlightenment. It was from seeing their growth, their potential, their brightness¡ª that he understood the Will of Fire.
¡®You¡¯re so blind, my old friend,¡¯ he thought.
¡°I was happy when you decided to step down as the Hokage and passed the hat on to Namikaze. We never agreed on many things, but I understood why you chose him,¡± said Danzo, surprising Hiruzen.
¡°Namikaze was such a force to be reckoned with during the Third War that an unwilling Onoki was forced to sign the peace treaty¡ªthat was the dominance that a Hokage should have. I had liked the young Orochimaru with his mind, ability, and zeal¡ª but Namikaze was a better choice. He even had the jinchuriki under his control. A truly shrewd hand to marry the jinchuriki just like the First Hokage; I¡¯m still surprised that Jiraya was the one to train him.¡±
Hiruzen felt a bad taste in his mouth as Minato¡¯s memory was tarnished right in front of him.
¡°I pity you, Danzo. You can¡¯t help but see everyone as tools and pawns,¡± he said.
¡°Keep it to yourself,¡± said Danzo. He continued, ¡°I had high hopes that the young Namikaze would lead the Hidden Leaf to its previous heights under his reign¡ªbut tragedy struck¡¡± Danzo heaved a sigh as though feeling remorse.
The Nine-Tails incident. The tragedy had killed shinobi and civilians alike. The incident had taken away his wife from Hiruzen, the Hokage from the village, and countless loved ones from the people who were fortunate to survive.
¡°But the true tragedy was when you re-instated yourself as the Hokage,¡± Danzo said. ¡°When the village desperately needed strong leadership to keep it together and put forward a powerful front for the world to see while it repaired itself and regained strength¡ªyou failed the village. You couldn¡¯t control Orochimaru, you let the Uchiha step all over you, even the pathetic Hidden Frost had the gall to betray us and join hands with Hidden Cloud.
¡°Without my work, keeping everyone in check, you would¡¯ve made a mockery of the Hokage. Without me, you would¡¯ve long ruined the Hidden Leaf. You speak of the Will of Fire. I¡¯m the roots that feeds the great tree. I ensured it would flourish even if it meant stealing the nutrients from others who rely on the same ground. I have done more for the future than you.¡±
Danzo raised his hand to point at Hiruzen,
¡°I respected the man who was titled ¡®God of Shinobi¡¯¡ that man is dead because you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, are no longer him. You aren¡¯t even the pale shadow of the man,¡± Danzo said.
Hiruzen took in a deep breath before picking up his bo-staff.
¡°Shisui¡¯s death was good for the village¡¯s future?¡± he asked.
Danzo spoke as though it was obvious. ¡°The last time a Uchiha had that much power, we almost lost the entire village if not for the First Hokage, who we also almost lost because of him. As the teacher once said: that clan is cursed, and they will ruin the village if not kept in check.¡±
Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment but when he opened his eyes, the anger mixed in with the chakra pushed against the walls of the chamber. Everyone looked nervously at Hiruzen.
¡°If you want the Sarutobi Hiruzen of the old, then that¡¯s who you will get.¡±
He would end this twisted fire that threatened the tree.
CH_6.24 (195)
As Hiruzen took a step to push off the ground to dart toward Danzo, multiple ROOT-nin appeared from within the walls. Unfazed, Hiruzen ignored them all, aware of their presence all along. They had a Hyuga and a sensory-nin; an ambush was nigh impossible.
He was only focused on Danzo, leaving everything else to his ANBU-guard.
Hiruzen raised his bo-staff over his head and swung it down at Danzo, who calmly raised his cane and struck the bo-staff from the side. Hiruzen¡¯s face twitched when an overwhelming force forcibly changed the trajectory. The cane shattered at first contact, but the bo-staff missed the target, cracking the ground beside Danzo¡¯s feet. He remained calm as ice as the narrow space was plunged into a hostile battle.
Danzo stared down at Hiruzen. One moment, his eyes were tranquil as an undisturbed lake surface, but they flickered with killing intent in the same split second as he thrusted the broken end of the cane into Hiruzen¡¯s chest. Hiruzen effortlessly parried the broken cane with a kunai and struck a counter-attack in the same movement. Danzo side-stepped the kunai. Smoke puffed from within his sleeve, and a tanto blade slid out into his hand. He swung it down towards the base of Hiruzen¡¯s neck, who once again parried the blade.
Instead of building pressure, Hiruzen took a step back with his hands moving up to weave hand seals.
Danzo reacted by moving away from Hiruzen to create the most space. As he took a step back, the bo-staff transformed back into Enma with a large puff of smoke, and the Monkey King grabbed onto Danzo from behind and held him in place.
¡°Got you, you back-stabbing hyena,¡± Enma said, baring his sharp teeth at Danzo.
Thick currents of lightning sparked around Hiruzen¡¯s arm as he pointed two fingers at Danzo.
Not a muscle changed on Danzo¡¯s face as the lethal lightning from a B-rank jutsu reflected in his eyes. He watched the jutsu, knowing that Enma would have to free his hold not to get caught, but also realized that with the experience, coordination, and trust between the two, it would be too late for Danzo to do anything by the time Enma freed him.
The lightning currents grew in speed and volume. The moment Hiruzen stiffened his arm, Danzo knew Hiruzen couldn¡¯t hold the jutsu any longer.
Danzo relaxed his body within Enma¡¯s grasp before pushing chakra through his body to create a sudden spike of power. Monkey King Enma was known to be indestructible and unstoppable¡ªwhich meant he had extremely high endurance¡ªbut in no way did that mean he couldn¡¯t be moved around.
Danzo lifted Enma and flipped them both so Enma¡¯s back now faced Hiruzen.
The timing was perfect, as Hiruzen could neither cancel the jutsu nor could he hold it any longer. Hiruzen raised his arm and thrust it towards the ceiling for a brutal arc of lightning to jolt out and rip through the metal, concrete, and the tons of ground above them.
The entire bunker shook in a terrifying manner. The metal around them groaned, signaling that the jutsu had caused immense structural damage. The light bulbs illuminating the space, half of which had already shattered from the fighting, all went down, plunging the entire room into darkness.
Everyone, ANBU and ROOT alike, paused for a moment as everyone understood that a massive weight of the ground above them could come crashing down at them at any moment. Their abilities made it so there was a high chance of survival even if the bunker caved, but no one was going to take a chance against nature itself, trying to bury them alive.
A strong gust of wind blasted into the room, and Enma was thrown back, forced to release Danzo because of the ninjutsu. Enma, uninjured, stamped his feet to the ground to stop and roared at Danzo.
Hiruzen strained his ears. He heard the muffled sound of Danzo¡¯s slippers and a flutter of his clothes. Danzo was on the move. He asked Enma to follow, and they jumped down into a narrow tunnel. The tunnel stretched in one direction with a light at the end.
¡°We must hurry,¡± Enma said as he hurried along the tunnel.
Hiruzen nodded and followed Enma but stopped after a few steps.
¡°Wait,¡± he said, his voice echoing in the narrow space.
Hiruzen turned back towards the dead-end side of the tunnel. His fingers twitched as he breathed out a shaky breath. He joined his hand to create a release hand seal. The genjutsu shattered, and the dead-end suddenly extended into a tunnel going in the opposite direction. He could even pick up faint sounds from Danzo¡¯s sandals.
¡°Crafty bastard, we almost fell for it,¡± Enma spat and stepped into the other direction when Hiruzen put a hand on his shoulder. Enma was shocked and blurted the first thought that came into his mind. ¡°Are you letting him go!? I harshly disagree, Hiruzen! You must see through your old friendship for what all the man has done.¡±
Hiruzen didn¡¯t reply. His eyes were trained on the tunnel bent to the side, blocking his view of the end. His breaths turned deep as chakra bubbled inside his body. More chakra than he had ever actively produced in years flowed through his chakra pathway network like a flood¡ªthe last time he had mixed this much chakra was years ago when he had tried to apprehend Orochimaru.
His bony fingers weaved a hand seal, and the chakra obeyed his command.
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Fire Release: Fire Dragon Jutsu
Like a spark dropping on gasoline, fire for the B-rank jutsu erupted from Hiruzen¡¯s mouth in the shape of the dragon. The tunnel was too narrow to contain the flames, and the fire dug into the walls to make space for the dragon that refused to be contained, scorching and incinerating anything and everything in its way.
The Sarutobi clan were known for their affinity to Fire-Style ninjutsu much like the Uchiha. Hiruzen shared his clan¡¯s affinity, but unlike his clan members or those of the Uchiha clan, he was the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, the God of Shinobi, the Professor who had mastered all nature transformation.
He pushed the B-rank jutsu beyond what most people could even master through their lifetimes. The fire burned hotter, and the dragon grew longer. It couldn¡¯t even be called a B-rank ninjutsu as it approached the destructive capability of an A-rank ninjutsu.
But it wasn¡¯t enough.
Hiruzen weaved more hand seals.
Combination jutsu was the skill-extensive technique of mixing two compatible ninjutsu into one to produce a much stronger ninjutsu. It was performed by two people, as one person could only perform a jutsu at a time. Hiruzen wasn¡¯t those people. He could actively perform two ninjutsu at a time¡ªhe could simultaneously cast two B-rank ninjutsu at a time with ease¡ given the right conditions, he could even do it with two A-rank jutsu.
As though someone had turned the fuel injector dial to eleven, the flames burned even hotter, jumping several levels hotter, and the fire erupted in volume, pushing against the tunnel even harder, turning some of the soil into molten lava.
The indestructible Monkey King Enma stepped back as the sheer heat from the flames began to sting his skin and singe his fur.
Combination Ninjutsu: Wind Augmentation: Fire Release: Heavenly Fire Dragon Jutsu
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Danzo escaped into the tunnel after taking advantage of the sudden blackout in the corridor to cast a genjutsu. He didn¡¯t expect the genjutsu to stop Hiruzen for long, but he expected it to hold long enough for him to escape.
It would have been wiser, and the logical decision to escape in the wind before Hiruzen even had the opportunity to send summons for him¡ªbut he wished to see him in the eye as he said his piece. It was his selfish desire to tell Hiruzen how and why they had arrived at the present.
The moment Uchiha Shisui had escaped from his ambush alive, he knew there was a chance that the news would reach the Uchiha clan and the entire village. It was a risk he had considered and had taken measures to reduce risk, but Uchiha Shisui had proven to be a troublesome adversary who had not only escaped alive but killed more than three-quarters of the finest ROOT-nin he had chosen for the mission.
It was a beyond-expensive operation¡ªbut it was worth it for the safety of Hidden Leaf. He couldn¡¯t let the cursed Uchiha, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, threaten the village. As long as Uchiha Shisui was sent to the afterlife, he wouldn¡¯t have minded the deaths of all involved in the operation.
What he didn¡¯t expect was the Uchiha clan accusing him of stealing both of Shisui¡¯s eyes. He had only managed to get his hand on one of the eyes. Shisui had escaped with his other eye¡ªwhich Danzo deeply regretted.
Either the Uchiha were not telling the truth, or they indeed didn¡¯t have the second eye. Danzo wondered why for both options. Did they want Hiruzen to believe that the second eye was destroyed so he wouldn¡¯t be threatened by them¡ªor did the Uchiha clan truly not possess the second eye?
What Shisui had done after his escape was a mystery that couldn¡¯t be solved by anyone but the man himself.
Seeing that Hiruzen had brought the young Uchiha prodigy along with him, he tested to see if Uchiha Itachi knew something¡ªbut other than hatred and anger, the boy didn¡¯t give anything that would tell Danzo what had happened to the second eye.
Danzo felt the genjutsu he had laid down shatter.
It was much faster than he had anticipated. Father time hadn¡¯t been kind to him.
He picked up his speed and headed towards one of the exits. They had built an underground branching maze with dead-ends and false-openings, filled with deadly traps, and only ROOT-nin knew the correct path to the true secret exit. He had noticed Hiruzen had brought a Hyuga along, which was an annoyance, but he had instructed his ROOT-nin to kill or at least occupy the Hyuga so his Byakugan wouldn¡¯t be used to track him down.
As long as he lost Hiruzen and his summon, he would be able to escape.
Danzo had raised his hands to weave hand seals to create clones to jerk the tail of his scent, when he felt a faint rumble beneath his feet. He glanced up as dust fell from the ceiling of the tunnel. He glanced back¡ªfor a moment, he saw nothing of concern¡ªbut then things changed. The temperature rose, and then he felt the heat arrive on his skin, and before he could genuinely react, a dragon¡¯s head made of fire hounded after, drowning everything behind it in fire.
He immediately used the Body Flicker Jutsu to shoot forward so as not to get eaten by the flames. He judged that he could keep ahead of the flames¡ªbut the moment that thought struck, the volume of flames rose, the fire grew hotter, and he could feel the intense heat assaulting his flames.
In an instant, he realized he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay ahead.
¡®Not even trying to take me alive now, are you, Hiruzen?¡¯
Danzo jumped up towards the ceiling with lightning-quick hand seals and burrowed upward into the ground. He could no longer leave through the exit¡ªcreating a new emergency exit was the only option.
He never underestimated Hiruzen¡¯s power. The man was stronger than him from the day they had met as little babies. The gap had only increased as they grew and Hiruzen came into as the God of Shinobi, a perfected living weapon of mass destruction. But Danzo didn¡¯t think that Hiruzen would try to kill him¡ªhe was more valuable alive than dead. His ROOT network itself was enough reason for his capture because without him, it would take Hidden Leaf a decade to dismantle his operation.
The moment he breached the ground, the intense, pressured flames rose behind him, chasing after him as he hastily burrowed up. It didn¡¯t take long for Danzo to gather that the flames were faster than him, and he was bound to be enveloped in them.
He focused on every tenketsu in his body and released chakra to create a pseudo-protective layer to protect himself. It was not Hyuga¡¯s Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven¡ªbut it was the best option while he continued to burrow to the top so he could escape as soon as possible.
The flames enveloped him, burning away the chakra layer that Danzo continuously replenished. The fire burned his skin, the air burned, his lungs burned, and his eyes blurred until he was functionally blind, forcing him to close then¡ª the ground around him heated, interfering with his ninjutsu that he was using to burrow up. He gritted his teeth as the fire ate at him.
He only took a breath when he emerged above ground and jumped out of the flames, rolling on the ground to put them out and extinguishing them with a burst of chakra from every tenketsu to snuff them out.
The smell of burnt hair and skin overwhelmed his senses as he got up to his feet to walk away.
¡®Where is he?¡¯
He hadn¡¯t taken the risk of meeting Hiruzen without thought. He had an escape plan with contingencies set up to avoid capture.
¡°Surrender or die.¡±
Danzo stopped as the words reached his buzzing ears.
He stopped and turned back to see Hiruzen with his bo-staff.
CH_6.25 (196)
Hiruzen and Danzo faced each other on the outskirts of the town. Danzo¡¯s clothes were in tatters, his skin was singed, and his hair was frizzled from the fire. Hiruzen looked down on him, looking ready to strike at the moment¡¯s notice.
¡°Surrender, Danzo,¡± Hiruzen said.
Danzo¡¯s body was hunched; his chest heaved as he stared at Hiruzen. He scoffed and stood straighter with a grimace on his face.
¡°You know better than anyone what would happen if I returned to the village with you,¡± said Danzo.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Tell me where the eyes are, and I will keep the Uchiha away. You¡¯ll be punished, but it will be according to the village¡¯s laws,¡± he said.
¡°Not this time, you can¡¯t. The Uchiha will kill me even with your protection,¡± said Danzo, sneering. There was a cold light in his eyes. ¡°Even if you somehow manage to keep me safe, the village laws will leave me crippled and caged not to see the sun ever again¡ I¡¯d rather die.¡±
Hiruzen knew Danzo¡¯s words held true. The moment Uchiha got Shisui¡¯s eyes back, they would assassinate Danzo, and Hiruzen understood how hard it would be to keep them from doing it. And with how many clans and influential people stood against Danzo, even if Hiruzen managed to keep Uchiha away, there was a high chance of the death penalty or being crippled and imprisoned in Danzo¡¯s future.
¡°I don¡¯t have the confidence to take you alive, Danzo. I will kill you if I think you might escape. You die either way. So how about coming back to the village and make things right if that¡¯s the last thing you do,¡± he said.
Danzo laughed loudly as though hearing a joke, surprising Hiruzen.
¡°I would rather die here than return the accursed eye, Hiruzen. The torturers will break me to get the location¡ªyou know they will fail¡ªbut I have no desire to go through it, so you might as well end me here,¡± Danzo cracked his neck. He then declared, ¡°But beware Hiruzen. If this is to be my last action, then it will indeed be for the village¡¯s betterment¡ it will be to kill you so another can take your place as the Hokage.¡±
Hiruzen¡¯s heart grew heavy. He was no stranger to death and death threats, but it was the first time someone from his own village had expressed such hatred for his position as the Hokage. Many disagreed with him, argued against his decisions, but no one had gone far as to say that his death would benefit the village.
¡°¡Then make it a reality, Danzo,¡± Hiruzen slammed his bo-staff to the ground. ¡°If you believe your death is inevitable, do what you believe will benefit the village. Take me out and ensure the Uchiha will never get their stolen eyes back¡.
¡°If you can do it, that is,¡± Hiruzen dared.
Danzo eyed Hiruzen with suspicion; Hiruzen could tell that Danzo was considering every word and intention behind his words. After a moment, Danzo shrugged his overshirt off his shoulder, leaving his upper body bare.
¡°If only you showed this type of behavior as the Hokage.¡± Danzo raised his hands to form hand seals.
Hiruzen raised his hands, too, as his eyes followed Danzo¡¯s hands.
¡®Summoning Jutsu?¡¯ Hiruzen¡¯s fingers twitched. ¡®He¡¯s summoning Baku?¡¯
Baku was Danzo¡¯s personal summon, just as Enma was Hiruzen¡¯s.
Danzo used Baku to boost his Wind-Style ninjutsu. Knowing that, Hiruzen went for a Fire-Style jutsu to take advantage of the Wind-Style combinations he had seen Danzo and Baku use in combat.
But before Danzo could finish the Summoning Jutsu, the space behind him twisted, and a hand appeared out of nowhere, resting on Danzo¡¯s shoulder, who flinched and twisted back with a kunai in hand.
The kunai passed through a man who suddenly stood behind Danzo as though the man was a ghost.
¡°Rude, aren¡¯t you,¡± said the man in a deep, gruff voice.
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Hiruzen stared in shock. He saw the space twist into a vortex that seemed to spit out a man. Not only that, but Danzo¡¯s attack phased through the man.
¡®A Space-Time ninjutsu?¡¯ Hiruzen mused as he wondered about the man¡¯s identity.
The man had an orange mask with stripes that only had one eye hole; his hair extended beyond his shoulders, and he was dressed from top to bottom without a hint of skin showing.
¡°¡ªHiruzen¡ª¡± Enma called out.
¡°I know, my friend,¡± Hiruzen picked up the bo-staff in response. It was pure intuition, but Hiruzen could sense danger oozing out of the man. This was not someone to be trifled with. Unlike both he and Danzo, the man was in his prime.
The man looked up at Hiruzen, who froze up when he saw the red Sharingan gazing at him from within the mask.
¡°An Uchiha?¡± he muttered.
¡°The Uchiha,¡± the man replied.
Hiruzen was taken aback, and before he could speak, something flew past him that sent the coldest chill up his spine. On pure instinct, he jumped to the side even though it had already passed him by. The ¡®thing¡¯ was a mass of jet-black flames that struck Danzo right in the chest.
Hiruzen felt his heart leap from the gut-wrenching scream from Danzo as the black fire burst, spreading on his body.
However, the next second, the ominous jet-black flames fell to the ground as if detached from Danzo, who kept screaming in agony. That itself lasted another second as the man and Danzo were sucked into the vortex that distorted space.
Hiruzen looked back to see Itachi kneeling beside the hole in the ground with a hand over his eye. There was blood on his face and hand, his breathing labored, and¡
Hiruzen¡¯s eyes widened in shock.
¡ pinwheels spinning in Itachi¡¯s scarlet eyes that burned with hatred.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Danzo woke up with a start and heaved a noisy breath as his arms immediately went to his chest. His body was covered in bandages and unfamiliar clothes. He winced as pain assaulted his body, but he found that he could move. Danzo ignored the pain and immediately took note of his surroundings. He was in a fairly small room with a bed, wall cabinet, and two chairs on a tiny circular table.
He immediately got up, and with his eyes on the door, he went to the cabinet. He saw some basic medical supplies; he grabbed some of them and stored them in the satchel he made from the bedsheet. Danzo then broke the legs of the table and chairs to construct makeshift weapons.
The door was simply a curtain, saving Danzo the effort of opening it stealthily. Judging from the rough walls and the material, he was underground. As he made his way through the corridor silently, he recalled his latest memories.
He was facing Hiruzen when black flames hit him. They burned hotter than any ninjutsu he had ever faced. He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed and what treatment he was given, but he didn¡¯t need to look down at his bandages to know that his wounds were already bleeding.
The corridor was fairly short with two more rooms other than his own. He could see trees and long grass out the entrance of the cave corridor with a loud sound of rushing water. Sticking close to the walls, Danzo peered out of the entrance and saw a sprawling jungle stretching to the horizon. The sound of water was a waterfall a small distance beside the cave entrance.
Danzo closed his eyes. In his condition, when he had no idea where he was, getting to a place of safety would be a challenging task.
He knew who brought him here and wasn¡¯t stoked about being in the company.
¡°Isn¡¯t it rude to leave without bidding farewell to the host? I feel I deserve a thank you.¡±
Danzo frowned and looked to his side.
The so-called Uchiha Madara, dressed in his full attire and mask, stood on the opposite side of the cave entrance with his hands behind his back, facing Danzo.
Danzo resisted the urge to lean against the wall. He couldn¡¯t afford to look weak in front of this man.
¡°I have no intention to thank you after what happened,¡± Danzo spat.
¡°Oh? Why is that?¡± asked Madara.
¡°I hired Akatsuki as an escape plan, but you almost let me die.¡±
¡°Please don¡¯t force your inability on us. You told us to wait for you at the planned exit point, but then you decided to come out from a different place altogether. You should be grateful we were on the lookout and got to you in time. Without us, you would have been a dead man,¡± said Madara.
Danzo silently gritted his teeth. He hadn¡¯t expected Hiruzen to take such drastic actions.
¡°¡ The black flames, what were they?¡± asked Danzo.
¡°An Uchiha among the ANBU.¡± Madara then raised his hand and pointed it at his eye.
Danzo¡¯s breathing hitched. He had seen the ANBU along with Hiruzen, and there was only one Uchiha among them; he recognized the mask and, thus, the man behind it.
Uchiha Itachi.
¡®The special black flames¡ it has to be the Mangekyo Sharingan.¡¯
Danzo felt his heart sink. He had just got rid of Uchiha Shisui so the Uchiha clan wouldn¡¯t have the Mangekyo Sharingan, and yet now, they had another one among them.
It was a problem, but Danzo put it behind his mind for the moment.
He turned to Madara.
¡°Now that the Darkness of the Shinobi is out from under the Fire,¡± the man smiled, his cold eye slowly spinning ominously, ¡°We, Akatsuki, look forward to our continued relationship¡¡±
The man was much more dangerous than most threats Danzo had faced in his long life.
¡°I hope you won¡¯t disappoint,¡± said Danzo.
For the first time in decades, Danzo had brand new opportunities to exploit and new threats to thwart. The man might be dangerous, but with his current situation, he needed to take the risk if he wanted to make his goal come true.
He was exiled¡ but one day, he would return home.
Until that day he would bide his time and prepare.
CH_6.26 (197)
Fourteen teams gathered in the town hall of Camp Banana. The building wasn¡¯t meant to handle fifty people, much less the over ninety crammed into that hall. Only a few secured actual chairs, more sat on the floor, but most barely had enough space to stand comfortably. But they had to, as the town hall was the largest building, and it was raining buckets outside.
Takuma stood somewhere in the back, leaning against a pillar. As they had arrived separately, the team was separated because of the crowd. He looked around and could see them scattered around the hall.
¡°Shuffle to the side, will you?¡±
He was not alone, however.
He looked to the side at Kameko, who didn¡¯t look very pleased to be touching shoulders with him.
¡°There¡¯s no space,¡± he replied.
¡°Then make some,¡± she rolled her eyes.
¡°Why don¡¯t you jump up to the ceiling and hang there like a banshee,¡± he said. Then he looked up, and seeing the flat, wide ceiling, began to think his taunt wasn¡¯t a bad idea.
Kameko only scoffed.
The chatter simmered down when the two jonin walked into the hall. Toridasu sat on the chair reserved for him beside Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou from Hidden Steam while Shirakumo took center stage, facing the gathered shinobi.
¡°Good afternoon, ladies and gents,¡± Shirakumo greeted as he took the center stage. ¡°Seven days from now, we will be mounting an assault on the Gojiro Gold Mines. All of those gathered here will be participating in the operation. The rest of this camp will remain here, defending.¡±
He pulled the sheet behind the big boards behind him and revealed a huge wall-wide mission board. His assistant rolled in a cart and passed on the individual mission packets to everyone in the room.
Takuma flipped through the pages as Shirakumo began speaking.
¡°The first problem to solve is the miners working in the mine. Before we attempt anything, we need to clear out the civilians. With them around, we won¡¯t be able to operate freely¡ªso getting them out is the first priority because we don¡¯t want to get caught up covering for them in the face of an enemy attack.¡±
He used a large stick to point at the board.
¡°The mining operation shuts down with sunset, and the miners live in the dormitories,¡± he pointed at a map, ¡°it¡¯s in the northeast corner, which is to our advantage as we can go in and shepherd them out. But we will have to do it carefully¡ While the miners sleep at night, the shinobi keep an eye all day round. Security will be tight around the dormitories.
¡°We would need to be stealthy; one mistake could lead to the entire mine complex being alerted before we clear them out.¡± He looked towards the chunin spread among the crowd. ¡°Jonin Toridasu and I have our preferences, but who wants to volunteer who wishes to take on the evacuation components.¡±
A lot of the chunin raised their hands. Among them was Anko.
¡°Do you want to do it?¡± Takuma asked her.
¡°Of course,¡± said Kameko, ¡°we will be the first ones in, the first one to make contact, and we get to rescue people¡ªthose four teams are going to have the most important job.¡±
¡°Sounds about right,¡± Takuma smiled. ¡°Do you think we would get selected?¡±
Kameko pursed her lips; she looked like she didn¡¯t want to say it.
¡°If¡ If Anko was assigned under Shirakumo, we would have a higher chance¡ but under Torirdasu, it¡¯ll be difficult if we get selected with how many chunin want to do it.¡±
They were standing so close that he didn¡¯t need to lean in as he whispered. ¡°Really? I mean, I know other chunin don¡¯t like her very much¡ªbut Jonin Toridasu? I didn¡¯t know he had a problem with her.¡±
She whispered back. ¡°He doesn¡¯t show it openly, but it¡¯s clear from how he¡¯s treated the team that he has something against her. You were not here for two months¡ªtwo months of our team being incomplete. He could have allotted someone from the quartermaster¡¯s crew or the medical tent so she could at least have a complete team to go on missions, but he didn¡¯t. What does that tell you?¡±
¡°¡ That he doesn¡¯t like her,¡± Takuma sighed.
Kameko nodded and continued,
¡°The second problem and the most dangerous is the enemy shinobi. After the civilians are evacuated, we hit them hard. Now, I realize that the gossip has been going around for a while here, and gossip tends to grow out of proportion. Until very recently, the pit was occupied by five jonin, thirty chunin, and eighty-something genin. But most of you are aware of the new base we have built in the nearby valley¡ªthat has put pressure on the enemy, and they have moved their troops around.
¡°The mines only have three jonin, twelve chunin, and fifty genin.¡±
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The chatter grew in the room as they heard the numbers. The troops involved in the operation outnumbered the enemy on the genin and chunin level, but they had one more jonin, which was a very significant advantage. That single jonin, given the proper opportunity and time, could eliminate the numbers advantage they had.
The plan Takuma had once suggested, thinking it wouldn¡¯t turn into anything, had now become a reality. The open valley was now home to a new base, which had caused the enemy to counter and move troops to the other side of the valley. It was an expensive move on both sides, and very difficult to coordinate, but they had made it happen.
¡°That puts us at even with the enemy at the mines. With enough preparation, we are confident we would emerge victorious and retake the mine.¡± He pointed at another spot on the wall. ¡°The pit itself is an open area, having its obvious advantages and disadvantages¡ªthe point of concern is the mining tunnels. It¡¯s safe to say that once the attack starts, some or many of the enemies would head inside for cover or to hide until the conflict¡¯s over, and they can sneak out afterward.
¡°Engaging them in those close, dark, narrow spaces would be a challenge and a danger. I advise every team here to take note of that and prepare accordingly.¡±
¡°You can sense them, right?¡± Kameko said to Takuma.
Takuma nodded. The Earth Style: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu made that possible. ¡°Exposed earth like that of the pit makes it easy; it might get a bit overwhelming with people running around, but I think I¡¯ll be able to focus. I just hope no one pulls a suicide bomber and cave in the tunnels while we are in there.¡±
Kameko gave him a dirty look with a click of her tongue.
¡°You couldn¡¯t keep your mouth shut, could you? You jinxed it, you bastard,¡± she cursed.
¡°I don¡¯t believe in that bullshit,¡± he said.
Takuma looked down at the mission packet. There was a lot of information from routes and timing, to protocols, terrains, and weather, among other things. Clearly, the jonin and chunin had already done the lion¡¯s share of planning for the operation.
¡°I will make this clear. No one here is to give a deep chase. Our objective is to shutter the mining by destroying the infrastructure beyond recovery. After we clear out the enemy, we will bomb the entire place and then leave. If everything goes well, we will be back within a few days,¡± said Shirakumo.
¡®And we will have to relocate all the miners,¡¯ Takuma thought. Returning to Camp Banana as quickly as possible was extremely important as they couldn¡¯t leave the camp with less than half capacity for long¡ªand with the miners in tow, their travel speed would slow down considerably, and leaving as soon as possible was a requirement.
The meeting went out for an hour before the group was dismissed. As everyone was leaving, Anko gestured for the team to gather on the side.
¡°We aren¡¯t meeting today. Us chunin are going to meet with the jonin and Hidden Steam people to finalize team responsibilities.¡± Anko pointed at the mission packets in their hands. ¡°I want everyone to become familiar with the packets. I expect everyone to at least know the big strokes when we meet tomorrow.¡±
Anko nodded before leaving the town hall.
Iori faced everyone on the team and asked, ¡°Should we meet later and go through it together?¡±
¡°Sounds good,¡± said Takuma.
Everyone agreed and decided to gather at the girls¡¯ house after an hour to read the mission packet.
¡°Genin Takuma, may I talk to you for a moment.¡±
As Takuma was leaving the town hall, he was called up by Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou. Takuma gave a nod to his teammates to tell them it was fine and told Daiki to go ahead when he asked if he should wait.
¡°Good day, sir,¡± Takuma greeted the man. He held up the mission packet. ¡°A lot of work to do, sir. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s actually happening.¡±
¡°Walk with me,¡± said Benzou. Takuma tucked the mission packet within his clothes to protect it from the drizzling rain that still fell. ¡°This is happening because I decided to take your suggestions¡ It was as you said: it wasn¡¯t a popular suggestion. They shut me down and out completely until they one day told me that the plan was approved.¡±
¡°They must¡¯ve slept on it only to realize it was a viable option,¡± said Takuma.
¡°That they might have¡ I want to thank you for suggesting it to me,¡± said Benzou.
¡°Please, I didn¡¯t do anything. It was your effort.¡±
Benzou smiled before asking, ¡°Are you nervous? I¡¯m assuming this would be your first time with something like this?¡±
¡°Something of this scale; yes, this will be my first time,¡± Takuma said, cracking his knuckles. He glanced at Benzou for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m worried about the operation.¡±
¡°Of course, you are. It¡¯s dangerous; no matter who you are, it¡¯s normal to be worried,¡± said Benzou.
Takuma shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not about that. I¡¯m worried about the miners; I¡¯m worried that they are being looked at as liabilities. Get them the fuck out of the way so they don¡¯t end up being a burden. They might be criminals, but they¡¯re still civilians of this country. I think the evacuation teams need to be extremely careful how they approach their part.¡±
Takuma felt Benzou¡¯s gaze on him. He looked at him and noticed how the look had changed.
¡®Okay¡¡¯
¡°If you¡¯re so worried, how about getting your team into the evacuation unit,¡± said Benzou.
¡®Excellent!¡¯
Takuma laughed bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to happen.¡±
¡°Really, why?¡± asked Benzou.
Takuma looked at Benzou, smiled, and shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t say. It¡¯s an internal problem.¡± Benzou was a Hidden Steam shinobi; they might be an ally, but he was still an outsider to the Hidden Leaf. There were things no Hidden Leaf shinobi would share with him, no matter Benzou¡¯s rank.
And that worked to Takuma¡¯s advantage.
Benzou furrowed his brows but nodded in understanding.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anyway. The evacuation unit is the first one into the enemy territory. It¡¯s the most dangerous; thus, the most glory. The mission will go to the jonins¡¯ favorites. I just hoped that it would go to someone who actually cares,¡± said Takuma, pretending that he didn¡¯t notice what he had given out from his words.
There were two possibilities: Benzou noticed and thought that Takuma¡¯s words were a genuine slip-up, or Benzou noticed and realized what he was trying to do. It was good for Takuma either way. He didn¡¯t mind as long as he had a chance to get what he wanted.
¡°Anyway, I must take my leave, sir. I have a lot to prepare,¡± Takuma patted his chest where the mission packet was taking cover. ¡°Let¡¯s continue this some other day.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Benzou smiled. ¡°I must thank you once more.¡±
¡°I was just trying to help,¡± Takuma replied before leaving. He didn¡¯t look back and jogged until he was in his home.
¡°What was that about with Hidden Steam¡¯s Benzou?¡± Daiki asked as the first thing as Takuma closed the main door behind him.
Takuma removed his shoes and put the mission packet on the table. He looked up at his teammate and roommate and answered,
¡°I was getting a return on investment.¡±
Daiki looked confused. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±
Takuma leaned against the table and smiled,
¡°I¡¯m curious if it will pan out. You know, everyone likes good people¡ªespecially when they¡¯re trying to help them.¡±
Daiki¡¯s confusion didn¡¯t improve, but Takuma hummed a tune, satisfied with himself.
CH_6.27 (198)
In the building designated as the ¡®War Room,¡¯ Toridasu and Shirakumo, along with one of their chunin each sat with Benzou and two of his Hidden Steam chunin. The meeting was to finalize the responsibilities of the teams for the Gojiro Gold Mines operation. Finding the right people to execute the operation was just as important as planning it.
¡°These are the recommendations from our side,¡± Shirakumo said to Benzou, sitting opposite him on the large circular table.
Benzou was reading a file with the Hidden Leaf team profiles and their recommended positions and responsibilities in the upcoming operation. Camp Banana being controlled and staffed entirely by Hidden Leaf shinobi meant that the entire planning for the Gojiro gold mine operation fell entirely on them with Benzou and the Hidden Steam having minimal involvement.
¡°The teams are going to follow these responsibilities,¡± Toridasu said as he fanned himself with the folding fan. ¡°We know what¡¯s best for our shinobi; it would be wise to go with the recommendations.¡±
Benzou glanced up at Toridasu.
It wasn¡¯t as though Benzou and Hidden Steam didn¡¯t want to be involved. The Hidden Leaf simply ¡°insisted¡± they could handle the operation independently without input from the Hidden Steam. Benzou was given the orders to leave it to the Hidden Leaf¡ªhe had to reluctantly obey as the Hidden Leaf (in turn, Camp Banana) was using their own resources for the operation without an ounce of investment from the Land of Hot Water and Hidden Steam.
But it wasn¡¯t as though Benzou was completely shut off. He had the last call and could cancel the operation if he didn¡¯t like what was going on¡ªand his position as the Hidden Steam liaison for Camp Banana meant that the Hidden Leaf jonin had to respect his opinions and suggestions as they were operating in the Land of Hot Water.
The message was clear from Toridasu. He wanted Benzou to give his approval straightaway and not interfere with the operation.
Benzou didn¡¯t like the Toridasu one bit.
¡°I see no problems with the plan,¡± Benzou said, and the corner of Toridasu¡¯s lips lifted, but Benzou continued, ¡°and I would give it the approval after one small alteration.¡±
Toridasu¡¯s smile faded; wrinkles creased on his face as he narrowed his eyes.
¡°¡And what may that be?¡± he asked.
Benzou tapped on the file with team profiles. ¡°I want this Team-9 headed by Chunin Mitarashi Anko to be part of the extraction unit.¡± He looked up at Toridasu, ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t mind. This team is under your command; I¡¯m sure they¡¯re competent.¡±
Toridasu responded with a flat smile. ¡°Of course, every Hidden Leaf shinobi is a tier above their peers. However, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. The responsibilities given to Team-9 were based on their skill set.¡±
¡°I feel like the extraction unit suits their skill set better.¡± Benzou turned to Shirakumo. ¡°I don¡¯t feel my suggestion as the representative of the Hidden Steam is too heavy. Do you think so, too, Jonin Shirakumo?¡±
Shirakumo gave Toridasu a look. The latter frowned for a moment before sighing unpleasantly.
¡°As you wish¡ Team-9 will be part of the extraction unit,¡± said Toridasu before taking his leave from the War Room with his chunin.
The meeting, for all intents and purposes, was over with Toridasu¡¯s leaving. Benzou stood to leave as well. Before he could exit, Shirakumo asked, ¡°May I ask why Team-9? Yes, I can see they¡¯re suitable with two members able to mask their chakra¡ªbut the teams in the original line-up would be just as good as the new line-up.¡±
Benzou answered while he gathered the files and documents. ¡°I didn¡¯t doubt the competency of your original suggestion. I simply wished to have someone. It was purely based on personal preference.¡±
¡°Is that so? Are you acquainted with Chunin Mitarashi?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t say I am.¡± Benzou smiled, ¡°However, the idea of destroying the mines came from Team-9. I firmly believe that the team will perform better.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°I expect all of you to be on your best behavior,¡± Anko said to her team.
Takuma hid a smile. The evening after the initial briefing, Team-9 received the confirmation that they would be in the Evacuation Unit. Anko hadn¡¯t hidden how elated and excited she was about the assignment. While Takuma had not known Anko for long, it was easy to tell that being on the extraction unit meant a lot to her. He could only imagine her struggle with the stigma known as the Snake¡¯s student attached to her¡ªand how it must have been a hindrance every step of the way.
Benzou hadn¡¯t disappointed, and now Team-9 was part of the Evacuation Unit. Takuma wasn¡¯t sure if his ploy would work as Benzou was from Hidden Steam and Camp Banana was a Hidden Leaf base¡ªbut it seemed that the Tokubetsu Jonin still had some weight he could swing around.
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They were about to meet the other three teams assigned to the Evacuation Unit. They assembled in one of the abandoned buildings reserved for meetings as the outdoors were soaking wet from the rain. Two of them were from Shirakumo¡¯s ranks with Anko, and the last one from Toridasu¡¯s ranks. Team-9 was the first to arrive as Anko wanted to arrive early; they waited ten minutes before the first team arrived.
¡°Mitarashi,¡± the chunin greeted.
¡°Ikeda,¡± Anko nodded back.
Ikeda was a slender man with long limbs. His tall stature made it look like the man had been stretched lengthwise. Ikeda was from Shirakumo¡¯s ranks. Ikeda¡¯s team had the function of advanced reconnaissance. They were tasked with moving deep into active battlefields to survey and explore points of advantage, enemy movement, and inspect the combat situation so the base could prepare and plan accordingly for relevant operations.
It made sense for them to be involved as the team specialized in stealth, which was required for the operation.
There was an awkward silence between the genin of both teams. The chunin made small talk with each other, doing nothing to break the ice between their teams. Seeing that, Takuma drew close to Kameko to whisper,
¡°We should take the lead to introduce ourselves.¡±
Anko was the chunin lead of Team-9, but Kameko was the unofficial ¡°leader¡± among the genin. She moderated the discussions; if the team had a shared opinion, she relayed it to Anko. It was only proper for her to approach the other team first and get a conversation started.
Kameko nodded and initiated the conversation without hesitation.
Camp Banana was small enough that everyone knew everyone. They might not have talked, but everyone knew each other¡¯s name and teams. Takuma recognized all five genin from seeing them in the mess hall or roaming around the village. He had even been on the same shift as one of them on guard duty. Once Kameko initiated, the ice shattered, and the two teams started chatting. The four teams were going to work together as the Evacuation Unit and needed some resemblance of cooperation to get the job done.
During his time in the Police Force, Takuma had collaborated with other departments and teams for information, competencies, and on-ground operations. The key to a functioning relationship was to ensure that the other party never felt like they were being taken advantage of¡ªthere were simple steps to accomplish that¡ªtransparent and proper communication about requirements, a pleasant collaborative environment, and giving credit where it was due.
Because the Narcotics Taskforce was such a young team, Takuma had done many things to create positive ties with other teams. He had credited people on official reports even when it wasn¡¯t necessary, taken people to lunches to express appreciation, and doled out praise by the bucketload as long as he got what he wanted.
It was exhausting and consumed time he didn¡¯t have, but Takuma understood its importance.
As they were talking, the other two teams arrived. With the four teams assembled, they immediately started the meeting. Everyone sat down with additional mission packets, especially for the evacuation with necessary information. The one to lead the meeting was Chunin Oeda from Shirakumo¡¯s ranks.
Oeda started, ¡°The Evacuation Unit is in-charge of evacuating the mine workers safely before the battle starts in earnest. We have to ensure that they are clear before the assault starts.¡± He asked everyone to flip to a page in the mission packet. ¡°From the collected intel, the mining operation is only live during the hours of sunlight. They start at sunrise and retire to their dormitories at sunset. As you can see, all workers stay in the same dormitory building.¡±
There were a few maps in the mission packet with extensive legends that marked the points of interest. Everything from active tunnels to rail tracks, everything was properly marked on several maps to make it legible.
¡°Because workers only return to the mines after the day¡¯s work, we can only evacuate them during the dark hours. That also means the entire assault will occur before dawn,¡± Oeda said, gazing at the entire group.
Takuma exhaled deeply. Fighting in the dark was never optimal. He had personal experience during the assassination attempt¡ªat least, there were street lights in the Hidden Leaf. According to the mission packet, the lighting infrastructure was scant in the pit.
¡®A large-scale battle makes it worse,¡¯ Takuma mused.
With more than a hundred shinobi involved, the darkness would make it difficult to observe the surroundings. With sight hindered, the danger would jump up several levels as the two shinobi fought against each other.
The thought of dying from an unseen attack was terrifying.
Oeda swiftly moved on, ¡°The dormitory is nearer to the edge, which is to our advantage. However, the scouts were able to verify that there is a sensory-nin in the enemy ranks¡ªbut we don¡¯t know their range or sensitivity. So, only those capable of chakra-masking would first proceed to the dormitory and clear out the guard before escorting the workers, while the remaining will hang behind as backup.¡±
Out of the four teams, all four chunin knew how to mask their chakra; it was a pre-requisite for the chunin to mask their chakra for their team to be part of the Evacuation Unit. Other than chunin, nine of the twenty genin knew chakra masking. The entirety of Ikeda¡¯s team was capable of chakra masking because of their sub-role, but chakra masking was uncommon among genin.
While Takuma was learning chakra masking, he wasn¡¯t one of the nine genin.
Oeda then asked the room to turn to another page.
¡°These people in this section are our priority,¡± he said.
The section in the mission packet had several people¡¯s profiles with portrait photographs. Takuma¡¯s brows furrowed as he wondered what made these people special¡ªbut then he read the short profiles below the images, and he realized what made the people priorities.
¡®Of course¡¡¯
The miners were all criminals who were serving their punishments in the mines¡ªbut a gold mine couldn¡¯t be run by criminals. The people declared as a priority were the ones in charge of managing the mines. The people who weren¡¯t criminals.
Takuma raised his hand.
¡°Yes?¡±
He asked, ¡°Is their living status verified?¡±
Oeda replied, ¡°From what we know, the shinobi were all killed. The remaining people are high-ranking, important civilians, who hold valuable technical knowledge regarding mining operations. The Land of Hot Waters doesn¡¯t want to lose these people, so we have to make sure that they get home safely.¡±
¡®The civilians in the know-how were left alive so the mines would remain operational,¡¯ Takuma thought.
¡°Moving on...¡±
Takuma turned more pages and saw many more photographs¡ but all those people weren¡¯t the priority.
CH_6.28 (199)
Moving just shy of a hundred shinobi stealthily was a logistical nightmare. Positioning them around an enemy territory in the dead of night with purposefully limited lighting while avoiding the constant risk of detection was a hellish experience.
¡°This is itchy!¡± Rikku said in frustration as she pulled on the collar of her undervest.
She was wearing standard shinobi gear under her flak jacket and a fully-equipped weapon cache strapped to her in pouches¡ªthe only peculiarity was that it was the Hidden Steam¡¯s headband and jacket instead of the Leaf¡¯s. In fact, everyone involved in the Gojiro Mine Operation was dressed in Hidden Steam gear.
Officially speaking, the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost were at war with their shinobi villages involved in the conflict. But behind the scenes, both nations were being supported by the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning and their respective shinobi villages. At first, the aid was through financial support and equipment/weapons¡ªbut as the conflict escalated, the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud sent in their own shinobi, which was the turning point in the war. The moment the two got involved, the scale of war changed drastically.
Even with their limited forces, the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud had just as many shinobi in the war as the Hidden Steam and the Hidden Frost. However, the official involvement of theLeaf and Cloud was limited to indirect aid¡ªbut all the involved parties knew they were actively participating, but they couldn¡¯t make it public. If two of the five Great Shinobi Hidden Villages were in direct warfare against each other, the situation could escalate to the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud declaring war against each other, which wasn¡¯t something either village could be careless about. Even the Hidden Steam and Hidden Frost and their respective Daimyo didn¡¯t want to a full-scale war between the two superpowers because their war would be fought on the their land(the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost)¡ªand that was something neither nation wanted¡ªwhich was why for an operation as big as the retaking the Gojiro mines, the Hidden Leaf¡¯s forces were dressed in the Hidden Steam¡¯s colors.
¡°Bear with it,¡± Anko replied as she sat cross-legged in a meditative pose.
The four teams of the Evacuation Unit hid among the bushes under the cover of the night sky, waiting for the signal to begin their operation. The mining had released enough particulates and pollutants in the air that obscured part of the natural moon and starlight, making seeing in the dark even harder.
Takuma knelt beside a tree like a statue with his communications radio before him.
*Beep*
¡°I¡¯m getting a transmission,¡± he whispered.
All four teams in the Evacuation Unit became alert at Takuma¡¯s words. As Takuma decoded the message, everyone began checking their gear and equipment. A silent tension hung in the air as everyone waited for Takuma¡¯s words.
¡°The operation is a go,¡± said Takuma to his comrades. ¡°Execute Stage-1.¡±
Without any further communication, thirteen members of the twenty-four-person unit got up and paced towards the mining pit. Four chunin and nine genin capable of chakra masking were responsible for Stage-1 of the entire operation, which was to infiltrate the workers dormitory, take out the enemy guards stealthily, and begin the evacuation of the workers.
Takuma quickly packed his radio. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said.
The remaining eleven members of the Evacuation Unit got on their bellies and crawled towards the pit silently. They couldn¡¯t go down to the dormitory as they had no way to avoid the sensory-nin¡¯s detection, but they had to be ready to assist in case the situation soured at the dormitory, ringing the alarm bells.
¡°Stop,¡± said another genin.
Everyone did. They couldn¡¯t get too close but had to be in range and ready to take action.
Takuma took a deep breath and began concentrating.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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Anko and the others jumped down the pit. Entering the pit wouldn¡¯t have been possible during the day, but with no light, it turned into an advantage as they could do it without real complications; they just needed to do it silently.
As they got down the step-like carving that made up the pit, the multi-floor dormitory stood a distance away from them. They had no idea about the floor plans of the dormitory or how guarded it was on the inside¡ªall they knew was that seven shinobi guarded around a hundred people.
With their numbers and abilities, getting rid of seven guards wouldn¡¯t have been difficult¡ªbut Anko and others were masking their chakra¡ªwhich meant they couldn¡¯t use chakra, which was a huge handicap.
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The primary goal of the Evacuation Unit was to get the workers and people with priority status out of the mines¡ªbut they had a secondary objective that could only be accomplished if they retained their stealth.
It was to cause chaos.
Not much was known about the sensory-nin except for the fact that at least one existed among the enemy forces that occupied the Gojiro Gold Mines. But that knowledge made a surprise attack impossible for Camp Banana. The sensory-nin would detect the presence immediately and sound the alert.
If they had an insight into how many sensory-nin there were, things would¡¯ve been easier¡ªbut they didn¡¯t have that information¡ªand that information gap limited them.
Thus, a conditional plan was hatched.
If the Evacuation Unit was able to come out of Stage-1 with their stealth intact, the members capable of chakra masking would further proceed into enemy territory and place explosives all around the mines.
It was obvious that the enemy would be prepared for an invasion and would have a quick-response action plan prepared. Camp Banana itself had a contingency plan in place to combat an assault¡ªthere was no reason to believe the enemy didn¡¯t have one.
But what if something unexpected threw them off?
The element of surprise was an extremely strong advantage, and the conditional plan was to gain that. By installing explosives around the mines and setting them off, Camp Banana wanted to gain the element of surprise and mount an assault using that advantage.
However, the sensory-nin created a problem.
One mistake is all it would take for the plan to fail¡ªwhich was why it was a conditional plan. Camp Banana was ready and prepared for a straight-on assault if the Evacuation Unit failed.
Anko looked up at the other three chunin. She knew all of them wanted the conditional plan to work¡ªbecause it was good for them and added to their achievements. Of course, she was no different. She wanted the conditional plan to go well¡ªshe needed to work twice¡ªthrice¡ª as hard as everyone else to get the same result. The plan going well would be extremely positive for her.
They silently approached the dormitory building from the backside. Oeda, the leader, raised his hand and snapped his finger; immediately, the group split into two. The two groups hugged the walls of the building and proceeded towards the front side from opposite sides.
On their way, they checked the windows to see if they could open them silently, but metal bars were blocking the way, making the infiltration through the windows unfeasible.
The front side of the dormitory and the entrance were lit brightly by a single bulb. There was a single guard sitting on a chair, reading a book. The entrance to the dormitory was barred by a locked accordion metal gate. They needed to get the gate open. Doing it with the awake guard was not feasible.
Oeda raised his hand and signed to stop the group. He looked up; there was a ghanta (hanging dome bell) hanging above the gate. He threw a kunai at the wooden block from which the bell hung. The kunai went through the block, cracking the wood.
The bell fell down on the wet and muddy ground, immediately attracting the guard¡¯s attention. The guard shot up from his chair and warily walked to the gate as the two groups slowly backed off.
¡°What the fuck?¡± The guard muttered from behind the gate as he looked down at the bell. He sighed and turned back to get the keys that jingled. He opened the lock on the gate and pulled the accordion gate open to step out.
¡°Did the wood rot¡ª¡±
The moment he took a step outside, Anko, who was leading the second group, surged ahead and snapped the man¡¯s neck before he could even sense her presence. She didn¡¯t let him fall and dragged him to the side before dumping him outside sight.
And the moment Anko broke the neck, she stopped masking her chakra.
It was to deceive the sensory-nin in case they decided to do a head count¡ªwhich was unlikely, but it was a safe precaution. The person who landed the killing blow would stop masking their chakra to replace the dead enemy. There was the matter of chakra signature, but that wasn¡¯t something they could replace.
Oeda nodded when Anko returned to her line and signed again. This time, Ikeda and his five genin separated from Oeda¡¯s line and proceeded into the building. Unlike the other three teams, the entirety of Ikeda¡¯s team was involved in Stage-1, and with their background, they were the best team to do the initial scouting.
Sometime later, one of Ikeda¡¯s genin returned and signaled them in. Using signs, the genin directed the teams into different parts of the dormitory.
Anko patted Daiki on his shoulder, signaling him to follow her closely. Ikeda¡¯s genin, who had directed, joined Anko and Daiki as they were only two people. Anko nodded to him and let the genin lead. They reached a long corridor that had a dark room with workers sleeping on one side and a room with light leaking out on the other side.
Silently, they moved beside the door. Anko took out a small mirror and looked at the reflection. There were two guards inside the room, sitting at a table, playing cards. She turned to the genin and signaled two people.
After thinking about it a bit, she decided on a plan.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The two guards inside suddenly heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside.
¡°Huh? Is one of the fuckers roaming outside? I guess I wouldn¡¯t mind another thrashing,¡± one of the guards cackled.
¡°Go check.¡± The other guard didn¡¯t remove his eyes from his cards.
¡°Don¡¯t cheat,¡± said the guard as he stepped out of the room.
The guard in the room stared at his cards for a moment before looking over the table to peek at the other guard¡¯s hand of cards, but found that he had taken his cards with him. The guard clicked his tongue.
¡°Why bother warning me?¡± he grumbled.
He picked up the cup with tea and downed it in one gulp. He made a face as the tea had gone cold long ago. He got up to make some more, only to find that they had ran out of water.
He looked at the door.
¡°What¡¯s taking him so long?¡±
As he turned away from the door, the guard thought he saw something in the corner of his eye.
¡°Hmm?¡±
He walked to the door and peered out in the dark corridor to see nothing. But as he pulled himself back, something wrapped itself around his neck and pulled him up.
¡°Ack! Gck!¡±
He looked up to see a woman standing on the ceiling, looking down at him. She pulled on the rope she was holding, and the loop around his neck tightened. He tried to claw at his neck. By the time he was able to peek through the panic and went for his weapons pouch, someone hugged him¡ªtrapping his hands¡ªand pulled him down, putting more pressure on his neck. He looked down to see a burly man but could do nothing but hang to death.
CH_6.29 (200)
As Anko and Daiki hung the guards, the lights in the corridor flickered on. They looked at each other and nodded. They dropped the dead guard at the guard room''s threshold so he would be visible and headed inside the worker''s sleeping hall opposite to the guard room.
The lights coming on was a signal to wake up the guards.
Stage-1 was planned to start half an hour before the worker''s wake-up time. They could deceive the sensory-nin by replacing the guards¡ªbut it was impossible to replicate the chakra signature of a hundred or so workers; they could hope that the sensory-nin''s chakra sense wasn''t sensitive enough to detect civilian''s paltry chakra, but they couldn''t take the risk¡ªwhich was why they designed for the infiltration to be executed at a specific time. So, if the sensory-nin could detect the workers moving around, they would think they were heading out to start their workday as usual.
"Wake up!" Anko shouted in the room.
The workers lacked urgency as they shuffled under their thin covers before sauntering out of their beds. But a few noticed how the voice ordering them differed from their usual guard. They looked to the head of the room and found two people dressed in Hidden Steam shinobi gear.
"H-Hey, you¡ª!" one of the workers uttered in shock.
The entire room was surprised, shocked, and confused to see Anko and Daiki. They clamored out of their beds, their eager eyes shining in hope as they recognized their country''s shinobi colors.
"Shut up!" Anko ordered sternly, setting the tone. "All of you are leaving, and we have no time. Drop your belongings. Form a line and stay silent. On it!" They had time before anyone would get suspicious, but they aimed to be quick so that they could place the explosives around the pit before the darkness of the night lifted.
Daiki stepped forth and listed some names, asking those people to step forth. The names were from the priority list. As Daiki did that, the genin from Ikeda''s team called for Anko. The genin appeared in shock as he stared out the window in the guard room.
"What?" she asked.
"I-I just saw Chunin Hideki and his two genin dashing away." He stuttered in shock, "I-I''m not mistaken; I truly saw them."
"Pardon?"
Anko stilled in confusion as she stared out of the barred window. The night darkness prevented her from seeing at a distance. Her mind raced to find a reason why a chunin would abandon his post, and the answer hit her like crashing into a wall.
"Fucking, can''t believe it¡"
Hideki must have gotten a side mission he was asked to complete. Like Anko, Hideki was from Toridasu''s ranks. She wasn''t blind to the jonin''s dislike of her, but nothing could be done to improve that situation, so she stuck to her work and her genin. But Hideki was one of Toridasu''s favorites. Anko was sure the jonin had given Hideki secret orders because abandoning the given mission without reason was a one-way ticket to a ruined career.
"Relay the information to the others." Anko ordered the genin.
They had to remain focused on Stage-1. As Anko turned back to walk into the worker''s sleeping hall, she was struck with the realization that Hideki had proceeded to Stage-2 of the Evacuation Unit''s mission¡ªhe was setting up the explosives. Toridasu must''ve wanted the conditional mission executed regardless of the circumstances.
But in doing so, he had altered the planning for Stage-1.
To get the workers to a safe location, they had to get out of the pit. The climb out of the pit was a steep wall. A long-turning road went out of the pit, but it was at a distance from the dormitory, and it would take at least thirty minutes to exit the pit through it. They didn''t have that kind of time¡ªand thus, the only remaining option was the steep climb.
The plan was for each shinobi in the dormitory to take two workers on their back as they climbed. With a shinobi''s strength, the weight of two people was nothing, and they could get the workers out quickly in a few trips without breaking much sweat.
However, the original thirteen-member team had been cut down to ten because of Hideki''s deviation from the plan. The original four trips had increased to five trips. The risk and danger jumped significantly from the one-trip increase.
Anko shook her head and focused on the present as she entered the worker''s sleeping hall.
"No belongings! Drop them!" she yelled, her irritation leaking through her voice.
When she informed Daiki, he immediately started pushing the workers to move quickly.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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Naoko was a Hidden Cloud shinobi posted at the Gojiro Gold Mines in the Land of Hot Waters¡ªor was it Land of Frost, as the Hidden Frost had declared the gold mines as the property of the Land of Frost?
Whichever it was, it didn''t matter to Naoko. She was the sole sensory-nin responsible for keeping a watch on the pit through her senses. Due to her being the only one, she was assigned to the night shift¡ªfrom dusk till dawn, she was to keep the gold mines safe from the enemy.
However, working a twelve-hour shift was incredibly difficult as using her sense expended chakra, a limited resource. Naoko''s specialty was her sensitivity; range, though, was her shortcoming; she couldn''t even cover the entirety of the pit. As such, she deliberately dulled her sensitivity to stretch her senses to cover the pit¡ªit was a delicate balance between sensitivity, range, and chakra consumption.
It was a tough and tiring job, but it had its perks. She got to see the sunrise every day, her sleep was deep and sound, her food was delivered to her, and she didn''t have any other duties except for her long shift.
Her shift ended when the workers were transported to their respective stations, which was soon. Naoko got up from her thick cushion on the floor and breathed in the morning air. The air quality was terrible at the mines. As she looked at the sky¡ªbefore it was red, the sky was blue. Her eyes went to the dormitory, which was covered in a deep shadow from the steep mass behind it.
She frowned as she sensed the guards moving erratically. Their movements didn''t make sense, differing widely from the usual. Why did it seem like they were going up-and-down the steep climb behind the dormitory? Seeing that her shift was almost over and the situation was strange, Naoko burned the chakra and bumped up the sensitivity.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, the workers who were never detectable to her due to her dulled sensitivity became detectable to her. She took a moment to do a second check and confirm that the workers were leaving her range of detection. Moreover, now that Naoko knew what to look for her, she could see the faint figures scaling the steep wall.
Naoko ran.
She ran and rang the emergency bell.
She picked up the radio receiver that was connected to the speakers. "Intruder alert! The workers are escaping from the dormitories! Enemy presence confirmed! Enemy presence confirmed!"
Naoko could feel the people moving around the pit, following the contingency and taking their predetermined posts. They didn''t know the size of the enemy''s forces¡ª and every response was to be against the worst-case scenario.
She simply hoped it wouldn''t come to that.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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Takuma looked down at his radio, and the constant beeping tones told him all he needed to know. The stealth was broken; the enemy was aware of their presence.
"Get ready for combat," he announced to the group.
Hideki and his two genin had left their post, which had led to an increase in the number of trips. Three more trips remained.
As the group came up with more workers, Takuma turned to the group. "Free the chunin from the evacuation duty. It''s better if they''re part of the fighting force." He turned to Iori. "Please take Anko''s place."
From a combat perspective, their height was a tactical advantage; however, they had to gain time for the evacuation, which meant blocking the enemy before they reached the dormitory. And being the first team in the pit, the situation was dangerous and delicate.
He looked back at Kameko and Rikku. Both nodded.
"Let''s go then."
Takuma walked towards the edge before breaking into a sprint. He leaped out from the edge, heading straight down into the pit. He was airborne for a couple of seconds before his feet hit the slanted ground, and he slid down the pit at full speed.
The sky was lightening by the minute, but the pit was still dark. He squinted his eyes and saw enemy shinobi dashing towards them. Right off the bat, he counted ten, and he was sure more would head his direction soon. Takuma looked up where the pit started¡ªthe rest of the forces would invade soon.
They had planned a three-pincer attack. The Evacuation Unit attacked from the ''front'' while two other teams invaded from the sides. Surround the enemy, box them in while forcing them to divide their focus on three different forces. It was a simple strategy.
As the bottom came closer, Takuma jumped again. He broke into a run towards the dormitory where the workers were standing in a crowd, clamoring, pushing each other, trying to be the next person to be carried out of the pit. When the workers saw him and others coming their way, the workers thought they would take them out of the pit.
"Please take me!"
"No, take me! I have money. Please take me first!"
They tried to appeal with money, and some simply begged while crying¡ªbut Takuma ignored them all and ran right past the dormitory without giving them a second look. His job was to buy time, draw the enemy out, and set up the situation for the pincer attack.
He stopped a good distance away from the dormitory and glanced back briefly to confirm that his peers were with him. Kameko and Rikku were just behind. The reason he had run ahead was to get himself established in a good position instead of having to adjust around others by coming late.
"We should start with some tags," Kameko said beside him.
"Agreed," he nodded.
He took out a few of his kunai with explosion tags tied to the tails. He narrowed his eyes at the incoming enemy.
"Try to place them ahead of the crowd," Takuma said to his teammates. "I will make sure those guys won''t stop¡"
He cocked his arm and whipped out his handful of kunai into the air. As the kunai exited his hand, the tags began burning almost immediately. The kunai arced in a shallower trajectory and landed just behind the group.
"Throw now."
He had taken Iori''s advice and researched the catalog of explosive tags available with the quartermaster. All of his weapons were provided by the base, and he personally thought he had gotten the most of his allocated weapon allowance. The explosive tags he had just launched had a slight delay on their trigger; as such, even though it was triggered while throwing, and he put an arc on the throw, the tag wasn''t going to explode during the flight.
The kunai struck the ground behind the enemy group.
*B-Boom!*
Three tags exploded within a gap of half a second. Takuma didn''t need a lot of explosives. Just enough to put the thought in their mind.
If the explosion was behind them, and more were surely to come, they needed to keep running forward to avoid getting caught.
But that''s where Kameko and Rikku, with their different targets, came in.
*Boom!* *Boom!*
Their kunai landed right in front of and in between the enemy group and immediately exploded, making very good contact.
"Boom," Takuma whispered as he watched a smoldering body flying through the air.
CH_6.30 (201)
Takuma weaved hand seals for Water-Style: Eight Tentacles and water from the wet mud and dirty puddles formed from the monsoon season showers rose and collected behind his back. With a flex of his shoulder blades, eight tentacles burst out. He equipped a kunai in one hand as he skipped forward toward the enemy in disarray.
As Takuma dashed ahead before realizing that he had reacted without taking his teammates into account, he glanced back and was surprised to see Kameko and Rikku following him closely. He looked ahead and picked up the pace.
Normally, the obvious choice was to stick with teammates in a chaotic situation. However, teamwork wasn¡¯t Team-9¡¯s strong point. Perhaps it was due to Anko¡¯s hands-off style of leadership, they didn¡¯t work together as a team often. She would hold infrequent team exercises; they weren¡¯t enough to foster functional teamwork.
Takuma locked onto the nearest enemy affected by the explosive tag.
But before Takuma could reach his target, a shinobi from the back of the enemy group took to the air with a tall leap. The man had a handful of senbon between his fingers that sparked with lightning currents which he flung towards Takuma¡¯s group. The lightning jumped between the senbon as though they were resonating, charging the current on each individual needle.
Takuma dug his feet into the wet mud to stop and merge the tentacles into a shield in front of him¡ªbut just a moment before Kameko shot past him, her feet skidded on the ground and she released a burst of wind from her sword in a swing that blew away the senbon and neutralized the lightning chakra in the needles. The next moment, Rikku sent mud flying everywhere as she shot into the sky towards the enemy.
Seeing they were handling it, Takuma returned to his original target. The delay had given the target time to recover; the man raised his guard as he saw Takuma sprinting towards him. However, the last second before their clash, the target side skipped, and a kunai shot forth from behind him. There was another man behind the target. It was dark, but Takuma caught the glimmer of the burning explosive tag fluttering past behind the kunai.
Takuma jumped high as the tag exploded as it passed below him. He braced for the shockwave that did its best to disrupt his balance, albeit unsuccessful.
The two enemy shinobi worked together and positioned them around his land location.
The wind fluttered in his ears as Takuma landed on the ground. All eight of his tentacles slammed on the ground, dragging themselves in the mud to fling it towards the two enemies. They raised their hands to prevent the mud shower from getting into their eyes.
Chakra flowed through Takuma¡¯s dominant arm as he propelled the kunai toward one of the enemies by using his brand of chakra augmentation. Despite him blocking it, the man froze, the power behind the kunai evidently startling him. That bought Takuma another moment; he darted towards the other man and socked him with an augmented punch. He tried to dodge, but the tentacles shot forth like snakes, holding him in place as Takuma moved the man¡¯s organs with his fist.
The tentacles slithered around the man¡¯s body, restraining him from moving. Takuma pulled the man in front of him as a shield as he turned towards the first man, who was weaving hand seals. But seeing his comrade being used as a meat shield, his hands stilled, the reaction turned into a stunned astonishment when Takuma started running towards him.
The enemy took a solid stance with a kunai in both hands.
While Takuma closed in, the man restrained in his tentacles began to struggle. Takuma didn¡¯t mind the struggle as the moment he was close enough to the other man, Takuma threw his captive into his comrade¡ªbut not before stabbing him in the back with his kunai.
The tentacles threw the captured enemy with force, not giving his comrade any time to dodge.
The two men crashed into the mucky ground.
The man pushed his comrade off of him and shot to his feet, and at that moment, he heard his comrade¡¯s cries and pained moans and stared at the kunai sticking out of his back.
He didn¡¯t see Takuma¡¯s flying knee until it smashed into his chin, shaking the brain in his skull. He stomped the man¡¯s chest with an augmented kick before crouching. Takuma grabbed the man¡¯s hand when he fumbled for his weapons pouch and gave the man a pretty red necklace, granting him eternal peace..
He croaked as lifeblood sputtered out of his mouth and met the trails oozing through the gash along his neck. Takuma left the spasming man behind and walked to the wailing man with the kunai on his back.
He was crawling away in hopes of escape and each time he dragged himself on the wet ground, he let out an involuntary moan. Takuma grabbed him by his mud-caked hair and yanked his head up. Two quick stabs with his kunai into the throat and the man was put out of his misery. Takuma freed the kunai from the man¡¯s back, wiped the blood on the dead man¡¯s clothes, and slippedd it into his weapon¡¯s pouch.
He looked around for Kameko and Rikku and found them fighting against three people. He immediately headed in their direction.
But then he noticed the strange movements of the enemy.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Rikku rolled to the side to evade a cluster of senbon charged with lightning chakra. She dug her foot into the ground and shot forward. The loose mud made for a lousy foothold, not allowing her sufficient leverage to push against.
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The annoying enemy immediately jumped back to make some distance but then took a sharp turn to the side when Kameko charged him with her sword. It looked like she missed until an oozing gash appeared on his outer thigh.
The man stumbled as he screamed in agony. He drew more senbon in his hands, aiming for Kameko but Rikku shouldered him into the ground so hard that loose, wet mud enveloped half of his body.
The man slipped as he tried to get up and Kameko moved in for a kill. She positioned her sword, ready to deliver the killing blow but at the last moment, two frothing blasts of water targeted her and Rikku. They jumped away from the fallen man and saw two more shinobi in Hidden Frost colors arriving to help their fallen comrade.
¡°Go in,¡± Kameko said.
Rikku nodded, and the two teammates immediately jumped toward the three enemies.
Rikku weaved hand seals in the air, and as she came down to the ground near the enemy trio, she slammed her fists into the ground. Chakra seeped into the ground, and it started to shift and revolve, turning into a quagmire with Rikku as the epicenter
One of the three jumped at the last moment, but the other two sank into the quicksand-like ninjutsu.
Earth Style: Quagmire Jutsu
Kameko dropped into the quagmire, but she didn¡¯t get trapped. She channeled to the soles of her feet, running on it as if it was a wall or surface of water¡ªit was a weakness of the jutsu¡ªit was easy to avoid if you saw it coming. Kameko simply used it for the team¡¯s advantage. She released a wind cutter so strong that the blade almost vibrated to its breaking point.
However, she wasn¡¯t the only one to take advantage. The one who avoided Rikku¡¯s sinkhole put himself between Kameko¡¯s wind cutter and his comrades and weaved hand seals for a lightning jutsu. It dulled the wind cutter, but it wasn¡¯t able to stop it¡ªhowever, it was enough that the trapped pair could defend against the cutter.
As the man dulled Kameko¡¯s wind cutter, Rikku came behind him and smashed a kick into the side of his head. Rikku didn¡¯t relent and struck the fallen man¡¯s nape, cracking his backbone and spine, instantly paralyzing him. Rikku finished the job by driving a kunai through his back, piercing through his heart.
Kameko moved to her next move without wasting a second and went for the next kill.
One of the trapped enemies weaved hand seals, and arcs of lightning zapped into the quagmire.
¡°Give me cover,¡± the man said to his comrade.
They were already waist-deep in the mud and still sinking, but the moment the lightning touched the mud, it solidified and turned cakey. They pushed their hands against the semi-solid surface and pushed themselves out.
Kameko raised her sword emitting a shrill shriek.
¡°H-Hey, what¡ªwait! YOU¡ª!¡±
The shinobi that was evidently supposed to stall until his comrades freed themselves leapt away the moment he got the chance, leaving the other one alone and unprepared in the face of Kameko¡¯s attack. He screamed, going from weaving hand seals to hastily switching to wielding a kunai while trying to get out of the neutralized quagmire¡ªall while staring in horror at the comrade who betrayed him.
¡°Silence,¡± said Kameko as her sword cleanly beheaded the shinobi. The head rolled with the horror still etched on the man¡¯s face, eyes turning glassy.
Rikku and Kameko surrounded the last remaining enemy. Kameko raised her sword and slowly pulled the blade against her sleeve to clean the blood off. The man flinched in nervousness before jumping in fright when he heard Rikku move in his peripheral vision. He jumped back away from Rikku, and Kameko took the chance to close in.
The two Hidden Leaf shinobi closed in at the lone enemy, but before they could move in for the kill, a large bolt of lightning hit Rikku square in the chest, blowing her into the air.
Kameko¡¯s instincts moved faster than her eyes, and without looking, she raised her sword in front just in the knick of time for another thick lightning bolt to crash into the sword. Kameko didn¡¯t move and threw the sword down, and the lightning-charged blade dug into the mud, essentially grounding it.
Kameko screamed with her mouth jammed shut as a sliver of lightning jolted up the arm that held the sword. She shook it while jumping away as another enemy shinobi appeared beside the man they were about to kill. The latest arrival was older; the man¡¯s mere presence exuded experience and danger.
¡°Naughty, naughty intruders,¡± he chuckled as he looked at Kameko gleefully. ¡°Naughty girls like you must be punished, no?~¡±
Fear and disgust painted Kameko¡¯s face as her eyes drifted to her sword. It was out of reach, and the blade was still sparking. Whatever jutsu the man had used, was powerful. Her eyes then glanced towards Rikku. The girl was glaring at the older shinobi, but her entire body was shuddering and shaking and she pressed a hand to her chest.
She was the one who took that jutsu head on and while she had gotten up, she didn¡¯t look well.
¡°Do you know how it feels to have a flood of current course through the nervous system? It¡¯s one of my favorites to see¡ªthe expressions people make are just delightful,¡± said the perverse man. ¡°I shall honor you with the privilege¡ª¡±
Kameko froze in momentary dread when a shadow appeared behind the man. It took her only a split second to identify¡ªand when she did, it brought out a primeval fear from within her.
It hissed.
The smile fell from the man¡¯s face. He turned his neck and caught a glimpse of a forked tongue before he saw its face. The human species had extremely high pattern recognition skills. And through the ages of evolution, they had learned to quickly recognize a certain species that put extremely high predatory pressure on them.
The red and yellow snake, as thick as a telephone pole, slithered behind the man. The serpent¡¯s movements were slow, deliberate, stealthy, with a dangerous elegance¡ªthe movements of a prime predator. The golden-slitted eyes shone in the dark as the snake¡¯s head rose above the man, who was unaware of its presence until the snake emitted a deep and rich hiss.
The prey and the predator were still until they weren¡¯t. The man tried to run, but the moment his feet ever so slightly moved, the mud betrayed him, squelching. The snake opened its maw, revealing a set of fangs on the top and a row of sharp teeth below.
Before the man could even move, it struck down, chomping his head off in one vicious bite. The snake raised its head, and the protrusion in the snake¡¯s long form due to the man¡¯s head sunk steadily into its stomach.
The last remaining enemy screamed in dreadful horror at the sight and presence of the snake so close to him¡ªbut the wails were silenced by Anko, who drove a short sword through the man¡¯s heart.
The red snake slithered to Anko, coiling around her feet, and resting its bloody face on her shoulder.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s not going to bite,¡± Anko said to Kameko with a smile as she lovingly patted the large snake that hissed as though pleased.
Anko looked at Rikku. ¡±Do you need medical assistance, Rikku?¡±
Rikku took several deep breaths. She was trembling pretty badly, but then she yelled loudly as she flexed every muscle in her body, and suddenly, the shaking subsided like it was never there.
¡°I¡¯m good now,¡± Rikku patted her chest with her fist.
¡®Unbelievable,¡¯ Kameko thought. Rikku¡¯s freakish durability continued to surprise her.
Kameko walked to her sword to pull it out, and Takuma suddenly landed between them and yelled in haste,
¡°Everyone, to me! Attack incoming! Quickly!¡±
She was confused for a moment before she felt the quick and abrupt rise in temperature. She looked down and suddenly saw the ground bathe in a yellowish light, and turned her head to the sky to see big balls of fire descending towards them.
CH_6.31 (202)
A strange permeating silence covered the pit; even with an ongoing invasion from one side and a defensive effort from the other, the silence hung over Gojiro Gold Mines. However, that strange silence made the sounds of steel clashing steel, explosions, words and shouts, footsteps in the mud, and everything else more audible.
As Takuma ran towards Kameko and Rikku to assist them, he took in the greater landscape to ensure he was aware of the battlefield. Only a few moments ago, the enemy forces were rushing towards them to kill¡ªbut now, as he watched the movements of his allies and the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Frost shinobi, both dressed in the latter¡¯s colors, it was clear they were moving away.
He wondered why.
The sound of his heart in his ears was distracting. He stopped in his tracks, which only worsened it, but he observed with renewed focus. The enemy¡¯s second wave of the enemy, which was larger than the last and was due on their heads and most likely would have posed a real, life-threatening pressure on them, was backing away.
Why?
He looked around for clues, but the sun was still not high enough to peer through the abyss that was the sunken pit. But then it hit in an instant. The enemy wasn¡¯t running away, they were making space¡ªclearing away¡ªand his mind just barely arrived at the reason why he thought they were doing it. There was only one reason why a force would suddenly move away when they were on the cusp of putting on real pressure.
They didn¡¯t want their people to get caught in something.
¡°A fucking AOE attack,¡± Takuma muttered.
The enemy was going to bomb them¡ªwhich was when he saw the flickering light of a fire in the distance.
Takuma stopped caring what it was and sprinted as hard as he could towards his team while flying through hand seals.
¡°Everyone, to me! Attack incoming! Quickly!¡±
By the time he reached them, there was a rain of fire descending on them from the sky.
Kameko, Rikku, and Anko all moved, but they did it after spending a moment staring at the blinding rain. That wasn¡¯t quick enough, so Takuma followed his instincts. The eight tentacles combined into three, and the thicker appendages shot toward his teammates and leader. They wrapped around the three and forcibly pulled them towards him.
¡°What the fuck?¡± Anko yelled at Takuma¡ªbut she released the Summoning Jutsu at the same time, showing that she understood the situation.
Her snake disappeared into a puff of smoke.
Takuma slammed his palms onto the ground, pouring excessive amounts of chakra into the jutsu and letting the chakra seep deep below them. The muddy soil made for poor structural material, so he put in more chakra. He wanted to make it stronger so he poured in more.
The situation brought up a past fright which only made him pour in even more chakra.
The last time he had been in a similar situation was also against the Hidden Frost, and an enemy chunin had released a Lightning Release jutsu that covered an entire area. That single jutsu had ripped away his defensive jutsu, and he barely came out of the attack, avoiding getting hit. And he could instinctually feel that the Fire Release jutsu was much more dangerous than what he had faced all those years ago.
Earth-Style: Earthen Dome Jutsu
The mud rose around Takuma and the other three, quickly forming a dome around them. It solidified, hardening into a solid structure with chakra coursing through the soil to increase its defensive power.
The moment the dome formed, Takuma felt something slam into it. A cloud of fire made direct contact with the dome and then it exploded.
¡°Brace yourself in case it tears through,¡± Takuma said through gritted teeth.
Outside the dome, he heard the fire hit a large area in front of the dormitory where the majority of the Evacuation Unit was standing. The clouds of fire exploded when they met the ground, creating a sea of flames.
Almost immediately, the intense fire burned through the dome. Intense heat burst into the already smoldering crevice they had packed themselves into, causing everyone to gasp. Takuma huffed as he shoved the tentacle mass against the gap. The water began turning into steam, creating a hissing noise, but was enough to close the gap.
¡°It won¡¯t hold,¡± Takuma warned.
Before the dome crumbled, he retracted the tentacles that burst so everyone was doused in water.
¡°Jump!¡± Rikku yelled.
When the dome crumbled, everyone jumped high up in the air before the fire could stick to them. While in the air, Takuma weaved hand seals as quickly as he could, almost making the wrong seal while doing so.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
He aimed below and moved his neck to spread the water around, which extinguished enough area for the team to land safely.
¡°Good work,¡± Anko patted him on the shoulder.
The danger wasn¡¯t over yet. While the Hidden Leaf struggled from the large-scale jutsu, the enemy¡¯s forces that had backed away to escape its range began charging towards them with an even larger number than before.
Just as the situation seemed bleak, a chain of nearly a dozen explosions went off on the opposite end of the pit. They were big enough to send a brief and faint tremor through the ground. Everyone stopped for a moment and turned to look at the explosions.
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¡°That¡¯s¡ Stage-2,¡± said Kameko.
Chunin Hideki and his two genin, who had broken off the Evacuation Team to forcefully complete Stage-2¡ªwhich was to plant explosions around the pit¡ªhad finally come into play. If that was all, it wouldn¡¯t have been a big change on the battlefield; however, Stage-2 was simply the opening play for the real deal.
Sharp horns pierced through the air as the remainder of the Camp Banana forces split into two and appeared on the two sides of the pit before jumping down, raiding the pit with full force. Battle cries filled the pit as shinobi ran down the slopes with their weapons drawn.
Both sides of the conflict now had their complete forces in play.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As the Camp Banana forces came down the sides, Anko turned to Kameko. ¡°Go find Iori and Daiki. Bring them to the front.¡±
Kameko nodded and sprinted toward the dormitory, making her way around the large fire puddles.
¡°Both of you follow me,¡± Anko said to Rikku and Takuma. ¡°Pick your fights sensibly, remember to protect each other¡¯s backs¡ and our troops pose just as much danger to you as the enemy, so don¡¯t overlook them.¡±
Takuma and Rikku nodded, and they dashed forward towards the enemy. As planned, the Camp Banana forces pressed the enemy from three directions. As the Evacuation Unit was the weakest side, the enemy moved in their direction to cover more space.
As he ran, Takuma weaved hand seals for Water Style: Eight Tentacles, and the water from the environment and surroundings gathered behind his back.
Takuma called out to Rikku and pointed ahead.
¡°The group right there,¡± he yelled as more explosions from ninjutsu recked the field, ¡°I¡¯m going to disrupt them; you start picking off those who stumble.¡±
¡°Understood,¡± Rikku nodded.
Takuma pushed the chakra into his legs and feet and launched himself into the sky. He traveled long, skipped the frontlines, and landed right in the middle of the enemy forces. Immediately, there were eyes on him, and he was surrounded by more hostiles than he had ever faced. Several of them stopped and surrounded Takuma.
¡®They¡¯re killers, not trained assassins,¡¯ he thought. The thought made him chuckle, but it was true¡ªshinobi could be killers, but not all were trained to be in the art of killing. Even Takuma wasn¡¯t trained to kill¡ªhe simply had capable tools of killing.
However, he had practical experience.
He ran towards the nearest enemy, a brawny woman. She had a polearm that she immediately stabbed toward him with a battle cry. Takuma side-stepped and a tentacle shot forward, wrapping itself around her polearm. The tentacle pulled on the polearm, but the woman was more than powerful enough to resist its pull.
Takuma threw an augmented kunai and she gasped and ducked her shoulder at the last moment, but it still left a gash, spurting blood. Takuma rushed in at that moment. The tentacle around the polearm slipped off and latched onto the woman¡¯s leg and pulled.
She wobbled and Takuma kicked her unstable leg and destroyed her balance. The tentacles grabbed her arms for partial restraint, and then he grabbed her open torso and tossed her into the nearby swarm. Some rushed to dodge her, others stepped in to catch her in haste.
As they did, Takuma chucked a burning explosive tag towards them. They couldn¡¯t use explosive tags because of their allies, but Takuma had no such problem. The tag exploded in the brawny girl¡¯s lap while the others scrambled away with the explosion at their backs.
He weaved the hand seals for Water Release: Wild Water Wave and assaulted another line of enemies with a strong water blast that hit like a shipment of bricks and forcefully drowned them under a wall of water.
His senses sizzled. From the corner of his eyes, he saw crackles of lightning. Takuma immediately shed the water tentacles off his back and leaped to the side. Water conducted lightning and he would be fucked if even the weakest lightning jutsu hit him while he had water tentacles around him.
Nenro had done that once and his nerves burned for half a day. He didn¡¯t want a repeat of it.
Rikku burst into the circle like a wild bull with her arms swinging at anything that moved. She hit a stout man with heavy armor in the chest. It looked like he wasn¡¯t used to wearing heavy armor and tripped on his feet. Rikku caved in the man¡¯s throat with a punch as he fell, finishing him instantly.
She then jumped onto a man like a beast. Someone pulled her off, with another one moving in to stab her. Rikku kicked him once, and it sent the man flying through the field before smashing the back of her head into the nose of the man holding her. The hold loosened, and she reversed the situation and pummeled him into the ground, blood splattering from his dented skull.
The people who were moving toward her stopped in the face of her overwhelming strength and turned cautious.
Takuma, while weaving hand seals, landed on the ground with his back to Rikku.
Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu
He didn¡¯t have the preparation time to spread the genjutsu to everyone in his vicinity, but it was enough that it latched onto enough people.
The targeted folk started seeing multiple Takumas writhing out of the ground like a zombie horde. With only a few trapped, it would not be long before the unaffected ones broke the genjutsu on their comrades¡ªbut it was enough time to do damage
Takuma weaved hand seals and dipped into the ground using Earth Style: Hiding In the Rock Jutsu
One of the enemies released a jolt of lightning towards a group of genjutsu apparitions of Takuma but hit her own allies instead. The jolt jumped twice and crawled over their downed bodies to hit three people who weren¡¯t expecting their own ally to turn on them.
It was as Anko had said¡ªthe people on the same side were just as dangerous as the enemy.
Takuma emerged just a little while away from his circle of genjutsu and immediately headed back inside to take advantage of the chaos. He immediately stopped and jumped back. All of his senses barked like a guard dog seeing a trespasser. A short blade made of pure lightning impaled the patch of ground he would¡¯ve landed on if he hadn¡¯t stopped. It crackled and burnt the earth, turning it black with embers.
His eyes darted around to find the source, but it was difficult to find the attacker in the chaos of the battlefield. He pulled up his guard and switched to defense¡ªsomeone had very deliberately targeted him.
¡°I¡¯m right here if you¡¯re looking for me.¡±
The voice whispered from behind him. It was so close that Takuma could all but feel the breath on his ear.
Takuma turned back and swung with an augmented fist without looking. A man with a fake, thin-lipped smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes caught Takuma''s augmented punch like it was nothing. Takuma pulled his arm back and launched another augmented punch from his free arm. Before it could make contact, the world slammed to a sudden, jarring stop. He felt the taste of iron in his mouth, and pain shorted the thoughts out of his mind.
The enemy had hit him before his punch could reach.
He couldn¡¯t even react when a second attack¡ªa palm strike¡ªhit him flush in his chest. He felt his ribcage bend as though his bones were elastic¡ªa fracture or two were the least of his problems.
This wasn¡¯t someone he was supposed to fight.
This wasn¡¯t someone he could fight.
Takuma fell to the ground and coughed out blood-stained vomit. He couldn¡¯t breathe and for a horror-filled moment his lungs refused to expand. With the sharp pain, and lack of air, he felt like a fish dying out of water.
The dark-skinned, light-haired enemy, wearing just a tank top, yanked Takuma to his feet by the hair.
¡°You must be one of those geniuses,¡± said the man in a plastic-sounding merry tone. ¡°So young and so deadly¡ªcaught my attention right away. How about you play with the grown-ups?¡±
¡°¡L-Let me g-go,¡± Takuma said.
¡°Pardon me, I didn¡¯t catch that.¡±
The man pulled Takuma closer and turned his ear towards Takuma¡¯s face. It was a mistake as Takuma immediately bit it as hard as he could. Surprised, he punched Takuma in the chest once again. He choked up more blood and bile as the man let Takuma go in surprise before kicking him away furiously.
¡°You fucker,¡± he cursed, the fake voice vanishing for a moment before it returned. ¡°No worries about the ear. I¡¯ll get it checked out once this is done and capital punishment will teach you not to do that again.¡±
The man stepped forward. A low crinkle led his gaze down at his abdomen¡ªfour explosive tags lined his tank top and cargo pants.
¡°Fuck¡ª¡±
BOOM!
CH_6.32 (203)
As he struggled to get up, Takuma knew he wouldn''t eat properly for at least a week. The bastard with the fake smile had done a number on his stomach¡ªall of him, really. He flinched and whimpered in pain. The pain was simply a symptom; the main problem was the cause:strenuous movements with cracked or broken ribs could further damage his body, and strenuous was the only way to move his body currently.
When his swimming vision settled, Takuma took a score of his surroundings before looking for the designated location at the edge of the pit where iryo-nin were stationed for emergency care. He needed to get there or catch the attention of a roaming iryo-nin¡ªhe was practically useless in his current condition.
Takuma finally looked at the bastard he had blown up. The man was kneeling on the floor, his body burned and bloody. He was trembling like a leaf in the wind, with his mud-stained face twisted in agony. He looked up at Takuma with fury burning in his eyes¡ªthat was the realest thing the man had done in the two minutes they had known each other.
They stared at each other momentarily before Takuma started to move away. The blonde bastard didn''t chase or throw a kunai towards him. Takuma kept an eye on him, but he wasn''t worried; neither of them wanted to fight each other in their condition¡ªit was a mutual decision to leave the fight and get themselves patched up.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Imamura of the Hidden Cloud dragged his feet through the battlefield. His skin had suffered high-degree burns and he was losing blood at an alarming rate. He wasn''t in danger of dying, but the "Hidden Steam" boy had done a number on him with the explosive tags¡ªif not for the quick action of ripping his tank top off, his body would''ve been torn apart by the explosion.
He had underestimated the boy. He hated to admit it, but misdirecting him by biting his ear to plant explosive tags on him was a smart move.
Imamura had noticed the boy when he dropped himself between a group of their forces without any support. The boy started to pick off the grunts one-by-one. If that wasn''t bad enough, the chaos the boy caused allowed the Hidden Steam side to take out more grunts. Things became ridiculous when he watched them get caught in a genjutsu and start taking each other out.
He isolated the boy before he caused more trouble. Imamura couldn''t allow the pit to be taken away as his career depended on Hidden Frost''s, and therefore the Hidden Cloud''s, hold on the pit to extract the gold out of the mines. He would be promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin if he kept the pit safe until the Land of Frost had pushed their border significantly into the Land of Hot Water so that the gold pit wasn''t in immediate danger of attack.
Imamura should have already been promoted to a Tokubetsu Jonin a couple of years back¡ªbut a mission under his leadership had gone south and a jonin''s kid on his team had died. It wasn''t his fault that the kid couldn''t do his job as a decoy but the old jonin took it out on him.
Imamura''s promotion was pulled and he was stuck indefinitely as a chunin despite the mission''s partial success. They said it was his fault for not preparing properly and assigning inappropriate responsibilities to members who weren''t equipped for it.
No one wanted to go against an old jonin with lots of influence, and suddenly, Imamura found his career in the gutter with no possibility of a promotion. So, when the war between the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Waters came along, with Hidden Cloud supporting Hidden Frost, Imamura saw it as an opportunity. He pulled in all of the favors he had, persuading those who owed him, and somehow netted himself a post at the Gojiro Gold Mine.
It was an important asset for the Hidden Cloud as they were taking fifty percent of all output for protecting the mines for Hidden Frost. As long as Imamura did a good job, he would be promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin¡ªhis career would have a second wind, and if he leveraged his situation right, the old jonin wouldn''t be able to obstruct him anymore.
He wanted to make jonin one day and this was only a tiny obstacle to overcome, a bump in the road.
While he made his way through the battlefield, Imamura felt a cold flash across his nape.He jumped ahead in a forward roll to evade a flurry of shuriken that covered the spot he was standing at.
Two Hidden Steam shinobi dropped from above and surrounded him on either side.
Imamura clicked his tongue and raised his hands in defense. He moved to the side in an attempt to put his two assailants in front of him, but they moved with him, keeping themselves on either side so that he wouldn''t be able to see them both simultaneously.
"What, scared of facing me alone?" he spat.
They chuckled and one of them unsheathed a pair of short swords. He immediately weaved hand seals. His focus was broken when he heard the sound of clinking metal and looked toward the other man to see him release a swinging chain sickle. Imamura ducked to evade the sickle coming for his head¡ªbut in doing so, his focus scattered and he lost the progress he''d made on the hand seals.
Before he could restart, the sword-wielding man charged. Imamura threw a volley of shuriken at him before turning away with a kunai in his other hand to thwart a second throw of the chain sickle. The sharp clang of metal against metal echoed. Imamura''s chest throbbed from the impact. He wanted to spit to get rid of the taste from his mouth. His condition wasn''t great and fighting two opponents wasn''t the most ideal thing for him to be doing right now
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''I can defeat them¡ª''
Imamura caught a glow of yellow and red around his shadow on the ground. He jumped to the side to dodge a searing pillar of fire¡ªbut it followed him, forcing him to keep moving despite the pain assaulting his body. He could see them coordinating, forcing him to move according to their plans.
His plan of making quick work of the two men changed to fleeing to a position where backup would take the load off his back.
When the fire ninjutsu ended, the two enemies dashed towards Imamura with their weapons held out. He bit the inside of his cheek and flew through hand seals. Chakra filled him before turning into concentric waves of lightning that danced between him and them. It was a desperate ploy to gain some time so he could put some distance between them, which he did, but it was for naught.
"AaH¡ª!"
The chain sickle cut clean through his thigh, only nearly missing the bone. Imamura sagged to the ground, but he desperately rose to move ahead. Before he rose his head properly, the other enemy slashed his short sword across his chest. He stiffened when the pain registered.The jingle of a chain rattled behind his head. He barely felt the cold prickle of the blade before the sickle removed his head from his body like grass from its roots.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma lugged himself across the battlefield. He took the shortest path he could afford while resorting to stopping occasionally and even crawling near bodies to avoid attention. It was slower than he liked, but Takuma continued to work his way towards the iryo-nin, hoping they were able to follow the plan and were in the pre-decided spot
"Oh, fuck!"
He ducked under a stray stone boulder that almost took his head off and broke into a run, knowing he was in a danger zone with high activity.
His eyes followed a building-sized lion made entirely of lightning ramming into the place where, assumedly, its target stood, ripping everything around it to loose debris. Takuma stood frozen in his place, a shaky breath escaping him. The jonin were finally picking up the pace. He watched a car-sized bird fly into the lion before exploding in a mass of fire that created a shockwave so strong that it knocked Takuma off his feet¡ªand he was nowhere near the two chakra monstrosities.
''I need to hurry!''
He returned his eyes to the corpse-littered path ahead where a woman crashed a few meters in front of him. He recognized her as an ally shinobi, having seen her in passing a few times in Camp Banana. She struggled to her feet and jumped to the side¡ª a wise decision as another woman flew down and dug her feet into the ground with force. She wore Hidden Frost colors like everyone defending the pit¡ªjust as their side donned that of the Hidden Steam.
Takuma watched the two women fight, and his ally was clearly losing the fight. She was injured; there was a gash in her left shoulder, and from the looks of it, she was left-handed. It was never good to have one''s dominant taken out.
He silently took out a scuffed golden bell from his weapons pouch and carefully inched towards them while ringing it. He made a point to move slowly, and stay out of their vision. Even though they were on flat ground, a battlefield was an assault on the senses, making it common to miss out on things.
He spread his chakra through the bell, layering it within the shockwaves.
Ding!
The bell rang while the two women wrangled against each other, too consumed by the fight to notice his genjutsu. The shoulder injury was clearly bothering his ally; she was being pushed and forced on the defensive.
''Come on, just a few more moments,'' Takuma thought. He could hear his breathing in his ears, impatience bubbling underneath the surface.
The enemy kunoichi stabbed the Hidden Leaf kunoichi in the side and kicked her in the abdomen. She fell on her back, with the enemy kunoichi dashing towards the prone woman with a dripping kunai in her hand.
''Fuck!''
DING!
The enemy kunoichi froze up with her kunai pulled high above her head, ready to strike. She trembled as though struggling against invisible bindings. Her body trembled as an expression of fear and anger twisted her frozen face.
Genjutsu: Golden Bell Jutsu
Takuma broke into a full-speed sprint, bearing the pain and risk. He had to be quick as he hadn''t applied enough chakra, and genjutsu was already fragile. It wasn''t particularly strong anyway but now, it could break at any moment without her releasing it. He took out a kunai but as he reached the two women the genjutsu broke, and the enemy kunoichi blocked his kunai with her own. She forcefully pushed Takuma back and tried to turn that into a lethal heart stab¡ªwhich Takuma barely side-stepped.
He charged his leg with chakra and swept the enemy kunoichi''s leg out with an augmented kick. The kick pulled on Takuma''s abdomen, sending pained lances racing across his torso. He bore through it and mounted the fallen woman, pinning her hands above her head to stop her from resisting so he could put her down.
The kunoichi struggled and managed to free one of her hands and punched Takuma in the face. Takuma held on¡ªbut then she punched him in the side, which made Takuma crumple and drop his kunai. She hit a place that sent spikes across his entire body. The enemy kunoichi noticed her progress and went in for another punch, but before she could swing, the Hidden Leaf kunoichi grabbed the arm and pinned it back to the ground.
"Hurry!" she yelled.
Takuma fumbled for the fallen kunai as the woman below him thrashed to get free and pierced her neck. He freed the kunai and stabbed her again, dragging it across her throat. He waited, alert, watching her face, feeling her body below him¡ªand only after she went limp did he let go.
Takuma fell to the side, breathing heavily, while his hands lightly rested on his stomach. Blood dribbled down the side of his mouth and his face was twisted in pain.
''One moment, just one more,'' he said to himself. After taking deep breaths to prepare himself, Takuma got up, swaying so much that he almost fell. He walked to the Hidden Leaf kunoichi and put his arm under her shoulder.
"Get up, come on," Takuma said as he pulled her up.
"Thank you," she barely managed.
Takuma didn''t reply and continued to move forward one step at a time. The ''medical station'' was just a small distance away. Even though he was considerably slower than before¡ªhe had already covered most of the distance on his own.
A sound entered Takuma''s ear, and he looked up to see a massive sphere of fire, larger than the building-size lion, soaring through the air above his head, which then slammed into the pit''s walls. It exploded, sending huge debris airborne. A cluster of boulders flew right in their direction. Not only that, but the explosion also caused a landslide, and Takuma was close enough to get buried under a mass of rolling rocks.
"Fuck me!" He put the kunoichi down and started weaving hand seals for Earth Style: Earthen Dome¡ªhe didn''t know if the ninjutsu would work, and if it did, they might still get buried.
However, halfway through, Takuma felt something slither around his stomach, which sent more pain up his body¡ªbut in the next second, he was streaking through the air and weaving around the debris.
He looked down to see a snake''s body wrapped around him. The kunoichi also had a snake thicker than his arm wrapped around her torso. Takuma looked up to see the snakes disappearing into the wide sleeves of one Mitarashi Anko.
"What a terrible time to get injured," she said.
CH_6.33 (204)
Anko dumped him and the kunoichi at the location away from the battle where the iryo-nin were treating the injured. She said a few words to them about being careful before dashing away back into the battlefield. Takuma watched her disappear into the pit. He glanced up at the sky. The sun was now clearly visible over the pit''s walls, pouring down ample light into the hole, illuminating everything clearly.
The iryo-nin had their hands full, and after doing a quick visual check on him to judge that he could wait for a moment, they left him alone and went back to the more critically injured.
In the waiting time, Takuma unzipped his flak jacket, pulled off his shirt, and chainmail undershirt to bare his torso. He looked down. His chest was littered with red blotches, and his abdomen was covered in black-and-blue spots. His lungs burned; every breath hurt and his mouth was overflowing with the taste of blood and iron.
After a few minutes, a middle-aged iryo-nin with thinning hair arrived beside Takuma and began patching him up. When he saw Takuma had removed his clothes, he paused for a moment, seeing the scars, but then praised him for his foresight while checking his injuries.
"Good, very good," said the iryo-nin, touching and pressing Takuma''s torso with his fingers and palm, causing Takuma to gasp sharply. "Okay, this isn''t bad; we can work with this. You will be fine; don''t worry," the iryo-nin spoke comforting words, thinking Takuma was panicking. But Takuma was already thinking of the near future.
The iryo-nin''s hands began to glow green above Takuma''s abdomen. A sharp, burning pain clutched Takuma''s body before a hot comfort made him slack and relax. It was a sensation very similar to a high fever breaking. Takuma took out his water canteen and drank in small sips as the iryo-nin fixed the damage.
"I think my ribs are cracked," said Takuma.
The iryo-nin checked, nodded and moved one of his hands to Takuma''s chest. There wasn''t an instant relief like before, but he breathed a little easier with some of the pressure lifted.
He lay there looking at the sky, listening to the explosions, the clash of metal, the screams and shouts. The smell of smoke hung on his nose, and his skin prickled from the oversaturation of chakra in the environment from several dozen shinobi throwing jutsu around, pumping chakra into the environment.
After a few minutes, the iryo-nin removed his hands from Takuma to bandage some nicks and cuts. "This is good enough for now. Rest here for¡ªHey! What are you doing!?"
Takuma grunted as he got up and put his gear back on. "You said this is enough and I feel alright so I''m going back out. Don''t worry, doc, I''ll be here again if something happens" he said, putting on his chainmail undershirt with a little stiffness.
It was the best course of action he could think of.
The faster the battle ended, the fewer the casualties. There was also the fact that if people just retired after injuries, their side would weaken. They needed more bodies out there doing the work. He wasn''t arrogant enough to think he alone could change the tide of battle. Only the jonin from either side had the actual power to do that¡ªbut if he could kill one more person or take two more out of the battle, injure three others¡ªhe would''ve done enough.
Takuma zipped his flak jacket. He looked behind at the iryo-nin, who didn''t stop him. It was solely his decision to go back into the battle. He then looked at the kunoichi. She was still being treated and was swaddled in bandages more bloody than his.
She raised her hand and shot him a thumbs-up.
Takuma chuckled and gave her a nod before jumping down into the pit.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kameko couldn''t catch her breath. Her legs were little more than deadweight, they felt like someone had injected lead into her muscles; her arms and shoulders were the same. She couldn''t lower her sword because there was danger in every direction and her sword was the only thing between her and it. Kameko couldn''t see her face, but she was sure it was matted and tangled with blood.
None of it was hers¡ªshe was pushed down to the ground, and ended up landing in the pool of blood surrounding a body. It was awful, gross, and she had vomited after the fact from the thought. She was sick of the rainy weather going on because of the humidity, but she wished it would rain now so she could wash herself.
Too many people had died, both ally and enemy.
She saw two enemies cornering someone she''d seen around the camp. As tired as she was, she gripped her sword and forced her protesting body forward to help an ally.
"Hey, listen to this¡"
Kameko turned around in a flash with her sword ready to cut her enemy down. She came to a sudden stop when she saw Takuma behind her, looking worse for wear. A gust of wind hit his face from her kenjutsu, but Takuma looked unbothered that she could''ve sliced his head off.
"C''mon, I need your help," he said quickly before turning away, expecting her to follow.
Kameko turned away from Takuma to look at the man she was about to help, only to find him dead on the ground with the two enemies absent. She stared at the dead body for a moment, her mind blank, without any thoughts. The man had been alive just a few moments ago, and she had just turned her attention away for not even half a minute, and he was dead¡
"Kameko!"
She was snapped out of her stupor by Takuma''s voice. Without giving it any thought, she turned away and followed him. She was too tired to think about anything else. Kameko glanced at Takuma, who was moving through the battlefield, but quickly shot toward any movement or sound near her. Her nerves were frayed from panic that a sharp blade was always only an inch away from stabbing her.
She took deep breaths to calm herself down. It wasn''t good for her to be this prickly.
''Control¡ you''re in control,'' she repeated to herself.
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Kameko brought herself down and found the composure to stop jumping at everything. She eased her grip so that the sword''s handle didn''t dig so painfully into her palm and even though the exhaustion slammed into her all at once, she felt much better.
She returned her attention to Takuma, wanting to ask what he wanted to do, and noticed him talking to a chunin from Toridasu''s ranks. She listened to their conversation and was shocked at what she heard.
"I''m going to attack their iryo-nin at the medical station. I need some help," Takuma said to the chunin, shouting as the surroundings were too loud.
"What?" She stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder and shook it violently. "What are you talking about?"
The chunin''s face was thoughtful. He asked, "Do you know the location?"
Takuma nodded. "They''ve set up inside a mine¡ªjust near the entrance. It''s a bit troublesome location-wise, but I think it''s doable. What do you say?"
The chunin nodded. "Alright. What do you need?"
"Get two or three genin, and meet me there." Takuma pointed at a point on the pit wall that was cut into steps for easier access to the mines in the walls.
He turned to her and shouted, "Let''s find Anko! We have to be quick!"
Kameko wasn''t able to say anything as Takuma dashed away. She hurried after him, the gears in her mind turning at Takuma''s plan. She couldn''t believe Takuma developed a plan like that in the middle of a bloody battle. Not to mention, he had managed to convince¡ªand some people would even say that he had ordered¡ªa chunin to do his bidding. Were they experiencing the same battle?
"Anko!" Takuma yelled. His chakra-modulated voice pierced through the noise and reached their team leader, who was spewing a river of angry flames at a group of enemies, trying to burn them alive. She looked at them after her ninjutsu was over and reached their position with a single high jump.
Anko smiled at Takuma. "You''re already back. Very good," she gave him a nod of praise.
"We are going to attack the enemy''s iryo-nin. Chunin Ito has agreed to join with a couple of genin of his choice. I think that combined, we can do enough damage to hinder if not outright take out their healing capabilities," said Takuma.
There was a moment of silence from Anko, where she stared at Takuma before her quick agreement came. "Let''s get a move on then," she nodded.
Takuma led Kameko and Anko to the meeting location. They were there first. Takuma took out some of his kunai and quickly began looping explosion tags on the rings at the ends of the handles. He did it with surprising nimbleness and speed.
"Make more," he said to Kameko.
Kameko followed his lead and tied some tags to her kunai. By the time she was done, Chunin Ito had arrived with three genin; they were all under his command. As far as Kameko knew, Ito and Anko didn''t have much interaction with each other¡ªbut she had seen them exchange nods on the streets, so she knew that they weren''t adversarial to each other.
''Did he think about that when he chose him?'' Kameko wondered as he looked at Takuma.
"It''s your idea; you lead it," Anko said to Takuma. She gave Ito a look, saying that she didn''t want any resistance from him.
Ito gave Takuma a nod. "We''re fine with that," he said.
Takuma didn''t hesitate as he asked everyone to huddle. He wasted no time in revealing his plan to the gathered people.
"There are guards in front of the mine who need to be drawn away for this to work; the two chunin are going to do that. You two will start alone, and we will move in only when the guards are occupied. The point is to overwhelm them. When they see us appear, after a moment, they will try to hastily re-adjust¡ªthat will be the window for the rest of us to slip in.
"When we''re inside, don''t worry about anything else; just cause as much damage as possible." Takuma held up a kunai with an explosion tag. "Chuck them in before you attempt any ninjutsu. Don''t try to ration your tags. If you want more, scavenge later."
Kameko felt a cold hand close around her heart at Takuma''s suggestion of pulling tags from the bodies of not only their enemies¡ but their allies as well. She nodded stiffly when he looked at her.
As everyone got ready to move out, Takuma addressed the team one final time. He said, "If something unexpected happens. Remember: Improvise¡ª Adapt¡ªOvercome. Now, let''s go!"
Kameko hadn''t heard that one before, but it hit deep. She had no time to contemplate his words as they stealthily proceeded towards the target mine. They took the long route so as not to attract any additional attention from others. As they neared the mine, they arrived at the last bend that gave them cover. Takuma raised his fist, signaling everyone to stop. He then looked at Anko and Ito and motioned them to go in.
The two chunin first peered around the bend to study the situation before they charged and disappeared; the sounds of battle reached their ears a few moments later. Out of the assembled genin, Takuma peered ahead while everyone else waited for his command.
"Go!"
The moment he said those words, the group of scuffed shinobi burst around the corner and dashed towards the mine with bloody weapons in their hands.
Kameko saw Anko and Ito fighting against three guards who had surrounded her and Ito. Kameko was overcome with worry momentarily before steeling her heart and focusing on her task.
As they approached the mine entrance, a couple of enemies stepped out. At the front of the group, Takuma weaved quick hand seals before spitting out a torrent of water that startled the enemy group. Kameko and the rest took advantage of the successful water ninjutsu and charged the enemy group.
In the chaos of battle, Kameko slipped into the mine. She noticed how Ito''s genin weren''t very keen on following after her out of fear of who was inside. What if there were injured chunin still capable of combat¡ªthey could also quickly be outnumbered by a number of genin so their hesitance was understandable. The fear of unknown was strong, and this was Team-9''s mission, they didn''t feel particularly motivated to risk their lives for someone else''s mission.
Takuma, however, kicked one of the enemies down the wall before rushing inside after Kameko.
"The moment you see them, throw the kunai," he whispered to her.
"Understood," she whispered.
It only took a few seconds of running until they saw a makeshift camp. There were a few injured shinobi with iryo-nin working on them. The scent of disinfectant mixed in with the smell of blood and the cave''s natural earthen dampness and lingered in the air. However, the camp wasn''t as defenseless as Takuma''s plan suggested. It seemed that the sound of fighting and rushed footsteps had alerted the camp, and they were ready.
Unfortunately for them, Kameko and Takuma weren''t looking for close combat. They took out their explosive-tag-equipped-kunai and immediately threw them towards the camp. The able-bodied people and the iryo-nin tried to run further into the mine. The tags exploded faster than they could move and caught those who tried to run. Takuma moved further inside and threw a few kunai deeper into the mine, setting off more explosions.
Kameko followed his example and did the same. But then, as she was about to follow Takuma, she caught the mine''s craggy roof sinking inwards, releasing a dusty shower. She gasped in realization and yanked on the back of Takuma''s collar. And this time, she didn''t stop until she had his attention.
"What?" he asked, utterly surprised.
"It''s going to collapse! We have to leave!" Kameko urged, going as far as to drag him with her. He tried to ask the specifics, and she just pointed at the top at the cracks and crevices.
Takuma looked up at the ceiling, and, at that moment, a big chunk of rock fell just a few feet away from him. He didn''t need to be told anymore and ran out with her. But as they ran out, Kameko noticed Takuma throwing tagged kunai into the wooden beams that were reinforcing the collapsing ceiling.
He was trying to make the mine collapse faster.
"Fuck you, Takuma!" she cursed and ran faster.
A string of explosions erupted behind them. Kameko could feel the heat and force behind her back as they exited the mine, which had collapsed behind them, completely blocking the entrance.
Kameko looked at Takuma in shock.
And then the madman had the gall to say something other than an apology.
"I think we can count them out," said Takuma.
There was a possibility that the innermost portion of the mine hadn''t collapsed and there were survivors¡ªbut they had meters of rocks in their way to escape. They could get out, but they would either have to dig out by hand or risk using powerful ninjutsu that could trigger a collapse.
Whatever the case, she realized that Takuma was right.
The enemy''s iryo-nin were not a problem anymore.
CH_6.34 (205)
While Takuma was lugging himself across the battlefield, trying to get himself to an iryo-nin to get himself healed, in another part of the battlefield, two opposing jonin faced each other.
¡°I didn¡¯t think I would meet you here, ¡®rainy cloud¡¯ Ogata.¡± Toridasu smiled at the bear-bellied man while he fanned himself gently with his folding fan. ¡°I didn¡¯t know the Hidden Cloud was involved in this war. I must say, I¡¯m unpleasantly surprised to see someone like you.¡±
Ogata of the Hidden Cloud was a large and hairy man with a wide frame, big, meaty arms and legs, and a broad torso. He had been a resident of the top-level Bingo Books issued by villages other than the Hidden Cloud. There was a large bounty on the accomplished jonin¡¯s head and no one wanted him alive.
Ogata scratched his scruffy beard. ¡°Color me surprised to see your bald head here. This isn¡¯t a place for old bones like yours; go home and have your nanny tuck you in. I don¡¯t want to be accused of abusing the elderly.¡±
Toridasu laughed behind his elaborate folding fan with metal tips. ¡°But I¡¯m not here, Ogata. None of us are,¡± he said. ¡°And you are going to be nowhere after today.¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that,¡± Ogata sighed as though finding the conversation utterly dull. He had a heavy gauntlet around his left hand, and he put on another on his right hand as he exchanged words with Toridasu. ¡°You made a mistake coming here, old man. All of your men will perish here because of that. Worry not, I will give all of you a proper burial. Unlike you Hidden Leaf folk, we are honorable people.¡±
The two jonin stood facing each other with bloody chaos around them. Dozens of shinobi from each side fought around them, but no one dared to approach the two men, leaving a wide berth for their own sakes.
¡°Really? Kidnapping a toddler from her home to steal her bloodline is honorable?¡± Toridasu shot back.
¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. All I know is that you people killed one of ours on the day we visited your filthy village to sign a peace treaty conference,¡± Ogata said in counter.
The infamous incident, now known as the Hyuga Affair, was an episode between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud, who were in conflict with each other. However, because of the prolonged fighting, the two villages sought to end it and came to a mutual decision to cease fire and sign a peace treaty. Both villages sent an envoy each to the other village.
However, the treaty was soon revealed to be nothing more than a cover when the Hidden Cloud envoy in the Hidden Leaf village kidnapped Hyuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, on her third birthday. The envoy was killed during the attempt by Hiashi before he could leave the village with the little girl.
However, the Hidden Cloud denied all accusations of the kidnapping, and demanded the body of Hiashi as compensation for the death of their envoy as per the stipulations of the signed peace treaty.
Ultimately, the Hidden Leaf conceded as they didn¡¯t want to break the peace treaty. The Hidden Leaf had suffered from the Nine Tail incident a few years prior and desperately needed time to recover. The continuance of the war with the Hidden Cloud would only drain the village¡¯s already dwindling resources, and the Daimyo had tightened his purses.
The Hidden Leaf village sent the body of Hyuga Hiashi to the Hidden Cloud, but everyone involved knew that the Hidden Leaf had sent Hyuga Hizashi, Hiashi¡¯s identical twin brother, instead. The Hidden Cloud didn¡¯t say anything¡ªrather, they couldn¡¯t. They too wanted peace, and it didn¡¯t matter whose body they got; they weren¡¯t getting anything of use because the Hyuga¡¯s cursed seal rid the body of all the Byakugan secrets¡ªand anything else would be removed surgically before the body was sent out.
Toridasu snapped his fan shut, and the landscape changed drastically. The wet, muddy ground cracked, and bubbling lava flowed from between the gaps below. A series of cracks appeared around Ogata, and harsh lava in the shape of large monster claws snapped towards him. They grasped at the empty air with Ogata nowhere to be seen. The large man was much faster than his heavy frame suggested and shot forward Toridasu like a whistling arrow.
The cracks in the earth deepened and more lava burst to the surface. A dozen more claws burst forth, grabbing for Ogata, who evaded with agility and precision beyond what his frame suggested. More than his physical prowess, his mind was more impressive as he calculated the locations of a dozen moving lines on the fly.
He finished his hand seals and stomped his foot on the ground that cracked under his force. Cobalt sparks crackled around his leg before the stomp forced the concentrated lightning into the ground. There was a split second of silence before the earth groaned. Chunks of earth were sent hurtling in every direction and the cracks widened, and the ground shook as though struck by a mid magnitude earthquake. The lands shifted, displacing in every direction, making the cracks bigger. The lava surged, engulfing the claws in wide pillars that roared angrily.
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They were on the same plane at the start of the fight, but Ogata¡¯s stomp had altered the landscape through pure force that resembled natural calamities. He looked down at Toridasu from a height and weaved hand seals with his metal-gloved fingers. His gauntlet-covered fingers sparked but just as he was about to leap toward Toridasu, the fiery claws burst out of the pillars¡ªdripping and brighter than before¡ª to surround him from all directions, jumping at him akin to starving wild wolves.
Ogata changed direction in the blink of an eye and leaped up high in the air to avoid certain death and looked down at Toridasu¡¯s smiling face.
¡°Aye, you tricky old bastard,¡± Ogata scoffed.
The false world around him, constructed by genjutsu, shattered, and in the next moment, he was standing in front of Toridasu, taking a step forward. Toridasu looked surprised before taking a step back and standing upright.
¡°So there is a tiny bit of brain behind all that brawn,¡± he said.
¡°I think it¡¯s good to have that tiny amount; it means there¡¯s less for your kind to play around with,¡± said Ogata.
The two jonin smiled at each other and simultaneously flew through hand seals. Ogata finished first, a second earlier than Toridasu. A spark of lightning rose up into the air before the arcs and currents grew until a humongous lion made up of lightning stood behind Ogata. When Toridasu finished, he moved his hands apart for a growing ball of fire to mold itself into a bird akin to a phoenix.
As the lion roared and thrashed, jumping towards Toridasu, the tiny phoenix flew into the lightning lion and ballooned from within it. The two ninjutsu melded together, creating a dangerous flux of high volumes of chakra and a kaleidoscope of flashing light and color before resulting in an explosion that disrupted more than half the battlefield.
When the dust settled, the two jonin, who were deep in the blast¡¯s territory, hadn¡¯t moved an inch from their spaces. Toridasu was covered in a deep shroud of gentle winds while Ogata had erected a dome of chained lightning that snapped angrily.
Ogata dropped his defensive jutsu first and immediately went on the offensive. He appeared before Toridasu and punched the wind envelope. A crackle of lightning sparked around the wind before lighting lit up the surface. Within a moment, the wind defense broke down, already weakened thanks to the explosion the two had caused.
¡°Get hit by my honorable fist, old timer,¡± Ogata roared in laughter.
Ogata smashed Toridasu with a lightning-charged gauntlet but it passed through Toridasu as though he were an illusion. A cold chill shuddered down Ogata¡¯s back, and he turned to see Toridasu hurling gouts of sweeping fire in his direction¡ªbut in the exact moment before they collided against him, Ogata flexed his chakra and the fires vanished, but the danger wasn¡¯t over. Toridasu vanished in the distance and appeared beside him with a different, fully metal, folding fan in his hand. Ogata sensed chakra flowing through that metal.
At the last moment, Ogata brought his other arm up to block the sharp edges of the folding fan with his gauntlet. The two metal weapons screeched and scratched against each other as both jonin channeled their strength through the instruments, putting their best behind them.
¡°Your little tricks are annoying, old geezer,¡± Ogata spat. ¡°Why not face me like a man?¡±
Toridasu beamed, taking Ogata¡¯s words as praise. ¡°Treating genjutsu as tricks in this day and age? What an old-fashioned belief. I worry about the Hidden Cloud¡¯s future if they let someone like you crawl up to jonin.¡±
Ogata snarled the beginnings of a response but was cut off by an ear-shattering explosion in another part of the battlefield. He and Toridasu briefly turned part of their attention to see a cluster of fire¡ªlarge enough to see from where they were¡ªcrashing into the side of the pit, causing a wide-spread landslides.
¡°Worried about your friend?¡± Ogata asked.
Toridasu shook his head. ¡°My colleague is a proud jonin from my village. He will never be in danger against mere Hidden Frost jonin. These little Hidden Villages have no standards¡ªthey allow anyone to become jonin, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware.¡±
The snide-mockery against the Hidden Cloud was not hidden in his tone or voice.
While Toridasu and Ogata were fighting each other, Shirakumo was fighting two Hidden Frost jonin alone.
¡°He can take care of himself,¡± Toridasu continued. ¡°You worry about yourself¡ You¡¯re bleeding, you know.¡±
Ogata looked down at his body and saw that he was bleeding from his lower abdomen above his thigh.
¡°This is a genjutsu,¡± he scoffed and disrupted his chakra to lift the genjutsu.
Ogata felt the genjutsu shatter. However, his eyes widened when the wound didn¡¯t disappear, and instead, two more injuries¡ªshoulder and calf¡ªmade themselves known to him.
¡®D-Did he place a genjutsu on me so that I would not notice my injuries, so I would continue fighting?¡¯ Ogata thought.
¡°Are you thinking that I hid your injuries with genjutsu?¡± Toridasu¡¯s words snapped Ogata out of his thoughts. The smile on Toridasu¡¯s face grew as he said, ¡°Or maybe these injuries are genjutsu to deceive you into thinking that you¡¯re injured.¡±
Ogata once again disrupted his chakra.
Toridasu laughed, full of amusement. ¡°Are you trying to break the genjutsu? Maybe it¡¯s not genjutsu, and this is reality. Or maybe every time you try to lift the genjutsu, it¡¯s not you, but me tricking you into thinking that you disrupted your chakra? Try it again; perhaps it will work this time,¡± he chuckled.
Ogata felt a distinct fear settle into his heart as he disrupted his chakra. Once again, he felt the genjutsu shatter, but nothing changed. The wounds on his body remained and Toridasu still stood in front of him laughing.
¡°And so¡ are you in a genjutsu, or are you not? What is real and what is not?¡± Toridasu asked. His lips then flattened, and his voice dropped a few notes into a menacing laughter that echoed in Ogata¡¯s ears, ¡°This thing you call a trick will kill you today, my thick-skulled foe.¡±
CH_6.35 (206)
It had been around an hour since those in the Evacuation Unit capable of chakra masking had descended into the pit to evacuate the dormitories. His training sessions were always longer than an hour¡ªbut he hadn''t felt more exhausted than he was at the current moment. Even the assassination attempt on his life was more overwhelming than exhausting.
Takuma felt his concentration was slipping and all his brain wanted to do was listlessly stare at the ground and stop processing the excessive input his senses took in from the chaos around him. He wanted to stop moving and just drop flat, but that wasn''t an option.
The cave-in that had eliminated the enemy''s iryo-nin had only happened around ten minutes ago and while it didn''t end the battle it pushed Camp Banana up to a clear advantage. Ten minutes was a significant time in a shinobi battle where people dropped faster than flies.
He had to return to the battle at the bottom of the pit after bombing the mine. The feeling of frustration that the enemy didn''t opt to cut their losses and retreat gnawed at his mind. He wanted it to end and the lack of enemy, even if it meant through them escaping, was the end condition. But simultaneously, as he looked around the pit, he could understand why they couldn''t. Their escape route was blocked by the ongoing battle between the jonin duking it out against each other. Anko had told him that Jonin Shirakumo was fighting two jonin in that part of the pit¡ªand that he had successfully killed one of them, making escape an unattractive choice.
Takuma felt a strange relief as he stared at the battlefield.
Through the lingering smoke and bright fires, he could see more Hidden Steam gear than he did Hidden Frost. So long as Toridasu and Shirakumo didn''t die, Camp Banana had won the battle over the Gojiro Gold Mines. They had the win in their grasp, and they needed to do was stand their proverbial flag and declare their victory.
So many corpses littered the ground that he had to look out for them not to trip and inadvertently get killed by an enemy. In that sense, the dead were still fighting in the battle. The thought made him want to vomit. Takuma didn''t have the mental capacity to contemplate the sheer loss of life from the battle¡ªhe was sure it would linger in his thoughts and disturb his nights when he had the chance to rest.
A group of Camp Banana shinobi surrounded two enemy shinobi, poised and ready to kill the pair. Takuma lifted his heavy feet to join them, weapons drawn; they didn''t have any orders to accept surrender.
A horn blared across the battlefield and brought a short burst of energy to the Hidden Leaf troops and despair to the last few remaining enemy forces across the pit. It was the signal that they had won and successfully occupied the Gojiro Gold Mines. Evidently the enemy was still alive, but the horn meant that the jonin had defeated their counterparts¡ªwhich for all intents and purposes was victory.
Takuma let his shoulders relax as he approached the group. cornering the two enemies glued to each other''s backs for protection.
"Surrender," Takuma straightened himself as he spoke. Everyone¡ª ally or enemy¡ª turned towards him as he continued to talk. "You either die here where you''ve already lost, or live another day to potentially be traded back to your nation in exchange for our own imprisoned in yours. If you cooperate, your stay will be as comfortable as possible given the situation.
"Choose or I will choose for you," he said authoritatively.
The Camp Banana shared confused looks but held their tongues. Takuma kept his eyes on the two enemies, who didn''t bother to hide their suspicion, which was to be expected. The gathered ground could kill them, but they were suddenly asking for surrender¡ªbut Takuma knew they were exhausted enough not to notice the confusion around them.
Takuma sighed. He turned to the kunoichi beside him. "Will you lend me your dagger? I misplaced mine in the battle."
The kunoichi was surprised but unsheathed the dagger strapped to her lower back and handed it to Takuma.
"Alright, let''s get this over with," said Takuma as he stepped towards the two.
"Wait!" shouted one of the two enemies. "We will surrender!"
The second one wasn''t as thrilled. "What are you doing!?" he hissed.
"Shut up!" The first one turned to Takuma. "We surrender. Please, spare us. We will surrender. W-We will, so¡" he licked his cracked lips and looked at Takuma with damp hope and desperation in his eyes.
Takuma silently played with the dagger in his hand as he stared at the two shinobi. With each silent second, the desperation and despair grew thicker in his eyes.
"Drop your weapons and lay down on your stomach with your hands on your head. We will apply chakra seals and then take you in," said Takuma, dropping his hand with the dagger limp down by his side.
The second, unwilling shinobi looked suspicious but was quickly persuaded to surrender when his comrade did as instructed. He followed and threw his weapons and pouches away before lying on the ground with his hands clasped behind his head.
Takuma pointed at the weapons and weapon pouches and a couple people collected them before he alone approached the two and crouched down beside them to whisper: "You made the right choice."
He first approached the unwilling enemy and planted a knee in the center of his back. Takuma pulled the man''s hands down from his head, raised his head by the hair, and quickly slit his throat. He gurgled wetly, alerting his more willing comrade. Takuma knew he didn''t have time, so he skipped to the next. Before the panicking enemy could rise, Takuma booted him across the face and mounted him.
"W-What. Y-You said¡ª!"He thrashed desperately beneath him. "No, please! I b-beg¡"
Takuma grabbed the man''s arm with his free hand and plunged the bloody dagger deep into the man''s heart and twisted it violently. The man flailed for a moment a few moments before the resistance faded. Takuma gazed into the dying man''s betrayed brown eyes until the light faded completely¡ªnever breaking eye contact. Takuma kept the man company in his last moments before wiping the blood on the dagger from the dead man''s pants and returning the dagger to its owner.
"Thank you," Takuma said to her before tiredly walking away.
The kunoichi reclaimed her weapon and kept it at arm''s length, glancing furtively between it, Takuma, and two men he''d killed in cold blood.
Everyone in the small group looked at him with a mix of shock, admiration, and a strong dose of fear. They turned to look at him as he walked away. None of his previous sharpness was present as he swayed from side to side.
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¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After the battle ended, everyone was called to gather in the middle of the pit. Takuma slowly wandered around the crowd, looking for his team. Camp Banana had come with fourteen teams¡ªtwo jonin, fourteen chunin, and seventy genin¡ªbut the group was thinner now after the battle. While they had wiped out the enemy, they had paid a steep price in lives.
Takuma stopped in his tracks when he saw three of the four people who he called his teammates. His heart beat faster as he approached the group.
"Where¡ Where is Iori?" he asked.
Kameko, Rikku, and Daiki turned to face Takuma and gave him a fierce one-armed hug. Takuma patted the big guy on his back.
"I''m glad you''re safe," said Daiki.
"Iori?" Takuma asked again.
"She''s with the iryo-nin," said Daiki, his expression unpleasant.
Takuma felt flustered. "How bad is it? Will she make it?"
Daiki was taken aback and for a moment looked like he didn''t know how to answer the question. "Her life is not in danger" ¡ª Takuma breathed a sigh of relief ¡ª "but she lost two fingers from her writing hand. ¡They''re trying to reattach them right now but the iryo-nin aren''t sure if it will work."
Takuma gasped with wide eyes. As a fuin-nin, Iori''s hands were extremely important to her. Accurate calligraphy was an essential part of fuinjutsu and losing her fingers would put a huge handicap on her progress¡ªif not outright destroy her future prospects as a fuinjutsu expert. It was imperative that they fixed her hand.
"¡She could switch to her other hand, but that doesn''t sound good, does it," Daiki said.
Takuma nodded, but knew that was the last thing Iori would want to hear. He didn''t know how much time and effort switching to the other hand would take¡ªlet alone returning to her previous level of skill.
He gave the other three a look over. Kameko looked ragged but mostly uninjured. Rikku had a bandage around her head and right leg, and her left arm in a sling. Daiki had a limp that he tried to hide, and had only hugged Takuma with one arm¡ªit seemed there was something wrong with his shoulder. But seeing them alive put Takuma''s heart at ease which brought more fatigue. His legs were begging him to amputate them so they could be put out of the misery.
"Anko is up front with the jonin," said Kameko.
Takuma nodded. "Does anyone have some water?".
Rikku threw her canteen to him with a small gulp of water that Takuma downed.
"Thank you."
He looked around the pit and at the bodies of those who had died fighting for both sides. Takuma opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing emerged. He couldn''t think of anything that would suit the current situation.
"It''s always numbered, isn''t it?" They looked at him. "The dead. When I was in the Hidden Leaf, they only ever mentioned the number of casualties. ''Fourteen perished, three found dead, ten killed in action, one missing.'' They rarely mention names¡ªnot unless it''s a jonin or someone important. Newspapers don''t have enough space, radios not enough time.
"Even if they do mention names, do we remember them? I don''t. And with these numbers, the names won''t show up except the official documents and reports." He turned towards his teammates. "That''s why we should make sure they get the most honorable shinobi funeral for them in the hopes that when¡ªif this happens to us¡ we''ll be fortunate enough to get the same treatment."
The three of them nodded somberly.
Anko met with them a few minutes later after her brief discussion with the jonin. She looked better than all of them and seemed completely uninjured¡ªbut there was a burden that weighed down her usual carefree expression.
Considering the overwhelming presence of death around them, and their proximity to it, Takuma didn''t blame her.
"One of the enemy jonin, the one Toridasu was fighting, decided to escape. The two Shirakumo fought are both confirmed dead," she informed them of the larger picture of the battle. "There might be enemies hiding in the mines, so be careful¡ªbut with most of them dead, they aren''t a priority problem. Everyone who can still move around will work on the funeral preparation¡ªafter which we''ll proceed to the bombing of this hellhole."
""Yes, ma''am""
"All of you did good." Anko looked at Kameko and Takuma. "Especially you two. The jonin will want to talk to you after we return to camp, I''m sure." Her eyes lingered on Takuma as she gave out the praise. "Now, let''s go meet Iori together."
""Yes, ma''am""
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma gazed at the dozens of burning funeral pyres burning before him. The deceased shinobi were recorded thrice to ensure everyone was included, and their belongings, if available, were carefully packaged to be returned to their families. They were cleaned and prepared for their funeral and then respectfully placed on the funeral pyres provided by the nearby forestry.
The Hidden Leaf shinobi went first. The enemy were also given funerals, but they weren''t treated the same. They weren''t cleaned and were pushed into larger group pyres, while the Hidden Leaf shinobi were all given their own individual pyres.
"Were you close to anyone?" Takuma asked Iori, standing beside him.
Her hand was heavily bandaged. While the iryo-nin had successfully attached her fingers back, the results would only show as they properly healed and if they worked for Iori when she completed physical rehabilitation.
"I could recognize all of them. I knew a few of them," Iori answered, fire reflecting in her eyes. "I¡ I haven''t seen anything like this. T-This is too many¡"
She was the most social member of their team, and was even well-liked despite being on Anko''s team.
Takuma gave her a side hug to offer her some comfort. She''d been too occupied by her own uncertain future to truly process it all, and it was for the first time in the last few hours that she''d pulled herself together, only to have the reality of the deaths of her friends and peers shoved in her face.
As he comforted her, Takuma stared at the funeral pyres. He didn''t feel much in the face of so much death. He had only attended a shinobi funeral once, and he was the only attendee and looking back on it, Takuma recognized the shift in his reaction to it all, even when the scale of the two events was on different levels.
He wondered what might have caused such a drastic shift. He thought that he wouldn''t get an answer out of himself, but it came surprisingly easily when he personally set fires to the larger group pyres in the distance.
Takuma was sure he would''ve hurt like Iori and the others around him in grief if he was close to the deceased. He was confident that he had at least that much humanity still burning alive within him but was terrified of losing what made and kept him human, what kept as himself. He knew that he would be perfectly fine being that person¡ªthat version of him that stabbed the surrendered enemy in the back after promising them sanctuary¡ªhe was afraid if that part of him would bleed into every aspect of life¡ªit utterly terrified him.
The cause of his current indifference was relatively recent. This wasn''t the biggest concentration of death he had seen¡ªthe largest was the massacre of the innocent civilians who had been killed by the small group of shinobi. He was there, right in the middle of it; he heard the piercing screams and cries for help. That was much worse than what had happened in the pit.
The shinobi could at least fight back and would kill him in a heartbeat. That was why he didn''t feel much.
He was sure that if any of the shinobi¡ªdeceased or alive; enemy or ally¡ªwere asked to kill him,, they would do it¡ and he knew that because so would he. It didn''t matter if they liked it or not, or if they were just following orders, he was sure all of them would do it.
It was a norm in the shinobi world¡ªkilling. Some hated it and only killed when necessary; others learned to enjoy it but every single shinobi killed¡ªit was a fact of life as true as the sky being blue..
Those "strangers" who could do that didn''t deserve his empathy and compassion. He could kill hundreds or thousands of them and he wouldn''t feel anything for them. They were in a profession where those ready to kill should be prepared to be killed. It didn''t matter if it was his own compatriots or a foreign enemy¡ªevery single one of them was the same.
The same went for himself. Takuma knew that if one day he was killed, he absolutely deserved it.
In his pursuit of survival, he had made himself a man okay to kill in his own eyes. He blinked, the image of the begging enemy shinobi flitting across his vision for a moment. But it wasn''t the time to contemplate on the implications of that. Right now, he had to provide comfort to his teammates and friends.
Takuma took a deep breath and gave Iori''s arm a comforting rub. He said, "I know this doesn''t change anything, but your memories of them will at least keep them alive in your thoughts. They will live in your heart so take some solace in that."
Iori leaned against him. "You''re a good one, Takuma," she said.
That wasn''t true and he knew it. Unlike him, she shed tears. Takuma thanked Iori in his heart for it anyway because at least someone liked him¡ªbecause he didn''t like himself very much right now.
CH_6.36 (207)
Takuma rubbed his ear in irritation; it had been ringing for over an frustrating hour. The dynamite explosions used to destroy the mining infrastructure were to blame even though he was wearing earplugs when they went off. Sure, they weren¡¯t professionally made earplugs, but Takuma expected them to at least do something. His ears were especially sensitive because of training.
¡°You should get that looked at,¡± Anko commented as she ran beside him.
They were journeying back to Camp Banana after the successful raid on the Gojiro Gold Mines. Some of the troops had to stay back to escort the miners who had planted the dynamite as the shinobi weren¡¯t experienced in that field. The miners also couldn¡¯t run as far as shinobi and needed to be escorted to a safe location. The rest returned to Camp Banana as they couldn¡¯t leave the position unprotected for long.
¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not going to bother the iryo-nin right now. They must be exhausted,¡± Takuma replied to her.
It was true; everyone was exhausted. They first traveled from Camp Banana to the Gojiro Gold Mines, then fought a bloody battle, lost too many people, destroyed the mine, and then journeyed back to Camp Banana. They¡¯d barely rested during the entire process when the jonin insisted that they return to Camp Banana as soon as possible. Takuma didn¡¯t want to disturb anyone until they reached the base.
Takuma looked ahead and at one of the teams traveling with them.
¡°That¡¯s them, isn¡¯t it?¡± Takuma pointed them out to Anko. ¡°The team that ditched the Evacuation Unit.¡±
¡°Hideki,¡± Anko spat and she evil-eyed the chunin in charge of the team.
Chunin Hideki and his two genin were meant to be part of the Evacuation Unit but broke away from the unit to set off explosions around the pit at the start of the raid to surprise the enemy.
¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to get reprimanded for what he did,¡± said Takuma.
¡°No, they won¡¯t. Toridasu most probably ordered them to do that regardless of how the Evacuation Unit was doing. He wouldn¡¯t have dreamed of doing that if he wasn¡¯t protected by Toridasu.¡± As she ran, the ground under her feet cracked under the oppressive weight of her chakra, startling the people around her. ¡°You know what the kicker is? Those explosions were actually fucking useful¡ªhe¡¯s going to get fucking praised for it. Ugh, the bastard; I want to feed him to my babies.¡±
Takuma shuddered at the remembrance of Anko¡¯s snakes. He had one of them wrapped around him when she was rescuing him, but he was so out of it that he didn¡¯t pay any attention to it. However, from how Kameko described it during a small break, her snakes were absolutely dreadful.
¡°You can have partial credit for the mine collapse if that will help us get more sway in the camp,¡± said Takuma. He was a genin, and getting full credit would be huge for his reputation and career¡ªbut in the current moment, Anko, a chunin, getting some sway in the camp would do the entire team, including Takuma, some good. It was him trading some of his rightful credit and investing it in hopes that it would yield more benefit in the future.
¡°No,¡± Anko shut Takuma¡¯s down immediately, ¡°like hell you will do that. I¡¯m going to make sure that there¡¯s no ambiguity in the report when I mention your actions and how crucial they were. Be careful when you say things like that. People will swallow you whole when you offer a bite.¡±
¡°But¡ª¡±
¡°I know what you¡¯re trying to do, but I¡¯m not comfortable with it.¡±
Takuma nodded when Anko¡¯s intense gaze lingered, as though seeking a response from him.
¡°New people are going to come to the camp,¡± Takuma said. They had lost a significant number of people in the raid; as such, Camp Banana needed to refill its ranks with new blood. ¡°Guess I won¡¯t be the new guy anymore.¡± A lot of people still called him the new guy till date.
¡°We might be looking at an advantage at our hands. The number of complete teams has decreased¡ The number of chunin have decreased, but Team-9 is a complete team that can go on active missions on short notice if required. There¡¯s a chance if we play it right, we might be able to get on the precursor missions.¡±
¡°Precursor mission?¡±
¡°The Gojiro Gold Mines was a late addition to Camp Banana¡¯s mission calendar. Before that became a priority, we were in the midst of planning a big operation¡¡±
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Apparently, Camp Banana was created by the enemy¡¯s advance, who had already invaded the borders and captured numerous important bits of territory in the Land of Hot Water. They had the dual purpose of being a line of defense to stop them from capturing more while also responsible for recapturing enemy-occupied enemy territory. Before the Gojiro Gold Mines came along, Camp Banana was working on a plan to accomplish the recapture part of their purpose.
The enemy had captured three essential border cities that had great strategic locations as they were the hubs for trade routes and roads built in the region. Everything flowed in and out of those cities, and by controlling the cities, the Hidden Frost¡ªand the Hidden Cloud by proxy¡ªhad established a chokehold on the entire region. Camp Banana was planning to break that chokehold by recapturing the cities and move their base location up to one of those cities to ensure that they had a stronger position in the region.
Anko continued. ¡°With our losses, the operation could only realistically start after about forty-five days so the new blood can integrate enough to function as teams¡ªbut there were talks of a precursor mission before the operation¡ and I think I can get us into that precursor mission.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the mission objective?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°There are several towns and villages that feed into those three cities. Those villages and towns are still selling their harvest and produce to the cities because if they don¡¯t, they will go broke. The few villages that refused are being forced to sell because of the fear of being pillaged and massacred. The mission, whatever it is, will be to weaken the defense of cities for when the main forces go in to liberate the cities. We want any advantage we get, no matter how small it is.¡±
¡°Sounds like a lot of time outside the camp,¡± said Takuma.
Anko shot him a challenging grin. ¡°Are you up for it?¡±
¡°It¡¯s up to you, boss. If you think this is worth it, then why not,¡± he said.
Takuma didn¡¯t want to waste his time. He could be doing the precursor mission outside the camp or do equally meaningful work inside the camp. He didn¡¯t care where he did or what he did so long as it was useful and moved him closer to becoming a chunin.
¡°If we¡¯re taking this mission, the preparation period will be busy,¡± said Takuma with a sigh.
¡°Busier than what we did for the raid,¡± Anko nodded
¡°Much busier,¡± Takuma sighed.
The battle at the gold mines made him painfully aware that he lacked attack variety and needed to gain another weapon as soon as possible.
The question was how.
Fortunately, he had some ideas.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Dear Taro,
How are you doing, buddy? I hope you didn¡¯t quit your job because it was too hard.
I just completed a long and hard mission that I can¡¯t really share the details about because I¡¯m technically not supposed to be here. As I write this letter, I have just woken up from a sixteen-hour deep sleep because I hadn¡¯t slept in more than two days.
The appeal of all this wore off very quickly, you know. The food sucks, the water tasted off for weeks, my mattress should be ashamed of being called one, and the fucking humidity is the curse that doesn¡¯t end.
I¡¯m finally seeing the appeal of getting an off-the-field position so much. However, I¡¯m good at what I do, so I guess I can only complain so much.
Well¡ I guess I¡¯m just writing this because I miss you and everyone else.
I¡¯ve made friends here, but it¡¯s somewhat difficult to care when you don¡¯t know if they will be alive by the end of the month. Kameko¡¯s here, and I still do not like her very much¡ªshe hasn¡¯t changed much from the basic training days¡ªbut at least she reminds me of home.
Forgetting the above, while I¡¯m homesick, I¡¯m as safe as possible in my current situation.
Take care of yourself, okay?
I will see you soon,
Takuma.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Dear ma¡¯am,
I hope this letter finds you in good health.
This morning, as I sat on my bed, my mind fetched the memory of our discussion when I brought you my deployment order. Your words about it being an opportunity when I was so adamantly against it was the start of it all.
You were right. This is an opportunity¡ªa great one at that. I still would¡¯ve preferred working at my office in the Police Force, though, but I believe that¡¯d be most people¡¯s preference. Regardless of my preference, I believe this was the right move. I might be made for this¡ªfor wars¡ªor is it for violence¡ªor maybe it¡¯s simply for killing.
There was a mission with a lot of deaths, and afterward, the iryo-nin were asking everyone if they slept well, how they were feeling, or if they were experiencing any out-of-the-ordinary distress. I knew what they were on the lookout for, and I¡¯m thankful that they care.
But¡ I didn¡¯t feel anything. I don¡¯t like taking lives. I don¡¯t feel any sick pleasure from it. If given the choice, I don¡¯t want to do it¡ªbut, to be honest, it comes really easy. It¡¯s no different than doing any other activity.
Alright, this is enough. I didn¡¯t intend this to be so heavy.
Regardless of how I feel about it or don¡¯t feel about it, I¡¯m focused on making the most of what I can get out of here.
Your student,
Takuma.
PS: How¡¯s Sasuke doing? I hope he¡¯s having a great time at the academy.
PPS: I think I¡¯m done with pre-made genjutsu. It took a long time, but I think I¡¯m ready for some customization.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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Dear Kano,
I hope you¡¯re in good health.
I know you¡¯re not supposed to tell me about the investigation, but I wonder if there has been any progress in finding the blacksmith behind the touchmark or anything else related to the assassins.
I have attached the details of the office through which you can send letters to me.
Please send me a reply.
Regards,
Takuma.
CH_6.37 (208)
Rikku knocked on the locked door but there was no reply. She waited for a couple of moments before knocking again, but again, there was a response.
¡°Go away!¡±
The voice was muffled, which meant that Iori was still in bed, hiding underneath the covers. It had been three days since they had returned from the Gojiro Gold Mines, and Iori had spent most of her days in bed, rarely getting out of her room, and not once had she stepped out of the dormitory¡ªeven on a clear day with ample sun¡ªand Iori loved the sun.
Being in bed itself wasn¡¯t a problem. They had just returned from a deadly operation, and they deserved the rest. Iori had her fingers severed and reattached rest was certainly recommended. But she refused to eat more than one meal a day, which was left barely touched at her door as she didn¡¯t come to the mess hall. She bathed only once after returning to the base and refused to do any cleaning except letting Rikku do bandage work on her fingers.
None of it was healthy, and Rikku knew that it couldn¡¯t be allowed to become the norm.
¡°Right, I¡¯m coming in,¡± she announced.
¡°W-Wait¡ªno!¡±
Rikku ignored her and kicked open the locked door. A wave of must slammed into her, and she waited for a moment, mind whirling. She glanced at the closed curtains and back at the door, where the light from outside pierced through the room¡¯s darkness.
After resting for a day, cleaning their gear was the first thing every shinobi on the Gojiro Gold Mine operation did upon their return. Dirt, grime, and blood needed to be scrubbed off from everything. As Iori¡¯s hand was injured, Rikku did it for her. The clean clothes and gear were still exactly where she had put them, completely untouched.
¡°Get out!¡±
Rikku moved to the curtains and pulled them apart, flooding the room with light, and then opened the windows to let some much-needed air in. Iori pulled the covers over her head and shrunk into herself, assuming a fetal position.
Rikku didn¡¯t say anything and sat on the bed beside Iori. A silence sat with them as Rikku said nothing and simply sat on the bed with her feet on feet on the ground. Rikku didn¡¯t mind the silence, but she knew that no matter how much Iori wanted to ignore her, she would find the silence awkward.
It was just who she was¡ªeven in this state.
Rikku was right; after a few minutes, Iori pulled the covers down from her head and stared out the open window listlessly. Her right hand was bandaged with a splint to keep her fingers in the correct position for healing.
¡°Let¡¯s get you out. A walk around the base will be good for you. Please. Come on,¡± said Rikku softly.
¡°I¡¯m not in the mood, Rikku. Please leave me alone,¡± Iori croaked, turning her back to Rikku.
Rikku knew what to say to get Iori moving in her current mood. There was only one thing her teammate cared about right now. ¡°It¡¯s time to have your hand checked out by the iryo-nin. Come on, get up. I will be waiting outside, so wash up and meet me downstairs. We leave in forty-five minutes.¡±
Rikku got up and left without waiting for a reply.
An hour later, Iori was bathed, dressed, and downstairs, ready to visit the iryo-nin.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°This is coming along nicely,'''' Iryo-nin smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be maybe another week or two before it¡¯s completely healed and you can start rehab.¡±
Rikku stood to the side as the iryo-nin checked Iori¡¯s hand.
¡°¡W-Will there be any complications?¡± asked Iori, desperation in her eyes.
The iryo-nin¡¯s smile was comforting, but there was also a hint of something that told Rikku Iori had asked that question multiple times before.
¡°The re-attachment was done properly, but it depends on how long the fingers were detached before the reattachment,¡± explained the iryo-nin. ¡°There¡¯s no infection, and the swelling is low, which are excellent signs of a full recovery¡ but we will only know for sure after it heals completely.¡±
Iori¡¯s body shook for a moment. She closed her eyes and then calmed down before nodding and leaving the room. Rikku nodded to the kunoichi and then followed after her. She caught up to Iori who was heading toward the dormitory , but Rikku steered her away onto another path in the complete opposite direction.
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¡°One hour. We stayed out for one hour,¡± she said. ¡°You can¡¯t fixate on your injury like this.¡±
Iori seemed reluctant but nodded slowly.
They walked around, the ground drenched and muddy after another night of rain. Rikku didn¡¯t know anything meaningful to say to Iori. From her perspective, Iori was right to be worried, but she was overreacting. Her recovery period wasn¡¯t even over and she was so down in the dumps that Rikku could barely recognize her from the well-spoken, the social girl she knew before the injury.
She¡¯d understand if Iori had definite confirmation that her hand was ruined for delicate work, but she didn¡¯t know that and already lost all hope. That bothered her more than anything¡ªbut she didn¡¯t know how to say it.
¡°How does a storage seal work?¡± asked Rikku.
If her words couldn¡¯t bring hope, then perhaps Iori¡¯s passion would do that itself.
Iori glanced at Rikku but then continued to walk in silence until a minute later when she started to speak.
¡°Storage seals are an application of space-time ninjutsu. They work by creating an artificial space parallel that can be used to store objects, with the seal itself serving as the access point for the artificial space. There are restrictions, of course; weight and size of the load need to be within the parameters of the created artificial space, otherwise there¡¯s a risk of the seal failing¡ªwhich is dangerous.¡±
Rikku asked. ¡°What dangers?¡±
¡°There are two fail states,¡± Iori replied. ¡°The good failure state is that the seal spits out the stored items as the artificial space deteriorates and the seal goes bust¡ªit¡¯s annoying and bothersome, but doesn¡¯t do much harm. However, the not-so-good failure state is that the artificial space deteriorates, destroys the stored items, turning everything inside a dangerous flux of matter that, in many cases, is spat out with an explosion. It was a huge problem back in the day.¡±
There was a time when ignorant shinobi would stuff storage seals beyond the recommended load, thinking that a little over the limit wouldn¡¯t do any harm¡ªbut it did do harm, a lot of it. Which led to the popular belief that storage seals were inherently unreliable, which was false, but people blamed the storage seals anyway rather than accepting it was their own fault.
The First Hokage had to issue a state-wide order to fix the ¡®unreliability¡¯ problem. The fuin-nin around the Hidden Leaf village and the Land of Fire got to work. After three years of intense research, someone figured out how to implement constraints to storage seals. The constraints added a weight and size restriction to the seals, which made it so that any attempt to put a load beyond the storage seal¡¯s capacity wouldn¡¯t be allowed to enter the artificial space.
The unreliability problem was solved as shinobi could no longer misuse storage seals.
¡°However, the Hidden Leaf didn¡¯t figure out a solution,¡± said Iori, her dull eyes now holding a glimmer of admiration. ¡°The Hidden Whirlpool, our allies, figured out the solution to the problem. Their Uzumaki clan, renowned for their fuinjutsu, are the ones to be praised. Lord First and the clan head of the Uzumaki clan were close friends, and when Lord First told the Uzumaki clan head about the problem, he asked the experts of the Uzumaki clan to look into it.¡±
Rikku didn¡¯t care about any of that, but seeing the light return to Iori¡¯s eyes was all the reason for her to continue the conversation.
Iori held her index finger and thumb at a small distance away from each other. ¡°When a fuin-nin creates a storage seal and primes it, the artificial space is the size of a small glass marble. The chakra provided by the fuin-nin is enough to sustain that marble-sized space for a long time, but it¡¯s not infinite¡ªthe space will collapse eventually, rendering the storage seal useless. When a user wants to use the storage seal, they provide chakra and activate it to expand that small space to its intended dimensions. Same as before, storage seals have finite lives¡ªespecially when in use as the dimensions are expanded and utilize more chakra. They will die down and spit everything stored out once the chakra sustaining it runs out.¡±
¡°Why can¡¯t you just pump more chakra in?¡± asked Rikku.
¡°It¡¯s not currently possible. I prime the seal; you activate it. That¡¯s the only two times the formulae and the ink can handle chakra input,¡± Iori replied.
Rikku made an ¡®is that so¡¯ expression.
They continued to wander around and chat until they reached a small field where they found Kameko sparring against Anko.
¡°¡ I didn¡¯t know Kameko was sparring with Anko,¡± said Iori.
¡°Today¡¯s the first day,¡± Rikku replied. ¡°Kameko wasn¡¯t happy with how she did in the mines, so she asked Anko to spar with her once a day.¡±
In fact, there was an increase in training all around the base¡ªfear and a close encounter with death had driven people to put in more training. Rikku had seen this behavior before from other shinobi before, which was why she knew most would stop training and return to normal before the month ended. She didn¡¯t know if Kameko would be the same, but hoped she¡¯d keep going.
She glanced at Iori, who was staring at Kameko desperately trying to fend off Anko¡¯s attack. Rikku had no idea what Iori was thinking but she could sense that she shouldn¡¯t disturb her. Rikku alsowatched Kameko and Anko¡ªfocusing on the chunin¡¯s every move in the hopes of catching some useful insight into her style of combat that she could integrate into her own.
In the middle of the fight, Rikku noticed Anko look in their direction. She flashed Rikku an almost imperceptible smile, which she knew was for bringing Iori out of her room.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Iori.
They continued to walk in silence, and Iori immediately headed home at the end of the hour.
Rikku didn¡¯t expect Iori to make a complete turnaround with just a walk and some talk¡ªbut she did hope that it would elevate some of her gloom but Iori returned to her room and shut the door.
Rikku sighed before continuing with her day. She would try again tomorrow. However, that evening when she passed by Iori¡¯s room, the door was open and Iori was at her desk, flipping through a book on some obscure fuinjutsu script that Rikku couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of¡ªbut it brought a smile to her face.
She didn¡¯t disturb Iori and let her continue reading.
CH_6.38 (209)
Takuma huffed and puffed as he ran around the village¡¯s muddy roads fighting against his own worst enemy: gravity. The weight vest pulled down at his shoulders and he could feel it with every step. It had been five days since the return to base and two days since his abdomen had stopped hurting. That pain was replaced with muscle pain from lugging the weighted vest around all day long.
He was part of the wave of increased training and effort after the Gojiro Gold Mines operation.
Down in the pit, he felt rigid as he fought. It wasn¡¯t his body not obeying him, he was in great shape. It was his lack of options. He hadn¡¯t felt like that in a very long time, but the pit had been a new scenario for him.
The number of people on the ground differed from anything he had ever faced. It was almost flat terrain with no place to hide. There were as many allies as there were enemies, which was again as much of a problem as the environment because there were too many things to keep track of¡ªallies might as well have been enemies at that point.
There was too much chaos, and the tools he currently had didn¡¯t work for him¡ªor at least he wasn¡¯t using them properly.
He lacked a long-range option. Water Release: Wild Water Wave was a good jutsu; it had turned into something of a preference, but it didn¡¯t do enough damage for him¡ªit never did. It was always a setup for destabilizing the enemy before he was forced to go in close for a killing blow¡ªand if he wasted that opportunity, he was always in danger. He needed something that didn¡¯t require a follow-up every single time or at least did enough damage on its own to have some lasting effect. He had Lightning Release: Shock, but he sucked at it so much that it was an embarrassment. Even if he put in the extra-extra effort into improving the jutsu, it wasn¡¯t worth it because of the D-rank classification. He wanted different things from his D-rank jutsu, and offensive capabilities were not one of them.
Second, he lacked a serious crowd-control jutsu. Something that would exert his control and influence over a larger group of people. As much as he adored Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu, it was terrible when he was working with allies, which was a harsh restriction. He needed something that wouldn¡¯t involve his allies. Additionally, he had let his genjutsu progress go stale with the sudden war deployment
He was delighted with Earth-Style: Earthen Dome, Earth-Style: Hiding in the Rock Jutsu, and Earth-Style: Tremor Sense Jutsu¡ªas they worked as intended with high efficiency. He did think he needed an offensive Earth ninjutsu option, which was in his plans.
The only problem was time.
Time¡
He didn¡¯t have any.
It seemed like he was chasing after a runner while being pulled down by his weighted gear. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t catch up. The feeling of helplessness, frustration, and anxiety weighed down on his heart. Had he been too focused on the current moment that he had neglected to keep the upcoming threats in mind?
He was fortunate to survive an enemy who had dismantled him before he could even move a finger to defend himself. The explosive tags were a last-moment, desperate gambit that had very luckily paid off.
Takuma had seen that man¡¯s dead body. In fact, he was the one to pull the corpse onto the joint pyre. If the man had taken him on as an equal opponent, the situation, without a doubt, would¡¯ve been different. He had been having dreams every night without fail since his return to the base¡ªand his own bloody corpse had been a mainstay in his nightmares.
He had to figure out how to get in front of the problem.
¡°Takuma!¡±
Takuma came to a skidding stop and turned back to see Anko looking at him strangely. Only then did he notice that his lungs hurt and burned and his breathing was noisy. He looked down at the muddy ground and noticed how his strides were very uneven.
¡°¡Toridasu and Shirakumo want to meet you,¡± Anko said to Takuma, who was dripping sweat as though he had been soaking in the rain. ¡°C¡¯mon¡ no, first clean yourself up and take a bath. Meet me in front of Toridasu¡¯s office in thirty minutes. Chop-chop.¡±
¡°For what?¡± he asked between breaths.
¡°About your performance in the gold mines, of course. Now get your ass moving. You don¡¯t want two jonin waiting for you.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Looking sharp, good,¡± Anko complimented Takuma as he landed on the road before Toridasu¡¯s office. ¡°Now flash me a smile and we¡¯ll be good to go.¡±
Takuma resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Anko laughed boisterously and she slapped his back.
¡°Where are the others? Are they already inside?¡± Takuma asked, looking around.
¡°Others? It¡¯s just you and me.¡±
¡°Huh, why? Kameko, and Chunin Ito¡¯s team were just as important. They should be here,¡± said Takuma.
¡°That is true, but they only want to meet you. I¡¯m just here as your team lead,¡± Anko replied.
Takuma felt a spike of nervousness. He cracked the knuckles of his hands one at a time, wondering what the meeting would be like. He had attended a fair share of meetings with jonin presence in the Police Force, where he was the only genin every single time, and he had gotten used to the pressure¡ªbut he was rarely the main focus of those meetings. This time, he was going to be alone, and didn¡¯t know the two jonin very well.
¡°Hey, chin up,¡± Anko smiled. ¡°They obviously want to praise you, so just go in and bathe in the compliments. It¡¯s time for you to cozy up to the leadership. Who knows, Toridasu might look at us favorably if he finds you pleasing to the eye.¡±
Takuma looked up at Anko and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡±
He straightened and followed Anko into the building. He had only been in Toridasu¡¯s office once, which was his first day at Camp Banana where he handed Toridasu a brief on the refugee camp incursion. Just like the last time, Toridasu¡¯s secretary was sitting at her desk outside his office room. She clocked the two when they entered and rose to greet them.
¡°Jonin Toridasu will see you soon. Please take a seat until then,¡± she said.
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They sat down, and Takuma looked around. ¡°This is the place where we first met.¡±
¡°Did we? Oh yeah, I remember,¡± Anko chuckled as she propped her muddy shoes up on the table, much to the chagrin of the secretary, who couldn¡¯t say anything to Anko because of the difference in ranks.
¡°So, do you have any family waiting for you at home?¡± Takuma asked.
¡°Oh? This is rare for you.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me if you don¡¯t want to.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. My parents are alive; they still serve as active shinobi, and both are chunin like me¡ªbut they moved out of the Hidden Leaf a long time ago. They moved to a city in the north where it¡¯s nice and cool when I was your age,¡± she said.
After the Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails incident, Anko¡¯s parents decide to slow down their careers and focus on their personal lives with each other. They couldn¡¯t do it if they stayed in the Hidden Leaf, the hub for Leaf shinobi, so they decided to move to a big city with enough work for shinobi but at a level where they would have sufficient time for their personal lives.
¡°They must be proud of their daughter.¡±
¡°Damn straight, they are,¡± Anko flashed a grin.
¡°Anyone special waiting for you back at the village? Someone who has my dear leader¡¯s heart.¡±
Anko raised an eyebrow at Takuma with a smile. ¡°Look at you, trying to be playful,¡± she said. ¡°Would it make you jealous? Unfortunately, no I don¡¯t have anyone like that. Life hasn¡¯t given me that luxury yet.¡±
Takuma could see that. She had gone from the very sought-after position of Orochimaru¡¯s student to having the unjust stigma of being a traitor¡¯s accomplice. From then on, her life¡¯s work had been trying to get rid of it. It was understandable that she hadn¡¯t had time for her personal life.
And that people would refuse to be with her because of the stigma.
¡°What about you?¡± she asked.
Takuma couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud. It startled the secretary, who fixed them with a displeased look. Even Anko looked at him with surprise.
¡°What?¡± she asked.
¡°It will sound sad, but I don¡¯t have a personal life. Except for the very little time I could spare for my friends, I spent the rest of it working. You know Kameko and I from the batch, right? It seems our batch has regular reunions, but I wasn¡¯t invited¡ªit¡¯s a long story, don¡¯t ask, it¡¯s embarrassing¡ªthe point is that even if they did invite me, I probably wouldn¡¯t have gone. Even if I somehow freed up time, I would¡¯ve given it to something else at the last moment¡¡±
Sometimes, he wondered if it was all worth it. He wanted to live as long as possible, survival was his goal, which had eventually evolved into survive and thrive¡ªbut was all he did to achieve that goal, the price he was paying, worth it? Let¡¯s say that he survived the terrible future he knew was coming¡ªwhat about the future after that? The world wasn¡¯t going to change. Peace and unrest were cyclic¡ªhumanity would return to their destructive ways and start more wars.
Was he supposed to deny himself any happiness and continue his struggles until the day he died?
¡°That¡¯s a surprising level of self-awareness,¡± Anko said.
¡°Well, I have a lot of time to think,¡± Takuma chuckled with self-deprecation.
A clear bell rang from within Toridasu¡¯s office. Anko and Takuma looked at the secretary, who instructed them to head inside. Toridasu and Shirakumo were both waiting for them. They were seated around a table in the office.
¡°There you are,¡± Toridasu said as he fanned himself with a folding fan. ¡°Come, join us. We have tea and snacks.¡±
Toridasu and Shirakumo sat opposite to each other while Anko and Takuma sat together on the two-seater between them. While Takuma sat with his back straight, not making contact with the support, Anko leaned into the couch as though Toridasu¡¯s office was her living room.
Neither jonin paid her any attention and focused on Takuma.
¡°Good work on the field, Genin Takuma,¡± said Shirakumo with a smile. Unlike Toridasu, who seemed vain with his silk haori, Shirakumo was much more professional in the crisp Hidden Leaf uniform. Shirakumo Hayama had long, dull, dark gray hair held in a ponytail. He also has a scar running down the right side of his mouth and pronounced tear troughs under his eyes.
¡°It was a team effort, sir,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Be that as may, it was only possible because of your initiative. Both Chunin Mitarashi and Chunin Ito commended you in their reports and I must agree, targeting the enemy¡¯s iryo-nin was a fantastic decision,¡± said Shirakumo.
Toridasu said, ¡°I heard that you also pulled one of our injured through the battlefield and got them to our iryo-nin while you yourself were injured.¡±
¡°Thank you, sir. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get her to help if not for Chunin Mitarashi. She was the one who pulled us to safety. The idea to attack the iryo-nin came from my treatment. I would¡¯ve been out of commission without them but was able to return to the battle¡ªtaking that advantage of the enemy just looked like a tide changer to me.¡±
¡°It was the correct decision,¡± said Shirakumo. ¡°I must admit, I wasn¡¯t surprised seeing you contributing in such a way. Anyone as highly praised by Mr. Maruboshi has to be someone special.¡±
That colored Takuma surprised. He asked, ¡°You know my teacher, sir?¡±
¡°Yes, I do. I was a new chunin when I became acquainted with Mr. Maruboshi. I was as green as they came and was looking to set up my team. We were matched on a mission, and he was so wise and insightful that I requested him on literally every mission I took after that. I was the chunin, but he taught me everything I needed to know then. I¡¯m sure he has forgotten more about being a shinobi than I have learned in my career.¡±
Takuma felt pride surge in his chest from praise being showered on his teacher. A jonin spoke so highly of the man whom Takuma held in the highest regard¡ªand it didn¡¯t feel one bit strange. A jonin respecting Maruboshi was only natural. Takuma was sure he would feel the same way if the Hokage praised Maruboshi in such a manner.
Toridasu snapped his folding fan shut and looked at Takuma with much more interest than before. ¡°Maruboshi took a student? Now that¡¯s more surprising than coming across a thin Akimichi.¡±
¡°Teacher really helped me when I was in the academy. I have consulted with him on every major decision in my career. I wholeheartedly believe that he would be the perfect fit for the Headmaster of the Academy,¡± said Takuma.
¡°That would fit him, but he would¡¯ve been much more useful if he let his stubbornness go and accepted his promotions,¡± Toridasu said, clearly not a fan of Maruboshi¡¯s career decisions. ¡°He¡¯s too old now; they won¡¯t even allow him to be a teacher at the academy.¡±
Takuma didn¡¯t appreciate Tordiasu¡¯s tone, but he didn¡¯t say anything in response. Somewhere in his heart, he did agree. Maruboshi had trapped himself into being a genin when he could¡¯ve done a lot more if he was a jonin or even a chunin.
¡°Moving on, I heard something interesting,¡± Toridasu continued. ¡°Genin Takuma, I heard that you were the one who suggested the idea for the Gojiro Gold Mine operation to Hidden Steam¡¯s Benzou¡. May I ask what you were doing discussing such a topic with an outsider?¡±
The pleasant vibe fizzled out at that moment. Shirakumo didn¡¯t look surprised, but Anko was and she sat up straight.
¡°Pardon?¡± she asked.
¡°Benzou told Shirakumo that he got the idea for the gold mine operation from Genin Takuma. I didn¡¯t know you two were close,¡± said Toridasu.
Takuma could feel the gazes on him. While Shirakumo did well to hide it, Toridasu¡¯s suspicion was blatant. Anko was confused, but her eyes were silently asking Takuma to explain himself.
¡°We are not close. I¡¯m happy if my words inspired Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou to push for the operation, but I can¡¯t take any credit. My five minutes of impromptu conversations is nothing when compared to all the work that went into planning by so many people who made the operation planning.¡±
Takuma kept his involvement to a minimum. He could sense that they didn¡¯t know he gave Benzou the entire plan point-by-point¡ªso he took a gamble that someone in Benzou¡¯s position wouldn¡¯t credit somebody else as the brain behind his very ambitious plan.
¡°Your team wasn¡¯t on the Evacuation Unit initially. Benzou pushed for your team, and from the way he tried, I¡¯m to believe that you two are close,¡± said Toridasu.
Takuma shrugged. ¡°Or perhaps he was returning a favor he mistakenly thought he owed.¡± He leaned forward and looked at Toridasu and Shirakumo. ¡°I will say this outright so it¡¯s clear. If you think I have a budding relationship with Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou, then you would be wrong, and it would be better for everyone to boot that idea from your minds and that¡¯s all I have to say about it.¡±
He was purposely rude and direct. There was no need to be polite, sensing the accusatory vibe in the room.
¡°If you say so,¡± Toridasu smiled.
Takuma glanced at Shirakumo and found him staring. Seeing that, Takuma leaned back into the couch, letting them stare, no matter how awkward it got, until Anko asked to be excused.
¡°That went terribly,¡± she said after they got out.
¡°And you said I¡¯d be bathing in compliments. I think you jinxed me,¡± Takuma said and then harshly kicked the ground to reflect how he was feeling.
CH_6.39 (210)
The mess hall was warmer than usual and everyone was eating slightly better-tasting food with smiles on their faces. The restriction on alcohol had been lifted until Camp Banana welcomed the new arrivals who would replace their fallen numbers. People mingled with each other, exchanging names, stories, and information about their lives at and before Camp Banana.
There was a rowdiness present that was usually missing in the base. The monotonous clink of cutlery and hanging boredom were swept away as people opened up to each other. The night was young, and Camp Banana had enough stories and booze to keep it going early in the morning.
At a table in the mess hall, half of Team-9 sat with full plates of food. Daiki had his back to the table as he chatted with his friend Hajime from the neighboring table, Rikku was absorbed in her food, and Kameko gazed at the socializing crowds.
¡°Hey! Are you guys having fun?¡± Anko half-danced toward the table with Iori joined to her hip. Both had alcohol in their water canteens and looked as though they were having a merry time with their blushing cheeks and wide grins.
¡°Pace yourself,¡± Kameko warned them.
¡°Buzzkill,¡± Iori laughed and took a swig from her canteen.
Her hand was no longer fixed with a split; it had healed enough to be moved down to light bandaging for minimum support. She had already started physical therapy to regain function. There was still no telling if Iori¡¯s fingers would make a complete recovery, but she was no longer pessimistic and was taking it one day at a time.
¡°Where¡¯s the workaholic?¡± asked Anko, looking around for the missing team member.
¡°Speaking of the devil.¡± Kameko pointed with her chin.
Takuma walked toward the mess hall in a fresh set of clothes with his hair wet. He looked like he had just taken a bath.
Anko frowned lightly. She asked, ¡°Was he training?¡±
¡°That¡¯s all he does these days,¡± Daiki looked away from his friend to answer Anko. ¡°I thought you put him to it. I don¡¯t want to question your methods, Anko, but I do believe that rest is just as important. I suggest that you decrease his load.¡±
¡°I did ask him to do things, but¡¡± Anko gazed at Takuma, who broke into a jog to reach them as he entered the mess hall. She sparred with him once a day, but had stopped accompanying him for morning training¡ªhe had gotten the hang of it enough to do it alone.
¡°This is¡so different. I was stopped and checked at the gate like a criminal when I first came here. There was no grand welcome for me,¡± Takuma said when he arrived.
¡°You arrived alone. At least you got a guide to show you around,¡± Kameko replied. ¡°When we came here, we had to do a major clean up and set up the base. It felt like I was intruding on someone else¡¯s place for weeks.¡ªthere were family photos on the walls and everything.¡±
¡°And I will never forget your lovely attempt to boot me from the team, Kameko. That was a wonderful welcome,¡± Takuma smiled when she scowled and walked past the table. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. The grub smells different today.¡±
¡°He¡¯s not in a pleasant mood these days,¡± Daiki muttered as he gazed at Takuma, loading up his plate in the distance.
¡°Really? I think he¡¯s always like that,¡± Kameko scoffed.
¡°Well, you two don¡¯t get along spectacularly, Miss Kameko. I¡¯ve lived with him long enough to see that he¡¯s not like this normally.¡± Daiki looked at Anko. ¡°He has been like that since the meeting with Toridasu and Shirakumo. Did something happen?¡±
¡°¡Who knows,¡± Anko replied.
Maybe it was time for her to have a chat with him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma had come to appreciate the feeling of fatigue after a good day of sweating and hard training. It was a marker that he was going to have a nice and deep sleep at night¡ªthe best kind of sleep.
¡°You guys pulled out all the stops for today, eh, Kai?¡± Takuma chatted with one of the kitchen staff.
Kai laughed as he refilled the fried chicken tray. ¡°The food tastes the same every day, Takuma. You¡¯re the only one complaining about it.¡±
Takuma smiled. ¡°Because the rest of them lost all hope that food could be good. See, I¡¯m the newest, been here the shortest. I wasn¡¯t defeated by you guys. But now, I¡¯m not the newest, I have all these new folk, and I will lead them to All Blue. We will succeed. The food will become tastier than ever before!¡±
¡°All Blue?¡±
¡°That¡¯s the dream, my friend.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t get you sometimes,¡± Kai said, shaking his head and walking away with the empty container.
¡°I get that a lot,¡± Takuma chuckled and moved towards the buffet line. There was a group chatting near the tables, blocking his path. ¡°Hey. Move, please,¡± he said.
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The man blocking his path cleared the way for Takuma, who stopped in front of a heated tray of soup. As he ladled some into a bowl, he caught the group¡¯s conversation.
¡°So, they called me Bishop, right? That was my fighter name,¡± said a man who seemed to be the center of the conversation as everyone was facing him.
The man who had given Takuma space interrupted the conversation. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t catch that. Bishop, fighter name, what?¡±
The man who was telling the story repeated. ¡°As I was saying. None of you are from the Hidden Leaf village, so you might not know it, but there¡¯s this underground fighting scene.¡±
Takuma subconsciously straightened up. He stopped stirring the soup with the ladle and eavesdropped on the group¡¯s conversation.
¡°It¡¯s called the Ring. Shinobi¡ªgenin¡ª fight each other in a closed dome for money and mission points. People pay to watch and bet on the fights. There¡¯s a huge gambling scene on it.¡±
Someone in the group asked, ¡°And you were a fighter?¡±
¡°Yeah. I went by the name, Bishop. One of the best before I had to retire.¡±
Bishop.
Memories of being thrashed on the bloody arena floor until he was beaten into unconsciousness froze him on the spot. Takuma closed his eyes and he could hear the crowd¡¯s roaring as their favored fighter thrashing him, with the best he could do being defense.
Takuma slowly turned to face the group and saw the man telling the story. Takuma didn¡¯t recognize him, which meant he was one of the new people who had arrived this morning. The man proclaiming to be Bishop was short, just like Takuma recalled. He had imagined what Bishop would look like behind his mask, picturing him as the ugliest man alive¡ªbut the man looked average from all accounts with thin, slanted eyes, a nose on the smaller size, and a broad smile.
He wasn¡¯t Scars, the premier fighter, when he fought Bishop. He was still in the taijutsu category, barely settling into his first contract and had finally started to win a few fights before they matched him against Bishop, who had retired after having an impressive record in the ninjutsu category.
Why?
Because Bishop, who shouldn¡¯t have been allowed in the Ring, wanted to blow off some steam and with an easy opponent to push around.
The fat fuck called the Ring¡¯s boss had chosen Takuma as the sacrificial lamb to appease Bishop.
In all honesty, Takuma never thought he would meet Bishop. He didn¡¯t think the man would talk about the Ring so openly¡ªto be fair, they were far away from Hidden Leaf¡ªand Takuma didn¡¯t have the time to go seek out Bishop¡¯s identity so he could have his revenge. But now, the man stood before him as though served on a silver platter, and the desire to exact it was so very tempting.
He was no longer that scrawny unknown fighter called Scars who was cut or stabbed every fight. He was sure that if they fought now, things would be very different. Maybe everyone would enjoy a good fight as an entertainment piece at the welcome event. He could just let go one time and act on that impulse. What would be the harm? Wasn¡¯t there a time-honored culture of hazing in places like these?
It would be something everyone would look back at as something fun. Not for everyone involved but it would be fun¡ at least for him.
But as those thoughts churned, he caught Toridasu in his vision. The jonin was laughing with a larger group. He recognized the expressions on the faces of the rest of the group; they were brown-nosing him to get on his good side. Takuma didn¡¯t blame them; it was a natural thing to do if one had any ambition in life.
In fact, Takuma felt that he should be there with them, trying to do the same. It was clear that Toridasu wasn¡¯t pleased with how he had tipped the first domino on the long chain that was Gojiro Gold Mine operation.
His eyes then drifted to the table where his team sat, and he was half-startled to find Anko staring at him. Takuma calmed down and sighed as he thought of her. Things were already difficult for her and he had made things worse¡ªand she hadn¡¯t said a single word to him about it. Anko was a very lax leader, and while Takuma wouldn¡¯t run a team like that,he had no doubt she was a good leader who¡¯d make sure to have his back.
Which was why Takuma turned back and resumed filling his plate with food. He didn¡¯t want to get Anko and the team into more trouble. It was okay if he didn¡¯t get to beat the crap out of Bishop with all of their peers and superiors watching.
Now that Takuma knew who Bishop was, if he ever felt frustrated, he could get the man in trouble with the Police Force.
That would be a different kind of fun, but fun nevertheless.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma wrestled with his conflicting emotions as he processed the sight in front of him.
¡°Hello, my name¡¯s Masumoto Shohei. I¡¯m the new chunin leader of Team-3.¡± Bishop, or Masumoto, introduced himself along with his team. ¡°We are looking forward to this joint exercise between the teams to be a great learning experience.¡±
The new shinobi had only arrived the day before yesterday, and Masumoto Bishop had set up a joint sparring exercise with Anko¡¯s Team-9. It was surprising and almost alien, as no other team had ever asked for a joint exercise with Team-9 because of Anko. Other teams held joint exercises regularly, but Team-9 had not been part of any of them even once.
It made sense that a new chunin was the one to request it, given Anko¡¯s past.
¡°The same goes for us,¡± Anko smiled.
Masumoto gazed at the team before asking Anko. ¡°You¡¯re missing one of your team. Is everything okay?¡±
¡°He should be here.¡± Anko glanced at Takuma. ¡°Where is Daiki?¡±
Takuma said, ¡°He should be on his way. Said he needed to go to the bathroom¡ Oh look, there he is.¡± Takuma pointed to Daiki running towards them.
¡°I apologize for being late. I hope I didn¡¯t keep everyone waiting,¡± Daiki bowed to both Anko and Masumoto.
¡°Not at all,¡± Masumoto smiled.
¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. Get in line,¡± Anko said to Daiki.
Daiki hurriedly stood beside Takuma and immediately whispered into his ear. ¡°You were right. He¡¯s doing it to make an impression on Toridasu.¡±
¡®Knew it,¡¯ thought Takuma, turning his unamused eyes to Masumoto.
Takuma was skeptical of the joint exercise offer. They hadn¡¯t kept it a secret, and the entire base would technically know they were conducting a joint exercise. He was sure that after Masumoto got the gist of Anko¡¯s past, he would rescind the offer and make some excuse, but he didn¡¯t do that¡ªso he asked Daiki to poke around to see if something was wrong.
And Takuma was right in his doubt.
Masumoto wasn¡¯t doing the joint exercise for a ¡®learning experience¡¯¡ªhe was doing it so he could prove that he and his team were better than Anko and Team-9. Masumoto must¡¯ve heard that Toridasu wasn¡¯t the biggest fan of Anko and was trying to please him by trouncing Team-9 in the joint exercise as a ¡®token offering¡¯ to the overlord.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it then,¡± Takuma said.
¡°What?¡± asked Daiki.
As both teams prepared, Takuma went to Anko and whispered what Daiki had gathered to her.
¡°Are you sure?¡± Anko asked.
Takuma nodded.
¡°Okay¡ and what do you want to do?¡± she asked.
¡°I think we might be able to make another move for that precursor mission,¡± Takuma said.
If Bishop was trying to trounce them, then he was opening himself to having the situation turned against him.
CH_6.40 (211)
While Anko believed that her genin wouldn¡¯t give her incorrect information, she already held some healthy skepticism that the joint exercise wasn¡¯t just for the purpose of training and that Masumoto Shohei was trying to make a name for himself by using her as a stepping-stone. Thinking about a situation from both sides of the spectrum was always helpful for analysis.
It angered her very much so, but logic and reasoning prevailed. Even if it was true, she wasn¡¯t that worried about it. She understood that her reputation as the Snake¡¯s student would haunt her for life¡ªbut people liked to forget that the Snake was one of the Legendary Sannin and she was his student. As ill-fated as their relationship was, he had taught her his techniques. If they thought she was some small fry that could be swept aside, they were sorely mistaken.
She always welcomed the opportunity to present a feast to her babies.
Anko had already thought of a way to handle the situation, but it seemed that Takuma had his own thoughts. She was interested to know what little scheme he¡¯d cooked in his head. He had ruined the chances of Team-9 getting on the precursor mission thanks to the stunt he pulled with the Hidden Steam¡¯s Benzou¡ªand she was mighty displeased to know that he had been in contact with Benzou behind her back.
It wasn¡¯t that he had talked with Benzou, which pissed her off, but the fact that he hadn¡¯t told her about his involvement.
She was of the mind to shut Takuma down and take control of the situation as a punishment, but she decided to let him have a go. Going behind her back was his first offense, and she was willing to give people a second chance.
Her five genin were a good group of shinobi. They had bright futures ahead of them.
Iori had a good head on her shoulder, and Anko was sure she had what it took to become a chunin through her fuinjutsu. The girl had a prosperous future like most skilled fuin-nin.
Communication wasn¡¯t Rikku¡¯s strong suit, which meant it would take her more effort to rise up as she couldn¡¯t market herself properly, but if she kept improving, Anko was willing to bet that she would be one day made chunin and put on a strike team under a jonin¡¯s command.
There was nothing to be said about Kameko, she was the little miss of the Taketori clan and had enough political sway behind her that chunin was guaranteed¡ªbut that same sway could tie her down to the chunin rank and her further progress would solely depend if she could set herself apart. As she was now, ¡®Jonin Taketori Kameko¡¯ was simply a pipe dream.
Anko knew that Daiki would leave the service and return to being a civilian one day. His mindset wouldn¡¯t take him far as a shinobi and he would promptly switch to being an overpaid bodyguard for some rich mook¡ªbut that wasn¡¯t a bad thing.
Then there was Takuma. Everything about him painted a picture in Anko¡¯s mind. The boy was special. Not because he had some gift that made him valuable. It was the little things. It was as though he was carefully molded into being the ideal image of a shinobi. Lord Third Hokage was called the God of Shinobi and was the ideal in the minds of many. They wanted to be like him, mimic him in the hopes that they could achieve a fraction of what he had.
But in Anko¡¯s mind, the boy before her was so much closer to the ideal. The Hokage shone too brightly. Jonin, like the Copy Ninja and the Green Beast, had too strong of a presence. She had met the young Uchiha prodigy once, and all her senses whispered danger when he was just seated and silently sipping tea¡ªshe could only imagine what would happen if he had his eyes on her. Even Orochimaru, as much as he wanted to hide it, oozed malice that prickled¡ªand his two peers, the Slug Princess and the Toad Sage, had similar problems.
Perhaps that was what happened when shinobi stood at those high stages.
But Takuma showed nothing. He didn¡¯t stand out and looked like an overworked grunt who couldn¡¯t catch a break half the time. Even with those scars of his¡ªthat by all right should make him look menacing¡ªhe seemed harmless¡ªuntil he didn¡¯t. That lack of danger from him was what made him dangerous. People weren¡¯t cautious until they had a reason to be and Takuma didn¡¯t usually give people a reason to be cautious against him¡ªso when he became a threat, it came as a massive surprise..
She had seen him fight Kameko and Rikku; both seemed like they could win until the last moment before they lost, and the conclusion seemed natural. In his fight against Rikku, Anko was so taken aback by her instincts, yelling at her that she needed to stop the fight or Rikku would be dead.
There was no reason for Takuma to kill Rikku, but seeing him atop her with a kunai, Anko genuinely thought he would for a moment.
When she found that Takuma had given Benzou the idea for the raid, she was displeased, but she was also alarmed that a few words from a genin had led to something as big as the Gojiro Gold Mine operation with several jonin, dozens of chunin, and hundreds of genin involved¡ªand it had happened just like Takuma wanted it to happen. Takuma had told her that he didn¡¯t think it would lead anywhere¡ªbut then it did¡ªso was it intentional¡ or was it all by chance, as Takuma said.
She did not know but she was sure that Takuma would go a long way as a shinobi¡ if he managed to stay alive long enough.
Anko returned her attention back to Masumoto.
¡°As we discussed, as this is our first joint exercise, we will start with tag team sparring today,¡± Masumoto said with a smile. ¡°Only one member from each teams is allowed to spar at a time. If they lose they¡¯re replaced by one of their teammates and the spar continues. You can¡¯t stop sparring unless you lose¡ªmeaning no forfeiting. We¡ªChunin Mitarashi and I¡ªwill be recording everyone¡¯s performance and the people with the worst from both teams will be punished.¡±
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He looked at Anko and she nodded. They had decided that a tag team format spar would be a good exercise for both teams. Even though it was solo sparring, it was a team exercise if the teams strategized.
She turned to her team. ¡°Decide who will go in first. Study your opponents and choose the matchups smartly. This is training; I want all of you to fight, so don¡¯t try to sit Iori and Daiki out.... Who¡¯s going first?¡±
Takuma turned to ask Kameko. ¡°May I?¡± he asked.
Kameko thought for a moment before giving him the nod.
Takuma stepped closer to Anko and whispered in her ear. ¡°We have an audience. He clearly invited people to watch¡¡±
Anko turned her head to see groups of people walking toward them with a merry pep in their step as though they were about to watch an entertaining show. She glanced at Masumoto, who was conversing with his genin as though clueless to the gathering gallery.
¡°Then you better win,¡± she said; a dangerous smile crept onto her face.
Takuma nodded. He turned away before facing Anko again; he hesitated for a moment before asking. ¡°I will be embarrassing Masumoto Shohei¡ªhim directly. That¡¯s fine with you, right?¡±
Anko wondered what he meant, but she gave him the go ahead anyway.
She volunteered to referee the spars and stood between Takuma and Yuka, a new genin to Camp Banana. Takuma raised his hand to form the Seal of Confirmation that Yuka mimicked.
¡°Start.¡±
Yuka jumped back, putting distance between her and Takuma, who remained in his place. He didn¡¯t pull out a kunai, which surprised Anko. She had sparred against him and seen enough of his spars against Rikku to know that he grabbed a kunai at the start of the fight. She was surprised again when Takuma approached Yuka measuredly. He either waited for his opponent to make a move or charged them at the first moment¡ªthis was once again different from his usual.
Yuka allowed Takuma to close the distance and then rushed him, abruptly changing from cautious to aggressive. Takuma didn¡¯t look surprised and received her effortlessly. She struck out fast and firm, aiming high for his head but Takuma kept pace and blocked all of her attacks .
Seeing that she failed to get him by surprise, Yuka fell back. Takuma, however, didn¡¯t allow that and moved forward with quick steps. He struck with a quick side-kick that Yuka blocked. Anko waited for Yuka to be blown back by the augmented blow, but it didn¡¯t happen. She looked at Takuma strangely; it was the perfect opportunity and he had more than enough time to prepare it.
¡®Why is he fighting weird?¡¯ she thought.
Yuka opted to take a stand and confront Takuma. She grabbed a kunai and pushed Takuma back, who once again didn¡¯t equip a kunai, electing instead to dodge Yuka¡¯s sharp blade play.
It had rained in the morning, leaving puddles in the fields. Their footwork sprayed standing water and dew, quickly drenching their pants. The sound of splashing water grew louder and chaotic as the fight picked up but Yuka wasn¡¯t able to nick a hair on Takuma¡¯s body.
He grabbed her arm, twisted her wrist to disarm her, and then headbutted her nose. She stumbled back, dazed, and he lightly kicked the back of her knee to force her down, running back and smashing a spinning kick into the side of her face.
The gallery cheered and hooted at the solid hit.
Anko glanced back and saw that more were joining the audience. Her eye went to Masumoto; displeasure flashed across his face, but he got his expression under control in a moment.
Yuka hit the ground and scampered back in an attempt to put some distance between them. When she tried to get up, she found the sharp tip of her dropped kunai held a few centimeters from her throat.
Takuma looked to Anko, waiting for her decision.
¡°Next,¡± she said to Masumoto¡¯s team, who¡¯d picked a genin called Akio..
Unlike Anko, Masumoto actively advised his team. He gazed at Takuma and pushed one of his genin forward. As Yuka walked back, Masumoto gave her a disapproving shake of his head and said something that made her face drop.
¡°Just a reminder, the use of ninjutsu is allowed,¡± Takuma said to his new opponent. He threw Yuka¡¯s kunai away and raised his bare fists up. ¡°You can use anything you want.¡±
Akio was taken aback but pulled his hands up.
Anko smiled. She could tell what Akio was thinking. He was wondering if Takuma had reminded him of ninjutsu because he was going to use ninjutsu during the fight. A few words from Takuma had made Akio cautious and on the lookout.
Takuma very slowly stepped close to Akio and started with an intentionally telegraphed jab to Akio¡¯s guard. The strike was so light that it confused Akio, who struck out with a cross that Takuma effortlessly slapped aside and countered with a lightning-quick cross straight to the chest, bypassing Akio¡¯s half-guard. The cross tapped Akio¡¯s chest, once again not doing any real damage.
Akio frowned, anger flaring in his eyes. ¡°Are you making fun¡ª¡±
He wasn¡¯t able to complete his sentence as Takuma lightly kicked his calf with no real force behind it. Akio was so stunned that he forgot his anger for a moment before it flooded back in full force.
¡°I¡¯m going to fuck you up,¡± Akio spat heatedly and charged Takuma, who skipped back with a butterfly¡¯s grace.
Akio raged after him like a bull, with the intention to harm, each strike carrying the full force of his body. Takuma was the mirror opposite, the picture of calm. His defense was dexterous and he was agile on his feet¡ªlike he did with Yuka he evaded most of Akio¡¯s rush and blocked what he couldn¡¯t with a practiced ease.
Takuma continued to tap Akio with weak punches, striking through and around Akio¡¯s guard. The onlookers laughed every time Takuma managed to get a tap in, openly making fun of Akio, who only got angrier the more Takuma played with him. It was like Takuma was putting on a show¡ªthis was entertainment, not training. Akio was the bull, and Takuma, the matador, was doing his best to anger him more and more.
It was so unlike Takuma that Anko couldn¡¯t figure out his aim.
Takuma¡¯s core combat philosophy was to do hard damage and end fights as quickly as possible¡ªno matter the execution, He aimed to do enough damage and pain that the opponent wouldn¡¯t want to fight. His augmented strikes landed where it would hurt the most, his kunai cut where it would bleed most. While most tried to do just enough damage to make their opponent surrender willingly, Takuma very much preferred to beat his opponent within an the inch of their lives, giving them one choice: surrender.
Akio threw a kunai at Takuma¡¯s face from a very short distance. Takuma caught it, and in the same continuous, fluid motion, he flung it back at Akio¡¯s legs. The kunai didn¡¯t draw blood and only lightly ripped Akio¡¯s pants at the inner thigh, very close to his crotch.
Akio flushed as he glanced at the spectators, who laughed like they were at a comedy show. He turned his eyes back at Takuma, who raised his hands and shrugged.
¡°Ninjutsu, c¡¯mon.¡±
Akio jumped back to put enough distance between them and then weaved hand seals for ninjutsu.
Unbothered, Takuma took out a shuriken and launched it toward Akio. The shuriken flew so fast that Akio was staggered. He abandoned the hand seals and skipped to the side, where another two shuriken landed next to his feet making him to a lurching stop. Three more shuriken passed by him, leaving rips in his clothes, and not breaking skin.
The next moment, Takuma was before Akio with a kunai in his hand. He tapped the shaken Akio¡¯s face with the flat of the kunai.
Takuma turned to Anko and said, ¡°Next?¡±
Anko snorted and rolled her eyes at him.
¡°Next.¡±
CH_6.41 (212)
On the sidelines, Team-9 watched the spars together. They should have been discussing their strategy, but that topic died when Takuma didn¡¯t use his chakra augmentation against his first opponent. Like Anko, they too, noticed that Takuma wasn¡¯t using his typical combat idiosyncrasies.
¡°I want to fight, too,¡± Rikku said with irritation in her voice.
Daiki towered over her and draped her in his shadow. ¡°We have just started, Miss Rikku. You will get to spar. Takuma has barely broken a sweat, and we are already two up. I think we will be winning this exercise,¡± he had a rare half-malicious smile on his face.
He had already shared Masumoto¡¯s plan to upstage Anko with the rest of the team. They were naturally not fans of the plan, as using Anko to shine was the same thing as using them.
Standing on Rikku¡¯s other side, Kameko said, ¡°She means that she might not get a chance to fight here.¡± Her sharp eyes stared at Takuma¡¯s back, and as usual, she looked at him with obvious displeasure.
¡°What might you mean, Miss Kameko?¡± asked Daiki, confused. He knew that Takuma had asked Anko¡¯s permission to do something, but he didn¡¯t know what that something was.
¡°He¡¯s not coming back before he takes out their entire team,¡± Iori answered with an amused snort. She looked at Kameko. ¡°Am I right?¡±
Kameko nodded.
Iori continued, ¡°Masumoto wants to use Anko and us. He even called everyone to watch,¡± she gazed at the people standing a few paces away from them, ¡°but Takuma¡¯s going to use them to make a mockery of Masumoto and his team. ¡°A single member of Anko¡¯s Team-9 wiped the floor with Masumoto¡¯s Team-3¡±¡ªif he succeeds, that¡¯ll be the possible gossip for the next few weeks. Depending on when Masumoto pulls it, Takuma might wipe the floor with them multiple times over.¡±
¡°Then why are you so sour, Miss Kameko?¡± Daiki asked. Kameko and Takuma¡¯s arguments were always of interest to him; it was genuinely fascinating that they managed to argue about anything and everything.
¡°This affects the team; the team should handle it together,¡± Kameko narrowed her eyes at Takuma, ¡°but he¡¯s doing it all alone¡ªthat I don¡¯t like. The last time he did something on his own, he got chewed out by Toridasu in front of Shirakumo.¡±
¡°Fascinating,¡± Daiki smiled with admiration. He really wanted to give Kameko a round of applause for reacting as he expected her to. Absolutely hilarious.
¡°What?¡± Kameko frowned.
¡°Nothing, nothing at all. I agree that the entire team should be involved,¡± Daiki said in support. ¡°But as long as he¡¯s fighting, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get to do anything today.¡±
Kameko clicked her tongue. She unsheathed her sword and started observing the edge of the blade.
Daiki chuckled merrily and returned his attention to the field where the third genin from Masumoto¡¯s Team-3 stepped to face Takuma. His name was Bun, and he was in his mid-twenties, three heads taller than Takuma, only slightly shorter than the giant Daiki, and was one of the oldest genin.
As Bun faced Takuma, the man looked nervous and even scared.
¡°That¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± Daiki commented, seeing the nervousness of Bun.
¡°Bun, right?¡± Iori nodded in agreement. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he acting like a douche? I expected him to try to make Takuma ask him to go easy on him by now.¡±
¡°Exactly,¡± said Daiki.
Bun had a particular reputation in Camp Banana. He was one of the oldest genin in Camp Banana and thought his seniority gave him the right to preach and push younger genin around because he was more experienced. His experience of many years couldn¡¯t be discounted, and he could pull his weight in a fight, which did yield him some privilege ¡ªbut he was way too obnoxious about it. It was his way or the highway, and he¡¯d shit on anyone who disagreed with him. The only people he listened to were the chunin and jonin, to whom he was utterly subservient.
No one really liked him, but they had to tolerate him because he got along with quite a few chunin, so seeing him act all nervous and scared was out of character for him.
¡°It¡¯s because of what happened in the gold mines,¡± said Rikku. They looked at the girl who had sat down on the wet ground with a wince. ¡°You all heard it, right? How Takuma tricked two enemies into surrendering and then killed them when they surrendered.¡±
The team exchanged dark looks.
There were a lot of stories that floated upon their return to the base¡ªand Takuma was one of the hottest topics. He was the mastermind behind the plan that killed the enemy iryo-nin and then murdered two enemy genin after they surrendered. The people who saw him had painted a picture of a cold-blooded murderer who lied as though it was his second-nature and had no mercy in his heart.
¡°I think he saw it first hand,¡± Rikku pointed to Bun.
¡°He fears that Takuma will do something to him? That¡¯s ridiculous,¡± said Daiki.
Iori breathed a heavy sigh. ¡°Fears often are,¡± she muttered, and everyone in the team heard her.
Takuma turned to look at them, and they froze. He gave them a comforting smile.
¡°C-Can he hear us?¡± asked Iori.
¡°He has terrifyingly sharp ears. He would make an excellent tracker,¡± said Daiki, but he was similarly startled at the prospect of Takuma hearing them. That went beyond having sharp ears.
While Takuma was facing his team, faint courage flashed through Bun¡¯s eyes. He hastily raised his hands to weave hand seals for a ninjutsu.
¡°Takuma!¡± Daiki yelled to warn Takuma¡ªbut then Daiki clearly saw Takuma¡¯s eyes shift to Bun when the latter raised his hands for hand seals. Takuma calmly raised his hands as well and weaved hand seals of his own. Flaming tongues lit from the inside of Bun¡¯s mouth and streamed forwards. Takuma turned into a blur and vanished a split-second before his spot was engulfed by the flames.
Daiki¡¯s eyes darted, hurriedly seeking out Takuma, but the bright fires hampered his vision.
¡°Where is he?¡±
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¡°There,¡± Kameko pointed.
Takuma was a short distance away from the remains of the Fire-Release ninjutsu, completely unharmed by the flames.
¡°He used the Body Flicker,¡± said Rikku.
¡°That¡¯s too risky,¡± Kameko shook her head, stating that she wouldn¡¯t have used that move in the situation.
Rikku nodded in agreement but simultaneously said, ¡°It¡¯s an open and flat field; there¡¯s only one enemy, and it was the first, and so far, only use. I can see why he thought the risk was acceptable.¡±
The Body Flicker Jutsu was a jutsu that propelled the user forward at an extreme speed. Changing directions while using the jutsu was a herculean task until the end of the jutsu but because the body was physically propelled forward, the user had to prepare themselves for the extreme speed and then take a moment to gather themselves before doing so. This left them open for attack so those two moments that bookended the Body Flicker invited danger.
Takuma dashed to Bun the moment the Fire-Release ninjutsu ended. Bun drew the sword on his back and charged. Takuma pulled out a kunai as he engaged his opponent. Bun¡¯s experience showed as his movements became sharper and faster with time as he quickly fell into a rhythm. And yet, Bun was on the back foot, forced to react while Takuma dictated the flow of the battle.
He used the short kunai against the long sword, skilfully parrying the attacks. Even an untrained civilian could tell that Takuma¡¯s footwork was far superior as he moved in and out of Bun¡¯s range, dancing around Bun¡¯s sword that seemed incapable of slicing anything other than the open wind. Takuma¡¯s control over his body allowed him to use the humble kunai to make Bun look like a novice.
Bun made the mistake of giving into frustration. One over-committed downward slash that Takuma side-stepped with ease was all Takuma needed. He stamped on the blunt end of the blade with his foot, plunging the sword into the soft earth beneath the grassy field. Bun tried to pull his sword out; while he did, he saw Takuma pull his arm back. Bun let go of his sword, but couldn¡¯t guard in time. Takuma¡¯s fist smashed into his head and he slammed into the ground, dragged through the mud.
Takuma casually kicked the free sword away from Bun¡¯s vicinity.
Bun rolled to his feet. Takuma hopped forward before hitting Bun again in the head, this time with a devastating rotating backfist that hit Bun right below the ear. The man fell down again, falling twice in less than five seconds. Takuma might have been fighting differently, but some things didn¡¯t change. As Bun fell, Takuma caught his face with a front kick. Even without augmentation, Takuma¡¯s bare strikes were so powerful that the back of Bun¡¯s head hit the ground hard.
Anko quickly appeared between Takuma and Bun and placed Bun behind her back. The right side of his face was swollen, he had a bloody nose, and black and blue splotches marred his left jaw. His face was unrecognizable from before the fight.
¡°He was already knocked out before you kicked his face. Remember, this is a spar,¡± Anko said, but her words lacked any heat. She gestured for the iryo-nin in the crowd to come close as she dragged Bun to where Team-3 stood.
¡°Send in the next one,¡± she said.
¡°Mitarashi¡ do you think this is helping our teams?¡± Masumoto said to Anko.
Anko looked at Masumoto in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Masumoto. They¡¯re sparring. Of course, it helps. This might not be my place to say, but have some trust in your team. We haven¡¯t even completed a single rotation. Give them some time, for god¡¯s sake.¡±
¡°Your guy knocked one of mine out cold. He was intentionally heavy-handed.¡±
Anko laughed and brushed his accusation aside. ¡°It was an accident. Things like this happen during spars, and I have given him a warning. He won¡¯t do it again. Your guy will be fine after he¡¯s looked at.¡±
Masumoto didn¡¯t look assured or happy with Anko¡¯s answer and blas¨¦ tone. ¡°Accident? And what if I pulled my team out of this exercise now? There won¡¯t be another accident.¡± He looked at Takuma in annoyance, who stood there with a hint of a smile.
¡°Are you sure that¡¯s wise?¡± Masumoto looked back at Anko. She continued. ¡°Do you want to pull back in front of so many people? Do you want them to look at it like you pulled your team from the exercise because you didn¡¯t even have the backbone to let your team try to win? A weak leader¡ it¡¯s your first week, Masumoto. A grand failure will look terrible¡¡±
Anko leaned close to his ear and whispered, ¡°I heard that the quartermaster is looking to get on the field. How do you think Toridasu will see this? Didn¡¯t you want to impress him? At this rate, he might give the quartermaster a chance and you¡¯ll be left counting the number of senbon in stock¡¡±
She drew closer and very softly hissed in his ear. Masumoto stiffened, and his face twisted in sheer discomfort as he stepped away from Anko. She patted his shoulder firmly and walked away with a smile.
¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Takuma called out to Team-3. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be quick to keep on the pressure?¡±
Masumoto looked at one of his genin¡ªChotaro¡ª and told him to go.
¡°M-Me?¡±
Masumoto looked fed-up. ¡°Yeah, you. Hurry, go on¡ actually, wait and listen. Stay away from him. He¡¯s strong with taijutsu so go for long-ranged attacks. Use kunai, shuriken, paper bombs, anything¡ªbut start strong with a ninjutsu and try to throw him off his mojo. He might be bad under pressure. Don¡¯t give him time to breathe. Go now.¡±
Chotaro walked towards Takuma but stopped a good distance away from him, fidgeting with nervous energy. He and Takuma stared at each other as though waiting for the other to make a move¡ª but then suddenly, Chotaro moved erratically. He pulled several shuriken out of his pack, threw them around him, and then pulled a kunai and randomly slashed at the air.
He was like a madman, but everyone instantly recognized what was happening to Chotaro.
¡°Genjutsu,¡± said Daiki.
¡°When did he cast it?¡± asked Iori.
¡°When Anko was talking to Masumoto,¡± Kameko answered her. ¡°I saw him weaving the hand seals.¡±
Takuma stepped forward but stopped when Chotaro weaved the hand seal. Less than a dozen baseball-sized fire orbs surrounded him and fanned outwards. Takuma resumed after they sailed harmlessly over his head and moved closer to Chotaro, who once again swung his kunai at an invisible foe.
Takuma took out a bola, a capture weapon with heavy iron balls on both ends of a rope, and threw it low and straight. It snagged Chotaro and wrapped around his ankles. He thrashed around in a panic on the ground, but Takuma was already there before he could reach for his ankles to untie the rope. Takuma flipped Chotaro onto his stomach, held him down with his knee, and used a kunai he picked up on his way and stabbed the ground just beside Chotaro¡¯s ear, nicking it and drawing blood.
He released the genjutsu and got up, letting Chotaro free himself. He got up and found the two dozen Takuma formed by Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu, and breathed a sigh of relief with a hand over his beating heart. He wasn¡¯t an opponent for one Takuma¡ªfacing two dozen of him was a terrifying nightmare.
Takuma ignored Chotaro¡¯s muttered thanks and turned to Anko.
He said, ¡°I agree with Chunin Masumoto. This isn¡¯t helping either team. At this rate, I¡¯m going to beat them over and over¡ No offense,¡± he said to the last remaining genin on Masumoto¡¯s team. ¡°How about we do something different?¡±
Anko held her silence but asked a moment later. ¡°What do you suggest?¡±
¡°The exercise is between Team-9 and Team-3, and seeing that Team-3¡¯s genin aren¡¯t doing it for me, how about the chunin.¡± Takuma regarded Masumoto with a challenging look. ¡°I want to fight you, Chunin Masumoto.¡±
Masumoto looked like he had misheard Takuma. He stared at Takuma before turning to look at Anko with a smile. But when she didn¡¯t say anything and stared back, he gawked.
¡°You¡¯re joking, right? You can¡¯t be serious¡ Takuma, was it?¡±
¡°I mean, not really,¡± Takuma shrugged. ¡°A chunin lead is also part of the team. You should take part in this joint exercise; it will help build teamwork and let you guys bond.¡±
Masumoto laughed like he¡¯d heard the joke of his life. ¡°I will give it to you, kid¡ you¡¯re good, but you don¡¯t want to fight me. You¡¯re not there yet.¡±
¡°Oh, but I think I¡¯m there, Chunin Masumoto. Why not give it a try¡ªand I will make it a learning experience for you.¡± Takuma clenched his fist, and all his knuckles cracked loudly.
Masumoto licked his lower lip as he thought about how to respond, but someone else entered the conversation before he could say anything. Everyone turned their heads at the sound of a folding fan snapping shut. The entire audience had stood up in the presence of the leader of Camp Banana.
Toridasu looked like a delighted kid staring at his favorite toy. His gaze shifted between Takuma, Anko, and Masumoto, and he silently smiled.
¡°I like it. Let¡¯s do it¡ I agree with you, Genin Takuma. Chunin leads are part of the team; they should participate in the exercise.¡± He looked at Masumoto. ¡°You¡¯re new. I want to see what you can do¡ªso fight Genin Takuma, and if it¡¯s as you say and you can beat him quickly, then you can fight Chunin Mitarashi and you two can put on a demonstration for all the genin in the camp.¡±
CH_6.42 (213)
Takuma wasn¡¯t expecting Toridasu¡¯s appearance, but his words had made it a welcome thing. It made sense that Toridasu would come as Masumoto was trying to impress the guy, but Takuma thought he would observe without being seen. Perhaps that was a wrong assumption for a flashy man like Toridasu.
However, Takuma discerned from Toridasu¡¯s words that he didn¡¯t think Takuma would win. His true want was a fight between Anko and Masumoto¡ªhe was playing with the chunin, and Takuma was just the best way to make it happen. He couldn¡¯t guess why because he didn¡¯t have any real understanding of the man. Maybe Toridasu was bored and wanted some entertainment.
¡°I personally think this is a waste of time, but if you see some merit, I will comply.¡± Masumoto had long hair that he tied up in a messy bun with a hair stick as he entered the ¡®field.¡¯ He regarded Takuma with an air of superiority. ¡°Maybe you think you earned your arrogance, but you just haven¡¯t been knocked around enough, kid. I''ll make a quick lesson out of this.¡±
Masumoto accused Takuma of being arrogant, but his words were full of arrogance and overconfidence that his own ability was so much better than Takuma¡¯s. He considered those words, savored them, and decided that it was time to start the battle.
He bent down to fold his pants above his calves and pulled his shirt off, then the weighted gear, followed by the chainmail undershirt, and finally the innermost white vest, leaving his torso bare. Takuma usually wore full-sleeved clothes because his scars drew too much attention but he wanted Masumoto to know who he was fighting.
He noticed the whispers when he ditched his wrist and ankle weights. He knew it would happen, but he didn¡¯t mind it¡ªhe had long gotten used to it. In some ways, his current attire was freeing. It took him back to his days in the Ring. He closed his eyes, and breathed through nose, filling it with the heavy scent of sweat¡ªand as distant as it was, he heard the crowd¡¯s roars.
¡°Knocking those weights isn¡¯t going to help much,¡± said Masumoto, but his eyes lingered on Takuma¡¯s scars as he watched Takuma throw his clothes away. ¡°You should at least put the chainmail back on. It won¡¯t make a difference, but at least, you¡¯ll feel safer.¡±
Takuma¡¯s reply was to take out two blank masks from his pouch and toss one of them to Masumoto.
¡°I will wear one if you wear one,¡± Takuma held up the mask in his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no dome, or that awfully bloody floor, or a roaring audience screaming at the top of their lungs¡ªbut I think those masks will be enough to bring that hateful vibe here.¡±
Masumoto¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at Takuma¡¯s very pointed words. He looked at the mask in his hand, and realization dawned on him. He looked around, at the crowd, at Toridasu, for their reactions and recognition. He looked half-worried even though he had been bragging about the thing a few nights ago.
¡°Bishop,¡± said Takuma, clearing any and all doubt.
The surprise dripped away from Masumoto¡¯s face. He looked at Takuma¡¯s exposed torso and arms.
¡°¡Scars, was it?¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think we ever fought, did we? You were after my time.¡±
¡°We fought, we did. But I was a baby back then. You beat me good,¡± Takuma smiled.
¡°This is what¡ revenge?¡±
¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t care about it enough for it to be revenge¡ It¡¯s a simple rematch.¡±
The growing grin on Masumoto¡¯s face said that he didn¡¯t believe Takuma. ¡°Sure, it¡¯s not like I have a choice in the matter.¡± He asked, ¡°Ring¡¯s rules?¡±
¡°No rules.¡±
¡°No rules, ballsy. Fine by me. A repeat performance it is.¡±
¡°A reverse performance,¡± Takuma corrected him. ¡°I¡¯m going to thrash you so hard that you will lose a few inches. Not that you have many of those.¡±
¡°I doubt that, boy.¡± Masumoto threw the blank face mask away. And unlike Takuma, he didn¡¯t remove his clothes. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±
Takuma smiled. He threw the mask as well.
¡°No rules, remember,¡± he said.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Some distance away from Takuma and Masumoto, Anko was in her own mind. She was going to fight Masumoto after Takuma, and she was planning to carefully observe the fight to gain insight into Masumoto¡¯s combat style. She readied herself¡ªwatching a fight and observing a fight to get actual insight were two very different things.
But then she heard her name called. Anko turned back at Toridasu¡¯s voice and walked to him.
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¡°Yes, sir?¡± she asked. Toridasu was once again playing a game, and she was displeased to be a part of it without knowing what it was.
¡°What are they talking about?¡± he asked her.
¡°Pardon, I¡¯m not sure what you mean,¡± she returned.
¡°Don¡¯t act clueless, girl. They obviously know each other somewhere else, but not by their true identities. Scars and Bishop¡ªthose are aliases of some kind. What are they?¡±
¡°And why do you think I would know about them, sir?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s a hunch¡ Both of them were stationed in the Hidden Leaf village, and so were you.¡± Toridasu stared at her from the side, expecting an answer from her.
Anko sighed before starting. ¡°They¡¯re talking about an underground fighting ring called the Ring. Scars and Bishop are obviously their stage names. Takuma mentioned a dome and a bloody floor; all Ring arenas are chain-linked domes.¡± She pointed at the masks both of them had thrown away. ¡°The fighters wear masks to hide their identities¡ª and male fighters fight bare-chested with shorts like Takuma¡¯s emulating now.¡±
¡°You seem knowledgeable about it all. Did you, perchance, participate in prizefighting? I wouldn¡¯t be surprised,¡± Toridasu hid his smile behind his fan.
¡°Purely as an audience member, sir.¡± She raised her eyes to match his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t know about it. You, too, are stationed in the village.¡±
Toridasu laughed boisterously as though mocking Anko. ¡°I¡¯ve been a jonin longer than you have been alive, dear Anko. Yes, I have heard of the Ring¡ªbut I¡¯m not familiar with it to a degree where I can deduce it from a vague conversation. I¡¯m in a far different social hierarchy than all of you here; I frequent the circles the Daimyo is part of. Watching shinobi fight might be of interest to the civilians, but it does nothing for me. I¡¯ve already seen a lifetime of it and continue to see more.¡±
Anko rolled her eyes. She couldn¡¯t care how posh Toridasu¡¯s life was¡ªhe was just a bald git to her.
¡°But it¡¯s impressive that you could piece it together so quickly. No wonder you were selected into the T&I department,¡± Toridasu commented off-handedly.
Anko¡¯s thoughts came to a crashing stop. She stared at him, doubting what she had just heard. Even Toridasu looked like he didn¡¯t realize what he had just said.
¡°What did you just say?¡± she asked.
¡°Hmm?¡± Toridasu stared back and a flash of understanding shone across his face. ¡°Oh!¡± he laughed. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell you? It¡¯s in your file. Yeah, you got selected into T&I, but you were deployed before you could join. Maybe that¡¯s why they didn¡¯t bother telling you. Pretty funny if you ask me.¡±
Anko had already stopped listening. She looked ahead, unable to focus on anything happening around her. She wanted to flee to a place where no one could find her so she could be left alone.
The best time of her life was training under Orochimaru. The training was harsh, and he was tough on her, but she felt gratified when he praised her and when she felt she had improved. When she made chunin, she was showered with praise from all over the country¡ªmost of them were because she was Orochimaru¡¯s student when he was still the honorable Sannin¡ªbut she didn¡¯t mind it as she had made herself a chunin and no one could deny it.
Everything came crashing down when Orochimaru was branded a traitor because of his involvement with criminals. He had even left his mark on her. All the paths that had opened to her as a chunin (and Orochimaru¡¯s student) vanished. People from the biggest clans lined up to work with her, but after his escape, she became something no one wanted to touch¡ªa pariah. It was tough, but she decided to put her head down and work it out. She thought that if she worked hard, her efforts would pay off. She didn¡¯t need to be Orochimaru¡¯s student to succeed; she could succeed in spite of being his student.
She understood that she would need to work twice or even thrice as much to get the equivalent treatment to others¡ªand she accepted that unfair reality. To prove herself and her worth as a kunoichi, she applied to various departments and prominent jonin teams in hopes that one would pick her up. No avenue was not considered important. She studied the departments extensively¡ªfrom their work, history, and people¡ªleaving no stone unturned. She took more and more missions to improve her qualifications and applied for more dangerous ones, so it didn¡¯t seem she was padding them.
The Torture and Interrogation Department was her dream job. She wanted nothing more than to get selected into its ranks. The department head had the reputation of being fair and judged people on their accomplishments and deeds rather than their background. Anko thought if the head was fair, then the department¡¯s culture would be similar, filled with like-minded people. That¡¯s all she could ever want¡ªa place that would look beyond her taint and accept her for who she was.
In her opinion, she crushed the test assignments, aced the interview process with flying colors, and was confident that the letter for her probation period would come in the post any day.
It never came.
Instead, she got her deployment orders in her mailbox.
For the past several months, she had been under the conception that she had failed to get into the T&I Department¡ªthat her everything wasn¡¯t enough¡ªthat she couldn¡¯t even blame Orochimaru because of the department head¡¯s reputation of being fair and just.
She wanted those months back where every time she had any time to herself, her mind would dip to a low, and she would torture herself that everything she had gained since she was ten years old was due to Orochimaru, and when he was gone, she couldn¡¯t even get the job she wanted. Her own cruel voice in her head told her that she wasn¡¯t deserving of her rank as a chunin. All that time she had knocked herself down, she wanted it back so she could hold her head high and be confident in her ability as a proud shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.
Anko clenched her fist, digging her nails into the flesh of her palms. The pain was almost not enough to stop tears from pouring out. She couldn¡¯t let those emotions show up in front of everybody, especially not in front of Toridasu. The man would take advantage of her weakness and make her feel even more terrible, which she didn¡¯t think possible, but she wouldn¡¯t put it past Toridasu.
¡°¡It¡¯s good to know that at least someone has an eye for talent,¡± Anko said, faking her usual front.
¡°And what about you? Do you have an eye for talent,¡± Toridasu asked. He was looking at Takuma when he said that. ¡°You seem to be going along with this well.¡±
¡°I give my team chances to flourish and prove themselves.¡±
¡°Even after what he did?¡±
¡°We got a successful massive operation. Net profit.¡±
¡°And do you think he will hold up against Masumoto?¡±
Anko shrugged. ¡°If he does, good for him. At the end of the day, Team-9¡¯s going to take the prize home either way.¡±
She looked up at him and smiled. If Takuma couldn¡¯t, then she would beat Masumoto into the ground.
CH_6.43 (214)
The grip around the kunai felt perfect. He gripped it tighter to feel the cold metal underneath the wrapping as he contemplated on how to proceed. Masumoto matched his steps with a heckling grin as they kept an unchanging distance between them. Takuma could wait for Masumoto to make his first move, influence him into making the first move, or make the first move himself.
What do I want? Takuma asked himself the question.
He wanted to know more about Masumoto. He had no interest in knowing about the man called Masumoto, yuck¡ªbut he had considerable interest in knowing Masumoto the fighter. The man in front of him wasn¡¯t just Bishop¡ªjust like Scars wasn¡¯t Takuma. Even then, he didn¡¯t know much, if anything, about Bishop, so his mental image of Masumoto was lacking.
As his wants became clear, Takuma broke the equilibrium and strode towards Masumoto, who grinned wider. The man stood there, welcoming Takuma to have a go at him. Takuma broke into a run and lobbed the kunai at Masumoto. He took another kunai and threw that as well, but this time, he gave it an extra push through augmentation. The second kunai caught up to the first one despite the difference in release.
It surprised Masumoto, but he handled it effortlessly. He avoided one of them and parried the second. But the twin kunai were only the start of Takuma¡¯s offense. He breached Masumoto¡¯s range with a feint. Masumoto moved to block, but the punch was only a cover for the kunai in his other hand.
Masumoto jerked his torso back to avoid the kunai so Takuma switched to a reverse grip and slashed the kunai back. Masumoto latched hold of Takuma¡¯s arm to stop the sharp kunai so he let go of the kunai; it dropped into his other hand and went for a vicious gutting stab. Masumoto, of course, still had another hand that he put in the kunai¡¯s way. The blade ripped through Masumoto¡¯s lower sleeve, but it drew no blood and scratched against a metal arm guard. With his other hand in Masumoto¡¯s firm grip, the other man forcefully redirected the kunai away from his body.
Takuma¡¯s hands were now in Masumoto¡¯s firm grasp. The two fighters looked at each other and moved simultaneously. Takuma tried to overpower Masumoto and bend the latter¡¯s arms into an awkward position¡ªbut Masumoto was quicker. He kicked Takuma in the stomach. The hit pushed him back a couple of meters but was now free from Masumoto¡¯s grasp, though not for long.
Masumoto rushed at Takuma, not bothering to feint or force Takuma¡¯s guard down. He overwhelmed Takuma with a dense flurry of combinations. Takuma blocked, dodged, and countered wherever he could but it was clear that he was being pushed back.
¡®He¡¯s a melee fighter,¡¯ Takuma deduced. He looked up at Masumoto with a smile, and his heart spiked for a beat when he recognized the look on Masumoto¡¯s face.
The dull brown eyes were looking at him¡ªreally looking at him.
Takuma wasn¡¯t the only one observing and making deductions.
Takuma dug his feet into the dirt, his soles skidding on the slippery grass before he could find his feet. He took a stand and turned up the aggression. Takuma used what he noticed and drove a heavy straight into Masumoto¡¯s side followed by a few more solid strikes, but he left himself open to a barrage of kicks that left his lower half throbbing painfully.
Both sides got in satisfying hits as the tactics switched up. Takuma snaked his hands around and under Masumoto¡¯s guard and grabbed him by his clothes, tossed him to the ground over his shoulder with a grunt of effort.. He raised his right fist and his chakra flooded the pathways in his arm, and slammed it down.
Masumoto winced when he hit the ground but gathered his focus in time to see the throbbing vein on Takuma¡¯s forehead and the raised fist capturing the sun behind it. Danger. He slapped away Takuma¡¯s other hand¡ªthe one pinning him to the ground¡ªand rolled to the side, using the momentum to continue rolling. The earth exploded and from as far as he was, he felt the ground sink and shudder as he was showered.
Takuma growled and pulled his arm out of the soft ground.
He noticed Masumoto¡¯s dirt-covered face staring at the crater he had just created. Their eyes met, and they sprang into action again. Masumoto, on all fours, turned his back to Takuma and tried to pull away. Takuma leapt forward, grabbed a leg, and dragged his opponent back. Masumoto turned again, now facing Takuma; he kicked him, digging his heel into his shoulder. Takuma¡¯s face twitched with pain, but he didn¡¯t let go and gave a sharp tug to yank Masumoto closer.
He was going to cave Masumoto¡¯s chest in with an augmented stomp if it was the last thing he did.
Three shuriken headed for Takuma¡¯s face but he raised an arm and hissed painfully when they dug into his upper arm. Masumoto laughed at Takuma¡¯s painful grunts as he pulled away, having secured the time and space he needed to get back to his feet.
As Takuma pulled the shuriken from his arm, Masumoto weaved through several hand seals.
Takuma jumped back and did the same, ignoring the twitch his punctured arm gave.
Fire-Style: Twin Tiger¡¯s FuryWater-Style: Eight Tentacles
Starting from his fists, Masumoto¡¯s arms were engulfed in fiery flames up to halfway above his elbow. The pooling fire made Masumoto¡¯s fists look thrice their actual size. Each time he flexed, the fires expanded, burning hotter.
¡°I¡¯m hungry; let¡¯s do some cooking, boy,¡± Masumoto said as he cracked his neck.
The water in the field rose and collected behind Takuma. With a flex of his shoulder blades, eight whole tentacles shot out from behind his back. Each of them moved like they were alive. Takuma dipped into the pack around his thigh and threw four kunai that were then snatched up from the air by four tentacles.
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¡°I won¡¯t trust you to boil water properly. It¡¯d probably be lukewarm¡ like you,¡± said Takuma.
Masumoto chuckled with a smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes before dashing toward him. Takuma responded in kind and rushed forward as well. Masumoto pulled one of his arms back and punched a jet of fire toward Takuma. It roared as it blasted out of his hands. The water tentacles writhed into action, forming a protective umbrella in front of Takuma.
Despite its usefulness, Eight Tentacles wasn¡¯t a defensive jutsu and while it managed to block out the flames, he felt the intense heat wash over him as though he was standing in front of a furnace.
The water began to boil¡ªand even steam to Takuma¡¯s surprise.
Wasn¡¯t water supposed to have an advantage over fire? Takuma jumped away, but Masumoto didn¡¯t release the pressure, pursuing Takuma and blasting him with consecutive fire jets with incredible reach. Takuma tried his best, but Masumoto was just as fast as he was, and any difference in speed between them was easily made up for by the extended reach that accursed fire jutsu provided.
The heat stung, and Takuma was dripping with sweat. He tried to whip Masumoto with the tentacles in hopes of extinguishing the flames, but they would replenish and lick angrily against his tentacles. Takuma quickly realized he needed to douse all or most of the fire to break the jutsu. The tentacles had already nearly halved in length and he knew they wouldn¡¯t last long, and he couldn¡¯t go in close to knock Masumoto out because of the harsh flames.
¡°Is this hot enough for you?¡± Masumoto laughed and punched forth, and Takuma had to pull off his tentacles in front of him to block the fire that was the same size as his body.
Takuma didn¡¯t reply and jumped up high into the sky. The ground cracked under the force of his chakra, pushing him high enough to see the camp stretching across the field. Masumoto was directly below him, his arms still shrouded in fire. The tentacles moved before Takuma, hiding him from Masumoto¡¯s view. Behind the tentacles, Takuma weaved hand seals for Water Release: Wild Water Wave. As Takuma descended, the tentacles moved aside, and Takuma poured down a furious flood on Masumoto, who failed to dodge it in time.
The fire jutsu broke, and Masumoto was drenched from head to toe. His hair was flat against forehead and Takuma laughed, the sight reminding him of a wet dog. The pressure of the jutsu, acting with gravity, weighed down on Masumoto, forcing him to kneel and then lie flat against the ground. Even though it didn¡¯t have high offensive power, Wild Water Wave was still a C-rank jutsu.
Takuma landed and two half-length tentacles dropped their kunai into his hands. He launched both forwards; one nicked Masumoto¡¯s shoulder but he caught the other. He rose shakily and stumbled back when Takuma charged at him. It was clear that he was still feeling the battery from the Wild Water Wave. He threw the kunai back at Takuma, but it was so weak that Takuma didn¡¯t even think of slowing down when he stepped out of its way.
Takuma pushed off his back leg and swung his fist wide as he dropped over Masumoto. The augmented force hit Masumoto¡¯s forearms, blowing him away¡ªhe rolled like a tumbleweed in the high wind. Takuma could feel that this was his chance to pull the victory into his court and gave chase. He covered ground in one long leap, and jumped up high to then descend right over Masumoto, intending to re-do the augmented stomp he had missed¡ªbut this time with both of his feet.
Masumoto¡¯s arms trembled from the force of Takuma¡¯s blows and his face was flushed beet-red with pain. He saw Takuma coming down on him once again and rolled away at the last moment. A crater thrice the size of the previous one marred the earth.
Takuma was irritated that he missed again but Masumoto was close this time and he didn¡¯t intended to miss a third time. His fist grew hot at the amount of chakra flowing through it and he brought it down.. Masumoto, who was struggling to get up from the ground, suddenly lashed his arm towards him.
Takuma saw a fistful of dirt headed for his face and squeezed his eyes shut.
His heart sank when he opened his eyes to see Masumoto up and in a solid ready stance.. His arms were still trembling, but everything else looked perfectly fine. Strangely, he held a kunai between his teeth.
Takuma realized what had happened because he had done it before.
The next moment, he felt a foot smash into his knee from the side, destroying his balance and forcing him to kneel awkwardly. Takuma wanted to laugh because of how familiar it felt. He had fallen into a trap. Masumoto had first pretended to be hurt, then took real damage from his augmented diving punch to sell it, and lured Takuma in to have a possibility for a dirty sneak attack.
Masumoto weaved hand seals before grabbing the kunai in his mouth. The metal sizzled before the blade turned a glowing red with wisps of flames burning on the surface. He brought down the scorching kunai down at Takuma¡¯s outstretched thigh.
Takuma was forced into a vulnerable position, but he wasn¡¯t defenseless. He gritted his teeth and stopped the kunai with both his hands. The kunai didn¡¯t cut him, but the ninjutsu burned the skin and flesh of his hand.
Masumoto had a sadistic smile as Takuma screamed in his face.
¡°Hot enough?¡± Masumoto said, eerily calm.
Masumoto didn¡¯t try to force the kunai as his arms were still recovering from Takuma¡¯s augmented hit. He released the kunai, and so did Takuma, who truly realized that he was back to fighting a real Ring fighter when Masumoto struck him in the throat.
Takuma felt his ability to breathe to go away¡ªbut he didn¡¯t panic.
It had been a while, but he was a Ring fighter too.
Masumoto performed a spinning sidekick and smashed it into Takuma¡¯s jaw. Takuma swayed dangerously and the world felt like one massive marshmallow beneath his feet. Masumoto pulled out a kunai and went in to gut him. Takuma moved his hand in kunai¡¯s way at the last moment to successfully save his stomach.
¡°Respect, brother,¡± said Masumoto, sounding strangely genuine about it, ¡°but this is the end.¡±
The last thing Masumoto saw before he blacked out for a moment was the crazed look on Takuma¡¯s face before he headbutted him in the face and he sagged to the ground. When he came to after a couple of seconds, Masumoto felt a world of pain and disorientation so extreme that he instantly vomited. His nose was broken, he had orbital fractures, his lips was split¡ªhis face was just one bleeding mess.
All of that was from a single headbutt.
Out of pure instinct, Takuma¡¯s chakra rushed to augment his forehead¡ªit was the first augmented headbutt of his life.
Takuma completely ignored it and put some distance between him and Masumoto despite seeing the state of his opponent. He needed a moment to get his head and balance straight and knew a Ring fighter of Bishop¡¯s level wouldn¡¯t go down so easily.
He looked down at the kunai-shaped burn wound branding his hands. His palms flared at the slightest movement. He clenched his fists. The more pain he felt, the clearer his head became.
He looked back at Masumoto; the man stood up and stared Takuma down as he snapped his dislocated jaw back into place. Even his messed-up face couldn¡¯t hide the anger he was feeling.
Weaving hands seals hurt, but Takuma did it without letting it show on his face.
Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu
The water rose from the wet ground, forming a moist mass that took the shape of Takuma¡¯s body contours, morphing into a perfect clone of himself.
¡°Scars,¡± said Takuma, assigning the role to himself.
¡°Takuma,¡± said the clone, doing the same.
If one of him was having a difficult time ending the fight then this ought to solve that problem.
CH_6.44 (215)
Toridasu looked between the two fighters, and the speed of his fan grew slower as the fight progressed. Most direct confrontations involving shinobi were short affairs of a few minutes until one party was defeated, or the fight broke up because one party decided to escape. Other real-life factors changed those time observations, but the median range of durations was consistently short.
Seeing Masumoto unable to wrap up the fight quickly told Toridasu that he had underestimated Takuma''s combat ability. The injuries on Masumoto were proof of his misjudgment. He had expected Takuma to take on a beating for provoking a chunin, but Masumoto''s state was out of his expectations.
He glanced at Anko, who was occupied with the fight. "It seems you won''t get to fight Masumoto," he said.
"Aww, I was looking forward to playing with him. Look how angry he is; it would''ve made my week," Anko snorted with faux amusement but her worry for her genin slipped between the curtain of her sarcasm. She eyed Toridasu with a look. "You better not stop me from interfering in case of an incident¡ I will protect my team."
"You underestimate him," Toridasu said, watching the water clone form beside Takuma.
"I know Takuma well enough. Masumoto is the one I don''t trust. I can tell he''s the petty kind; they can be particularly nasty fellows." Anko looked directly at Toridasu as she said the words.
Toridasu found the veiled insult equal parts amusing and adorable.
"Why do you think he''s doing this? Is it simply for something lowly like revenge? You must''ve signed off on this," Toridasu asked.
"He''s doing this for you," said Anko, surprising Toridasu with her answer.
"¡For me? Pardon me but I didn''t ask for this."
"Didn''t you though? I asked you to put Team-9 on the precursor mission but you made it clear we weren''t getting it when you gave Takuma a dressing down in front of Shirakumo. He blames himself and wants to make it up to the team."
"He went behind our backs."
"Net profit."
Toridasu disagreed with that but couldn''t say that he was hoping to exploit their allied nation by having them fork over a portion of the extracted gold from the mines. They still would have recaptured the Gojiro Gold Mines for the Hidden Steam, but they would''ve done so with some demands. Toridasu would''ve spun a political web for that to happen¡ªbut when Benzou brought them the plans for recapture¡ª and destruction¡ªof the mines, it was after he had consulted with the powers at home. Toridasu was completely cut off and didn''t even get the chance to convince them to keep the mines running, much less put pressure on the Hidden Steam and the Land of Hot Water.
Anko continued, "This is a showcase for you that Team-9 has two members with a field combat chunin''s fighting ability." ¡ª Anko wasn''t a field combat chunin with her specialty residing in information extraction, but the Snake''s student was anything but not deadly. While not tested, Anko was among the strongest chunin in Camp Banana. ¡ª "He''s making a case for you to consider, appealing that you set aside your personal feelings and appoint the best team for the mission. We didn''t lose any members in Gojiro Gold Mines operations, we are equipped to gather intel out there for the subsequent recapture mission, and we obviously have enough firepower."
Toridasu tapped the bottom of his chin with his closed fan and shook his head.
"I''m sorry but this just looks like a child''s petty revenge to me."
"People can have multiple intentions, sir. I mean, who doesn''t?"
Toridasu watched as Takuma and his clone cornered Masumoto like it was a street-side brawl.
"I still don''t think I will give it to you. I didn''t like the Snake very much."
"And you think I love him, sir?" Anko scoffed. "Madmen like him hurt the people closest to them the most," she said in a quieter voice. She took in a deep breath and audibly exhaled. "And I don''t care if you give the mission to me, sir. I don''t care anymore¡ªabout your misplaced grudge or the mission."
"Is that so?" Toridasu smiled, calling her bluff.
"It is. You just told me I have a new job waiting for me back home in the T&I department." Anko smiled refreshingly at him. "You just made my day, sir, and for that, I thank you. I''ll treat you to a meal when we return home. I know a killer corner joint that serves sweet bean soup and dango to die for."
"I prefer my food to be spicy."
Anko laughed. "No wonder we don''t get along."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Scars."
"Takuma."
Takuma and Clone stood next to each other and communicated their role to each other. Clone only had ten percent of Takuma''s chakra and was a level inferior in terms of physical capabilities¡ªbut other than that, they were completely identical.
Water Style: Eight Tentacles
The water tentacles formed behind their backs.
Opposite them, Masumoto breathed out a jet of fire that fanned back to form a ring around him before splitting into nine orbs. The orbs split into two different orbits that crossed each other, forming an X-shape.
Fire Release: Fox Fire
"He''s quick, but he doesn''t like to move around, so we have to be on the move," said Clone.
Takuma eyed the fire orbs rotating around Masumoto and felt that they were rather similar to his water tentacles. He wasn''t familiar with the jutsu, but he could guess that the fire orbs had considerable range and speed, and that any contact with them would burn harshly.
"Allocate half of the tentacles for defensive purposes," Takuma said to Clone.
Clone scoffed. "I should be saying that. You''re Scars."
"Let''s go."
Takuma and Clone were on the move. They went into diverging directions with the intention to flank Masumoto from either side in a pincer movement.
Masumoto''s eyes moved between Takuma and Clone. He assumed a stance, and the moment they were close enough, the fire orbs broke from their stable orbital movements and flew erratically. Six orbs shot toward Takuma while Masumoto took three orbs with him and charged Clone. The tentacles behind Clone jolted into action. One whipped the first fire orb away from Clone. Three tentacles tried to envelop the second orb in an attempt to extinguish it, but the third orb pushed the trapped second orb. The second orb was smaller with the tentacles having done some damage, but it drew closer to the third orb, and in a moment, swelled back to its previous size and intensity.
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Clone made a note of it and clashed with Masumoto.
There were no quips exchanged as the two fought. Masumoto was more aggressive and the Ring influence showed in his style¡ªhis body shots looked for the liver and kidney, frequent kicks were aimed at the joints to disrupt the balance and take out the base, and he was more than willing to trade damage for opportunities to inflict more and worse pain.
He noted that this must be what others felt when they fought him. The fire orbs acted like extra arms, just like his water tentacles did and Masumoto used them viciously, targeting his face to damage his eyes and ears. Clone felt the heat near his face¡ªbut the water tentacles kept the fire orbs away.
Clone, like an ice skater on the rink, was constantly on the move as he targeted Masumoto from both sides. Masumoto was quick, but he wasn''t light on his feet. Clone exerted himself to jump around and push his speed even further, turning the pressure so Masumoto would make a mistake.
He was on the hunt for a counter opportunity.
Alas, Clone was slower than Takuma and Masumoto was difficult to pressure. Less than ten seconds after their clash, Clone pulled back away from Masumoto.
Masumoto wasn''t confused and immediately turned and pulled up a block. Takuma smashed a devastating augmented cross into his arms. Masumoto held his ground but was forced to skid several meters back. He growled in pain as he flexed his arms to stop them from trembling.
Clone shot back in from behind with a flying augmented kick to Masumoto''s head that his opponent parried and redirected skillfully. When his feet landed on the ground, Clone jumped again for a spinning kick.
Masumoto tried to pull back, but five of Takuma''s tentacles wrapped around him from behind, holding him in place. Clone slammed the kick into his shoulder and he jerked, still trapped within the water tentacles. Clone tried to convert his one hit into a chain combination¡ªbut three orbs shot toward him in quick succession, all blocked by the three remaining water tentacles.The other five slipped off Masumoto as Clone was sent flying ¡ªthe fire orbs were heavy as cannon balls.
As Takuma stepped from behind to stab Masumoto in the back, another orb rushed toward him. The tentacles moved to intercept it, but it pulsed dangerously and exploded.
Takuma''s body spun through the air; the tentacles plunged into the ground, slowing him down. Takuma rose unsteadily as the tentacles snaked around his body to cool the burns. He gazed at Masumoto. The man was rolling on the ground, putting out the fire from his own explosion. His clothes were ruined, and the skin on his back was charred and angry.
"Fuck," Takuma touched behind his ringing left ear. He raised his left hand to his right shoulder and snapped the dislocated shoulder back into his place with a wince.
It didn''t surprise Takuma that Masumoto was willing to trade damage, but not to this degree. It was something the Ring did to its fighters¡ªgenin who walked out of the Ring were much more willing to trade injuries, a dangerous habit to fall into on the field. Takuma was trying to hammer down that same instinct to this day and assumed that Masumoto, who had retired by the time he became Scars, would''ve done the same.
Has he not done so yet, or is Masumoto taking greater risk on purpose, Takuma wondered¡ªif it was the latter, then why?
Takuma exchanged glances with Clone, and both ran toward Masumoto again in a pincer movement. Masumoto was breathing heavily on his knees. The remaining fire orbs mobilized, and a pair whizzed towards each of them.
Takuma tried to dance around the fire orbs, but now that he knew they could explode, he kept his distance and was always ready to jump away at the moment''s notice.
Clone, on the other hand, decided to experiment; he ran around looking like he was trying to get past the fire orbs. He came very near the fire orb before jumping away to a dead still. The fire orb bobbed after him but halted halfway.
Clone looked at Masumoto, who was now frowning.
He grinned before yelling, "Ten to twelve meters!"
Takuma jumped backward until he was more than twelve meters away from Masumoto and immediately weaved hand seals.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
Takuma had purposefully overcharged the jutsu. It had double the range and the water retained much of its damaging pressure. The jutsu barreled toward Masumoto, who was clearly injured as he was still kneeling.
Two fire orbs shot towards the wave of water and exploded, neutralizing the ninjutsu. A light splash of water washed over Masumoto, leaving him drenched. Masumoto finally got up, and the six remaining fire orbs pulled back closer to him.
He started, "You think you''re¡ª"
Ding!
Masumoto froze up with a jolt. He groaned in agony as a harsh sound pierced his ear, and he began to see clones of Takuma pop around the field.
One of Clone''s tentacles was holding a scuffed bell.
Genjutsu: Bell Clone Jutsu
Takuma immediately took off toward Masumoto. Just when he thought he had a freeway, the nearest fire orbs moved, giving him a scare. He looked at Masumoto, who was still frozen up from the genjutsu. Then he noticed that the fire orb was moving erratically and much slower. It seemed that genjutsu only froze up the body, and the mind was affected, but not completely.
He learned more every day.
Takuma clicked his tongue and jumped away just a moment before the fire orb nearest to him suddenly exploded.
"He''s free," Clone shouted.
Masumoto shook his head, trying to shake off any lingering effects. It was unclear if exploding the fire orb snapped him out of the genjutsu or if he exploded the orb after he snapped out of it. He turned a glare towards Clone, sending two fire orbs chasing after him.
Clone put himself far outside of the fire orb''s range and was thinking about baiting Masumoto by stepping in and out of the range and occupying his attention so that Takuma could breach and get close to him. During that thought, one of the fire orbs struck the second from behind a moment before exploding. The second orb absorbed the explosion, growing bigger, and shot beyond its tracking range toward Clone..
He thought he was safe as long as he was outside the range, and the sudden collapse of that logical conclusion made him freeze up. He watched it pulse and grow brighter like all the other orbs did before exploding. A split second later, Clone snapped into action and punched out toward the orb just as it was less than a meter away from him.
Chakra Augmentation: Second Form
The chakra bubbling inside Clone''s arm traveled to the front of his fist and then shot out in a directed beam of concentrated chakra that struck the fire orb before it could hit Clone. It wasn''t as powerful as the usual augmented strike and took more chakra to perform, but it added extra range to his melee attack.
The fire orb, heavy as a cannonball, being propelled by an explosion much like a cannon, had an overwhelming force behind it¡ªand for a moment, it looked like the second form punch failed to stop the bull run, but then it was smashed away into the air a moment before it exploded. Clone pulled his arms up in protection with a pleased grin. He felt the heat but little of the explosive force. It was the first time the second form punch was used in battle, and it was a success even though he had yet to test it in spars.
On Masumoto''s side, he looked up to see a flurry of kunai and shuriken tearing in his direction. He narrowed his eyes and caught explosive tags fluttering behind a few kunai mixed in with the bunch. He sighed, and with a flick of his wrist, three of the remaining four orbs met the weapons in mid-air. They exploded and the barrage of projectiles was blown away in all directions. Metal shards and broken hilts clattered across the field.
Masumoto looked ahead and found Takuma missing. His pupils shrunk, and goosebumps erupted across his bare skin. He turned around and felt the ground beneath him shift. Takuma broke through a crack in the ground. The last remaining fire orb flew toward Takuma, who punched out with a weaker second form augmentation and sent it a few meters away.
Takuma slashed Masumoto across the chest with the kunai in his other hand. Blood spattered over his face as Masumoto stumbled back. Takuma struck with his kunai again, but Masumoto grabbed the blade, cutting the inside of his hand. He muffled his grunt and kicked Takuma''s legs from under him, followed by a stomp to his chest, pinning him to the ground. The fire orb rushed in from the side, and Masumoto jumped away. Takuma saw the orb glowing brighter; he couldn''t get up to run in time, so he took the next option of weaving hand seals for Earth Style: Earthen Dome. He knew the jutsu wouldn''t make it in time, but it was his only option.
Just as the orb expanded, a second away from blowing up, Clone came flying in. He enveloped his body around the orb the moment it exploded. Clone blew up into a mass of water, and in his last moment, his body blocked the explosion that would''ve hit Takuma. While the fire hadn''t touched him, the force of the explosion sent him flying and he smashed his elbow against the ground..
His vision swam. He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth as he got up and fixed his gaze toward the blurred figure he assumed to be Masumoto. As his vision settled, Takuma saw Masumoto weave hand seals, the gash on his hand dripping with blood.
A layer of visible blue chakra covered Masumoto''s body. Takuma looked closer and saw the air around Masumoto''s body shimmering with sheer heat. The grass around Masumoto''s feet burned, turning black with embers.
"Takuma!" Anko yelled from the sidelines. "That''s a B-rank ninjutsu¡ª be careful!"
Masumoto threw his head back, flexed his entire body, and yelled to the sky.
The chakra layer sparked and surged into a blazing fire, surrounding him like a scorching aura, trying to burn everything and anything within its reach. Steam rose from the ground around Masumoto, the moisture being burned, and within a couple of seconds, he was standing in a smoldering ring.
A fresh coat of sweat erupted across Takuma''s body, running down his face and evaporating before it ever hit the ground.
A hundred thoughts flashed across his mind as he ran simulations on how the fight would go.
The result was the same every single time: he couldn''t win¡ªnot against this.
CH_6.45 (216)
Team-9 ran to Anko, worried and apprehensive. Anko herself looked nervous as the waves of heat and chakra washed over her and felt the danger Masumoto posed¡ª she herself felt danger from Masumoto as he was now. She didn¡¯t know if Takuma would be able to defeat him.
¡°Anko, you should call the fight,¡± said Iori, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Anko glanced at her team before turning to Toridasu.
She asked, ¡°What is that jutsu?¡±
Just from the chakra saturated the environment, it was clear that this was a B-rank ninjutsu at the minimum¡ªmaybe even higher.
¡°It¡¯s Fire Style: Chakra Mode, a B-rank ninjutsu of the supplementary category. He¡¯s coating his entire body with a cloak of fire chakra. In theory, the jutsu is fairly simple. The fire incinerates any attack thrown at him, and it allows him to scorch through his enemies with a very potent nintaijutsu.¡±
A term used to describe fighting styles that incorporate the use of ninjutsu and taijutsu.
¡°This jutsu has limitless potential. The Raikage uses the lightning version of it, Lightning Style: Chakra Mode¡ªin fact, it¡¯s his signature jutsu. He¡¯s arguably the most powerful shinobi currently alive and his use of that jutsu is heavily responsible for that.¡± Toridasu looked at her. ¡°Your boy is in danger, Anko. Both of them are close-range melee fighters. And Mausmoto just got an extreme boost to his taijutsu. You might want to listen to your team¡¯s suggestions¡ call it off,¡± he said without the usual lightheartedness in his eyes.
Anko turned her gaze back to the fight. Takuma had his raised hand up in front of his face to protect it from the sheer heat, and it looked like he couldn¡¯t even stand properly from the fringe effects of Masumoto¡¯s jutsu.
¡°Anko!¡± Iori urged.
Protecting her own was Anko¡¯s responsibility as their leader. In her opinion, Takuma had already proved his value and Team-9¡¯s virtue for the benefit of Toridasu. He didn¡¯t need to prove himself more than he had already shown.
But the truth was that none of it mattered anymore.
¡°He failed his academy graduation test twice,¡± Anko said to Toridasu, recalling Takuma¡¯s file, what he told her, and something she heard from Kameko. ¡°He told me that you were there for the third attempt, which he passed¡ªbut what¡¯s surprising is that they didn¡¯t give him a chance to get on a jonin team because his grades were piss poor¡. They pushed him into the Genin Corp without allowing a jonin to check him.
¡°I don¡¯t think that boy, who was denied that basic opportunity, and then managed to climb his way to a leadership position in the Uchiha¡¯s den would appreciate anyone telling him what he can or cannot do.¡±
Anko crossed her arms and returned to the fight, much to the wonder of Toridasu and the astonishment of her team.
Inside, however, she was struggling to convince herself that she¡¯d made the right choice.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The smoldering heat made Takuma wish he had at least kept his inner vest on. He absently wondered if this was what working in a smelting factory felt like but reined his focus in. It was tough to stay focused right now: he had lost a lot of blood, was dehydrated, and was dealing with dozens of injuries of various seriousness.
¡°You¡¯re good as dead, kid!¡± said Masumoto; the flames around his body roared as he pointed at Takuma.
And then there was him.
Takuma took a hot breath and weaved hand seals for the Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu to alter the playing field and give him some cover while he spent some time thinking about how to proceed.
He quickly followed with Water Style: Eight Tentacles, grimacing as lances of pain shot up and down his elbow. Two tentacles merged into one and wrapped around his hurt arm to support his injured elbow. He had done it for his out-of-commission leg during the assassination attempt, and luckily for him, his arm wasn¡¯t completely disabled nor did it bear half of his body weight so two tentacles were enough for support. The remaining tentacles covered as much of his body as they could to provide any protection against the oppressive heat.
His ears were damaged, dulling his hearing, and in any other case, he wouldn¡¯t have used the Hidden Mist Jutsu as he relied on his ears to traverse under the fog, but Masumoto had turned himself into a walking light bulb¡ one that could easily burn him to ashes..
Takuma pulled out three shuriken, intending to see if Masumoto¡¯s chakra cover deflected solid metal. He got himself in the position and was about to throw the shuriken when he noticed the visibility improving by the moment, and in just a few seconds, the mist had dissipated, turning increasingly thin.
In front of his eyes, Masumoto went from a mass of light to a blurry humanoid figure, coated in angry flames.
¡®H-He¡¯s heating the mist into vapor,¡¯ Takuma gasped in astonishment.
Masumoto turned to face Takuma, who saw his grin through the translucent flames. ¡°Found you,¡± he grinned before breaking into a sprint, heading straight for Takuma.
With the mist neutralized, Takuma had no choice but to face the threat head-on. He immediately fell back, keeping a safe distance away between them and threw three shuriken. Masumoto laughed, and a ring of fire burst out of his body. It passed through the shuriken and they lost all their momentum, burning cherry-red and sinking to the ground.
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¡°I don¡¯t like running, Scars!¡± Masumoto yelled, stretching his words.
When Takuma didn¡¯t reply, Masumoto punched out a dense cloud of fire with a smokey trail. For a moment, Takuma wondered if he had thrown Fire Style: Fireball at him. He broke it apart with a second form punch.
¡°But can you do that like this?!¡± Masumoto jabbed in quick succession, sending half a dozen burning fire clouds toward Takuma.
Masumoto deduced it right. Takuma couldn¡¯t use his augmentations in quick succession. He jumped around to evade the fire clouds¡ªbut in doing so, he let Masumoto close the distance. The flames around his arm morphed into a rough gauntlet, much like his previous ninjutsu.
Takuma jumped to the side at the last moment. The flaming gauntlet struck a glancing blow to his shoulder. Takuma felt the force travel around his torso and spun like a top before slamming into the ground. Through the nausea, Takuma thanked higher powers that they fought on soft ground instead of concrete or tar roads.
He could smell his burnt hair but he didn¡¯t have time to worry. Running wasn¡¯t an option so he pulled out a kunai and stood his ground.
Masumoto looked irked that Takuma had gotten up. The chakra cloak that had subsided to a modest fire flared back to its peak ignition as Masumoto surged ahead.
Takuma pushed his body to the limit, dancing around Masumoto. His chakra cloak granted him dangerous power, but it didn¡¯t fix his habit of not moving around enough. Takuma ducked and rolled under Masumoto¡¯s high-intensity assault. He jumped back and forth, going in and out of melee range to force Masumoto to move around.
It was painful. The tentacle armor protected him from most of the heat, but it wouldn¡¯t last for long. Masumoto¡¯s elevated strength, his ranged fire clouds, and the fire¡¯s blinding light were hindrances that Masumoto took full advantage of as he struck through Takuma¡¯s defenses. He was giving Takuma the Ring treatment: his shoulders and knees were given repeated beatings; he had to protect his calves and thighs from searing kicks that had struck him one too many times; he had to protect his face from sudden attacks that would then be followed by quick body strikes that hurt his organs.
Not to mention his elbow: Takuma did all he could to make sure Masumoto didn¡¯t damage it even further.
Takuma felt the fatigue building up in his aching muscles. He could no longer see properly from his right eye because of how swollen it was. His breathing grew labored as his offense built on the continuous movement to break through Masumoto¡¯s weak points wasn¡¯t doing much damage. At least, not enough to pull him down to Takuma¡¯s level.
As the exhaustion set in, his mind grew heavier, and so did the desperation to find something to turn the tide. He had one more untested weapon in his arsenal, but he needed time to weave hand seals and carefully direct his chakra. Option after option rushed through his mind; he dug deep into his previous fights, looking for anything he had done that would work¡ªbut everything failed.
Even bombarding Masumoto with explosive tags wasn¡¯t viable.
But then his augmented headbutt came front and center in his thoughts, and Takuma felt an epiphany open up his mind.
He didn¡¯t need to augment his eight points of contact (2 fists, 2 elbows, 2 knees, 2 shins)?¡ªhe could augment anything with striking power.
Takuma dug his feet into the ground and charged at Masumoto instead of being forced to move back.
Masumoto was all the happier to have his target come closer and upped the heat, every step of his leaving behind a burning footprint in the grass. A trail of fire lit up behind him and the two met in a sea of flames created by their fight.
Takuma readied an aching shoulder and summoned chakra toward the tenketsu points near his shoulder, arm, and upper chest.
Masumoto pulled his arm back and swung it hard for a haymaker that hit Takuma straight in the face, but in the same moment, Takuma bodied Masumoto with an augmented shoulder charge more powerful than any taijutsu attack he had ever used.
Masumoto didn¡¯t fly away over the field, instead, he blasted down to the ground. The air was knocked from his chest, and his eyes were on the verge of popping out as he made a crater around him. Takuma, however, was blown back for miscalculating and overloading the augmentation, along with Masumoto blasting him with fire. Unlike Masumoto, Takuma flew away, hit his head on the ground, and was dragged for meters until his face and neck were buried in dirt.
But there was no time to moan about the pain.
Takuma slowly pulled himself up to his knees, wheezing and coughing all the dirt he had in his mouth and nose¡ªhe no longer had any strength in his legs and core. He saw Masumoto get up, looking hurt and angrier than before. With the blood flooding down his face and the burns all over his body from the earlier explosion, he looked absolutely terrifying. The dim chakra cloak roared as though responding to his overflowing rage and he thundered toward Takuma with earth-burning stomps.
The tentacle armor didn¡¯t make it out intact from the impact and he had to bear the awful pain from his elbow as he weaved hand seals. He joined his trembling hands together, with only his index and middle finger stretched out to the front, making the colloquial hand gesture for mimicking a gun.
A globe of water formed in front of the finger gun.
Water Release: Spirit Water Wave
¡°Bang.¡±
A pressurized water bullet, as wide as his finger, shot out of the water glob. It immediately broke the sound barrier with a sharp snap. Masumoto, who was watching his hand seals and expecting Water Release: Wild Water Wave, didn¡¯t change his path, confident in his chakra cloak¡¯s ability to shrug the ninjutsu away. He froze, caught between the thought of holding confidence in his cloak or jumping out of the way¡ªin the end, he chose to rely on his cloak¡¯s defense.
The bullet penetrated the fire cloak, sliced through his shoulder, tore a chunk of muscle, and shattered his collarbone. Masumoto screamed in agony and dropped to his knees. He shuddered and whimpered in pain as he held his useless shoulder
Takuma took in a deep breath. His head hung for a moment after he saw the water bullet hit his target. Hope filled him as he raised his hand and readied another shot.
¡°Bang.¡±
The bullet didn¡¯t fire, and the globe splashed down to the ground. The jutsu failed. Takuma expected that to happen when he fired the first bullet because he had only used the jutsu a few times with great failure during training.
¡°Come on, come on, come on¡¡± He muttered to himself as he weaved the hands seals for the Water Release: Spirit Water Wave again.
He looked up and saw that Masumoto was back on his feet.
¡°Bang.¡±
The moment the water globe formed; Takuma took his shot. But this time, Masumoto was ready for it. He squared his guard and thrust his hands forward; a wall of fire extended from his cloak. The water bullet pierced the wall, but lost most of its speed and power doing so. Still, it left a bruise on Masumoto¡¯s lower thigh, which he shrugged off and continued marching toward Takuma.
The ninjutsu failed again, and Takuma felt helpless. He took out three kunai with explosive tags and chucked them at Masumoto. The fire cloak once again foiled his plans and burned through the tags before they had the chance to explode.
¡°COME ON, FALL!¡±
As though responding to Takuma¡¯s frenzied cries, Masumoto¡¯s knees gave out on him, and he fell to the ground. The burning cloak flickered like a weak bonfire on a windy night. Masumoto got up and dragged his feet across the ground to reach Takuma, who wasn¡¯t in the shape to avoid him.
When he was a few meters away, the cloak flickered crazily and went out for good.
¡°Fuck!¡± Masumoto cursed but continued to move closer to Takuma until he could no longer do so and sagged to the ground on his knees. He was still conscious but barely, and looked so exhausted that breathing was all he could do.
Takuma, still on his knees, closed his eyes and let his shoulders relax.
He had done it.
He wasn¡¯t able to beat Masumoto, but he won.
CH_6.46 (217)
Takuma woke up completely naked with three iryo-nin circling the bed he was lying on. He was completely naked save for the towel draped over his groin and hips. The two¡ªpresumably genin¡ªiryo-nin were the one¡¯s in charge of healing him, with a chunin iryo-nin giving instructions. He closed his eyes and lay still, feeling uncomfortable about having his body in the care of someone other than Sango.
He wondered how she was doing¡ªshe was probably busy at her new job. She never gave him her address, so he didn¡¯t have a way to send her a letter. He hadn¡¯t seen her since the day of the assassination attempt and wondered if her job took her out of the Hidden Leaf, which was why she couldn¡¯t visit him in the hospital¡ªor if he was misunderstanding how close they were.
She was his only iryo-nin, but he was not her only patient.
Takuma cracked his eyes open and was about to inform them that he was awake when they started to talk, so he closed his eyes and listened in on their conversation.
¡°I wonder how he got all these scars,¡± said one of the genin iryo-nin.
¡°Maybe he did it on his own?¡± the other one replied.
¡°You mean he carved these very obvious surgical scars into himself?" The first genin scoffed and hovered a scalpel over Takuma¡¯s body as evidence; the scars were just the right width for it. ¡°Someone opened his chest up to get to his heart, there are scars on his side¡± ¡ª usually seen in lung surgery, thought Takuma¡ª ¡°look at this one under his chest¡± ¡ª liver ¡ª ¡°scar tissue on right abdomen¡± ¡ª kidney ¡ª ¡°and the cluster on his abdomen¡± ¡ª digestive system.
The second genin sounded uncomfortable as he said, ¡°Earlier, I saw a long scar down the entire length of his spine¡ what was someone doing there?¡±
Every time they mentioned one of his scars, Takuma felt a spike plunge itself into his head. It was the pain that he felt every time he looked at his body in a mirror or wondered how he¡¯d even got them. One would think that he would¡¯ve gotten used to seeing them, but the lack of understanding made it really hard to find closure. What the hell had happened to the kid? Every time that question flashed through his mind, he was punished with searing agony.
There was a moment of silence before one of them turned to the chunin iryo-nin.
¡°Is there anything on his file, sir?¡±
The chunin stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°Other than the mandatory check the Leaf Military Police Force made him do, there¡¯s nothing of note on his file.¡±
¡°There must¡¯ve been an identifying mark section¡ªwhat was on that?¡±
¡°The two scars that start from his neck, over his collarbones, extending down his upper chest,¡± the chunin replied, pointing at the prominent scars.
¡°That¡¯s it? And they bought it?¡± the second genin exclaimed.
¡°They must¡¯ve allowed independent check-ups.¡± The chunin walked to a table in the room and picked up a file. ¡°The name of the test administrator¡ here it¡¯s a¡ Genin Sango. Must¡¯ve been someone who doctored the report to leave out the heavy scarring and probable operations done on his body.¡±
Takuma decided he¡¯d heard enough. This was precisely why he didn¡¯t like iryo-nin other than Sango: they pried too deeply into his life. He opened his eyes; the iryo-nin didn¡¯t seem to notice, now engrossed with discussing his combat injuries that were more prominent than the original scars.
Cosmetic healing wasn¡¯t Sango¡¯s specialty.
¡°Focus on the burns instead of the scars,¡± Takuma muttered, startling all three iryo-nin. They jumped in their shoes; one of the genin even broke his iryojutsu and had to recast it quickly under the baleful eye of the chunin.
There was a heavy air of awkwardness around Takuma¡¯s bed. He let the iryo-nin stew in it for a long, excruciating moment just because he felt like they deserved it for being so nosy.
¡°How¡¯s Masumoto?¡± he asked. There was a curtain around his bed, blocking his view. But if he was in the medical building, Masumoto would be too.
¡°Exhausted,¡± the chunin answered flatly.
¡°Chakra exhaustion?¡±
¡°Yes, he over-drew on his reserves.¡±
Takuma cracked a smile and got comfortable in the bed as he felt the terrible migraine subside.
¡°So¡ where is he?¡± he asked.
The chunin gave Takuma a long look. ¡°...Do I need to move one of you away into a locked room with a guard?¡±
¡°Not me,¡± said Takuma with a smile. It didn¡¯t convince him, but that didn¡¯t matter; the chunin¡¯s words told him that Masumoto was in the same room.
Takuma wriggled his toes, tapped his fingers, and did a quick check of his body. Other than it feeling awful and heavy, which wasn¡¯t anything new, there were no major problems.
¡°How long have I been out, and when will he wake up?¡± asked Takuma. He noticed the chunin¡¯s look and sighed. ¡°I just want to talk to him. Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t do anything to each other as long as we¡¯re under your care¡ªunder your command¡ªif that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about, sir.¡±
The chunin narrowed his eyes and the two genin iryo-nin chose to focus their attention on healing, but their eyes darted around.
¡°As long as you understand,¡± the chunin half-smiled. ¡°You were out for two hours. As for Masumoto, given his condition, he won¡¯t be up by tomorrow.¡±
¡°He¡¯ll be up in a few hours,¡± he said.
¡°Not likely,¡± said the chunin.
Takuma closed his eyes. Before long, he was sleeping again.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Six hours later, Masumoto opened his eyes, much earlier than the doctor¡¯s expected time period. He squinted at the harsh light and groaned in agony from the pain in his shattered shoulder covered in hard plaster and splits to keep it stationary, along with a heavy layer of bandages.
The genin on watch sounded the alarm, and the iryo-nin were all over Masumoto, who lay there, letting them do their work. He just stared at the ceiling and answered their questions until they were done and left him alone.
¡°How are you feeling?¡±
The curtain around Masumoto¡¯s bed was pushed aside, and Takuma walked in, rolling an IV pole with him. He was covered in a gauze with medicine for his numerous burns, and winced with every step.
¡°Not now, fuck off,¡± Masumoto closed his eyes, an annoyed expression on his face.
Takuma ignored him and pulled a chair beside his bed.
¡°There¡¯s never going to be a later,¡± Takuma said, sitting down with a throaty groan. ¡°Let¡¯s talk now when there¡¯s no one to disturb us.¡±
¡°If you¡¯re expecting some pathetic apology, you can suck my dick,¡± Masumoto spat.
¡°Your mamma lied to you. That little knob you got is a clit, not a dick.¡± Takuma chuckled, obviously enjoying his win, ¡°I actually wanted to thank you¡ I was having a terrible time recently, but beating the crap out of you has been massively therapeutic.¡±
Masumoto scoffed.
¡°I got my revenge, flipped your little scheme on its head, impressed a whole bunch of people¡ªprobably a jonin as well. It¡¯s been a good day,¡± said Takuma. ¡°And I got to try a bunch of shit on you that I hadn¡¯t tried in a fight¡ªa good practice session.¡±
Masumoto opened his eyes and stared at Takuma, unamused.
¡°Well, despite everything, you were stronger than me,¡± said Takuma, surprising Masumoto, ¡°but I still defeated you, and that¡¯s all that matters at the end of the day¡ I don¡¯t know about you, but my grudge is over¡ªbut if you mess with Anko or Team-9 again, I don¡¯t mind having a repeat of today.¡±
¡°¡Don¡¯t get cocky, boy. You were lucky today¡ªI know it, and you for fucking sure know it,¡± Masumoto said with a nasty smile.
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Takuma stood up and smiled down at Masumoto. ¡°Only pathetic losers blame luck, Bishop, but I didn¡¯t expect any better from you.¡±
The short yet meaningful conversation came to an end with Takuma walking away from Masumoto and running into the chunin iryo-nin.
¡°Told you he¡¯d be up in hours,¡± said Takuma. ¡°Tough bastard, that one.¡±
He crawled into his bed and his jovial front faded away as he sighed in frustration.
Bishop was right¡ he did get lucky.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After dinner, Anko and Kameko visited Takuma for the second time in the day. The first time, he was asleep, and they had to return without talking to him. Daiki had visited him before dinner and told them he was awake if they wanted to meet him.
They got permission from the chunin in-charge and entered the room to see Takuma sitting on his bed with a pile of scrolls on his side table with three spread open on his legs as he read another one in his hands.
¡°Did no one tell you that recovery is an important part of the training?¡± Anko clicked her tongue at Takuma. ¡°Rest, goddammit!¡± She raised her fist as a threat.
¡°I am resting¡. I¡¯m just reading for pleasure,¡± said Takuma, putting down the scroll in his hand.
¡°And what does Genin Takuma read for pleasure?¡± Anko leaned to take a look. It took her a moment to process the complicated text. ¡°Genjutsu? Huh¡ I didn¡¯t know you were into it. You only know two genjutsu, right?¡±
¡°I know six, only three of them have combat utility. I use two¡ the third doesn¡¯t fit me,¡± said Takuma. ¡°As surprising as it may sound, genjutsu is the topic I¡¯m the most knowledgeable about.¡± He was tested every Friday with the threat that if he showed no meaningful progress, Mikoto would drop him as a student. It was just as, if not more, stressful as producing results with the Narcotics Taskforce.
Takuma looked at Kameko, who seemed confused by the gaze. ¡°What?¡± she asked when Takuma didn¡¯t say anything.
¡°Hmm¡ nothing,¡± he shook his head.
Takuma was actually wondering if Kameko knew that he was taught by Mikoto. It wasn¡¯t a widely known piece of information outside the Police Force, but Arisu could¡¯ve shared it with Kameko. However, seeing that Kameko didn¡¯t say anything, she either kept it to herself or didn¡¯t know about it at all.
¡°Anyway,¡± Anko quickly moved on, ¡°congratulations for beating that jackass.¡±
¡°That jackass is in the room,¡± Takuma whispered and requested Kameko to draw the curtains around his bed.
¡°So? A jackass is still a jackass!¡± Anko turned her head and raised her voice to the other corner of the room. She turned to Takuma. ¡°How are you feeling? It must be good to put such a show in front of everyone. A genin beating a chunin leader¡ªnow that¡¯s a statement, a big one.¡±
¡°The optics of it all do indeed look good for the team,¡± Takuma said and looked down at the scroll in his hand.
Anko stared at Takuma. ¡°And you don¡¯t look happy about it. Why?¡±
He glanced up at her and shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that. I¡¯m happy. I went to rub it in Masumoto¡¯s face the moment he woke up. It felt good alright ... but,¡± Takuma pursed his lips into a thin line, ¡°it wasn¡¯t how I imagined it would go. I did defeat him, but it wasn¡¯t a victory¡ªnot for me.¡±
¡°Why do you say that?¡± asked Kameko, confused.
¡°Because I didn¡¯t take him down, he dropped on his own,¡± said Takuma, irritated.
¡°So what? It was a battle of attrition. You out-endured him,¡± said Anko as she and Kameko took a seat beside his bed.
¡°Out enduring your opponent should never be an option,¡± said Takuma, forcefully. It wasn¡¯t how he was taught to fight¡ªhe wasn¡¯t talking about Masumoto or the academy¡ªhe was talking about Ring. The philosophy was clear¡ªtake out the enemy before they took you out; there was no waiting around for the enemy to tire themselves out of the fight. And he very much agreed with Ring¡¯s philosophy. ¡°Stretching combat encounters is almost always a bad idea. The longer the fight, the more the chances there are for things to go south¡
¡°That¡¯s not how I wanted this fight to go,¡± he sighed.
Takuma chewed on his lip, looking at the two, wondering if he should go into it. He almost decided to not say it and end the conversation but decided to share it with the people he was trusting his back with¡ª and despite the strange start, he liked his team.
¡°I noticed that he was being hasty, but there was no reason¡ªit wasn¡¯t like I had the upper hand or anything¡ªand he continued making all these decisions I couldn¡¯t figure out. I didn¡¯t understand why he was doing it until he used that last jutsu: he was running out of chakra,¡± said Takuma. He noticed that the chakra cloak would frequently go dim as though Masumto was trying to conserve chakra¡ªit didn¡¯t match up with how aggressive he was at that moment. ¡°He probably has tiny (average) chakra reserves like his dick, and that B-rank jutsu was him trying to end the fight before he ran dry.
¡°When I realized that, I turned to trying to keep the fight going until he was out and could no longer fight. I had no other choice; he was that good of a fighter that I had to keep running to win,¡± said Takuma, displeased.
He was well aware that there was no honor in a fight. There was nothing like a dirty move in a life-or-death battle. All that mattered was defeating the enemy and come out of it alive. But Masumoto put him in a situation where Takuma had to spend all his time on the backfoot because he didn¡¯t have any other choice. It didn¡¯t feel good. As Masumoto said, he was lucky. He was lucky that nothing bad happened¡ªone misstep would¡¯ve meant Masumoto knocking him out with his absurdly powerful nintaijutsu.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Takuma, but I don¡¯t think I see a problem,¡± Anko shook her head. ¡°You forced him to use a B-rank jutsu¡ªclearly his special weapon. He couldn¡¯t beat you because you saw something that most would¡¯ve missed¡ªbelieve me, that takes impressive observational skills, a nimble mind to do something with those observations, and a capable body to make those thoughts into reality.¡±
Takuma appreciated the compliment, but he couldn¡¯t smile and shook his head. He wasn¡¯t really upset about the fight. He was upset about what the fight meant.
¡°Roughly half a year ago, I encountered a rogue chunin on a case for the Police Force,¡± Takuma added. ¡°He was much stronger than Masumoto; it took eight total genin to bring that guy down¡ He was dangerous¡. It was a valuable experience; it made me realize I had allowed myself to stagnate¡¡±
The inception of the Narcotics Taskforce had shifted Takuma¡¯s priorities, and he began pouring most of his time into building and growing it, which directly tied into his career in the Police Force. He still devoted enough time to training, but somewhere along the line, the focus of his training turned to maintaining form rather than improving. In his nine months at the Narcotics Taskforce before the farm raid, Takuma had only learned one new jutsu¡ªthe Body Flicker Jutsu. That was the lowest he''d been since he began to earn enough mission points to afford more jutsu.
In that same period, the Ring fights had stopped being a challenge. 2v1 was the most Tsubura allowed, and none of them were ever ninjutsu-category fights because no ninjutsu-category fighter wanted to lose as it would hurt their inflated egos and their precious gambling odds. Soon enough, they stopped being a challenge, and Takuma one-sidedly thrashed his opponents and collected his winnings once or twice a week.
¡°I upped my training, but then the damned assassination attempt happened, and I couldn¡¯t walk without a crutch for weeks. The month leading to me coming here was an absolute waste,¡± said Takuma. ¡°I wasted a lot of time¡ and that hurt today. Masumoto¡¯s the same type of fighter as me¡ªprimary melee range and secondary mid-range supported by ninjutsu. From the first clash, I knew he was better than me. I tried to double-team him with a water clone, but that failed as well. He only used three jutsu, Anko, but each of them changed his fighting style in a way that created more and more problems for me.¡±
Fire Style: Twin Tiger Fist added power, overwhelming power, and some range to his taijutsu. Fire Release: Fox Fire gave him a long-range, allowed him field control, and multiple fight-changing explosives. Finally, Fire Release: Chakra Mode turned everything up to eleven and opened so many opportunities that Takuma had to keep himself running away.
¡°I fought Masumoto two years ago and he beat the crap out of me. There was no way for me to win, so I didn¡¯t take it negatively¡ªbut it was a hell of a motivator for getting stronger. I think he¡¯s the reason why I fight like I do today¡ because I was so overwhelmed that I couldn¡¯t do anything, I thought that if I could do that to others, I would win every fight.¡±
That was more of a Ring thing than Masumoto, but Bishop was the one who made him utterly helpless. That was when Scars¡¯ aggressive fighting style solidified with no chance of going back. What he felt in that fight had left too prominent of an impression.
¡°I didn¡¯t think I would ever get to fight him, but there was this little hope, and when I got the chance today, I jumped at it,¡± Takuma looked at Anko, shrugging¡ªhe didn¡¯t have the team¡¯s best interest on his mind then, but it was a happy coincidence. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t neglected my training, I could¡¯ve gotten out of the assassination attempt without needing rehab, and that would''ve given me more time to improve, and I probably wouldn¡¯t have had to wait for Masumoto to run out of chakra to defeat him.¡±
He lifted the genjutsu spread in his hand and threw it further down the bed in frustration. ¡°I have been learning genjutsu for over a year and haven¡¯t done anything with it. I know all of this theory, learned from a phenomenal jonin teacher¡ªbut it hasn¡¯t done me any good¡ªand I only have myself to blame.¡±
He had allowed himself to get comfortable. Sure, he was proud of himself for becoming the first outsider (not Uchiha or their clan allies) to get a leadership position and a team of his own in the Police Force. After shedding tears from two failed graduation tests, sweating in the Genin Corp, and bleeding in the Ring¡ªhe had made it and accomplished something substantial. But he had taken that accomplishment as an excuse to stop the pain¡ªthe stupid fucking pain that came from constantly trying to improve and getting stronger. Takuma was always aware of the dangerous future ahead of him, he clearly knew that he lived in a dangerous world and that if he wanted to survive, he needed to get stronger to improve his chances.
But Takuma didn¡¯t enjoy the process of getting stronger.
He was tired.
He didn¡¯t like waking up early every day to train himself until his bones hurt, then doing it again in the evening, and on top of that, spending every free movement trying to learn things that would help him as a shinobi.
He liked his cabin in the Police Force headquarters and the tiny office space given to the Narcotics Taskforce. The job was time-consuming, but at least, he had a team to rely on, trusted people who could help him make something out of the Narcotics Taskforce.
But constantly trying to get stronger and improve himself as a shinobi was lonely. He had to do it on his own without any help¡ªeven Mikoto could only guide him for five hours a week¡ªso he was on his own.
To not feel it anymore,Takuma deceived himself. He made himself believe that leading the Narcotics Taskforce was the best he could be doing when it was not.
¡°Chance comes only to those who are prepared enough to grab it¡ I fumbled it.¡±
¡°You still defeated a chunin,¡± said Kameko.
Takuma scoffed. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean anything. I killed a Hidden Frost chunin on my way to Camp Banana without taking a single scratch.¡± But he was almost killed by another one in the gold mines.
¡°Masumoto is a Hidden Leaf chunin,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re better.¡±
Takuma nodded, not disagreeing because it was true. The quality of shinobi of the Great Five was better than what the other smaller Hidden Villages produced but Masumoto wasn¡¯t anything special. He had allowed Takuma to catch up to him in two years. Takuma didn¡¯t think he was a prodigy by any means, and if Masumoto couldn¡¯t keep ahead of him, then he was nothing out of the ordinary.
However, Masumoto was special to Takuma. He had been a major influence on his fighting style two years ago, which Takuma appreciated a whole lot.
And today, Masumoto helped him once again. There was no stopping no matter how much he hated it. He had to keep moving forward because there was no other way for him to survive.
INTERLUDE_6.1 (218): Brief Look Back Home
¡°Arisu!¡±
Fuma Arisu, an officer of the Police Force, and the second-in-command of the Narcotics Taskforce, looked up from the intelligence file on her desk. At the end of the bullpen, Chunin Yakumi, the head of the Narcotics Taskforce, stood at the threshold of his office, motioning her to his office.
She shut the file and walked across the bullpen used by the Narcotics Taskforce. As she entered the office and closed the door behind her, Arisu noticed two men sitting there. When they looked at her, she didn¡¯t recognize their faces, and neither of them had the Police Force insignia on their sleeve, which meant they weren¡¯t from the Police Force.
¡°Arisu, these people are from the Hot Waters war commission,¡± said Yakumi, pointing to the two men, ¡°they would like to talk to you about a few things.¡±
¡°What things?¡± she asked.
¡°About Genin Takuma,¡± said the bald of the two men.
¡°Oh, what about him?¡± Arisu asked, crossing her arms.
Seeing the change in Arisu¡¯s body language, the two men looked at Yakumi, who shrugged. He wasn¡¯t going to help them with Arisu. Takuma might not be working in the Police Force, but he was still a part of it, and Arisu and Yakumi wouldn¡¯t talk if it would be used against him.
The second man got up and cleared his throat. ¡°He¡¯s not in trouble, Genin Arisu. Genin Takuma is being considered as a potential candidate for an important mission, and we need some information about his work here. You¡¯re close to him, and we¡¯re wondering if you could give us some clarity about it all.¡±
¡°What kind of mission?¡± asked Arisu.
¡°We can¡¯t reveal many details, but it¡¯s dangerous, and thus, we need to verify if he¡¯s up for the job. We want to know his history with snitches, informants, and moles, those sorts of people. We know he was experienced in cultivating people into assets and having them feed information to your team. How did he get their trust¡ª¡±
Arisu scoffed as though she had just heard a joke.
¡°First, Takuma is very good at cultivating assets, so if he wants the mission, give it to him, he won¡¯t disappoint. Now, trust really isn¡¯t a factor for Takuma. There are people who get attached to their assets, treat them as friends, which is fine and all¡ªbut Takuma¡¯s philosophy was the exact opposite. He sees his assets as nothing but what they are.¡±
¡°Then how does he make them do what he wants?¡±
¡°Leverage,¡± she said, ¡°he liked saying that word a lot. It¡¯s quite straightforward for Takuma. When he finds a target that would make a beneficial asset, he would research them intensively. A lot of hours in fieldwork. He would find everything there was to find about them, and then he would find something that would motivate them to help, and then use that.¡±
¡°So blackmail?¡± said the bald one.
Arisu shrugged. ¡°Persuasion. Most people don¡¯t want to spend their next few years working in a lumber or mining operation, so they open their mouths quick and easy. Takuma made it worth their while¡ªletting them go back to their lives to continue their jobs or choose new careers, and he would guarantee them anonymity so nothing came back to bite them¡ It¡¯s surprising what people would say when a few little conditions are met.
¡°He was straightforward and kept his word. Eventually, even with all anonymity, we developed a reputation. Open up, and we will give you a fair deal,¡± she said.
They had done it so many times that they had perfected the routine. Pick up(kidnap) the people from the streets and dump them in an off-site interrogation room so that no one saw them bought in. They would let the perp stew in the small room, letting their mind make up stories about what was about to happen to them. A lot of them would¡¯ve scared themselves by the time the interrogation started.
¡°But those are low-level guys; even if they fess up, there¡¯s often no evidence to back it up,¡± said the man with hair. It looked like the guy had some experience in policing and interrogation. ¡°Takuma might not deal in trust, but there¡¯s loyalty or fear in many guys that stops them from parroting.¡±
¡°Sure, there are people like that, but for most, you just have to find the correct leverage,¡± said Arisu. ¡°One time, there was this higher-up guy we really wanted, but he had a reputation of being tight-lipped, and he was rich and connected enough, which got him out of all sorts of troubles even if he was brought in¡ We had no idea what to do, but this guy was really important, his cooperation would¡¯ve made our case¡¡±
¡°So, what did you do?¡±
¡°Nothing, we didn¡¯t do anything¡ªbut Takuma did a lot,¡± said Arisu, sighing. ¡°The guy had a sister who ran an illegal whore house, real nasty stuff.¡± She spat with disgust. ¡°Takuma found out that the sister was the guy¡¯s only family, and they were really close, so he helped another officer in the Police Force who was trying to get the sister. Takuma built a case for that officer against the sister, and promised complete credit. Unlike the brother, the sister wasn¡¯t as careful or good at keeping herself clean¡¡±
The man with hair nodded in understanding. He said, ¡°The sister became the leverage?¡±
¡°Indeed. The guy tried to get his sister out, but the case against her was so solid that she was looking at a decade of hard labor. And to make it worse, Takuma pulled some strings so that if she was found guilty, they were planning to send her to the other side of the nation so that the guy would never get the chance to see her¡¡±
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¡°Did it work?¡±
¡°Yes, it did. The guy found out that Takuma was behind it and tried to negotiate just as Takuma expected. The guy first threatened him, then offered him money, but in the end, Takuma got what he wanted.¡±
Arisu smiled. In fact, that guy was giving the Narcotics Taskforce information from the inside. The case was going very well. They were supposed to close it in a month or two.
¡°I have a question,¡± said the bald man. ¡°What happened to the officer who was promised the credit? Didn¡¯t he get screwed in the end?¡±
Instead of Arisu, Yakumi answered that question.
¡°The officer was furious that the case he had been working on for so long became a dead-end because Takuma used it as leverage in a negotiation with scum. That officer even went to his higher-up, but they supported Takuma as well¡ The officer was pissed for weeks, but then Takuma gave this guy a case just as juicy, with all the work done perfectly. That helped in making it up to him,¡± said Yakumi.
The bald guy laughed. ¡°Let me guess, you were the officer?¡±
Yakumi nodded.
¡°And now you have his job,¡± said the bald guy.
¡°That also helped,¡± Yakumi laughed.
Arisu sighed to herself. She liked it better when Takuma was the Head of the Narcotics Taskforce. They were new and operated with frightening freedom because they didn¡¯t have an established culture like most of the Police Force. Everyone could do their work in their own way without getting bogged down by some convoluted process¡ªit was chaotic, but the team was small enough to correct and sort out everything by the end. Since Yakumi had taken over, he had established operating procedures and due process, which had its advantages because the team had grown¡ªbut Arisu could see the Narcotics Taskforce slowly heading towards operating like any other department.
¡°Takuma is not above lying, harassing, blackmailing, entrapment, or anything,¡± said Arisu, getting the conversation back on track. ¡°Once he wants something, there¡¯s not much Takuma won¡¯t do to make it happen. If he gets the information, he will use it to his advantage. So, if you want someone who¡¯ll hold people¡¯s hand and persuade them through charm, and inspire confidence with his personality, that¡¯s not him. But if you want someone who gets the job done, he¡¯s your guy.¡±
Arisu clicked her tongue and looked at the two men.
¡°This mission¡ is he going in alone?¡± she asked.
The two men looked at each other for a moment before saying that Takuma would be part of a team.
¡°Why do you ask?¡±
Arisu took in a deep breath. ¡°Nothing, I was just worried if he was going in alone. You said the mission is dangerous,¡± she said with pursed lips
They seemed to be satisfied with her answer.
Arisu was relieved that Takuma would have a team with him. She chose not to tell them about Takuma¡¯s excessive aggressiveness. When Takuma was running the Narcotics Taskforce, one of the most important parts of Arisu¡¯s job was to reel him in. Takuma¡¯s way of doing things matched his combat philosophy¡ªto be aggressive. He was always in a rush, pushing forward without ever taking a moment to catch his breath. There were times he¡¯d be so laser-focused that he got tunnel vision. At times like that, he needed someone to pull him out and make him aware of his surroundings.
They talked for another ten minutes before the two men from the war commission declared they had heard enough and left.
¡°You didn¡¯t tell them about the other way Takuma cultivated assets,¡± Yakumi said.
Arisu looked at him. ¡°You never know how people will react¡ They could¡¯ve thought he was colluding with criminals,¡± she said.
Threatening criminals with leverage against them wasn¡¯t the only way Takuma cultivated assets. There was another way he was known to do business¡ªsomething that wasn¡¯t popular among the Narcotics Taskforce, but Takuma did it anyway because he was the boss. Since Yakumi took over, they abandoned the method.
¡°Maybe he was,¡± said Yakumi.
¡°Then why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± Arisu asked with narrowed eyes.
One of the first things Yakumi did after taking over was an internal audit to see how Takuma managed the Narcotics Taskforce because Takuma had refused to provide any help to Yakumi on how things worked.
Officially speaking, every asset for the Police Force had a file in the system. The Narcotics Taskforce followed the same process and maintained files for their assets. They were highly protected, ¡°eyes-only¡± documents that couldn¡¯t be removed from the office space assigned to the Narcotics Taskforce. Takuma was serious about the anonymity he promised.
But Takuma also maintained unofficial assets that weren¡¯t filed into the system. They were high-level assets because of their identity and influence in the drug trade in the Hidden Leaf. Takuma had somehow gotten access to these people and had managed to rope them into helping the Narcotics Taskforce put away other big players.
These people were high up in the drug trade, and Takuma didn¡¯t have any leverage on them. It couldn¡¯t be more abundantly clear that they were cooperating with Takuma because he was going after their competition. And he didn¡¯t log any of them into the system, keeping it entirely off-the-books, which looked extremely shady. It was a practice heavily frowned upon in the Police Force, and Takuma was using it aggressively.
From one perspective, it looked like Takuma was helping them, which brought up an allegation against him: Was Takuma being paid by the people he was cooperating with? When he called it a true collaboration of the police and the criminals to put away other criminals, a good number of people in the team suspected him of colluding with criminals.
Takuma was blind to his team¡¯s thoughts as he was so focused on targeting criminals. Arisu had to shove the problem in his face for him to look at his team, properly explain the situation to the team, and truly bring everyone on the same page. Some of them remained doubtful until the results started coming in, and the team could see what Takuma envisioned.
Yakumi found out about Takuma¡¯s practice, and he could¡¯ve passed on his findings to the higher ups but didn¡¯t because a lot of ongoing cases, many of them close to crossing the finish line, were built on the foundation of Takuma¡¯s collaboration with his unregistered assets. If he had brought it to the higher-ups, they would¡¯ve ordered Yakumi to dump all of them, and he would¡¯ve been forced to start all over again.
But Yakumi didn¡¯t want that because the performance of the Narcotics Taskforce would suffer, and all the blame would fall on the new and current head, who had failed to keep up the Narcotics Taskforce¡¯s bullish momentum established by Takuma. So, while Yakumi ended all relationships with Takuma¡¯s shady assets, he never reported them to the higher-ups.
Under Arisu¡¯s glare, Yakumi stayed silent.
She walked out and looked at the bullpen with all her co-workers.
If the people who worked closely with Takuma suspected him of being a mole and a corrupt sell-out, then two strangers who knew nothing about Takuma could think of him as much worse.
As she walked back to what she was doing, Arisu wondered what he was doing now. Things had ended on an awkward note, and the one letter he had sent had avoided any mention of the kiss. Arisu was disappointed he didn¡¯t write anything but relieved at the same time because she was scared of what Takuma would say and preferred for things to remain ambiguous.
Arisu ruffled her hair in frustration.
¡°He better appreciate it¡ that idiot."
CH_7.1 (219)
¡°There¡¯s a common misconception among shinobi that chakra control makes them stronger¡ that by improving their control over their ability to mold and manipulate raw chakra, their jutsu will become more destructive or effective¡ªthis, however is a misunderstanding that has propagated far and wide,¡± Anko said as she slowly paced between the walls of a large room.
¡°What do you think?¡± she asked Takuma.
Takuma stood in the center of an empty room with nothing but his underwear on. There was a desk in front of him propped up tall on bricks till it was the height of a standing desk. There was a large tray on the desk with coarse sand of two colors in it¡ªblue and red. There was a mound of the two colors mixed in the middle and two small piles of single-colored sand on either side of the tray.
¡°Chakra control helps in the efficient use of chakra; we waste a significant amount of chakra each time we use a jutsu. By improving control, the wastage goes down, and you¡¯re able to do the same with less¡ªthus the perception of increased strength,¡± his eyes were stuck to the tray as he answered, ¡°but in truth they always had that strength, they just weren¡¯t able to use it properly¡¡±
Takuma pressed eight fingers into the mixed coarse sand mound, and pulled away the grains of sand with the entire length of his fingers. He stared intensely at his left hand as the red dyed sand grains fell one by one back into the mound; he winced each time a blue dyed grain fell. He did it until only the blue grains were left and then turned to his right-hand and did it again, this time with the colors reversed. When he was done, he dumped the separated sand into their respective piles.
Anko said, ¡°Correct. Chakra control doesn¡¯t make people stronger; it only makes them more efficient, and while it does increase their combat ability, we should be clear about the distinction.¡± She then yelled: ¡°Thirty seconds!¡±
Takuma, halfway through separating the sand through targeted chakra adhesion, dropped the sand back into the mixed mound, wasting his progress, and thus increasing his irritation.
He moved to a fortified heavy punching bag hanging from the ceiling and threw an augmented jab. His arms, from the back of his fist to the top of his shoulders; his collar, shoulder blades, and his chest were covered in spaced-out smooth marbles through chakra adhesion. The moment he threw the augmented jab at the heavy bag, several of the marbles shuddered from the force and fell to the ground.
The marbles were polished smooth, making them slippery. Even a slight disturbance in chakra flow would make the adhesion come off¡ªand augmented strikes were all about creating large disturbances. The chakra for the augmentation flowed from his lower abdomen, going up to his chest, then to his shoulder, before going down his arm and out of his fist. More than two dozen marbles were on that route, and if Takuma allowed the chakra flow for the augmentation to disturb the chakra flow for adhesion, the marbles would fall.
¡°Ugh!¡±
Takuma cursed. Every thirty seconds, he had to throw an augmented punch while ensuring that no marble came unstuck. The marbles coming free meant that he didn¡¯t have sufficient control over his chakra flow. The purpose of the exercise was to perfect the chakra flow for augmented strikes¡ª to use the least amount of chakra for the most damage possible, to mobilize the chakra as fast as possible, and to increase the ease with which Takuma could use augmentations.
He had gotten a nasty recoil from the augmented shoulder charge against Masumoto. It had opened a whole new dimension for Takuma in regard to augmentations, but it didn¡¯t change that he hurt himself, and thus needed training. Anko had set the short-term goal of using augmentations from anywhere in his body without getting hurt¡ªand the long-term goal of backing every taijutsu attack with augmentations no matter the situation.
¡°Pick ¡®em up,¡± Anko ordered.
Takuma huffed as he pointed his open palm toward the floor. Chakra strings shot out of his fingertips and attached themselves to the fallen marbles. His face twisted in strain as the chakra strings pulled the marbles up. One of the strings snapped mid-way, making Takuma sigh deeply. He re-cast the line and snagged the last remaining marble on the second try.
When Anko had initially started training Takuma, they had devoted all of his time and effort up Takuma¡¯s physical energies to correct his energy imbalance. But she had also promised to help him improve his chakra control, and after interviewing him on how he had been training his chakra control until then, she had devised a regimen to improve his chakra control.
Separating minuscule sand grains according to color and using chakra strings to pick up objects were two exercises Anko had him training for one hour every day¡ He did another hour at night in his own time.
But that was not all in Anko¡¯s regiment.
¡°Focus!¡± she shouted at him. ¡°The waves are becoming messy.¡±
Four water tentacles stuck out from the water mass on his lower back. The tentacles wriggled in a sine-wave pattern, with each tentacles moving at a different speed, creating waves of varying frequency and amplitudes. It was an exercise much similar to tracing a square with an index finger of one hand while the other index finger traced a circle simultaneously¡ªbut with more complexity and difficulty. It required Takuma¡¯s constant attention to move the individual tentacles according to their own pattern and any slip up caused them to move at the same pattern and speed¡ªwhich was a fail state.
Sweat dripped from Takuma¡¯s chin as he focused on moving his tentacles. He had to become skilled enough with four tentacles before he moved up to eight, adding one tentacle at a time. It reminded him of his early days with Water Style: Eight Tentacles, he had to learn how to control the jutsu by increasing them one at a time.
¡°There¡¯s another misconception, a much more important one,¡± Anko resumed her slow walk around the room. ¡°Many shinobi believe that chakra control exercises increase their skill with their jutsu¡ªthey do not¡ªchakra control exercises only make one chakra control efficient. If they actually want to improve their skill with their jutsu, there¡¯s one sure-fire way to do it, and that is the repeated use of the jutsu.¡±
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¡°Yes¡ I know.¡± Takuma continued to separate the sand. The grains were too small, and when he tried to unstick one of them, three around it would fall as well. The intention behind the exercise was to improve minute chakra movements until he could unstick one color in a single go rather than slowly unsticking them. ¡°You have already told me this¡ which is why I have a clone doing my guard duties for me.¡±
Every morning, Takuma made two clones, using half of his substantially large pool of chakra. One of the clones would do his duties for the day, clean the room, and wash his gear and clothes, while the other clone would read complicated jutsu text, study up on topics, make reports and notes, and in the evening, the clone would sit down with Takuma and teach him what he had learned that day like his own personal tutor. Takuma still had to do self-study, spend time reading and comprehending the concepts, but the clone made it easier to digest the topics.
It wasn¡¯t the cheat-like Shadow Clone Jutsu, but Takuma was getting his worth out of the Water Clone Jutsu.
The Eight Tentacle exercise and the thirty-second loop of chakra augmentation had the same concept of improvement through repetition.
The tentacles held his chopsticks and bowls for him, they bathed him, and half of his kunai and shuriken throwing practice was done with the tentacles. He threw out 120 augmented punches during his hour with Anko and another 120 at the evening training with his duty clone barking at him like a training instructor.
¡°Because you don¡¯t listen to me, I have to keep repeating myself,¡± said Anko.
Takuma pursed his lips. Anko was still upset that he had sprung the Masumoto/Bishop plan at her at the last moment, leaving her no choice but to accept. She didn¡¯t look like she was angry at him, but he knew that he was running on thin ice with her.
¡°Thirty seconds!¡±
Takuma jumped to the heavy bag and threw an uppercut this time.
¡°You¡¯re sweating too much; keep hydrated,¡± Anko threw a water canteen at Takuma, caught by one of the tentacles.
¡°Taste a bit off, but thanks,¡± said Takuma after he emptied the water canteen in one go.
¡°Because it¡¯s Daiki¡¯s sweat,¡± said Anko, ¡°all natural.¡±
Takuma and his tentacles froze for a moment but then calmed down the next second. It wasn¡¯t salty, therefore not sweat. He shot the teasing Anko a look before going back to his training.
¡°So, what are you doing after this?¡± asked Anko.
¡°Rest,¡± said Takuma, shortly, moving over to the sand tray.
There were only five more minutes until the training session ended. He was going to rest and recuperate some of his chakra to train Earth Style: Earthen Dome a few times before his third physical workout of the day.
¡°So, you¡¯re free, that¡¯s good.¡±
As Takuma was separating the sand, most grains of both colors suddenly fell from his fingers. Thinking that he had made a mistake, he opened and clenched his hand before dipping his fingers back into the mound¡ªwhich was when the marbles on the right side of his back hit the ground and rolled down the wooden floor.
¡°What the hell?¡± Takuma frowned as he raised his hand to shoot out chakra strings, only to find that his entire arm had gone numb. He shook it off, but the numbness climbed to his shoulder, and he found himself unable to lift it.
Within a few seconds, Takuma¡¯s entire right side was numb, and he fell to his knees, unable to stand. The immobility rapidly spread to his left side, and with great difficulty, he turned his body toward Anko as all the marbles on his body fell and bounced off noisily before rolling away.
¡°Anko, h-help!¡± Takuma said with great difficulty as his mouth and tongue were also going out of function.
Anko stood there looking down at him with a closed-mouth smile. The smile struck Takuma with a revelation: Anko¡¯s water canteen and the off-tasting water that she dismissed with a joke.
She had poisoned him!
¡°Y-You!¡±
Takuma could no longer stand and fell to the ground like a marionette-less puppet. The water tentacles failed before his fall, and he found himself drenched and lying in a small puddle on the floor. He could only stare at Anko while fear gripped his heart. He didn¡¯t see it coming. Why would she do that? Yes, she was unsatisfied with his behavior, but not enough grounds for poisoning.
¡°Oh, shut up. You¡¯re thinking too much,¡± Anko squatted near and lightly slapped his face. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to kill you, you stupid brat¡ This is a training exercise, which is why I asked if you had free time. I like you kid, why would I want to kill you? It¡¯d be a different matter if we didn¡¯t get along, though.¡±
A thin, yellow and black snake slithered out of Anko¡¯s wide sleeves and climbed up to her shoulders. The snake¡¯s slit eyes rolled this way and that as it stared at him with a low hiss. Then, to his surprise, the snake spoke,
¡°Don¡¯t worry, kid,¡± the snake sounded peppy as if this was all hilarious. ¡°It¡¯s a mild paralyzing agent made from my venom. It¡¯s a tested recipe, so don¡¯t worry; you¡¯ll be fine in three to four hours, depending on your constitution.¡±
Takuma could only make pathetic noises, losing his ability to speak.
¡°Do you remember when I was teaching Iori how to sober herself after drinking using chakra, and you wanted to learn it as well?¡± said Anko with a smile. ¡°I hope you remember to do that because that¡¯s how you escape this situation faster. It¡¯s much more difficult than getting rid of the effects of booze, but you can get rid of this poison with that method¡ªno antidote required.¡±
Takuma glared at Anko as she got up, doing his best to express the anger he was feeling. He fought against the paralysis and weakly flapped on the ground.
Anko sighed and squatted back down. She gently stroked his chin, looking into his rage-filled eyes.
¡°You wanted this,¡± she said.
Takuma wanted to yell and shout that he, by no means, wanted this¡ªwhatever this was.
Anko chuckled. ¡°You were so excited when I told you I¡¯d teach you my teacher¡¯s methods. Remember?¡±
Takuma stopped struggling and went still on the ground, staring at Anko. He did, in fact, react that way. Until now, Anko¡¯s regiment made sense in every way, and Takuma liked them very much because he could see the potential gains he would get in the future, but there was nothing uniquely ¡°Orochimaru¡± about them except that they were all very smart and well thought out.
¡°This is how Orochimaru taught me chakra control,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re lucky, Takuma, that the effects will fade in three to four hours. The snake he used bit me directly, and that venom was much stronger¡ªit lasted twenty-four hours, an entire day¡ I had no way to stop it and ended up shitting and pissing myself while trying to burn the poison away with chakra. You probably might do that as well, but the chances are lower than mine. I don¡¯t want to embarrass you, after all.¡±
The snake laughed at Takuma from Anko¡¯s shoulder as she stood up.
¡°I will be back in three hours to check on you, but I expect you to free yourself before that and come find me.¡± Anko turned and walked away. She was out of Takuma¡¯s sight and at the door when she spoke again. ¡°Get used to this; we¡¯ll be doing this every day from today onwards. A different venom every day¡ªsome more annoying than others.
¡°As long as you don¡¯t give up, I¡¯ll see to it that you compete with the likes of iryo-nin and fuin-nin.¡±
The next thing Takuma heard was the door closing, and he was left all alone.
For a few minutes, Takuma did nothing but lay limp on the wet floor. Eventually, however, he started to run chakra through his body to burn the venom¡¯s effect from his body.
If Anko could deliver on her promise just now, he would do anything she asked of him.
CH_7.2 (220)
Three days after Anko had poisoned Takuma, forcing him to flush out the paralytic agent from his body with chakra, Takuma was bent over the toilet, puking his stomach out. He heaved noisily before hurling again into the toilet bowl.
The venom Anko had given him today had him crawl on the floor and lay just outside the washroom in case he needed to hug the toilet again. The only thing not negative about the experience was that his water clones were resilient¡ª while he was suffering venomous hell, his two clones were doing their thing ¡ªas long as he didn¡¯t suffer a mortal injury or got knocked out completely, the clones would stand stable.
Takuma closed his eyes and rotated chakra through his body. His head was churning, and his body was on fire, making focusing on molding his chakra a miserable experience. But he had ample motivation to get the chakra moving. He could either burn the venom early or suffer through the combination of a hellish hangover and burning fever.
A worried Daiki peered from the end of the hallway. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
Takuma whimpered as he flopped to the side, but managed to shoot a weak thumbs-up to Daiki. He appreciated the guy, but there wasn¡¯t much Daiki could do to help. Takuma needed to see it through by himself.
A few moments after Daiki left, Takuma¡¯s tutor clone walked past on his way to the room with his hands full of books, scrolls, and writing material. It was sunny outside, and the clone had been studying under the warm sunshine.
¡°Lay to the side; you¡¯re inconveniencing the others by blocking the bathroom.¡±
Daiki and Takuma had two other roommates living with them.
When Takuma didn¡¯t respond, laying absolutely still in his spot, running chakra through his body, the study clone pushed Takuma¡¯s body to the side with his foot. Takuma wanted to yell angrily but could only grumble from the heavy fatigue.
¡°You better not try to skip the study session,¡± said the clone before walking to Takuma¡¯s room.
¡°Fuck you,¡± said Takuma, flopping onto his side.
¡°Not really into selfcest,¡± the clone spoke from inside the room.
Takuma regretted giving Anko permission to feed him venoms because, for three hours, his day turned to shit, with his body betraying him constantly. He couldn¡¯t even blame it because he was the one voluntarily swallowing venom that put him in misery. He envied and cursed the duty and tutor clones for their normal days, while the original suffered through what he began to think was Anko¡¯s way to exact revenge on him.
Takuma was about to grouch some words for his chunin lead, when his face turned green with disgust, and jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on, darting to the toilet bowl, looking like he would fall over any step.
Daiki walked into the washroom looking impatient and hurriedly unzipped his pants, only to see Takuma hurling vomit into the toilet. His eye twitched before he ran to the end of the hallway and jumped straight out of the window into the overgrown garden outside.
¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll do it outside,¡± he said, but Takuma was too busy to hear his teammate¡¯s rushed words.
Three hours later, Takuma was forced by his roommates to clean up his handiwork in the washroom before they allowed him a bath.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The next day, Team-9 was called into the war room to meet with Toridasu and Shirakumo. It was Takuma¡¯s first time in the war room, which was usually only reserved for chunin and jonin.
A large circular table covered a quarter of the room, which Toridasu seemed to have delivered from home. The walls were covered in pages of reports, maps, and memos that were regularly updated to give the most current and correct view of the war. Toridasu and Shirakumo held daily meetings with the chunin to communicate the latest happenings and changes at the war front.
¡°Ah, our most problematic team,¡± Toridasu smiled in greeting.
¡°Thank you, that means a lot,¡± Anko said, putting a hand on her chest and smiling back.
The two Hidden Leaf jonin weren¡¯t the only ones waiting in the war room. Hidden Steam¡¯s Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou and another man Takuma hadn¡¯t seen before were sitting close to each other around the table. He had long hair tied in a loose ponytail, a tired and long face with a scruffy beard, and a lit cigarette between his lips. He was slumped in his chair as if the war room was his living room and the two jonin were his pals. Toridasu didn¡¯t seem to mind, but Shirakumo¡¯s unapproving gaze made his opinion clear.
Like everyone at Camp Banana, he didn¡¯t wear a uniform, nor did he have a forehead protector. But from his seat beside Benzou, Takuma guessed this was a Hidden Steam shinobi.
The man looked at Takuma and flashed a lazy smile, leaving him surprised and confused. Takuma tried to search for the man in his memories, but failed. Perhaps the man was wordlessly greeting him, but Takuma definitely felt like the man knew him.
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His gaze then met Benzou¡¯s, but the two didn¡¯t go beyond small nods to acknowledge and greet each other. Takuma had gotten into trouble because of his association with Benzou, and it was better for them not to appear all chummy in the presence of the leadership, especially Toridasu.
¡°So, what is this about, boss?¡± asked Anko with her feet on the table and balancing her chair on its hind legs, seemingly competing with the unknown man in terms of casualness. ¡°It¡¯s not another resupply run? Give us something more interesting to do, would you?¡±
Team-9 only did resupply missions, while other teams got other missions. The defensive captain in-charge of the base¡¯s safety was on a rotation among the chunin leaders, but Anko had never been put in-charge. There was a clear divide between the responsibilities that made Team-9 isolated.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s do something interesting then,¡± said Shirakumo, sliding a folder across the table that hit the sole of Anko¡¯s feet.
Anko glanced at Daiki, who hurriedly got up to hand her the folder.
She opened the folder, and upon reading the first few lines, her legs immediately went off the table. Her eyes widened at the file¡¯s content, and she looked at Takuma, who tilted his head in confusion before realization struck him.
Anko turned to Toridasu and held up the file. It was the mission file for the precursor mission that Anko had been trying to get for Team-9.
¡°You¡¯re giving this to me?¡± she asked.
¡°Don¡¯t get a big head; you weren¡¯t my first choice.¡±
Shirakumo interrupted the conversation before it devolved into a back-and-forth between Anko and Toridasu. He looked at Takuma as he said that, ¡°Among all the teams, we found that Team-9 is the best suited for the mission.¡±
It seemed that Takuma¡¯s fight against Masumoto had done its job by elevating the team¡¯s value in the eyes of the leadership.
¡°And what is this mission?¡± Anko asked and glanced at Benzou and the other man. She passed the file onto Iori, and Kameko leaned into reading the contents as well.
Shirakumo stood up and walked to a large map plastered over a wall. The map depicted the large border region, some of which fell under Camp Banana¡¯s coverage; it was marked with mini-notes, pins, and threads marking the trade routes and roads. Shirakumo took a pointer stick and tapped on three marker points on the map.
¡°Hidden Frost has captured three major border cities and has established a choke hold on the region. The cities are the strongholds, and the small villages all feed into them. The villages and their farms sell their produce to the cities, which keeps them running. The villages can¡¯t stop feeding them for the fear of retaliation¡ªthey made an example of a small village, and instilled fear by ruthlessly punishing the rebel elements in all the villages.¡±
¡°Oh, my god.¡± Iori turned her face away in repulsion and pushed the file to Kameko.
¡°What?¡± asked Rikku.
Kameko held up the file, and there was a particularly gruesome photo of what looked like a mass grave with the bodies of a dozen or more men. The entire Team-9 turned their faces away from the photographs.
Shirakumo continued, ¡°Other than the fact they¡¯re captured, the cities function as normal with the exception of a strict martial law¡ In over a month and a half, Camp Banana will mount a recapture on the Spring City of Yu, the first phase of breaking the chokehold.¡±
¡°So, you want us to target the villages that feed into the city?¡± asked Anko.
That was the precursor mission Anko had been aiming for. There were small shinobi teams that traveled from village to village to ensure that the food and ration were delivered on time, and the fear remained strong. The plan was to hunt down that roaming team and cause some chaos to draw out more shinobi.
¡°No, that mission will be assigned to another team,¡± said Shiruakumo.
¡°Then what?¡±
Shirakumo looked to Kameko, who was engrossed in the file with wide eyes. Sensing everyone looking at her, she looked up.
¡°You want us to infiltrate Yu?¡± she uttered, her tone doubting what she had just read.
¡°Correct,¡± Shirakumo nodded. ¡°The mission¡¯s objective is to infiltrate the city and weaken it from the inside for the advantage of the main forces when we mount a recapture¡.¡±
Takuma leaned back in his chair and stared at the map, and the Spring City of Yu marked on it.
¡°Turn the enemy against themselves,¡± said Toridasu, ¡°spread fear, doubt, confusion in the minds of the enemy occupying the city. Chip away at them slowly in a way that they don¡¯t know who¡¯s attacking them and how¡ªso they have no choice but to doubt everyone, even themselves. Your objective is not to defeat the enemy but to wear them just enough that when the strong wind arrives, they blow over like a house of cards.¡±
¡°Urban Guerrilla Warfare,¡± said Takuma.
Shirakumo nodded.
¡°Why us?¡± asked Anko.
¡°Your team is suited,¡± said Toridasu. ¡°Mitarashi specializes in information extraction, which is an important skill for the mission. Muscles here is a ranger and experienced in stealth. You have a fuin-nin, which makes her infinitely resourceful in most situations. The tiny girl and Taketori are good muscle.¡± He then looked at Takuma. ¡°You, of course, proved your worth as muscle¡ªbut you have relevant experience, which is important¡¡±
¡°¡How so?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°Torture and interrogation like your team lead, you have experience with field intel gathering, and you have done a lot of informant cultivation,¡± said Shirakumo.
¡°You ordered my case files?¡± asked Takuma, not pleased that someone outside the Police Force was poking around in his work. ¡°And they gave you the files?¡±
He had done all of that. He was in no way as good as Anko when it came to information extraction, but he had some experience. He had done some fieldwork for the Maiko Triad case, which he had then converted into a raid with the help of Arisu, which then got him the Narcotics Taskforce, where he had done a lot more fieldwork. And finally, he had cultivated so many informants in an attempt to reduce his dependence on Enomoto.
¡°You had to work in the Police Force; they treat everything like a state secret,¡± Toridasu sighed.
¡°Okay¡ I don¡¯t want to undermine myself, but I had power and leverage back at home. I won¡¯t be able to cultivate informants and curry favor with locals¡ªthey would never trust me because I¡¯m not from that city. They will look me up, and the moment they don¡¯t find me, they will protect themselves, which means turning on me,¡± said Takuma.
Takuma wanted to curb the expectations before they decided to send his team into the enemy¡¯s den. If he promised something he couldn¡¯t do, he was actively putting the lives of his team members at risk.
¡°We¡¯re not stupid, kid,¡± Toridasu scoffed. He pointed at the man beside Benzou.
The man sat up in his chair and put out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table. ¡°My name is Gaku. I¡¯m a retired Hidden Steam shinobi and a resident of Yu,¡± said Gaku.
¡°Gaku will be joining your team,¡± Benzou spoke for the first time in the meeting. ¡°He will be your local contact, the one they will trust, which you can use¡. As power and leverage, I fear you will have to build that yourself.¡±
Toridasu leaned forward with a smile,
¡°You wanted something interesting; you got it...¡±
CH_7.3 (221)
The meeting in the war room continued, and Anko accepted the mission on behalf of Team-9. It wasn¡¯t like she had a choice; Team-9 was ordered to take the mission.
After Shirakumo was done explaining, Anko took him and Benzou to the side to discuss more details about the mission. Rikku and Daiki gathered around Kameko to read more of what was in the mission file. Iori pulled Toridasu into a conversation about needing new fuinjutsu formulas and supplies that she would need, and Toridasu looked serious about her points about the fuinjutsu budget for the mission.
Takuma, on the other hand, approached Gaku, who sat slumped in his chair, smoking without a care in the world.
¡°So, a retired shinobi, huh?¡± said Takuma, ¡°What do you even do after it?¡±
Gaku stared at Takuma as he took a long puff of his cigarette. Takuma waited for the reply, but Gaku continued staring and took another long drag without answering.
¡°Is something wrong?¡± Takuma asked, not appreciating Gaku¡¯s rude behavior.
Gaku snorted. ¡°Oh, nothing. I¡¯ve been doing nothing¡ I just retired.¡±
¡°Really?¡± Takuma sat down. ¡°You made enough money to retire? That¡¯s impressive.¡± He didn¡¯t believe that Gaku hadn¡¯t done anything after retiring. Gaku¡¯s current physical condition wasn¡¯t that of a retired shinobi who had hanged his boots up. The man looked lazy, but Takuma could tell he hadn¡¯t let himself go.
¡°Money ain¡¯t that important to me,¡± Gaku smiled sluggishly. ¡°If I need some, there¡¯s plenty of work for someone like me. I might no longer be a shinobi, but that doesn¡¯t mean I forgot all my craft if you know what I mean.¡±
It seemed that Gaku had been doing some freelance work on his own.
¡®No wonder he was still in shape,¡¯ thought Takuma.
¡°What about you? You¡¯re young. How long must you be a shinobi at the Leaf before they let you go?¡± asked Gaku.
¡°Ten years,¡± said Takuma.
A genin fresh out of the shinobi academy had to sign a ten-year contract of employment as a registered shinobi with the Hidden Leaf. A genin could only retire after completing the time on their agreement or sign five-year extensions each time their contracts ran out. As for chunin, a fifteen-year extension was a requirement for the promotion. Every jonin had to agree to another twenty-five years of work for the village.
This meant any Hidden Leaf jonin was obligated to work for the village for fifty years. Which meant that if they graduated from the academy at eleven years old, they could only look for alternate employment when they turned sixty. Of course, most jonin were already fully retired years before that age with the condition that they would have to return if the village needed them. Those still working had long since transferred to managerial or diplomatic positions.
¡°And? Do you want to keep being one after that?¡± asked Gaku.
Takuma opened his mouth to answer but suddenly found that he didn¡¯t have an answer to the question. He hadn¡¯t ever thought about it before. Did he want to be a shinobi for the rest of his life?
But he wanted to be a jonin, which meant being a shinobi until he was an old man.
Forget thinking that far; he hadn¡¯t thought about what he wanted to do after the Fourth Shinobi World War that he knew was coming in the future. He had been so consumed with the present, taking it one day at a time and preparing for the calamity, that he hadn¡¯t ever sat down to consider what his life would be after that.
Gaku chuckled, seeing Takuma fall into silence.
¡°It¡¯s alright, you¡¯re still young,¡± he said. ¡°You and I are going to be working together. Let¡¯s get along. I¡¯ll take the lead; I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn a lot, kid.¡±
A laugh escaped from Takuma. He smiled at Gaku, fully understanding what had just been said. ¡°You¡¯re real funny, old man. Leave the work to the professional and do your job as a local tour guide,¡± he nodded and smiled.
The lazy smile on Gaku¡¯s face turned flat.
¡°I¡¯m the native of that city. I know the people better than you ever will. Why do you think they called me out of retirement?¡± said Gaku.
¡°And I don¡¯t deny it, but if you¡¯re so good, then why are they sending us in?¡± Takuma leaned forward, staring Gaku in the eyes. ¡°A team who isn¡¯t even from the Hidden Steam... What does that tell you?¡±
Gaku deliberately took another drag of his dwindling cigarette.
¡°I don¡¯t know what your problem is with me, but neither you nor I are the leader.¡± Takuma pointed to Anko talking to Shirakumo and Benzou. ¡°That lady there is the boss. Whatever she says goes¡ªwe¡¯re only there to advise and follow orders.¡±
¡°My problem? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the one who¡¯s the problem,¡± said Gaku, scoffing.
He got up and walked out of the war room without saying anything.
Takuma muttered, ¡°What a weirdo¡¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After the meeting, Team-9 sat under the shade of a tall tree. Anko leaned against the trunk while the others sat and laid around her. There was a certain somberness hanging over the group. They had just been ordered to complete a dangerous mission behind enemy lines without backup.
One mistake could spell their deaths.
¡°I didn¡¯t catch much, but I guess first impressions weren¡¯t great with that Gaku fellow,¡± Anko said to Takuma.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
¡°I don¡¯t know what his problem is,¡± said Takuma. ¡°He acted like I had wronged him somehow. I don¡¯t even know the guy.¡±
¡°Is it going to be a problem?¡±
¡°Not really.¡± Takuma didn¡¯t need to be buddy-buddy with Gaku. Managing relationships and working with incompatible personalities was part of the job description. People would look down on him if he threw a tantrum whenever he had to work with someone he didn¡¯t get along with.
¡°Kameko, you read the file. What did you see?¡± Iori asked from her head resting on Rikku¡¯s lap.
Takuma turned to Kameko, interested in what she had to say. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to read the mission file in the war room. Intelligence and knowledge were going to be his best friend on the mission. The more he knew, the better he could do his job.
¡°The intelligence we have is lousy at best. We have identified two jonin, and have a rough tally of the enemy forces occupying the city, but nothing really passes the standard for good intel. Yu is a three square-kilometer sprawl and, according to the last census, has a population of thirty-five thousand (35,000). According to the estimates, there¡¯s one enemy shinobi per hundred natives¡ªbut as I said, nothing¡¯s verified. We don¡¯t know the enemy¡¯s total combat competency, how many iryo-nin they have, the health of their arsenal, or what their supply chain capabilities are.¡±
Kameko shook her head.
¡°Nothing, really¡ªit¡¯s not looking good.¡±
Obviously, her words didn¡¯t inspire any confidence in the team, but Takuma was glad she was being straightforward about it.
¡°Information gathering is part of the mission,¡± said Anko, clicking her tongue. ¡°Camp Banana won¡¯t be operating alone on this operation. We don¡¯t have the numbers. Another camp will probably join the main re-capture mission, but to prepare an effective assault, we need to know the enemy¡ªand there¡¯s no better place to do so than inside the city.¡±
Anko turned to Takuma. ¡°Gaku is going to be a goldmine of unrecorded information. Make sure to get the most you can out of him about the city and the ruling class.¡±
Takuma nodded, that¡¯s exactly what he planned on doing but he didn¡¯t trust Gaku. The man was hiding something. Takuma didn¡¯t know what, and he didn¡¯t have anything tangible to support his claim, but he couldn¡¯t shrug off the wriggling suspicion that there was something off about the guy.
¡°When do we leave?¡± asked Daiki.
¡°Seven days from tomorrow,¡± Anko answered.
¡°That¡¯s not long,¡± Iori groaned. ¡°I need to start preparing today.¡±
¡°I need to make arrangements as well,¡± said Daiki.
¡°Get me a list of what you need. I will sit with the jonin and the quartermaster and make sure you get whatever provisions you need,¡± said Anko. She turned to Rikku. ¡°What about you?¡±
Rikku shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave tonight.¡±
Team-9 smiled at Rikku¡¯s nonchalant attitude. Whatever might be going on, there wasn¡¯t much that could derail Rikku from her usual taciturn and collected self. It was a constant that they had come to appreciate.
¡°Okay then, let¡¯s start preparation. We have a long week ahead of us and a longer couple months after that.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma returned to his room after a long and tiring day to find both his water clones present. The tutor clone was preparing for the lesson while the duty clone was lying on his back, stuck to the ceiling.
¡°Thanks for leaving the bed,¡± Takuma said as he plopped himself on the stiff bed.
¡°You look tired. New training?¡± asked the guard clone.
Takuma responded as he removed his socks. ¡°We are going on a mission. Just Team-9 behind enemy lines. Information gathering and urban guerilla warfare. We leave in a week from tomorrow¡¡±
¡°Sounds dangerous,¡± the study clone commented.
¡°I don¡¯t feel it right now,¡± said Takuma. ¡°It¡¯ll probably hit me when we get smuggled into the city. I feel tense, though. They¡¯re attaching this retired Hidden Steam shinobi to the team¡ªmid to late thirties¡ªas our local connect. I don¡¯t like him.¡±
One would think that talking to his own clones would feel strange, but it wasn¡¯t bad. He didn¡¯t have a mental connection with the clones, so he didn¡¯t know what they were thinking¡ªbut because they were literally him, he knew how their heads worked. He didn¡¯t need to hide any of his feelings or thoughts because he was talking to himself, and they would understand where he was coming from.
The conversations were comfortable because he could guess what they would say.
There were no surprises.
¡°Retired?¡± said the tutor clone. ¡°Which means he¡¯s not from the Hidden Steam people on the base?¡±
¡°Oh, I know that guy,¡± said the duty clone. ¡°I know that guy.¡±
¡°Pardon me, what?¡± Takuma looked up at the ceiling in surprise.
¡°Yeah, he just came in today, early morning. We chatted for a bit. Nice guy,¡± said the duty clone.
¡°Nice guy!?¡° Takuma exclaimed, feeling betrayed by his own clone. ¡°Fuck you!¡±
¡°You mean, fuck me? Thanks, but I¡¯m not really into selfcest.¡±
¡°I already used that joke,¡± the tutor clone laughed.
¡°No, you didn¡¯t; you aren¡¯t even the same clone,¡± said the duty clone.
¡°Shut up, both of you,¡± Takuma grabbed his head.
It suddenly became so clear why Gaku looked like he knew him. It was because Gaku had chatted with the duty clone in the morning. And to Gaku, it would¡¯ve seemed like Takuma was being rude by pretending not to know him. Gaku wasn¡¯t at fault. The blame completely fell on Takuma¡¯s head.
¡°Why didn¡¯t he just say so?¡±
Takuma groaned with the urge to throw himself off the Hokage Mountain. He had needlessly created the wrong impression on an instrumental ally who would be attached to the team for the duration of a very dangerous mission. He had done a disservice to his team and the camp by his actions.
¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what happened,¡± the duty clone laughed on the ceiling after listening to Takuma¡¯s story.
¡°Just apologize to him later,¡± said the tutor clone, finishing his lesson preparation. ¡°Come now, it¡¯s time to study. There¡¯s much to cover today; don¡¯t you dare slack off!¡±
Takuma sighed deeply.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A couple days later, Anko gathered Team-9 in a room and dumped a thick stack of black paper and envelopes on the table.
There was a long silence as Anko looked at the team with a difficult expression on her face.
¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Iori, worried.
The others seemed worried as well. Anko¡¯s behavior was different from her usual bright self. The current her was even different from her rare serious self during important situations. She looked glum as she faced them.
¡°I haven¡¯t done this before, so I don¡¯t know the right way to do it¡ but here we go.¡± Anko took a deep breath. ¡°We are going on a dangerous mission where the chances of death are high. Because we¡¯ll be going behind enemy line¡ªthere¡¯s a chance that if we¡¯re found, our bodies might not be found after our death. They won¡¯t find any mementos, nothing at all, so it¡¯s probably wise to leave something of you behind¡
¡°I want every one of you to write letters to as many people as you¡¯d like,¡± she said.
The team realized what Anko was asking them to do it. The mood of the room changed in an instant. An awkwardness settled in as they looked at each other with uncomfortable looks.
¡°¡ I¡¯ll suggest that you guys also draw wills for your possessions¡ª¡±
¡°I¡¯m not doing any of that,¡± Daiki interrupted her, looking both deeply uncomfortable and somewhat angry.
¡°Daiki, I understand this is not something easy¡ª¡±
Daiki stopped her again. ¡°I¡¯m not going to die, so there¡¯s no need for¡ this.¡± The usually gentle giant exuded a feeling of sharp prickliness that if he was forced, he would blow up. ¡°You all are free to do so, but please leave me out of it,¡± said Daiki, leaving the room and leaving the team in an even more awkward situation.
Kameko walked to the table from the wall she was leaning against and silently picked up a bunch of paper and envelopes before wordlessly leaving the room.
Takuma stared at the papers. He understood where Daiki was coming from. Writing those letters and drafting the will was, in one way, accepting the prospect of death. That was a difficult thing to accept, even in their occupation. Takuma didn¡¯t want to die, but he knew he could die on missions¡ªbut even he found the prospect of writing a memento letter to his friends daunting and unpleasant.
But as Anko said, it was probably wise to do it.
So with a deep breath, Takuma took the step forward towards the papers and envelopes.
CH_7.4 (222)
A horse-drawn carriage trundled along a wide road towards the enormous defensive walls surrounding the Spring City of Yu. The brick wall was actually an earthen wall erected forty years ago with the help of shinobi adept at using earth-style ninjutsu and afterward covered in baked bricks as another layer of fortification.
The main gates to Yu were indefinitely closed, with only the smaller commercial gates used by merchants and traders still open as access points into the city.
The carriage driver slowed down the horses as they approached the gates and joined the short line with him at the front after five minutes.
¡°What¡¯s your business?¡±
It was around lunchtime, and the gate was being guarded by the local civilian guards with only one enemy shinobi sitting in the little cabin. There were four guards stationed at the gate. Two of them stayed near the gates, keeping a vigilant eye on the queue of carriages. The other two checked the carriages.
The carriage driver motioned the guard toward the carriage.
Before the guard moved, the carriage opened, and Gaku stepped out. His scruffy stubble was shaved clean, his rough hair with gray strands were cleaned, dyed, and tied in a silky ponytail, and his face looked thoroughly moisturized. On top of that, he was dressed in an exquisite silk robe.
¡°Good day, gentlemen,¡± he said.
¡°What¡¯s your business?¡± the guard said, looking Gaku up and down.
Before Gaku could answer, Daiki stepped out of the carriage, towered behind Gaku, and stared down at the guard, who had the expected reaction of nervousness.
Gaku smiled. ¡°The enchanting courtesan Chinatsu is returning to Yu. She and her three maids are inside. The five of us request entrance into the city.¡±
¡°Oh? I have to verify that,¡± the guard¡¯s face brightened up.
He walked past the Gaku and Daiki and looked inside the carriage. The inside was dark, casting a shadow on the passengers. The guard naturally looked at the woman talking to him and was instantly enthralled at the first sight of the bodacious woman. Despite being dressed in a full robe, her sensuality couldn¡¯t be hidden. She was the courtesan Chinatsu. Other than her, there were three more women in the carriage dressed simply and had veils covering their faces just like Chinatsu.
The scent of her fragrance tickled the guard¡¯s nose, and he was left without words. He gazed into the eyes that seemed to focus on only him and him alone.
¡°¡ You¡¯re beautiful, my lady. I must check you and the other ladies for illegal contraband.¡±
The guard stepped closer and reached for Chinatsu, but before he could grab her, a hand that could completely cover his whole head grabbed his wrist. The guard looked back and saw Daiki staring down at him, and the guard felt a shudder shoot through his feet. The guard tried to pull his hand out of tight grip but couldn¡¯t even move Daiki¡¯s arm one centimeter.
¡°U-Unhand me, you brute!¡±
¡°Forgive him; he¡¯s just doing his job. I¡¯m afraid the courtesan doesn¡¯t like being touched by unclean hands,¡± Gaku said and gave Daiki a nod.
Daiki released the guard¡¯s hand but put himself between the carriage and the guard, then closed the carriage door.
¡°I appreciate all the hard work you do to keep the city safe, and I want to make sure you get awarded plenty for it.¡± Gaku flicked his wrist, and the note bundle slid into his hand. He pressed the thick roll into the guard¡¯s hand.
The guard smiled, but when he glanced at his hand, he was surprised by two bundles resting in his grip. He looked up at Gaku, who smiled.
¡°The second is something extra just for you.¡±
Alerted by the commotion and the guard¡¯s loud sound, the second guard came to see what was happening.
¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡±
The first guard quickly pocketed one of the rolls. ¡°Nothing much, just this,¡± he said, tossing the second roll to the other guard.
¡°Ah, I see, so it¡¯s all good,¡± the second guard smiled. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get moving.¡±
It didn¡¯t matter if their home was occupied by the enemy; not everyone felt loyal or patriotic to their country. Their only allegiance was to the ones in charge; as long as their lives weren¡¯t disturbed, they didn¡¯t care who sat in the ivory towers. Greedy people were still enthralled by coin, power-hungry men¡¯s appetite for control over others was just as intense, and the self-centered ones who only thought about themselves were still interested in only themselves.
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The guard was grinning at getting his bribe, but then he saw Daiki boarding the carriage after Gaku and remembered how Daiki had grabbed his wrist. His happy expression soured as he moved along.
He saw the carriage driver and scoffed.
¡°Hey, take off your hat.¡±
The carriage driver sighed and raised his hand, but apparently, it was too slow. The guard raised his staff and flicked the straw hat off the driver¡¯s head, revealing the face of one tired Takuma.
¡°Dear god, when was the last time you slept,¡± the guard said, forgetting the humiliation he had felt.
¡°They wanted to get here quickly. They paid extra, boss,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Oh, extra? How about your share, kid?¡±
He used his staff to poke Takuma in the leg, strong enough that it would¡¯ve hurt a civilian.
Takuma slowly turned his head to the guard. Their eyes met, and the guard froze up as he felt as though a kunai had pierced through his neck. He gripped his staff until his knuckles were white and took a step back. His hand went to his neck like he was scratching an itch, but he was checking his neck.
¡°W-What? You¡ got a problem?¡±
Takuma put his hand into his pocket, which scared the guard, but Takuma took out a few loose, crumpled, dirty notes and held them to the guard, who hesitated but stepped close to snatch the notes out of his hand.
¡°Good¡ now move on, you¡¯re blocking the line,¡± the guard tried to sound tough.
Takuma softly urged the horses and headed inside the city. As the carriage passed through the gates, he glanced at another carriage inspected by the other guard, who was ripping jute bags full of the merchandise, spilling a considerable amount on the floor. When the merchant begged him to stop, the other guard roughly pushed him to the ground and threatened him to stay there as he continued his ¡®inspection.¡¯
Takuma then glanced into the guard cabin, where a lone shinobi was leaning in his chair, puffing smoke.
He put his straw hat back and entered the Spring City of Yu.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The carriage stopped in an alley before a building¡¯s back entrance. Takuma stepped down from his seat and looked around to see if someone was peeking from the windows. He opened the door, and Gaku and Daiki stepped out first.
¡°I thought I was never going to get out of there,¡± said Daiki.
¡°Why were you the only one outside?¡± Gaku spat, a cigarette already in his hand.
¡°Because I¡¯m the only one who knows horses,¡± Takuma said. He had learned how to ride horses because shinobi didn¡¯t use horses¡ªthey ran everywhere¡ªwhich was why he learned it because it made for such a great cover. And today, he had gotten the return on his investment.
Gaku went ahead and unlocked the building while Daiki went to the back of the carriage for Chinatsu¡¯s belongings, the only luggage not sealed away in storage seals.
Takuma held out his hand to help Chinatsu down the carriage
¡°Thank you, sweet boy,¡± Chinatsu smiled, winking at Takuma.
He nodded and extended his hand for the next one, only to get it slapped away.
Kameko pulled off her veil and pushed Takuma¡¯s straw hat up to see his face.
¡°Ugh, I couldn¡¯t believe they could get worse,¡± said Kaneko, commenting on Takuma¡¯s worse than usual bags under the eyes that were ever-present on his face.
¡°Sure, let¡¯s do this in the street,¡± Takuma sighed.
The preparation time was shorter than Takuma anticipated despite the mission being delayed. Between team meetings and his personal preparations, fourteen days passed in the blink of an eye. And because of the stakes involved, he hadn¡¯t been able to sleep properly due to being busy and stressed. His usually tired face had gotten worse than usual.
Anko kicked Kameko from within the carriage to move the latter out of the way.
¡°What¡ª!¡±
Anko looked at Takuma and Kameko and spoke in a no-nonsense voice. ¡°Shut the fuck up, and move along.¡±
Rikku and Iori stepped outside the carriage and followed the other women into the building through the back entry.
After Daiki unloaded the luggage, Takuma patted the horses and returned to his driver¡¯s seat.
¡°Thank you for your service, fellas¡ But it¡¯s time for us to part.¡±
Now, he had to get rid of the horses and the carriage and familiarize himself with the city and its roads.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma returned with food for the entire group.
The land and the building was owned by a company Gaku owned under a fake identity. He had made quite a bit of money in his time as a shinobi and had invested a portion into real estate. The building was a two-story residential house with a full basement floor.
¡°You were great out there, Chinatsu,¡± Gaku said to the woman whom the guard had tried to lay his hands on.
¡°It was all you, my brave Gaku,¡± Chinatsu smiled flirtatiously.
Chinatsu was the reason why the mission was delayed. Gaku had recommended her as a potential asset to Takuma. Chinatsu was a high-end courtesan with connections in the city¡¯s high society and had agreed to help them as a plant that could collect intel. Takuma agreed to recruit her if only for the cover to get into the city. He wasn¡¯t sure how much helpful information she could get for them.
She was the reason the mission was delayed from seven days to fourteen days. Everything from doing a background check on her to contacting Chinatsu to have her to agree and then getting her transported was done extremely quickly, but it took time to coordinate and execute, which delayed the mission.
The group sat in a circle on the dirty floor with the food Takuma had bought for them.
¡°Rest for today,¡± Anko addressed the group. ¡°We start from tomorrow. Gaku and Chinatsu will spread the word about her return¡¡±
Chinatsu was their cover. Gaku was the pimp, Daiki was the muscle, and Anko, Rikku, Kameko, and Iori were Chinatsu¡¯s maids. Chinatsu had returned to the city and would be conducting her business, reconnecting to her past clients/lovers, and the team was actually going to help her do her business.
The entire team except for Takuma. He didn¡¯t have a cover and thus wasn¡¯t connected to Chinatsu¡¯s group. If she got in trouble, it wouldn¡¯t connect back to him; if he got into trouble, it wouldn¡¯t get tracked back to Chinatsu.
Anko continued. ¡°While they do that, Iori and Daiki will get the stuff for the house. Kameko and I will do the cleaning. Takuma will set up the other place. We start the initial recon after everything is set up.¡±
The plan was to put a distance between Chinatsu¡¯s house and the place where the team was planning to make their base of operations. They had brought a lot of stuff that would feel very out of place in a courtesan¡¯s place of residence.
¡°Remember to stick to your roles, everyone,¡± Anko said. She turned to Takuma, ¡°And get some sleep; your look like a ghoul.¡±
¡°I will,¡± Takuma sighed.
It was their first day behind enemy lines, but Takuma felt that it was his chance to get some decent sleep because once he started doing recon, his head would be filled with information, goals, and plans that would keep sleep away from him.
CH_7.5 (223)
Takuma wandered the streets of Yu alone, observing the city on foot.
He had completed his task of setting up the base in the abandoned factory handpicked by Gaku. The cleaning took the majority of time as he wanted a thorough job because, unlike the others, he was living in the base. The furnishings of the base were pre-prepared and brought from the outside, sealed in scrolls; setting them up was a quick couple hour job.
The others were still busy with their jobs, and Takuma decided to explore the city independently.
He put on civilian clothes that would allow him to carry a concealed weapon pouch and took off to roam the central part of the city. He didn¡¯t have any specific objective and simply wanted to take in the city¡¯s atmosphere.
The city was still very much functional, with people continuing on with their lives, but as he looked around, he could see the weight of the enemy¡¯s presence bearing down on the town. The streets were emptier than what Takuma would expect from a city of Yu¡¯s size. As he passed through a bazaar, many shopkeepers weren¡¯t calling out to the customers like one would expect from a bustling center of commerce. He passed a mother who had dressed herself and her two children in plain clothes that covered them from head to toe and was keeping them close as though in fear that they could be stolen from her at any moment.
He even hid in the shadows and watched two young men harassing a woman in the middle of a noticeably busy street, but not one passerby stopped to help the woman who had been pushed to tears.
Takuma guessed that the reason why the fruit shop owner, with hate in his eyes, wasn¡¯t already swinging the machete in his hand was because of the red armbands on the two young men. He had seen them on the gate guards and others while driving through the city.
According to Gaku, the city police wore armbands. Since the enemy had occupied the city, they had put the people who turned to support the new powers into the police to keep the population in check. They were using the people of the city against themselves. It was a classic tactic to maintain control.
¡°Hey, what are you two doing?!¡±
A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing the same armband, came running, and the young men immediately stopped and stepped away from the woman. Unlike the young men wearing casual clothes, the new middle-aged man wore a proper uniform.
He tried to help the woman pick up the bag she had dropped but got his hand slapped away. The woman bowed to him despite looking thoroughly livid and ran away. The man stared at the woman, looking depressed, before immediately ripping into the two men with harsh words. They looked displeased but stood there in silence, listening to the scolding, though it looked like they weren¡¯t really listening to the older man.
Takuma moved on and continued roaming the city when he noticed red posters plastered on the walls. Looking closer at one, the notices were propaganda about how the occupying shinobi forces weren¡¯t enemies but liberators who were rescuing them and giving them an opportunity to live a better life.
He looked around, ripped one of the posters, and folded it into his pocket.
Takuma then saw a roadside stall manned by an old man selling shaved ice.
¡°The pink one,¡± said Takuma, paying upfront.
¡°Coming up,¡± said the old man with a balding head. As he shaved the block of ice, he asked, ¡°So where are you from, young boy?¡±
Takuma titled his head. ¡°Down west. How did you know I wasn¡¯t from here?¡±
¡°You passed by one of those traitors and had no reaction. No hate, joy, fear, you didn¡¯t look away to avoid their eyes. Everyone in this city would have a reaction, but all you had was indifference,¡± the old man laughed.
¡°Huh,¡± Takuma was impressed. ¡°Tell me, boss. What¡¯s it like living here?¡±
¡°It is what it is.¡± The old man looked around. ¡°This city is the grain storage for all the farming villages in the region. Every season, the farmers sell their hard-grown crops in the city. That hasn¡¯t changed. The farmer doesn¡¯t care if we¡¯re occupied by the enemy; they need a livelihood, and city folk need food. Ever since those shinobi arrived, suddenly there¡¯s no food, and the price of everything shot up.¡±
Yu was the hub for the farming villages selling their produce in the big city. The city had built infrastructure to store grains, and mills to grind them, among other things that the smaller farm villages lacked, and having a central hub made more logistical sense. Many farmers sold their entire harvest to the city itself, who would sell it to whoever needed it. Everyone from big businesses to small vendors bought from the city.
¡°You mean they¡¯re holding back the food?¡± said Takuma.
¡°Of course, what else could it be? They have been forcing the farmers to only sell to the city. They¡¯re forcing anyone who needs food to buy it from the city because there¡¯s no other choice.¡± The old man then whispered, ¡°I asked one of the farmers who came here after harvest season¡ªhe said that this year¡¯s harvest was abundant.¡±
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Takuma glanced at the shuttered restaurant behind the old man¡¯s stall on wheels. He looked around and didn¡¯t see any other stalls. The old man himself was selling shaved ice flavored with bottled syrups.
¡°Here you go,¡± the old man handed him a shaved ice on a stick.
¡°Thank you, old man,¡± Takuma gave him a smile and continued his walk.
Gaku was in Yu during the enemy invasion. He continued to stay in the city for months before he was contacted by the Hidden Steam to come out to help with a mission. According to him, the shinobi lived in an affluent part of the city. And as Takuma walked toward that part of the city, he noticed how empty the city got. He didn¡¯t see anyone for a good few minutes; it seemed the population was staying away from the shinobi.
Then he saw a group of shinobi laughing as they came down the street. Takuma jumped into tall grass and lay there watching them as they passed by. They passed him by quickly, but Takuma continued to lay in the tall grass for a few more minutes before getting up and walking away, deciding that he had done enough exploring for the day and that the next time he wanted to explore the area, he would do it at night with darkness as his ally.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
When Takuma returned to the base, some of the team members were waiting for him. He noticed that Gaku, Daiki, and Iori weren¡¯t present in the group.
¡°Where were you?¡± Anko had her arms crossed.
¡°Out, I left a note,¡± said Takuma. He pointed at the small note which said: ¡®Out, will be back in the evening.¡¯
¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to be out¡ So, what did you find?¡±
¡°Where are the others?¡±
¡°Iori and Daiki are at the house. Gaku is out spreading the word,¡± said Rikku.
¡°Are we sure he¡¯s doing that?¡± asked Takuma, pulling out a MRE (Meal, Ready-To-Eat) from the stock of rationed pre-prepared meals they had brought from the outside. He was hungry after his walk and hadn¡¯t eaten since morning. He sighed as he looked at the MRE¡ªwith the food prices in Yu, he wouldn¡¯t be eating fresh food a lot.
¡°You really don¡¯t trust him, do you?¡± said Kameko.
Takuma shrugged. He had tried to apologize to Gaku and start anew with a positive attitude, but Gaku wasn¡¯t receptive, and unlike the duty clone, Takuma couldn¡¯t see anything good about the guy. The sound of Gaku¡¯s voice and his stupid face was irritating. They had done satisfactory work during the preparation period, but Takuma did not trust Gaku.
¡°They have done a good job at maintaining control over the city,¡± he said, telling the team what he had seen. ¡°I think I have the first course of action¡ I found these plastered around the city.¡± He pulled out a few different red propaganda posters he had ripped off the wall and put it on the sheet metal table for the team to see. ¡°They¡¯re controlling the amount of food the city has access to, artificially raising the prices. They blame the Land of Hot Waters for forbidding the villages to sell their harvest to the city because it has been occupied¡ªtrying to spread the impression that their nation has abandoned them.
¡°But I heard something interesting,¡± he said.
The team looked up from the posters to Takuma.
¡°An old man told me that most farmers continue to sell their produce directly to the city. And he gave me the impression that the farmers sold without much resistance, which tells us that the enemy bought at a fair market price¡ªbut that means they spent money¡ªwhere is that money coming from? I doubt they¡¯re using military funds; it¡¯s a lot of produce¡¡±
Kameko¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°They¡¯re selling the produce somewhere else?¡±
Takuma snapped his fingers and nodded. ¡°Yes, they¡¯re exporting the food to the Land of Frost¡ I read in a report that Yu has stopped all exports to other cities, but they¡¯re continuing to buy produce, and seeing that they¡¯re keeping the city hungry, they must have a lot of inventory¡ª¡±
¡°It would be a shame to let it all go to waste,¡± Anko completed his sentence.
¡°Right. They¡¯re keeping the population hungry to control them while also using it to spread misinformation. But most importantly, they¡¯re making it so that the farmers don¡¯t need to look elsewhere to sell their crops. By simply maintaining the existing relationship, the enemy got control over the entire region. They targeted Yu for this very reason.¡±
It would be bad for the Land of Frost if the farmers selling their produce to Yu suddenly took their business elsewhere. They needed to keep the population fed, and if the farmers turned away, they would have to import food into Yu from the Land of Frost, meaning that another area in the Land of Frost would have less food.
The war wasn¡¯t just about land and territory; it was also about the people. By keeping it all the same as before, the farmers were kept happy, and the Land of Frost also got an additional food supply that they could sell into their territory. And that was likely to continue as long as Yu was under the Land of Frost¡¯s control.
¡°I think we need to shake this propaganda they¡¯re trying to spread before it¡¯s too late,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Too late?¡± asked Rikku, confused
¡°I believe it¡¯s only time before they start ramping up the food available in the city, returning to normal. It will create the impression that while the Land of Hot Waters has abandoned them, the Land of Frost has embraced them as their own. We must disrupt the plan by revealing the truth before the entire city switches sides.¡±
¡°And how do you say we do that?¡± asked Anko.
Takuma held up one of the red posters. ¡°We copy the enemy,¡± he said. ¡°We make similar posters debunking the propaganda they¡¯re trying to push and plaster our posters around the city for the people to read.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± said Kameko with hum. ¡°When Gaku returns, we have him find a printer to make prints.¡±
¡°No, that won¡¯t work,¡± Anko shook her head.
¡°Yeah, I thought of that first, but that¡¯s not suitable. When the enemy sees our posters, they will visit every printer in the city to find who printed them. We will be burning a civilian,¡± Takuma sighed, but he had an alternative. ¡°I know how to use woodblock printing. We carve a piece of wood as a template, dip it in ink, and stamp it on paper like a¡ stamp. The quality won¡¯t be as good, but I think it¡¯ll work.¡±
He could carve wood, and they had a fuin-nin on the team to handle ink.
¡°No, we don¡¯t need that,¡± said Anko, staring at the posters. ¡°We can have the posters brought in from outside.¡±
¡°How?¡± asked Takuma, furrowing his brow.
¡°Like we brought everything in here,¡± Anko said, pointing to everything in the base.
¡°In a sealed scroll? But who will send the message and bring them in?¡±
¡°My babies, of course,¡± Anko smiled.
CH_7.6 (224)
Hajime, a sensory-nin of the Hidden Leaf stationed at Camp Banana, strolled across the makeshift earthen perimeter wall that covered the village center. In his case, the stigma surrounding sensory-nin¡ª that they were only good at their sensory capabilities¡ªwas somewhat true. After all, they were hired solely for their special capabilities and nothing else, working extremely long hours that left them very little time to develop their other skills.
Hajime embodied the stereotype to the highest degree. He was only useful because of his sensory capabilities, but he didn¡¯t mind because he was outstanding at it, even compared to other sensory-nin. He was content with being a hyper specialist as that¡¯s what got him good jobs and he didn¡¯t see that changing anytime soon.
Putting all his time and effort into his sensing capabilities allowed Hajime to clock the chakra signature, moving rapidly toward Camp Banana. He turned to the thick woods bordering the camp, where he sensed the chakra. He judged it to be a high Grade-1 on the sensory-nin scale, but it took him by surprise because the chakra felt was nothing like he was used to feeling from most Grade-1 threats.
Despite that, he rang the alarms and notified the entire base about a potential intruder and incursion.
He felt people in the base flare up their chakra, which overwhelmed his senses for a moment. In the handful of seconds it took to steady himself, he lost track of the chakra signature. He sharpened his focus and quickly re-confirmed his senses on the signature, only to realize it was next to him.
Hajime looked around, but he didn¡¯t find anything.
¡°Be careful; the target might be a master of stealth,¡± Hajime warned the others on guard duty.
As he continued to look around with a kunai in his hand, he heard a hissing sound. Hajime looked at the wall around his feet and froze up when he saw the slitted, sickly-yellow eyes of a forest green snake as thick as his arm and as tall as he was.
Before he could move or scream, the snake lunged at him, completely trapping and immobilizing Hajime in its coiling, serpentine body.
¡°You have sharp senses, human,¡± the snake hissed, its head a few centimeters away from Hajime¡¯s face, ¡°but those senses are a big problem for a predator like myself¡ maybe I should make you into a meal.¡±
Hajime was beyond terrified and couldn¡¯t produce a peep from his mouth. He could only stare at the snake with his quaking wide eyes. The other guards couldn¡¯t move as the snake had Hajime in its grasp as a hostage.
The snake¡¯s forked tongue touched Hajime¡¯s cheek, making his entire body flinch and break out in cold sweat. Just as he thought he was about to become its dinner, the snake laughed loudly, and Hajime found his legs free as the snake coiled its entire body around his torso, arms, and neck.
¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not here for a meal,¡± the snake said. ¡°Mitarashi Anko has sent me. Walk me to the humans named Shirakumo and Toridasu. I bring them news from her.¡±
Hajime, of course, knew Anko and also knew that she was infamous for her snake summons. Hearing Anko was the one to send the snake, he calmed down from utter terror to stiffness from fear.
¡°I-It¡¯s okay, Chunin Mitarashi has sent the snake,¡± Hajime announced loudly as he awkwardly turned his body to face the other guards because the snake was still coiled around his neck, and he didn¡¯t want to make any movements. He spoke respectfully to the snake, ¡°Can you please let me go? I¡¯ll happily lead you to the jonin.
¡°No, you take me,¡± said the snake, and Hajime could sense that the snake wasn¡¯t going to take a no for an answer.
¡°O-Okay,¡± Hajime gulped. He announced: ¡°I¡¯m taking the snake to see the jonin. Clear a path.¡±
Hajime jumped down the wall, and by then, the shinobi in the base had already gathered near the wall, fully decked in combat gear. They cleared a path for Hajime, who didn¡¯t need to walk much as Shirakumo stood in the middle of the road.
¡°Release my shinobi,¡± Shirakumo said, sounding dead serious.
¡°Not with all these human shinobi around me, ready to hunt me down,¡± the snake hissed. ¡°My time with Orochimaru hasn¡¯t left a great impression of you humans. I like my Anko, but I can¡¯t say the same for all of you¡ Most of the time when she calls me, I end up killing and eating your species.¡± The snake¡¯s yellow eyes scanned the entire area, and the weak-willed in the crowd looked nervous or looked away when their gaze met the snake¡¯s.
Shirakumo frowned with displeasure at the mention of Orochimaru. The shinobi gathered around and looked nervous and scared at the mention of the Snake Sannin.
¡°You¡¯re the one called Shirakumo, correct?¡± asked the snake. ¡°Give me your word that I won¡¯t be harmed, and I will release this human.¡±
¡°Does that mean my words mean nothing in Anko¡¯s eyes,¡± said Toridasu.
The slits in the snake¡¯s eyes narrowed as he turned his head back to see Toridasu standing behind Hajime. The snake moved around Hajime in agitation, coiling a bit tighter, making Hajime grunt in pain; the fact that he couldn¡¯t sense someone as dangerous as Toridasu standing so close to him wasn¡¯t something the snake welcomed.
¡°What¡ scared?¡± asked Toridasu, tilting his head.
Shirakumo felt a growing tension between the snake and Toridasu and interjected before it became a problem.
¡°I give you my word that you won¡¯t be harmed. I assume you have word from Anko; let¡¯s talk about it inside,¡± said Shirakumo.
The snake¡¯s eyes remained affixed on Toridasu for a moment before he opened his maw and sank his fangs into Hajime¡¯s shoulder.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Rest assured; I will give him the anti-venom when we¡¯re done. As you humans put it, it¡¯s insurance,¡± said Mara, the snake.
Mara sat with Shirakumo and Toridasu in the war room. Neither of the Hidden Leaf jonin looked very pleased with Mara injecting Hajime with his snake venom. Their sensory-nin was in a fatal condition after getting injured inside the base while the two jonin stood by and watched.
¡°What does Anko want?¡± asked Shirakumo.
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Mara sat coiled on the large table, taking nearly half of the tabletop. He opened his maw for a scroll tube to emerge from his body and drop down on a table covered in spittle. Mara flicked the scroll tube across the table with his tail.
The scroll tube stopped in front of Toridasu, who used a handkerchief to pick it up and opened the tube to retrieve a scroll from inside. Toridasu read the scroll and then handed it to Shirakumo.
¡°It¡¯s legit,¡± said Toridasu. The scroll had Anko¡¯s handwriting and a secret code to validate the legitimacy of all communication between the Yu team and the base. ¡°She wants us to print posters for them.¡±
¡°They moved quick,¡± said Shirakumo. He looked to Mara. ¡°We give you the posters, and she summons you into the city.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± Mara said, hissing.
¡°Summons sure are convenient,¡± Shirakumo said with a deep exhale.
In the shinobi world, summons were in high demand due to their sheer usefulness, but contracting a summon species was an extremely rare opportunity that only a few were lucky to have. And even those who had signed summon contracts had to pay a price in return for having intelligent animals capable of using chakra at call.
There was a rumor revolving around Orochimaru that the bigger, more powerful snake summons required human sacrifice every time they were summoned, and Orochimaru very happily sacrificed a large amount of people every time he needed help from the behemothian serpents that struck fear in the hearts of his enemies.
¡°You have three days; I will come to collect the posters sealed in a scroll that fits in that tube around this time of day in three days,¡± said Mara, pointing at the scroll tube covered in snake spittle.
¡°Oh, you¡¯re leaving. What a pity,¡± said Toridasu, his words dripping in sarcasm.
¡°I¡¯ll be in the nearby forest. Warn your humans to be careful if they visit; I might mistake them for prey,¡± Mara laughed and then slithered off the table, heading towards the door.
¡°The anti-venom,¡± Shirakumo stood up, looking ready to stop and grab Mara on a moment¡¯s notice. Mara might be a big snake, but he wasn¡¯t a jonin.
Mara laughed again, louder this time. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He doesn¡¯t need it. I¡¯m not a venomous snake.¡± The snake¡¯s hilarious laughter was audible from outside the war room for several seconds before they couldn¡¯t hear it.
Toridasu and Shirakumo looked at each other in silence. A snake had made up a fool out of both of them.
There was a knock on the door, and the chunin iryo-nin, who was looking after Hajime, stepped inside.
¡°Sir¡ uhm, Hajime¡ª¡±
Toridasu cut him off. ¡°Hajime is fine, we know.¡±
¡°¡Yes, sir,¡± the chunin iryo-nin got the message and immediately stepped out of the room, leaving the two jonin alone
¡°This is why I don¡¯t like that girl,¡± Toridasu said to Shirakumo. ¡°Damnable snakes.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Because of her duties as Chinatsu¡¯s handmaid, Rikku hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to visit the base of operation in the abandoned factory.
She was happy to be out of the handmaid¡¯s attire and back into her usual clothes. Unexpectedly, the handmaid¡¯s uniform was comfortable and easy to move around in, which made sense to her after she worked in them as the job required moving around doing a lot of tasks from preparing Chinatsu and maintaining the house¡ª but she was simply more comfortable in her vest and pants that she had been wearing since she became a shinobi.
As she entered the building, she saw Takuma on the other end of the long floor. The base was situated in the most isolated part of the building¡ªin the corner with other abandoned buildings adjacent to it. The factory Gaku had chosen was abandoned because a few years back, a dangerous chemical leaked into it killing six people, which led to the factory¡¯s closure. The team wasn¡¯t a fan of the location despite Gaku assuring the location¡¯s safety. The other option was a haunted warehouse, but Anko rejected it because she was worried that children might use the warehouse for ¡®tests of courage¡¯¡ªthus leading them to choose the factory.
Takuma was staring at a huge plan wall he had made. Because he was the only one not tied to Chinatsu for cover, he had the most amount of time to gather information and intelligence via observation and exploration.
Rikku didn¡¯t want to disturb the thoroughly engrossed boy and moved silently, but when she was close enough, Takuma turned, and his eyes snapped toward her as though she was a threat. The sudden movement from him gave her a pause, but since she didn¡¯t have to worry about disturbing him, she greeted him.
¡°Hey,¡± Takuma returned her greeting.
¡°You should make it more readable,¡± said Rikku as she stopped beside Takuma and gazed over the surprisingly large plans on the wall.
¡°It¡¯s not readable?¡± Takuma looked at her, his brows furrowed.
¡°Maybe to you; it doesn¡¯t make much sense to me.¡± Rikku tried to look closer, but it all seemed like a huge, chaotic mess of information thrown on a wall. ¡°What is all of this?¡±
¡°I¡¯m trying to make sense of the city in my mind,¡± said Takuma, pointing at a rudimentary city map in the middle of everything ¡°I want to know what¡¯s where so I¡¯m more comfortable with operating here. Not knowing how this city works is scary. The more I know, the more comfortable I am.¡±
¡°Makes sense,¡± said Rikku, nodding. As she looked at the plan-wall, she couldn¡¯t see the connections between the many clusters of notes that he had made, but she could roughly see that Takuma was focusing on areas and people in those areas.
And as she thought of people, a question rose in her mind.¡°I didn¡¯t think sticking posters would be the first big thing we would do in the city,¡± she said.
¡°Oh, what did you think we¡¯d be doing?¡± he asked, his eyes stuck to the plan-wall as though he was obsessed with the clustered mess he had created.
¡°Honestly¡ I thought we would be killing one of the enemy shinobi,¡± Rikku shrugged. She knew her answer was blockheaded, but that¡¯s what she thought was the entire objective. Weaken the enemy from the inside before the main force came knocking from the outside.
¡°You¡¯re not wrong; there¡¯ll be plenty of time for that,¡± Takuma chuckled.
¡°So¡ we¡¯re doing this because we want the residents to help us, right?¡± asked Rikku. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we accomplish the same if we killed a couple of enemy shinobi? Wouldn¡¯t they be happy that someone was finally doing something?¡±
Takuma removed his eyes from the wall to look at Rikku.
¡°Yes, we¡¯re doing this so that we would have the resident¡¯s support, but that¡¯s just an outcome of something else we¡¯re trying to prevent. The city of Yu still considers the Land of Frost as the enemy, but if we allow what¡¯s happening, that would change, and the city would start looking at them favorably.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Rikku shook her head. ¡°Why would they look at invaders favorably?¡±
¡°Because we as a species aren¡¯t logical beings. After months of limited food and disrupted lives, if they returned to abundant food and their lives back on track, and the enemy claims that they did solve the problem Land of Hot Water created, the people would side with the side who ¡®solved the problem.¡¯
Takuma paused for a moment as he mulled on something.
¡°For example, there¡¯s a helpless old man who¡¯s running away from a goon who¡¯s trying to kill him. And you have the option to let the old man escape. Would you help?¡±
¡°Yeah, I would help,¡± said Rikku.
¡°But what if I told you that the helpless old man raped the goon¡¯s sister who then took her life. The goon was just trying to exact revenge for his sister. Would you have still helped?¡±
¡°Of course not!¡±
¡°But you just said you would.¡±
¡°Because I didn¡¯t know¡ª¡± Rikku realized what Takuma was trying to explain. ¡°The city people don¡¯t know that the old man is the real scum and will instead think of the goon as the scummy one.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± he nodded. ¡°Imagine if our main forces come to free the city, but the city people who have been deceived get in the way. They try to help their ¡®liberators¡¯ and get in between a conflict between two shinobi forces. Do you think we will mow the civilians down to get to the enemy?¡±
Rikku shook her head.
Takuma continued. ¡°Let¡¯s say we somehow got rid of the enemy without causing a civilian massacre. What now? We leave¡ª but the Land of Hot Water is left with a city near the border full of Land of Frost sympathizers and supporters. Do you think the Hot Water Daimyo and the Hidden Steam would be able to see Yu as anything but a potential security threat? They would be left with a timebomb waiting to explode.
¡°So yes, I¡¯m hoping by revealing the truth, the people will help us when we need their help, but mostly, it¡¯s because we¡¯re trying to rescue the city, and I don¡¯t want them to be doomed at the end of it all.¡±
Rikku looked at the plan-wall, and unsurprisingly, nothing had changed, and it still seemed like a chaotic mess to her.
¡°I¡ don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be much help here. I would¡¯ve killed the goon,¡± she said.
¡°You don¡¯t need to help with this. You just need to be there ready when it¡¯s time to kill the scummy old man,¡± said Takuma. ¡°I think you¡¯ll be a very good handmaid who does some killing on the side.¡±
Rikku smiled.
CH_7.7 (225)
In the base, Anko weaved through hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu and slapped her palm on the ground, which spurred the jutsu formula (shiki) using her blood as a component. A writhing snake emerged within the hazy cloud of smoke.
Both Gaku and Kameko were standing behind sheet metal tables, looking combat-ready when they spotted the thick forest-green snake despite it being Anko¡¯s summon. Takuma stood beside Anko, ready to spring into action like the other two.
¡°You guys are being rude; Mara is a friend. He won¡¯t harm you,¡± said Anko. She was disappointed seeing them acting like they were.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t take her word for it,¡± said Mara, his yellow-slitted eyes scanning the three. ¡°A snake¡¯s got to eat, after all.¡±
Gaku had crossed his arms as he kept his eyes on Mara and Kameko gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
¡°Mara, stop it!¡± Anko raised her voice, but the shallow smile on her face told another story.
The snake looked up at Takuma, who was staring down at him. He uncoiled and raised his body until his head was at Takuma¡¯s chest. The distance between them wasn¡¯t more than a few feet, practically nothing for a snake of Mara¡¯s enhanced physique.
¡°You look easy to swallow,¡± said Mara.
¡°And you have hundreds of more bones than a human I could break,¡± Takuma replied.
Mara moved his head closer to Takuma, who didn¡¯t move much less flinch. They stared at each other for a long, silent moment. Anko, standing beside Takuma, shook her head; she was used to Mara¡¯s antics when meeting strangers.
¡°I like him,¡± Mara said to Anko after backing away.
¡°Do you have the posters?¡± asked Anko.
¡°I have a scroll, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside,¡± said Mara. He opened his mouth and spat out a scroll tube right toward Anko, who was forced to catch it with her bare hands. She groaned in disgust at the long strands of saliva dangling from her finger and uncorked the tube. She glanced up at Mara with a fed-up sigh and dumped the scroll within the tube into Takuma¡¯s hands. Unexpectedly, a loose rolled-up paper fell out along with the scroll.
¡°What is it?¡± asked Anko, holding her dirty hands before her.
¡°Looks like a letter,¡± said Takuma as he read the contents
¡°I¡¯m tired; I¡¯m leaving,¡± said Mara.
¡°Oh, thanks!¡± Anko knew that Mara had been living away from his natural habitat for several days and didn¡¯t want to hold him back for any longer.
Mara released the jutsu and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
¡°Ah¡ the snake fucked around with the jonin.¡± Takuma raised the letter and put it on the table with a snort. ¡°Took a hostage at the camp¡ªyou can read about it later¡ªit¡¯s pretty funny.¡±
Speechless, Anko opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. She glanced at the empty spot where Mara stood a few moments later in irritation. Just when she thought she and Toridasu were over the hill too.
Takuma laid the storage seal scroll on the floor and released multiple stacks of A3-sized posters. The ones put up by the enemy were red-themed, so the team decided to switch the colour and go with blue-themed posters. The mental association would help them, after all.
¡°Good, these are good,¡± said Takuma.
Takuma wasn¡¯t the greatest writer. The only writing he had done recently was writing bland case reports in the Police Force, which showed in his poster drafts. Daiki, who read them, commented that Takuma¡¯s writing was too complex and long-winded. If Takuma wanted the message to spread, they needed the posters to be easily understandable because the posters were only the first step.
The moment the enemy was made aware of the posters, they would try to take them down¡ªand the real goal was to spread the message around the city through word-of-mouth. For that to happen, the wording on the poster needed to be concise and easy to understand and memorise.
Daiki, being unsurprisingly well-read, turned Takuma¡¯s writing into points that could be picked up quickly after a short read. Iori contributed with rough artwork depicting the occupying enemy in a bad light to attract the eyes of the populace.
Takuma looked up at Gaku. ¡°When are we meeting the locals?¡±
The team wasn¡¯t equipped to distribute the posters properly across the city. They weren¡¯t familiar with the hotspots where most people would see the posters. Even if Gaku were to circle out locations on the city map for the team to follow, they wouldn¡¯t know the specific areas in those locations where the posters would get the most eyes¡ªsomething locals would be perfectly aware of.
¡°We leave in an hour,¡± said Gaku. ¡°I have set up a meeting.¡±
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¡°Are you sure your identity is safe?¡± Anko asked him.
Gaku nodded. ¡°It¡¯s safe, don¡¯t worry.¡±
Gaku was a well-known figure in Yu. As a retired shinobi, he was well-connected with the resistance elements in the city, enough that he was on the enemy¡¯s watchlist. They were constantly on the lookout for him¡ªwhich meant that he couldn¡¯t be seen in the city without being hunted down by the enemy.
This was why he operated in the open as Jimii¡ª Chinatsu¡¯s pimp from the Land of Hot Water¡¯s capital who had followed her back to Yu. He was shockingly adept at disguises and masquerading skills. After a few light cosmetic prosthetics, body language changes, and some voice modulation, Gaku was unrecognisable, allowing Jimii to operate in broad daylight.
It helped that Gaku and Jimii ran in different social circles.
Takuma stared at the posters as a nervousness bubbled up within him. The plan¡¯s success level would dictate how the future would go for him. He needed it to succeed to inspire confidence in the team and Anko, allowing him to operate with greater freedom. Not to mention, his failure could mean Gaku trying to butt in and try to take control of the operation.
No matter their current situation, he was still a shinobi from an entirely different village to Team-9. This had to go great¡ªno, perfectly¡ªbut his part in it was done.
All Takuma could do was leave the rest up to the team.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A single street light hung over a shopping centre loading zone, used by businesses to move merchandise and inventories. A group of five men looked tense as they huddled under the street light.
¡°Are you sure he¡¯s coming?¡± The skinhead youngster who asked the question handed a hand-rolled cigarette to the middle-aged man leaning against the light pole.
Motohiro was a middle-aged man with a wide frame, big arms, and a beer belly. He owned a milling business in Yu and had a considerable number of people under him. He was rich, not enough to be counted among the city¡¯s elite, but comfortable enough that he had no financial burdens.
Ever since the enemy had invaded and occupied the city, he had become a community leader who people looked up to. Motohiro had taken that responsibility very seriously and had been involved in the resistance efforts.
He scratched his full beard before taking a long drag from the cigarette. It did nothing to calm him down.
¡°He said he¡¯ll be here,¡± said Motohiro. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±
¡°Can we trust him? Didn¡¯t he run away?¡±
¡°Why would he return to the city if he had already run away?¡± Motohiro took another drag before passing the cigarette back to the younger man. ¡°There¡¯s no harm in listening to him. If we don¡¯t like it, we can always walk.¡±
¡°But he¡¯s a shinobi¡ they¡¯re dangerous.¡±
The rest of the group looked uneasy at the mention of shinobi. Even though they were part of the resistance group trying to oppose the enemy occupation, there wasn¡¯t much they could do when the enemy was an army of shinobi with a stranglehold on the entire city. One shinobi could wipe out the five men gathered under the streetlight and they would be dead before they knew it.
¡°They¡¯ll be dangerous regardless of what we decide,¡± said Motohiro.
To be honest, Motohiro didn¡¯t think anything worthwhile would come from meeting with Gaku. Even before he had lost any connection to him, the shinobi wasn¡¯t very social or involved with the resistance effort. He kept to himself and had only shown up randomly at gatherings whenever he felt like it, and even then, holed himself in a corner without contributing unless prompted.
Motohiro was surprised that Gaku had even contacted him. He thought he¡¯d died and was buried in ditch somewhere, truth be told. But given that he was a shinobi, Motohiro gave the meeting a chance rather than outright ignoring the man who had been missing for longer than a month and hadn¡¯t been of any help before.
Shinobi were not regular people, after all.
The faint sound of approaching footsteps that set the group on the edge. As the sound grew closer, Gaku¡¯s figure stepped into the faint light. He was dressed in loose black and grey clothes and walked like he was on a late-night stroll.
¡°I hope you¡¯ve more people than these kids,¡± Gaku said as he looked at the four youngsters.
¡°Maybe,¡± Motohiro replied. ¡°Why do you need my men?¡±
¡°Your men, huh,¡± Gaku smiled as he reached into his clothes, which made people shift. He took a big piece of folded paper and flicked it towards the group. The folded paper flew in a curve but landed precisely into Motohiro¡¯s hands.
He unfolded the paper to reveal the red pro-occupation posters everywhere around the city.
¡°What about it?¡± asked Motohiro.
¡°We want to respond to this false propaganda.¡± Gaku put a proper cigarette into his mouth and lit it with a zippo lighter.
¡°We? Who¡¯s we?¡± asked Motohiro.
At that moment, a silent figure appeared beside Gaku, which freaked the group out. Some of the younger guys cursed and stumbled. Motohiro was only able to hide his gasp because of them. They had only heard one set of footsteps before and weren¡¯t expecting someone else to be there with them. The figure was dressed in a dark robe and had a blank white mask with long eye slits covering his face. The figure had been standing in the shadow, standing just one step away from the light, hiding from them.
¡°W-Who are you?¡± asked Motohiro.
¡°I¡¯m someone who shares an interest with you, Mr. Motohiro,¡± said the figure. It was a male voice, but the sound was gravelly with a hint of underlying warping. ¡°I¡¯m interested in ridding this city of unwanted intruders so it and its people can return to their lives before this¡ situation.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Motohiro stared at the figure. Other than his below-average height, the figure didn¡¯t give anything away. There was this person before him that Motohiro knew nothing about it¡ªand that scared him, stopping him from believing anything he said.
¡°My name¡¯s¡ Tobi,¡± the figure introduced himself with a slight bow. ¡°I¡¯m not from Yu, but I¡¯ve been sent here to help the city.¡±
¡°¡Who sent you?¡±
¡°Who do you think?¡±
¡°T-The Daimyo?¡± one of the youngsters replied from behind Motohiro.
There were whispers among the youngsters with hints of hope. Even Motohiro felt something swell up in his heart. Had their nation finally sent help to free them from the misery they faced under enemy rule?
¡°Your country needs your help,¡± said Tobi. ¡°I can help, but the people of the city are the only ones who can truly save it¡. Mr. Motohiro, you¡¯re in a unique position to start something revolutionary that will change the tide. You¡¯re a strong voice among the people, and you have done a great job to keep them together¡ªnow¡¯s the time to reveal the truth to them.¡±
Tobi took another folded piece of paper¡ªblue, rather than the red of the enemy¡¯s propaganda¡ªand unfolded it as he walked towards Motohiro with silent footsteps. Motohiro couldn¡¯t believe the man was walking to him¡ªthere wasn''t even a sound. Shuddering, he realised that Tobi was a shinobi, or at least someone very dangerous.
¡°You call this city your home and it wants you to save it.¡± Tobi stopped before Motohiro and held up the poster under the streetlamp¡¯s light. ¡°With my help, you can save it.¡±
CH_7.8 (226)
Fukiko woke up early in the morning, still feeling exhausted from the last day¡¯s work, having slept for barely six hours. She was a single mother of pre-teen twins and the sole care provider for her elderly father, who couldn¡¯t do anything other than barely walk himself around the house.
She hurried through a brief cold shower, which was always not enough and rushed to make a meal for her kids after they returned from school. The family didn¡¯t always have the money for a breakfast meal, which was why Fukiko was glad that the school provided a meal during the day. With the food shortages, she was worried that the school would stop providing meals, but luckily, the city had pulled together enough to ensure that the school continued to provide the regular mid-day meal.
¡°Kids! Get up quickly!¡± Fukiko yelled from the kitchen. ¡°Hurry up, or we¡¯ll be late!¡±
She stopped moving and listened closely. A few moments of silence later, she heard the sound of quarrelling between the twins. Fukiko nodded and resumed her work.
¡°Fukiko¡¡±
As she set up the table, Fukiko¡¯s aged father walked into the small open kitchen. He had more wrinkles on his face than a witch and a crooked back that had bothered him more than usual.
¡°Dad, did you sleep properly? I heard you shift a lot last night,¡± said Fukiko as they put down two glasses of milk on the table. She turned away and yelled for the twins. ¡°Come to the table before I have to come to you!¡±
¡°It was a bit cold, dear,¡± said Fukiko¡¯s dad.
¡°Oh, should I take out the thicker blankets?¡± Fukiko put on a pot to boil some water for her father, but the stove lighter suddenly stopped working. She tried twice, but there was no spark to light the gas.
Fukiko¡¯s dad hummed as he nodded. He looked up at his only daughter. ¡°Fukiko, what do you think about Miyamoto¡¯s offer?¡±
¡°Not now, Dad!¡± said Fukiko as she tried the lighter, but there was no flame on the hob.
Her father had been trying to set her up with Miyamoto, who owned an electrical company with three employees working for him. He had a large house and a good, steady income, but Fukiko didn¡¯t want to marry a man who was twenty years older than her.
¡°He¡¯s a good man, dear. He¡¯ll take good care of you and the kids.¡±
¡°No, he won¡¯t,¡± she whispered, so only she heard the words.
In truth, it wasn¡¯t his age that made Fukiko wary of him. Miyamoto was once married and even had children that lived with his ex-wife at her childhood home when he kicked them out. She had asked around, and the man wanted nothing to do with his children, cutting all ties with them.
Fukiko understood that her father was trying to look out for her, but she didn¡¯t have the time and energy for matchmaking. Certainly not with a man who might leave her like he did his ex-wife. With the way life was in Yu, she couldn¡¯t take that risk.
¡°You should at least meet him.¡±
Fukiko¡¯s hand twitched as she felt an intense irritation overcome her.
¡°I don¡¯t want to marry him! Why do you keep bringing it up!?¡± she raised her voice and smacked the stove lighter on the countertop.
At the last moment, she heard footsteps and turned to see her twins standing at the kitchen door. They looked at the lighter in her hand with alarm. Fukiko took a deep breath and hurriedly turned her back to them, not wanting them to see her like that.
¡°Eat quickly, both of you,¡± she said.
She took a deep breath, pressed the clicker on the lighter for it to finally produce a spark, and lit the fire in the stove hob.
As the water boiled, she took the trash out for collection. On her walk to the collection corner, she saw new blue posters much like the red ones. She didn¡¯t have any time to read whatever the shinobi had decided to put up for them and walked past them with a sigh.
She didn¡¯t care about what they had to say. Ever since those shinobi had come into the city, her and her family¡¯s life had become miserable. Even if she did, she had no time.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Listen to your teachers, and don¡¯t create any problems. Especially you, Arata¡ªno fighting. Things are hard enough without me being forced to come in because of your temper.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not just me, you know.¡± Her son heaved a sigh and turned his moxy-filled glare at the looming building behind him. ¡°But I¡¯ll try.¡±
¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking,¡± she replied.
Kyo, the more level-headed of the two, rolled her eyes when he wasn¡¯t looking.
Fukiko kissed her twins and nudged them into the school building. The first bell was still three-quarters of an hour away, and there were barely any people in the school except for the cleaning staff.
She stood there waving until the twins were in the building before breaking into a cycle of running, jogging, and brisk walking. She couldn¡¯t bring the twins to school on time because she¡¯d be late for work. Thankfully, the school gates opened half an hour before the actual required time.
Half an hour was just long enough for her to barely make it on time.
By the time she reached her place of work¡ªa milling factory¡ªshe was out of breath and sweating from her pits. She checked the clock by the staff entrance and saw that she was a minute late, and groaned with her eyes closed.
Her supervisor was an old miser who took any opportunity possible to pay them less than their work deserved. So much that if any worker was late, by even a minute, their pay for half the day was cut. Fukiko couldn¡¯t afford to lose a single ryo of her pay¡ªthey were struggling as is on her regular salary. She closed her eyes, sure that any minute now, she would hear his horrible, scratchy yelling¡ªbut it didn¡¯t happen, she looked up in shock.
Almost hesitantly, she shuffled into the factory, where everyone was standing around in a circle.
Fukiko hoped they had gotten the fortunate news that their supervisor was dead, but when she sneaked over to the group, pretending she¡¯d always been there, she saw the old bastard hale and healthy in the middle of the circle.
It made her question what was so disturbing that even their supervisor stopped being such an asshole.
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¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she whispered to one of the older ladies.
¡°There¡¯s a new poster.¡±
¡°Oh,¡± Fukiko¡¯s curiosity drained out of her. She couldn¡¯t care less. ¡°What does it say this time? Calling the Daimyo an illegitimate ruler?¡±
The posters always blamed the Hot Water Daimyo and the Hidden Steam for the city¡¯s miserable condition. Fukiko didn¡¯t know if it was true or not, but one thing was for sure: the posters had brought a lot of hate toward the Daimyo and the Hidden Steam shinobi in the people.
There was a government building in the centre of the city built in honour of their Daimyo. It was the most beautiful, clean, and respected building in the city, treated as if it were the Daimyo himself.But last month, that same building had been defaced with profanity and all manner of curses towards their ruler.
Nobody had bothered to clean it up.
¡°The poster says that the Hidden Frost shinobi and the rich folk are buying food from the farmers and diverting it to the Land of Frost instead of us¡ They weren¡¯t around yesterday and now these posters are everywhere.¡±
Fukiko was surprised and wasn¡¯t at the same time. She was surprised that the posters weren¡¯t put up by the Hidden Frost shinobi, but the contents of said poster didn¡¯t surprise her.
¡°I¡¯m not really surprised,¡± said Fukiko, shrugging. ¡°This place never looks like it has a shortage of business. Maybe Mr. Bessho is part of the group who¡¯s selling the flour to the Land of Frost.¡± She didn¡¯t want to sound ungrateful, so she didn¡¯t say it out loud, but the Bessho Mill hadn¡¯t fired a single worker no matter what they did.
It being war-time and all, they couldn¡¯t afford to look for new workers right now.
¡°Shut up!¡± The fat supervisor twisted his meaty neck towards Fukiko with a look of warning in his beady eyes. ¡°Think before you speak! Mr. Bessho wouldn¡¯t be part of anything like this¡ We aren¡¯t even sure if this is true¡.¡± But as the supervisor spoke, his confidence sank, and by the end, he didn¡¯t seem to be very sure about his words.
According to what the red posters said, a majority of farmers had turned their business away from Yu, and only a fraction still sold to the city. There were rumours that the claims weren¡¯t true, but with the continuous food shortage, people believed their country had cut them out. However, for people like Fukiko, who saw the milling business thriving as usual, the claims made by these new blue posters allowed her doubts to click into place and she felt an overwhelming anger bubble up inside her.
The cost of living had shot up in the city. Her milling job used to be just enough for their family¡ªeven if they didn¡¯t live extravagantly, they lived comfortably. She spent enough time with her twins, she was able to look after her ageing father appropriately, and even though she didn¡¯t get much time to herself, she was content with how their lives were¡ªbut that all changed¡ªwith the prices of everything going up, she had to pick more hours at the factory which cut into her time with her family.
Her twins had to get up an hour earlier so that she could drop them off at school. She couldn¡¯t pick them up in the evenings and had to rely on a neighbour who would bring them back home. She could no longer help them with homework. Her father had started to hide his growing health problems from her to not make her worry. Even when she confronted him, he stubbornly refused to admit it.
And even after all that, the increased hours didn¡¯t do anything. They were barely getting by week after week and she had already dug into half of her hard-earned savings. In a few more months, they would truly be living paycheck to paycheck.
¡°And why are we making such a big deal of this?¡± asked Fukiko. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter about who¡¯s doing the screwing, our lives are still miserable. I don¡¯t see this poster changing anything.¡±
¡°Not according to this.¡±
Fukiko followed her finger and at the very bottom, after everything else, was a single line printed in bold.
[Good days are near]
And below that was a symbol of two hands snapping a chain link in half.
Fukiko stared at the words, fighting against the smothered hope fighting its way to life within her.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A middle-aged man dressed in a bedroom robe over his underwear sipped a glass of freshly squeezed pineapple juice on ice. He sat on the luxurious balcony of his lavish estate. Two maids stood out of sight in the distance, waiting to complete his every request.
In the city of Yu, where the common populace was struggling for food, the man had no want for food and drink, reaching out for the opulent breakfast on the table beside him.
The only thing out of place from the affluent picture was the sheathed sword in a worn-down scabbard leaning against the man¡¯s outdoor lounge chair.
¡°What is it?¡± said the man.
A breeze ruffled the man¡¯s brown locks. The maids flinched in surprise when a man dressed in a black robe and a porcelain fox mask appeared before the man.
¡°Lord Kon,¡± the masked figure greeted.
¡°Any problems?¡± asked Kon.
¡°The city police force found these this morning.¡± The masked fox handed the blue poster to Kon.
Kon lazily glanced at the poster in the man¡¯s hand without taking it from him. But the next second, Kon sat up straight with sharp focus and took the poster in his own hands to read it thoroughly.
¡°This morning, you say?¡± asked Kon.
¡°Yes, sir. According to the police, the posters are everywhere. In the residential districts, the busiest commercial blocks, near diners, shopping centres, and even plastered over the posters we¡¯ve put up.¡±
Kon stood up from his chair and walked to the railings at the balcony¡¯s edge. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see resistance to the various plans and designs they had in motion around the city to turn Yu against the Land of Hot Waters.
¡°All around the city?¡±
¡°Affirmative, sir.¡±
¡°Get these posters down, find the printer who made them, and arrest some of the resistance members to find the source of these posters. There¡¯s been resistance, but never like this.¡± Kon turned to the masked fox. ¡°I want some answers by the end of the day.¡±
The masked fox bowed before disappearing into thin air and Kon stared out at the estate.
Kon was a ROOT shinobi. Someone in high-up in the Hidden Frost hired ROOT as war consultants to help them in the ongoing Frost-Steam war, and Kon was among the team leaders sent to the Hidden Frost.
His assignment was to help the Hidden Frost takeover the City of Yu, and then convert the city over to the Land of Frost¡¯s side. His secondary objective, like everyone from ROOT involved in the Frost-Steam war, was to collect information about the alliance between the Hidden Frost and the Hidden Cloud.
Their leader, Danzo believed that the Hidden Cloud was supporting the Hidden Frost to push the Hot Waters - Frost border closer to the Land of Fire¡ªand then using their new alliance with the Hidden Frost to move the Hidden Cloud¡¯s influence closer to the Land of Fire than it had ever been. ROOT¡¯s objective was to get the information about the Cloud-Frost alliance so they could prepare against a threat to the Hidden Leaf future.
Kon didn¡¯t want to be in Yu. He had a great position back home, handling ROOT¡¯s drug trade that funded many of ROOT¡¯s initiatives. He was in charge of the money¡ªand that gave him power in the organisation.
However, when one of their farms was raided by the Leaf Military Police Force, and he retaliated by ordering an assassination of the person responsible for the raid, it all went wrong¡ªthe assassination failed and all he ended up costing ROOT four trainees who were a year away from becoming official agents¡ªit was a significant blow to the organisation given that the trainees were lost in a failed assassination of a lowly genin.
He was punished and re-assigned to the Frost-Steam war. He wasn¡¯t even sent to the Hidden Frost, the real information trove, and was stuck on the frontlines.
Kon hated the person responsible for his downfall. Genin Takuma of the Narcotics Taskforce under the Department of Organized Crime of the Leaf Military Police Force. That child had ruined his life. He swore that if one day he got the opportunity, he would have his revenge.
But then the situation changed, the Hidden Leaf betrayed and turned on ROOT. The organisation was forced to go underground in hiding. The Hokage himself hunted their leader, Danzo, who had worked his entire life for the betterment of the village. It was a great disaster for ROOT. The organisation had lost the support of the Hidden Leaf¡ªtheir home and funding. They had to relocate and reorganise quickly while the Hidden Leaf¡¯s ANBU were on the hunt for them.
However, there was a silver lining¡ªat least for Kon. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t in the Land of Fire while all of that happened. He was in Yu, working on his assignment¡ªwhich was suddenly extremely important as helping the Hidden Frost win the war became a high priority as ROOT was now an independent mercenary organisation, and they needed a win to start their new chapter.
Kon was now in an enviable position.
Truth be told, he was happy the posters were put up. The resistance effort so far had been petulant and nothing overt. This time, he could use whoever put up the posters as an example.
He didn¡¯t even need to find the true culprits, which was why he ordered Fox to arrest known resistance members. He would punish them¡ªregardless of their actual guilt¡ªand reward the city folk who had fallen in line with the Hidden Frost¡ªit would show the common populace what they needed to do to gain rewards.
Kon smiled. If enough complied, perhaps he¡¯d lower the food prices. His pet dog curled against his right leg and he ran a finger along its head with a small smile.
He enjoyed training dogs, but controlling human lives was so much more fun.
CH_7.9 (227)
¡°Sueo! Get me a drink!¡± said a tall and burly man who sat down behind his dirty and cluttered desk with his feet on the tabletop.
¡°Coming right up, boss!¡±
Bunji joined his fingers behind his head and looked around the police station run by his underlings. Several months ago, he would¡¯ve felt disgusted stepping into the place, but now he ran it like it was his house. The dogs who loved to meddle in his business, trying to put him behind bars for simply doing ¡®legitimate¡¯ business, were no longer part of the police force. The Renge Gang replaced them in the Bentetsu Street police station. It felt like a dream, but it was reality, and he absolutely loved it. He couldn¡¯t be happier with where his life was. No more living in the dark, constantly looking over his shoulder in case the police busted him.
Now, he ran the territory like he owned it¡ªin fact, he did.
?He wasn¡¯t sure about the shinobi when they invaded the city and took over, but when the masked men offered power and influence, Bunji was more than happy to comply with the new powers-that-be. It wasn¡¯t his choice; his gang was under the command of the much larger Goharu Family. When the Goharu Family was given power, the Renge Gang got a slice of it as well.
¡°Here you go, boss.¡± Sueo handed the glass of neat whiskey to Bunji.
Bunji smiled as he took the first sip of whiskey at eleven in the morning at a police station. It was as thrilling as it could be. As long as the Goharu Family continued to provide drugs to the shinobi and enforce their new laws, the Goharu Family and the Renge Family under them were part of the new court in the city.
If there was something he was dissatisfied with, it was that the Bentetsu Street police station no longer had any dogs¡ªno one for them to make fun of or make their lives hell at the jobs they so much loved.
¡°Alright, boys!¡± Bunji addressed his people around the station. ¡°It¡¯s time for the weekly collection from our very willing citizens who need our protection from threats. I want the money on my desk before lunch!¡±
Bunji picked up his glass to bring it to his lips when he saw four figures dressed in white masks and full-length black hooded jackets enter the police station. They were covered from top to bottom, but from the overall shape of their bodies, he could tell there were three women and one man.
He reached for his sword and was about to get up when he saw the group drag two of his men into the building and dumped them on the floor. They were stationed at the front entrance as guards.?
¡°Hey, who the fuck¡ª¡±
Before Bunji could complete his sentence, the man¡ªwho was at least two meters tall¡ªwalked to the nearest pillar, punched through the concrete, and ripped out the reinforced steel wire from the structure.
¡°Shut the fuck up and listen to what we say! A step out of the line and this will be your body¡± ¡ªhe pointed to the broken pillar¡ª ¡°and this your bones¡± ¡ªhe held up the reinforced steel wire! The man threw his fistful of wire toward Sueo, who stumbled while getting back into the room.
The wire bunch hit Sueo in the head, and he went down.
In mere seconds, the group of four had put the members of the Renge Gang on edge. They were still silent, but every muscle in their body was on the verge of a fight or flight response. The demonstration of power was enough for everyone to understand they were dealing with shinobi, and so none of them moved.
¡°Where¡¯s your boss?¡± asked one of the women.
A few eyes went to Bunji, who cursed under his breath.
?She nodded to the taller man and the second woman who had started moving around, sticking what looked like paper tags on the walls and pillars around the building. The giant of a man who had punched through the pillar walked around the bullpen, staring everyone down like a hound ready to bite anyone who dared to move.
?¡°You¡¯re Bunji, aren¡¯t you?¡±
The masked woman pushed the junk off the table, sat down, and stared down at Bunji, who had his sheathed sword still in his grip; the woman, who looked to be the leader, didn¡¯t seem to mind the weapon in his hands.
¡°The city isn¡¯t very happy with your recent actions and choices, Bunji,¡± the woman said smoothly. ¡°The citizens in this police station¡¯s jurisdiction certainly aren¡¯t happy with Renge Gang¡¯s protection fund.. They feel like they shouldn¡¯t have to pay for you to do your jobs¡ªespecially with the current economic situation¡ªdon¡¯t you think it¡¯s tough?¡±
¡°L-Listen, lady. You don¡¯t want to do this. We are backed by the Goha¡ª¡±
The leader slapped Bunji across the face, knocking the words from his mouth. He spun out of his chair and crashed into the metal cabinet in the corner. She jumped off the table, pulled Bunji up by his hair, and dumped him into his chair.
Before he could gather his wits, or even get over the pain, she splashed his glass of whiskey in his face..?
Bunji was shocked into silence. He didn¡¯t even see the slap coming, and before he realized it, he was on the ground, and his head had made a dent in the cabinet.
¡°I know who¡¯s backing you, but they aren¡¯t here right now.¡± The leader grabbed Bunji¡¯s hair and softly moved his head around. ¡°Let¡¯s not start trying to intimidate using names. We¡¯re the only ones who can do that here. You see that guy? He will punch through your chest if I tell him to,¡± she pointed to the giant who was still roaming the area aggressively as though he were waiting for someone to step out of line.
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Bunji felt a phantom pressure in his chest and gulped when he saw the masked man staring right at him.?
¡°So, this is how it¡¯s going to play out. The Renge Gang will stop collecting money from the citizens in the name of protection. I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t do your job as proper police because even I know that¡¯s expecting too much¡ªbut if I hear that you¡¯re going door to door collecting money, there¡¯ll be no one in this city who can protect you from me.?
¡°Nod if you understand,¡± she said.
?
Bunji stared at the woman. He was scared and knew he had no choice, but he couldn¡¯t just fold so easily in front of his men. Even though his eyes were focused on the woman, he could feel their gaze. A surrounding pressure on the edges of his vision. He didn¡¯t nod¡ at least, not immediately.
The woman sighed deeply.
She placed her gloved palm on his chest, and Benji flinched when he felt a pressure grow on his chest every passing moment. The dainty palm grew heavier by the second, and Bunji felt like someone had placed a metal block on his chest. His breathing grew labored, and his chest moved up and down. His panicked eyes jumped from the hand to the woman¡¯s face.
¡°I said nod if you understand.¡±
?Bunji took a deep breath and forced himself not to nod quickly like a pigeon.
¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± the leader said. She then turned to face her team, who had regrouped in the bullpen.?
¡°It¡¯s done,¡± said the man.
¡°Alright, gentlemen! We¡¯re going to exit the building now, so form a line. Let¡¯s hurry on this and not be stupid, or you¡¯ll die. Come on, let¡¯s get it moving!¡± the woman spoke.
Bunji¡¯s men looked at him for direction. He nodded to them, got up, and walked to the middle of the bullpen. Some men immediately fell into line behind him, others hesitated out of fear, but seeing the masked group staring at them, they too quickly joined the queue.
¡°Boss, what¡¯s happening?¡±
¡°Shut up! Just do what they say, or do you want to die here?¡± Bunji whisper-yelled at the man behind him.?
In less than thirty seconds, fifteen men of the Renge Gang had formed a line like a bunch of elementary school kids.
¡°We¡¯re going to give all of you a little makeover, so stand still and close your eyes!¡± the leader announced.
The masked group took out spray canisters and started to spray down the gang members in a metallic blue color. In less than a minute, everyone was fully covered in blue paint, and were left coughing because of the smell and fumes from the colors and canisters.
¡°We don¡¯t have much time, so move out.¡±
?The Bentetsu Street police station was built on a spacious lot a little distance off the main road. There weren¡¯t any other buildings next to the road¡ªbut there was an empty lot behind it and a short road between the station and the main road. The masked group led the gang outside the police station onto the short road that joined to the main road and made them lay down on their stomachs with their arms flat by their sides. All of them except Bunji.
He was in front of his man and watched as the masked men stuck the paper tags; he had seen them sticking around the building onto everyone¡¯s napes.
¡°W-What is that?¡± he asked as the leader stuck one on his neck.
They were also putting blue posters on their backs, but they slipped out of his mind because of the words he heard next.
The leader grabbed his collar and pulled him down to whisper in his ear: ¡°These are bombs.¡± Bunji flinched, and his heart started to race once again. ¡°I can detonate them at any moment, and if you don¡¯t want it to happen, you will do as I say? Nod if you understand.¡±?
Bunji promptly nodded.
¡°I want you to keep standing here and your men to continue lying down there. If any of you moves, or tries to escape, these bombs will go off and your necks will explode¡ Boom,¡± she huffed out sharply, making Bunji¡¯s knees buckle. ¡°So, it¡¯s in your best interest to follow my orders. Nod if you understand.¡±?
Bunji nodded again. While he managed to hold back his tears, he couldn¡¯t stop his body from trembling. It didn¡¯t matter if his men could see him anymore. He didn¡¯t know if the woman spoke the truth, but he had no choice but to believe her.
A slip of paper in the hand of a shinobi could be a bomb.
¡°Before we bid you farewell, I have one more thing to tell you,¡± the leader said to Bunji.
The next words she said were an address that Bunji recognized instantly. His eyes turned into saucers as he stared at the woman. It was the address of a shop he owned in an area very far away from the nearest main road. The shop itself wasn¡¯t that important, but the things inside were very important to him and the Renge Gang.
¡°We also don¡¯t like your main business, so we¡¯ll go and clean up your inventory.¡±
¡°N-No, you can¡¯t do that. Please don¡¯t do that,¡± Bunji begged.
He was lucky to hit it off with a group of shinobi to whom he had once sold drugs to. They had found him again in a few days and bought more than the last time, and then it turned into a weekly affair. It seemed that the group of shinobi had become drug providers to their entire shinobi army, and in turn, the Renge Gang had turned into their suppliers.
There were lots of drugs and loose cash in that shop, and even though there were seven people protecting and working in that shop, it wouldn¡¯t matter against one shinobi let alone four.
The Renge Gang couldn¡¯t afford to lose their inventory and cash.
If he lost his inventory, he would be unable to fulfill his client¡¯s demands, and they would turn to someone else, which would shatter his business. He also wouldn¡¯t be able to buy more because he had already taken a line of credit from the Goharu Family, which they would put pressure on him to pay back.
He was fucked.
¡°I suggest going into hiding,¡± she whispered into his ear. ¡°Now, keep standing here and watch what will happen if your gang goes against anything I said today¡ You can leave when you get the signal; don¡¯t worry about not getting it; you¡¯ll know what it is.¡±
Bunji wanted to beg them to leave his inventory and money alone, but the masked group left him alone with his men, who called to him, asking if they could get up. He stared at them, wondering what he should say to them.
?¡°¡ Keep lying down,¡± he said.
He had to run. He had some money at his home; he could bribe the guards and get out of the city. As long as he got out of the city, the Goharu Family wouldn¡¯t be able to get to him because of the city¡¯s lockdown imposed by the shinobi.
¡°Just keep lying¡ª¡±
BOOM!
The ground rumbled as the sound of explosions ripped through the air. The force hit Bunji¡¯s back, pushing him forward. It wasn¡¯t enough to make him fall, but he still did because he felt weak after what he had heard. His men were trembling on the ground in fetal positions as explosions continued to happen. They yelled and screamed in fear.
BOOM!
He turned back to see an explosion rip through the police station, and a jet of fire roared into the sky. Smoke rose from the building as more and more explosions tore the building apart brick by brick. It quickly started to crumble on itself and he flinched when a large piece of debris flew into the air. For a moment, he thought it would reach them, but the group was far enough that they were out of the splash zone
He sat there numbly and watched the remains of the destroyed building as a massive smoke could blot out the sky.
The same tags that made short work of the building were attached to his neck.
It terrified him so much he stopped thinking about running away.?
BOOM!
CH_7.10 (228)
The masked group of four entered a rusty, dusty factory as they returned from blowing up a police station. They removed their porcelain masks to reveal Anko, Daiki, Iori, and Kameko. Upon entrance, they spotted the remaining three team members sitting on old couches.
¡°How did it go?¡± asked Gaku as he lit a new cigarette.
¡°According to the plan,¡± Anko replied as she dumped herself beside Takuma and Rikku. She turned to Takuma. ¡°How about you guys?¡±
Takuma pointed to several jute and duffle bags piled up in the corner. ¡°We cleaned up the shop, tied up the guards, painted them blue, and stuck our posters on them,¡± he said.
¡°It was child¡¯s play,¡± said Gaku.
¡°All thanks to the recon and planning,¡± said Takuma.
¡°They¡¯re common thugs. We could¡¯ve gone without any preparation, and it wouldn¡¯t have made a difference,¡± said Gaku with a chuckle.
¡°And that¡¯s the difference between you and me,¡± said Takuma. ¡°I don¡¯t leave any room for error.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you both just be happy that everything went well,¡± Iori sighed as she threw crumpled paper balls at them.
¡°He was amazing,¡± said Rikku. ¡°He unlocked the safe in the office like it wasn¡¯t locked at all, we took all the money inside, and I thought that would be it, but then he started poking around in the room. He found three hidden stashes, each with more money than the last one. We have a lot of cash.¡±
Everyone looked at Takuma. He shrugged, ¡°I have a lot of experience looking for hidden stashes. It¡¯s a skill I picked up on the job.¡±
Takuma had searched and raided plenty of drug stash houses. Some people were creative about their hiding places, but for most, there was a general pattern they followed when hiding things..
¡°Okay, now that this is over,¡± Kameko said as she pulled out a water bottle from a cooler, ¡°why did we do this? Isn¡¯t it better that the enemy has an unbroken supply of drugs? Let them drown in it.¡±
¡°You¡¯re assuming that they¡¯re all addicts,¡± said Takuma. ¡°The drugs are addictive, but not everyone is waking up every day and shooting something up in to them before their feet touch the ground. Most people only do drugs at the recreational level.
These men are in a foreign land fighting a war far away from their home. They might be winning and controlling the town, but most don¡¯t want to be here; they want to be at home with their families. There¡¯s stress there that drugs can dull; they can find escape through them.¡±
¡°So¡ you want them stressed,¡± said Kameko.
¡°Yes, I want them to feel uncomfortable in this city to build up tension among the forces. I want them to complain about their time in Yu. They shouldn¡¯t be comfortable. I want it to snowball from minor inconvenience to something like¡ fear,¡± said Takuma.
The Renge Gang was a secondary target; the primary target was always the shinobi forces in the city. The team¡¯s job was to weaken the enemy for the main forces. Takuma wanted all of the team¡¯s efforts to contribute to the cause of an increasingly hostile environment for the enemy shinobi.
¡°The shinobi aren¡¯t loyal to the Renge Family. They¡¯ll turn to someone else, and the entertainment train will continue,¡± said Gaku, lighting up another cigarette.
¡°So, we just keep taking out the suppliers,¡± said Rikku, slicing a kunai through the air.
¡°Actually, I¡¯m counting on them to find another supplier. In fact, I can probably guess what will happen. The Renge Gang was the middleman; with them out, the Goharu Family will sweep in on the opportunity because of the increased margins,¡± said Takuma.
¡°And you want that?¡± asked Iori.
¡°Yes, I want that, and I want the Goharu Family to have unprecedented levels of success,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because,¡± Takuma leaned forward, ¡°we¡¯re going to poison the drugs.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A blanket of smoke still lingered over the building as multiple people put in their effort to extinguish the fires, but the presence of a couple Hidden Frost shinobi, using water nature ninjutsu, brought both the crowd and the fires under control.
Ebi, a Hidden Frost jonin, walked down the road to the police station in shambles. The burnt-down building caught his eye, but he was more interested in the group of people lying down on the road with his shinobi surrounding them.
¡°What is happening here?¡± Ebi asked the nearest shinobi.
¡°S-Sir!¡± The genin tensed up in attention. ¡°These men are refusing to get off the ground.¡±
¡°And why is that?¡±
¡°There¡ they have explosive tags on their necks, and they¡¯re scared that they¡¯ll go off if we remove them.¡±
Ebi gave the genin a look of dissatisfaction. ¡°And why haven¡¯t you ripped the tags off?¡±
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
¡°Err... sir, we think they might be speaking the truth.¡±
Ebi looked at the man as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he was saying. He walked to one of the men lying on the ground and ripped the tag off his nape without permission.
¡°W-What are you doing, man!?¡±
Ebi ignored his protest and channelled a sharp burst of chakra through the paper. It burnt the paper and permanently disabled the tag. He observed the tag to sense for chakra palpitations, but there were none.
He turned to face the four genin that had come to the scene.
¡°You idiots need to learn how to disable explosive tags. It¡¯s not that difficult,¡± he yelled at them. ¡°And find a fuin-nin who¡¯ll teach you to recognize the difference between an explosive tag and a movement trigger explosive tag.¡±
Normal explosive tags, for all intents and purposes, were time-based explosives. The moment chakra was funnelled into the tag, it would detonate depending on the time interval coded into the formulae. Most tags were set to detonate after a second or two, but they could be set to detonate after several minutes. The longer the detonation time, the more expensive said tags were.
However, there were explosive tags that could be triggered on movement instead of time. Chakra was loaded into an isolated part of the tag, which would be funneled into the explosive part of the tag at the slightest disturbance, leading to detonation. Those type tags were more complicated to make and delicate to use, and looked quite different from the standard time-triggered ones, making them quite easy to distinguish.
¡°And these aren¡¯t even real tags.¡± Ebi threw the burnt tag away. He turned to the lying men and told them that they weren¡¯t going to blow up.
He sighed.
It was embarrassing that the genin didn¡¯t understand the tools they were using. They didn¡¯t need to be fuin-nin with extensive formulae knowledge to recognize the difference between a standard explosive tag and a special trigger explosive tag.
Ebi looked down at the men covered in blue and plucked the blue poster that were posted around the city against them. It seemed the resistance was behind the demolition of the police station. It wasn¡¯t surprising because the Bentetsu Street police station was one of the stations where none of the police officers stayed on board.
But he was interested in the report he got stating that this was the work of shinobi.
Ebi raised his hand to call the one of the shinobi who had extinguished the fire.
¡°Were you able to find the cause of the fire?¡± he asked.
¡°Yes, sir. They used gasoline as an accelerant, and¡ we found signs that explosive tags were used.¡±
¡°Are you sure? Are the signs definitive?¡± Ebi asked.
¡°We found two separate pieces of debris that confirm it.¡±
Ebi breathed a deep sigh as he cracked his knuckles. The posters proved that this was the work of a resistance. Now, there were two ways to look at the situation. First, someone had supplied the resistance with the explosive tags, and there was someone in the resistance who had the capability to trigger the tags¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t difficult as not much chakra was needed to trigger the tags. A second-year academy student triggers the tags. Teaching someone to channel enough chakra for blowing up tags wasn¡¯t tricky. The second option was that there were shinobi among the resistance. It meant there were enemy shinobi in the city.
The second option was much worse.
Ebi was staring at the poster when he sensed a gaze. His eyes sharpened, and he looked around to find a man standing in the shadow of a tree. Ebi recognized the man and walked toward him to have a chat.
¡°You find out about this quickly," Ebi told the man.
Kon nodded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be very good at my job if I couldn¡¯t find out about an explosion destroying one of the city¡¯s police stations.¡±
Ebi gazed at the man. Kon wasn¡¯t part of the Hidden Frost, nor was a Hidden Cloud shinobi. Ebi didn¡¯t know where Kon came from, but he was sent to help them take control of the city. There were five jonin in the city, but none of them had any experience in controlling and converting a foreign city. The higher-ups at home had sent Kon and his team of masked men to give them their experience. Ebi didn¡¯t like Kon, but the man had done a great job extending their influence over the city in a short period of time.
¡°We found explosive tags,¡± said Ebi.
¡°And?¡± asked Kon.
¡°One of those men said that the masked people who did this, one of them punched through a pillar¡. I think it¡¯s safe to assume that we have at least one shinobi in this city. Worst case scenario, there are four unknown shinobi running free in the city.¡±
¡°Worst case, we have seven shinobi,¡± said Kon as he looked at the demolished building. ¡°These men are from the Renge Gang¡ Their stash house was raided at the same time this happened. It seems they specifically targeted the Renge Gang.¡±
¡°I have heard of them,¡± said Ebi. He might not be well-versed in how to take over cities, but he had familiarised himself with the city on a level. He had heard of the Renge Gang because of their dealings with his shinobi. ¡°I fear that this will have a negative impact on our efforts. I hope you have a plan for this.¡±
¡°Well¡ if they¡¯re so keen on blowing up police stations, then how about we help them blow up another one,¡± Kon smiled. ¡°We will even throw some people as gifts.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°Poison their drugs?¡± asked Kameko.
Daiki¡¯s eyes shined. ¡°We¡¯re going to poison their drugs to kill them?¡±
¡°¡±¡± No!¡±¡±¡±
Takuma, Gaku, and Anko all yelled at Daiki, who physically took a step back at the strong rebuke.
¡°If we poison their drugs enough to kill them, they¡¯re going to take it out on the city,¡± said Gaku.
Takuma nodded in agreement. ¡°There¡¯s no telling how they¡¯ll respond. There¡¯s a very high chance that they won¡¯t stop those involved in the drug trade and punish everyone for establishing control by spreading fear¡. We¡¯ll have different ways to kill them.¡±
¡°Then what? How much can we poison them?¡± asked Iori.
¡°Just enough to make them seriously sick for a while without actually being lethal,¡± said Takuma. ¡°What do you think happens when drugs that keep their minds occupied suddenly make them extremely sick?¡±
¡°They stop taking them,¡± Anko replied.
Takuma snapped his fingers as he pointed at her. ¡°They¡¯ll stop taking the drugs. Once the drugs are tainted, the shinobi are never going to touch any drug that comes from Yu, no matter who gives it to them. They¡¯ll be too scared that the next time, it won¡¯t end up with them only getting sick.¡± He looked at Gaku. ¡°When you poison the soil, all the fruit, no matter the tree, is poisoned.¡±
And once drugs are out of the equation, the stress would continue to pile up.
¡°The city is running low on alcohol, so it¡¯s a good time for us to make this move,¡± said Takuma.
¡°If the plan was to poison the drugs, why did we screw over the Renge Gang,¡± Daiki asked. ¡°We could¡¯ve just tainted their drugs.¡±
¡°Because the Renge Gang is a small fish, but the Goharu Family is a big player,¡± said Takuma.
There were two big underworld mafia families in Yu. The Goharu Family and the Hatani Family. When Yu was invaded, the Goharu Family sided with the enemy, who gave them power, and the Hitani Family, who were once equal, were no longer in power. The Goharu Family was introduced into the police force, giving them the power of the law enforced by shinobi. The Hatani Family was immediately pushed back and lost much of their control over the city.
¡°If we tainted Renge Gang¡¯s drugs, the Goharu Family would¡¯ve used them as scapegoats, but when they start providing drugs directly to the shinobi, they will get a serious blowback from the shinobi,¡± said Takuma. ¡°There¡¯s going to be serious tension between the enemy and their local lackeys¡ªit¡¯ll decrease their influence because even though they¡¯re lackeys, even lackeys can be resentful.¡±
Takuma leaned into his seat.
¡°As expected of working in Narcotics at the Police Force,¡± said Anko.
Takuma took in a deep breath and sighed,
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s where that came from.¡±
CH_7.11 (229)
Gaku was grateful for his cover identity as Chinatsu¡¯s pimp, Jimii, but he didn¡¯t take the job expecting to enjoy it. Turns out, spending his days in high-end men¡¯s clubs, sipping on expensive alcohol, wasn¡¯t a terrible way to spend his evenings. Perhaps he had judged the snobs too harshly.
Chinatsu was happy with Gaku¡¯s ability and paid him a fair commission for his services¡ªone he didn¡¯t have to share with the team and used to get some really good, choice booze, and other creature comforts. He pulled a fat cigar from his robes and almost took out a kunai to remove the cap but caught himself and used a proper cutter to snip the cap. He sparked his lighter and toasted the tobacco end before igniting the cigar and taking a big puff.
The waiter came with a drink and spoke to Gaku as he set it down.
¡°Mister Fumito would like to talk to you in his private room.¡± The waiter slid a paper slip with a room number beside the glass.
Gaku hid a smile. He could sit in these clubs and bars with the owners aware of who he was because their members and clients wanted what he could provide. The Fumito fellow was now a target that he needed to vet for Chinatsu.
It was time to get to work. As the waiter turned to leave, Gaku stopped him.
¡°Hey, boy. What¡¯s he like?¡± said Gaku. He could market Chinatsu to any man, but it was always nice to know what the target wanted so he could use that in his pitch and maybe even give Chinatsu some information she could work with later.
¡°Lose the cigar; he doesn¡¯t like the smell,¡± said the waiter after telling what he knew about Fumito.
Gaku tipped the boy for his information, put out the cigar, and downed his drink before going to the room number on the paper slip. As he walked, he stealthily weaved hand seals. A veneer of chakra covered his body, erasing the smell of booze and smoke from his mouth and body. He popped a breath mint as an unnecessary precaution just to make sure.
He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. He relaxed his shoulder, leaned his neck forward just a smidge, stood up a bit less straight, and stretched a broad smile on his face.
He knocked on the door before entering the private room, which was set up like a lounge. It was clear that Fumito was planning to meet some friends and had fit Gaku in before they arrived.
¡°Ah, good day, Master Fumito. You¡¯re the picture of good health,¡± he said. Jimii was much more upbeat than Gaku.
Fumito was the usual client demographic for Chinatsu. An older middle-aged man, wealthy, and someone who didn¡¯t mind using his wealth to feel powerful and important by having the beautiful fawning over them.
Sex itself was about the power.
¡°I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a new beautiful woman in the city,¡± said Fumito, a bald man with a pot belly, who was dressed sharply, making him look much more presentable.
¡°Lady Chinatsu has a rare ethereal beauty that is quite hard to find,¡± Gaku passed some photos to Fumito. ¡°Her beauty extends beyond her visage. She¡¯s full of grace and poise, her every movement refined to reflect everything exquisite about womankind.¡±
Gaku smiled when he saw visible interest bubble up in Fumito. He didn¡¯t think he needed to say more because few women in a town like Yu so close to the border could match her beauty, and none worked as courtesans.
¡°All of these pictures are with clothes,¡± said Fumito.
Gaku wanted to sigh deeply. Did mystery no longer mean anything?
¡°Lady Chinatsu¡¯s naked visage is for the eyes only¡ A reward and privilege only for those who prove themselves to be men amongst men, those who prove to her that they¡¯re true men,¡± said Gaku.
The wealthy in Yu were considered the highest class in the city. They not only had money, but they also had power in the form of owning businesses that employed the people. They directly exerted influence over others¡¯ lives, but ever since the enemy had occupied the city, they had been knocked down from their thrones, replaced by a new power, one they couldn¡¯t even dream to dethrone.
Power was a potent drug. Once someone had a taste, it was easy to get addicted. The wealthy men in Yu, who always had been at the top, wanted to feel powerful; they were used to it¡ªbut things were different with a foreign power controlling their house¡ªand having a beautiful woman like Chinatsu giving all of her attention to them was the dose of power they craved.
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Gaku decided to hammer in the last nail.
¡°Lady Chinatsu was quite famous in the capital,¡± said Gaku, gaining Fumito¡¯s complete attention. ¡°She had several admirers in Daimyo¡¯s court, known for her singing and her skill with the shamisen.¡±
Chinatsu, not being a Yu native, had an exotic charm to herself. Her being from the capital city was a real value point for country bumpkins like Fumito from Yu. A courtesan from their country¡¯s beating heart, someone who walked within the Daimyo¡¯s court, was a pull no one in Yu could deny.
¡°I would like to meet Lady Chinatsu,¡± said Fumito, his eyes now stuck to the photos.
Gaku¡¯s smile couldn¡¯t grow bolder.
¡°Anything for you, Master Fumito. I¡¯m sure Lady Chinatsu would be elated to meet you.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Gaku parted with Fumito after discussing future plans. He didn¡¯t need much as Chinatsu¡¯s pimp. One meeting per week made her more than enough money because she charged an exuberant amount on an hourly basis¡ªand if every client spent 2-3 hours with her¡ªshe essentially earned just as much as he was earning at his peak as a Hidden Steam chunin. And she was already doing two meetings per week. If it continued, she would earn double what he made.
Life was indeed unfair.
With the meeting set up, his job for the day was over. As Gaku was about to leave, he saw a group of men across the hallway. He didn¡¯t even need to guess. The way they walked and the weapon pouch hanging from their backs was enough to identify them as shinobi.
He quickly crossed the hallway and followed the shinobi to see them enter a private room.
A waiter passed him, Gaku grabbed him by his shoulder. The waiter was a decently sized guy, but Gaku lifted him off the ground with ease before he placed him beside himself.
¡°Who¡¯re those people?¡± he asked.
¡°T-They¡¯re shinobi.¡±
¡°Are they regulars?¡±
¡°I¡ think one of them has been visiting for the past two months. They said he¡¯s a chunin. He brings a group with him sometimes.¡±
Gaku released the waiter¡¯s shoulder, handed him some money, and let him go. He walked closer to the room and tried to listen, but the door and walls were thick enough to prevent the sound from leaking.
This was a chance to establish contact with the enemy. If he could market Chinatsu to the chunin and somehow make him a regular, there was a chance they could get some information from the chunin through Chinatsu. A direct line like that would be more valuable than the information Takuma had been collecting through his recon and stakeouts.
He turned away from the door. He had to check the plan with the team and get Anko¡¯s approval to proceed. But then Gaku stopped and turned around to face the door.
He could do it now. He had to do it now. It would take time for Chinatsu to build a rapport with the man, and who knows how long it would take to get some valuable information. They couldn¡¯t delay this. If he backed off today, who knows when the chunin would return to the club and when Gaku would get to bring up Chinatsu.
Gaku decided he was going in.
It was better to listen to their praises rather than ask for permission.
He released a deep breath, and at the of it, he put on the biggest smile with energy lighting up his face.
And with that, he knocked on the door.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°You did what!?¡±
At Chinatsu¡¯s house, Anko yelled at Gaku after he told her he had managed to set a meeting between Chinatsu and an enemy shinobi.
¡°That¡¯s great!¡± said Chinatsu as she came downstairs to the dining room and gave Gaku a kiss on his cheek. She turned to Anko. ¡°This is a good thing; why are you scolding him?¡±
¡°Because we don¡¯t know what kind of person he chose,¡± Anko glared at Gaku in displeasure. ¡°He might be a chunin, but we didn¡¯t vet him. He might be the violent kind; we can¡¯t guarantee your safety, but we can at least try to reduce the risk. He might have a possessive stalker personality and might get forceful.
¡°There were a dozen steps that he outright skipped without a word of consultation.¡±
Other than Takuma, the entire team was present in the dining room and were waiting for Gaku to return so they could eat together. But then he reported about his progress and made dinner an afterthought.
Chinatsu gazed at Gaku, who shrugged. She turned to Anko.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can handle him. He might be a shinobi, but he¡¯s still a man,¡± Chinatsu said as she sat down on the chair beside Gaku. Her every movement was sensual. ¡°You have your skills, ladies; I have mine. I know how the inside of a man¡¯s mind works, and I know what strings to pull to get what I want.¡±
¡°You¡¯re a civilian, Chinatsu,¡± said Iori. ¡°We can¡¯t put you at more risk than you¡¯re already.¡±
¡°Oh, please, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to do any of this if I was scared of the risk,¡± Chinatsu scoffed. ¡°I want to do this¡ I have to do this.¡± A dark look flashed past her face before she smiled and leaned into Gaku, who hugged her.
Chinatsu hadn¡¯t left her very successful courtesan career in the capital to help them at Yu for no reason. She had personal reasons to help. Chinatsu¡¯s brother was a Hidden Steam shinobi killed in action during the war. He was only a genin at the front lines and was unlucky enough to meet his end on the battlefield.
Revenge was Chinatsu¡¯s motivation. Any help she could provide, she was ready to contribute¡ªeven if that meant abandoning her cushy life and putting herself in great danger for shinobi, who weren¡¯t even from the Hidden Steam.
¡°Let me do this,¡± said Chinatsu.
Anko gazed at Chinatsu with a complicated expression. The look of revenge in Chinatsu¡¯s eyes felt so familiar. It was a horrifying mirror. Anko had her life destroyed and her reputation ruined probably forever. There were scars that¡¯d never healed, and the flames of revenge would continue to burn until the day she saw Orochimaru¡¯s corpse with her own two eyes.
Anko sighed,
¡°Very well, if that¡¯s what you desire¡ but only if Takuma signs off on it.¡±
Gaku looked severely displeased by her decision, and she could understand why. Due to their relationship, Takuma took a comb through each and every one of Gaku¡¯s proposals, and if he found any legitimate error, he would scrap the proposal. They worked together, but they had real friction between them.
Anko didn¡¯t have the heart to refuse Chinatsu her purpose, so she dumped the decision on Takuma, hoping he would do the right thing.
CH_7.12 (230)
¡°This is very good,¡± Takuma said, giving a nod to Gaku.
¡°Really?¡± said Anko, surprised by his reaction. Given their relationship, she was sure Takuma would rip into Gaku.
The three of them were alone in the factory base. She had wanted to run Gaku¡¯s plan by Takuma because she doubted her ability to look at the situation impartially and because Chinatsu was the cornerstone of their cover identity; putting her close to an enemy shinobi would risk them all getting exposed.
¡°It was a risky move, yes¡ª but he was able to convince them and if she manages to convert the chunin into a regular and gain his trust, we¡¯re golden,¡± Takuma said as he worked on sorting objects collected from around the factory like screws and bolts using chakra strings.
¡°That¡¯s what I said,¡± Gaku smiled victoriously at Anko. ¡°I¡¯ll coordinate with Chinatsu and prepare her for the information we want from the guy. Leave it all to me.¡±
¡°Yeah, let¡¯s not get ahead of us there. This one thing going well doesn¡¯t mean everything will. Anko and I need to be keyed into everything you plan to do,¡± said Takuma. Gaku opened his mouth to argue, but Takuma cut him off before he could speak. ¡°You can take the lead on this, but we need to be aware of everything before it happens. Got it?¡±
Gaku was peeved, but he didn¡¯t say anything. On the other hand, Anko was surprised that Takuma gave Gaku the lead; she thought he would take on the lead from Gaku¡ªbut she nodded as she agreed that she needed to know about things before they happened. She allowed Takuma some freedom to operate independently but wouldn¡¯t extend that treatment to Gaku.
¡°Alright, keep in touch,¡± Takuma said as he got off the couch and grabbed his weapon pouches and a long hooded overcoat to hide everything underneath.
¡°Going out?¡± asked Anko.
¡°Yeah, I think I have a lead on the Goharu Family.¡± Takuma looked at Gaku, ¡°I followed that guy from the Goharu Family, and I think I found their stash house.¡±
¡°I knew they¡¯d come in handy,¡± said Gaku.
The resistance group led by Motohiro had helped the team spread the anti-occupation posters around the city. They agreed with what the team was doing and wanted to help more. Seeing their success, the team decided to give Motohiro¡¯s group another job¡ªto find the Goharu Family¡¯s drug stash house.
Takuma wanted to poison the drugs, but for that to happen, they needed to find the packaging and stash house. The team didn¡¯t have enough time to find it by themselves, so Takuma decided to outsource it to the resistance group, which knew the city better than the team.
They failed to find it.
The Goharu Family had done an excellent job of keeping it hidden. However, they found a high-ranking person inside the family who was connected to Goharu¡¯s drug trade, which was good enough as Takuma spent a few days following that guy and found the stash house.
¡°I¡¯ll confirm it today,¡± he said to Anko, ¡°after which, you and Daiki can go in to map the interior and plan how you want to do it.¡±
¡°That¡¯s fine by me,¡± said Anko. ¡°I want to talk to you.¡±
¡°Sure, let¡¯s go,¡± said Takuma.
¡°You really gave Gaku the lead¡ just like that?¡± Anko said as they walked to the back entrance to the factory building.
¡°I would¡¯ve liked to have the lead, but it¡¯s clear that Chinatsu trusts him the most. She¡¯ll be putting herself in danger by fishing for information so it¡¯s imperative that she does whatever is asked of her. She needs to feel comfortable, and Gaku is the best choice for it¡ I could take the lead and ask Gaku to cooperate, and he might support me in the open but he¡¯ll instruct her differently behind our backs.¡± Takuma shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s better to let him have this one. At least this way, there¡¯s no risk of Chinatsu blowing our cover because of conflicting instructions.¡±
Anko thought that she would need to discipline Takuma about letting his personal feelings for Gaku interfere with the mission, but here he was, proving her wrong. He was self-aware enough to realise that Gaku was the best choice to directly work with Chinatsu.
¡°Good job¡ª¡±
¡°And well¡ if he screws up and Chinatsu ends up blowing our cover, I¡¯ll be safe,¡± Takuma smiled and patted her on the back, ¡°I can¡¯t say that about you guys, though.¡±
Anko was left speechless as she watched Takuma leave the factory while chuckling to himself. He might find it amusing, but Anko didn¡¯t find it funny as she looked back at the base corner where Gaku probably had a cigarette in his mouth.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat perched on a roof, staking out the Goharu Family building identified as the drug stash house. As he observed the building, it couldn¡¯t be clearer that the building was important. There were two guards with swords at both entries, the windows were boarded and barred, and anyone who stood close to the building for any reason was asked to move or leave under the threat of violence.
He had yet to go inside to confirm that the building was the drug stash house, but he didn¡¯t need to because one of the guards was particularly talkative and openly yapped to his partner about what was going on inside. To the guard¡¯s credit, he didn¡¯t talk about it around strangers but Takuma¡¯s ears were much sharper than the average guy¡ªand he caught the conversation when the guard confirmed no one was in earshot.
So why was Takuma staking out the building when he already had confirmation?
In a conversation between the talkative guard and a packer working in the building, he heard that today was the fulfilment day of an important big order¡ªthat got Takuma interested.
He wanted to confirm his hunch that the big order was related to the enemy shinobi.
A carriage pulled up in front of the building while Takuma watched. A minute later, a bald man with a long scar on the top of his bald head stepped out of the building with a large duffle bag. He wore a tacky suit and shaded sunglasses and entered the carriage with two other sword-carrying men, most probably for protection.
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Takuma got up and started following the carriage from the rooftops.
The bald man was Waichi. He was the Goharu Family higher-up found by Motohiro¡¯s resistance group. Takuma had followed to find the drug stash house. Waichi was the brother-in-law of the Goharu Family¡¯s current head, a fortune that had granted him a privileged position in the family.
When Takuma arrived today, he didn¡¯t know if Waichi would be involved with the big order, but seeing him come out of the building with a duffle bag strengthened Takuma¡¯s belief that it was for the enemy shinobi.
In that case, Waichi taking point made sense. He had clearly attained his position through nepotism, but in the few days Takuma had spent following him, he seemed to be a capable, high-ranking family member.
There were advantages to leaving the client-facing of the drug trade with shinobi to the Renge Gang. Shinobi were dangerous, and having the Renge Gang between the family and the shinobi was a layer of separation and protection for them. But now, with the Renge Gang out, the Goharu Family were forced to deal with them directly and thus had to exercise caution.
A ten-minute journey later, the carriage stopped in front of a bar called the [Ice Sphere].
Takuma noted the name and address, intending to find out if the Goharu Family owned it.
Waichi and his guards entered the bar, and Takuma settled in the shadows to observe the entrance. He wished to head inside to take a look, but the risk of detection was high, and his personal safety was at risk as he speculated the attendance of shinobi. It was smarter for him to stay outside and infer the happenings inside from the context clues.
Takuma fell back on the rooftop and found a tap. He blocked the drain before opening the top to let the running water pool on the roof for a few minutes. He weaved hand seals for the Water Clone Jutsu. The chakra leaked out of his feet trickled outward into the water on the floor that gathered together into a human-shaped silhouette. Takuma felt a sizable amount of his chakra drain away as a clone formed before him.
¡°I¡¯ll go keep an eye on the back entrance,¡± said the clone before disappearing off the roof.
Takuma returned to observe the front entrance. There was no movement in or out of the bar for half an hour until four men finally appeared at the bar¡¯s entrance. Seeing them jump down from a nearby rooftop made it clear they were shinobi.
Takuma shrunk himself into a corner and peered down at the bar. From the looks of it, there was a leader among the group, with the remaining three as followers. He assumed the leader was a chunin and the rest were genin.
As the shinobi entered the bar, Takuma was convinced that he had found the group acting as drug dealers for the enemy forces and that the Goharu Family was officially supplying for the shinobi.
At long last, he had found the link in the chain he could exploit to shake up the status quo in Yu. The meeting went on for another hour. As Waichi saw the shinobi out, they chatted outside the front entrance, so Takuma snuck to the back side of the bar to meet his clone.
¡°Anything to report?¡± he asked.
The clone replied with a negative.
¡°Okay, we¡¯re going to follow the shinobi to see if we can find something new.¡±
The clone no longer had any use, but Takuma had already spent a considerable amount of chakra to create one, and there was no harm in having a secondary opinion¡ªespecially since it was his.
Takuma and his clone took off and tailed the four-person group. They exercised caution, staying well behind to avoid being detected.
¡°They¡¯re overconfident. They¡¯re travelling too openly,¡± said the clone.
When Takuma was learning to tail someone, he had also done self-study on how to shake off tails. Shinobi, who frequently travelled through rooftops, added a few simple tricks to throw off a possible tail. One of those tricks was to make the tail lose sight by dipping down to the street level every once in a while. The shinobi in front of them were openly travelling across rooftops without ever stepping down on the streets.
Takuma nodded. ¡°It¡¯s surprising given that the Renge Gang was targeted by shinobi.¡± The use of the explosive tag in the Bentetsu police station bombing was enough of an indicator of shinobi involvement. ¡°One would think they¡¯d fear that they were the next targets¡ but from the looks, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.¡±
¡°Good for us,¡± said the clone.
¡°Is it incompetence, or do they have a reason not to be worried?¡± Takuma asked himself.
Much to his disappointment, the group returned to the area where the majority of shinobi resided in the city. The area was well-guarded and the most dangerous for the team. Anko had forbidden them from exploring the area because of the risk involved.
¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± said Takuma. ¡°Well, we got the proof that the Goharu Family and the enemy forces are directly connected.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± the clone dragged the word, ¡°what do you think that¡¯s about?¡±
Takuma looked where the clone pointed and saw a pillar of smoke that rose and blot out the sky in the distance. The amount of smoke was the indicator of the massive size of the fire source.
¡°Should we go take a look?¡± asked the clone.
¡°Yeah, let¡¯s¡¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
¡°This is bad,¡± said the clone, horrified as he looked down at the scene from a nearby rooftop.
Takuma stared at a burning police station building. Flames burst out of every orifice that building had: the windows, the doors, and the cracks in the ceilings and the walls.. Spectators stared at the fire from a distance as the firefighters tried to put out the raging fire to no avail.
The fire wasn¡¯t the horrifying part of the situation.
The police station was built on the corner of an active street. In the middle of the street in front of the police station, three bare poles were stabbed into the road. And from those poles hung three corpses of blue spray-painted men dressed in Yu¡¯s police force uniform. If it wasn¡¯t already similar enough, they had the blue posters stuck to their chests.
Someone had copied the police station bombing.
Takuma stared at the hanged man, unable to move his eyes away. His mind raced at what this meant and how it would affect the team¡¯s plans. It was clear they wouldn¡¯t be able to proceed as intended.
¡°I need to inform Anko¡ª¡±
As Takuma spoke to the clone, he felt a gaze on him. Takuma straightened up and looked around to find the source of gaze. He scanned the crowd on the ground, and the windows of the buildings, but couldn¡¯t find the source¡ªthe gaze was still on him.
He felt his skin prickle as he scoured the rooftops.
In the same line of buildings, five rooftops away from him stood a solitary man dressed in black tactical gear with a sword on his back. The middle-aged man smiled at Takuma when their eyes met which sent chills down Takuma¡¯s back.
¡°Bro, we have company,¡± said the clone, gravely.
Three more figures in black tactical gear and white porcelain masks were on the rooftops around then. They were all staring at Takuma. He was surrounded from all four sides.
¡°Bro?¡± The clone looked at Takuma when he didn¡¯t get a reply.
Takuma had grabbed his head as a sharp migraine stabbed his brain and was groaning in agony.
When Takuma found himself in the 10-year-old orphan, shinobi academy student¡¯s body, he wasn¡¯t given the boy¡¯s memories. It had been a big problem because Takuma had near zero idea about the situation he¡¯d found himself in. However, instead of memories, he got something akin to intuition that told him things like his name, the academy teacher¡¯s name, the address of his apartment.
The intuition was godsend because without it, Takuma wouldn¡¯t have been able to pass himself as that 10-year-old orphan.
However, even that intuition had limitations.
Takuma had wanted to know about the origins of the scars on his body¡ªbut instead of giving him some answers, he was punished by harsh headaches. For whatever reason, the intuition didn¡¯t want him to know about the scars, and every time Takuma tried as much as to think about the story behind the scars, he was punished. It was so egregious that even looking at himself in the mirror would leave him in pain.
He had to force himself to not think about the problematic parts of the boy¡¯s past like the origin of his scars and the identity of his parents. The pain acted as potent negative reinforcement, and beat the urge out of him. He wished he knew everything about the boy¡¯s past, but it wasn¡¯t worth it when it meant getting a horrible headache every time his thoughts wandered in that direction.
It had been a very long time since Takuma had one of the headaches, and he was glad for it.
But here it was again.
Takuma looked up at the man smiling at him. He had no idea who the man was¡ only that the man was somehow related to the boy''s problematic past.
CH_7.13 (231)
¡®Take a deep breath,¡¯ Takuma said to himself.
He groaned as another hot stab assaulted his head. There wasn¡¯t a worse time to get a headache than when he was surrounded by unknown hostiles. A part of him wanted to find out about the first person who had triggered his headache, but he could see a trap when he saw one.
The unknown shinobi had set the police station ablaze in hopes of drawing out the culprit behind the Bentetsu police station bombing, and Takuma had played right into their hands. He had to escape regardless of what he wanted because capture wouldn¡¯t mean good things for him. Fortunately for him, his hood was concealing his face from view¡ªas long as he could shake them off, he could escape without the possibility of a sketch of his face plastered around the town.
¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± Takuma said, still trying to calm himself down.
Takuma and his clone jumped off the rooftop into a side alley and quickly headed towards the police station street, where the crowds gathered. Without a word, both of them used the Transformation Jutsu to turn into two young women in an attempt to blend into the crowd.
Transformation Jutsu was easy to detect when one was looking for it, but the difficulty spiked when the adversary was looking at a crowd from a distance. They consciously chose to transform into women in an attempt to throw off their pursuers.
¡°Stay,¡± said Takuma.
¡°Are you sure?¡± asked the clone in the form of a young woman.
It was an extremely risky move to stay in the crowd instead of instantly taking off¡ªbut Takuma expected the pursuers to look for people leaving the crowd. They moved away from the side alley entrance as that area would be looked at with the most suspicion after people walked away from the scene.
¡°Yes,¡± Takuma whispered as he stared at the burning building for an excruciating fifteen seconds. Every second that passed was one where he thought that the unknown shinobi would jump down to surround them.
¡°Okay, I think this is enough time,¡± said the clone. ¡°This is what we¡¯re going to do. I will go ahead and try to cross the roadblock to make a scene. Use that commotion to slip away. Agreed?¡±
The street had been closed off for safety as the firefighters tried to contain the fire.
Takuma nodded after a second of consideration.
¡°Go,¡± he said,
The clone in the disguise of a young woman took a step forward before unexpectedly stopping.
¡°What happened?¡± asked Takuma, thinking the clone must¡¯ve spotted something.
¡°¡ You¡¯ve got that headache, so I don¡¯t know if you noticed it or not,¡± said the clone, ¡°but do you recognize their tactical gear?¡±
The clones were different from himself in various ways. Even though they were complex creations, at their core, they were simple simulacra of the user. Unlike Takuma, who focused on the middle-aged man and his intuition headaches, the clone¡¯s first order of business after seeing the masked figures was to ensure Takuma¡¯s safety. It was a noted factual observation that the clones didn¡¯t have strong self-preservation instincts unless ordered to, as they knew their life span was limited from conception. They would put the original before them in every matter and were highly receptive to orders from the original.
There could be many reasons why the clone didn¡¯t get the same headache as Takuma. Perhaps the clone didn¡¯t care about finding out the truth of the matter at the moment, or he didn¡¯t have a good look at the man before he spotted the masked figures, which caused his priorities to switch.
Whatever it was, it allowed the clone to focus on the many different things that Takuma missed in his fluctuating mental state.
¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Takuma.
¡°Their tactical gear¡ it¡¯s exactly the same as the assassins from that night,¡± said the clone.
Takuma¡¯s entire world screeched to a stop. He stared at the clone through wide eyes, while the memories of that rainy night flashed through his mind. He recalled the assassins¡¯ gear, washed in the yellow light of their fire ninjutsu. The clone was correct; the assassins wore the same black and grey tactical gear he had just seen a minute before.
A phantom pain flashed through Takuma¡¯s left leg, reminding him of the injury that had given him so much trouble; he had to arrive at Camp Banana with a walking cane. He grabbed his leg tightly and bit the inside of his mouth as the spark of apprehension from getting caught in a trap surged into a choking swell of fear.
¡°Get a hold of yourself; you¡¯ve got to make it out alive,¡± the clone pinched Takuma¡¯s arm.
Takuma looked at the clone, who was still transformed as a young woman, and took deep, calming breaths.
¡°Go. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± he said.
The clone wasted no time and pushed through the crowd towards the road back on the street corner. Takuma turned to walk away from the scene, and as expected, he heard a loud commotion. He ignored it and kept walking away. With the thoughts muddling his brain, it took him all to stop himself from tearing away at full speed¡ªhe couldn¡¯t even walk briskly because it would be too fast for a civilian.
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Takuma stopped when he heard a faint whistle coming above him. He immediately side-hopped and pressed himself against the nearby building. A moment later, a kunai stabbed the pavement where he stood.
He could tell that the clone was still alive, but the distraction ploy had failed. Takuma dropped all pretence, shed his disguise, and bolted away at full speed. The civilians yelped and exclaimed at the scene of a seemingly normal young woman turning into a shady hooded figure. They screamed when another kunai descended from the sky, stabbing the pavement close to them.
Takuma ignored them and pressed forward. He glanced to the side and saw a masked pursuer, with orange highlights on the white mask, sprinting from rooftop to rooftop, keeping up with him. Takuma changed course very abruptly and turned into a narrow alley off the main street.
The unmasked man, the leader of the masked group, dropped down to the other end of the alley from the sky, cutting off Takuma¡¯s route.
¡°Surrender,¡± said the leader.
Takuma dug his heels into the ground to stop and course corrected towards the adjacent wall. He leaped up the exposed brick wall and ascended as fast as his legs could go. The leader launched a kunai at Takuma and he spun in a quick, complete rotation, catching the kunai. Before gravity could take effect, Takuma was back on the wall and climbing to the roof.
The orange masked figure leaped from across the street and landed on the rooftop while Takuma was pulling himself up. Using the kunai he¡¯d caught, he formed bogus hand seals to trick ¡°Orange-Mask¡± into thinking he was applying ninjutsu to the kunai. The masked man dove to the side to evade the plain kunai instead of deflecting it.
Takuma didn¡¯t stop and directly leaped to the next rooftop, but he didn¡¯t reach it. The leader appeared beside him and kicked him completely off course. Taken by surprise, Takuma managed to raise his block, but was hurled towards a building across the street.
¡°Gah!¡±
His back smashed against the wall, crushing the bricks and cement. Takuma stuck to it and continued his escape from his pursuers. He ran around the building before dropping down to the street level, and tore through alleyways and bends, sticking close to the building walls and hiding within the long, arcing shadows.
It was reminiscent of the night of the assassination attempt. He was running with pursuers hot on his tail. Back then, he didn¡¯t like that it was raining, but right now he really wished it was. Yu was drastically smaller than the Hidden Leaf village, and a big commotion could have the enemy forces come down on him. To make things worse, Takuma didn¡¯t know Yu as well as he did the Hidden Leaf. He couldn¡¯t go towards the industrial district with the factory base, nor could he go towards Chinatsu¡¯s house¡ªand those were the two areas he knew best.
For the first time since he had been in Yu, the city felt truly hostile. He cursed himself as he sprinted through the streets, unable to lose the pursuers¡ªhe shouldn¡¯t have gone out alone. He saw shadows leaping over the buildings and the sound of footsteps as they pursued him like he was a game animal.
The sounds grew closer. He glanced back to see the leader on his tail, a few metres between them. Takuma exerted himself to boost forward when Orange-Mask appeared at the other end of the alley.
Takuma immediately switched to running up the walls again.
On the ground, the leader weaved hand seals. He breathed out a thin stream of fire, cupping it between his hands to form a long spear in his hands. Takuma saw the leader cock his arm back for a javelin throw¡ªhe wasn¡¯t going to catch that. His danger instinct tingled, telling him that dodging it narrowly wouldn¡¯t be enough.
Takuma¡¯s mind moved faster as he cycled through his recollection of the street in his mind as his eyes were locked on the leader¡¯s spear.
¡®Window¡¯
Takuma glanced at the window one story above him. As the leader heaved the spear, chakra flooded into Takuma¡¯s feet and expunged out of the soles of his feet. The wall underneath his feet cratered as the wall/tree-walking technique was overloaded, and Takuma was propelled off the wall.
Crash! The glass shattered as Takuma went through the window pane less than a second before the spear reached his position and exploded. The fiery rush of flames managed to enter through the window and he would have been consumed by the roaring fire if not for his forward roll onto the floor.
Takuma had no time to look back and stumbled forward into an apartment bedroom. He hurried out of it in search of an exit, having taken one step to run into a pudgy woman holding a kitchen knife to his face. In one fluid movement, he disarmed the screaming housewife and threw a kunai with an explosive tag out of the broken bedroom window.
It exploded right outside the window ledge, damaging the building and the room, but it bought him a few more seconds before the pursuers came in.
He looked down at the screaming housewife who quieted under Takuma¡¯s gaze.
¡°Shut up and hide,¡± he said before hurrying deeper into the house. He saw an old woman closely hugging a five- or six-year-old girl in a living room, both of whom looked terrified. Despite the twinge of guilt in his chest, he had no time to calm them down, so he ignored them.
The apartment was small, and he immediately saw the front door up ahead. He was halfway through it when his peripheral vision caught the sight of a large bucket full of water through an open bathroom door.
Takuma took the risk and weaved hand seals for the Water Style: Eight Tentacles. Just as he finished the hand seals, the leader stepped into the bedroom through the hand seal. Their eyes met, and both of them immediately drew and threw a kunai at each other. The kunai collided in the narrow hallway, a few feet away from the housewife, who screamed and dropped to the ground in fear. In the living room, the little daughter started crying as the grandmother hugged her tighter.
Takuma backed up toward the door and threw three shuriken toward the leader. He deflected them with a kunai while the water inside the bucket rose up in a freeform blob and flew at Takuma, who smashed through the front door into the open corridor.
The leader threw a kunai through the house as Takuma vaulted over the open corridor. The water blob attached to Takuma and sprung out two tentacles that caught the kunai. As he jumped down, he saw Orange-Mask run into the street from around the corner.
Takuma bit his lip in frustration.
He could feel that his clone was still alive and by the looks of it, had taken two out of four pursuers away from him. Despite that, Takuma felt that as long as he had these two after him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.
The situation was only getting worse. Takuma¡¯s directional sense was average in all purposes, and he was already confused about where he was. For all he knew, he could have subconsciously leading them to the industrial complex of Chinatsu¡¯s house. The longer he was on the run with his focus on shaking the pursuers, the worse thing would get. Even if he wanted to get some help by going close to Chinatsu¡¯s house in hopes that the team would notice, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find his way quick enough.
He needed to eliminate one of them if he wanted a fair chance at escaping, and between the two, Orange Mask not only felt less threatening, but Takuma also had questions he wanted to ask the leader about how the man related to his past.
¡°Looks like Orange Mask has to die,¡± he muttered.
CH_7.14 (232)
As Takuma jumped from the apartment corridor, he considered his situation. Orange-Mask was waiting for him on the ground, and the leader was only a few seconds away inside the apartment. He was continuously being cornered and desperately needed something to change if he wanted to escape.
There was no use mindlessly running around hoping something would change. Doing so would only tire him out; he had to make the changes himself.
He listed out the problems plaguing him.
The combination of Orange-Mask and the leader had him trapped well, so the solution was to get rid of one of them. Orange-Mask was the obvious choice because Takuma wanted to interrogate the leader in the future. Once he got rid of Orange-Mask, there would be much more space and time to shake the leader off his tail.
But he had to separate Orange-Mask from the leader if he wanted to eliminate him. To do that, he needed to make sure the leader couldn¡¯t back up his subordinate.
The solution? Get familiar with his surroundings.
He couldn¡¯t miraculously install a map of Yu in his mind instantly, but he could build a map of a single block fairly quickly. Instead of running blindly, restricting himself to a limited area was a better choice. The downside was that Orange-Mask and the leader would also become used to block the more time they spent in it¡ªbut there was no other alternative.
Finally, there were the two other pursuers he had to consider. They were chasing his clone, but that could end at any moment¡ªhe expected it would happen soon because the clone was weaker than him. It was only a matter of time before the other two masked pursuers joined the hunt, and if that happened, his already bleak chances would plummet to zero.
He had failed to escape death last time and had to be rescued by a passing jonin. Deep in enemy territory, the only thing waiting for him was a kunai in the dark and the high likelihood of torture if he was captured. Moreover, his limited area plan also made them easier to find as they were in the same location.
Time was an important factor. He had to kill Orange-Mask and escape the leader quickly. Otherwise, backup would arrive, sealing his fate.
As Takuma landed on the ground, he threw a smoke ball toward Orange-Mask, who rushed toward Takuma with his sword drawn. He cut the smoke ball down, causing it to burst into a cloud of black smoke. Blinded, Orange-Mask skipped ahead and swung his sword, but it slashed the air. Takuma could¡¯ve retaliated inside the smokescreen, but he chose to run away.
It was time to play cat-and-mouse.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Inside the apartment unit, Kon ignored the crying woman begging him to spare them, walked through the unit, and left through the front gate.
His plan to lure the culprits behind the police station bombing had been successful. He had to sacrifice a few lives to taint their image, but it was at an acceptable cost. It was fortunate that Yu didn¡¯t have a native shinobi population, so it was very easy to locate the two hooded men peering down at the scene from the rooftops.
Though he had to say, the one he was following was quite slippery.
From the corridor, Kon saw Orange-Mask step out of the haze of black smoke, looking for the target. He looked around and saw a glimpse of the target entering an alley, giving chase by running on the apartment building. He saw the target closing toward the exit to the alley. Kon pushed chakra into his feet, shattered the bricks beneath him.
¡°Got you,¡± Kon whispered as he drew his sword to cut down the target.
But to his surprise, his sword cut through an afterimage. It was the Body Flicker Jutsu. By the time his feet touched the ground, the target was several metres away from him and was heading towards another alley.
¡°¡Really slippery,¡± Kon whispered to himself¡ªbut he didn¡¯t mind it; he had been in the city for months, and it was getting dull¡ªa hunt like this was just the pep-up he needed.
Kon used the Body Flicker Jutsu himself and flashed forward. He saw the target was once again running up a building and followed him to the rooftop and across to the next one. He drew three kunai and threw them at his target. It was a mistake to be in such an open area. Plus, the target was in mid-air with no means to change direction. Once again, he was met with an unexpected result as the kunai passed through the target¡¯s body without resistance.
Then, the target¡¯s disappeared into nothing while he was in the air.
The answer evaded Kon for a lengthy moment before he recognized it to be the Clone Jutsu. It was a basic tactic taught in Shinobi Academies worldwide with nearly no use in the real world because illusory clones didn¡¯t cast shadows, which was an uncanny tell¡ªbut the target¡¯s clone was mid-jump, eliminating the shadow problem.
A vein throbbed on Kon¡¯s forehead; he wasn¡¯t pleased to have been duped by such a simple trick.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Thanks to the Clone Jutsu, Takuma had bought himself a few precious seconds. He looked around, memorising all he could about the place. They were in a residential area with small apartment buildings. There was an alley between each building, which provided excellent access and gave him a lot of options. He was on the street, which made him highly visible, so Takuma quickly went towards the alley nearest him. As he was about to enter, he noticed a shadow in his peripheral vision.
It was Orange-Mask.
Takuma increased his speed and dashed through the alley when he noticed that the alleys between the buildings were there for garbage as there was a garbage collection corner in every alley.
He had an idea. Takuma jumped into the garbage collection corner and knelt down beside the garbage.
He heard the footsteps grow closer until Orange-Mask ran past him. Takuma jumped Orange-Mask and threw an augmented punch towards the man¡¯s face. Orange-Mask ducked under the punch and stabbed out with his sword. Takuma dodged with a quick step back before going in with a counter augmented-punch.
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Orange-Mask pulled his torso back to get out of the punch¡¯s range¡ªand evaded more of his strikes when Takuma tried to follow up with an agile combo. His skills weren¡¯t a surprise, given the skills of the assassins he¡¯d fought.
However, he was no longer the same shinobi he was that night.
He punched out the final strike of the combo that Orange-Mask avoided by pulling back his torso and getting his sword into position for his counter, but it didn¡¯t matter as Takuma turned the final punch into a second-form augmentation. The chakra flowed out of Takuma¡¯s fist and crashed into Orange-Mask¡¯s face, shattering the mask and revealing the black balaclavas underneath.
Orange-Mask stumbled back a few steps.
The water tentacles snapped forward and wrapped themselves around Orange-Mask¡¯s wrists. Takuma pulled Orange-Mask toward him with the tentacles and went for a stab with a kunai. Orange-Mask resisted the pull, broke free from the tentacle¡¯s grasp, and pulled his sword up. Sparks flew as the metal scraped against metal. The kunai missed the Orange-Mask¡¯s chest but left a shallow scar on their left shoulder.
Takuma jumped back to avoid a sword slash, but four of his tentacles, wielding kunai, went ahead. Orange-Mask¡¯s sword turned into a blur as he dealt with an onslaught of five tentacles. He couldn¡¯t dodge the three shuriken Takuma threw with his hands, though. The shuriken struck Orange-Mask right in the chest, but he knew they weren¡¯t enough.
Takuma moved in to strike the killing blow: a stab aimed at Orange-Mask¡¯s neck. But before he could connect, Takuma sensed a heat and heard a sharp screech. He jumped back, and a second later, a fiery spear impaled the ground between him and Orange-Mask.
He followed the trail to find the leader standing horizontally on a wall.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kon followed the sound of clashing metal and looked down from a rooftop to see Orange-Mask and the target fighting each other. The Eight Tentacles was a curious choice of jutsu, but from the looks of it, the jutsu was being well-utilised.
He waited for a few moments longer to watch the exchange conclude. It was clear that Orange-Mask was being pushed back. He silently descended onto the wall and weaved hand seals for the Fire Release: Fire Spear. Kon wanted to wait until he had a clean shot, but when he saw the three shuriken hit Orange-Mask, he threw the spear immediately before the target could move in and land the finishing blow.
Unfortunately, the target jumped back, avoiding the spear.
Their eyes met, and Kon tried to glean their face through the hood to no avail. It cast too much of a shadow. Kon¡¯s hand twitched. One command and he could explode the fire spear, but with his subordinate in the blast radius, that wasn¡¯t an option.
Orange-Mask raised his sword above his head and swung for the target, who kicked him back before he could swing down. Orange-Mask went through the wall, leaving a hole in the building. The water pipes in the walls snapped and started spraying water everywhere.
Kon was surprised at the display of strength. He even felt the entire building shaking through his feet.
The target threw an explosive tag into the hole. It blew up, further damaging the building. When Kon saw the target turn to run, he weaved fingers into hand seals for another fire spear. By putting distance between him and Orange-Mask, the target had allowed Kon to deal some real damage of his own, and from the looks of it, the target had realised it.
He stopped and formed hand seals of his own. Kon smiled as he put more chakra into the jutsu than before. He pulled his arm back and threw the spear as hard as he could. It screeched as it ripped its target with a smokey trail. At the same moment, the target slammed his hand onto the concrete floor that split apart for the ground to rise and cover him in a dome. When the fire spear struck, the impact fractured the dome. It withstood the explosion but broke down immediately after.
Kon drew his sword and jumped down. He would cut down the target the moment he emerged from the dome. However, as the dome crumbled completely, he realised that the target wasn¡¯t inside. By the time he reached the ground. He stared at the empty, half-destroyed dome for a few seconds until the answer struck him.
It could only be the Hiding in the Rock Jutsu.
Kon immediately sprinted in the direction the target was previously running. The jutsu only allowed travel in straight lines¡ªand with buildings everywhere, their underground foundations would block alternative routes, leaving only the alleys and streets as viable paths.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma appeared above ground next to the alley. He broke into a run and headed towards another alley between the buildings when he felt his clone die. He didn¡¯t know the clone¡¯s location or how far away he had pulled the other two pursuers from him¡ªbut he knew that the clock had started.
Takuma entered the alley and, halfway through, looked back to shock himself when he saw the leader dashing into the gallery. He hadn¡¯t expected to be caught that quickly. The leader blitzed through hand seals and breathed out an orb of fire. Takuma thought the orb would chase him, but it just floated in front of the leader. The leader threw a shuriken through it, it emerged, completely alight.
Takuma knew he didn¡¯t want to be hit by that.
He jumped to the side to evade it, but the shuriken burst into a ball of scorching fire beside him. He moved the water tentacles forward to protect him, which they did¡ªbut instantly evaporated.
Now, Takuma had a concrete reason for why he shouldn¡¯t get hit by it. He glanced up at two small balconies that opened on the far side-alley. He jumped up the first floor and knelt inside a balcony to get some cover. The leader narrowed his eyes and threw a shuriken above the balcony.
Takuma saw the flaming shuriken fly above him and immediately formed an umbrella with his water tentacles. He was protected, but lost even more water. He thought about it for a moment before standing up and drawing a shuriken. The leader threw another flaming shuriken the moment he became visible, but this time, Takuma met it with his own. They clashed for a split second before both went flying in a small, self-contained explosion.
Takuma smiled, but knew he wasn¡¯t safe. He couldn¡¯t just keep standing on the balcony deflecting the leader¡¯s flaming shuriken. Orange-Mask could arrive at any point, and he would be cornered so he had to be on the move.
He blocked another flaming shuriken with his own before jumping to a second-floor balcony of the opposite building. Knowing he was going to be mid-air and thus, unable to change his direction, Takuma was ready to deflect another flaming shuriken, but as he leaped up and across, he noticed the leader ¡¯s fire orb move¡ªit was on the right because Takuma was standing on the right, but now as he was going left, the orb moved along with him.
Takuma realised something. The leader had to throw the shuriken through the orb to convert it into a flaming shuriken, which meant he had to adjust the orb¡¯s location to be in the trajectory of the shuriken¡ªhowever, the orb was relatively slow to move.
He could outrun it.
The moment Takuma landed on the second-floor balcony, he immediately jumped to the opposite third-floor balcony¡ªand as he expected, the orb which had just got in position to strike the second-floor balcony, couldn¡¯t move quick enough. When it reached the third-floor balcony, Takuma was already on the roof of the three-storey building.
He would be out of sight just for a moment. He weaved through hand seals. Chakra accumulated in his lungs, and his chest widened as he took a deep breath. The jutsu was primed, ready to be launched. Takuma recalled the leader used a sword and used his shortened tentacles to retrieve five shuriken from his weapon pouch.
Woosh! The moment the leader jumped to appear over the roof, the tentacles simultaneously launched the five shuriken. As predicted, the leader used his sword to deflect them¡ªan easy feat for him¡ªbut it still meant his sword was engaged, leaving him no defensive option other than to evade.
However, the leader was in mid-air, and couldn¡¯t change his direction.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
Takuma shortened the spread of the wave and concentrated it into a straight spray to increase the offensive output. And the distance between Takuma and his target was more than double than it was now between him and the leader ¡ªthey were close enough that it was really going to hurt.
The concentrated spray of water slammed into the leader head-on. He was pushed back, and with no foothold, he dropped down the building. On his way down, he hit his chest on a balcony railing, and then hit his head on the side of the balcony.
¡®This was it,¡¯ thought Takuma.
This was his chance to escape.
CH_7.15 (233)
His initial plan was to kill Orange-Mask and then shake off the leader before escaping¡ªbut now, as he stood on the rooftop after blasting the leader off the roof and Orange-Mask was nowhere to be seen, Takuma wondered if he had found a window to escape.
He could tell that his two pursuers were trying to keep the whole ordeal quiet for some reason, and the leader was especially holding back¡ªhe deduced they were trying to keep it all relatively quiet so they could rope the rest of his team in. Takuma knew if he pushed it, there was a risk that the situation would escalate to a point he didn¡¯t want it to.
He weaved hand seals for the Hidden Mist Jutsu. In a couple seconds, a mist descended over the rooftops and spilled out down the street level. He jumped down into the thickening mist and was still in mid-air when he heard the intimidating scratching of a sword being released from its scabbard.
Goosebumps rose on his skin as Orange-Mask suddenly appeared through the mist. He was ascending while Takuma fell. The masked shinobi¡¯s sword struck quickly; Takuma only had the opportunity to raise his guard. The steel shredded his metal-plated arm guards and left a painful gash along both his arms.
He cursed as he stumbled to the floor, the water tentacles stabilising him, holding his breath and focusing on his hearing. There was a pin drop silence until Takuma heard soles rubber against the rough surface. He looked up and caught Orange-Mask zooming down at him, barely a few metres away. A tentacle contested the razor-sharp sword with a kunai that bounced off against the sword firmly held by Orange-Mask, allowing Takuma to sidestep the swing at the last moment.
Orange-Mask blitzed Takuma with a sword dance the moment his feet touched the ground. Takuma was pushed to his physical limits as he moved every part of his body; every swing had enough speed and power to end him. The tentacles rushed forth, but Orange-Mask immediately retreated, disappearing into the mist Takuma had created.
He realised he had set up the perfect playing field for an assassination. He had a choice to make, he could decide to trust the training he had done to fight in the mist, or lift the jutsu to revert back to the previous combat environment. A shadow cut through the air. One of the tentacles threw a kunai that Takuma caught, and he raised his hands above his head at the exact moment Orange-Mask brought his sword down at Takuma.
The sword slashed against the flat of kunai supported with both of Takuma¡¯s hands. Sparks flew and Takuma¡¯s heart leaped when he felt the sword slice through the kunai. His skin tingled at the shuddering sensation rattling his bones. He had felt it before with Kameko when she used her kenjutsu.
Orange-Mask was using chakra flow to enhance his sword¡¯s lethality.
Takuma urged his tentacles forward, eager to put some space between them. They wrapped around Orange-Mask¡¯s thighs and waist and threw him away. Takuma diverted the water to strengthen the tentacles and commanded them to slam Orange-Mask to the ground..
He¡¯d use the brief break to prepare his strongest augmentation yet.
Orange-Mask used his core to spin in the air and got in the position. He swung his sword, cut through all the tentacles holding him, landed directly on his feet, and disappeared into the mist before Takuma could even raise his fist.
This won¡¯t do, he thought.
Takuma flexed his back, and the tentacles retreated into the water mass on his back. As much as he liked the flexibility of the tentacles, he didn¡¯t think he could split his focus between his body and the tentacles. He needed the extra concentration to focus on his senses to help him in the mist.
He held a kunai in his left while his right hung loosely at his waist.
¡°Come on,¡± he mouthed to himself.
The mist split near Takuma as Orange-Mask snuck in from behind. He turned and blocked the repelled sword with a kunai swing, drawing closer with an augmented strike, ready to turn it into a second-form augmentation.
Takuma¡¯s fist passed through an afterimage. A second later, Orange-Mask reappeared to Takuma¡¯s right. He stabbed his sword into Takuma¡¯s neck, but the blade pierced the back of Takuma¡¯s hood as he bent forward at the last moment. Orange-Mask disappeared, and a volley of shuriken flew from the direction he¡¯d exited from. Takuma deflected all of the shuriken but his balance was uneven, so he rolled forward, and a split-second later, Orange-Mask appeared from above to stab the empty ground.
He charged Takuma, who hit him in the crotch with a swift kick. Takuma used the kick¡¯s momentum to lift himself up and rushed a stumbling Orange-Mask. He tried to take him down to the ground, but Orange-Mask eluded Takuma¡¯s grab with a skillful sidestep and pushed Takuma¡¯s back to put some distance between them while he recovered.
Takuma turned back, intending to continue the pressure, but Orange-Mask had disappeared.
He could do this; he could contend, Takuma said to himself¡ªbut he didn¡¯t have a clear advantage. He was proficient in low-visibility combat, but his opponent was efficient and even masterful with the sword. If he wasn¡¯t winning against Orange-Mask, he feared what would happen if the leader joined the fray.
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Takuma formed a quick release-seal and the mist thinned out. He saw Orange-Mask a few metres away from him, trying to sneak around to get at him from behind.
He turned around and dashed into the nearest alley just as Orange-Mask gave chase.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kon leaned against the building in an alley with a groan and grabbed his head. His vision swam and then everything he saw doubled. He fumed in anger when he remembered getting caught up in another trick. He could almost hear the Master Instructor, who had taught him to be a shinobi since he was a five-year-old babe and had turned him into a ROOT agent.
He had let himself go. It had been years since he had been involved in active combat¡ªin fact, he didn¡¯t like combat¡ªit was crude and inelegant. He understood its place and importance in society; he just didn¡¯t like participating in it. He was among the weakest in his batch and his other peers¡ªwhich is why he had made himself useful in the intellectual side of things and had managed the drug trade for ROOT.
But that didn¡¯t mean he was a slouch in combat. He cleared the ROOT standards in his category. Which was why it pissed him off that he wasn¡¯t able to engage the target in combat because he wasn¡¯t able to stay with him for long enough. He looked around and noticed mist from the Hidden Mist Jutsu thinning out. By the time he emerged from the alley, the mist was all but gone. His subordinate was known to use that jutsu, but he couldn¡¯t figure out why the jutsu was released.
Was his subordinate killed by the target? Or was the target able to hold an advantage in the mist? The second didn¡¯t seem viable¡ªwhich, in turn, increased the former holding true. In one leap, Kon crossed the height to the nearby rooftop to find his subordinate and the target. As he looked around, he spotted the target running across the street. His concern for his subordinate vanished, and he furiously chased after the target, closing the distance.
Kon heard the sound of fighting in the opposite direction and stopped in surprise. Did the second target kill his other two subordinates and proceeded to find them? Kon didn¡¯t turn away and continued chasing the target. If he had indeed lost subordinates, then he had to ensure the capture of the target.
At the entrance of another alley, Kon blitzed through hand seals for Fire Release: Running Fire. He put a finger on his lips and breathed out two streams of fire that attached to the walls on both sides and crossed the surface. The fire streams ran past the target and reached the other end of the alley, gathering to form a wall blocking exit through the alley.
The target stopped and turned back to face Kon. With the fire in the background, there was a shadow over the target, which, along with the hood, obscured the target¡¯s face.
¡°I¡¯d advise that you don¡¯t struggle; I might end up killing you,¡± said Kon.
The target didn¡¯t reply and pulled out a kunai.
Kon pulled out his sword from its scabbard and dashed towards the target, but just before he reached him, he abruptly shifted direction towards the wall and used it as a springboard to shoot himself to the opposite wall and launch himself toward the target with his sword at the ready.
The target froze up for a split-second, making him a beat late as he tried to follow Kon. There was no time to evade. Kon thought the target would use his kunai to block the sword and was ready for a contest of strength¡ªhe had the momentum on his side. However, to his surprise, the target pulled his fist back. It seemed he was planning to trade damage¡ªaccepting to be pierced by Kon¡¯s sword in exchange for getting in a strike of his own.
Kon recalled the target¡¯s physical strength when he had kicked his subordinate through the wall. He accepted the trade¡ªhis body had been forged from the torture the Master Instructor liked to dress up as light sparring.
The target¡¯s strength didn¡¯t worry him.
Kon had the advantage of range and stabbed his sword forth. He smirked as the blade cleanly pierced through the target¡¯s shoulder. He then braced himself for the target¡¯s hit¡ªbut as he did, he detected chakra.
Anyone who trained chakra had the innate sense to detect the presence of chakra¡ªbut that sense was extremely dull. Two shinobi with enormous reserves could be sitting next to each other, and neither would detect chakra in the other. Only sensory-nin with a highly sensitive chakra sense could detect innate chakra in a meaningful way.
For everyone else, they could only detect chakra when it was being used near them in a high volume.
Kon¡¯s eyes shifted to the target¡¯s arm, which was about to hit him. He saw a translucent blue sheen covering the target¡¯s fist and wrist. Chakra was usually colourless when released out of the body in cases like chakra adhesion used for wall/tree and water walking¡ªbut it gained a blue colour when a high volume was concentrated.
Kon instantly recognized that he was about to be hit by an augmented strike with so much chakra packed into it that it had gained a visible blue colour¡ªand it was coming directly for his face.
He had made an error in judgement.
He shifted his body at the last moment to move his arm up to protect his face. The target¡¯s fist collided with Kon¡¯s upper arm, immediately shattering it to the bone. Before Kon felt the pain, he felt a flood of foreign chakra rampage out of the fist and into his arm. He¡¯d stopped the blow itself, but the target¡¯s violent chakra rampaged. The force fractured his shoulder blade and snapped his collarbone in half.
Before Kon¡¯s body could fire any pain signals, he saw something much worse. The moment the fist collided with Kon¡¯s arm; the target¡¯s entire arm exploded. Kon expected blood, flesh, and bone¡ªbut instead, he felt a splash of water in his face. Before his mind could process the information, the target turned into a human-shaped mass of water and then a puddle.
Kon landed on the ground, his left arm hanging limp by his side, and a shoulder that was sagging dangerously. The pain hit him; it was intense, even with the adrenaline running through him. He ignored it; his pain tolerance had been thoroughly developed.
But the shock was a welcome addition to help numb the pain. He had traded damage¡ with a clone. He had lost his left arm, taken damage that would require weeks to fix, and then a further few weeks in therapy to regain his original performance¡ all to kill a clone.
Kon remembered the sound of fighting he had heard prior, and it hit him: he¡¯d been baited again. The target had used the clone to draw him away while the target engaged his subordinate in combat.
Kon swallowed his anger, held his broken arm with his other arm, and went to find his subordinate. Fifteen seconds later, Kon was standing over the dead body of his subordinate. His mask and weapons belt were missing.
He stared at the bloody hole in his subordinate¡¯s forehead as his other two subordinates arrived.
¡°Reporting,¡± said one of them. ¡°The target was a clone.¡±
Kon closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to contain the rage as his iryo-nin subordinate immediately tended to his mangled arm.
CH_7.16 (234)
Takuma released the Hidden Mist Jutsu and ran into the nearest alley with Orange-Mask on his tail. He looked behind and dodged the shuriken launched for his back, making sure he was routing away from the leader. Orange-Mask stuck to his tail like a bloodhound, but Takuma noticed there was a greater distance between them than before. He deduced that Orange-Mask was probably starting to get tired. He didn''t have that problem because of his endurance and durability focused training.
It was an advantage he could exploit. Pushing himself further, Takuma kicked up the pace, increasing the distance between them. Orange-Mask tried to slow him down by throwing kunai and shuriken at him, but Takuma continued to pull away.
He led them to the alley where he had kicked Orange-Mask through the building''s walls.
Takuma recalled the busted pipes leaking water and saw an opportunity. He started weaving hand seals the moment he entered the street and completed the seals as he passed by the hole in the wall. The water rose and gathered to form a clone and the building¡¯s occupants, who had gathered around the hole, shrieked and ran back into the building. The clone hid in the building and waited until Takuma and Orange-Mask tore past, running off to find the leaders.
On Takuma''s side, he stopped in the middle of the street and faced Orange-Mask.
The water mass behind him turned into four tentacles¡ªthe rest of the water was burned away during his fight with the leader. He had spent more than 30% of his chakra on the two clones and nearly 10% on other jutsu¡ªit was more chakra he ever wanted to spend in the first ten minutes of combat, especially when he spent most of it running away.
With a kunai in both hands, Takuma charged toward Orange-Mask. He opened the throttle and rained down strikes on Orange-Mask, who defended with his sword. Instead of his usual strategy of looking for openings and creating opportunities, Takuma barraged Orange-Mask with strike after strike, not giving him any chance to retaliate. Orange-Mask was more than capable of responding to a bull attack and defended every one of Takuma''s strikes, so he amped up the intensity and pushed his body to the limit, single-mindedly attacking like a rabid dog.
His tentacles moved in sync with the offence. They tried to hinder Orange-Mask''s movements by grabbing for his limbs, splashing water into his eyes, drenching him and his gear, and doing everything to divert his attention. They annoyed Orange-Mask so much that he prioritised cutting them¡ªforcing Takuma to reduce them from four small tentacles, to two full-sized tentacles.
Under the intense assault, Orange-Mask was pushed back, but he successfully defended himself without getting cut a single time.
Then, all of a sudden, Takuma jumped away from Orange-Mask.
It was time to end this, thought Takuma as he weaved hand seals.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Orange-Mask was surprised when the target suddenly put distance between them. The abrupt shift from a full-on assault where he couldn¡¯t retaliate bothered him. Seeing the target form hand seals made him apprehensive. He had the choices to disrupt him from completing his hand seals, counter with a ninjutsu of his own, or back away and react to whatever the target was going to throw at him.
His eyes went to the tentacles hanging behind the target. If he went in to disrupt the target, they¡¯d stop him and the target was dangerous enough that a moment of disruption could be enough to spell his doom. Orange-Mask considered his second option to counter with a ninjutsu of his own, which felt like a viable option¡ªhe knew they were standing in the open and that Lord Kon would arrive at any moment¡ªbut he thought he could take down the target on his own.
Orange-Mask raised his hands and weaved hand seals for the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
Their eyes met as both sides weaved hand seals, and Orange-Mask''s vision blurred. He blinked his eyes, and his vision returned to normal, but the next second, his vision blurred worse than before. Colours started to leak into each other, objects blended together, and the world itself warped. He tried to focus on the target, but he couldn¡¯t see a thing. He looked down and saw his own body blurring into the road to the point where he couldn''t tell where the road started and his body ended.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The genjutsu was successful.
Genjutsu: Haze was a touch-based jutsu that blurred the target''s vision and twisted their sense of balance.
Until very recently, he didn''t think he would be able to use touch-based genjutsu in active combat because of the problematic pre-requisite. They required him to apply his chakra on the person''s skin, and most people didn''t allow their opponents to grab them long enough to sufficiently apply chakra for genjutsu.
Not to mention, Orange-Mask was covered from top to bottom.
But Takuma figured out a workaround using the Water Style: Eight Tentacles. He poured his chakra into the tentacles and used the water to get his chakra onto Orange-Mask''s skin. While fighting, each time the tentacles made contact, they left behind a small amount of chakra-charged water on Orange-Mask''s. The gear wasn''t waterproof; the water passed through the fabric and wet his skin, and delivered the chakra to the tenketsu points near the skin.
Takuma felt an exhilaration run up his spine when he saw Orange-Mask''s body language change. He tried to hide it, but it was apparent that Orange-Mask was deep in the genjutsu¡ªor else why would he stop forming hand seals? Takuma hadn''t tested the application before, but the concept was sound¡ª so seeing it work told him he had another combat-ready weapon available.
But Takuma''s genjutsu were supplementary options¡ªhe still needed to finish the job.
He released the Eight Tentacles jutsu and let the water tentacles fall as he weaved hand seals for Water Release: Spirit Water Wave. The water from the fallen tentacles was pulled into a glob in front of Takuma''s finger gun. Takuma aimed for Orange-Mask and shot a high-speed water bullet at his forehead.
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"Bang," he whispered.
There was no sound as the water bullet cut through the air.
Orange-Mask shuddered before going limp and crumpling to the ground.
Takuma carefully moved toward him with another shot ready in case he wasn''t dead. After confirming the kill, he breathed a sigh of relief before stiffening.
His clone had died.
Dispelling the jutsu, he rushed to remove Orange-Mask''s weapon belt. After a moment, he decided to take the mask as well and sprinted to safety before the leader arrived.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
That evening, the team, except for Gaku, who had chosen to remain home with Chinatsu, visited the factory base. The news about the "second" police station attack had spread like wildfire in Yu. The team wasn''t involved, so they knew it was the work of a copycat¡ªwhich was a severe problem that needed to be discussed and tackled immediately.
When the team reached the factory base, they found Takuma lying on the couch with his arm covering his eyes. His hair were wet from having bathed recently. They didn''t think much of it, but then Takuma glanced at them after hearing them arrive and slowly sat up with a groan to reveal a bloody bandage over his other arm hidden from view.
"How did that happen?" asked Anko, surprised along with the rest of the team.
"A police station was set on fire today," Takuma replied as Rikku sat beside him and looked over the bloody arm.
"Yes, we know," said Anko.
"Well, I ran into the people who did it," Takuma hissed in pain when Rikku pulled the bandages, "and let''s just say we ended up in an intense game of tag that went a bit too far."
"Oh my god," Iori gasped.
"I want to know everything from the top," said Anko, her already bad mood worsening at the state her subordinate was in.
Takuma didn''t look like he wanted to, but he did so anyway. The news about the drug exchange between the Goharu Family and the enemy shinobi would''ve been good news, but when Takuma told them that the police station arson was a plot to draw out the team, it no longer seemed to be of any significance.
"I managed to escape them and then spent an hour roaming the city as a precaution before returning here." Takuma looked disgusted as he continued: "They killed and hung three people on poles outside the police station... just to poison our efforts and stifle the support we had rallied in the revolutionaries. We¡¯ll have to take steps to mitigate the damage quickly."
"We can talk about that tomorrow, Takuma," said Daiki, worried. "Are you alright? Is there something we can do for you? You can come with us to the home and stay there for the night if you want."
"I agree," said Anko immediately.
"Thank you, but I''m fine," Takuma shook his head and stared at the entire team for a long moment.
"What is it?" asked Anko.
"...I found that¡ª" Takuma stopped talking, fully leaned into the couch, and closed his eyes briefly before sitting back up. "...When that group was pursuing me, I noticed¡ªwell, my clone noticed¡ªthat I recognized the gear they were wearing." Takuma bowed his head. "The assassins who tried to kill me back home... they were wearing the same gear I saw today."
Iori and Daiki gasped while the rest stared at Takuma in shock.
"Are you sure?" asked Kameko.
Takuma nodded. "Yes... I, of course, had my doubts, so I got proof."
He rose and walked to a nearby table, tossing a hiltless blade to Kameko. She looked down at the blade. It seemed like a normal blade, but she flipped and saw a pattern of a tree, with its underground roots visible, imprinted on its base.
"That day, I had to scavenge weapons from one of the assassins and investigated them to find that smith''s touchmark," Takuma pointed at the blade. "I can accept mistaking the gear, but with that mark on the blade, I''m a hundred percent sure that they''re connected. I guess they belong to the same organisation."
The atmosphere in the base was indescribable. The team gazed at Takuma, unsure what this meant for them and their mission.
"I¡¯ll have to report this, you know," said Anko.
"Do it," said Takuma, sombre. "Tell them to contact Uchiha Kano in the Leaf Military Police Force. Last I knew, she was handling my assassination case. I gave her the knife with the touchmark. She might have some more information about the organisation, and now that we know that there are living organisation members, we can interrogate them for even more information!"
Takuma looked up at Anko with a fire in his belly. The look on her face confused him, but then he recognized the damp look of doubt and concern in her eyes.
"The mission is and will remain my main priority," Takuma stressed.
"I hope so," she replied.
Clearly, she wasn''t entirely sure if Takuma''s desire for revenge wouldn''t distract him from their mission.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kon lay on a bed in a clean room as an iryo-nin worked on his shoulder. The iryo-nin had been working on Kon''s shattered shoulder for an hour. The operation would continue for another hour to stabilise Kon''s shoulder and put it in a position for accelerated healing through further sessions.
Kon opened his eyes, revealing he wasn''t put under for the operation. He was given something for pain, but he was wide awake.
He stared at the ceiling, going through everything he could remember from the chase and fight against the target. The day had been terrible¡ªhe¡¯d been injured and lost one of his men. His report back to his superior officer would put his situation in danger with a real chance of getting pulled from the assignment. If, by some miracle, that didn¡¯t happen, the Hidden Cloud jonin would use his failure to catch the culprit behind the police force bombing as a reason to shove their pea-brained ideas into the city conversion strategy.
No matter which way he cut it, Kon had to resolve this problem; for that, he needed information, and his memories were the only source. He closed his eyes and recalled the target. His clothes, movements, body language, the jutsu he used, and every minute detail he could pull out of his memories.
"It was the Hidden Leaf Kata," Kon opened his eyes.
"Pardon, sir?" asked the iryo-nin.
"I recognized the vestiges of the Hidden Leaf Kata in the target''s combat style." Kon narrowed his eyes as he focused on the little taijutsu the target had shown. "Adopted as the base but¡ modified to suit the target''s needs."
Kon clicked his tongue. He wasn''t a taijutsu specialist. It was lucky that he had even noticed the relics of the Hidden Leaf Kata in the target''s combat style, but trying to gain deeper insight into the target through his combat style was far out of his capabilities.
Knowing that the target showed the Hidden Leaf Kata reduced his search circle to the Land of Fire. He couldn''t be sure if the target was someone from the Leaf shinobi organisation as the style was widespread in the nation, and every other dojo run by a retired shinobi taught the style. However, the Hidden Leaf supported the Hidden Steam in the Frost-Steam war, so it was a reasonable assumption that the target could be a Hidden Leaf spy.
But the target had bombed a police station, which was an act of altering the status quo in Yu.
"He could be a Leaf ANBU," Kon said aloud¡ªbut it didn''t sound right to him. An ANBU wouldn''t approach the burning police station so brazenly, leaving themselves open and easily spotted. That showed surprisingly bad spycraft.
"What else?"
"The target must''ve been skilled with chakra augmentation for this level of damage," said the iryo-nin.
"Chakra augmentation," Kon hummed before shaking his head. Chakra augmentation wasn''t a commonplace technique, but they were universally present worldwide¡ªwhich didn''t help him narrow down the target''s identity any further.
Just when Kon was about to move on from chakra augmentation, a thought entered his mind. He recalled the last time he had read about chakra augmentation¡ªthe hateful face of the person Kon blamed for all his recent problems flashed into his mind.
"Chakra augmentation... Hidden Leaf Kata..."
It couldn''t be, Kon said to himself¡ªplenty of people in the Hidden Leaf knew chakra augmentation.
Kon swallowed hard.
"...Could you send for an intel request," he said to the iryo-nin.
"The subject, sir?"
"Genin Takuma of the Leaf Military Police Force... Where is he right now?"
CH_7.17 (235)
The sun climbed up the sky, bringing about the early morning. Takuma opened his eyes at dot six in the morning in the industrial district¡¯s factory base. His comfy camping roll sat a few minutes away, but he was separated from the cold, concrete floor by a thin bed sheet. He stayed down for a minute before getting up and putting on some pants along with his weighted gear: a vest and a pair of wrap-around ankle and wrist weights. The gear¡¯s load had been increased, putting even more of a burden on Takuma¡¯s body with every movement.
He walked to the nearest reinforced steel column, stopping a couple of metres away. He put his hands up front and punched the air in the steel column¡¯s direction. The shadow boxing slowly ramped up in intensity until beads of sweat dripped to the ground around his feet. Eventually, Takuma began to slow down, but he forced himself to cycle through jabs, hooks, crosses, uppercuts, and elbow strikes until he couldn¡¯t move without feeling the burn. After letting his arms rest for fifteen seconds, he repeated the same exercise with his legs, cycling through kicks until his body forced him to stop.
With the warm-up done, Takuma eyed the column before him and jabbed in its direction. The chakra jetted up his arm and shot out his fist.
Ting!
The chakra from the second-form augmentation touched the reinforced steel, producing a sonorous sound.
Takuma jabbed towards the column again.
TONG!
Too much power. He took a deep breath and threw another augmented jab to create the proper sound. Takuma threw second-form augmentation strikes at the steel column, judging and training his fine control over his augmentation by using sound. He couldn¡¯t train outdoors; fortunately, the factory was large enough for his needs. As long as he kept the noise down, he was free to do whatever he wanted.
Despite how open the factory was, he sometimes felt stifled from not getting to train under the open sky with grass under his feet like he was used to, but he couldn¡¯t be greedy. If there were one thing he could ask for, it would be sparring¡ªhe hadn¡¯t sparred since he had left Camp Banana. Sparring was vital as he got to make and test adjustments to his fighting style and combat strategy by testing them out against living and, more importantly, thinking opponents. And for that, there was no better environment than the Ring¡ªa place he missed every day.
Takuma constantly moved his body for two hours, switching between intense and light stretches. His increased physical conditioning had begun to show results and the imbalance between his physical and spiritual energies seemed to have shortened. By his estimates, he would attain balance in around a year and a half. His chakra quality hadn¡¯t improved enough for him to see any real benefits, but he was looking forward to it.
Immersing himself in training could keep him away from his thoughts for so long.
He walked to a table where the naked blade sat with the familiar smith¡¯s touchstone. Not in his wildest dreams did he think he would see that touchmark while he was out of the Land of Fire, fighting in a foreign war. He assumed the assassins belonged to a local organisation, but if they were present in Yu, helping the Hidden Frost control the city¡ªthen the organisation¡¯s scale couldn¡¯t be local.
¡°Hey, I brought some food!¡±
Takuma flinched and looked back to see Daiki walking to them with a parcel. For a massive guy, he had deceptively silent footsteps¡ªbut it was to be expected, Daiki was a ranger.
¡°Thank you,¡± Takuma smiled as he received the hot food parcel.
Daiki noticed the knife blade on the table and looked at Takuma. ¡°Remember anything new?¡±
Takuma shook his head and sighed, ¡°I feel I know less about them now than before.¡±
¡°I heard Anko¡¯s already sent a letter to the Uchiha,¡± said Daiki.
Daiki was the team member who visited the factory base the least because of his duty as the ¡°muscle.¡± He was either at home to protect Chinatsu or visiting prospective clients with Gaku as his bodyguard. Due to his size, he was an eye-catching figure, and thus, just like Takuma, couldn¡¯t be connected to the team.
Especially Takuma, which was why he visited the factory base the least.
¡°She did. After it reaches the camp, they¡¯ll send it to the war commission, which will communicate with the Police Force. Depending on how quickly all the parties move and the cooperation level of the Police Force, we could be looking at a week before we get a response,¡± said Takuma.
¡°The war commission will move quickly, given our mission and location.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡±
¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now?¡±
¡°Gaku and I will be going to meet the resistance group. We need their support so we¡¯ve got to convince them that we weren¡¯t behind the police station fiasco.¡±
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¡°How¡¯re you going to do that?¡±
¡°No idea yet,¡± Takuma sighed. ¡°Hopefully, something will come to me before the meeting.¡±
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma stood in an empty basement of some building in a random part of Yu. He wore a full-body robe and a blank white porcelain mask identical to the last meeting. As Gaku talked to Motohiro, the leader of his resistance group, Takuma could feel the other members¡¯ eyes on him¡ªthe youngsters in the room didn¡¯t even bother to hide their doubt and blame, and they knew he was a shinobi who could slaughter them all.
That was a huge problem. If Motohiro¡¯s group genuinely resented them, no amount of healthy fear would stop the resistance screwing them over by reporting them to the Hidden Frost forces.
¡°No matter how you ask, how many times you ask, my answer will be the same,¡± Gaku spoke calmly to Motohiro and his group. ¡°We weren¡¯t involved in the arson at the police station.¡±
¡°It sure looked like your work, and you even went one step ahead and killed this time,¡± said Motohiro, glancing at Takuma.
¡°You killed a good man!¡±
From the crowd, a man yelled at Takuma and Gaku. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was flushed as he pointed furiously at them. The people around the man held him back, fearing he would do something stupid.
¡°We didn¡¯t,¡± said Gaku, ¡°why would we kill those men?¡±
¡°Because you¡¯re shinobi,¡± Motohiro said as though stating the obvious. ¡°One of them was a good man¡ªa great man!¡±
¡°Even though he was in the police?¡±
¡°Because he was in the police!¡± said the man who had yelled.
Motohiro explained: ¡°He had been in the police for a decade. He stayed in the force to protect the city when your kind put thugs into power. And because he did that, he... he was killed.¡±
The entire room looked sombre. There was a clear distance between the resistance group and them. Just one week back, the resistance group was excited and willing to help them, but today, they looked like being in the same room was a grave sin.
Gaku looked at Takuma before turning to Motohiro. ¡°Be reasonable, Motohiro. If we wanted anything like this to happen, we would¡¯ve done it the first time. We didn¡¯t even know the connection between you and that police officer. Ask around; you¡¯ve been there for all the meetings. We didn¡¯t go around you to get some information.¡±
Gaku took a step toward Motohiro, which made the entire resistance group react negatively and move towards Motohiro to protect him.
Motohiro raised his hand to calm the group down.
¡°Even if I wanted to work with you, my people don¡¯t trust you anymore,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m their leader, not their ruler. They trust me to do the right thing. If they don¡¯t want to work with you, I¡¯ll follow their wishes. And right now... the right thing to do is to not work with you.¡±
¡®Bullshit,¡¯ thought Takuma¡ªif Motohiro wanted, he could smooth this kink quickly; the group trusted him completely and would follow his command even if they didn¡¯t like it. Motohiro¡¯s milling business had been feeding the families connected to his resistance group; he was their saviour.
So, he was talking about separating from the team because Motohiro didn¡¯t want to work with them.
Takuma stepped forward to stand beside Gaku.
¡°What can we do to earn the group¡¯s trust back?¡±
Motohiro stood up straighter and looked at his group behind him.
¡°We have simple demands,¡± he said. ¡°We realise we don¡¯t trust you because we know nothing about you. We want you to open up about your operations instead of only coming to us at the end when you need our help.¡±
¡°We can do that,¡± said Gaku before Takuma could answer.
¡°We need a token to support that claim.¡± He looked at Takuma. ¡°We want you to show your face... Right here, right now.¡±
Takuma was taken aback and genuinely didn¡¯t know how to respond. However, it wasn¡¯t his first time facing a situation like this. When he was operating as Tobi, the drug dealer, he wore the mask to hide his identity¡ªand most of the time, people refused to work with him because of his insistence on wearing the mask.
All of his connections as Tobi were built on the back of Enomoto acting as a guarantor, which only got him so far, even with the man¡¯s backing. He had more connections in the underworld as Takuma, which he had gained through the Ring. People liked to put a face to the name, so while it shouldn¡¯t be surprising that Motohiro wanted to see his face, he was nevertheless momentarily rendered speechless.
There were other resistance groups they could work with, but Motohiro¡¯s group was the most organised. As a leader, had the perfect level of agreeableness and capability, and the trust of his people without much internal struggle or disputes. They could switch to those other groups, but it would take time and effort. Moreover, if the news leaked that Motohiro¡¯s group had broken the partnership, the different resistance groups might not be as malleable as the team would like.
Takuma decided to cooperate with Motohiro¡¯s group. He had already put the team in danger by getting caught by an unknown organisation; he didn¡¯t want to create another problem by protecting his face.
¡°We agree,¡± said Gaku before Takuma could speak.
He gritted his teeth. If he had wanted to refuse, it would have looked like there had been no communication between him and Gaku¡ªin front of a resistance group at that.
¡°If that¡¯s what¡¯s required...¡±
He reached for his porcelain mask and pulled it down to reveal his face.
¡°You... you¡¯re a kid,¡± said Motohiro, surprised.
Takuma sighed, having gotten used to the reaction from civilians. He had found that showing his scars was an excellent way to stop the kid talk; unfortunately, he was wearing too many clothes to strip. So he decided to go with a simple demonstration. Takuma raised his foot, pumped chakra through, and stomped it down lightly. The tiled floor of the basement shattered from end to end. He controlled his strength so only the topmost layer cracked, but the entire room jumped, flinched back, and screaming in surprise, their eyes stuck to Takuma in fear.
¡°Show off,¡± Gaku whispered between coughs.
¡°I hope this is enough for my competence to be clear moving forward,¡± Takuma ignored his colleague and addressed the Yu citizens.
There was fear in Motohiro¡¯s eyes, but he put up a strong front and stood up to Gaku and Takuma.
¡°One more thing...¡±
¡°You¡¯re pushing it," said Gaku, his laidback attitude quickly draining.
¡°I said we had simple demands, and this show of trust is beneficial for both parties; we will match what you showed¡ªbut before that, you must do something for us.¡±
Takuma narrowed his eyes. It was a crucial moment; they couldn¡¯t let the resistance group become so cocky that they could hold their support over the team¡¯s head as a hostage.
Takuma thought for a moment before asking Gaku to stand.
The man frowned. ¡°What is it? I won¡¯t guarantee we¡¯ll help until I hear the demand.¡±
¡°We want you to help us with a robbery.¡±
CH_7.18 (236)
Anko observed a storage warehouse through a pair of binoculars. The sun had long set, and she stood in the open a couple hundred metres from the warehouse. She saw two pairs of guards patrolling the perimeter of the warehouse; they seemed to be civilians, essentially making them non-threats. According to the intel provided by Motohiro''s resistance group, the warehouse didn''t have any shinobi guards, which made the job so much easier.
She was more than surprised when Takuma returned from the meeting with Motohiro''s resistance group to report that he had to reveal his face to them. It was understandable why they would want to know, but she didn''t expect that play from a group of civilians. Moreover, they asked the team to do something so they could restart the relationship on stable grounding.
The occupying forces created an artificial shortage of food in Yu. Motohiro had been helping his people and their families with support, but a single man could only feed over a hundred mouths for so long before funds started to run dry.
The solution they came up with was to rob a warehouse with produce set to be exported out of the city and into the Land of Frost. The food that was supposed to feed the region was going out to the enemy country¡ªthat food was theirs, and they felt more than justified to take it back. The group could''ve done it on their own, but the amount of goods to be moved was too large, and they didn''t have any means to move it quickly and quietly.
Fortunately, for Anko''s team, it wasn''t a problem at all; they had a specialist made for the job. She put the binoculars down and turned to her team¡ªIori, Daiki, Kameko, and Takuma. It was overkill to bring everyone but Rikku; however, Iori was essential to the operation. Daiki wanted to do something else other than following Gaku around; Kameko was going stir-crazy from their visits to Chinatsu''s clients as her maid, and as for Takuma, he insisted on being there because the job was for Motohiro''s group.
"This is going to be an easy job, so Kameko is going to lead," said Anko.
"Understood," said Kameko and addressed the team. "We''re going to knock the guards out so we can work in peace." There was no real benefit to stealth around the guards; they were bound to know about the robbery, and it didn''t matter if it was sooner or later. "Upon getting inside, we take inventory of stuff we need, after which Iori packs everything up, and we leave."
Iori had a large scroll strapped to her back, three-quarters of her height. The regular, pocket-sized storage scrolls weren''t going to cut it for the amount of produce they were planning to move.
"Takuma, you''re going to keep watch just in case."
"Yes, ma''am," said Takuma, putting his mask on.
"Any doubts? Let''s go."
The team put on their masks and stealthily proceeded toward the warehouse with Kameko in the lead. Anko and Iori paired up to take care of the first pair of guards, while Daiki and Kameko went after the second pair. Takuma directly headed inside to clean up whoever was inside.
In less than five minutes, the team regrouped inside, with six people knocked out and tied up inside a room.
The warehouse was filled with flour, pulses, rice, salt, and other spices. There were bags upon bags made of jute filled with produce that could keep stomachs full for months.
"What do you need?" Kameko asked Iori.
Iori pulled the strap holding the large scroll from her shoulder. "We have a list of their needs by weight. All of you choose a few things and pile them separately out by the weight listed on this list." She held up a list for everyone to see. "Make sure bags in a pile are in contact with each other¡ªany bag that''s even a few centimetres detached from the pile won''t be stored. Please ensure you don''t go over the listed weights because I''ve prepared according to this list¡ªgo off the list, transfer will fail, and I''ll waste chakra¡ªwe don''t want that."
Due to its complexity and skill, the large custom-made scroll required a fuin-nin to operate. Not even Anko could use it. The large mass and volume required a lot of chakra to be sealed; as such, Iori had to plan everything down to the smallest detail so as not to waste her chakra. According to her, the amount to be sealed was cutting it close with respect to Iori''s chakra reserves.
"Any questions?" asked Iori.
Daiki raised his hand. "Yes, uhm... why are the same items mentioned twice with different weights." On the list, every single item was mentioned twice¡ªthe first time with a larger weight and the second time with a smaller weight.
"Once sealed, all the items inside will only be released together," she replied. "Fulfil the first, larger entry¡ªif there''s not enough to fulfil the smaller entry, it''s fine; I''ll seal whatever''s remaining."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Anko looked at the two entries for each item. The larger entry was the amount asked by Motohiro''s group. The second, smaller entry was an extra amount that Takuma had added to be stored separately because it wasn''t going to the group. She recalled Takuma''s words when they were preparing for the mission.
"¡ªIn the current Yu, food is a valuable commodity. Seeing how Motohiro was willing to act like that in front of us tells me that we should also stock up on it. It''d undoubtedly come in use.¡ª"
She agreed with his assessment. They could pay people off in food through a barter system. If someone struggling suddenly found themselves with a lot of money and used it to buy food, someone might notice and question where they came up with the money; however, with food, once it was inside someone''s home, no one would know because it wouldn''t ever go out of the house.
"Let''s do it quickly," said Kameko, splitting the list items among the team.
Iori sat down on the ground with the scroll resting beside her. She closed her eyes and meditated in preparation for the sealing process. Half an hour later, she was roused out of her meditative state. The piles of jute bags had been created according to the list
"I want silence, and I don''t want anybody touching me," said Iori.
Iori started from the left side of the warehouse and opened the giant scroll to reveal intricate fuinjutsu inkwork for large storage seals. She approached the first pile and touched it with one hand while the other was on the scroll. The huge pile, almost a storey tall, disappeared in a massive cloud of smoke. The ink on the scroll moved, altering the structure of the seal formulae; the moving ink came to a rest when the pile was securely stored in an artificial pocket of space.
Iori breathed out deeply. She stayed still for a moment before unfurling the scroll further and moving to the next pile. She sealed the massive piles of food into the scrolls one at a time. As she moved to the right, a sheen of sweat built up her skin, and her breathing grew laboured until she was wheezing 90% of the way to completion.
"Iori, please wait," said Daiki, stepping forward, worry on his face and in his voice. "Are you sure you''re feeling up for it? I''m worried about chakra exhaustion," he said, looking at Anko.
Everyone on the team was well familiar with the dangers of chakra exhaustion. The worst-case outcome was death, and even if they excluded that, Iori could still end up in need of prolonged bed rest, which wasn''t something they could have while they were in hostile territory.
Iori raised her hand to stop Daiki from approaching. She was hunched over with one hand on her knee as her entire torso moved with her laboured breathing. She looked up at him with sharpness in her eyes.
"Silence and... don''t touch me," she said between wheezes.
She straightened herself up and threw her head back in silence for a full ten seconds before dragging her feet to the next pile. The sealing process slowed; the ink on the scroll moved sluggishly as Iori became exhausted. Sealing such a vast amount wasn''t a job for a single genin fuin-nin.
As Iori approached the last pile, seven small bags of dried chillies, Anko tried to stop her.
"Stop, Iori. I have an empty scroll. We can fit some in the scroll and carry the rest," she said.
Iori ignored her, and her dainty hand touched a dried chilli bag. A puff of smoke later, the small pile disappeared. Her feet trembled before she tilted to the side. She was about to fall when Takuma appeared beside her to hold her up.
"You should leave this type of over-exertion to me," Takuma said to Iori.
Iori tried to laugh, but her legs ultimately gave out at that moment. Takuma held her up and then swept her into a princess carry.
Anko sighed as she looked at Iori. She knew that Iori was insecure about her position in the team. Unlike Kameko and Rikku, she wasn''t a strong combat asset. Daiki had been active as the "muscle," and his stealth experience was also valuable. While she acted as Chinatsu''s maid, the courtesan only went out once a week, and the girls were on a rotation on who was going to accompany her and who was going to stay at home. And there was no use comparing herself to Takuma.
The night before the police station bombing, Iori had woken up thrice during the night to check the explosive tags. For this mission as well, she had been checking the custom scroll the entire day¡ªshe would be satisfied with the quality of her seals, but then she would return half an hour later with a new wave of worry.
Iori wanted to prove her value by completing the only thing she could on the team: fuinjutsu. Even if it meant pushing herself toward chakra exhaustion, she wouldn''t let anyone take it away from her.
"Daiki, pick up the scroll," said Anko. "Good job, let''s leave now."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Motohiro stood in his warehouse, staring at the jute bags filled with produce piled up high in multiple heaps. It had been months since his warehouse had been this occupied, so he didn''t mind the few torn bags leaking grains, which he would''ve immediately tried to gather up because of the food shortage.
"Big brother... i-is this real?" asked Wada, one of his close aides and a leader in the resistance group, with his mouth hanging open.
"They weren''t lying; they really did it," said Miyauchi, another one of his aides, gulping at the amount of food in front of him.
Motohiro had no words for them. He turned toward the other side of the warehouse, where Tobi and Gaku had a large scroll with them. He flinched when a large smoke cloud exploded in the warehouse, and the smoke thinned to reveal a huge pile of jute bags full of dry beans.
He had asked them to rob the warehouse six days ago. Two days ago, he received the news that the warehouse had been robbed, but the two shinobi didn''t contact them. He started to worry that the shinobi had abandoned them, and his group began to worry, thinking that some trouble would come their way. He regretted asking the shinobi for a moment, but then they contacted him.
"I hope this satisfies you, gentlemen," said Tobi.
"Of course, it does," said Motohiro¡ªhe didn''t say it, but he didn''t expect them to rob the amount he had asked; he had deliberately over-quoted so they would feel pressured to bring more¡ªbut he didn''t expect to get that over-quoted amount.
Tobi looked at Wada and Miyauchi, who instantly responded positively and responsibly, unlike the last time when they were upset; Wada even had to be held back in case he tried to do something stupid.
"Then I hope you''ll do us a favour as well," said Tobi.
"What?"
"We''d like you to introduce us to the Kumi Family."
CH_7.19 (237)
Unlike the Fire Daimyo, the Hokage was a military leader. He didn''t need others to handle the military for him. However, one person couldn''t manage the tens and thousands of shinobi and the hundred thousand civilians around them who worked as the support structure.
A hierarchy was established to manage the Hidden Leaf shinobi organisation. In that hierarchical structure, Jonin Commanders were one step below the Hokage. They were the leaders and representatives of regular shinobi forces members of the Hidden Leaf council, giving them considerable power in the village.
Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, and a Jonin Commander, was reading mission report summaries in his office. There was a knock on his door, and his secretary stepped in.
"Jonin Uchiha Itachi has arrived for his meeting."
"Send him in."
Itachi soon entered the office; he was dressed in simple dusty black clothes with his forehead protector around his head. Shikaku gazed at the young prodigy, who was recently promoted to the position of ANBU Captain. He thought about what he was doing at Itachi''s age and could only recall lazing around at home all day long when he wasn''t on missions.
It was hard not to be impressed by the sheer talent before him.
"Sit," he said.
However, he wondered if he should be worried about the look in his eyes.
"May I know why I was summoned? I''d appreciate it if we could hurry if it''s not important," asked Itachi.
Shikaku appreciated him skipping all the niceties and formalities¡ªthey were such a drag. Even though he was a Jonin Commander, he didn''t have the authority to order Itachi as the young Uchiha served under an ANBU Commander¡ªa Jonin Commander in charge of ANBU¡ªbut it''d be rude on Itachi''s part if he refused a Jonin Commander''s summon without proper reason.
Shikaku retrieved a two-flap file folder from his desk drawer and placed it before Itachi.
"I received some information from the Steam-Frost war front that might interest you... ROOT was spotted," he said.
Itachi, reaching for the file, paused before calmly picking it up.
"Is the intel verifiable?"
"A shinobi came across a group of ROOT agents hunting for him. He managed to escape while killing one and stealing his weapons belt. There, he found a knife with a variation of a blacksmith''s touchmark associated with ROOT."
Itachi removed the confidentiality seal from the file and opened it for reading.
"How did the shinobi know to look for the touchmark and that it''s related to ROOT."
"Because he has had contact with ROOT once before, he recognized the gear. And apparently," Shikaku sighed, "he found the same touchmark on a knife he pulled off the corpse of another ROOT agent."
Shikaku was impressed when he heard the claims in the file forwarded to him by the war commission. To escape alive from ROOT agents once was a rare feat; to escape from them twice was something special. That wasn''t even including killing four of them¡ªthat was something only very few could claim they had done.
"Genin Takuma of the Police Force... I know him," said Itachi.
"Through your mother, I suppose," said Shikaku. When the ROOT claims were made, it was protocol to run background checks on everyone involved.
Itachi nodded. "My mother''s student. If I remember correctly, he''s currently participating in the Steam-Frost war and was involved in an assassination attempt before his deployment." He looked up at Shikaku. "Why did you put it that way? That he apparently found the touchmark."
"According to Genin Takuma, he passed on the knife with the touchmark to the case officer handling his assassination case. However, I''m sure I''d heard that ROOT had performed an operation inside the village against one of our own. Seeing that I wasn''t aware of it until his report can only mean a few things..."
"Either someone made the evidence disappear, or the Police Force held back information," said Itachi as he flipped through the file. "It''s the latter."
"Why do you say that?"
"There was an assassination attempt on one of their own; that''s not something they''ll let go."
"So, why not share the information with ANBU? That would''ve been revenge even if it took the case from them," said Shikaku.
The Police Force couldn''t claim to be ignorant about ROOT as they were regularly given information because of their position as enforcers. But he already knew the answer to that question. The relationship between the Police Force and ANBU was in a ditch. The reason sat before him even though he didn''t know the details. He asked the question to see if Itachi would answer it. Unfortunately, Itachi stayed quiet.
"So he was targeted for raiding one of ROOT''s drug farms," Itachi sounded doubtful as he continued, "and they followed him to the Land of Hot Waters?"
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"According to his account, it doesn''t seem like they recognized him, but he could be wrong."
Danzo and ROOT were marked as rogue shinobi upon their defection, and ANBU were responsible for hunting them down and dismantling their network. It would take years, perhaps even decades, to get rid of ROOT, but it was a top-priority task as they possessed sensitive and confidential information pertaining to national security.
Upon his promotion to ANBU Captain, Itachi was among those responsible for seeing the extermination of ROOT¡ªwhich was why Shikaku called him when he received the intel regarding a possible ROOT spotting.
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Unfortunately, that''s confidential ANBU information," he eventually said.
"Are you going to send anyone there? It might disrupt the mission being conducted in the city, which will affect the invasion to liberate the city from the Hidden Frost''s control."
Itachi didn''t reply and continued to read the file.
"Do you think Orochimaru''s student might be secretly working with ROOT?" Itachi asked.
"Chunin Mitarashi?" Shikaku hummed as he stared at the ceiling. "Taking her track record before and since Orochimaru''s defection into consideration, I don''t think she''s involved with him or ROOT. Of course, it''d be wise to run a background check¡ªif you have the time and resources for it, that is." ANBU would, of course, have the resources for it¡ªthey had nearly unlimited resources¡ªthe question was if it was wise to spend those resources on something not required.
"Anything else?" asked Itachi.
"Keep us in the loop if you decide to take action from your side. I don''t want my shinobi, who are risking their lives, to be blindsided by a clandestine ANBU operation."
Itachi wrapped up the file before standing up from his chair. "I''ll take my leave now. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."
Shikaku saw Itachi out before returning to his office. He didn''t know ANBU''s stance on the matter; ROOT''s defection was fairly recent, and ANBU chased after big names associated with ROOT. There was a chance ANBU wouldn''t take any direct action if they confirmed the lack of a big name in Yu. However, one thing was for sure. Uchiha Itachi would soon be visiting the Police Force in his position as an ANBU-nin.
It was also convoluted and complex, and Shikaku''s mind couldn''t help but chase several possibilities and scenarios. It was so tiring that he looked forward to the evening when he could have a drink to escape his own mind by dulling it with alcohol.
He sighed.
He wanted to retire, but then his wife would call him a jobless bum¡ªnot to mention his son would surely take the wrong lesson from it.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Say it again."
Kon stood up from his patio chair with a wild look in his eyes. His shoulder was held together in a tight cast; it was almost healed, but there was still a strenuous rehabilitation process ahead of him. However, he wasn''t concerned about anything but what he had just heard at that moment.
"Genin Takuma was deployed to the Frost-Steam war and is stationed at Camp Banana, which is one of the closer Hidden Leaf bases to the city."
Kon felt his heart swell at his subordinate''s report. The kid who had ruined his hard-built reputation in ROOT was participating in the same war as him. Not only could he regain his reputation by completing his mission, he could also get revenge.
"And?" Kon asked. "Is he in the city?"
"Unfortunately, we haven''t been able to confirm that. The organisation no longer has a source close to the war commission with a high enough clearance and we don''t have permission to use any of the remaining undercover agents present in the village to gain access. The risk has been deemed unacceptable."
Kon felt a wave of displeasure and anger rise, but he pushed it down quickly. He stood up straighter and took deep breaths. It wasn''t the time to be angry; he had just received good news after all.
"I don''t need the confirmation. I know he''s in the city. Augmentations like that are rare, after all, and his deployment status is all the proof I need."
Kon turned around to look at the city centre in the distance. His mortal enemy was somewhere out there, so close that all he wanted to do was set out to find him. It was so unbearable that he wanted time to skip ahead to the day when he had Takuma on his knees before him.
"What next, sir?" asked his subordinate.
"Find me the best sketch artist this city can offer," Kon replied. "I want that little shit''s face on every street corner. I want every shinobi in this city to memorise his face. I want a hefty reward on him¡ªtaken alive! Whenever anyone in this city steps out of their houses, I want them looking for one face in the crowd. He''s a shinobi far from home; I want him to feel every ounce of hostility about where he is."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma stared at himself in a full-length mirror. He had made a mistake. His communication with Motohiro''s group taught him that he could''ve just used the Transformation Jutsu instead of using a mask to hide his identity. He had mistakenly applied his previous experience to a different situation.
He had used the mask in the Hidden Leaf because the Transformation Jutsu wouldn''t cut it due to the dense shinobi population¡ªbut Yu didn''t have that problem (excluding the enemy shinobi), and he could''ve freely used the jutsu to disguise himself from civilians who weren''t equipped to see through it.
He had even taken Iori disguised as Gaku to deliver the stolen food to Motohiro''s group, and not one person had said as much as a peep about noticing something off in Gaku. But it was too late now, and he couldn''t go back. He was going to meet the Kumi family, and with Motohiro acting as the introducer, he couldn''t disguise himself or put on a mask.
The Kumi Family was the other criminal group based in Yu. Before the Hidden Frost invaded Yu, the Goharu and the Kumi families stood on equal ground and kept each other in check through intense competition. Between the police and the two criminal families, there was an equilibrium maintained in the city¡ªwhich was shattered the moment the city was invaded. The Goharu Family allied themselves with the shinobi and gained enough power to overthrow both their rival gang and the police force.
The team was aiming to gain the support of the Kumi Family. Like Motohiro''s group, what Takuma and the team primarily wanted from the Kumi Family was their sway in the city, which they used to influence the larger populace. They wanted an atmosphere of support against the invading shinobi, and using the vocal and influential groups to gain that support was the way to go. If things went well with the Kumi Family, the team could move on to the next stage of the plan, where they were planning to be much more active in their actions.
Takuma heard footsteps and frowned when he heard multiple sets of footsteps. Only Gaku was supposed to meet him in the base so they could leave together. He turned to see the entire team, including Gaku, walking towards him. Something was wrong because there was always someone with Chinatsu.
"What is wrong?"
"The situation has just changed drastically," said Anko, holding up a poster.
Takuma looked down at it and saw a sketch that looked a little off, but it was, without a doubt, him. That wouldn''t have been that much of a surprise, given that he had revealed his face to several people a couple of days back but then looked down at the name below the sketch.
[Takuma]
He blinked his eyes, wondering if he had somehow misread Tobi as Takuma¡ªbut there it was¡ªhis real name was printed on a wanted poster.
He looked up at his team.
The situation had indeed changed drastically.
CH_7.20 (238)
Takuma paced back and forth in the base with the poster in his clenched fist. He always knew that he had put his face at risk when he had shown it to Motohiro''s group, but he didn''t think it would be leaked so soon. However, more importantly, he didn''t think his identity would be leaked at all.
"This isn''t Motohiro''s group," said Gaku before lighting up a cigarette.
Everyone had settled down in the couches and chairs. There was a visible tension on everyone''s face because of the wanted poster that was posted all around the city so no one would miss it. By the end of the day, Takuma''s face was sure to become household knowledge. In fact, the team shouldn''t have visited him at the base due to the separation they had built between them for safety¡ªbut the matter was too big for them not to meet.
"You''re defending them?" asked Rikku with a sharp tone.
"He''s right," said Kameko. "They know him as Tobi, but it''s his real name on the poster... So, at least, they didn''t do this alone." She looked at Takuma. "That organisation is behind this. I think someone from the group went to the organisation and told them about you¡ªthey must''ve recognized you and put your real identity out."
"If the group is involved then why wasn''t Gaku postered as well?" asked Daiki. "I don''t think they''re involved."
Anko shook her head with a click of her tongue. "We can''t be sure. They could''ve omitted Gaku to better paint the narrative they printed on the poster."
It wasn''t only his name that was compromised; the poster identified Takuma as a Hidden Leaf shinobi and used that point as propaganda claiming that the Land of Hot Waters and Hidden Steam didn''t care about the city enough to send their own people and had sent a foreign shinobi to do their dirty work.
Putting out Gaku''s wanted poster alongside Takuma would''ve damaged the story given that he was a retired Hidden Steam shinobi and a city resident.
"What are you thinking, Takuma?" asked Iori when he didn''t say anything.
He stopped pacing and faced the team with a deep frown on his face. "I''m thinking that we have a meeting with the Kumi family in thirty minutes and we''re running late. We should leave now," he said to Gaku.
The team was surprised at his lack of comment about the situation since he was clearly bothered about it.
"Just meet them some other time or Gaku can go on his own," said Iori.
"No, we¡ªI have to go now. It might only be the last safe time for me to meet the Kumi family," he sighed. "Motohiro is introducing us to them, but they don''t know that the guy they''re meeting is the same one from the poster. Motohiro knows me as Tobi, and it''s safe to assume that he must''ve seen the poster¡ªso we go find him to see what exactly he says to them, and if he hasn''t updated them about the situation, it''s safe to meet them.
"Unlike Motohiro''s group, the Kumi family is a criminal group. These guys aren''t nice people. As far as we''re concerned, regardless of it''s true or not, they could''ve jumped at the offer to work with the Hidden Frost shinobi, but lost out in timing to the Goharu family. If I delay the meeting and they find out that they''re supposed to be meeting the guy in the poster, they might plan an ambush with the enemy to gain their favour. Right now, there''s a chance that I can safely get in a meeting with them and check out their vibe."
Takuma was wearing his full gear with a robe covering all of it, but got to changing his clothes. He switched his full-sleeved shirt and pants with a half-sleeved t-shirt and cargo shorts, and ditched the robe. He removed his arm and shin guards and carried them in his pouches instead. Previously, everything except for his hands and face was covered, but now the scars on his arms and legs were plenty visible.
"This fits, let''s go," said Takuma after enduring a light bout of headache; they had gotten worse after the recent incident.
Gaku stared at him for a moment before putting out his cigarette and getting up from the couch. The team tried to ask him to reconsider, but he was set on having this meeting. He couldn''t let his problem mess with the mission. If there was a chance the mission could advance, it needed to be done.
There was no running away from danger because just being in the city was dangerous. He no longer wanted to stay in Yu, and the fastest way to leave the city was to move the mission forward to completion.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Motohiro and his two aides, Wada and Miyauchi, rode their bicycles on their way to the meeting with the Kumi family. As the introducers, they had decided to meet with Gaku and Tobi before proceeding to the meeting with the Kumi family together.
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Motohiro was nervous about the meeting because of the parties involved. Even though he was the introducer, he didn''t like the Kumi family. They were hoodlums and thugs who increased the violence in the city. One could say that they were necessary because they kept the Goharu family in check, but it was a solution to a problem the criminal families themselves created. He had known many young men pulled into that world when they were looking for a place to belong and the criminal families and gangs had provided that place.
Then there were the shinobi. Every second in their presence was prickly. As friendly as Gaku tried to be, Motohiro couldn''t get comfortable around the man because of the faint presence of cold apathy deep in his eyes. He wouldn''t have noticed it because it was hidden well, but there was a time when the shinobi had just invaded where Gaku didn''t bother to hide it; perhaps that made Motohiro look for it more closely. As for Tobi, he didn''t sense any danger from the kid which was a concern in itself because someone who could shatter the floor with a light foot stomp was dangerous.
He, in fact, had no idea how the meeting between the two parties would unfold. He could only pray it was peaceful, but perhaps that was wishful thinking.
They arrived at a lot behind the butcher''s market, their designated meeting place.
"Will they come?" asked Wada.
Motohiro didn''t have an answer. Even though Tobi was the one to ask for a meeting, the poster in his pocket could very well mean that the meeting was off.
However, they didn''t need to wait long to get an answer. Barely two minutes later, Gaku and Tobi were standing behind them.
"Yo," Gaku greeted.
Motohiro''s heart pounded because he had no idea when or from where they came from. He turned back and was surprised to see Tobi dressed differently without his robe. He gulped when he saw the concerning amount of scars on his arms and legs. What sort of life had someone so young had lived to accumulate that amount.
He saw Tobi staring at him as though saying if he had something to ask, so he wasted no time and took out the wanted poster that was plastered around the city.
"So, you''re Takuma, a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf?"
"Did you do it?" asked Tobi.
"What?"
Tobi took out a kunai, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of him with the kunai held against his neck. Wada screamed in terror and fell back to the ground while Miyauchi jumped toward Takuma but was held back by Gaku with one hand.
"Did you betray me, Motohiro? I''ve only shown my face to your group. And today I find it plastered all over the city."
"N-No! I didn''t do it!"
Tobi pressed the kunai closer, and Motohiro felt his heart race in fear and horror as he stared in Tobi''s dull eyes.
This was a killer, Motohiro thought¡ªand he was going to die.
"Please, it was not me, please!"
"YOU''RE LYING!"
"No, I''m not!"
He thought about his children, wife, and parents. His wife would take care of the business to support his family, but his son was too young to help his mother. He couldn''t help but worry about his family who he was leaving behind when the city was in such a fragile state.
"Miyauchi! Wada! Take care of my family!" he yelled with his eyes closed. The thought that they might die with him didn''t cross his mind.
He held his breath and waited for the blade to go through his throat but that time never came. He opened his eyes and saw that the light had returned to Tobi''s eyes. When Tobi removed the blade from his neck, Motohiro fell to the ground. He was completely drenched in sweat, he was breathing heavily, and his heart was beating so hard that it hurt.
"My name is Takuma," said Tobi.
Motohiro stared at Tobi''s outstretched hand for long before deciding that he didn''t want to be touched by him. He slowly got up on his own with his feet that refused to stop trembling. He looked at Wada and Miyaychi and they looked just as terrified, if not more.
"I''m sorry for scaring you, but I had to confirm you didn''t screw me, and this was the quickest," said Tobi.
"You¡ª!" Motohiro was speechless. He was furious, but couldn''t say anything in fear for his life. It took him several deep breaths before he calmed himself down.
"You lied to us," he said.
"You asked me to show my face. I did," said Tobi. "I''m far away from home, fighting in a foreign war. The less anyone knows about me, the better it is for everyone." Motohiro tried to cut-in, but Tobi continued. "It''s better for you as well. Knowledge can be a curse, you don''t want to know something that might attract trouble to you."
Motohiro pursed his lips. He thought about the number of posters he had seen on his way here. This partnership of theirs could get him in trouble if someone leaked the information to the enemy. He knew he could find himself in an interrogation where he was tortured for information. That had happened to some people who were suspected of the police station bombing.
"Given the current situation, it''s important that you answer this carefully. What did you tell the Kumi family about us? Did you think they''ll connect him to the poster," Gaku said as he played with his lighter.
Miyauchi answered, "We never said you were shinobi; we told them you were the guys behind the police station arson... but I think with the rumours floating around, I think they''ll assume that shinobi were behind it."
Not only the poster blamed Tobi for the two police station arson and bombing and the murder of three well-liked police officers, even before the wanted poster, there was a rumour that the shinobi were involved in it. It wasn''t a leap to assume that the Kumi family had joined the dots to reach a conclusion.
"But you didn''t say it explicitly, right?" asked Tobi.
"No, we didn''t."
"Then, that''s it. Let''s go meet them."
Motohiro noticed the look Gaku gave Tobi, and how it was ignored. He understood they were worried about the Kumi family screwing them over and putting them in danger. And he had to be honest, even though he didn''t trust them one iota and didn''t like Tobi at all right now, it did feel good that Tobi was taking the risk. As Tobi had just put it¡ªhe was far away from home, fighting in a foreign war.
He didn''t need to do it, but he was doing it.
CH_7.21 (239)
The home residence of the Kumi family''s head was a lavish walled estate with multiple buildings; rock, sand, and grass gardens; a clear pond with fish; several majestic fruit-bearing trees, and meticulously maintained courtyards. A peaceful serenity permeated throughout the estate which added to the estate''s charm.
But the two dozen men dressed in tacky tracksuits lounging around really broke the ambiance.
"It''s a beautiful place," Gaku said to the woman escorting the group. Unlike the men she was dressed in a tasteful hakama and had her hair tied up in an elegant bun. She smiled politely, thanked him for his compliment, and provided some historical facts about the estate.
Takuma ignored Gaku''s attempt to flirt with the woman and observed the Kumi men. He didn''t know if this was normal, but seeing that they were standing around with weapons, it was clear they were waiting for them. He glanced back at Motohiro, Wada, and Miyauchi¡ªthey were a couple paces behind him¡ªstill fearful from before. He didn''t mind it; Motohiro needed time to recover.
As they approached the main building, a young man of less than twenty broke away from one of the groups. He was a skinhead, had his jacket wrapped around his waist, and walked with a strut with his hands in his pockets. Takuma sighed when he saw they were on the same path, set to collide, and realised this was going to be some stupid power play to assert Kumi family''s authority over them.
As Takuma expected, the young man shoulder-checked him. The next moment, the young man shot down to the ground with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs, as though he had been slammed by a rampaging bull. Takuma stared down at the young man as he extended his arm to help him up. However, it seemed the young man wasn''t pleased as he slapped away the hand and spat curses.
If Arisu was with him, she would''ve stopped him and managed the situation before it escalated. Unfortunately, she wasn''t with him and he responded the best way he thought for the scenario.
"Watch where you''re walking! Who the fuck do you¡ª"
He didn''t let him complete as he grabbed the young man by his collar and smashed him in the face with a light punch that knocked him cold before he hit the ground.
"You¡ª!" Gaku looked up at Takuma from the young man and back to Takuma in stunned surprise.
Takuma shrugged, "Fuck around and find out."
The aftermath was predictable. The Kumi family men erupted when they saw one of their own go down and charged at the group with their weapons drawn. Motohiro, Wada, and Miyauchi looked absolutely terrified while the Kumi family woman gasped in surprise and quickly stepped away from the group to not get caught up in the brawl about to break out.
"I do not want to do this," Gaku sighed and rubbed his face.
Takuma watched the mob running toward him and considered throwing an explosive tag, but recognised that it would be a bloodbath with limbs coming off, and decided that a good old fashioned beating would be enough.
"ENOUGH!"
However, before anything could start, a loud voice ripped through the estate, stopping all Kumi family members in their tracks. It was so loud that it hurt his ears. Standing just outside the main building was a man in his early thirties, dressed in a simple attire of shirts and pants. He had long hair, dignified features, and an athletic build. The Kumi family men hushed their ruckus and held their weapons down when they saw the man.
Takuma and Gaku exchanged looks.
"He is Gyon, the son of the Kumi''s head," Miyauchi whispered to Gaku.
"Let''s go," said Takuma and walked forward. The crowd parted to give Takuma the space all the while glaring at him. He ignored them all and kept his attention at Gyon.
"May I know why you attacked one of my men?" Gyon asked, his sombre tone but with his displeasure hidden.
"Do all of your men attack guests first?" Takuma answered with a question.
Gyon''s brows furrowed and called out to one of his men. A tracksuit wearing middle-aged man rushed to Gyon''s side. Takuma recognised the man
"Did that brat attack them first?" Gyon asked.
The middle-aged man cleared his throat before spouting an explanation of events which, while true, portrayed them in a way that made it seem like Takuma was at fault. However, Gyon saw through that twisted explanation without Takuma needing to interject.
"Knock some sense into him when he wakes up," said Gyon with a stern look casted toward the middle-aged man. He then turned to Takuma. "Youngsters can be impulsive and reckless, you must understand. I hope you won''t take offence."
Takuma didn''t miss Gyon implying that he saw him as a kid.
"I understand," he smiled. "Of course, I have complete control over my people, but I won''t blame you for your inability to keep your men in check. It''s not something everyone can do."
A rigid smile crept on Gyon''s face; Takuma had hit a nerve. Gyon was already in his thirties and the torch of leadership hadn''t been passed on from the older generation¡ªand he was still "son of Kumi''s head." And from the looks of it, it bothered Gyon.
"Please, let''s head inside. Father is waiting for you."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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They were led to a large tatami room where an old man, the Kumi family''s head, Hoshiguro, sat at the head''s position with six lieutenants (including Gyon) sat beside him. There were a few bodyguards who stood near the walls and kept a vigilant eye on Takuma and his group.
"Your name is Takuma, isn''t it? You looked older in that sketch of yours."
A woman set down sitting cushions for the group, but before Takuma could sit down, Hoshiguro broached the topic he knew would come up. There truly wasn''t anyone who hadn''t seen the posters. Takuma didn''t reply immediately and made himself comfortable.
"It''s one of my names, yes," said Takuma, "but I''d appreciate if you address me as Tobi¡ªthat''s what I''m using currently."
Hoshiguro had a full head of grey hair, wrinkled skin, and eyes that reflected the experience of an old man of his age. Though his kimono hid his body, Takuma could sense that Hoshiguro wasn''t frail by any means, and from what he had witnessed outside from Gyon, he suspected he knew the reason behind it.
"I must say I''m surprised to know that the Kumi family has shinobi in their ranks," said Takuma.
When Gyon had commanded the mob to stop, his voice had clear signs of sound amplification using chakra. Takuma was surprised to find another shinobi in Yu who wasn''t Gaku or an enemy. He observed the Kumi people in the group; there wasn''t any way to identify if someone was a shinobi other than a sensory-nin''s chakra senses¡ªbut he guessed that there were multiple in the room.
"Oh, we aren''t, Takuma. Chakra isn''t just restricted to shinobi. I''m assuming you''re one," said Hoshiguro, chuckling. He then looked at Gaku. "I know he is one."
Gaku smiled. "And I''m surprised I didn''t know there were others."
Hoshiguro only returned a smile in response.
Takuma knew that chakra didn''t belong to shinobi; samurai were chakra practitioners. And since there were retired- and ex-shinobi in the world, there were chakra practitioners who weren''t associated with the Hidden Villages. They couldn''t restrict the spread of chakra as there were plenty of groups who practised it¡ªmonks at temples, religious groups, shinobi clans who never joined the Hidden Villages. However, the Hidden Villages did limit the spread of Jutsu¡ªwhen the biggest shinobi clans formed the villages, they brought along their vast libraries of jutsu¡ªand they put down the restrictions that jutsu beyond D-rank classification couldn''t be copied.
They also spread threats that any retired- or ex-shinobi would be hunted down if they taught jutsu they learned during their service¡ªwhich was why rogue shinobi were hunted down with much fervour.
"You must''ve bothered quite a bit for them to put your face around the city," said Hoshiguro.
Takuma didn''t miss how Hoshiguro called him by his name despite being asked to call him ''Tobi''. Like father, like son.
"I wouldn''t be doing my work properly if they weren''t bothered."
Hoshiguro nodded in agreement. "So what brings you here? I must admit, I don''t know a lot about your group; you''ve done a good job keeping it a secret. From what Motohiro told me when he was setting this meeting up, your group has a partnership with his group. I only know a little, but I believe I get the gist of it all. You want a similar partnership with the Kumi. Am I correct to believe that?"
"Indeed. The Hidden Steam has sent us to Yu on the orders of the Hot Waters Daimyo. We''re working on liberating the city from the enemy occupation, and we need the community''s help. The Kumi family, of course, has a lot of influence in the city and we would like to use that to our advantage."
"What are we talking about?" asked Gyon.
"Manpower, connections, information. We would like the Kumi family to be our eyes, ears, and mouthpiece in the city. You can reach into the city and to its people much better than we ever could. We need your help," Takuma answered.
The team was about to make some waves in the city and they needed someone like the Kumi family to ensure that the people didn''t misinterpret it. Today, Takuma had been painted as a criminal, villain, an enemy to the city with one poster¡ªhe didn''t know to what extent people would believe it, but the experience told the Kumi family''s support could be extremely helpful.
"Let''s say we help you, what''s in it for us?" asked Hoshiguro.
"You get your city back; isn''t that enough?" said Gaku.
"If only, but we need more," said Hoshiguro, smiling. "We are putting ourselves in danger by associating with the rebellion. We need to make something."
Takuma had expected it. The Kumi family weren''t nice people; they held their self-interest front and forward before anything. And he didn''t blame them; they were indeed putting themselves in danger. Motohiro and his group were quite selfless in their decision to help an unknown group. Fortunately, Takuma had seen this coming and had prepared some benefits for them.
He exchanged a look with Gaku, who returned a nod.
"We can provide the Kumi family with food¡ªgrain, rice, spices, flour¡ªa lot of it, enough to feed your men and their families for a good while," said Takuma and saw a wave of interest rise up in the room. Hoshiguro, the lieutenants, and the bodyguards, all looked interested and pleased with the offerings.
Food was valuable and even though the higher-ranking members would have no problem procuring food with their wealth and influence, the same couldn''t be said about their lower-level members. That was sure to create some tension and dissatisfaction in the organisation¡ªone moment the Kumi family were kings with mighty influence, but the next moment, they had fallen down and they couldn''t even eat properly. Takuma was giving them an opportunity to fix a major problem in their organisation¡ªand the leadership in the room understood it.
And finally, Takuma decided to give them a deal they couldn''t refuse.
"When the time comes, we will assassinate the higher-ups from the Goharu family." The moment he said that, the atmosphere in the room changed drastically. "The Kumi family can regain their former place in Yu... and who knows, even surpass it."
To be honest, the Goharu family higher-ups were going to die for their traitorous actions by supporting the enemy. But by claiming that they were doing it for the Kumi family, they had turned that into an offer too valuable for them to refuse. He was offering to take out their competition and free the field so they could rise up again.
"So, how about it?" he asked.
The lieutenants glanced at each each other and they looked like they wanted to jump at the offer while looking they didn''t believe what Takuma had just offered. They then looked at their leader. Hoshiguro started unblinkingly at Takuma, who couldn''t see through the old man''s poker face. Because he wasn''t lying, he allowed Hoshiguro to stare all he wanted.
"That''s quite something," said Gyon, clearing his throat, trying to hide his surprise from the stacked offer presented to them. "We will consider it and get back¡ª"
"You have the Kumi family''s support," said Hoshiguro, still staring at Takuma.
"Father?" Gyon was taken aback¡ªthe other lieutenants shared his expression. They were surprised that he had agreed so quickly without even discussing the offer with others.
Hoshiguro ignored them and spoke to Takuma. "If you can fulfil those promises, you''ll have the unequivocal support of the Kumi family."
"That''s nice to know," Takuma smiled, pleased about Hoshiguro''s quick decision. He expected them to haggle for more things like assassinating someone from the Goharu family immediately¡ªso not getting that request raised his impression of Hoshiguro. "I look forward to this¡ª."
"However, I have one condition," said Hoshiguro.
Maybe he was quick to raise his impression, thought Takuma. "And what might that be?"
"I want you to prove that you''re capable of doing what you promised."
Takuma held back a sigh. There it was. He was sure that Hoshiguro was about to ask him to assassinate someone from the Goharu family.
However, what came out of Hoshiguro''s mouth was completely unexpected.
"I want you to fight my son. If you win, you''ll have our full support."
CH_7.22 (240)
Without fail every single person in the estate gathered around a wide courtyard to watch the bout between the outsider¡ªwho everyone was surprised to see was a kid¡ªand Gyon, the head''s son and a Kumi top lieutenant. Most didn''t know the reason behind the fight, which caused rumours to pop up among the Kumi members and the staff. The biggest rumour was that the outsider was Hoshiguro''s illegitimate child who had come to challenge Gyon, the legitimate son, for the position of the next Kumi head.
Gyon looked at the gathered people, irritated about their conversations and whispers about the fight. This wasn''t a circus act they could watch casually. He glanced at his father who was sitting on his personal chair that he had brought along everywhere, sipping tea with snacks. He couldn''t understand why his father would have him fight the Tobi/Takuma kid.
Was it a test for Takuma or was it for him?
He looked at Takuma standing on the other side of the courtyard, chatting with Gaku. The lack of worry on his face irked Gyon.
The history of the Kumi family extended back to the days of his grandfather. In his youth, he was taken under the wing of an old shinobi, who taught them the mysteries of chakra in exchange for booze. Along with Gyon''s grandfather, the old shinobi also taught his friend, who would then go on to found the Goharu family. Once upon a time, the two students were attached by the hip and used their new powers to take over Yu. However, when the old shinobi died, the two friends had a falling out over his belongings¡ªespecially, the ninjutsu scrolls in his possession that the old shinobi hadn''t allowed them to learn.
In the end, they fought and split the ninjutsu scrolls between them. And from then onwards, the Kumi and Goharu family were found in Yu. The founders learned the ninjutsu they had taken and taught their children how to use chakra and passed along the ninjutsu. However, that changed when Hoshiguro and his Goharu family counterpart taught their most trusted people how to use chakra, but they kept the ninjutsu only for their children. In the Kumi family, all six lieutenants and a dozen more people knew how to use chakra¡ª but only Hoshiguro and Gyon knew ninjutsu.
Gyon was the strongest fighter in Kumi. His father was much more experienced, but he had gotten weaker with age, leaving Gyon as the strongest. In fact, he was stronger than his Goharu family counterpart, who had already become the Goharu family head.
However, he couldn''t help but worry about the fight. The poster claimed that Takuma was a Hidden Leaf shinobi. Even though Yu was far from most shinobi involvement and Hidden Steam''s move away from traditional shinobi village system, Gyon knew that the Hidden Leaf village was one of the five great shinobi villages. From the stories he had heard, they were extremely dangerous. And the scars on Takuma''s arms and legs were worrying.
But he also thought that Takuma was just a kid. Whereas he was in his prime and at his strongest because he had increased his training since the Yu had been invaded so that he could protect his family.
He would win this fight, thought Gyon and saw his wife standing behind his father with their ten-year old twin children. His wife looked worried while the twins looked excited. He directed a smile toward her to relax her. He also caught his father gazing at him; he still couldn''t perceive what his father wanted from him, but he knew that he had to perform.
Everyone important in the Kumi family was present to watch the fight and a loss in front of them would be a blow to his reputation as the strongest man in Yu. Perhaps a victory against a Hidden Leaf shinobi would convince his father to pass the seat of leadership to him. Yoshi, the current leader of the Goharu family, had always been his rival since they were little children¡ªand Gyon had always beaten him at everything¡ªand yet, Yoshi was already the Goharu family''s leader while he was still serving under his father. Even his father had gotten the control of the Kumi family from grandfather at a younger age than Gyon.
"Are both sides, ready?" Hoshiguro''s voice echoed in the courtyard. Gyon and Takuma stepped to the centre of the courtyard, facing each other. Hoshiguro looked at the people around the courtyard. The courtyard was large, but with how shinobi fought, the area could quickly become not big enough for the two fighters.
"This could get out of hand quickly... you might get injured." He warned them, but not one person moved from their place, excited about spectating the fighting. He chuckled in amusement before looking at the two fighters and raised his hand to gesture. "You may start!"
The moment Hoshiguro announced the start, Gyon exploded forth with his sword biting down towards Takuma, who effortlessly side-stepped the strike. Gyon''s eyes shrunk when he saw a kunai suddenly appear in Takuma''s hand. He barely moved his head to dodge the kunai slicing for his face; he felt the cold metal brush through his hair, chopping a few strands from the side of his head.
He immediately retreated to put some distance between them. Takuma was quicker and kicked him in the knee, destroying his balance. Gyon stumbled back, forced to kneel to regain his balance. He looked up to see Takuma skip forward and swing down his kunai. He raised his sword just in time to block the kunai from shearing his chest open. The impact made a grating sound and beneath it he felt like an iron beam had fallen on his sword.
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His face turned red, his arm trembled, and he could barely stop his grip on the sword from failing as his body was forced to shrink under the tremendous force.
How could someone generate so much power?
The moment Takuma raised his kunai for another strike, Gyon got himself up on his feet. As he took a step back, Takuma launched a spinning kick at his hand, knocking the sword out of his grip. The sword went flying off, stabbing the ground near the edge of the courtyard, making the spectators jump in fright.
All of Gyon''s instincts screamed at him to go after his sword, but reasoning prevailed and he put as much distance as possible between them. The decision was right because the moment he moved, Takuma took a step toward the sword''s direction. If he had chased after the sword, he would''ve been intercepted and forced to be on the defensive.
Sweat trickled down Gyon''s face. He could hear the cheers of his people urging him on to win. He swallowed as he watched Takuma slowly move in between him and the sword. If his heartbeat was to be trusted, it was telling him that Takuma was dangerous. In the short few seconds, he had not only been disarmed, he had also been forced to kneel.
If he wanted a chance to win this battle, he had to use ninjutsu, thought Gyon.
Ninjutsu were special moves used only when it was absolutely necessary¡ªthat was something drilled into his mind since the day his father had first taught him ninjutsu. The Hidden Steam shinobi couldn''t and didn''t stop people from chakra, but they were extremely strict when it came to people learning ninjutsu. There was a real danger that if the news got out that there were people unassociated with the Hidden Steam using ninjutsu, the shinobi would come to get rid of them. Both Goharu and Kumi understood that threat and had unspoken rules to bar the use of ninjutsu.
It was never a problem as only four people from both families knew ninjutsu¡ªand the enhanced physiques provided by chakra was more than enough power anyone needed in Yu.
Gyon glanced at his father, hoping that he would get permission to use ninjutsu. Hoshiguro looked at him and nodded. Gyon felt a wave of exhilaration shoot through him. This had to be a sign that his father wanted to see his all¡ªhis best¡ªso he could judge if he was ready¡ªwhich he absolutely was.
His confidence soared as he stood up straighter. Usually, he only used ninjutsu in training which he had to do in secret away from other''s eyes. But he always wanted to use them in actual fights; it was such a waste to have powerful tools and not use them. Now, he had the chance to not only use it in a fight, but also showcase his true power in front of his people.
Kids, watch your father, Gyon thought with bravado as he raised his hand to form hand seals for the ninjutsu called Fire Release: Two. The jutsu made two long fire claws extend out from the knuckle region in both hands with power to cut through metal ropes; they could easily rip and burn through a body like it was nothing. It had taken him half a decade of practice to perfect the jutsu. He remembered how invincible he had felt when he had killed an adult bear; the animal that would rip through ten men with ease had fallen dead at his feet. It was the ninjutsu which made him the strongest man in Yu.
But as he formed the hand seals, Takuma threw his kunai toward him. Gyon, utterly surprised, broke his hand seals as he evaded the kunai by jumping to the side.
"Fuck!" Gyon cursed. Before he could even shift his feet properly, Takuma dashed forth and was already before him. Gyon had never seen anyone or anything move so fast.
He heard Takuma whisper, "So you can use jutsu."
Faster than anything Gyon could react to, Takuma''s fist dug into his liver. It knocked all the air out of his lungs and he immediately spat out blood. He didn''t think it was possible to feel so much pain. The next moment, a sharp elbow smashed into his shoulder, forcing him to his knees. If Gyon wasn''t already more prone, a quick jab to his throat did the trick.
The panic of not being able to breath and the pain spreading through his body clashed against each other. He swayed and his vision blurred. He tried to lock on Takuma but couldn''t catch the foot before it smashed into the side of his face.
The last thing Gyon heard as he fell to the ground unconscious was the sound of his twins crying and screaming.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma breathed out as Gyon''s body hit the ground. Before he could even relax, the courtyard erupted as two dozen men charged at him with their weapons. He had angered everyone by thrashing the head''s son.
"Aw, geez."
Takuma put his hands up as he saw three men who were faster than everyone else and instantly recognised them to be chakra practitioners, and that they were the Kumi family lieutenants. As he planned how to take down the mob in the most efficient and painless manner, Hoshiguro''s loud and piercing, chakra-laden voice ripped through the courtyard.
"STOP!"
Most followed the order but some didn''t¡ªone of them was a lieutenants. He looked to be Gyon''s age, making Takuma speculate that they were friends and he wanted some sort of revenge. However, the friend was far too sloppy for Takuma''s standards. He took a step forward, closing the distance before the friend expected and front kicked him in the stomach.
The friend flew back, crashed into four people, taking them all to the ground.
Takuma looked around for Gaku to find him waving down at him with a smile from the roof. He sighed and then looked at Hoshiguro who had gotten up and walked toward him. But faster than Hoshiguro was a woman who rushed past him and arrived by Gyon''s side full of worry, she glared at Takuma and put her body between him and Gyon.
"Your husband will be fine, ma''am," Takuma guessed the woman''s identity and tried to comfort her. "He''ll be up soon; I didn''t break any of his bones, so with a little rest and some ice for the swelling, he''ll be good as new." The wife wasn''t comforted at all and was about to scream at him but turned away when she saw Hoshiguro arrive and instead ordered two men to carry her husband.
"What purpose did this serve?" Takuma asked Hoshiguro.
Hoshiguro watched Gyon being carried away before answering. "Once in my youth, I fought a real shinobi... My son thinks himself to be strong, but he doesn''t realise that he''s only a frog in the well... It was the most terrorising experience of my life, but I''m glad I had it. Gyon didn''t have that experience, and I simply wanted him to have that experience before this city turns into a battlefield."
He looked at Takuma with a smile that didn''t reach his eyes. "When big nations with great shinobi villages like yours wage war against each other, smaller nations like mine are unwillingly made into their battlefields. I knew that this city would turn into a battlefield the day it was invaded by shinobi."
CH_7.23 (241)
A group of workers busied themselves in the Goharu family¡¯s drug house, packaging the crushed brown crystal powder of heroin into bricks and small packets. The packets were tagged with an umbrella insignia and the workers wore leather gloves and had long scarves wrapped around their faces to reduce their contact with the drugs.
The number of workers had doubled recently from the increase in business from the Hidden Frost shinobi army occupying the city. Not only were they selling their product to the army, it was also being sent into the Land of Frost to be packaged and sold in neighbouring nations.
Among the workers was a bald man with a stick-like figure in his late thirties. Yamada was one of the new hires. He was previously a carriage driver, but since the city¡¯s invasion, he had lost his source of income, and had been unemployed for months before he was hired by the Goharu family to work in the drug house. He had never worked with people like the Goharu family and knew the danger associated with those sort of people brought. However, he had a wife, two children, and his elderly parents depending on him as the sole breadwinner of the family¡ªand in tough times, he was willing to work anywhere, and the Goharu family was among the few offering work. At the end of his shift, Yamada stepped out of the preparation area. He removed his gloves and scarf before walking to the office in the back, joining the queue in the front of the office to receive his daily pay.
The boss in charge of the drug house was Waichi, the brother-in-law of the Goharu family''s head. He had a mean reputation which Yamada had found to be true from his experience working in the drug house. Waichi had a tendency to yell at workers when they made even the smallest mistakes and cruelly dock pay for each mistake. He ran the drug house with fear and Yamada always felt like he was walking on a tight-rope when the man was around.
The line moved up and Yamada could hear Waichi tearing into others for their mistakes, lack of packing speed, too much talking, and every little thing possible. He clutched the hem of his shirt and prayed for a light to talk to. His turn came and unexpectedly, Waichi directly handed him the pay without any nasty words.
"Good job, today," said Waichi.
Even though it was the bare minimum decorum that should be expected in a place of work, but the words of simple praise made Yamada''s heart swell with pride and happiness. He bowed deeply to Waichi, who hummed in approval.
"Keep working like today and I might raise your wage."
"T-Thank you, sir!"
After leaving the factory, Yamada went straight to the butcher and bought some meat for dinner even though he couldn''t afford it, but he knew that his family would be happy¡ªand as long as he continued to work to the best of his ability, his wage would increase, improving the life of his family. He decided to apply for a double-shift twice a week to show initiative.
"I''m home!" Yamada called with a smile. "Dear, I bought meat from the butcher! Have you started dinner preparation?"
The house opened up to a living room where Yamada expected to see his father reading a book, but the room was empty, so he went to the kitchen beside the living room to put down the meat to find it empty.
"Where''s everyone?" he whispered to himself.
Not thinking about it too much, he quickly headed straight to the bigger washroom to take a bath as he did every day since he started working at the drug house. He didn''t want to interact with his children with any traces of harmful drugs on him. Upon entering the washroom, he was surprised to see not only was the bath unprepared, the change of clothes his wife prepared every day wasn''t present.
That''s when he realised that the house was too quiet, and when he focused, he heard the faint sound of sobbing from inside his and his wife''s bedroom. He instantly recognised his daughter''s voice and a chill went down his spine as a hundred bad thoughts exploded in his mind.
"Maiko!"
He sprinted into the bedroom and had just caught the sight of his parents on the bed holding his children close to them and a figure dressed in black robe with a white mask standing near the bed when another similarly dressed figure tackled him into the wall.
"Papa!"
Ignoring the pain from being slammed into the wall and the arm pressing against his neck, Yamada looked at his family. They looked utterly exhausted and scared, but didn''t seem to have any injuries on them. He noticed that his wife was missing from the room.
"Where is Hiromi?" he asked in panic as he was dragged out of the bedroom and thrown onto the living room floor. "W-Who are you!? Why are you in my house? Where''s my wife? What have you done with her? I swear if one hair on my head is harmed, I will¡ª!"
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There were two people dressed in complete black wearing white porcelain masks. Other than their height, their only distinguishing features were their hair, and the patterns on their mask¡ªsnake and eagle¡ªand the person standing beside his family had a badger pattern on their mask.
"Quiet down, Yamada," said Snake¡ªshe had a woman''s voice. "Your family is unharmed."
"My wife¡ª" He tried to get up but Snake kicked him down and kept her foot down on his chest. No matter how much he tried, he could barely shift.
"If you don''t stop yelling, your wife won''t be fine," she said. The sheer casualness with how Snake threatened him sent a spike of fear down his body, bringing his struggling to an end. He shut his mouth and gulped deeply as the weight of the foot on his chest made breathing difficult. "Good. Now that you''re listening, let me make something very clear. The safety of your family is firmly in your hands. Follow what we say, and we won''t be forced to make them suffer."
Snake removed her foot from his chest and took a step back. Yamada immediately pushed himself away from Snake, but could only move a few paces back before Eagle kicked him in the back.
"W-Where is my wife?" he asked from the floor, looking up at intruders. His eyes fluttered to the bedroom, his entire being wanting to go console his crying children.
"She''s not here. Rest assured, she''s completely safe," said Eagle.
"Please b-bring her back; don''t hurt her," he begged. His imagination went back to the worst scenarios; the fear of never getting to see her again was too overwhelming.
"As we said, the safety of your family is firmly in your hands... We want you to do something only you can do for us," said Snake and threw a sachet filled with brown crystal powder on the ground.
One look at the umbrella insignia was enough for him to recognise the Goharu family''s mark. He knew it by heart as it was put on all packaged products that went out of the drug house.
"T-This is..."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Two days ago in the factory base, Takuma sat down with Anko, Kameko, and Rikku for a discussion about poisoning the Hidden Frost shinobi through the drugs they had seized from the Renge gang during the police station bombing.
"The drug house is small and well-protected. Sneaking inside to switch the drugs going to the enemy is technically feasible, but I don''t have the confidence to pull it off flawlessly," said Anko.
Daiki and her had done reconnaissance on the drug house. The guards at the drug house weren''t chakra practitioners. which made them non-threats, but the team couldn''t knock them out or get rid of them as that would raise alarms later, potentially sabotaging the plan. The building was small and open enough that completing the mission with total stealth was extremely risky. They also didn''t know the drug house''s interior and which drugs would go to the shinobi, making the switch unreliable.
She had asked Takuma for two more days to see if she could figure it out, but unfortunately, she still deemed the mission completion without outside help unfeasible without great risk.
"Did you find someone?" asked Kameko.
Takuma, sitting across from them on a sheet metal table, nodded. "We need someone who has access to the drug house and thus has the required knowledge to know which drugs will go to the enemy," he said. "Our new partnership with the Kumi family has already bore fruit. They confirmed that none of the guards are chakra practitioners, and they¡¯ve given us the information about all the regular workers in the drug house."
If the team couldn''t do it, they needed someone else to do it¡ªand who better than a worker inside the drug house.
He pushed the files he had made on the workers and tapped one of them.
"I like him the most," he said.
Rikku opened the file and read. "Yamada... wife, two children, both parents alive. Has been working in the drug house for nearly three months. He''s new," she said looking up at him. "Previously worked as a carriage driver. No previous association to the Goharu family or any shady organisations..."
"He has a reputation as a family man. We can use him to sneak in the tainted drugs and have him switch them out," said Takuma.
"Family man, huh," Anko said, taking the file from Rikku. "I can work with that."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Anko threw down the drug sachet with umbrella insignia on the floor in front of Yamada.
"T-This..."
"Can you tell the difference," she asked him. The Kumi family had procured a sample of the Goharu family''s product¡ªsachets with the umbrella stamp¡ª but they had to confirm if they were doing something else with the drugs going to the enemy to avoid raising suspicion.
Yamada nodded.
"Look at it carefully. Is this identical to what''s sent to the shinobi? Pick it up and look at it," she said, urging.
Yamada with trembling hands picked up the sachet and observed it after wiping the tears out of his eye. After a few seconds, he once again nodded.
"Do you want your wife back, Yamada?" she asked.
"Y-Yes," Yamada nodded rapidly. He grovelled at feet, trying to grab her leg while wailing. "Please, l-let my wife go."
Anko kicked him back the moment he touched her.
"Good, because we don''t want to hold your wife," she said.
To ensure that Yamada would do what they wanted, they had taken his wife hostage. Daiki was with them when they broke into the house and he had taken her away in a carriage provided by the Kumi family to a safe house also provided by the Kumi family.
"Here''s what we want you to do: we will give you a bag full of sachets, and you have to replace them with the sachets that will be going out to the shinobi. Refusing to do it or lying to us in any way will result in your children never seeing their mother ever again."
Yamada looked utterly shocked for a moment, but he hastily nodded after. "I''ll do it¡ªI will do it. Whatever you want, I will do it¡ªp-please don''t hurt my wife. She has done nothing wrong. I will switch the drugs, so please return her," he was once again crying by the end of it.
"Switch the drugs and your wife will be back by the time you come back home," said Anko.
"Please return her now. I will still¡ª"
"This is not a negotiation, Yamada." Anko looked at Kameko in the eagle mask. "Take one of the kids as well, that way the mother won''t be lonely."
"NO! I will do it! I will do it! Don''t take my children away," Yamada yelled.
"Great," Anko smiled behind mask. "The next delivery is the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Y-Yes."
"We will be staying with your family until then¡ª"
"What?"
"¡ªI promise we will be good guests. Now go take a shower, you''re filthy."
CH_7.24 (242)
Yamada stood at the street corner looking at the drug house in the middle of the street. The intimidating guards he had gotten used to once again looked frightening. He clutched the old, scuffed shoulder bag close to his body; it carried the drugs he was supposed to insert into the delivery going out to the Hidden Frost shinobi.
He wasn''t able to sleep as he protected his family from the kidnappers in his home. It had been the worst time of his life¡ªcomforting his children asking for their mother was the most difficult and heartbreaking thing he had to do. It hurt to wonder how his wife was being treated and whether she was safe.
He took a deep breath and walked toward the drug house, each step heavier than the last. He had to remind himself to keep breathing as he neared the building.
"¡ªMake proper eye contact, loosen your body, and hands off the bag¡ª"
He recalled Snake''s words and realised that he was doing everything wrong. A wave of panic shot through him, but he quickly gathered himself when he thought about his family and stopped for a moment in the middle of the street to follow the instructions before proceeding. His heart was trying to beat out of his chest as he climbed the steps of the building. He stopped in front of the guards and slipped the bag off his shoulder, showing them the contents.
"Different bag and no lunchbox today?" the guard asked.
"N-No, my wife fell ill, and my boy tore my bag while playing," said Yamada, doing his best to keep the shake out of his voice.
"And why the clothes?"
There was a set of clothes in the bag which usually wasn''t there.
"I''m meeting a friend afterward. I''m going to change here before meeting him."
The guard reached into the bag and Yamada felt his heart come up to his throat. The guard pressed the clothes to check if there was anything underneath and motioned him to go inside when he was satisfied with his search. As Yamada walked past the guards, the tension drained from him and he had to clutch the bag to stop his hands from shaking. The bag was given to him by the kidnappers. It had a false bottom to hide the drugs with a tiny zip to open the hidden compartment with the drugs. The bag was big enough to carry a significant amount of drug sachets, but it didn''t catch the guard''s attention because his usual bag was just as big as he often used it to carry groceries he purchased after work.
Entering the building, he went straight to his seat on the rows of tables and put the bag below his chair. He waited until everyone on the factory line was seated and ready before work started.
For the next few hours, Yamada shut down his mind and did his work of stamping the umbrella emblem on the sachet. The worry about his family continued to weigh down but the mindless work helped alleviate some of the pressure. Though as he worked, he was acutely aware of the bomb sitting beneath his chair that could kill him and endanger his family if discovered. His heart stopped every time one of the "supervisors" passed by behind him.
Eventually, lunch break was announced and everyone headed out to the tea stalls outside with their lunch boxes.
"You''re not eating, Yamada?" asked one of his fellow workers.
"N-No, not today," he smiled at them pitifully.
Almost immediately, they understood what Yamada was trying to say. With how expensive food was, there were times the workers would often forgo food. That wasn''t the case for him, but today, he wanted to be in the building during the lunch break for the switch.
"Oh well, take care."
The workers shuffled out of the stuffy building for lunch. Even the supervisors went out, leaving the building empty for a short time.
Yamada knew that he had perhaps ten to fifteen minutes before people started coming back in. He had to move quickly. Very casually, he went to a cupboard in the corner of the room to retrieve one of the duffle bags that were used to deliver the drugs. The readied sachets were piled up in a tray and Yamada transferred them into the bag. This wasn''t his duty, but he also knew that no one would mind if he did it.
He looked around to confirm no one was in the room before taking out his bag, opening the hidden compartment, and dumping the sachets given to him by the kidnappers into the duffle bag. He knew how many drugs went out to the shinobi every week, and the quantity given to him by the kidnappers made up nearly three-quarters of it. Yamada didn''t know what they had done to the drugs, and he didn''t want to know, but he could guess they had done something harmful to them.
By the time he was done, he was breathing heavily and the tiny zip of the compartment slipped from his hand multiple times as he closed it. When he was done, he quickly returned to his chair, put his bag underneath the seat, and took deep breaths to calm himself.
I¡¯ve done it, thought Yamada as he wiped his sweat from the end of his scarf.
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"Oh, you prepared the bag, Yamada?" One of the supervisors asked when he returned from lunch.
"Yes, I... I had nothing better to do," Yamada replied with a smile.
The supervisor stopped and gazed at him before smiling widely. "Boss praised you yesterday, didn''t he? I¡¯ll tell him you''re doing good work when he comes in tomorrow to collect the delivery. You¡¯ll definitely be getting that promotion."
"T-Thank you," Yamada said, trying his best to put on a grateful smile.
Yesterday, he would''ve been elated; but today, all he wanted to do was to return home and get his wife back.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Yamada all but ran back home after his work was done. Everything hurt by the time he arrived but. without caring what his neighbours thought about him, he burst into his home to see Snake sitting in the living room.
"I did it! Where''s my wife?" he yelled with wide-eyes, ready to fight if they refused to return her.
Behind him, Racoon entered from the front and closed the door behind her. "No one followed him," she said.
Yamada felt a chill go down his spine. He hadn''t thought they would have someone follow him, but then he saw a snake slip out of Racoon''s sleeve.
"A s-snake," he exclaimed, darting out of its way.
The small serpent slithered to Snake, who picked it up and held it near her ear as though she was listening to the snake. Yamada had a bad feeling that the masked kidnappers were mad¡ªand mad people were already difficult enough to deal with without them being shinobi.
"He made the switch properly," said Snake before asking him for the bag.
Yamada threw the bag at her. "When will my wife get home?" He looked back at Racoon to find her staring at him.
Snake ignored him and took out four random sachets from the bag and dropped some unknown transparent liquid into them. The liquid turned blue the moment it touched the drugs. He didn''t know what that meant.
"He made the switch," she nodded to Racoon.
Racoon went out of the house from the back entrance and returned a minute later with Yamada''s wife in tow. Racoon removed the black cloth bag from her head and untied the rope tying her hands behind her back.
"Hanako!" said Yamada as he walked toward her.
"Dear!" Hanako eyes were red and puffy. Her face was pale and she looked utterly exhausted; in one night, she had aged several years.
The husband and wife hugged before facing the kidnappers in fear.
"I have done everything you asked for. P-Please leave now," said Yamada.
"Of course," said Snake. "But before we leave, I shouldn''t need to say it, but no one can know about any of this. Tell your children and parents that your family will be in trouble if this gets out." Yamada nodded fervently. "Also, don''t quit your job at the drug house, or you''ll attract unwanted attention that might get you in trouble with the Goharu family."
Yamada felt a pit in his stomach as he understood the implication. The kidnappers were unknown, which was dangerous on its own, but the Goharu family was a known danger¡ªhe knew what they were capable of, and what they would do to his family if they found he had betrayed them.
"For your troubles," said Snake, pointing to three jute bags brought in by Racoon.
"We don''t need it, please take it away," said Yamada¡ªwhatever it was, it was from shinobi.
Snake laughed merrily. "Throw it away if you want, but I think you won''t."
The kidnappers left the home promptly, and for a couple days, Yamada felt like they would return at any moment, though they never did. As for the jute bags, Snake was right, he didn''t throw them out. The bags were filled with food that his family desperately needed, and even though he felt uncomfortable, he kept it.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
For the first time since the team infiltrated the city, Takuma arrived at Chinatsu''s house. In the month and a half they had been in Yu, the place had changed so much that it was unrecognisable. Either Chinatsu earned too much money or Anko had blown their mission budget on furniture. Takuma was envious because he had been sleeping in camping bags on top of an old and depressed couch.
He sat down on the comfy couch and kicked his legs up on the centre table. The team sat around the living room, together for the first time since they had arrived in the city.
"Are we ready?" Takuma asked Chinatsu and Gaku across from him.
"We are set to meet tomorrow," Gaku replied with a smile.
Takuma looked at Chinatsu, the team''s star. "And what about you?"
"It''s just a day''s work for me," she said nonchalantly.
Chinatsu had been sleeping with a Hidden Frost chunin for the past three weeks. And as it turned out, the chunin had been dealing the Goharu family drugs to the enemy shinobi army. It was a surprise that the shinobi Takuma was tracking and the shinobi Gaku had procured as clients were one-in-the-same¡ªbut it made sense because a man who could afford to hire Chinatsu twice a week would be loaded and drug dealing was definitely enough to support his expensive hobby.
"And what about you?" Takuma asked Anko.
"I''ll just follow her lead," Anko sighed, looking at Chinatsu.
For the last month and a half, the team had been mostly passive while they prepared, but as they drew closer to the two month mark, it was time to start making their move. They had to create chaos in the city to find an advantage the main force could exploit. The main force was set to arrive at the end of the second month, giving them a little over a fortnight to gain the advantage.
The first step of that chaos creating process was to poison a portion of the enemy army using the tainted drugs and then frame the dealers as the culprits. It would seem like the dealer had betrayed the Hidden Frost side by intentionally distributing poisoned drugs¡ªand the Hidden Frost shinobi would then go after the Goharu family for their role as the suppliers. Not only a portion of the shinobi would be sick, the rest of the shinobi would stop doing drugs due to fear which, damaging the relationship between the shinobi and the Goharu family and loosening their control over their city.
To accomplish that, they needed to abduct the shinobi dealing the drugs¡ªwhich they were planning to do while he was with Chinatsu¡ªand to fortify the impression of betrayal, they were going to abduct one of the dealer''s helpers as well, a genin. For that to happen, Anko, who had been disguising herself as Chinatsu''s handmaid, would debut as an escort.
Under Gaku''s instructions, Chinatsu had managed to convince the shinobi dealer to bring one of his helpers as Anko''s "first customer."
While the two shinobi had their guards down, the team would attack and abduct them.
"What if they don''t come?" asked Kameko. "What if, when people start to get sick, he cancels on you to deal with the problem?"
"That''s a possibility, but I bet they¡¯ll still come," said Takuma. "I don''t think someone in his position would forgo a chance to blow off some steam and get his mind off the whole fiasco. And under stress, he would instinctually bring his favourite with him¡ªhelping our narrative."
He cracked his knuckles,
"Let''s light a fire under their asses."
CH_7.25 (243)
Aranai was a Hidden Frost chunin who had made a great situation for himself in the city he was occupying as part of a war against the Land of Hot Water. He was making money hand over fist by not only selling drugs to his peers, but also exporting drugs to his home country along with all the food and produce they were diverting from the Land of Hot Water.
He had made more money in the past couple months than he had made in the last several years as a shinobi. Money aside, his reputation among his peers had improved considerably as he had become an important source of relaxation and recreation. Most people didn''t want to be in a foreign country away from their home and the drugs helped calm them down and take their minds off the inevitable loneliness. However as he looked at the dozen shinobi lying down on the infirmary beds, and their extremely sick occupants, he had a feeling those good times were about to end. He recognised every single one of them as his regular customers. The iryo-nin had confirmed that none of them were going to die, but they would be sick for at least a week and weak for even longer.
"There¡¯s the star of the day. Come, Aranai. Let''s have a chat."
He flinched and looked at Ebi, his jonin in command, standing at the end of the hallway. He glanced into the infirmary one final time before following him. They didn''t exchange words until they were in his office, but that only had the effect of worsening his nervousness.
"I don''t have a problem with you selling drugs," said Ebi after they sat down. "In fact, it helps me that you''re keeping people in their rooms and away from the city. Their being there always creates trouble with Yu¡¯s citizens, which is always annoying to deal with. However, you must admit, putting people in the infirmary is overdoing it¡ªsure they won''t create any trouble because they can''t get out of bed¡ªbut we''re still in enemy territory, or have you forgotten that, Mr Businessman?"
Aranai sat straight in his chair with his hands clenched tightly in his lap. Ebi was generally a laid back man with no micromanagement in his leadership style. He trusted his men to act like adults, but when they screwed up, he became scary. Just last month a genin had beaten a civilian to death in a drunken stupor; Ebi, a jonin, had forced that genin to fight him for two hours every day for a week and had disallowed the iryo-nin from healing the genin.
"I apologise, sir... I didn''t know the drugs were faulty." He was lucky he hadn''t done any from the current batch. "I will rip those bastards at the Goharu family a new one."
"Typical," Ebi sighed, making Aranai''s heart leap into his chest. "Diverting the blame; taking no responsibility."
"I... I-I am¡ª"
"I¡ªI¡ªI. You don''t have a stutter. Speak properly."
Aranai felt resentful but he chose to keep quiet with his head bowed. It wasn''t his fault that those men had fallen sick. He hadn''t told them to buy drugs. And he wasn''t the one making the drugs; he was getting from the city¡¯s civilians, and they had delivered good products until now. How was he supposed to know that they would deliver a faulty batch?
"You''ll be punished for this, of course," said Ebi with a flat tone, "but that''s a minor affair. You should be more concerned about the drugs you''re sending back to the country. I know Honjo is helping you send drugs back home... If those drugs are faulty, that''ll be a much bigger problem. After all, Honjo¡¯s a social climber who¡¯ll do anything to save his skin¡ªhe¡¯s gunning for Jonin Commander, after all."
He looked up at Ebi with an ample amount of fear and surprise, making the jonin scoff. Recently, he had been sending larger amounts of the Goharu family¡¯s drugs into the Land of Frost. Jonin Honjo was helping him with the delivery, taking a cut in return. He was happy because his earnings had gone through the roof and he¡¯d also grown closer to a jonin through mutually beneficial business.
But Ebi was right¡ªif things went wrong, Honjo would throw him under the bus without a moment¡¯s hesitation. The consequences of such a situation made him feel incredibly lightheaded and he blinked half a dozen times to no avail.
"It goes without saying that I''ll be banning the drugs moving forward," said Ebi.
Aranai wanted to argue against such a thing. It was only one batch and so long as he confirmed that the next batch was good, they wouldn''t have any problems¡ªbut seeing the look in Ebi''s eyes made him think that doing so would be a very bad idea.
"By your order, sir," he said.
Ebi excused Aranai after verbally beating him some more, putting the fear of retaliation and punishment into his heart. At the end of it, Aranai wanted to do nothing more than barge into the house of that bastard Waichi and rip him several new ones. He wanted to savour the fear in the Goharu family head¡¯s eyes as he told him how royally fucked he was.
But that would come tomorrow.
Today, he was meeting with the whore and he really wanted to blow off some steam. She had told him to bring along one of his subordinates because one of her handmaids wanted to get into the business but Aranai was of the mind to go alone and enjoy two women worshipping and serving him. Eventually, he decided to take one of the leeching bastards¡ªit''d be wise to build some additional trust... in case he needed a scapegoat to put the blame on.
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¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma gazed at the two-storey townhouse in an affluent part of the city. Chinatsu didn''t like bringing business home, especially since the team was residing with her, so Gaku rented out the townhouse for Chinatsu to host her clients.
He entered the building and saw that the team was busy setting up the place. They seemed used to it from prior experience. Iori, Rikku, and Kameko were preparing everything from the rooms to the drinks and food, Gaku was talking to Chinatsu about being careful, and Daiki was conversing with Anko, who seemed to be completely ready for her role.
Takuma was at a loss about who to speak to about setting up his things. The objective was to capture two shinobi¡ªone of them was a chunin with unknown combat ability¡ªand they had to do it stealthily without leaving any trace of combat, something that required a degree of finesse.
"Come with me," Kameko snapped her fingers and gestured to him to follow.
Takuma followed her to one of the bedrooms. It had a huge canopy bed, the floor completely covered with an extremely soft rug, there was a full-size mirror facing the bed, and a two person dining table with a red table cover and padded chairs alongside an assortment of cutlery and scented candles.
"Look here." Kameko walked to one the walls with a cabinet lining the wall and pointed at something Takuma initially missed, but at a closer look he noticed a cigar-sized hole in the wall, partially covered by the cabinet. "Is this enough?"
Takuma leaned down to look at the hole in the wall that connected the bedroom to the tiny storage closet next door. "I''d like it to be bigger. I know there¡¯s not much time but can you do it now?" he asked.
"No," she said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Takuma sighed before shrugging. "It¡¯s fine. We''ll make it work."
He looked around the room. In less than an hour, the Hidden Frost chunin would be in here with Chinatsu. He was going to incapacitate the shinobi using genjutsu after which Iori would use prisoner fuinjutsu seals to restrict the chunin''s chakra and body. In the other room, Anko would deal with the genin. Ideally, given that they didn''t know the chunin''s combat ability, they would want both Gaku and Anko to deal with chunin in case anything went wrong¡ªbut they didn''t have a choice. Neither Rikku or Kameko could pull it off, and they needed Iori on the chunin for the fuinjutsu. Anko was not only stronger and could easily deal with a chunin, she was a much better actor, and was comfortable with the role.
"Are you confident?" asked Kameko.
"I think so," said Takuma, placing the fragrant incense sticks on the table in front of the hole.
"You think so?"
He looked up at her and shrugged. "I¡¯ve done all the preparation I can do, so I''m not nervous. As long as the guy''s not experienced with genjutsu¡ªor has bullshit powers¡ªI think I''ll be able to ensnare him."
"Bullshit, how so?"
"As in genjutsu doesn''t work on him."
"He doesn''t have Sharingan."
"The Sharingan doesn''t make you immune to genjutsu, it just makes things more difficult," Takuma sighed with a chuckle. He had tried to put genjutsu over Mikoto hundreds of times as part of their lessons and had failed every single time.
She always kept her sharingan active during those practice sessions; she didn''t need to, she was a jonin with a mastery in genjutsu anyway, but she activated her eyes to raise a challenge he was never able to meet.
"Plus," he continued, "genjutsu doesn''t work on me and I don''t have the sharingan. I¡¯m not discounting the option that the chunin will be the same. It¡¯s in the realm of possibility."
"What?" asked Kameko. "What do you mean genjutsu doesn''t work on you?"
"It literally doesn''t. Well, it does work, but I don''t have to do anything to slip out of it. It just happens and then I know I''m in a genjutsu, and breaking it is easy enough after that."
Kameko looked like she didn''t believe it.
"I''m not lying."
"How is that possible? Are you lying?"
"Absolutely no idea. It just doesn¡¯t work. If you know a genjutsu, you could try it."
Kameko looked thoughtful for a moment before saying. "If you''re not fucking with me, it could be a new bloodline limit."
Bloodline limits were genetic mutations that granted unique chakra abilities. Dojutsu like the Sharingan and the Byakugan were bloodline limits, and so were the advanced nature transformations.
"It could be," said Takuma. "My teacher and I did discuss the possibility."
When Mikoto wasn''t able to find any previous cases of automatic genjutsu breaking, they considered the possibility that Takuma was the progenitor of a genetic mutation which gave him a genjutsu related bloodline limit. The field of genetic testing wasn''t advanced enough to reliably detect genetic mutations, so testing for them wasn''t an option.
Mikoto, as an Uchiha with the Sharigan, wasn''t a big fan of genetic testing. Moreover, Takuma was extremely busy with work and it didn''t really matter if it was a bloodline limit because it didn''t change anything.
"Maybe if Orochimaru hadn''t defected, he would''ve been able to tell. He was big into genetic testing," Takuma laughed like he had told the funniest joke¡ªhe wasn''t going to let Orochimaru anywhere near him; he didn''t want to get bit and cursed with a juinjutsu.
"How do you know that?"
"He''s one of the Sannin. Of course, I read up on him," he said matter of factly. According to Maruboshi, history had important lessons and answers to problems, so Takuma had read a lot about the shinobi history, and the Sannin were quite prominently recorded in the Hidden Leaf''s history.
Orochimaru was at the forefront of genetics. And with what Takuma knew about him from his meta-knowledge, he assumed that Orochimaru was ahead of the contributions to the field he had publicly available. While Tsunade was looked at as the greatest iryo-nin to ever live, Orochimaru wasn''t a slouch in the medical and scientific field. His image had been tainted in recent years due to his actions, but his works were still very prominent.
"Hey," said Kameko. She looked hesitant for a moment. "Try to keep her safe, okay?"
"Chinatsu?"
Kameko nodded. "She... she''s obsessed with revenge. That bastard¡¯s rough with her; she says it''s not a problem, but I know she''s hurt. He''s a shinobi, he''s much stronger than her, and you said it yourself that he''d be pissed because of the poisoned drugs. I''m worried he might overdo it... so hurry if possible."
Takuma looked at her. While he didn''t have any personal connection with Chinatsu, the knowledge left a bad taste in his mouth. But he didn''t live with her; the others did, so it wasn''t strange to form some connection with the asset.
He nodded. "I''ll do my best."
"Thank you," Kameko said earnestly and then left the room.
Takuma followed her with his eyes. He¡¯d agreed, but he wasn''t going to hurry to the detriment of the genjutsu. A lot depended on the shinobi''s capture. Not only would it kickstart doubt and chaos in the enemy camp¡ªbut Takuma had a more personal stake in its success.
He wanted his questions about the assassination organisation, their identity, their role in Yu, and the overall war, to be answered so he couldn''t afford for it to go wrong.
CH_7.26 (244)
"Make sure to enjoy yourself, okay?" Aranai said to Ryoya, his genin subordinate. He had been lucky to get a team of three genin to help him sell drugs; there were people with sticks up their asses who didn''t appreciate the spirit of entrepreneurship or ever have fun.
"Yes, sir," said Ryoya. He looked slightly uncomfortable due to the timing and the people who had gotten sick from their drugs, but Aranai could see that he was excited about getting laid after hearing all about Chinatsu from him.
"Remember, the chick you''ll be sleeping with is new, so if you play it right, she''ll do everything you ask for," Aranai put his arm around Ryoya''s neck as they entered the townhouse. "We''re here!" he announced the moment he was through the door.
Like always, Jimii was sitting in the living room, waiting to welcome them. There was something about the pimp which always bothered Aranai¡ªhe didn''t know what it was, but he creeped him out. During their first meeting, Jimii had barged into their room in the club without permission. And everytime he was done with Chinatsu, the pimp had a strange look on his face which he could never place. It wasn''t jealousy or anger, but he could never place it.
Jimii got up from his couch with two glasses of whiskey and passed them over.
"Welcome gentlemen, everything''s ready for your pleasure."
"This is Ryoya, he''s a trusted confidant," said Aranai and noticed Ryoya perked up. Good, he thought¡ªhe wanted Ryoya to think he trusted him.
Aranai took out a stack of cash and handed it to Jimii, who promptly counted it on the spot like always
"After so many times you still don''t trust me?" asked Aranai, cursing the money-grubber in his mind.
"Trust has nothing to do with it, Master Aranai." Jimii pocketed the money and clapped his hands for two of Chinatsu''s handmaidens to walk into the room. He looked at Ryoya. "Master Ryoya, please follow her. She''ll take you to Lady Boa... please enjoy your time."
Ryoya looked shy until Aranai slapped him on his back and a lecherous smile sprouted on his face.
Aranai laughed, "Go enjoy yourself."
He himself followed the other girl and checked her out. He smiled as he reached for her ass and grabbed the soft buns. She immediately slapped his hand and glared at him, but that only made him snicker.
He raised the whiskey glass, smelled it to check if it was safe, before downing it one swig.
It was time to blow off some steam.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat in the dark closet room focusing his mind for the genjutsu he had to cast when he heard the door open and Iori lead Aranai into the room. He opened his eyes and focused his hearing into the room. Chinatsu welcomed Aranai in and dismissed Iori.
"Go have a shower, I''ll join you soon," Chinatsu said, giggling.
He took in a breath and smelled the incense Chinatsu burned for the ambiance.
"You better make this work," she whispered.
Takuma put a finger into the hole in the wall and started spreading out his chakra into the room next door, attaching him to scent particles of the incense stick.
Genjutsu was the practice of altering a target''s perception of reality by controlling their senses through chakra. It worked by influencing their chakra to do the majority of the legwork because it reached every part of the body through the chakra pathway system. The objective was to aim for one sensory organ and stimulate it through foreign chakra so the nearby chakra in the target¡¯s tenketsu points would react. The influenced chakra would then travel throughout the body and eventually reach the spine and brain, giving the user the freedom to control all five senses¡ªthus controlling the target''s reality.
Carefully, deliberately, methodically, he spread out his chakra with the help of the incense in the air. It took ten minutes for Aranai and Chinatsu to come out of the shower. He heard Chinatsu laughing at Aranai''s dirty talk, the sound of the bed creaking under their weight, the rustle of clothes being removed, her moans, his grunts¡ªall the while continuing to fill the room with his chakra.
He could''ve done so much quicker, but he did it slowly to drown Aranai without any chance of him swimming back to the surface. For normal shinobi without a sensory-nin''s abilities, chakra could only be detected when used in high quantities, but when foreign chakra was literally stimulating the sensory organs, it could be detected fairly easily. The only reason it usually went undetected was because combat environments were always saturated with chakra and the demanding mental load of battle only made it all the easier.
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The situation in the bedroom was similar: Aranai''s attention was focused on Chinatsu and his desire to have sex overshadowed his alertness. Adding to Takuma''s gradual approach ensured that he was a frog swimming in a pot that he couldn''t tell was gradually being brought to a boil.
"Take it deeper!"
Aranai''s demands between his grunts and the voice of Chinatsu gagging clearly reached Takuma''s ears, but he focused himself on his work. He could sense his chakra reaching Aranai''s nose. He slowly formed hand seals to order his chakra to stimulate it and grab control of the passively mixed chakra.
The pair moved on to having sex. Between the sound of sex, he could also hear the sound of painful yelps that would be stifled immediately¡ªthey weren''t playful yelps, but sounds of true pain coming from Chinatsu. Takuma remembered Kameko''s words to him about Aranai liking it rough, but he also remembered that Kameko described Chinatsu as obsessed. He found it to be true because not once did she complain or ask him to be gentler, she took it all.
She wanted the mission to go well and he respected it. In an ideal world, his first genjutsu would''ve been something else entirely, but he catered his first custom-made genjutsu to serve the mission¡ªto capture a shinobi. The Bell Sound Clone jutsu was an auditory genjutsu that used the sound of a bell to not only paralyse the target, but show clones of the user surrounding them as the sounds of a bell grew uncomfortably louder.
Takuma isolated the paralysis part and made it the genjutsu¡¯s sole focus. Given that it was his first foray into creating a genjutsu, he wanted it to do one thing, but do that thing well. The next consideration was the connection component¡ªwhich sensory organ was he going to target to influence the target''s chakra? Seeing that he couldn''t be in the room with the target sight(visual), touch(tactile), and taste(gustatory) weren¡¯t options¡ªwhich left the target¡¯s sense of smell(olfactory) and hearing(auditory).
He had drastically more experience with auditory connection components because of his use of the Bell Sound Clone. Chinatsu didn''t play music while she was serving her clients, but was open to having a radio for mood music if it helped the mission¡ªand for a while he was going to use sound as the connection component. In the end he went with a smell. The nose was unique among the sensory organs as it was directly connected to the brain and memories had a strong connection to smells.
The result was Takuma''s first jutsu¡ª Olfactory Genjutsu: Complete Paralysis. It wasn''t unique or special. Nenro had a genjutsu called Genjutsu: Binding which accomplished a similar effect of having the target feel they were bound in unbreakable ropes. A target under Complete Paralysis would feel like they were under actual paralysis, losing all control over their body.
Then came the final problem: Takuma''s inexperience with genjutsu creation. He knew enough to create functional genjutsu, but he didn''t understand all the little nuances involved in jutsu creation. Complete Paralysis was extremely weak. During testing, his teammates broke the genjutsu quickly and while it worked, the paralysis wasn''t strong enough to stop their movements¡ªthey could still move, though impeded.
However, there wasn''t anything he could do about it. He didn''t have a genjutsu expert to guide him and if he wanted to improve, he needed time to experiment with genjutsu creation, which he didn''t have. There was only one solution: a long application time to increase the genjutsu''s strength. Even a weak genjutsu would be stronger if a large amount of the target''s chakra was influenced, which of course took a long time.
Thirty minutes after Aranai entered the room, Takuma was ready.
He raised his hands and weaved the hand seals for his first custom-made genjutsu.
"Ack!"
He heard Aranai''s voice from the other room and waited for Chinatsu''s next word.
"You''re heavy, master," she said with a strained laugh. "Are you tired?"
''Tired'' was the codeword.
The moment she said that word, Takuma heard the bedroom room slam open with footsteps rushing. Iori was going to put prisoner seals on Aranai under the watchful eyes of Gaku and Kameko, who were ready to cut him down if he made any suspicious moves.
Half a minute later, the genjutsu broke because prisoner seals restricted Aranai''s chakra.
"It''s done," Iori''s voice made Takuma''s shoulder sag in relief. They had captured an enemy chunin. This was quite possibly the biggest breakthrough they had since their arrival in the city.
But he became focused just as quickly as he had relaxed. He walked out of the closet and headed towards Anko''s room to see if they had captured the genin. The mission wasn''t over until they had both shinobi captured and transported out of the townhouse to the site they planned to imprison them. The door to her room was open, and Daiki and Rikku weren''t in the corridor. He sneaked in a glance and saw the trio standing around the bed with the Hidden Frost genin knocked out on the bed.
"It''s done, I guess," Takuma said, entering the room.
"You too?" asked Anko.
He nodded.
"Let''s get them out of here then."
After Iori put the prisoner seal on the genin, Daiki and Rikku took him away as planned. Takuma picked up the chunin in a body bag over his shoulder and looked at the rest of the team who were going to clean up the house and stay for a while before leaving. They knew that people would come asking about the two missing shinobi and their plan was to tell a story where they waited for the duo to arrive, and returned home when they never did.
"Take care," said Anko.
Takuma nodded and was about to leave when he noticed Chinatsu standing on the second floor corridor from the living room on the ground floor. She had dark finger marks around her neck and arms. He knew how much stronger a shinobi was than a civilian, and could only imagine what it was like to have someone overwhelmingly more powerful in control¡ªespecially if that someone liked it rough.
"You did a great job," he said to her. "We wouldn''t have been able to accomplish this without you."
Despite the bruises and marks over her body, she smirked. "I know."
Takuma gave her a smile before walking out of the townhouse and disappearing into the shadows.
CH_7.27 (245)
The Hidden Frost army had taken over one of the tourist districts of Yu, forcing the big inns and hotels to accommodate the shinobi as guests for months on end. Most places had shut down and the staff had abandoned their buildings, but some places housing the chunin and jonin were still operating while being paid by wealthy turncoats supporting the shinobi.
Yuriko was part of the housekeeping staff at one of those hotels.
It was dinner time and everyone was either out, or eating at the hotel¡¯s restaurant. She arrived in front of a room and looked around the hallway before using the staff key to enter it after confirming that the occupant of the room wasn''t in the hotel.
She moved quickly, remembering the instructions she had gotten two days back.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Yuriko gulped as she stared at the bags of flour, pulses, and spices sitting in her living room. She looked across the table at the kid sitting alongside Motohiro. She recognised him from the posters around the city.
"You''re... Takuma, right?" she asked.
"Yes, ma''am," Takuma replied with a smile. "Has your husband discussed our intentions?"
She looked at Wada, her husband, who worked under Motohiro, the owner of a milling business.
"Yes."
"And what do you think?"
At the start of the week, Wada had brought Motohiro home and they had talked about a job she could do for the resistance. She worked at a hotel with shinobi guests and without saying, she understood that the job was related to it. At first, she was hesitant. She spared no love for the shinobi as life had gotten harder since they had arrived¡ªbut her job was important¡ªand not even her husband''s displeasure about the job could make her stop working.
They had three children to raise and it took two people''s income to do it. Though neither she nor her husband had lost their job, Wada''s pay had decreased because of the current hard times as, in an attempt to keep everyone employed, Motohiro reduced everyone''s salary so that no one was left behind.
Just entertaining the thought about doing something against shinobi would risk her job¡ªsomething they couldn''t afford. But now as she looked at the food sitting in the corner of her house, the prospect was too attractive to refuse.
"W-What will I have to do?" she asked.
"Nothing too different from your usual responsibilities," said Takuma. "We want you to take out some trash."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Yuriko quickly entered the bedroom and looked for a "go-bag", which according to Takuma was something every self-respecting shinobi worth his salt had always prepared in case they needed to leave their residence with no time to pack a bag.
She carefully went through the bedroom and tried to find anything that looked like a bag of emergency supplies, but couldn''t find it. For a moment, she panicked, but took a few deep breaths and moved on to Plan-B, put in place in case she wasn''t able to find the go-bag.
The aim of the mission was to make it look like the room''s resident left quickly.
Yuriko went through the suite and took all the essentials from a couple sets of clothes to toiletries and put them in her cleaning cart. Given that the occupant was a shinobi, she took the weapons as well, handling them carefully to not injure herself.
And finally, she looked around the room for money made from drug dealing she was told would be hidden in the room.
If it was any place else, she would struggle to find it, but she had been cleaning the same rooms for six years. She knew the hotel rooms better than her own house and quickly found a big stash of hidden money with a stash of drugs. She ignored the drugs and took more than half of the money ¡ªTakuma promised her that she would be able to keep a portion of it, so she took more than she was instructed.
After ensuring she hadn''t missed, she left, leaving no signs of her presence.
She took a deep breath, feeling confident. If she did this one more time, her family would have the promised food and money, giving them time to relax.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Aranai woke up feeling like a steam engine had crashed into him at full speed. He raised his hand to massage his throbbing forehead but couldn''t reach because of the shackles tying his arms, legs, and torso to the wall behind him. Memories and realisation slammed into him like steam engine and he recalled loosing all sensation in his body as he was fucking Chinatsu before someone hit him on his head.
"That bitch!"
He looked around the barren room with jute bags piled up in the corner and saw sunlight streaming through a window with steel bars. He tried to get up but the chain length didn''t even let him do that. He tried to force the chains off the wall, but he had no strength. He couldn''t even bring his hands together to form hand seals, but that wasn''t the biggest problem¡ªhe couldn''t mix chakra. Which was when he noticed the fuinjutsu seals running all around his body.
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Prisoner seals, he thought¡ªhe felt a chill go down his spine.
Captured in an unknown place, his movement restrained, and without access to his chakra¡ªhe was in the worst position possible. He didn''t know how long he had been out, or if he was in Yu, or who had captured him. From the sunlight outside, it had been at least one night, but as all the unknowns kept piling up, the fear only grew.
He heard the faint sound of footsteps and looked at the heavy double doors with a panicked look and closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.
The door opened and Anko entered the room with a bucket; she walked to the tap in the corner of the room and started to fill it up. The screech of metal against the floor stabbed the ears as Takuma dragged a metal table along with an assortment of stuff into the room.
She walked toward Aranai with the bucket with water sloshing out of the rim, falling to the floor. "Pretending to be asleep, are we now?" she chuckled as she raised the bucket and threw the water in his face.
Even though he guessed it by the sounds, he had his eyes closed and the cold water hitting his face startled him enough to stop his breath for a moment. His eyes snapped open as he jerked the chains loudly. He opened his eyes to see one of Chinatsu''s handmaids before him, smirking down at him.
"You! Do you know what you have done!? I''m a chunin from the Hidden Frost! They''ll be looking for me by now!" he yelled at her, hoping to intimidate her. "You''re finished! You doomed everyone you involved in this shit! They''ll hang your corpse for everyone to see!"
Takuma came forward holding a folding chair. Aranai, seeing him for the first time, froze up, remembering the posters that had been put up around the city. The entire army was mandated to memorise the details on the poster.
"Y-You¡¯re Takuma," he said.
"I am," Takuma said as he placed the chair behind Anko. "Let''s be real here for a second. Do you think the Hidden Leaf will ever be scared of the Hidden Frost?"
Aranai glared at him, but couldn''t deny the words. He didn''t know where the information came from, but the jonin confirmed that Takuma was from the Hidden Leaf. Even though they weren''t in the Land of Frost, their home ground, they had complete control over Yu¡ªbut as he stared at Takuma, he was reminded of the Hidden Leaf, the stories he had heard, and the shinobi he had come across.
Maybe he wouldn¡¯t be rescued after all.
"Now we can do the easy way or the hard way," said Anko, making him scoff. She paused to smile before continuing. "Here''s how the situation is looking for you on the outside. The drugs you sold to your comrades were poisoned¡ª"
"Faulty," he barked.
Her smile broadened. "Poisoned, my dear. If your iryo-nin are any good, they''ll find the cause, which will definitely be poison." Aranai felt something in his stomach sink. She continued, "Once they know that, they''ll look at the suppliers¡ªyou and the Goharu Family. The Goharu Family will be there, but they''ll find you missing, and I don''t need to tell you how that looks."
Aranai stared into her eyes, trying to see if she was lying. If the pleased and amused look was any indication, she wasn''t lying, which set his heart beating faster. He had already sent bricks of drugs back home and if they were poisoned, and the blame was falling on him, then he was as good as dead, doomed beyond any chance of help.
"Not to mention, when they search your room. They''re going to find a lot of things missing... as if you had packed up a bag and ran away," said Takuma. "We¡¯ve also taken that stash of money... the one behind the wardrobe? I think we¡¯ll buy some drinks with it, so thanks."
That was the breaking point. "You s-set me up," he said, unable to hide the crack in his voice. If his own people turned against him, then no one was looking for him¡ªno that was wrong, they would still be looking for him, so they could punish him for his crimes. Even if he managed to escape on his own, there was no guarantee they would believe him unless he brought them the concrete truth.
"Here''s the proposition," said Anko. "Cooperate with us, answer our questions, and you''ll find your time with us peaceful and comfortable."
"...You''re never going to let me leave... you can''t," said Aranai. Letting him leave had no incentive for them; he grasped that the group was operating in Yu undercover and the moment they let him go, they''d be revealing their true identities to the enemy.
"Ah, you misunderstood my words, Aranai," said Anko, leaning close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. "I''m not promising freedom... I''m promising you the absence of pain. Cooperate and we won''t touch you. You''ll get ample food and water, and creature comforts will increase the more information you provide us with. It''s a simple contract of give-and-take."
Torture, thought Aranai, fearfully. He wasn''t surprised given that he was captured for information, but facing the prospect of it so directly was an entirely different experience. He didn''t know what they would do to him except that it would bring him a whole load of pain.
"Your subordinate, Ryoya, refused to take our offer, so we gave him a taste of our treatment," Takuma said as he rubbed his knuckles. "We spent the night spilling blood, sweat, and tears together¡ªthough the blood and tears were all from him. We gave him a rest by coming here so I think he''ll be interested in our proposition once we get back to him.
"What about you? Do you want to experience what you''ll be missing out on if you accept our proposition or would you like to skip it?"
Aranai''s heart was pounding but he was starting to calm down, and with it, his reasoning. Ryoya''s capture meant when their comrades started searching for them, they would go to Chinatsu because it wasn''t a secret that he was meeting her and his other two subordinates knew that he was taking Ryoya along with him.
"...I will cooperate," he said.
Chinatsu and her handmaidens, who he suspected were all shinobi, would be interrogated. Given that they were the last point of contact, they would be interrogated heavily, and there was a real chance of some sort of slip-up that aroused suspicion.
He was counting on that.
Next was the poisoned drugs. He had betrayed his allies so his motives would be questioned¡ªwhy did he poison the drugs? To answer that question, the resistance groups in the city would be targeted to find a link. He refused to believe that his captors had managed to keep their presence limited to themselves and only themselves; it was foolish to do so¡ªthe local support was essential for optimum effectiveness. He expected for someone to screw up or willingly open their mouths. Once that happened, the search radius would become narrower, and his chances of being rescued would increase.
Aranai looked up at them, hiding his thoughts.
"I will tell you everything I know."
According to his estimates, he just needed to stall for two to three days. Yu was completely closed-off and they had enough manpower to comb through the city for clues. Aranai had enough non-critical material to stall for that amount of time.
If help didn''t come by then... Well, he would cross that bridge when the time came.
CH_7.28 (246)
It had been seventeen hours since the team had abducted the two Hidden Frost shinobi. Takuma sat in an empty room of an unoccupied Kumi family property. There he sat, alone, having a sad pre-packaged lunch. Anko had returned to Chinatsu''s house to prepare for when the Hidden Frost shinobi came looking for their two missing comrades.
He would be alone with the two prisoners for the next few days with no contact with the team or anyone from the outside. They had to act to keep their cover in case they were being watched, which was highly likely since the Aranai and Ryoya''s last known location was with Chinatsu.
The abduction had succeeded without a hitch. The two shinobi were abducted stealthily, and had set them up to make it look like they had run away after poisoning their own allies. By painting them in a negative light, Aranai''s character would be questioned. He had been selling drugs to his comrades, and even though the jonin were turning their eyes away, it was still an illegal act. Takuma was sure some questions would arise stemming from his drug dealing. Had Aranai gotten greedy and accepted an offer to poison his comrades in exchange for money? If so, then who had paid him off?
Was it the weak resistance groups in Yu? Were they able to pay Aranai enough to betray his village? Or was it the Hidden Steam who had managed to turn Aranai traitor? Seeing that Takuma''s face was plastered around the city, he would be the one of the prime suspects as Aranai''s accomplice.
The moment they entertained that possibility, the Hidden Leaf would enter the picture. They would have to speculate on the Hidden Leaf or the Hidden Steam''s presence in Yu. They would have to think if Aranai and Ryoya were alone, or were there more among their ranks. The coefficient of trust in the Hidden Frost army in Yu would plummet as anyone remotely suspicious would be looked at critically. Anyone who¡¯d ever been punished would be within the pool of suspects.
This was the first step of spreading chaos in the Yu.
Next, was re-establishing order. The Kumi family¡¯s forces had been whispering the truth of the situation and negative speech against the Hidden Frost to the city folk. They were taking full advantage of small groups meetings and word of mouth to spread the message. It didn''t have any visible effects as civilians couldn''t do much against shinobi, but it was vital as they needed people on their side when the time to seize power came.
And having the support of locals like Wada''s wife to frame the two shinobi had proved that local support was beneficial.
''This is just the start. There''s so much more to do,'' thought Takuma as he heated up the mixed curry and rice¡ªbut he was snapped out of his musings when he heard footsteps. He silently got up and snuck out of the room with a kunai in his hand. No one¡ªno one¡ªwas supposed to be at the location other than him and the two captive shinobi. He silently climbed up the building to get a higher vantage point for a stealth kill to end the intruder in one strike.
"It''s just me, you don''t have to go all killer."
Takuma flinched and turned to look at Anko standing a few metres away from him on the roof. She had a smirk on her face which suited her but he didn''t like it in serious situations. He observed her intently for any signs of the Transformation Jutsu.
"Why''re you here?" he asked, putting his kunai down after confirming it was truly her.
"Let''s go down. I¡¯ve got a message from the camp," she said with a sombre look coming over her face. Once they were in the room where he was having his lunch, she continued. "I don''t know how to say this so I''ll be direct... The base sent the report regarding the organisation you recognised back home and they identified it. The blacksmith''s touch mark you found belongs to ROOT."
Takuma doubted his ears for a moment. "I''m sorry... did you just say ROOT? Hidden Leaf''s ROOT?"
"Oh, you know them?" said Anko, sounding surprised. "You know that name..."
"... Yes, I know them," said Takuma, realising his mistake.
ROOT was a top-secret department, completely unknown to the public; only people in the right circles or possessed the required clearance level knew of their existence. After Shimura Danzo was declared a rogue shinobi and a criminal, information about ROOT was released to the Leaf¡¯s general shinobi forces.
When the clans had joined together to demand actions against Danzo, ROOT wasn''t mentioned once as everyone understood it wouldn''t be wise to reveal state secrets for the world to see. However, when Danzo was officially declared a criminal, information about ROOT had been released. They weren¡¯t named as such and were only identified as an ANBU "team" under Danzo''s command¡ªthe truth was much worse.
Despite that, even if Takuma had received the news from the village, he shouldn''t have known ROOT by their name as it was never declassified.
Anko probably knew about ROOT from Orochimaru.
"I can''t tell you who told me," Takuma said when he saw the look on her face.
"Okay... I guess it saves me an explanation," she shrugged, but the look of doubtful intrigue lingered for a moment. "The confirmation comes directly from ANBU and we have additional orders. They want us to capture the ROOT agents for information, but in case that''s not possible, we have kill orders."
Takuma wanted to capture the people from the organisation to get some answers as well, but now that he knew they were ROOT, he wasn''t entirely sure he wanted to get into that mess.
"They''re not going to send someone in?" he asked, assuming that ANBU would like to handle ROOT matters.
"Doesn''t look like it."
"Then things are going to be tough..."
Anko nodded before standing up. "Let''s discuss this later. I''m not prioritising the new orders so our original ones still stand; if we figure out something, we¡¯ll try it out, but the focus remains on the main mission. I¡¯m only here because I wanted you to know this, so I¡¯ll head back before the Hidden Frost comes knocking."
Takuma nodded and saw Anko off before returning to his lunch. He slowly ate his half-hearted curry rice as the new revelations filled his thoughts. He had been targeted by ROOT¡ªby Danzo. He¡¯d always assumed that some drug lord was trying to kill him for his work in the Narcotics Taskforce, which could still be true¡ªbut what kind of drug lord hired ROOT to assassinate somebody?
Even though he knew ROOT existed, he didn''t exactly know what they did. They were similar to ANBU and handled national security on the external front. Danzo was always pulling strings in the shadows to ensure Hidden Leaf dominance¡ªbut how did he, a mere genin, fit into the scenario.
Had he somehow reveal something he shouldn''t have? Not once had the higher-ups at the Police Force given him any pushback about the cases he was handling or the people he was targeting. If he was touching someone or something he wasn''t supposed to, there would¡¯ve been some kind of warning from his higher-ups first; straight-up assassination was a big jump.
He brought the spoon to his mouth but stopped halfway through as the memories flooded in. Memories of the night he was ambushed in his own home and then the narrow escape from the second ambush at the police station arson. He tried to shake the thoughts as he ate, but the silence was unbearable and made the food hard to chew.
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Not to mention the curry was bland, becoming more unappetising with each bite. The table started to shake from how hard he was tapping his foot against the ground. He stopped and stared at his shaking thighs for a moment before leaving the room, his lunch barely touched.
Takuma entered Aranai''s room, startling the man. He said nothing and paced near the door for fifteen seconds. The memories of his time in the hospital¡ªrelearning how to stand and walk¡ªoverwhelmed him. His body had been wrecked by the attempted assassination; it robbed his sense of security and safety and he had lost a job he had worked so hard at¡ªa job he had loved.
Worst of all, he was forced to join a war to advance his career¡ªand there was only one party responsible for all that misery.
He pulled up a folding chair and sat right in front of Aranai, eerily calm despite the terror that reigned over him minutes prior.
"W-What?" asked Aranai,
"Who''s helping the Hidden Frost in Yu?" asked Takuma.
Aranai relaxed and let his body slump against the wall. "The Goharu family and a group of city elites who promised support in return for being spared. It worked well for us because we wanted to convert the city and them helping only made our goals that much easier. We''re also buying the produce from farmers outside the city¡ª"
"I''m talking about the shinobi support."
Aranai furrowed his brow. "Are you asking about the Hidden Cloud? They¡¯re helping us like you''re helping the Hidden Steam; that shouldn''t be a surprise."
"Anyone else?" asked Takuma.
Whatever Aranai thought he was pulling off, Takuma was well-aware that the man was trying to buy time through semi-cooperation until the Hidden Frost shinobi found him. He knew it because he had seen such behaviour before in interrogations all the time during his time in the Police Force. People tried to share information which would barely satisfy the interrogators in an attempt to not give out anything critical.
Takuma wanted to go hard from the start, but as his superior, Anko wanted to get the non-critical level information and allow Aranai to feel safe before extracting the critical information through advanced interrogation techniques.
"There''s no one else," said Aranai.
''Lie,'' thought Takuma. "Who orchestrated the police station arson?" he asked. The police force arson trying to impersonate the team had claimed lives of three police officers who were well-liked in the city even after the police force went through changes after the invasion..
The Kumi family had to discredit the dead police officers, dragging their reputation through the mud to ensure that the resistance wasn''t looked on negatively. It was necessary, but left a bad taste in his mouth. Takuma had done many things people from his previous life would call evil, but nothing as callous as what happened to those officers.
"It was us."
"Who specifically planned it? Give me a name."
"Eh? Ah... I don''t have a name. I wasn''t involved with it, so I don''t have the information."
That was bullshit. People talked and news naturally spread. The smaller the group, the freer the flow of information. For a group like the Hidden Frost army stationed in Yu, any and all information would spread like wildfire. Moreover, Aranai was a chunin¡ªand a notable one because of his drug dealing¡ªthere was no way he didn''t know the masterminds behind the police station arson.
"I think you''re hiding things from me, Aranai," said Takuma with a flat smile. "Who gave you the information about me on the poster?"
"...I-It was someone from the Hidden Cloud."
"Four shinobi ambushed me at the police station. Were they from the Hidden Cloud?"
"Yes."
"Their names."
Aranai went silent for a moment. His face genuinely looked like he was trying to recall the names, but his body betrayed him. He sat up straighter, his arms moved closer to his body as his body language shrunk. Still, he gave a few names which Takuma noted down so without saying a word, Takuma got up and walked out of the room.
"H-Hey, can I get some water," Aranai said but got ignored.
Takuma walked to the other side of the house and entered the room where Ryoya was being held. They had offered the same offer of cooperation to him, but he had outright refused it, choosing to keep his mouth shut. Unfortunately, that made him the subject of Anko''s torture techniques. He had managed to keep his mouth shut, but after receiving her tender mercies, Takuma was sure that wouldn¡¯t be the case.
"P-Please, no more. P-Please, I can''t take anymore," Ryoya cried the moment he saw Takuma enter the room. He was chained to the wall, was bruised all over, and his entire body looked pale and was shaking. Takuma sat in front of him and tipped an uncapped water canteen to let the water flow. Ryoya floundered and pulled his entire body forward to put his mouth below the canteen.
Takuma allowed him to drink ample before pulling the canteen back. "Do you want to talk now?"
Ryoya stared at Takuma with overwhelming fear in his eyes.
"Who was behind the police station arson?"
"S-Someone named Kon and his group."
"This Kon isn''t from the Hidden Frost or the Hidden Cloud is he."
"N-No, how do you know that?"
"Were they also the one who provided the information about me?"
"Did Aranai tell you about that?"
Takuma smiled. "He accepted our proposition the moment we offered it... and we didn''t have to touch a hair on his head."
Anger flashed through Ryoya''s tired eyes. Takuma smiled internally when he saw the look; it was the sign of a breakthrough, and they achieved it in less than a day.
"I... I don''t know who they are... no one knows who they are!" Ryoya quickly added. "They''re a five man group including their leader, Kon¡ªfour after one of them was killed. They¡¯ve been with us since before we invaded Yu. I don''t know much but no one likes them because they don''t participate in any of the regular duties."
''Kon...''
He didn¡¯t care whether it was real or an alias; he finally had a name.
Takuma considered Ryoya¡¯s words. It didn''t look like he was lying, but to be completely sure, he had to confirm it somehow. Seeing that they had two hostages, confirming the information from one with the words of the other was the standard way of doing things but since Aranai wasn''t going to surrender information willingly, he could only force it out of him.
"Where do they live?" Takuma continued to ask him more questions about the ROOT group. Ryoya didn''t seem to be aware that the group was ROOT, but he was only a genin. Aranai could potentially would have more information¡ªinformation that Takuma wanted at all cost.
He fed the rest of the canteen to Ryoya, who was just as eager as before to lap it up.
"Continue to cooperate with me and I''ll bring you food later. Who knows, maybe the torture will stop," said Takuma with a smile before locking Ryoya in the room. He picked up a thick rag and a bucket and headed to Aranai''s room.
"Hey, can I get some water," Aranai said upon Takuma.
Takuma filled up a canteen, followed by the bucket, and soaked the rag in the water. He then went and unlocked Aranai''s shackle, freeing him from the wall. Aranai shuffled forward, frowning at him from across the room. Takuma smiled and kicked him so hard in the face that a tooth flew out of his mouth.
"Wait! W-What are you¡ª"
He followed up with a sucker punch that knocked Aranai to the floor. The room had been prepared for interrogation. There was a hook for chains in the ceiling. Takuma looped chains through the hook in the ceiling to hang Aranai from it, who tried to make a run for the door, but Takuma tripped him and then kicked him in the back with an augmented kick, ending all resistance.
As long as Aranai had a prisoner seal on him, he was no match for Takuma, so hanging him upside from the ceiling was child¡¯s play.
"W-Why are you doing this?" Aranai eked out.
"Because I think you''re lying," said Takuma calmly.
"No, I''m not!"
"Ryoya refuses to open his mouth," Takuma lied, "but you did tell me a lot which means you''ll only say more if I apply a little pressure. I want to know everything about the group that tried to kill me, Aranai. This is personal and we''ll be alone for a good few days.... What I''m trying to say is that if you don''t answer me truthfully, I might just end up killing you. Obviously, you don''t want that, so let''s be honest with each other."
Takuma stepped away and weaved hand seals for Eight Tentacles Jutsu. The water from the bucket rose up and collected behind him before spreading out into tentacles.
"No, wait, please stop!" Aranai screamed as he hung from the ceiling.
"Let''s get started. Tell me about the people who provided the information about me."
The water tentacles moved and enveloped Aranai''s head, completely surrounding his nose and mouth with water, simulating the experience of drowning. Aranai held his breath and stared at Takuma with hatred and fear. Takuma returned a smile before forcing the water into Aranai''s nose until he really was drowning, and held it there for a few seconds as Aranai''s hanging body shook and his eyes begged for release. Only then did he pull the tentacles away and let Aranai cough away the water in his lungs.
"Tell me about the people who provided the information about me."
"I said I don''t know!"
"Lie. You said it was someone from the Hidden Cloud."
Takuma ordered his tentacles to once again drown Aranai, who held his breath. Takuma laughed and punched him in the gut as hard as possible without using augmentations, which made him swallow water and start drowning once again.
"Let''s try this again," said Takuma, pulling the tentacles away. "Who gave your people the information about me?"
CH_7.29 (247)
Late in the morning, a knock on the door sent everyone in the Chinatsu house on the highest alert. Everyone looked at each other, making sure they were ready. Anko raised her hand and gestured for the team along with Chinatsu and Gaku to take positions before she headed toward the door.
She engaged the chain latch before opening the door, and immediately a foot jammed in the gap to stop the door from closing. Anko put on a scared expression when she saw a shinobi in Hidden Frost colours; she tried to look beyond him, but the man¡¯s broad body blocked her view.
"Are you Miss Chinatsu?" he asked.
"N-No, what is it that you want with my lady?"
"We want to ask her about one of her clients, Aranai. He hasn''t been home since he left to meet her. Please let us in to question her... I don''t want to be forceful," the man looked down at her with a stone cold look that said she didn''t want to refuse in the situation.
"I will open the door," she said after shooting an alarmed look.
The man pulled his foot back and Anko opened the door wide, revealing two more shinobi. She stilled for a second when she saw the middle-aged shinobi, the oldest among the trio; all her instincts were screaming danger at her, warning not to engage in a fight with him. Their eyes met and Anko averted her eyes, playing the role of the scared woman facing a dangerous shinobi.
''A jonin,'' she thought.
"What is this commotion so early in the morning?" Chinatsu descended from the second floor, dressed in a scanty, thin nightgown that left very little to the imagination. She rubbed small circles into her eyes as though she had just woken up. All according to plan as all three shinobi stared at Chinatsu, their eyes roaming over her body. Iori followed after Chinatsu from the second floor, handing her a proper robe to put on, but Chinatsu wore it in a way that gave the shinobi a distracting view.
"My lady, we have guests," said Anko politely.
"Oh, shinobi?" said Gaku entered the living room from the kitchen with a cup of tea. "You must know Aranai. Have you seen him? He owes me my money."
Daiki was the next to enter the room. He stationed himself near Chinatsu as her bodyguard. He looked appropriately nervous for a civilian bodyguard with three shinobi who could rip him apart before he knew it.
Anko bowed to Gaku. "They''re looking for him, Mister Jimii. He is missing..."
"He didn''t show up yesterday, but he still has to pay¡ªtell him that when you find him," said Gaku, perfectly playing the role of a money-minded pimp.
The jonin looked around the living room and at the people talking and sat down at the couch which brought all eyes on him. "Please have a seat Lady Chinatsu and Mister Jimii," he said in a calm tone. He looked at Anko and smiled, "May I get some warm water? If there are other people in the house, please call them down."
The shinobi in the room could sense the threat the jonin posed¡ªthey knew that one bad move was all it would take for him to end them before they so much as leave the house¡ªbut even without that, there was power and confidence in his voice. He ordered them around in their own home, fully-expecting and knowing that his orders would be fulfilled.
Chinatsu called Kameko and Rikku down and they stood in a corner with Iori in nervous silence as everyone watched the jonin drink the cup of warm water.
"Thank you," he said to Anko before addressing everyone in the room. "My name is Ebi. I''m a shinobi from the Frost. Aranai and Ryoya are my subordinates. I''m told that Aranai regularly availed your services, Lady Chinatsu, and that he met with you last night. He also brought Ryoya along with him yesterday."
"He didn''t come yesterday," said Chinatsu with a little heat in her voice as though offended. "It''s not very gentlemanly to be absent after promising a meeting with a lady. Don''t you think so, Mister Ebi?" she asked, directing her charm at Ebi.
"...Of course, Lady Chinatsu," said Ebi, smiling. "So you''re saying that Mister Aranai never arrived for his meeting with you. What about Ryoya; did he come?"
"Both of them were a no show," Gaku scoffed. He was in the most danger among the people in the room; his face was known to the enemy and here he was sitting right in front of them with a layer of make-up and a fake identity between them and him. "We rent a townhouse. It''s expensive, so it''s a loss when the client doesn''t show up."
"I understand your concern, Mister Jimii," said Ebi, his eyes scanning everyone in the room.
Everyone in the team remembered Takuma''s words.
"¡ªYou''re not shinobi, so don''t stand like you''re ready to jump into a battle at the moment''s notice. All of you are Chinatsu''s handmaids, training to eventually get into the business, be ''lady-like'', be feminine, pay attention to your looks. Live the lifestyle, the more you inhabit your cover, the easier it will be deceive others¡ª"
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The girls had taken his disguise advice to heart and had started to follow the lifestyle of their cover identities. They were helped by Chinatsu who gave them tips and Gaku who was experienced with disguises. After nearly two months in Yu, they were no longer Hidden Leaf shinobi, but Chinatsu''s handmaids. As for Daiki, his size itself was a disguise¡ªthe moment they saw his muscular frame, they tagged him as the bodyguard and stopped looking.
"I must say, your reputation precedes you, Lady Chinatsu," Ebi said to her. "I heard that you arrived in Yu from the Hot Waters capital less than two months ago... May I ask why you chose to relocate from the bustling capital to a border city... This move seems to be contrary from a business standpoint."
A hidden nervousness bubbled up in their room. The timing of the team''s arrival in Yu was one of the things that could be perceived as suspicious; everyone else they had managed near perfectly.
Chinatsu''s eyes narrowed before she smiled behind her hand. "Past lovers, when they''re powerful men, can be troublesome for business... You underestimate Yu; so many shinobi away from their homes make for excellent business." She leaned slightly forward to highlight her cleavage. "I''m very interested in you, Mister Ebi... Are you interested in me?"
Ebi''s eyes lingered on Chinatsu''s body for a moment before he looked up. He smiled, "Your beauty is brilliant and charming as the moonlight, Lady Chinatsu. Perhaps we shall dilly-dally some day. Today, however, I''m looking for my subordinates. Are you sure you didn''t see them yesterday?" he directed the question to everyone.
"He didn''t show up," said Gaku with a harrumph.
Ebi hummed and sat silent for a moment before turning to his shinobi subordinates behind him.
"Check the house."
The moment he said that Chinatsu and Gaku tried to argue and protest, but the two shinobi ignored them and started to go through everything in the house, upturning everything, breaking things in the process.
"You can''t do this!" said Chinatsu, indignantly.
"This is not a request, Lady Chinatsu. If you don''t sit down and let us search your house, you''ll get hurt and no one wants that to happen, so sit down. This won''t take too long," Ebi said nonchalantly, which made it all the more impactful.
Anko glanced at the men searching the home. They wouldn''t find anything shinobi-related because there was nothing to be found as they were living their cover''s life. The house was kept clean. All their weapons and gear were stashed in another place¡ªit was inconvenient at times like when Iori wanted to make seals, but it was a necessary practice to maintain their protection.
"Sir, we found these." One of the men placed several identical sheathed daggers on the table in front Ebi, who looked up at Chinatsu.
"A woman must know to protect herself," she shrugged.
Being too clean was a thing. Having no weapons in the house would seem suspicious so they purchased daggers in Yu for all the women in the house in the name of personal protection.
Ebi observed one of the daggers in his hand, checking them with bored eyes.
"Anything else?" he asked.
The man shook his head.
"Very well." Ebi stood up. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Chinatsu. If either of my missing men contact you, please reach out to us. Now if you''ll excuse us, we must take our leave. Thank you for your hospitality."
The Hidden Frost shinobi left the house, leaving behind a mess, but the group all sighed in relief because the house aside, everything had gone well, which was as close to the best case scenario they could¡¯ve hoped for.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Put a lookout to keep an eye on them," said Ebi as they walked away from the Chinatsu house.
"Did you find something amiss, sir?" asked one of his men.
"Not at all," Ebi said as he fiddled with a cigarette pack. "It''s just that I felt like their reaction was lacking. They weren''t scared enough. One of them could be tough¡ªmaybe even two or three¡ªbut all of them looked too composed for my taste despite being suspected of being involved with two shinobi''s disappearance."
"Maybe that was Aranai''s plan. He had a reason to leave without raising suspicion and used it to disappear."
"That could be it," Ebi agreed, "but why not just disappear? There was no need to involve the courtesan. We would''ve interrogated her regardless because of their meetings."
"Perhaps it was a distraction so we would waste our time with them. They''re currently our prime suspects."
Ebi looked at his man. "You presume I''m wasting our time by putting a lookout on them."
"N-No, of course, not, sir! I apologise, I, by no means, wanted to imply that."
Ebi gave him a hard stare before looking away.
"The courtesan''s arrival into Yu is also suspicious. Less than two months... their arrival matches with the trouble that has been brewing in the city. Keeping an eye on them would be wise. Station some men to record their movements; I want regular reports."
Ebi put a cigarette to his lips and was about to light it when he said, "Any news from our informants?"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma ate his cold lunch on a stool as he watched a bloody Aranai hanging from the ceiling. He was fully expecting it, but Aranai didn''t break easily. He had screamed, cried, begged, but hadn''t given a single word of information since the start of the advanced interrogation.
"You''re slightly tough, I''ll give you that," Takuma said as he chewed on the cold meat, "the Hidden Frost must''ve a good interrogation program to turn a wimp like you into someone who can take a decent beating... but you sure do moan like a bitch."
Aranai twitched.
Takuma noticed it, but pretended to ignore it and dug into his lunch.
"And you bruise like a peach. It''s hilarious, actually; half-way through, I was trying to see if I could draw on you."
Even though they had only met yesterday and Aranai had been on guard against him, Takuma knew a few things about him through Chinatsu. She had his guard lowered when they were together and even though he didn''t give any sensitive information to her, he hadn''t hidden his personality and quirks from her.
The man had no patience for jokes made at his expense.
"You know, Chinatsu said you were one of her easier customers because she didn''t need to do much to please you. You¡¯re hard before she touches and you get done quickly¡ª all she had to do was make some easy fake sounds for her to get paid."
Aranai had shut down since he started to torture him but he needed him to open up and for that to happen, he had to get him talking. He had worn him down by beating him up, and if he could get him angry, he would spout stuff he wouldn''t if he was calm. Takuma wanted to keep him irritated, and then needle him for information by constantly undermining him.
However, he needed to know about things Aranai was insecure about because what Chinatsu had given him was fairly limited.
Fortunately, Takuma had a rich source of information about Aranai ready to spill in the next room.
CH_7.30 (248)
A Hidden Frost genin entered the backyard of a house and stopped when he saw Ebi standing in the middle of the backyard. He couldn''t put the feeling in words, but he stood silent and still even though he had an urgent report to give to the jonin.
Ebi was in a basic stance with his arms up in guard. The backyard had a healthy growth of grass in need of trimming, but the spot where Ebi stood was bare with the dirt beneath clearly visible. There were multiple lines of missing grass outside the circle, making something like a sun pattern as though someone had uprooted all the grass to make the pattern.
The genin almost missed it when Ebi kicked the air, creating a vicious sound of his foot cutting through the air. He also noticed that the gust created from the kick pushed against the grass, ripping a few blades, thus answering the question of the strange grass pattern on the floor.
"What is it?"
"Huh? Y-Yes, our informant came through with information, sir. We have a location for Chunin Aranai and Genin Ryoya."
Ebi relaxed his stance and walked to a table in the corner to wipe his sweat with a towel.
"Which informant?"
"The one inside the Kumi Family."
"Did he confirm the other thing?"
"No, sir. He only provided an address."
Ebi hummed.
"Tell the squad to be ready and do the preliminary recon¡ªwe hit the location in two hours. I''ll be personally leading the team."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Two hours later, a squad of Hidden Frost shinobi had surrounded the abandoned house. They had been observing the place since their arrival and hadn''t revealed their presence by doing their reconnaissance under stealth so they could ambush the abductors.
The street in front of the house was empty and quiet but two streets away the shinobi prepared for the rescue mission. The squad was of three chunin-led teams of three genin, who all worked directly under Ebi.
"Sir!"
A chunin stood in attention as Ebi arrived decked in full combat gear for the operation.
"Are the preparations complete?"
"We have set a perimeter and blocked entry into the area. The residents have been warned to stay in the area. The squad is ready to breach at your command!"
"Any movement to and from the property?"
"No, sir. No one has entered or exited the property. The windows are boarded, blocking any view from the inside," said the chunin.
The entire squad gathered around a rough exterior map of the property built through reconnaissance.
"Two teams will lead the breach," said one of the chunin as he drew lines on the map. "Team A will approach from the front. Team B will go in from the back. Team C will stay out and surround the property to intercept the abductors in case they manage to slip past us."
"Sounds good," said Ebi, "but I''ll be the first one in through the door. Team A will follow after me."
No one objected. They had no problems with the plan; with a jonin in lead, they practically weren''t needed and all but had their safety secured.
Ten minutes later, the squad was in front of the property, hiding behind the walled-fence.
Ebi casually walked into the property and stepped up to the door. He touched the old lock on the old door and frowned at the amount of dust sticking to everything. He pushed the door lightly¡ªlight for a jonin¡ªand snapped the door in half after it came off the hinges. He waited for a moment to see if anything would pop up like explosive seals or an attack coming from his throat, but there was not a squeak in response other than the gust of hot wind that hit him in the face.
He clicked his tongue.
He looked back at the squad. Team A was behind him while Team B proceeded behind the house.
"What is it, sir?" the Team A chunin whispered.
"There''s probably no one in the house," he sighed, "there never was..."
There were no clean patterns on the door knob, no shoe prints in front, no preventative measures, and the rush of hot air meant that the house hadn''t been ventilated for a while.
Regardless, Ebi walked into the house to do his due diligence, and as expected, there was no one and nothing inside the house. Team B breached in from the back and Team A from the front. Both teams converged to the middle as they checked the house, finding nothing¡ªnot even lizards or rats scurrying around.
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¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A short and thin snake slithered through streets, keeping himself to the corners to stay under the shadows. He was careful not to be spotted by the humans who spelled trouble, and cautiously made his way to his destination. He relied on his innate sense of smell to follow the unique scent his mistress had laid on the path there.
He raised his head to look at the abandoned house that was the source of the scent¡ªit was the scent of blood. It made him reluctant to enter despite his mistress'' request, but after mulling over it for a moment, he entered the property. He approached a barred window and coiled his body to jump to one of the bars.
Inside, he saw a completely naked bloody human male hanging from the ceiling.
"Fuck you!" yelled the male with the swollen eyes and face.
"Don''t blame me for your incompetence. If I wanted to, I could''ve killed more than a dozen of your shinobi because you got greedy. Man, I could''ve killed you when you were buck naked on the bed because you couldn''t keep your small dick in check. You''re definitely the stupid type who dies quickly."
He looked at the second human male sitting on a stool, who was laughing as he taunted the first male. The second male turned to look at the window, gazing right into his eyes. He was startled and tensed up, but got himself ready for either fight or flight. The second male didn''t say anything and pointed with his chin to the door before exiting the room.
He jumped down from the window and slithered to find the second male coming out from another room with a small pot of water that he set down in front of him.
"Drink if you''re thirsty," said the human. "Anko sent a message?"
He looked at the pot of water with suspicion before looking up at the human and spitting out a battery sized capsule from his body.
"That''s as gnarly as always," the human chuckled as he retrieved the roll of paper from the capsule.
As he drank water from the pot, he looked up at the human whose smile slipped off his face as he read whatever his mistress had written to him.
"Are you going to take a message back?"
He shook his head. His mistress had only asked him to make a one-way trip and then return back home.
"Alright... have your fill before leaving," the human said as he walked away.
The human had a grave severe expression on his face. It seemed that his mistress'' message hadn''t been a good one.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Hoshiguro sat in his private office in the Kumi family¡¯s main residence, looking over the ledger of salaries paid out to his men. The family''s business had slowed down by half since the shinobi had taken over. They had been able to pay their people, but with the decreased business, that was becoming difficult without actively reaching into their emergency funds¡ªwhich Hoshiguro did not want to do.
''Perhaps it''s time to start holding back the salaries,'' he thought.
The sliding door to his office opened and someone stepped in, but Hoshiguro didn''t look up from his work.
"What is it?" he asked¡ªbut then he recognised the footsteps and looked up to see Takuma standing before him. "You..." He was surprised, but calmed himself down, and thought why would Takuma be in his office like this. "You managed to sneak in unnoticed. Impressive."
"It wasn¡¯t difficult."
"Sit down."
"No thank you," Takuma shook his head. "The Hidden Frost raided one of the properties today."
"What?¡± Hoshiguro¡¯s stomach dropped and he almost leapt out of his chair. ¡°Which one?"
It was a secret within the family only known by a few people, but the Kumi family had helped Takuma abduct two Hidden Frost shinobi, who were being held at a property procured through the Kumi family connection.
However, Takuma had requested something very specific from Hoshiguro: he wanted to keep the location a secret by giving people fake addresses¡ªeveryone who knew was given a unique address and strictly asked to not discuss it with anyone else.
The intention was quite clear: to identify a leak in the Kumi family if one existed.
It was highly offensive to suggest that his family had a traitor in it, but Takuma convinced Hoshiguro to go on with the plan despite his reservations. It was purely a preventative measure and he didn''t think anyone from his family would betray their own.
"Who?" asked Hoshiguro.
"Your son," said Takuma, bluntly. "It looks like dear Gyon holds a grudge for the beating you had me give him."
Hoshiguro couldn''t believe it¡ªhe didn''t want to believe it. His own son had leaked information to the enemy who had taken their home hostage. He didn''t know what exactly had Gyon leaked, but depending on what was said, the Kumi family was at a great risk. When he had made Takuma fight Gyon, he wanted his son to understand how low they stood on the ladder and if they offended the wrong people, it could spell their end.
It was supposed to be a humbling experience, but Gyon had learned all the wrong lessons.
"What are you going to do?" Hoshiguro asked Takuma.
Gyon had made a mistake, but he was still his son¡ªhe would do anything to save his son from the dangerous shinobi who he clearly knew wouldn''t hesitate to kill him if he became a problem. Hoshiguro couldn''t allow that to happen even if it meant putting his life on the line because it was a father''s duty to protect his family.
"Your face betrays your thoughts," said Takuma impassively. "You''ve been of great help, and I don''t want to damage this working relationship we have¡ªso I''m not going to do what I want to do, and suggest that you lock him up and find out what he blabbed to the Frost shinobi. That said, I don''t want him leaving the house so he can create more troubles for us; have him spend time with his family and children to understand what''s really important... because if I find out that he did something else, it''ll end badly for not just him, but you as well."
Hoshiguro studied Takuma''s face and eyes to peer at some of his thoughts, but the young shinobi didn''t give anything away¡ªyet one thing was clear: if the Kumi family betrayed him again, he would get them back one way or another. Hoshiguro knew Takuma had allies he had kept away from them. Even if they managed to somehow sink Takuma, those shinobi would seek revenge, and there would be no stopping them.
"I will make sure he doesn''t cause any more trouble."
"Good."
Takuma turned around to leave but stopped to say one last thing, "The Hidden Frost shinobi might come after you. It might be wise to go into hiding or make some preparations..."
Hoshiguro nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±
If the Hidden Frost shinobi heard whispers about the Kumi family''s involvement, they would stop at nothing to find their missing men. He put himself in their shoes, and if he had that much power, he would go after every possible party who was even slightly suspicious.
If Gyon really had told them that the Kumi family was involved, then the shinobi would come looking for them¡ªhe would do the same and he had done the same.
Takuma opened the door and exited.
Hoshiguro waited to see if someone spotted him, but ten minutes later, no one came to him with the news of a break in. But if one shinobi could reach him so easily, he had no idea what preparations he could make to stop an army of shinobi.
CH_7.31 (249)
Hoshiguro''s family ate dinner together every day. Him, his wife, their son, their daughter-in-law, and the twin grandchildren. It was a family tradition and no one was allowed to skip the meal under any circumstance with very few exceptions.
As usual, the family was together around the table. Gyon''s wife was trying to feed her twins, who seemed to want nothing more than to run around. Hoshiguro''s wife ate as she watched the twins with an imperceptible smile and her husband and son sat opposite to each other and ate their meals in silence.
Hoshiguro glanced at his son and noticed that he had barely touched his food.
"Not hungry, son?"
Gyon looked like he snapped out of some deep thought and looked up at his father before looking down at his food. Everyone on the table looked at him as well, and he felt their gazes.
"I don''t seem to have an appetite today," said Gyon and when he saw a look of worry over his mother''s face, he added, "I''m alright, I just don''t feel like eating today."
"Any stress?" Hoshiguro asked.
"...I''m just worried about the shinobi''s movements these last few days," said Gyon, putting his chopsticks down. "They¡¯ve been aggressively patrolling the city¡ªall of them, something they haven''t done since their first couple months in the city. Four of our guys have been busted but they only returned two of them all bruised up. Their two missing shinobi have set them on an edge."
"That is indeed worrying," Hoshiguro commented as he ate, "That must¡¯ve be why you tried to fix things with them."
Gyon looked confused. "Father?"
"They did it quietly, so the news didn''t spread, but did you really think I wouldn''t know?" Hoshiguro looked up at his son.
The look from his father was enough for Gyon to understand what Hoshiguro meant. His face stiffened before he regained his composure and tried to look like he didn''t understand.
"Father, I don''t understand¡ª"
"I gave everyone different addresses," Hoshiguro didn''t beat around the bush, "and the address I gave you¡ªand only you¡ªwas raided today. They didn''t find anyone there, so no harm was done, but... harm was done, wasn''t it, son."
Gyon first looked dumbfounded, but with every word, he started to get more and more horrified.
"I don''t really care that you put him in danger, but to think you''d break my trust and put the Kumi in danger? Is that how I raised you?" Hoshiguro''s voice turned grave, deeper, and his face went from red to a deep purple.
"Father, I¡ª"
"SHUT UP!"
The entire room went silent. Even the young twins, who loved to run around and create a ruckus, stuck to their mother, looking between their father and grandfather in worried silence.
Hoshiguro¡¯s wife motioned for the servants to leave the room to give the family some room and privacy. "Please settle down," she tried to calm her husband, worried about his health
"What was it?" Hoshiguro ignored his wife. "Did you feel you were less of a man because you lost to a child? That child is a shinobi, you idiot! Or did you do it because you wanted to be the head? Did they promise you control of the Kumi family if you became their lackey? Who do you think I built all of this for? Did you think this would go to anyone else?¡±
Gyon tried to interject, fearing for his health, ¡°F-Father, I¡ª¡±
¡°THIS IS ALL FOR YOU" he yelled. "...But you got greedy, and sold your own father''s trust!"
He stopped to take a breath and everyone turned to Gyon as the realisation that he had helped out the Hidden Frost dawned on everyone. It was a shock for the adults to say the least. They looked at Gyon, hoping he would put down the accusations by defending himself.
A dark look appeared on Gyon''s face as he said, "This is all your fault. If you had just..." He trailed off when Hoshiguro, who was previously vibrating with rage, swayed from side-to-side before collapsing.
"Dear!" Hoshiguro''s wife immediately rushed to her collapsed husband and called out to the servants and guards.
On the other side of the table, Gyon stared at the figure of his father without moving. For all he knew, he had killed his father with his betrayal and the mere thought left him feeling utterly shell-shocked.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma sat on the floor in front of Ryoya, who looked deathly pale, had a deep dark circle under his eyes, sweat stuck to his skin¡ªall in all, he didn''t seem to be feeling very good in captivity. Anko and Takuma were partially to blame because of their interrogation; however, he hadn''t been touched recently as Anko was absent and Takuma was focusing on Aranai.
His current condition was more because of stress than any torture they¡¯d inflicted on him.
"So, Jonin Ebi¡¯s the one in charge?" asked Takuma.
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"He''s officially in charge; though the other jonin don''t seem to think so," Ryoya responded in a feeble voice. He was slumped against the wall and was staring outside the barred window with a faraway look. "But he''s the one who''s actively managing the chunin and the genin. He handles the defence of city walls, the export and import of the city with the Land of Frost, the majority of communication with natives who took our side when we took over the city¡ªhe was the one to first meet and talk to them..."
Takuma noted the name on a pocket notepad. Ryoya had been quite forthcoming with him because he was a mentally weak person who had crumbled fairly easily.
At long last, Takuma had found something that interested him. Jonin Ebi seemed to be the only jonin doing his job leading the troops while the other jonin were treating their time in Yu as a vacation, consorting with the city''s rich and elite, and having the time of their lives.
''It would be a very significant blow to the enemy if we are somehow able to take down Ebi,'' thought Takuma as he circled Ebi''s name multiple times.
"Is there anything you can tell me about Kon''s group?" asked Takuma.
Ryoya shook his head. "I just know where they live, nothing else. They don''t mingle with us."
Takuma pursed his lips. The location Ryoya knew was most likely a red herring. He hadn''t been able to find anything of significance about the ROOT squad that would give any useful insight into the group.
"Will you let me go?" asked Ryoya.
Takuma didn''t answer immediately. "...If you don''t try to escape and be honest with me, I''ll eventually trade you to the Land of Frost. You have more value to me alive than dead," said Takuma.
In truth, he didn''t have the authority for his claims. Once Camp Banana invaded Yu and the jonin arrived, they would decide what to do with a prisoner of war, not him.
"Can I trust you?"
Takuma smiled wryly. "Would it really matter if I said yes?"
Ryoya stared at Takuma with dead eyes before letting his head go limp. Takuma knew it was his time to leave him alone when he started sobbing. He left him in a locked room to tire himself out from crying and then entered Aranai''s room, who was in a much worse condition than Ryoya.
Unlike his subordinate, he had yet to say a word since Takuma had started torturing him. Aranai was chained to the wall and looked up at him with defiant eyes; it had been four days since they¡¯d started the abduction operation. Day-1 was the abduction; Day-2 was the initial interrogation; Day-3 was when the Hidden Frost visited the Chinatsu house; and Day-4 was the raid at the fake address.
Takuma knew that Aranai thought he would be found by now, which would''ve been true if he hadn''t put the safety measure in place with the Kumi family through Hoshiguro.
He grinned as he pulled up a chair in front of him."In a couple hours, you''ll be with me for three days." The moment he said that, the defiant look in Aranai¡¯s eyes wavered. "You shouldn''t keep up hope, you know. They aren''t coming to get you¡ªI mean, how would they find you when we aren''t even in Yu?"
Not once during the entire torture and investigation had Takuma mentioned their location. Aranai had to assume that they were in the city because that was his only hope of getting rescued. The view out of the window didn''t have any markers that would give their location away.
When Aranai looked up at him, Takuma put on a devilish smile¡ªand it worked because something cracked inside the mentally and physically exhausted Aranai. It was only for a split second, but the horror on the prisoner¡¯s face was unmistakable, even when he cut all the emotion off from reaching his face immediately after.
"You''re lying," he said.
Seeing him respond was good for Takuma. He had kept him speaking, even though it was curses and abuse up until now, but he had finally managed to find a chink in that armour.
"You can take solace in that thought," Takuma smiled, "but I wonder what you''ll think when they don''t come tomorrow... the day after that... and after that, and after that, after that¡ªand after that." He then stood and stroked Aranai''s hair. "Perhaps if you pray enough, it¡¯ll come true and your people will burst through the door tomorrow."
He stressed the word tomorrow to plant it inside Aranai''s mind so he would think about it, hope for it, and pray for it¡ªbut when this thing didn''t happen, all that hope and expectation would shatter and it would break him from the inside. After that happened, he would finally open up and let the information flow.
Being rescued was the only thing that kept Aranai quiet. He withstood the torture that he and Anko had put him through because he believed that his people would find him in no time. Without it, he had nothing left; no reason to continue to sit through the agonising torture.
"Until then, you¡¯re stuck with me, I¡¯m afraid¡ I¡¯ll see you in a few hours for our next session."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Inside Chinatsu house, the team gathered together in the living room after dinner to have a discussion.
"I¡¯ve spotted four people," said Daiki as he sat beside the small Rikku. "They have twelve hour shifts and the guard detail switches at around nine in the morning." As the resident ranger, he had sneaked around to see the team that was observing them. "Whenever we go out, they place two people on our tail while the remaining two observe whoever¡¯s left in the house."
He looked at Anko and she nodded.
"My snakes also confirmed four people," she sighed.
She had used her snake contract too much during her time in Yu and the costs were beginning to pile up. Every summoning contract had different terms and the snake contract had to be paid in flesh and blood¡ªand lots of it.
Depending on who she summoned, the length of the summon, and the task, she had to pay up the summoned snakes with animal meat of their choice¡ªhumans-included. Given that she was in Yu, she had to defer her payments due to her cover¡ªbut a lot of snakes didn''t care about any of it and wanted the payment quickly, which limited her options.
Even then, the mission¡¯s two month period was too long for the snakes who were willing to take payment later. Soon, the snakes would stop responding to the call of her chakra. If she tried to push it, there was a chance that she would lose her contract all together.
"My suggestion is that we sneak Iori out two hours before the shift change," said Daiki.
"I agree," Gaku chimed in. "That''s the time frame where the possibility of a surprise is the lowest. As long as we get her back thirty minutes before the shift changes, we¡¯re golden."
The reason for all of this back and forth was because of their two Hidden Frost prisoners¡ªmore specifically, the prisoner seals. They needed to be refreshed regularly and that time had come. Iori, the fuin-nin, was the only one capable of drawing prisoner seals, so she needed to get to the location to do so.
Those prisoner seals were the ONLY reason why the team was so comfortable with leaving Takuma alone with the prisoners.
"So, who''s going on the outing?" asked Gaku.
Everyone turned to Anko for the answer, who took a moment before giving her answer.
"Gaku and Daiki will take Iori."
She breathed a deep sigh.
They were in the final stage of their mission. Camp Banana, along with additional forces, were set to arrive at a pre-scheduled time regardless of how their mission went and Team-9 was yet to send any solid information to the base. Camp Banana would arrive in ten days no matter what, but Takuma needed to acquire the information within the next three days so she could send a report that they actually made some use of it.
With only three days left until the deadline, Anko was beginning to grow nervous.
"Let''s give him all the help he needs."
Ten days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.32 (250)
Sneaking out of Chinatsu¡¯s house was easy enough. They snuck out from the balcony in the back, using chakra adhesion until they were out of sight of the two people keeping a lookout. It was their second day on duty, and one would expect them to be alert, but it was late at night and they weren''t used to the night schedule, making it the perfect time to sneak out.
The moment they cleared out of the guard''s detection, they broke into a full on sprint, taking the shortest possible path to Takuma''s safe house. As they neared the location, they threw in the typical tactics for losing tails by roaming around at a quickened pace, snaking through alleys and mixing in altitude changes before finally arriving at Takuma''s safehouse.
They heard nothing as they entered the property, but as they neared the building, they heard faint sounds of someone being tortured inside.
"He''s doing it this late?" Gaku whispered, expecting Takuma to be resting this late at night.
"Let''s go, we need to finish this quickly," Daiki said, urging them. He was leading the trio and was the most tense during this outing. Getting caught meant having their cover blown deep in the enemy territory¡ªthat absolutely terrified him. "Let''s go inside."
They vaulted over the building and landed in the open courtyard.
"Takuma," Iori called and the place went silent.
The door to one of the rooms opened, but there was no one in the doorway, and they could only see a chained body laying on a bench inclined with wood blocks underneath one side. There was a puddle of water around the prisoner. Takuma stepped out from behind the wall after a full five seconds and looked tense with a kunai in his hand for a few moments until he breathed out and closed the door behind him.
"Prisoner seals?" asked Takuma as he walked toward them. "You better have brought me something good to eat."
"You look horrible," Iori immediately commented on Takuma''s bloodshot eyes and dark circles, which had improved since he had come to Yu, but now we''re back to being terrible. "Are you fine? Do you want help?"
"I''m fine," said Takuma as he twisted his body to crack his spine. "I can''t have them getting comfortable¡ªthey''re kept under pressure be it day, evening, or night. I''m making progress. I think I''ll have them spill information tomorrow."
When Iori didn''t say anything and looked at Takuma ridiculously, and he stared back at her, Gaku moved them along.
"Which one do you want us to do first?" asked Gaku.
"Do Aranai first," said Takuma and put his hand forward.
Daiki took out two vials of sleeping agents and needles from his pack and handed them to Takuma, who went back into the room to knock Aranai out so Iori could work on him without resistance.
"So, which Hidden Frost shinobi came to the house?" Takuma talked to Gaku outside Aranai''s room as Iori worked inside with Daiki.
The message Anko had sent with the snake only had information about the Hidden Frost''s raid.
"A jonin named Ebi," Gaku answered.
Takuma looked at him with wide eyes. "Really? I guess that makes sense. Ryoya tells me that he''s the jonin managing everything while others are on vacation. I''m thinking that if we take him down¡ªI mean not us, but someone else from the main forces¡ªbut if we take him down, we can crumble the enemy''s support structure."
That was the kind of information he wanted from Aranai; the kind of information they were sent to collect.
"Why do you work so hard?" Gaku asked after staring at the tired Takuma lost in his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"This is not your country, not your people, not your war¡ªand yet you''re working like a ghost with a vengeance."
Takuma took a deep breath as he leaned against a pillar.
"I''m not doing this for Yu or the Land of Hot Waters. If things had turned out differently, I wouldn¡¯t be here at all. I''m doing this for myself¡ªsure you benefit from my effort¡ªbut I''m putting in this effort because it progresses my career... If this goes well, when I return home, my achievements will push me over the edge and get me promoted¡ªat least, I hope so. I hate being here¡ I¡¯m living in the moment, drowning myself in accomplishing this goal because I know if I think about home, I won¡¯t have the energy to get out of the bed in the morning."
Takuma then chuckled.
"What?" asked Gaku.
"I consulted with my teachers before coming here, and they said that wars are where shinobi are made, where legends are coined, where heroes are born, and whatnot¡ªbut I don''t feel like a legend or hero." Takuma smiled as he pushed himself off the pillar. "But I guess, I am finding out more about what it means to be a shinobi."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Is this it?" Ebi asked as he looked at a milling factory owned by a man called Motohiro.
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"Yes, our person in the Kumi family says the owner of this factory has been helping the Hidden Leaf shinobi," said Ebi''s subordinate.
Yesterday afternoon they had received the information that the Kumi family head was bedridden and unable to lead his family. In his absence, Gyon, the head''s son, had taken charge of the family. Gyon was their contact inside the Kumi family, who wanted the Hidden Frost''s support in taking over as the family''s head. In return, he gave them information about the intruders inside the city who had been creating problems in the shadows.
Ebi had readily accepted. The Hidden Frost had a connection with the Goharu family, the Kumi''s rivals¡ªbut he didn''t care about either of the gangs. They were little pawns hungry for power who would beg for it if he asked. The Goharu family had lost a lot of favour by providing drugs that poisoned his men, so helping their rivals was an appropriate punishment.
"Let''s head inside then."
The group of shinobi entered the busy mill. Dozens of workers roamed around their stations, but the moment they noticed the shinobi, all work ceased. Ebi gazed at them for a few silent moments, counting the number of people, and memorising their faces; it was a force of habit from being a shinobi for decades.
"I''m looking for the owner of this mill," he announced.
A beer-bellied, hairy man walked out of a back room. It was Motohiro. He furrowed his brows when he saw the shinobi, apprehension overtook the surprise on his face. Two more men followed after him, who Ebi guessed were his lieutenants.
"Motohiro?" asked Ebi.
"Yes, what do you want?"
"We want Takuma. You know where he is, right?"
Ebi had to give it to Motohiro for holding his composure when asked a blunt question right to his face.
"I don''t understand..."
Unfortunately for Motohiro, the others didn''t have the same composure as him. Ebi instantly noticed the fear and agitation of one of the men standing beside him. He just got confirmation about the information he had gotten from Gyon¡ªMotohiro ran a small resistance group and they had a connection with Takuma.
"Are you sure you want to go with that?" Ebi asked again.
"I think you''re mistaken. I don''t know anyone by that name."
"I see..." Ebi nodded. He turned to his subordinates and ordered, "Take them¡ªeveryone, even the workers."
His subordinates immediately moved, expecting the order. They began rounding up everyone, ignoring their shouts, complaints, and cries. Half of the people didn''t even resist, and just begged not to hurt as they looked scared stiff.
"P-Please don''t, I have small children at home," a woman begged a shinobi trying to grab her.
"Hey, you can''t do that. I said I don''t know anything!" Motohiro yelled.
"And I''m just supposed to believe that?" Ebi turned to the woman. "I understand your plight, miss, but I''m afraid your children have to fend for themselves for a few days." He put pressure on Motohiro, hoping that he would fess-up, but the mill owner stayed silent.
''Hmm.'' Ebi turned to the lieutenants he had clocked before. "What''s your name?"
"M-Miyauchi."
Ebi smiled. "Miyauchi, let''s start with something simple: Do you know who Takuma is?"
Everyone looked at Miyauchi¡ªMotohiro looked at him, the other lieutenant looked at him, the workers looked at him¡ªeveryone wanted him to deny that he knew Takuma so that the shinobi would leave everyone alone.
"Y-Yes," said Miyauchi.
Motohiro closed his eyes and his body sagged from disappointment. The tension in the room deflated as well¡ªthe workers looked half afraid, half hopeful¡ªafraid that the shinobi would think they were involved, hopeful that now they had someone who knew Takuma, they would leave everyone else alone.
"Does Motohiro know Takuma?"
"...Yes."
"Miyauchi, you traitor!" Motohiro''s other lieutenant jumped and knocked Miyauchi to the ground and started to choke him.
"Wada, stop!" Motohiro yelled, but Wada didn''t listen, so he tried to separate them to no avail.
Ebi pointed at one of his subordinates to separate the murder attempt on the floor.
He then walked to Motohiro, who looked so much different than he was a minute before¡ªthere was a weight bearing on his shoulders, a shadow in his eyes. Ebi put a hand on his shoulder,
"I don''t like liars, Motohiro. Now, we''re going to have a long lengthy chat about it."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma and Aranai sat in front of each other in the torture room. He made sure not to clean it after each session so that just staying in the room became a kind of torture on its own. It stank of all manner of bodily fluids, some of which stained the floors and walls.
Takuma sat on his wooden stool and Aranai was on his knees, his hand strung up with chains. "Are you ready to talk?"
"Y...Y-Yes."
Takuma nodded. Finally, after so many days of hard work, he had broken the lock on the man and now it was time to open the door and let all the information fall through into his lap.
"You understand the consequence of lying?"
"Yes..."
Takuma hummed as he stood up, making Aranai flinch. He ignored him, though he was secretly pleased about it, and picked up a large notepad and started a two hour long interrogation where he asked Aranai about the chunin present in Yu. Who they were, a summary of their abilities, their responsibilities in the city, and any details he thought the base could use.
Aranai was a chunin and thus a horde of information¡ªand as a chunin, he was between jonin and genin, which gave him significant information on both parties over and under him. After two hours, Takuma left the room and brought a hot meal, placing it in front of Aranai. Usually, he had fed him one cold, bland meal every other day to keep him hungry but functional. Now that he had submitted, Takuma could put away the metaphorical stick and start using the carrot to coax him into continuing to cooperate.
"Good job. Now eat," said Takuma.
Aranai looked apprehensive, but Takuma took a bite of the food to show there was nothing wrong with the food. Cautiously, Aranai pulled the plate towards him with his nailless fingers, and after the first slow bite, he scarfed down the food as though it could be taken back any second.
Though to be fair, if he wanted to, Takuma could. He said nothing and let him eat in silence. After he was done, Takuma once again began another two hour long interrogation, and after it was done, he moved Aranai to a fresh room that didn''t stink and even had a toilet.
For the third reward, he adjusted the chains in a position where Aranai could comfortably lay on the ground, and left him for a full seven hours to allow him a good spell of sleep. For the seventh reward, in addition to a warm meal, Takuma brought Ryoya into the room, and placed both guys in the same room.
At the end of two days of interrogation and rewards, the two Hidden Frost shinobi were spilling secrets as though Takuma was their best friend.
It was afternoon when Takuma exited the room with a full notepad.
He had done it.
He had extracted all the information significant to the Hidden Frost''s presence in Yu. There was more information about the Hidden Frost itself he could get from them, but that wasn''t the priority, and the information had to get to the base in time for them to make use of it.
Moreover, he no longer had the energy for it. After two days of dishing out rewards, his own was going to be long, undisturbed sleep.
Eight days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.33 (251)
When Takuma opened his eyes, his body felt more uncomfortable than ever before. He groaned loudly as he forced himself to sit up from the dirty cot that served as his bed with his muscles screaming murder. It was a bizarre experience because not only had he woken up without a sore muscle after continuous days of intense training¡ªbut he was a young teenager!
He wasn''t supposed to get sores and aches when he hadn''t done anything physically taxing.
"Fuck me."
He stood up and stretched his body through the pain and half-limped his way outside of his room and saw his water clone sitting cross-legged in front of Ryoya and Aranai''s room. The clone opened his eyes when he heard Takuma approach.
"How long was I out?" asked Takuma¡ªat this point, he didn¡¯t even know whether it was day or night.
"Around twenty hours more or less."
"That was long," Takuma said and then gulped down an entire bottle of water.
It was fortunate that clones didn''t need further focus after they were created. As long as Takuma didn¡¯t run out of chakra or wasn''t killed, his clone would continue to exist until it ran out of chakra so he had created one to keep watch over his prisoners while he went to sleep.
He hadn''t used clones to interrogate them because he didn''t want to miss out anything that could give him an advantage in subsequent sessions. He also didn''t completely trust himself (his clone) to perfectly transfer information through words.
"Any words between them?"
"Nothing useful."
"Okay, I''m going out," said the clone. "I''m exhausted."
Takuma nodded and the clone walked away, confusing him, but then he turned around and ran towards him, dispelling himself a moment before they collided. A mass of water drenched Takuma from head to toe and he stood there stunned, not expecting that to happen. It had the intended effect because he was now completely awake. He chuckled and then went for an actual bath, changed his clothes, and prepared three sets of meals, before checking up on his two prisoners. They were chained to opposite sides of the room and their whispered conversation stopped when Takuma entered.
"How are you two today?" he asked as he put the plates in front of them and sat down in the middle of the room with one of his own. There was an awkward silence in the room as the two prisoners stared at Takuma, who was too busy eating to pay attention to them.
"We... We told you everything we know, please let us go," said Ryoya as he cautiously looked at Takuma.
Aranai had been tortured too much to make requests like that and was silently eating his food in small and quick bites, wasting no time in fear that the food would be taken away. Takuma''s reward ladder had worked in making them more comfortable, but fear was hard to erase, and he expected for him to be affected for a long time¡ªprobably developing some level of PTSD.
"I will let you go in a week," Takuma replied.
"Why in a week?"
Takuma glanced at Ryoya and that was enough to make him shut up and even scuttle back despite the distance between them
"Eat your food," he said. "I will keep my promise; you''ll be released from my custody in a week''s time."
Even though he had gotten the information out of them and sent it out of the city to the camp, he had one more use for them. They were in the last week of their precursor mission and it was going to be the most active period.
Given that the rest of his team was under surveillance, he had to do most of it all alone.
"Behave and you''ll return to your friends."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After eating and taking care of his prisoners¡¯ hygiene, Takuma left the safe house. He couldn''t leave a clone in his place to keep guard because a water clone had to be within a certain distance of the caster otherwise it would be dispelled automatically.
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He was only planning to be out for an hour or two and was willing to take the risk and separated them into different rooms for safety reasons. Just like his first day in Yu, Takuma wandered around the town without a disguise. He had been in the city for two months, so his hair had gone from a fresh cut to beyond overgrown; he¡¯d grown paler than usual and he had even lost significant weight from his face, giving him sunken cheeks.
With all he¡¯d experienced, he looked nothing like the picture plastered around the town.
He peered into shops, observed hotspots, and avoided three groups of patrolling shinobi. The caution and fear lingered on the roads, which wasn''t anything new, but there was an edge to it that he couldn''t place.
"So what''s new, pops? I''ve been living under a rock," Takuma asked a tea stall owner as he got himself a couple taiyaki.
"The shinobi have been going through the town with a comb," said the stall owner as he served his order.
"Oh, did they catch someone?"
"Yeah, they arrested an entire milling factory under the suspicion of being traitors and helping rebels. If I remember correctly, the owner''s name is Motohiro."
Takuma''s hand paused for a moment before he bit into his taiyaki which felt tasteless in his hand.
"That sucks, huh," he said briefly, but his mind was racing.
A mill owner named Motohiro? There was no chance that could be anyone else. How did the Hidden Frost know that Motohiro''s rebel group was connected to him? Motohiro¡¯s was a small group and that was one of the reasons he and Gaku chose them because they drew less suspicion and Motohiro was more involved in keeping his community safe over resisting the tyranny.
Had someone inside the group betrayed them?
He had to find out more. Takuma finished his snack and went to the one place he knew he would get information. But as he arrived at Hoshiguro''s estate, he was stunned to spot Hidden Frost shinobi outside the estate, standing guard. He immediately retreated and got a higher vantage point to see over the high walls, and after waiting for a few minutes, he caught a glimpse of a walking Kumi family member he didn''t recognise.
Had the Hidden Frost also found his connection to the Kumi family?
Takuma then noticed one of the Kumi family members exiting the estate and immediately decided to follow him until they were a good distance away from the estate.
The member was a man in his early twenties. He wore a tacky tracksuit, had a buzz cut close to the skin, and hummed a tune as he turned into a back alley to take a piss. He put his hand against the wall and when he turned around he was startled out of his life because Takuma was standing beside him.
"You are¡ª!"
"Why are there shinobi at the estate?"
The man looked like a deer caught in headlights and froze in place for a couple seconds before his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in¡ªand he chose flight and turned to run away. To Takuma, he looked slow as a turtle and he kicked him when he moved his right foot. The man slammed into the wall and curled up into a ball after he fell to the ground.
Takuma waited and watched him groan in pain for a full minute as he struggled to get up only to fail and slip back to the ground.
"Let¡¯s try again: why are there shinobi at the estate?"
The man retreated into the alleway not at all aware that one of his hands was drenched in his own urine. He looked up at Takuma in fear, and didn''t speak a single word, making him sigh.
He had done enough interrogation in the last week and his patience had worn thin. He was in no mood to be subtle about it so he slipped a kunai into his hand and stepped forward to scare the shit out of the man, which he assumed would be much easier than doing the same to a shinobi.
"Stop! Stop! I will talk, please don''t kill me!"
¡°You¡¯d better because I won¡¯t ask again.¡± Takuma stopped advancing and gave him a cold stare. "Why are there shinobi at your estate?"
"They-They were invited by Young Boss Gyon!"
Takuma felt his body go cold. Gyon was the leak who had given out the fake address to the Hidden Frost. He had talked to Hoshiguro, who had promised that he would take care of it¡ªbut now there were shinobi at his house. That raised the question: Had Hoshiguro turned his back on him for his son? Or had Gyon done something to his own father.
"What about Hoshiguro?"
"The b-boss is bedridden. The young boss took over and invited the shinobi."
"Why is he bedridden?"
"I-I don''t know. I just know that his health took a dive, the young boss took over the next day, and the shinobi came after that."
Takuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath when he felt his anger rise up. They were a week out from the mission ending in success and he didn''t want things to go wrong because a piece of shit wanted more power by selling out his own city.
''I should''ve killed him when I first found out,'' thought Takuma.
The only reason he had not killed Gyon was because of Hoshiguro and because he didn''t want to lose the Kumi family''s support¡ªbut now his supporter inside the family was bedridden. WIth the traitor in the head¡¯s seat, Takuma knew he had lost the family¡¯s support¡ªwith Motohiro¡¯s group arrested, his team under surveillance and the Kumi family no longer an option¡ªhe was truly alone with no real support.
He wasn''t going to make that mistake again. The two-time traitor had signed his own death sentence.
He was going to start and christen the last week of his mission at Yu with Gyon''s life and blood. If he didn''t do that, he would be angry for the rest of the week and he didn''t want to spend the most active week of the mission bubbling in anger about a piece of shit who didn''t know what was at stake.
Takuma looked down at the Kumi member, who was going to help him make that happen.
"Let''s talk. Tell me everything you know, and I will let you go," Takuma lied again.
Seven days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.34 (252)
The Kumi family estate had changed a lot in the past few days. It was usually a serene place¡ªguests were rare and only those who were trusted were allowed in. That tranquillity had been broken by the outsiders who had all but taken over the estate. There was a discomfort among those who worked there, having to be in the presence of shinobi who were supposed to be enemies of the city.
All of the changes had been brought by the young boss, who had taken over since the boss'' health had taken a turn for the worse. The people had tried to question him about the changes, but Gyon refused to give any reasonable justification and only replied that it was for the betterment of the family¡ªbut those in the know knew that Gyon had collaborated with the Hidden Frost shinobi to gain control of the family.
Just yesterday, a Hidden Frost jonin by the name of Ebi had visited the estate to have a closed-door meeting with Gyon and no one knew what was discussed¡ªjust that Gyon hadn''t looked pleased or even normal since the meeting.
"So this Gaku; he''s a Hidden Steam shinobi?"
In another closed-door meeting, a Hidden Frost chunin questioned Gyon. They had been going at it for thirty minutes already and Gyon was getting frustrated. He didn''t think it would be like this; he thought he would be in full control of the family and his influence over the city would boost with the support of shinobi behind him, but they were treating him like he was lying to them, keeping information from him.
"Yes."
"And he''s from Yu?"
"I don''t know if he''s from here or not, but he had been living in the city for the past five years¡ªbut then he left soon after you guys arrived."
"Doesn''t look like he left. In fact, he has been helping the Hidden Leaf scums."
Gyon glared at the chunin. "I already told you, I didn''t know he was in the city until he made contact with us. I barely met him twice and both times we barely talked. I don''t know where he''s right now or what he''s doing now. My father was the one who mainly dealt with them."
"Your father... are you sure he''s the only one who knows the real location?"
"Yes," he sighed, "he gave everyone fake addresses."
"Even you, his son?" The chunin chuckled, "I guess it makes sense."
Gyon clenched his fist, digging his fingernails into his skin to control his anger. The shinobi didn''t hide his sarcasm, it was dripping in his voice¡ªhe was mocking the choice he made of betraying his father and family. Even though he was helping them, he was getting mocked in return.
"Any more questions?" he asked.
The chunin stared at him for a moment. "Not for now." He stood up and looked down at him "We''ll be in touch if we do. If your father wakes up or Takuma or Gaku make contact with you, reach out to us as soon as possible."
Gyon felt a pit in his stomach at the thought of his father interrogated by the shinobi. Yesterday when Ebi had visited him, he had shared the method and findings of Motohiro''s resistance group''s interrogation in graphic detail. The thought of his father going through the same treatment sent a chill down his spine.
He hadn''t thought that the shinobi might go after his father and suddenly, he was regretting the choice he had made. He had no idea how to fix his mistake either because he¡¯d taken hold of a hand that he couldn''t let go of.
The sliding door opened and without looking up, Gyon said, "Leave. I wish to be alone."
When there was no response, no footsteps, and no sound of sliding door, Gyon looked up to see one of the young members standing by the door. There was no expression on his face and he was looking at him without blinking.
"You... aren''t you Miru''s underling?" said Gyon, unable to remember his name.
He felt something off, but couldn''t put his finger on it, and neither did he think much about it because he wasn''t in the mood to talk to anyone. Just when he was about to ask him again, the underling spoke.
"Was it worth it?"
"Excuse me?"
"You got the control of the family... but at what cost? You''ve lost the respect of all who work under you, and those who agree are just bootlickers¡ªyes-men who would let you fuck their wives if you asked."
"What the hell are you saying? Do you realise what you¡¯re doing right now?" Gyon snarled as he got up to confront the lowly underling.
It hit a chord in his mind because somewhere deep down, he knew it was true. Half the Kumi lieutenants had refused to talk to him and had shown the bare-minimum level of support in the midst of a crisis. He had gotten the control of the family, but lost everything else. Even his mother had been cold to him.
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"It looks to me like you don''t want to be part of the family anymore."
Gyon raised his hand to grab the underling''s throat, but he grabbed hold of his forearm when he was halfway through the motion. He didn''t think much about it because as long as his opponent wasn''t a lieutenant, no one in the family could compete with him with his strength.
When he tried to push, the hand grabbing him didn''t budge. He was surprised and this time tugged away, but wasn''t able to free his hand much less move it.
"W-What? Who¡ª"
There was a sudden puff of smoke to reveal Takuma standing in front. In an instant, a primal fear rose from the deepest depth of his being as he stared at the cold, rigid black eyes. His heart was pumping and sweat built up on his skin as he felt the grip gradually tighten around his wrist.
There was no question that he was in grave danger, so Gyon followed his first instinct and screamed¡ªbut the moment he opened his mouth, Takuma swung a kunai and lodged it in his throat before he could utter a single syllable.
Gyon''s forgot about screaming as he went into shock. Takuma pushed him back, de-lodging the kunai. He tried to plug the wound, but nothing he did stopped the blood from flowing.
"You put some really good people, who care deeply for the city, in danger. You even poisoned your own father, you rat bastard," said Takuma as he stared down at him with nary an emotion on his face.
Gyon would''ve denied the claim; he hadn''t done anything to his father, but he had lost his voice box.
"I''m less angry about the fact that you tried to sell me out and feel more pity towards Hoshiguro that he raised a son like you. To face such betrayal by your own blood. I wouldn''t wish that on my worst enemy¡ªwhich is why I hope your children aren''t the first ones to find you like this."
Gyon stopped struggling as those words triggered the revolving lantern as his body became cold. He laid down on the floor and stared at the ceiling as his own blood pooled around him, seeping into his clothes.
In his last moments, he remembered his little twins; he realised that he wouldn''t be there as they grew up, that they wouldn''t have a father figure. With his father bedridden and him dead, who knew what would happen to the Kumi family. His children wouldn¡¯t inherit the Kumi family as one of the lieutenants would take over.
He worried about his mother and wife, wondering how their lives would be¡ªif they would receive proper support in the face of his death. He hadn''t impressed upon the family members to win their loyalty, but he hoped that at least his father had earned them some goodwill which would help his children.
He saw Takuma at the edge of his darkening vision. The young shinobi knelt beside him and whispered something he barely caught,
"I wanted to make you suffer. Luckily for you, I don''t have the time... but I hope you rot in hell," he said before stabbing him in the heart.
''I''m sorry,''
Gyon said to his family before everything went black.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma moved away as the blood pool inched towards him. He looked down at Gyon and the kunai in his chest; he was going to leave it there so people could tell exactly who had done the deed but after some brief thought, he used Gyon''s blood to write TRAITOR on the wall.
He wiped his bloody hands on Gyon''s clothes and opened the door to exit the room only to find a woman who worked at the estate outside.
She was surprised which then turned to shock and fear when she saw the bloodstains on his clothes and hands. And then she looked past him into the room and saw Gyon''s corpse and bloody words
"Ssshhh..."
Takuma pulled out another kunai and held it against her neck. He wasn''t worried because the Hidden Frost shinobi had already left and no one on the property was a threat to him even if they all teamed together against him.
"Miss, I don''t want to harm you, and I won''t harm you if you follow my orders. Nod if you understand."
The scared woman nodded rigidly and hastily.
"Good," Takuma smiled, which made him look sinister which boosted the fear in the woman. "Do you see that tree near the boundary?" He pointed at the tree which was planted next to the estate''s walls.
The woman nodded again.
"Very good. Now, I want you to walk to that tree and slowly count to a hundred before doing whatever you want. If you move before completing the count, I will know, and you will end up the same as him... Nod if you understand."
"Y-Yes, I will do it, so p-please...."
The woman seemed out of breath and looked faint.
"It''s okay, take deep breaths. I don''t want to harm you so as long as you follow my instructions, I can guarantee that you won''t ever see me again," Takuma said in a calming voice, not sure if it would make any difference. "Now, go and stand there."
The woman moved with shaky steps and kept looking back at him. He stayed there until she was a few steps away before disappearing so when she reached the tree and looked back, he was no longer there.
"1... 2... 3...."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
[TRAITOR]
Ebi looked at the bold words written on the wall. It was his first time seeing words written in blood at a scene in person. He looked down at the dried pool of blood where the body used to be. They had moved the body, and all that remained was the kunai used for murder, which was now in his hand.
"It''s him."
Ebi wasn''t alone in the room. He looked at Kon who stood next to the bloody wall, observing as though there was a secret locked in the accusing words.
"Uh-huh, the question is if you can find him," Ebi asked.
He had been involved in the interrogations of Motohiro''s resistance group¡ªthey had rounded up all of the known group members, their family members, friends, and anyone who they thought could give them an answer, but no one seemed to have an answer. Takuma or Tobi¡ªor whatever they called him¡ªno one knew anything about him except for the fact that he was always with Gaku, the Hidden Steam shinobi.
"He''s been very careful since I caught him but you seem to have pissed him off this time by arresting his little civilian rebels," said Kon, chuckling as though he found the entire situation amusing. There was a strange look in his eyes as he moved on to look at the pool of blood. "Have you questioned any of the lieutenants? The Kumi were in a state of instability, they might have collaborated with him to take out the traitor."
"They''re being rounded up as we speak."
"Look into the Goharu family as well. He might have gone to them for help to take out the enemy''s head."
Ebi knew that the Goharu family hadn''t been happy since they had been punished for Aranai''s poisoned drug operation and now the Hidden Frost, who was their backer, was getting close to their rivals. That was enough motivation to hire a shinobi to plunge the Kumi family into chaos by assassinating Gyon while Hoshiguro was bedridden.
"I''ll make the orders," said Ebi.
Kon massaged and rotated his injured right arm and shoulder as he looked at Ebi.
"I don''t know why, but you should be prepared."
"For what?" asked Ebi.
Kon shook his head. "I don''t know¡ªwell I have some idea¡ªbut after seeing this... something big is coming," he looked at the bloody message.
Six days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.35 (253)
The old barber was cleaning and sanitising his tools when he heard the chime above his door ring. He turned to see a young teenager wearing a brown hooded coat enter his barbershop. The simple black shirt and grey track pants he wore underneath it hung on his wiry-thin frame like clothes on a hanger.
He removed his hood to reveal his long greasy black hair that was frayed at ends, tangled in places, looking like it hadn''t been combed in ages.
"Take a seat," said the old barber.
The teenager removed his coat and threw it on a couch near the door before sitting down in the barber chair.
"So what are we doing today?"
"Haircut," said Takuma as he stared at himself in the mirror. "Take away as little length as you can, but make it presentable."
He¡¯d kept his hair short his whole life because of the low maintenance, but it had grown a lot over the last six months and was becoming a bother. He would''ve cut it short again, but the long hair helped conceal his identity without looking suspicious.
The old barber looked and touched his hair before nodding.
"We can do that, but you''ll have to pay upfront." Takuma looked up at the barber with a raised brow but it only made the old man shrug. ¡°These are desperate times.¡± Takuma sighed before handing the asked price and then closed his eyes, allowing the barber to cast his magic on his hair. Even though it was a simple haircut and dye, he enjoyed the short half hour of someone taking care of him.
It was a pity that he couldn''t completely let his guard down.
The old barber washed his hair and then proceeded to cut and style it. But as the barber was cutting his hair, he noticed the deep scars peeking out of Takuma''s shirt and wondered how a young teenager received injuries like that. He looked at his face and was dumbstruck when he recognised it, looking at the wanted poster on the wall behind him through the mirror.
The face was more gaunt and the hair changed his look, but it was the same face¡ªthe person sitting in his chair was the criminal wanted by the shinobi.
"Keep cutting, old man."
The barber looked down at Takuma and noticed him looking up at him. The tired eyes from before were sharper than the pair of scissors in his hand.
"P-Please, I... I don''t want trouble."
"Neither do I. The moment you''re done with the cut, I''ll leave. I already paid you for it, so don''t make me repeat myself," Takuma said and then closed his eyes, making himself comfortable in the chair.
The barber cut the hair slowly to ensure that his trembling hands didn''t make any mistake. It didn''t make any difference that Takuma was trying to free the city because he was still a symbol of fear. He didn''t mind and let the barber go at his own pace; it gave him more time to relax¡ªhe had turned the door sign to CLOSE when he entered without the barber noticing it.
"I''m done."
Takuma opened his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was straight, not greasy, and barely swept over his shoulders; he didn¡¯t like the look, but that was because he wasn''t a fan of long hair.
The barber had done a good job.
"Thank you," Takuma said as he headed to the door, but spoke again when he reached it. "I shouldn''t need to say it, but don''t tell anyone I was here. I don''t mind if you do, but the shinobi will come and when they do, they''ll take you away, interrogate you, might even torture you when you don''t give them anything¡ªwhich, let''s admit, you won''t because there¡¯s nothing to tell.
"Take my advice and forget that I was here, or you''ll end up like the mill factory workers; if you don''t know about them, a lot of them haven''t been able to come back to their family," He paused, "well, that¡¯s mostly because their families were also taken away... so think about that before you do anything."
He didn''t look back to gauge the barber''s expression and flipped the door sign to OPEN as he left.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After getting a haircut, Takuma entered the factory base.
It had been more than a week since he had stepped foot in the abandoned factory. Initially, the plan was to use the factory base as the safe house to hold Aranai and Ryoya captive, but Anko rejected the idea because the majority of their gear was in the factory as well and if the Hidden Frost tracked him down while he was interrogating the two shinobi¡ªthey would lose all their gear.
Takuma sat down on the dirty couch for a couple minutes before opening a trunk to retrieve a set of water resistant explosive tags. There weren''t many of them¡ªonly two dozen¡ªbecause they were situational and standard explosive tags were already slightly water resistant. However, these tags would work even if they were completely submerged in water for about an hour.
He then retrieved his own personal gear before using makeup from a cosmetic bag to hide his dark circles and make himself look ''healthy''. He smiled and the makeup combined with his fresh cut made him look energetic and presentable. Moreover, he looked less like himself, which was always a plus in his situation.
He didn''t stay for long and was out of the base in under an hour after changing into neat, but worn down clothes.
His destination was a banquet hall in the ultra affluent part of the city.
When Aranai told him that the jonin named Ebi handled everything, Takuma wondered what the other jonin were doing during their ''vacation''. So he pulled up the research that he had been doing since he¡¯d arrived in Yu and found a big party held for no apparent reason.
However, the part that interested him was there were shinobi who were going to attend the party¡ªone jonin, four chunin, and seven genin. He eventually reached the large, posh banquet hall and went around the back where he saw workers hurrying around doing their jobs, unloading stuff from carts, carrying carpets, flowers, fake pillars, and a dozen more things.
He scouted the area and spotted a person who was ordering people around and managing the commotion.
Takuma took a deep breath, put on a smile, and walked to that man.
"Excuse me," he said.
The man with salt and pepper hair dressed in a white shirt and black pants turned to look at Takuma. He wasn''t in a good mood and looked annoyed to have been interrupted from doing his work.
"What?"
"Do you have a job? I''ll do anything."
"No, there isn''t. Now go away and don''t waste my time."
The man turned away to walk away, but Takuma called out to him with a tone of rising desperation.
"I''ll do a job for food." Takuma continued when the man turned to look at him. "You don''t have to pay me if you feed me." It was a desperate man''s offer who just wanted a place to work and was even willing to work for ''free''¡ªand that was any manager''s dream.
"Will you wash dishes?" asked the man.
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"You''ll be able to see your face in the reflection when I''m done with them," said Takuma.
"Good, then you''re hired."
"Thank you," Takuma smiled.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The evening arrived and the guests began to roll in as the sky darkened. The banquet hall was shining like a jewel, casting its light to the sky above. The front of the banquet hall was filled with glitz and glamour with impeccably dressed men and women trying to outdo each other, holding the deep desire to display their affluence.
Among them were a dozen or so shinobi who were the centre of attention as they held the power among the guests. Most of them were genin, who had been brought by the jonin and chunin, but even then, the genin remained as the centre of attention because there were simply more of them. The affluent natives tried to curry favour with them because it was much easier to do so and the other shinobi could easily diminish their influence if they desired.
Takuma was stowed away in the back of the kitchen, away from the celebrations, and very genuinely washing dishes and cooking utensils, putting his back into scrubbing the grease off of the large woks and pans.
"Yeah, keep at it, you''re doing good," said the man who had hired Takuma, who happened to be the manager.
"Thank you, sir!" Takuma grinned and scrubbed vigorously.
He took the rack of clean dishes to the front and observed the waiting staff as they came in with empty glasses and went out with full glasses to keep the guests liquored up. He couldn''t see outside in the hall, but he had to confirm that the shinobi were here.
"Hey, are there really shinobi here?" he asked one of the waiters.
"Huh yeah, the last of them arrived a few minutes ago."
Before Takuma could ask more questions, the waiter rushed back outside. The manager saw Takuma and yelled at him to go back to his station. Takuma had more questions, but getting the confirmation about the shinobi''s arrival was enough. He returned to his station and continued to wash the dishes for the next hour until the party was at its highest.
"I''m going to replace the clean water," Takuma said to the other dishwashers and dragged the huge water basin outside to the tap.
As the basin filled up, Takuma took out the stack of waterproof explosive tags and dropped them into it one at a time. When the basin was completely filled, Takuma weaved hand seals for the Water Clone Jutsu and the water rose, trapping the tags within the writhing mass as it formed a clone. Unlike Takuma, who was wearing a checkered shirt and pants, the clone wore the waiter''s outfit.
"I know the answer, but I''ve to ask: are you sure?" the clone asked after he stepped outside of the basin.
"I fucking don''t want to do it, but I''m choosing to," said Takuma, looking straight into his clone''s eyes. There was no reason to make excuses to himself¡ªhe was more aware than anybody what he was about to do, and what would happen if he was successful.
He was a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and even though he and his team had limited authority to operate in the country as part of the war effort, he was essentially an outsider and didn¡¯t have the authority to operate on the same level as a Hidden Steam shinobi. He could kill a couple people here and there who had clearly colluded with the enemy¡ªallowing him to dispose of someone like Gyon¡ªbut that was it¡ªhe didn¡¯t have the power to be the judge, jury, and executioner in a foreign country.
¡°I guess we will have to live with it,¡± said the clone with a grim look. ¡°What about Anko? She won¡¯t support this¡ she¡¯ll be furious,¡± said the clone. ¡°You might lose her trust¡¡±
"I know," he nodded.
He was operating alone from the start and had autonomy, but there was an implied limit to what all he could do. His actions affected all of his team and his autonomy was granted to him by Anko, the team leader, and all of his actions were her responsibility. His wins were hers, but simultaneously, if he did something wrong, she would be held responsible in addition to him.
"Sucks, doesn''t it."
"Go now."
¡°We always can not do it¡ª¡±
¡°Go!¡±
The clone walked into the building and Takuma stood there silently, staring at the little water left in the basin. He was glad he couldn''t see his face in the turbulent water''s surface... he didn''t want to know what he looked like at that moment.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The clone entered the hall with a plate of food. The guests had all sat down for the ten course meal prepared by the best chef in the city. He had just swiped the plate of food from the counter and had no idea who it belonged to. Roaming along the edges, he kept within the shadows as the guests sat rapt, their attention fixed on a dance performance taking place.
The shinobi sat in the centre, close to the front, and were gathered in a tight cluster of tables alongside the most affluent residents of Yu. They enjoyed exquisite food and expensive drinks as they watched the performance. He spotted the jonin''s table and took a moment to gather himself.
Because he was the one doing it, Takuma wouldn''t have any memory of what was about to happen¡ªthat was both good and bad¡ªand he himself wouldn''t have to wait around to find what the consequences would feel like.
As he stepped out of the shadow, the clone stopped and looked at his stomach. It rippled as the edge of an explosive tag peeked out. The original didn''t have the practice of creating clones with things floating inside¡ªand even the most skilled water clone user would have difficulty keeping one with multiple foreign objects inside perfectly stable. He had to hurry.
He took the shortest path toward the jonin''s table, and at the same time, used the chakra the original had given him to trigger all the explosive tags inside of him. Their detonation period was ten-seconds-long and he could feel the instability climbing as the tags neared detonation
He was two tables away from the jonin''s table when the manager who had hired him stepped in front of him. He was dressed in a clean uniform and was frowning at him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Fuck off."
The manager stumbled when the clone pushed him away and desperately controlled himself to not crash into a guest''s table.
The clone finally arrived at the jonin''s table and stood a few inches away from the jonin, switching out the plate in front of him.
"Thank you," the jonin said as he glanced at him for a split-second and then returned to looking at the performance.
"Are you sure about that?" said the clone.
"Pardon? What was that?"
The jonin looked up at the clone having missed what the clone said but then looked at his glowing torso. He looked up at the clone with wide eyes, the horror only just beginning to dawn on his face. He immediately rose up to get away, but it was too late.
The clone whispered, "Vacation''s over."
BOOM!
The two dozen heavy-duty explosive tags inside the clone''s body exploded simultaneously and created a blast so intense it blew everything and anything near it across the room. The table, chairs, people, cutlery, food, decorations, floor tiles¡ªeverything¡ªwas hurled away from the sheer force created by the two dozen tags.
Not a single person in the hall room¡ªthe guests, staff, performers¡ªwas left unharmed. The people near the epicentre were ripped apart beyond any hope of recovery while those far from the splash zone sustained severe injuries.
When the noise of the explosion died... only screams filled with pain, fear, and horror remained.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
In the same second, Takuma felt his clone die, the banquet hall was hit by severe tremors. All of the staff in the back screamed in fear when they felt the building shake. They would¡¯ve thought it was a strong earthquake if not for the noise of the blast that scared everyone
He calmly got up and walked out of the building with the rest of the people who rushed as though their lives depended on it, pushing each other to be the first one out. And while they gawked at the building, he continued to walk and broke into a sprint when he was out of sight. He got away as fast as possible, not willing to risk coming into contact with any of the shinobi that would be at the location in a few minutes¡¯ time. If he got caught, he would have a fate worse than death.
He eventually stopped behind in a back alley he wasn¡¯t familiar with and leaned against a fence-wall. He had just massacred the city''s elite to kill one jonin, a few chunin, and half a dozen genin. The enemy shinobi aside, he had killed the turncoats traitors who had betrayed their home and country¡ªthey were scum who deserved to die.
However¡ in doing so, he had sacrificed several innocent people who were simply in that banquet hall to earn a living for themselves and their families. They hadn¡¯t done anything wrong. Takuma¡¯s chest heaved as the consequences of actions hit him with full force. What had he done? Those people didn¡¯t deserve to die. Not even someone from the Hidden Steam would be justified to kill them.
¡®I killed a jonin.¡¯
He had made the upcoming battle safer for the main forces which would most definitely save lives which would¡¯ve been lost if that jonin was on the battlefield. A hundred thoughts populated his mind, trying to justify his actions so he could send away the horrendous feeling attacking his mind, body, and soul.
Takuma closed his eyes and suddenly all of the chaotic thoughts parted and a single memory took centrestage.
A tragedy of fire painted the scene as the screams and cried of innocent refugees filled the space. Men, women, elderly, and children, all begged and struggled for their lives as a team of shinobi razed the camp to the ground, massacring everyone without any mercy¡ªall of it done in the name of sowing chaos in the heart of the enemy to gain an advantage.
The smiling face of a sweet little girl with a missing front tooth playing with her doll flashed past Takuma¡¯s mind and he felt something inside him break. He felt something coming up and bent down as a thick rush of fluid hurled out and splashed on the wall, twice. A sharp winy stench filled the cool air.
He staggered, nauseous, and squatted in the middle of the street with his face buried in his tucked knees. Breathless sobs echoed in the dark and empty street for a minute before they abruptly ended.
Takuma got up with a blank slate of an expression with dull eyes. His body trembled that he stopped by clenching his fist to wrestle back control of his body from his emotions.
¡°I¡ k-killed a jonin,¡± he said to himself.
Even if the shinobi had somehow survived, which he doubted, one thing was for sure, when Yu was liberated, the power balance and social ladder of the city would go through a massive change...
...For he had plunged the city into chaos and from that dark night of chaos a bright future would emerge.
Four days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.36 (254)
Martial law was declared in the city and people were ordered to stay inside their homes and only leave if it was absolutely essential. Anyone wandering outside were subject to mandatory search and interrogations and even arrests if they were even slightly suspicious.
In Chinatsu¡¯s house, the entire team sat together with a sombre atmosphere bearing down on them. Even though the Hidden Frost shinobi were keeping an eye on them, it didn''t mean that they were chained to the house. They had to keep up appearances and go about their days as usual¡ªwhich meant finding new clients, meeting those clients, taking care of their regular needs.
They had found out what had happened last night¡ªor at least, a part of it. There was no official news regarding the explosion that killed dozens upon dozens of people, and their source of information was a varying cluster of rumours floating around the city. They were calling it a terrorist attack that had killed many of the city''s well respected and beloved people.
Of course, given the location of the blast¡ªa high-end banquet hall¡ªthose people were neither well respected or beloved, but at the same time, there had to be staff that worked in the banquet hall who were also killed.
"He really blew them up?" Daiki gulped nervously.
"Why would he do that?" Kameko asked, her brows locked in a furrow.
The team couldn''t be sure that it was Takuma behind it, but they had to assume so. After Motohiro''s group had been arrested, the various resistance groups had gone silent in fear that they would be pulled in and were biding time until the heat subsided.
"We can''t just assume it was him," said Iori, defending her youngest teammate.
Even though Takuma had been largely operating independently from the rest of the team, Anko was still their leader, and most things were pre-approved by her before they were executed. If Takuma was the one behind the blast; that plan wasn''t approved by her. Gyon''s murder wasn''t approved either, but the team understood why he had done so, and that he needed autonomy when they were under surveillance¡ªbut killing so many people... it was hard to come to terms with that.
Killing came with the trade, but most shinobi didn¡¯t enjoy it¡ªat least, not at first.
"The bosses won''t be happy," Daiki commented.
Yu was a city in the Land of Hot Water, thus it came under the purview of the Hidden Steam, and even though Hidden Leaf was heading the mission, they couldn''t just kill such a large amount of civilians even if they were turncoats who were helping the enemy¡ªthat duty and right belonged to the country¡¯s Daimyo and the Hidden Steam. Outsiders like them weren''t supposed to overstep like that and there were real chances that Takuma and the team would get in trouble because of it.
"You''re silent in all of this," Anko looked at Gaku sitting beside Chinatsu. "This is your city; don''t you have any thoughts?"
Gaku stared at his lit cigarette; he hadn''t taken a drag in a minute. He looked up at Anko and chuckled,
"As long as it benefits him when he returns home... he will do anything," recalling Takuma''s words when they had gone to renew the prisoner seals.
Everyone was confused and when Anko asked him what he meant, Gaku remained silent and just smoked his cigarette.
"Let''s worry about this after we have confirmed that it was him. It''s useless to speculate when we don''t know if it was him¡ªand if it was him, then I believe there must''ve been a reason." Rikku walked away from the group and went up to the second floor.
Even though what she said was true, it didn''t alleviate their worries one bit.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Rikku went to the room she shared with Kameko. It was small and felt claustrophobic when she was agitated¡ªlike she was now. She stood by her words of not judging Takuma before they had all the facts, but she was still nervous if it was true.
She couldn''t help but think that the blast might be an act of revenge. Motohiro and his group were Takuma''s contact that he developed, and they had been arrested because Gyon from the Kumi family had turned traitor. Rikku wondered if Takuma blamed himself for that. He had obviously punished Gyon, but what if he had taken revenge against the turncoats by blowing them up when they were enjoying their lives as the rest of the city suffered.
There was also the unspoken problem of the banquet hall staff that had died during the blast. She could tell that Anko didn¡¯t like that Takuma might have killed so many people, but Rikku didn¡¯t care about the traitorous turncoats, but the death of the blameless staff didn¡¯t sit well with her. If Takuma was indeed behind the blast, then she was of the opinion that he was in the wrong.
Fwip!
Rikku''s instincts sharpened when she heard the familiar sound of a kunai and immediately hugged the wall to get away from the window where she was an open target.
She got ready to jump to the door so she could rush down to inform her team about the attack when she noticed the kunai embedded in her floor. Its handle was wrapped in cloth like they usually were, but she noticed that the cloth had black spots of ink. She considered that for a second and then crawled across the floor to grab the kunai before jumping back to the wall.
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Unwrapping the wrap, she noticed that there was writing on the inside of the cloth. It was in code, so it took her a moment to decode and understand, but when she did, she walked down to the living room where the team was still discussing the explosion.
She stopped on the stair steps when she registered what she just read before rushing into the living room.
"He killed a jonin, four chunin, and seven genin," she announced.
The conversation died down and everyone looked at her.
"What?" asked Anko.
Rikku gave her the cloth wrap and Anko''s lips parted in surprise as she read the words written by Takuma.
Anko gulped, "H-He killed a jonin? He killed a jonin.... He killed¡ª!"
The room went silent before exploding into questions. Kameko got up and snatched the wrap to confirm for herself. They couldn''t believe it even after they read it with their own eyes. Their source of information was gossip they had heard from others and in that gossip there was mention of shinobi being part of the dead was nowhere part of the gossip.
The death of a jonin changed everything. The team was sent to Yu with some expectations, but killing a jonin was nowhere in those expectations. That one jonin off the board was so big that the four chunin that he had killed weren''t noticed.
The impact he made was so huge that if the entire team decided to duck out of the mission right now, it would still be considered a massive success.
But that wasn''t the entire message from Takuma.
"What about his suggestion?" Iori asked.
At the end of his message, Takuma had suggested abandoning their cover and going into hiding because after his blast, the Hidden Frost shinobi would be picking up people who were even remotely suspicious¡ªand the team was more than remotely suspicious. For their safety, it was better for them to go into hiding before they were arrested by the shinobi.
"I think we should go into hiding." Gaku looked at Chinatsu with a sombre look. "Your job is done; I think it''s better if both of us go into hiding as soon as possible so I can keep you safe."
"Wait, both of you? You''re planning to split up?" Kameko asked with a frown.
The entire team looked at Gaku because of that.
"Like Chinatsu, my job as your native contact is over. I''m going to take Chinatsu with me to hide somewhere safe none of you can find us," Gaku said as if stating the obvious. "We''re going to only show up after the main forces invade the city and the dust settles¡ªuntil then, it''s going to be like we don''t exist."
The team was taken aback because Yu was Gaku''s hometown and he was refusing to fight for its freedom. They thought about their respective hometowns and they would''ve done anything to protect their home, so they thought that Gaku would be fighting with them.
"Don''t give me that look," Gaku sneered at them. "I was pulled out of retirement. I''m not a shinobi anymore for a reason.... I''m not going to put my life in danger by participating in a full-on battle."
There was a silence in the room. They couldn''t force Gaku to participate and even though it felt morally wrong, he was only brought in as their inside connect and not an active combatant. It was as he said: his job was done.
"Do you need any help?," Anko asked Gaku.
"I''ll manage," Gaku smiled lightly.
"Very well," Anko stood up. "We leave in the evening¡ªall of us."
After two months, they were going to shed their covers and return to their lives as shinobi.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ebi was nursing a drink alone in his office when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up to see Kon at his door. Before he could send him away, Kon stepped into the office and settled down across from him on the table, sighed as he rubbed his shoulder.
"I''m not in the mood, tree hugger. If you value your life, leave this instant," Ebi said as he picked up his glass. He wasn''t always sure where Kon was from; he had a few guesses that he shaved down from observing the man, but when he provided detailed information about ''Takuma''¡ªit made him sure that Kon was from the Hidden Leaf.
Kon didn''t move and even had the gall to smile. Ebi wanted to punch a hole in his face.
"Were you close to any of those shinobi?" he asked.
They hadn''t known each other for long, but Kon hadn''t seen Ebi drink once in that time. The jonin was a workaholic with absolutely no vice¡ªor he had done a great job hiding them from him. Seeing him drink meant that he must''ve been affected to get intoxicated.
Ebi sighed. "The Hidden Frost is a small village. I don''t know about the big villages, but for us¡ªif you were a jonin, you knew other jonin because there aren''t many of us in the first place. I wasn''t his friend, but I knew him; we went on missions when we were chunin and even did a couple missions as jonin. Hell, he even invited me to his wedding... all three of them."
"Well... I can''t relate. Don''t have much experience with weddings," Kon chuckled.
Ebi put his glass down and his chakra flared. Kon froze up in his chair and clutched the armrests as he faced the jonin''s full, blood-stained fury.
It was intense, but nothing he hadn''t faced before.
"If you want me to put you out of your misery, just say it," Ebi rose up from his chair.
"I-It was him," Kon said, the killing intent making it difficult.
"Who?"
"Takuma."
"Again, how does that help me?" asked Ebi as he walked around the desk, increasing the bloodlust expressed through chakra, suffocating Kon.
"H-He k-killed a jonin. T-That was his true t-target." The muscles in Kon''s neck flexed as he continued, "T-The Hidden Leaf is coming for the c-city, and they are coming soon-n."
That made Ebi stop; he pulled his blood lust back and glared down at Kon.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Kon took a moment to catch his breath and comfortably slumped in the chair before continuing. "He took out a jonin and four chunin¡ªjust in a day, your combat ability has taken a significant dive. I think the Hidden Leaf sent him to the city to weaken you from the inside and prepare you for the forces who will take the city back."
"You said: soon. Why do you say that?"
Kon raised his fingers one at a time. "He poisoned your shinobi.... Kidnapped two of your shinobi the next day.... Murdered one of the city''s criminal big shots in his own home.... And now he took out the city''s most powerful along with some powerful shinobi." A look of begrudging respect appeared on Kon''s face. "Not only are the civilians fearful because of the blast and martial law¡ªbut your men are restless because one day they were ruling the city and in the next day, they lost a jonin and four chunin.
"They''re scared¡ªscared that they''ll be abducted like Aranai and Ryoya and disappear, or die in a freak explosion. There''s nothing you can do to remedy that. That guy has primed you guys to be an optimal target for an invasion."
"...How soon?"
Ebi had noticed how agitated his men were as they sifted through the debris in search of clues, wondering if the chunk of meat they found belonged to their fellow shinobi. He had to imagine everyone else was feeling the same.
"I''ll give you less than a week."
Three days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.37 (255)
Takuma opened the door to Aranai''s room, waking up the prisoner laying down on the dusty floor. It had been a few days since the torture and beatings had ended, giving Aranai the time to recover and he would''ve recovered faster if not for his chakra locked under the prisoner seal.
He was alone in the cell, Takuma having separated him and Ryoya before he left for the banquet hall¡ªTakuma walked towards Aranai, forcibly putting an end to his spiralling thoughts. He nudged him with his foot.
"Wake up, it''s time," said Takuma.
Aranai sat up with a groan and looked at him suspiciously.
Takuma took out a syringe loaded with the sleeping agent he had received from Iori when she had come to refresh the prisoner seals.
"What''s that for?" asked Aranai.
"Well... I can''t have you leaking our location, so we''ll be transporting you while you''re unconscious." He could''ve told them the truth now that he had the information, but he chose to continue the ruse about their being out of the city. "I''ll leave you in front of the city council building; your people will pick you up from there."
Takuma knelt in front of Aranai and reached out for his arm only for him to struggle violently with a fearful crazed look on his face.
"You''re lying, aren''t you?"
Takuma didn''t meet his eyes and grabbed his arm again, but he once again shook it off. "Let''s not do this."
"You are lying... You never planned to let us leave alive," Aranai spoke barely above a whisper before opening his mouth to yell at the top of his lungs. "I-I DON''T WANT TO DIE! YOU''RE GOING TO KILL¡ª!"
Takuma socked him in the face with an augmented punch, knocking him out, but not before his head slammed against the wall behind them, doing even more damage.
As he watched Aranai slump forward, he suddenly felt so incredibly tired, so much so that he didn''t move for a couple minutes and stared into space. Eventually, he injected him with the sleeping agent, even as he struggled to push the plunger down; his hands felt like they had no strength.
He laid down beside Aranai and mindlessly stared at the ceiling not wanting to move or think, finding everything too exhausting. He wanted to close his eyes and take a short nap to energise himself, and even closed them for a few seconds, but knew that if gave in, he wouldn''t wake up for at least half a day.
So he got up and forced himself to wrap Aranai''s torso in a thick cloth wrap, encasing him in a makeshift straightjacket. He then repeated the process with Ryoya, who had unfortunately heard Aranai''s screams and was terrified. Takuma''s patience had worn thin and he once again used excessive force to resolve the matter quickly.
He looked down at the two unconscious shinobi.
Aranai was right in thinking that he wasn''t planning to let them go alive. It wasn''t always going to be like that; there was value in keeping them alive and letting the jonin decide what to do with them.
However, after the events at the banquet hall, his plan was to incite chaos and their death would add to the already swirling pool. If the jonin had any issues with that, then there wasn¡¯t much they could do.
Inciting chaos was the reason Team-9 had been sent to Yu anyway.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ebi didn''t think he had made any big mistakes during his time in Yu.
Perhaps he had not done enough, but he hadn''t made any explicit mistakes resulting in the deterioration of the mission. Sure, he assumed responsibility for everything that happened but not before pointing fingers at the other jonin who¡¯d dumped all their responsibilities on his head.
But he had to admit, he had made a mistake by being passive in pursuing leads in Aranai and Ryoya''s abduction and now, he had lost four more shinobi. The four genin surveilling Chinatsu, the courtesan, and her group were missing. He stood up on the roof of a house across from Chinatsu''s house as the sun broke across the horizon.. The amount of blood on the roof told him that all of his surveillance team was dead. He didn''t know when they were attacked, but when the other team arrived to relieve them of their shift duty, they found the blood and the team missing.
"Where are they?" he asked the chunin responsible for securing the area and collecting clues.
"...This is all we found, sir," the chunin said stiffly.
All they found was four sets of uniforms and gear belonging to the team; their bodies were missing.
"Why would they take their bodies? Are they alive? If so, why leave their clothes behind?" Ebi half-said to himself while also questioning the chunin.
"They are absolutely dead."
The one to answer was Kon standing on the other side of the roof.
"What makes you so sure?" Ebi asked as he walked to him.
"Look at this," Kon pointed at the blood stains on the floor. The stain was strange and looked like someone had dragged a body through blood, leaving a trail¡ªbut the trail was in a curved pattern.
"What is it?" Ebi asked, confused.
"These are snake trails," said Kon with a furrow between his brows.
"Snake trails?" Ebi looked at the blood trail and felt doubtful because the width of the trails were at least a foot wide and he didn''t think there were snakes that big in the region. But then the realisation hit him and his blood went cold. "The snake summoning contract. Are you saying it''s him?"
As a jonin, there weren''t many people who he genuinely feared in the world. A lot of people thought of jonin as a monster¡ªand they weren''t wrong given the difference in power¡ªbut Ebi knew that he wasn''t a monster.
Not when there were real monsters in the world¡ªand the Snake Sannin was one of those monsters.
"It''s not Orochimaru. We would probably already be dead if he was here," said Kon, displeased.
"Then who?"
"There''s only one other person with the snake contract¡ªhis student, Mitarashi Anko.... She''s in Yu, and she fed your shinobi to her snakes."
Ebi knew that Orochimaru had a student, but he wasn''t aware of her name or her achievements. But seeing that she was his student, he could only guess that she wouldn''t be a slouch.
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"Is she a problem?" he asked.
"She holds the rank of chunin. She''s strong, vicious, ruthless¡ªeverything you''d expect from the snake''s student. You can take her in a fight, but that''s not the problem," Kon placed a hand on his shoulder as he rolled it. "The problem is your two abducted shinobi. She would''ve wrung out all the information out of them¡ªand that''s a big problem."
"The surveillance reports don''t show any suspicious activity," said Ebi.
"She could''ve deceived them. We can''t rule that out."
Ebi tapped his feet. He had to assume Aranai and Ryoya gave up information, meaning they were at an immediate disadvantage. The enemy would come prepared for the personnel they had in the city but also plan for the strategies and operating procedures they had established to combat attacks.
Moreover, they had also lost a jonin and four chunin¡ªand he knew that he wouldn''t be getting a jonin replacement despite sending a report back to the Hidden Frost the day before. Even if they sent more chunin and genin, they would barely arrive in time according to Kon''s estimate for the impending attack.
The silver lining was that the jonin''s death had finally woken up the forces and all the jonin and chunin were finally preparing their teams. Ebi had even given the order to update their strategies to make up for the troops they had lost to the blast¡ªbut if the enemy had their plans, he wondered if those updates would be useful. They would have to change everything drastically, but those things took time to not only plan but also implement.
They had no time¡ªand that made it, as Kon said, a big problem.
As Ebi wrapped his head around the situation and thought of short-term solutions, a genin not part of the team handling the scene rushed to the roof.
"Sir!"
"What?" asked Ebi. He could tell that it wasn''t good news.
"The bodies of Chunin Aranai and Genin Ryoya were just found hanging in front of the city council building."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
When Takuma entered the factory base, he felt a wave of emotions well up inside of him when he saw the team sitting on the dirty couch and chairs, locked in a serious discussion. It hadn''t been that long since he had seen them¡ªhe had seen Iori just a few days ago¡ªbut seeing them all together brought up a sense of comfort that he desperately needed.
He clenched his fist and dug his nails into his palm to control himself from tearing up and then took a few deep and long breaths before stepping out of the shadow.
"Where are Chinatsu and Gaku?" he asked as he announced his presence.
"Oh thank god, you''re safe," Iori jumped from the chair and enveloped him in a hug.
Takuma leaned into the hug and embraced her back.
"...It''s great to see you as well," he said and wanted to smile but couldn''t muster one. "All of you as well," he nodded to everyone else. "So what about the other two?"
"They bounced and will stay hidden until everything is over," said Anko. She had been dressing in clothes suitable for a handmaiden, but now with that over, she quickly reverted back to her normal hairstyle and now only wore a sports bra and short pants as she sat with her feet up on a table. Everyone else too had changed into their comfort clothing
"Of course he did," said Takuma with a groan, slumping into the couch beside Rikku and half-leaning against her small frame. ¡°He¡¯s a piece of hot garbage.¡±
"What about Aranai and Ryoya?" asked Kameko.
"I killed them," said Takuma flatly. "Hanged them up in front of the city council building, and then slit their throats." To be quick and safe, he had created two water clones to do the job, using a significant amount of chakra; he was more exhausted than ever, he had a fever, and his muscles felt like lead.
"We killed the shinobi keeping an eye on us."
"Anko fed them to her snakes," said Rikku.
"That''s great. Six shinobi found dead in two different spots, that''s a massive blow." Takuma then looked at Anko. "Gnarly. That must''ve helped with making up for the snakes."
"It did. I just might be able to summon a big one to help me in the battle."
"That''s good..."
A quietness snuck into the base as the team stared at Takuma, who was blinking down at the floor until he noticed everyone had gone silent. He looked up and was surprised to see everyone looking at him.
"What?"
"Do you want to talk about the blast?" Daiki asked.
Takuma stiffened and leaned away from Rikku as he felt the eyes on him. He then noticed that he was simply curious and realised that he was overthinking it.
"What do you want to know?"
"How did you do it?" asked Kameko.
"Got myself a dishwashing job at the banquet hall. Inserted the waterproof explosive tag into a water clone, dressed him as a waiter, and then sent him right next to the jonin to blow himself up. The people there were rich and powerful, and none of them saw a lowly waiter as a threat."
He noticed that they wanted to talk more about what he had done but didn''t want to talk and was about to switch the topic to their experience when Anko interrupted,
"Takuma, I want to talk to you alone."
He got up and followed her to the other side of the factory base. "Is this about the blast?" he asked. Seeing that she had taken him away from the team, he guessed that she wasn''t happy with him and didn''t want to scold him in front of the team.
"Of course, it''s about that!" Anko''s voice was sharp, her expression stern. She had a deep frown on her face. "Do you realise what you did?"
"I killed a jonin," said Takuma stiffly as though repeating a mantra to fortify his mind.
"You blew up dozens of civilians! That''s what you did," Anko raised her voice. "Do you know much of a mess this might lead to? The Hidden Steam will make a huge stink out of this. This could reach the Hokage and Fire Daimyo, and all of us will be screwed if the tiles fall on the wrong side."
"They were traitors; they deserved to die," Takuma said in his defence.
"Really? You want to justify it like that?" Anko stared down at him with a hard look. "What about the staff? Did they deserve to die? Was simply working in that hall to put food for their families made them traitors?"
The screams of terror echoed in his head. Takuma grabbed the bridge of his nose and turned his head away slightly as he said, "They were unfortunate collateral damage. There was no better place to take out a jonin than that banquet hall. Most of the staff was in the back of the house; they were safe."
"That was not your choice to make!" said Anko, the look of anger worsening. He hadn''t seen her this angry ever, not even when she was mistreated by Toridasu. "We are not Hidden Steam shinobi. This is not our country. We are outsiders with limited operational freedom. A few people here and there are understood and thus covered¡ªbut blowing up a banquet hall and sacrificing civilians is not something you can do! It''s not something any of us¡ªeven me¡ªcan do!"
She began to pace around with her hands in her hair. He could hear her taking deep breaths out of anger to calm down. She continued, "Yes, I gave you the autonomy to operate; you are allowed plenty of freedom. But you should''ve known better, Takuma."
"I have saved lives," Takuma said in his defence but couldn''t meet her eyes. "It was our mission to weaken the enemy; I just did my mission. I have made the attack on the city safer for the main forces by taking out the jonin and the four chunin. I have made sure that after the city is freed, the good people of Yu will be in control of their homes instead of those turncoat traitors!" His volume rose, and his tone became harsher as he defended himself. He had to justify his actions because he didn''t want to accept any other scenario where he hadn''t done good.
When Anko didn''t reply, he looked up to see that the anger had disappeared, replaced with a muted look of disappointment, which somehow hit much deeper. He clenched his fist as his heart thumped louder.
Don''t look at me like that, he thought. Go back to being angry.
"We are shinobi of the Hidden Leaf from the Land of Fire," she said, her voice much calmer¡ªno flatter¡ªthan before. "The rules of engagement between civilians and shinobi have long been established. Not to mention this is the Land of Hot Waters; we are outsiders¡ªwe can''t make judgments like the one you made. The people of this country deserve to deal with the people you call traitors on their own; that''s their right¡ªyou took it away from them. If someone else did what you did in the Land of Fire, the Hidden Leaf would''ve considered it an insult to the entire nation, even if it was one of our allies."
Takuma knew that. He knew all of that. He had simply chosen to ignore all of it so that he could hurt the enemy in the worst way possible. Taking away a jonin was the way to send fear into the hearts of the enemy who were abusing the lives of the people in the city.
"I''ll be honest; I don''t think you''ll be punished," said Anko with a sigh. "I don''t really care about the turncoats; they''re dead¡ªthat''s it. I care about the staff, but I don''t think the people up the chain will care because you killed a jonin, and unlike us, they aren''t here in this city to see what it''s like for the people. As you said, you did your mission and made it safer for the main forces... I just don''t like the way you did. The fault also lies with me because it only happened because I gave you the autonomy... If things do go wrong for us, don''t worry, I''ll take my share of the responsibility."
Anko shook her head and then turned to walk away, leaving Takuma alone to deal with what he had been thinking all along and was now thrown more bluntly than he had expected.
Two days remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.38 (256)
Halfway between Camp Banana and the Spring City of Yu, there was a temporary base with more than a couple hundred shinobi where Camp Banana¡¯s troops had stopped on their journey to recapture Yu.
It had been a day since the troops at Camp Banana had left. They had only received information from the precursor team that had infiltrated the city a week ago but the quality and quantity of intelligence was impressive and made up for how long it had taken to be delivered.
Inside a tent built in the middle of the base, Jonin Shirakumo of the Hidden Leaf stood in front of a large, circular table where a map of Yu and the surrounding area was spread out and pinned down.
"The walls of the city were constructed with specialised Earth nature ninjutsu, making them incredibly durable." He traced a wooden pointer on the thick dark walls highlighted on the map. "The plan was to create two openings in the wall and breach the city with a two-pronged approach. However, it seems that won¡¯t be possible anymore," he said looking at the three Hidden Steam shinobi around the table.
Camp Banana didn¡¯t have enough manpower to take back the city. According to the reports, there were five jonin in Yu, while they only had two. The Hidden Steam had allotted their own shinobi to supplement their numbers, bringing them up to a matching five jonin along with an appropriate number of chunin and genin.
The Hidden Steam were heavily invested in liberating Yu because the three jonin they were sending wasn¡¯t a number to scoff at for a small village like the Hidden Steam. It made sense from an economical standpoint. There were three cities including Yu that were captured by the enemy and all of those cities fell in an area that produced a considerable amount of food for the country, and those captured cities allowed the enemy to have a chokehold on that region.
"Obviously not," one of the Hidden Steam jonin replied. "Those walls have protected the city for decades and it would take millions to fix them if you blew two massive holes into them.."
"You don''t have to. I''m more than happy to do it on my own," said Jonin Toridasu of the Hidden Leaf. He was the only one sitting down, fanning himself leisurely.
Before the Hidden Steam jonin could say anything in response¡ªor Toridasu could make things worse with a quip¡ªShirakumo snapped the chain of conversation. "We understand, which is why we''re going to breach the city through the front gates¡ªdestroying the gates instead. Jonin Toridasu will lead and create that opening."
"That much is fine," said the Hidden Steam jonin while giving Toridasu a partially hidden displeased look.
"With pleasure," said Toridasu with a simple smile to the Hidden Steam jonin.
The only reason there wasn''t a bigger commotion was because of Toridasu''s age. He was the most senior among them, and while age didn''t connote ability and competency, an old man still being around in a young man''s game meant that he had survived more than everyone else, and was something to be respected.
Shirakumo moved the conversation along swiftly,
"We''re going to push forth into the city aggressively. Our main priority is to drive the enemy out. I can''t stress this enough but we have to be fast and heavy-handed. There''s no telling what the enemy might do when they realise that they''re not going to win¡ªthey might burn the city down just so that there''s nothing to recover¡ªwe want to put so much pressure that they have no time to do anything besides run away."
He continued, "Our next focus will be to occupy and save key strategic points inside the city." There were points in the city map that were highlighted. "The major streets, the city centre, the grain stockpiles, the electric plant, the water treatment system. We want to occupy all of these essentials to ensure that after everything is over, the city is able to function normally."
They had been planning the recapture before they had received the information from the team inside Yu. Each chunin team was given specific assignments that had gone through modifications after receiving the updated information so the level of preparation was on another level to the Gojiro Gold Mines operation.
"Please convey the information to your men. We cannot afford to make mistakes," said Shirakumo after a forty minute long discussion where he communicated everything with the Hidden Steam side.
When the Hidden Steam side left the tent, he dismissed the chunin, leaving himself alone with Toridasu.
"Why can¡¯t you be professional for once?" he asked. ¡°There was no need to rile him up.¡±
"You can learn a lot from how a man responds with annoyances and challenges to his authority," said Toridasu, smiling.
"So you do admit that you were being annoying?" Shirakumo wanted to sigh deeply, but he had been working with Toridasu long enough to get used to his behaviour. "You recognise the tension between our two parties, so why were you fanning the flames?"
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From the day they had met, Camp Banana''s Hidden Leaf troops and the Hidden Steam had been at odds with each other; there was a muted strain between the two parties that hadn''t been resolved.
The Hidden Leaf considered the Hidden Steam shinobi to be inferior because of the saying that the Great Five villages produced shinobi at a level higher than the others¡ªwhile the Hidden Steam side thought that the Hidden Leaf shinobi weren''t as invested and serious about liberating and saving the citizens of Yu and were only doing it because they were being paid.
A few fights disguised as spars had broken out in the time they had been together and despite his best attempts, Shirakumo hadn''t been able to resolve the tension. Toridasu had been of no help and while the Hidden Steam jonin tried to smoothen things out, they didn''t seem to be as supportive as he had expected them to be.
"You''re giving this too much importance. When the time comes, all of them will fall into line," said Toridasu as he stood up. There was a deep intelligence behind his eyes as he studied the map. "All trivial matters crumble under the face of danger. Until then, this will serve as motivation. I can''t make everyone on our side care about a foreign city and its people¡ªso it''s better to attack their egos and have them work hard to show that they''re the best in the world. There''s not enough time to have the Hidden Steam shinobi change their views and fix their inferiority complex¡ª
"There you go again," Shirakumo sighed.
"¡ªso it''s better to light a fire under them to prove that they''re not second rate." Toridasu looked up at Shirakumo and smiled, "And once they fight together, face a common enemy together, shed blood together¡ªall of this animosity will be replaced by mutual respect. So let the tension brew, stir the pot I say."
Shirakumo would never have motivated his troops that way but he couldn''t also stop Toridasu .
"Do you think Mitarashi''s team caused some real damage since they handed in the report?" asked Toridasu as he stepped around Shirakumo to the other side of the table to get a better look of the map. "Or do you think they went into hiding?"
The report was mostly intelligence about the enemy, but the precursor team had briefly included information about their intelligence source and knew that the enemy forces were looking for the shinobi the team had kidnapped. While they had made some waves in the city, the enemy forces were more or less intact.
"Given that they''re under suspicion, I believe they won''t have much choice than to stay hidden and safe, but knowing Chunin Mitarashi, I believe she''d try something," Shirakumo garnered a guess. "If they kill their hostages and the surveillance team, they''d have done some damage. Genin Takuma himself is not under surveillance and I believe he''s capable of taking out a few genin without putting himself in danger."
"As long as they can get rid of another chunin or two, I''ll say they did a great job."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Back in Yu, Ebi had ordered everyone to adjust their plans and strategies to make up for the missing jonin. He had officially sounded an emergency alert and communicated to all the other jonin to prepare for an attack on the city.
All the shinobi had started working hard to shed the haze of drugs and alcohol, burn the weight they had put on during their leisure time, and work themselves back into top shape. Of course, it was too late to start, but at least they were alert now, and that was all Ebi could ask for.
"We are going to strengthen the walls on the southern side in anticipation of the attack," Ebi addressed the other jonin in the war room, "leaving the northern side minimally occupied.... My team has worked on a revised set of strategic locations and all teams are going to adjust accordingly. We are going to front load the density toward the south."
As Ebi was explaining the adjustments, one of the Hidden Cloud jonin interrupted quite rudely,
"I''ve been meaning to ask, but why are you in charge?"
Ebi leaned against the table with his hand and hung his head for a moment before looking at the Hidden Cloud jonin with almost unbridled anger.
"I''m in charge because your sorry ass was having the time of your life while my men were getting kidnapped and killed. I''m in charge because I''m the reason why we''re still exporting produce out of the city. If I wasn''t in charge, this city would''ve been ruined long ago!" Ebi yelled with a vein popping on his forehead. "So shut the fuck up and do as you''re told!"
"Or what? What are you going to do?" The Hidden Cloud jonin bit back, ready to start a fight, but was immediately pulled aside by the other Hidden Cloud jonin who noticed the tension in the room and how the Frost and Cloud shinobi were looking at each other.
"Alright. We''ll follow your lead. Please continue," said the other Hidden Cloud jonin, understanding the severity of the situation if a fight broke out.
Ebi glared at the Hidden Cloud side for an extended moment before taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"...As I was saying, I want to front load the troops in the city near the southern walls because in the very likely case that the enemy gets past the walls, I want to trap them between those manning the wall and the troops on the ground. That way, they won¡¯t penetrate too deeply into the city."
There was a knock on the door that made everyone turn in. A sweating, nerve struck Hidden Frost genin stepped into the room under the gaze of four jonin and stood there in an uncomfortable rigid attention.
"What is it?" asked Ebi, doing his best to keep his voice welcoming enough.
He was familiar with the genin and knew he wouldn''t disturb an important meeting without reason.
"S-Sir, we received a report from our advanced scouts." The genin gulped, "There''s an... an army advancing in our direction."
While Ebi was taken aback, the other jonin looked reassured as they now knew they wouldn''t be taken by surprise and could start preparing for a defence. Ebi, who was deeply involved, knew something was wrong. Just two days ago, Kon had told him that he probably had a week until the city was attacked¡ªwhich was already too limited.
But Ebi had read previous reports from the advanced scouts so he knew their rough positions.
"How long.... How long until they''re here?" he asked.
The genin bowed his head as though what he was about to say was his fault. "A little under a day, sir."
The reassurance the jonin had felt immediately shattered as they realised that they had no time before they were going to defend against an attack.
Less than a day remained until the main forces arrived at Yu.
CH_7.39 (257)
When Kon arrived at Ebi''s office, he walked in on the man having a late dinner.
"Any clues about the intruders?" Ebi asked immediately, dismissing all formalities and talking through a mouthful of food. With the news that an entire shinobi army was marching towards the city, he wasn''t in the mood for anything but the direct.
"Unfortunately no," Kon replied as he sat opposite to Ebi on a long table. One of the servants proceeded to set a plate for him but Ebi stopped them. Kon pursed his lips but didn''t comment. "No one has come forward with any information and they''ve done a great job of keeping themselves independent. We caught both of their connections in Yu and neither of them knew anything about the intruders. That Gaku really must''ve had some pull for everyone to be involved with an outsider they knew absolutely nothing about."
For people to trust each other, both sides needed to have skin in the game, so that if one side decided to screw the other side, they couldn''t just get away with it scot free. That kind of thing kept both sides honest.
"So you are completely and utterly useless," said Ebi.
That stung where Kon didn''t want to admit. He had been looking for Takuma ever since their meeting, but he hadn''t been able to get any clue about it. Just like Ebi, he regretted not going after the courtesan, but he had looked into them separately and nothing strange popped out.
"Unfortunately, they have played it smar¡ª"
"You weren''t able to find people inside a city we control."
The servants tried to lighten their presence as Ebi didn''t mince his words while casually eating his meal. Kon stared silently at Ebi, hiding the coldness in his eyes that still came across as displeased. Ebi looked up at him as he slowly chewed his meat and looked like he was inviting Kon to say something.
"...There are only ten hours until the guests arrive. I wish you the best of luck for tomorrow," said Kon with a plastic smile.
Kon and his team weren''t part of the forces and were technically only ''consultants'' and weren''t responsible for protecting the city against the attack.
Ebi hummed. But when Kon stood up to leave, he spoke again,
"You better not leave the city, Kon. You''re still on the job. After we defend the city, you''re going to go right back to doing what you''ve been doing until now."
Kon turned to look back at Ebi. He smiled, "Of course, that goes without saying."
That was the only acceptable response Kon could''ve given. If he tried to leave the city, or even hinted at it, that would send the message that he thought that they would lose the city in the upcoming battle. Kon could see Ebi''s mood worsening by the minute and felt that his life would certainly be in danger if he said anything else.
Seeing how direct Ebi was with his words, Kon was sure that he and his team were being watched and that Ebi would immediately crack down on him if he tried to leave the city. Unfortunately for Ebi, he was indeed going to leave the city and there was nothing Ebi could do about it because he and his team would be leaving the moment the city was attacked when everyone would be too busy to stop him.
The truth was, he didn''t believe that Ebi would be able to defend the city and seeing that Takuma was in the city, and that his face was plastered on every street, Kon was sure that the Hidden Leaf would know about his presence.
And if they knew, the ANBU might be accompanying the forces coming for the city. Not getting caught by ANBU had a higher priority than the mission, even if it meant abandoning said mission.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The factory base was abuzz with a quiet energy as the team prepared for upcoming combat. Everyone performed maintenance on gear that they hadn''t used much in the past two months, double-checking every minute aspect to ensure nothing would malfunction. The inventory they had come up with and had largely remained packed was opened up and divided according to their needs.
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Iori, the busiest of them all, had been churning out tags since she stepped into the base. Daiki busied himself by putting together smoke bombs. Rikku spent her time walking around the building, keeping to herself, while Kameko hadn''t moved from the couch as she hugged her sword close to her.
They had spent two months in close quarters, having no independent time to themselves, and now that had ended, they elected to spend their time alone¡ªand if not for Anko going around talking to each of them, they wouldn''t have said a word to each other.
Takuma, however, spent most of his time sleeping. His gear was long ready as it had been used regularly and he had kept it in top condition. There was tension among the group and the source of it was Takuma''s bombing. Daiki and Iori didn''t think he was in the wrong as he had killed a jonin and a few chunin and most people who died were turncoats. Whereas, Rikku, Kameko, and Anko thought he had overstepped his bounds despite the positive results.
The team, however, didn''t argue or even discuss it. They understood that they were about to engage in dangerous combat and it would be bad for the team to be split for any reason. They put the topic on pause and moved on, focusing on what truly mattered in the moment.
"Gather up!" Anko announced.
The team who were in their own corners gathered around the sheet-metal table in the centre.
"I think it''s safe to say that we have completed our original mission," Anko addressed the team. "We managed to send intelligence back to the camp and spread some chaos by weakening the enemy." Everyone glanced at Takuma who stared down at the table. "However, our mission isn''t complete yet.... We have to take care of the people who targeted Takuma."
The team had been made aware of ROOT''s existence and were given an additional responsibility to capture them if possible. The orders from the village were to make ROOT the team''s highest priority; whereas, Toridasu and Shirakumo had told them to only engage with the additional responsibility if it didn''t interfere with their mission.
Anko had elected to go with Camp Banana''s version of order as that aligned with their original mission and that''s what they prepared for.
"Seeing that ANBU hasn''t shown up already, or if they have, they haven''t made contact with us, I''m going to assume that they aren''t in the city. I''ve decided that we''re going to attempt to capture the ROOT team."
The haze of sleep lifted from Takuma''s eyes and his body straightened as he paid full attention to the topic at hand. ROOT was a personal matter for him¡ªmore personal than the team knew as while they knew about what had happened while he was in the Police Force, they didn''t know the other thing.
"We know their location, we know their numbers, but we don''t have much information other than that," she continued. "That makes the situation uncertain, so we''ll have to approach this situation differently. As we don''t know what we might be going into, I propose that instead of trying to capture all of them, we aim to abduct one or two targets in a quick in-and-out attack."
Despite being aware of their existence, not much was known about the ROOT team. Takuma had stayed away from the part of the city where the shinobi resided and the ROOT''s base was laid in that area. He had fought against them, and even managed to kill one, but it was risky to assess their combat capabilities off of that.
"We target them when the main forces knock on the door. It''ll be chaos and the enemy forces will be occupied, creating a prime space of window for us to attack without worrying about getting outnumbered and surrounded. We operate aggressively and capture ideally two people alive. That would satisfy ANBU," said Anko.
"We should aim for Kon, the leader. He was confident enough to strut about without a mask, so he must be someone important. He''d have the most information," said Takuma.
The team looked at Takuma, internally wondering if those words were emotionally motivated as Kon had tried to kill Takuma. However, it was the truth that the leader of the group would be the prime target. But the team didn''t have a handle on their target''s strength, which made targeting the leader the highest risk proposition.
Anko gave Takuma a look. She said, "We take whatever we get our hands on. The moment we successfully catch two, we immediately leave. We will directly go to the main force''s base outside the city. Now, because we are going to do it at the time of the city attack, one of us is going to not participate so that they can inform the main forces about the dead jonin so they don''t waste their time and be more aggressive with their attack.
"Iori you''ll be that person," said Anko.
It didn''t need to be said, but Iori was the weakest among the group. And seeing that they weren''t sure about their situation, she''d be the safest if she wasn''t participating.
"Understood," Iori nodded.
"We leave in a few hours," Anko continued. "We''ll be on their tail until it''s time to strike. They''re ROOT, so they might not participate in the defence. If they try to leave the city, we nab them before they get a chance to do so. Let''s get this done and end this mission."
CH_7.40 (258)
The team stalked their way into a manor that was confirmed as the residence of the ROOT team in the dead of night. Despite their timing, getting into the mansion was a struggle because of the city-wide lockdown. There were hyper-vigilant shinobi stationed at every street corner and building in preparation for the upcoming invasion.
Some parts of the city were practically abandoned because the civilians had been evacuated out of their homes and forced to move to the far side of the village¡ªas far away from the side which would be attacked¡ªto keep them safe from getting caught in the crossfire. With the number of shinobi involved, there would be considerable property damage regardless of both side''s desire to minimise damage.
The lights in hallways had been on since before the sun completely set and had remained lit even after midnight.
"There is someone keeping an eye on the mansion," Daiki whispered into the wireless comms.
He noticed two shinobi hiding in the shadows, stalking the mansion just like they were doing. They were far apart from each other, covering different vantage points. He spotted them when he had taken a round of the property to get a better feel for their surroundings.
"Only two?" Anko asked through the comms.
"I only noticed two."
"Should we get rid of them?" asked Kameko.
"Let''s wait and observe for now." Anko paused for a moment. "It seems like the Hidden Frost doesn''t trust them and are having them monitored. They might be a problem when we go in; we will have to take care of them. Team A will take the one on the right; Team B takes the other one."
The team had split themselves into two parties. Anko and Daiki were on Team A. Takuma, Rikku, and Kameko were on Team B. Iori was near the front gates of the city so she could quickly rush to deliver the information.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Inside the manor, Kon and his team were getting ready to leave. Their house staff had been sent away to evacuate with the rest of the civilian population. His team had been going through the building with a fine-toothed comb to erase all and every trace of their existence. It was standard procedure when an ANBU team needed to disappear from a location they had been residing in.
"Sir, we''ve detected a few individuals on the property."
Kon was packing up his belongings when his subordinate came in with the information that he was expecting.
"How many?" he asked.
"Five individuals. Two of them are alone on either side of the building and there''s a group of three."
"Five? That''s more than a few."
With an invading force nearly on their doors, Ebi would need every man to mount a proper defence. Putting five men to monitor him was wasting his resources, and Kon didn''t consider Ebi to be a man of emotion who would make such a decision just because he didn''t like him. And yet he couldn''t deny that there were five men on the property.
"Well, putting any men on us was foolish to begin with. It''s not like they can stop us," said Kon as he looked at the large property out of the window.
He had brought six people with him to Yu. One of them had died during their ambush of Takuma, which left five people. Two of them could easily contest against a combat-focused chunin while the other three were more than any average genin handle. Even if Ebi had put five men on him, there was no way they could match his team''s firepower. The moment the Hidden Leaf hit the city, he and his team would be free to leave.
"Should we take care of them, sir?"
"Leave them be, there''s no benefit in getting rid of them. But if they overstep their bounds...."
Kon gave his subordinate a look who nodded before leaving.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Yumi was a Hidden Frost genin stationed at the corridors on the city walls. She clutched her bo-staff nervously as she looked out towards the landscape outside the city in front of her. Everyone had been told that the city would be attacked today and given that she was at the wall, she was part of the first line of defence.
She had ground experience with shinobi combat, but this was going to be unlike anything she had ever faced. An entire army of shinobi would be attacking the city and she was at the forefront. Even if she was ordered to fallback for any reason or wanted to desert, she was at the furthest point and would need to travel a long distance rife with danger if she wanted to escape.
She touched the thick walls that protected the city; it was made by shinobi and provided her with some sense of security¡ªand she was above ground, which put some distance between her and the invaders. Moreover, two of four jonin were also stationed on the wall, which was the biggest protection she could ask for.
"H-Hey, I s-see something."
Someone fifteen metres away shouted as he looked out with a fearful expression on her face.
The landscape outside Yu was flat greenland. There were trees, but they weren''t dense enough to cover the entire land, leaving no way to hide while approaching the city. Yumi widened her eyes as she leaned against the ledge and squinted. That''s when she saw a huge crowd of shinobi dressed in Hidden Steam red running towards the city.
"T-They''re here," she stuttered and then shouted, "Sound the alarms!"
A few seconds later, loud and harsh bells were ringing to announce the arrival of the enemy.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Outside Yu, the shinobi of Camp Banana and the Hidden Steam¡¯s forces laid their eyes on tall walls that protected the city. They were all dressed in Hidden Steam colours and were moving in formation towards the city. After six hours, they had finally arrived at their destination and the tension was palpable.
The chunin had begun their final go-throughs with their teams. Shirakumo was in the front of the forces and was preparing internally to give a speech to motivate the forces when one of the genin manning a radio ran up to him.
"Sir, we have a message."
The genin held up the speaker of his radio pack on his back and a familiar voice crackled,
"This is Genin Iori serving under Chunin Anko as part of the precursor mission. Reply if you''re picking up this frequency. Over!"
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Shirakumo recalled the fuin-nin part of Anko''s team and gave a nod to the genin to reply.
"We can hear you, Genin Iori. Please proceed. Over."
Iori''s urgent voice sounded out from the speaker."Thank god! I thought I was doing something wrong. I have critical information regarding the enemy¡ª"
Shirakumo thought something had gone wrong and they would need to make some urgent last-minute adjustment when Iori dropped a bomb he wasn''t expecting.
"¡ªIn the time since we sent our final report, we managed to assassinate a jonin and four chunin. The enemy has been unable to replace them, and are thus weaker. Please make suitable adjustments as the enemy is now weaker than what we previously reported. Over."
There were quite a few people around Shirakumo who could hear Iori''s words, and they all looked at each other in shock. The precursor team had managed to kill... a jonin? It was utterly unbelievable as even if the entire team banded together, they wouldn''t stand a chance against a jonin.
Shirakumo took the radio receiver from the genin and paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking, "This is Jonin Shirakumo. Can you confirm that you just said that you killed one of the jonin... Over."
Iori''s response came almost immediately, "Yes, sir! The jonin was killed in an explosion at a gathering. The death was confirmed! Over."
"... Understood. Good job, Genin Iori. Over," said Shirakumo. He looked at the genin as he handed the receiver back. "Contact Jonin Toridasu¡ªForget it, I''ll go to him directly."
Shirakumo leapt across dozens of people and landed right in front of Toridasu who had a sheen of sweat on him.
"Did you hear?" Shirakumo asked.
"Yes," Toridasu nodded as he practised cyclic breathing. "Do you need my help?"
They had five jonin against their four jonin. They were evenly matched before, but now Toridasu''s assignment was dead, leaving him free to help other jonin in their fights. It was such a massive game-changer that it more than covered up for the enemy''s advantage of being behind walls and having a better strategic position.
"No, don''t help any of us. Instead support our troops."
Toridasu looked at Shirakumo for the first time and raised his eyebrow.
Shirakumo continued, "Clear out the enemy chunin and genin. Kill as many as possible, as quickly as possible. Even if their jonin are somehow able to push us back, they won''t be able to hold the city because they won''t have the foot soldiers necessary."
Killing the enemy jonin would also mean freeing the city, but Shirakumo was thinking about the safety of his own people. If they had Toridasu supporting them, not only would the casualties on their side be much lower, it would pressure the enemy jonin to flee as without their troops, they wouldn''t be able to control the city even if they somehow were able to push them out.
Jonin were much more durable and were hard to kill¡ªtheir fights lasted longer¡ª and as long as the jonin were fighting, the genin and chunin would continue to fight as there was always a chance as long as the jonin were alive. But as the troops held hope for that, casualties from both sides would continue to rise.
Shirakumo did not want that to happen; he would rather protect his troops than take out enemy jonin.
Moreover, the mission wasn''t to kill the jonin and weaken the enemy; it was to take back the city.
"You are soft," said Toridasu, making Shirakumo frown, "but... this is not the Land of Fire, and I''ll take care of my men when they''re far away from their home."
Shirakumo breathed a sigh of relief. Toridasu could''ve rejected his idea and imposed his own will, but he was relieved that Toridasu was cooperating.
"I''m ready," Toridasu said as he removed his haori and threw it to a nearby genin. "Time to invade a city."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma had been sitting cross-legged behind a hedge with his eyes closed for the better part of an hour when the sound of sonorous bells reached his ear. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of city gates.
"It''s started, they''re here," Takuma said in the comms.
"What?" said Kameko, who was ten metres away from him.
Kameko and Rikku were positioned on either side of him, ten metres away from him. He removed his earphones and pointed to the sky, asking them to hear the faint bells¡ªbut before either one of them could follow up his instructions, Anko spoke up through the comms.
"We''re going to be active in sixty seconds. Kill the Hidden Frost shinobi on your side as quietly as possible before proceeding towards the manor. Over."
All of them did a quick equipment check and got ready to fight. Before they packed away their comms as they would get in the way, Takuma announced to Rikku and Kameko, "I''ll take care of the Hidden Frost shinobi. Just follow me."
Both of them looked at him for a moment and made a quick decision as the seconds ran down.
"Okay," said Kameko.
As Anko started the ten second countdown, Takuma put the Hidden Frost shinobi in his sights. He imagined a mask over his face and the phantom feel of his warm breath against his skin¡ªit was comforting and blocked out unnecessary thoughts and allowed him to focus on what was in front of him. He could see the shinobi''s back, who had no idea that he was behind him. It was a common phenomenon¡ªpeople who watched a place lost sight of their own surroundings as they were focused on their target.
"3...2...1... Go! Go! Go!"
Takuma ducked out from the bush hedge and ran towards the shinobi to close the distance between them as Rikku and Kameko followed behind him.
He raised his hands and weaved hand seals.
Earth Release: Hiding in the Rock Jutsu
Rikku and Kameko were surprised when he disappeared into the ground without a warning.
He was gone for a full four seconds, but then he emerged a couple steps behind the Hidden Frost shinobi, who heard him appear behind and turned back¡ªbut it was too late as Takuma pulled the shinobi''s head towards his chest while covering the mouth with the hand and then slit the throat with a kunai before quickly following up with a stab at the heart.
It was all so quick that by the time Rikku and Kameko arrived, the shinobi was long dead.
"Let''s keep moving."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Inside the manor, everything was packed up and the ROOT team was ready to leave when the bells announcing the arrival of the enemy forces went off. Kon and three of his men were sitting in a room while the other two were keeping an eye on the two Hidden Frost shinobi who were monitoring the manor.
"Should we move out, sir?" asked one of Kon''s subordinates.
"Yes, we should," Kon replied, sighing.
Objectively speaking, the mission to convert Yu to the Land of Frost''s side couldn''t be seen as success. He and his team had done a great job at the start to develop feelings of displeasure and abandonment towards the Land of Hot Water, all the while slowly making them comfortable towards the idea of joining the Land of Frost. It was tough when the shinobi supporting the Goharu Family were acting like tyrants, but he had managed to work with what he was given.
Things only went south when the damned Takuma entered the situation.
Kon clicked his tongue.
Even though the cockroach hadn''t shown up much during his time in the city, his impact had been huge. He had spread too much chaos, disrupting the lives of civilians, and causing them to feel less secure under the new rule. The amount of damage he had done in the short amount of time had rolled back a significant amount of his progress.
It had taken a long time to build that positive image. Takuma¡¯s arrival and meddling destroyed the vast majority of that work. However Kon wasn''t worried that this mission would reflect harshly on him. With the Hidden Leaf forces invading the city to take it back for the Hidden Steam, it didn''t matter how he did. He could spin the narrative in his support¡ªthat he did his work properly at high competence, but the Hidden Frost forces weren''t able to defend the city, making his contribution moot.
Did he think that Ebi would be able to defend the city? No. The moment the jonin was killed in the blast, they had lost. The most Ebi could accomplish was to punish the other side by killing their shinobi, but keeping Yu was a pipe dream.
"Sir, the shinobi monitoring us just killed one of their own. Over."
The radio comms on the table crackled as one of Kon''s subordinates keeping an eye on the shinobi reported in.
"What?" Kon uttered, confused.
Then the second subordinate outside tuned in.
"Sir, two new unknowns just spotted. They killed the shinobi monitoring us. Over"
The ROOT agents in the room all stood up. Clearly something was wrong when two people who were monitoring them were just killed within ten seconds of each other.
"It''s him..."
They all looked at Kon who spoke barely above a whisper.
Kon knew that the Hidden Leaf would know about ROOT''s presence in Yu, and that ANBU might accompany the invading forces. Because they were in hiding, on the run, he had excluded the possibility that the Hidden Leaf team already inside the company would go after him. But just like Ebi suspected him of leaving the city, they had also suspected him of leaving and were now targeting him before he had the chance to leave.
"It''s Takuma... He is coming for me."
Kon wasn''t scared. Not at all. In fact, he was excited. He wanted to kill the thorn in his side, and he wasn''t going to miss this chance when it was being served up right in front of him.
He started to laugh and continued laughing while his subordinates stared at him in silence.
CH_7.41 (259)
Anko swiftly withdrew her kunai from within the Hidden Frost shinobi. Her eyes then shifted to the three-storey U-shaped manor owned by one of the Yu''s wealthy blown up by Takuma''s clone blast. A lush perimeter of trees surrounded the building, encircling a meticulously maintained shrub hedge maze.
However, as they advanced towards the building, all cover disappeared, heightening the risk of detection. Anko''s gaze swept across the windows, a task she had been diligently performing for the past few hours. Her eyes halted abruptly on a window near the far left, where, in a heartbeat, she caught the fleeting glimpse of a man just as he disappeared behind the wall.
They had been seen. The enemy knew they were coming.
"We''ve been caught," she told Daiki.
"Crap," he muttered nervously.
The two groups converged at the manor''s heavy double doors.
Anko informed Team B of the news, to which they responded with heavy nods.
"We''re going to take it slow. Stick close, don''t disappear from sight, and keep cover."
She maintained a steadfast front as the leader but was nervous about this undertaking. Having left Iori behind, their headcount was reduced to five. According to Aranai, the ROOT team had seven people, and given that one of them had died, their headcount was six, which put her team at a numerical disadvantage.
Moreover, she clearly remembered a bastard of a sensei telling her that ROOT agents were dangerous¡ªnot because they were talented, but because of the training the agents were put through. She wasn''t concerned about herself. From what Takuma had told her¡ªregardless of how limited his information was¡ªshe was confident that she could take out the leader.
However, if their goal were to exterminate the ROOT team, her confidence ended there. Even if she killed the leader, Team-9 would still be outnumbered and for all she knew, the other ROOT agents could far surpass her subordinates in strength.
They were going in with the little information Takuma had brought back from his fight with the leader and his agents. Thankfully, they were only there to take an agent or two away¡ªwhich was still very dangerous, but she thought her team had a better chance to succeed without casualties.
Though there was no such thing as a guarantee on an active field mission. Things could go south in an instant.
She signalled to Takuma and pointed at the doors. The team quickly fell back, creating a safe distance. Takuma launched a second form augmented punch; the burst of chakra hit the panes, broke the latch on the other side, and forced the doors open. He immediately jumped back, prepared for potential booby-trapped explosives, but the doors remained still and the entryway looked clear.
They swiftly entered the building with full heads of caution and slowly spread out in the expansive three-storey foyer, where the open corridors on the upper floors could be seen from the lower levels.
A doorway in the front led deeper into the house, and a staircase led up in the corner. Anko motioned the team to stay on the ground floor before moving up. Just as they were about to proceed deeper, a kunai with an explosive tag fluttering on its tail descended from the first floor.
Kameko was the first one to notice and yelled,
"Explosion¡ªclear!"
Everyone jumped towards the walls to clear out of the way. The explosive tag burst near the floor, scorching the gleaming marble and ruining the lush carpet, but the warning saved anyone from getting injured.
Anko jumped to the first-floor corridor railings and saw a man making a break towards a corner. She threw a volley of shuriken, but they were deflected, and the ROOT agent disappeared behind the corner.
She didn''t rush after them and called the team up. Around the corner was a small corridor with an open room at the end. Halfway through, a ROOT agent emerged before the open door and released a powerful gust of wind from his mouth,
Wind Release: Breakthrough jutsu.
The gust of wind slammed full force into Anko. She flew through the air and crashed out of a window. As she fell to the manor grounds, Anko saw a duo of ROOT agents standing on the walls of the manor above the window she shattered. They hurled volleys of shuriken and kunai at her while she was in mid-air, unable to change directions, and did her best to deflect the rain of metal coming for her.
Two kunai got her in the leg¡ªone only grazed her, but the other one made a significant gash below her knee¡ªa third sliced through her side.
She landed on the injured leg, sending a jolt of pain as she stumbled. The two ROOT agents jumped towards the ground and then rushed towards her as she landed on the ground off-balance¡ªbut the moment they moved forward, Daiki jumped out from the shattered window and launched an explosive tag tied to a kunai towards them. The ROOT duo were late to hear the flutter of the tag and tried to jump away, but the tag exploded when the kunai struck the ground and caught the duo at the edge of the blast radius, throwing them to the side.
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Anko used the time to find her balance and weaved hand seals for the Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu. She spewed an invisible stream of chakra that struck one agent and jumped to the other, and with a final tiger seal, flames sparked at her lips, igniting the streams.
The flames coalesced into a roaring dragon in front of her and the flames washed over her, surging ahead. One of the agents swept a chakra-coated hand through the stream, saving himself from a fiery death but the other wasn''t so lucky. Daiki spat an oil globule at the escaping ROOT agent. It hit his gloved hand and ignited into fumes with the freshly chakra-infused oil.
The fire burned up his hand severely through the glove and his ally had managed to douse the flames in a nearby fountain but now was heavily damaged in the places that weren''t heavily covered by gear.
Anko put some weight on her injured foot and hid a wince. The injury by no means put her out of the fight, but it was sure to slow her down, which could make all the difference in a fight. Fortunately, the two adversaries were injured as well, which levelled the playfield to some degree.
She glanced up at the shattered window; the team was now split, and she wasn''t close enough to provide immediate help. It worried her, but she quickly returned her attention to the enemies before her. There were two of them, which was perfect in the sense that she could put them down quickly and have Daiki carry them off the property.
Then, she could support the rest of the team and get them away from the ROOT agents.
The combat came to a pause as the four shinobi looked at each other, ready to react in case anyone made a move. Anko looked between the two agents and suddenly rushed towards the more injured one¡ªbut the moment she moved, both agents moved towards Daiki.
''Shit!''
Her plans immediately changed. She shot towards the less-burned one and weaved a modified version of the Summoning Jutsu. It simplified the hand seals in exchange for limiting the scope of the summoning.
Hidden Shadow Snake Jutsu.
Half a dozen dark, long snakes, as thick as her arm, emerged from the oversized sleeves of her overcoat and flew towards her target; they bit into him and constricted his legs and body, tripping and temporarily stopping his pursuit of Daiki.
Despite her injury, she was still faster and stronger than the ROOT agent, and crashed into him. They wrestled on the ground, and Anko managed to mount him. She swung the kunai at his heart but an earthen spear struck her hand, knocking the kunai out of her hand Seizing the advantage, he struck her wounded side and kicked her away. A third ROOT agent stood on the manor house''s roof with two earthen spears hovering over his shoulders. He sent down another spear with a swipe of his hand; Anko avoided it by rolling to the side.
"Rooftop!" Anko didn''t forget to warn Daiki.
The second spear flew toward Daiki, who was moving already in the middle of an attack. He had to haphazardly twist his body at an awkward angle after Anko''s callout. The front half of the earthen spear missed him, but the back half grazed his upper shoulder.
Anko jumped and placed herself in between Daiki and the three ROOT agents.
"We should¡ª" Diaki tried to say something, but Anko silenced him.
"I know¡ just let me think," said Anko, taking in the enemies before her.
There were three ROOT agents to deal with¡ªand only one was injured enough for it to make a real difference. It was clear that they were used to fighting together; the third hidden agent aiming for an opening was clearly a planned action. They were around the level of combat-forward chunin¡ªif any of them got their hands on Daiki, he would be dead, which meant she had to protect him while she fought them.
Moreover, neither was the leader, Kon, which meant that the strongest of them was in the building.
The third agent dropped from the roof, and joined the most injured one. Together, they backed away until they were closer to the building, putting the most injured one on the back.
"Daiki, stay behind me and support me. Don''t try to deal with them directly," she said.
The one with the burned hand was their vanguard, supported by the new arrival, who followed after him with his sword drawn. The agent in the back, seemingly not in pain at all, fitted several shuriken between scorched fingers and stood at the ready.
A large commotion induced by an explosion from inside the building reached them, stopping the exchange before it could begin. The ROOT agents shifted into a more defensive position and fell back to see what was happening inside the building.
Anko rushed toward the most injured one, ignoring the throbbing in her left. They didn''t turn their eyes towards the building, but the sudden break in their plans was opportunity enough. The ROOT agents tried to put some distance between them, but she was faster. She pushed hard, even on the injured leg, and instantly closed in. She cracked him in the calf with a powerful kick and, in one fluid motion, pulled out three shurikens and threw them at the other two agents to keep them away. Returning to the heavily burned agent, Anko nailed him with two consecutive kicks to the head before pulling him close and spinning around. Using him as cover, she peered at the furthermost agent in the distance who was trying to strike her with an explosive tagged kunai.
The hesitation in his stance was enough for her to throw her human shield at the closer agent. He had a sword in his hands so he couldn''t sidestep or catch his ally. The best he could do was make sure he didn''t impale him in the collision but they still made full contact and fell.
Anko, now open, kept an eye on the only agent standing, who threw his explosive tag kunai toward her. She was about to jump away to dodge, which would put more distance between the two agents she had just disrupted¡ªbut another kunai flew from behind her and prevented it from reaching her.
She smiled as she sprinted toward the two agents, weaving the hand seals for a Fire-Release jutsu. Her left hand ignited with screaming fire. As the two agents rolled to their feet from the fall, she grabbed the scorched one and slammed her left hand into his throat, squeezing as the fire grew white-hot and ate through his neck, shoulders, and head.
His agonised screams died the instant the flames melted his voice box. Leaving his burning corpse to fall behind her, she sprinted towards the second agent, who still managed to maintain his grip over his sword.
"Now, this," Anko looked at the two remaining agents, "this is much more manageable."
CH_7.42 (260)
The combined force of Camp Banana and the Hidden Steam were knocking on Yu''s front door. They could hear the emergency warning bells ringing from over the wall in response to their arrival. Several dozen shinobi were already on the far sides of the wall, ready to defend the city, and were converging toward their location.
The crowd of shinobi dressed in Hidden Steam colours respectfully parted as Toridasu walked to the front.
His skin was covered with sweat and his breaths condensed before his face. For the past thirty minutes, he had been actively rotating the chakra inside his body, warming up his chakra pathway network. As the most senior of the jonin, it was his responsibility to issue the warning to the forces inside the city, even if he didn''t believe the warning would do anything.It was standard procedure during war, a common courtesy extended to the enemy, and served as legitimate justification that they didn''t need.
"To whoever is in charge, heed this warning and surrender the city of Yu," Toridasu spoke, his voice amplified by chakra. His words travelled far and wide, maintaining their volume without hurting the ear. "This is the first and last warning from our side. We''re generously giving you one chance to vacate the city peacefully and keep your lives intact. You have two minutes to respond by opening the city gates for us to enter. Refusal to meet our demands will result in an aggressive response most unfavourable for you."
The countdown began, and the shinobi rushed through their last-minute preparations for the impending battle. Many prayed to the gods and their own weapons for safety and victory; others psyched themselves up by hitting and hugging their comrades to drain away the nervousness; some performed their personal pre-battle routines; and a few crumbled under pressure.
Toridasu turned back to look at Shirakumo standing before the forces he commanded.
He gave him a nod that he returned.
As the clock wound down to the last ten seconds, Toridasu began walking toward the city, putting some distance between himself and the forces. The chakra inside him began to speed up as he commanded it to move faster and more vigorously.
The allotted two minutes ended, and the city gates remained shuttered.
The warning had been ignored, meaning they could officially attack the city.
Toridasu breathed in from his nose, and when he exhaled from his mouth, a cloud of fire escaped along with his breath.
A-rank ninjutsu were considered the pinnacle in the world of ninjutsu; S-rank was ''special'' and existed outside the standard structure¡ªbut the few that existed were akin to calamities. Most A-rank jutsu were weapons of mass destruction that couldn''t be used without deep consideration for one¡¯s allies. It was a blessing for the world that only a minority of the shinobi population could learn and use them.
Not all who were able to use A-rank ninjutsu were allowed to learn them, which kept the threat of mass destruction under control. Most people, even the most knowledgeable shinobi, wondered why jonin, who possessed A-rank jutsu, didn''t use them immediately at the start to end the battle by decimating their opponents. There were factors like collateral damage, friendly fire, and chakra resource management¡ªbut the biggest reason was that:
They simply weren''t able to use the jutsu immediately.
A-rank jutsu required a tremendous amount of chakra, and that absurd amount had to flow through shinobi''s bodies. Human bodies weren''t meant to handle that amount of chakra coursing through their chakra pathway network, which put a harsh strain on the network. Careless attempts to force the use of those jutsu could permanently damage the chakra pathway network in the worst-case scenario.
Shinobi trained their bodies to the limit to endure the stress and strain that the jutsu and chakra exerted¡ªmost people couldn''t temper their bodies to that level and thus failed to use A-rank jutsu. Even if someone had the physical apparatus to use A-rank jutsu, they couldn''t use it thoughtlessly¡ªthe body needed to be prepared appropriately before using the jutsu.
Chakra Burn was a condition observed when a shinobi handled a large amount of chakra very quickly. It was common during the use of A-rank jutsu and even happened with B-rank jutsu. Any type of jutsu required chakra to flow through the chakra pathway network; ordinarily, this happened without any problems, but the load on the chakra network brought by higher grade jutsu like A-rank jutsu damaged the network, leading to a damage akin to burning.
Those burns would physically hurt when chakra would flow through the area¡ªwhich was constantly, as the body produced a small amount of passively mixed chakra as part of the normal physical bodily function. For that reason, the chakra pathway network needed to be "warmed up" before A-rank jutsu could be used.
Shinobi had no choice but to slowly ramp up their chakra usage to prepare their bodies to handle the strain from using an A-rank jutsu. The best and quickest way to warm up the chakra pathway network was to use lower-ranked ninjutsu.
Toridasu was in his mid-fifties. He was old. His chakra reserves had naturally declined from the peak of his youth. It was a waste of chakra to use jutsu to warm up, so he had been slowly rotating chakra around his body and alternating the speed of its flow for the past half an hour to warm up his chakra pathway network.
If he simply moulded the chakra, it would naturally dissipate throughout his body, so methods like Toridasu¡¯s only worked outside of combat¡ªthough he wouldn¡¯t hold off on using jutsu in combat, anyway.
He weaved a complex set of hand seals, and chakra flooded his body, racing through his network. He immediately felt his body strain under the jutsu, but he was used to it, so he proceeded smoothly to apply the nature transformation to his chakra, turning it into the fire nature. He finished the last hand seal and separated his hands for an orb to grow between his palms. With wisps of fire, chakra flowed from his fingertips into the orb.
The jutsu wasn''t over; Toridasu focused on shape transformation and pushed more and more chakra into the orb''s centre, turning it into a hot white. He looked up at city gates and roughly estimated how much it would take to destroy them, added some more in case there was a counter, and then added some more for the awe-and-fear factor.
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His fingers twitched, and the orb bloomed into a small firebird, and with a firm push, it glided away. It scorched the air behind it, leaving dark plumes to trail behind it. As Toridasu expected, a B-rank lightning ninjutsu had been cast from the walls to counter his jutsu, but it was shrugged away, and the firebird slammed into the city gates.
There was no explosion.
A raging fire spread from the point of contact at an astounding speed. In less than five seconds, the heavy city gates were enveloped in flames that quickly spread to the walls. The fire continued to spread, swallowing several dozen metres of the wall, burning so hot that the city gates turned into weak charcoal and collapsed under its own instability.
Toridasu watched in silent satisfaction as even the special walls fortified by ninjutsu couldn''t withstand his jutsu¡¯s sheer heat, crumbling while the fire ate away the material from the inside. The shinobi on the wall dove off it to escape but not all of them were lucky enough to do so in time.
He breathed a long sigh before turning to face the forces¡ªthough he had to hold back a smile at the glaring Hidden Steam jonin.
The damage to the wall was done, and there was nothing anyone could do. It did, however, bring the benefit of reinvigorating his men, who were staring at the scene of carnage in front of them. The fire was so bright that their faces were dyed orange with its light as the sun broke over the horizon.
He gathered chakra into his throat and spoke,
"Don''t be scared of the fire. I will protect you," his words gathered their attention, "so charge... CHARGE AND BE VICTORIOUS!"
It was short, but it did the work as the combined forces did exactly as asked, bloodlust saturating the air.
The battle had begun.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ebi stared at the flames climbing toward the sky. He wasn''t stationed near the wall but was some distance away inside the city. He couldn''t see the particulars at the wall from where he was, but he knew that they had just lost at least six to eight people to the A-rank jutsu¡ªand that was the bare minimum.
He wanted to blame the jonin stationed near the wall for their failure to counter the ninjutsu, but he also didn''t expect the other side to open with an A-rank ninjutsu. The standard for the situation was using a B-rank jutsu to clear out a section of wall guards, aggressively flood that now undefended area with troops, and use that as an entry point¡ªbut using A-rank jutsu was needlessly aggressive, and told him that the jonin who used the jutsu was not a Hidden Steam shinobi as the damage to the city walls was too big of an expense.
Which meant it was a Hidden Leaf jonin.
The fire at the collapsed gate was suddenly snuffed as though someone had cut all access to oxygen, and waves of shinobi dressed in the Hidden Steam colours charged into the city. The fire still burned the walls and even continued to spread slowly, which acted as a barrier, slowing down the shinobi on the unaffected walls from getting down to pincer the enemy shinobi from behind.
"Announce that I''m going forward," Ebi said to the radio comms genin near him.
Without waiting for a response, he leapt from the rooftop and took to the air. He scanned the battlefield for the few seconds he remained suspended in the air, his leaping force acting against gravity, and immediately spotted a few people moving faster than others.
Only jonin had that luxury.
Ebi fixed his gaze on the jonin spearheading the effort and weaved hand seals as he let himself fall from the sky. He spewed water from his mouth and formed a thick ring around his body. Ebi swiped his hand, and the water shot forward in a line at ultra-high pressure. The pressurised line of water cut clean through the side of a building as though it was made from styrofoam, ripped a crevice in the road, and then cut halfway through the building on the other side of the street.
The enemy jonin only saw the water ninjutsu when it sliced off a corner of the first building. He froze on the spot, which required so much force that he cracked the pavement under his stopping foot and slammed to a halt mere inches from the jutsu''s trajectory.
Ebi landed in front of the jonin and mentally searched through any matching intelligence reports over the past year before he landed on a name and a face matching the one before him. Dull grey hair tied into a ponytail, a small scar on the right side of his lips, just on the edge, and deep tear troughs under his eyes.
And the most obvious tell of all was the sword strapped across his back¡ªaccording to his bingo book, it was the cornerstone of his fighting style. Though Ebi took that particular piece of information with more than a few grains of salt. Bingo book entries were by and large exaggerated¡ªor worse, outdated¡ªwhich helped obfuscate the realistic capabilities of a shinobi.
Still, there was only one man the jonin before him could be. Ebi pulled his lips into a thin, hard line and readied himself by greeting his opponent. "Shirakumo Hayama of the Leaf."
"You¡¯re Ebi Wato," said Shirakumo as he pulled an especially thin katana out of the sheath. "I hear you''re the one in charge here. Without you, your forces will crumble... so, I''ll give you a chance to leave the city and spare us a fight¡ªdeny it, and you''ll die here today in a foreign country. How about it?"
"And leave my men to die?" Ebi scoffed.
"Respectable." Shirakumo nodded and then, in the blink of an eye, his stance changed, and he swung his katana, releasing a wind blade that spanned the entire street width.
Ebi jumped in the air to evade the wind nature kenjutsu, twisting his body parallel to the ground. The wind cutter howled below him, but Ebi''s pupils shrank when he felt himself being sucked towards the wind blade. He was barely a few inches above the wind blade, and the vacuum suction effect of the wind blade brought that distance down to a mere couple of centimetres.
While shocked, Ebi was still a competent shinobi. He kept his eye on Shirakumo and saw him use the Body Flicker Jutsu, momentarily losing sight of him. When he reappeared, he cleared half the distance between them and ripped another wind blade toward him.
Ebi''s feet touched the ground just as Shirakumo swung his katana, and he immediately jumped yet again, pushing chakra into his feet to gain more height while weaving hand seals. Shirakumo launched a second consecutive wind blade, but this time, Ebi was ready and countered with a pressurised water cord that neutralised the wind blade.
Ebi immediately put some distance between them so that he would have more time to react to the wind blades.
Again, Shirakumo launched another wind blade, keeping Ebi on the move due to their speed. The width of the wind blades made it even worse and restricted his ability to evade vertically. He jumped again, gaining more than enough height to clear the wind blade and, like before, began weaving hand seals for his next move.
Shirakumo swung his katana again, and out of the blade emerged a second wind blade¡ªone much faster than ever before. The second wind blade hit the first one and changed its trajectory.
It arced at a sharp angle, surging towards Ebi at blistering speeds. He couldn''t change direction in mid-air and was barely able to react by covering his body with a dense layer of chakra for a last-second, chakra-extensive, and highly inefficient defence. The wind cutter instantly ripped through the chakra layer, but it absorbed a significant amount of its lethality. However, the front of his armour was already destroyed by the very first wind cutter, allowing the remains of the blade to cut into his forearm and chest.
When Ebi landed on his feet, he knew he had been set up but could do little except take in the sight of blood flooding down his torso. Shirakumo had deliberately slowed down the speed of his wind blades to mislead Ebi of their maximum speed¡ªbecause there was no reason for him to think otherwise¡ªand then caught him off-guard by unleashing a faster wind blade.
That aside, the wind blade didn¡¯t just possess simple slicing power. He felt it flare out at the point of contact, and what he thought would be a cut on his chest that he could fight through suddenly led to his pectoral muscles aching at the slightest flex.
Ebi could endure the pain, but it would hinder his movements.
"I gave you a chance," said Shirakumo.
He looked up at his opponent; while he might have been wearing Hidden Steam colours, the jonin before him was a Hidden Leaf shinobi.
"Now you live with that knowledge until I end your life..."
CH_7.43 (261)
As the Wind Release: Breakthrough jutsu hit Anko, Takuma''s instincts kicked in, and he moved in front of her path. Standing beside him, Daiki became an unexpected obstacle, blocking him from reaching her. Despite the hindrance, Takuma''s hand shot up in an attempt to grab her, but it was too late. Anko crashed through the window, leaving a trail of shattered glass in her wake.
He saw two kunai thrown by unseen enemies hurtling towards Anko.
"Daiki, go," he shouted, pushing his larger teammate toward the shattered window.
They had barely engaged the enemy in combat and had already been forced to split up. As Daiki leapt out of the window, Takuma swiftly switched the formation, taking the forward-most position. He stepped toward the room at the end of the small corridor before stopping, which puzzled Kameko and Rikku.
He weaved hand seals for the Clone Jutsu and sent an illusory clone into the room. Even though it was easy to spot, an itchy trigger finger was difficult to contain¡ªespecially when the enemy was planning an ambush.
The clone stepped into the room and was instantly beheaded by a sword in full view of Takuma and dissipated with an almost silent hiss into thin air. The moment that happened, Takuma charged towards the wall beside the door with his shoulder, augmenting it with chakra. He ran through the wall like it was made of cardboard and body-slammed the agent responsible for beheading the clone. While the wall absorbed significant force, the agent was still hurled to the other side of the large parlour room.
Takuma took in his surroundings and saw Kon and a second agent jump back in response to him bulldozing in. His and Kon''s eyes met, and immediately, he was hit by a burning headache like never before. It was worse than the time he tried to force something when he was younger by staring at his scars in the mirror¡ªbut he bit his tongue to bear the pain and glared at the man.
He wanted to take advantage of the element of surprise, but the pain prevented him from reacting appropriately.
Kameko and Rikku entered the room and the tension spiked. Too many people were in a relatively minimal space. Chaos would break out the moment anyone moved¡ªand the person to bring it was Rikku.
She kicked furniture toward Kon and the second agent. Kon jumped up to the wall and stuck to it with his feet while the second agent cut down a cushioned chair, and that was when Kameko went after him with her sword buzzing with chakra.
The second agent was fast and parried her first swing, but she had the momentum and smoothly transitioned into the next strike that the second agent dodged by pulling back, but the sword held out in the front was pushed by an invisible force a moment before the front of his chest gear was shredded and his forearm started bleeding from a cut.
Kameko''s Taketori kenjutsu allowed her to increase the reach of her sword with a near-invisible length of wind chakra. It was a dangerous technique as almost everyone got caught by it, and they only tried to avoid the visible sword blade. And many times, one strike was all it took to end the fights and lives.
The opponent had to figure out what had just happened, which was difficult mid-fight. She went for a stab at his throat, but the agent managed to dodge with enough distance to get clear of her invisible extension but then Kameko swung her sword again that he parried and then pulled back once more when she tried to swing for his shoulder.
Just when he thought he was safe, the invisible length cut a long and shallow wound from his left shoulder to his lower right chest. Kon threw a kunai at Kameko from the roof. Takuma countered it by deflecting it with a kunai of his own before following up with another kunai back at Kon, who went for a parry only to have the right side of his body blown back from the sheer force put behind the kunai with his augmentation.
The first agent tried to get up to join the fight. Takuma weaved hand seals as he turned toward him, and his chest expanded as he breathed in.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
A powerful wave of water slammed into the agent, slamming him into the wall. As Takuma gained skill and experience, the jutsu had become stronger and more vigorous. The pressure behind the wave had increased considerably, and the first agent felt like he had run into the walls as his bones creaked for the second time.
He immediately went into a second set of hand seals for the Water Release: Eight Tentacles jutsu to reuse the water he had just created.
The ceiling cracked under Kon''s feet as he shot down toward Takuma, his sword baring like a wolf''s fangs.
Takuma felt his headache flare once more as he focused on Kon. He almost lost control of his chakra from the pain¡ªwhich was so different from the physical pain from injuries that he had gotten used to¡ªbut he also was slow to decide whether to stop his hand seals to free his hands for Kon or take his chance on completing the jutsu and just dodge.
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Rikku rushed forth and leapt into the sky with her feet toward Kon, who took the hit and let himself get knocked off his trajectory. She went for another hit when he landed, but Kon dealt her a quick kick to her knee this time and then took a step toward Takuma while swinging his sword. By now, Takuma had decided to complete his jutsu and jumped back to avoid the blade, aiming for his life.
Kon missed, but then he swiped his blade upwards and managed to nick Takuma on the side of his bottom lip. As Takuma completed the hand seals, he felt the faint taste of blood on his tongue and snarled from the pain in his head that was now actively hindering him. He charged at Kon, who tried to take out Rikku, the one closer to him. She barely parried one of his strikes but was put in a bad position with Kon swinging his sword down at her.
Takuma moved in hastily, parried the falling sword, and felt his arms strain against the weight. Now, both Rikku and Takuma were in a disadvantageous position. The blade edge of Kon''s sword turned a burning red as the metal sizzled and hissed. As he swung down, the water finally arrived at Takuma''s back. The water tentacles spurt out, grabbed Kon''s legs, and pulled as hard as possible. The sword struck Takuma''s kunai and immediately cut halfway through it. Kon''s legs were pulled from under him, and he backed away, pulling the kunai latched to the sword along with him.
The tentacle grabbing the legs was cut through, but Takuma wasn''t concerned as another tentacle dropped a kunai into his hand, which he threw toward the agent Kameko was fighting. Like Kon, the agent parried the kunai, but there was so much force behind the kunai that he miscalculated, and when the kunai was deflected down, it struck him square in the thigh.
Kameko took advantage of the mishap and switched from being mostly passive to hyper-offensive, her kenjutsu''s speciality.
"Rikku, the other one," Takuma yelled.
She pulled back and switched to the ROOT agent hit by the Wild Water Wave.
So much had happened in such a short time that his head would''ve hurt regardless of Kon being there. Everything was happening so fast, and Takuma was acutely aware that his teammates were not as strong as the ROOT agents; he had already stepped in to support both of them¡ªwhich was difficult when Kon demanded his attention just to keep him at bay.
His headache just made everything much worse.
"You''re not going to escape this time," said Kon.
Takuma would''ve said something, but he wasn''t in the mood and didn''t have the mind space to exchange quips with him. The more his head hurt, the angrier he got¡ªthe angrier he got, the more he seethed¡ªthe more he seethed, the colder his head felt. At the moment, he desired nothing more than to kill the man before him, but he knew he had to get him alive to get information.
The bloody tang on his tongue only made want to spill Kon''s blood even more.
His brain felt like it was lagging behind his eyes as he kept an eye on Rikku and Kameko at the opposite ends of the parlour room. At least the limited space allowed him to be a moment away to provide support. He wanted to focus on Kon, but the reality of the situation was that he was part of a team that was currently fighting multiple opponents.
Half of his tentacles pulled out a kunai each from his weapons pouch, while the other half remained free¡ª and were about to make a move when Kon smiled in a way that rang all the wrong bells in his already pounding head. Kon glanced at Rikku and slid in her direction, which immediately made Takuma sprint toward her to get ahead of him so he could protect her¡ªbut the moment Takuma took a long stride in her direction, Kon switched his target and moved toward Kameko.
Takuma''s combat boots screeched against the marble floor.
"Kameko!" he yelled as he ran toward her.
The feint made him a step behind and a moment late. The tentacles whipped their kunai at Kon, but he deftly deflected all of them, which gave Takuma almost enough time to catch up. The eight tentacles merged into four so that he could have more length and got them ready to give him a little more reach so that he could protect Kameko.
But then Kon yelled,
"Ni help San!"
The ROOT agent, who was on the back foot, suddenly disengaged from Kameko, jumped to the roof and headed in Rikku''s direction. He followed the order so fast, almost like a robot completing an instruction.
Takuma''s brain, which was running to the point of wheezing on the track, abruptly stopped; for a very long, short moment, he had no idea what to do and how to react. Rikku was fighting a beaten-up agent, which was the most he thought she could handle, but now there was another one heading toward her.
Kameko couldn''t follow him because Kon was sprinting toward her, and he would cut her down if she tried to follow. He couldn''t turn away to help Rikku, but if he engaged Kon, he would be locked in and unable to leave¡ª and by then, Kameko would be too late to leave.
''What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?'' he thought.
The four tentacles merged into two thicker ones and shot up toward the agent on the ceiling. The water flowed and wrapped around his body before Takuma tugged hard, and the agent was snatched and slammed to the ground. But that wasn''t enough; the agent could cut himself out of the tentacles, and Rikku would once again be in danger.
As Takuma slid between Kon and Kameko, he weaved hand seals for a jutsu he hadn''t used in over a year. With his head on fire, he almost forgot the hand seals, but his muscle memory carried him through.
Lightning Release: Shock
Kon tried to cut him down, but Takuma managed to half dodge while taking a shallow slice on his upper arm from the burning hot sword, which hurt so much that it overpowered his headache for a moment, something Takuma was momentarily thankful for.
Arcs of lightning snaked down his, forming an orb of lightning. On paper, a D-rank jutsu of nature he wasn''t proficient in and hadn''t used in a long time wasn''t a good choice made under pressure¡ªbut he knew that water and lightning were complementary¡ªand he had read the jutsu scrolls, the books on chakra theory, to the best of his ability, and even though he hadn''t tried it before, he was confident that it would work, so much so he put his and his teammate''s lives on the line.
He shot the orb of lightning into his tentacles, and then the magic happened.
Takuma didn''t have the liberty to look at the agent with Kon right in front of him, but the screams told him that his gambit had worked.
CH_7.44 (262)
Kon looked at "Ni", who was writhing on the floor from the lightning ninjutsu channelled through the water tentacles. Water and Lightning-release being complementary elements meant both jutsu had been enhanced.
He immediately pumped fire nature chakra into his sword and swung at Takuma, thinking that Takuma¡¯s lightning ninjutsu would damage him as well¡ªbut he stood unfazed by it as he evaded the blade and countered by jabbing a lightning-charged tentacle at Kon, who didn''t want any part of and backed away.
Kon clicked his tongue. The water ninjutsu insulated Takuma from the lightning but it was already depleting so he waited for it to completely disappear before making his move. He glanced at Ni, who was no longer moving and was knocked unconscious by the lightning.
The loss of one team member had shifted the fight¡¯s dynamic, tilting the balance towards the middle. Despite this setback, Kon maintained his confidence, knowing his team still held the upper hand. However, the question of whether his men could match Mitarashi Anko''s prowess lingered in his mind.
"Take him and get out, both of you," Takuma said to the sword-wielding kunoichi beside him.
She looked hesitant, but rushed Ni and threw him over her shoulder. Kon moved to stop her, but Takuma very aggressively closed in and swung his fist. He felt the phantom pain in his shoulder at the sight of his glowing fist and quickly backed away.
It was the right move as a rush of wind brushed past his ears. Takuma''s chakra augmentation was dangerous; he had felt it first-hand and didn''t want a second experience.
"Go!" Takuma yelled when he saw his teammates hesitate.
The second kunoichi moved toward the door, and "San" followed after her, but Takuma positioned himself at the door, intending to hold them back while they escaped.
In taking one of his men alive, Kon recognised that their aim was not extermination but capture for information extraction. Measures like anti-interrogation seals were a standard operating procedure for ROOT agents on missions¡ªall of his men, including himself, had them active on their bodies¡ªand ROOT agents were trained to self-eliminate to stop a potential information leak.
However, seals could be broken, and the self-preservation instinct was difficult to beat out of people. As the mission leader, he couldn''t allow one of his men to be captured. The correct thing to do was for one of them to take on Takuma while the other chased after the kunoichi. But as Kon gazed at Takuma, his shoulder began to burn and ache, causing a cocktail of feelings to rise in his throat.
"We''re taking him out," Kon said to San, venom in his tone.
Takuma''s tentacles flared out at his words as though attempting to cover more of the door and the broken wall beside it.
There was a moment of pause as the two sides measured each other before all three shinobi exploded into action. Takuma acted aggressively and moved toward Kon with one of his tentacles swiping a kunai at the latter''s neck. Kon jumped back toward the wall and started weaving hand seals. San shifted between them and attacked Takuma with a dagger that Takuma parried using a tentacle holding a kunai and then countered with an augmented palm strike to the chest.
San gurgled out blood and stumbled back. Takuma closed the distance between them and threw a follow-up augmented liver shot that San barely avoided by shifting his body back at the last second.
"Clear!"
In the back, Kon breathed fire between his hands as he pulled his arms apart, creating a burning fire spear that cast a nasty light on his face.
San half-stumbled and half-jumped to the side, clearing the way between Kon and Takuma.
Kon flicked his wrist, and the fire spear raced toward Takuma, who couldn''t dodge because they were so close. His tentacles bunched before him just as the fire spear hit him, and he was sent barreling through the wall. The fire spear exploded into a mass of fire, lighting up that section of the room. He didn''t let himself slow or stop as he flowed into another set of hand seals while staring at the wall of fire with eyes taut with attention. He knew it wasn''t over; that would be too easy, and if it was that easy, he would''ve killed him the first time they met.
His intuition was spot on as Takuma surged out of the intense fire.
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He was soaking wet, and the tentacles behind his back were missing. He instantly slid down into a sliding tackle and kicked a broken piece of furniture in Kon''s direction. Kon turned his back to the flying furniture and took the hit to continue weaving the hand seals. Another fire spear bloomed in his hand and was immediately launched at Takuma.
The distance between them was shorter than before; there was no time to dodge or any tentacles to protect him. Kon was sure¡ªthis was going to hit, and it was going to hurt.
Their eyes met for two-tenths of a second, and at that moment, Kon saw his fire spear reflect in Takuma''s eyes. He expected to see fear and trepidation, but the eyes he met were steady¡ªnot even a hint of unease. What he saw was a picture of focus¡ªand the focus was him, which made Kon''s heart jolt.
Takuma''s half-cocked fist punched out, and the fire spear that was only a foot away from the fist quavered as an unseen force struck and travelled through it.
''Impossible!'' thought Kon.
The unstable fire spear lost shape as it broke down, losing its penetrative power, and yet it still exploded in Takuma''s face. With only a portion of its intended power, the weakened fire jutsu singed his face and hair. Kon felt his heart ease up at the jutsu still doing damage, but then Takuma''s face became visible, and he saw the same focused look persist as though the ninjutsu hadn''t affected him at all.
There was an intensity in his eyes that sent a shot of fear up Kon''s spine. Even as he got his face blasted by fire, even as he stumbled back, there was a single-minded intent focused on Kon, which alarmed him to his core. It was feral ferocity reined in and harnessed via cold reasoning¡ªand that was a dangerous combination.
Kon had no intention of letting Takuma leave alive, but the last exchange only intensified his desire. The kid before him was dangerous, and all of his instincts screamed that if he was given time to grow, he would become even more dangerous.
He had seen what geniuses were like; Takuma wasn''t like them; he was different¡ªand that made him even more dangerous. He couldn''t put a finger on it, but the answer came just as quickly and hit him.
The kid before had already seen the darkness, dragged into it, and managed to climb out. This was someone who was willing to do anything and everything to achieve what he wanted. Kon remembered the bombing that had taken out the jonin¡ªand even though he had no proof¡ªhe knew that Takuma was behind it.
He had wiped out dozens of civilians to eliminate a jonin and not many people would be willing to do that.
Given that the ROOT had targeted him twice, they had become bitter enemies. There was a chance just now when Takuma could''ve run away, but he made the choice to come after him, which was enough to show that the grudge ran deep enough for him to risk his life.
Kon had to end him before he became a threat far too big.
Takuma lunged at him, which made him pull back to enough to cleanly dodge an augmented strike¡ªbut Takuma faltered with a look of great pain on his face.
''He''s injured?'' thought Kon¡ªhad the fire spear managed to do substantial damage?
Regardless of what it was, Kon took advantage of the opportunity. He took a quick forward step and stabbed his heart. Takuma raised his hand at the last moment, and the sword stabbed through his palm as he pushed the sword to the side, leaving a deep laceration just under his armpit.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
With the unconscious ROOT agent on Kameko¡¯s back, her and Rikku sprinted across the manor house as fast as possible. The team wanted to capture more ROOT agents to facilitate cross-checking and verify the authenticity of the information during interrogation, but the mission''s minimum requirement was completed by capturing just one.
The team now had to judge the situation and see if they wanted to take their chances by going for a second capture and the final decision was Anko''s to make. The two kunoichi jumped out of a window near the side of the manor house so they were visible to Anko and Daiki while still having enough distance between them to allow a quick enough escape in case other ROOT agents tried to stop them.
As they jumped, they noticed Anko was fighting two ROOT agents simultaneously while Daiki provided support from a distance. Anko spotted them immediately. She disengaged and backed away for a moment and then yelled something they couldn''t hear. Daiki, who was positioned at a distance, looked towards them and seemed to hesitate but sprinted towards them after being yelled at by Anko again.
Kameko instantly realised what was going on¡ªAnko was going to cover for the three of them to escape.
When one of the ROOT agents tried to go after Daiki, she charged with reckless aggression and put herself between the two agents so they would focus on her rather than Daiki.
"Let''s go," Kameko said as she started to run away from the manor house.
Rikku followed, but only a couple of seconds later, she stopped.
"What are you doing?!" Kameko exclaimed while constantly looking toward Anko, fighting the two ROOT agents, scared that they would lose their opportunity to escape with the unconscious agent.
"I''m going back," said Rikku, already back-peddling towards the manor house.
Kameko was flabbergasted for a split second before realising what Rikku was going to do.
"Rikku, no¡ª"
"Takuma will need help. I can''t leave him alone when I can support him. You and Daiki go¡ªGO!"
Rikku turned away and sprinted without waiting for a response. Kameko shouted at her to stop but was ignored as she picked up more speed.
"What happened? Why is she running to the house?" Daiki asked the moment he was in earshot and gazed worriedly at Rikku as the distance between them and her stretched.
"....Let''s go," Kameko said bitterly as her face twitched with frustration. She stayed still for a moment as she internally struggled with how to proceed until, ultimately, she turned her back to the manor house and started running with a hard stop to vent her feelings.
"We have our orders."
CH_7.45 (263)
Takuma felt as though his head was literally splitting.
There was so much sweat and plaster on his face from running through the wall, along with the fire ninjutsu which had blown up right in front of him, that it hid the fact that he was tearing up from the pain.
His teeth and jaw hurt from over-clenching to bear the pain coming from his head.
Not once in his life had he fought through the intensity of pain he was feeling now¡ªand he had been brutalised several times during his Ring days. Even when he was almost killed by ROOT assassins, he had Sango''s painkillers in his system, which, along with adrenaline, made him practically incapable of feeling pain.
But nothing helped as he fought Kon and a ROOT agent trying to kill him. His reaction time was so slow because more than half of his mind was focused on the pain. However, he was glad that he was able to clear Rikku and Kameko out of the room with a ROOT agent for information. The mission was technically over, and he could run away, but then he wouldn''t get to know what was happening to him.
He had to capture Kon to get some answers for the headaches, the scars, anything he could.
Takuma locked in on Kon; the only silver lining was that the pain from the fire jutsu and his physical trauma paled in comparison to the headache. He rose toward Kon as chakra flooded his arm for the highest power of augmentation he could manage without injuring his body.
In truth, Takuma had never tested the limit of how much chakra he could pack into his arm because he¡¯d been in enemy territory for months. It was an extremely dangerous choice to make when his ability to focus and think was compromised.
But he had to bet big to win big.
His sleeve and the skin beneath was still on fire as he cocked his arm back, ready to lash out a full contact strike, when all the pain in his head suddenly vanished like it never existed.
It was the most wonderful feeling he had felt in his two lives. His entire body felt light and springy; he clenched the muscles in his arm taut, he was going to take out Kon with this strike.
The feeling of freedom from pain was short-lived because the pain returned just as quickly as it had vanished, and it returned with a vengeance. Vertigo, nausea, breathlessness¡ªeverything hit him all at once. The moulded chakra in his arm slipped out of control and dissipated before he could do anything with it.
Takuma wasn''t even aware that he had hopped away from Kon on instinct because his vision was overcome by a blinding light.
His sole thought that he managed to muster through the pain was to wonder whether he had been trapped in a genjutsu.
Click.
An intense feeling of fear invaded his heart when a memory he had never seen before flashed before his eyes. He was lying down on a cold, hard metal table with a blinding white glaring down at him. In his peripheral vision, he saw the shadows of multiple men wearing scrub caps and masks.
Split.
The memory shifted to him sitting in a room with white walls, floors, and ceilings. There were only three pieces of grey furniture in the room¡ªa bed, table, and chair. Posters stuck to the wall had writing on them that Takuma couldn''t make out as the memory blurred them out.
The him in the memory looked down and saw pairs of child''s arms and legs covered in bandages stained with yellow medicine and red blood¡ªso much blood. The feel of the memory was calm, with a hint of tension present in the background. The door to the white room opened, and the memory began to shift as a figure stepped in.
He couldn''t make out who they were.
Pop.
The fear and panic returned to the front in full blast as Takuma felt his back pressed against the wall. His chest and shoulders were rising faster and faster¡ªand standing in front of him was undoubtedly a much younger Kon, who seemed to be yelling something at him. The sound was garbled, but the more he yelled, the more dread Takuma felt¡ªto the point that he could neither breathe nor see properly.
Crack.
Takuma jerked back out of the memory into the present to find Kon''s sword blade being thrust towards his heart. He barely had the time to react with his hand. The sword stabbed through his palm and then cut just below his armpit.
"Argh!"
Takuma tried to pull back, but Kon jerked the sword, which hooked onto his palm. Takuma screamed and continued to pull his palm free of the sword as it sliced through his flesh. He turned his head back and caught the ROOT agent snuck behind him from his right side; he couldn''t defend himself as his right hand was locked in with the sword. He couldn''t defend himself as his right hand was locked in with the sword so he raised his shoulder at the last second and received a kunai to the hilt in his back.
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He was going to die, thought Takuma.
He didn''t think of death often during battles because there was no use in doing so and it was more beneficial to think about the things to help him survive. Now, he was trapped, surrounded, alone, and not in his best form even before he was stabbed in two parts of his body. He didn''t even have time to process the mind-breaking memories he had just seen¡ªthe first memories of the boy he had ever seen.
''Fuck it,'' Takuma cursed.
He had been trying to tone down trading damage in his combat ever since Anko had started to teach him¡ªbut it was clear that way of fighting just didn''t fit him. He couldn''t be an elegant fighter; he had to get in there and get dirty if he wanted to win tough fights.
He was Scars, and he would always be him.
He took a deep breath and instead of trying to pull his hand free from the sword, Takuma stepped in close to Kon, who didn''t expect it. Takuma charged his arm and slammed a palm augmented to the limit into his chest.
He felt Kon''s ribs break under his hand and channelled all his negativity¡ªrage, fear, hatred¡ªall into that strike. Kon spurted blood into Takuma''s face before he flew back like a cannonball into the wall, letting go of his sword.
Takuma had no time to pull it out as he turned around and spin-kicked the other ROOT agent. His form was terrible thanks to the kunai in his back, and the kick had no real power behind it, but the agent jumped back to avoid getting hit which gave Takuma time and space. He took out the kunai from his back and threw it at the agent with chakra behind it.
The agent parried it but stumbled due to its force. Takuma finally pulled the sword of palm with an ugly scream and ran out of the room through a side entrance. Perhaps taking out the kunai from his back was a bad move. He was leaking blood from two spots at a worrying pace. The state of his breathing resembled someone who was in the last stretch of an ultra-marathon, even though it had been less than fifteen minutes since he had killed the Hidden Frost shinobi outside the manor house.
His condition was worsening by the minute and extending the fight was not in his favour.
He half-stumbled into the hallway and tripped on his own feet as he made a split-second decision to change the location. He threw a shuriken to shatter a nearby window, jumped out, and then climbed up to the floor above and used Kon''s sword to shatter a window to enter.
Hiding was impossible because the floor was stained by the blood dripping from his hand. So he stabbed the sword into the ground beside him and stood in front of the shattered window. He looked down at his mangled right hand and somehow began to weave hand seals. Ignoring the pain, the fingers in his right hand resisted his commands, but he managed even if barely.
Water Release: Spirit Water Wave
A football-sized orb of water with some of his blood mixed in formed before his fingers. His arms trembled as he took aim at the shattered window. The wait was less than ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity as his arms grew heavier.
The ROOT agent poked his head above the window pane, and Takuma took a shot that missed when the agent ducked down. The shot itself was a smidge to the right. Takuma looked down at the water orb, which still held the shape that had scantily happened during practice and never on-field.
However, Takuma didn''t get to shoot another shot because a kunai with an explosive tag flew in from the window, and he jumped through the window before it could so much as blow up.
The water orb atop his finger drenched his hand, wasting three shots worth of chakra.
The window next to the one Takuma was standing under shattered and Kon rushed towards him.
"Free!" Kon yelled.
That message was for the other ROOT agent, who he had failed to shoot and both he and Kon immediately launched a pincer attack.
Takuma pulled Kon¡¯s sword from the floor, swung it at the agent, and then ran across the hallway to keep both of them in front of him. His right hand was useless from the damage, and he truly wished that he had the time to create water tentacles, but he didn''t have the water or the time for it.
He was sure that Kon understood that as well and was giving him no time or space to remedy his injury. But he had Kon''s sword that he switched to his mangled hand. He had no genuine experience with a sword, and it felt heavier in his hand because of his weakened grip; he would''ve been able to handle a lighter kunai much better. The sword was necessary because he didn''t want his opponents close to him because of his injuries.
The ROOT agent rushed in, and Takuma responded by swinging his sword at him. Kon tried to use that time as an opening and even threw in a curve ball by bouncing off the ceiling, but Takuma was expecting that and punched a second-form augmentation at him. Kon crossed his hands as the chakra hit him and was thrown several feet back, temporarily knocked away from the fight, leaving the ROOT agent.
Takuma stopped backing away and slashed at the agent with the sword, and it was not only easily parried but also knocked out of his hand. He didn''t panic and moved in closer and threw an augmented elbow at the agent. While the hand was useless, the rest of the arm still worked; the agent blocked with his arm the strike knocked the wind out of him.
Takuma followed up with a kick to the knee, flooring him¡ªand then smashed his left fist in his face with a second-form augmentation, breaking his nose.
Now he finally had both space and time to use ninjutsu. Seeing that he was fighting alone, Hidden Mist Jutsu was the obvious and perfect choice. He would flood the floor with mist and then use the opportunity to cast Wild Water Wave to create water for the Eight Tentacle jutsu and then use the cover of the mist to mount himself a comeback.
He raised his hands to weave hand seals for the Hidden Mist Jutsu when he suddenly heard something move behind him.
"Takuma!"
Takuma was already turning when he registered the voice that called his name.
All the pain, the chaotic emotions stemming from the new memories, the cold spreading through his body from blood loss, the fatigue that was beginning to set in¡ªeverything came to a stop when he saw Rikku standing before him. She was facing him and gazed up at him with a shocked expression that matched his¡ªneither of them expected what had just happened.
"My body just moved," she said, her voice just above a whimper as blood dribbled down the side of her lips.
Takuma looked down and saw a bloody sword sticking out of her body, a little bit too close to her chest. He recognised the sword because it belonged to the ROOT agent Rikku and Kameko had taken away. He watched as the bloodstain grew out from the place where the sword exited her body. He looked up and jolted when he saw Kon behind her with a hateful smirk..
His smirk grew into a grin at Takuma¡¯s growing shock.
"You''re not the only one who can use clones."
Takuma wasn''t listening.
Kon''s clone pulled his sword out of Rikku, and she collapsed forward into Takuma''s embrace, who grabbed her out of pure instinct.
"Huh?"
CH_7.46 (264)
She was too light...
They had sparred nearly every day when they were at Camp Banana. They had wrestled in mud and dirt; he had tossed her around plenty of times but now, as she collapsed into him, he felt that she had no weight to her. His hands holding her by the shoulder trembled¡ªperhaps for the first time, he felt that a shinobi could be so fragile, so vulnerable.
Why was Rikku here?
By now, she and Kameko were supposed to clear out of the manor house property and get far enough that there was no chance for the other ROOT agents to catch up with them. He had very deliberately sent them both away so he wouldn''t have to support them in combat¡ªas much as he appreciated their help, they were weaker than the competition. They were taking his attention to support them while fighting Kon, which was proving to be complicated.
He looked at Kon''s clone holding the bloody blade that had just been pulled out from Rikku. That blade was meant for him; if not for Rikku, the blood on it would''ve been his. His heart plummeted, his body was frigid, and the goosebumps tightened his skin. She had saved his life by risking hers¡ªone of his teammates was now suffering from a life-ending injury because of him.
She was dying because of him.
The world stopped as an overwhelmingly crushing guilt descended on him. It felt like the weight of the sky was suddenly set on his shoulders¡ªevery muscle and bone in his body drained; all of his previous desires and intentions vanished like smoke. One second stretched to an eternity; in that moment, his entire world was focused on the girl in his arms.
Takuma''s mind had been on the verge of breaking for a while and was being held together by his aim to see the mission through and his intense personal desire to find more about the boy''s past unravelled the moment he felt Rikku go limp in his arms.
He had lost teammates in combat before¡ªand he saddled blame on himself that he had continued to carry in the corner of his heart, but they had died during combat at the hands of the enemy while he was busy fighting his own battles.
This was different.
Rikku had jumped to save him. It was his fault that she was dying. His decision to capture Kon for his personal motives was the reason he was in the hallway in a heavily injured state. The mission was already accomplished, and he could''ve held back the enemy while retreating¡ªbut he chose to stand his ground.
It was his choice, and if he hadn''t made it, he would''ve not gotten as injured as he did, and Rikku, who had returned to support him as a true comrade, wouldn''t have had to jump in to save him. She would not have not taken the strike meant for him if he had not made the mistake of letting his emotions overtake him.
She wouldn''t be dying if not for him.
It was all his fault.
The second of eternity shattered when the sound of metal scratching metal reached his ears as the ROOT agent behind him retrieved a kunai from his weapon pouch.
Takuma''s mind was in chaos. He was still reeling and processing the horror before him, but he was mid-combat and didn''t have the luxury of taking his time. When he heard the sound, the magma of anger rose up in his heart, flowing through the blood in his veins.
Takuma embraced the rage; he let himself drown in it.
It was easy because the alternative was to bear the unbearable guilt that sapped him of everything.
At that moment, he chose to blame someone else... because it was easy.
Takuma rushed to the wall and leaned Rikku against it. As he pulled back and slid down the wall, he got the first good look at her wound and then noticed her blood on his clothes. He flinched and turned his body away from her, putting himself between her and the enemy.
He looked at the ROOT agent, Kon, and the clone and saw red. The pain that tortured his head in the presence of Kon was absent¡ªthe wrath blinded him¡ªand, from that, provided him with a clarity he had lacked since the start of the fight.
The sword that had been knocked out of his hand laid by his feet. Takuma stomped on the hilt, and it bounced into his mangled hand¡ªhis grip was solid this time as his blood stained the grip. The rage surpassed any pain he felt in his hand. He bellowed in anger and slashed the sword at Kon''s clone, who laughed as he rebuffed the strike with ease.
Cling!
The ROOT agent moved in and swung his kunai. Takuma turned with his hips and put his momentum behind the sword with an upward swing that clashed against the kunai, sending sparks flying.
Clang!
He kicked the ROOT agent in the stomach, pushing him back a few steps before swinging at the clone. The difference in skill was apparent as the clone skilfully redirected the sword with ease as their blades screeched against each other.
Takuma then spat a spittle mixed with blood into the clone''s eyes, who was startled by the move and backed away. Takuma didn''t pursue him and turned again with his arm cocked and charged with chakra. His eyes met with Kon and just seeing the hateful man''s face made him put more chakra through his arm.
He whipped a second form punch at him and felt the bone in his hand crack from overloading chakra. He spread the chakra out to create a blunt force rather than a penetrating one, which forced Kon to slide several metres back. Takuma flexed his arm; it still moved properly, which meant he had gotten away with a hairline fracture. He raised the sword and swung it down at the ROOT agent, who put his kunai up. Takuma raised the sword again and slammed it down again and then did it again. The sound of metal became louder and harsher with each swing as he put more force, channelling his anger.
clang! Clang! CLANG! The agent''s knees buckled, and he was half-kneeling by the end of it.
Takuma turned back once again and threw his sword at Kon''s clone just as he closed in, who once again easily parried it, and it spun up towards the ceiling.
With his arms free, Takuma weaved hand seals, working through the pain in his hands.
Auditory Genjutsu: Bell Sound Clone¡ª ver. Twice Modified
He didn''t have the freedom to use his golden bell to lay the sound for the genjutsu, so he used the sound of metal banging against metal by slamming the sword against Kon''s sword and the agent''s kunai. The genjutsu was also made for a singler target, but he made a last-minute change which he would''ve never made during combat if he was in his right mind.
Cling!
All three of his enemies froze up as the genjutsu set in and hit them with full force. The sound of harsh metal against metal pierced into their ears while a dozen more Takumas appeared in the hallway. Takuma snatched the sword from mid-air as it descended and thrust it into the clone''s chest, immediately popping him into smoke. He turned with his sword arm outstretched and beheaded the ROOT agent, wrenching the sword free and appearing in front of the final one.
A moment after Kon''s clone was killed, he shuddered as the clone''s experience transferred to him, and it broke him out of the genjutsu. His eyes widened when the three Takuma illusions before him evaporated to reveal the real one with the bloody sword in his hand. He backed away the moment he got control of his body.
Takuma roared, chakra instinctually coating his voice.
The sword swung and drew blood.
Kon stumbled back and looked down as half his right arm dropped on the marble floor. He flinched when Takuma stabbed the sword into the amputated arm. Silence returned to the manor house for the first time since the team had infiltrated it. The scene in the hallway was the picture of gore with blood dripping and pooling as a decapitated head and an amputated arm lay on the floor.
The two men stared at each other for a split moment.
Takuma felt no joy, no satisfaction, nothing as he stared at Kon''s shell-shocked face; even if he had wiped the smirk off his face. It looked like he was still trying to process what had just happened. Despite how potent medicine was because of shinobi and chakra, losing an arm meant losing it forever if it wasn''t re-attached quickly¡ªand it practically crashed the shinobi''s combat ability to the ground.
Most were never able to recover and those who did were never the same.
Both of them understood that fact. Kon tried to grab his arm, but Takuma shot forward and kicked him away¡ªhe wouldn''t let Kon take it back. He stared straight into Kon''s eyes as he stomped on the arm, pumping out chakra that shattered the bone and turned the arm into a gory mass.
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"No!" Kon yelled with bloodshot eyes; for the first time, his voice held genuine emotion.
He coughed up blood from the shock and swayed on his feet before catching himself. He gave one last look to his destroyed arm and then glared at Takuma with pure hatred before jumping out of a window to escape.
''He''s injured; you can kill him¡ª''
Takuma ignored the voice in his head and, without a second thought, ran to Rikku, sitting up against the wall.
Kon didn''t matter anymore.
He checked her and felt his heart soar when he felt a faint heartbeat in her chest¡ªbut her body was cold; she had already lost a lot of blood and couldn''t afford to lose any more. He tried his best to plug her wounds which was challenging because the sword pierced her clean, creating two openings.
Their team didn''t have an iryo-nin, and the main force was still locked in a battle, which made getting to an iryo-nin risky¡ªall of that stressed Takuma out, but he also held hope because there was a way to get Rikku help. Anko, with her Snake Summoning Contract, could help Rikku by summoning a snake that knew a form of iryojutsu.
While they had never talked about it, and he didn''t know if Anko knew a snake like that¡ªhe desperately hoped that she did.
"You''ll be fine," Takuma whispered as he picked her up in a princess carry and rushed out of the building.
She needed to be fine because there was no longer anyone else to blame.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Anko gazed up at the manor house in the background. A little while ago, Kameko and Rikku had exited the building. They managed to capture a ROOT agent, which completed the mission''s minimum requirement, so she ordered Daiki to go with them because the city was plunged into warfare. Together, the three of them would be better equipped to protect themselves if they were interrupted on their way to the factory base.
For a moment, she thought the worst had happened to Takuma when he didn''t come out with the girls but seeing that they hadn''t brought his body, he was probably still alive. She speculated he had stayed back to allow the girls to escape with the ROOT agent. Her doubts were confirmed when halfway through, Rikku turned and rushed back into the building, presumably for support and Anko had continued to hear commotion from inside the building since then.
She was brought out of her thoughts as she felt the temperature rise and felt an intense heat coming from a Great Fireball charged toward her like a raging bull, both melting and wrecking the ground in its path. Anko bent her knees and jumped high up in the air as the tongues of flames licked the soles of her boots. She flew straight toward the ROOT agent casting the fire ninjutsu with kunai in both her hands.
The agent jumped away a moment before she landed on the ground and a second agent flew towards her feet first. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and absorbed the contact while her feet uprooted grass as she was forced to slide back.
There was no time to rest as she ducked to avoid a volley of shuriken from the first agent. She bought herself a few seconds by throwing a kunai at the first agent and then used the opportunity to throw her other kunai at the second agent.
She stayed down and leapt forward at the second agent''s feet. He kicked her in the face, but she still managed to take him down by his legs, climbed up his body, and pummelled him with half a dozen hits before she was kicked off.
The first agent threw a kunai at her as he closed in. Anko barely avoided it by rolling off the second agent, and it nicked her cheek, drawing a drop of blood. She wasn''t able to get up in time and had to push herself back on the ground as the first agent swung his kunai at her.
The second agent sprinted toward them and was about to join in, which would make the situation much worse for her. She managed to get out when she grabbed the first agent''s arm and kicked him in the knee while pulling him down. As he fell, she got up and kicked him hard in the stomach.
The first agent flew towards the second agent, who had to catch his partner, forcing him to abandon the chase.
Anko quickly weaved hand seals for ninjutsu to help her ease the situation.
Fire Release: Twin Flame Whips
Two thick whips, twice the length of a standard katana and made of pure flames, appeared in her palms. The grass burned on contact, and the flames spread as the lawn caught on fire.
"Time to get tamed, boys," Anko smiled.
She switched from defence to attack, dragging the whips behind her, leaving smouldering trails in the grass. The flame whips screeched every time she swung and set the grass around them on fire.
The two ROOT agents couldn''t come close to her, or they would risk being lashed by her flaming whips.
Anko observed both agents and noticed that the second one seemed to struggle more against the whips. The first agent had to be more aggressive to keep her attention on him so that the second agent would have time to breathe.
She grinned and clenched her whips tighter.
Making an abrupt motion, she completely ignored the first agent and focused her violence on his struggling comrade, moving her hands faster and swinging harder than ever before; she moved closer to him, pushing him back¡ªand then, as she was expecting, he crumbled under the onslaught and stumbled to the ground.
Her cheer was equal parts exertion and elation.
"Ha!"
"ARGH!"
Anko struck him down. The whip cut through his face, chest, and abdomen. She wanted to finish him, but she turned around and swung her whip parallel to the ground just at the right time to keep the first agent away from her. He jumped back and Anko couldn''t hold back her smirk. She skipped forward while raising both her hands above her head before swinging the whips down with all her might.
The first agent backed away to keep himself out of the whips'' range¡ªbut his eyes widened when he noticed the whips coming down at him were longer than before and he froze, the whips melting through his armour and sizzling the flesh beneath.
As the whips weren''t made from a physical substance, she could change the length at will.
Anko moved closer and whipped him in the face, ending his life while burning the inside of his skull¡ªand then turned away to kill the other one as well, ending his agonised existence.
With all her enemies dead, Anko stood between the two dead bodies in silence. She heaved deep breaths despite the brunt of excessive adrenaline thrashing through her veins.
She wanted to scream and let her bloodlust flow¡ªbut she needed to calm down to retain control over her instincts, so Anko took deep breaths and released the ninjutsu to bring herself back down. The battle-high had its use; it allowed the body and mind to work in conjunction to work like a killing machine¡ªbut it erased everything else that didn''t have to do with killing the enemy in front of her.
She glanced at the two dead ROOT agents, realising she should''ve kept one of them alive to properly accomplish the mission.
As she felt herself back in control, Anko remembered that Takuma and Rikku were still fighting in the manor house and ran toward the building, but before she could enter, she saw something that made her feel as though someone dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her.
Whatever remains of the battle high still lingering in her veins died at the sight before her.
Takuma rushed out of the building, holding a limp Rikku in his arms. Even though his face was burnt and bloody, she could make out the absolute terror on his face as he rushed toward her and knew instantly that Rikku was either dead or dying.
"A snake who knows iryojutsu!" Takuma yelled at her. "S-Summon a snake who can heal her! DO IT! NOW!"
He was breathing erratically and had a crazed look in his eyes¡ªhis words devolved into something incomprehensible as he screamed and cried the order again. It was like looking into a pit of despair and felt his sole want of her saving Rikku¡ªit was overwhelming because he wasn¡¯t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so seeing him so animated and hysterical hit much harder.
Anko didn''t even notice she had already weaved through the hand seals for the summoning jutsu. She slammed her hand on the ground and felt her chakra levels sink as a bright orange snake big enough to swallow two of her emerged from the mist.
The snake immediately hissed and bared his teeth at Anko as though deeply offended at being summoned by her.
"You dare summon me, girl! You better be able to pay immediately, or I''m going¡ª"
"Three dead humans!" Anko quickly pointed at the ROOT agent corpses behind her. "Heal her now, Kizan!"
The orange serpent''s slitted eyes observed the corpses to check if she was lying, which made Anko feel irritated as one of her people was dying¡ªand if she was feeling that, she knew how Takuma would be feeling. She looked at him and saw his bloodshot eyes glared holes into the back of Kizan''s head.
"Takuma, go get the corpse from inside the house. Go, quickly, now!" Anko said as she took Rikku from him and pushed him back twice, and only then did he run into the house.
She felt a chill as she glanced at Rikku in her arms. She was cold, pale, and wet from her own blood that had coloured her front in red. She had only just seen Rikku enter the building completely fine, but she was now on the verge of death, and for a moment, she refused to believe it.
She turned to her summoned snake and laid Rikku''s body before her.
"Kizan, now..." she said as she pushed Rikku''s short hair sticking to her face to the side.
"Alright, alright."
The snake hissed softly as he coiled his massive trunk around Rikku''s body, completely covering her up.
Anko fought down the instinct to pull Rikku out, fearing that Kizan was crushing her but then saw the familiar green glow of iryojutsu exude out of his long body and held herself back. She was so restless that she couldn''t even force herself to stand still and began pacing around; her body physically began to reject the possibility of Rikku''s death by making her feel sick. She had lost teammates before and it wasn''t something one got used to¡ªit was one of the most terrible things any shinobi could go through.
She grabbed her hair and squatted down as guilt seeped in. What if she hadn''t taken the mission? Their team''s primary mission was to weaken the forces inside the city; they prepared for it and pulled it off¡ªbut they hadn''t prepared for taking out a ROOT team, and now it was punishing them. It was her call as the leader to take the mission, and now Rikku was paying the price for her decision.
There was movement, and Anko turned to see Kizan releasing Rikku from his grasp.
"What happened? Why did you stop?" Anko asked with panic in her voice¡ªthough she already knew the answer.
"It was too late," said Kizan sombrely.
"No, no, no, you have to save her," Anko stepped to him and pushed his body. "You didn''t even do anything! Come on, try seriously, Kizan!"
"It''s over, Anko," said Kizan, shaking his head. "The lass is dead."
A dull thud caught their attention, and they saw Takuma, covered in more blood, standing at a distance with a decapitated body lying at his feet as he held half an arm in his grip and a beheaded head tucked under his arm. He had an anguished shock on his face, but as he gazed at Rikku, a hundred emotions contorted his face before colour drained from his face, the light vanished from his eyes, and soon a look of complete and utter loss settled over his face with silent tears streaked down his face.
Anko felt the stifling expansion of grief in her chest as the fires consumed the manor gardens behind her. Thanks to Team-9¡¯s intel, the main forces were carrying out a successful raid beyond the manor walls and they had gone above and beyond to give themselves one final mission: to apprehend at least one of the ROOT agents Takuma encountered all those weeks ago. On paper, that mission was a resounding success; not only had they captured a ROOT agent, but they had succeeded in essentially eradicating the team.
However, the price of that success was Rikku¡¯s death. Her body lay limp and lifeless between Anko and Kizan. Takuma had crawled to her and now knelt beside her body, the blood from the beheaded corpse pooled and extended until it touched Rikku.
By all metrics, the mission was a success but the devastation of Rikku¡¯s death¡ the loss of yet another comrade¡ and the sheer sorrow and devastation on Takuma¡¯s face¡ Anko was under no illusion that a mission in hostile territory was one of the most dangerous things a shinobi could do¡ªbut after everything they¡¯d been through: posing as courtesans, recruiting the city¡¯s criminals, collaborating with the city¡¯s rebellious elements, kidnapping a chunin¡ªand as much as it happened without her authorization¡ªkilling a jonin and more chunin¡
After all of that, Rikku dying at the final hurdle in a foreign land was a pyrrhic victory in every sense.
CH_7.47 (265)
Yu was in tatters from the two shinobi armies battling it out for control of the city. Black smoke rose from the southern section of the city, the epicentre of battles, blotting the sky. The sounds of explosions, metal against metal, and voices of victory, defeat, desperation, and aggression made up the backdrop of the invasion.
Excess chakra saturated the environment from over a couple of hundred shinobi using and pumping out chakra. For civilians who didn''t live in shinobi-dense areas like the Hidden Villages, they would feel the effect through the food and water tasting ever so slightly different, their skin would be more sensitive, and they would find it a bit more difficult to fall asleep at night among other side effects.
In the conflict zone, there were spots of inactivity that all genin and most chunin avoided. No one wanted to get caught between the two jonin and die a meaningless death because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. One such spot of death was occupied by Ebi and Shirakumo fighting alongside on a long main street. The buildings on either side of the uprooted concrete street were in varying levels of damage, from huge chunks missing to shattered windows and stripped paint.
Ebi''s twin kunai shrieked and sparked against Shirakumo''s thin katana as the blades clashed at blinding speeds. The two moved together as though performing an intricate fight choreography they had practised thousands of times¡ªbut in reality, they were locked in a deadly battle of anticipating and countering each other''s next two moves.
The concrete under Ebi''s feet cracked as he pushed Shirakumo away from him while leaping back. He released the two kunai in his hands to weave hand seals. He caught both kunai before they fell below his waist and charged forward. His feet glowed blue, and water splashed with every step as though it was running on water.
Shirakumo loaded chakra into his sword and released a slanted wind blade. It was the one jutsu he could perform without hand seals. Kenjutsu¡ªor any bukijutsu¡ªwere known for their low number of hand seals as they were simple in nature, and the weapons were often enhanced with fuinjutsu, which made them quicker to cast. It was an advantage when a shinobi could complete bukijutsu seals before the enemy could complete his ninjutsu seals. Shirakumo understood that advantage and took it to another level, training his wind blade to the point where he no longer needed the hand seals and could release them instantly.
The slanted wind blade rend through the road as it screeched toward Ebi, who dropped to his knees and slid under the cutter before skipping back to his feet. The two jonin clashed again, and Ebi swung his glowing foot at Shirakumo''s head, who put his arm up to block. A huge wave of water erupted at the point of contact and hit Shirakumo with an intense force.
He shot to the side like a cannonball and crashed through three buildings. Ebi didn''t stop and kicked several more times, releasing massive flying waves of water after Shirakumo, and then took a few steps back before resting his hands on his knees and stared ahead. His battered body was sapping his stamina; he had taken one too many hits to his body and bones. The nearby sounds of battle reminded him that he had to end the fight quickly and go support his men.
Ebi straightened up with a silent groan as Shirakumo walked out of the wreckage. The Leaf jonin, dressed in Steam colours, looked worse than before as he stabbed his katana into the ground and then weaved hand seals. Ebi followed suit and weaved hand seals for a defensive jutsu. He would bear whatever jutsu Shirakumo and then launch a final attack.
His chakra began to rise several dozen feet up in the air, creating a wide and long pillar around him. It was a particularly heavy B-rank jutsu in terms of its chakra requirement¡ªbut it was his best defensive ninjutsu, and the cost was more than worth it.
Opposite him, Shirakumo finished his hand seals with the snake hand seal, surprising Ebi as the snake seal was normally associated with the Earth Release, whereas Shirakumo was clearly a Wind Release user. He thought perhaps Shirakumo was going to use an Earth ninjutsu and prepared for it as he completed his jutsu too.
The ground didn''t move, and instead, Ebi felt two opposing breezes brush his face before two ferocious surging tempest winds slammed toward him from either side, aiming to crush him in between. Before the tempest winds could touch him, the chakra around him turned into a pillar of water, completely encasing him within. The water was like an immovable wall that kept the killer winds out. However, Ebi felt the power of winds seeping through the water. The jutsu remained stable, but the pressure from both sides made it so that he physically couldn''t move around and was being clamped in between. The sounds of screaming winds pierced through the water and announced their intentions of wanting to rip him apart.
All of a sudden, the pressure from the winds partially lifted. Ebi felt the burden lessen and quickly thought about his next move when he heard a voice,
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"It''s too early to relax..."
The water agitated by the winds blocked his vision, but he could see a glow of green through the bubbles and turbulence. While he couldn''t see it properly, he could feel the dangerous presence of concentrated chakra a few metres away from him.
The pressure had decreased because Shirakumo had moved on to his next attack. All other sounds were drowned as the sound of a wind blade, but several times louder. The sharpened wind hit the water pillar and ferociously tried to cut through the water defence. The wind blade was thrice as thick as the normal one and slowly cut through the water pillar, slowly carving it out.
Ebi immediately understood that the water pillar was going to collapse, and he had to get out of its way. And that''s when it hit him. He was trapped. The wind on either side constricted him from dodging to either side, creating a narrow corridor into which Shirakumo launched a greater wind blade¡ªthere was literally no place to dodge¡ªhe couldn''t even move back as the wind would be faster than him.
As the thought hit him, a second greater wind blade hit the first one from behind. The two wind blades merged, gaining greater power, and cleaved clean through the water pillar and went halfway through a building along the line.
The water pillar collapsed and drenched the street, creating pockets of water in the gaps of the uprooted gravel. As water flowed, it drew blood along with itself; the red colour stayed in the tiny streams without diluting away. Ebi was no longer standing but was all over the street¡ªblood stained the road, a part of his arm here, a toe there, a chunk of brain sitting in a small plate made from his skull.
A jonin was dead.
A drenched Shirakumo took in the scene and shook his head. He had overdone it. He closed his eyes and took a silent moment to pray for Ebi''s soul, hoping that he would find peace and contentment in the afterlife.
The moment of quiet was shattered when Shirakumo felt a heat wave sweep through him. Looking back, he saw trails of orange flame rising up the buildings on several streets. He raised his hands as waves over waves of heat spread out, bringing the tropical to the cool city. He immediately knew it was Toridasu''s doing.
Shirakumo listened to the sounds of battle. They had quietened down since the start, as they should have. The battle to recapture Yu was coming to an end.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It had nearly been two hours since Daiki and Kameko returned to the factory base with the ROOT agent, who they had drowned in drugs to keep down. Iori wasn''t with them to paint prisoner seals. She hid near the city walls with a radio to be as close as she could be to the main forces on their arrival; Takuma had taught her the basics, and putting her close to the wall eliminated range-related communication.
Even though their job was done, they hadn''t been able to calm themselves. Their nerves were just as taut as they were during combat. Kameko couldn''t sit still and was pacing around the unconscious ROOT agent while Daiki had permanently positioned near the factory''s entrance so he could see the others arrive a few seconds earlier.
"They should be here by now!" Daiki yelled from the entrance.
Kameko didn''t reply and continued to pace in a line with her head down as she stared at the floor. She kept telling herself that the three of them had left the manor house and were hiding somewhere in the house to avoid getting caught in the conflict inside the city. Nothing helped, and the miserable possibility that something had happened.
"Kameko, I think we should go check!"
She stopped. The idea sounded good. Why suffer while doing nothing when they could just go have a look? Perhaps their team needed them, and they could be of much-needed help. She was about to respond but closed her mouth as she gazed at the ROOT agent. Even though he was drugged to his nips with no chance of waking up, the slight possibility of otherwise couldn''t be subtracted. The mission''s objective was to capture a ROOT agent, and if the agent somehow escaped while they were away, everything would be ruined.
She sighed, knowing that they couldn''t leave and was about to respond when Daiki yelled again, louder than before.
"They are here! Kameko, they are here! Kameko!"
His words imbibed a new energy in her, and she rushed across the dusty factory to greet them. Her heart beat faster as she could finally put her fears to rest. She was about to reach the gates when she heard Daiki''s voice.
"No... no-no-no-no. NO!"
Even before she could see, his tone made her heart sink. She stepped out into the back alley behind the factory they used as entrance and found her heart drop as she saw a body in Anko''s arms. It was covered in what looked to be the curtains from the manor house. Her world shattered when she saw Takuma standing beside Anko; he looked like he would fall over any second and had no colour on his face and no light in his eyes¡ªbut Kameko didn''t see any of that because if the two of them were alive, then she knew who was inside the curtain.
Kameko felt as though someone had pumped thick sludge into her heart and body as a weight settled into her body. Her legs gave out, and she squatted with her body curling into itself. Her fingers slipped into her hair as she grabbed her head¡ªthe scene of Rikku running back to the manor house replayed in her head over and over again¡ªand all she could think that she could''ve prevented, but she didn''t, and it was all her fault.
"I... I should''ve stopped her," she moaned in pain as guilt and anguish flooded her mind and body. The memories of the girl she had spent just a few months short of a year spun chaos in her mind. The time they had spent together, all the times they had laughed and fought, the long silences where they were content to sit together without a hint of awkwardness¡ªeverything that she should''ve cherished more because she would never get to experience them with Rikku.
As the cheers of victory spread through the city, four members of Anko''s team stood in the abandoned, dreary alleyway coming to terms with the fact that their occupation¡ªregardless of how much power it brought them¡ªwas cruel, cold, and merciless.
It made them question if any of it was worth it.
CH_8.1 (266): ARC-08, baby!
Three of five jonin stationed in the city lost their lives during the Battle for Yu and, after the death of the second jonin, the Frost-Cloud forces began fleeing from the city. The Steam-Leaf didn''t give them chase outside the city, and those who chose to flee were allowed to leave with their lives.
The battle officially ended when the horns of victory blared, and the Steam-Leaf jonin announced the death of three enemy jonin loudly enough for the entire city to hear.
But there was more work to be done.
To ensure that Yu was truly free, the shinobi had to comb through every room in every building on every single street to ensure that there were no enemy shinobi ready to ambush them when their guard was down. It was a tedious process with all the shinobi capable of walking ordered to search the city for hidden enemies.
Thankfully, the two sensory-nin from Camp Banana made the task slightly easier.
Iori sat on a bench inside the command centre tent with a kunai in her hand. She had unknowingly carved three grooves in the bench''s armrest in her worry for her team. It had been twelve hours since the battle was declared over and her team still hadn''t arrived.
It was pre-arranged that the rest of the team would not leave the base until someone from the main force came to fetch them. Iori immediately supplied the location of the factory base to the appropriate people and waited for them to return with her team but nine newsless hours had passed.
It seemed that, in the chaos of the battle aftermath, the command had yet to send someone to fetch her team. Iori had offered to go fetch them herself, but the suggestion was rejected. The team had brought one radio with them to Yu, which was given to Iori so she could communicate with the main forces, but it also meant that there was no way to communicate with her team.
Her ration pack sat beside her on the bench, the food long gone cold. Despite the long day and her physical exhaustion, her appetite had been destroyed by nerves. She could only find solace in the fact that her team had not come out on their own, meaning they were still alive.
¡Right?
"Genin Iori, you have been summoned," a genin finally came with the news she had been waiting for. "Your team has arrived."
Iori was on her feet as if she¡¯d been summoned to battle and followed the genin through the temporary camp. The sky was on the verge of night. She looked at the genin guiding her and wanted to push him in the back so he would walk faster, but contained herself.
They arrived at another tent, and Iori was about to enter when the genin said, "I''m sorry for your loss."
Iori froze with her hand clutching the tent flap.
She looked at him with dread filling her from head to toe and ripped the tent flap open. She saw Anko, Daiki, and Kameko standing in the back of the tent with Toridasu. Her legs shook as she walked toward them and she was hit by a wave of weakness when she saw Rikku''s body lying on the ground, covered with a white sheet up to her neck.
She couldn''t look anymore and turned her back.
Tears began to fall uncontrollably, and even covering her mouth with her hand couldn''t silence her sobs. She was the only one away from the team when they went after the ROOT agents¡ªthe reason she was given the communication duty was that she was the weakest among the group and would''ve been a liability. She was sent away for not being strong enough to help.
If she had been stronger, Rikku would''ve been alive. As she reeled from shock, she was hit by another thought and hastily turned with widened eyes.
Only Anko, Daiki, and Kameko were there.
"Takuma? W-Where is he?"
She looked down at the other bodies, who were all completely covered and locked onto the body beside Rikku, who was the same height as Takuma. Her heartache worsened, and she felt faint as she bent down to uncover the face when Anko pulled her up and hugged her.
"It''s not him. He''s alive; he''s not in danger. The iryo-nin are with him; he lost a lot of blood; he''ll be fine."
Relief with Takuma mixed with grief towards Rikku to the point where Iori couldn''t take it anymore. She crumpled into Anko''s embrace, who held her tight, and wailed without any regard.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma stared at himself in the mirror inside the medical ward.
He had no colour on his face; the injuries and loss of blood had left him weak. It wasn''t a new feeling¡ªhe had felt worse and weaker before. He touched the thin scar on the edge of his lips¡ªit was his newest and most prominent scar¡ªthe first one on his face. He looked down at his right palm covered in bandages. Beneath those bandages were two bigger, grizzlier scars on both sides of his hands left from having a sword go clean through his palm.
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The iryo-nin said he was lucky he didn''t break any bones in his hand. Maybe it would''ve been better if he broke his hand because physical pain was better¡ªtemporary¡ªcompared to the constant pain in his chest. Takuma combed his hair with his arm, which was covered in a soft cast from below the elbow because of the hairline fractures he had suffered from overloading his chakra augmentation.
Styling his hair made no difference; he looked just as miserable as before. He didn''t want to leave his bed but forced himself to do so anyway because lying made him feel like he was drowning.
"Are you ready?"
Takuma turned to see Iori standing at the door of his shared room with four other injured shinobi.
She was dressed in all black like him and had a food tray in her hands. At first glance, Iori looked as usual, but he couldn''t find a hint of the small smile she always had. He had spent a whole day unconscious because of his injuries, and when he was awake, he wallowed in misery on his bed with no thought about how others were processing and grieving Rikku''s death.
"Yes, let''s go," he replied, setting down his comb. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time and decided that it was a waste of time.
"Eat first," she walked to his bed and put the tray down.
Takuma gazed at the plate of fruits and porridge.
He had no appetite but understood that nutrients were necessary for his recovery, so he forced the meal down¡ªhe also didn''t want to say no to Iori. He couldn''t taste anything¡ªthe porridge was already bland, but he couldn''t even taste the sweetness from the fruits.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as they walked together to their destination.
"Terrible, awful¡ªI don''t know," Iori said, turning her face away from him. "I couldn''t sleep last night... I just wanted to run away from here," she scoffed, "like that would do anything."
Takuma had been fortunate enough to be unconscious from his injuries. A part of him still wanted to be unconscious so he wouldn''t have to completely accept the truth that she was gone¡ªbut he knew that he would regret it forever if he didn''t participate.
The two arrived at the tent being used as the morgue and found the rest of the team waiting for them. They were also dressed in black, which intensified their dark expressions of sorrow, grief, anger, and pain. Every Hidden Leaf shinobi in the city was gathered there, all dressed in black.
"How''s your body?" Anko asked.
Takuma shrugged. His entire body hurt; whatever the iryo-nin gave him wasn''t working¡ªbut he was grateful for it. The physical pain helped to dull the pain in his chest.
"Let''s go then," she said.
The inside of the tent was filled with the bodies of the shinobi who had died in battle. The tent itself was managed by the Hidden Leaf and only held the corpses of Hidden Leaf shinobi¡ªthe Hidden Steam had their own morgue. When a shinobi died on the field, and their bodies couldn''t be transported back home, they were given the shinobi''s funeral, which was always cremation.
Takuma gazed at the bodies of the dead¡ªjust like all those months ago in the Gojiro Gold Mines, he didn''t feel much about the death of people who were on the same side as him¡ªhis comrades.
Death was part of the job.
Those ready to kill were always prepared to be killed and while he appreciated their sacrifice he wouldn¡¯t lose any sleep over their deaths. That way of thinking was cold, jaded, cruel, and perhaps even inhumane¡ªbut that didn''t change the fact that their deaths didn¡¯t make him feel anything. They were just strangers who had died doing their jobs.
But then he laid eyes on Rikku and felt that someone had stabbed him in the heart. She was a shinobi, just like everyone else, but her death was the only thing that mattered in this tent of corpses.
It confused him.
Was he supposed to pat himself on the back because feeling anything about her death was proof that he was still somewhat of a normal human?
A deep sense of self-loathing bubbled inside of him¡ªa harsh hatred toward himself¡ªof how much of a piece of shit he was to make her death about himself. He had once thought that he had improved as a person in his new life¡ªhe was more competent, he had matured and was better equipped to handle life. He believed that he was a better person¡ªthat was an utter falsity¡ªhis past self was better and would most definitely reject the person he was becoming.
Takuma curled his lip. His body felt like it was withering from the inside.
Rikku was laid on a wooden platform bed for transportation to the cremation. Team-9 acted as pallbearers and picked her up. Anko tried to talk Takuma out of it because of his injuries, but he refused to listen and put his shoulder underneath the wooden plank with the rest of the team.
The funeral site was the same for both Leaf and Steam shinobi. The funeral pyres were already prepared beforehand, and hundreds of shinobi were already there to bid farewell to their dead comrades. The atmosphere was dull and grim as the team set down Rikku on a pyre chosen by Kameko, who rejected three other pyres that she didn''t like, wanting the best for Rikku.
"Say your last words," Anko said to the team. Starting with her, the team went to Rikku''s side one at a time and whispered their last words to her. Everyone shed tears, smiled, frowned, and grew angry as they said their final goodbyes to her.
When it was Takuma''s turn, he knelt beside the pyre and whispered into Rikku''s ear.
"... I don''t know what to say to you... I don''t want to die, but I know it should''ve been me and not you. It was a mistake to go after him like I did. It was perhaps my biggest mistake, and I''ll never be able to make it up to you. You were my best sparring partner; you fought hard even in practice, which I appreciated. You were blunt and sometimes rude¡ªbut I loved that straightforward personality of yours, it was so easy to talk to you and... I''ll miss that dearly."
Takuma paused as he felt something catch in his throat. He cleared his throat and rubbed the corner of his eye to gather himself before continuing.
"The bastard ended up escaping, but I managed to take one of his arms. I hope you''ll be satisfied with that for now... I''ll catch him one day and kill him¡ªI promise you that. If I don''t accomplish anything else in this life, I promise you that the bastard will die. I don''t care what I have to do, but one day, I''m going to find him, I''ll kill him, and I''ll make it hurt.... So you rest in peace, and I''ll send him up so that you can beat the shit out of him yourself."
Takuma leaned down to kiss her on her forehead. As he rose from her body, he noticed a glistening bead sliding down the bridge of her nose and realised he had unknowingly shed tears. He wiped the tear off her face and gazed at her resting body for a moment longer, swallowing hard.
"Goodbye, Rikku."
CH_8.2 (267)
Team-9 waited until all the pyres were extinguished before deciding to leave the funeral site.
Takuma stared at the smoke in the sky and wondered about this world''s afterlife. He vaguely remembered that there was a definite afterlife, but its specifics evaded him. He prayed it was peaceful so that Rikku would be comfortable and happy wherever she was.
"Alright, let''s go and get drunk," Anko said as she wrapped her hand around Kameko''s shoulder.
"You guys go ahead," Takuma said to the team. "I''m going to see Motohiro."
Motohiro''s group had been captured and tortured because of their connection to him. He had received the news about their release and subsequent medical treatment for their injuries after the siege. The least he could do was to go check on them and see how they were doing since he was partially responsible for what happened to them.
"I''ll come with you if you don''t mind," said Daiki.
"Will you? Sure, that''d be great."
"Then let''s go meet them as a team and then go drink at the end," said Anko.
"Yeah, let''s do that," Takuma nodded with a small smile.
As the team walked away from the funeral site, Daiki started speaking.
"You know, Rikku had me maintain my gear every other week. Even if I hadn''t used anything, she forced me to do it anyway. She made me clean the pouches, re-wrap the handles of the kunai, check all the tags for tears, inspect every inch of the rope for any faults¡ªthe works," Daiki said as he remembered the memories with a smile. "She said it was about creating a habit¡ªthat once I got used to doing it, it would become easier until I would get uncomfortable if I didn''t do it¡ªand that''s what happened," by the end his smile, he had a hint of sadness in it.
Takuma silently chuckled as he recalled his first meeting with Rikku. He thought she was needlessly picking up a fight with him as part of some kind of hazing ritual. In truth, she wanted to know him better and decided that a blunt challenge to spar would be the best way to do it. In hindsight, it was probably the best way she could get to know him; there was a lot to discover about a person in their fighting style¡ªshe could''ve done a better job communicating her intentions, but then it wouldn''t have been Rikku.
Takuma started to smile as he recounted the story of their first meeting. "The first time I met her was¡ª"
He suddenly stopped walking, confusing the rest of the team. They looked at him to see that he was looking at something¡ªand when they followed his line of sight, they found Gaku talking with some Steam shinobi.
"Takuma, no... Takuma, leave it!" Anko said immediately when she saw the hint of a smile that had just come on Takuma''s face slip away and slowly be replaced with a look of mean-eyed rage.
Takuma didn''t hear Anko and began walking briskly toward Gaku. His breath harshened with every step toward Gaku as he felt a head of steam build up. The sight of Gaku smiling and laughing with the Steam shinobi made him grit his teeth and walk faster. Anko rushed to him and put her hand on his shoulder to stop him, but Takuma harshly shrugged her off and continued onward faster than before.
Gaku had his back to Takuma and turned around when the people he was conversing with pointed behind him. Takuma charged his arm and fist with chakra¡ªand the moment Gaku turned, he drilled his fist square into his face. Gaku flew metres in the air, tumbling a few metres away after colliding against the ground.
"Fuck... YOU!" Takuma yelled through the pain as he clutched his hand close to his body, having reopened the large wound in his hand. "You fucking coward¡ªtraitorous piece of shit!"
"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" One of the Steam shinobi pushed Takuma hard enough that he almost stumbled to the ground.
"Hey, don''t touch him! " Anko ran forward and pushed the Steam shinobi back. "Keep your fucking hands off of him!"
"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it, huh?"
Anko scoffed and stepped close to the Steam shinobi, and snarled. "I can do a whole lot worse than you can even imagine, buddy. You don''t want what I have."
The Leaf and Steam shinobi around them heard the commotion and shouting and began to gather. In an instant, the ruckus grew into a full-on confrontation between the two shinobi groups, who were ready to fight each other. All of them were emotionally charged after the funeral, and the spark created by Takuma exploded into a forest wildfire.
Takuma didn''t register what the others were doing and had his attention locked in on Gaku, who got up on shaky footing and spat out a couple of teeth with blood. He looked up at Takuma with a heavy frown as he wiped the blood on his lips
"What are you looking at, bitch?! You want to fight?!" Takuma screamed at him with liquid fury. "You don''t want to fight a real shinobi... I don''t fight below my level, so go fight civilian women and children; that''d be more your style."
"You think you''re a real shinobi, little boy?" Gaku said as he walked toward him.
"Oh, I''m a real shinobi." Takuma laughed as if it was the joke of the century. "You''re not a shinobi¡ªyou''re a pimp. Letting the civilian woman do all the work, and when it came time to do something, you fucking ran with that impotent noodle between your legs! You''re not even a real man, you fuck! What kind of man hides when it''s time to free his city from the enemy? Fucking traitor!" said Takuma before spitting on the ground.
"Shut your mouth before I break your jaw," Gaku snarled.
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"I''ll cut out your tongue so I don''t have to hear that god awful, ugly voice of yours. I hope you choke on your cigarettes!" Takuma shouted, and a kunai slipped into his hand before he dashed toward Gaku but was immediately pulled back and off the ground by Daiki, who grabbed him by the underarms. "Fucking let me go! She would''ve been alive if not for that bastard! LET ME GO!"
He even tried to throw the kunai, but Daiki had his arms locked down.
"Yeah, you better hold him," Gaku yelled back.
"Come get me, traitor! I can take you like this, you pussy!" Takuma challenged even as he was being restrained by Daiki.
Tension between the two sides continued to rise, and it got right to the tipping point before a full-on group brawl broke out. The words being exchanged were becoming increasingly heated and the level-headed people who tried to calm things down were drowned out by the words thrown by both sides.
And then it happened.
Someone hit someone who hit back, and that spurred a chain reaction with more and more fights breaking out between emotionally charged shinobi. But before it could truly get out of hand, a chakra-laced voice ripped through the brawling group, forcing them to a screeching halt.
"ENOUGH"
Those who needed more than words felt a faint strain of bloody, murderous intent brush against them. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to the source to find Toridasu and a Steam jonin glaring at the two groups with anger and disappointment.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"At a funeral?"
Takuma stood there with all the Leaf shinobi involved in the near all-out brawl with his head bowed as he listened to Toridasu, who was uncharacteristically angry. He was snarky, unreasonable, and overbearing¡ªbut he was almost never angry¡ªthat emotion seemed to be below him.
"You fight like drunkards in a bar brawl... at a funeral?" Toridasu sneered with anger. "Do you have no respect for the dead? They gave their life, and you mock them by acting like hooligans? Why did you even come to the funeral if you were going to act like this?"
Of course, no one came to the funeral to start a fight, but that was by no means proper to say in the moment. They could only stay silent and listen to their jonin-in-command berate them like they were idiot children. Shirakumo was also present, but he stood behind Toridasu and hadn''t spoken a word¡ªwhich was worse in many ways.
Toridasu turned to Takuma with a furious look, but his expression softened for a moment as he sighed. He shook his head and addressed the group, but Takuma felt that he was speaking specifically to him.
"I know all of you are raw and emotional after the losses, but you are shinobi¡ªgrow up and learn to face your emotions like adults," Toridasu said sternly before walking away as though utterly disappointed with them.
Just when everyone thought it was over and relaxed their postures, Shirakumo stepped forward and said his part, which made everyone want to groan. "Everyone here will put in two extra shifts with the clean-up and construction crew. And I agree with Jonin Toridasu¡ªyou''re all responsible adults; fighting at a funeral was disgraceful, and you need to reflect on your behaviour... Dismissed."
Everyone waited until both jonin were well out of earshot before relaxing as a wave of groaning and annoyed whispers spread out. The general reception of the incident was while what they did was indeed disrespectful to the dead; they didn''t regret it.
"It shouldn''t have happened, but if I see my teammate in a fight, I''m going to back them," Anko said with her arms crossed. She sighed and patted Takuma on his shoulder. "Postpone that meeting with Motohiro¡¯s lot. I need that drink now."
Takuma nodded. His mood was in the shitter, and even though he didn''t drink, he could go for a smoke. Fortunately, his emergency-emergency stash was unopened.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma knocked on the door of a personal room in the city hospital. Inside, sitting on a bed, was a badly injured, fully bandaged Motohiro. Half of his face was bandaged and stained with yellow medicine, one of his eyes was completely covered with gauze, and there was an ugly cut on his swollen lips. His interrogators had done a number on him.
"Come in," said Motohiro when he saw Takuma and tried to sit up straighter, causing his face to twist in pain.
"Relax, you don''t need to sit up," said Takuma as he walked inside. He was alone and had come without the team, even though they had offered to come with him the day before. "How are you?"
"As you can see," Motohiro said weakly after falling back down onto his pillow. "Take a seat."
"Family?" asked Takuma as he pulled out a stool from beneath the bed.
"Another room."
The Steam shinobi had picked up everyone remotely related to Motohiro to interrogate.
"I see... Sorry, I came empty-handed."
A hint of a smile cracked Motohiro''s face before it went away quickly as his expression creased from the pain.
There was a silent pause in the room as the two men stared at each other. They were two very different people, their lives drastically far apart from each other, but for the past couple of months, they had been working towards the same goal of freeing the city from its oppressors.
For one, it was getting his home back and the life he and others had before; for the other, it was simply a mission as part of his job. But they both had suffered, sacrificed, and lost to achieve their goal¡ªand that''s what they had in common.
"Hey¡ª"
"Listen¡ª"
Both of them spoke at the same time and stopped to give the other the chance to speak.
"You go first," said Motohiro.
Takuma nodded and took a moment to compile his thoughts. He wet his lips before starting, "I''m sorry... You, your family, your friends, your employees¡ªthey all suffered terrible things because of me. I can''t help but feel terrible about what all of you had to go through. Civilians shouldn''t be involved in fights between shinobi"
The memory of the sound of an explosion ripping through the banquet hall echoed in his mind.
"And you ended up getting dragged into a situation you shouldn''t have been in. For that, I apologise from the bottom of my heart."
Takuma got up and bowed deeply to Motohiro, staying in this position until Motohiro asked him to stand up.
"Thank you," Motohiro said with a smile.
Takuma was taken aback.
It had been three days since the battle had ended, and even though Takuma had been a big contributor in saving the city, it was the first time Takuma had been thanked. He and the team had been praised by Toridasu for completing the mission¡ªhe had been heavily reprimanded by Shirakumo for what he did at the banquet to take out the jonin¡ªbut he hadn''t been thanked for anything yet.
"You saved my home." Motohiro continued, "You saved my children''s future. I don''t know what environment they would''ve grown up in if the city was still under the enemy''s control. You made sure that my children¡ªall of Yu''s children¡ªwould grow up in a free place where they could be anything they wanted without any fear. You shed sweat and blood for a place that''s not even in your country; I can''t see myself doing that..."
"I''m a shinobi for hire. It''s my job," said Takuma.
"I don''t care." Motohiro coughed a little. "You worked very hard; I don''t know very many people who would work this hard for a mere job... So, I will say it again on behalf of my children, my family, and the city of Yu¡ªthank you for saving us all."
Takuma clenched his uninjured fist as goosebumps rose up on his body. He didn''t recognise what he was feeling, but it filled him to an almost uncomfortable level and he was deeply disturbed by it.
He knew why he worked so hard on the mission, and it wasn''t because he cared about the people of Yu. He worked hard to further his career, but seeing the man who had been dangerously running a rebellious group under the remorseless rule of shinobi while taking care of so many needful people¡ªseeing that man thanking him felt wrong.
He didn''t deserve the gratitude.
But he couldn''t say any of that when he saw the sincerity in Motohiro''s eyes. Takuma stood up straighter and once again bowed deeply to Motohiro, a man who was a far better human being than he could ever be.
CH_8.3 (268)
Motohiro wasn''t the only stop on Takuma''s itinerary.
He mulled over the decision to visit the Kumi family''s estate until the very last moment because he was under no illusion that he would receive a warm, much less a civil welcome after he had murdered Gyon in cold blood. In anger, he¡¯d left behind a gruesome scene that he regretted and the purpose for his visit was to face what he had done.
He had to do it alone, so Takuma chose not to bring his team along despite their offer.
The front gates of the estate were guarded by a single man sitting on a stool. He stood up when he saw Takuma approach, who was covered in bandages and had a soft cast on his arm.
"What do you want?" asked the guard.
The guard didn''t recognise him. Even though he had been at the estate previously, not everyone had seen his face.
"I''m here to meet your leader, Hoshiguro," Takuma said calmly.
"Yeah, don''t waste my time, kid. If you want to fuck around, do it somewhere else. No one''s in the mood for your bullshit."
"Inform him that Takuma, the Hidden Leaf shinobi, is here to meet him."
Takuma looked at the guard and saw a deep fear appear in his eyes. He subconsciously backed away and knocked over the wooden stool he was sitting on, startling himself in the process.
"I-I...I¡ª"
"Relay the message. I''ll accept whatever response he gives," Takuma said slowly so as not to startle the guard further. "Go on now, quickly."
The guard slowly approached the door, all the time facing Takuma; he didn''t want to turn his back to him for fear that he would die if he turned his back and sprinted the moment he was across the small door in the larger gates.
Takuma sighed and picked up the fallen stool to sit on as he waited for someone to come and see him. They made him wait an entire five minutes before the Kumi lieutenants came to fetch him; he didn''t mind the time as he understood they would be apprehensive about inviting Gyon''s killer inside. The lieutenant didn''t look scared, but Takuma could see that his entire body was tense as he walked beside him¡ªjust like the guard, the lieutenant didn''t want his back facing him.
The walk from the front gate to the destination was silent. The lieutenant was stiff in fear. Usually, Takuma would''ve inquired about Hoshiguro''s health to get a feel for the meeting about to happen, but he didn''t feel like doing that and stayed quiet.
The lieutenant asked him to wait outside when they arrived at a room before stepping inside and closing the sliding door behind him. It didn''t do anything as Takuma''s trained ears picked up the conversation inside. He picked up at least three people and heard the faint sound of the rustling of bed covers that told him Hoshiguro was inside.
He gathered his thoughts about what he would say to the man while he waited for the lieutenants to call him in.
Four Kumi lieutenants were present in the room; two stood next to opposite walls, while the other two stood in front of a translucent screen backlit with some sort of light source casting the shadow of a man lying down on a futon.
Takuma hid a bitter smile. Hoshiguro couldn''t be clearer that he wasn''t welcome in his house. There was a singular cushion placed a distance in front of the screen, and Takuma sat on it, tucking his knees below his body. The lieutenants were weak enough that it was fine to put himself at a disadvantage by sitting down even when he was injured.
Takuma opened his mouth to ask about Hoshiguro''s health, but the words died on the tip of his tongue. His heart began to race as he was hit by the realisation of him with full force that he was sitting before the father of the son he had murdered. Regardless of Gyon''s decision, which led to his demise, a parent''s love for their children wasn''t something that could be erased or forgotten so easily.
He felt his lips dry up, and the things he had decided to say all evaporated¡ªnothing he could think of was the right thing to say¡ªhe had no idea what to say to a grieving father when he was the one to cause that suffering.
"I''m sorry for your loss."
The words escaped his mouth as the silence in the room made him hurry up. He didn''t regret killing Gyon¡ªnot one bit¡ªit was justified after he was betrayed twice, and the second time directly caused Motohiro and other brave people to suffer under torture because of Gyon¡¯s greed. He wanted to give out justifications but knew it would only anger the people in the room.
"... I remember telling you," Hoshiguro spoke from behind the screen, his lying silhouette shifting slightly, "that when bigger nations like yours wage war, smaller nations like mine are forced to serve as battlefields, and the moment Yu was captured, it was destined to be a battlefield... It came true, didn''t it? My city was turned into grounds of battle¡ªand I lost my son, my only child, in that battle. I lost my legacy, my heir... and I can''t do anything to take revenge against his killer as he sits before me." His voice was weak because of his frail condition, but it couldn''t stifle the intense emotion in his words.
Takuma bowed his head, unable to say anything in response.
"He made a mistake, and you killed him for it," Hoshiguro continued, his voice growing hoarse, "and the people I call my family hid the news from me for two days because they were worried about my health because I was... weak. I did not know that my son was dead for two whole days because no one told me¡ªnot one person¡ªand I wasn''t able to get off this damnable bed to find it out on my own."
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Takuma turned to glance at the lieutenants as they bowed their heads in shame. It seemed there was a lot more going on than with the Kumi family; alas, it wasn''t something he was going to get involved in.
"I don''t know why you came here, shinobi," said Hoshiguro, unwilling to even call Takuma by his name. "I don''t know why I invited you in¡ªperhaps I was afraid that you''d kill more of those I love if I denied you, or perhaps it was because I wished to scream in your face... unfortunately, I don''t have the energy to even raise my voice."
The words hurt Takuma.
He was a killer, there was no denying it, but a mindless killer he was not. Hoshiguro''s words implied that he would kill if he was slightly displeased. His image in the old man''s eyes had plummeted to an abominable demon. It felt unfair because the man he had killed caused so much harm to the resistance trying to save the city¡ªand now he was being made to feel guilty about it.
Takuma indeed felt bad about it because of his relationship with Hoshiguro and not because he had killed a good man. It was difficult to empathise when he wanted to defend himself¡ªbut he held it in because there was no value to it.
"Leave," Hoshiguro said, and his shadow indicated that he had turned his back to Takuma. "Your presence itself is poison to my heart. In return for killing my son, do my family and I a favour by never again approaching us..." Those were the last words Hoshiguro spoke; he remained silent from then onwards.
Takuma felt awkward, uncomfortable, and ever so slightly offended after having such words directed at him. He had been cursed at plenty by the fighters he fought in the Ring, the spectators who bet for and against him; he had been called a demon by the people he had caught and prosecuted in his time in the Narcotics Task Force¡ªbut this was the first time he had faced such cold resentment.
"I''ve kept my promise," Takuma said as he stared at the shadow behind the screen. "I''ve talked to the Hidden Steam shinobi, and they''ll punish the Goharu Family for their role in supporting the enemy. The Goharu family will be dismantled and cease to exist in a few days, leaving the Kumi family unopposed in the city. The Kumi won''t be blamed for the family''s brief relationship with the enemy and will be left untouched."
When he had first approached the Kumi family, they had helped after extracting a promise that he would get rid of their opposition, the Goharu family. He didn''t have to even do anything as the days were numbered for the Goharu family in case the city was recovered, which happened.
In truth, Takuma wanted to get rid of the chakra-enabled members of the Goharu family on his own¡ªbut after the banquet hall explosion incident, he knew he couldn''t do that. He was an outsider and lacked the power to punish the people of Yu.
The lieutenants all showed a relieved response when Takuma mentioned that they wouldn''t be blamed for Gyon''s actions. He also noticed that none of them had shown any negative reaction to his killing Gyon; their reactions were mostly fear stemming from caring for their own lives that he could end in a snap. From the looks of it, Hoshiguro was the only one harbouring deep resentment against him, even though it was he who started all of it by pitting Takuma against Gyon to teach the latter a lesson, but it only served to wound Gyon''s ego.
Takuma could''ve used that point in his defence, but he didn''t have the heart to rub it in the grieving man''s face. There was nothing more to be said so he stood to leave but stopped at the sliding door and turned back one last time to address the wise old man who hated him more than anyone else in the world.
"I''m sorry for your loss," he repeated. He didn''t say "I''m sorry" because that would mean admitting wrongdoing; instead, he simply offered his condolences.
He didn¡¯t receive any response.
Takuma walked toward the estate gates, with the lieutenant who had escorted him following him a step behind. He heard a commotion and turned to see a woman he recognised as Gyon''s wife running toward him with a crazed, furious look on her face. Her hair and clothes were in disarray and her pale face was marred with tear trails.
"You demon! You took a father away from his children¡ªbecause of you, they''ll grow up without their father!" she yelled with poisonous hatred in her voice.
The lieutenant ran toward her and grabbed her to stop her before she was anywhere near Takuma.
"Go," said the lieutenant, "please."
Takuma stared at the woman spewing hatred at him for a moment before turning away and disappearing from the estate using the Body Flicker Jutsu. He appeared outside the estate and looked at the bright and blue sky with a deep sigh as he contemplated the wife''s words.
He remembered his spiteful words to Gyon about his children when he had killed him and wished he hadn''t said it.
He shook his head¡ªit didn''t matter anymore; his relationship with the Kumi family was over, and he would no longer have anything to do with them. It was better for him to put the experience out of his mind and leave them behind.
However, contrary to Takuma''s belief, that connection would be kept alive by a pair of twins through their hatred for the man who killed their father.
And through his actions, a cycle of hatred had been born.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma returned to the camp after roaming around the city for a while to clear his mind from the two emotionally charged conversations he had. When he entered the room he was sharing with others, he found Kameko waiting for him by his bed.
"Where were you?" she asked with her arms crossed.
Takuma sighed. "I went to meet Motohiro and the Kumi family. I left a note," he said, pointing at the piece of paper sitting on the pillow.
"Yeah, which said nothing except that you were going out and would return in a while. That literally tells me nothing. I''ve been waiting for you for an hour," Kameko said, rolling her eyes before her tone softened. "How was it? Meeting them..."
Takuma simply shook his head.
Kameko pursed lips and nodded in return, and he was appreciative of her not pushing him to elaborate.
"Why were you waiting?" asked Takuma as he sat down on his bed with a huff and pain.
"The ANBU-nin want to meet you," said Kameko, quieter than usual.
Takuma, who was about to kick his boots off, stopped and looked up at Kameko, who looked restless. A duo of ANBU-nin had arrived with the main forces and had participated in the battle. After the battle was over, they took custody of the captured ROOT agent. The team hadn''t seen them or heard from them since then; they weren''t aware of their location¡ªand if not for Toridasu telling them that the ANBU duo was still in the city, they would''ve assumed that they had long left.
"What do they want?"
"They want to ask questions. Everyone has already met with them; you''re the only one left."
Takuma looked at his feet. He was physically injured, and the day had already drained him mentally. A part of him didn''t want anything to do with the ANBU and ROOT. Unfortunately, a bigger part of him was interested in meeting with the ANBU duo. He had seen¡ªfelt¡ªsomething during his fight against the ROOT team that would''ve taken over his life if not for Rikku''s death. He didn''t think he would get any answers from the ANBU duo, but he figured it was the best starting point if he wanted to know what those memories were about.
If they wanted to question him, they would have to answer some questions of his own.
CH_8.4 (269)
The meetings with the ANBU-nin were held in a tent inside the temporary base built by the main forces. The rest of the team had already completed their interviews with the ANBU duo in the time Takuma was out. According to Kameko, they questioned them about their time infiltrating the city, their contact with and discovery of the ROOT team, and details about their raid to capture the ROOT agent.
"What''s the mood?" Takuma asked Kameko as they walked to the location.
"Stressful," Kameko pursed her lips.
"Oh? Are they hounding?" Takuma asked with a frown. He needed to decide if he was in a mood to cooperate, and if they were rude to his team, they would find him difficult to talk to.
"No, nothing like that. They were relatively civil. Sure, some questions were rude and felt judgemental, but there was nothing antagonistic about the meeting... It''s just that the way they conducted it all made it feel more like an interrogation rather than a voluntary sit-down, and the fact that they''re from the ANBU department made me nervous."
Takuma hummed, wondering if it was a tactic.
Interrogators could go two routes: establish a positive rapport with the subject so they would feel comfortable sharing information or at least get comfortable enough that they would let something slip information they otherwise wouldn''t have volunteered¡ªand the other route was to put pressure on the subject so that they fessed up information willingly to relieve themselves from any suspicion of wrongdoing.
"Masks?" he asked.
"Masks," she nodded.
The tent was at the edge of the base. Few people were nearby because it was in the opposite direction of the city and near the personal tents of the jonin, which were generally avoided. It was an ideal position for working without disturbance.
"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Kameko. The ANBU-nin had no authority over them and thus couldn''t order them around; the meeting itself was a voluntary commitment. She could come in with Takuma, and they couldn''t kick her out if they wanted to question him.
"I''ll be fine. Thank you," said Takuma.
"Okay... I''ll see you later."
Takuma saw her off and entered the tent to find a man and woman with masks talking to each other. They stopped speaking when he pulled the tent flap and looked at him. They were sitting on either side of a table, and the man sitting in front got up and greeted him.
"Genin Takuma, you''re finally here. We have been waiting for you."
The male ANBU-nin didn''t have silver hair and was too tall to be a 14-year-old, which meant he was neither Kakashi nor Itachi, and Takuma was disappointed because he had ''dirt'' on those two he could use during the conversation to get his way. The female ANBU-nin was a brunette with flat, straight hair passing a little below the shoulders, making her a complete mystery.
He could only recall one female ANBU-nin whose name would eluded him even if someone dangled him off a balcony.
"I see, so let''s make this quick," said Takuma.
"Are you busy?" asked the woman.
"Not at all," said Takuma as he sat down with a wince. "I''m just not in the mood to talk."
"Ah yes, your teammate... Our condolences," she said.
Takuma nodded. "I hear that you''ve been asking the team questions about our mission."
"Just some due diligence," said the man as he sat beside his partner behind the table.
"I don''t believe I will have different answers from my teammates," said Takuma.
"Neither do we," said the man as he opened a notepad, "but we think you''ll have more answers. Chunin Mitarashi tells us that you operated mostly independently for the duration of this mission. Your experience differs from your team''s. Thus, you''ll be able to give us additional insight into why a ROOT team was here in the Land of Hot Waters."
"The Hidden Frost hired them to aid in gaining control over the city and eventually convert it over their side, thus permanently altering the two nations'' shared border," Takuma answered. "From what I understand, the ROOT as a group followed Shimura Danzo after he was declared a rogue and excommunicated from the village. It''s obvious that they''re now operating as an independent mercenary organisation to sustain themselves now that they don''t have the village''s support."
The two ANBU-nin stared at him. Their masks hid their faces, and their body language didn''t betray anything. However, the momentary silence in the tent signified that they didn''t think Takuma knew that much. Not much was known about ROOT to the general public; they were considered true secrets in the world of shinobi.
Even after the debacle, the administration just couldn''t drop their pants to let everyone see their dirty underwear. ROOT was disclosed as a small group of shinobi under Danzo''s leadership¡ªbut the truth was that they were big. Takuma didn''t know how big they were, but he suspected they were smaller than the ANBU department but still comparable to their size.
The intel packet the team had received after their initial report didn''t say much about ROOT and was simply described as an outfit of dangerous shinobi highly trained in the art of espionage. The team was advised to be careful and ordered to capture the agents¡ªand other than some surface-level background information, they weren''t given much to work with.
"...How do you know the Hidden Frost hired them?" asked the woman.
"The information came from a Hidden Frost chunin who, upon interrogation, informed me that the ROOT team had been advising their jonin on how to manage the city. The ROOT team were behind continuing the relationship between the farmers outside the city and the redirection of crops to the Land of Frost, which spread their influence outside the city; they artificially restricted basic amenities like food, water, and electricity to exert their control over the city folk; they supported the city¡¯s criminal element, who helped them after receiving more power over the city, and managed to befriend Yu''s wealthy and powerful people, who controlled the jobs that the common folk needed to survive."
According to Aranai, if not for ROOT, the Frost jonin would''ve imposed a much harsher dictatorship over the city, which would''ve ruined any hope of true willing conversion. However, going the ROOT''s way allowed them to profit from the city while slowly chipping away at their will to rebel.
"This chunin you mention... Aranai, if I''m not wrong," said the man, looking over the notes. "You interrogated him and a genin named Ryoya alone. They were the source of information you sent to the main force as they prepared to invade the city. How did you choose these two?"
"Aranai was in a unique position of being part of the city''s drug trade. He had made himself into the dealer for his fellow shinobi and was even funnelling them into the Land of Frost to earn profits. That made him more visible than other Frost shinobi. He was a chunin, which increased his chances of knowing more. As for Ryoya, we didn''t target him specifically; we aimed for other shinobi; he was just the one we got."
Takuma and the team didn''t know who would be showing up on the day they had abducted Aranai and Ryoya. Chinatsu suggested Aranai bring one of his subordinates, but there was no guarantee he would follow her suggestion since there was a real chance of Aranai bringing a jonin to impress his superiors.
"You worked in the Leaf Military Police Force as part of their Narcotics Taskforce before this," the woman nodded as she read what seemed to be Takuma''s record. "I believed that influenced your choice."
Takuma nonchalantly shrugged. "Our initial plan was to disrupt the enemy''s relationship with the criminal element they were supporting by damaging the trust between the two parties. The decision to kidnap Aranai came later; we were fortunate."
The conversation naturally led to Takuma''s interrogation methods, and the more he spoke, the fewer questions they asked about the subject of his methods. Takuma himself realised how much work he had put into getting what he wanted¡ªjust listening to it made him never want to do it again. That was a job for three, at least two people. It was a miracle he hadn''t started hallucinating in the middle of it from sleep deprivation.
"Just listening to it makes me feel exhausted," said the man
"I''d like to talk about these posters of yours." The female ANBU put one of Takuma''s wanted posters on the table. "According to your team, these posters were allegedly made by the ROOT team. How do you think they identified you?"
"I believe you would know more about that than me," said Takuma.
"Pardon?"
"Oh, please. I don''t believe for a second that you don''t know about my past," Takuma smiled flatly at the pair. "I want to know more about the assassination attempt on my life back home. To be honest, I don¡¯t know much, if anything, about that harrowing part of my life. If you want to know more, I would appreciate it if you shed light on that very personal incident."
To this day, Takuma was visited by the ghosts of the night he almost died in the place he considered his home. The problem was that he barely knew anything about the incident. He had suspicions and theories, but there was nothing concrete supporting them. This was his chance to get some legitimate answers.
"I''m not sure what you mean, Takuma," said the woman. "Yes, we are aware of the attack on your life, but that case went to the Police Force. It never reached our department, so unfortunately, while we understand where you''re coming from, we don''t have anything that could help you."
Takuma looked at both of them. Their masks bothered him because he couldn''t tell what they were thinking. He also didn''t know they would spill their bag of secrets just because he asked politely, but it also pissed him off because he was not in the mood to play games.
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"Listen, I''m not asking for something dangerous. I just want to know who was behind me having to learn to walk again," Takuma asked again. "I helped capture a ROOT agent. I scratched your back. It''d be nice if you scratched mine."
"I''m sorry, Takuma, but we truly don''t have that information," the Woman said, sounding genuinely sorry.
He didn''t trust that sentence one bit. Unlike most shinobi who were simply for-hire mercenaries, the two in front didn''t take contracts from those willing to pay. They were state spies who worked for the Leaf shinobi administration and handled matters of national security. Keeping secrets was part of their job; information was power, and giving information away often meant losing power.
"Alright, I understand. It can''t be helped if you don''t know," Takuma half-raised his hands and leaned back into his chair.
"Thank you for understanding," the woman said with a smile in her voice. "Let''s return to the question. Why do you think the ROOT squad was able to recognise you so quickly?"
"I don''t know," Takuma shook his head.
"I''m sure you must''ve given it some thought."
"Not really."
"Any guesses," asked the man.
Takuma pretended to think for a moment before shaking his head.
"I''m sorry, nothing comes to mind," he replied.
The ANBU duo weren''t stupid and quickly caught on to the fact that Takuma had shut down the conversation from his end. Their refusal to answer his questions had caused him to reciprocate in kind. It was petty, but neither side owed the other anything, which made what Takuma was doing perfectly justified.
"Genin Takuma, we advise you to cooperate. Your team leader and jonin-in-command won''t be happy when they find that you refused to help us by answering our questions," said the man.
"Oh, I think my team already helped you plenty by capturing and killing those ROOT agents. I think my superiors will say that you need to be satisfied with what you have and not be greedy," Takuma said, unafraid of their intimidation attempts. "And here''s what I''m going to do. I know the names of people from the Hidden Frost connected to the ROOT agents, which could lead to who hired them and maybe even a way to contact them. I was going to mention all of it in my official report, but you know what?" He snapped his fingers. "O-Oh, I-I can''t seem to remember those names anymore. Aww, shucks! I guess I''ll be unable to put them on my report."
Aranai''s position as the drug provider had given him the reputation and clout which allowed him to sit down with many people, including other chunin and jonin. He knew that regular reports were sent back to the Hidden Frost village, which included updates from and about the ROOT squad. Takuma had managed to get the names of the people sitting in the Hidden Steam village, and boy, those were some big names.
The information packet he had sent back to Camp Banana before the invasion only contained relevant information about the presence of enemy shinobi in the city. He had deemed all the other information he had extracted irrelevant in the context of the city''s recapture. That decision now paid unforeseen dividends, as he was the only source of information the ANBU duo wanted.
"You''re risking national security, Genin Takuma. This could get you in very deep trouble. I would again advise you to cooperate with us on this matter," the woman said.
"It''s a two-way street. Tell me what I want to know, and I''ll give you what you want," Takuma said flatly. He understood the risk and decided that he wanted more information, and that this was his best and only chance¡ªhe didn''t see how he would get what he wanted any other way.
He even considered that the ANBU duo honestly didn''t know anything¡ªwhich was thoroughly unlikely¡ªbut if it were true, then his act of withholding his information would be enough motivation for them to get what he asked and trade it with him.
A silence settled in the tent as neither side budged. They could hear the distant sounds of miscellaneous activity around the camp base. Takuma had presented his position and thus didn''t speak, whereas the ANBU duo''s stance was that they didn''t know and saying anything resembling negotiation would contradict their stance.
Takuma stood up after a minute of silence from both sides.
"Please only contact me when you have changed your mind. Don''t bother otherwise," he said before leaving the tent.
The moment he stepped outside, all strength left his body and he felt the beginnings of a ¡®normal¡¯ headache creeping up the back of his head. Sitting in that tent with two ANBU-nin was stressful, and the only things keeping him coasting was his stubbornness, his desire for information, and a measure of anger.
He kept walking, waiting for them to call him back, but they never did. Even though he didn''t expect them to call him back, as though he was a customer who was walking away after haggling, he nevertheless held hope they would. With each step, he resisted looking back until he was too far and even started to think that he should''ve made himself useful by cooperating and then trying to fish for information after they liked him.
''Fuck me,'' he thought¡ªthis was going to torture him for a while.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Fortunately, Takuma didn''t have to torture himself for long. The next day, Toridasu called him up after the meeting with ANBU. The meeting was in Toridasu''s office tent, and the ANBU duo, along with Anko, were already present when Takuma arrived.
"You called for me, sir?" Takuma asked Toridasu.
"The ANBU says that you''re refusing to cooperate and holding back information. Is that true?" Toridasu sat behind his desk, fully leaning into his chair as he fanned himself with a hand-fan. He looked deadpan, but there was a glint of amusement hidden in his eyes.
Takuma glanced at the masked ANBU standing in the corner. This was nothing out of expectations; he had expected them to use his superiors to pressure him into giving in to their demands, but he expected them to go through Anko first before approaching Toridasu.
"... I''m sorry, sir, I''m confused. I went to the voluntary meeting with the ANBU-nin and cooperated with them. I don''t know why they feel I didn''t cooperate with them," Takuma lied through his teeth. He could''ve sounded more offended and expressed more emotion, but he had a good feel for the situation.
"Genin Takuma, please don''t embarrass yourself. Yesterday, you stated that you have information pertaining to the connection between the ROOT and Hidden Steam. By holding that back, you''re colluding with the enemy. I''m sure I don''t need to tell you what that means," said the man.
Before Takuma could reply, Anko interjected on his behalf.
"That''s a heavy accusation, do you have proof?" she said in a full-on serious tone.
"He confessed to both of us yesterday," said the woman.
Once again, Takuma tried to speak to deny their words but was cut off by Toridasu, and he surprised him.
"And we''re supposed to take your word for it?" Toridasu said to the two ANBU-nin. "You''re accusing one of the shinobi in my company of having committed a grave crime. You better have something to prove your claims, or I''ll have to reconsider how you spend time here in my camp."
Takuma kept his face straight, but he was internally surprised. Toridasu didn''t like Anko and had kept their team idle by not allowing them to take any meaningful missions until Takuma joined them. Even then, his dislike of her had given the signal to the rest of the camp that she held no favour, and they had been excluded from joint training activities.
Takuma had somehow gotten the team their assignments for the Gojiro gold mine operation, where they had proven themselves, which had led to the precursor mission. They had achieved everything without any favours. Sure, Tordiasu had praised him for taking out the Frost jonin, but he did not expect him to stand up for him in front of the ANBU. Takuma expected that he would''ve to bear the pressure from Toridasu if he wanted to get what he wanted.
"As his team leader, I trust Takuma implicitly. I''ll vouch for him," said Anko.
Takuma nodded to her but couldn''t meet her eye. Their relationship had been rocky since the banquet hall explosion. Rikku''s death had made them put the disagreement aside, but they really hadn''t talked about it. Her stating her trust in him in front of ANBU meant a lot to Takuma.
Takuma turned to ANBU and slightly tilted his head. "Why would you lie?" he asked.
Despite their masks, the ANBU looked visibly frustrated and irritated.
"You''d believe him instead of us?" the man asked Toridasu.
"Between you¡ªyou masked liars¡ªand one of my own men who completed an impossibly tough mission¡ª of course, I would believe him. Why would you think otherwise?" Toridasu tone was a strange combination of faux-flabbergasted mixed with mocking. "Do you have proof that he''s lying?"
Of course, they didn''t have proof.
It was literally their words against his, and in just as many situations, they would''ve believed them over him. This particular situation falling to Takuma''s side was partially because Toridasu was a jonin and had the position and authority to not be scared of ANBU (though many jonin would''ve folded and not taken the risk), and partially, he wanted to exert his power and influence over the two masked shinobi.
"Well?" Toridasu urged them.
"No," said the man.
"Then get out of here."
There was a moment of silence before the ANBU walked out of the tent and gave Takuma the side eye as they walked past him. He stared back at them and even turned back to watch them leave the tent. When he turned back, he saw Toridasu reading a file.
"Hmm?" Toridasu looked up at him and Anko with confusion. "What? I said get out."
"Not to us," Anko rolled her eyes as she began to leave.
Takuma bowed his head and followed after her, but before he could leave, Toridasu spoke to him.
"Whatever you''re doing, don''t let it reach me because I will not help you."
Takuma looked back and saw that Toridasu was still reading the file on his desk. He didn''t think that he would fool him; it was always a matter of trying his luck with the jonin''s personality. His gambit had paid off, but he understood that Toridasu would not put his finger on the line, much less his neck, for him.
"Yes, sir."
Toridasu hummed without looking up.
Outside the tent, the ANBU duo were waiting for him. He turned to Anko, who nodded. After nodding back, he walked to them alone.
"What is your plan, Genin Takuma?" asked the woman.
"It''s the same as yesterday. You help me; I help you," Takuma stared into her eyes and spoke calmly.
"We don''t appreciate forced negotiations," said the man.
"All negotiations are forced," he said back. "And if you don''t want to, you can always back away. You already have the ROOT agent in your custody. It''s reasonable to think that he''ll be able to provide you with more than I can. You don''t need me..."
And with that, he had put the ball in their hands. It was completely true that he wasn''t needed. He was rendered useless if they could extract the information from the ROOT agent. The question was if they could accomplish that; what if they weren''t able to break the ROOT agent, or if he fed them false information, or if he somehow managed to kill himself before they got the information?
He was also aware of Yamanaka''s existence, but they weren''t all-powerful; people had figured out how to keep secrets even from the feared mind readers. Ignoring all of that, the more important question was whether putting so much effort into breaking a trained ROOT agent was worth it when they had another source of information who was willing to talk and spare them the effort. He was experienced with interrogations, so he knew that they 100% wanted to avoid any and all interrogations if they could get information in some other, easier way.
Finally, it also planted a seed in the ANBU duo''s minds. Even if they rejected him now, he was always there waiting for them to come knocking. He wanted his answers immediately, but he was willing to wait. It was his Plan B.
"You underestimate us. We just might do that and make you obsolete."
"And I''ll be betting against it," Takuma smiled. "I wouldn''t have been confident if we were back home, but we are not. You and I are far away from home; the only difference is that I''ve been away for longer, and thus am more comfortable. Understand that we are in a war zone. I might be here for another few weeks or so before I''m shipped off elsewhere, where I might die... so my humble suggestion would be to fulfil my insignificant demands so you can return home with additional peace of mind."
He smiled and then simply walked away from them after having said his piece, but another thought formed in his mind that made him stop and turn to them one last time.
"The leader escaped." A bitter expression briefly surfaced on his face as he thought about Kon; his blood boiled at the mere memory. "I see a scenario where he might get in contact with the rest of his rogue mates, and who knows, they might send someone over to clean up. The longer you have that agent out here in foreign lands, the more likely it is that he doesn¡¯t make it back. I''m not telling you how to do your job, but you might want to get him back as quickly as possible before his friends come visiting."
It annoyed him greatly that he couldn''t see their faces. He could very well be missing all of his shots to get the information now. But he had to be confident in himself because who else would be?
"I''ll see you around," he said with a faint smile before turning away.
His smile immediately slipped as he sighed. It was tough because he was making moves against someone he had no idea about. He was trying to deal with a group of people who were feared across the lands, and he had no real safety net in case things went wrong.
However, Takuma put that in the back of his mind as he faced something more important and urgent.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
Anko stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"We should talk."
CH_8.5 (270)
Takuma and Anko left the camp and headed towards the city walls. Their conversation opened with a discussion about the ANBU despite recognising the true topic of discussion, but both internally thought it better to gradually lean into the tense subject.
"What are you trying to do now?" she asked.
"I want answers about the assassination attempt on me, I want to know ROOT''s involvement, and I want to know about Kon. ANBU is the only place I''m most likely to get those answers. And I know they have my answers; it''s a matter of if I can get them to share with me," he replied.
"Kon," she said. There was no question or any specific tone in her voice, but the implication was clear.
"... I think he''s the link between the assassination attempt and Yu. Those posters were his work. I don''t have proof, but it has to be him. I have to know more about the man who has now tried to kill me multiple times." The matter of revenge for Rikku''s death was left unsaid. He didn''t look Anko in the eye, and she fortunately did not push in that direction, but there was a mutual understanding that Rikku was part of the motivation for Takuma to find out more about Kon.
"Do you have what they want? Or is this an ill-planned scheme?"
"I have enough."
As he had said to the ANBU, they could probably find what he knew and more from the captured ROOT agent, but they could give them what he knew much easier. They could use the information he gave to assist them in their agent''s interrogation or directly take action based on it.
"I never told you or mentioned it in the packet we sent back because it wasn''t relevant," Takuma regretted his words the moment he spoke them. It sounded like a justification for yet another thing he had done wrong.
"I understand. Information is power," said Anko.
"No, I didn''t mean it that way..." He sighed exasperatedly, frustrated with himself. He truly had excluded it because it wasn''t relevant. He also didn''t think he would be negotiating with ANBU until the moment they had asked to meet with him, but now it seemed that it was his plan all along. "Whatever... I just want to get some answers, and this is my chance to get them.
"How''re you doing?" he asked her.
Anko narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "I''ll be fine; it''s nothing new for me. It''s never going to be easy if that''s what you''re wondering, but you''ll learn to deal with it. Just make sure that it''s healthy. I have seen several people who go about it the wrong way."
"Like?"
"The pain comes from losing someone you cared about. For some people, the solution they find easiest is to stop caring. They shut themselves off from other people by building a cocoon around themselves so they don''t get hurt when they inevitably lose yet another someone... It works, though¡ªit changes people¡ª but it works," Anko looked far into the distance beyond the destroyed portion of the wall. "But you don''t want that. It gets lonely in that cocoon. What''s life when you can''t share your joy with others and celebrate their happiness with them¡ªit''s a miserable life; that''s what it is. Also, you know... it''s tough to bear the burdens of life alone; you will need people to help you if you want to continue being a shinobi."
"Are you talking from experience?"
Anko chuckled with a brief smile. "There are more reasons to build that cocoon. Fortunately, cocoons aren''t that strong, and people can break through before it becomes too thick and rigid."
He guessed that it had something to do with her experience with Orochimaru. Perhaps a betrayal so profound that she lost her ability to trust? As he thought that, Takuma felt a weight in his abdomen. His situation with Anko was also trust-related and even though it sounded like she was recovered, experiences like that left behind permanent changes in people. He worried if it was too late.
"My teacher said to take it one day at a time," said Takuma, recalling Maruboshi''s words after his C-rank mission in the Land of Frost.
"Sounds difficult and miserable. I would much rather get drunk and get laid."
Takuma laughed and agreed with her words. It was difficult and not at all enjoyable.
A comfortable silence settled between the two as they observed the burnt and broken wall. Takuma took a silent breath as a string of fear tickled his heart. When he had first seen the city wall, it had given him the impression of an immovable, indestructible object which had remained standing to protect the city in the world of humanoid weapons of mass destruction¡ªbut now, as he saw a massive portion of it in shambles, all done by a single old man he knew, it strengthened the dangers of the world.
He was no longer the weak, pathetic little runt and had grown strong enough to gain the ability to protect himself time and time again, and yet he was still not safe when looking at what shinobi were capable of. He was reminded that he had no time to stop; he had to keep moving forward, or he would be crushed without a choice.
"Man, he''s strong," Takuma said in awe.
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"He is," Anko nodded grudgingly. "It''s absolutely infuriating. I would''ve slapped the shit out of his bald head if he wasn''t so strong."
The tension in his body from being called into Toridasu''s office to confront the ANBU duo left his body as he talked and laughed with Anko, but it returned again when Anko drove right into the main discussion¡ªnay, she crashed through into the topic.
"You shouldn''t have blown up that banquet hall," she said.
He had thought about what he had done in length, and in doing that, he had tried to justify his actions. "I... saw the opportunity and took it. There was a jonin missing in the enemy forces because of me," he said.
"What about the civilians you killed?"
"Those traitors deserved it."
"That wasn''t your decision to make, and I''m not talking about them; I''m talking about the workers and staff that you sacrificed," Anko said in a harder voice. "Did they deserve it?"
Takuma looked down at the floor, scared of finding the look on her face. Anko had a deep frown with tight expressions that softened when he refused to meet her eye.
"You don''t think you did anything wrong, do you?" she said with a sigh.
"... I didn''t think about them when I was planning it," Takuma said after staying silent for a moment. "I was too focused on that jonin and what it would mean for the battle... I was angry because Motohiro and others had been captured because of Gyon. I had two Hidden Frost shinobi in my captive, so I knew what was most probably happening to Motohiro¡ªand they had nothing they could give to stop the torture. I blamed myself for it." Hoshiguro was the only one who knew his location, and he had gone down because of his health. No one could''ve led the Hidden Frost to him, which meant that everyone the enemy captured for information was bound to suffer without any chance of relief.
He continued, "I only realised what I was about to do when I was washing dishes in the back and saw them working in a hurry so that the people in the hall could enjoy their time. But it was too late to stop by then. I was too close. The jonin was a room away... I had to go through it." He had made the easy choice to ignore them.
Takuma exhaled deeply as he thought back to the moment and his memory of it was pretending to wash dishes. His clone was the one to execute the blast, so he didn''t know what he would''ve felt in the moment¡ªwhich only made it worse because the imagination of his mind made everything much worse. A dance troop was performing in the hall when the explosive tags went off, killing all of them¡ªhe had seen them briefly when they had arrived at the hall before the party¡ªand his mind spurned horrifying images based on that brief moment he had seen them.
"I c-can''t think about them anymore," Takuma said, his voice hoarse. "The more I think about them, the worse I feel. I become sick; my mind grows restless, my conscience grows heavy, grimy... I can''t do it, I don''t want to... I''ll destroy myself."
A chaotic panic made his breathing laboured. He stopped and grabbed one of his knees with his good arm as he calmed himself with quick, short breaths. The thoughts of his actions wanted to make him run away, but there was no escaping from what was inside of him.
Anko waited in silence as he calmed himself down. "I''m glad you feel this way," she said.
Takuma looked up at her in shock and disbelief. "What the fuck, Anko!?"
"You are a killer¡ªa murderer," she continued, unfazed, "so am I, a lot of shinobi are. It comes with the job. The important thing is to not become a mindless killer. Lives have value, the lives you took had value, and it''ll do you good if you don''t ignore them... I blame you for killing those people; I don''t like it one bit¡ªbut I thought about it, and I honestly don''t know what I would''ve done if you had asked for permission. If you ask me now, I would''ve refused, but at that moment with the opportunity to kill a jonin... I don''t know¡ªit would''ve been a tough decision.
"It''s not my place, but I think it''ll help if you hear it from someone else¡ If it''s any easier, I''m telling you to put it behind you," she said and it sounded like an order from a superior officer. "You made a decision that wasn''t¡ I''ve made plenty of mistakes in my career and I''ve been punished for them, but I''ve also been forgiven by others and by myself." She patted him on the back and asked him to stand up straight, "It''s easy to say, but move forward. If it truly bothers you, in the soul, then the best move is to forgive yourself¡ Let it be a lesson to guide your future actions."
Takuma stood up straight with his eyes closed. Her words soothed him, but he knew it was only temporary. He had to confront himself and come to terms with it if he ever wanted to move forward.
"What about when the time comes when I''m ordered to take an innocent life?" asked Takuma. He was a shinobi, a mercenary for hire; there would inevitably come a day when he would have to fulfil the assassination contract posted by someone willing to pay¡ªand the target was someone who didn''t deserve to die. What was he supposed to do then?
"The world''s unfair," said Anko with a sad look on her face. "I don''t know the correct answer to this question¡ªor even what you might want to hear at this moment. You''re a shinobi¡ªfor all being a shinobi gives you, it takes just as much or even more away. You don''t want to do something you don''t like? You either stop being a shinobi, or you reach a place where you have the power to refuse. Even then, the chances are you''ll do all kinds of things you don''t like by the time you reach either of those places."
A Leaf genin signed a ten-year contract the moment they accepted their headband. A fifteen-year extension was part of the chunin promotion. Becoming a jonin meant another twenty-five years in service for the village. This meant, at minimum, a genin could leave the service after ten years, a chunin after twenty-five years, and a jonin after fifty years of minimum service.
Takuma had been a genin for three years, leaving seven more years on his contract.
However, he didn''t want to stop being a shinobi.
"There''s a third option¡ªdeath," said Anko with a small smile. "No one can force you to do anything after you''re dead."
Takuma stared at her and then burst into laughter that hurt his wounds, but he couldn''t stop laughing.
"What?" asked Anko, confused.
"No, it''s nothing," Takuma waved as he tried to stop laughing but failed." It''s just a stupid joke¡ªyou had to be there for it to make sense."
It was funny because it came from Anko. She didn''t know that her former teacher would master the technique to make the dead do his bidding. In the future, literally everyone important who had died would be forced to do all sorts of things against their will.
After the laughter subsided, he looked at her seriously and said,
"Hey, if I die, cremate me good, okay? Leave nothing behind."
"... Okay, if that''s what you wish," she replied, utterly confused by the sudden change in demeanour.
Takuma nodded and sighed as he watched the city wall. He wasn''t anyone important, so the chances of him being brought back from death were negligible, but there being an option bothered him deeply.
"Where did that come from? Any reason you stress it so much," she asked.
"Let''s just say it''s spiritual. I might not rest peacefully without it."
CH_8.6 (271)
Another day passed and Takuma once again found himself sitting before the masked ANBU duo in the same tent where he had met them first.
"How''s the interrogation going? Got anything good out of him yet?" he asked, knowing it was unlikely.
He would''ve been beyond impressed if they managed to get the ROOT agent to open up within a day. Unlike the people Takuma had interrogated, the ROOT agent was most definitely trained in resisting torture and interrogation.
"We are ready to meet your demands," said the man.
"Don''t put it like that¡ªthat makes it seem like I''m sort of a terrorist. This is a simple, honest trade," said Takuma.
"What do you want to know?" asked the woman.
"Who was behind my assassination?" Takuma replied without hesitation, all pretence draining from his face.
"You were targeted by ROOT itself," said the woman. "The bodies of your assassins went missing, but from your official statement and the fact that you made it out alive¡ªwe believe that they were trainees and you were assigned to them as a mission. You wouldn''t have had a chance if they were genuine ROOT agents."
"Who ordered it? Give me the name of the drug lord?" Takuma asked; he didn''t care about the assassins themselves; they were dead. He wanted to know the name of the drug lord who was so threatened by his work at the Narcotics Taskforce that he put a hit out on him.
Once he had a name, he would either kill the bastard in his free time or straight up put a bounty on his head and let someone else do the work.
"There is no drug lord."
"What?" Takuma frowned. "What do you mean there''s no drug lord? Who ordered the assassination then?"
"ROOT ordered the assassination. The organisation itself wanted you dead," said the woman.
"I''m sorry, I don''t understand," Takuma leaned forward, his brows tightening. "Please explain it to me like I''m five."
"You''re correct in assuming the assassination attempt was related to your work in the Narcotics Taskforce. We looked into it, and the farm raid you conducted was the reason behind the assassination. That farm was connected to ROOT as one of their external revenue sources to fund their illegal operations. It seemed they didn''t like a mere genin encroaching into their business and decided to send a message. They failed, of course¡ª or maybe they didn''t since you no longer work there."
Takuma fell into silence as his mind worked on the information he had received. It wasn''t a drug lord, but ROOT itself targeting him. He hadn''t thought of that because he didn''t think ROOT would be in the drug trade and because he was too unimportant to be targeted.
Apparently not.
"You asked me about the posters with my face on them, right? It has to be Kon''s doing. Was he involved in the assassination?"
"ROOT agent, codename: Kon. Real name: unknown¡ªor if he has one. Many ROOT agents are registered because they''re technically Leaf shinobi, but Kon wasn''t one of them¡ªhe was never part of the Leaf shinobi system. However, he''s one of the better-known agents due to his involvement in management rather than being a field agent. Last we know, he was in charge of several of ROOT''s financial investments."
The woman glanced at her partner, who put a scroll on the table.
"What''s that?" asked Takuma.
"That''s everything ANBU has on Kon. This is our offer for the trade," said the man. "I''m sure you''d be interested in finding out more about the man who killed your teammate."
Takuma stared at the scroll resting on the table and considered what else he could get out of ANBU. What could they give him that would benefit him the most? He could ask them for an obscene amount of mission points which he could use to improve himself and grow stronger.
If he had been stronger, Rikku would still be alive so mission points made the most sense.
He stared at the scroll, and it stared back. The scene of the hallway in the manor house played in his mind. He felt Rikku''s feeble weight against him and saw Kon''s elated grin as he stared at him. He closed his eyes as the sludge of emotions pushed through his veins.
"Take it or leave it," said the woman.
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"I''ll take it," said Takuma, the feeling of anger blowing fires in his chest. He wanted to know everything there was about Kon to one day build an opportunity where he would have the bastard''s neck in his grip so he could snap it with a twist. "This is all the information I have. It has names, connections, confirmed facts, theories, snippets¡ªeverything the Frost shinobi said is in here."
"We will still want to ask questions," said the man as Takuma set down his own scroll before picking up the one on Kon.
"Sure, I don''t mind." Takuma opened the scroll to start reading it.
Across from him, the woman also picked up Takuma''s scroll and found it to be completely empty.
"This is empty," she said.
"Yeah, sorry about that; I don''t trust you guys," Takuma said. He gave them another scroll and continued to read its contents to see if it was authentic, which it seemed to be. "Now, ask your questions and let''s get this over with."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The day after Takuma had the meeting, the ANBU duo left with their ROOT agent prisoner. He was surprised because he thought they would ask for at least two more follow-up meetings, but it seemed that they took his warning of putting the agent in danger seriously. He was tired and didn''t want to play stressful mind games with the ANBU-nin so that was fine by him.
Takuma didn''t even have the motivation to continue reading the scroll about Kon after the first reading¡ªin fact, he didn''t want to do anything but lay in his bed. Just when he thought he would have a complete day off, the entire team was summoned to Toridasu''s office. There was tension among the team; they thought they were being assigned another team member to fill in the slot left behind by RIkku.
Takuma wasn''t sure if they were ready to let someone inside so soon after Rikku''s death and whether that person would fit.
"You have until the end of the month to file your mission report," said Toridasu.
"Yes, sir," said Anko, waiting for him to continue. That couldn''t be everything he wanted to say because that could''ve been conveyed through a memo delivered by a genin.
Takuma took a silent, deep breath to calm down his irritation. If he had been pulled out of bed because of this, then he wanted to bash Toridasu''s bald skull in.
"Anything else, sir?" asked Anko.
"No, nothing else," said Toridasu as he looked up at the team. "Just that when you''re done with that report, all of you will be relieved of your duties... congratulations, you''re being sent home."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The team spent the next few days drafting their joint and individual mission reports, motivated by the announcement of their return orders. The speed at which they worked was impressive because none of them had thought they would be going home and fully believed that they would be either staying in Yu to defend the city as it was now Camp Banana''s new base location or eventually going to help out with the other border cities.
So, when they got the news that they were going back home, they started to work furiously on the report, which wouldn''t have seen any work for at least another half-month if they weren''t going home. They completed and turned in their reports in three days, an amazing time for a mission as complex as the Yu precursor mission.
"I''m not going to beat around the bush; the Hidden Steam is complaining about what you did," said Toridasu.
Takuma, standing across from his table, stayed silent. He had been called for a private meeting in Toridasu''s office a day after they handed in their reports. He was surprised that it had taken so many days for the topic to come up. He had expected it to happen as soon as the Steam shinobi had started talking with the civilians.
"They want me to punish you strictly."
"...I''ll take whatever punishment you deem suitable," said Takuma; there was no use arguing for himself¡ªwhat he had done was deeply wrong.
"I''m not going to punish you, even though I should," said Toridasu. "You can''t just blow up so many people from another nation on their home soil and expect not to be treated as a terrorist. I mean, they would''ve understood if the people you blew up were enemies of the state¡ªbut you blew up poor workers."
Takuma simply stood there, ready to take whatever was coming his way.
"I''ll take whatever punishment¡ª"
"Did you not hear me?" Toridasu sighed. "You killed a jonin¡ªthat was a big contribution. You made the recapture much easier and prevented many casualties during the battle. However, that doesn''t mean what you did was right. I''ll say it straight so there''s no confusion: what you did would levy heavy punishments if Shirakumo was your commanding jonin. He would make sure that you wouldn''t be able to leave the Genin Corp for several years¡ªno department would take you in¡ªand because it goes on your record, the chunin would hesitate to take you up for out-of-village missions."
Takuma looked at Toridasu, wanting him to move on to the punishment. The man had said that he wasn''t going to punish him, but with Toridasu it could be something else which was just as bad as official punishment.
"But I''m your commanding jonin, so I''m letting it slide. As you''re leaving soon, I''m going to make it seem that you and the entire team are being sent away due to your actions¡ªthat will make the Hidden Steam happy," said Toridasu and then his expression grew solemn as he continued. "But Genin Takuma¡ª"
Takuma stiffened when he heard his rank along with his name.
"¡ªsee that this doesn''t happen again. You were lucky that the Hidden Steam recognised your contribution and only demanded that I discipline you. It could''ve easily gone up the chain of command and every single one of them would''ve played hot potato with the issue until they would, without doubt, decide that the only solution is to punish the person responsible as harshly as possible. At worst, you could''ve been sent to the Hidden Steam so they could deal with you according to their laws and your team would pay dearly for your actions¡ªespecially Mitarashi. Her career would''ve screeched to a halt because of her past and the rest would''ve had rocky futures.
"I''ll say this in case you have some idiotic view of things: you can''t treat civilians as though their lives don''t matter. I''ve seen plenty of shinobi who believe that, and let me tell you, those guys feel untouchable until they do something they shouldn''t have even dreamed about, and it never ends well. Do you understand?"
Takuma nodded, "Yes, sir."
That was all he could say.
CH_8.7 (272)
The time for Team-9 to depart had arrived.
They had said their goodbyes to everyone the day before and left without fanfare early in the morning the moment the sun rose up on the crisp horizon. A long journey awaited them, so they decided to get out of the Land of Hot Water and enter the Land of Fire as soon as possible.
As they left the city behind, Iori stopped and looked back at the city that was already far in the distance, barely visible on the rest stopped and gazed at the city they had spent over two and a half months in. It wasn''t a long time, but so much had happened that, in their minds, it felt like ages.
"I didn''t like Yu when we lived there," said Iori. "I hate it now because I lost a friend there and never want to come back¡ªeven if it''s the last remaining city in the world."
"Aye," said Daiki.
The rest also spoke their agreements and then continued on. Takuma was the last to turn away from the city, taking it in a moment longer, not because he would miss it¡ªquite the opposite. Like Iori, he never wanted to return to Yu and couldn''t be happier about leaving.
He just feared that it wouldn''t leave him even though he was leaving the city.
"Takuma, come on!" Anko yelled for him.
He took a deep breath before turning away but he could still feel it, like a weight in the back of his mind.
For the next two days, fuelled by their anticipation, the team ran from sunrise to sunset as they made their way through the Land of Hot Water, only stopping at towns to rest. They arrived at the border and passed through without real problems, marking the end of the team''s journey together.
Standing at an intersection of a major road, the team took in the sights of the Land of Fire for the first time in months. Not everyone''s final destination was the Hidden Leaf village, so it was time to go their separate ways.
"I... I technically don''t have a home address because I stopped renting before I left," Takuma sighed as he handed paper slips to everyone. "What I do have is a P.O. box that you can send letters to, and if you give me your addresses, I''ll send you my new contact details when I get one."
He passed them a notepad and pen, and at the end, everyone had a copy of everyone''s addresses and landline numbers.
"Keep in touch. It doesn''t matter if you don''t have anything to write, just send anything," Iori said as she looked at Takuma and Kameko.
"Why are you looking at us?" said Kameko.
"Because you two seem most likely not to write," Daiki replied.
"I''ll write," Takuma promised¡ªand he really meant it.
Friends were hard to come by, both because of his occupation and¡ himself. As nourishing as they were, friends were an endless black hole when he was already strapped for time in this life. Despite that, Takuma wanted to make time for his friends.
And now, he could count the number of friends he had on two hands¡ªeven if it was just barely.
"Unlike him, I do have a home, so if you come to the village, you can stay with me," Kameko said to Iori and Daiki.
Anko knelt on the ground as she rummaged through her backpack to take out a stack of letters. Everyone recognised the letters and stiffened. They were the ''wills'' the team had made in case they died during the precursor mission. Everyone except Daiki had left behind several letters addressed to their friends and families.
"We are shinobi, and having a will and letters to loved ones on standby is practical. I suggest you re-write those standby ones when you return home to prepare for an emergency." Anko held up the letters. "These, though, we are going to burn. I was a brand new chunin when I did a dangerous mission. At the end of the mission, the jonin in charge made us burn our letters because we managed to stay alive¡ªit was supposed to be a gesture. That, instead of worrying about death, we should aim to live to the fullest."
She distributed their letters to everyone, which left her with her stack.
"Where''s Rikku''s?" asked Takuma. Another terrible memory he had thought about a lot resurfaced. He remembered the Frost mission he had done with Iruka. He had to conduct his dead teammate''s funerals on the field and collect their belongings so they could be returned to their families.
"With the quartermaster," Anko said quietly. "They''re going to make sure her belongings reach her family."
Anko weaved hand seals and created a fire on the side of the road that the team surrounded. Takuma stared at the fire and thought about Anko''s words about living to the fullest instead of worrying about death.
His entire time in this world had been a constant struggle for survival and growing stronger so he wouldn''t die, but in the last year or so, he had stopped living his life with that mindset. He had been too busy to think about the dangerous future he knew was coming.
He had changed from the scared man he was when he started but was he living his life to the fullest?
No, he didn''t think so. He wouldn''t be a shinobi if living his life to the fullest was his goal. It was a better goal for sure, but the truth was that he wanted to live long. He wanted to feel safe and secure, and he knew in his heart that he wouldn''t feel that way if he was a shinobi working towards growing strong.
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Putting himself in danger to make himself safe was a contradiction he had accepted.
As long as he knew the future, he knew he wouldn''t slow down to truly enjoy life¡ªhis biggest asset was also a curse. He wondered what it would be like when he arrived at the point in the future when he no longer knew what lay ahead. It felt freeing, but it also brought a sense of anxiety, and yet he looked forward to it.
Takuma looked at the letters in his hand, snapped the jute cord holding them together, and then split the stack in half.
"Here," he said as he held the half stack to Daiki.
Daiki gazed at the letters silently for a moment before accepting them with a nod.
"Here," said Iori, who gave a few of her letters to Daiki.
"Here," Anko did the same.
Kameko silently handed him a few of her letters as well.
Daiki looked at everyone as his face twisted with emotion before hiding his face behind the fanned letters. "I miss her," he said as his voice cracked and his shoulders trembled.
"I know," Takuma said as he looked into the fire, "me too."
"To living," Anko said as she chucked her letters into the fire.
"To living," the team replied.
Everyone threw their letters and watched in silence as the flames ate paper and ink, leaving behind the ash of what could''ve been their last words.
Takuma thought about the symbolism. If he had died, the letters would''ve lived, but the letters were now dead because he had lived. And if he wanted to continue to live, someone else would have to die.
''She died so you could live,'' said the hate-filled voice in his head.
Takuma turned away from the fire and took a deep breath. He shook his head to clear away the thoughts. He wasn''t in the right state of mind to think about those things because he knew they would inevitably end in the same destination.
"Alright, let''s split up," Anko said after the burning was complete. "I''m going this way; who else is coming with me?"
"But the village is that way," Kameko pointed in another direction.
"I''m going to visit my parents for a week before going back to the village," Anko said with a faint smile. She had talked about them before and how they used to live in the Hidden Leaf village but moved out to somewhere slower a few years back to escape the fast-paced life of the Hidden Leaf.
"I''m going that way," said Iori.
Daiki raised his hand. "Me too."
It was time to say goodbyes and Iori came over to hug Takuma.
"Try to slow down a little, take care of your health, and just don''t rush... make some time yourself, yeah?" she said. "I''m going to miss you dearly, so don''t forget to write."
Takuma hugged her back and nodded with a smile. "I don''t want to buy my own tags anymore. You should move to the Hidden Leaf village and do it for me."
"When you become a jonin, you can hire me. I''ll come then."
"Already planning to ride my coattails, huh?"
She grinned. "Hell, yeah. I want that easy life."
"Sure, I''ll call you to the village when I become a jonin," Takuma shook his with a wry smile, "so you''d better get really good."
"Deal."
They separated with smiles on their faces, and Takuma walked to Daiki, who put his giant arm around his shoulder as they slowly walked while talking.
"Any plans?" asked Takuma.
"Hunting," Daiki replied. "I miss it."
"Yeah? I like that," Takuma smiled. He missed camping as well and thought about going on a weekend excursion and perhaps going hunting as well.
"There''s large wetlands a day and a half from my town. Lots of crocodiles, real big ones. I''m thinking of going there to see if I can hunt the biggest one."
"Damn, I was thinking deer or something, but you''re going straight for crocodiles, huh?"
"Deer were fun when I was in the academy, but not anymore. Trying not to get chewed through by half a dozen meaty crocodiles is at least fun."
"Just be careful in case you run into chakra beasts like Anko''s snakes."
Daiki hummed in acceptance. "What about you? What does a city boy like you do for fun?"
Takuma rolled his eyes. "To be honest, I don''t know... I haven''t thought about it. Hang out with friends, have some good food, perhaps a movie or two at the theatre. I''ll think about it when I get home," he sighed.
Takuma looked up at Daiki and patted his back. "Thank you for teaching me chakra masking. Next time we meet, I''ll show you my progress. Let''s go mess with some sensory-nin then."
Daiki laughed. "Now that sounds fun."
Finally, it was Anko''s turn, and it was short because she was going to return to the Hidden Leaf village soon.
"Let''s have a meal: you, me, and Kameko," she said while giving him a side hug. "Take care of yourself and if you need anything, don''t hesitate to call, okay?"
Takuma nodded.
"Great," Anko smiled.
The team split up in two and went their own directions.
Takuma sighed because while he was happy to return home, he was leaving the people he had been with for so long, and who knew when he would next meet Iori and Daiki? He looked at Kameko, and while he was by no means an expert in what she was thinking, even he could tell that she was feeling the same way.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma and Kameko''s journey through the Land of Fire took three days. Both of them agreed that they were in no mood for sightseeing, so they took the most direct route and only stopped in towns for rest. The scenery, landscape, and weather were different from Land of Hot Waters, and Takuma felt a homesickness he didn''t know he was feeling lift.
"I''m proud to be a tree-hugger," Takuma said as he saw the dense amount of trees lining the roads.
He looked at Kameko, expecting her to make a comment, but she acted like she hadn''t even heard it.
"You''re no fun," he whispered.
"And you aren''t funny," Kameko retorted with a snort.
Takuma was about to say something about the irony when he saw something that took his breath away.
"We''re here," he gulped.
It wasn''t the walls of the original Hidden Leaf village, nor was it the Hokage Mountain. What Takuma saw was a simple farm. Once upon a time, the Hidden Leaf village was located within the walls of the city, but it had long since extended beyond those boundaries in the form of farmland.
Takuma had spent the first year of his shinobi career outside the city working D-rank missions in those farms.
"Let''s hurry up," he said and rushed faster with Kameko following up with a similar haste.
Within fifteen minutes, they saw Hokage Mountain with the faces of the four Hokage rising above the horizon. As they drew closer to the village, they started seeing genin dressed in Hidden Leaf colours popping up every now and then. The passersby turned to look at them because they were running fast enough to overtake everyone.
It truly seemed that they were racing against each other, and people who caught their expressions before they zapped past them thought they were having the time of their lives. The village''s walls became visible, and before they knew it, Takuma and Kameko stood before the giant green gates of the village with the crimson sigil displayed proudly for all to see. A slice of the Hidden Leaf village peeked between the open gates,like an oasis calling to a parched man trudging through the desert.
It was beautiful.
"We''re home," Kameko sighed, her face flushed from the dash to the gates.
Takuma opened his mouth to reply, but his voice cracked. He cleared his throat, gulped, and licked his chapped lip as he tried to think about what to say before uttering a single word choked full of emotion.
"...Yeah."
CH_8.8 (273)
It didn''t take much time for Takuma and Kameko to pass through the security check, which was expedited because they were shinobi. It helped that the guards in the guard station didn''t ask Takuma any questions after Kameko, who went first, told them that they were returning from the Steam-Frost war.
The two of them stood with the gates behind them, looking at the village as though they were tourists. If it wasn''t the height of the day with the sun glaring down, they would have had actual tourists standing with them.
Outside Team-9, they had known each other the longest, but that relationship had essentially been non-existent until the Genin Corp Basic Training when it had turned sour. Neither of them thought they would like the other, but after being on the same team and surviving a dangerous mission, it was tough to dislike the person you trusted to have your back.
A hug would still be awkward, thought Takuma¡ªtheir relationship didn''t really have skinship. He straightened his back and held out his hand. That felt right, he thought when Kameko promptly gripped his hand and shook it a couple of times before letting go.
"I''ll see you around, I guess," he said.
"Probably when Anko invites us," she replied.
Takuma chuckled and nodded in agreement. He also couldn''t imagine the two of them having a meal alone on their own accord but then he thought about that and said, "Don''t think you can''t reach out to me if you need something. If I can help, I will¡ª so don''t think I won''t."
Kameko looked surprised but then nodded with a small smile. "The same goes for you. You know where I live.. It was a decent time serving with you, Takuma," she said and turned to walk away with a single wave of her hand before disappearing.
Takuma glanced at the gates once more before walking into the city. He chose to walk through the streets and take the city in slowly. It felt so different from Yu. It was much more crowded, warmer, and more animated; the atmosphere was one of constant activity. He looked around and knew that the people were bothered and numb to the hubbub of the city.
He, too, was once like them, but after returning to it after such a long time, he enjoyed it. Each step felt like he was rediscovering the Hidden Leaf village. He recognised places from his memories, and they hadn''t changed at all because it hadn''t been that long, but there were tiny little things that were different, which made everything feel so much more vibrant.
The village was a moving, thriving place, which was a stark contrast to the unstimulating Yu he had just liberated.
Even when he left the busy main streets and entered the quieter residential area, he found himself staring at little things like pamphlets stuck on poles, people''s clothes drying on hanging wires the difference in architecture between the two cities, the amount of green that was present in the city due to the abundance of trees.
He got lost in admiring his surroundings and didn''t realise where his feet had taken him until he started noticing the potholes in the road, which now felt narrower. The older buildings with degraded paint, and the mess of electrical wires stuck out to him¡ªhalf of which didn''t seem like they were put in by the city¡ªand there bits of garbage on the pavement.
Takuma stopped when he realised where he was and where he was going. He looked at the corner in front of him and knew that he would need two turns to get to the house he had lived in for more than three years¡ªlonger if he included the time the boy had lived there after moving out from the orphanage.
He chuckled at the thought that he had walked all the way to his old home purely by habit but then he turned away sharply, as a thought ran through him¡ªhe didn''t have a home.
Of course he didn''t have a home.
He had stopped renting on his own accord. Just a few days earlier, he had given his teammates a P.O. box address because he didn''t have a home address¡ªhe didn''t have a number for calling. But the thought clicked in at that moment, and it felt like the sky was falling.
He didn''t have a place to live in the city he could call home.
His heart began to thump harder and sweat began to press against his skin. All those little changes he had seen on his way snowballed, and suddenly, he felt like he didn''t recognise the city even though a moment ago, it had felt so familiar. He panted and looked around, and without warning, the shitty neighbourhood he had got so used to living in felt identical to some backstreet he had seen in Yu.
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He looked at buildings, and the architecture was identical¡ªeven though, in fact, none of it was true. It was simply Takuma''s tired mind that hadn''t been allowed to rest in the past three months since they had started planning for the precursor mission collapsing under itself.
The moment Takuma allowed himself to relax and let himself feel safe, his mind dumped everything he had accumulated from his time in the Land of Hot Waters. The realisation that he didn''t have a home was the first piece of a domino chain, and once Takuma knocked the first piece, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
''I have to get away,'' Takuma thought as he slipped into a semi-fugue state. All he wanted to do was run away from everything to somewhere safe where he could sit down and control himself¡ªand to his horror, the first place that came to his mind was the factory base in Yu¡ªthe cold, shitty, dust and rust filled, pest infested, abandoned piece of crap that refused to get cleaned no matter how much he tried.
But at that moment, it seemed to be the safest place because no one knew that he lived there. So much so that he didn''t even consider that just barely an hour ago, Kameko had said to him¡ª"You know where I live".
His tired and stressed mind couldn''t connect anything useful.
He began to heave and hyperventilate as he hugged the wall with his back to ensure no one could get ambush him but then he saw a man step out into the tiny balcony in a corner building¡ªand the moment their eyes met¡ª
¡ªTakuma ran away.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Maruboshi Kosuke returned to his humble abode near the edge of the inner city in the evening. The house was older than him, built by his parents, and he had lived there his entire life barring a few years in his teens when he had the desire to live alone.
The sliding door rattled, the floorboards creaked, and the wind chimes sang as the breeze played them. He never fixed the doors and floorboards because they told him if someone other than him was in the house, and the wind chimes were pleasant to his ear. He didn''t like being in his home during the day because he felt he was withering away if he stayed inside. Thus, he preferred spending time outside doing anything productive. Fortunately, D-rank missions gave him enough meaningful things to do, helping anywhere that needed him and contributing in his own way.
Today, however, he had been invited by one of the jonin he had known since she was a genin fresh out of the academy. She had asked him to address a new batch of chunin and give them advice for what lay ahead of them. He had received such requests a few times in the past couple of decades, and he wasn''t initially comfortable with the request in case he adversely influenced the future of the village.
But he had learned to be thankful for the respect and opportunity and gave his sincere efforts to the youngsters in hopes that it might make their futures even a little bit easier. He smiled when he remembered the faces of a couple of chunin who seemed thoroughly unimpressed in anything he had to say because he was a genin. And, of course, the first question he received was he wasn''t a chunin or jonin¡ªwhich he had to answer in the only way he could¡ªhe didn''t want to be one, which was apparently something they couldn''t comprehend.
Maruboshi took a bath and was about to start preparing his dinner when he heard a knock on his door which puzzled him. He looked at the wall clock in his kitchen, which showed it was already six in the evening, which was already too late for someone to visit him.
As he headed to the front door, he pondered who it might be. He didn''t get many guests because he was rarely at his home, so perhaps it was one of the neighbours. He was close to everyone on the streets because he had seen most of them grow up, and maybe one of them wanted his help.
The bell rang again just as he switched into his outdoor slippers, and he responded habitually,
"Coming!"
The front door squeaked as he pushed it open, only for it to stop halfway through because it hit whoever was standing in its path. Maruboshi expected the person to move or at least say something, but there was no response at all. Perplexed by the situation, Maruboshi peered around the door to see a man with his head bowed against his door.
"Excuse... Takuma!"
Maruboshi couldn''t recognise him instantly because of the longer, shoulder-length hair covering his face because of his bowed head.
Takuma slowly raised his head, showing his face to Maruboshi, who instantly noticed the new scar on the edge of his lips. But he was utterly shocked when he saw his condition; he was dressed in a simple shirt and pants with a large backpack on his shoulders. He was dirty, covered in it from top to bottom, with leaves and even branches sticking to him. The bandages around his arms and hands were all soiled.
His face was more gaunt than ever before. It was clear he had lost weight, which concerned Maruboshi because Takuma had always been underweight.
"My child, what happened to you?" Maruboshi immediately grabbed his shoulders and looked him over to see if there were any pressing injuries besides the bandaged ones.
"Uhm, mmhm," Takuma tried to speak, but his voice cracked. "So-Sorry, but can I stay with you for the night? I-I don''t have a-a place to live anymore. Just one night would¡ª"
Marubsohi quickly and gently shushed him and hugged him to his chest. "Yes, you can stay here," he spoke clearly and explicitly confirmed the request with a pat to Takuma''s head, "you can stay here with me for as long as you want. It''s okay, you''re home now; everything''s going to be alright."
He took off Takuma''s backpack and guided inside, making sure to hide his worried gaze lest he startle the boy he''d come to see as one of his loved ones.
What had happened out there?
CH_8.9 (274)
The first day was quiet.
Takuma arrived at Maruboshi''s house around six and was tucked into a futon by seven after a shower and the re-application of his bandages. The next day, Maruboshi opted to take a break from his usual day-to-day to look after Takuma and waited for him to wake up, but noon passed, and he stayed asleep. Maruboshi didn''t disturb his sleep, and when Takuma finally woke up, it was already four in the afternoon.
He had slept for a total of 21 hours without waking up.
Maruboshi served him food and sat at the table with him while he ate¡ªnot that he ate much, if anything. Takuma mostly picked at his food, pulling the meat off the fish bones but rarely ever bringing it to his mouth. His head slumped to the side, and he had a hollow, glossed-over look in his eyes that worried Maruboshi, but he didn''t say anything.
Not yet.
After fifteen minutes of silence, Takuma finally spoke. "Sensei... I-I''m sorry for showing up here like that," he sniffled, "I don''t know what came over me; I just..."
"It''s okay," Maruboshi said with a comforting smile. "I''m glad that you came to me."
Takuma nodded with his eyes closed. His face twitched with emotion as they threatened to overflow, and he quickly hid them by raising his head to the ceiling and leaning back into his chair.
He calmed down soon, bowed his head, and returned to poking at the food.
"I promise I was fine when I entered the city. I was hap¡ªhappy, but I-I don''t know what happened." Takuma closed his eyes. "Everything looked so... different. Out there, I-I...I..."
"It''s okay," Maruboshi repeated, "we don''t need to talk about it right now." He sensed that Takuma was struggling to articulate himself. "I''ll be here when you''re ready, so take your time. As I said, you can stay here as long as you want."
Takuma nodded and breathed out, relieving the tension in his stiff shoulder. He looked down at the food in front of him and set down his bowl of rice and chopsticks.
"I don''t have an appetite," he said.
Maruboshi wanted him to eat but nodded understandingly. Takuma stood up, bowed to him, and then retired back to his room.
He didn''t emerge for the rest of the day.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The second day was silent.
Takuma seemed worse than the day before. He never left his room despite Maruboshi''s pleas to eat something, even when Maruboshi left food at his door.
The only thing he touched was the bottle of water.
When Maruboshi went to replace the empty bottles, he heard the faint sounds of sobbing beyond the door. It wrenched his heart, but he knew it wasn''t time for him to interrupt.
Takuma needed to be ready to talk before he could be there to listen and support him. What he needed right now was normality, and Maruboshi was ready to provide it the moment he put himself together just enough to receive help.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The third day finally saw some progress.
Maruboshi rose up early at sunrise and wasn''t expecting Takuma to wake up until later, but he was surprised to see him step out of his room just as he was about to sit down for breakfast. He was in the kitchen setting his food on a tray to take it into the living room when he heard footsteps and looked up to see Takuma appear at the doorway.
"Good morning," said Maruboshi with a smile.
"Morning," Takuma replied, looking bleary. His hair was a mess and there were tear streaks on his face that he didn''t seem to notice.
"I''m setting up breakfast, so go wash up," said Maruboshi, gently nudging him to do something instead of asking him if he wanted to eat because he felt Takuma might refuse. "You''ll find a fresh set of toiletries in a basket inside the washroom. Come back quickly; the food will get cold."
Takuma nodded with a hum and went to the washroom at the speed of a sloth.
Maruboshi waited until he heard the washroom door close and then moved quickly to set up another serving for Takuma. He set everything up on the floor table in the living room and then sat down to wait for Takuma when he noticed the two meals looked similar.
He realised his mistake and went back to the kitchen with Takuma''s meal, doubling the quantity, not only because he hadn''t eaten in nearly two days but also because Takuma was a youngster with a naturally heavier appetite than an old man like himself.
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Takuma returned with a wet towel around his shoulders. His face was now clean, but the look of sad apathy remained as he sat down.
"Dig in," said Maruboshi. He stopped himself from looking at Takuma so as not to make him feel self-conscious.
Takuma lethargically picked up his bowl of rice and chopsticks and ate slowly, taking small bites at first. As he ate, the bites became bigger, and his hands moved faster. For the first time since he had arrived, Takuma looked alive as he scarfed down his food.
By the time Maruboshi had made a quarter of his way through his smaller meal, Takuma had wiped all of his clean.
"Do you want more?" asked Maruboshi with a smile.
Takuma sniffled and shook his head repeatedly as emotions threatened to overflow once again. "I couldn''t cook or go out to eat food because it might''ve attracted suspicion. I ate the same MREs for two months; they weren''t good."
Maruboshi knew that Takuma was going on a long mission because his last letter had said that he wouldn''t be able to write for a while. He didn''t know the details, but from context, it seemed that Takuma was behind enemy lines and had to survive off ready-to-eat meals made for shinobi.
"We ate at inns and restaurants on our way back, but homemade food is different," Takuma said, sniffling, as he raised his bowl of miso soup to his face. "Thank you."
This was a good sign, Maruboshi thought as he nodded. Takuma had opened up on his own without any nudging from him. He considered it good progress for now and decided not to pry. But the meal was over, and he thought that Takuma might shut himself back into his room, so he nudged him to stay in the living room.
"The weather is great today. I''ll open these doors up, and you can enjoy the breeze." Maruboshi went to push the sliding doors that opened up to the green garden that had an old persimmon tree, a tomato patch, and a flower bed. On the weekends, he would often sit on the engawa to meditate and gaze at his garden to relax, and he thought it would do Takuma some good.
To his delight, Takuma didn''t go back to his room and settled at the edge of the living room. Even though he blankly stared into nothingness, it was better than being in the dark behind closed doors. Maruboshi barely sat inside Takuma''s peripheral vision so that he was aware of his presence in case he wanted to talk.
That day, Takuma sat unmoving in the same spot and returned to his room after dinner without saying another word throughout the entire day.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
On the fourth day, Takuma started the day by taking a bath. He still looked grim, and there was a deep misery in his eyes, but the quickness had returned to his body; the day before, he dragged his feet like a terminally ill person, but now he moved like a shinobi¡ªbalanced and light-footed.
In the afternoon, the student and teacher duo sat opposite each other in the living room with cups of tea before them. It was different from yesterday; Takuma hadn''t looked at Maruboshi other than to briefly speak throughout the day¡ªbut today, they sat facing each other, and he felt that Takuma was ready to talk.
"I''m sorry you had to deal with my behaviour for the past few days," Takuma said as he held his teacup. "I don''t know what came over me. I was overwhelmed by... everything." He sighed deeply. "I have been so up my ass that I''ve disturbed you and caused a ruckus. I''ll start looking for a place to live from tomorrow and will be out of your hair as soon as possible."
"Take another week before you start looking. I like the company, and it gives us time to catch up," Maruboshi said and sipped his tea to let a silence separate the topics. "What happened out there, my child?"
Takuma scrunched his face and scratched his head. Maruboshi understood that the prospect of sharing brought pain because it involved reliving the darkest moments of one''s life, even if it left one better off for it.
Sharing things helped, but said things often had thorns that would unearth old wounds in the process.
"Did I tell you about the girl?" asked Takuma.
"The little girl from the refugee camp?" Maruboshi recalled one of Takuma''s later letters. During the early days, he had sent a letter mentioning an incident on his way to the camp without going into any details, but then, in one of the later letters, he discussed that incident about a refugee camp.
Takuma nodded. "When I tortured the Frost shinobi, I was furious beyond any time in my life. I had this cold rage thrashing through my veins¡ªand I channelled it into the torture and interrogation¡ªI hated those men from the bottom of my heart."
Maruboshi nodded. The sentiment had come through clearly from the letter.
"My mission was to infiltrate an enemy-occupied city and collect information to send back to the main forces. The team also had an additional responsibility to weaken the enemy from the inside to make the ensuing recapture easy."
Maruboshi nodded each time Takuma flicked his gaze up to see if he was still listening.
"These wealthy turncoat scums decided to throw a party, and a few shinobi were invited¡ªthere was a jonin and a few chunin, I think. I infiltrated that party as a dishwasher because it seemed like the perfect time to take those shinobi out and really," he stressed, "weaken the enemy." Takuma opened his mouth to speak, but a raw pain writhed across his expression. He closed his eyes and swayed back and forth for a few seconds. "During the party, I created a water clone with explosive tags inside it, and-and..."
Maruboshi wondered whether Takuma''s intrusion was wise when he mentioned the jonin and his plan to weaken the enemy¡ªbut the moment he mentioned a water clone and explosive tags, a chilly thought flashed through his mind as he precisely understood what Takuma had done.
"... I sent that water clone in and had him blow himself up." Takuma cleared his throat. "It killed everyone. The jonin died, the chunin died, the genin died, the turncoats died... but the staff died as well." He paused, and all the nervous, twitchy energy went away, leaving him looking as weak as he was the day before. "I became the same as the people I hated... I knew what I was doing, and I still did it... I sacrificed those people to weaken the enemy and¡ murdered the people I was supposed to be saving."
His heart broke as he looked at Takuma. The child in front of him had done something terrible, and it had left him in a state worse than Maruboshi had seen in a long, long time.
"Oh, dear child... you''re not the same as them. Look at you now; you''re feeling such pain for what you did. This pain proves that you''re different. Don''t compare yourself to them."
"Anko said something similar about the pain," said Takuma, "but I still feel the same as them."
"Then you''re doing yourself a disservice. It''s a normal response to feel as you are, but do not let it bog you down. As shinobi, there are things we must do that our conscience vehemently disagrees with¡ªbut those things must be done. Learn from it and then rise better than you were yesterday. That''s the only way for you to prevent such a thing from happening again," said Marubsohi, speaking as firmly as he could for his student''s benefit.
He also saw that Takuma was sinking, so he immediately tried to change the subject.
"Where did you get that scar, Takuma?" Maruboshi pointed to the side of his own lip.
"Oh, this?" Takuma touched his scar. "A ROOT agent gave it to me."
His mouth almost fell open. "What?"
"A ROOT agent¡ªand he was the same one who ordered my assassination."
CH_8.10 (275)
Maruboshi was stunned silent by the time Takuma was done retelling of events of his mission. He looked at his student, who was staring at the persimmon tree in the garden. Takuma had been targeted by ROOT, and by some bizarre coincidence, he found the agent behind his assassination in the same city he was stationed to reclaim after the assassination attempt.
It made one wonder whether it was really a coincidence. "Takuma... do you think ROOT had a hand in your conscription?"
Takuma looked back from the tree, and he saw thoughts sprinting behind the perpetually tired eyes. "I''ve got no idea," he said. "It doesn''t seem likely because there was no way to guarantee I''d be in that city as part of the mission unless Jonin Toridasu, who assigned the mission, was somehow connected with ROOT. But then, why didn''t he get rid of me during the Gojiro Gold Mine operation by making it look like a combat death?"Maruboshi breathed in deeply, using the break in conversation to think things through. Takuma had come to terms with being targeted by ROOT, but Maruboshi had known about it for less than half an hour and was more stressed than his student.
He had been a Leaf shinobi for decades, but because of his position as a genin, he wasn''t privy to secrets like ROOT¡ªbut knew of them because larger secrets tend to drip out in the form of rumours. He knew they were dangerous¡ªand from the recent revelations, he also knew that ROOT was headed by Shimura Danzo.
Maruboshi knew personally just how dangerous it was, which was why he had to ask.
"Did the letter to Uchiha Mikoto have to do something with ROOT?" he asked.
When Takuma turned to look at him, Maruboshi clenched his feet to restrain any reaction at the glint of cold calculations in his student''s eyes. He got the feeling that Takuma was trying to discern if he had read the contents of the letter. But the look disappeared almost instantly, hidden behind the following disappointment and shame.
"I don''t want to lie to you," Takuma said as he looked away.
Maruboshi sighed but nodded slowly¡ªhe preferred Takuma to be honest with him, even if he couldn''t share the things he knew. "That is fine, I understand. But if you ever need help, you must know that you can always come to me."
"I know," Takuma nodded, slowly meeting his eyes with a fond smile.
Maruboshi returned the gesture, but his mind raced. Takuma had just all but confirmed to him that he was somehow part of the entire Uchiha-Danzo-ROOT incident that had shaken the village. It was perhaps the most high-profile incident since Orochimaru''s defection, and even that occured soon after the Nine-Tails'' rampage.
A deep sense of helplessness overcame him then.
His student had grown into a splendid shinobi but suffered through the loss of loved ones, and now bore a secret he couldn''t share, all of which he was unable to help with as much as he wished.
If it were up to him, Takuma would''ve stayed free of that weight for longer, but now, he was now on a road of his own and an old fossil like him could only provide support when asked to.
"What was she like, your teammate?" Maruboshi asked, wanting Takuma to release more of his sorrow.
"You would''ve liked her," Takuma said with a hint of the softest smile, the first since he had come to the house. "She was straight as an arrow, and her words were blunt as hammers. It got her into trouble, but it was also her charm. To be able to live with such straightforward convictions was admirable. You could trust her because you knew that she would tell you the bitter truth. I envied her for that. I want to be like her, but I know I can''t..."
Maruboshi didn''t interrupt and let Takuma continue talking so he would fall deeper into his memories with Rikku, which would undoubtedly be attached to positive emotions that would act as a balm for his aching heart.
"Rikku was our team''s backbone. She would ask questions others were embarrassed about asking because they thought it would make them look stupid. She was the only one who could''ve done that and you need someone like that on your team, you know? For us, she was that person¡"
The smile that had developed as he spoke about his teammate suddenly flipped, replaced by a tight frown. A muted rage tugged on his posture, his expression, and pulsed in his dark eyes. Maruboshi was taken aback by the sudden change and warily noticed the hand holding Takuma''s empty cup tightening to the point where it would shatter.
The emotion wasn''t out of place, but Takuma hadn''t shown anger before when he had initially talked about Rikku. There was sorrow and anguish but not anger.
This was new.
"You are angry," he stated.
Takuma exhaled through deep breaths. "That piece of junk killed her while she was trying to protect me... I owe her my life, and if I find that bastard, I''m going to make him suffer. I want him to regret being born. I hope he lives a good, satisfied, and healthy life because it''ll mean so much more to me when it ends¡ªand I want to be the one to end it."
Revenge. Maruboshi immediately wanted to dissuade Takuma from pursuing revenge. It was an ugly emotion that destroyed the lives of those in the pursuit of it. His student had potential and a bright career ahead of him; he didn''t want it snuffed out by something like revenge.
"A man that seeks revenge keeps his wounds fresh," Maruboshi said solemnly, choosing his words carefully.
The anger in Takuma''s eyes flared. "So you''re saying that I should just let it go?"
"Yes, I am saying that you should let it go because it would be better for you, but if you can not, then you should not let it become your sole goal. You will become a shell of yourself if you let it consume you. I know it might feel that revenge focuses you, but it will take away everything else that is not essential to the revenge itself, and you''ll be left with nothing." said Maruboshi with a sad expression.
A close friend of his had fallen into the pit of revenge, unable to climb out for ages, and when he did, he found there was nothing left in his life as he sacrificed everything to attain his goal.
"Do not make the mistakes so many others have made. Give priority to the things in life that are truly important to you."
Takuma nodded, but Maruboshi could see that he wasn''t convinced but that was fine for now. So long as his words stayed in Takuma''s mind, there was a chance that they would someday take hold and steer him on the right path.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Oishi Taro was one of the many genin analysts working in the Analysis Team of the Hidden Leaf''s Intelligence Department. He was at the bottom of the rung at his place of work, but he enjoyed his job, which involved sifting through the information that passed through his desk to find valuable intel of any sort.
He preferred to spend his days behind a desk in a drab office building than doing physical duties outdoors like many of his peers.
His mother still forced him to train his combat skills, which was something he didn''t want to do, but he felt like he had no choice because life couldn''t be perfect.
Just like any other day, the clock struck half past one to signal the start of lunchtime. Taro closed the several open information folders and the scrolls on his cluttered desk. Like everyone on the floor, he promptly left the building for the break without looking back. Taro had been extremely busy since he had started the job. He was a green rookie, and it took him twice, even thrice, as long to do the same work as his experienced coworkers. He had spent months staying late after office hours, spent his weekends working, and hadn''t had a proper office break just so he could complete his jobs on time and learn how to make his life easier.
And now, he''d finally reached a level where could afford to take breathers. His breaks were left untouched and overtime was a thing of the past. Today, he was meeting with some of Academy classmates to catch-up¡ªsomething he was able to do now that he longer needed to work through breaks, and that day, he was meeting with some of his academy classmates to catch up.
The location was a quaint diner near his office, and to Taro''s delight, there wasn''t a rush, which meant he could take his time to eat without feeling the pressure to vacate right after eating.
"Taro, over here!"
He looked across the floor to see Aimi, an academy classmate, enthusiastically waving her hand. He felt exhausted just by looking at the energetic girl. He dragged his feet toward the four-top table where three people were already seated and waiting for him.
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"I would pay real money to see you exhausted to the point of crying just once," Taro said as he sat down, and the thought brought a floaty smile to his face.
"I don''t like that look on your face," Aimi pouted.
Taro looked past her and greeted his other two ex-classmates. Inuzuka Hana and Takeshi Ono. He was never close to Hana as they were never in the same groups, but he met her through Aimi.
Ono was a close friend; they were practically joined by the hip when they were in the academy, but their paths had diverged since Ono passed the jonin test, whereas he had failed it. They no longer had as much time to hang out with each other.
However, their friendship remained strong regardless.
"You''ve been working hard," Ono commented with a smile.
"I am. What gave it away?" asked Taro as he stretched his arms above his head.
"The ink stains on your palm. I never thought I would see a day where you''d be willing to pick a pen long enough for it to leave stains."
Taro glanced at his writing hand, and his palm was indeed stained with black ink. Note-taking was an essential part of his job and he went through pens faster than his chain-smoking boss went through packs of cigarettes. He had even started to smell like paper because of his job.
"It''s a pain in the butt," Taro scoffed.
"I think you like it," Hana said with a knowing smile.
"Not really," Taro shook his head after thinking about it. The job was tough, and he had to put in so much effort just to become decent at it. He wasn''t looking forward to the amount of effort that it would take to become truly good at it.
"Oh, come on. You''re Taro¡ªbare minimum is your life motto¡ªand you just admitted to having worked hard. Either they forced you, or you''re willingly doing it. Since you haven''t moaned about it, I think you like it. You''re working hard because you finally found something that suits you," said Hana.
She was sitting on the outer side of the sofa bench, and one of her trio of grey ninken that lay on the floor beside their table near her leg barked happily. "See, even the triplets agree. Congratulations, you''re now one step closer to being a normal person."
"I am normal," Taro said as he stared at the ninken. "Those three sure have grown some."
In the academy, she used to carry one of them on her head, the second one in a pouch in her clothes, and the last one in her arms. Now they were big enough that neither of those methods were viable. He had seen several Inuzuka clan''s ninken¡ªthey could grow bigger until Hana could ride any of them.
"Look at you avoiding the topic! It''s so cute." Aimi had a lopsided grin as she rested her face in her arms and looked at him, amused.
"I''m hungry, so let''s order something," Taro said, disregarding their chuckles as he picked up the menu.
They ordered and got back to catching up with each other with their busy lives.
Aimi had been on several back-to-back outstation missions that took her all over the Land of Fire. She described it as half work, half travel and seemed to enjoy the time spent away from the village.
"I met the Fire Daimyo," she bragged.
"No way, seriously? How was that?" asked Taro as he munched on the fried Enoki mushrooms that they had ordered for the table.
"It was like meeting with the Lord Hokage. I mean, I knew that I could wipe the floor with him, but he had this presence to him¡ªlike I got it¡ªthe man before me was the ruler of an entire nation. I have to say, though, he had these armoured samurai with him, and those guys were serious¡ªthey felt sharp if you know what I mean."
"No, I don''t know what you mean."
"They would cut you in an instant if you made a wrong move. You''d be dead, Taro," Aimi said sympathetically.
"I mean... I wouldn''t make a wrong move."
Unlike Aimi''s busy team, Ono''s team had entered a period of downtime and were taking a break from missions to dedicate an extended period of time to training up their individual skills.
"Izumi is already training her second B-rank jutsu. It''s completely wild," said Ono. He was on the same team as Uchiha Izumi, who had been earning a reputation as one of the most promising young talents in the village, standing apart from even her elder Uchiha peers. "And that''s not even the crazy part. It''s the nature of the B-rank: it''s not her primary affinity. She''s setting herself to meet the two nature jonin requirement."
Taro whistled. It was clear that the Uchiha clan was investing in Izumi. He wasn''t anywhere near a B-rank jutsu and wasn''t sure if he would have enough contributions to get himself one¡ªor if he would even need one.
"And what about you, Miss Chunin?" Taro asked as he turned to Hana. "You better pay for this meal. In fact, I want a party."
Their academy batch had participated in their first Chunin Exams and returned with phenomenal news. Their batch had produced twelve teams, out of which only four were accepted by jonin. Out of those twelve, three of them had managed to get promoted after the Chunin Exams.
Inuzuka Hana was one of them.
"There''ll be a party next week; you can stuff your face there, Everyone from the class is invited" said Hana with a smile.
"Works for me," said Taro. Both Aimi and Ono had participated, but both were eliminated after the second round. As for Taro, he hadn''t even participated because he had managed to get into the Intelligence Division and was in no rush to risk his life in the Chunin Exams. "So what''s the chunin life like?"
"I don''t know; it''s not any different yet. Sensei said that he would have me take the team on a C-rank mission as the leader next month. That''s going to be exciting, but until then, nothing''s really changed," said Hana, shrugging before she remembered something. "Oh, something happened recently. We met with this old shinobi¡ªas old as Lord Third. He said that he was two years younger than him."
"Is he retired?" asked Ono.
"Actually, no, he''s still very much active, as in field active," said Hana.
"Wow, now that''s something. He a jonin?"
"Here''s the shocker. A genin," said Hana.
The reactions were expected because people a genin the age of the Hokage were practically unheard of. Most genin and even some chunin retired in their forties, and there was no reason for someone as old as the Hokage to be active in the field as a genin.
"If I remember correctly, his name is Maruboshi Kosuke," Hana said, and that made Taro furrow his brows because he felt like he recognised that name. She continued, "The chunin in charge of the exam wanted us to meet him and listen to his advice because he had been shinobi for such a long time. In fact, he said that Mister Maruboshi knew more about being a shinobi than the Lord Third himself."
"What? Someone said that?" Aimi gasped in surprise. The Third Hokage was dubbed the ''God of Shinobi''; saying that there was someone who knew more about being a shinobi than the Third Hokage was a bold claim.
"It made sense after we talked to him," Hana nodded deeply. "Even though he''s only a genin, the village asks him to lead teams on B-rank missions because of his sheer field experience and capabilities. Mister Maruboshi has been on the field longer than any shinobi alive. Lord Third hasn''t been an active shinobi for decades now¡ªbut Mister Maruboshi has been on the field his entire career; he has officially completed more missions than any Leaf shinobi on record and the chunin said no one''s breaking that record anytime soon. And the way Mister Maruboshi talked about being a shinobi¡ªI''ll say that the claim isn''t a stretch."
"Ah, I recognise that name!" Taro, who had been deep in his thoughts, trying to grab the memory, suddenly banged his fist on the table, startling Hana''s triplet ninken, who raised their heads. "Maruboshi Kosuke¡ªyeah, that''s Takuma''s teacher. I met him once. He''s¡ ancient."
He had met Maruboshi in the hospital the day after the assassination attempt on Takuma. Maruboshi had introduced himself as Takuma''s former teacher.
"Speaking of Takuma, I just remembered," Ono said as he snapped his fingers. "The Uchiha use him for their General Induction Program."
"What do you mean?" asked Taro.
The Hidden Leaf Military Police Force, which only recruited from the Uchiha and a couple of their allied clans, had opened up to any Leaf shinobi interested in joining the Police Force. The General Induction Program was the way to apply and get into the Police Force and involved meeting demanding criteria and passing numerous tests to see if the applicants were fit to join the Police Force.
"I attended one of their introductory forums where they were telling us why we should join the Police Force, and he was the biggest highlight example they used. Everyone was sceptical that they wouldn''t rise up the ranks inside the Police Force because the Uchiha will only promote their own¡ªbut they used Takuma as an example. He joined one of the biggest departments in the Police Force from Day-1 and launched and led a new team that''s now a full-on sub-department," Ono looked like he was impressed by what he saw.
They were trying to say that they could be like Takuma if they joined the Police Force.
Taro sat up prouder as he heard his friend getting praised. "You know, he was in the paper a lot for conducting drug busts."
"Arisu said he was a big deal," said Hana, who was close with Fuma Arisu, who had worked closely with Takuma.
"I mean, we discussed Takuma before at our class gatherings, but when I saw a Uchiha talking about him with his face on the board it hit me that he was really doing something big," said Ono.
Takuma was a topic of discussion in their class gatherings. Because Arisu worked with him, she told him all sorts of stories about Takuma, but a lot of people didn''t take her seriously because of Takuma''s academy reputation and thought that she was just trying to hype him up because she was working under him and didn''t want to be made fun of because she was the "dead-last''s" subordinate.
Taro had tried to support and prop up her claims, but he didn''t have the social standing within the class for anyone to really listen to him.
He sighed¡ªafter all these months, he really missed his friend. It had been three months since he had received his last letter that said that he wouldn''t be writing for a while because of a mission. He felt nervous every time Takuma showed up in his thoughts or in conversation and wished he would return home safely as soon as possible.
"Why were you at a Police Force forum?" asked Hana, confused.
Ono slumped in his chair and sighed. "Our sensei isn''t sure whether he wants continue leading the team past next year, so I''ve started looking for options about what I should do after the team is declared inactive."
The jonin teams that were formed right after academy graduations had a life of four years where the jonin was in charge of the development of the genin, but after that, it was up to the jonin if they wanted to continue the team and could disband it if they weren''t interested. Their batch had already been genin for three years with only one year left before the jonin could disband the teams.
"I don''t want to get stuck in the Genin Corp, and Izumi suggested that I look into the Police Force, so I went to the open forum. I don''t know if I''ll enter, but it''s on the list," Ono shrugged.
"Well, I''m set, so I don''t have to worry," Taro raised his hands. He was in the Analysis Team and produced enough work that there was no way he was going to get fired¡ which couldn''t happen because his mother would rip his head from his body if he lost the job.
"Sucks for you, though," he smirked.
"We haven''t sparred in forever. Let''s go a few rounds," Ono said and tried to lock Taro in a head-hold.
"Get off me," Taro pushed Ono away before his hands could get close to him.
"So, how''s he? I heard he had a difficult time out there," asked Aimi.
Taro picked up another slice of fried mushroom and was enjoying the crispiness when he realised that Aimi was talking to him.
"Me? What did you say? I missed it," he asked.
"I''m talking about Takuma. Have you met him yet? How is he?" asked Aimi.
"Takuma''s not back. What are you talking about?" asked Taro, perplexed.
"Kameko''s back home and she said that he came back with her."
Taro was utterly baffled by Aimi''s words and couldn''t believe her because he would''ve heard from Takuma if he had come back, but then he calmed down.
"When did they return?" he asked, thinking Takuma must have returned only a day or two ago and was resting.
"A full week¡ªseven days."
CH_8.11 (276)
Later that evening, Taro was free from his job, skipped on heading home, and went straight to another place where he might get some answers regarding the shocking news that Takuma was back home.
He rang the doorbell in a lovely apartment building, too good for him to rent. It took three genin splitting the rent to afford to live there. He waited a few moments before heavy footsteps echoed from inside, and Masaaki, dressed only in a pair of tight underwear, opened the door.
"Why are you naked?" asked Taro as he stepped into his friends'' apartment.
"I''m not," said Masaaki. He had changed a lot since the Akimichi clan had taken him in. He had gotten bigger in every way. He wasn''t rotund like his patrons, but he had grown taller and packed on muscle and some fat, which gave him an almost abnormal strength. Moreover, he had been receiving guidance from an Akimichi jonin once a week and worked with clan chunin nearly every other day. He had truly managed to make the most out of his opportunity.
If they fought, Taro wouldn''t last half a minute before Masaaki would break him in half. Thankfully, Taro had refused to spar with him so often that Masaaki no longer asked him out for spar sessions. It was one of the things he left to their other friend, who still entertained the spar requests.
Speaking of the friend, Nenro was cooking dinner for the trio of housemates. He looked up when Taro walked in and asked, "Are you staying for dinner? Tell me now while I can still make more."
"It''s fine," Taro replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I''m sure."
Unlike Masaaki, Nenro hadn''t changed much other than growing few inches and his voice finally deepening. However, when it came to careers, Nenro was the one to have changed the most. Three years ago, he was the first among them to work with a chunin regularly, and within months, he was in the rotation for several chunin-lead teams. By the start of their second year, Nenro was a mainstay in teams of several high-profile chunin teams.
He was gifted in presenting himself as valuable, and it felt like he could sell himself to anyone regardless of who they were. For a while, it felt like he would leave the Genin Corps to join a department, but he continued to stay. Many people, including Taro, thought it was a waste of his talents¡ªbut then he surprised everyone when a jonin had him lead a C-rank mission as a genin.
Jonin were considered hotspots within the shinobi organisation. A jonin had several chunin working under them, who further had genin working under them. They felt like informal companies with a jonin at the top. Being connected to a jonin, even if it was through a chunin, was beneficial. Being on a jonin''s team increased a chunin''s reputation, which gave them better missions to lead and allowed them to recruit the best genin for their missions, further growing their reputation.
Nenro wasn''t a chunin, yet a jonin had him lead a team of genin on a mission. It was uncommon, but not rare, as experienced career genin who didn''t meet the criteria to be promoted to chunin were often allowed to lead teams on low-stake missions.
However, Nenro was far too young and inexperienced¡ªyet a jonin had directly recommended that he be allowed to lead a mission. Nenro wasn''t a clan kid, nor did he have shinobi parents; he wasn''t even born in the Hidden Leaf village¡ªhe was a nobody, which made people curious. In the past year, he had created a reputation for himself.
People had even created a title for him: Mercenary.
He managed to convert that one mission into several and was now receiving outsourced missions from the departments other people wanted him to join. Instead of joining one department, he worked with multiple on significant missions. He was essentially a rankless chunin. Not only did it reflect positively on his resume, but he also worked on a variety of different missions, which wouldn''t have been possible had he joined a department.
Taro entered the living room and saw the third member of the trio slumped on a couch with her face into the cushions.
"A surprise to see you here," Taro said as he patted Ai''s calves, and she raised her legs to make space for Taro to sit before lowering them in his lap. "I thought you were still doing additional training in the evening. What happened?" he asked.
Ai turned her tired face out of the cushions but smiled brightly at him, "I managed to close a complicated kunai wound on my own today without any mistakes or assistance, so sensei let me go home. He also gave me Saturday off. I finally have a long weekend!"
For others, a long weekend meant three days or more of no work, but for Ai, a long weekend was the standard two-day weekend.
Ai was an iryo-nin who was in training and working at a hospital. She literally worked as much as the other two combined and regularly pulled 24-hour shifts to get real firsthand experience with iryo-jutsu.
"I hate your father," Ai said with malice.
She was an apprentice under Taro''s iryo-nin father, who had recently been promoted to the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin for his skill in iryo-jutsu. Ai started learning under him when he was a chunin, but now she was a tokubetsu jonin''s select few students.
She was getting the best training one could ask for, but it took a lot to become a competent iryo-nin.
"I''ll be sure to tell him," Taro said with a smirk.
"I''ll kill you," she hissed. "The difference between some medicines and poison is in the dosage."
"Make it painless."
Ai scoffed before closing her eyes with a groan that partially sounded like she wanted to cry.
Masaaki returned from his room with a pair of shorts on. He slumped on the recliner opposite the sofa, working grippers in both hands. He truly was only concerned with being a combat shinobi with no other special skills. Most people stressed about narrowing their scope too much, but Masaaki was a single-minded individual who picked a goal and ran toward it without worrying about anything else.
"How was your day?" asked Masaaki.
"I had lunch with some academy classmates today," Taro replied, getting right to the topic he had come to discuss. "You remember Taketori Kameko from basic training?"
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
Ai, Masaaki, and Nenro weren''t from the Hidden Leaf village and were trained at the local academy near their hometowns.
"The mean girl with the fast sword," Masaaki answered after a moment.
Ai opened her eyes and frowned at Taro. "Takuma''s¡ teammate?"
"Yes, her. Apparently, she''s back home, and Takuma returned with her," said Taro.
"What!" Ai immediately sat up, almost hitting Taro in the face with her legs
The sound of something being beaten by a mixer stopped, and Nenro walked into the room while wiping his hands with a hand towel. "How long?" he asked, mimicking Taro''s own thinking when he first heard about Takuma''s return.
"A week."
"Where is he?" asked Masaaki, clenching the hand grippers shut.
"Is he alright? Did he get injured? Is that why he hasn''t reached out?" asked Ai, the worry having snapped her sleepiness away.
"I don''t know," answered Taro. "Kameko told one of our friends that he didn''t have a good time out there, but I don''t know if he''s injured or not," According to Aimi, Kameko didn''t want to talk a lot about her time in the war and combined with her natural reservedness, she didn''t get to know much.
"Where is he staying?" asked Masaaki.
"An inn or hotel? He stopped renting before he left," said Nenro.
"Or he''s living with his teacher." Taro put his guess out. "Maruboshi Kosuke, the old man who stayed with Takuma when he was hospitalised. Does anyone have his number or address? He might know about his whereabouts even if Takuma''s not with him."
Nenro and Masaaki replied simultaneously that they''d find Maruboshi''s address.
"I''ll find the address," Nenro took the responsibility. "I know a few people who might know."
"Why do you think he hasn''t reached out? Even if he didn''t want to meet, he could''ve just informed us that he''s back home," Ai fell back and slumped into the coach as the short burst of energy left her. "And if we should be waiting for him instead of going to him? Maybe there''s a reason he''s taking his time, and we should respect it and give him his time."
Taro had considered that as well. He said, "That''s conjecture. We don''t know why he hasn''t called, and hearing it from his mouth is better than to think of reasons without a basis. We go find him, and if he needs more time, we give it to him¡ªbut I think we should see how he is.".
"How long will it take you to get the address?" Taro asked Nenro.
"I''ll have to make some calls, but I think... by tomorrow afternoon."
"Great, we go as soon as possible."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Maruboshi was worried because over a week had passed, and Takuma hadn''t left the house since his arrival. He was recovering well¡ªhe didn''t shut himself in his room and even took over the dinner cooking duties¡ªa huge positive as Takuma looked burden-free while preparing the food. He took long barefoot walks in the garden, spending at least a couple of hours outside, but he hadn''t shown any desire to wander into the village.
He understood that everyone had their own time of recovery, but Takuma had no contact with anyone except for him. By now, he should''ve called up his friends to inform them that he was back, but when he asked him to call them, Takuma replied he would do it tomorrow but never got to it. It was as though he was avoiding returning to his life before the war.
Maruboshi decided to see if he could pull him out of the home.
"Takuma, I am stepping out for some vegetables. There is a fresh breeze running through the village. Do you want to accompany me?" he asked.
Sitting in the living room and reading the day''s newspaper, Takuma looked up and shook his head.
"I''m fine here. Please go ahead," said Takuma. "I''ll do some cleaning in the meantime." He folded the newspaper and got up to go clean the bathroom.
Maruboshi silently sighed. While it was good that Takuma showed initiative without prompting, he preferred leaving the house and reconnecting with the village. With jute bags tucked under his arm, Maruboshi left the house and was surprised to see a group of people at his front gate as he stepped out the door.
"You are..." Standing before him were Takuma''s friends and former teammates. He recognised them from Takuma''s time in the hospital. He immediately closed the door behind him and walked forward to greet them.
"Hello, sir," said Ai. "We heard that Takuma''s back home, and we''re wondering if..."
"Good afternoon to all of you. Yes, Takuma is back. He is living with me. Do you want to meet him?" Maruboshi smiled because it was more than a pleasant surprise that Takuma''s friends had come to his door.
The teenagers exchanged looks with each other.
"Yes, but we aren''t sure if we''re inconveniencing him. As long as he''s fine, we can always come when he''s ready to meet us," said Ai.
"No, no, you children are more than welcome to meet him," Maruboshi dismissed that opinion. He wanted Takuma to reconnect, and his friends coming to his doorstep was the best way to start it. "Truthfully, Takuma has had some difficult days since his return," their faces immediately fell, so he continued quickly, "but he is doing considerably well. I am worried because he has not left the house since his return, and I believe that meeting with all of you will be tremendously good for him... You have done the right thing by coming here."
He invited them inside and called for Takuma from the entrance hall without revealing the surprise.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma rolled up his sleeves, put on rubber cleaning gloves, and was about to start cleaning the bathroom and the bathtub when he heard Maruboshi call for him. It sounded like he was at the front door. His ears twitched, and he picked up the other sounds.
He wasn''t paying attention, but it sounded like there was someone with Maruboshi. He heard someone offering the customary apology for disturbing them. He wondered if it was one of the neighbours. Unlike his previous neighbourhood, the neighbours in Maruboshi were well-acquainted with each other. In his former place, the doorbell only rang once a month when the landlord came to collect rent.
"Coming!" he announced as he removed the gloves and stepped out.
He could already tell there were multiple people with Maruboshi just from the sounds. He reached the end of the hallway and reached the entrance hall, only to be frozen in his place when he saw his friends. He was stupefied, and his wide eyes jumped from person to person as the freeze response of his body kicked in.
"Hello, Takuma," Ai spoke first and tried to hide her worry in her smile, but her hands joined in front of her chest. The way she stepped forward the moment she saw him, everything about her body language, it all betrayed her thoroughly.
In response, Takuma turned his back to them. It was incredibly insulting, but Takuma wasn''t concerned with his manners at the moment. He didn''t want to see his friends¡ªto be more precise, he didn''t want his friends to see him. He was perfectly cognisant of his behaviour for the past week. He hadn''t missed Maruboshi''s subtle attempts to get him to step out of the house, but he felt safe in the four walls of the house that separated him from the outside world.
He knew he was being weak and pathetic¡ªbut he didn''t want his friends to see him in this state, which was why he hadn''t told anyone that he had returned or where he lived. Staying inside guaranteed he wouldn''t run into anyone he knew because he genuinely didn''t want anyone to see him as he was.
He closed his eyes as his heart began to beat faster. He racked his brain about how to deal with the situation now that his friends were there. He hastily formulated how to react and respond, wiped his eyes with his shirt, and put a smile on that felt torturous to face his friends.
He turned only to see Masaaki clear the entrance hall to reach him.
"Hey, Masaaki¡ª" Takuma tried to sound upbeat but was cut off when Masaaki hugged him without saying a word. Masaaki was shorter but much bigger than him, and Takuma felt enveloped in his embrace. "It''s nice to see you, buddy¡ª"
"It''s okay," said Masaaki, again cutting him off. "You''re my friend. You don''t have to pretend, just be you... I¡ªnone of us will judge, so it''s okay if you don''t want to smile; you never did it much before anyway. If you don''t want to talk, that''s also fine; we can just spar."
Takuma wasn''t going to let his smile fall and was about to convince him that everything was fine, but when he heard that they could spar instead of talking, a massive wave of comfort and warmth spread through his body. His mind, which had been slow and heavy, felt lighter than ever before.
All his thoughts and the empty words he was about to utter disappeared, and just like that, he didn''t feel like saying anything.
He was weak and pathetic¡ªbut he also was being stupid.
There was never a need to say anything.
He slowly raised his hands and patted Masaaki on the back.
"Got it," he said as the smile disappeared.
Even though he didn''t want to smile and laugh, he realised he didn''t need four walls to feel safe. He had no reason to worry because there were people who cared for him, and he could lean on them for support when he needed it.
CH_8.12 (277)
Takuma gazed at his washed and ironed Police Force uniform he hadn''t worn in a year¡ªthe last time being in it was before the assassination attempt. Beside it sat his standard Leaf uniform. His first outing in the town the day before had been with his friends for lunch, and afterwards, they stopped by several places, including the storage unit with all of Takuma''s belongings, to retrieve his clothes.
"Are you going out, young Takuma?"
He turned around to see Maruboshi standing at his door, looking at him and the two sets of clothes.
"Yes... I went to the bank yesterday because my standard pay for the last ten months hasn''t been deposited," Takuma sighed. "I have a month left on my Police Force contract, so I''m technically still employed there, and they handle my salaries. I need this sorted out before I start looking for an apartment without worrying about money."
Maruboshi entered the room and stood beside him. "And you''re confused about what to wear?" he asked as they stared at the two sets of uniforms on the floor.
"I don''t want to work in the Police Force anymore," said Takuma. His animosity and anger against the Police Force had long since subsided; after what he had gone through. However, that didn''t mean all was forgiven; they had taken away something he had built from the ground up. "But at the same time, I wonder if I should renew my contract with them. I''ll have a higher pay, and while I¡¯m there, I''ll just coast with the bare minimum work while preparing for the next Chunin Exam."
The Chunin Exam was a bi-annual event; the last one ended last month and he had enough time for preparation and was thinking about asking Masaaki and Nenro to make a team with him for the next exam in less than six months. As the minimum length of service, the one-year contract at the Police Force was a safety net for his resume if he failed his first Chunin Exam and didn''t want a one-year gap in the Genin Corps.
"Any advice?" he asked. Choosing his uniform was his way of locking in his decision. The standard uniform signified separation, while the police force uniform meant using them as a safety net.
"Both choices have merit, but I suggest you go through with what makes you happy. It may feel as though there are several things more important than your happiness, but the truth is that you¡¯ll not regret anything as much as forsaking your own wishes," said Maruboshi. "Ask yourself this: does this bridge need to be burned, or does it need to be rebuilt?"
Maruboshi patted his shoulder and left the room for Takuma to decide.
Takuma gazed at his two uniforms and thought about Maruboshi''s words, which brought up the faces of the team he had hand-picked himself. He had been angry when the Narcotics Taskforce was taken away and avoided his team during a period where a few words from him would have helped them a lot.
He didn''t regret his actions, but they deserved better from their leader. Perhaps it was too late, but he had to try it. In the end, he chose the option where he would be happy while deciding to rebuild the bridge.So, after a long look at his standard uniform, Takuma picked up the Police Force uniform for one last time.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Uchiha Kano was a senior officer in the Police Force''s Department of Organised Crime and had great taste in fashion. The red-tinted shades that she never removed to obscure her Sharingan gave her a distinguished look, which she paired with kunai-shaped earrings and a choker to round out the outfit.
It was a regular day for her in her office and she spent the hours going through case files to narrow the suspect list. Kano looked into the bullpen at the two desks reserved for the two junior officers assigned to her. The desks were empty; undoubtedly, her two subordinates were near the water cooler gossiping again.
She shook her head and returned to her file, only to catch a figure walking to one of the desks. Thinking it was one of her subordinates, Kano looked up to call out to them, only to see it was someone else entirely. He was gazing at the desk with his hands in his pocket and even leaned down to look at the things on the desk.
The man had long hair tied in a short ponytail with loose hair framing his face and wore the uniform cap, obscuring her view of his face.
"Hey!" she called. "Can I help you?"
The man straightened and turned to her face, and Kano was surprised because even though his face was gaunt and there was a scar on the edge of his lips, she could recognise those uniquely tired eyes anywhere.
They had been like that since the first day she met him.
"Takuma?"
"It''s been a while, hasn''t it," Takuma said casually as he walked into the office. "I see you have new subordinates. May I sit?"
"Of course. When did you return?" she asked.
"Last week. I was sent home early," Takuma said as he sat down. "I heard that the ANBU took over my case from the Police Force."
The assassination attempt on Takuma had been seen as a slight against the Police Force, and they had been adamant about finding who it was until the trail went cold. They could''ve gained instant progress if they hadn''t been stubborn about solving the case in-house and refused to share information with ANBU, who instantly recognised the blacksmith''s touchmark.
Kano felt embarrassed because she was the lead officer on the case. The case started back up when they received a package through the war commission with another dagger bearing the same touchmark¡ªand this time, ANBU came with it as the war commission had chosen to contact them before coming to the Police Force. It was revealed that ROOT was behind the assassination, and it automatically became ANBU jurisdiction.
"I managed to make more progress on the case while fighting a war behind enemy lines," said Takuma. His tone was flat, but Kano could tell he wasn''t pleased.
"I wanted to get our liaison with the ANBU to take a look, but I wasn¡¯t allowed to share anything with anyone outside the force," Kano sighed.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"Useless pride," Takuma said, and it was true. Pride and politics interfered with things where they didn''t belong. The case would''ve gone to ANBU regardless, but at least there would''ve been some progress. He continued, "Give me the case files, Kano."
"There''s not much¡ª"
"I don''t care. I want any and all work that you guys did."
Kano wasn''t allowed to give him the case file; they both knew it, and he still asked, which meant he wanted them anyway. She nodded and unlocked the cabinet behind her to take out a copy of the case file she had kept after ANBU took everything away.
She knew this wasn''t against the rules, but technically, Takuma was still part of the Department of Organised Crime, and she could share certain material with her ''peers''.
"I am sorry that I couldn''t make any progress," she said, sliding the file toward Takuma. ¡°Truly.¡±
"I don''t blame you," he said with a sigh as he glanced inside the file. "This place is the real problem."
Kano''s eyes narrowed behind her shades. She was part of the so-called place that Takuma called a problem. It was built by her clan and was one of the symbols of their prestige and power; saying that it was a problem was an affront to her clan. But she didn''t say anything because she recognised that Takuma wasn''t pleased with the Police Force and how they handled his position and case.
She switched the topic. "How was it out there?" she asked.
"Terrible." Takuma stood up, surprising Kano. "I want to stay and chat, but I have a lot to do, and I''m sure you do as well. I''ll just pop in to meet with the team before I meet Setsuna. Let''s chat some other day."
Kano was taken aback and shook her head bitterly. It couldn''t have been clearer that he was upset with her. He had only come to her for the files, and was leaving after he got what he wanted, wasting no time playing nice.
"Of course," she replied, standing up to see him out. "One thing, the team has moved. You won''t find it in the old place." She gave him the directions to the Narcotics Taskforce''s new location inside the headquarters.
Takuma had a peculiar look, and she knew why. The new location was bigger because the taskforce had grown in size, and she guessed that it was a complicated feeling that the team he had built on his own had grown in his absence, especially when he was unwillingly removed.
As Takuma left, Kano thought if she should call ahead to tell them that Takuma was coming just in case something happened, but decided that she wanted no part of the drama and left Yakumi, the new head of the Narcotics Taskforce and her former boss, to deal with it on his own.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The Narcotics Taskforce''s new office space was massive. The team had added new members, causing it to grow twice in size since Takuma was forced to vacate his position. He recognised the first people he saw in the bullpen from other departments and teams, and his first thought was that he would''ve not added them to the team if he had been in charge.
"Hello, do you want something?" asked a man. He was a Uchiha who had unlocked his Sharingan, which surprised Takuma because he had only managed to get one Uchiha on his team, and he hadn''t even unlocked his clan''s eyes until the farm raid.
"I''m here to meet Fuma Arisu. Could you call her, please?" said Takuma.
"May I ask what this is about? She''s busy right now. If it''s not urgent, you can leave a message with me, and I''ll give it to her when she''s free."
"... I''d prefer if you called her now. Please tell her that Takuma is here," he replied. He had complicated feelings about seeing the Narcotics Taskforce''s growth, but he was pleased to see someone fielding people for Arisu; it meant that she had enough on her plate that she couldn¡¯t meet people randomly, and her team members understood it.
"Takuma?" said the Uchiha, his brows rising in surprise. "You¡¯re Takuma?"
"That''s my name," Takuma nodded with a smile. "Would you please go inform her?"
"Ah, yes! Please wait a moment." The Uchiha quickly walked away and whispered something to another man on his way, who looked at Takuma in surprise.
Takuma didn''t notice the interaction and gazed around the new space. In the old space, there were only three rooms. Takuma used one as his office, the other as a filing room, and the final was turned into a break room. The bullpen was also small and barely spacious enough to fit the team at the start, never mind the current number.
The new bullpen was tremendous with actual space to walk comfortably. Takuma found a spacious break room and other rooms labelled as [Evidence Locker] and [Archive], which used to be just the same filing room, among a couple more doors.
He was impressed and envious. The team was naturally getting more funding now when he couldn''t even schedule a meeting about more money in his time.
"Takuma?"
Takuma responded to his name and turned to see Minoru, the Narcotic Taskforce''s prized sensory-nin. There were big mainline departments that didn''t have a sensory-nin. A lot of credit went to Arisu for recruiting him, but he was still proud that they had managed to get him on the team.
"Long time no see," Takuma said as they hugged briefly. "How are you, my friend?"
"You¡¯re really back¡" Minoru said, looking spaced-out.
"I''m back from the war, yes," said Takuma and shook his head somberly.
Minoru read between the lines, and his smile dropped when he realised that Takuma meant he wasn''t planning to return to the Narcotics Taskforce. "I-I see," he looked disappointed. "Are you sure? Won''t you reconsider? Look at this place; we are bigger now and can actually do everything you used to talk about."
Takuma shook his head. "Sorry, buddy. I don''t think it''s going to happen."
Even if he wanted to return, which he did not, he had ended his cooperation with Enomoto; trying to rebuild it would send the message that he needed Enomoto, which would give the latter power over him. Going back to targeting drug trades without that connection would put him at risk of being exposed through mutually-assured destruction. Moreover, his team would notice he wasn''t as effective as he used to be, which would be a problem in itself.
Minoru looked sad but nodded regardless.
"How''s everyone?" asked Takuma as he patted Minoru''s arm. "I hope the team is still doing good work."
"Things have changed. We have to be more organised because of our size, and Chunin Yakumi has a different way of doing things," Minoru said.
Takuma nodded. "I figured."
He noticed how Minoru was careful not to praise how things were done so as not to upset him. During Takuma''s time, the team had been small enough to afford flexibility, but organisation and structure were required as the size grew, something they weren¡¯t exactly good at and adding more people came at the cost of flexibility. The Narcotics Taskforce had moved from a "new startup" stage to an "established company" stage.
Takuma looked past Minoru and saw people in the office gazing at him. "What''s up with that?" he asked.
Minoru looked back. "Ah, you¡¯ve developed a reputation," he smiled. "People know you as the outsider genin who established a sub-department that regularly outperformed others of bigger size, and then you went to fight in the war, which further bumped up your reputation."
"That''s nice, I guess," Takuma said as he glanced at the watchers.
"It is. The people who come from outside the clan want to join the team, but because we¡¯re part of Organised Crime, no one can get it," said Minoru. The Department of Organised Crime was one of the most sought-after departments, but people had to pay their dues before applying for the limited number of openings. The higher-ups wouldn''t allow new joiners to start there immediately. Takuma started directly in Organised Crime because the higher-ups wanted to promote the new external hiring, but that seemed to be a one-time thing. "You¡¯ve become an inspiration and goal for non-Uchiha and the affiliated clans."
"Yeah... I heard they''re using me as marketing material," said Takuma, unable to decide how he felt about that.
"Finally, you show your face!"
His musings vanished when he heard the voice he¡¯d desperately missed for almost a year. He turned to face Arisu stomping her way through the office. She was the person he had spent most of his time before he was deployed and his partner with whom he had built the Narcotics Taskforce¡ªhis first ally and one of his few close friends.
"Hey... long time no see."
"Fuck off!"
If he could smile, he would''ve grinned.
CH_8.13 (278)
"Fuck off!"
The members of the Narcotics Taskforce were surprised to see the second-in-command hurl profanities from across the room. Arisu was not one to raise her voice in anger and handled matters with a level head, so seeing her act out of character was a surprise.
Takuma didn''t mind the reception at all. He was just happy to see her after such a long time and took the sight of her in¡ªeven as she stomped across the room. He had never said it to her, but handling Enomoto while running the Narcotics Taskforce was stressful, and she had been his rock throughout it all.
"You came too soon. You should''ve waited at least another month before showing your face," Arisu said, her face taut with anger and her arms crossed tight.
Apparently, Kameko was so popular that the entire village knew he was back.
"Is it too hard to call or message, you asshat!"
Takuma merely hugged her, which surprised her enough to stop the tirade. Everyone in the office was looking at them, and she was technically their superior officer with an image to maintain but he didn''t care.
"Stop it!" she said in a mixture of whispering and hissing.
"I''m sorry," Takuma released her, and she sighed her anger away under his gaze.
"About?"
"Not reaching out to you sooner."
"Good. How are you?" she asked.
Takuma shrugged. He was open to sharing with her, but not now at the headquarters. "Are you free for lunch? We can talk over a meal. I''d like to catch up as well," he said.
"Absolutely!" she smiled and, like a burst of sunshine, the anger on her face dissipated in an instant.
He was glad to see her so excited and responsive because he doubted whether the vibe between them would be awkward because of how they had left things before he had left. Their letters had skirted around the topic of their kiss and he didn''t want to compromise his friendship with Arisu over it, nor could he pursue a relationship in his current state.
Takuma wasn''t sure when that would change either.
"I see you''re back."
He turned to see Uchiha Yakumi walking over. Yakumi used to be Kano''s senior and was technically in charge of Takuma''s development when he was a new rookie, but had dumped him on his subordinate instead. He was also the one to replace him at the Narcotics Taskforce, and because of that, Takuma didn''t like the man one bit.
"Chunin Yakumi," he nodded.
"I''m glad to see that you''re safe," said Yakumi as they shook hands.
"I must say, I''m impressed and happy with what you''ve done here. It looks unrecognisable¡ but in a good way," Takuma doled out praise while the members of the Narcotics Task Force watched on nervously. No matter his personal feelings, this was a place of work for people he cared about like Arisu and Minoru, and he didn''t want to put them in an awkward position.
Like his teacher said, it was better to rebuild a broken bridge instead of burning it down.
Yakumi seemed to understand this motive and smiled, "I just expanded on the foundation you left and I can''t take all the credit; it was a team effort. I depended greatly on Arisu while I had just taken over the command."
''But you''re getting the credit regardless,'' Takuma thought.
He had done the foundation-level work, prepared all the material, and trained labour, only for Yakumi to come in and build a magnificent skyscraper and call it his own.
"If you don''t mind, may the three of us talk privately?" he addressed Minoru before turning to Arisu and Yakumi with a nod. "If you don''t mind, of course, Chunin Yakumi?"
"I''ll get back to work," said Minoru, patting Takuma''s shoulder. "Let''s catch up some time, yeah?"
Takuma nodded before turning to Yakumi.
"Let''s use my office," he replied.
The trio went into Yakumi''s office, which was twice as big as Takuma''s when he was in charge. It resembled Yakumi''s old office in feel, but there were upgrades in terms of decor that indicated heading the Narcotics Taskforce had undoubtedly been a promotion for him.
"What do you want to talk about?" asked Yakumi after they sat down. Takuma and Arisu sat opposite him on his desk. "Would you like some tea? I can have someone bring it down if you''re in the mood."
"No, nothing. I''m hoping this will be short, and I expect your cooperation in this matter," said Takuma, switching out politeness for bluntness. "I have a month remaining in my contract with the Police Force, and I''m not going to renew it."
That elicited a response from Arisu. She didn''t seem to like his decision but didn''t say anything. Yakumi remained passive, reserving his reactions until after Takuma was done.
"As far as I''m aware, I''m still part of the Narcotics Taskforce, but I do not want to work here and let me be clear: when I say here, I mean the Police Force as a whole. So, I''m requesting that you give me paid leave until the end of my contract, and I''ll be out of your hair¡ªwhich I''m sure you''ll appreciate."
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
There was no way Yakumi wanted Takuma hanging around because even if he was the leader, Takuma still had considerable influence over the team as its founder. Takuma knew he wouldn''t be able to replicate his output from before, but Yakumi wasn''t, and in his eyes, it would be a bad look for him if a performance boost occurred the same month Takuma returned.
Arisu looked like she wanted to interject and say something, but Takuma raised his hand to stop her. Regardless of what she said, he wouldn''t change his decision.
"How about it?"
Yakumi gazed at Takuma in thought for a few moments. "If that''s what you wish, then I''ll comply. You have just returned from war, proudly representing our nation and helping our ally¡ªa month off work is the least you deserve. I''ll take care of everything, so consider it done."
"Excellent. Thank you," Takuma said and stood up. "It was great meeting with you; I''ll leave you to your work now."
"Of course, please don''t hesitate to reach out if you need anything."
Both men shook hands, and Takuma left the office in less than five minutes. He was pleased it had gone so smoothly; now, he didn''t have to work to cash in his pay cheque. He had also inquired about his deferred salary transfer, and they hadn''t changed his pay grade after his demotion, so he would get paid the extra bit he had negotiated for when the Narcotics Taskforce was still picking up steam.
"You were hasty back there," said Arisu, displeased. "We could''ve worked together like before. You built this place; don''t you want to see it grow? This place needs you."
His smile was complicated. "Believe me, Arisu, I''d love to work with you, but I can''t stay here¡ not after everything that''s happened."
She closed her eyes with a sigh of disappointment. "I understand," she said, "but you know..."
"Yeah, I know," he nodded as he rubbed her shoulder. "Listen, I have a meeting with Chunin Setsuna, so I''ll be done by break time. I''ll pick you up then and we''ll go out to eat, okay?"
"...I''m looking forward to it," said Arisu, giving him a sad smile.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The final stop at the headquarters was the man responsible for placing Takuma in the Department of Organised Crime, which opened a path for him to progress as much as he did.
"Would you consider extending your contract?" said Uchiha Setsuna. The man was in charge of the General Induction Program responsible for pushing the Leaf Military Police Force into a new era beyond the Uchiha clan.
It wouldn''t be an understatement to say that he was responsible for opening up the Police Force to the village at large.
"I considered it," Takuma responded with his prepared statement, "and concluded that it''s time for me to move on. I enjoyed the work, but I feel it''s time to start a new chapter of my life"¡ªand that chapter wasn''t going to be in the Police Force.
"You''ve barely returned home; perhaps you should take a while before making such a big decision."
"Thank you for caring, but I''ve thought about it over and it feels right," Takuma said.
Honestly, he wanted to stay but he couldn''t work at an institution that placed pride above the welfare of its own employees but he understood why Setsuna was trying to get him to stay.
The General Induction Program was Setsuna''s creation and Takuma was its highly successful poster boy. If the applicants find out the person being paraded before they had left the Police Force, that would have a definite negative impact.
Even if it was only for token purposes, Setsuna wanted Takuma to stay.
"Do you have anything lined up for you?"
"Not at the moment. I''m planning to attend the coming Chunin Exams. I believe it''s time," said Takuma.
He was talking to Setsuna about getting a recommendation letter. In his grief, he had forgotten to get a letter from one of the Camp Banana jonin, but perhaps that was for the better¡ªhe had received backlash from the bomb blast, after all. Time would soften their dissatisfaction, increasing his chances of getting a recommendation letter.
He would also ask for letters from Iruka, Yakumi, and Anko when she returned home.
"...Will you stay if you get promoted internally?" said Setsuna.
Takuma looked at the Uchiha with faint displeasure. "Sir, please don''t make promises you can''t keep and don''t say things you don''t mean."
There were a few different ways to get a Chunin rank promotion.
By participating in the Chunin Exams, the genin declared they were ready for a chunin rank promotion. The promotion committee would then look at the genin''s resume and achievements along with their performance in the exam to judge if the genin was worthy of a promotion.
The second method was earning a field promotion, which happened when a genin raked up enough achievements and showcased they were capable of a leadership position. The process skipped Chunin Exams, but if the genin had participated prior, the performance was into consideration. Generally, a chunin or jonin who had worked with genin recommended them to the promotion committee.
The third method involved jonin who held the power to promote a genin. Each jonin had an annual chunin promotion slot. They could promote one genin every year, essentially no questions asked. There were some things that needed to be considered, and jonin were expected to make half-decent decisions on their choice of genin as bad or unready candidates could damage their reputation. Jonin teachers weren''t allowed to use their promotion slows on their students while the team was active¡ªwhich was a minimum of four years.
Finally, there were Division/Department promotion slots. Organisations like the Police Force, T&I, shinobi hospitals, and essentially, any shinobi institution had a number of promotion slots depending on their size and importance. Their leadership had complete control and discretion on who in their organisation deserved the promotion.
"But what if I can?" asked Setsuna.
"You can''t possibly guarantee that."
"If I can get you a rank promotion... will you stay?"
Takuma stared at the man who had just made the proposition he had been fishing for the entire time he''d been running the Narcotics Taskforce. He had gone to war for a rank promotion, which he was sure would raise his chances when he declared himself for the Chunin Exam and personally thought he had done enough for a field promotion, but that type of recommendation was different from a simple recommendation letter. The decision-makers hadn''t worked with him, which reduced his chances. He needed to showcase himself in the Chunin Exam to get the eyes on him.
"It''s not enough," said Takuma. "I want something else."
Setsuna leaned forward. "What is it?"
"I don''t want to work in the Narcotics Taskforce or the Department of Organised Crime," Takuma put forth a demand off the top of his head. "I want my choice of assignments, which might very well be working directly under a jonin department head or establishing a new team like I did if there''s a reasonable opportunity. I want a massive pay bump¡ I want access to advanced training and jutsu archives and, most importantly, I want a B-rank ninjutsu!"
He thought Setsuna would call him crazy when he talked about running a team, and he was sure he would shut him down when he asked for a B-rank jutsu but he''d followed the simple negotiation tactic of over demanding. By the time they found common ground, he would receive approximately what he wanted all along...
"I can work with that," said Setsuna.
"What?"
"Give me till the end of your contract. If I''m successful, I''ll have something for you by then."
Takuma looked at the man, unable to hide his surprise. Earlier this morning, he had entered the headquarters intending to get his money and rebuild bridges to successfully put the Police Force behind him.
Now, he somehow managed to sit before a man who could get him a rank promotion, completely flipping the day on its head.
CH_8.14 (279)
Around one o''clock in the afternoon, Maruboshi was washing dishes when his front doorbell rang. He wondered if Takuma had returned from visiting the Police Force headquarters and hoped everything had gone well. The timing made him think that perhaps his plans to have lunch with his friend had fallen through, and he had returned early but when he opened the door, he found no one at the door.
When he turned around, however, he saw a cloaked and masked ANBU-nin standing before him, nearly stopping his heart
"Genin Maruboshi Kosuke," said the ANBU-nin.
"...That is me, yes. May I ask what business an ANBU-nin has with me?" he asked. It was not every day that one encountered an ANBU-nin, and it was seldom a good thing if one showed up at one''s house.
"I would like to meet Genin Takuma. I''m told that he''s currently residing with you."
"Yes, he is living with me. Unfortunately, he''s not in at the moment," he said.
Many possible reasons flashed through his mind, including the letter to Uchiha Mikoto but then he also remembered that Takuma had told him he had interacted with a pair of ANBU-nin prior to returning from the war.
Maruboshi had decided not to pursue the matter, but it still concerned him.
"I see... Then can you perhaps pass this on to him?" The ANBU-nin retrieved a scroll from his cloak. The scroll was sealed with fuinjutsu and had the official seal of the ANBU department stamped on the front.
"And this is?" he asked.
"All relevant information is in the scroll. He''ll understand when he reads its contents," said the ANBU-nin. "I shouldn''t need to say it but do not open the scroll. The contents of the scroll are for his eyes only."
"Of course," said Maruboshi.
The ANBU-nin nodded and disappeared, leaving Maruboshi with a sealed scroll for Takuma.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Wow, this place, huh?" said Arisu as they sat in a familiar diner.
"Well, it''s been a while for me," said Takuma. He took Arisu to the diner they frequented when they still worked under Kano. After they started the Narcotics Taskforce, they had no time for consistent breaks, and when things settled down, they started ordering the team''s lunch directly to the office. "What about you?"
"I''ve been here a couple of times here and there, but it''s good to be back here with you," she smiled.
"So, the usual?" he asked. They ordered the same meals every day because it took away one choice among dozens they had to make in their day.
"The usual," she said and ordered for both of them.
"I remember we used to pay for our own stuff every day, but then we got a weekly tab and started paying it alternatively," said Takuma. "And you owe me money because your food costs more than mine."
"And I wouldn''t change a thing," Arisu laughed. "So tell me, what''s your plan? I''m sure you''re going for the Chunin Exams, right?"
"That''s on the docket. Wanna join me?" Takuma asked. He planned to ask Nenro and Masaaki, but if she said yes, he would take the exam with her because, as much as he loved the boys, he worked perfectly with Arisu because of their history and he would choose her over any other genin in the nation.
Arisu shook her head. "Not this time. My first attempt will be the exam after the coming one. I don''t think I''m ready yet, but I think I''ll be ready to start participating in the next one. Of course, I''ll be happier if I get promoted internally, but you know how that is."
Takuma rapped his fingers on the table and gazed at Arisu.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"I met with Setsuna and well... he said he might be able to get me promoted internally."
"Seriously?" Arisu asked as a glimmer of excitement shimmered in her eyes. "That''s great, Takuma! That means you''re staying in the Police Force. Oh my god, this is the best possible outcome!"
"Before you get too excited, it''s not guaranteed and I don''t think Setsuna will be able to pull it off."
"Why so negative?"
"It''s called being realistic," said Takuma. "If the Police Force wanted to promote me, Setsuna would''ve guaranteed it yesterday and served me a five-year contract for me to sign with a golden pen. The fact that he''s asked me to wait until the end of my contract and not sooner says that he will be campaigning for my promotion. I think he''ll come back with a promise of a promotion a couple of years down the line along with some benefits to soothe the burn."
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Perhaps he was being pessimistic, but he would rather set lower expectations and overachieve than the opposite. When he started the Narcotics Taskforce, he truly believed that he could take it all the way to the top, but in mere months, that foolish dream had been beaten down by office politics. The more success he achieved, the more eyes coveted his efforts and because he was growing his crop on borrowed land, he had limited power from the start.
"It''s no use thinking about it until Setsuna delivers on his promise," said Takuma. "Let''s change the subject. When do you think you''re free? This is not enough time to catch up. Let''s train together. We can talk more and spar. I''m thinking about getting back into a routine."
Arisu didn''t look like she wanted to change the topic but sighed. "Sure, let''s train. Maybe once a week, but I can''t commit to a specific day," she said quickly when Takuma perked up. "On the topic of catch-up, there''s a class gathering on Saturday. You''ve never come to them, so you''ll come to this one¡ªI''ll drag you if I have to."
"Should I come? I mean, I''ve never been to one. I don''t want it to be weird," said Takuma.
Before he had started working with Arisu, he had never actually been invited¡ªto be fair, they were informal events open to the entire class, but he was never informed of the time and date because he wasn''t connected to the class. There was Taro, but he barely cared about the gatherings and didn''t bring them up during their conversations. Arisu did inform him about the gatherings, but they were held on weekends, and he was busy with primetime Ring fights. Then, the Narcotics Taskforce came along and he was literally too busy to make time for it.
"It''s not going to be weird but if it becomes too much the two of us can just grab a corner and chat the entire time," Arisu smiled.
"That sounds nice," said Takuma after a moment of thought. "So what''s the occasion?"
"A celebration. Inuzuka Hana got promoted to chunin¡ªshe''s the third one from our batch," said Arisu.
"Who else made it?"
"Take a guess."
Takuma thought about it, but it was difficult to make an educated guess when he had no idea where his classmates were in their careers. He narrowed it down to the people who passed the jonin''s team test. He thought about it more, and the memory of a poorly executed B-rank fire release ninjutsu came to mind.
"Okubo Momoe," said Takuma. If she could shoddily use a B-rank jutsu before the Narcotics Taskforce existed, then she must have progressed a lot in that time. It had been a few months short of two years since that fight¡ªhe wondered how strong she was right now.
"Correct, the girl genius won the entire thing six months ago," said Arisu.
The Chunin Exam was a bi-annual event, and both the previous exams were conducted during his eleven-month war tour.
"Hana was promoted after the more recent one, though."
"As for the last one," Takuma raised his hands while shrugging. He had no recent data points to base his decision on, so he used the old ones: "I don''t know, Uchiha Izumi, maybe? Am I right?"
Arisu nodded with a smile. Izumi and Arisu were close friends since before the academy as the Uchiha and Fuma were closely allied.
"Two on two," said Takuma. "Did she get it on her first attempt?"
"She did."
"Great for them." He sighed neutrally. "I guess I''ll go to the gathering. I''m assuming Hana is paying for it all?"
"Free food for all."
"Can''t say no to that, then, but don''t blame me for leaving if it''s boring or something."
He would have Arisu with him, but would also get to see Taro and Kameko, so he wouldn''t be alone if he went. As for his other classmates, they were practically strangers, but they''d also seen him at his worst. If any of them were willing, he wouldn''t mind creating and growing a few connections.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After the lunch with Arisu, Takuma left to get a and then sat down in a tea shop to write letters to his acquaintances, informing them that he had safely returned from war. Handwriting all the letters took some time and could''ve been done much quicker if he had made copies of a generic format and filled in names, but he opted for the longer route because nothing else was occupying his time.
Besides, it was more personal too.
It was early evening when he posted the letters and returned to Maruboshi''s home.
"I''m back," he announced as he returned. Maruboshi had given him a key in case he wasn''t home when Takuma returned.
"In the living room," Maruboshi called from within the house. "Please come here. I''ve something to show you."
"I''ll be there in a minute," Takuma said as he entered the bathroom to wash his hands and feet before heading to the living room. There, Maruboshi sat beside a low table with tea that had long since gone cold. Takuma sat on the floor opposite Maruboshi and placed a paper tote bag on the table. "I brought these snacks from a tea shop; please have them."
Maruboshi nodded. He had a slight furrow between his brows, and his lips were lightly pressed into a line. Takuma noticed that his posture and shoulders were stiff.
"You look tense. What is it?" asked Takuma.
Maruboshi took a deep breath and placed the sealed scroll on the table. "This came for you. Do you recognise the symbol on the scroll?" he asked.
"For me?" Takuma was confused.
Only a few people knew that he was living with his teacher and he didn''t think they would send him anything when he had met all of them in the past three days. He picked up the scroll and turned it around to see the symbol. He recognised it because he had seen it just in the last month.
It was tattooed on the arms of both ANBU-nin he had met in Yu.
"ANBU?" He looked up at Maruboshi.
"An ANBU-nin delivered it today with instructions for you to read it," said Marubsohi.
"What is it? Did they say anything?"
Maruboshi shook his head. "He said that all necessary information is inside... Should I give you some space?"
"No, no, it''s okay; please stay," Takuma said as he gazed intensely at the scroll.
He had no idea what could be inside it. Was it from the ANBU duo from Yu? Was the scroll additional information on Kon? He doubted it because their deal had been fulfilled and he basically extorted the information from them too. There was no reason for the duo to send him more information and he was sure they weren''t feeling particularly generous towards him.
"Do you think it''s from the pair you met?" asked Maruboshi.
"That seems to be the most likely and unlikely option." Takuma took a deep breath and injected a burst of chakra to burn through the sealed outer layer of paper and unfurled the scroll.
A long silence hung over the room during which Takuma read the scroll with little change in expression, and Maruboshi observed those changes to identify the possible contents and sentiment of the scroll.
After a few minutes, Takuma reached the scroll''s end and took a deep breath as he put it down. He stared at Maruboshi for a few seconds until he said,
"They''re trying to recruit me..."
"The ANBU?" Maruboshi''s brows rose.
"Yes," Takuma nodded slowly, stunned by what he had just read. "There will be multiple rounds of interviews and testing, but if I pass through the process and they deem me worthy... I''ll join them as a chunin."
CH_8.15 (280)
The location of the Leaf Village''s ANBU headquarters wasn''t a secret. It was common knowledge that the headquarters was inside Hokage Mountain. A single path carved into the mountain led to the entrance, which was restricted through several security checkpoints manned by regular shinobi.
Takuma walked that path and passed through all the checkpoints. The seal drawn inside the recruitment scroll served as his security pass but he was extremely nervous as he passed several signs bolted into the thick metal warning people that unlawful entry could result in death. He was given no time to prepare for his first interview. It was scheduled the very next day after he had received the scroll. This barely gave him the time to update and modify his resume to appeal to the ANBU but the problem was that he didn''t know what they were looking for. It also wasn''t like he could ask someone for advice on the matter.
Beyond the entrance lay a sizable front lobby area with a single reception desk and two receptionists sitting behind a long desk. They were dressed in the standard Leaf uniform like him, which was a surprise, but it made sense that not everyone in ANBU would be masked operatives.
The hall was shaped like a dome and lined with a thick layer of metal for structural integrity and fortification. It was spacious and clean, giving it a sanitary look, but the illumination was on the warmer side, projecting some light into the space.
Two more regular shinobi guards stationed inside the headquarters flanked him as he approached the reception desk.
"How may I help you?" asked a middle-aged kunoichi with a tight bun wrapped with a mesh cloth.
"I am here for my interview," Takuma said and presented his recruitment scroll as instructed within the scroll.
The kunoichi handled the scroll as though she had seen several of them and unfurled it to a point with a fuinjutsu seal. She weaved hand seals and pressed her thumb in the middle of the seal for the ink to reassemble into a pattern.
"I have confirmed the authenticity of the scroll." She smiled and returned it to him before reaching underneath the table to retrieve a tray. "Please deposit all of your weapons and belongings in here. You can collect them when you exit."
"I don''t feel comfortable parting with my weapons," said Takuma. He had vowed not to leave home without the necessary weapons after the assassination attempt.
"Genin Takuma, you are a shinobi. We are taking your weapons away, not your ability to protect yourself," the receptionist said in an assuring manner. "I''m afraid there''ll be no exception. If you don''t wish to submit your weapons, you''re free to leave, and we will consider our recruitment offer rejected."
Takuma bit the inside of his cheek and stared at the uncompromising receptionist before relenting with a sigh. He unbuckled his utility belt and weapons pouches and set them inside the trays.
"Please allow the guards to check you," said the receptionist.
The guards patted him down, and Takuma wasn''t embarrassed when they found a tiny dagger and a few rolled-up explosive tags hidden on his body.
The kunoichi asked him to follow her and looked completely unbothered by his attempt to hide weaponry. They entered a circular staircase with multiple exit points on each floor. Takuma looked down into the well; it was deep enough that he would fracture a bone if he tried jumping. He looked up, and noticed there were fewer floors above than below.
"May I ask a question?" Takuma said as he observed the kunoichi.
"Please do, but I might not be able to answer the question."
"How did you end up working at ANBU?" he asked. Takuma noticed a weapon pouch with an open flap hanging from her waist.
"I was recruited for the position just like you''re being recruited for your position," the kunoichi replied.
Their voices echoed in the staircase.
He couldn''t take the pouch off her, and if he tried to pick something, the sound of metal would get him caught. He glanced at the railing along the stairs and felt the metal beneath the white paint.
"Oh. Any advice?"
"I don''t know if my experience will help you, but if I have to say something, I''d say: be true to yourself. Let them know exactly what they''re getting; if they like what they see, they''ll take you. The work done here is of the utmost importance, which is why they need people who fit the bill. Presenting a false version of yourself will only get you in trouble when they find the real you."
Takuma charged his ring finger with a sliver of chakra and then flicked the metal railing. The metal sang like an instrument, filling the stairwell with a metallic, semi-melodious trill.
The kunoichi stopped and looked back at him in surprise.
"Sorry about that. Impulsive thoughts won," Takuma put on an apologetic and embarrassed look. "It''s good advice, though. I''ll be sure to follow it."
The kunoichi gazed at him for a moment before turning around with a sigh.
Takuma followed her down the stairs but couldn''t help but be disappointed because he had only managed to steal a few senbon, a smoke bomb, and a small loop of metal wire. The smoke bomb was useful, but he didn''t like senbon much and usually didn''t carry metal wire, though anything was better than nothing.
They got off the stairs, and the receptionist stopped at a large, heavy-duty yellow door with a rectangular cutout of frosted glass.
"They''re waiting for you," the kunoichi said.
Takuma stepped into an empty workspace. The floor was at least four times the size of the Narcotics Taskforce''s new space. One half was converted into rooms and offices, while the other half was an open workspace. The walls and ceiling were white, with every light on the floor switched on.
Two masked ANBU-nin sat behind a desk in the middle of the floor and that desk and the accompanying chairs were the only pieces of furniture on the entire floor. One of the agents was a large man so jacked that it felt like his muscles wanted to pop out of his skin; he wore a boar mask with black and red markings. The other one was a brunette woman with white streaks in her hair and she wore a hornet mask with yellow markings.
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"Welcome, Genin Takuma. Please call me Swine," said the large man. His voice was quite light for his size.
"Thank you for having me," Takuma said as he sat opposite them. He thought it was amusing that the boar-masked ANBU was codenamed Swine, but the name made sense.
"Have you settled down since your return? I know that you stopped renting your home when you were deployed and that we had to deliver your recruitment offer to your mentor''s home," said Swine.
"It''s in process. He has been kind enough to open his house for me," Takuma said shortly. Frankly speaking, it was creepy that they delivered the scroll to Maruboshi''s home. He briefly glanced at the hornet-masked woman who silently stared at him.
"I wish you the best in that regard. I know it can be jarring to return home from war," said Swine. It made Takuma wonder if they knew about his breakdown, which he didn''t want strangers to know about. "Please consider this meeting as a simple introduction. This isn''t part of your testing process, so you aren''t being judged now."
"I see," Takuma nodded.
"Now, before we start, we have to clear the most important question," said Swine. "Are you interested in joining the ANBU? There''s no sense in continuing if you don''t want to join. Of course, I understand you might have doubts, so we will dedicate this meeting to clearing them. By the end of this meeting, you''ll have to give us an answer¡ªwhich won''t be a final commitment, mind you. We are interested in you and want to see if you feel the same."
"Fair enough. I''ll give you my answer after you have cleared my doubts," said Takuma, appreciating their straightforwardness. He could tell they wanted him to say something in the vein of being interested in the offer, but he withheld his answer.
"Excellent. How do you wish we proceed? I recommend you ask us questions, and we''ll answer them to the best of our abilities."
"Hmm... I don''t know anything about the ANBU. You said this meeting is an introduction; give me an introduction," said Takuma, pushing the ball in their field.
This question-and-answer system didn''t sit well with him because they would only need to answer what he asked, and if he didn''t ask the right questions, he wouldn''t get the correct answers. He didn''t think they were doing it on purpose because, as Swine said, they were interested in him¡ªor maybe they were doing it on purpose and this was some kind of test.
"The Department of ANBU is in charge of matters pertaining to national security. It''s our responsibility to keep domestic and foreign powers in check to protect our great nation. You have worked for the Police Force; a good portion of our work is not dissimilar to yours¡ªand it can often look much like we''re doing the same thing as them, but our scope is on a higher level with a reach that goes beyond the Leaf Shinobi institution and our borders."
ANBU sounded like a traditional intelligence agency. Takuma knew their existence wasn''t a secret from living in the world, but he didn''t know much beyond that, as there was not much about them in his incomplete meta-knowledge about this world.
Swine continued, "It''s a misconception that there''s no war if there aren''t boots on the ground. The Five Great Nations are always at war with each other. Peace is a deadlock achieved by the great powers constantly trying to preempt threats from others."
"Peace is a deadlock," Takuma couldn''t help but whisper as goosebumps rose. He had never considered it that way, but he couldn''t help but feel those words were especially true in this world. "That is a grim outlook on the concept."
"It''s the reality," said Swine, heavily. "The ideal future would be for the deadlock to persist through eternity, but we know that isn''t possible, so it''s our job to ensure that when this deadlock breaks, the Hidden Leaf will be on top. No matter what people might say¡ª we aren''t in the business of control; we simply exist to protect."
Takuma didn''t believe that last part. Wasn''t control the best way to achieve protection? There was no need to protect against the threats if one could control them.
"Why me? Why do I interest the ANBU?" Takuma asked. He kept his questions short to get as wide an answer as possible.
"We have been following your career since you started in the Police Force. Thriving in an environment controlled by a few who only allow certain people inside and decide who gets to succeed and doing it as one of the first outsiders is impressive. Establishing and running the Narcotics Taskforce as you did was a highly impressive feat. In fact, you were so impressive that we thought it would be a waste to recruit you as you could''ve been a catalyst of change in a closed system that is the Police Force."
"What changed your mind?"
"Your demotion and deployment to the war," said Swine.
"I see." Takuma''s lips pressed into a thin line. He had promised himself to let go of his bitterness, but it was an ongoing journey and a difficult one.
"Once we discovered that the Police Force didn''t value you as much as we did, we decided we wanted to work with you. We were planning to approach you as soon as you returned from the war... and then you went ahead and showed us something that blew away any of our doubts."
He expected his war contributions to factor into ANBU''s assessment of him. He didn''t hold his experience in the Steam-Frost war in high regard and would rather forget it ever happened, but there was no denying that he had worked his ass off to accomplish what he did.
"You and your team were responsible for bringing down an oppressive power controlling that city. We read the reports, and we know how important your role was. The cherry on top is that you killed a jonin," said Swine, openly showing how impressed he was.
Takuma simply blinked as he was transported back to Yu for a moment. The sounds of explosions and screams echoed in his ear as he sat in the back of the banquet hall. He smelled the scent of blood and felt the weight of Rikku''s body in his arms.
"...Thank you for the compliment," he said as he shifted in his chair to make it so that he was finding a comfortable spot, but in reality, he didn''t want them to notice in case he was showing what was happening inside his mind. "The killing of a jonin wasn''t received well by many."
"Of course, the way you did it shouldn''t be done lightly by anyone, and I''m sure it was a difficult choice for you."
"It was."
"But there are times when someone has to make those choices. You made that difficult choice, and it had real, measurable benefits. You not only saved the lives of our shinobi, but you also damaged a foreign nation by killing one of their jonin, who could have escaped during the invasion," said Swine.
"I chatted with two of your ANBU-nin when I was in Yu. I don''t think they liked me very much. How will that affect my chances of getting in?" asked Takuma.
He didn''t want to get his hopes up, go through whatever arduous testing process they surely had, only to have the door shut in his face and waste his time.
"If you''re implying what I think you are, then I feel insulted. If you fail to get in, it''ll be because we don''t think you can survive here," Swine said with the seriousness of a principal addressing students.
"That''s great to hear." Takuma nodded.
"Though I must say, the so-called chat you had with our operatives was interesting in itself. I think if you manage to pass, you''ll do well in ANBU."
Takuma thanked Swine for his confidence in him and swiftly moved on to the next question, "What will be my role here?"
"We don''t know that currently. The Department of ANBU is divided into two sub-departments. One handles domestic affairs and the other deals with foreign threats. We will decide where to place you depending on your skills and how you perform in our testing process."
Takuma took his resume scroll out of his pocket and placed it on the table. The scroll got him on Iruka''s team when he was doing D-rank missions. Iruka himself had used a semi-updated version of his scroll to get him into the Police Force and it worked with Anko when he joined the team when it was already established.
"These are my skills for your reference," he said.
"I like the initiative," Swine said as he received the scroll.
"Now that I know why the ANBU wants me," said Takuma as he sat up straighter, "it''s time for you to tell me why I should join the ANBU."
"The ANBU is the best there is. It''s an honour for anybody to serve with the best because you''ll be among the best; I can promise you that you''ll grow here¡ª"
Takuma raised his hand to stop Swine from speaking. "On the risk of being crude, I understand how valuable the ANBU is in protecting the village and our nation, and the prestige that has been developed over decades of hard service, but the last time I joined a place because of its prestige and the promise of growth, they stripped me of the fruits of my effort and shipped me off to war.
It frustrated him that he couldn''t see their reactions behind the masks, but Takuma continued to speak anyway.
"If you want me to be interested by the end of this meeting, I want you to tell me what tangible, measurable benefits ANBU can offer me."
CH_8.16 (281)
On the empty floor, Takuma sat opposite two ANBU-nin.
He was cognisant that ANBU was in charge of national security, and they probably required a sense of belonging and patriotism towards their homeland¡ªand he was all for that; he didn''t think he would ever leave the Hidden Leaf because his friends and life was here but he had to be direct with his demands even if it somehow lowered their impression of him.
"We have a standard compensation package that includes a very handsome salary beyond even the highest competitive rates of any other department. However, we don''t have a mission-based commission system where you''re paid after each successful mission. We don''t want our operatives to be motivated by money when it comes to national security matters," said Swine.
Takuma was already used to it from his time in the Police Force. If there were a commission for the number of people arrested and charged, the officers would''ve been arresting people left and right to make more money. He could potentially make more money if he were an independent shinobi not associated with a department, but that was akin to owning a business rather than being a corporate employee.
"You''ll have open access to our jutsu archive up to C-rank. The scrolls stay on the premises, but you''re free to read and learn any amount of jutsu you can. We also have exclusive training facilities that you can book. We have in-house iryo-nin who will cater to any of your health needs and provide the standard three meals on all days of the week. There''s also a store where everything is sold at heavy discounts and many more benefits, including top-quality gear custom-made for your preferences and generous access to our armoury. Almost everything is on our dime so you''ll find that ANBU-nin''s expenses fall because we take care of our own."
Takuma held back his reaction when Swine said he would have unlimited access to C-rank jutsu. Most of his career had been chasing mission points that afforded him jutsu. He had even bargained for ninjutsu from the Uchiha before his war deployment. That single benefit was so huge that it was enough for him to sign up on the spot.
"Of course, as we mentioned in the scroll, you''ll get an instant rank promotion if you get selected," said Swine.
Takuma nodded. That was another benefit, arguably on par with the jutsu archive access. He had been gunning for a promotion for nearly two years.
"What about B-rank jutsu?" Takuma asked. He needed to get his hand on a B-rank jutsu to get to the next level.
"There''s no open access to the B-rank jutsu archive, and you''ll have to earn the privilege to learn a B-rank jutsu," said Swine as he crossed his hands on the table. "But like the jutsu in the archives, you have the benefit of not paying and how quickly you get one will solely depend on your performance. Of course, mission points are part of the compensation package, so you''re free to go through the usual channel to redeem access to the standard B-rank jutsu archive like all other chunin."
"What about the time restriction?" Takuma asked an important question.
New chunin had a one-year time restriction before they could access the B-rank jutsu archives.
"We can take care of that for you," Swine nodded.
"What about developing new skills? If I want to learn, let''s say, interrogation tactics, how''s the ANBU going to help me?" He hadn''t forgotten his motto¡ª''A shinobi is more than the chakra he wields''¡ªand wanted to continue with his journey in self-improvement.
"If you want guidance, we will provide it. As long as your work remains your priority, we will invite former members and experts in every field possible to guide you in whatever field you wish to explore," said Swine.
Takuma pondered what else he wanted to know about the job. He wanted to know the exact nature of his job, but his role would be undecided until they tested him. However, he still wanted to learn about it, so he posed a vague question.
"From your experience, what will my time at the ANBU be like?"
Swine had answered his questions fairly quickly until then, but this time, he took a moment to gather his thoughts. He even looked at the hornet-masked kunoichi, who hadn''t said a word since the start as she silently stared at him the entire time. Takuma was unnerved, but he had done his best not to look at her so as not to seem nervous and twitchy.
She didn''t want to say anything, so Swine answered the question.
"It''d be a lie to say that the work we do here is easy. It''s not. I know I''m supposed to sell you on the job, but I''ll be forthright with you and say that if you don''t work hard, you will fall behind. The majority of our peers don''t have vibrant personal lives because that''s what it takes to make it here."
"Even though the ANBU''s the best?" Takuma interjected.
"Precisely," said Swine and Takuma thought he was smiling behind his mask. This job is difficult even for the best of people out there. "I want you to say yes, but imagine the most stressful period of your life¡ªthat feeling is nothing here."
''I doubt it,'' thought Takuma. He had started this life with the most stressful time of his life.
Swine continued, "Multiply it by a hundred. If you can''t perform under that pressure, this job isn''t for you. It will make you miserable at times to the point you wish you had never accepted the offer, but when you succeed, there''s this indescribable feeling that people here keep chasing. I guarantee that not a moment of this job will be boring. You will be challenged every step of the way, and will live to surmount those challenges because here, you know that the things you''re doing matter."
They were passionate words, and Takuma found himself swayed by them even though he had just been told that the job would make him miserable and he would have no personal life¡ªnot that he had much of one anyway. Perhaps it was because he was already used to it, and nothing in his life would be different from when he worked at the Narcotics Taskforce.
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Thinking of it like that made the charm fade slightly and he moved on to the next question,
"What will be the length of my contract?" asked Takuma. He didn''t doubt the ANBU, but he wanted to know how much time he owed them before he could break away and do something different.
"We offer all our recruits a non-negotiable five-year contract with a secrecy agreement."
"Understood," said Takuma.
Five years wasn''t a bad contract term. He would get that from the Police Force if Setsuna came through. He would be nineteen by the time he could leave. It seemed as if he had only been in this world for four years, and this would make it so he would be in ANBU for more than half of his new life.
He swept those thoughts away and returned to the conversation. He asked a dozen more miscellaneous questions, which cleared up all the questions he had for them at the moment.
"What is your answer, Takuma?" asked Swine.
"I''m interested," said Takuma. He was interested the moment they offered him open access to the C-rank archive.
"I have an obligation to ask you again. Are you interested in joining the Department of ANBU, Genin Takuma? Please answer with a full sentence."
"I am interested in joining the Department of ANBU."
"Excellent." Swine took out another sealed scroll from his person and handed it to Takuma. "You have seven days from tomorrow to prepare for the testing process. The location and arrival time are in that scroll. Please make an excuse to your friends and family regarding your absence for a week or two without mentioning us. Do you have any more questions?"
"Yes, one last question." Takuma raised the scroll in his hand. "Am I at liberty to share the ANBU''s interest in me with other parties who might be interested in hiring me?"
"First of all, we haven''t extended an offer to you; we have only shown interest. You can only use us as leverage after you have passed all our tests and rejected our offer. Use us as leverage while we await your response and we will drop you without any further considerations and deny any involvement to the relevant parties. However, if you pass our tests and reject us, you''re free to share it with anyone you like and from my experience, it''ll work as a glowing recommendation."
"Understood; thank you for answering my question."
"You have other offers, Genin Takuma?" asked Swine, curious.
"Perhaps," Takuma shrugged¡ªhe didn''t have one.
All three of them stood up, signalling that the meeting was over. Takuma shook hands with Swine while the hornet-masked kunoichi kept her hands behind her back.
"My associate will escort you to the exit," said Swine.
The kunoichi started walking without a word, and Takuma followed her. He looked back, and Swine sat down and stared at him as he left the floor. He didn''t talk to her in the stairwell, and unlike the last time, when he looked up, he saw someone leap down from a higher floor to a lower floor before disappearing behind one of the doors before he could get a good look.
Apparently, Swine was speaking the truth¡ªpeople didn''t have enough time to use the stairs properly, much less have personal lives.
Takuma got his weapons back at the reception, and once he felt their comfortable weight, he retrieved the stolen weapons and put them on the tray.
The kunoichi looked up at him with wide-eyed surprise.
"I''m sorry about this, but you did say that you weren''t taking away my ability to protect myself, so I found some protection," said Takuma with an apologetic look on his face.
He glanced at the hornet-masked kunoichi, who was still staring at him, now with a raised intensity.
"I will see myself out," he said and walked out without looking back.
Outside the headquarters, Takuma stood on the steps with the scroll in his hand. As he stared at the scroll, the tension holding his body stiff left him. He had one week before he faced whatever ANBU wanted to throw at him. A hundred thoughts went through his mind about how to prepare for the tests and how he could hedge the bets in his favour while not knowing the specifics of the tests.
Takuma closed his eyes and let those thoughts drain away with a sigh. None of those things would help him and only served to stress and tire him before the tests. He needed something different from what he usually did¡ªand fortunately for him, he knew just the thing.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Maruboshi was tending to his vegetable patch when he heard the rustle of the grass. He turned around to see Takuma standing in the middle of the garden. He looked the same as he was when he left, which was a relief.
"Welcome back. How did it go?" he asked.
"It starts one week from tomorrow," Takuma said as he walked closer. "I need your help."
"Of course, whatever you need," Maruboshi said readily as he wiped his hand. Becoming an ANBU operative was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he would provide any help to see his student succeed.
"I want to train with you to prepare me for the ANBU tests," said Takuma, raising a scroll with the ANBU seal. "You prepared me for the academy tests all those years ago; I want you to do the same now."
"Takuma, what?" he chuckled. "Stop it."
"If I train on my own, I''ll run myself into the ground... So, please train me."
Maruboshi stared at Takuma in shock and bafflement. "Takuma, when we trained, I prepared you for the academy test. We are talking about the ANBU here. This and that are two completely different¡ª"
"The truth is that I just want to train with you. It''s okay if all you do is make me do the Leaf Concentration Exercise; I''ll be perfectly happy to do it," said Takuma as he stared into his eyes. "You''re the reason why I''m the shinobi I am today. I have this opportunity because of the foundation you set, and now I want you to see how much I''ve grown."
Maruboshi didn''t know what to feel. He stared at Takuma and noticed how much he had changed from the ten-year-old he had met all those years ago. He had helped him back then because he saw a struggling child who needed guidance to turn his effort into precious fruits of labour.
He didn''t think he would become so attached to that child, but it happened before he knew it. That''s why he stopped teaching him; he didn''t want to make another mistake and ruin another life as he had done before.
"It doesn''t matter if you believe in yourself; I believe in you the most in the world," said Takuma, startling him. The tired black eyes that had been steeping in grief now had a fire in them. "I believe in you. I believe you to be the best shinobi there is. I believe you to be the best man there is. And when I say you''re the best mentor I could have, I believe it from the bottom of my heart."
"¡ªI believe in you, Kosuke.¡ª"
The words from the far past echoed in his years. It was the Lord Second Hokage who had said those words to him, but he had refused to believe him. Because of a foolish mistake, he had lost all of his teammates. From that day forth, he didn''t believe he was worthy of being promoted beyond the rank of genin and had stayed in service to repent.
But even when he didn''t believe himself, the Second Hokage believed in him.
The words he had denied all those years had reappeared again. He gazed at Takuma, and there was not a single speck of doubt in those young eyes.
"There''s not much we can do in a week," said Maruboshi.
"It doesn''t matter. I just want to train with you like we used to. But I''m sure I''ll be better at the end of the week than I am now if I train with you," Takuma said as if it was a matter of course.
"Very well," said Maruboshi, a smile tugging on his old face. "We start at four in the morning tomorrow."
He still couldn''t believe in himself, but perhaps it would be alright for now if someone believed in him on his behalf.
CH_8.17 (282)
Maruboshi was as far removed from his prime as one could be and required ample warmup to get his body to react to his commands with combat sharpness. He stretched his body in the middle of a dirt field after sunrise, feeling the tension in each of his muscles.
He looked across from him at Takuma, who was stretching absentmindedly. The last time they sparred was before Takuma''s deployment, when his growth had plateaued because of his busy schedule in the Police Force. Now that he had gone through a war, Maruboshi wondered how much he had changed. There was a lot of free time at the camp, and if he knew his student, he wouldn''t have let it go to waste.
"I see you¡¯ve brought weighted gear," said Maruboshi. A complete set of weighted gear sat under a tree at the edge of the field. They used to be popular a few decades ago but had fallen out of favour among shinobi.
Still, he liked them because they made for simple yet effective all-day training gear.
"I have an imbalance between my physical and spiritual energies. I wore a set for a few months to grow my physical energy. I didn''t take them to Yu, so I''ve fallen out of the habit, but I''m getting back into it, and this set is much heavier than the one I used at the camp," said Takuma as he stretched down to grab his ankles.
"The quality of chakra, of course. I had entirely forgotten about it," Maruboshi said, impressed that Takuma was mindful of such a concept. Chakra was a mixture of two energies, and an imbalance between them affected the quality of the chakra. Lower quality chakra meant a shinobi had to use more chakra to adequately wield jutsu.
"It can''t be helped; you are far too old to be concerned with the imbalance."
A person''s physical energy reserves naturally decline as part of the ageing process, thus creating an imbalance between the two energies. It became a severe problem for shinobi in their forties; they could theoretically keep the two energies balanced by rigorous and regular physical training if they hadn''t already hit their genetic limit for maximum physical energy, but it was all but impossible to stop an imbalance in the fifties and, after that, it was like a boulder rolling downhill.
"That is true," Maruboshi sighed. He hadn''t been concerned with chakra quality for a long time and genuinely forgot about it until Takuma brought it up. "Nevertheless, I''m impressed that you''re trying to achieve balance, Takuma. Not many people try to improve the quality of their chakra."
Just like Takuma had plateaued during his Police Force days, most people didn''t have or want to spend the time required (or didn''t want to spend time) to correct their energy balance, and, more often than not, they considered working on their jutsu to be a more worthy use of their time. However, ignoring the imbalance usually created a rift that couldn''t be bridged.
"Don''t put them on now. I want to see what you can do without the weights," Maruboshi said to Takuma as he walked to the weighted gear.
"What are the restrictions?" asked Takuma as he left the weighted gear behind.
"None. Use everything you can."
"Very well," Takuma said, immediately dashing toward him, attempting to catch him off guard.
Maruboshi smiled as he crossed his arms to form a guard as Takuma laid out a haymaker to start them off. A vigorous force assaulted his arms, and he felt the chakra reach his bones; Takuma''s chakra augmentation had become significantly more potent.
"Your control has improved," Maruboshi commented as he stepped away and pulled his torso back to avoid a kick aimed at his head. Before he left, Takuma was experimenting with spreading the expunged chakra over a larger area to create a lighter effect, or going in the opposite direction, and concentrating the chakra into a smaller spot to focus all the damage into that area.
The two of them leaned into the knife fight, kunai against kunai, their blades moving at a blurring speed, cutting through the air and sparking with each clash. Takuma was in constant motion, assaulting Maruboshi everywhere, from his head to his legs and coming at him from left and right.
Maruboshi, partially owing to his prosthetic leg, didn''t move around much compared to Takuma, but was still deceptively agile and fast for his age. His footwork was simpler, but he either met or slipped past all the strikes effortlessly, using his experience to forecast Takuma''s moves.
He''s gotten more aggressive yet again, Maruboshi observed as he quickly slapped away another augmented punch. Takuma¡¯s fighting style always felt like he wanted to get it done quickly¡ªbut now it was just being... reckless.
It wasn''t a direction of growth Maruboshi felt excited about.
He decided to prod Takuma to see how he would react, leaving an opening for him to target, and as expected, Takuma immediately attacked. Maruboshi struck out with a palm strike. When the blow caught him, Maruboshi expected him to switch to defence, but instead, Takuma moved his body to minimise the damage and committed to exploiting the opening.
The two of them hit each other within a split second and were thrown back. Maruboshi felt the chakra slam into his body, jolting his bones as the force spread through his body. He locked in on Takuma, thinking he would rush in, but he was forming hand seals instead to stabilise from Maruboshi''s strike.
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Within seconds, a thickening mist descended over the field. Maruboshi chased after Takuma while he could still see him, but Takuma vanished using the Body Flicker Jutsu, vanishing into the descending fog.
He''s trying to win, thought Maruboshi. In their various spars over the years, Takuma had only used the Hidden Mist Jutsu a couple of times because their spars were an opportunity for Takuma to try things out and get advice from Maruboshi.As the mist obscured everything, he couldn''t give pointers about things he couldn''t see.
The sound of rushing water closed in on him, and Maruboshi tried to roll away but was hit in the back by Takuma''s Water Release: Wild Water Wave. It was much stronger than before. He felt an ache spread through his lower back and wanted to jump away to gather himself when he remembered Takuma''s combat habits.
Just as he thought, the water on the ground flew up to supply water for the Water Release: Eight Tentacles. The ground beneath his feet cracked as he shot toward the retreating water and found a startled Takuma. Maruboshi kicked him in the chest, sending him flying away. All the gathered water crashed to the ground, forming various puddles, big and small.Habits were natural; they were inevitable. The challenge in battle was to ensure people didn''t recognise one¡¯s habits, which was what combat tells were.
Maruboshi charged after Takuma through the mist, but when he looked around, Takuma was missing. There was no use trying to use his vision in the fog, and he hadn''t trained his ears like Takuma had, but Maruboshi possessed other methods to make his way through the mist.
He weaved hand seals for the Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu and pressed his hands on the ground for a wave of earth chakra to pulse through the ground. It was a jutsu that he and Takuma had in common in their arsenal, which used seismic vibrations to locate any creature in contact with the ground.
The vibrations returned to him, and he knew Takuma''s position.
"Smart move," he muttered with a smile.
Maruboshi turned back to where Takuma had lost control of the water after getting kicked. Takuma was right there, undoubtedly forming the water tentacles. Maruboshi didn''t rush and walked back to the spot with kunai in both hands.
"Hmm?"
The sound of crackling made him halt. He recognised it as possibly coming from a Lightning ninjutsu, but Takuma had a poor aptitude for Lightning. Before he could finish the thought, a bluish light poked through the mist''s cover, and Takuma appeared flying in with eight lightning-charged tentacles flared behind his back.
Maruboshi capped his physical abilities when he sparred with Takuma to make the fight fair, but at that moment, he moved as fast as he could to evade four electrified tentacles coming for him. Takuma didn''t ease up on the pressure and threw the kunai at such a frightening speed that he was taken aback and dodged at an even higher speed than before.
The moment Takuma''s feet touched the ground, he pushed even more, with all eight tentacles writhing like starved beasts hunting their next meals. Maruboshi weaved among a barrage of tentacles that looked more menacing than ever.
His student had formed a combination ninjutsu, a feat that most failed to achieve because of various complex factors¡ªand that''s why he knew that getting touched by the tentacles wasn''t going to be a pleasant experience. Maruboshi returned his agility to what he considered fair sparring standards and, for the first time in their years of sparring, he reached for his back and pulled out his sword. Opposite him, the electrified tentacles cast a light on Takuma''s face, and his eyes widened in surprise.
A single pulse of chakra coated the sword as Maruboshi clasped the sword''s worn-down yet comfortable grip. His aged eyes took a picture of the tentacles before him; he calculated a selection of sword swings and unleashed them just as he imagined. The sword moved so fast that all eight tentacles split so close to each other in time that it looked like they were cut at the exact same moment.
The lightning inside the water clung to the sword''s metal, and Maruboshi expunged it from the blade with another pulse of chakra. Takuma dug his soles into the ground and backed off as the tentacles lost the majority of their water mass and the lightning within them rapidly faded¡ªbut it was Maruboshi''s turn to go on offence.
"Takuma¡ you have undoubtedly improved," he smiled.
He closed the distance in one quick step, giving Takuma just enough time to convert his eight short tentacles to four full-length ones. Maruboshi tried to cut them off, but Takuma pulled them back, opening his torso to attack, from the dull side of Maruboshi¡¯s blade.
Takuma threw a punch, leaving him confused because the blow wasn''t going to reach him, but then something rippled out from his fist and struck Maruboshi in the face. It didn''t injure him, but left him dazed. If it was someone at Takuma''s level, getting out with a broken nose would''ve been lucky.
At that same moment, the four tentacles wrapped around Maruboshi''s limbs, trying to knock him off balance, but before they could tighten their grasp, Maruboshi pulled free. There was a second lull during which the two observed each other. Both had used something they hadn''t shown the other before.
A new form of augmentation? Maruboshi thought, gaining a new level of appreciation for how Takuma had incorporated his self-made chakra augmentation into his combat style. It had gone from something he could barely use to a bonafide technique.
Maruboshi readied his sword as Takuma moved first, and when he took his first step, Maruboshi''s vision turned hazy and blurry, with colours mixing into each, rendering him unable to see anything. He saw Takuma''s clothes dissipate into the surroundings and immediately jumped back.
The ground began to merge with everything else, and he feared for his footing, scared that he would trip. He had worn his prosthetic leg almost as long as his real one but suddenly, after decades of not thinking about it, he missed his real leg.
He was going to fall.
His life as a shinobi had all but ended when he lost his leg, but he had somehow managed to keep it alive. However, he realised that he was a fool to believe he had recovered because when it mattered the most, his body always fail him.
A wave of chakra pumped through Maruboshi''s body and shattered the genjutsu with Takuma''s fist inches before his chest. He caught the fist before it could connect and absorbed its tremendous force with his hand, spinning and transferring all of it into a throw.
Takuma flew over his shoulder, slamming into the ground before sitting up to Maruboshi¡¯s sword against his throat. "...That was exemplary, Takuma," Maruboshi sighed as he put his sword on Takuma''s neck. His other hand stroked his prosthetic leg. "However, I must say that genjutsu was¡ unpleasant, to say the least, but quite effective."
¡°...I noticed,¡± Takuma replied, accepting the hand up.
They looked at each other, repositioned, and got ready for round two.
CH_8.18 (283)
Maruboshi and Takuma fought a few more times before his master was ready to share his thoughts.
"You''re too aggressive," he began. "I understand you want to be in control, but your tendencies are reckless. I had several opportunities during our spars to grievously injure you. Decrease that inclination to push and push to overwhelm the opponent."
Takuma shook his head. "I don''t think I can do that¡ªmy aggression makes me effective. I understand that I''m putting myself at risk, but it''s just the way I fight. I can''t be afraid to trade damage or I''ll lose."
He had brought himself up in the Ring, which was part of the reason behind his style. The way he fought as Scars was the only way that ever brought him any success and it was difficult to ditch those habits.
"You don''t have to fight that way," Maruboshi countered, utterly unconvinced. "You have the tools; you just need to learn how to use them properly. Work with me, and we can adjust how you fight while maintaining an aggressive combat style without reckless decisions that could lead to your death."
Takuma sighed because he had tried to fight more conservatively before but had failed. That said, he had asked Maruboshi to train him, so he was going to follow his directions.
"Moving on, I''m impressed with how you use your weapons, Takuma. The combination of ninjutsu and the variation of the chakra augmentation was excellent. I''ll wholeheartedly suggest that you increase the use of genjutsu in combat. Lean into it, even; people tend to use only one delivery method, but Uchiha Mikoto has trained you to target all five senses."
Now that he was back home, he could invest, explore, and research ways to expand his genjutsu repertoire and seamlessly add it to his combat style. He wanted to take it slow because adjusting his combat style was one thing, but adding a new major element to it needed to be done with care, as he could end up being weaker than before if he made the wrong decisions.
"By the end of the week, I promise you''ll see promise in the changes I suggest," said Maruboshi confidently.
"Okay."
"But we''ll need help."
"What do you need?" asked Takuma, thinking Maruboshi was going to ask for equipment.
"You''ll need different sparring partners."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The Uchiha compound was a section of the village reserved for the Uchiha Clan. It was relatively new, only created a little under a decade ago after the Nine-Tails'' incident, which resulted in countless deaths, including that of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
For those in the know, the history of the compound was clear.
The Uchiha clan was relocated to the compound along the village''s outskirts on the pretext that it was a necessary step in the Hidden Leaf''s reconstruction. In truth, many in the village were convinced that the Nine-Tails'' attack was the first manifestation of the Uchiha''s long-simmering dissatisfaction, and they needed to put the entire clan together to monitor them and prevent any additional attacks.
However, in doing so, they had given the Uchiha clan near complete control over the compound. Nothing changed in the compound without the clan''s permission, and any attempts to alter it were thoroughly rebuffed. Their compound was a fortified area that belonged to them and only them.
A year ago, Takuma frequented the place five times a week for his genjutsu lessons. His return to the compound brought up various complex feelings. From the day he had found himself in the world, he had believed that Uchiha were the walking dead and would perish just like he had read. He had even staked his career progression in the Police Force on the clan''s extermination.
Takuma rang the bell on a beautiful traditional home and waited at the gate.
But that changed on the day he left the village for the Steam-Frost war.
The door opened, and a beautiful middle-aged woman with long black hair, bangs on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks stepped out. She dressed like a housewife, yet the woman was behind everything he knew about genjutsu.
"Look at you," she smiled with warm, dark eyes, "haven''t you grown a lot."
Uchiha Mikoto was the reason he sent a letter that changed the course of the future and possibly damaged his biggest advantage. He didn''t want the woman before him to die, so he took a step that had kept him awake at night for a week and still visited him from time to time. However, as he gazed at her, Takuma felt the letter was worth it.
"It''s been too long," said Takuma.
"It has been. Come in so we can catch up," Mikoto smiled.
They settled in the same room where they conducted the genjutsu lessons, and Mikoto served tea and snacks as always. The genjutsu lessons were a time of peace during his stressful days at the Narcotics Taskforce when he was struggling to keep his position as the leader and he hadn''t found a replacement for it while he was in the Land of Hot Water.
Just being back in the room relaxed him.
"I might be leaving the Police Force," Takuma said after the discussion about the war ended. "My contract ends in less than a month, and then I''ll look for new opportunities." He couldn''t tell anybody about his ANBU offer except Maruboshi.
"Might?" she asked.
Takuma shrugged. "I''ll stay if they meet my stipulations. I don''t think they''ll do it, though."
"I hope you''re not asking me to pull some strings," Mikoto smiled.
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"No, I don''t want to put you in an awkward situation," he said. Despite being a Uchiha, Mikoto had never worked in the Police Force and had no direct influence over it. If she, as an outsider, wanted to make something happen, it would need to happen through someone else, and thus owing them a favour.
Mikoto gazed at him in silence for a moment before a knowing smile flourished across her face. "You already have an offer from someone else, don''t you?"
"Not yet," said Takuma, which was true because ANBU had only expressed their interest.
"You should use it as leverage to get what you want in the Police Force."
"I would do that if I still wanted to work there."
"You don''t?"
"Should I? After they stole my work."
"If you go somewhere else, you''ll be building everything from the ground up. In the Police Force, you know how things work, you have contacts, people know your work, your accomplishments will mean so much more, and you have a positive reputation that you can rely on." Her smile turned regretful despite the positive words. "In my opinion, continuing with the Police Force makes more sense when you already have a solid foundation despite it all."
Takuma recognised that Mikoto was a Uchiha and that she would like him to stay in the Police Force. He didn''t mind her attempt to convince him. Her words weren''t anything new; he had considered the same benefits after his meeting with Setsuna. If he went somewhere else, he would need to establish himself in the eyes of his peers and higher-ups, but in the Police Force, everyone was already aware of who he was.
"I don''t have two sides to compare yet, so there''s no use thinking about it," Takuma sighed and changed the topic. "How''s your family doing? If I remember correctly, Sasuke''s in his fifth year?"
"Fourth year," Mikoto corrected and continued with a proud, beaming smile. "He''s consistently at the top of his class. The teachers in the clan also praise him for being able to fight children older than him. I''m very proud of him."
"He is a bright child," Takuma nodded.
Internally, however, he was drowning in the thought that he might have stunted Sasuke''s future growth. One of Sasuke''s main character motivations was his undying, intense desire for revenge against Itachi. It had him live life single-mindedly, focused on vengeance.
He didn''t want to take responsibility for the dooming of the future, so he chose to focus on the positive. With the Uchiha Clan''s tragic fate evaded, the Hidden Leaf village would be in a stronger position. And who knew, maybe having his family and clan part of his life would be enough for Sasuke to reach his full potential.
"What about Itachi?" Takuma shook his head in disbelief. "It''s amazing he''s a jonin. I don''t know if you know her, but there''s one Uchiha Izumi in my batch, and she got promoted in the Chunin Exam before the latest¡ªbut your son has been a jonin since I was a shinobi, and we''re the same age. That''s frankly unbelievable sometimes."
"Itachi has always been different. As awful as it may sound, sometimes, I wish he hadn''t been so much of a genius. He grew up too quickly," Mikoto sighed with a rueful smile, "but he''s been doing well as always; he''s busy with work..."
Takuma wondered how much of that was true.
He had thrown Itachi under the bus in his letter, claiming him, along with Shisui, to be traitors to drive the point in. It was only momentarily, but he noticed the complex emotion in Mikoto''s eyes before she hid them. It seemed that his letter affected her relationship with her son. He didn''t know how much of the letter was disclosed to the clan, but if they truly knew what Itachi and Shisui were doing, they would only be seen as traitors.
Shisui died with his eyes stolen, so he was probably saved from having his image tarnished. As for Itachi, Takuma had no idea how much of the letter Mikoto had disclosed¡ªthere were real chances that she and her husband would keep certain parts of the letter a secret to protect their son, who didn''t have a great reputation among the clan to begin with.
"So, what are your plans now?" asked Mikoto.
"Chunin Exams. I think I''ll get a rank promotion if I perform decently," said Takuma. You didn''t need to win in the Chunin Exam for a rank promotion. According to Maruboshi, he had enough accomplishments that he would get a rank promotion as long as he reached the final round of the exams.
"We can resume our lessons, if you wish. I''d like it if we resume them, to be honest," Mikoto offered.
"Yes, please," said Takuma, eager to get back into learning genjutsu with her. "But let''s start next month. I''ll be leaving the village to visit some friends next week. We can start after that, if you don''t mind?"
"I don''t mind it at all," she smiled.
Takuma nodded. He picked up his teacup, drained the delicious tea, and was about to ask for another cup when he noticed Mikoto staring at him.
"What is it?"
"I will get my annual promotion slot in four months... Do you want me to promote you, Takuma?"
Mikoto was a jonin and all jonin got to promote one shinobi to the rank of chunin every year. Takuma was surprised because he didn''t think a jonin¡ªlet alone the lady of the Uchiha clan¡ªwould offer such a precious commodity to an outsider.
It wasn''t something that could be given to him just because they were close.
"What''s the catch?" asked Takuma carefully.
A satisfied smile appeared on Mikoto''s face, as though she was testing him. She refilled their cups and made Takuma wait for her reply.
"You stay in the Police Force," she replied as she picked up her teacup.
"Of course," he said¡ªthat made sense¡ªbut that couldn''t be all. "What else?"
She leisurely took a sip of her tea before continuing. "And you become a shinobi affiliated with the Uchiha. Do you know what that means?"
Takuma paused for a moment before nodding.
Masaaki was a shinobi affiliated with the Akimichi Clan. The clan sponsored his growth as a shinobi, and in exchange, he was basically employed under them. They funded his training, provided him with jutsu, set him up with good missions to boost his resume.
Not to mention the reputation of someone affiliated with a prominent clan. In return, any time the clan required his help, he would provide it. It was a give-and-take relationship, but the power dynamic was heavily skewed in the clan''s favour. In a hypothetical worst-case scenario, they could ask Masaaki to do something he disagreed with, but he would have to follow their orders because he was burdened by the substantial support they had given him.
Of course, not all relationships were like that, and Masaaki seemed like he was part of the family with the Akimichi clan. The benefit was too big for anyone to discount and getting the backing of any clan could change one''s life overnight.
Getting the support of the Uchiha Clan would be life-changing.
Takuma folded his arms. "That''s a big commitment."
"And it will come with a lot of benefits," said Mikoto. "It won''t end with just a rank promotion. The clan will sponsor your needs, use our connections for your benefit, and pave an easier path for you to progress in your career. You know what? Stay in the Police Force for a few years until the external hiring stabilises and then, if you wish to leave, you can pursue any field you desire¡ªI promise you that."
"Really?" Takuma asked.
She nodded with an ever-growing smile. "Because I''m the one bringing you in, I get to set the rules. I''ll guarantee you ample freedom. However, you''ll have to support the Uchiha clan when we call upon you."
"I''ll need to think about it," said Takuma, truly not knowing what to think of her offer.
The affiliation would be a lifelong commitment, and the only way to get out would be to burn bridges and make enemies with the most prominent clan in the village, ruining his relationship with Mikoto¡ªsomething he abhorred even thinking about.
"Take your time. I''ll keep this to myself until you make a decision," said Mikoto calmly. "But Takuma, please don''t think you must accept just because I''m offering or that rejection will offend me. Think about what''s best for you and make an informed decision¡ªour relationship remains the same regardless, alright?"
Takuma could only nod in response. Until a few days ago, he thought that he would need to participate in the Chunin Exam to get a rank promotion, but now he had three potential ways he could achieve said promotion.
He should have been happy, but the recent events only left him confused.
But for now, he focused on his company. Takuma took another sip of his tea before raising his cup to Mikoto.
CH_8.19 (284)
When Maruboshi asked him to bring in sparring partners, Masaaki was the first person Takuma called but he should have expected some kind of surprise from him because Masaaki brought someone along.
"It''s a pleasure to meet you. I am Akimichi Choza," said the clan leader of the Akimichi Clan.
Akimichi Choza was a tall, plump man with spiky hair dyed a bright red. He had purple markings on his cheeks¡ªa common trait in the Akimichi Clan. He wore a chainmail under a yukata tied with a large, frayed rope.
The hulking man stared down at Takuma, who had to crane his neck to look at his face. "I have heard much about you. Masaaki praises you often, Takuma. It''s a pleasure to finally meet," said Choza with a soft smile. Even though he was dressed casually, the man''s large presence was threatening. Daiki was a big and muscular man, but even he felt smaller compared to this man. He had the presence of a strongman.
"He''s biassed for his friends, sir," Takuma replied, still recovering from his surprise. "And we have met once before."
"Oh, we have?" Choza said, surprised, and his gaze deepened on Takuma as he tried to remember.
"It''s not your fault if you don''t remember. It was a couple of years ago; we had lunch together for half an hour," said Takuma. He was still working D-rank missions, and Masaaki, along with a few Akimichi, showed up at the restaurant where he was working as a delivery man.
"No wonder. I fear I don''t pay attention to people when there''s food in front of me," Choza laughed merrily. His hoop earrings bobbed up and down and slapped his stomach with his large mitt-like hands. "But I''ll remember you this time. Masaaki tells me that you want to spar. I''ve some expectations because of him; I want to see you meet them."
"I''ll try my best," said Takuma.
He vaguely remembered Choza from the source material, but not enough for him to leave a strong impression. However, he absolutely knew the man by living in the Hidden Leaf village. He was a jonin and the leader of one of the strongest Hidden Leaf clans. During the Third Shinobi World War, the village had trusted him to lead the peace treaty negotiations with the Hidden Stone, who were anticipated to turn hostile, and he was considered to be the person to either sign a treaty or push the Hidden Stone back in case they turned belligerent.
Takuma looked at Masaaki, who had brought yet another surprise with him, because he was playing tag with a young Akimichi Choji. The little rotund Akimichi was chasing Masaaki with a goofy smile on his face.
"You brought your son?" he asked.
"I thought it would be good for him to observe. Excuse me," Choza said and then moved past Takuma to greet Maruboshi, standing behind him. "Mister Maruboshi, what a surprise. What are you doing here?"
"The same as you, Mister Choza," Maruboshi bowed slightly in greeting.
"He''s your student? You don''t say," Choza said, and his gaze toward Takuma gained much more interest after finding that Maruboshi was training him.
It wasn''t surprising that Maruboshi was known by someone as high-profile as Akimichi Choza. Maruboshi had worked with both the Second and Third Hokage and if he hadn''t rejected promotions time after time, he undoubtedly would''ve been a proud jonin of the Hidden Leaf. Anyone who mattered knew Maruboshi''s value and dedication to the village.
Takuma left the two men behind and walked to Masaaki, who was now spinning Choji around without a care in the world. He knew Masaaki was invited to be an affiliated shinobi to the Akimichi Clan by Choza, but he had no idea they were this close.
"Yo, Takuma. When are we starting? I''m excited!" Masaaki said as he put Choji down and smashed his fists together.
"Let them finish their chat," Takuma pointed behind him at Maruboshi and Choza. He looked at Choji, and the moment their eyes met, the kid hid behind Masaaki¡ªa reasonable reaction. He waved at him, only for Choji to retreat further behind his large friend.
Takuma sighed.
"Don''t mind him. He''s just shy. Give it time; he''ll warm up to you," Masaaki grinned. He turned to speak to Choji. "This is my friend, Takuma. He''s a good shinobi. Not as good as me, of course, but really, really good."
Takuma shook his head and thought about what to say to the shy kid before landing on using something common between them to bridge the gap.
"My name is Takuma. What about you?"
"...I-I''m Choji."
"Hi, Choji. You''re in the academy, right? Which year are you in?" asked Takuma, making sure no one would think it strange how much he knew about Choji.
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"Fourth year."
"Really? Do you know Sasuke? He''s in the fourth year as well?" said Takuma.
"You know Sasuke?" asked Choji, showing a surprised interest.
"Uh-huh. His mom is my teacher. I see him when I go to his house. He''s a total mama''s boy, you know?"
"That Sasuke? No, you''re lying," said Choji, giggling.
Takuma understood why he didn''t believe him; Sasuke was an aloof kid with strangers who had barely warmed up to him after a couple of months of lessons, and that was only because his mother liked him.
He could see Sasuke coming off as standoffish to his classmates.
"He''s just shy. If you don''t believe me, try to talk to him. It may look like he''ll bite, but he''s actually quite nice," said Takuma. He didn''t know why he was saying these things, but he had said them¡ªit was just like the time he had met Naruto.
He turned to Masaaki and lightly punched him on the shoulder. "You better have improved since the last time we sparred."
"Of course!" Masaaki said, punching Takuma back in the shoulder with a force that actually hurt. "I''ve been doing some serious training since I flunked the Chunin Exams."
"Fu¡ª" Takuma wanted to curse him out but held his tongue because they had a kid in their company.
Masaaki, with Nenro on his team, had participated in two Chunin Exams. In their first attempt, they were eliminated in the first round. They had changed their other teammate, and on the second attempt, they managed to go deep through the second round but failed to make it to the final round. They would''ve made it to the final round, but they ran into the Tsuchikage''s granddaughter.
Maruboshi and Choza finished their conversation, and the two parted toward their separate corners.
"What do you want me to do?" Takuma asked as he did some light stretches before the fight. The remaining days until the ANBU test were for Maruboshi to adjust Takuma''s combat style or, at the very least, convince him that it was possible.
"Nothing different than usual for now," said Maruboshi.
Takuma raised an eyebrow because there wasn''t much time to change anything in the first place. He jogged out first while Masaaki similarly conversed with Choza on the other side.
Masaaki hadn''t changed much since before Takuma left for the war. He was still a skinhead who liked to dress light and had rocked up to the spar in a tank top and shorts. And, of course, he walked into battle with his trusty knuckledusters.
"My goal today is perfect victory," said Masaaki as he smashed his knuckledusters together.
"You hadn''t beaten me in a year before I left," said Takuma.
"I''ve changed in the last year."
"So have I."
Both made Seals of Confrontation before Takuma shoved Masaaki, starting the spar. Masaaki grinned and took a quick step forward as he swung a haymaker for his face. The knuckleduster glowed white as Masaaki started aggressively with his bukijutsu.
''Already?!'' Takuma thought with surprise as he ducked underneath the glinting metal and countered with an augmented body blow as his opening, but Masaaki put his hand in the way to block it. The chakra rushed forth, and he expected Masaaki to be blasted back, but he dug his feet and stood his ground.
Takuma wasn''t surprised. Masaaki had always been the durable sort. He shoved him away to make some distance before swinging his raised fist down. Takuma blocked it with his arm and felt the force reach his bones.
''I can''t let that hit me in the face,'' Takuma thought as he felt the burn in his arm.
Masaaki followed up with a one-two combo. Takuma shuffled out of the way and kicked him in the knee, but he saw it coming and pulled his leg back at the last moment.
"I know that one," Masaaki smirked and tried to grapple him, but he slapped his hands away and shoved him back with a shoulder to the chest. Masaaki wasn''t fazed and feinted to the right but struck from the left.
Takuma took the blow to the ribs and bore the pain as he smashed an uppercut into Masaaki''s chin. It wasn''t augmented, but it sent him stumbling and dispelled the chakra flowing to the knuckledusters.
Masaaki wasn''t able to evade the kick to the ribs that knocked him to the ground. Takuma tried to pin him down, but he threw a kunai at him at the last moment. Takuma snatched the kunai out of the air and immediately threw it back, but Masaaki had already rolled away and got up to a squat.
The two stood still before they jumped at each other.
Takuma smashed an augmented fist into the same spot he''d kicked earlier. Masaaki''s face turned red, but he gritted his teeth and socked Takuma with a glowing knuckleduster. Takuma''s vision doubled, but he kept his eyes on Masaaki and bobbed his head away when another haymaker from the same hand came for his head.
''I know this,'' he thought.
Takuma pulled back his torso to let another punch slip him. His vision was still doubled, but he put his arm in front to block a body shot and then ducked while shuffling to the side to evade a cross. Just like he had some habits, Masaaki had them as well¡ªand as his most frequent sparring partner before his deployment, he knew him as much the other way around.
"I know that one," said Takuma as his vision returned.
Masaaki smirked and swung at the same time as Takuma. Their chakra-drowned fists smashed against each other, and both were pushed back a few steps before getting right into it. They brawled it out and only put the least amount of effort into defending themselves.
"Alright, stop!" Maruboshi yelled from the sideline, stopping the two fighters from trying to break each other''s bones.
Maruboshi and Choza stood together to watch the fight and separated into their own corners.
"That was not your usual," said Maruboshi.
Takuma winced as he touched his cheek, which was scraped from the knuckledusters. "It was a warmup. This happens sometimes with Masaaki," he said. "A straight-up brawl to either blow off tension or build a head of steam."
"...You two are similar," Maruboshi commented. "Just like you, he didn''t even try to dodge most of the hits."
Takuma sighed as he sat down on the ground. "It''s my fault. We sparred quite regularly before the war, and he picked it up from me. But he''s not this bad; he was just trying to match me beat-by-beat there."
Masaaki used to have a counterattacking approach, where he would wait for an opportunity to land a heavy strike to create an advantage to exploit¡ªbut that had slowly changed to taking the initiative and pressing the opponent, forcing them to make a mistake that he could blow open.
"It''s heavier than I thought," Takuma groaned as he lifted the weighted vest to relieve his torso of its weight for a couple of seconds. He was wearing the new weighted gear, and this was his first time fighting with the extra weight, which was messing with his breathing.
"Do you want to lighten up?" asked Maruboshi. "It''s not useful to spar if you can''t move properly."
"No, it''s alright. I''ve gotten used to it," Takuma said as he stood up with a groan. "I''ll win this one."
CH_8.20 (285)
Masaaki took a quick gulp of water and left the sidelines for another round of sparring.
Choza had nothing to say as they hadn''t fought properly yet; the first round was to get them fired up for the real thing. He was well aware that Takuma was stronger than him and held back in sparring. No one went all out in spars; that wasn''t their purpose, but Takuma tended to match his opponent''s level¡ªhe would fight Ai on her level even though he was so much stronger.
Masaaki didn''t want him to line up to his level. He wanted to feel the pressure of facing someone stronger during their spar. There was no meaning without a challenge. The warmup round where they punched the shit out of each other was his way to get him worked up, so he would truly try to beat him.
"Ready?" Masaaki asked as Takuma walked from the sideline.
Takuma cracked his neck with a jerk and nodded.
Masaaki grinned when he saw Takuma doing short hops on his feet and his hands already raised to form the guard. He was ready to fight for real now.
"Let''s start," Masaaki said as he pulled his arms up. "Go!"
The dirt around Takuma''s feet exploded as he jolted forward. Masaaki heard wind rippling as the fist slipped past his ear. He gazed into Takuma''s eyes and saw the look of single-minded focus reflected there.
Masaaki knew better than most people about how Takuma fought. Like him, he preferred to be close, where he could decimate the opponent with a solid strike. His preferred ninjutsu were also geared to give him an advantage in the melee range. The ideal scenario would be to keep a distance, but Masaaki wasn''t as effective across the distance and he knew he would lose if he tried to put distance between them.
For him to win, he needed to be close too, but more importantly, he had to make sure Takuma didn''t get the chance to use his favourite water tentacles. He could contend equally as long as only four limbs were involved on both sides, but Takuma would win if he managed to gain eight more.
So, he was going to stick to Takuma like glue at any cost.
Masaaki grabbed Takuma''s arm and kicked his leg to trip him, but Takuma jumped at the last moment. Masaaki tightened the hold and switched to an over-the-shoulder throw. He was heavy because of the weighted gear, but because of it, he fell faster and harder, ploughing the earth with his fall.
Masaaki''s knuckleduster glowed as he swung down at Takuma''s face. His fist cratered the ground, Takuma managing to roll out of the way at the last second, so he grabbed his feet to drag him close before stomping on him. The foot rammed against Takuma''s crossed arms and his body sank into the ground.
Between the crossed guard, Masaaki could see the perfect calm in Takuma''s eyes, so he raised his foot for another stomp.
Takuma kicked the ground and forcefully slid away. He got up and tried to put some distance between them, but Masaaki didn''t let him and immediately pressured him with his bukijutsu, knuckledusters glowing, chugging at full speed. He stepped in and struck him with a blazing-fast four-hit combo that lifted Takuma off his feet and had him stumble when he landed.
Seeing that he wasn''t getting away, Takuma immediately switched gears and committed to attacking back.
Masaaki immediately felt his muscles taut in the face of danger and raised his guard.
Takuma sidestepped a haymaker and countered by kicking him in the knee and followed up with two swift punches that were perfectly blocked. Masaaki saw an opening in the block and smashed a satisfying hit into his side.
''That felt good,'' Masaaki grinned when he saw Takuma''s eye bulge and spit fly out of his mouth.
He saw another opportunity created from his attack. He immediately moved in while putting more power in his bukijutsu¡ªwhen Takuma suddenly moved in a perfect counter, which not only closed the opportunity but also opened Masaaki to punishment.
''Shit, I got baited,'' Masaaki cursed.
He raised his block, but Takuma was faster and jammed a palm strike into his chest and then went below the belt by punching him in the groin. Masaaki staggered by the double blow and hastily raised his hands forward for a block, but Takuma was once again faster and slipped an augmented punch right into the upper abdomen.
The force from the chakra spread throughout his upper body, disrupting the tension in his muscles. The impact force itself knocked the wind out of his lungs and rendered him unable to either defend or attack a small window. Masaaki tried to let his body free fall back to close the window, but Takuma grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down as he slammed his knee into his stomach.
Masaaki folded from the waist as he flew into the air. Takuma pushed against the ground and rocketed above Masaaki while in the air. He joined his hands and then threw down a powerful augmented double-handle.
The burst of chakra released a sound wave as it smashed Masaaki down.
Through sheer force and determination, Masaaki twisted his body mid-crash and landed on his feet. The force made him kneel, and he felt the vestiges of the chakra wreaking havoc in his body. His legs threatened to give out from beneath him but he powered through and sprinted straight toward Takuma, who did the same.
Masaaki clenched his right fist, and the knuckledusters began to shine with a blinding glow. People thought he was a close-range fighter who had nothing to add range because he used knuckledusters as his weapon of choice, but they were mistaken.
He extended his fist when he was several metres out, releasing a concussive wind blast from a distance.
However, Takuma wasn''t "just someone" and moved out of the way, if a step too late. The fist-sized blast clipped his shoulder, sending him spinning to the side. He came to a sudden, unstable stop. Masaaski continued forward, ready to capitalise on the advantage, when he saw him spring up and meet him halfway, fist glowing.
As they closed the distance, Masaaki broke into a knee slide and slipped below the fist by mere inches. The augmentation''s force burst out, and he felt it part his hair, scratching against his scalp like sandpaper. He ignored the irritation, got up to his feet, and turned around to use the opportunity to attack.
Takuma, who had his back to Masaaki, quickly turned around and struck out with his cocked fist.
''He''s hasty'', Masaaki grinned when he saw Takuma strike out with his punch too early. Masaaki pumped the brakes to ensure the fist wouldn''t reach him, which was when he saw the clear look in Takuma''s eyes¡ªthere wasn''t a hint of panic in them.
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Even though the fist was far, a brutal force hit Masaaki square in the face and blasted him to the ground.
Takuma jumped on Masaaki and slammed a full-force, non-augmented fist into his chest that burst cracks below Masaaki''s body, who felt his bones on the verge of breaking¡ªand would''ve shattered if Takuma had used his strongest attack.
But he wasn''t concerned with that because he was shocked by what he had just witnessed.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Choza watched as his student hobbled to the sideline after the round of sparring came to an end. There was a look of stunned surprise on Masaaki''s face, hand on his chest where he had been hit.
"Do you know he created his augmentation all on his own," Masaaki said with a faraway look.
"I noticed that it seems to be based on overcharging the adhesion principle," Choza replied. If it were just that, he would''ve still considered it a waste of time and effort.
Many people had tried to use the principle similarly and had failed to turn it into something usable over a long time. The Akimichi clan itself had experimented with the principle because of their clan''s affinity and preference towards chakra augmentations to boost their destructive ability¡ªbut those projects had been abandoned after they thought it wasn''t worth the time and effort.
But from what he saw, the way Takuma used chakra to boost his striking force had evolved beyond the basic rules and limitations of the chakra adhesion principle. It was still very crude, but he could see potential; this could be a diamond.
"All by himself, you say?" asked Choza, interested in Masaaki''s friend.
"...Yeah, he used no reference. In hindsight, that wasn''t smart, but perhaps that''s why he succeeded. When he made mistakes, he used to crack his bones and rip his muscles, but look at him now; he has brought it so far," Masaaki sighed.
"Why do you sigh?"
"He had to figure out everything I have with a blueprint I could follow... and he still managed to inspire me. He stopped improving at a rapid pace for a year when he was in the Police Force¡ªand I thought it was my chance to catch up. I thought today would be the day I would fight him as equals. And yet here we are... it feels like the gap just keeps widening no matter what I do."
Choza gazed at his student with a soft smile.
They met once a week, where he would check Masaaki''s progress and give him advice and tasks for the next week. In the years they had been meeting, not once had Masaaki complained about anything and took everything in stride. He was stubborn in the best of ways and got along with almost everyone in the clan¡ªan exemplary shinobi with a respectable nindo.
He didn''t think he had seen Masaaki dejected like this when faced with defeat. He would always just laugh it off and confidently declare that he would improve and get back to training to make his claims happen. It was a quality that most people lacked¡ªthe willingness and desire to put in the work to improve.
''He resembles him,'' Choza smiled when he thought about his other student who had surpassed him and had become one of the leading figures in the village, renowned worldwide for his strength.
"Masaaki, get up."
Masaaki looked at Choza and saw the unbothered expression on his teacher''s face. The dejected look eased, soon replaced with a look of focus and determination. He slapped both his cheeks with the knuckledusters adorned on his fingers and got up.
"Sensei! I''m glad that my friend is getting better, but I''m also not happy at the same time. Is that bad?" Masaaki asked with a serious expression.
"It''s natural to feel that way sometimes," said Choza. Emotions were a complex matter, and he could understand where Masaaki was coming from. "Be ready, Masaaki. Starting tomorrow, we will meet thrice a week. I''m going to push you harder than we have ever trained. That gap you mentioned? We''re going to close it. You''re a shinobi with ties to the Akimichi clan¡ªyou have to win to hold up our honour and prestige."
Masaaki''s eyes widened in surprise, and he stayed rooted to the spot for a couple of seconds before he stood at attention and bowed till his torso was parallel to the ground.
"I''m honoured for your tutelage. I will work hard not to shame the Akimichi clan."
"Good," Choza smiled, and before he could tell him to stand straight, Choji approached Masaaki.
The little Akimichi tugged on Masaaki''s tank top, making him look at Choji, who held up a waterskin.
"I think your glowy knuckledusters are cooler, Masaaki!" said Choji.
Masaaki received the waterskin and looked between it, his knuckledusters, and Choji before breaking into a loud, rambunctious laughter as he ruffled Choji''s hair, who backed away quickly and glared at him because the knuckledusters were still on his fingers.
Choza chuckled. If there were one thing no one could beat Masaaki at, it would undoubtedly be his mental fortitude. He could laugh anything off and enjoyed battle to its fullest¡ªin their profession, that would take him far..
He turned to look at Masaaki''s friend in the distance. He had accompanied him today to check how Masaaki fared against someone outside the Akimichi clan. He had no opinion of the friend except for his work in the Police Force. But his interest piqued when Maruboshi Kosuke showed up.
''Takuma, was it?''
"Are you interested in Takuma?" asked Masaaki, noticing his teacher''s gaze.
"I''ll admit, he''s piqued my curiosity."
"I think Takuma would be perfect if he joined the clan," said Masaaki, immediately jumping the gun in the hopes that he could help his friend get the backing of a big clan.
Choza laughed, thoroughly amused. He enjoyed Masaaki''s personality and found it refreshing because there was no deceit in it. He spoke his mind as though it was natural to do so in every situation. Before he could say that it was too early for them to consider that, Masaaki dropped a shocking knowledge.
"But, it might be difficult to pull Takuma to the Akimichi. He''s Uchiha Mikoto, the Lady Uchiha''s student. But I think we''re a better fit for him. You saw his fighting style..."
Choza was no longer listening as he stared across the field at Takuma, who had suddenly gone from a surprise student of Maruboshi Kosuke to being close to the Uchiha matriarch.
That was no mere clanless orphan, and in that moment, he realised that he was looking at the beginnings of something great.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
On the other side of the field, Takuma was on all fours, heaving like a lung disease patient. Beads of sweat dripped from his body, enough to barely irrigate the patch of land around him. His face was red from exertion, and his body shook as though he had just run across the country without any stops.
"These... this... this is h-heavy," said Takuma, panting profusely. For the weighted gear to give maximum benefits, he had to push himself to operate at his usual speed. It wasn''t as strenuous when doing regular activities, but it was near torture to fight in those weights when he wasn''t used to them.
"No pain, no gain," Maruboshi smiled, tossing a canteen to Takuma, who drained it within seconds. "You were right; your friend does fight like you."
Takuma turned around and lay down on the ground on his back with his knees buckled up. He was silent momentarily and stared at the sky as his chest rose up and down.
"I didn''t want to fight like how I did just now when I was just starting," said Takuma, reaching into his memories. "I wanted to be a ranged fighter because I used to fear getting cut by kunai¡ and the pain. I wanted to keep my distance to be safe and use ninjutsu to do damage from afar."
"Surely you see the irony, my boy?" Maruboshi asked as he sat beside Takuma, cross-legged in the grass.
"When I knew I would fight up and close, I turned to the person I had seen fight like that the most. It was Masaaki. He loved to fight like that, and I can''t imagine him fighting in any other way. Do you know he was partially the reason I stuck to developing the chakra augmentation? He used to be so difficult to fight with his bukijutsu that I thought I could be just as difficult if I mirrored him. Even the Second Form augmentation was inspired by his bukijutsu... He and a fucking awful man named Masumoto are probably my greatest influences."
"Language," Maruboshi scolded. "The difference is that your friend is more skilled than you in taijutsu."
"Huh, I don''t think so."
"He doesn''t need to take unnecessary risks to deal damage. In my opinion, that''s the sign of better skill."
Takuma rolled his eyes and gazed across the field at Masaaki.
"...I guess he''s benefited from his association with the Akimichi clan."
Maruboshi glanced at Takuma, aware of Uchiha Mikoto''s offer to come under the Uchiha banner. It made him think about his youth when he was offered the same opportunity by both the Second and Third Hokage to join the Senju and Sarutobi respectively. He had refused their generosity due to his feelings towards himself, but it was an excellent opportunity for Takuma, and he had advised him to consider it with an open mind.
To do as he said, not as he did.
"Your friend is in great care. He''s lucky to have Akimichi Choza as his teacher."
"Who wouldn''t want the Akimichi clan head as their teacher."
"Of course, but it''s greater than a matter of reputation. When it comes to taijutsu, he''s possibly the best teacher your friend could hope for... after all, Akimichi Choza was Maito Gai''s jonin teacher."
CH_8.21 (286)
The next day, Takuma''s muscles ached from sparring against Masaaki while wearing the weighted gear. It had been a while since his body hurt as much as it did after sparring, but he''d sparred much harder and more often than usual too.
The pain was good because it represented growth, but that didn''t mean he had to like waking up in agony at the slightest twitch.
"It was a boon that you chose Masaaki as your first sparring partner," said Maruboshi as they stood in the same field the following day.
"How so?" asked Takuma as he stretched with his weighted gear on.
"Because his combat style is similar to yours, you have an example you can draw from. You said Masaaki and another man known as Masumoto inspired your fighting style. I want you to mimic them. Try out what they do and see how you feel."
"That doesn''t make sense," Takuma replied. "Both of them are willing to trade damage."
"I don''t know about the other one, but Masaaki only traded damage when he thought he absolutely needed to. You go into fights knowing you''ll trade damage. They do it for a reason; you don''t."
Takuma touched his toes and thought about the two other fighters.
Masumoto was Bishop''s real name; they had only fought twice, so he wasn''t sure about the man''s philosophy, but if he had to infer, Bishop wanted his opponent to feel stifling pressure throughout the fight; all of his decisions were geared toward that single goal.
As for Masaaki, he preferred to linger around and wait till he could get a devastating strike and believed in quality rather than quantity of attacks.
Maruboshi continued, "Since they inspired you, why not try mimicking them and see if you can find answers on how to further your own approach to combat."
Takuma didn''t think there was anything wrong with his style, but he kept that thought to himself and glanced a few steps away from him where Nenro was doing his warm up routine.
"I''m happy to help with anything," Nenro had said with a blinding smile when Takuma requested he be his sparring partner.
Takuma couldn''t help but sigh at his friend''s good looks; those same looks had made him immensely popular. He, on the other hand, had made a baby cry when he was out grocery shopping¡ªhis new scar apparently made him look like he was itching for a fight.
Nenro was his second invite after Masaaki. The two were different but equally skilled fighters, and Nenro had insisted on helping him even though he was swamped and liked to relax during his free time.
"Let''s start with the first round," said Maruboshi, looking between the two of them.
Nenro nodded and sprinted to a tree on the other side of the field to finish his warmup.
Maruboshi noticed Takuma gazing at his friend with a sombre expression and asked if something was wrong.
"When I first met them, Masaaki used to be tougher to fight. Now that I fight like him, he''s easier to handle¡ªbut Nenro has become a more challenging opponent." Takuma was stronger, but if he limited himself to Nenro''s level, the spars were some of the most challenging he had fought and that included the brutality he faced within the Ring. "He''s my perfect counter when it comes to ninjutsu... Lightning trumps both Water and Earth."
"Lightning, that''s rare," said Maruboshi. The Land of Fire got its name because a majority of the country''s natives had the Fire nature as their primary affinity. Similar patterns could be seen in other major nations. There were theories with insufficient proof, but no one knew the exact reason why such patterns could be seen across the lands.
"And knowing him, he must have improved in the past year... I don''t know if I can beat him if I limit myself to his level."
Maruboshi thought Takuma was putting himself down because he had been talking about changing his fighting style and wanted to reassure him when he noticed the fire in his eyes. It seemed like he didn''t need to say anything.
"Go on then, let''s see if you can adapt on the fly," said Maruboshi.
Takuma walked up to Nenro, who waited for him with a smile. Nenro used to have shorter brown hair, but in the year Takuma was away, he had grown his hair and now wore it in a short, low ponytail. His face had lost its baby fat, making his features sharper, but the most significant change in Nenro were his eyes.
They always seemed intelligence to Takuma, but now there was an added layer of wisdom that imparted maturity to his appearance.
"Masaaki said you have gotten stronger," said Nenro.
"I hope you haven''t let yourself stagnate with your recent workload," Takuma replied.
He was surprised when he heard that Nenro was leading missions as a genin, but he was also proud of his friend. Out of everyone their age, Nenro was the one who always seemed to have things together the most. While Takuma was frantically juggling drug dealing, the Ring, and then the Police Force¡ªNenro was taking planned steps, working under several chunin who took different missions to learn as much as he could and build himself a solid foundation.
All of that had paid off now and Nenro was getting the recognition he deserved while he built a jump pad to reach the next stage in his career.
"Fight me to find out," Nenro smiled. "I assume we''re going with the full range?"
"It won''t be fun otherwise," said Takuma. With Masaaki, their spars were restricted to taijutsu because that''s what they enjoyed facing in each other, but with Nenro, he used everything in his arsenal.
Clanking metal sounded as Nenro put his left hand behind his back while he raised his right hand to form the Seal of Confrontation, not even trying to hide that he was pulling out a kunai. The spar had already started, Takuma thought as he looked at Nenro smiling before him. He raised his Seal of Confrontation, too, while chakra trickled into his other hand.
"You can start," said Nenro, pulling a kunai out behind his back.
"No, please, be my guest," said Takuma before remembering that he was supposed to mimic Masaaki and Bishop to find the answers Maruboshi wanted him to seek. He thought about what Bishop would do, and the answer was that he would take control of the fight''s momentum by taking the initiative.
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"I insist," Nenro smiled.
Takuma shrugged and abruptly made the move first. His body blurred as he shot forward with his arm cocked back, ready to unleash a punch. Nenro was ready and zoomed backwards, not as fast as him, but he compensated by throwing the kunai at his legs.
Takuma skipped to the side to evade the kunai, hopped from one foot and punched out while spinning all in one uninterrupted motion. Chakra Augmentation: Second Form. The ranged blast shot out his fist. A surprised Nenro brought up his guard, but a part of the force hit him square in the chest and threw him off his feet.
This proved that Masaaki hadn''t told Nenro about Takuma''s new tricks, however, the Second Form augmentation was inspired by Masaaki''s range bukijutsu, and Nenro had faced that an ample number of times. Instincts kicked in, and he gained control of his body in mid-air and landed on his hands before pushing off to land on his feet.
Pressure, Takuma repeated the word in his mind like a mantra to keep himself from falling back into his habits.
He weaved hand seals for the Water Release: Wild Water Wave, nostrils filling with humid air as he sprayed out a powerful jet at Nenro, who used the momentum of his backflip to continue retreating. He still got hit by the wave, but had made so much distance that it felt like running full-speed into a heavy door rather than getting hit by a C-rank jutsu.
Takuma''s hands rose on instinct. It felt natural to use the Water Release: Eight Tentacles afterd creating a water source, but then he remembered that the same habit had been exploited by Maruboshi two days ago.
More pressure, he thought and shot toward Nenro.
Nenro lost footing when he landed and skidded onto his knees. Before he was even stable, his hands moved rapidly to form seals, but contrary to his expectations, Takuma didn''t stop to create his tentacles and charged toward him.
Nenro''s brows creased into a frown when he saw that. Two choices lay ahead of him. Abandon the hand seals and get up with enough time to face Takuma or complete the jutsu with the risk of getting throttled into the ground by an augmented strike that was sure to come.
It took him mere milliseconds to make a decision, and he rushed through the hand seals faster.
Takuma arrived before Nenro and pushed out a vicious, augmented front kick. At the exact moment, Nenro finished his hand seals, and the ninjutsu came alive. As Takuma''s foot crashed into Nenro''s chest, an azure lightning current sparked at the point of contact.
Nenro felt like an elephant had stomped on him, and his body slammed into the ground, creating a local tremor in the field. Takuma, on the other hand, screamed as an intense wave of lightning struck his body from his foot, and he momentarily lost a significant portion of his strength, falling to his knees as his muscles spasmed out of control; he looked down at his hands that were trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"I-I learned that because of you and Masaaki." Takuma looked up to see Nenro getting on his feet with a pained expression as he clutched his chest. Hair-thin currents of lightning sparked across his body at random. Nenro smirked, "Want to experience how it feels to face you? I''ve got just the thing."
Takuma clenched his fist and punched the ground before getting up. "Oh really? Show it to me then," he said, but at the same time, he wondered what about the jutsu. Other than some lingering pain, he didn''t feel much else.
The worrying part was the loss of muscle control.
Nenro raised his hands and attacked Takuma, who moved back while dodging. He couldn''t compare with Takuma and Masaaki when it came to taijutsu, but he wasn''t a slouch either. He moved quickly with light steps and tried to pry open the opponent''s guard with jabs before striking out with combos.
Takuma raised his guard as Nenro struck out with a kick to the thigh and was already set to counter with a body shot when a current jolted through his leg, causing it to spasm. It wasn''t bad enough to make him kneel, but he halted, and his other leg had to take over to maintain balance. He forced himself back in control, but in that time, Nenro got in two more hits.
Takuma felt his right shoulder and left forearm momentarily paralysed after sparks of lightning upon contact. This was when he realised Nenro''s ninjutsu¡ªand how dangerous it was¡ªhe literally couldn''t allow Nenro to touch him. He charged his leg with chakra and stomped the ground between them as hard as possible, causing debris to fly and forcing them to back away.
The separation gave Takuma time to think about how to proceed. His initial thought was to go for it and let himself get shocked if he could get the opportunity to punish Nenro, so he wouldn''t dare let Takuma come close from the fear of getting punched. But he immediately recognised that he was once again falling back on his habits, a realisation that frustrated him.
If he mimicked Bishop, the correct course of action was to continue pilling up the pressure. He couldn''t let Nenro think he was scared of his ninjutsu, and getting aggressive was the best way to accomplish that. But that wasn''t an option, so he went the other way to think what Masaaki would do.
Quality over quantity. Takuma''s tense shoulders relaxed as he decided to slow down. He needed to judge the situation to come up with the optimal solution. He didn''t know what this jutsu was, but there had to be a weakness. However, Takuma also wanted to end the spar quickly, so instead of drawing out the fight to figure things out, he decided to work with what he had.
Touching Nenro was a no-go, so what else could he do?
''Second Form?'' thought Takuma before rejecting the idea because he would be too close, and Nenro was skilled enough to make contact with him even with the augmentation.
What else? The answer was apparent. He had the perfect jutsu for ranged damage.
Takuma started by controlling Nenro''s movements with shuriken and kunai. Nenro was invested in coming close, but Takuma kept him away using projectile weapons. He even used two weights tied on a string weapon to trip him. Nenro came close a few times, but Takuma managed to keep him at a distance with the threat of the Second Form augmentation.
He could use the Hidden Mist Jutsu to create the opportunity, but he wasn''t in the mood to use that, and it could complicate the situation, given that Nenro used Lightning nature and had a few ninjutsu that could put him in trouble.
Nenro, realising what Takuma was trying, stopped chasing and began to form hand seals. Takuma could guess what jutsu Nenro was going to use because of their numerous spars and began to form hand seals as well.
Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder
Earth Release: Earthen Dome
Nenro split his hands after forming the final hand seal, and a wave of lightning currents jumped between his hands. He thrust his hands in Takuma''s direction for a surge of powerful lightning to head toward him, ripping the ground in its path into shreds, burning everything it came into contact with.
The earth around Takuma rose to form a dome that began to crumble the moment lightning surge made contact due to the type-disadvantage. At any moment, the lightning could pierce through and strike Takuma, but he didn''t escape using theEarth Release: Hiding in the Rock jutsu and trusting his skill with the jutsu would allow it to stand up just long enough for him to mount his counterattack.
Outside the dome, Nenro waited for the dome to crumble so he could send a second surge to strike Takuma. But before the dome could crumble, something pierced through the dome from the inside.
Nenro was hit by three water bullets that had been dulled enough that they wouldn''t do any real damage but would hurt like hell. The shock of getting hit three times square in the chest shattered Nenro''s concentration on the jutsu and left him clutching his chest from the pain.
The dome crumbled, and Takuma stood up with a water globe floating before his hand. He could still shoot three more times, and the globe was stable. His mastery of the jutsu had increased since he had last used it, and he felt like he had finally reached the bare minimum mastery over Water Release: Spirit Water Wave.
"And that''s one win for me," said Takuma as he let go of the jutsu.
He turned to look at Maruboshi and found him smiling on the sideline. Takuma looked back at the fighting, and he had to admit it had gone better than expected. If he was fighting as he usually did, the battle would have turned into one of endurance to see who could take the most damage before giving in.
"Alright... I''ll give this adjustment thing a legit try," he whispered.
On the sidelines, Maruboshi''s smile widened.
CH_8.22 (287)
Uchiha Fugaku returned home from a tough day at work to find his wife humming a merry tune in the living room with a smile. Mikoto was sitting on a tarp she had laid out in the room and cleaning her shinobi gear that had been in storage for years.
"I''m home," said Fugaku as he entered the room and walked behind her. "This is unexpected."
"Welcome back," Mikoto smiled.
Fugaku caught the shuriken she tossed at him. It looked freshly coated with oil to prevent the metal from reacting with moisture and developing rust. "May I ask what''s the occasion?" His experience turned severe. "Is it a mission?"
Mikoto was a jonin of the Hidden Leaf in the reserve forces, which meant she was retired but was still employed by the village and would answer the call if they required her. There were enough shinobi in the village that they didn''t need to call upon retired ones. Mikoto had only been called up once since she had retired¡ªit was a rare enough occurrence that the mission specifically required someone with her skillset.
"There''s no mission." Mikoto smiled, "I''ve been invited to a spar!"
"Sparring?" asked Fugaku, confused.
"Isn''t it exciting? It''s been so long since I''ve got an opportunity to move around," Mikoto smiled brightly before gazing at her husband. "I wonder when we stopped sparring with each other?"
Fugaku sat beside her on the tarp with a sigh. "I believe the last time we sparred was just before the Third War was declared."
"That was such a long time ago," she sighed. "Itachi was still a little boy back then."
Fugaku nodded, a certain memory passed through his mind of Itachi in his arms as they walked around a battlefield fresh after a skirmish. His eldest son had seen the truth of the world that day, shaping him into the man his son was now. Perhaps that event was also why his son chose to betray their clan; he could understand why Itachi did what he did, but it didn''t change the fact that he conspired with outsiders, putting the clan in danger.
He verified the information in the letter they received when Shisui died. Itachi confessed everything to be true. Fugaku and Mikoto decided to hide the existence of the actual letter and forged a false one, which was presented to the Uchiha clan. In doing so, they had done the same thing as Itachi, but there was no regret because it was a parent''s duty to protect their children.
Since that day, he had tried his hardest to find the letter''s author, but they had run into dead-ends everywhere. Their search continued, but a year passed, and the trail grew cold every passing day. There would''ve been hope if they had a clue, but there was nothing they could latch onto.
"Who are you sparring with?" asked Fugaku.
"Takuma."
Fugaku hummed. He thought someone from the clan had invited her to spar, but it made seeing that Takuma was her student.
"Speaking of your student, Setsuna has been going around to get the boy a rank promotion... His contract ends in a few weeks, and he has some demands before he signs an extension," said Fugaku.
It had only been a few days, but the news of Setsuna meeting with different department heads and their deputies to see if they would be interested in having Takuma in their departments as a chunin.
As the Head of the Leaf Military Police Force, he tracked internal promotions,however, the department heads had primary authority over who they wished to promote. Interfering in their decisions wasn''t his place, though he could influence their decisions even if he preferred not to.
"Apparently, he wants a B-rank jutsu and his choice of assignments," said Fugaku. He didn''t know the exact details as he had yet met Setsuna, but it would happen soon enough.
"Do you think he''ll get a promotion?" asked Mikoto as she checked the stitching on her thigh pouch.
"Yes, that''s not a problem," said Fugaku. He recognised Takuma''s value as a shinobi and his contribution to the Police Force; it wasn''t hard to get him a rank promotion¡ªthe problem came with his demands and placement after promotion.
Allowing someone access to B-rank jutsu was a significant decision, even for clans as big as the Uchiha and the party which permitted access to the B-rank jutsu was held responsible in case something went wrong. When the village allowed someone access to the B-rank archives, there was a great deal of due diligence to ensure the shinobi was ready for the responsibility.
The clans were allowed the freedom to open their personal jutsu archives to anyone they desired without state interference¡ªbut they were held responsible if the shinobi caused trouble. However, that wasn''t an issue. The real problem was creating a precedent. If the Police Force gave Takuma a B-rank jutsu, that opened the gates for the affiliated clans to demand the same. The affiliated clans were smaller in size and history, and while they had jutsu archives of their own, they were limited. Many people from the Land of Fire shared Fire as their primary affinity, which caused many clans'' jutsu archives to be filled with Fire Release ninjutsu.
This created problems when someone had a different primary affinity and even if they had Fire as their primary affinity, mastery over two natures was a jonin requirement¡ªwhich was where apex clans like the Uchiha with rich and diverse history and expansive jutsu archives came into play.
In return for allowing the affiliated clans access to their jutsu archive, the Uchiha clan received their loyalty and support. This access had to be strictly controlled to maintain the power dynamic, so allowing Takuma a B-rank jutsu right after his promotion could shift that dynamic and create dissatisfaction among allied clans if they weren''t given the same treatment.
That was the only part of the problem. Takuma had demanded his choice of assignments, which was more difficult in some ways because it could create dissatisfaction wherever Takuma lands due to the favourable treatment. Ultimately, it was the department head''s call, but Fugaku was concerned it would negatively affect the outlook towards the new wave of external hires.
"Retaining him is the obvious option; the question is if he''ll accept what we can realistically offer him. There won''t be a problem if he''s willing to wait as we spread his demands apart¡ªbut I don''t think he''ll be willing to," said Fugaku.
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Mikoto stopped stress-testing the weapons pouch and rested it in her lap.
"I offered him a rank promotion in return for swearing fealty to the clan a few days back," she said.
As a jonin of the clan, Mikoto had all the right to bring someone into the clan. Fugaku was surprised because it was the first time she had shown enough interest in someone to bring someone into the clan. What had started as Mikoto wanting to fill her free time had turned into a relationship close enough for her to invite her student into the clan.
"What did he say?"
"That he''ll think about it," she replied. "You''re not to share this with anyone until he gives me an answer. I don''t want this to influence the process at the Police Force."
Fugaku sighed because his knowledge of it already influenced the decision. In truth, Takuma becoming affiliated with the clan would slash all barriers at the Police Force and make it easier for them to award him because they could justify his rewards.
However, there was an opposite effect where it would seem like the promotion at the Police Force was contingent on him joining the clan¡ªwhich could send all the wrong signals to Takuma, who could very well assume that they wanted him to swear allegiance to the clan if he wanted to succeed at the Police Force.
If that happened, that would shatter any future beyond repair.
"Do you think he will accept?" he asked.
"I''m not sure. He seemed surprised by the offer, but I couldn''t tell if he was interested or not... which was strange."
"How so?"
"He has been quite vocal about seeking a rank promotion long before his deployment to the Steam-Frost war. As far as he''s concerned, there''s no certainty in the Police Force promotion, so I thought he would react more to an offer that was pretty much guaranteed a promotion, but he was surprisingly passive about it. I didn''t expect him to jump out of his spot in joy, but I thought he would react in some way... but he didn''t, which makes me wonder..."
"What?" asked Fugaku, curious.
"... That maybe he has an offer somewhere else and is confident he''ll get it," said Mikoto.
"Hasn''t he only been back for less than two weeks?"
"I''m only speculating... He told me that his chunin-in-command out there was Mitarashi Anko."
"That seems familiar." Fugaku searched for the name in his memories and quickly arrived at the answer. "Orochimaru''s pupil?" From his memories, Mitarashi Anko had been on a hot streak as a rising star in the Hidden Leaf until Orochimaru''s defection and his subsequent branding as a high-threat rogue, which had sapped all momentum due to her association with the Snake Sannin.
She nodded.
"What about her?" he asked.
"She''s joining the Torture and Interrogation Department."
"You think they''re interested in Takuma?"
"If they weren''t from his time at the Narcotics Taskforce, they would be after what he did in the war."
Fugaku then recalled the grape wine conversation he had heard about the Narcotics Taskforce and how they regularly invited an interrogator from the T&I Department for tougher interrogations. It wouldn''t be strange that Takuma had developed a relationship with T&I during that time, making them interested in having him come over to their side.
"What did he do during the war?" asked Fugaku.
"I think it''d be better if you get that from his mission file," Mikoto said, picking up the cloth roll to wrap the handles of the kunai.
Getting a mission file from the war commission was a hectic process because of the red tape involved, but as the Head of the Police Force and the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku could easily obtain the file. He gazed at his wife and realised that her relationship with her student was closer than he thought if she directed him to another source instead of telling him herself.
It also made him wonder what Takuma had done out there in the war.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Mitarashi Anko wasn''t a stranger to nervousness. It had been a part of her life since her former teacher had gone rogue after committing horrendous crimes. Her association with him had permanently tainted her life, and she had been paying the price ever since.
However, she felt the time had finally changed now that she had officially joined the Leaf Torture and Interrogation Department. They had recruited her before she was deployed for the Steam-Frost war, but the deployment had delayed her joining. She had completed her onboarding and was finally ready to get into the groove of things and establish herself in her new place of work.
"Anko, the boss wants to see you!"
"I''ll be right there!" Anko responded as she set up her desk.
Unlike what people thought, the Leaf T&I Department wasn''t a depressing dungeon full of horrors with barred prison cells and screams behind every door. It was a bog-standard office place where people would feel comfortable coming to work every day.
Even though the T&I Department was part of the larger Leaf Intelligence Division, they had a separate headquarters for functional reasons, situated across the street from the village prison, and the department members went to the prison for interrogations to eliminate any travel-based security risks; it was also in the same part of the village as the Leaf Military Police Force headquarters and the Uchiha Compound.
Anko reached the Head of the T&I Department''s office and nodded to the secretary sitting outside, who told her to head inside. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door and stepping inside to see two people waiting for he.
"Come in," said the man sitting behind the desk in the office.
The T&I Department''s leadership changed a little over a year and a half ago. The department welcomed Tokubetsu Jonin Morino Ibiki, a seasoned shinobi who had spent all of his career in the Leaf Intelligence Division, working in its various departments before settling in the T&I Department.
He was a large, imposing figure, which he complemented with a rugged head and face covered with old wounds and scars hidden behind his cap-like forehead protector.
The second person was Tokubetsu Jonin Oishi Yori, a tall woman with black shoulder-length hair and sharp eyes who had piercing looks as though she was always trying to look through the people before her. She had risen in power after Ibiki had taken his position as the head of the department was now one of his second-in-commands.
Like Ibiki, she had been in the Leaf Intelligence Division for most of her career, having spent most of it in the T&I Division.
"You wanted to see me, boss?" asked Anko. She appreciated Ibiki because he had hired her and had shown no prejudice because of her past, unlike many who rejected her before even getting to know her.
"Where''s your uniform, Chunin Anko?" asked Ibiki.
He and Yori were wearing the standard uniform of the Leaf Intelligence Division as mandated.
"It''s not my style, boss," Anko replied. She didn''t like uniforms and preferred dressing to express herself. And it felt great to wear her wardrobe again after over a year of wearing uniform; there was no way she would wear the same uniform just when she returned home.
"Make sure that you wear it starting tomorrow," said Ibiki.
Anko didn''t nod or say anything because she wasn''t going to wear the uniform.
"Chunin Anko, we called you here because we are considering hiring someone for our department," said Yori, motioning for Anko to sit down beside her. "You know them, and we were wondering if you could tell us about your experience with them."
"Someone from the other departments?" asked Anko as she sat down. She knew a few people in the Leaf Intelligence Division and wondered who they were trying to pull into the department.
"It''s someone from outside the division," said Ibiki, pushing a file across the desk.
Anko saw the photograph in the open file and saw Takuma dressed in the Police Force uniform.
"It''s your recent subordinate in the Steam-Frost war, Genin Takuma. Yori has worked with him several times and thinks he will be a good fit for us. Yori''s son is a good friend of Takuma; from what we have been told, his relationship with the Police Force isn''t at its best currently, and seeing that his contract with the Police Force is set to expire, we are considering snatching him up. What do you think?"
Anko stared at the photo for a moment before nodding with a smile, "You''re correct; he''ll be a great fit... There''s a lot I can tell you; what do you want to know?"
"Start from the beginning."
She took a seat and got comfortable, tapping a finger to her chin as she tried to figure out the best way to sell Takuma to her new boss.
CH_8.23 (288)
Maruboshi had Takuma take a one-day break from sparring and go through a tough day of physical conditioning. He could tell that Takuma had figured something out after his fight with Nenro, and he wanted to give him time to gather his thoughts before he let him explore it.
His goal wasn''t to see Takuma change his combat style¡ªone week was too short to see mass changes¡ªbut he wanted to kickstart the process. Somewhere along the line, Takuma had stopped experimenting with his combat style, and while that allowed him to solidify his style and gain depth and experience, Maruboshi''s opinion was that he had stopped at the wrong time. Right now, he was too inexperienced and young to stop progressing his fighting style.
"It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maruboshi Kosuke. I am Uchiha Mikoto, a jonin of the Hidden Leaf," said Mikoto with an elegant bow, her grace evident in every movement. She wore a white shirt with a faint light blue shuriken print design and flared sleeves paired with dark blue, puffy hakama-style pants. Her hands were covered by worn-out leather gloves, and she held a sheathed sword.
"The honour is mine, Lady Uchiha. Your war exploits in the Land of Rivers against the Stone shinobi precede you," Maruboshi said, polite and humble as always.
In her youth, Mikoto participated in a drawn-out conflict between Leaf and Stone in the Land of Rivers, where she earned achievements that propelled her to the esteemed rank of jonin. When Takuma met her, he went into the archives to learn about her past, and she was prominently present in in the filed on the conflict.
Mikoto humbly smiled before turning to Takuma, which was when her smile widened. "Thank you for inviting me to spar, Takuma. It''s been so long since I''ve done this that I''m quite excited!"
He returned the smile with a smaller, more humble one. "I hope fighting me won''t be disappointing for someone at your level."
"...Well, I am rusty, but I don''t believe I''ll lose, even if I fight at your level," said Mikoto with a smirk.
Maruboshi glanced at Takuma. His student was usually calm, but he never backed down when it came to combat-related provocations. It was a sense of pride he had developed from his time as a prizefighter.
"I''m going to have you take those words back," said Takuma, tilting his chin up.
"I don''t think so," smiled Mikoto before skipping away to start her warm-up.
Maruboshi was happy that Takuma had such a good relationship with another mentor figure.. He worked too much, so he didn''t have too many friends, and his personality didn''t lend itself to making many friends, which was why Maruboshi was happy whenever he formed close relationships with people.
"Why did you want me to fight her?" Takuma asked him.
"Because she''s overwhelmingly stronger than you," Maruboshi answered. He wanted Takuma to fight someone who he wouldn''t be able to beat no matter what he did. He was supposed to be that opponent, but when Takuma proposed inviting Mikoto, he agreed because she would be a better option. "Even think of trading damage with her; she will make you regret it. You''re facing an opponent who outclasses you in everything from weapons to experience. Everything you throw at her is bound to fail. You aren''t going to win, so you might very well take the opportunity to try out new things."
Even if Mikoto were to bring herself down to Takuma''s physical level, there was a gulf of skill and experience between them that was too wide to bridge. Even though he had essentially said that winning was impossible, he knew Takuma wouldn''t accept it¡ªit wasn''t in his nature, and he would try to win until the bitter end.
Maruboshi understood Takuma, so he knew he would also treat his warning as a provocation, so he decided to pour oil into the fire. "If you can force her to use the Sharingan, I''ll give you the win."
Takuma''s eyes narrowed as he gazed over at Mikoto.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"So you''re trying to adjust your fighting style?" asked Mikoto as she faced Takuma. "Why? What''s wrong with it."
"I have a tendency to trade damage to win fights," said Takuma.
She raised an eyebrow. "Even though you spent months learning genjutsu with me?"
Takuma looked away, his face growing hot.
Genjutsu vehemently opposed trading damage; if trading damage was crude, then genjutsu was elegant. The truth was that while Takuma had spent a significant amount of time exploring genjutsu and could now use his current arsenal through any sensory connection, be it sight, scent, touch, or sound and get 90% of the original effect.
However, he had spent almost no time integrating genjutsu into his combat style.
"I guess that will be something we will address when we resume our lessons," said Mikoto.
Takuma nodded with pursed lips and clenched his fist. He felt he hadn''t been working hard enough and had let down both of his teachers.
"Let''s start," said Maruboshi from the sidelines.
Takuma assumed his stance while Mikoto remained at ease. He had no impression of her combat style, but he could make some assumptions based on his experience. He had worked with Uchiha Gouki in the Narcotics Taskforce, which had led them to spar a couple of times, and while the insights from then were incomplete at best, it was all he had.
Takuma made the first move with two quick jabs followed by a heavy right hand. Mikoto raised her empty hand, effortlessly swatted away the jabs, and then blocked the follow-up with her forearm. Takuma turned up the aggression and went for an augmented body shot, immediately caught in Mikoto''s grip. He ripped himself free and stepped back to chamber a kick to her knee.
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She dodged by pulling her foot back and then caught a spinning roundhouse kick coming for her head with her hand. Mikoto grinned as she pulled the leg, and Takuma felt himself being pulled off his foot. He activated his core and spun mid-air to whip across a kick from his other leg, freeing him as Mikoto released his leg to block it.
Takuma hopped away with a frown. Mikoto had only used one hand the entire time while her other arm held that sword by her side. Her smile, her relaxed posture, that short exchange, said more about the gap between them than anything.
He understood that, even though she was retired, he was facing a jonin.
"I wonder if I can get by using only one hand," Mikoto sang.
Takuma almost charged her but he te took a deep breath and backed away couple of steps to take a moment.
After his fight with Nenro, he realised something about his fighting style. His style was based on the standard Hidden Leaf Kata as the foundation and was developed further in the Ring. When he was coming up there, he studied his opponents and peers to create and adapt his style to win matches. He devoured any tactic and technique he deemed valuable and added them to his style.
Why did he stop? Why didn''t he steal from other shinobi? Did he look at them differently because they didn''t forge their skills through bloody fights? He didn''t know the answer, but it was probably why he stagnated after leaving the Ring. Was it because he no longer had to fight three bloody fights weekly?
I should change that. Takuma took a deep breath and considered how to approach the fight. Instinct was an essential part of combat; things often happened so fast that there was no time to think, and that''s when instinct, honed through experience and hours of practice, kicked in to move the body, be it for offence or defence. But he was trying to change his style, and he needed to actively think about what to do if he wanted to break that habit.
There''s no need to go in guns blazing; let''s set things up like Nenro. Takuma walked around Mikoto as she watched him from the same spot; he slowly sped up until he was running. He raised his hands and weaved hand seals, making Mikoto slightly more vigilant.
Takuma slammed his foot into the ground to stop and poured out a massive wave of water toward her. Water Release: Wild Water Wave. The scabbard clinked as Mikoto thumbed the sword''s hilt guard, causing the blade to slide out; she caught it with her other hand and slashed almost too fast for Takuma''s eyes, and before he knew it, the wave was bisected with the two parts forced to the sides.
The sword slash was faster than anything he had seen from Kameko, the fastest sword he knew. Takuma dashed toward her while already flowing into another set of hand seals. He eyed the sword and stopped just outside its range. Chakra flowed into his leg as he smashed his toes into the ground, spraying dirt toward her.
Mikoto pushed the dirt, heading for her face away with a slash, but the rest hit her harmlessly. She frowned, "I hadn''t worn this in so long. It''s already dirty too¡ª"
She turned around and launched another quick strike at the flying water, which burst upon impact but still rushed past her. She looked back at Takuma to see he had thrown four kunai into the air around him. Water Release: Eight Tentacles. The water coalesced behind his back, and four thick tentacles spurted out, snatching the kunai out of the air.
With the setup complete, he shot toward her. Eight Tentacles wasn''t a jutsu that could handle a lot of weight, but after years of consistently using it in training and every battle of his life, he had reached an amount of skill where the tentacles he created were strong. He eyed the sword in Mikoto''s hands. By merging eight into four, he had the confidence to contend against it for a little while.
The four kunai-bearing tentacles zoomed toward Mikoto in a blur. She looked calm as her sword parried and deflected the onslaught, but that was not the only thing she needed to worry about. Takuma stepped in and threw a haymaker, but Mikoto side-stepped it elegantly.
He pivoted on his lead foot and threw an augmented palm strike to her chest and Mikoto''s other hand moved, the sheath deflecting his palm strike.
Her lips parted, dark eyes wide with shock.
"Two hands!" Takuma exclaimed as he looked up at her smugly.
Mikoto''s eyes narrowed with an amused expression, and she moved as she continued to avoid Takuma''s strikes. Sparks flew around them as metal clashed while Takuma bombarded her with a quick chain of strikes, each of them failing to touch her. It was like she knew in advance where his attacks were coming from. Takuma''s heart skipped a beat, and he looked up at her eyes only to see they were still normal.
"I don''t need to use my eyes," said Mikoto, sweeping Takuma''s legs, but he avoided it by raising his leg.
She took a quick backstep and her aura changed when she raised her sword. His self-preservation instincts told him to back off, but then he saw Maruboshi on the edge of his peripheral vision and thought about what he would do.
Takuma stood his ground and planted his feet firmly; trying to move away could open him up to being punished by someone as fast as Mikoto. Maruboshi had lost his leg during a mission and had to rebuild his footwork and combat style from the ground up to compensate for the prosthetic leg.
There is more to footwork than being quick and light-footed; a stable base is perhaps more important than anything. Takuma recalled Maruboshi and focused on his legs. What would Maruboshi do?
The sword left behind a silver streak as Mikoto slashed at him. Takuma would''ve skipped back out of the range, but he stayed his ground instead to parry the stab with a kunai from his tentacles. It gave him a moment of reprieve, but that was it. Mikoto flowed into her next attack without a moment''s pause, giving him no time to retaliate.
Takuma was thrown off his feet by a spinning kick. He focused on his feet and landed with solid footing and ducked beneath a wide slash before rolling away from the descending blade. He got to his feet an instant before Mikoto came after him with a chain of strikes.
They were fast to the point he almost felt motion-sick following them, but he made calculated moves, moving his body in conjunction with footwork while his breathing fell into sync with his movements as evading the strikes. His mind raced as he thought about his footwork more than he had ever done before. He thought ahead about the subsequent three attacks as he dodged the current one, wondering if his current move would screw him over a few seconds later. His thoughts branched like a chess player forecasting moves, coming up with responses for all possibilities.
It was terrifying.
His instincts screamed at him to put some space between himself and the blade.. His heart lurched every time he felt the cold steel against his skin and .. And yet, his mind remained clear¡ªoccupied with a hundred thoughts¡ªbut focused.
He stayed nearby where he was in the range to make an immediate counterattack.
I see it. Takuma wasn''t even sure what he saw, but he recognised that the swing coming from his shoulder was the last one before Mikoto would pause to gather herself for breath.
Takuma charged his fist with chakra as two tentacles deflected the sword slash. He struck out with his entire body''s momentum behind the punch.
It''s going to hit, Takuma thought as his fist drew closer. Just as he was about to make an impact, Mikoto sprung back at the last moment.
Takuma stumbled on his feet as he whiffed the strike. His breathing was shaky, but he immediately resumed a stance of a solid base, and his eyes remained on Mikoto in case she came to the counter.
It wasn''t a swat from her hands, a block with her arm, or even using her sheath to deflect the attack.
Mikoto had jumped away because that was the only option he had given her; the timing was perfect¡ªbut Takuma didn''t think about anything besides hitting her.
I should''ve used the Second Form fist. Takuma was already thinking about his mistakes and his future moves.
CH_8.24 (289)
Takuma didn''t rush in, nor did he pause to relax. Almost getting a hit in was nothing special when Mikoto was playing around with him. Unlike Maruboshi, who purposefully left openings to see if he would notice and correctly exploit them to test his techniques, Mikoto was a typical sparring opponent, and thus, a constant source of threat and pressure.
As he thought about his next move, Mikoto looked down at her sword and scabbard before looking up at Takuma.
"You almost got one in there, Takuma," she said.
"Not at all."
"Hmm, I''ve gotten rusty." She gazed at him for a moment. "Do you always fight like this? It didn''t seem like you were trying to trade damage."
"No, this is not how I usually fight. I was trying to mimic¡ªno, take inspiration¡ªfrom how Maruboshi-sensei fights," said Takuma, pointing his chin in his old teacher''s direction. Seeing that they were conversing, he slightly relaxed and lowered his head with a sigh. "I''m too wrapped in my way of fighting; I can''t see how to get out of it... so I thought, what if I tried to try to copy other fighters that I know? Maybe that will expand my mind, and something will stick."
Bishop''s style of layering pressure until the opponent broke; Masaaki''s opportunistic, quality-over-quantity way of fighting; Maruboshi''s stable footwork that he was forced to develop after losing his leg; Nenro''s set-up approach with ninjutsu. Because he had built his entire style by observing others in the Ring, he knew every fighter had something they could offer him.
But Takuma had trapped himself in a bubble; perhaps it was because he had learned in the Ring, where everyone fought similarly because they learned from other Ring fighters; he had trapped himself in the bubble. He wanted to see what he could take from shinobi who weren''t from the Ring, and break out of his bubble.
"Learning from others, is it?" she said to herself with a smile. "This isn''t suitable then..." Mikoto sheathed her sword and threw it behind her; it spun in the air before stabbing the ground with the tip almost perpendicular to the surface.
She raised her arms in a defensive block and opened her legs to form a wide stance. "Come at me, Takuma. Try out what you want to take from others, and let''s check if you''re any good at taking," she said as she rotated her wrists.
Takuma thought she was switching to something like his spars with Maruboshi.
Mikoto took out a kunai but stayed still at her spot, so Takuma carefully shuffled toward her with four tentacles holding a kunai each. When he entered her personal space, he jolted at her with a quick sweep kick while all four tentacles moved simultaneously.
The sweep was supposed to lock her legs so she couldn''t move to dodge the four kunai. Mikoto''s wide stance ensured that her back leg was already out of Takuma''s reach and the moment his leg left the ground for the sweep, she moved by pulling her front leg back.
But while the sweep missed its mark, the four tentacles stabbed simultaneously at different parts of her body.
While she was pulling back her leg, she bent her knees to lower her height to gain half a second worth of additional travel time before the kunai reached her¡ªwhich was enough for her to swing her own kunai to parry two tentacles. Mikoto twisted her torso to evade the third while her empty hand smashed into the final tentacle, cutting is in half; the final kunai lost all momentum and bounced harmlessly off her shoulder.
Takuma was dumbfounded by Mikoto''s movements and immediately jumped away. Despite her awkward body position, Mikoto was faster and slammed a palm into his lower abdomen, sending him flying. He crashed on his back but immediately rolled up to his feet to get ready for a counter, only to see her walking toward him.
He took a breath and focused on his footwork as she came in closer¡ªhis goal was not to get hit. He made the first move and flowed into a quick chain of rolling punches for her face, but she effortlessly dodged all of them with fluid head movement. Before Takuma could reset his hand, Mikoto moved and laid a heavy blow into his kidney. He felt a pain take root in his body as his feet left the ground for a split second. His eyes remained on Mikoto, so his breathing hitched when he saw a spinning heel kick coming for his face.
His reflexes were stretched to the limit as he pulled his body down to duck under the kick the moment his feet touched the ground.
This isn''t working. Takuma rolled to the side to evade a punch coming down at his face. The roll made him lose sight of Mikoto, and at that exact moment, she crouched down and took out his legs with a sweep.
I need to do something different, he thought as he used the tentacles and all his limbs to push himself away from her a second before she threw down an axe kick, cratering the ground and spraying him with dirt.
Mikoto''s movements were fast and fluid, and there was minimal time for him to retaliate. The window to act was small, and any careless attempts had seen him punished. He needed to slow her down, but how was he going to accomplish that?
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Takuma''s writhing tentacles came into his view as he hastily got up, and a thought light-bulbed in his mind. Tentacles and snakes were the same shape and Anko often used a variation of the summoning jutsu to summon snakes from her person to bind her opponent, serve as a distraction, or straight-up attack them with venom.
He took a breath and split the four tentacles into eight; now that she was no longer using her sword, he didn''t need them to be as strong. They just needed to be strong enough to partially hinder her movement, and he would take care of the rest.
He ran toward her before snapping a kick at her stomach. Mikoto took a step back and received the kick into her downward-facing palms. Half of the tentacles attacked and wrapped themselves around her arms while the other half held down her torso¡ªessentially locking in her pace. She could force herself free from the tentacles because they weren''t strong enough to immobilise her completely, but it would take a second more if she were just backing off.
I got her this time. Takuma cocked his arm as chakra flowed to his hand¡ªbut just before he could heave his punch, she headbutted him in the forehead. The augmentation fizzled away as he staggered back, his thoughts in turmoil.
Mikoto spun around once like a top, tearing away the tentacles holding him down. Takuma put his arms together to block a back fist aimed at his chest; he felt a sharp pain stab his bones as he blocked the strike but he ignored it and focused on the next attack.
The Anko snake-tentacle experiment wasn''t a failure and the headbutt was proof of its potential.
As she threw her right hand to his head, three tentacles moved at the highest speed possible and struck her arm one after another, slowing the punch slightly. Takuma ducked under it but she whipped another punch with her free arm, forcing Takuma to merge four tentacles into two before wrapping and pulling on it.
He blocked the hit, maintaining focus thanks to the tentacles softening the blow slightly.
It''s working. He whipped a punch for her throat only for Mikoto to twist her body out of the way. Takuma followed up with a biting kick, but she ducked below it and struck him in the liver. Frustrated, he tried to back away to formulate a new plan, but Mikoto stepped forward, keeping the distance between them.
"You''re doing good, Takuma," said Mikoto before prying open his guard with two jabs and laying a chain of half a dozen strikes right into his chest.
The strikes were light because they were sparring, but he would''ve been in real trouble if they were full strength¡ªeven while she was restrained to his level. A thought flashed past his mind as he stumbled back. He could touch her with his tentacles; now, he just had to make it hurt. Not only did he know how to do that, Nenro also had a similar idea, validating Takuma''s ad-hoc creation.
D-rank ninjutsu had fewer hand seals, which made it perfect for a lightning-fast spar like this. As Takuma completed the hand seals, a tentacle wrapped around his right arm. Lightning Release: Shock. The jutsu converted his chakra into lightning-nature chakra that flooded the water tentacles.
Eight Tentacles: Shock Mode
A fascinated smile appeared on Mikoto''s face as Takuma rushed towards her. She didn''t stay her ground like she had till then and moved in sync with him, keeping herself just barely within range of the electrified tentacles as though she wanted him to succeed.
"This is an excellent combination," she said, her eyes tracking the charged tentacles.
The tentacles swung and swiped at Mikoto, trying just to get one touch that would shock her,but she moved around effortlessly while looking at the sparking water with amusement. The joy in her eyes only made him want to get in a hit even more¡ªand he had a tactic that he could use to take her by surprise.
Kameko''s Taketori kenjutsu had the ability to extend her sword''s reach, surprising her opponents and actively making them think about her sword''s true length. Takuma knew no kenjutsu, but he could play with the length of his tentacles just fine.
A tentacle jabbed at Mikoto, and she moved back to evade it as she had done until then. At that exact moment, another tentacle shrunk to half its original length and transferred its water to the others, causing the tentacle jabbing at Mikoto to grow in length, which it hadn''t done since the start of the fight.
Despite the failures, he was confident enough in his previous attempts that he would hit her this time¡ªso it stung the most when Mikoto dodged the attack like she knew it was coming.
The charge in the tentacles ran out immediately after the failed attack, and Mikoto dashed in before he could recharge it, hitting him so fast it felt like all four strikes landed simultaneously.
Okay, screw this! Gritting his teeth, he reverted back to his original style and opted to stay close to get at least one solid hit in, even if he had to trade damage to do it.
He backed a punch to her face with an augmentation. Mikoto bobbed her head away before punishing him with a body shot that he absorbed and immediately went for another augmented punch for her liver, but before he could even pull his arm back to set up the punch, she hit his shoulder, stopping the punch before he could even throw it.
Takuma forced on and decided to stomp on her foot to lock it down and stab with an elbow. He went for her foot, but Mikoto shifted it to the side before stomping down on his foot in turn. Takuma knew what was coming and raised his guard, but Mikoto was faster and slipped a punch through the guard.
She then finished with an uppercut to the chin that shocked his entire body.
Despite his doubled vision, Takuma had his tentacles attack her face with water to disrupt her flow but she spun him by the shoulder, switching places with him. He had no idea why she did that and thought it was to confuse him, but then he felt a punch dig into his back; it didn''t hurt badly¡ªbut it destroyed the tentacle water mass.
How did she know he was going to use the tentacles? Takuma was utterly shocked. It was as though... she knew it was... coming...
At that moment, the entire fight flashed through his mind. Not once had she taken the initiative and had simply attacked him by picking apart the weakness of his moves. She had solely fought through the counterattack. He had thought she could do that because she had made herself slightly faster to challenge him¡ªbut as the fight ran through his mind, he realised she wasn''t faster than him... she simply moved before him.
She was able to punish all of his moves because she knew what he was going to do before he did it¡ªand thus set up counters for everything he did.
Takuma looked up at her, expecting to see red eyes only to see they were still onyx.
"...Then how?"
"In our first lesson, you said you wanted to be a jonin... so, broaden your horizons; this is the surface of what it means to be one," said Mikoto before promptly knocking him out with a spinning heel kick.
CH_8.25 (290)
Beautiful. That was what Maruboshi thought when he saw his student''s efforts being thwarted over and over again.
The skill shown by Uchiha Mikoto was exquisite; every move looked elegant and effortless, but all of it was planned down to the very minute details. He expected a jonin, especially an Uchiha, to possess such skill, but that didn''t take away from the fact that it was a delight to watch.
However, Mikoto wasn''t the only one who deserved praise.
Maruboshi was well aware of Takuma''s style, so he was proud to see him step out of his comfort zone and try different tactics. His choices were generally terrible. They opened him up to attacks, turned his fighting style into a disjointed mess, actively made him worse, and even frustrated him enough that he switched back at the end¡ªand yet trying out all those changes was the right choice.
Maruboshi could almost see a glimpse into the future, where Takuma''s combat style had evolved. Currently, he was in messy flux, but once the pieces fell into place, he would have something strong, stable, and sustainable that he could safely rely upon out in the field.
As he watched the fight, he felt two gazes from separate directions. He pulled his eyes off the fight to look at the peeping but couldn''t find anyone in the trees; they had hidden themselves well. He didn''t find it strange because the field was public property; neither was it isolated¡ªand the Hidden Leaf was a village filled to the brim with shinobi who had learned to hide themselves for no apparent reason.
The gazes disappeared the moment he swept his own across the field, but he wondered if the hidden onlookers were ANBU operatives observing Takuma before his test. He had no way to confirm that other than catching them, which would be embarrassing and rude if he was wrong and would do nothing if they were indeed ANBU.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Uchiha Fugaku swiftly hid himself when he saw Maruboshi Kosuke look right in his direction. The Eternal Genin was already a senior citizen, but it seemed like he still had the senses of a prime hunter. It had been such a long time since Fugaku had seen his wife fight that he didn''t want to miss it¡ªbut he didn''t want to interrupt or intrude, so he watched from the shadows.
The spar was more or less what he expected. Mikoto''s offence was ran through counterattacks, which made sense because when it came to the Uchiha''s Interceptor Fist¡ªnot only was she better at it than him and arguably the best in the clan, but taijutsu was a bigger part of her combat style than his.
The Uchiha Interceptor Fist was the taijutsu developed and used by the Uchiha clan. The core of it was to make corresponding responses or counterattacks that struck at incoming attacks. The style was also heavily based on not letting the opponent get into a flow by disrupting their moves and intensively punishing their openings and bad habits.
To be effective, the user had to be proficient at reading the opponent, and with the Sharingan, which had the power of insight to mimic and understand other''s moves, that was an easy feat.
Even though Takuma wasn''t even close to being a challenge, he could tell that Mikoto was feeling comfortable. She had effortlessly used the clan''s taijutsu to perfectly dismantle her opponent without breaking a sweat while also restricting herself to his level.
Retirement had undoubtedly had its effects, but it felt like she had retained most of her skill¡ªher experience as a jonin was still there, buried under the surface¡ªand she would only need to bring her body up to speed to once again hone her combat instincts.
As Mikoto finished the fight by knockout, Fugaku turned around to leave. Seeing her fight made him consider inviting her to regular spars so they could spend time together like they did before they had their children.
He turned back with the three tomoe spinning in his red pupils as he locked in on the person hidden in the trees. They were well hidden, with only small parts of their body visible, which would have been a problem if not for the Sharingan that saw chakra in colour that outed the person. Fugaku blinked, the traces of chakra disappeared, and he could no longer spot them.
Chakra masking, he guessed. That''s no ordinary miscreant¡
Fugaku glanced at Mikoto and company once before leaving. Whoever it was, with his wife and Maruobshi Kosuke present, there wasn''t much they could do.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"What do you think?" Maruboshi asked Mikoto after she knocked Takuma out.
"I''ll give him a point for effort," said Mikoto as she dusted the dirt and grass off her outfit before kneeling down to straighten Takuma so he wasn''t lying in an off-position. "I could tell he was trying things, but it made him disjointed at best."
"It''ll take some time to integrate new things smoothly."
"If he''s trying to avoid trading damage, then genjutsu will work wonders."
"How is he at genjutsu?" he asked.
"He has the fundamentals down, but if he really wants to take full advantage of genjutsu, he needs to open his mind to the possibilities," said Mikoto as she stared down at Takuma. "Most shinobi mistake ninjutsu and genjutsu to be similar when they''re not. Unlike ninjutsu, technical skill is only part of the puzzle; application is the half where the true potential lies. The mind is a complex system, both a hindrance and an advantage for genjutsu users. It takes a lot to create believable illusions, but there is no limit to what the mind will accept. He needs to realise that genjutsu is more than a string of hand seals that perform a certain function¡ªthe day that understanding clicks in his mind will be the day he''ll start using genjutsu in his special way."
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It was good that Takuma had Mikoto as his genjutsu teacher because Maruboshi didn''t have the talent for using genjutsu¡ªas Mikoto said, it took a lot to deceive the mind¡ªand he didn''t have it in him to create believable illusions beyond the most basic genjutsu. He recalled the genjutsu Takuma had used on him in their spar earlier that week. It was much more potent than expected and had tightly gripped his mind.
There was no doubt that Takuma had the ability to create very believable genjutsu.
"I will work with him on a genjutsu application when we resume our lessons," she said.
Takuma noisily heaved as he abruptly sat up with his eyes wide open. His body tensed, and he looked ready to jump at the sight of danger as he scanned his surroundings before calming down when he saw both his teachers standing around him.
"That was a shit show," Takuma groaned.
"You did great," said Mikoto, tossing him a water bottle.
"I didn''t manage to hit you once."
"That wasn''t going to happen either way. As long as I didn''t want you to hit me, you wouldn''t have touched the clothes on my back."
Takuma looked at Maruboshi, who shrugged. If he didn''t want Takuma to hit him, he could guarantee that didn''t happen, but that was never the purpose of their spars.
"How did you do that?" Takuma asked Mikoto, staring into her eyes. "Are you wearing coloured contacts?"
Mikoto tried to stop herself, but she burst into laughter, which turned Takuma red with embarrassment.
"You don''t need the Sharingan to do what I did today, Takuma," Mikoto chuckled as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "With enough combat experience, the willingness to improve your taijutsu, and the right approach to learning, you too could predict your enemy''s moves one day... But you''re not wrong; my eyes played a major role in how I fought today."
"How so?" asked Takuma.
"Your water tentacle jutsu. I have fought someone who used it, so I knew that you could change the tentacle''s length, so I was ready for you to use that tactic," said Mikoto.
Takuma stared at her for a moment before looking down at the ground. Mikoto wanted to continue, but she saw a signal from Maruboshi to wait. After a few seconds of silence, Takuma spoke up again,
"...You have the Sharingan that allows you to copy your opponent''s moves. That must mean you have tons of fights from many types of fighters recorded in your mind. I must have fought like one of those fighters¡ªor a combination of certain aspects from various fighters¡ªso even though you didn''t use your eyes against me, you had the knowledge to predict my moves."
"Correct," Mikoto smiled.
Takuma sighed. "The Sharingan sure is impressive."
"It is impressive," said Mikoto with a hint of pride, "but it''s not that simple. Our eyes give us the gift of insight, allowing us to parse visual information at a high rate, which is how we can copy whatever we see¡ªand as it may sound, many of my clan folk who have unlocked the eye never go beyond simple monkey copy when there''s so much more to it..."
Maruboshi gazed at the woman before him and was surprised to see her talking negatively about her clan members in front of outsiders. It was natural to have such thoughts, but from what he knew, clan shinobi didn''t reveal those thoughts to outsiders as they were representative of their clan. The matter of reputation was taken very seriously.
Moreover, the person doing it was Lady Uchiha, who was always expected to defend her clan. He glanced at Takuma; the relationship between Mikoto and his student seemed closer than he thought.
"...When I was still active, I used to look back at my fights and rather than just monkey copy, I used to take my time to understand why my opponent moved the way they did. I was often wrong in my understanding because the Sharingan doesn''t give answers, but by investing time and effort, I was rewarded with knowledge about combat beyond even my clan folk, who had been shinobi far longer than me¡"
The Uchiha were infamous for their Sharingan¡ªbut when people talked about them, it was only about copying ninjutsu hand seals and taijutsu movements to mimic their opponents. He had been alive long enough to know that the Sharingan was capable of more than copying, but what he just heard was frightening, to say the least.
"I was so thrilled by what I had found that I fought every clan member willing to fight me. I made them imitate every opponent they had fought so I could copy them and then take my time to understand and break down their opponents until I had the correct answers to problems I might face in the future."
Maruboshi felt a chill go down his spine as he looked at Mikoto. There was a terrifying intelligence in her eyes that made his instincts scream danger. Mikoto, by herself, would have faced a decent set of enemies she would''ve copied from. But she had just claimed that she made her clan members imitate their opponents. If he were conservative and guessed ten unique opponents per clan member and fought ten members, she would have copied an additional one hundred opponents.
Even if there were significant overlap, she would still have gained rich experience beyond what most shinobi would ever experience in their entire careers. He knew she was a jonin, but he now felt a monster was standing before him. And she had claimed that all Sharingan-bearing Uchiha could do the same¡ªthey didn''t do it, but they all had the potential to¡ª was again reminded why the Uchiha clan was one of the founder clans with a deep and dominant history in the Warring States Periods.
It also made him think that Takuma would benefit more if he learned taijutsu from Mikoto instead of genjutsu.
"But knowing the answers isn''t enough; you need to be able to use them quickly and correctly. The Uchiha Interceptor Fist is based on the tenets that focus on reading the opponent, finding their weakness, targeting their openings, and disrupting their flow... I applied my knowledge through my taijutsu and became proficient to the point where I no longer needed my eyes to see through my opponents¡ªthe eyes elevated everything I did¡ªbut even without them, I felt as though scales had fallen from my eyes. I had unlocked a new state of being... I was free, and I was in control."
Takuma looked gripped and utterly immersed. He hung on her every word as though it was a mantra for eternal prosperity with Mikoto''s every word were resonating with him.
"You don''t need my eyes, Takuma," Mikoto asserted confidently. "Yes, they helped tremendously, but I¡ªnot my eyes¡ªam the reason behind my understanding and skill. If you look at your opponent and apply your mind to it, you will see things that most people miss¡ªand that''s where you will find what separates ordinary from extraordinary. It will take a lot, and it will not be easy, but I think you can do it... because you were doing it today, weren''t you?"
"...Yes," said Takuma.
Maruboshi looked at him, and he seemed lost in his thoughts.
It was the right decision to bring in Mikoto for the spar.
Maruboshi could tell that something was about to change. He could tell that Takuma''s mind had finally opened and felt he was going to go through a change much bigger than fixing his sacrificial tendency.
He wondered what Takuma would be like after those changes.
CH_8.26 (291)
As the week drew to a close, the weekend arrived, and Kameko found herself standing outside an izakaya nestled deep within the Entertainment District, away from the bustling main streets. The front door had a notice taped to it that said the place was reserved for the day for Inuzuka Hana''s rank promotion celebration.
Her academy class always booked a small establishment for the evening so that they could enjoy the class gatherings by themselves. She entered through the door and was immediately greeted by the staff. The establishment was an open space lined with tatami mats, with low tables and floor cushions for seating. It was perfect for a large group, allowing people to move around and socialise easily.
"Kameko, you''re late!"
She had just confirmed with the staff that she was there for the gathering when she heard her name called. Aimi latched onto her and pulled her towards the table where many classmates were already present and enjoying themselves. She looked around and roughly counted over twenty people present, a high number even for a class that always had a strong attendance for their gatherings.
A few people had not maintained contact with the rest of the class, while others were stationed outside or transferred out of the village. It made sense that everyone who possibly could have come was there because it was a special occasion. Kameko swept her eyes across the gathering to find a certain someone but couldn''t see him, which was natural as he had never attended any of their class gatherings.
"Hana, congratulations." Kameko walked over to Hana''s table, where she was the centre of attention as the host and subject of celebration and sat beside her. As a congratulatory gift, she presented her with a set of durable, high-quality sashes for her forehead protector.
"Thank you, Kameko," Hana smiled brightly. She used to wear her hair at chin length, but in the year Kameko was away, she had grown her hair past her shoulder. Kameko even noticed how the Inuzuka clan''s traditional fang tattoos on her cheeks were now darker; she had heard that the tattoos were inked darker when an Inuzuka was promoted as a higher status symbol within the clan.
With the greeting done, Kameko wanted to leave the table and move to a quieter spot. She was excited to catch up with her friends, but she wanted to take it slow and build up from there, and the popular table wasn''t the spot to do so.
It had been three and half years since their batch had graduated, and they had started participating in the Chunin Exams last year, having gone through two of them as they were conducted bi-annually¡ªand managed to produce three chunin within the batch.
The first Chunin Exam resulted in two promotions.
Kameko looked across the table at a brunette with cinnamon-brown hair and sharp amber eyes. The first promotion was bagged by their batch''s Rookie of the Year, Okubo Momoe, the civilian prodigy who had won the entire exam.
She had always been first at the academy and even maintained her top spot among the batch long after.
Sitting a few seats away from Momoe was Uchiha Izumi, with her long, straight, dark brown hair and a beauty mark under her right eye. She was the second promotion of their batch from the first Chunin Exams and had placed second, only barely losing to Momoe. And then there was Inuzuka Hana, the only one from their batch to be promoted in the second and latest Chunin Exam.
All three chunin at the gathering and their teams were sitting at the same table, and Kameko could tell that her classmates wanted to talk to them, especially the boys, who were all trying to impress them. She wanted no part of that and was about to leave when Hana grasped her arm to make her stay.
"Tell us what it was like out there in the war?" asked Hana.
Momoe, who had been chatting to someone else, turned towards Kameko. "I would also like to hear about it," she said.
Kameko suddenly felt everyone''s eyes on her.
She realised she was the only one in their group who had participated in the war. Out of their academy, three people had been deployed to the Land of Hot Waters. One was deployed only a few months ago and was still out there. As for Takuma, he hadn''t kept any connection with the class except for two people. She glanced at Fuma Arisu sitting beside Izumi and found her gazing at her with a neutral expression.
They worked together at the Police Force, and even though Takuma''s relationship with the Military Police had soured before he left, it didn''t extend to Arisu. She wondered if Takuma had told her about his experience; she got the sense he would not talk about it to anyone.
Kameko herself didn''t want to talk about a lot of it.
"... The base I was stationed at ran a recapture mission," Kameko said, opting to share the parts she was comfortable with. "There was this gold mine that the enemy had taken over, using the captured workers to mine as usual. The gold which should have gone to the Land of Hot Waters was now going to the enemy... and our mission was to rescue the workers and run the enemy out of the mine. It was going to be a difficult mission because our base only had two jonin while the enemy had three on their side."
The tension in the room rose at the mention of the jonin disparity.
Kameko roughly went through the preparation that went into planning such a big operation. Perhaps it was boring to listen, but having gone through it, she had come to learn the importance of preparation and planning.
"...as the stealth team was pulling the workers out, the enemy rang its sirens... the battle had already begun by the time we got down into the pit. In a few short minutes, the entire pit was covered with more than a hundred shinobi from both sides fighting against each other."
Kameko could recall the mine vividly. The earthy smell, the faint tremor in the wet ground, the cacophony of metal mixed in with all the yelling, and the brush of ambient chakra against her skin¡ªeven thinking about it made her heart pump faster.
"That sounds awesome," said one of her classmates. "So you fought beside jonin. What was that like?"
"... Terrifying," Kameko answered honestly. "Everyone kept clear of them, fearing they would be caught in one of their jutsu. That wasn''t enough, though, because they affected too broad of an area with their ninjutsu. A Fire Release ninjutsu exploded and caused several substantial landslides, disrupting the battlefield."
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The questions came pouring in from how many people died and how many she killed to what were the enemy jonin like. She tried her best to answer the question and ignored the unsavoury, insensitive ones.
Momoe, sitting across the table, caught her eye. She had an inquisitive look as she absentmindedly played with a thin braid in her hair. As though noticing Kameko''s gaze, Momoe looked up with a sharp look and said,
"Interesting. What did you think about that combat experience? How did you manage everything that was happening around you?"
"What do you mean?" asked Kameko, not understanding the question.
"As in, when I spar, I don''t have to focus on anything but my opponent before me. That changes when you add numbers on both sides; I have to keep track of my teammates and the enemy as I fight my opponent," said Momoe in a pondering tone. "I''ve never been in a battle with hundreds of people, but I assume that it would be difficult to keep track of your surroundings when there are so many people actively fighting around you¡ªare you being mindful of them... are they being mindful of you? I believe having jonin there further complicates the situation as well."
Kameko had to pause because the questions until now were along the lines of "What was it like?" where she didn''t have to think much. So suddenly, facing a more profound question warranted her thinking about the answer before she could reply properly.
"It''s too much to keep track of, and I was scared because I hadn''t been part of such a battle. Strangely, I wasn''t as stressed as I should''ve been in that situation... and that was because I had a teammate covering my back, and I was doing the same for her." Kameko thought about how she and Rikku were protecting each other in the dangerous pit where lives were cut down every minute. "Instead of putting it all on myself and inevitably getting overwhelmed, I trusted my teammate, and we shared responsibilities."
Momoe looked at Aimi, sitting beside Kameko and Hideaki at the corner of the table, stuffing his face with food.
"I guess that makes sense," she smiled while gazing at her teammates.
"How did the battle end?" Izumi asked.
"It ended when two enemy jonin died, and the remaining one chose to flee. Everything started to collapse as some managed to flee, but most of them were killed," Kameko answered, but as she was looking back to her memories, she realised there was another just as significant turning point. "However, I think the first heavy blow to the enemy was when my team targeted the iryo-nin. Takuma found the mine the iryo-nin were hidden¡ª"
"I did hear that Takuma was on your team. How''s that wimp doing these days?"
Kameko was rudely interrupted. Sitting behind her at another table was Inuzuka Hiji, Hana''s cousin and their batch''s jackass. His annoying voice seemed more grating to her ears than it ever did when they were in the academy.
"No one''s going to think you''re a mute if you stay quiet, Hiji," Arisu said in a fed-up voice with disgust in her eyes.
"Oh, come on. I''m just asking how an old friend is doing," said Hiji, smirking.
Everyone in the gathering knew that the relationship between Takuma and Hiji was the farthest from friends. Hiji and his group had constantly bullied Takuma in the later years of the academy. In the final year, Takuma stopped following their orders and ceased showing any reaction to their words, which made Hiji and his group lose interest in him.
"Why do you have to be so childish, Hiji? Your attitude is the reason you were passed on for promotions after the exams," Hana sighed disappointedly at her cousin.
Hiji''s smirk collapsed into a glare. The two cousins were the same age and often compared to one another. Hana had always been ahead and was used as an example for Hiji to do better. It had only gotten worse now that she had made chunin while he was still a genin.
"You should make amends with him the next time you see him," said Hana.
Hiji scoffed at the idea, which pissed off Kameko. She wouldn''t have cared before, but after spending months on the same team with Takuma and having gone through their time in Yu, she felt more than irritation at Hiji''s attitude.
"If you can''t make amends, then you should at least act civil," Izumi added on the topic. She and Hiji were on the same jonin team, and in many ways, he was compared to Izumi more than Hana because they were on the same team, and she was yet another person ahead of him. "He''s not the same person he was before. Takuma was made a senior officer in the Police Force while he was a genin and trusted to lead a new team. That''s something to be respected."
"And Takuma has experienced a war, which none of us can claim to have done," said Arisu.
Hiji looked taken aback because he wasn''t expecting so much pushback. He noticed people staring at him and how the merry vibe of the gathering had come down, and everyone was treating it like it was his fault.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I will respect that wimp when I see what''s so impressive about him. We can fight if he wants, and we''ill definitely beat that weakling, won''t we, Kuragari!"
Hiji''s black ninken, Kuragiri, playing with Hana''s Haimaru triplets in the side, stood up and barked excitedly while showing his sharp teeth. Just like the triplets, Kuragiri had grown as well, was bigger and bulkier, and looked more menacing than them.
Kameko wasn''t intending to, but she scoffed and did it loud enough that Hiji glared at her.
"What? You don''t think he would beat us, do you?"
She had seen and fought both of them and compared the two boys. They were similar in that their combat style was crude and brutal; she instantly felt the difference between them.
Hiji and his ninken were a pain to fight with their trained coordination and the Inuzuka clan''s taijutsu and ninjutsu; he was also feral in his approach and went at his opponents with full force because he didn''t have another gear, which often made him difficult to handle but it was quite one-dimensional.
Takuma, on the other hand, tried to overwhelm them by causing as much damage as possible to end fights quickly. However, Takuma could and did observe his opponent and adjusted his approach, which made it difficult for him to fight. Then there was his skill with all three disciplines of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu¡ªwhich not only made him defend to plan against; it also made him much more flexible in how he could go about causing damage. She had also seen him fight in the manor house against the ROOT agents. She could be wrong, but she didn''t think Hiji had the combat sense and control Takuma had shown that day.
And that was all on top of the solid proof that Takuma had defeated an experienced chunin with a strong command over a B-rank jutsu.
"If you spar, he''ll defeat you," Kameko said calmly to Hiji as everyone listened, "but if you fight, he will kill you..." She didn''t know how to put it any other way¡ª Takuma was a fighter in a spar, but he was a killer in a real fight.
Those two were very different shinobi, and the latter was ten times more terrifying than the former.
Hiji laughed so loud that it hurt their ears. He tumbled to the floor while holding his side, and his ninken mimicked his partner by barking joyously. "Takuma? Beating me? He hasn''t touched me in our spars once¡ªand you say that he could kill me!" he laughed.
Usually, she would only think of such behaviour as childish and beneath her, but perhaps because she had spent nearly a year with Takuma as her teammate, she felt bothered because they had gone through so much together. She wanted to wipe the smirk off Hiji''s face and scare him, so she said something she wouldn''t have said otherwise because of how it had affected Takuma.
"... Killing you won''t be much of a challenge, seeing that he''s already killed a jonin," she said.
Hiji didn''t hear her, and on top of his own laughter, he asked, "What did you say?"
However, people sitting near her on the table did hear her. Sitting across from her, Momoe heard her but felt as though she had misheard.
"I''m sorry, Kameko, did you just say that... he killed a jonin."
Kameko turned to her and said, "Yes, he killed a jonin. And in fact, he¡ª"
"Kameko..."
Kameko froze when she heard a familiar voice. She turned around and saw Takuma, along with Taro, standing a few steps away from their table. He had a grave expression on his face, and he only said one word.
"Enough."
CH_8.27 (292)
The vibe of the class gathering had turned awkward when Takuma left the building soon after coming in to talk with Kameko outside. Taro, who had arrived alongside him, sat down and ordered a large oolong tea.
He had caught the tail end of the conversation before it was shut down. Takuma hadn''t mentioned anything about a jonin when he had talked to him and the trio about the war. He glanced at Fuma Arisu, and she looked deep in thought¡ªit seemed he had also kept it from her. It stung that Takuma didn''t trust him with whatever it was, but he also didn''t know what exactly had happened and could only guess there were reasons Takuma had kept it to himself.
He didn''t look very pleased when he went out with Kameko.
Ono, one of his best friends, sat beside him with a plate of yakiniku skewers.
"So, do you know what that was about?" he asked, leaning closer.
"I have absolutely no idea," Taro shrugged.
"... Are you saying that because you actually don''t know or because he doesn''t want to talk about it."
"I said what I meant." Taro looked at Ono with a disappointed frown. "And even if I knew, he clearly doesn''t want to talk about it¡ªso let''s just give him his space and keep our business to ourselves."
"Okay, I got it; no need to get snippy," said Ono, raising his glass of fizz for a cheer that Taro reciprocated and put the matter behind them. "But it doesn''t look like they want to stop talking about it."
Taro followed his eyes and saw the people at the table where Kameko sat whispering. He could imagine their minds coming up with speculations to make their own guesses of what had actually happened. People tended to fill in the gaps with what they thought had happened, then the next person would add their own thing into it before sharing it¡ªand before you knew it, something completely off was floating around.
"How did this even come up?" asked Taro.
"Hiji was running his mouth."
"Figures."
Taro glanced at the Inuzuka, who was sitting among his clique; he didn''t look bothered that he was partly responsible for shaping the mood of the gathering and was chatting with his lackeys like nothing had happened. Taro glanced at the building''s door; Takuma would return soon, and he couldn''t help but wonder if Hiji would pick up a fight.
The Takuma of today were utterly unrecognisable from the days when all of them were in the academy.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"... I see," Takuma sighed after hearing all the facts from Kameko, who looked halfway between anger and regret.
"I don''t know what came over me; that disrespectful piece of shit..." Kameko groaned and punched the wall she was leaning against. "I know you don''t like to talk about it, but he was getting on my nerves," she clicked her tongue, "I shouldn''t have said anything... I''m sorry."
"It''s fine," said Takuma. "It''s not like it''s my secret to keep; you were in the city as well."
He didn''t like what he had done, and while his teammates were kind and generous enough to keep it low, it was a fact that those things had happened. They were a permanent part of his record for anyone with the authority or clearance. Rather than trying to hide it, he needed to learn to live with his actions. He didn''t want people to bring it up because it was uncomfortable and he couldn''t see a future where he would openly talk about what had happened in Yu.
"Thank you for defending me," said Takuma. While he wasn''t happy that Kameko brought it up, he understood her intentions were positive.
Kameko shook her head softly. "It''ll be awkward when we head inside," she sighed.
"It''s fine. Some small talk and people would want to take the opportunity to move past the awkwardness." As long as he avoided the topic and no one pushed like an asshole, it wouldn''t be challenging to move the conversation forward.
"How are you?" Takuma asked. This was the first time they had met since their return.
"My room felt strange for the first week... I ate too much every day because I missed the taste... I went out for walks just because I could without worrying about danger," Kameko replied after a pause with a low-spirited look.
He could relate. Even though they were safely back home and happy to be reunited with loved ones, they couldn''t help but think about their time at Yu and the war. Their war experience had only deepened now that they had something to contrast it.
"I barely came out of my room for the first week," said Takuma, staring at the ground.
Kameko nodded. "There were too many happy people making noise without a care. A part of me felt uncomfortable being out and seeing that."
"Made you want to stay inside to be away from it all?" he asked.
She closed her eyes and nodded with a deep breath.
Takuma had roamed the streets of Yu to observe and gauge the city. At that time, he had felt like a visitor from outside who had no connection to the place or people. That feeling hadn''t completely gone away even though they were back home with deep connections. Kameko was no different in their regard and perhaps even felt it more as she had to live in the city undercover, which was living a lie that only served to worsen that feeling.
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¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
When Takuma and Kameko returned to the gathering, he headed to the popular table and sat beside Hana to greet her with all eyes on him.
"Congratulations, Chunin Hana," Takuma said as he handed her an envelope. "I didn''t know what you''d like, so here''s an overnight stay at a great onsen ryokan with all sorts of treatment and services included in your stay. I made sure they allow ninken in case you want to bring them, so go relax any stress away."
Hana accepted the gift with a smile and thanked him. "I hope everything went well?" she asked, glancing at Kameko, who was now sitting at another table with one of her friends.
"Yes, we cleared everything up. I hadn''t seen her since we returned, so it was nice that we caught up," said Takuma before casually calling out his drink order to the staff to portray. He looked across the table at the other two chunin in the room. "Congratulations to you both as well, Chunin Momoe and Chunin Izumi. I don''t have congratulatory gifts for you today, but please let me treat you to a warm meal in the future."
"Thank you, Takuma," Izumi smiled. "It''s surprising that we didn''t run into each other often when you work so close to home." The Leaf Military Police Force headquarters and the Uchiha Compound were located no more than ten to fifteen minutes of walking.
"I think it makes sense. You''re a busy kunoichi, and I don''t think the headquarters is where anyone wants to spend their free time. And I often found myself held up in the offices until odd hours, so it''s not strange that we never ran into each other," he said politely.
"But I heard that you regularly visited the compound for training with Lady Mikoto, and we still didn''t run into each other¡ªthat''s why I''m so surprised."
"That''s indeed surprising," said Takuma, given that he visited Mikoto''s house five times a week.
"Lady Mikoto? As in Jonin Uchiha Mikoto?" asked Hana, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Yes, Lady Uchiha has been generous enough to spare me her time and wisdom," said Takuma. He wasn''t surprised that Izumi knew about him and Mikoto''s master-disciple relationship because she was the clan''s matriarch¡ªbut it also made sense that someone like Hana wouldn''t know as their relationship was low-key as they never went anywhere together or announced it to anyone.
Everyone at the table who didn''t know about it already was surprised by the discovery that a Uchiha jonin was teaching Takuma, as it raised questions about how close he was to the clan. Through Arisu, they all knew that he was in a noteworthy position at the Police Force, and now he had a significant role to play in the clan leadership. In one moment, Takuma''s background had gone from an orphaned civilian-born shinobi to someone remarkably connected.
Takuma raised his glass of cold pop to take a sip when he felt someone behind him move. He put his glass down a moment before a heavy hand patted and grasped his shoulder.
"Come on, don''t ignore a friend you haven''t met since the academy," said Hiji with a shit-eating grin on his face as he shook Takuma''s shoulder. "I hear people say that you have changed. Have you really changed from the weak wimp who wasn''t even allowed to test for a jonin team?"
Tension immediately rose as they surely thought a fight would break out between the two boys who had never gotten along. Hana looked like she was about to say something when Takuma turned to face Hiji.
"I think I have changed, but what about you? It still seems like you have the personality of someone who didn''t grow past the mental age of five¡ªbut even that would be an insult to five-year-olds... As for not meeting since the academy, if I wanted to hear an asshole, I''d just fart."
Snorts and chuckles sounded in response.
Hiji angrily looked at the people who had laughed. Taro and Izumi had the decency to turn his head and cover her mouth with her hand, respectively, but Arisu just stared at him with a grin on her lips. Momoe quickly controlled the smile that tugged on her lips by eating the food before her while Hana simply sighed with her hand pressing against her forehead.
Takuma removed Hiji''s hand from his shoulder. "And we were never friends, Hiji. Maybe you struggle with concepts because you never had any."
"I have plenty of friends, don''t I, guys?"
The people Hiji was sitting with responded with their agreements.
Takuma shifted to look at Hiji''s clique and sighed, "That''s just sad... You''re confusing lackeys with friends."
Hiji''s smile stiffened, and anger flared in his eyes, but he pulled himself back together. "You have changed. You didn''t have that mouth on you when we were in the academy."
"Oh no, I had this mouth before; you just weren''t worth it for me to use it."
"Okay, that''s not enough, both of you; let''s stop this now," Hana said, interrupting. She shot a hot look at Hiji, who was staring daggers at Takuma, who gazed back impassively.
"Taketori said something really interesting before you came¡ª"
"I also heard something interesting," Takuma cut off Hiji. "I heard your jonin-sensei isn''t renewing your team next year."
The jonin-led genin teams formed after the academy ran for four years before it was up to the jonin to decide if they wanted to renew the team''s active status¡ªif the jonin refused, the team would be turned inactive, and the genin on the team would be transferred to the Genin Corp if they hadn''t secured an assignment in a department. Their batch had already been genin for three years.
Takuma turned to Izumi, who was on the same team as Hiji. "It must''ve been a tough time being on the same team like him, but you must be happy now that you''re going your separate ways." He turned back to Hjij. "Telling you one year in advance is a bit too early, don''t you think? Maybe he knew you aren''t making chunin rank anytime soon and thinks it''s not worth it to waste any more effort, so he''s cutting you off the leash."
"Let''s get out of here, you and me," said Hiji with a vein popping on his head. In the corner, his ninken slowly walked over to the table, the dog''s muscle building under its luscious black fur; Kuragiri''s eyes were those of a hunter locked onto his prey, waiting for his partner to give the command.
"Enough, both of you," Hana interrupted in a grave tone, the fang tattoos on her face deepening. She turned to Hiji and said in a short tone. "If you can''t act civil, get out of here."
"He¡ª"
"You started it, Hiji," Hana raised her voice. "Don''t test my patience. You''re this close to ruining today, and you won''t like it if you go further." She turned her eye to Kuragiri, who was still locked on to Takuma, making the ninken step back with caution in his eyes.
Hiji looked at Takuma nasty before turning his back with a huff and sitting down at his table.
Hana turned to Takuma and was about to say something, but Takuma beat her to it,
"I am sorry."
Hana''s anger immediately deflated, and she suddenly looked like she didn''t know what to say.
"No, that idiot started it. It''s not your¡ª"
"It takes two hands to clap. I shouldn''t have engaged him by falling down to his level." Takuma looked around and pursed his lips. "It soured the mood of a gathering for such a joyous occasion. Let me make it up by buying everyone a round."
"No, it''s fine. You don''t have to."
"I insist."
Hana looked troubled and was about to refuse when Taro, reading the situation, ordered a vanilla milkshake to move the party along before it got stuck in the awkwardness. Arisu understood the situation and placed an order as well. With two people ordering quickly, Hana looked at Takuma, who handed her a menu, making her give up and ordering something which made everyone else comfortable enough to order. It almost instantly erased any bad mojo that could''ve persisted from Hiji and Takuma''s exchange.
"Now, if you will excuse me," said Takuma and got up to go sit with Taro.
"Takuma, won''t you stay?" Momoe cupped her chin in the palm of her hand. "I''d love to talk to you."
CH_8.28 (293)
"Kameko was talking about the gold mine operation your base ran, and I asked a question about keeping track of your surroundings when there''s such a sheer quantity of enemies and allies around you," said Momoe.
It had been almost two years since she had seen Takuma after their impromptu sparring session. He had always looked tired and haggard from their academy days, but it had only seemed to worsen with age. He looked worn out as though he hadn''t properly rested in who knew how long... and yet his eyes were alert.
There was a focused clarity in them as he sat across the table listening to her.
"How did you manage in all that chaos?" she asked.
Takuma glanced at Kameko for a moment before turning back to her. "Trust your teammates with your back. Protect them, and they will protect you," he said.
"Kameko said the same thing," said Momoe, nodding. She was expecting another answer, but it made sense, seeing that they shared the same experience.
She wanted to know more about what Kameko was saying before Takuma had stopped her. Kameko claimed that he killed a jonin, which she found hard to believe, but Kameko wasn''t the type to make false claims, so there had to be some truth to it.
Seeing that Takuma was quick to shut Hiji down when he brought up the jonin topic, it was evident that he wasn''t willing to talk about it and would most likely change the subject or perhaps even straight out leave. But she could learn more about him by simply talking to him and gaining some insight through that route.
"But what do you do if you are separated from your teammates?" Takuma proposed a question.
"Oh?"
"I have only been in one such situation, so I don''t know if it''s natural, but crowds formed in that pit. Because there are too many people to keep track of, you automatically want to get away to avoid danger¡ªto get to a place where you don''t have to be on the watch for so many people... That seems to be a natural response for everyone. Do you agree?"
"That makes sense, yes," she replied.
"The same response from over two hundred people resulted in the formation of small crowds or groups across the battlefield. These small crowds had perhaps seven to nine people, equally divided into allies and enemies¡ªwhich is just enough that someone can keep track comfortably." Takuma paused for a moment and looked as though he was finding it difficult to find the correct words until he looked around the gathering. "Take our tables as an example..."
The izakaya''s dining space was open, with six low tables in two rows of three. The class had occupied four tables, with the last two tables empty. The popular table had moved two tables closer to merge them into one.
"...Groups like our tables formed in that pit," Takuma continued, "people distancing themselves created dense zones, creating enough space between each table where you no longer had to watch out for people on the tables. They were still very much a threat, but the common response had everyone more worried about what was near them."
"I see... so now, instead of teammates, you have allies to protect your back," said Momoe as the bird-eye view of a battlefield of hundreds of shinobi divided into smaller zones.
"Not as good as having a trusted teammate, but it''s the next best option."
As they talked, Arisu took Hana''s place beside Takuma after she moved to another table to play host. On the other side of the table, Izumi moved to Momoe''s side.
"But what if the allies around you choose to focus on their own opponent? You can''t be sure they would cover for you," asked Izumi. She had been following the conversation.
Takuma snapped a pair of disposable chopsticks as Arisu placed a plate of fried chicken on the table between them. "That''s very much possible, but it becomes difficult when other enemies are constantly in your field of view. You start to think what would happen if one of your allies died..."
"The enemy would outnumber you, and the balance would crumble," Momoe pursed her lips.
"That''s exactly right. And when you arrive at that thought, you realise you can''t allow one of your allies to die because your chances of survival go down with them," said Takuma as he put down the chopsticks. "Just like any battle, it takes one second, one move, one mistake for the tide to change and for things to go horribly wrong. Any competent fighter knows that, unlike spars, most real battles aren''t fought in a vacuum."
"So the key is to outlast the other side. Keep each other alive until someone from the other side falls," Arisu commented as she poured a little bit of sauce on her plate.
"You are half correct, or at least, you''re looking at it slightly incorrectly," said Takuma. "Maintaining balance between the two sides shouldn''t be a priority¡ªbreaking it should be."
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"What do you mean?" asked Izumi with a furrow in her brow.
"It''s impossible to maintain that balance because someone is going to die sooner or later. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that something will go wrong., If you find yourself in a position like that, do not be on the defensive¡ªtry to help your allies kill their opponents... Throw a kunai to catch the opponent off guard; if you''re using a ninjutsu, try to aim it in a way that it gets a second target as well¡ªtry to sow chaos because one second, one move, one mistake¡. that''s all it takes for things to start going right. It''s a domino¡ªyou just need that first tile to fall to set off the chain... One second, one move, one mistake¡ªthat''s all it takes for the tide to change and for things to go right."
All three girls went silent at his words. This was the type of knowledge you could only get from someone who had experienced the situation.
He is smart, thought Momoe.
There was a time when she had the lowest impression of Takuma. He was everything shinobi expected a civilian student would be¡ªalways lower quality than those with shinobi pedigree. He was at the absolute bottom of their class, and it only worsened when they entered their final year. She understood that someone had to be in the last place, but that didn''t mean he needed to be so much worse than everyone else.
Even though he somewhat bridged that gap by the end of the year, it was perhaps the reason he wasn''t allowed to test for a jonin team and no one was surprised by that news. It was because of his poor track record, but she could tell that, in addition to that, a lot of people pointed to his civilian, orphan background as a fault.
She blamed him for representing the stereotype. She hated that people thought of civilian-born shinobi as worse than their clan counterparts. She understood there was a difference between the two groups because of the resources available to each¡ª and that she was privileged because of her parents¡ªbut people who didn''t put in genuine effort got on her nerves.
Then, there was Hiji''s bullying that Takuma never opposed. She had tried to help, but he took no initiative of his own, which only served to drop her opinion of him. She disliked the academy teachers who did nothing about the bullying when there was no way they could''ve missed it.
Did they not care because Takuma was a civilian while Hiji came from a clan?
She hated all of it.
After their class graduated, Momoe no longer had a connection with Takuma, which, along with her busy life, made her forget about him.
Out of sight, out of mind.
That changed when she found that Takuma had entered the Police Force from Arisu. It was a mighty fine opportunity to be one of the first outsiders to enter a closed organisation like the Police Force, and if he could grab it, Takuma could turn his life around. She was doubtful he could accomplish it because of his track record, but seeing that the Police Force had hired him, perhaps they had seen something she had missed, or he had changed since graduation.
And Takuma had indeed changed. It was utterly shocking when he fought toe-to-toe with her teammate, Akimichi Hideaki. She was utterly surprised by the rate at which Takuma had improved to the point he had caught up to Hideaki, who, while not the hardest worker, always did what was asked of him without complaints¡ªwhich included training.
She wanted to see how much he had improved, so she threw the B-rank ninjutsu she had just learned at him to see what he would do. Her teacher was there, so she wasn''t worried about things going wrong, and he didn''t need to interfere as Takuma handled himself.
He gave up the fight in the end¡ªbut there was no shame in it.
His progress was undeniable proof that he had made a real effort to improve. She hated people who didn''t put in effort, but she respected those who gave it their all. And she could tell that he must''ve given it more than his all to reach the point he did after starting behind everyone else.
Takuma had indeed turned his life around because even though news articles about the Narcotics Taskforce didn''t have his name, she knew from Arisu that he was the leader. He had turned the opportunity into exemplary results. It was deserving of praise.
"I have been following your career through the news articles about the Narcotics Taskforce," she said. "It''s utterly late, but nevertheless, allow me to congratulate you. You have done some great work." She gave a nod to Arisu as well.
"Thank you," said Takuma.
"So what''s in the plans now that you have returned?" asked Momoe.
She was expecting to tell him something like he was settling in after his return, but the awkward look Arisu and Takuma shared said to her that something else was going on.
"Let''s just say that a lot of things are in the process, and I''m excited to be back," said Takuma. "Now, I must admit, I''m interested in your experience as a new chunin..."
He changed the topic. Momoe hid her surprise and wondered what had happened for them to react like that.
"...I must say I was out of my depth when I started with the Narcotics Taskforce. If not for Arisu, I would not have been able to handle the managerial side of things. She''s still better at it than me."
"Shower me with more praise," Arisu said, puffing her chest.
"How has it been leading teams on missions?" Takuma asked Momoe.
Momoe had been a chunin for half a year. Most new chunin split their time between joining missions led by jonin or other experienced chunin to learn on the job¡ªand then applying what they had learned by leading genin on missions.
"I''m grateful that Kazuo-sensei prepared us by allowing us to practise leadership," said Momoe, thinking back to her experience as a genin. "I believe it was seven or eight months into our time as genin when he started sending us on every third D-rank mission on our own; we rotated the leader position and had to complete the mission to the client''s satisfaction¡ªquarterway through our second year, he stopped participating in D-rank missions altogether, and trusted us to do it on our own... He repeated the same method with C-rank missions halfway through our second year, and the moment I made chunin, he stopped participating in them as well.
"So I wasn''t nervous leading missions, and I''m sure it would be the same with Hideaki and Aimi."
Takuma looked surprised but nodded. "That makes sense, actually. Just simple and practical teaching."
"Indeed," said Momoe.
Takuma then started asking more questions that Momoe was happy to answer. Out of all civilian-background genin in their batch¡ªor the two batches above then¡ªhe was the one who seemed to have accomplished the most, and she wanted to get to know him better and perhaps establish a better peer relationship.
CH_8.29 (294)
The gathering continued, and Takuma changed tables in an attempt to preserve his social battery and found Taro on the least occupied table.
"Thank you for before. Things would''ve gotten awkward if you didn''t speak up," said Takuma, grateful that Taro was the first to order when he offered to buy everyone a round of drinks, which allowed Hana to be comfortable about someone else paying at her celebration party.
"It would''ve been hell to sit here in that god-awful mood," said Taro before lowering his head to reach the straw instead of picking up the glass off the table. He gazed at Takuma, who realised he wanted to know about the "killed a jonin" conversation they had heard upon their arrival.
Takuma wasn''t ready to share what he had done for fear of how his friends would take it. His teammates were not particularly enthused about his decision; they understood why he did it but only because they were there in Yu with him. None of his friends shared that experience and thus lacked a relationship with the situation¡ªhe feared that if he told them what he had done, he would lose them.
He didn''t want to lose any more friends.
Takuma simply gazed back. Taro''s eyes showed understanding, and he immediately dropped the topic and returned to his lethargic self.
"Wow," said Ono from beside Taro, "you two just had a conversation with your eyes, didn''t you?"
"We did no such thing," said Taro.
"Aww, look at you being shy," Ono smirked before turning to Takuma. "Nice to see you again, Takuma. I can''t believe it''s been three years since we graduated."
Taro and Ono''s group was a close group of four boys who sat in the middle of the social ladder. It might not have been the reason for their continued friendship, but they had become friends because they shared a background¡ªall of them had at least one parent who was a first-generation shinobi.
"Feels like a lifetime ago," Takuma replied, but in truth, it felt like three years had passed in the blink of an eye, which regularly induced anxiety within him. "Allow me to apologise for what I said back there..."
Ono was on the same team as Izumi and Hiji. In Takuma''s attempt to insult Hiji by saying that his jonin teacher was cutting ties because he didn''t see potential in him, Takuma had insulted Ono as well, who was in the same position as Hiji.
"... I was riled up and said those things in the heat of the moment," said Takuma and bowed his head briefly. "I didn''t actually mean any of that and certainly don''t think that about you. I hope you understand that and look past my words."
"Of course, I''ll forgive you... if you do me a favour," said Ono.
"Come on, now," said Taro, raising a brow, "don''t be like that."
"As long as it''s reasonable," said Takuma, gesturing for Ono to proceed. He didn''t care if he and Ono didn''t become friends, but if possible, he didn''t want to make the situation strained for Taro, who would be stuck between two friends, which was a difficult situation, even in cases where one side was at apparent fault.
"I''m thinking about joining the Police Force." Ono sighed, "Even if you didn''t mean it, the fact stands that our team disbands next year... I have to figure out what I want to do after that." He glanced at his two teammates at other tables. "Hiji is an Inuzuka; he doesn''t have to worry about it. Even without her clan, Izumi''s already a chunin and would already be independent by then... I don''t want to get left behind, so I need to move ahead as well... and unlike someone I know, I don''t want to rely on my parents," Ono shot Taro a side-eye.
Taro rolled his eyes. "I didn''t ask to be born in my family."
"I once said this to Arisu¡ªyour background is a resource; regardless of what people might think, you shouldn''t feel any shame in taking advantage of it," said Takuma before his eyes turned hard momentarily. "It''s a tough world out there, and if you want to survive, you must claw at anything and everything within your reach... If I could make Taro''s parents adopt me, I would''ve done it years ago."
Takuma realised that he was about to turn the conversation''s tone heavy with someone who he was meeting after three years. So he quickly pivoted to a joke to hopefully turn the conversation around before it got awkward.
"You''re joking, but my parents might consider it," said Taro with a chuckle.
"My old man''s a chunin. If I do ask him, he will get me a job in his line of work, and I just don''t find it interesting," Ono sighed as he rested his chin on his palm. "I would rather do something else and, well, from what I know about the Police Force, that''s much more up my alley."
Ono''s father was involved in the Hidden Leaf''s relationship with the Daimyo''s Samurai, and his place of work was responsible along with their counterpart on the other side in ensuring that the two of the nation''s top forces didn''t collide to create domestic conflict that could be disadvantageous to the nation.
"I''ll answer your questions, but Izumi is your teammate; I''m sure she would be of more help than me," said Takuma.
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"Not really, if you think about it. Izumi is a Uchiha, yes¡ªbut she isn''t part of the Police Force," said Ono. He waved his hands with a smile when Izumi sensed him looking at her and returned his wave with a smile. "She introduced me to some of her clan members who were of help, but for an Uchiha, entry to the Police Force is guaranteed if they desire it¡ªthat''s not going to be my experience. For outsiders like you and me, we have to go through an evaluation and vetting process¡ªand the people who Izumi introduced to me can''t really help me with it... I even asked Arisu, and while she was much more helpful, the Fuma clan is an ally, and her experience is different as well."
"I''ll try to help," said Takuma.
"Before anything else, should I try to join the Police Force?" asked Ono. "Is it worth it?"
The last few months before his deployment flashed past Takuma''s mind. The pressure of the constant and growing reality that the Narcotics Taskforce would be taken away from him had affected his work. He recalled the day at the hospital when the Head of the Organized Crime Department had told him about his deployment to the war, which guaranteed that he was losing what he had created.
"Yes, it''s worth it to join the Police Force. It''s an excellent place to progress your career. And if you''re smart about it, you can get resources that would be hard to procure otherwise," said Takuma. Despite what had happened to him, he knew he had grown in various ways in the Police Force¡ªregardless of his feelings, the Police Force, in its current state of flux from external hiring, was a place rife with opportunities.
If he didn''t believe that, he wouldn''t''ve even responded to Setsuna''s internal promotion offer with his demands and outright shut the man at the spot.
"If I can get the position I did, there''s no reason you can not."
Ono asked, "How do I make sure I get in?"
"It''s the same everywhere. Put your best before them, and if they like it, they will take you in. Create a resume which highlights your strengths and achievements, request your jonin teacher write a recommendation for you, put a spotlight on the fact that you''re teammates and friends with Chunin Uchiha Izumi¡ªanything that gives you value should be made known to them."
Takuma answered Ono''s questions, expanded on some things from his conversation with Arisu, and gave him an idea of what sort of place he was trying to enter.
"One final piece of advice," said Takuma. "Don''t put all of your eggs in one basket. Apply to other places as well. Take any place that interests you and drop a resume. If you apply to, let''s say, thirty places, even if only half¡ªor a third¡ªreaches back, you will have ten tries to get a positive result."
The talk of options made Takuma think of the choices before him. In two days, he would be locked in for two weeks for the ANBU test, and by the time that ended, Setsuna would have an answer for him about the promotion. He would need to decide between those two options¡ªbut that was only part of the decision¡ªhe also needed to consider Mikoto''s offer.
What was the best option to get revenge for Rikku? Was it to join ANBU and reach a place where he could target ROOT? Or was it to continue at the Police Force, a familiar landscape, and improve his status by attaching himself to the Uchiha clan while working on the side in hopes of a day when he could rip that bastard''s heart and make him eat it?
It wasn''t sure if he would be assigned ROOT cases at ANBU; if it was possible, he was semi-confident that he could work his way to getting there eventually, but who knew how long that would take given that he would be starting from the ground up at a new place of work and would have to work harder. The Police Force had the advantage of his reputation and familiarity, which would ease the work he would need to do; in addition, there were his words to Ono about the Police Force being rife with opportunities he could exploit to climb the career and influence ladder¡ªbut he didn''t know how he could leverage any of that to get closer to Kon, who could be hiding outside the Land of Fire, which was outside the Police Force''s influence.
"What are you thinking so hard about? This is a party, you know. Loosen up and have some fun!"
Takuma looked up to see Izumi standing beside him with big glasses of sparkling lemonade in her hands. She sat beside him with a smile and placed one glass before him.
"Thank you," said Takuma, accepting the drink. He also felt eyes on him and noticed some of the boys subtly glaring at him on a glance around. He ignored them and returned to the people around him.
"Takuma was telling me about the Police Force," said Ono.
"That was kind of you to do, Takuma," Izumi smiled brightly. "I hope it was all positive, though. You need to make up your mind quickly this time, Ono!"
"There''s still a year; there''s no need to rush," said Takuma, surprised. He could understand Izumi wanting to lock in her teammate for her clan''s Police Force, but he would rather have Ono consider and weigh his options now over regretting his choices later on.
"No, you don''t understand. If it were anyone else, I wouldn''t be worried, but he''s terribly indecisive; he will procrastinate months away if you let him be," Izumi said, staring pointedly at Ono, who turned his head away but failed to deny the accusation. "He once took an entire month to replace a pair of worn-out sandals. Do you know what happened? The old one snapped during a mission inside a forest; sensei had to carry him for an hour."
Ono got red in the face from getting his fault pointed out so directly.
"Oh yeah, you''re not so perfect yourself, missy," he said.
Izumi crossed her arms and looked down at him as if challenging him to come up with one thing.
Ono narrowed his eyes before looking at Izumi. "She regularly falls for scam products!"
Izumi gasped, her face reddenning this time. "Okay, knock it off. I get it!"
"It would be one thing if they were well made, but she falls for the most obvious ones! One time, she burned through half of her monthly base stipend on the very first day¡ª"
"Ono!"
"¡ªall in one single shop!"
Izumi fished an ice cube out of her lemonade glass and threw it at Ono, who opened his mouth and caught it between his teeth before chomping on it with a smug look directed at her.
Takuma watched the two teammates squabble. It was quite a wholesome moment. This world was cruel and tough, but it needed joy and bliss for it to be worth living in. He was glad that shinobi still had the capability of smiling and laughing from the bottom of their hearts; they were perhaps the people who needed it the most.
With all the death, destruction, and chaos they would inevitably experience during their lives, it was important to balance it with something that would soothe their hearts before they became rigid and uncaring and lost the spark of life.
And yet, the emotion he felt as he watched them was not joy¡ªit was envy. Even though they were arguing, it looked like so much fun, but he knew if he tried something like that with Taro, Arisu, or Kameko right now, it wouldn''t be the same.
It wasn''t like he forgot what it felt like... he had simply lost his capability to feel joy.
He wondered if it was too late for him; if he would ever get it back again¡ªif his world would continue to feel empty and grey until the day he died.
It scared him tremendously.
CH_8.30 (295)
"Do you like your life now or when you were back at the academy?"
Izumi considered the question from the boy sitting beside her. Even though she had sat beside him five minutes ago, they had only been part of the same conversation instead of actually talking with each other. She was just about to start thinking that he wasn''t interested in talking to her.
"... I most definitely like my life right now," Izumi answered Takuma''s question.
"Why?" asked Takuma, shifting his body to face her.
"My dad died during the Nine-Tails attack..."
"I''m sorry for your loss," said Takuma with an earnest light in his eyes.
Izumi nodded. "Thank you. Well, after that, Mom started working to support both of us. It was tough on her, but she made sure I never felt that I didn''t feel it. I have fond memories of the academy, but I like my life now infinitely more because I can support her so she doesn''t have to bear it all alone."
When she was in the academy, she was a burden on her mother. Being part of the Uchiha clan helped as everything from household commodities to monthly utility bills was subsidised by the clan, and the academy itself was tuition-free¡ªbut it was nevertheless hard on her mother. But when Izumi became a shinobi, she could contribute to the household instead of just taking from it.
"My proudest moment is still the day when I gave my first paycheck to Mom," Izumi smiled, remembering how surprised her mother looked when she grabbed her rough hands hands and placed the envelope in them. They had cried in each other''s arms for a good while before just staying there. It was a warm memory that she would never forget.
"If I have a complaint, it''s that she insists on continuing to work," Izumi sighed. She wanted her to enjoy her life, but her mother said she enjoyed her work because it kept her busy. "She''s taking less work now, but still..."
"I''m sure she recognises how much you love her," said Takuma. "It''s probably that she''s worried that you won''t have any savings if you give her money when you lose so much to scam products."
"Hey!" Izumi glared at him before softly chuckling. "What about you? I assume that you like your life now more?"
She knew that Takuma''s time at the academy hadn''t been very fun. He had no friends, was terrible at all things shinobi, and was given a really hard time by Hiji. But now, he had friends like Taro, Arisu, and even Kameko, which was a surprise given their personalities¡ªand had managed to make more than something out of himself. Perhaps out of everyone in the class, he was the one to improve the most.
"Who knows, both parts of my life have their good and bad." Takuma looked like he was in thought before he was in thought, "You''re right, all things considered, I think being a shinobi has been better than being a student... However, I have to say, the feeling of covering my answer in the test with my hand so the teacher couldn''t see how stupid I was¡ªeven though I knew he would be grading it later¡ªthat feeling is unmatched."
Izumi patted his shoulder as she covered her mouth to hide her laughter. She understood the appeal of returning to the simpler times of when they were in the academy¡ªit was a glasshouse that kept them safe from the realities of the world of a shinobi.
"May I ask you a question?" asked Takuma.
"Sure, what is it?" she smiled.
"What does it feel like to use B-rank ninjutsu?"
Izumi paused as the question changed the topic of conversation to something very separate from what they were talking about, requiring her to think about the question before she could answer. She had two B-rank ninjutsu in her arsenal, one of which she had a decent mastery over as it was a Fire Release jutsu, which was her primary affinity¡ªbut the second, Wind Release jutsu, was taking some time as her talent with the Wind affinity didn''t match that of her talent over Fire.
"The clan head once said this to us," she started.
"Uchiha Fugaku?"
"Uh-huh. He said that if D-rank ninjutsu feels like training toys and C-rank ninjutsu are akin to tools of the trade, then B-rank ninjutsu are the manifestation of power." Izumi closed her eyes and recalled the feeling. "Using B-rank ninjutsu makes it feel like you''ve ascended; the feeling of chakra coursing through the body, transforming into pure power all under my control, free for me to unleash... The first time I cast one correctly, my heart beat with such intensity that it refused to come down for a long time, and I was on a power high for the rest of the day."
She was well aware that she was talking about a weapon of serious destruction which shouldn''t be used lightly in any circumstances, but she couldn''t deny that using a B-rank jutsu was an experience like no other¡ªand perhaps that was exactly why it was dangerous.
"I guess that''s why he was being so annoyingly loud," Takuma muttered.
"Pardon?"
"I have this asshole acquaintance who turned more annoying when he was using a B-rank jutsu, don''t worry about it," Takuma looked at another table. "Though I must say Momoe didn''t look power-hungry when she used a B-rank jutsu on me."
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"She did what?" asked Izumi, looking surprised at Momoe.
"It was a spar a long time ago under the watchful eye of her sensei, and knowing what I know now, she mustn''t''ve been very good at it back then."
"I see; I was just surprised. But it''s good that there was a jonin overlooking it." A mischievous smile perked on her face. "Everyone has their own unique experience. Momoe values control over a lot of things, so maybe she didn''t show it, or perhaps she didn''t feel like it... Momoe is like an old granny; it''s not a surprise that she''s a boring stiff," she said the last part a bit loudly.
Izumi snatched a wooden skewer aimed at her head out of the air and stuck out her tongue at a glaring Momoe.
"It''s not just the feeling of power; depending on if you chose a jutsu that gels well with your fighting style, they''re excellent on a cost-value scale. There are plenty of C-rank jutsu that can scale up along with a shinobi, but most of them would fall into not being used as a shinobi grows¡ªbut a B-rank jutsu would always stay with you regardless of how much you grow."
A lot of it had to do with the fact that shinobi thought carefully about B-rank jutsu because of the amount of effort it took to learn and master one. A wrong choice could lead to a waste of not only effort but also time that could''ve put in another option. She had taken a full three weeks of near-daily visit to her clan''s jutsu archives before she decided on the jutsu she wanted to pursue.
"If B-rank is like that, I wonder how A-rank jutsu would feel," Takuma thought aloud.
"They don''t feel good," Izumi replied. "I have no experience, but from what I''ve been told, A-rank jutsu puts a lot of stress on the body. They take too much chakra, which makes their usage limited and more risky¡ªbut there''s no doubt that they''re utterly devastating, which can be a detriment..."
"Hmm, so B-rank jutsu lies in a sweet spot where you can have a profound effect with a reasonable trade-off."
"Precisely."
He has changed. Izumi didn''t know Takuma very well in the academy¡ªshe still didn''t know much about him¡ª but she had an impression that he was withdrawn and cautious. She had caught him silently looking around the class, observing everything without ever participating. But as she sat beside him, it felt like he had become comfortable in his skin, which wasn''t the case before. There was also self-assuredness and confidence when he was talking about his experience at the war with Momoe. Coming into his own as a shinobi had made him grow as a person.
She couldn''t help but wonder what journey he had been on since leaving the academy.
"I must admit, I''m curious about your relationship with Lady Mikoto," asked Izumi.
"She''s my genjutsu teacher... I wanted to learn genjutsu, so someone in the Police Force introduced us. She was free and liked me enough to show me the ropes. But I have relied on her a lot more than just genjutsu lessons. She was immensely helpful when I was trying to wrap my head around being deployed to war." A look of gratitude appeared on Takuma''s face as he sat up a bit straighter. "Meeting someone as genuine as Mikoto-sensei has been one of the most fortunate occurrences in my life."
"That''s very nice to hear," Izumi smiled because she could sense that he meant every word of it. "But I''m surprised that you''re learning genjutsu from her. Lady Mikoto is famed for her taijutsu rather than genjutsu."
Takuma shrugged. "She''s an exemplary genjutsu teacher." He looked at her. "Your combat style is focused around taijutsu, isn''t it? You should consult her with your queries. Even if it''s one sparring session, she has the sheer experience to open your worldview."
"H-Huh, I can''t disturb her with something like that," said Izumi. Even though she was retired, Mikoto was a jonin, and she was the matriarch of the Uchiha clan with responsibilities. Moreover, Izumi had her jonin teacher, who she could consult on her queries¡ªnot only that, the clan itself had provided her with a mentor she could reach out to, which she had done, but they weren''t compatible¡ªthe advice she was given didn''t suit her.
Going to Mikoto would be insulting to her clan mentor, and she didn''t want to offend someone who had been trying to help her.
"She''s resuming the genjutsu lessons with me," said Takuma.
"She really does like you, huh."
Izumi wondered if the reason Mikoto liked Takuma was because he resembled her son. They were both the dark, brooding type who didn''t speak a lot. They both had a mature vibe to them and seemed to have various thoughts and questions always churning in their mind.
She hadn''t seen Itachi in months, and the amount of times they had met this year could be counted on one hand. He had withdrawn himself since Shisui''s death and pushed himself into work. That was yet another similarity because Arisu said that Takuma was a workaholic.
Takuma continued, "If she''s willing to do that for someone outside the clan, what makes you think she won''t entertain one of her own clan''s rising stars."
"R-Rising star. I''m not that¡ª"
"And it''s not like you''re just anyone. You''re close to her son, Itachi, if I''m not wrong; that''s one connection you can use. And you know me; that''s the second one. I could ask her for you."
"No, you don''t have to do that."
"You want your mother to be happy, right?"
"Huh?" Izumi looked up and saw Takuma staring down at her with his dull black eyes that were suddenly so deep she couldn''t see the bottom.
"You''re a chunin, but the reason your mother is being so considerate is probably that she doesn''t want to waste her daughter''s money."
"Waste?! Helping my mom is not wasting money!"
"I agree, but a good parent like her might think differently. You are young, and she probably wants to save your money for the future or spend it on yourself rather than her. She probably knows that you wanted to become a shinobi to support her, which would obviously make her feel proud but also make her think that she''s tying her daughter down."
"That''s rubbish; she''s doing nothing like that," Izumi said, but for some reason, she couldn''t help but worry that her mother, given her personality, might think like that.
"There''s a simple solution to resolve everything," said Takuma. "You become a jonin."
Izumi was dumbfounded. It had barely been half a year since she had become a chunin, and he was talking about becoming a jonin.
"To be more precise, you rise so high, earn so much money, that when you show the line of zeroes on your bank book; when she reads her daughter''s name in the newspaper; when clan bigwigs respect her because of you¡ªshe has no choice but to realise that her daughter is not one to be tied down. But for that to happen, you need everything you can get your hands on because it''s a tough road. So reach out to Mikoto-sensei not for yourself but for your mother."
Izumi was right. They were similar in how kind and thoughtful they were. But she was also wrong. Itachi wouldn''t say anything like what Takuma had just said. She looked up at Takuma, and she could tell that as they sat there talking, she was his only focus. It was different from when she talked with Itachi, who always seemed to have other thoughts in the back of his mind.
"Now it feels so much easier, doesn''t it?" asked Takuma.
Izumi smiled broadly.
"It does," she said and looked him in the eye. "I''ll do just that!"
CH_8.31 (296)
As the last hour of the gathering wound down, Takuma and Arisu sat shoulder to shoulder, feet kicked out, leaning against the wall, away from the tables. The mood of the gathering had long since settled down; some people had left, and the conversations had turned softer; some had even laid down on the tatami floors.
"I really wanted to spar with you," Arisu sighed with a hint of irritation.
Takuma wanted to spar with Arisu as he did with Nenro and Masaaki, and she had readily agreed, but she ran into a work problem the day before their spar and thus had to pull out from the spar commitment.
"It''s okay. Let''s do it after I return from my trip," Takuma replied. He also wanted to fight Arisu because she had a unique combat style from her Fuma clan lineage that was often required to handle the giant fuma shuriken and turn it into an effective weapon. He wanted to see closely what insight he could gain from it.
"Don''t you think it''s too early for you to go out again? It hasn''t even been a month since you came back," said Arisu, glancing up at him.
"It is early, but it''s also the only time I''m free. I''m on leave until my contract runs out¡ªif Setsuna somehow pulls through, I would need to start working in my new position; if he fails, I would need to start looking for work... and I think I''ve outstayed my welcome at Maruboshi-sensei''s house. I feel bad for taking advantage of his generosity, so, when I return, I''ll couch-surf at Ai''s and Nenro''s place while I find myself a new place to rent."
Of course, as Arisu said, it was indeed too early to leave on a leisure trip when he had just returned home after nearly a year at war. But he couldn''t postpone the ANBU recruitment tests¡ªand, in some ways, doing something challenging would be an excellent way to get him back in the grove.
"Did you decide where you''re going?" she asked.
Takuma answered with the pre-prepared response of his trip taking him through a couple of major cities, a hunting hotspot, a long-standing temple, and some planned detours on his journey.
However, because he wasn''t visiting any of those places, he would not have any stories to tell, nor any souvenirs to bring back¡ªso he had thought of an excuse where he would come across a quaint little town in the middle of nowhere and decide to stay there after being captivated by itself.
The town was an actual lake-side settlement once found by Maruboshi during his travels and would give Takuma enough information to lie effectively.
"Dad said that you should come and visit," said Arisu.
"Sure, I''d like to see your dad again," said Takuma. He had known Arisu for a while now, and in that time, he had met some of her relatives, like her dad and aunt, who worked in the Police Force. He had also visited her home once to have dinner with her family. they
"How''s the family doing?"
Suddenly, Arisu''s face darkened, and her body stiffened as she bowed her head, causing her green hair to fall down and cover her face.
"Dad and mom are getting a divorce," she whispered.
"What?" Takuma was utterly shocked and taken aback by the sudden news.
She had been so cheerful since he had returned and showed no signs of any distress or a problem as grave as her parents getting divorced. Or she did show some signs that he''d missed because he was rotting in his own misery.
"Are you alright? How can I help? If you want to talk¡ª"
"Pfft!" Arisu turned her head away with her hand covering her mouth. She shook from trying to hold her laughter back.
"You dick! Come on, I was genuinely worried!" Takuma punched her in the shoulder.
She wiped a tear from her eye while grinning ear to ear. "Everything is fine. They had their sixteenth anniversary two months ago. They''re thinking about raising a chicken to see if they could manage up a coop in the future."
He sighed but was happy that everything was good. He noticed her gaze on him and asked what she was looking at.
"The scar really changed your look." Arisu held her face with one hand and gently brushed her thumb against the scar on the edge of his lips. "You should get it fixed. There''s an iryo-nin in the clan who''s really good in the reconstructive and cosmetic field¡ªafter he''s done, it will be like you never had that scar."
It wasn''t the first time they had talked about the topic of his scars. The Hidden Leaf standard uniform had a turtleneck and full-sleeved undershirt, which hid all of his body, and the Police Force uniform too covered his body so he never had to worry about other people seeing his scars.
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But for someone who had spent as much time with him as Arisu, she knew to a large extent how many scars he had. She never liked them and would bring up cosmetic reconstruction to wipe them off.
"I don''t mind them," Takuma replied with the same answer as always. "They serve as reminders of mistakes I shouldn''t make again."
His time in the Ring had put many more marks on his body, and he could immediately point to one and recall why he got it. They were signs of failure, but more importantly, signs of his learning. He didn''t like his scars¡ªhe would prefer not to get new ones¡ªbut he was fine with keeping them. Then, there were the surgical scars; they were his connection to the boy''s past¡ªand ever since Yu, they had become more important in understanding the truth, which was now his past.
"ROOT was behind the assassination attempt," Takuma whispered just loud enough for Arisu to hear. The ANBU and Police Force had kept that information on the low so it hadn''t spread out.
"That ROOT?" Arisu whispered back, her eyes widening.
Takuma nodded. "The man who most probably ordered the assassination was at the city I was operating... I got the scar while fighting him. I took his arm, but he escaped," he said.
"But why did they target you?"
"Remember the Farm Raid? That belonged to the ROOT; they wanted to retaliate and scare us away."
"Oh my god... That must''ve been terrible to see him there."
It was indeed terrible. The man had made his life miserable by releasing the wanted posters, which had led to innocent people getting tortured.
"He killed one of my teammates, Rikku, a dear friend," said Takuma. For a split second, a terribly dark flashed past his eyes. "He escaped back then, but when we meet the next time, I''ll feed him to hyenas just so that he''ll finally be of some use to the world."
Arisu placed a hand on his hand, and Takuma exhaled deeply to release the rage build-up.
"I''m sorry, let''s change the topic," he said with an apologetic look.
"There are rumours that you are getting promoted," said Arisu, surprising him.
"Seriously?" he asked because he lacked confidence in Setsuna.
"I didn''t talk about our conversation with anyone, and if you only shared the promotion talk with me, then it must be from Chunin Setsuna ... I heard that he has been meeting with department heads recently, and seeing that no higher-up has stopped him must mean that they don''t mind it, which means that they''re seriously considering your promotion."
Since meeting with Mikoto and her offer to swear allegiance to the Uchiha clan, Takuma saw two paths before him.
Assuming he got the Police Force promotion, if he went that route, then he was thinking of taking up the offer, becoming affiliated, and hitching his ride with the Uchiha clan; he would be working on the clan''s home field, but unlike before, he would concretely be on their side¡ªand he would have Jonin Uchiha Mikoto, the Uchiha matriarch as his backer. Not only would he have stable power in the Police Force, but he would also have a clan''s resource¡ªhe wasn''t delusional to think he would get the clan member treatment, but as long as he got anything comparable, that would be a huge boon.
The second route was joining ANBU, if he passed. The moment they had put the jutsu archive access on the table, Takuma had almost made up his mind to the point nothing would change it. His initial aim had been to survive; getting unfettered access to a C-rank archive and favourable access to a B-rank archive based on performance fulfilled that aim.
However, he was no longer comfortable aligning himself with the Uchiha clan if he wasn''t working in the Police Force; the moment he revealed his position in the ANBU, he would undoubtedly be turned into an insider¡ªand the moment the ANBU found his affiliation with the Uchiha, he could see them pressuring him to be their insider.
Takuma didn''t want to get stuck between them, and hiding one from the other was impossible as it would inevitably be revealed.
Another of his concerns with ANBU was that one of his long-term goals was to become a jonin. He had lived in the world long enough to understand that rank promotions, especially jonin promotion, were deeply political affairs. While the ANBU was an optimal place to rack achievements by handling matters of national security and had all the power one could ask for; they weren''t as politically influential as one of the two founder clans of the Hidden Leaf.
Having the Uchiha as his backers would raise his chances like almost no one else could.
While he could be incorrect, he also guessed that getting promoted inside ANBU itself would be more difficult when the average skill of their members, along with their achievement, would be higher, which meant harsher competition leading to lower chances of getting promoted.
Rank promotions were inherently essential to getting stronger for someone like him who didn''t have a clan''s deep shinobi culture to pull from. Without becoming a chunin, he wouldn''t be able to do higher-level missions; would earn fewer mission points and money, limiting his purchasing power; and wouldn''t have access to the B-rank archives, limiting him to weaker jutsu¡ªthus stifling his growth.
And because of that, becoming a jonin was absolutely necessary if he wanted to become someone truly strong¡ªwithout that promotion, the only way to get stronger was to take drastic measures requiring him to uproot his life, which wasn''t something he wanted to do.
There was no doubt that both paths before him were excellent, and he would be fortunate to go either way¡ªbut he didn''t know what the future had in store for him, and didn''t want to regret taking one path only to realise then that he would have done better if he went the other way.
"Ugh, I don''t want to think about it. It just makes me anxious," said Takuma, rubbing his arm.
"Well, you''re lucky that you''re going away," Arisu replied.
"Let''s go on a trip somewhere together someday, even if it''s only one day," said Takuma.
"Really? I would like that actually very much," said Arisu with a bright blooming on her face.
"Uh-huh, let''s gather some of our friends and go somewhere relaxing," Takuma said. He hadn''t ever been on a trip with friends other than school excursions and wanted that experience at least once.
Arisu''s smile turned into a grimace, and she kicked him in the shin so hard that he yelped.
"Ouch, what the fuck!" Takuma yelled as he briskly rubbed his leg to ease the pain. "What was that for?"
"Your ugly face irritated me!"
"That makes no sense!"
CH_8.32 (297)
At six in the morning, Takuma and Maruboshi stood in front of the house. Takuma was dressed in the standard shinobi gear with a slightly chunkier backpack full of the things he would need for the two-week assessment. Seeing that they didn''t know anything about the assessment, they built a survival kit that would at least keep him dry and fed.
"How are you feeling?" asked Maruboshi.
"Good, refreshed," Takuma answered, rolling his shoulders. "The nervousness will hit full force when I get there." It had been like that since his school days. He would be fine until the final moment when the teacher distributed the test sheets and the restlessness and worry would raise their head.
"Remember to pay attention to your surroundings, and nothing is more important than keeping yourself safe. I do not know what they might throw at you; I doubt it will be easy," said Maruboshi.
Takuma nodded. He wasn''t in the mood for difficult things and wanted to gradually ramp up his training until he returned to his pre-Yu state of routine. So, even though he wanted to perform well, he wasn''t excited about it.
"I haven''t said this enough, but I''m grateful that you let me stay for so long. I know I would''ve been a very different person without your kindness." Takuma bowed until his torso was parallel to the ground. He didn''t think he would''ve been able to recover as much as he did without Maruboshi. "After I return, I''ll collect my belongings and move to Ai''s house while I look for a new place."
Not only had Maruboshi lived for a very long time, but he also enjoyed spending time in the great outdoors¡ªforaging, hunting, fishing, and cooking his catch outside in his garden¡ªa lifestyle Takuma disrupted with his wanted Maruboshi to return to his life, and leaving would allow him to do that.
"I would not mind if you continue to live with me. I have come to enjoy the company," said Maruboshi.
Takuma stood up from his bow, surprised.
"Of course, I will charge rent, and you will have to share housekeeping duties, but if you do not mind having an old man like myself as a housemate, then I do not mind if we extend our current living situation."
Takuma''s lower lip quivered briefly, and he bowed his head to hide it. He felt an overwhelming feeling wash over him, making him take a deep breath. "Thank you," he said, looking back up. "I will think about it and give you my answer when I return."
"Focus on the tasks they give you," said Maruboshi with a smile. "Now, get out of here. It wouldn''t do to turn up late now, would it."
"I''ll be off," Takuma said before walking out of the property with a warmth bubbling in his heart.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The meeting location provided in the scroll was one of the training fields reserved for high-level chunin and jonin. Takuma almost salivated as he entered the field because not only was it large and impeccably maintained, but it was also attached to a training facility with specialised equipment for targeted training.
There were other training facilities open to genin, but they weren''t as good and were always overbooked. Takuma had used one while training his hearing for the Hidden Mist Jutsu, but from what he knew, this training facility was a state-of-the-art location. He could''ve accessed it through the Police Force, but he was so busy that he never had the time to make it happen.
He spotted a shinobi standing in the middle of the field who waved when he saw him.
"Welcome, Genin Takuma. I''m glad that you''re on time. You have a busy day ahead of you, so let''s waste no time and get started," the shinobi said with a polite smile. He took out a small scroll from his person and tossed it to Takuma. "In that scroll, you will find a set of clothes along with weaponry and some other supplies. Please remove everything you brought and equip the contents of the scroll."
"Is that necessary?" asked Takuma, pursing his lips.
"It''s mandatory."
He saw no use in arguing and changed to the gear provided in the storage scroll out in the open field. The uniform was a boiler suit with a grey-and-green colour scheme; it was a perfect fit and allowed a full range of motion with comfortable margins that he suspected was tailor-made for him.
There were plenty of pockets, but not as many as he was used to. After joining the Police Force, he wore their uniform, but before that, he used to wear the standard shinobi gear without the flak jacket. But outside of the village, he always wore a flak jacket on missions because he needed pocket space.
Not only was he used to the pocket placement on the jacket, but he also had a system of what each pocket stored¡ªall of which was programmed into his muscle memory. The new boiler suit rendered all of that useless. The provided gear included weapon pouches, which once again presented a similar problem because the ones he owned were customised to his exact preferences. These ones made his hand feel awkward when he reached for them.
But the biggest annoyance was the weapons themselves. Each shinobi had custom loadouts built to accommodate and match their combat style. The weapon loadout provided was the ''recommended'' set¡ªwhich wasn''t bad and was recommended for a reason, but it didn''t fit him.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Takuma sighed and looked at the black balaclava mask provided with the gear.
"Am I going to steal something?" he asked.
"Please put it on and head to this address. You have twenty minutes; you''ll be disqualified if you''re even a minute late." The shinobi took out a scroll and weaved hand seals for smoke to puff out from the fuinjutsu seals. "The countdown has started; please hurry."
The address was a very tight twenty minutes away from their location, so he needed to be fast if he wanted to make it in time. Takuma handed his gear over and said, "I want all my stuff back when this is over. Not a thing should be missing."
"Please be unbothered. Everything will be taken care of properly."
Takuma was already running as he put his mask on.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
He thought there would be some obstacles on his way to the address. He expected an ambush ¡ªbut nothing happened, and he reached the location without any hitches. He didn''t have a watch, so he couldn''t be sure if he made it in time or not, but he believed so.
The building on the address was an unoccupied, drab, three-storey office building with boarded windows. There were no instructions on what to do upon reaching the location, and he would''ve opted to stay out and observe the perimeter, but seeing that there was a time limit, he didn''t want to fail just because he didn''t go inside.
He approached the backdoor and found a dusty plaque slotted in a door.
[Recruitment. Head Inside.]
That affirmed his doubts, and he entered the building and found himself in a large hall that workers would have used if anyone worked in the building. But instead of office workers, the cafeteria was occupied by a dozen or more balaclava-wearing shinobi who all looked at him when he entered through the door.
The room was already quiet, but it felt like it dipped further into silence as Takuma walked inside. He observed the people who were obviously his competition. He didn''t know how many people the ANBU was aiming to recruit, so he assumed the worst and treated it like there was only one open position. If he wanted his promotion, he would need to trump everyone.
And if ANBU had invited someone, there was no doubt that they would be competent at the least.
Takuma swept his gaze around the hall to roughly memorise physical features like gender, body shape, height, and eye colour to identify the people. He was surprised when he noticed a man with white pupils; there was only one clan in the entire world with that dojutsu bloodline.
A Hyuga was participating in the ANBU assessment.
Their eyes met, and the Hyuga furrowed his eyes in displeasure before looking away. Takuma couldn''t blame him. It was rude to stare. Even after living in the world for over four years, he hadn''t gotten used to the white-eyed clan. Their eyes were so striking that he couldn''t help but stare.
One by one, the masked candidates approached an unmasked kunoichi dressed in standard Leaf gear standing behind the serving counter attached to a small kitchen. Just like the receptionists he had met during his visit to the headquarters and the shinobi he met in the training field, she was an ANBU employee.
"Hello, welcome to the ANBU assessments," the kunoichi addressed Takuma with a polite smile when it was his turn to step up the counter. "While there is no rule barring you from revealing your identities during the assessment process to other candidates, we are allocating a number to everyone to use as identification. You will be here on addressed as Number #13." She took out a key from a drawer with the number thirteen written on the green tab. "For now, please head to the room marked with the number thirteen and wait for further instructions... Do you have any questions?"
He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Excellent," the kunoichi smiled.
Takuma took the stairs to get up to his room. On the base of the stairs, a masked ANBU-nin was sitting on a stool with his hood pulled up. He was still like a statue and had an intense vibe that said not to talk to him.
As Takuma passed by, his eye was drawn to the number of gem-encrusted gold rings on the man''s freshly manicured fingers; they looked absurdly expensive and, in his opinion, gaudy. He wasn''t against jewellery and thought about getting a piercing and a chain someday to wear off duty¡ªbut he preferred a more subtle style.
As he climbed the first step, Takuma raised his right arm and weaved a simple hand seal to disrupt the chakra inside him to shatter the genjutsu cast over him by the ANBU-nin. It was a decently strong genjutsu, but it was piss and shit when compared to what Mikoto used on him to build up his genjutsu recognition. Despite having the ability where he was passively able to see through genjutsu eventually, Mikoto ignored it and taught him how to recognise and break genjutsu properly.
As his skill with genjutsu¡ªcasting and breaking¡ªrose, his passive ability had only become much stronger. He had reached a level where he could see through low-level genjutsu from the moment they were cast. For stronger genjutsu, he was able to see through them faster.
If he had to estimate, it would''ve taken three more seconds before his ability would''ve seen through the ANBU-nin''s genjutsu. It was always a confidence booster when he was able to sense and break a genjutsu before his ability kicked in¡ªwhich didn''t happen a lot when his opponent was Mikoto, who admitted (shamelessly bragged) that it was difficult for someone on her level to cast weak genjutsu.
Takuma arrived at room number thirteen and saw two doors facing each other. One had a big red cross, while the other had a green check mark painted roughly on it. He guessed that the genjutsu made it seem like the room with the red X-cross was the correct one. The test was most probably to see if the candidates could break through the jutsu.
As he slotted his key into the correct lock, a door a few rooms over opened, and a tall and slender man with long hair that reached his lower back stepped out of a room with the red X-cross. The man wore a balaclava, but his frown was visible through the eye-opening.
Their eyes met, and the man looked flustered at being seen getting caught in the genjutsu. Takuma simply nodded to the man and entered his room without waiting for a reply.
When Takuma entered the room, he froze at the sight of the interior.
The rooms of the wall were painted into colours¡ªwhite on the upper half and light green on the lower half¡ªit was a familiar paint job because it was used at his house. Whoever had painted had gone through the trouble to fade and wear out the paint job, so it looked old, just like in his home that hadn''t been painted in years.
Then his eye fell to the wall on the left where a large cork board hung with blank paper sheets pinned all over it... just like how he had it in his living room.
And finally, there was a simple metal sheet table and a cheap plastic chair in the middle of the room. It didn''t match his furniture, but Takuma wasn''t thinking about it because there was a leaf-themed hard front mask sitting on the tabletop¡ªjust like the one he wore when he fought in the Ring as Scars.
It wasn''t subtle.
By setting up the room, they were making a statement¡ªthat they knew about him... that they knew him.
CH_8.33 (298)
At a location far from the office building with the candidates, a group of ANBU-nin and department staff used another building as their base. They preferred to be in the same location as the examinees, but a Hyuga was participating in the assessment, and they didn''t want to be seen by the Byakugan.
They were inside a spacious room with a large conference table in the centre and a wall lined with tons of bulky electronic equipment connected to the cameras in the office building all over the building; each numbered room had a pair of cameras to observe the candidates. Another wall was covered with bulky monitors that showed grainy images of the candidates as they sat in their rooms, individually customised to surprise and unsettle them.
"Are all candidates settled down?" asked a man codenamed Eisbar, who was given a mask inspired by the polar bear. Eisbar was an ANBU jonin in charge of the current recruitment round.
"Yes, sir," answered another ANBU-nin codenamed Swine. He was one of the chunin involved in the recruitment process.
None of the ANBU-nin in the room wore their masks, as no outsider was in their company. The staff were aware of the ANBU-nin''s identity as it was unrealistic to work with people without knowing who they were; they needed to know if they were talking to the right person.
"Was anyone late to reach the location?"
"No."
Eisbar nodded as he stared at the monitors. It would''ve been embarrassing for everyone involved if a candidate selected to be a potential ANBU-nin couldn''t do something as simple as reach the location on time. He looked at the wall clock; it had been ten minutes since the last candidates entered their rooms, and that was the cut-off period to escape the genjutsu cast by the ANBU-nin at the location.
The ability to use genjutsu wasn''t required for an ANBU-nin¡ªit was heavily preferred, but not a cause of disqualification. However, one of the most basic requirements was a competent ability to detect and break genjutsu.
"How many of them are still under the genjutsu?"
"Three of them."
A total of seventeen candidates were being assessed in the current round of assessment.
"Send them home," Eisbar said, waving his hand. Not even an hour had passed since the assessment started, and three people had already been eliminated. "Has Angler sent a list yet?"
Codename Angler was the ANBU-nin at the office building who had cast genjutsu over the candidates and wore a mask inspired by the anglerfish.
One of the staff gave Eisbar a sheet of candidates sorted by how quickly they had broken out of the genjutsu.
"One second¡ªNumber #13, Genin Takuma. That''s impressive," said Eisbar with an approving nod. "Isn''t he the one we''re going to promote to chunin if we select him? I didn''t know he was a genjutsu specialist."
The recruitment process was only a part of his responsibilities, and he had many more duties as a jonin; as such, he wasn''t familiar with the candidates, having delegated the task to his subordinates. It was his plan to get familiar with the candidates in the coming two weeks so that he could decide who would be inducted into the department.
But he knew about Takuma because of the rank promotion.
The Department of ANBU employed shinobi of all ranks and capabilities as agents. They even had genin agents for specific use cases, such as going undercover as a civilian or low-level non-shinobi chakra wielder in a scenario where the agent had to hoodwink a sensory-nin who would immediately catch a chunin or above because of their large chakra reserves.
The current round of assessment targeted ''chunin-level'' shinobi. Most candidates were already chunin rank, but there were a few like Takuma who the ANBU deemed worthy enough to be chunin and thus offered them rank promotion if they managed to join the department.
"Negative, sir," said another ANBU-nin, codenamed Lowe, who had been given a mask inspired by a lion. He was another chunin involved in the recruitment process. "Genin Takuma was a prizefighter in the underground fighting establishment called the Ring. His fighting style is predominantly taijutsu, with a secondary focus on ninjutsu. However, he learned genjutsu under Jonin Uchiha Mikoto before he was deployed to the Frost-Steam war¡ªthat''s the most probable source of his skill."
"The Ring, eh," Eisbar muttered.
The Ring was an open secret that was allowed to exist for a myriad of greedy reasons, but if anyone asked, it was because it allowed the Leaf shinobi to train their fighting skills. The Ring had produced a few ANBU-nin, mostly genin, as the shinobi that gathered in those circles were generally street-smart and, thus, suitable for work that the department gave to their genin agents.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
He didn''t miss Takuma''s connection with Uchiha and his employment in the Police Force. His relationship with Uchiha Mikoto was notable, but it wasn''t anything special; they had plenty of clan shinobi with notable connections in their ranks, and Mikoto''s son was an ANBU Captain.
"Number #7, Chunin Hyuga Kojuro. Six seconds is impressive as well."
That was roughly the time it took to climb the stairs and reach the second floor. For most genjutsu users, it was extremely difficult to catch a Hyuga in a genjutsu as they could see the flow of chakra and would disrupt it before it could even hold effect¡ªbut that was only when they had their Byakugan active¡ªwith their eyes inactive, they were the same as anyone else.
"If I remember correctly, he''s a tracking and infiltration specialist. Typical Hyuga," Eisbar commented. However, no one could deny that no one was better at tracking than a Hyuga. As long as Kojuro managed to stay in till the end, he was guaranteed to join ANBU.
The five people after Takuma broke their genjutsu well before they reached their rooms. The eight after them took a few more seconds and broke them by the time they reached their pair of rooms. The remaining went into the wrong rooms before breaking the genjutsu and then going into the right one.
"Alright then," Eisbar clapped. "Let''s find out more about them... Bring in their belongings."
To test the candidates appropriately, they needed to know more about them and what better way to get to know them than the weapons they wield?
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
While Takuma was most definitely surprised upon seeing the room''s interior, he quickly calmed down and closed the door behind him.
He quickly scanned the room and noticed the two wall-mounted cameras with red dot lights indicating that they were watching him. The only items in the room were the table, chair, cork board covered with blank paper sheets, and the ''Scars'' mask.
He picked up the mask to confirm that it wasn''t one of his masks stored in the storage locker. He hadn''t seen them since his return, as they were packed away in a box in the back. The mask was brand new without a single scratch or embellishment, while all of his masks had seen use in fights. He then checked under the chair and table to see if there was anything, only to find nothing out of place. Finally, he went to the corkboard and looked through the pages to find a page with a single line of text.
[Number #13, remove your mask and wait for further instructions]
Takuma didn''t follow the instructions immediately and took the corkboard off the wall to check behind it, but there was nothing there either. The only other thing of interest in the room was that the door had a post-box slot for someone to slip something in from the outside.
He sat down on the chair, and only then did he pull off his mask.
After taking a moment, Takuma realised that the things in the room weren''t as surprising as he had first thought. The paint job of his house wasn''t difficult to find. If the Police Force knew about him being Scars, then it wasn''t surprising that the ANBU knew about it; moreover, he was no longer worried if people knew¡ªin fact, he was ready to share the prizefighting part of his life with his loved ones.
The corkboard, however, did concern him. Had they looked into his storage locker, or had they broken into his house before he had left for the war? Perhaps both since, before he purchased a corkboard, important information was always posted on a wall in his house. All of it was encrypted in a mixture of two other-worldly languages, and while he knew it was near impossible to decrypt, he was worried that ANBU just might pull it off somehow.
But seeing that they had put up blank pages, he suspected they had nothing on him in that avenue.
Then there was the question of if this was all they knew about him. He doubted that. If it were him, he would like to lull the target into a false sense of comfort before striking hard to panic them. He wouldn''t be surprised if they knew about his dealings with Enomoto.
While he had been careful to compartmentalise his life and keep things apart, he wasn''t arrogant enough to think he hadn''t made any mistakes. Just looking at his work at the Narcotics Taskforce would raise some doubts. If someone looked deeply into it, they would find something off. However, Takuma was confident they wouldn''t find any incriminating proof to nail him for his dealings.
If someone wanted to ruin him, they would need Enomoto''s help, and while he didn''t believe the shady iryo-nin would do it¡ªthat help didn''t need to be given willingly. There were ways to make Enomoto open his mouth through painful means and the ANBU was more than capable of doing that.
Takuma wanted to sigh deeply, but the cameras were watching, and he didn''t want to give anything away.
A clicking sound came from the door, indicating that the lock on the door had been engaged.
He got up and tried the door; it was locked. The door was sturdy but not enough to stop him from breaking out. He guessed that the next test was about to commence, so he returned to his chair to wait. Time passed, but nothing happened. Takuma didn''t have a watch, so he didn''t know how many minutes had passed, but it felt close to an hour.
Takuma familiarised himself with the weapon pouches so that he could use them effectively. He laid out the weapons on the table to visualise the loadout and remember the quantity of all the different units to strategize how he might want to use his weapons during fights.
"Hmm?"
Takuma looked at the kunai in his hand. It looked normal, but something felt off about it. For a moment, he wasn''t able to identify the problem, but when he tossed it in the air, he immediately recognised that the kunai was imbalanced when it leaned to the side in the air. It was a minute lean because the throw height was short, but he knew that the kunai would deviate over long distances.
He gazed at the spread on the table and suddenly couldn''t trust anything. Were the explosive tags duds? Did they weaken the standard rope somehow to lower its fail point? Was the chemical mixture in smoke bombs altered so it wouldn''t work properly? Questions about every piece of equipment raised his mind.
While Takuma thought that, he kept himself from looking up at the camera because he didn''t want to give anything. He remembered his academy days when he had no money and picked up extra weapons from clearance bins, which often had flaws like chips or terrible balance. He learned to work with them, and while it had been three years since he had that problem, he felt like he could still pull it off.
They were trying to mess with his head, but it would take a lot more than this to get to him. Takuma sat up straighter and prepared to face whatever they were going to throw at him.
However, nothing happened... and six hours had passed.
CH_8.34 (299)
"How are they doing?" Eisbar asked as he returned from his break. He was a fit middle-aged man of average height with light grey streaks all over his hair that well complemented his blacks, giving him a mature, charming salt-and-pepper look.
Six hours had gone by since they had locked the candidates in their rooms¡ªrooms designed to make them uncomfortable. On top of that, being put under genjutsu only announced the start of the assessment. Being left alone for six hours would only drive them paranoid no matter how level-headed they could be.
"As expected, they''re become quite restless," answered Swine.
Eisbar stepped closer to the monitors. Some candidates were pacing around their rooms, some stared into the cameras, and others fidgeted in their seats. None could relax as they were expecting the assessment to throw a task at them the moment they let their guards down, but they were all missing the point that being uptight for an extended period of time was just as detrimental.
The purpose of locking them in and going no-contact was partially to mentally beat them down and test to see how they handled it.
"Is... Is he sleeping?" Eisbar said, genuinely surprised when he saw a young man napping with his head on the table. He had a large afro of puffy, curly brown hair, a muscular build, and deeply tanned skin from staying outdoors under the sun. The cameras had no microphones, but the on-site staff could hear him snore when they passed his room.
"He has been like that for three hours now," said Lowe, handing Eisbar the candidate''s profile. "Number #10, Chunin Sonaba Yazo."
"Is he in any way related to Jonin Sonaba Makina?" asked Eisbar.
"Her nephew."
The Sonaba family name had been attached to shinobi since the formation of the Hidden Leaf village, and the once civilian family had turned into a shinobi family where every single person in the next generation was a shinobi. They weren''t anything special and only had produced two chunin before Sonaba Makina rose to the rank of an esteemed jonin.
Since then, the Sonaba family had exploded in popularity until it was known in the Hidden Leaf village even though the Sonaba family wasn''t based there and called another city in the Land of Fire their home.
"A rogue hunter, huh. That''s interesting," said Eisbar as he flipped through Sonaba Yazo''s file. Rogue hunting was a trade open to anyone with the ability to capture the rogues and return them to the custody of the village that had declared them wanted. An adjacent field of bounty assassination also existed where anyone could target anyone else by putting a prize over their heads.
"Sonaba family are based near the Land of Rain border in Yogan City of the Natsu province," said Lowe.
"His choice of occupation makes sense, then."
The Land of Storms shared its boundaries with three of the five Great Shinobi Nations¡ªthe Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth. The country was known to be somewhat of a haven for rogues, as they could exist in the nation without the constant fear of being hunted by the Leaf, Sand, and Rock shinobi.
The Land of Storms was also the home to the Hidden Rain village, but the shinobi village mostly turned a blind eye to the rogues as long as they kept to a single region. While the rogues were a problem, the nation wasn''t in a position to regulate them as it was locked in an intense civil war between the Hidden Rain village and the mercenary group known as the Akatsuki.
That turmoil had allowed the rogue activity to bloom and balloon in the nation and take root.
Due to its proximity to the border, the region near Yogan City saw heavy rogue activity. For that reason, there was a dense shinobi presence in the city of Yogan to hunt criminals and rogues who were either trying to leave or enter the nation.
"He''ll fit well if he passes," said Eisbar. Rogue hunting was part of ANBU''s responsibilities, and it was clear why Yazo was chosen as a candidate. He didn''t know what to make of Yazo being so unbothered that he was sleeping for three hours, but he was one of the fastest people to break the genjutsu, so at least he wasn''t incompetent.
"How did he react to the room?"
"He didn''t like it and openly showed his displeasure to the camera but soon got over it."
"What about her?" Eisbar tapped the screen of another monitor. A young blonde woman had her legs up on the table as she leaned into her chair. She looked utterly bored and was listlessly staring at the ceiling.
"Number #3, Yamanaka Amami. She''s a practitioner of her clan''s hiden jutsu/hijutsu and has worked in T&I for the past two years. She has a near-perfect track record, no black spots in her history, and glowing recommendations from everyone we asked. She has even worked with us on a couple of cases during her tenure at T&I."
The ANBU collaborated with other departments across the Hidden Leaf for various reasons, including availing their services for ther ANBU''s matters. While ANBU had agents more than capable of handling interrogations, some of the best information extractors were still under the employment of the Torture and Interrogation Department¡ªwhich was why ANBU asked them to train their agents in the art of interrogation¡ªand for that reason, when they encountered someone particularly adamant about keeping their mouth shut, they brought-in external interrogators to help.
ANBU maintained various two-way relationships. Using the information they collected through their spy system, they warned other departments; similarly, the other departments made ANBU aware when they found something strange.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
After all, keeping the nation safe was a collaborative effort.
Eisbar sighed. "I don''t want to fight with T&I about poaching again."
It had been a whole thing last time ANBU had taken someone from Torture and Interrogation¡ªand this time, it was a Yamanaka; their clan''s special jutsu made them extremely valuable in extracting information from people. Moreover, Torture and Interrogation''s current head was a former ANBU-nin, Morino Ibiki, which was unfavourable because he knew how they worked.
He was sure to prevent talents from leaving his pool regardless of their history.
"She laughed when she saw the room and has since then ignored it completely," said Lowe.
"I guess it''s not a surprise seeing that she''s from T&I," said Eisbar before moving on to other candidates. "How are Takuma and Kojuro doing?"
"Number #7 has been using his Byakugan every twenty minutes to check his surroundings. He tries to hide it, but it''s obvious that he''s doing it. He had a visible reaction to the room initially, but I assume seeing into other''s rooms made him realise that we are trying to unsettle them," Lowe replied, slightly peeved as the Byakugan rendered the rooms'' tactics moot.
Lowe continued, "As for Number #13, excluding when he first entered the room, he hadn''t looked into the camera in six hours. If he was affected, he''s kept it under wraps... He walks for ten minutes every hour, but other than that, he stays seated, doing absolutely nothing. He was also the first to figure out that the weapons we gave them had something wrong with them."
Eisbar gazed at all of the monitors. All of them had something ANBU wanted. Any one of them could do the job decently well, but they didn''t want decent¡ªthey wanted someone who could perform to their best under pressure. The purpose of the test was to stress test them and keep all those who didn''t snap.
"In that case, it''s been long enough. Let''s start in earnest."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma heard footsteps and the repeating sound of metal sliding against metal. His eyes went to the post-box slot on the doors, the only thing in the hallway that could produce such a sound. He got up and walked to the door, and sure enough, a package slid through it seconds later.
The package seemed to have a stack of paper inside and was sealed by a fuinjutsu tag. He released the seal and dumped its contents on the table¡ªa thick stack of papers held together with a circular paper clip and two ball-point pens. The stack of paper was a long list of true-and-false statements and flipping to the last page showed that there were 578 questions.
The questions ranged from ''if his sleep was usually disturbed'' to ''if he liked to tease animals'' to ''if he got along with authority figures'' to ''if he liked to dance.''
Takuma recognised this type of questionnaire but wondered about its purpose. Lying to make oneself look better was laughably easy with a quiz like this and the instructions on the first page said there were no pass-fail criteria for the test.
I shouldn''t lie... completely, he said to himself as he thought about the cameras looking down on him. If the ANBU wanted them to answer the test, they must''ve considered they would lie and thus have ways to identify when a candidate was lying.
Takuma didn''t really want ANBU to think of him as someone other than his true self and thus had no desire to lie on the test¡ªbut he didn''t want them to know everything about him he flipped through the pages, he could tell that if he filled it honestly, they would have a considerably complete view of who he was.
So, after taking a moment, he picked up one of the pens and started filling in his answers.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The ANBU team sat in their base and studied the completed questionnaires to learn more about the candidates.
"Yeah, Number #1 lied so much it''s funny," one of the staff chuckled.
"Oof, Number #7 has some deep-seated issues, alright," said another staff member reading Hyuga Kojuro''s questionnaire. "He''s not at all optimistic about life. I guess the rumour about all of the Hyuuga being miserable is true."
"Number #2 abhors pressure, and this is just a straight-up confession that he will crumble at the first sign of it."
Eisbar sat on the head of the table, unhurriedly flipping through a questionnaire himself. He judged each answer and compared it against answers to other questions to see if there was a natural correlation or if the candidate had lied.
The aim of the questionnaire was to find out more about the candidates¡ªand to see how they saw themselves. However, that was not all there was to it. People had a natural tendency to lie to make themselves more likeable to others, so candidates were expected to use the questionnaire to paint a favourable image of themselves to the examiners.
Lying was an elegant and complicated art; part of the test was to see if they could do it convincingly. They wanted to see if the candidates could deceive them into thinking they were someone other than themselves. There would come a time in every ANBU-nin''s career when they would need to pretend to be someone else, and having that skill was highly preferred in an agent.
Of course, the department would love to know the truth about who they were employed, but if a candidate had the ability to deceive experienced ANBU-nin, then they were sure to be good at their jobs. Lying too much wasn''t a problem if one could do it convincingly, but almost everyone who lied a lot did it poorly, and thus, gave themselves up. Even though the questionnaire asked the candidates to be honest, not lying was also a problem because deception was part and parcel about a shinobi, let alone and ANBU-nin.
"Number #10 is either the most well-adjusted man in the world, or he''s really good at lying," said Swine, his highly positive tone showing that he liked Sonaba Yazo as a candidate.
"As expected of a Yamanaka," Lowe sighed as he read Yamanaka Amami''s questionnaire. "Number #3 is definitely familiar with the test''s base version we modified. I can''t find a single error in how she used the questions to create her impression¡ªshe even added just the right amount of embellishments to make it utterly believable... I think she''s a strong candidate."
While everyone discussed the candidates they were reading about, Eisbar silently read Number #13, Takuma''s questionnaire.
If he had to give his impression in one word, it would be¡ª "Genuine."
Eisbar took a deep breath. He couldn''t tell if Takuma was lying or not. The impression he got from the questionnaire was that of a living human being with his fair share of problems like everyone else who lived while dealing with them.
If Yamanaka Amami had lied perfectly to create a positive yet believable picture that would impress anyone other than the current group who were expecting and wanted the candidate to lie, then Takuma had lied to show some fundamental flaws at the risk of some people having a lower opinion of him.
In doing so, he had made the impression feel genuinely authentic.
"Ah," Eisbar uttered as he realised what else Takuma had done.
As he read the questionnaire, the impression he got was that of an utterly mundane person with nothing interesting to point out. He made it feel like there was nothing overly special about him, but also made it so there was nothing egregiously wrong with him either. It was as though he had designed it so that people would forget about it after they put it down.
That was risky because a candidate would want to impress them to raise their chances.
Eisbar''s instinct and experience told him that Takuma blended truths, half-truths, and lies to hide something he didn''t want them to know. However, he couldn''t tell what Takuma was trying to hide or distinguish what part of the camouflage was genuine and which parts were false.
He looked at the monitor and saw Takuma walking around the room, hands behind his back, without a hint of worry in his demeanour.
CH_8.35 (300)
Three hours after the questionnaires were collected for evaluation, the candidates gathered in the hall on the ground floor. Takuma stood in the crowd wearing the provided ''Scars'' mask; he was surprised when he was instructed to do so as he thought it was meant to mess with him¡ªbut everyone was now wearing a similar mask over the front of their balaclavas.
"You must be tired after sitting still for so long, so let''s have you all stretch your legs," the gold-wearing ANBU addressed the crowd of candidates in a flat and almost uninterested voice. He wore a dark, full-body zip-up robe. Its hood cast a deep shadow over half of his face, making the jewellery adorning his hands the only noticeable feature. "For the next task, we want you to travel across the country in a certain amount of time..."
As he spoke, the staff distributed identical backpacks to the candidates.
"Unlike the written questionnaire, this is an elimination task. The passing criteria is to reach the final location by the decided-upon time. You can refer to the map and note inside the backpack for further details. That''s all from my side. Your time has begun; you''re free to leave."
The moment those words were uttered, the hall burst with activity. The candidates rifled through their backpacks for the aforementioned map, the note, and other resources they had been granted.
Takuma went to the corner of the room and sat down against the wall before going through the bag''s contents at his own pace . As a collector of high-quality maps, Takuma owned a collection that covered a significant portion of the Land of Fire. He was lucky to live in a major national hotspot like Hidden Leaf Village, as he could even get maps of remote regions. He had by no means memorised them as there was too much but he recognised the area in the included map, which was barely serviceable but, to its credit, had enough information for anyone knowledgeable enough to chart a journey.
Multiple points were marked on the map, and according to the accompanying note, the candidates had to show their faces to the staff at the locations. That changed Takuma''s understanding of the task. It was no longer about plotting the fastest course from point ''A'' to point ''B'', but plotting the fastest journey while hitting additional locations as well. He recognised that the ANBU-nin had barely given them any information about the task, and even the note was fairly minimal.
Was it because they were granting them freedom on how they wanted to complete the task, or was it because they wanted them to derive something from the limited information provided?
Takuma glanced up to see that some candidates were already leaving the building.
The note said they had five days to reach the final location, but as he glanced at the people leaving the building one after another, he could tell they were hurrying. Even though the passing criteria was reaching the location before the deadline with one more condition to be met, it was a fair assumption that the candidates would be ranked according to how quickly they reached the checkpoints and the final location.
And yet... he couldn''t help but wonder what the motive behind this task was, especially after the last six hours.
So, Takuma decided not to compete in the race.
The passing criteria was reaching the final destination in five days while hitting all the checkpoints, and he would stick to that. The other candidates were his competition, but unless ANBU itself pitted him against them, he wouldn''t participate or interfere.
Four days, he decided. He was giving himself a one-day safe cushion.
"Okay, let''s start with leaving the village."
It was three in the afternoon, so a few hours of light remained. Like most of his travels, he would only move during the day and rest at night. He had sufficient bedding and a half-decent survival kit, so camping didn''t seem like a problem. There was one field ration in the backpack, which meant the ANBU expected them to procure their meals after the first day. No money was included, which was fine because he could hunt¡ªbut he didn''t want to hunt every day as it would take away from his four-day travel time.
However, all the checkpoints were in towns, meaning he could buy meals provided he had money.
All in all, Takuma didn''t have anything he needed to do in the village, so after plotting the appropriate course using the map and his knowledge, he left the village and made the most of the daylight hours.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As the night arrived, over a hundred kilometres from the Hidden Leaf Village, a young man in his mid-twenties lay beside a small fire in a clearing. It hadn''t even been an hour since the sky had turned completely dark, but he was getting ready to sleep so he could rise and set out at dawn.
Yaya Utamatsu had been a chunin for five years before ANBU invited him to participate in their recruitment process. His hometown was near the peaceful southern shores of the Land of Fire, but he had spent most of his career in the western part of the nation on the border of the Land of Rivers, a nation sandwiched between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
He had suffered through the Third Shinobi World War and had fought on the frontlines against the Hidden Sand shinobi as a greenhorn genin. What had been a war deployment had turned into a decade-old posting by his own choice. He missed his hometown in the south, but he had built himself a new life in the west and even laid roots by marrying the girl of his dreams.
The ANBU invitation had been unexpected. He didn''t think they had their eyes on him, but he was flattered that they considered him. Ultimately, he decided to go because he was promised a posting in the Hidden Leaf village if he passed. He and his family lived in the biggest city in the west, but there was no place better than the Hidden Leaf village for a shinobi and their family.
Not only was he interested in ANBU''s work, but it would afford his future children better prospects, shinobi or not.
He had arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village two days in advance to see what it was like. He had been there once before for one of the three Chunin Exams¡ªtwo of which were held in other nations¡ªand he had only explored the city as a tourist during that visit. This time around, he had a friend as a guide who showed him what it was like to live in the city as a resident.
It was more crowded than he expected, but that could be solved if he and his family chose to live further away from the city centre. Despite knowing he was in the hub for Leaf shinobi, he was still surprised by the sheer number of shinobi everywhere. While two days were not enough to truly get to know a place, he had a positive impression, which made him feel comfortable about moving his family if he managed to pass.
As Utamatsu stretched his arms, he imperceptibly glanced around the silent, dark woods before closing his eyes. Thirty minutes later, a figure silently sneaked toward Utamatsu''s campsite. They approached him from behind so the campfire wouldn''t cast a shadow in the wrong direction. The figure moved slowly with a kunai in hand; their target was not Utamatsu but the backpack beside his head.
As the figure grabbed the bag and pulled back, the campfire hissed like a blowtorch and released a blinding flash that stung the figure''s eyes as they immediately tried to back away¡ªbut Utamatsu was ready; he was up on his feet in under a second and threw a spritz bomb into the figure''s face.
A spritz bomb was a small package containing a chemical mixture that irritated the eyes, nose, and mouth. Evidently, the figure was an ANBU candidate; he was wearing the gear given to them by the ANBU. As the spritz bomb overwhelmed the senses, Utamatsu kicked the backpack out of his assailant''s hand before sweeping the legs. He pushed aggressively, wanting to end it quickly because the alternative was a full-blown fight¡ªsomething he wished to avoid as there was a risk of injury, which would, at the very least, mean a severe disadvantage in later assessments.
He closed the distance and kicked the man in his head as hard as possible, hoping that would do the trick. It didn''t knock the man, and he even managed to hit him with a stray kick as he blindly flayed around.
It was dark, and the candidate couldn''t see properly because of the spritz bomb, so Utamatsu stopped moving; it erased his presence and instantly panicked the candidate, who had just haphazardly gotten up on his feet. But it was too late, as Utamatsu finished weaving hand seals for a D-rank Fire Release jutsu that created a handball-sized orb of fire. The fire orb flew and exploded behind the candidate''s head, and while it didn''t do significant damage, it massively disoriented him and knocked him to the ground.
Utamatsu finished the job with a kick to the head to knock his assailant out.
"That was close," Utamatsu sighed as he grabbed his knees¡ªnot from exhaustion, but from the tension of being ambushed.
He wasn''t as surprised because he knew the possibility existed when he saw the instructional note inside the backpack. There was a rule in there stating:
¡ªKilling or maiming of candidates to eliminate competition is strictly prohibited and will lead to instant disqualification and subsequent legal proceedings ¡ª
It was a reasonable rule as they were all Hidden Leaf shinobi, and killing or permanently disabling their own would be detrimental to their nation. The rule, however, didn''t prohibit inflicting recoverable injuries as a means to eliminate competition, and he was sure some candidates would try to use that as a way to thin the herd.
However, the next rule provided a much more reliable method to eliminate competition.
¡ªThe provided stamp paper must be stamped by the staff member at each checkpoint. Inability to produce a fully stamped stamp paper at the final location would result in disqualification ¡ª
Utamatsu looked at the unconscious man who had gone for his backpack in an attempt to destroy his stamp paper. He dragged the man to the campsite and strip-searched him to find a stamp paper, but unfortunately, the man was smart enough not to bring his stamp paper to the ambush in case things went wrong, which they did in this case.
He looked around the dark woods. The man wasn''t wearing a backpack; it could only be somewhere nearby. If he could find it and destroy the stamp paper, he would eliminate one person from the competition. However, he didn''t know if he would be able to find it easily if it was hidden¡ªand he didn''t want to spend more time near another candidate.
But he needed to punish the man for attacking him...so he broke the man''s forearm bone in a clean fracture before tying the broken arm to a rigid piece of wood, substituting it as a makeshift splint. It wasn''t a serious enough injury to do permanent damage, but it was more than enough to eliminate the man from further assessments.
He packed up his stuff and left the campsite with a sigh. His plans had now changed¡ªhe would travel continuously until dusk the next day, when he would find a secure place to rest safely. As Utamatsu got on the road, he thought about the ''stamp paper'' rule. There was more nuance to it than stated. Losing the stamp paper didn''t mean instant disqualification. According to the wording, they needed to produce ''a stamp paper''¡ªit didn''t need to be the stamp paper they found in their backpack.
Even if a candidate lost their stamp paper, they could simply steal someone else''s stamp paper and produce that at the final location. Each destroyed stamp paper reduced the number of people who could pass. The candidates who passed completely depended on whether they had a completed stamp paper at the end. It was fair to assume that they would be ranked based on who arrived first¡ªbut even if they did not, completing the journey early was overall more beneficial. Things would only become more chaotic as the exam dragged on, with candidates who had lost their stamp papers hunting others who still had theirs.
Utamatsu wasn''t aiming to be the first, but he was undoubtedly aiming to reach the final destination before people started feeling desperate.
CH_8.36 (301)
A dirty wild boar trudged out of the woods, looking around the flat meadow for any predators. When it decided the field was clear, the boar found a good patch of grass and put its snout down to get food in his belly. While scarfing down the grass, it felt the presence of something in the surroundings and snapped up its head,preparing to bolt into the woods at the first sign of trouble.
The meadow, however, was empty and thus safe. The boar was cautious but returned to eating only to hear the crunch of grass. That was all it could process, as by the time it registered the human rising from the ground, a precise strike to the head ended its life in an instant.
"Funds secured," Takuma said to himself.
It was the middle of the second day, and he had yet to reach the first checkpoint. He lifted the dead boar and settled it over his shoulder, and while it would be more than difficult for an average person to lug around, it wasn''t much for a shinobi like him. He wasn''t planning to butcher the boar to get the meat because he could not preserve it for his five-day journey.
This was why he had planned a detour and routed his course through a nearby unrelated village before reaching the first checkpoint town. He would sell the boar in that village, giving him enough to eat and board comfortably in the checkpoint towns. It added to his time, and made it so that he would cut it close before reaching the first checkpoint town, but yielded greater benefits in the end.
He could have hunted near the first checkpoint town and sold the catch there, but he didn''t want to give the other candidates any ideas. He didn''t want to gather attention to him and make himself a target in the future, so it was better to stay under the radar as long as possible.
In half an hour, Takuma found himself in a village with a population size of around a couple hundred people. It was a place where everyone knew everyone, so the moment he stepped into the settlement, people stared¡ªthough it might have just been the strange tactical gear.
As they whispered, Takuma approached an old man sitting at a roadside tea shop.
"Good day. May I know where I can find a butcher?" Takuma shrugged his shoulders, bearing the boar. "I want to sell my hunt."
"You can go down the road from here and take the second turn to your right," said the old man before asking: "Are you a shinobi, boy?"
Takuma nodded before a thought came to mind. "Did someone dressed like me pass through here today?" he asked.
"Not that I know of."
The question didn''t raise any suspicions of his; it was close enough to the Hidden Leaf that the town might see a shinobi every month, so it was a good sign that he was the only one taking the route.
He thanked the old man before making his way to the village butcher, who immediately purchased the wild boar from him. They were in the boonies, so the food prices were much lower, and even then, Takuma gave the butcher a good deal because he wasn''t trying to make a profit.
When he left the shop, many villagers gathered to look at him as though he were the entertainer of the week, which he supposed he was, given his getup.
And seeing that he had an audience, he asked, "Where can I buy some clothes?"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Igabi Kyusu sat in a pub at the first checkpoint town. It was attached to the town''s biggest and only inn. By his estimates, he had been one of the first people to arrive at the town but had remained there as others moved on.
He had no interest in completing the journey first or even being in front of the pack. The sole passing criterion was to complete the journey in the allocated time, which was his goal, but he wanted to be in the middle of the pack just to be safe.
Kyusu had stayed to get a measure of his competition¡ªto see who was thirsty or worried enough to get first and those who had decided just to complete the task. Seventeen candidates had left the Hidden Leaf village, and he had spotted twelve of them during his time in the town. The rest of them had either reached and left the town before his arrival, or hadn''t arrived yet¡ªwhich seemed less likely because more than enough time had passed to reach the first checkpoint lazily.
Currently, four candidates, including him, had booked rooms in the inn, and two more were boarded elsewhere. It was only the second day, so many candidates had chosen to move on from the town right after getting their stamps.
Kyusu glanced at a woman sitting alone in the corner. She was the ANBU staff member responsible for stamping the candidates'' papers. The included notes didn''t give them any clue about her location, but it was quite easy to find her.
What had given her away to him was that, despite being in a pub, not one man had tried to hit on her when she was sitting alone. If that wasn''t enough of a giveaway, the barman always glanced at her from time to time to see if she was still there.
A figure walked through the pub''s front door. He was wearing the gear ANBU had given the candidates. Kyusu, dressed in civilian clothes, leaned into his chair and brought his drink to his lips as he observed the late newcomer. The candidate only had his black balaclava on, but Kyusu had memorised other candidates'' body shapes and general appearance to know that the figure was Number #13.
The split between those who continued to cover their faces and those who ditched their masks was half-and-half. Kyusu had kept his face hidden and even found a pair of unassuming civilian clothes to spy on people without gaining attention.
A masked man attracted attention, causing people in the pub to stare. The exam candidates had become the talk of the town as more than a dozen masked people had passed through their little town, and some were even renting a room at the inn for the night.
Number #13 swept his eyes throughout the pub a couple of times until he spotted the ANBU staff. He approached her and very publicly, without speaking a word to confirm, put his stamp paper on the table before her, confident that she was from ANBU. The woman smiled as she pressed the stamp against his paper.
Kyusu guessed Number #13 would stay in town for the night and leave at dawn like the other candidates. Technically, it was dangerous for the candidates to live in the same building, as it increased the risk of having their stamp papers destroyed, but there was an unspoken understanding between those hanging back that they didn''t need to be at each other''s throats.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Of course, that didn''t mean that they could be completely at ease like fools. Unspoken understanding meant nothing if someone got greedy and decided to strike in the slumber hours¡ªwhich was why Kyusu had decided to keep tabs on all candidates in the town.
Number #13 sat down at the bar between two civilians, one of whom shifted away to put a little more distance between them. The pub was too loud for Kyusu to hear the conversation between the barman and Number #13, but he could guess that they were talking about a room for the night.
From what Kyusu knew, there were a couple of rooms free, but it was up to Number #13 if he wanted to live in the same building as other candidates or find someplace else¡ªwhich would''ve been easier if he had entered the town earlier in the day¡ªsmall towns like this shutdown much earlier than big cities.
It seemed that Number #13 had decided to look for another place, so Kyusu got up to find where he was boarding for the night. As he headed to the door, he looked back at the bar just in case and saw the ANBU staff faintly smiling at him. He gave her no response and exited the pub a second after Number #13, only to find no sign of him on the street. Even shinobi''s favourite, the rooftops, were empty.
Where did he go? Kyusu wondered before he stepped into a shallow puddle of water with mud underneath that caked his feet.
"Ah, shit," he groaned.
He considered going around to see if he could spot Number #13 but decided against it. Instead, Kyusu just made a note of him in his mind. Someone not trying to be first didn''t mean they weren''t serious¡ªeveryone was gunning for the same job, and sooner or later, they would have to step into the competition regardless of how they preferred things.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
At the bar, Takuma, dressed in second-hand casual clothes he had picked up earlier in the day, glanced at the man who had just left the pub and was now standing in front of the building. He seemed to be a candidate stalking the pub to look for other candidates. It was evident that he would have eyes on him when he reached the first checkpoint town, so he changed into civilian clothes, hid his backpack and most of his weapon¡ªwhich made him feel utterly uncomfortable¡ªand then entered the pub to scout the busiest part of the town to see if the ANBU staff member was inside.
If he didn''t leave the pub in fifteen minutes, it was a signal for the Water Clone he had created beforehand to enter with the ANBU candidate gear appearance. He found the staff member almost instantly. She was sitting alone at a table meant for four; even though she was dressed casually, she was a little bit too put together, with a demeanour slightly different from the rest of the townsfolk.
Takuma reckoned those were subtle hints for candidates with a keen eye. He watched his water clone complete the stamp and sat down beside him at the bar, where they exchanged possession of the stamp paper.
The moment the Water Clone entered the pub, while everyone was looking at him, Takuma was looking at them. A masked weirdo made a lot of heads turn, but only a few people then turned to look at the ANBU staff member¡ªsome of those who turned looked at her because other candidates wearing gear must''ve approached her, but there would also be a couple who were candidates.
He immediately spotted a candidate because of their straight posture despite having three sake bottles on the table. But his suspicions were confirmed when he followed the clone outside. Knowing a candidate''s face wasn''t valuable information yet, but that could change in the future¡ªso, Takuma memorised his face in case he needed to spot it in a crowd.
He waited for another fifteen minutes before leaving the pub to sleep in another place he got for half the price of the inn.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As the sun rose to its apex on the third day, the candidates who had been travelling without taking breaks at night started to arrive at the final location: a hunting outpost on the edge of a large cover of woods.
The first one to arrive was Number #6, Karo Jinzatan, who had pulled an overnighter between the first and second day, having only got four hours of sleep the night before. The moment he saw the ANBU mark spray-painted on the side of the cabin, all energy left him as he knew he had reached his destination.
It was by fast the farthest he had travelled in the last three days¡ªand he had completed an emergency delivery mission with lives at stake if he was late.
He was utterly exhausted.
The area was absolutely beautiful, with a lush, deep forest on one side and mountains in the distance on the other side. He could even hear a bubbling stream nearby. Jinzatan wasn''t a man who enjoyed the wilderness, but he thought he wouldn''t mind staying a couple of days at the cabin.
With over two days to enjoy himself while all the candidates caught up, it seemed like the thing to do. The cabin door opened, and an unfamiliar ANBU-nin with a leopard''s mask stepped out. She was dressed in standard ANBU gear but didn''t have any weapons on her. It looked like she had been relaxing until he arrived.
"Ah, we have our first arrival. Congratulations, you''re the fastest. What number are you?"
"Six, ma''am," Jinzatan replied.
"Call me, Leopard. Okay, Six, give me your stamp; let''s see if you did it properly because you came here mighty fast," said Leapord.
Jinzatan proudly presented his stamp, which was a picture of Hokage Mountain with the Hidden Leaf village in the foreground. Each stamp was a single-colour layer, which, when laid one atop the other, completed the picture.
"There''s one layer missing," said Leopard.
"Impossible. I went through all four checkpoints and got the stamps," Jinzatan immediately protested.
"I know, I know, no need to get anxious and combative. The missing stamp is from the final location," Lowe chuckled.
Jinzatan cleared his throat to hide how embarrassed he felt. He had nearly become angry in front of an ANBU-nin during the assessment.
"Unfortunately, I don''t have the final stamp with me. It''s on the other side of this forest back with my colleague... If you sprint straight through, it''ll only take you ten minutes to reach the other side. Run along and get your stamps complete," Leopard said with a light tone, but there was something openly hidden behind it.
A weight settled in Jinzatan''s chest as he looked at the forest, which got darker the deeper he stared into it. He wasn''t an idiot and knew that the run through the forest wouldn''t be a victory road stroll. If he had to guess, there was something waiting for him inside which would stop him from crossing through.
"Sure, I will get to that," said Jinzatan. "It''s beautiful here, isn''t it? I hear a stream nearby. I''m really sweaty and smelly. I should go there and take a dip."
"Sure, that''s a good idea, but do it after you get the stamp completed. Go... right now," said Leopard with a firmness in her voice.
Jinzatan put on a tight smile before walking into the woods. He looked back and saw Leopard staring at him, and she continued to do so until he disappeared.
.
-.-.-
.
It had been three minutes since Jinzatan had entered the forest, and he had faced no opposition. Maybe that would''ve relieved others, but he had been more nervous with each passing second. He could hear the noise of the forest and the voices of the animals¡ªit was simultaneously silent and deafening, putting him on edge.
I should hurry, he told himself and picked up speed
But the moment he put pressure on his foot to push off, a trio of kunai emerged from a thicket and thumped into a tree beside him. Jinzatan instantly started sprinting while throwing zig-zag routes through the trees to make himself a difficult to hit. He located a thick branch and jumped, only to get kicked in the back while he was in mid-air. As he fell, he turned his head only to catch a glimpse of a greenish-brown robe disappearing between the trees. He course-corrected, knocking his ribs against a tree but managed to regain his balance just before he landed on the ground.
His senses were stretched taut as he knew and understood that there was an ambush waiting for him in the forest. He needed to cross it and get out as soon as possible before they got their hands on his stamp paper.
But as Jinzatan''s feet touched the ground, two arms burst out from the ground and tried to grab his legs. If not for his quick reaction, he would''ve been pulled into the ground. He jumped to avoid the hands wanting to drag him down, and when he looked down, there was no one there except for two, arm-shaped holes.
He landed on a thick branch and pressed his back into the trunk before looking around. There were woods in every direction without a sign of it ending in sight.
And even though he couldn''t see them, Jinzatan knew they were there.
CH_8.37 (302)
ANBU-nin codenamed Leopard reclined on a patio chair inside the cabin deck with a thin, gauze-like cloth spread over her face. She hated wearing her mask when relaxing and, even though she was at work, it felt like a vacation because all she had to do was ''supervise''.
"Ma''am."
Leopard didn''t bother to pull the cloth down as one of her subordinates for the duration of the assessment process appeared beside her. He was dressed in green-and-brown robes and his gear and ANBU mask were painted in dark forest colours to disguise them further into their surroundings.
"Oh, is it over?" she asked, mundanely.
"Six''s stamp paper has been destroyed."
"Unfortunate. How did he do?"
"He was too exhausted to survive past the halfway mark."
The task asked the candidates to cover the distance under an allocated period. The ANBU expected the candidates to race for the first position in an attempt to showcase their ability, and there was nothing wrong with that. However, all candidates had been told that the assessment process would last around two weeks, so the ANBU expected them to realise that they needed to be ready to face challenges during that time.
Exhausting themselves to come first even though the passing criteria simply asked them to be there before a deadline was an illogical move. If the entire assessment had been considered a mission, Number #6 would not have been able to complete it due to poor decision-making. They were testing the candidates'' decision-making abilities when given limited information. The candidates didn''t know what would happen after they reached the final location or if they would be given a rest after completing the task¡ªthey needed to be in a condition to continue and face anything that was thrown at them.
Even though getting a stamp at the four checkpoints was as easy as finding the person with the stamp¡ªit didn''t mean they shouldn''t be prepared for the unexpected. The task wasn''t meant to be a puzzle where the game dropped hints regarding what was coming. It was intended to be similar to an actual mission where things often went wrong without notice, and agents were required to be prepared to handle them.
"He asked if he could bring another stamp paper for another try," said the subordinate.
"Show him the way out and send him home," she said. The candidate had to enter the woods immediately upon reaching the cabin, and there was no going back once they entered.
Leopard enjoyed half an hour of silence and peace until another candidate arrived at the cabin. She groaned as she put her mask on before pulling herself off the patio chair and walking down the steps to greet the new arrival.
Number #7, Hyuga Kojuro.
According to the file, he was nearly eighteen years old and had been a chunin for almost four years. He had the typical pale Hyuga skin, white Byakugan pupils, and shoulder-length seaweed green hair. He wasn''t wearing his balaclava mask because it was useless; his eyes gave him away instantly anyway¡ªbut he wore a sash around his forehead to hide it.
Even with his eyes hidden, his face looked like he hadn''t smiled in a decade and had lost the ability to do so somewhere along the way.
"Welcome, Seven," she said. "Congratulations on reaching the final destination. Show me your stamp paper to confirm that you stopped by the checkpoints." Kojuro presented his stamp paper with four stamps. "Excellent. However, there''s one more stamp remaining that you need to get. That stamp is across the forest. It will take ten minutes to pass through the woods, so go and get that stamp."
The Hyuga didn''t ask her any questions and gazed at the forest for a few seconds before silently heading inside.
"Not a talkative one, is he." She sighed before returning to her chair to rest. It was tough work being an ANBU-nin.
Fifteen minutes later, a subordinate came over to notify her that Hyuga Kojuro had successfully passed through the woods.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
At the fourth checkpoint town, Number #1 and Number #9 sat together in a restaurant for a midday meal. The two shinobi had teamed up and promised to look after each other for the task''s duration. They had arrived at the town two hours ago and were resting before proceeding to the final location.
"I bet there''s going to be some catch at the final location," said Number #9 as he set down his chopsticks over an empty bowl.
"Absolutely. This entire thing''s been too easy," replied Number #1.
"I looked at the stamp paper carefully. The stamp isn''t complete yet. I think there''s going to be some twist with that."
"There''s a town nearby, but the final location is some distance away." Number #1 pointed on the map sitting between them on the table. "Maybe getting the final stamp won''t be as easy as walking up to the person. There''s a pocket of woods beside the location. I reckon it will be something like finding the final stamp bearer in those woods¡ªor something like that, anyway."
"Hmm," Number #9 nodded. "We should scout the location in secret before openly showing ourselves. It''ll be better if we know something before walking into whatever the ANBU has planned for it."
There was silence on the table. Number #9 looked up when he didn''t get a reply and saw Number #1''s eyes swimming over the map with a furrow between his eyes.
"Something wrong?" asked Number #9.
"Uhmm, no, nothing. I was just thinking about something," Number #1 leaned into his chair with a sigh before standing up. "I''ll go wash my hands."
"Sure, I''ll pay up," said Number #9. He waited until Number #1 was out of view before looking at the map to see if he had missed something. Even though they had allied with each other, they were still competitors, and he didn''t want to be at a disadvantage by not knowing something the other guy had found.
As Number #9 poured over the map, Number #1 walked over to the washing sinks in the corner, but instead of washing his hands, he patted around his body and reached into the pockets and pouches until he found his stamp paper.
"Found it," he whispered with an elated smile¡ªbefore ripping the stamp paper into a few pieces and slipping them back into the same pocket.
He washed his hands and then returned to the front of the store, where Number #9 was waiting for him after he had paid their bill.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Ready to leave?"
"Yes, let''s go."
They left the store and were walking when Number #1 suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.
"Huh, h-how did we..."
He looked bewildered, immediately taking out a kunai while looking at the townsfolk as though they were in danger. Mostly to scare the hell out of them as being near a shinobi fight was equal to forfeting their lives.
"Woah, what are you doing?" asked Number #9, stepping away.
Number #1 immediately reached into one of his pockets, panic gripping his face, only to freeze for a moment before pulling out ripped pieces of his stamp paper with a shaky hand. He looked up at Number #9. "...What d-did you do?"
"Come on, man. I didn''t do anything," said Number #9, but he took out his kunai because he knew it wasn''t going to end well.
"You will pay!" Number #1 yelled as he charged at Number #9, triggering panic in the street as the townsfolk scattered.
Inside the teashop across from the restaurant, a girl dressed in a long skirt and a plain top rested her head in her arms on the table as though she was sleeping. She opened her eyes and sat up with a soft sigh before picking up the warm cup of tea to take a sip.
A moment later, a mischievous smile along with a giggle appeared on Number #3, Yamanaka Amami''s face as the commotion broke out
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The sun was about to set on the third day, and Number #17, Orikashi, was on his way to the fourth checkpoint town. He was a chunin in his late twenties who had participated in the Third Shinobi World War and had been posted at the Hidden Leaf Village during the Nine-Tails incident. He had been through a lot during his career, so when the ANBU showed interest in him, he knew he deserved an offer. To ensure that the ANBU didn''t make a mistake by missing out on him, he decided to help them out by eliminating undeserving candidates.
He started by stalking one of his prey straight from the Hidden Leaf Village. On the second day, he caught them in a trap before ripping their stamp paper and destroying most of their gear. On the third day, he laid ambush on two separate candidates and jeopardised their positions by freeing them of their stamp papers.
It prevented him from being first in the task. However, he considered this an acceptable trade-off as it was still early in the assessment process, and he would have other opportunities to showcase his abilities to the ANBU. As he made his way to the fourth checkpoint town, he planned on finding one more prey in the town to hunt and take out of the game.
In truth, he wanted to target more, but he didn''t actually have the time to do so if he wanted to reach the final location with some contingency time in case the ANBU had something planned.
I could cut out other undeserving ones in future tasks, thought Orikashi. There were young shinobi among the candidates who weren''t good choices for the ANBU due to their lack of experience. He had already done three of them a favour by eliminating them early so they wouldn''t get their hopes up.
As Orikashi was running along the road, he looked back when he heard a noise and saw a candidate closing in on him at a quick pace. He didn''t know the candidate''s number but recognised the mask with the red and yellow swirl pattern. He had seen the man from close at the office building in Hidden Leaf Village, and he was absolutely enormous.
His instincts told him that interacting with this man would be bad, so he picked up the pace to put some distance between them¡ªbut the man had closed the distance between them in five minutes and was only a few dozen metres behind him.
Orikashi realised that the man was trying to catch up to him, and seeing that he couldn''t outrun him, he decided to face the guy to see what he wanted.
"I notice you trying to catch up to me. May I know how I can help you, friend," he asked, noticing the massive afro on the man''s head, which wasn''t noticeable before because of the balaclava.
"I have been¡ª"
Orikashi didn''t give him a chance to speak and rushed him with his kunai to gain an advantage with an element of surprise. The man dodged the kunai strike, but Orikashi pushed on stringing one strike after another, leaving no opportunity for a counter. Not a single one made contact. The large, muscle-bound man was light on his feet and gracefully dodged all his attacks with minimal movement.
Orikashi switched tactics by pulling back to attack with ninjutsu¡ªbut the moment he tried to do so, the man shifted into an offensive stance to launch a palm strike to the chest within the span of half a second.
Orikashi crossed his hands to block the palm strike only to feel a bestial strength assault his body, sending him flying to the woods lining the road. He barely regained control of himself as he smashed through a tree and immediately hid in the foliage, abandoning the idea of facing him head-on. He erased his presence and patiently waited for the man to walk into the woods to launch an ambush.
A few seconds passed, but there were no signs of the man, which made Orikashi nervous from not having his opponent in his view. Just as he thought about moving, he heard the leaves shuffle behind him and looked back to see the man jumping at him.
When did he get behind me?!
The man stabbed Orikashi just underneath the shoulder blade and left a kunai in his back. Orikashi turned around mid-air and launched a volley of shuriken, thinking the man would be coming after him, but he was absent.
When Orikashi landed on the ground, he realised their positions had changed. He was now on the ground, and his opponent was in the position to attack from stealth. He bit back a groan as he pulled out the kunai that was digging into his back and made a quick decision to abandon the fight and flee.
A part of his brain told him to take care of the situation because it was sure to become a problem later on¡ªbut seeing how their fight had turned out till now, he was at a disadvantage and would fare better under other circumstances. He also didn''t want to get injured to the point where he could no longer compete in the assessment.
Orikashi took out the smoke bombs he had stolen from his prey and threw them to the ground to create a smokescreen to create an opportunity to escape. He immediately ran in the opposite direction from the fourth checkpoint town because anyone would assume he would go toward the town¡ªand it seemed to work as he ran without any sign of the man for a full couple of minutes.
However, as he jumped toward a tree branch, his eyes caught the glint of a kunai stuck in its base. The explosive tag attached to it was already burning, and exploded when he stepped onto the branch. He lost his balance and was blown away at the same time, crashing head-first into a tree, the impact of broke against his skin, causing him to bleed.
Orikashi realised that in an attempt to avoid the fight to not get injured, he had gotten even more hurt. As he ran, he had a decision to make¡ªcontinue to flee or take the fight. The man stepped out from behind a tree Orikashi was running toward.
Hiss fists were glowing with a yellowish-red tint that looked like some sort of Fire Release ninjutsu. Too fast to stop, Orikashi ran right into a body-blow. The man''s fist pressed all the air out of his body, but before he could gasp, a compact explosion smashed him into the ground.
"Three people attacked me today to take my stamp paper," said the man, his voice muffled behind his mask. "I asked them how they lost theirs¡ªand they all gave me a description that matched you."
"So wh-what? T-This was w-what¡ªreven-n-ge?" asked Orikashi, finding it absurd.
"Revenge? They attacked me. Why would I take revenge for them," the man scoffed. "This was supposed to be a simple task; there was no reason to mess with others¡ªbut of course, there are always people like... I''m not doing this for revenge; I''m doing this because I don''t like you, you fuck."
Orikashi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the man kicked him in the head, knocking him out.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Number #10, Sonaba Yazo, burned the three stamp papers he found on the man he had just knocked out. He could''ve returned the stamp papers to the victims, but that would''ve required him to travel back to the previous checkpoint towns¡ªand he wasn''t going to do that for people who had attacked him, even though he understood why they had done it.
Eliminating competition was all well and good, but only when necessary. There was no need to go after each other during the current task, so it really bothered him when he found that someone had targeted not one, or two, but three candidates for the sake of competition.
It pissed him enough to go after the guy. Yazo looked down and sighed before slinging the prick over his shoulder. It wasn''t right to leave him alone in the woods, so he was going to take him to the next checkpoint town and leave him in the care of the ANBU staff member.
Just like he had done with the three other candidates who had attacked him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As the third day ended, Takuma laid his sleeping bag in an empty room he had rented inside some guy''s house for the night to avoid the inns at the third checkpoint town. He had crossed two checkpoints without any obstacles and was planning to do the same the next day with the goal of arriving at the final location before sunset.
From the village chatter, apparently, someone had dumped three injured shinobi in the town. It wasn''t surprising, given how the rules were written, but it was still a matter of concern as he was sure a considerable number of candidates would be looking to recover the stamp papers they had lost by taking others''.
If he didn''t play it carefully, he would be pulled into that conflict irrespective of his wishes.
CH_8.38 (303)
Two candidates ran into each other on the fourth day as they left the fourth checkpoint at dawn.
Number #16, Yaya Utamatsu.
Number #5, Igabi Kyusu.
Both of them had their masks on and faced each other cautiously. They subtly put a distance between each other where they felt comfortable enough to react if the other launched an attack. They had seen injured candidates stripped of their stamp papers and didn''t want to suffer the same fate.
Utamatsu pulled a kunai from his pouch but raised his hands above his head. "I don''t want any trouble, but if you want to go at it, I won''t go down easy..." He had survived an ambush on the first day, but he thought himself lucky that he had escaped unscathed.
"Neither do I," Kyusu replied before pointing at the road leaving the town, "but we are going the same way, and frankly, I''m not thrilled about having a travel companion."
"Fair enough. Let''s stagger our exits; fifteen minutes is enough. What do you think?" said Utamatsu with a shrug.
"Sounds good, but I want to leave later."
"That''s fine with me. I''ll go ahead first, but I want at least a kilometre''s distance between us if you catch up because of a difference in pace."
Kyusu nodded and gestured for Utamatsu to leave first, who ran along the road while he took cover under a nearby building''s shadow to wait out his fifteen minutes. He wanted to be second because he didn''t want to have someone at his back, even if they were a safe distance away, as that could change at any moment¡ªand he didn''t want to risk it when he was so close to the final location.
He looked at the blue-orange sky. Assuming everything went well, he was to reach the final location around lunchtime. Even if the ANBU tried to pull something, which he absolutely expected, he didn''t want to deal with the twist without some visibility.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The sun had already set on the fourth day by the time Takuma arrived at the final location. It had been a long day. He started at the third checkpoint town at dawn, passed through the fourth checkpoint town at around noon, and finally reached his destination just before it turned dark.
It felt good that the past few days had all gone according to plan, and he had hit his targets without any problems. The entire task had been a long, tiring, but smooth journey. Despite his precautions of staying away from popular inns and boarding houses, using the water clone to get the stamps, and exercising caution while leaving the towns to dodge eyes, he had fully expected to run into other candidates, but to his welcome surprise, it had been an easy road.
He noticed the log cabin with the ANBU symbol painted on the side wall, illuminated by a gas lamp above it. He was at the right place. The lights inside the cabin were on, so he headed to the front door and knocked. The faint murmurs of conversation inside stopped. Takuma stepped back until his back touched the deck railing and gripped the kunai inside his weapon pouch when he heard footsteps from inside.
The door opened, and a masked woman stepped out. If not for the ANBU mask, the combination of casual tank top, hotpants, and not a single weapon on her body made it feel like she was answering the door to collect delivery rather than being part of the recruitment process.
"Oh, congratulations on getting here." She sounded lethargic as she closed the door behind her, stepped out barefoot and asked him to follow her to the gas lamp on the side wall.
Even though it looked like she was the most careless shinobi, Takuma''s instinct told her that if he tried to headlock her from behind, she would be able to evade or attempt to turn it around on him.
"Everything looks fine," she said after looking at his stamp paper, "but you need one more stamp, and the person who has it is on the other side of the woods. It only takes ten minutes to cross, so go ahead and get it now."
"I can''t go in the morning?"
"You sorta have to go now."
"Fine," said Takuma, choosing not to argue about it. He knew there would be some twist, and if he had to guess, something inside the forest would aim to eliminate him from the running.
"Be careful in there. It''s night, and you don''t want to... trip," said the ANBU-nin
"Got it," said Takuma before snatching the gas lantern off the nail from which it was hanging. "I hope you don''t mind since, y''know... I don''t want to trip."
"Not at all. Please help yourself," said the ANBU-nin with a smile in her voice.
"Thank you," said Takuma before heading inside the woods with the gas lantern.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"We have another one heading inside."
Inside the woods, a group of six ANBU-nin sat around a small fire beneath an earthen half-done created by an Earth Release ninjutsu. It blocked light in one direction so it wouldn''t alert the candidates even though they were given hints that something was waiting for them inside the woods.
"And here I thought all of them would be smart enough to time their arrival during the light hours," said the ANBU-nin codenamed Ant, the team leader for the duration of the task, as he sat up on his sleeping bag.
The group was stationed inside the woods as a final obstacle to the candidates before they got their final stamp and successfully completed their task.
"Let''s move out," said Ant.
Moving through the woods at night was more challenging as there was no light. Until now, all the candidates had timed their arrival during the day in case there was a twist, which was the type of thinking they wanted to see in the candidates.
"Don''t take it easy or go easy on him because it''s night-time."
Their objective wasn''t to eliminate the candidate at all costs, as that was detrimental to the assessment process. There was no sense in pushing the candidates to a point where they would be unable to participate afterwards, but they had to test them somehow, so the woods section of the task observed how long the candidates took to pass through it while protecting their stamp paper as a group of hostiles tried to keep them in the forest as long as possible.
The team restrained themselves to a level where getting out without entering a fight for life was possible.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"I see light," said one of the ANBU-nin.
An orange-yellow light travelled in the distance. It was the candidate.
"Don''t lose track of him," Ant advised his team before giving the order to split up.
Ant skipped from branch to branch and was in range in ten seconds to start the combat situation. To the candidate''s credit, he sensed them coming at a fair distance and immediately increased his sprints along with not only throwing zig-zags but also changing altitude by switching between grounds and trees.
He''s bold, thought Ant. The candidate continued to carry a lantern. It had the advantage of illuminating his surroundings, decreasing the risk of taking a wrong step, thus increasing his ability to go fast in the uneven forest terrain. The same couldn''t be said for the ANBU team, who still had to be careful, making them slower.
However, the lantern had a big disadvantage of constantly giving away their location. If it were an actual mission scenario where the candidate had to shake a tail, the lantern would''ve acted like a beacon, making it impossible.
An agent charged at the candidate from the side, who dodged the body check by digging his feet into the ground and stopping a step before the collision trajectory. He got going almost immediately afterwards but was stopped by a volley of shuriken at his feet. The previous agent made a grab for a backpack, but the candidate hastily turned his back away just as the fingertips brushed against the fabric.
The candidate tried to run away, but Ant jumped down before him, cutting off his path. The candidate didn''t look deterred and threw a haymaker. Ant crossed his arms to block the strike, but his eyes almost popped out when he felt a monstrous force slam into his body and send him flying through a couple of trees.
The stoppage was enough time for the entire team to take position. They saw Ant blown away and adjusted their team strategy without a shared word. An agent unhesitantly entered melee range and was immediately put on the back foot in the face of the candidate''s aggressiveness¡ªbut it was a planned ruse. As the two engaged in combat, a second agent rushed into the candidate''s blind spot with a kunai.
The candidate was taken aback and dropped the lantern on the ground as he stumbled, twisting to face a knife fight with another agent behind him. And if that was not enough, a third agent came in with a sliding tackle, aiming to take out his legs. The lantern sat on the ground, illuminating the area. No one attempted to take or break it, as the agents didn''t want to fight in the darkness.
The candidate acted decisively and jumped high to avoid the sliding tackle. As he was in the air, he weaved hands seals. The agents fell back, anticipating a ninjutsu and even prepared themselves for a counterattack. One of the agents threw a triplet of shuriken in an attempt to disrupt the ninjutsu, but the candidate showed excellent environmental awareness and body control as he turned his body in mid-air to use his backpack as a shield.
He landed on the ground and slammed his palms on the ground. The earth shook and jumped as a dome rose around him. The agents, who had been expecting an offensive ninjutsu, switched their actions when they saw a defensive ninjutsu. Two agents prepared to hit the dome from opposite directions, while the other got ready when the candidate appeared from within the doom. But before they could attack the dome, a screeching ball of harsh fire struck it. The top blew up before the fire stuck to the wall and melted the remaining structure.
Ant emerged from behind a shattered tree with smoke rising from his mouth and nose.
The candidate couldn''t be allowed to have breathing room but because they weren''t trying to kill, they needed to substitute the threat of lethality with constant pressure.
"Go in¡ª"
Before Ant could complete his sentence, the light from the lantern dimmed as a thick fog filled their surroundings. Everyone on the team recognised the Hidden Mist Jutsu. It was already dark, but the thickening fog blocked out everything until they were completely blind to anything that wasn''t present in their immediate vicinity.
"He''s in the same position as us!" Ant yelled, reminding his team that the candidate couldn''t see in the fog. However, that didn''t change the fact that they had lost track of the candidate; if they didn''t find him soon, they''d lose him.
Fortunately, they had a member who could counter the Hidden Mist Jutsu. A moment later, a strong gust of wind swept through the area, forcefully taking away the thick mist.
"I have eyes on the target!" yelled another member.
It took the team less than a minute before they had firmly caught up with the candidate, who had already passed the halfway mark¡ªthe majority of which was covered before the team had made contact with him. It was a little too far for Ant''s preference, but the night had its advantages and disadvantages.
Clang. Clang!
Hmm? Ant heard a metallic sound echo through the forest. It sounded like two kunai striking against each other.
Clang. Clang!
Suddenly, he heard something cutting through the air and skipped down to a lower branch to avoid a shuriken zooming past him.
Two seconds later, two dim spots of light zoomed into their direction, and everyone immediately recognised the explosive tags and immediately dove away from them a moment before they exploded.
Ant felt the force brush him and switched to travelling on the ground as a safety precaution.
Clang. Clang!
He felt his chakra tremble when the suspiciously identical metallic sound entered his ears. Genjutsu! Ant hastily disrupted his chakra to break the genjutsu before it could take hold of him. The same couldn''t be said about his teammates. He saw two of them trip and fall to the ground while the nearest to him stopped running and covered his ears while groaning painfully.
Ant slapped the man nearest to him on the back to disrupt his chakra. "Get the others free. I''m going ahead," he ordered before rushing towards the candidate.
He was already impressed by the candidate, but the test had to continue until they exited the forest or lost their stamp paper. Ant took the risk of picking up his speed and closed the gap between them until he was right behind the candidate and returned the favour by throwing an explosive tag tied to a kunai ahead of them.
The candidate halted and jumped back to clear out of the explosion radius. He stayed on his feet but remained uncharacteristically still and even seemed uncomfortable from his body language. Ant saw that as an opportunity to hold the candidate until his team caught up again and attacked him.
He emerged from a bush, swinging at the candidate with a kick, who barely stepped out of the way. Ant dipped both hands into pouches and launched a barrage of senbon and shuriken. The candidate did a perfect job deflecting and avoiding the weapons while closing the distance to enter melee range.
Taijutsu wasn''t Ant''s proficiency, and he had experienced the candidate''s explosive force, so he didn''t take any chances by engaging in a head-on fight¡ªand took advantage of the terrain around them and ran between the trees, keeping the candidate chasing. When he realised that Ant wasn''t willing to engage and tried to run away, he cast a Fire Release ninjutsu to shoot more than half a dozen small fireballs at the candidate. It was only a D-rank jutsu, lacking any real power, but it produced ten fireballs, which Ant masterfully aimed at and around the candidate to stop him from making a break for it.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the candidate''s feet sunk in the shape of a square, throwing him off balance. It was an Earth Release ninjutsu; the rest of the team had caught up. An agent emerged from the darkness and struck the candidate from behind, sending him stumbling forward. Another agent entered combat and slammed his shoulder into the candidate''s chest, sending him to the ground.
The candidate quickly got up and put his guard up, but he was already surrounded. An agent threw a chain, which rattled as it wrapped around the candidate''s arm, who was taken off his feet when the agent pulled on the chain as hard as possible. To finish the team play, another agent descended from the canopy on top of the candidate, pinning him to the ground and pushing him into the dirt.
It was over.
All they had to do now was to find the stamp paper.
However, just as Ant breathed out and let his shoulder relax, the candidate turned into a mass of water, which splashed and spilt on the forest floor.
"Huh," uttered the agent who was holding the candidate down as he looked at his drenched clothes and hand dripping with water.
The team stood stunned for a few seconds as their brains processed what had happened.
"Water clone," said one of the agents proficient with Water Release ninjutsu. "It can only exist when the user is nearby. He has to be somewhere in the range!"
"Let''s go!" Ant barked the order, and the team rushed towards the wood''s exit, hoping they would catch him.
Alas, they were too late. They emerged from the forest to find the candidate sitting on a large rock, waiting for them. He stood up when he saw them and asked,
"This counts as a pass, right?"
Ant couldn''t help but chuckle at the blase tone, as though everything that had just happened was par for the course. A water clone had baited him and his team, caught most of the team in a genjutsu, and almost gave them the slip¡ªall the while, the real one strolled through the forest, keeping safely away from the combat. Even if they had found out about the clone much earlier, it wouldn''t have changed the outcome because the distance between them would''ve been difficult to cover up before the candidate was out of the woods.
He could feel the mix of frustration, amusement, and begrudging respect coming from his men.
"Yes, that''s a pass. Well done Thirteen."
CH_8.39 (304)
The ANBU had set up a temporary camp to house the candidates. It was a bunch of tents around a campfire and was located near a small stream. After Takuma had passed through the woods, the ANBU-nin he''d escaped showed him the way to the camp. Instead of immediately going to the camp, though, Takuma first went to the stream to clean up a day''s worth of sweat and grime and wash his gear before making his presence known to his fellow candidates.
He changed into the clothes he had purchased on his detour and headed to the camp. He was spotted before he could even say anything. The candidates were sitting on logs around a campfire when they noticed him walking in. Everyone except bar one had their faces covered. Most either had the balaclava or the hard front mask on, but the only woman on the ground had one bandana covering her lower face with another one tied in her hair; it looked much more comfortable than the thick balaclava or the hard Scars mask Takuma had on. Then there was the Hyuga with his bare face, but covered eyes; the balaclava and mask wouldn''t hide his eyes, which gave away his identity.
"Oh, we have another," said one of the candidates. He wore a mask with a blue ocean wave pattern, but Takuma knew what he looked like underneath it because it was the same candidate who had been stalking the inn''s pub at the first checkpoint town. "Come, sit down. You must be hungry. They gave us a stash of field rations."
The candidate with the big afro hairstyle tossed a field ration at Takuma.
"Thank you," he replied.
"Don''t mention it," said the tall and buff guy with the afro. "You can dry your clothes over there." He pointed at a couple of somewhat-occupied makeshift racks hanging near the campfire. Takuma would''ve refrained from leaving his clothes in the open, but the ANBU-nin had informed him that the camp was a ''safe zone'' until the task''s deadline and that the candidates were barred from sabotaging each other while they were there.
That was the reason why he had chosen to wash his clothes in the first place.
"We''re going by our numbers, so introduce yourself to the group. I''m Five, nice to meet you."
"...I''m Thirteen," Takuma replied as he hung his clothes on the rack.
One by one, everyone around the camp introduced themselves by their numbers.
"You had the bad luck of arriving at the cabin at night, huh," said Sixteen, who Takuma noted had lengthy limbs. "I don''t think I could''ve escaped them if they had the advantage of darkness."
"It worked out well, fortunately," Takuma said humbly. However, the truth was that not only had he planned to arrive at the final location at night so that he was in perfect condition every day, but he also preferred his odds in the dark.
The darkness narrowed the view of the ANBU team; the moment they found the clone, they stopped looking for anything else. Moreover, the Water Clone Jutsu had the flawed quirk of a clone''s body where affected parts of it would momentarily distort when taking a substantial hit. In the daytime, that would''ve alerted the ANBU team that they were chasing a clone.
"So you''ve been sitting here since you arrived?" asked Takuma as he took a seat.
"Pretty much," said Three, the woman.
That meant he had one whole day to recover and relax. Three days on the road wasn''t much for him, and he had been getting regular rest at night, but fatigue built up regardless; a free day would reset his condition, which was important since he wanted to be on top of his game.
"We''ve been discussing what the ANBU will make us do next to pass the time. Any thoughts?" asked Three, resting her chin on her palm as she gazed at him in interest.
Takuma considered the question. They could throw many challenges at them; he tried to think about what he would do if he were in ANBU''s shoes. However, it was difficult because he had no idea what they were looking for in the candidates.
"I... think we''ll be moved to a place with people next," he started. "Activity happens in a settlement with people rather than in the middle of nowhere. You wouldn''t find bigwigs of a criminal group in a base inside a forest but in a city with luxury. Even thugs lower on the ladder need common amenities like food, water, and other stuff that make living tolerable. While you can get them in a mountain somewhere, it''s difficult and costly... so if they''re going to send us on the field as agents, then they need to test how we perform in a village, town, or a city."
He had spent two months in Yu, so he understood the attractions of a city, its people, and its economy. People wanted control, and there was nothing to control in untouched nature away from civilization¡ªit was among droves of people that could be controlled. Humans were social animals; being stuck with the same handful of people with nothing to do would seem like a dull hell for many people.
"That''s an intelligent take," said Seven, the Hyuuga, giving Takuma a nod.
"We''ve been thinking that they would either team us up or pit us against each other¡ªopenly, this time," said Five.
"Or both," said Ten, the afro guy.
"Teamwork and competition. Makes sense," Takuma nodded as he opened his field ration pack.
The lack of tension among the candidates stuck out to him like a paper cut. They were all competitors aiming for the same job, yet there they were, acting all buddy-buddy. There was nothing wrong with being friendly, and he liked the fact that none were being assholes, but seeing every single one of them chatting at the campfire felt off.
He expected at least one to keep to themselves, and yet everyone was present.
As he poured the curry rice pack into the pot provided in the backpack, he discerned something he hadn''t put a finger on till now. Even though he was being cautious in the company of strangers, he couldn''t sense an iota of danger from his competitors¡ªall of them were hiding behind a friendly facade and were doing it beautifully.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
They managed to make him feel comfortable enough to have him give a real answer to a question, which revealed his thought process and thus gave them insight into him. It was a team effort that started when he stepped into the camp. They were strangers, competitors, and yet they had worked with each other perfectly.
He was in admirable company.
"I must say, this is nice," said Takuma, pulling up a facade to join the team with a slow nod.
"I totally get what you mean," said Three with a joyous giggle.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The task''s deadline passed without fanfare except for a large explosion in the woods caused by one of the candidates. After Takuma, three more candidates tried to make it through the woods. Only two of them¡ªNumber #4, a man, and Number #14, a woman¡ªsurvived the forest and reached the camp.
On the sixth day, Leopard, Ant, and the ANBU team arrived at the camp for the first time.
"Your batch started with twenty candidates, and after nearly a week of testing, twelve were weeded out, leaving you eight as eligible prospects," said Leopard. Unlike before, when she wore loungewear, she looked professional and decked in ANBU gear. "Don''t mistake this for an achievement. Personally, I don''t think the tests were difficult or even sufficiently challenging... These guys went too easy on you," she pointed to Ant and his team.
Ant stood beside her, still as a rock. Either he didn''t agree with her assessment or didn''t care for her agree with her¡ªeither way, her words bounced off him.
"Before we move on to the next stage of the assessment, we will be announcing the results of this task¡ªto be exact, how long it took for everyone to pass through the woods," said Leopard.
Ant stepped forward and listed the numbers in ascending order for how long they had taken.
Number #7 ¡ª 8 minutes
Number #13 ¡ª 12 minutes
Number #16 ¡ª 13 minutes
Number #10 ¡ª 14 minutes
Number #14 ¡ª 14 minutes
Number #5 ¡ª 16 minutes
Number #3 ¡ª 17 minutes
Number #4 ¡ª 19 minutes
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ant observed the candidates and how they all had glanced at Seven, the Hyuga, when they heard his time. He was the only person to take the single-digit minutes for a distance marked as ten minutes to travel. It showcased the terrifying gift of Byakugan that the illustrious Hyuuga clan possessed.
During Seven''s turn, Ant and his team had failed to spot Seven, much less catch up to and engage with him. He had undoubtedly used his Byakugan to not only avoid them completely but also use the power of his eyes to pathfind a route of least resistance through the dense woods to traverse it in record time.
The team had no chance of catching or slowing him down from the very start.
Thirteen came second by fooling the team with the water clone gambit while he made it through the woods without ever engaging with them, much like Seven. He hadn''t completed it sooner because he had to remain within a certain range from the clone or lose control of it. Thirteen had to stop every time he felt his clone on the edge of the permitted limit, which added two minutes.
In many ways, it was more frustrating than not catching the Hyuuga''s shadow.
Then there was Sixteen, who the team had trouble keeping up with. Ant didn''t know if it was because they were in a forest or if he was always like this, but Sixteen was agile and moved in a way that, even if Ant wasn''t holding back, he would still find it challenging to keep up with him. Sixteen had an impressive presence of mind and situational awareness; he made the unknown woods feel like he had been there hundreds of times and knew every tree and branch on the back of his hand.
Ten wasn''t good at losing a tail during a chase, but he made it up with his ability to constantly be on the move. The team was always on him, attacking him every ten seconds, yet they could never pin him down for more than a few seconds. He would evade or strong-arm their attacks until he found an opening. From the moment they made contact till the end of the woods, the team always had an ''upper hand,'' yet Ten always gave them the slip.
From experience, Ant could tell that Ten was more familiar with hunting than fleeing and used that familiarity in one department to make up for a lack of skill in another department.
It was an appreciable show of adaptability.
Fourteen had started very strong. It took the team a whopping seven minutes to find her, which showed excellent stealth abilities, and even after they made contact, she slipped between the trees, sneaked into the foliage, and travelled with hushed steps that an entire group lost sight of her multiple times¡ªand even though it took her a long time to pass through the forest, to be so elusive for that long was an impressive feat.
The ANBU could use someone like Fourteen on missions requiring high stealth.
Five had a weak performance in the woods. They found him quickly, never lost track of him, and trapped him several times. His backpack got damaged, and he almost lost possession of his stamp paper. While he managed to escape them and exit the woods, Ant and the team agreed that it was barely an acceptable performance but their review would show their opinion when they sent it back to Hidden Leaf Village.
Ant knew, of course, that everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, but Five would have to show some firm strengths to balance his lacklustre performance.
Three was the most bizarre of them all. The team wasn''t told about the candidates'' identities or capabilities to make it more fair and allow the candidates to surprise the team. So they were utterly surprised that the moment they found Three, two of their members suddenly turned to attack the team with explosive tags, smoke bombs and weapons¡ªessentially emptying their arsenals.
It became clear that Three was from the Yamanaka clan, but at the moment, they were occupied by why the people they had known for years were suddenly attacking them during a recruitment exercise. She created chaos and took advantage of the chaos to make a run for it. Ant and another member caught up to her and gave her a hard time, but in the end, she crossed the threshold without losing her stamp paper.
Three was the only candidate who turned the team against themselves. Even if they didn''t like it, the team fairly added her feat to their review.
Four was unfortunate. He was the last to arrive at the final location. He panicked when he lost his backpack, which had a lot of essential gear, and even damaged his weapons belt, which he then had to carry, occupying one of his hands. He was clearly used to the forest terrain, traversing it smoothly, which allowed him to stay in the game.
But then he used a particularly strong Fire Release ninjutsu, burning a patch of trees to char and caused a commotion. If this were a real combat situation, he would have alerted other enemies, making the task more difficult. While the ninjutsu allowed him to break free and escape, the team didn''t appreciate it as the correct choice.
They held the opinion that Four could''ve shaken them off if he had just calmed down and assessed the situation.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"For the next part of the assessment, we will pair you together," Leopard announced.
The candidates weren''t surprised. Takuma and the others had speculated that they would team up for the next challenge, and their speculation was correct.
She continued, "As I said, things have been too easy till now, so we want to add some stakes, some real danger to spice things up. I want you all to have put some skin in the game. If I had a say, I would''ve shipped you all off to the Land of Earth or made you participate in the Steam-Frost War¡ªbut I can''t do that because we can''t have unproven recruits operating on foreign territory."
Takuma would''ve quit on the spot if they made him participate in a war he had just returned from.
"Because we can''t do that, we''re going to do the next best thing. The location for the next challenge is one day''s travel north from here¡ªat the seat of the Fire Daimyo, the capital of the Land of Fire: Ember Imperial City."
CH_8.40 (305)
Takuma decided that the ANBU were assholes when they didn''t reveal the pairings at the camp and instead declared they would only announce them when they reached the capital city. They were clearly trying to make it hard for the candidates by decreasing the time they would get to establish each other as teammates.
The group of ANBU-nin and candidates took breaks on their way to the Ember Imperial City, where Leopard explained more about the upcoming challenge.
"Time after time, batches of candidates much like yourself mistake that because it''s our recruitment process, we control everything. They''re not completely wrong, but as you say, we left you guys to your devices for the past five days. They think that, because it''s an assessment process, we aren''t going to push you to real danger¡ªand if things go wrong, we will be there to stop it. However, let me make one thing clear to you: we don''t have complete control over the testing process. The danger you face is real... and to emphasise that point, we are going to drop you in a situation where our inherent limited control will become clear."
If Takuma was being honest, he thought that as well. There was only so much they could push the candidates during a test. Overdoing it would actively deter the candidates from joining.
"Since we can''t send you to an active hostile territory, we are using the capital city as the location. I''m sure you all know why that is."
"Samurai," Seven vocalised everyone''s thoughts.
The Ember Imperial City was the seat of power for the Fire Daimyo and his court. The city and the surrounding region had close to no real shinobi influence as they were exclusively maintained by the samurai clans retained by the Fire Daimyo. Shinobi still got jobs from the region, but the samurai controlled everything from governance to maintenance in the name of the Lord Daimyo.
Like the shinobi, samurai were people who had developed chakra into tools of violence and war. They were two very different cultures that once clashed during the Warring States Era of history until the shinobi banded together to form the Hidden Villages around the globe and swore fealty to their respective Daimyo, making the two sides allies, which led to a stabilisation of the Great Nations.
"Indeed," Leopard nodded. "The Daimyo''s samurai and we, shinobi, are allies, but we are two firmly separate entities. We will be asking you to do certain tasks in the capital city, and if something goes wrong and you attract the attention or even the ire of the samurai, we might be able to get you out of it¡ªbut we will have to go through complicated bureaucratic channels, and that stuff always takes a lot of time. Who knows what might happen during that time, and trust me¡ you don''t want to find out. Samurai might tout their code and honour, but they''re just as nasty as anyone else."
Takuma inferred they were about to do something illegal in the capital city that might get them into trouble. He looked around the group and saw the implications dawn on everyone. They wanted the candidates to believe that whatever they were about to go through was real and not some controlled simulated setup, which would''ve been difficult to accept if shinobi were involved as ANBU could rig that.
Introducing an external force outside their control automatically made everything real.
"What will we be doing there?" asked Five.
Leapoard laughed. "It won''t be fun if I tell you."
No candidate except for perhaps Three was amused, judging by her snort. During the journey, Takuma got to talk to some of the other candidates. He was running between Ten and Sixteen, who were the quieter ones among the group but were open to talk if someone got a conversation rolling.
"What do you think they''ll have us do?" Takuma asked. He had some ideas of his own, but as the saying went, two heads were better than one. Moreover, there was an atmosphere of group speculation among the candidates, as though they were trying to beat ANBU at their own game.
"Stealing from the Daimyo''s collection at his home," said Sixteen with a good-hearted chuckle.
"Imagine if they actually made us do that," said Takuma, laughing as well.
"We would be either caught or hunted for the rest of our lives. That type of thinh takes time, people, and planning to pull off decently. Even then, you can''t eliminate the risk of getting caught," said Ten.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
"Yeah, I guess the Fire Daimyo''s palace would be swimming with samurai," said Sixteen.
"I have been to the capital once with my aunt. It feels like the Hidden Leaf, but instead of shinobi, the place is full of armoured samurai on every street," said Ten, making Takuma wonder about his background. "Whatever they plan to make us do, I think it''ll involve us having run-ins with samurai, and we are going into their home turf without much preparation¡ªshe talked about danger; I think that''s dangerous enough for my taste."
"Agreed," Sixteen sighed.
"Who do you want to be paired with the most and least?" asked Takuma before raising one hand and putting the other on his chest. "I swear not to get offended if I''m the least favourite..."
"Why don''t you go first," said Sixteen, eyeing Takuma from behind his half-yellow and half-purple mask.
"To be honest, I don''t have a preference. Rather than skill, I''m looking for someone who I gel with from a personality point-of-view because it makes working together so much easier¡ªbut if you don''t get along, it can turn into a horrible experience. Unfortunately, I don''t know either of you well enough to know if we will gel."
Takuma briefly glanced at Five running ahead of them; if he had to choose one, Five would be his choice as he had shown some smart actions by observing the candidates as they approached the ANBU staff for their stamp.
"But I do have a least favourite." Takuma looked around before subtly wagging four fingers so that only Ten and Sixteen would see it.
Four was the last to arrive, the slowest, and had set off a large explosion in the woods. Takuma didn''t know his circumstances, but he had a regretful look of self-blaming after he arrived at the camp. It clearly felt like he had made a mistake in the woods, which ruined his performance.
Takuma had nothing against the guy, but he didn''t want to be paired with the weakest link.
"I''d like the Hyuga," said Ten, straightforward with his desire. "He was the first and fastest to complete the task, and possesses the Byakugan. Having someone like him on the same side is a boon any way you look at it."
Choosing the best-performing candidate as the favourite was the boring answer no one could find a fault in. Takuma wondered if Ten answered truthfully because he really thought that or if he was trying to avoid the question.
"As for the person I don''t want to get paired with... Three. I don''t know what it''s about her, but I get the creeps from her," said Ten with a nod.
"I heard that."
Just then, Three, who had been running behind them, passed by Ten, whispering into his ear and laughing when she saw him almost stumble on his feet, rubbing his arms as he felt a cold shiver down his spine.
"See, that''s what I''m talking about," he said.
Had she been listening from the start? Among the candidates, Takuma had a deeper impression of Three. Even though everyone had a facade of friendliness, she had acted too carefree during their short time at the camp. She talked freely as though not at all worried about leaking information, and yet Takuma didn''t think she had ever given actionable information. And when she was not talking and just listening, her gaze felt like she was seeing through his masks and directly at him. It wasn''t unsettling, but it made him constantly worry he was giving something away.
"What about you?" Ten asked Sixteen.
"I would like to pair with you, Thirteen," said Sixteen, surprising Takuma.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh. As you said, a compatible personality is more important. I find you much easier to talk to than Seven. And I was impressed that you took the second shortest time despite going through the woods at night."
"Oh, come on, doesn''t that make me the second option?" Takuma slumped his shoulders. "Your preference would''ve been Seven if he had a more outgoing personality."
Sixteen shrugged. "The allure of the Byakugan is hard to deny."
Takuma couldn''t refute that.
"As for the one I don''t want to get paired with? I don''t have anyone like that. The ANBU selected everyone for a reason, and those who made it this far must be competent. I think I''ll work it out with anyone they decide to assign me."
"That''s an admirable attitude, Sixteen. You''re in second place on my list," Ten patted Sixteen on the shoulder.
Something told Takuma that Ten wasn''t just saying that to be nice or because of his facade.
"Thank you," said Sixteen.
After travelling nonstop for a day, they had the city in their view, with the main route crowded with travellers and merchants. The moment they spotted the first samurai travelling away from the city, Leopard had them move off the main road and travel ten minutes into the wide meadows until they had privacy.
"Alright, now that we''re here, I will give you your pairings and your assignments," said Leopard.
The pairings were¡ª
Seven and Fourteen
Sixteen and Five
Ten and Four
Thirteen and Three
Takuma turned to look at his teammate and found her looking at him. Even though she wore her teal blue mask with royal blue splashes, he could feel her smiling behind it. She walked to him leisurely with her hands behind her back and stopped right before him. She was so close that he could see the almost white flecks in her pale green eyes.
"Looking forward to working with you, teammate... I have great expectations of you; don''t disappoint me, will you."
He felt that the next few days would be challenging. If he weren''t careful, he would get eaten whole by the woman before him¡ªbut he wasn''t the type to just roll over and let someone walk all over him.
"Don''t worry, I''ll carry you to the finish line, so just sit there and be pretty."
He wanted to smile when he saw her eyes twitch.
CH_8.41 (306)
As far as first impressions were concerned, Takuma wasn''t entirely pleased with his assigned partner.
"So how do you want to play this?" asked Three as the duo sat at a two-person table at a tea shop. Both had their masks off and were dressed in civilian clothes; revealing their faces was deemed necessary if they would work together as a show of rudimentary respect and trust, the first step of establishing a working relationship. It was also necessary if they wanted to pick out each other from a crowd.
Knowing each other''s names wasn''t necessary, so they kept that to themselves.
Three was a young woman with blonde hair tied in a slim ponytail that rested over her shoulder. Her light amber eyes glowed like crystals, and there was a deep intelligence in them that made her bubbly personality feel reliable and worrisome all at the same time.
"What would it take for us to work... harmoniously," Takuma asked, somewhat regretting his wording.
Even though they hadn''t had a proper conversation or worked together before, he felt she wouldn''t be easy to work with. Of course, he had no proof to back up his feelings¡ªjust a hunch.
"I am all about harmony, dear Thirteen," she said, giggling with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Why do you think we won''t get along harmoniously?"
Takuma''s eyes twitched. He couldn''t say that he had a gut feeling.
"Fine," he sighed. "I''m thinking about¡ª"
"I must say, you''re younger than I thought any candidate would be. How old are you?" she asked curiously.
Takuma had the same thought. He expected Three to be in her twenties, but from her looks, she was still very much below the two-decade mark. For ANBU to recruit someone as young as her would mean she must be someone impressive.
"I think we should talk about how we will complete the tasks," Takuma said, tapping the three mini-scrolls sitting between them on the table.
Their assignment in the Ember Imperial City consisted of three tasks they had to complete in three days.
The three tasks were:
Task #1: Steal a precious piece of shinobi history from the Warring States Era that was currently sitting in a samurai''s residence as part of a collection.
Task #2: Make contact with an ANBU informant, collect intel from them, and then use the intel to complete a mission.
Task #3: Reap a bounty raised on a target''s head and submit the proof to the ''bounty office'' hidden inside the city.
"Hmm... I would guess fourteen of fifteen. I heard that thirteen is ANBU''s age limit. They must''ve really wanted you to recruit you so early." Three rested her chin on the back of her hand as she gazed at him. "I wonder... what did you do for them to be so interested."
"Three days isn''t enough time." Takuma didn''t let her control the conversation and continued. "We can do one task daily, but that doesn''t leave any margin for things going wrong or anything special ANBU might dump on us. How about we do one task together and then split up to complete one task each?"
He had overcome the fear of delegation during his Police Force days and had learned how to divide responsibility among his teammates¡ªbut he did that because he trusted them. He didn''t know Three and thus didn''t feel as comfortable working with her, but Takuma wanted to take charge of a task and see it to completion.
"Nope, I don''t trust you to complete a task alone. If you screw up, I''m doomed because of you," said Three without a shred of tact.
"True, it''s the worst when someone else''s stupidly ruins your hard work," Takuma nodded with a shrug. "I agree with you. We work together on all tasks. Which tasks call out to you? We tackle the difficult ones first and leave the easier ones for later."
Three looked pensive as she considered the question. "All of them have their complications... We don''t know how much security there will be at the samurai''s residence and we have no idea what mission is attached to the intel from the informant. The scouting and preparation for the assassination itself could take a whole day if we want to pull it off without setting off alarms."
"Correct," said Takuma and absentmindedly traced the scar on the edge of his lip for a moment. "Here''s my suggestion: the intel mission and the bounty have too many moving parts." They didn''t know what the intel mission would entail, and the bounty had too many steps before they could complete it. "Stealing the daggers from the samurai''s collection, however, only involves a single location. It''s essentially an in-and-out operation¡ªnot saying that it''ll be easy, but it''s at least straightforward."
If Takuma had Seven, the Hyuuga, on his team, the heist mission would''ve been the easiest thing. They would''ve been utterly invisible, breaking in and leaving without anyone finding that they were there before they noticed the gauntlets were missing.
"I think we should go to the informant first," Three replied as she picked up the scroll associated with the intel mission.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"May I ask why?" Takuma frowned. He had just explained his reasoning, which he considered sound.
"Before we decide which task to do first, don''t you think we should know the tasks first?" Three unfurled the scroll and set it on the table before him. "The task doesn''t ask us to contact him before a specific time, which indicates that there''s no time constraint on it¡ªwe can go today, tomorrow, or the day after, and it won''t change a thing. Do you get it?"
Takuma''s eyes widened momentarily at those words, and he glanced down at the task''s test. It was true. Besides the three-day deadline, none of the tasks had any time constraints. If they had the capability, they could rush through all the tasks on the first day or sightsee for two days before completing the task on the third day.
"... You''re suggesting that we talk to the contact now, but we don''t have to do the mission until later on until we decide. That way, we''ll have more information to make a decision."
"Pretty much," Three smiled.
Takuma sighed. "That''s a better course of action. Let''s do that.".
She smiled. "Of course it''s better. I came up with it."
Takuma noticed her gazing at him silently and asked, "What?"
"Nothing, just thinking that you''re not a complete disappointment. I would''ve been sad if you had argued in the face of super reasoning with useless pride."
"As I said before, I simply want to complete these tasks in a professional manner," he replied.
"I, too, want nothing more than that."
Takuma had a difficult time believing that.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The duo tracked down the informant with the help of information the ANBU had provided them.
"Excuse me," Three opened the conversation.
A man in his thirties with hair everywhere on his body, but his head was brushing one of the two horses tied to a cargo carriage. He turned with a frown that seemed to be a regular part of his expression. Not only did he tower over them, but he was also as wide as the two of them combined.
Despite being a civilian, he gave an impression of strength greater than the two shinobi before him.
"Who are you? What the fuck do you want?" said the informant.
He was a courier who worked for a delivery business employed by businesses to transport their goods around the city. In this position, the informant got to visit intel-rich places like administrative offices and the residences of high-ranking places. The informant had befriended the staff employed at those places he frequented, who told him many things they heard during their work.
By not being directly connected to those places, he gained a layer of separation, which kept him safe from scrutiny, thus reducing the risk of getting caught.
"Activation code¡ªtravelling mountain," Three repeated the secret code to signal the informant that they were from ANBU.
The informant''s face went blank momentarily before the frown returned twice as creased.
"You want to go straight and take the second left," he replied, pretending they were people looking for directions. "It''s far from here, so ask someone else for further directions after you take the left. Follow me, and don''t come until I stop someplace private," he said the last part in a whisper.
"Thank you, sir," Three smiled sweetly, acting the role. She pulled Takuma along, and they soon dipped into an alleyway.
"No, don''t go up," Takuma stopped Three as she walked up a building.
"Why?" she asked, standing horizontally against the wall.
"Because this isn''t the Hidden Leaf," said Takuma as he gazed out of the alley to see if anyone was looking at them. "We have been here the entire morning, and I haven''t seen a single person on a rooftop. We will attract too many eyes if we carelessly jump across roofs."
From what he knew, samurai could use chakra adhesion, but travelling on rooftops was a shinobi cultural trait. There weren''t many shinobi in the Ember Imperial City, and travelling openly would needlessly attract eyes. He had spent two months wandering around Yu, which presented similar constraints. He was caught using the rooftops once and had to fight for his life. Ember Imperial City was denser than Yu, which made rooftop travel easier, but it also had a higher population, meaning more eyes.
"We will take roads and back alleys," said Takuma.
Running would also attract attention, but it was much more socially acceptable than jumping across rooftops. Moreover, they could break up their presence by weaving in and out of alleyways and reducing their footprint.
Three jumped down from the wall and wordlessly followed Takuma as they trailed behind the informant on the road. They walked, jogged, and sprinted across the roads and alleys. People looked at them but were out of sight in a few seconds.
The informant led them to a fairly isolated place with few people. He got off the carriage and pulled up his loose pants, gazing at them with a clear look of doubt and caution, making it clear he didn''t trust them.
"I wasn''t expecting you to come so early," said the informant. He glanced at Takuma and narrowed his eyes, "And they sent a kid..."
"What''s the intel?" asked Three, cutting through all the small talk.
"There''s a thug, a low-level samurai, who has been harassing a geisha for some time. He has been trying to sleep with her for some time now, but she doesn''t want to. However, saying no isn''t an option, and things have gone beyond tense," the informant sighed as his frown deepened. "She fears for her life, so you mission is simple: assassinate the man before he does something terrible to the geisha."
"That''s it?" asked Three, surprised and underwhelmed.
"What do you mean?"
"Don''t get me wrong; I''m more than happy to exterminate scum, but I thought we would be doing... more."
The informant scoffed in their faces. "You are not ANBU-nin; you are mere candidates. They aren''t going to give you something of top-level importance just for you to screw it up up. Know your place and do what you''re being asked to do."
Three didn''t look pleased at being talked to like that, but the informant had spoken the truth. It would be strange for ANBU to give recruitment candidates the same missions as real agents.
The informant fished into his carriage and took out two identical scrolls. "All the information I know about the target is in these. If you need anything else, you will have to gather it yourself. When you are done, you must find me to report back." He boarded the carriage and left, but not before some parting words. "This is in the scroll, but he''s going to visit the geisha tomorrow; do whatever you plan to do before that... just in case something happens."
"You are a civilian. You did your job; know your place and fuck off," said Three with the sweetest smile.
The informant scowled as he left in his carriage.
"So childish," Takuma whispered.
"What did you say?" Three narrowed her eyes.
He smothered a sigh. "Nothing."
The duo found a building with a flat roof and a covered patio to read the scrolls. They sat before each other in silence for half an hour as they poured over information.
"What do you think?" asked Takuma after reading the scroll.
"Isn''t it obvious?" said Three as she set her scroll down.
They then spoke at the same time:
"We should do this first and get rid of him today." "Let''s kill him when he''s visiting the geisha."
The two looked at each other with surprise and disagreement.
"What?! That''s stupid." "What?! That doesn''t make sense."
CH_8.42 (307)
The target''s name was Sune Jakusho, a low-level samurai who was connected to a local yakuza-style gang involved in extorting "protection fees" from businesses, duping elderly people with no relatives into signing over their wealth, and running a predatory loan shark business with absurd interests and a violent collection process.
Jakusho was a mid-level member involved with the "protection fees" side of the business and went around his allocated region to extort money from businesses and shop owners. It allowed him to act like a tyrant, and the behaviour was bolstered by the fact that the local gang had connections to some samurai higher-ups, which allowed the gang to operate without the fear of law obstructing their activities.
The other person of interest in the mission was a geisha named Yuri. Like many geisha, her parents had sold her to a geisha house at a young age, where she was trained in the standard geisha arts¡ªflower arrangement, the tea ceremony, calligraphy, music, dance, and historical and contemporary knowledge for conversational acumen.
Then, she was introduced into society under a new name, Yuri.
Yuri, being a beautiful young woman, was a sought-after geisha and commanded large sums of money from her wealthy patrons. She had long since repaid her parents'' debts and past upkeep and had even paid the sum for her freedom from the geisha house, but she continued to work as a geisha because it was all she knew.
That, and being a geisha paid well. She, however, didn''t maintain a sexual relationship with her clients and patrons, and her services solely revolved around keeping them company. So, when Jakusho began to push her in that direction, Yuki inevitably felt cornered enough by his behaviour to request an assassination.
"Didn''t you hear the informant? The target will meet the geisha tomorrow; we should eliminate him before he causes a problem," said Takuma with a furrow between his brows.
"You see a problem, I see an opportunity," said Three, relaxed and confident.
The duo was arguing about how they would execute the mission based on the scrolls the informant had given them.
"I see a problem because there is a problem. We should keep the target far away from the geisha. If we kill him today, he won''t reach her tomorrow," said Takuma. "And if we deal with him when he''s visiting her, it will cast suspicion on her, which will get her into trouble¡ªand yes, our mission is assassination and not caring about her well-being, but I''m sure it''s perfectly understandable why we should keep the geisha at a safe distance."
"I don''t deny any of that," said Three, raising her hands, "and I''m not saying that we strike when he''s in her company."
Yuri''s geisha house served nobles and samurai. Attacking Jakusho there would mean having at least a couple of samurai in the vicinity who could either serve as obstacles to killing him or, the more likely option, obstacles to them escaping after killing him. They hadn''t scouted the geisha house, it was sure to have several people present inside, which would make killing Jakusho in stealth infeasible without extensive planning or help from an insider.
They had neither, which was why Takuma asked, "Then when do we do it?"
"We hit him en route to the geisha house," Three replied.
"How''s that any different from killing him today?"
"Listen, I''m just taking your advice," she said, surprising him.
"Pardon; my advice?"
"Yeah, your advice from back at the teashop. You said stealing from the samurai''s house was straightforward because it only involved one location. I''m just applying the same concept here; the informant gave us the target''s frequent locations and rough timings, but we haven''t followed him day-in-and-day-out to know his schedule or where he will be exactly one hour from now, and even if we did, it''s not enough time to know what kind of secondary obstacles might be present at those locations¡ªbut we do know where he''s going to be tomorrow evening."
To meet Yuri, her clients had to reserve time slots, and Jakusho had kept the same day and time slot for the past two months. His meeting with her was one part of the routine that was proven to be set in stone.
Three continued, "Hitting the target en route to his appointment simplifies the problem by removing the moving parts. His appointment in the evening gives us the whole day to plan. Let''s say we choose a road or intersection close to the geisha house¡ªscout every corner of the place, create a plan¡ªand hit him with precision and surety. One target, one location, straightforward¡ªand thus reliable... What do you think?" she asked.
Takuma was silent momentarily as he thought about a logical fallacy in her words, but after considering her words from a couple of different angles, he didn''t see any apparent problems. The more he considered it, the more it made sense to follow Three''s plan.
"My advice makes sense, doesn''t it?" he said.
She took the clue and smiled, "It absolutely does."
"It''s decided then. We kill the target tomorrow."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
With the informant task locked in for the second day, the duo decided to handle the heist task on the first day. Unlike Jakusho, the samurai who owned the historical twin daggers was a high-ranking samurai. His house was in an affluent part of the city where the roads were broad; the properties were bigger because of large yards and gardens, and each residence had ample space between them¡ªmaking the entire residential area emptier as opposed to a denser part of the city where adjacent buildings touched with only narrow alleyways between them if any.
It was easier to blend in with busy crowds, which the affluent residential area lacked, thus making wandering around a property, at the very least, suspicious.
Most houses in the area were single-storey structures with an attic level serving as additional storage, but each property had high walls that made viewing from the surface level impossible. Nearly all properties had trees near the property line or walls, which partially blocked the view from both sides, but the foliage wasn''t thick enough for the duo to hide inside and spy.
"Any ideas?" asked Three as they stood under a tree''s shade three houses away from the samurai''s house.
"We go in from the back, ask politely, pick up the daggers, and leave," Takuma said with a shrug.
"Should we also have tea if they offer it?"
"I don''t think the samurai is at home."
"I didn''t see him, but that doesn''t mean he isn''t in there."
She had peeked into the house he stood as a lookout, but they hadn''t enough time to ensure the samurai wasn''t home.
"There weren''t any horses in the stable," he said, thinking back to a brief look he had gotten himself. "You are a shinobi, so it''s not a part of your culture, but you must''ve noticed samurai on horseback today. Unlike us, samurai use horses; seeing that the house had a stable and it was empty, there''s a high chance that the samurai is out."
"You''re also a shinobi."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"I''m a cultured individual."
She rolled her eyes. "What about the other samurai in the house?"
The information scroll for the heist task was brief at best. They were given a description of the historical twin daggers, their addresses, and some information about the samurai. They didn''t want to face the samurai because he was classified as a jonin-level combatant in shinobi terms.
Neither of them could survive against that, even if they fought with perfect teamwork.
"He''s much weaker, I think we can deal with him," said Takuma.
That included a few guardsmen they had seen stationed around the house.
They could stake out the house and wait for someone to come out, abduct them, and get some information, but they had no idea when someone would step out or when the samurai might return home. Time was of the essence, and they currently had a window of opportunity before them.
They could abduct someone, keep them overnight and then go in the next day¡ªbut what if the person they abducted was expected back within the hour, and their missing presence created uncontrollable complications?
"So, I say we pop in, get the daggers, and then disappear," he said.
Thieves got caught for various reasons. They could get caught during the act, get implicated from some evidence they left behind, get the authorities alerted when they try to sell their stolen goods, even simply blabbing or bragging to someone about the job could come back to bite them.
However, they weren''t trying to sell the daggers; they hadn''t talked about the heist with anyone¡ªso as long as they didn''t get caught during the act, they could get away without a hitch. Even if they left some evidence behind, they weren''t from the city, making it difficult and time-consuming for the authorities to tie it back to two complete ghosts with no local presence.
"Alright, let''s go see how special these daggers are," said Three.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The people in the samurai''s house were having a calm day. Regardless of whether they were staff or family, it was a privilege and boon to be connected to a high-ranking samurai, especially one who had a position in the Ember Imperial City.
Aifumi was an elegant woman in her mid-forties. She was the wife of a samurai, making her the mistress of the house. While her husband performed his duties to the Daimyo as a samurai, upholding their family name, she was responsible and trusted to maintain the household and social affairs of being a samurai with influence in the Daimyo''s court.
She was having a slow day, having just finished hosting a gathering at their house for a handful of her husband''s peers last weekend. Of course, starting tomorrow, she was going to review the household budgeting, which would take her a few days to get all sorted as their estate employed quite a handful of people and provided a few services to manage their home.
When she was done with that, she was planning to guide her daughter-in-law so she could take over the responsibilities in a few years when her elder son was expected to follow his father and officially enter the Daimyo''s court.
It was all part of her responsibilities as the mistress of the house and her duty to support her husband, but today, she was going to take it easy.
Her attendant served her tea, and she gazed out the room and into the garden outside. She closed her eyes as she listened to the water dribbling from the pond fountain and the tunes from the wind chime and found the hectic pace of her life slowing down.
As she had her eyes closed, Aifumi heard some footsteps. They were uniform, light yet stable, and yet had a heavy feel to them. She thought herself familiar with everyone in the estate to recognise them by their footsteps, or at least recognise if they were a guard or attendant. But the sound of these footsteps were different than anything she heard.
She opened her eyes just in time to see a masked man enter her view outside the door.
As the wife of a high-ranking samurai, she had both seen and hosted shinobi a handful of times at their house, so she recognised the man as a shinobi from his gear. The style differed from what she had seen on the Hidden Leaf shinobi, and the green-and-grey colour scheme was foreign to her¡ªbut the man was undoubtedly a shinobi.
A couple of seconds passed as the man looked at her and the attendant in the room. The light from outside cast a shadow over the man, making him seem darker.
Her sense of danger flared. She knew this man could not have come with good intentions and went to shout to alert the guards, but her body suddenly seized. She could no longer speak or even move her pinky. It felt like she had turned into a statue and could only stare at the man because that''s where her gaze was when she lost control of her body.
She couldn''t see her attendant, but hearing no words from her meant she was also similarly frozen. Her heart thumped, and fear crept in when she couldn''t move or scream, no matter how much she tried. She had never felt anything like this before but knew it could only be shinobi''s ninjutsu.
The man stepped aside, and a similarly dressed woman stepped out from behind the door. Unlike the man, who wore a green mask with a leaf design, the woman wore a teal mask with a blue splash design.
"Breath through your nose," said the woman in a soothing voice.
Aifumi was confused, and the panic in her heart only rose when she realised the man wasn''t alone. How many people had invaded their homes?
"Listen to my voice, " the woman continued to speak. "Focus on your breathing. In and out. In and out. Follow my words. Breathe in and breathe out. Just like that. Repeat with me."
The woman asked them to breathe, and Aifumi followed the calm voice. Even though her heart was still hammering away, her breathing was in control.
"Excellent," said the masked woman. "We do not wish you harm in any way. I understand it might be hard to believe, but it''s the truth. As long as you follow our requests, we will be out of your sight, out of your home, never to return." She turned to look at Aifumi. "I''m assuming you''re the lady of the house, madam. Please respond through a simple nod or shake of your head."
Aifumi wanted to complain that she couldn''t move her body, and this was just a ploy for them to harm them when she suddenly felt that she could move her neck. In fact, everything above her shoulders except her voice was free. She could open her mouth, move her tongue, but couldn''t produce any sound.
She glanced at her attendant, who sat a few steps away from her near the wall and looked uncomfortable as her body was frozen into a statue-like state. She then looked back at the pair of invaders and nodded.
"Thank you for cooperating. Our goal is simple. We require a set of old twin daggers that we know to be in this house."
Aifumi didn''t have to think; she knew what they were talking about. There was a set of old shinobi daggers framed and hanging in her husband''s office. He had acquired them three years ago, beating a shinobi in an auction.
"...I see you recognise what I''m talking about."
Aifumi scolded herself for showing her recognition on her face. It had been frozen just a moment ago..
"Lead us to the daggers. We will leave afterwards. Please nod if you understand."
She nodded.
"Nod if you agree to cooperate."
She nodded again. If the cost of getting these intruders out of her house were a set of old daggers, then she would gladly pay it.
"Very good. Thank you for cooperating. Please stand up."
Just as the words ended, Aifumi realised she could move her entire body again. Her voice was still not in her control. She stood up and glanced at her attendant before looking at the woman, who understood her intention and said,
"She will be freed as soon as we leave. No one will be harmed."
Aifumi hesitated for a moment before nodding. As she led them through the house, the woman spoke in a whisper, which sent shivers down her back. "We know there are guards in the house. Understand that if you are leading us to them, I will not keep my promise of not harming anyone. The easier you make it for us, the easier it will get for you. Do you understand?"
Aifumi hurriedly nodded repeatedly. She thought of her granddaughter, who had just started walking; her daughter-in-law, who was supposed to succeed her; the people who worked at their house¡ªwhile her husband was out, it was her duty to protect them all.
"Very good. Thank you for your cooperation."
She did her best to follow a route that wouldn''t be visible to the guards and prayed no one would come across them. Unfortunately, her prayers weren''t answered. They heard footsteps from across the corner, and Aifumi recognised them as a guard from their heaviness.
The man walking ahead of them raised his hand in a fist. The woman grabbed Aifumi''s shoulder and pulled her to a stop. The man stepped ahead to the edge of the corner before rushing across. Aifumi squinted her eyes closed when she heard the guard struggle, muffling out half a syllable before silence punctuated the sound of a body sliding against a wall down to the ground.
The woman gently pushed her, and Aifumi walked around the corner in fear to see the guard slumped against the wall. She couldn''t see any blood, but it didn''t relieve her fears.
"He''s unconscious, please keep moving," said the woman while pushing her.
Aifumi bowed her head as she moved along. She had not led them to a guard, but now it could only seem like she had done so. The fear for her family''s safety spiked in her heart, and she silently prayed for her husband to return home and save them.
They finally arrived at her husband''s office, and the woman asked her to go inside and retrieve the daggers.
She came out with the daggers encased in a frame, and the man took it off her hands.
"I know that you didn''t lead us to the guard. Rest assured, we will keep the promise and leave without harming anyone. Head inside the office and sit there for ten minutes before coming out. Your voice will return soon," said the woman.
Aifumi nodded, and the next moment, the masked duo disappeared with a gust of wind that blew the loose strands of her hair back.
She followed the instructions and sat inside her husband''s office. Her voice returned in three minutes, but she remained in her office. She heard a commotion, and within a minute, another guard entered the office with an attendant and began checking on her injuries.
When the ten minutes ended, she immediately went to her granddaughter and daughter-in-law''s side to ensure their safety and didn''t leave them until her husband and sons returned home.
CH_8.43 (308)
The Zakahira estate was abuzz with commotion. The house of a high-ranking samurai was robbed in broad daylight. For that to happen in the Ember Imperial City was astounding, and the news was bound to spread throughout the city by the following day.
A man with long salt-and-pepper hair dressed in a black montsuki stood in the study and stared at the empty spot where the framed daggers hung before they were robbed. He was Zakahira Mahachi, the family''s patriarch and a high-ranking samurai whose wife had been held hostage in his own home. He held his sheathed sword in his left hand and flicked the hilt guard with his thumb¡ªwith each flick, the sword would jump an inch out of the scabbard before sliding back down.
A pair of nervous and fearful guards with their clothes drenched in sweat walked behind him. The robbery had happened under their nose. They recognised the flicking habit. It only appeared when he was displeased enough to want to use his sword on something or someone.
He left the office where the guard who had been knocked out during the robbery was waiting. The guard immediately knelt and pressed his head to the floor.
"What did you see?" Mahachi asked. He didn''t ask the guard to raise his head.
"I... Not much, my liege. The masked man knocked me out before I could do anything." The guard pursed his lips. "I didn''t... I didn''t even see the mistress or the other woman. If I hadn''t been taken by surprise, I would''ve¡ª!"
"There are no ifs or buts, only your failure. Reflect on it until I declare your punishment," said Mahachi.
After tracing the robber''s path, he returned to the room where his family was gathered. His wife was sitting on a floor chair in the corner with a blanket over his legs as she talked with the inspector about the robbers.
"Is there anything else you can remember about them?" the inspector asked.
"Unfortunately, that''s all I can remember at the moment," said Aifumi apologetically.
The inspector pursed his lips. It was only for a moment, but he had a look of dissatisfaction and disappointment, which he hid quickly¡ªbut not fast enough for it to slip past the eyes of the young man standing beside her.
"She told you everything she knows; it''s your damn job to make do with it!"
The young man had the same strong jaw and square face as Mahachi and resembled him during his youth, only with softer features, which he had inherited from his mother. He was Zakahira Nozan, Mahachi''s eldest son, a samurai. He was fully dressed in his red samurai armour with his sword prominently hanging by his side.
The inspector looked uncomfortable. Even Aifumi sighed as her hand went to her temple.
"There''s no need to raise your voice, Nozan. You are scaring your child," said Mahachi without hiding his disapproval.
Nozan looked guilty when he saw his daughter''s face on the verge of tears and his wife''s disapproving look while she soothed the little infant.
Mahachi went to his wife and knelt by her side. "Does your head hurt, my dear?" he asked.
Aifumi shook her head. "Nothing to be concerned about."
Mahachi knew she had the tendency to reduce her suffering, especially when she was in the presence of their family. He gently held her wrist and injected a minute sliver of chakra into her system to regulate the natural flow of chakra that an external force had disrupted.
A shinobi''s genjutsu, he thought with a bitter taste in his mouth.
She was a civilian without an ounce of chakra training, and being faced with a foreign chakra in her system had some effect on her. When they married, he tried to convince her to train her chakra to gain a tool of protection no matter how small, but she refused, saying that she didn''t need it because she had him to protect her.
It was flattering¡ªbut he was regretting not pushing more. If there was any silver lining, it was that he had drilled basic chakra training into their daughter so she could protect herself when she left home.
"From the looks of it all, I believe it''s safe to say it was a shinobi," said the inspector as he flipped through his notes.
"Or someone trained in shinobi''s jutsu." Mahachi stood up. "Do not limit your search radius to known shinobi in the city. You must look into everyone who might be trained in shinobi arts."
"Yes, sir," the inspector nodded.
Mahachi didn''t expect much from the inspector. He was planning to have the case transferred under the samurai''s authority so they could be handled by someone better equipped to handle those trained in chakra. It was clear that the duo who had invaded his house were trained. They had come into his house for one thing and took only that; if it was an amateur''s work, he expected them to get greedy for other valuables in his study. His wife''s hairpin itself would have earned the thieves a small fortune.
"Use your informants to look into fences in the city and see whether they have requests for shinobi artefacts. The stolen daggers are bound to appear on the market."
Even though Mahachi had no authority, the inspector took his words as orders. It was foolish to defy a samurai of Mahachi''s calibre and influence.
"Green and grey gear with painted masks. Do you recognise any group or individual who wears that specific configuration?" Mahachi turned to his son.
"...Not anyone I can pinpoint off the top of my head," said Nozan with a sour look.
"Maybe they''re from outside the city," Mahachi commented as he pulled his sword halfway through and stared at his eyes in the blade''s reflection. "Whoever it is, they will die by my blade for thinking about soiling a thread on my wife''s clothes."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Seven and Fourteen stood on the roof of a doll assembly workshop, looking across the street at a large carpet factory holding one of their targets. They had to retrieve a ledger keeping record of transactions tied to the illegal trade of chakra metal stolen from official sources.
According to the information in the scroll, the ledger was inside the factor''s owner''s office. It was a nondescript black leather hardback..
Fourteen, Azugimoto Etomi, observed the view before her, mapping the entry and exits points along with possible chokepoints and obstacles in case of a hot exit. Seven knelt beside her on one knee, watching something she couldn''t imagine. The flared veins around his temple were the only evidence that he was using his Byakugan.
The Hyuuga''s Byukugan made Etomi just as fascinated as it did uncomfortable. They had scouted the place for two hours. Not nearly enough time, in Etomi''s opinion, but it was made possible through the Byakugan. Seven''s findings had allowed Etomi to create a terrifyingly accurate map of the entire building.Stolen story; please report.
"Eight of them are not civilians," said Seven.
The carpet factory was an authentic front with real workers that worked on real carpets, but there were others there who did no work and just sat around.
"Mark them with numbers," said Etomi, handing the factory''s three-level map. "Hey, how sure are you that they''re not civilians?"
"One hundred per cent," said Seven as he marked the map with the combatants. "No civilian carries as many weapons on their body as these people."
"...Makes sense." Etomi was thankful that she was a Leaf shinobi and that Seven was on her team.
"Are you ready?" Seven asked as he got up, his eyes still trained on the factory.
Etomi gave the map one last look. "Yeah, I think I''ve got it."
The duo shared specialities; they both had prior experience with infiltration, but Etomi was formulating the optimal route based on Seven''s information. He was going to lead because of his vision, but she was the one who set the overall route.
"Do you understand everything?" she asked after explaining the route and the contingencies in case they were spotted.
"Yes, I''m ready. Let''s go," Seven said, the veins around his eyes becoming more pronounced.
She nodded, and both of them put on their masks. A minute later, they were standing before the doll assembly workshop and started walking towards the factory with Seven in the lead and Etomi following his exact steps. They were walking right towards the factory''s front entrance, something she would never have done, but Seven had said the entrance gave them the most access¡ªand that they could enter without getting seen.
He gestured as they neared the welded chain link gate.. Etomi overtook him and opened the smaller gate within the larger gate soundlessly, using a niche D-rank jutsu that covered the door''s hinges, bolts, knobs, locks¡ªany moving part, really¡ªin chakra, acting as a temporary lubricant.
Etomi entered first and immediately walked up the wall on the left. There was an office window above them on the wall, but it was locked from the inside. She weaved a quick sequence of hand seals, and a needle of wind chakra appeared from her fingertip. The wind needle cut through a section of glass, removing a uniform square using chakra adhesion to access the window latch.
The office was covered in shadow, giving them cover from the people in the building. Seven looked through the building with his Byakugan and updated the location of the people on the first floor for Etomi''s benefit.
"Six has moved to the other end of the hallway. Two and Three left the room and are now on the ground floor," he said.
"Noted," she replied as she updated her mental map. "Proceed without change."
Seven retook the lead. He opened the door to the office but didn''t exit. The corridor before them was open and visible from the ground floor to all workers. Their location was a door across the corridor, leading to the back section of the was also another office on the other side with a huge window and a wide view of the factory floor used by the factory manager, who was currently down on the factory floor.
Seven took a large bolt he had picked out from outside and chucked it down at a set of iron pipes leaning against the wall on the factory floor. As intended, the iron pipes fell to the ground, catching absolutely everyone''s attention.
While everyone was looking at the pipes, two shinobi walked through the corridor and entered the back section.
"One is currently at the water cooler; he has two large bottles."
"Got it."
They proceed through the floor silently. Etomi had done her fair share of infiltrations, and they usually involved a lot of hiding, waiting around, slow movement, and looking around each corner¡ªbut what they were doing was unlike anything she had ever experienced. They were all but strolling through a building she usually would only break into at night when no one was around because of the sheer number of people in a comparatively small space.
But the ledger would mov to an inaccessible location past the evening time, so they had to do it during work hours. But because of Seven, they could just walk because he knew where everyone was and where they were looking.
The water cooler was around the corner, where one of the guards was filling water bottles. With Seven in the lead, they casually entered the janitor''s closet in the hallway and closed the door. Five seconds later, the guard walked past the closet; five seconds after that, the duo exited and continued their walk through the building. Etomi was almost terrified because her experience told her they needed to slow down and be more careful, but her partner''s all-seeing eyes guaranteed they wouldn''t be seen¡ªit was a fresh experience.
They reached the owner''s locked office, but Etomi''s lock-picking skills made short work of the door.
"Switch the lights on," said Etomi as she bee-lined to the vault-safe behind a painting. They didn''t know if the correct ledger was in there because there were at least a dozen leather registers all over the office, but they assumed that with the owner away, they would lock it up.
Seven drew the blinds and turned on the lights.
Etomi laid down her picking tools and went to work on the lock mechanism.
"Six to seven minutes," she said. Seven couldn''t describe the type of vault in the office, so she wasn''t able to give him a specific time.
"Noted."
A minute and a half into her attempt to pick the vault, Seven said, "I''m turning the lights off."
Etomi stopped and held still as the room went dark, and someone walked past the hallway outside the office. Ten seconds later, the lights were back on, and Etomi returned to work. It happened once more at the four-minute mark.
"Are you done?" asked Seven as he checked the registers around the office.
Etomi frowned, "I told you not to ask me that."
"... I think the owner is back," he said as he looked through the building, "and he has three more non-civilians with him. We must leave now, or we must fight our way out." Neither of them wanted that; it would cause too much commotion and have people on their tail.
"I''m done!" Etomi said as the vault opened with a click.
There were three identical black registers in the safe. Etomi hastily flipped to the specified page and checked the last three entries.
"Found it! Let''s go!" said Etomi as she quickly put things back where they were and closed the vault.
The moment they left the office, Seven stopped outside,
"Exit routes A and B are now both blocked... We either hide until they''re open or fight our way out."
After she had opened the vault, Etomi''s mind was racing at full speed. She recalled the map she had drawn and the people in the building.
"Tell me where the eight guards are right now," she said.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Hyuuga Kojuro was doubtful if he should waste time telling Fourteen where everyone was when they could choose a hiding spot, especially when the owner had just finished addressing the workers and was heading up to his office.
"There''s no time," he said.
"Has Three moved from his spot?" she asked.
"No, he has not. Let''s go hide."
Fourteen ignored him and asked, "Is Eight still near the staircase?"
"No, he''s now on the corridor above the factory floor," he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
"What about Two? Is he still sitting with the view of the corner? Can we take the window out in the room next to his?"
Kojuro wasn''t going to answer, but his vision instinctively went to the route she described and was surprised to find that it was a viable exit route if not for Two, who would see them. That route was previously closed because Eight directly blocked it, but it had become open when he moved.
"No, he will see us." He still pulled her to a hiding spot but gave her a reply.
"Where''s Six?" asked Fourteen.
"He''s back to his original position."
"Check this. We take the back staircase, sprint past Six¡ªhe won''t be able to see us from his position¡ªand then take the back emergency exit on the factory floor. It''s not visible, right?"
Kojuro mapped the right and stopped from the hiding spot because he found Fourteen''s route open. They could leave the building without anyone seeing them.
"It''s open. We must hurry," he said while pushing her in the opposite direction.
The two hastily followed the route, barely slipped the guard numbered ''Six'', and reached the emergency exit at the back. Only half a wall separated them from a group of workers, who could move toward them at any time, as the back was also used as storage.
The emergency exit was locked from the inside with a heavy-duty lock. He stepped aside, thinking Fourteen would pick it up with her tools, but she hit the lock with the back of a kunai, and it unlocked. It was loud, but the machinery was louder.
He looked at her in surprise,
"Not a very good lock, this specific model," she whispered as she slipped out of the partially opened door.
They sprinted and used the Body Flicker Jutsu to cover distance until the factory was no longer in sight.
On a rooftop, Kojuro gazed at his partner sitting on the floor, reading the ledger without a hint of emotion on her face, as though all that had happened was a normal day. Because of his eyes, he knew the building and people''s location better than her, but having more information was not the same as being able to use it. He was sure if he had looked, he would''ve been able to find the escape route, but he didn''t think he would''ve been as fast as her.
Not only that, but she continued to look, even though he didn''t think it was worth the risk. When they found that they had an asset retrieval task, he thought he would do all the work because that would be the best use of their resources. He had allowed Fourteen to do the planning to foster teamwork but was ready to reject her ideas if they were terrible.
But he had to admit... Fourteen had made equal contributions on an infiltration task with a Hyuuga teammate, something that almost never happened.
"Absolutely splendid work, Fourteen," he said, a rare impressed smile on his face.
"Huh? Thank you," she said, closing the ledger and standing up. "Let''s see if we can complete another task before sunset."
CH_8.44 (309)
Sune Jakusho had been looking forward to the evening for the entire week. He had been making progress with the geisha, Yuri, and thought it would be another week before her futile resistance would crumble. He didn''t mind her reluctance and defiance¡ªin fact, he appreciated it¡ªthe prize was so much more enjoyable when the hunt was a real challenge.
He had visited her every week without fail, showered her with gifts, and done everything a geisha would expect from a patron. The more she refused to sleep with him, the more he wanted her. It wouldn''t have been different if she had simply been playing hard to get more benefits from him, but she did not go beyond keeping company and making conversation with the men she saw, and that''s what made her so enticing.
Her allure only got stronger when she remained unbudging in the face of increasingly lavish gifts. When wealth and riches didn''t sway her, he tried something else. He made two of her patrons stop seeing her through simple ''persuasion'' and let the news reach her ears that he was behind it. He had been quite charitable to the geisha house itself, granting him some influence, which he used to put pressure on Yuri through her own people.
He put pressure on her from all sides, slowly isolating her.
Jakusho chuckled. He couldn''t wait to see what kind of face she would make today.
"Hey, go faster," he said, kicking the driver''s seat back.
"Y-Yes, sire," said the Jakusho''s civilian driver of two years.
"Bloody useless," Jakusho said to his two lackeys from the gang coming along with him. They would spend some time with some cheap girls because they had no money to spare for finer entertainment, and they enjoyed themselves every week on his dime.
"Are you going to bed the geisha today, big brother?" asked one of his lackeys.
"The longer you cook a stew, the more flavourful it becomes. This one is going to be ready any day now. If not today, next week might be the day I feast," Jakusho said with a haughty smile when he saw the envy in his other lackey''s eyes.
Jakusho craned his neck back and looked up at the sky. His smile went away. He enjoyed playing with his prey as part of the hunt, but there was a limit to his patience. He preferred to be a strategic hunter, but if intricate finesse wasn''t enough, he didn''t mind becoming a butcher and going in for a straightforward kill.
If the woman didn''t understand her role as the whore she was supposed to be, then he didn''t mind showing her the light of reality.
The horse pulling the carriage suddenly neighed loudly, immediately following the carriage screeching to a violent halt and drifting to the side, almost sending the three men flying out of their seats.
"You imbecile! What are you doing!?" Jakusho screamed at the driver and slapped him in the back.
"S-Sire, it''s not my fault," the driver winced in pain, "the carriage in front of us suddenly lost its wheel."
Jakusho didn''t need to be told, as he saw the carriage collapse in the middle of the street.
The back right wheel shattered on the ground when he got up to punish the driver. The people on the street were agitated because of the sudden accident and had moved away from the collapsed carriage while also gathering around the accident because of curiosity.
"Drive around it and be quick. I will cut your pay if I''m late," Jakusho said, shooting a nasty glare at the driver. He clicked his tongue as he returned to his seat. "Fuckers, why do they own carriages when they can''t take care of them."
As the driver tried to get them out of the mess, Jakusho gazed around and saw a beautiful young woman with striking amber eyes. She was looking at him and smiled when their eyes met. He smiled back while giving her a look over. She was wearing a grey cloak covering her entire body, but something in her expression caught her attention.
It was confidence.
The woman was beautiful, and she knew it. More importantly, she didn''t mind using it to her advantage. Jakusho desired to see that kind of confidence shattered and gaze at its broken remains¡ªjust the thought of it brought him pleasure. So when her arm slipped out of her cloak, and she beckoned him with a finger, he went to her while the driver got them out around the accident.
He decided that if the young woman was interesting, she would be his next hunt after he was done with the geisha.
"Brother?"
"Keep still, I''ll be back," he said as he stepped down from the carriage.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
As he walked toward the woman, who stepped out of the crowd of onlookers, a fog-like mist came rolling in on the road, very quickly reaching above the ankle. It was a little too early and warm for the fog season, surprising the people gathered around the intersection as it filled the area. Jakusho, who was pleased with the woman''s straightforwardness and eagerness, paused when she disappeared from his vision, obscured by the fog.
His hand immediately went to his sword as his sense of danger rang.
He had a faint, almost imperceptible sound and looked up just in time to see a figure descending from the sky. The thick mist that reduced visibility gave him no time to react, and thus, he could only swing his sword at his assailant.
The sword hit metal, and the lights from the sparks illuminated a kunai.
A shinobi! Jakusho thought as he also caught a glimpse of the masked figure.
The clash knocked the kunai out of the shinobi''s hand. Jakusho took that as an opportunity and opening to attack, but before he could move, four kunai were thrust toward him. Once again, the mist made it so that he could only see them at the last second.
He held his breath as he parried them all before they could draw blood. The sparks created a second of light, and he made out his assailant''s leaf-patterned mask. He also noticed that he didn''t hear the deflected kunai hit the ground. But before he could decide if he wanted to fall back or attack to reverse the momentum, a kunai flew for his heart at a lightning-fast speed, which he barely avoided by shifting his body so that it would hit his arm.
Jakusho groaned in pain, but it only served to sharpen his sense of danger. By now, he was fully cognisant that someone was trying to kill him. He suspected that the broken carriage before them was part of the plan to trap him in the place.
He ignored the kunai stuck in his arm. His breathing turned deeper as he assumed the correct stance.
In the face of a barrage of kunai, his sword moved with the principle of water''s fluidity, every subsequent strike seamlessly flowing from its predecessor. What he initially thought were kunai thrown at him, he now recognised as being held by something obscured from his vision by the mist.
"You made a mistake coming after me, shinobi!"
A glowing translucent layer of chakra flooded around his sword, assuming the shape of a longer and broader blade. The samurai''s kenjutsu allowed them to flow chakra through their blades to grant them increased cutting and destructive potential, along with the ability to mould chakra around the sword into any shape they desired.
As Jakusho swung his sword around, any mist that came into contact with the sword''s chakra.
It was one of the samurai kenjutsu''s core properties. The ability to cut through anything it touched, treating wood and steel as though they were the same. It could even cut through shinobi''s ninjutsu. Anything that came in contact with it was destroyed.
A crescent of chakra shot out of the sword as he swung, spreading as it moved out, destroying any and all mist it touched. It was the second core property. The ability to blast out the special kenjutsu chakra into the distance, granting them range.
The mist redistributed itself into the empty spaces, but it was lighter than before, allowing him to see slightly better. He could vaguely make out the wriggling appendages around his assailant.
"Big brother!"
"Stay away if you don''t want to be killed by ac¡ª"
The shinobi struck while Jakusho spoke, catching him on the back foot. He parried and blocked the floating kunai held up by appendages. Two more appendages suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked hard, forcing him to shuffle to maintain his balance.
"You fucker!" he cursed as he swung his sword to cut through the appendages, and when they hit the ground, he realised it was water because it splashed him.
He flowed into his next attack and raised his sword up to swing it down as the shinobi threw a punch which was never going to reach him because of the distance, but a force hit Jakusho on his face, startling him and throwing him off before he could swing his sword.
He didn''t know what hit him. Another shinobi ninjutsu? But he recovered quickly and raised his guard as the shinobi moved in close. His eyes tracked the water appendages and the kunai¡ªbut the shinobi punched him. Jakusho raised his arm to block it as he readied the sword in his other hand for the counterattack¡ªhe was going to cut his head off.
The plan to counterattack didn''t come to fruition when he felt his arm crack as a ruinous force assaulted his arm.
"Argh!" he screamed as he felt his arm grow heavy as it failed due to his broken arm.
He gritted his teeth and haphazardly struck out a kick that somehow connected, pushing the shinobi one step away, which wasn''t enough. He slashed with his sword to launch a chakra crescent, which the shinobi couldn''t ignore easily and ducked while rolling sideways.
I need to escape. He no longer wanted to confront the shinobi with a broken arm. He knew that if he engaged the shinobi for another minute, other samurai would arrive at the scene, and he would have a backup, but he didn''t like the risk that came with the plan. It was better to escape and cause as much commotion as possible in hopes that it would scare the shinobi away.
Jakusho turned in the opposite direction as the shinobi rolled away and dug into his pocket for a smoke bomb when he felt cold metal dig through his back before the sharp pain made him stop. He turned back to see the cloaked woman he had met at the roadside step away from him with his blood on her hands.
"Y-You¡ª"
Anger overrode pain as he raised his sword to strike her down. Four more kunai hit him in his side¡ª one slipped between his ribs, two tore into his thighs, one ripped his oblique apart, but the one that did him in went through his neck. The woman had stepped away but charged him the moment he was hit, stabbed him in the heart with a kunai, and pushed him to the ground.
He had already lost strength in his body and collapsed like a sack. As his body went cold and his blood pooled on the road, the last thing Jakusho heard was a conversation between his assassins.
"Let''s leave before trouble arrives," said the woman to the masked man who walked closer.
"Yeah, just one moment," said the man before he knelt beside him and took out the first kunai that had hit him in the arm.
Jakusho mustered all of his strength to grab the man''s arm while he cried, which only came out as blood gurgles because of the kunai in his neck. The man didn''t even need to put any strength to shrug off his hand.
"Rest. Everything''s over now," said the man softly.
Those were Jakusho''s last words before the man ended his life with one last stab.
CH_8.45 (310)
When the local newspaper hit the streets in the early morning, the article about the robbery at the high-ranking samurai''s house became the topic of discussion and chatter among the city populace. It wasn''t something they hadn''t seen before, but it was rare enough to be a once-a-year sighting.
It was expected to be talked about for a couple more days as more details about the case and comments from the investigators came up¡ªbut by the time evening rolled around, another incident had captured the city''s attention.
One of the local radio stations had been broadcasting a developing news story throughout the day,
"Those who are just tuning in for the first time today, let me recap the situation we at 101FM have been following from its first sighting... Around eight in the morning today, a bathhouse in the Middle Candle district suddenly went up in flames. The fire spread fast and hot, and the firefighters couldn''t stop it before it had already completely covered the beloved community relaxation spot... Fortunately, the bathhouse hadn''t opened for business, and the staff had escaped before the fire consumed the building.
"According to our sources, the fire started in the boiler room, and the cause seemed to be a fault in the machinery... While tragic for the owners and a loss for the community, the story would''ve ended there"¡ª the jockey paused and let the silence linger to build just the right amount of silence ¡ª"but we wouldn''t be talking about if it did¡ª because roughly half an hour later, a fire exploded in a restaurant across the district, decimating the popular eatery; once again, no lives were lost as the staff managed to escape... The cause was seemingly identified as a leak in the gas line. An unfortunate coincidence? It sure seemed like that way. But at that time, we didn''t know that there was so much brewing in the shadows and that the Ember Imperial City had a huge problem on its hands...
"Three hours later, once again, in the Middle Candle district, a small worker''s dorm went down in yet another bizarre fire... Now, you don''t need me to tell you that something is wrong when three separate buildings around the district burn down in the span of three hours... These fires were set deliberately. There''s a shady arsonist who''s going around setting buildings around the Middle Candle district on fire. You don''t need to take my word for it because samurai began investigating the incidents after the third fire¡ªbut as though the arsonist was saying that he was not scared of them, he claimed a warehouse in the district as his fourth target around noon.
"After four fires in a single day, the Middle Court district is now under a lockdown, and samurai roam the streets to deter the arsonist from continuing his spree while they try to catch him¡ªand it seems to work as three hours have passed with no activity." The jockey paused and sighed as the soft music behind him filled the silence. "Unfortunately, half an hour ago, we received news about a fifth fire in the Middle Candle district. It took us time to gather and confirm the facts from our sources, which was difficult because the samurai were turning everyone away...
"The fires till now have been at places of business; however, this fire was at a residential neighbourhood where a house was burned. It was the home of one Mister Higurashi, who actually owned the worker''s dorm targeted by the arsonist... It seems these fires are not random, and the arsonist has a reason to target the ones he did. We don''t know what those reasons are right now, but we do have a new piece of information¡ª
"Until now, the arsonist had gone unseen, but this time, one of the neighbours caught a glance of the criminal, and they described him to be a man wearing green and grey shinobi-styled combat gear and a mask¡ªand he saw them skipping roofs... It seems our arsonist is not a normal bloke but someone who might be versed in the shinobi arts. So, now the question is..."
The voice of the jockey faded as the volume of the radio was turned down by Zakahira Nozan, the son of Zakahira Mahachi, whose house had been robbed the day before.
"Did you catch that, father?" Nozan asked as he turned the volume knob. "The arsonist wore green-and-grey clothes with a mask... Do you think he''s the same man?"
"Perhaps he is," said Mahachi from behind the desk in his study. He glanced at the empty spot on the wall where the twin daggers sat.
"But what about the woman?" Nozan wondered aloud.
"The man getting spotted doesn''t mean he''s alone¡ªit can also mean that the woman went undetected. Five fires in a day is a lot; the risk of mistake, capture, or getting spotted increases with each subsequent fire¡ªespecially with the lockdown. It''s a reasonable assumption that he didn''t do it alone," said Mahachi before going silent
Nozan gazed at his, who looked deep in thought.
"What is it? Did you notice something?" he asked.
"It''s uncommon for a team to take on tasks so different, and that too, in such a short period of time off. They stole from our home yesterday and then set fires to buildings today? No, something feels wrong here... I think these might be two different teams tackling their own jobs. However, I think they''re related to each other," said Mahachi as he stood up from his chair, "and if we catch the arsonists, we might be able to get the thieves..."
Nozan stood up, "Let''s go help them catch these bastards."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A cautious Sixteen stood inside a tiny bar run by a single man as a hobby, who only opened it on days when his friends wanted to drink and catch up, which, with different friend groups, came up to three times a week. It was such a hobby that he only opened it for friends, associates, and acquaintances and took no actual customers.
The bar made no money because the price of drinks was kept at a level that allowed it to stay afloat without making a loss. The owner had a different source of income. And because he owned the land on which the bar stood, he didn''t even have to pay rent.
That unfortunate owner, who had only opened the bar for a few hours, was sprawled on the floor, knocked out by Sixteen, who was currently pouring down kerosene and liquor bottles all over the building. Some liquors were far too valuable to waste, so he stored away a few very expensive bottles he planned to gift to the ANBU-nin conducting the recruitment. Anything to increase his chances of getting the job.
He had already set a bathhouse and warehouse on fire, and they were very difficult to burn without attracting attention, which was why he had left the tiny bar with a single man as an obstacle as his last target.
"Alright, up you go," he grunted as he stowed the bar owner over his shoulder and left out from the back exit, where he settled the man against the wall over the adjacent building.
He weaved hand seals for a D-rank Fire Release jutsu and three spinners of fire into the bar to set the kerosene and alcohol on fire. The accelerants started burning immediately, and the fire spread almost too fast¡ªbut he had done it twice already and wasn''t surprised by the speed.
Sixteen closed the door and picked up the owner before dumping him at a safe distance.
Setting the bar on fire was easy; the hard part was leaving the Middle Candle district unseen, which had only gotten more difficult as the samurai''s presence had grown stronger. If it were just samurai, he wouldn''t have worried as much because there weren''t enough numbers to lock the area down¡ªbut when you added civilian patrolmen, moving around became a real challenge.
With his work finally done, he decided to take zero risk as he exited the district and spent an entire hour covering the distance, which would''ve only taken him fifteen to twenty minutes.
"Why are you so late? I''ve been worrying that they got you," said Five, his partner for the missions in the Ember Imperial City.
"I had to change targets," sighed Sixteen as he stepped on the roof of an apartment building.
His initial target was a teashop, but he had to abandon it because there was a heavy samurai and patrolman presence in the area, so he switched to his backup, the bar, which he found doable.
"You let them see you," Sixteen said pointedly to Five, who looked sheepish for a moment before shrugging.
"It doesn''t matter. Three and Thirteen already leaked our ''appearance'' yesterday," he said with air quotes. They had read the news about the robbery at the samurai''s house in the newspaper, which accurately described the candidate''s gear. The reason they knew it was Three and Thirteen was because the robbers were a man and a woman¡ªand between the two teams with a woman, they weren''t going to think the Seven-Fourteen team with a Hyuga would let anyone see them.
Sixteen couldn''t argue against that. He stepped next to a rusty table they found on the roof, which had a city map sitting flat on it. An area of the map was outlined, and multiple locations were marked in pen inside it. The marked locations ranged from restaurants, workshops, and warehouses to residential houses, worker dorms, and bathhouses.
All those properties were owned by people associated with a territory-based group who controlled the outlined area by owning and operating properties and businesses, allowing them to impose their own local rules and influence how things were done in the area.
Their informant task involved arson. The group that controlled the outlined area had grown too strong an influence over it to the point where they had begun to sway how the government funding allocated for the area''s development and maintenance was used¡ªand had begun using it not for the overall area''s improvement but for their personal gain.
Their objective was to destroy key locations and bring scrutiny to them to weaken the group''s influence and stop their illegal practices.
"You could have just returned without doing the third location," said Five as he also gazed at the map.
The mission only asked them to target any four locations, but the two decided to split up, and target three locations each to be safe in case one of them couldn''t fulfil all the targets, the other would make up for the deficit.
"I didn''t feel good about not pulling my weight," said Sixteen.
"Get changed quickly. I''m hungry, and you lost the bet," said Five.
They had made a bet about who could complete their three targets first; the loser would pay for dinner.
"First, we go alert the informant," said Sixteen as he began undressing to change into his civilian clothes.
"Of course... Just one more task remaining," Five said with a long sigh.
They had been away from their houses for over a week. It wasn''t a particularly long time for a mission, but other missions had highs and lows. The test had been a constant high gear because they didn''t know when the ANBU would throw something at them. Even during their free time at the camp, they had been occupied by evaluating and being cautious of their competition being in such close proximity.
Fatigue was natural in the circumstances, and they had no idea if things would end in the Ember Imperial City.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Oh, you''re done?" said the informant when Takuma and Three sat in front of him while he was drinking at a roadside bar. He munched on a plate of fried chicken and other drinking food spread on the table. "Do you want to drink? I''m not paying though."
"We just came to inform you because you asked us," said Three.
"Can you make it quick? We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow," said Takuma as he rotated his tired shoulder. He was hungry because he hadn''t eaten since early morning, and they still had to discuss the bounty hunt they were going to tackle tomorrow before they could sleep and rest for the day. He wanted to wrap things quickly so he could sleep even a minute more.
"Right, you do have a busy day tomorrow," said the informant with a chuckle before breaking into laughter while slapping his thighs. "Man, those guys can be so amusing sometimes!"
"I don''t feel very good about this," Three leaned in to whisper, furrowing her brows in worry.
"Neither do I," said Takuma before speaking to the drunk man. "What do you mean?"
The informant rested his chubby chin on his thick palm and stared at them with half-lidded eyes, his face red from drinking. There was a few seconds of silence on the table before the informant pulled out a set of four scrolls strapped together.
"Here''s your second, surprise task... I hope you weren''t thinking about sleeping tonight."
CH_8.46 (311)
A silence hung between Takuma and Three as they sat in their shared inn suite. It was their second inn due to their decision to switch places daily. They sat in comfortable chairs opposite each other around a circular table, but the set of four open scrolls given to them by the informant, along with the separate third task scroll, distracted them away from relaxing after a busy day of planning an assassination.
"Want to split up?" asked Takuma.
"No," Three gave the same reply as before.
"We don''t have any time."
"Then we make do with what we got."
"It''s not going to be easy."
"I''m not the one complaining."
Takuma sighed as he massaged his temples from the headache that threatened to break out any second. They had kept the sustainable pace of one task per day to complete three tasks before the deadline. Following the pace allowed them to plan their actions to reduce the risk of failure, and it worked as they managed to complete their missions without major complications.
But now they had two tasks to complete in one day.
The third task was a bounty hunt; they had information about the target''s whereabouts inside the city, but getting to her was challenging as samurai guarded the location. It was the most difficult task yet, and they had left it to the last because in case something went wrong, it wouldn''t have interfered with the other two tasks.
However, the informant''s new task revolved around a shipment of explosive tags, which was being delivered at a meeting between the supplier and the buyer, where the tags would be exchanged for payment. The motive behind the task was to disrupt the two parties who had ties to illegal and terror elements in the Land of Fire.
They needed to destroy the explosive tags and impede the payment¡ªwhich would prevent the tags from reaching the wrong hands and harming both parties as they would be out of money.
"The meeting is at three in the morning," said Three.
"Which means we will need to get there earlier to scout the location before either of the parties get there," said Takuma.
The problem with the informant''s new task was that the only information they had was the location and timing of the meeting. They didn''t know the two party''s identities, where they were based, or anything else that would give them any flexibility in completing the task.
"We''ll have to complete the bounty before eleven, or noon at the latest, if we want to make it to the location," Three groaned in irritation.
The bounty target''s location and the meeting location were forty minutes apart if nothing went wrong. In reality, they had to mark an hour for travel. It would''ve been shorter if they could jump over roofs without fear, but they couldn''t do that in the Ember Capital City, and they had to be more careful after the arsons by another team, which had samurai turning over the entire city for anything suspicious.
"We need to start early. As that fucking fatso said, no sleep tonight," said Takuma.
"If I had something on me, I would''ve spiked his drink to just... absolutely ruin his night," Three clicked her tongue. "The fucking bastard."
Takuma nodded in agreement. He had some choice words of his own, but he was too fed up to talk shit. He sat up straighter and picked up the bounty scroll.
The target''s name was Kinohei Ukuri, a former Leaf shinobi who had retired from service after completing her ten-year contract as a genin. Like many others who retired, she went to do independent work that required her shinobi skills. However, unlike most of those who were in her position, who only got work as security and thugs for the rich and unsavoury people, Ukuri not only managed to find success but was able to grow her capabilities¡ªwhich was extremely challenging for those who had left the shinobi service.
Access to resources was fairly limited for those not affiliated with a hidden village. Perhaps she was a late bloomer, but she grew to a point where she and her work caught the Hidden Leaf''s attention; they invited her back into service with a possible chunin rank promotion in the near future.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Ukuri refused the offer, preferring to stay independent¡ªwhich didn''t please the Hidden Leaf. To pressure her, they began to offer discounted services to her clients on the condition they dropped her. It worked in the sense that she lost most of her clients, but she didn''t buckle like they expected and refused to accept the offer.
Soon after, Ukuri disappeared from the market. For a while, it seemed like she had decided to stop taking shinobi work. Her absence wasn''t permanent as she returned¡ªonly this time, she started taking jobs against the Hidden Leaf.
Most former shinobi weren''t willing to take jobs that involved going against Leaf shinobi for fear of retaliation, but those willing were paid handsomely¡ªand Ukuri quickly became a very popular option due to her willingness to accept jobs and her sky-high success rate.
By the time Leaf decided to brand her as a hostile, she had already become a problem but also had gained some powerful connections in the Daimyo''s court and among the samurai by doing some work for them.
Her presence as a competition made the Leaf look bad, so they decided to eliminate her. They forged a job that would be very attractive to Ukuri, and as expected, she accepted it. They planned to assassinate her during the job, but they underestimated her, and she escaped after killing most of the team that had gone after her.
Since then, she had been hiding in the Ember Capital City and used her connections to get protection from the samurai¡ªwhich blocked the Leaf from going after her openly as she was considered a guest of one of the nobles close to the Daimyo.
Three months ago, a bounty was raised on Kinohei Ukuri''s head. The sponsor who posted the bounty kept their identity anonymous, but it was clear that the Hidden Leaf was the sponsor as they had just tried to kill her. The Hidden Leaf denied their involvement with the bounty and refuted ever sending their shinobi to assassinate Ukuri.
"I think we should strike somewhere around dawn so we don''t have a time conflict with the informant''s task," said Takuma with a sigh, "but it will be tough to scout the place in darkness."
"But it will be easier to attack during dawn when people are still sleeping," Three said as she fully rested in her chair. "And well, the graveyard squad tends to be B-teams¡ªthey''ll be easier to handle than whatever they have during the day."
"On the other hand, the response team will be faster," said Takuma.
Ukuri''s current location was one of the noble''s properties. It was a mansion and two secondary buildings built on a sizable fenced property with around-the-clock samurai protection. In case something went wrong, anyone inside the property could send a call out for help, and because there''s less overall activity during the dawn when roads are empty, external help would arrive faster.
"The benefits outweigh the limitations and disadvantages," said Three.
"Agreed then?" he asked.
"Agreed. What about the meeting?"
"We rush across the city, scout the place, and well... rain down on them during the meeting."
"Wow, that''s crude," Three scoffed.
Takuma shrugged. "There''s no use to think about complicated details when we don''t know the composition of the two groups or the meeting location. It''s better to leave it all to the future you and I¡ªit''s their problem, not ours," he said as he got up with a yawn. "Let''s check our gear and head out."
He was getting anxious from only thinking about plans and wanted to get out in the field where he wouldn''t have time for that.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Now that I think about it, we never discussed the bounty office," said Three as they took a break from scouting the target property.
It was pitch dark; the city sky, layered with pollution, was overcast as well, which meant it was particularly dark. The low visibility slowed down their scouting process as they had to observe locations which weren''t near light sources closely.
Takuma lowered a water canteen from his mouth and wiped his lips on his sleeve. "To be honest, I don''t know what''s the best time to go." The bounty task didn''t end with killing the target. They would have to go to the bounty office in the city and confirm the kill. "The moment we kill the target, the samurai will realise that it''s us because of her bounty and will head straight for the bounty offices in the city."
All bounty offices across the Elemental Nations were run by the same organisation and were independent of shinobi, samurai, and any other military organisation. They were treated as neutral territory and were allowed to exist even in places like hidden villages and nation capitals as shinobi, samurai, and others in the mercenary business used them as they were a great bridge between them and civilians.
Bounty offices were known to be fair and reliable to the point that it was a great shock when one of them made a mistake. Moreover, the bounty offices were too big of an entity for any one shinobi nation to take control of it. They also realised that an independent entity managing the bounty office was to their benefit as there was too much friction between the nations for them to take over their territory''s offices and maintain communication.
"They won''t interfere with business while we''re in the office, but the moment we leave the premises, we will be arrested," Takuma sighed. "Our best bet is to head to the bounty office right after we are done here¡ªbut even then, I think there''ll be too much risk. I wonder how the others will handle the problem¡ªany ideas?"
If it was any other time, they could''ve just skipped town and gone to another bounty office, but they didn''t have time to do that.
"Maybe," said Three with a flat look, "it''s too vague now. I''ll need time to think about it before we can discuss it."
Takuma gazed at her; he could tell that she was hiding something. Three gazed back; she knew he wanted to know what she was hiding. However, there was no way for him to force her into revealing her secrets.
"Be quick about it," said Takuma. It wasn''t also the right time to get information out of her.
She smiled. "Sure will."
Even though he didn''t like it, as long as she worked toward their mutual benefit, he didn''t mind letting her keep her secrets.
After all, he had a few of those himself.
CH_8.47 (312)
Yamanaka Amami scouted the estate in the cover of the night. The main building and one of the secondary buildings, which seemed to be the guard quarters, were well-lit¡ªbut the rest of the grounds were covered in darkness. As long as she stayed clear of a couple of lamp posts around the property, she could observe the main building for as long as she liked.
Ukuri was inside the main building¡ªthe one with three samurai stationed around it. Two lazed on chairs, leaving one vigilant samurai to patrol the longest section of the building. She glanced at the other secondary building used as the staff quarters. It was dark, which made it a preferable entry and exit route.
It would be best if they entered through the wall behind the staff quarters, using the darkness to their advantage and took out the vigilant samurai first. He''d be the biggest problem if they failed to kill Ukuri stealthily. Taking out the vigilant samurai would also create a clear escape route in case Ukuri made noise.
Amami observed for a bit more before carefully leaving the estate and regrouping with Thirteen and informing him of her plan.
"The back right of the estate is dark; we should go in from there and remove the samurai actively patrolling the long side."
As she expected, Thirteen frowned and immediately questioned her suggestion.
"That''s risky," he said. "We could alert everyone by confronting him. What if the target wakes up and decides to foot it out of here to avoid the entire situation?"
Since they started working together two days ago, he had questioned her suggestions and advice at every turn. While she was relieved that he wasn''t an imbecilic asshole¡ªand that he listened to her, and if her suggestions made sense, which they always did, he would readily accepted her ideas upon realising they made sense¡ªit was a little irritating that he had to get a word in every time.
I could just take over the samurai''s body, and we could finish him silently, thought Amami¡ªnot that she''d actually do it unless strictly necessary. The Yamanaka clan practised their Mind-Body hiden jutsu, allowing them to possess their target''s body and scour their minds if they wished. Their jutsu wasn''t protected by an inherent requirement like bloodline, and anyone could learn it, but they wouldn''t gain the same proficiency as a Yamanaka.
Not only had the clan created the jutsu so that it would work the best for them, but the Yamanaka themselves had evolved through the generations to adapt to the jutsu¡ªresulting in their clan''s jutsu being categorised as a hiden jutsu, or simply, hijutsu.
The Akimichi clan''s Calorie Control and the Nara clan''s Shadow Manipulation were also categorised as hiden jutsu. Seven, the Hy¨±ga, couldn''t hide his bloodline limit because of his d¨jutsu, but she could hide her hiden jutsu simply by not using it. The candidates didn''t know if the ANBU had something more planned for them, so keeping some of her cards hidden to retain an advantage would be beneficial.
Amami glanced at Thirteen. The boy had been surprisingly open to showing his skills. She knew he could use genjutsu; he possessed a chakra augmentation jutsu, which meant he preferred taijutsu; finally, he used Water Release on the ninjutsu front. There was no way for her to know everything about him but Amami knew it was enough to gain an advantage during combat.
"You can use genjutsu to silence him," she answered, starting another conversation to make him understand line of thinking, "like you did with the old woman at the samurai''s house."
"The paralysis worked as well as it did because she was a civilian." Thirteen shook his head. "This is a samurai with chakra training. My control over the genjutsu will not be anywhere as strong as it was on the old madam."
"So you can''t paralyse him?" She sighed. It was her way of subtly challenging him.
In the short time they knew each other, she noticed he did not like it when she would speak down to him¡ªnobody did. Thirteen, however, happened to be the sort of person who would do something about it. He was quick to bite back when someone assumed things about him. His usual bland tongue would sharpen and he''d throw a dig of his own instead of calmly explaining that he could.
She wanted to smile when Thirteen''s eyes narrowed.
"I can do it," he said.
"Are you sure?"
"I just said that I can do it¡ªkeep up."
"Great, it''s decided then."
Amami wasn''t being reckless by ignoring the risk that Thirteen might fail. Something told her that he had an appetite for risk and understood the value of the risk-reward equation. In the assassination, he decided to kill the target in the middle of a busy street¡ªbut all of his suggestions and opinions played it safe.
She realised it was because he didn''t trust her and was compensating by choosing options that left room for mistakes¡ªbut in doing so, he made things needlessly complicated.
Amami was simply pushing him just enough that they could hit the sweet spot.
"...So, no qualms against someone just trying to make a living?" she asked him.
Amami was surprised at how clearly the scroll stated that the bounty on Ukuri''s head was because she offended the Hidden Leaf. One would think the ANBU would try to sugarcoat it so the duo would feel better about killing her, but they had very bluntly put the situation before them.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
It didn''t change her mind or anything, but it warranted some introspection on her part.
"...They''re testing us by being so straightforward," said Thirteen as though reading her mind. "They most probably want to see if we will complete the mission despite our feelings about the situation. They wouldn''t want to hire someone whose personal views interfere with every mission."
"You will do anything as long as they say it''s a test?" she asked, curious at how he''d rationalised such a thing. She had been involved in a couple of assassination missions where the target hadn''t done anything averse to her and would even be considered innocent from certain points of view, but had he?
"Those who kill must be ready to be killed. The lives of us shinobi aren''t valuable enough to warrant guilt or hesitation. Besides, by killing a shinobi, you rid the world of a killer¡ªnet positive in the end."
"That''s a rather grim view of your own profession, of your own self, don''t you think?" she asked. As a shinobi herself, she thought her life had immense value not only to herself but to a good crowd of people.
Thirteen didn''t reply, and Amami didn''t feel like she should push it.
"But if you kill a shinobi, wouldn''t the number of killers stay the same?" she asked to move past the heaviness of the topic.
"Kill two then," he replied.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The moment twilight began, and the sky started to lighten, they infiltrated the property from the darkest portion of the boundary and slipped past the staff quarters. It was reasonable that some staff would wake up early to prepare for the day, so they had to be quick to keep their footprint minimum.
The plan was to exit after ten to twelve minutes.
The vigilant samurai patrolling his route suddenly heard a clicking sound from a few trees and thick bushes at a distance.
"Cricket?" he muttered to himself. It sounded off to him. Having been focused his entire shift, he strayed from his position momentarily and approached the trees to get a better listen.
As he approached, the sound got clearer and louder, and it became apparent that it wasn''t a cricket but something else entirely.
Before the samurai could even get the chance to register suspicion, his body froze up, and he found himself paralysed, unable even to shift his weight over his legs. As the panic rose, Three emerged from the thick bushes and stabbed the man in his chest, almost instantly killing him. Not wasting any time, she dragged his body into the bushes, where Takuma helped her hide it before they swiftly closed in on the main building.
They had scouted the building for several hours but never had an indoor view of the main building; as such, they couldn''t be sure that there weren''t samurai stationed inside. However, it was unlikely for someone on guard duty to not step out for fresh air or stretch their legs in the time they had been observing.
With that assumption, they entered the building through an open door. They remained cautious and quiet in case their assumption turned out to be false. Fortunately, the house seemed empty, with no guard presence.
The next problem was to find the target''s bedroom. As they traversed the house, they had to be utterly silent to prevent alerting the samurai outside and the Ukuri. As the minutes passed, the tension between the duo rose until, five minutes later, they found the bedroom.
As Takuma grabbed the handle to pull the sliding door open, Three stopped him and gestured for him to step aside, after which she inspected the door. He didn''t know what she was doing and simply observed as she took out a rigid wire and slipped it between the gap in the door to check if it was bobby-trapped.
Clear, she gestured.
Takuma nodded and took out a kunai as Three slowly opened the door. The room had no bed-frame bed, and Ukuri had pulled her futon away from the door and was facing the door.
The moment Takuma entered the room, he threw his kunai for her throat.
Three looked surprised at his sudden action¡ªbut it was the right choice as Ukuri''s eyes snapped open an instant before the kunai hit her but she had no time to react to the kunai tearing through her throat.
Three reacted quickly and rushed towards Ukuri while she was still in shock and unable to even think, much less do anything directly to defend herself. She finished her off with a stab to the heart, Ukuri''s hand trembled as she went for Three''s mask, drawing on it with her blood. The strength left her fingers, and her arm went limp as life extinguished inside her body.
Takuma used a dagger to remove Ukuri''s middle and ring finger from the base as proof of assassination for the bounty office. The most preferred proof was the entire body or the head¡ªwhich would get them the money the quickest as the verification could be done on the spot¡ªbut they didn''t care about the money, and the risk of carrying an entire body without a storage scroll was too much.
"Let''s go," Takuma whispered as he bagged the fingers.
They left the estate without alerting the guards just as the sun became visible over the horizon and immediately split up with the plan to rendezvous at the bounty office .
Twenty minutes later, Takuma entered the bounty office located within a single-storey building. The office itself was built in the basement and accessible from the outside. The plain, white-painted metal pipe railings along the concrete steps leading to the green heavy metal gates set the tone.
If Takuma had to describe the interior, it would be¡ª all function, zero form.
The interior was a reception area with not a single piece of furniture possessing aesthetic purpose. The reception desk looked like it was from another era. There were three types of mismatched waiting chairs without a care for uniformity and even the wall posters existed solely for instructional reasons.
Takuma stepped to the reception desk and rang the bell. There were two doors behind the desk¡ªa single-panel door and a double-panel door¡ªwhich closed off the rest of the building from the reception. Thirty seconds later, a stout man exited the single door with a bored expression. He looked at Takuma, and the blood on him made him click his tongue with unhidden dissatisfaction.
"Do you want to claim or register a bounty?" he asked.
"Claim."
"Name or reference number?"
"Kinohei Ukuri."
The man curled a brow when he heard the name, but it went back down almost immediately. "What proof do you have?"
"Two fingers."
"Show me. Don''t put them on the table," said the man quickly.
Takuma held the fingers in the small pouch and put it in the man''s gloved hand, who then took out one and gazed at it for a moment. "I can only issue the reward after I have confirmed the kill. It will take a week. After I confirm it, you can collect your reward." The man reached into his pocket and took out a token. It was stamped in the middle, surrounded by a blue-coloured outer ring. "Bring this back in a week and not a day before. You can show up a year later for all I care¡ªbut you need this token. Anyone who has this token will be given the reward."
"Understood," said Takuma as he put the token into one of his pockets. "Anything else?"
"No, nothing."
Takuma turned around and left without another word.
He was nervous as he stepped out. He feared that someone would be waiting to catch him¡ªbut he breathed a sigh of relief when the street was as empty as it should have been.
He caught a glimpse of Three on the edge of the street before she disappeared, which meant the situation was clear.
He weaved hand seals for the Body Flicker Jutsu and did the same himself.
CH_8.48 (313)
Agando Morosumu, a.k.a Four, felt a bead of sweat slip down his face. He sat in a restaurant with food before him, but had no appetite because he was in the middle of a task, and his target was aware of his presence.
Two tables down, he could feel three men glancing at him. One of them had a bounty target on his head that the ANBU wanted him to reap and claim with his partner. They had been following their target since the morning he had left his house, and somewhere along the line, he noticed.
Speaking of his partner, Ten was sitting opposite him, eating three men''s worth of food without a care in the world, as though he had come to the restaurant to eat and not because their target entered it.
"Is this really okay?" he asked with a gulp.
The muscled man with a glorious afro raised a finger, gesturing to him to wait a moment as he finished chewing his food.
"You sure are one worrisome fellow, Four. Like I''ve been saying, it''s fine," he stretched his words. "And look at that; you haven''t touched your food. You better hurry up and eat before they leave."
"They''re suspicious, Ten," Four whispered.
"I know, and it works well for us," said Ten as he munched on a leg piece.
"What if he decides to hide to avoid us? It''s the last day; we will be screwed!" said Four.
Their other two tasks had gone exceptionally well; they had sabotaged some machinery in a samurai-guarded factory as their first task, and then they had kidnapped a man and delivered him to a designated place where a woman asked them to wait for an hour¡ªafter which, she came out with one of his kidneys that they delivered to a sprawling mansion.
Four closed his eyes and covered his face at the memory. He didn''t know the man, but had done something terrible to him. He tried to console himself that perhaps the man had consented to donate his kidney¡ªbut that excuse was shot down internally almost immediately¡ªif the man had consented, why would he need to be kidnapped?
Since yesterday, the thought he had done something terrible to an innocent man would not leave him be. To make things worse, they had picked him up near his house, so they knew he had a family¡ªtwo energetic boys and a loving wife.
Four glanced at Ten, who had been extremely pissed when he realised what he was part of. Despite his tall, muscular stature and intense features, Ten had a friendly face and gave out a relaxed vibe¡ªbut the moment they found out why they had kidnapped the man, he went deathly silent and looked like he was ready to kill.
Four was worried that he would do something reckless, but Ten opted to finish the task before returning to the woman who had removed the man''s kidney. She told them that she had returned the man to his house¡ªwhich they confirmed to be true. The man was alive and back with his family.
It was the only silver lining of the whole ordeal.
Ten was back to normal in the morning, but Four could tell he didn''t want to discuss it.
"We will automatically fail our task," Four stressed.
"Well, you''re not wrong. If he shakes us off, they might go into hiding," said Ten, freaking him out.
"Then¡ª!"
"But these guys aren''t going to do that."
"What makes you so sure?"
"They would''ve already made a run for it," said Ten as he ate. "This is the type that believes in solving the problem instead of running away from it. I''m as sure as I can be that they''re planning to confront and kill us."
"Fuck that," said Four, rolling his eyes. He wasn''t going to die on a recruitment test. He was more concerned with failing the recruitment.
"Killing us would give them time to decide what they want to do next. You saw that house, it was prime real estate; no one would abandon a place like that. Moreover, killing us will send a signal to others that it''s dangerous to go after them. And in case they do want to change their base, killing us gives them time to set their affairs in order."
"So why haven''t they done anything yet?"
"The same reason we haven''t done anything yet.." Ten''s eyes wandered for a moment. "I think they''re done with their prep, though... get ready for action, Four."
The three men, their target among them, walked past their table. Neither side glanced at the other despite being acutely aware of what they had come to do.
"See? You should''ve eaten when you had the chance. Let''s go now. It''s time for action," Ten got up and patted him on his shoulder.
Four looked at his untouched plate and sighed as he left the table and followed Ten. They followed the three men through the city for an hour, taking them to the city''s edge. Their surroundings turned to an underdeveloped outskirt with farmland and dull factories in the distance with no people in sight.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
It was the perfect place to fight and kill without gaining attention.
"Nice going! This place is perfect," Ten addressed the three men.
Four had his lips pressed into a line because they were at a numbers disadvantage with two against three. Even though they only had a single target, they had to face three men. The Fugazo Triplets were a mercenary trio trained in shinobi arts who hadn''t been part of any shinobi village¡ªhaving learned their craft from ex-shinobi.
They operated mostly in the Land of Wind but had moved to the Land of Fire after they caught too much heat from the Hidden Sand and the Wind Daimyo''s samurai. Their bounty''s sponsor was hidden, but the information from ANBU claimed that it was the Wind samurai.
Making only one of them a target felt like ANBU jerking them around.
"Which one of you is Fugazo Ren?" Ten asked straightforwardly.
The three men were identical to the point where they felt like clones rather than triplets. The only defining feature was their gear, which, while also identical, had some quirks, but that didn''t help them identify which one of the triplets was their target.
Which meant they had to kill all three to be sure they had their target.
Or we could kill one and claim him to be our target, thought Four, but Ten filed the idea as a last option, opting to kill the right target before resorting to what he deemed as a last-ditch effort.
As expected, the triplets didn''t respond. They were known to take all of their jobs together and were considered a package deal¡ªmarking one of the triplets was the same as going after all three.
"We only want Fugazo Ren," said Four, giving it a try. "The other two are free to leave."
In response, the triplets took out identical twin axes strapped to their backs.
"Shit," Four cursed as he took out a kunai, and it felt inadequate. His main weapon was a machete, but the ANBU had taken away all of his gear before the recruitment test started.
We should''ve planned an ambush or just blew their home up, Four thought.
Ten raised his massive hand and slapped Four''s back.
"Don''t be nervous, Four. My aunt says I''m not a guy with a great head on my shoulders, and she''s not wrong. I''m not suited for smart stuff like iryojutsu or fuinjutsu, nor do I have the imagination for genjutsu¡ but when it comes to fighting, I''m really good at it, so don''t worry so much¡ª"
Ten disappeared with a strong gust of wind, startling Four¡ªand the triplets too because when he reappeared, he was standing behind them.
He was so fast that no one could keep track of him.
The triplets moved in unison, surrounding Ten as they swung their axes at him with identical movements and tempo.
"¡ªI''ll make quick work of this miserable lot and we can move on, ''kay?" Ten smiled as siblings approached him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Amami explored the abandoned ruins of a factory that would be used as the meeting point for the exchange. The building looked like it hadn''t been used in years, and the surrounding area was similarly empty and abandoned.
The perfect location for an illicit deal.
She heard footsteps and turned back to see Thirteen pacing about. Usually, he would go on about the plan and details, but he had been silent since they had reached the factory. There was no change in his expression, but she could tell that something about the location made him uncomfortable.
"Found anything?" she asked.
"Nothing at all," he replied in a slightly quieter voice that echoed. "This place is big, but there''s only one unobstructed entrance, so we can assume they will be near the entrance, but..."
"A trap would be too unreliable," she sighed.
Thirteen nodded.
The building was too long and wide for them to set up a reliable trap with limited provisions. Even if they stuck explosive tags on the ceiling and chained them up with steel wire to run chakra through to trigger the tags, there was no telling that they would be near the entrance and not somewhere else.
"It''s better to just chuck the tags at them," he said.
"Agreed."
Seeing that the goods to be traded were explosive tags, shinobi were sure to be present among the two parties. They were sure to be outnumbered and thus had to rely on traps to gain an advantage.
A silence hung between them the moment the topic ended. The vibe from Thirteen seemed like he didn''t want to be there, which made Amami curious, but she had no way to ask what he was thinking. She could be shameless and ask but didn''t think he would answer.
"You have the bounty token, right?" she asked.
"I have it," Thirteen showed her a familiar metal token with a blue lip.
Amami had been to a bounty office a couple of times, and from what she knew about others, all bounty offices used the exact same tokens. "Give it to me; I''ll keep it safe. That''s going to be the proof we will have to show," she said, moving forward to take the token.
If the task had just been an assassination, the token wouldn''t have mattered, but the task included claiming the bounty, which made the token important as proof that they had completed the task.
Thirteen pulled his hand back and put the token into one of his zipper pouches. "It''s safe with me; don''t worry about it," he said.
Amami thought about it for a moment before letting it go. "Alright, but don''t lose it. It would be terrible if my performance suffers because you lost the token," she said. Thirteen had proven himself capable enough that she could trust him with the token.
"Don''t worry." Thirteen nodded. "As for your performance, you''re my teammate right now. I wouldn''t let anyone on my team suffer. Either we both make it, or I go down with you¡ªand because failing isn''t an option, we''ll both pass."
"Oh my, are you finally warming up to me, my dear Thirteen?" Amami joked with a sly grin. "I will give it seven points. It would''ve been nine if you said you would ensure I pass even if it meant failing yourself."
Thirteen rolled his eyes at her and walked away.
Amami giggled behind her hand.
What Thirteen said was true. They were teammates, so taking care of each other was par for the course and she wasn''t the one to answer good with evil. As long as someone treated her well, she would return the favour.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
There was a knock on the door to a large office that looked like it belonged to someone in a high-ranking position.
"Come in."
A young man stepped in with an urgent look. "Sir, we just got time-sensitive information. The rumoured weapon deal involving the Bedrock group was just confirmed. The deal is happening in the city right now! We might have a chance to catch them if we hurry!"
"Is the source reliable?"
"We have no confirmation, but the source has been reliable thus far."
"...Very well, alert the team. We move out in ten minutes," said Zakahira Nozan as he stood up from the desk in his workspace office. His house had been robbed, but he had no leads on who the robbers were¡ªand that bothered him to no end.
"You''re coming along, sir?"
"Yes, I''m feeling very frustrated; this might be the perfect opportunity to blow off some steam..."
CH_8.49 (314)
The forsaken factory brought up bad memories. The dust in the air, the smell of abandon and rust, even the way faint sounds echoed¡ªeverything reminded him of the factory base in Yu, where he had spent the worst months of his life.
If it weren''t for the task, Takuma would''ve left the building and the area the same moment he arrived. He tried to control his emotions, managing to compose himself outwardly¡ªbut his heart refused to calm down. He was embarrassed as Three had noticed something was off despite his best efforts to hide it; she didn''t show it, but her frequent glances and lingering stares said it all.
"Someone is coming," he said, looking toward the source of the faint sounds in the distance.
Three looked around for a moment to check if they hadn''t left behind a trace that would alert their targets before they both disappeared from the floor and hid underneath an empty window that had a clear view of the factory below.
Takuma focused inwardly and masked his chakra by lowering the natural mixing, thus obscuring his presence in case the group had a sensory-nin, which was unlikely due to their rarity. Three was also proficient in chakra masking, something she revealed only after he asked if she had the skill.
A minute later, a group of six men walked into the factory. All except for one person were dressed in gear inspired by the standard Leaf shinobi kit; the remaining man had a cloak over his, a simple pair of pants and a shirt, hiding whether he possessed weapons.
Takuma tried to deduce information from his gait, posture, and stride, but the cloak got in the way. From their conversation, the group was the sellers, which meant they had a shipment of explosive tags.
"Keep an eye on the cloaked man," Three whispered.
None of the men carried any big bags or cases, meaning the tags were stored in a storage seal, which would be worrying as that would make it difficult to target, but given the situation, the tags would be unsealed to confirm the contents for the buyer''s confirmation¡ªand that would be the duo''s chance to strike and destroy the tags.
Takuma and Three split up and hid themselves as the seller group spread to check the abandoned factory. Takuma slipped into the shadow inside a room with abandoned junk and focused on masking his chakra to ensure complete stealth.
They looked around for ten minutes before deciding they didn''t have unwanted company.
Soon after, the meeting time struck the clocks, but the buyer was nowhere to be seen. At first, the seller group wasn''t nervous and bitched about the buyer for being late. However, as more time passed, the tension among the group rose; they went from cursing at the buyer in anger to being nervously silent, thinking that something might have gone wrong¡ªor that the buyer had screwed them.
However, the buyer finally arrived at the factory thirty minutes after the decided time.
The seller group looked pissed and immediately questioned the buyers, who acted nonchalantly as though they had done nothing wrong. Some back and forth happened until weapons were drawn, and the two groups were on the verge of clashing until the two leaders calmed their groups down.
"Let''s complete the delivery and get this over with so we can go our separate ways," said the cloaked man leading the seller group.
"I want nothing more," said the rugged man leading the buyers. "Let''s see the goods."
The cloaked seller took out a scroll from his person and weaved a couple of hand seals before rolling it open on the ground for a cuboidal stack of explosive tags packed in bricks with plastic on a wooden pallet to appear on the factory floor.
Takuma narrowed his eyes when he tried to estimate how many tags were in the shipment, but he knew his estimations would be wrong. There was too much destructive firepower that could be used to do a lot of damage.
He took out a kunai equipped with an explosive tag of his own, ready to throw it at the shipment to destroy it. He looked at Three, who had her hand up in a fist, gesturing that it wasn''t time yet.
"I would like to try one to check its authenticity," said the buyer as he stepped forward. This caused the sellers to draw their weapons, which caused the other side to do the same.
"I''m afraid that''s too dangerous. Allow me to give a demonstration," said the cloaked seller as he stepped to the pallet with a kunai. He cut through the plastic wrapping and pulled one random explosive tag, which he tied to a kunai and threw in the air above them.
The kunai was still a safe distance from the ceiling when it reached its apex, which was also when the tag exploded. The harsh sound was amplified in the abandoned factory, scaring the rats, roaches, and birds who had made it their home.
"Satisfied?" asked the seller, patting the dust off his clothes that the explosion had unsettled.
"Very much so," said the rugged. He also pulled a scroll from his person and tossed it to the seller. "All the payment is in there. Feel free to check it."
And that''s what the seller did. He unsealed the scroll to reveal a mound of money comparable to that of the explosive tags.
The explosive tag and money that had been sealed away in scrolls were now sitting in the open, and that was the window Takuma and Three were aiming for. They took out their tagged kunai and were ready to rain down explosions when Takuma heard the sound of rhythmically clanking metal. He was confused about what was making the sound, and it took him to realise it was the sound of armour parts tapping against each other.
"Three, someone is¡ª" he began to say.
Before he could complete his sentence, Three grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him down to hide them behind the wall before ensuring he wouldn''t throw the tagged kunai. Takuma, who had only removed his eyes from the floor for a moment, looked back at the two groups facing each other to find a new figure among them.
Every nation''s samurai wore different coloured armour. The Land of Fire samurai who served the Fire Daimyo wore blood-red colour and held their swords in a scabbard licked by flaming tongues. The figure who had suddenly appeared wore the expected armour worn in Ember Capital City.
He had appeared in the blink of an eye as though he was invisible until a moment ago. Other than the two leaders, who were utterly startled, not a single person had even reacted to the new presence as their minds were still processing the sight before them.
"Don''t move," said the samurai.
The two leaders who tried to move away froze in their spots, not daring to defy his order. Goosebumps rose on their skin, and panic sweat began to pour out. They hadn''t seen him move or much less felt his presence; that was enough for them to understand that the samurai could kill them before they could twitch their fingers.
Takuma muttered, "I-Isn''t that..."
The samurai didn''t wear a helmet; thus, his face was visible. He had salt-and-pepper hair and faint wrinkles on his face that showed his age. Despite that, his figure donned in samurai armour screamed danger.
Takuma and Three recognised the man because they had recently seen his photograph.
"Zakahira Mahachi," Three nodded.
It was the samurai whose house they had robbed two days back.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
A samurai who was classified as a "jonin-class" combatant.
This man wasn''t someone to be messed with.
More samurai, fully decked in armour, ran into the factory with their swords drawn. Takuma couldn''t help but think that ANBU orchestrated the samurai''s arrival as part of a test because Zakahira Mahachi was too much of a coincidence at the meeting they were trying to sabotage.
The moment the samurai entered, one of the men from the seller group threw a smoke bomb onto the ground, triggering chaos as everyone decided to use the smoke screen as the opportunity to escape.
"Fools," sighed Mahachi as he drew his sword and swung it leisurely. A strong gust of wind rushed outward, almost lifting everyone off their feet. The opaque black smoke, which was rapidly spreading, vanished into absolute nothingness as the winds rapidly and aggressively dispersed the smoke particles far and wide.
Despite being far away, Takuma felt the gust of wind flutter his clothes and forced him to narrow his eyes to protect them from the sheer force behind the winds. It scared him to think what it would be like if Mahachi concentrated all that force along a thin edge. He could only imagine it going through him clean without any resistance.
"Thirteen," Three looked at him with a severe expression.
She didn''t need to say anything. Even though the samurai''s arrival was jarring and wholly unexpected, they still had to complete the task. Moreover, it was imperative that they completed it now because if the samurai seized the money and tags, he and Three weren''t getting their hands on them.
And the chaos set the stage perfectly.
The samurai were fighting the criminals in the factory. The only reason the criminals even bothered to resist was that Mahachi''s gaze was locked onto the stack of explosive tags without participating. His subordinates understood he wanted to deal with the capture of the tags, and the criminals wouldn''t complain as it meant that there was a chance of escape.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
On the ground, Mahachi gazed at the explosive tags with a frown. The quantity was too large; the estimates they had received from informants were nowhere near the amount before him.
If we didn''t catch this, it could''ve turned into a disaster, Mahachi thought. The intel they had gathered told them that the explosive tags from the deal would be further distributed to illegal shops dealing with independent mercenaries and smaller groups. It wasn''t anything new, as they had tried to crack down on such pipelines before, but in his experience, this was too big of an order to be regular.
This felt like something else.
They were lucky to receive the intel at the last minute.
Mahachi glanced at his subordinates fighting the criminals. His son, Nozan, was among them. He wasn''t planning to help them unless they were in danger. How would they learn and grow if he did all the work.
As he was observing the combat, something caught his eye, and he looked up in surprise to see a volley of kunai descending towards him and the group. His eyes widened when he caught the fluttering explosive tags bound to the kunai.
"Look out above!" he yelled.
Mahachi''s hand on his sword stilled for a moment before he drew it to release half a dozen slashes in the blink of an eye. Razor-thin crescents of chakra flew out of his sword and slashed through every single explosive tag, effectively defusing them. The kunai themselves didn''t stop, but his warning was enough for his subordinate and the criminals to avoid them.
"Dad, are you alright?!" asked Nozan, momentarily removing his eyes from his opponent, who took advantage of the situation and charged for an attack that Nozan managed to block and evade at the last second.
"Pay attention to your fight!" Mahachi barked back. His son was still lacking in various regards; it always worried him as his parent and boss.
Mahachi traced the trajectory of the kunai to see where they came from and was stunned to see a man and a woman dressed in grey-and-green gear with masks identical to what his wife had described throwing another, larger volley of tagged kunai in their direction.
He gripped his sword as a flood of cold anger coursed through his veins. He drew his sword faster than anyone there could track and unleashed a single strike. It had none of the finesse or precision of his last attack and was pure power, which created a gust so strong and wild that it pushed against the kunai and cancelled their momentum, causing them to stall and explode mid-air.
Mahachi didn''t stop and switched to a two-handed grip, which he never did unless he was serious about the fight¡ªbut the masked people had touched his wife, and he wanted them to feel pain.
He dug his foot into the floor and drew power from his lower body to unleash an even stronger strike. A visible wave of deep blue chakra raced out of his sword edge. One moment, the wall was good and standing, but the next moment, it exploded as though one hundred explosion tags stuck to it had exploded simultaneously.
The kenjutsu exploded the wall and even cut through a large portion of the ceiling that crumbled down at the other side of the building.
The wall exploded so violently that other samurai and criminals had to stop fighting to defend against the debris.
"Dad!" Nozan yelled in surprise
"Come out and face judgement," Mahachi announced as the chakra around his sword grew larger and harsher, forcing the others to step back in pure fear as it felt like something was cutting into their skin just by being near the sword.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
One moment, Amami stood on the metal corridor, getting ready to throw her last volley of tagged kunai; the next moment, she had huge chunks of wall hitting her in the face as the corridor underneath her collapsed.
Zakahira Mahachi''s strike was so fast that she literally had no time to react. She was lucky the kenjutsu didn''t cut through her, killing her instantly.
No, it''s not luck, thought Amami¡ªthe old samurai didn''t want to kill them.
She hit the ground and immediately put her hands up as the wall collapsed over and around her. The debris hit her body all over, but she protected her head¡ªit hurt, but it was nowhere enough to take her down.
Amami understood they would be killed after the samurai got what he wanted. They had to escape immediately if they wanted to live. She remembered that the ANBU-nin Leopard had told them that in case something went wrong, they would get them out, but it could take time¡ªand things could go wrong in that time.
Waiting for ANBU to rescue them wasn''t an option. They had to escape now. But how? How could they escape now that they had the old samurai''s ire locked in on them.
"Thirteen," she called.
"Here."
She breathed a sigh of relief to confirm that Thirteen was fine. Her mind raced to see what they could do to escape the old samurai when she suddenly recognised something she had seen before.
Amami was sure she saw Zakahira Nozan, the old samurai''s son. She recognised him from the file, and even though it took her a moment to recognise him because he was wearing samurai armour, she was sure it was him.
I''m going to take over his body, she decided.
Her clan''s Mind-Body Switch jutsu to take over her target''s body. There was too much risk-taking over the Mahachi''s body with a chance he would resist and kick her out, which came with a high chance of blowback. But she was confident she could dominate Nozan''s spirit and make his body do her bidding.
She was betting on the fact that the Mahachi and Nozan had a good relationship and the father wouldn''t hurt his son.
"We need to leave now," said Thirteen as he crawled to her.
"I''m a Yamanaka," she said, cutting him off. "I''m going to stop the old samurai, so I want you to pick up my body and get us out of here. Do you understand what I mean?"
Thirteen was still for a split-second before he nodded. "I understand. Are you sure it will work?"
"Do you have a foolproof plan?"
"...No."
"Then we don''t have a choice."
Amami wanted to hide her clan''s hiden jutsu as a trump card, but her plans were no longer a factor with her life on the line. She took a deep breath to suppress her discomfort about leaving her body to someone she didn''t trust to that level. If Thirteen wanted, he could kill her while her spirit was in someone else''s body, and her spirit would still be alive while she was in her target''s body, but the moment the time limit hit, her spirit would leave, and she would die.
"You better take care of my body."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"I can see you. Come out!" Mahachi yelled as he started walking towards the collapsed wall. His anger rose with every second the masked duo hid within the debris.
He pumped chakra into his sword for another swing. He was going to hurt them so they would understand the severity of the situation. Everyone was more cooperative after tasting some pain.
"Dad, what are y-you-you¡ª"
Mahachi raised his sword to release another strike when his eyes widened as he felt something behind him. He moved on pure instinct and put his sword behind him just in time to block a slash aimed at his back.
"Nozan!" he gasped as he turned to face his son, who had a determined expression on his face. "What are you doing, boy!"
"...I despise you. It''s all your fault, dad!" Nozan whispered as he swung his sword at him, which Mahachi parried and deflected effortlessly.
"What''s got into you, Nozan!" Mahachi yelled, unable to understand what had gotten into his son. Not only did he suddenly attack him, but his kenjutsu was so sloppy that it was an embarrassment.
He pushed Nozan away and turned to look back at the masked duo, only to find a dense mist covering half of the factory. It was a shinobi ninjutsu.
"Shit," he cursed and immediately followed, not wanting the masked scum to escape, but was immediately obstructed.
"Mom is unhappy because of you!"
Mahachi stopped and faced his son, who attacked him while spouting nonsense, which angered him. He once again blocked poor swordwork. He paused to look at his son, wondering why he was doing this. He noticed the poor movements, and for a moment, reason peered through anger, and he realised something was wrong.
He disarmed Nozan''s sword effortlessly, which wouldn''t have happened that easily.
Genjutsu, he thought.
Mahachi kicked Nozan in the gut, forcing him to kneel before disrupting his chakra to pull him out of the genjutsu, but nothing changed as Nozan said,
"I''m ashamed to be your son!"
Nozan''s eyes rolled over, and he suddenly keeled over, startling Mahachi, who immediately checked on his son. He sighed in relief because he didn''t find anything outright wrong¡ªbut he couldn''t be sure.
Mahachi pursed his lips as he looked at the opaque mist before clicking his tongue.
His son came first.
CH_8.50 (315)
Three woke up with a start and glanced at the running scenery around her.
"I am awake," she said from the princess carry in Takuma''s arms, "you can put me down now."
Takuma didn''t put her down and continued to run at full speed while following the standard procedure of throwing off a tail. Their opponent was a dangerous samurai who could kill them anytime he wanted; they had been lucky to escape, and he didn''t want that to go to waste.
His heart was drumming fast. He had been too careless. Blinded by the task before him, he ignored all precautions and took no additional measures.
"We messed up back there," she groaned.
"Yes, we were careless," he said while leaping over three buildings.
"The tags and money are intact." Three removed her mask and bit on the nail of her thumb in frustration. "I should''ve triggered the explosive tags back there or at least done something to the money... Ugh!"
"No, it''s good that you didn''t. It could''ve become a bigger problem."
They had heard the news about the arsons, which they thought was another team''s work. Even if not, it was already a big local incident; if they set off hundreds of explosive tags the very next day, the entire city was likely to go on high alert. This was their nation''s capital¡ªit was bad for the entire nation for their ruler''s home to be in distress due to suspected terrorist activity.
"What should we do now?" she asked in a tired whisper.
"...We will report that we are done."
Three pursed her lips. "How about we try once more? Maybe... just maybe, there''s a chance that we get lucky and the security is not tight."
Takuma didn''t think she was wrong. There was a chance the samurai might store the tags and money as evidence in a location they could access. However, that was too much wishful thinking. They had to follow Zakahira Mahashi, which was already too big a risk. At the Police Force, evidence storage was always heavily guarded¡ªhe didn''t think it would be any different with samurai.
A part of his heart wanted to believe they had another chance, but his brain knew it was too late.
"It''s too risky," he replied.
Three didn''t like his answer and frowned. For a moment, it looked like she wanted to argue and fight with him, maybe even go on her own, but all the tension deflated out of her body, and she lay dejectedly silent in his arms.
"Do you think any other team failed?" she eventually asked.
He understood her question. If any other team failed to complete one of their tasks, they might have a chance to remain in the winning.
Having run far enough, Takuma finally stopped and let Three down in an alleyway. She leaned against a wall and gazed up at the sky. He could tell she wasn''t happy about it but had already moved on to thinking about a solution instead of wallowing in their failure. It was an admirable trait.
"We haven''t failed," said Takuma, bringing up his solution to their current problem.
Her brows were furrowed as she asked, "What do you mean?"
Takuma took out the task scroll and pointed out a section as he passed it on to her.
"I don''t know if this will work, but if you look here, it says..."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As the evening approached, the candidates began to gather at the designated location mentioned in their scrolls. The location was at the edge of the entertainment district and near the slum area, making it an unsavoury part of the town and a place without many eyes, making it suitable for people who wanted to hide.
ANBU had chosen the basement of an old building as their temporary base. It wasn''t one of their official hideouts in the Ember Capital City, as using those would mean exposing valuable locations to candidates who weren''t part of ANBU yet.
"So, they failed?" asked Eisbar, the jonin in charge of recruitment, who had visited the city on the second day.
"The raid was successful. They got the people, money, and goods," Leopard laid down on a couch that had faded from age with no care about being in the presence of a jonin and her superior officer.
Eisbar, familiar with her behaviour, knew that speaking or scolding her would make no change. The Department of ANBU had a strict hierarchy structure; orders from superiors had to be followed, but the culture of military-like formality was missing. People didn''t care much about manners and courtesy beyond basic politeness as long as work got done¡ªa partial byproduct of the flexibility given to the operatives to perform their jobs.
"It''s not entirely unexpected when someone like Zakahira Mahachi suddenly shows up," he said.
"I guess the samurai got the information at the last moment," she commented.
ANBU received information about the deal from its sources and assigned it to be used as a recruitment task for the candidates. A high-ranking samurai showing up wasn''t part of the plan, which caused Three and Thirteen to fail their task.
"Or the informant sold the same information to the samurai." Eisbar''s comment made Leopard frown and click her tongue,Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"Greedy fucks."
But it was also true that they needed their civilian informants. Information was power. Knowing something in advance to stop it was many times more valuable than a jonin''s strength¡ªespecially for ANBU, which wouldn''t be able to protect against foreign threats if it didn''t know something was coming.
There was a knock on the door before it opened, and Ant peeked inside,
"Three and Thirteen have arrived."
"Send them in," said Leopard after Eisbar nodded.
Three and Thirteen were the second team to arrive after the Seven and Fourteen duo, who had completed their three tasks in two days and had reported first thing in the morning.
"It seems they gave up," said Eisbar. It had only been a few hours since the meeting time, and there were still many hours until the deadline.
"Can you blame them?" Leopard replied.
A moment later, the masked duo stepped in. They immediately glanced at Eisbar, who was new to them, before looking at Leopard when she spoke.
"I heard that you ran into a high-ranking samurai. Sit down," she pointed at the chairs in the room.
"The samurai were aware of the deal and raided it while we were there," Three said after taking a seat. "The samurai in the lead was Zakahira Mahachi, our target from another task. It might not have been a problem, but he saw us."
"You wore your masks, I hope," asked Eisbar.
"We were, but he recognised us by our masks." Three put her backpack on the floor and pulled out a storage scroll. "These are the twin daggers we retrieved from Zakahira''s home." She passed the scroll to Eisbar, who unsealed it and admired the twin dagger through the case''s glass showcase.
"These daggers belonged to Sarutobi Pikku, the clan head of the Sarutobi clan during the Warring States time. I''m sure both the Lord Hokage and the Sarutobi clan would be happy to have a piece of their heritage returned to them," said Eisbar.
Three and Thirteen looked understandably surprised to find that they had retrieved something related to the Third Hokage.
"You also killed the bounty target. Did you complete the task?" asked Leopard.
Thirteen tossed a bog-standard bounty token to her.
"It looks real, but we will have to confirm with the bounty office to confirm its authenticity," she said.
Thirteen informed them that the man at the bounty office asked him to visit in a week.
"So you managed to complete two of the tasks," said Eisbar and was about to drill them about the one incomplete task to see how they would respond and justify it when Thirteen cut him off¡ª
"We completed all tasks."
There was a moment of silence in the room where Eisbar and Leopard were confused at first, but then they looked at each other with a similar thought. Were they trying to lie? Perhaps they thought they could lie to make them believe they had completed all the tasks. The problem with that plan was that the ANBU-nin knew the task''s details because they had sent an operative to the meeting as they knew the exact time and location.
"I''m disappointed. To think you would resort to lying," said Eisbar harshly. "Not only that, lying is a stupid decision. We will confirm and double-check your performance afterwards, and it''ll be easy to find the truth¡ªwe would''ve found that you lied then. In this situation, we sent one of our own to monitor the situation; we know what happened. The samurai left with the tags and money intact. So¡ª"
"The mission was never to destroy the money and explosive tags," Thirteen interrupted him again.
"What are you talking about?"
"The task was to harm the two parties involved and have them suffer a setback. The instructions said that we should destroy the tags and money to accomplish the objective¡ªand we were going to do that¡ªuntil the samurai''s unexpected arrival, which made the plan no longer viable. So, we pivoted at that point and changed the plan on the go. We left the location and let the samurai take over."
"Thus completing the objective," Three said.
"I''m sorry. I''m not sure I''m following you properly," asked Leopard, confused.
"The objective was to make the two parties suffer," said Thirteen, "but destroying the tags and money is not the only way to achieve that. Currently, the samurai have taken possession of the money and tags, which means they are out of the hands of either party, which, as you might have noticed, was the objective. Not only that, but they also arrested people, which is even more harmful as they now can interrogate them for information."
Eisbar and Leopard were stunned into silence for a moment. They had really completed the task by technically achieving the objective. However, there was a glaring problem,
"But neither of you had any part in it," said Leopard.
"What does that have to do anything?" asked Three. "We completed the task, and at the end of the day, that''s all that matters..."
"What she said," said Thirteen, pointing at his partner.
Eisbar gazed at the two candidates before him, who looked confident and comfortable in their claims. He realised they were trying to pull one over them using a technicality, but they were also not wrong. How a mission was executed was often just as important as the end result¡ªbut in this case, the final result was all that mattered. The money and tags were off the market and in the possession of the samurai, and would unlikely never return to their original owners.
"We stand corrected. You completed all three tasks. It might not¡ª"
Thirteen once again cut Eisbar off for the third time, which was now getting on his nerves.
"I''m sorry, but we did four tasks."
"Four tasks?"
"The robbery, the assassination, the bounty, and the sabotage," Three listed the tasks.
"We never ordered an assassination other than the bounty," said Leopard hastily when she saw Eisbar looking at her confused.
Seeing the ANBU-nin''s reactions, the candidates looked at each other and silently communicated, which turned into an open show of displeasure.
Three''s face twisted in anger as she slapped her thigh. "I''m going to kill that fucking pig of a man," she said with acid in her voice.
"It seems your informant duped us all and had us do something private for him," said Thirteen, not looking impressed.
"Not only did he make us do a fake task, he also messed up our timings," Three said in a pointed tone. "We didn''t sleep before going to the exchange meeting; if we had proper rest, we could''ve been more alert and possibly not shown ourselves to the samurai at all. Now, the samurai know that the two incidents are somehow connected and will needlessly look into them, which is good for no one!"
The tone of the conversation suddenly made it seem as though ANBU was at fault, which was true, as their informant was the offending culprit. However, they didn''t know about the fake mission until then.
"He''ll be dead before I leave this town," said Three.
Thirteen nodded, showing his support.
"You will do no such thing. He''s an important informant," Eisbar said, looking at two angry shinobi. "But I promise that ANBU will handle it, and he will be punished for his actions."
And despite their affront at his shutting down of their improptu assassination, he genuinely planned to do something because ANBU couldn''t have their informants using them like this without their explicit intention. The ANBU-informant relationship was a two-way street where both parties benefited from the relationship¡ªbut ANBU couldn''t have the informants think they had the dominant role.
Moreover, he suspected the informant had sold the information to the samurai. If that turned out true, then,
Maybe he''s better off dead, thought Eisbar.
"You must be tired. Ant will show you to your rooms and bring you something to eat," said Leopard, dismissing the two candidates when she sensed Eisbar''s mood worsening.
She suspected the informant''s handler had made their next few weeks unpleasant by loosening the leash too much.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ant was sitting in the hallway when Three and Thirteen walked out
They closed the door behind them and looked at each other. A bratty grin split Three''s face. Thirteen also had a small smile on his face and both raised their hands and high-fived each other.
I guess it went great, Ant thought, which surprised him because he knew they had missed a task. However, he was happy because he hoped both of them would enter the ANBU.
CH_9.1 (316)
The last team to return was the Five and Sixteen duo, who returned two hours before the deadline. From the conversation, all teams had completed their tasks, and while they didn''t discuss specifics, they had been given similar tasks: robberies, sabotage, bounty, and assassinations. The deadline passed, but there was no communication from the ANBU-nin until the early morning of the next day when Ant and his two subordinates gathered all eight candidates in the hall.
He returned their belongings, which they had taken away at the start of the assessment process. In return, they took away their candidate gear, intending to burn it to erase evidence of their presence and involvement in the increased chaos around the city. It was better for everyone that the city returned to its usual state as soon as possible, and the cases involving the candidate tasks went cold.
"With this, the assessment is over. All of you are free to return home," said Ant, causing a wave of relief to wash over the candidates.
The things they had done in the past few days hadn''t been unreasonably difficult, but they hadn''t been allowed to rest from a mental and psychological standpoint. Being on a constant edge was tough and came with negative effects that slowly chipped away at all aspects of their performance.
The news was welcome, as most were just about done with all of it and wanted to go home and relax. The other ANBU-nin had left the hideout and perhaps even the city overnight. Only Ant and two subordinates remained behind to address the candidates.
"We will contact you with results in a week or two, depending on your residence. Please tell us where you''ll be staying for the next couple of weeks so we can send our responses directly to you," he said, addressing all eight candidates sitting in the biggest room in the temporary hideouts.
Takuma was sitting against the wall beside Three when she asked,
"Where are you going?" She was from the Yamanaka clan, proven by the fact she could practice the clan''s hitsu, which meant she probably lived in the Hidden Leaf village unless she was stationed elsewhere.
"The Hidden Leaf Village," Takuma replied. His contract with the Police Force was about to end in another week, and he expected Uchiha Setsuna would present the Police Force''s offer to him.
He also had to give Mikoto an answer to her affiliation and sponsorship offer. It was rude to keep her waiting. In her eyes, he was on vacation, thinking about the offer even though he was, in truth, quite busy.
He had given thought to his future while he was on the road, but he couldn''t decide and answer either offer until he knew if the ANBU wanted him.
"Me too. Let''s travel together," Three suggested.
"That works for me," he said.
"Do not stay in the Ember Capital City. Leave today if possible or tomorrow at the latest," Ant ordered and warned them.
"Today," he whispered to Three, who nodded.
That was all Ant told them before confirming their addresses and dismissing them. He then called Takuma and Three to the corner for a private chat,
"Here, take this," he said, tossing the bounty office token toward them. "Don''t cash it here in the city. Use the bounty office back at the village; it''d be safer that way."
Three caught the token and looked at Takuma, "Split the reward in half?"
"That''s fair."
"How about we claim it together when we get our offers?"
"You''re so sure they''re going to accept you, huh?"
"Of course," said Three, confidently with a hint of pride, "I''m too good of a catch to pass up on." She bumped her shoulder into his and smirked. "You aren''t so bad yourself, my dear Thirteen. Not as good as me, of course, but not half bad either."
"Uh-huh," he said, nodding along. "Come on, let''s get something to eat and then get out of here."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"So... how about doing an introduction?" Three said while on the road.
Takuma looked at her. Although they knew each other''s faces, they hadn''t exchanged names because they considered it unnecessary. They also wanted to keep the flow of personal information to a minimum in case the ANBU had something else planned for them after the Ember City Capital tasks.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
"Look, we know each other''s faces, and since both of us live in the Hidden Leaf Village, it''s not going to be impossible for us to find information about each other. And well, you know, I am a Yamanaka¡ªit''s going to be pretty easy for you," she said with a shrug. "So, let me go first, I guess. I''m Chunin Yamanaka Amami. And you are?"
"Nice to meet you, Amami. You can call me Thirteen," Takuma said.
Three''s face fell when he didn''t reciprocate the gesture.
"Just kidding," he said when he saw the resentment and anger in her eyes. "I am Genin Takuma. Come on, learn to take a joke, my dear Amami."
"Screw you, that was embarrassing," said Amami.
"So, you''re a genin, huh? That must mean they''re giving you a rank promotion along with the offer.".
Takuma wore a small smile in response, neither confirming nor denying her claim. Even though they had told him he would become a chunin, it was safer not to prematurely talk or brag about things like a rank promotion until they happened.
It was also why he hadn''t talked about the current Police Force situation with anyone other than those he trusted, and only because he wanted their opinion on the situation¡ªnamely, Maruboshi, Mikoto, and Arisu.
"I''ve worked with a Yamanaka before," said Takuma, moving along the conversation with a common topic.
"Oh, no wonder you adjusted so quickly back then."
It was during the farm raid, which was ultimately the thing that got him into trouble with the ROOT. He had fought a rogue-nin who knew a defensive B-rank jutsu, which, at that time, took eight genin working together to put down.
One of those genin was a Yamanaka and a big reason anyone had made it out alive. He took control of others when they were knocked out unconscious and walked them away from the danger.
"We worked together in the Police Force."
"Oh yeah, I know that brat." Amami smirked. "I used to take his money in spars when we wanted to make them more interesting. He used to get so mad," she cackled from the memory.
Takuma wanted to say that they had something in common because he, too, fought for money, but that wasn''t appropriate to share with someone he had only met ten days ago and had only known for three days.
Yet somehow, it felt like he''d known her far longer than that.
"So... about the bounty," Amami asked after they left a traveller''s inn they had stopped at for lunch.
"What about it?" asked Takuma, but he could guess when he heard the slight discomfort in her tone.
"What do you think?" she asked.
They both knew the information disclosed in the task scroll. They knew that Kinohei Ukuri, the woman they had killed, had ultimately died because she had refused to work for the Hidden Leaf. She had refused the offer to become a Hidden Leaf shinobi once again, and that had clearly not gone well with someone up high, who had then tried to push her out of the market by undercutting her to her own clients. That, of course, led to them dropping her services. The choices were either to pressure her to rejoin the Hidden Leaf or to simply ruin her livelihood. Whatever the reason, it was targeted maliciousness, a common strategy used by mega-corporations to run smaller competitors out of business.
The Hidden Leaf village was essentially a monopoly for mercenary work in the Land of Fire, so when Ukuri started to take work against them she made herself an enemy¡ªand a good one at that¡ªshe became a much bigger threat because she aggressively hurt the bottom line.
In a vacuum, it wasn''t a problem because the majority of people who wanted to get something done would come to the Hidden Leaf. Everyone knew who the Hidden Leaf shinobi were¡ªthere was no need to advertise their existence. However, for independent mercenaries like Ukuri, she had to depend on word-of-mouth, which was a much unreliable and slow-growing process.
If Ukuri hadn''t been targeted, she would''ve only been a tiny, bug-sized competitor.
However, her threat level exploded when she started to take jobs against the Hidden Leaf, a market type that never had enough supply but high demand. And in that place, when someone was good, the word-of-mouth acted like wildfire.
If Takuma had to guess, then the supposed high-ranker who had forced her out must''ve faced some heat for leading to creating such a situation. The pressure must''ve forced him to take care of the situation, which led to the assassination attempt¡ªand when that failed, it became a big enough matter that it became ''official'' business.
However, it was too late to fix the situation and mend relationships because regardless of what had happened, Ukuri was a threat. She had made a name for herself and built a clientele and connections that couldn''t be easily persuaded or threatened.
If left alone, she would continue to take jobs against the Hidden Leaf.
When she took protection under the samurai, they couldn''t move against her in the open. Even though the sponsor was hidden, it was most likely an ''official'' bounty issued by the Hidden Leaf. The Hidden Leaf had created a problem; now they wanted it gone.
And ANBU, through Takuma and Amami, eliminated the problem. No¡ªTakuma and Amami eliminated the problem.
"I don''t regret killing her," said Takuma after a moment of silence, "but I feel I am going to be thinking about what I did for a while."
He didn''t care for shinobi''s lives, but that didn''t mean he enjoyed killing them. He realised there was much more to killing than the act of taking a life¡ªthere was a mess of other things that came with it. How could someone be in a position where someone wanted them dead? Were they at fault? What would be the consequences of killing that person?
It was easy during the war. The other side was a clear-cut enemy as they were trying to invade. He was a soldier defending his allies. He had even justified killing Gyon because he was a traitor.
But¡ª
Takuma closed his eyes as the miserable screams of innocent civilians echoed in his ears, filling his body with a feeling that made him realise how ugly of a human being he had become.
¡ªfor cases like Kinohei Ukuri, there was so much more nuance that made it impossible to look at it as a black-and-white problem. He felt like he was swimming in an ocean of grey tar that was always trying to pull him to its depths.
"That money is undoubtedly dirty," Takuma said, looking Amami in the eye, "but so are we. I suggest you either not think about it or go all the way until you reach a conclusion and come to terms with your feelings¡ªbut if you do choose to think about it, don''t stop halfway because it gets uncomfortable..."
...because it will haunt you. However, those words went unsaid.
He wasn''t going to deny the money, though¡ªhe didn''t have the liberty to do so. He knew what was coming. For someone like him, he had to get dirty if he wanted to secure his survival.
CH_9.2 (317)
The day after Takuma returned from the ANBU recruitment, he found himself visiting the Torture and Interrogation headquarters. While he was away, they sent an invitation to Maruboshi''s house. How did they find he was living there? Oishi Yori, Taro''s mom, asked her son who gave her Takuma''s current location along with the fact that he was away at the moment.
"T&I is interested in me?" Takuma asked Anko as she gave him a tour of the headquarters. He had already been to the headquarters while leading the Narcotics Taskforce and consulted with Yori on cases¡ªbut it was his first time roaming around the facility instead of making a bee-line to Yori''s office.
"Yes, they are," Anko grinned and slapped him on the back. She wore an outfit made from thin metal mesh that fit the lines of her body, covering her from neck to thigh. Over it, she wore a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a dark orange mini skirt. "They know all about your work in the Police Force; they found out about the interrogation you did before you arrived at Camp Banana¡ªand I told them about the information gathering and interrogation you performed in Yu."
Takuma was momentarily worried about what Anko might have shared, but the nervousness faded almost immediately. He trusted her to be discreet because she knew what he thought about their time in Yu. He also considered that T&I would regardless know about his actions as they were part of his file, and it wasn''t difficult to access it. He was about to meet two Tokubetsu Jonin, who would have enough clearance to know all about him. The only thing they would struggle to access would be his Police Force records, as those files weren''t shared with outsiders without a proper reason, and even then, the Police Force made it difficult as they didn''t want their internal matters to be aired out.
However, they didn''t need his official records because informal flow of information always existed. People knew things, and they talked. There was bound to be someone somewhere in the Police Force who shared what they knew about him. Moreover, Yori knew a lot about his important cases¡ªbecause he only called her when there was a problem the Narcotic Taskforce couldn''t handle on its own.
Takuma just assumed they knew plenty. Since they were interested, he believed they liked what they saw or, at the very least, didn''t mind it. It was no use wasting his time and mental bandwidth thinking about what they knew.
"How was your trip?" asked Anko.
"Tiring," Takuma replied with the truth. "I should''ve just stayed at home and trained." His time in the Narcotics Taskforce, which was around nine months, had slowed down his growth to a crawl. The exuberant free time at Camp Banana had allowed him to learn new ninjutsu, improve his chakra augmentation, and even work on bridging the energy imbalance¡ªbut he felt he hadn''t done enough. There was so much more work he could, wanted, and needed to do.
"You need to rest more and train less," she sighed.
"Have you already started work?" he asked.
Anko joined Torture and Interrogation after her return from the Steam-Frost war. Although she had been selected before the war, her deployment delayed her joining.
"Yeah, it''ll take some time to get used to working, but I''ve already made acquaintances and friends. It''s sure to be smooth sailing," she said before humming a tune softly.
He gazed at her from the side. She seemed much more carefree from when they were at Yu or even Camp Banana, and he was glad to see that as it meant that she had shed the weight she carried during the war. He knew what the position at the Torture and Interrogation meant for Anko; it represented a chance to start fresh.
His eyes briefly gazed at the back of her shoulder. Even though they hadn''t discussed it, he knew the true burden she carried. Her past with Orochimaru was something that might never leave her, but as long as she could prove herself in this new place, she could at least move forward.
"Have you seen the dungeons yet?" he asked.
"Dungeons? You mean, the interrogation cells?"
"No, I mean dungeons. You haven''t? Yeah, they have dungeons where they keep people for months."
"No way, come on."
"Nasty place. Keep one of those herbal fragrant inhalers on hand."
No such dungeons existed. He was just pulling it out of his ass because it fit T&I''s image to have some dungeon-like place. If it were someone else, they would show concern and nervousness, but as he glanced at his former team leader, who had poisoned him in the name of training, he saw curiosity and excitement in her eyes.
Perhaps it was impossible for her to leave her connection to Orochimaru behind.
They arrived at the Head of Torture and Interrogation''s office.
The nameplate on the door said:
{Tokubetsu Jonin Morino Ibiki}
The assistant shinobi dressed in the standard grey Torture and Interrogation uniform guided them into the office. In fact, everyone else other than Anko wore the uniform. He was dressed in the standard Leaf shinobi gear.
"Welcome, Genin Takuma. I''ve been looking forward to seeing you," Morino Ibiki said as he stood behind his desk. His gravely deep voice matched his rugged looks. The two thin scars on the front of his face enhanced his menacing appearance. If nothing else, he looked the part of the Head of Torture and Interrogation.
"I believe it''s our first time meeting, sir. I''ve heard plenty about you from Tokubetsu Jonin Yori," said Takuma as he shook Ibiki''s hand.
"She has told me much about you as well," said Ibiki. As he gestured for Takuma to sit, he spoke to Anko, "You must be busy; you may leave, Chunin Anko."Stolen story; please report.
"Eh? Not really," she whispered.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. Alright, I will see you later, Takuma," Anko patted him on the shoulder before leaving them alone.
Ibiki sighed at the door before sitting down.
"I will not beat around the bush, Genin Takuma. Tokubetsu Jonin Yori has been interested in you for a long time and has been lobbying for you to join us... Seeing that your contract with the Police Force is almost over, I decided to meet to see if you would be interested in joining Torture and Interrogation."
Takuma already knew about it from Anko, but it was still surprising to hear it from Ibiki''s mouth. When he returned from the war, he thought the Chunin Exam was the natural progression¡ªbut here he was being headhunted by various entities. He understood that he had developed a professional reputation that others found valuable enough to recruit him¡ªbut it felt that things were changing too fast. Now, he had another offer before him that he needed to juggle along with the ones he already had his hands full with.
"It would be a delight to work somewhere as prestigious as Torture and Interrogation, sir," said Takuma. It wasn''t flattery; T&I seemed like it was a good place to work. It came under the umbrella of the larger Intelligence Division, which was an important entity in the Hidden Leaf and thus offered many opportunities.
Their reputation in regards to work culture was also quite popular¡ªwhich was a big positive for Takuma, who valued being able to focus on work without dealing with all the office politics bullshit. He knew things like that would exist regardless of where he worked, but he appreciated it if it was less obtrusive.
"Why would you be interested in joining us?" asked Ibiki.
Takuma thought about it for a moment. "I know the importance of what you do here. Information is power and, many a time, more important than military strength itself. If you don''t know what''s coming, no amount of strength will allow you to stop it before it''s too late... The Department of Torture and Interrogation and the larger Intelligence Division are vital to the security of our nation, and I would like to contribute to that."
"So the importance of your work matters a lot to you?"
"Not really," Takuma replied without needing to think. "A job is a job. Of course, I would prefer if the work I''m doing is important¡ªbut even importance is many times subjective¡ªsomething important for you might not be for me¡ªat the end of the day, what matters to me the most is a good work environment and competitive compensation."
In other words, he wanted to be paid well.
His results from ANBU hadn''t come in yet. If he didn''t have Mikoto''s offer, he would be trying to put more of an appeal in front of Ibuki¡ªbut because he had a rank promotion, he had the flexibility to be bold.
"Is that so," said Ibuki, sitting up straighter in his chair. "And what do you think is a competitive compensation?"
"A chunin rank promotion, my own team, a ''CN-3'' pay grade as the base right from the start, a signing bonus, and immediate access to B-rank jutsu archive," said Takuma.
The Police Force, ANBU, and Torture and Interrogation were very different places.
Even though the Police Force was a Hidden Leaf entity, it was entirely run by the Uchiha clan without any oversight¡ªso even though Setsuns was a Police Force representative, Takuma was negotiating with the Uchiha clan. However, Torture and Interrogation had no such clan backing. As such, he had to change demands they could realistically fulfil.
He had asked Setsuna for access to "jutsu archives," and even though it was left unsaid, he meant Uchiha clan''s "jutsu archives." Torture and Interrogation had no such personal archives, so he couldn''t put that demand¡ªso he changed it to a higher pay grade. When he was a genin, he started with a "GN-1" pay grade, the lowest a genin could get. He had walked up to a "GN 5" pay grade when he joined the Narcotics Taskforce, the highest a genin could get, along with some Police Force bonuses. Upon a chunin rank promotion, he would start with a "CN-1" pay grade, the lowest a chunin could get, but he demanded to start at "CN-3" as base, excluding T&I departmental incentives and bonuses.
Unlike the Uchiha clan, Torture and Investigation couldn''t give him a B-rank jutsu, so to compensate, he asked them for immediate access to the village''s B-rank archives, which were usually only unlocked one year after the chunin promotion. He had just enough money to purchase a B-rank jutsu.
Another one of his demands to the Police Force was to have his choice of assignment. He could ask them about it because of his existing track record. However, he would be a new outsider to the Torture and Interrogation; he couldn''t decide what he wanted to work on, so he asked for a team¡ªso even if he was given work he did not like, he would be able to handle it on his terms. It was a difficult demand, but negotiations were supposed to be challenging.
Finally, he asked for a signing bonus as a cherry on top to sweeten the deal.
If he was being honest, Torture and Interrogation was at an inherent disadvantage. The Police Force had the advantage of familiarity with Mikoto''s offer, which he was thinking about accepting if he went with the Police Force. By tying his wagon to the Uchiha horse, he would have a much easier time progressing in his career. ANBU had the almost overwhelming advantage of incentives in terms of jutsu access. Their only disadvantage was the five-year term. He would be locked in and unable to pursue a better opportunity.
"That is indeed competitive," said Ibiki, his tone hiding that he disagreed.
Takuma wanted to nod. Even though he had worked with Taro''s mom, that wasn''t enough for the Head of Torture and Interrogation to be convinced that he was worthy enough to warrant such a generous compensation package. The demands would''ve been much more acceptable if he was a seasoned chunin¡ªbut for a genin, who would take up one of the department''s promotion slots¡ªthe demands were difficult to accept.
"Very well, we will return to you with our decision," said Ibiki while standing up, signalling that the conversation was over.
They had barely started to talk, and the conversation had already ended. Takuma knew that Ibiki didn''t appreciate his terms.
"Please, take your time," Takuma smiled. Being so upfront with his demands was a gamble, so losing Ibiki''s interest wasn''t that surprising. He didn''t blame the man; his response would''ve been similar if he had been in the position.
"May I ask where you base your expectations from?" asked Ibiki.
"I have been offered something similar," Takuma replied.
"Oh, and who might that be?"
Takuma couldn''t answer the question because neither the Uchiha nor the ANBU had officially extended their offers. Without official confirmations, he couldn''t voice his claims¡ªbut he could hint without going into the specifics.
"We can talk about that when you extend an offer in earnest," he smiled.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
After he met with Ibiki, Takuma visited Anko and Yori separately and set up plans to have a meal with Anko along with Kameko and visit the Oishi family at their home for dinner. As he was leaving the headquarters, he looked up and saw Amami walking in his direction with four other shinobi in tow, all looking busy and in a hurry.
The Torture and Interrogation uniform looked surprisingly suitable on Amami. Perhaps it was because she looked comfortable in it.
She had been very playful during their team-up. He decided to return the favour.
Amami looked up and saw Takuma wave at her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she stopped, utterly surprised.
Takuma didn''t stop and patted her on the shoulder.
"I came to apply for your job, of course," he said before leaning in to whisper in her ear: "You better pass the recruitment because you''re out of the job here."
He winked and patted her shoulder before walking away.
"Huh?" she asked, startled.
Takuma didn''t turn around and simply waved his hand as he continued to walk.
CH_9.3 (318)
Takuma sat alone in Maruboshi''s living room, gazing at the package that had arrived for him via courier. Maruboshi was on an overnight wilderness trip, leaving him alone at the house. Even though ANBU had given them a week to decide, the package arrived three days after the end of the exams. This could either mean they liked him enough to send him their response instantly, or that he had no chance of making it, so they didn''t even take their time to deliberate.
He was surprised he had the patience to get to the living room without tearing the package open at the door to see the result. He took a deep breath, carefully cut open the white envelope''s glue seal, and removed the small cardboard box with a mini storage scroll inside that held a five-page offer letter.
His natural response was to set the letter on the table and lay flat on the floor with a sigh. Even though it was only noon, he felt tired enough to retire for the day. He was happy that he had a job with ANBU, but he wasn''t as elated about it as he expected. And he didn''t think anything would change the next day when he would be hearing the Police Force''s offer.
Ultimately, either option would be just a job at the end of the day.
"Either way, I am going to be a chunin," he whispered to himself.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The next day, dressed in his Police Force uniform, Takuma arrived at the Police Force headquarters an hour before noon for his meeting with Setsuna.
However, things happened differently than he was told.
When Takuma arrived at his office, Setsuna said, "The chief wants to talk to you."
In his time at the Police Force, he hadn''t visited Fugaku''s office once. He had met and talked to him several times in and out of work because of his job in the Narcotics Taskforce and because of his lessons with Mikoto. They were not close, and for Takuma, he was his teacher''s husband¡ªbut he was also the boss of his boss'' boss.
Not to mention the Uchiha clan''s head, which was more applicable at the moment. So, while he was nervous, he also felt somewhat positive because he assumed that the Police Force was serious about retaining him.
"Come in," said Fugaku when they knocked.
They wore the same Police Force uniform, but Fugaku looked the most dignified out of the three of them. The man had an aura around him that made people feel like they were talking to a king, which had nothing to do with his bloodline, rank or status. One look was all that was needed to tell he was someone who held himself differently than everyone else.
"Take a seat," said Fugaku as he sat behind his desk
While Takuma sat in front of Fugaku, Setsuna settled on the couch in the corner of the office, making it clear that Takuma was dealing with Fugaku directly. The office had a practical feel and matched the owner''s personality.
"How was your vacation?" asked Fugaku.
"Tiring, but worth it," said Takuma. Now that he had confirmation from ANBU, the exhausting testing procedure hadn''t been a waste.
Fugaku nodded before saying, "I see that the war hasn''t left you yet."
Takuma didn''t know how to respond. Although he thought he maintained a normal exterior, it seemed that Fugaku could see right through it.
"There''s nothing to be surprised about. I have been through a war; it changes you... it takes a lot to leave war behind and return to a new normal," said Fugaku.
All of a sudden, Takuma realised that,currently, he possessed Fugaku''s full focus. The Police Force chief and the Uchiha clan head wasn''t thinking about his responsibilities to his work or his clan. Even Setsuna, sitting in the same room, was all but nonexistent. It was as though only the two of them mattered in the entire world for the duration of the conversation.
Takuma hadn''t ever given someone that much of anything, not to the same degree. It was flattering and burdensome and he partially understood why why the Uchiha clan rallied behind Fugaku as their leader.
Not knowing how to respond and uncomfortable about being seen through, Takuma lightly nodded. It was true, after all. The war would only leave him once he avenged Rikku by killing her murderer; only then would he let it go.
"There is a difference between ''it leaving you'' and ''you leaving it''," said Fugaku calmly as he stared into Takuma''s eyes. "Keep that in mind."
Takuma clenched his hands under the desk''s shadow. He couldn''t tell if Fugaku was speaking broadly or if his words were pointed at his specific experience.
"Let''s move on," said Fugaku, brushing the topic aside before it dominated the conversation. "Your contract here has all but ended; you are even listed as being on paid leave until your last day. Setsuna listened to your requirements and discussed them with me and I want you to stay in the Police Force, Takuma."
Fugaku didn''t say Setsuna, the Narcotics Taskforce, the Department of Organised Crimes, or even the Police Force¡ªrather, he wanted him to stay. It didn''t feel like they were just words to appease him because Fugaku had called him into his office to converse personally instead of leaving it to Setsuna or another high-ranking officer.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
It could''ve been because he was Mikoto''s student, but if that were true, Fugaku would''ve made an appearance when he was in the hospital after the assassination attempt.
"And to make that happen, I wish to give you what you requested."
Takuma resisted his urge to perk up. However, the following words reminded him not to get swept away until he had heard everything.
"But with some conditions."
Takuma licked his lips. "Please proceed," he said.
"Here''s what I''m offering you with respect to what you asked," Fugaku said after looking down at the document on his desk. "You will receive a rank promotion as you desired. As it''s an internal promotion, we control it entirely. Therefore, it will be immediate without any review period from the village."
Takuma nodded. The Police Force was unique among the other Leaf entities. When it was created, the Uchiha had demanded and received special administrative powers. Among the various discretions granted to them, they had the authority to apply chunin rank promotions without any influence from the village.
Not many entities possessed that power; they, too, could promote anyone they desired, but it had to go through a review period, which took some time. And while the village rarely intruded on internal matters, they could always reject a rank promotion if they desired.
The Police Force''s rank promotion completely avoided that issue.
"You will receive access to our internal jutsu archives. However, there will be restrictions. You may study D-rank jutsu as much as you like without a limit. For C-rank jutsu, you may get access to one per month¡ªwithout needing to pay, of course," said Fugaku, presenting the first deviation from Takuma''s conditions. "I believe I''m being generous, as twelve mid-rank jutsu per year is more than enough. Learning them would take time... much less training to apply them practically."
"Understood," said Takuma without further comment. He wouldn''t have been able to master twelve C-rank jutsu a year in the first place, so he didn''t mind this alteration.
"As for B-rank jutsu, your first one will be provided free of charge. However, it will only be dispensed to you after you have completed the standard one-year B-rank chunin restriction."
All new chunin had to wait one year before they could gain access to B-rank jutsu. However, the law was worded such that the restriction was not on learning jutsu itself; rather, it was on accessing the jutsu inside the village''s archives, creating a loophole where a shinobi could learn B-rank jutsu during the restricted period so long as it came from a source outside the village''s archives.
This was either done intentionally or unintentionally as it allowed the clans to ignore the law by training their members jutsu from their personal archives. But it also allowed clans to give the same treatment to outside shinobi to gain their favour. The law hadn''t been changed because it would diminish the clans'' power¡ªwhich was something they would never allow to happen.
That Takuma hadn''t been offered the same privilege said everything that it needed to.
"Understood," said Takuma, but this time, he was wholly dissatisfied with the alteration to his demands. He had the confidence to learn and train a B-rank jutsu to practical application in one year.
But to learn a B-rank jutsu under the Police Force, he would have to waste a year. He wouldn''t say anything now, but he would surely bring it up with Setsuna later.
"You asked for a pay rise, so your base pay will start at the ''CN-3'' grade along with other Police Force incentives and bonuses as time goes on."
Takuma nodded, satisfied. If nothing else, the Uchiha paid well.
"Finally, there is the matter of your assignment. I will ask again, are you sure you do not wish to return to the Department of Organised Crime?" asked Fugaku.
"I am," said Takuma without a shred of hesitation. That place had been soured for him after his ousting from the Narcotics Taskforce, and he didn''t want to run into ''old friends'' like Enomoto, who could make life tough by overstepping.
"Very well." Fugaku nodded. "You desired for your choice of assignment. After consideration, you will be transferred to the Department of Corruption Investigation¡ª"
Takuma''s eyes widened when he heard the words leave Fugaku''s mouth, who caught it because he didn''t bother to hide his reaction.
"...Is there a problem?"
The reason Takuma wanted to use Setsuna as a middleman to air his dissatisfaction was that he didn''t want to affect his neutral relationship with Fugaku as that would influence his relationship with Mikoto¡ªbut what had just been proposed was too much.
"You''re asking me to isolate myself from the rest of the Police Force and thenmake more enemies," said Takuma.
The Department of Corruption Investigation handled corruption-related cases. They not only acted as internal investigators, targeting Police Force officers for their misdoings, but they also went after any shinobi in the village who were suspected of misusing their positions in any way.
They were called "rats" inside the Police Force, and no one, without exception, liked them. During his time running the Narcotics Taskforce, he had been audited by the Department of Corruption Investigation twice, which had slowed down work to a crawl. They hadn''t found anything incriminating because he hid his misdoings well, never shared anything with his teams, and built legitimate systems for his team to use.
He had even bitched about the rats himself with his team as a method of team building.
Then, there was the fact that they took cases of corruption all around the Hidden Leaf village. Corruption cases often involve powerful people; going against them meant making powerful enemies. He had heard stories about Corruption Investigations members who were tired of working in a place where they were treated as traitors, applying for jobs outside in want of a better work environment¡ªbut struggled to find good jobs outside as they had offended too many people.
Once someone went to Corruption Investigations, it was near impossible to get out scot-free, and only became harder the longer they stayed. It would even affect his life if he became independent afterwards. Influential people could black ball him from missions of note and kill his career progression.
Takuma didn''t want to get chained to the Police Force. He didn''t even want to be bound to the ANBU if he went their way.
"I won''t work in Corruption Investigation," he said.
"You desired freedom," said Fugaku, calmly. "Any other department will have you follow what your supervisors want you to do until you have gained enough trust and credit to gain freedom. If you''re willing to follow that route, I will transfer you to any department you desire without question."
"But the Corruption Investigation will let me run free?"
Fugaku nodded.
Takuma pursed his lips. Listening to that hadn''t changed his opinion. He still did not want to become a fucking "rat", which would overshadow everything he had done till now.
"I chose this position personally, Takuma," said Fugaku.
"Why?" asked Takuma, clamping down on his indignation. Was Fugaku trying to push him out by offering him a terrible deal?
"Because I think you will thrive there," he replied, once again levelling Takuma with his overwhelming gaze. "I believe this has the potential to make everything you did in the Narcotics Taskforce pale in comparison."
CH_9.4 (319)
The rest of the day after his meeting with Fugaku was a blur for Takuma. The Chief of the Police offered him a deal he would be a fool to take, claimed that it suited him, and then gave no further explanation. In truth, Takuma didn''t want an explanation¡ªhe didn''t want to get roped into something clearly detrimental to his career, so he wrapped up the conversation and left behind a token statement of getting back to them.
He was so upset that he didn''t even talk to Setsuna about the B-rank jutsu restriction because even if that problem was solved, he still didn''t want to work in the Department of Corruption Investigations. No reasonable amount of benefits would have him take the job. He wasn''t at a stage of his career where he could take such a controversial offer¡ªnor did he have a powerful backing or background to survive the job.
The work itself wasn''t a problem. He had the Police Force''s backing, so he could use their weight to get what he wanted. The real problem started after he was finished. Once he was out of the Police Force, he would lose the backing but retain the enemies¡ªso many doors would be barred for him. He would either have to be very lucky, or just stick it out with the Police Force, which had a limited ceiling due to its clan-dominated nature.
Becoming a ra" would only push that ceiling lower. He had the option of choosing another department and starting from the ground up, as he had done at Organised Crime, but even then, the benefits weren''t enough to warrant accepting the offer¡ªespecially with the B-rank jutsu restriction.
"Why would he say I would be good at it?" he whispered.
Despite the awful nature of it all, Fugaku''s words floated atop his thoughts. The statement struck out to him. Was he so gullible that a vague compliment was all it took to sway him? Takuma didn''t want to believe that, but something about Fugaku''s words stuck out to him.
He didn''t think the man was trying to dress up an ugly deal to him¡ªbut at the same time, he wondered if it was nothing but flattery. When he tried to look at his options from a strictly objective point of view, there was a clear winner.
"The ANBU leaves them in the dust," Takuma whispered to himself.
Limitless access to C-rank jutsu archives, access to village''s B-rank jutsu archives without the year-long wait, and a performance-based jutsu compensation package. The ANBU deal stood out despite its non-negotiable five-year employment clause and Takuma didn''t particular mind it, either.
He was only worried about the performance-based jutsu compensation because it complicated things. Things were simple with mission points¡ªearn and exchange them for a jutsu¡ª and the ANBU pay was fixed with zero variable components, so he could calculate the specific date he would have enough points to buy a jutsu.
Not to mention the lack of a waiting period until he could purchase a B-rank jutsu.
However, the free-of-charge performance-based compensation came with an inherent uncertainty as someone else would be judging his performance. If said person didn''t like him or simply didn''t think his output was particularly impressive, they could mark him down, all but eliminating the benefit altogether.
He would still have the ability to get B-rank jutsu the standard way, but that still meant a huge advantage going to waste.
Takuma, sitting alone in the living room, sighed as he thought about his decision.
The Police Force had given him five days to decide, but he had to send in his response to ANBU in two days, which meant he only had that much time to make a decision.
Despite how the Narcotics Taskforce situation had been handled, somewhere in his heart, he wanted to continue working there. Maybe it was because of the comfort. Because he didn''t have much power, he had to learn to work the system to boost the growth of his taskforce.
Some part of him genuinely thought that if he had another try, he could game the system even harder. However, the decision seemed to have made itself.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Now, this is a first," said Mikoto as she walked around the Uchiha compound with Takuma. You have never asked out on a walk like this. I must admit, I quite like this." She gazed at him silently for a moment. "Hmm... this is not the good news kind of walk, is it?"
Takuma pursed his lips as he shook his head.
"I didn''t want to run into your husband," he replied. It would''ve been awkward if Fugaku walked in on him breaking the news to Mikoto.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"So you''re turning down my offer," she said.
"Unfortunately. I''ve decided not to return to the Police Force, and seeing that you wanted me to stay until the external hiring stabilised in return for your sponsorship."
He had decided to go with ANBU.
"What if I waived that condition?" she asked.
Takuma looked at her, unsure how to answer. He wasn''t surprised to see another offer from her. If he was being completely honest, he didn''t think she really wanted him to work at the Police Force when she had first set down the condition. She knew his conflicted feelings toward what had happened, and her setting up the condition away to settle those feelings.
And now she had even waived that condition.
He understood that she was thinking about her clan, but that didn''t mean she wasn''t also thinking about him. Becoming affiliated wasn''t just a big decision for the individual shinobi¡ªit was also important for the clan, which was not only offering resources they could use elsewhere but also attaching their name to an outsider.
Mikoto''s offer showed that she valued him to devote the clan''s resources that could be used to satisfy another subordinate clan, and trusted him to be the right representative for the clan. Being valued like this wasn''t something he was familiar with, so her straightforward intentions meant a lot to him.
Enough that he couldn''t put them in words."I... I''m sorry."
"May I ask why?" asked Mikoto; she sounded neither happy nor angry.
Takuma gazed up at the sky in silence for a moment. "I think I''m tired. I thought I''d spent too much time away at war and wanted to start strong when I got back in¡ªbut I''ve been feeling tired. For a while, I thought it would get better if I just pushed through it," he shook his head, "but nothing has changed. If I let myself go, I would be listlessly staring at clouds all day long," he chuckled. "But I can''t allow that to happen, but I can''t also allow myself to crash and burn, so I decided to just focus on one thing."
Too many things were changing in his life.
He was being promoted to chunin, which came with additional responsibilities. On top of that, he had to adjust to his new job at ANBU and whatever they had waiting for him after joining. Training for a B-rank jutsu was a different beast than learning a lower-ranked jutsu.
His genjutsu sessions with Mikoto were making a return and he had to fix his approach to combat; he was on the verge of grasping on something, and yet it felt far in the distance simultaneously.
All those things were alread too much for him to handle.
"And my offer can''t be that one thing," said Mikoto, a tone of understanding in her voice.
"Right now, I don''t think I''m in the proper mental space now to join the Uchiha clan. All eyes would be on me because when they find out that you brought me in. I would need to show results¡ªgreat results¡ªto not only hold up your name but also show my worth. You might not care, but I do care about not disappointing you¡ª"
"Oh, I do care. Ruin my name, and I'''' get angry, and no one likes me when I''m angry," said Mikoto with a smile.
Takuma chuckled before sighing.
"And what is the one thing you''ll focus on?" she asked.
"Inner peace, I think," he said. "I''ve been ignoring some things that I need to take care of before I can move forward."
Above all else the real benefit of joining ANBU was the closeness he would have with ROOT.
More than learning powerful jutsu, he wanted to hunt Kon down because Rikku would not rest in peace as long as her murderer stayed alive. Moreover, Takuma would not be safe as long as ROOT existed to come after him for revenge. He didn''t think he could exterminate an entity as vast as ROOT, but ignoring them wasn''t an option either.
The day he could tell Rikku''s family that she was avenged and informed the team of the same would be the day he would put down the guilt he carried for being the one to survive.
Mikoto hadn''t missed the turmoil writing across his face. "So what''s next? Back to the Genin Corp?"
"I have something else lined up. I''ll tell you when it''s confirmed." Takuma didn''t want to say anything before ANBU briefed him about what he was supposed to tell people.
"Alright, your loss," said Mikoto as she ruffled his hair.
"Indeed," Takuma smiled apologetically.
"You better not skip our genjutsu lessons."
"Wouldn''t even dream about it. Speaking of lessons, there''s this girl I want to introduce to you who could use some taijutsu pointers, if you don''t mind. Her name is Uchiha Izumi; you might know¡ª"
"You''re introducing a Uchiha... to me?" said Mikoto, looking at him as though he had said something absolutely ridiculous.
Takuma grinned. "Well, what can I say? I''m very well connected."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The next day, Maruboshi returned from his wilderness trip looking refreshed, and he brought along wild herbs and berries that Takuma used to prepare dinner. They sat together and talked about the ANBU recruitment, explaining what he had to do during the ten days he was away.
Takuma set his chopsticks down and said, "I have decided to join the ANBU. I sent my response earlier today."
"I see." Maruboshi smiled. "I suppose congratulations are in order. You are about to be promoted to chunin. You have worked hard, Takuma."
"Thank you," Takuma smiled.
"Have you already talked with the Police Force?"
"Yes, I even had a meeting with Morino Ibiki of Torture and Interrogation. I also visited Mikoto-sensei and had to apologise for declining her offer," Takuma sighed as he rubbed his temple. It had been very tiring.
"Good, it''s good to deal with these matters swiftly," Maruboshi nodded.
Takuma gathered his empty dishes and was about to get up and wash them when he stopped, but he decided to stay seated and fixed his posture while sitting on his knees and facing Maruboshi.
"Uhm, about what you talked about before," said Takuma hesitantly. "Are you sure it won''t inconvenience you? Me staying here, that is."
"Of course." Maruboshi smiled warmly. "Do you want to stay?"
"If you would have me," said Takuma, bowing his head.
He had decided that he did not need a separate place, and with Maruboshi opening his home to him, he was more than happy to live with his teacher. He enjoyed their conversations, and it was a warm experience to have someone there to welcome him when he returned home.
"That makes me happy. Meals will be more interesting from now on."
"Thank you," said Takuma, once again bowing in gratitude.
CH_9.5 (320)
The process of joining the ANBU was hectic.
He had to formally turn down the Police Force offer and participate in an exit process, which had him sit in three meetings with the Narcotics Taskforce, the Department of Organised Crime, and the personnel office. The only nice thing about the process was that they let him keep his Police Force uniform and identity badge, which he was planning to frame and hang up at home.
He also attended a farewell party with the original Narcotics Taskforce members. He was bombarded with questions about what was next for him, which he answered vaguely because he genuinely didn''t know much and also didn''t want to reveal anything before everything was confirmed.
The Torture and Interrogation department also sent an offer, which would have been a good, standard rank promotion deal. However, it was lacklustre compared to what the ANBU and even the Police Force had offered, so he politely refused them with a formal letter.
Anko admonished him for rejecting the offer when he said he didn''t have anything else lined up. Just like everyone else, he had been vague with her as well, but when she found out that he had quit the Police Force, he had to sit through a long talk. She even offered to talk with Ibiki to convince him to disregard Takuma''s refusal¡ªbut he managed to reassure her that he was fine.
After all that, he was finally invited to the ANBU headquarters for a briefing.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Just like the last time, he entered the headquarters through the front gates and found himself before the same kunoichi receptionist he had pickpocketed for weapons. And from the way she was frowning, she remembered him.
"I am truly sorry about last time." Takuma took the initiative to apologise because, from the looks of it, she had at least been reprimanded for the blunder¡ªand he felt guilty about that.
The kunoichi narrowed her eyes at him before putting on a plastic, professional smile. "Please, there is no need to apologise. I was careless. It wouldn''t happen again," she said before guiding him through the building.
She walked beside him instead of leading from the front and remained at a vigilant distance so he wouldn''t be able to swipe things off of her. He felt awkward because she didn''t speak a single word to him the entire time, and he felt it was not the correct time to make things right.
The location was through same door as the last time, which opened up to an empty space with office rooms on one side and open floor space on the other. The bright white lights were all turned on, but unlike the last time, five people dressed in standard gear were waiting instead of the two ANBU-nin.
They were the other candidates from his cohort.
"Yo, you''re the last one," Amami waved at him before patting the empty seat next to her.
Six chairs were set up in two columns of three, facing each other. Only six candidates, including Takuma, were present. The final round had eight, meaning the other two had either failed or rejected the offer.
He sat down beside her, and she immediately bumped his shoulder with hers.
"Stealing my job, was it?" she whispered into his ear.
He shrugged. "Did it bother you? I hope so."
"Not one bit. Seeing that you''re here, you must''ve accepted them."
"You as well, I suppose," he said.
Amami nodded.
Takuma gazed at the other candidates. None of them were strangers to him; he chatted with everyone during the day they had spent at the camp after the forest test. But, except the Hyuuga, it was his first time seeing their faces.
Four and Five were missing, but their teammates, Ten and Sixteen, were present.
"Introduce yourself," said Amami.
"Oh yeah, sure." Takuma faced the candidates. "Hello, everyone. I am Thirteen. My name is Takuma. It''s nice to meet you all again. Congratulations on passing."
Everyone introduced themselves to him.
Three ¡ª Yamanaka Amami.
Seven ¡ª Hyuuga Kojuro.
Ten ¡ª Sonaba Yazo.
Fourteen ¡ª Azugimoto Etomi.
Sixteen ¡ª Yaya Utamatsu.
All of them except for Takuma were already chunin.
"You''re quite young, Takuma," said Yaya Utamatsu with an impressed nod.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"I might be wrong, but ANBU''s minimum age requirement is thirteen and above. You barely meet that at fourteen. They must really like you to recruit you so young," said Azugimoto Etomi as she looked him up and done with crossed arms.
Takuma was by far the youngest of the group at fourteen. After him, Hyuuga Kojuro was eighteen, and Etomi was nineteen. The group itself had a wide age range. Utamatsu was the oldest, at twenty-five. Amami was twenty, and Sonaba Yazo was twenty-two.
"It just means I have the most to learn," said Takuma. And it was true when it came to experience. The others had been chunin for a while, and seeing that ANBU selected them, they were all talented and skilled.
He knew he would be playing catch-up from the very start.
"The ANBU gives their operatives animal codenames. Eisbaer, Leopard, Ant, and so on." Amami addressed the group. "Naturally, we''ll get our codenames as well, but I was wondering how about we have a group thing and use our candidate numbers with each other. Something more personal just for our cohort."
"It works from a practical standpoint," said Kojuro. "It will prevent us from using our real names or codenames since we''ll be in the habit of using numbers, so the chances of accidentally revealing our real names or codenames at the wrong places will go down significantly."
Sonaba Yazo smiled. "I like the sound of that; let''s do it."
"I don''t mind it either," said Takuma. It gave the group a sense of belonging unique to themselves; they were entering a very secretive organisation, and having allies for even moral support was a positive.
He glanced at Amami; she was very good at socialisation. Since everyone was in agreement, it was decided that the group would address each other by their candidate numbers. Ten minutes later, the door opened, and two operatives dressed in black-and-grey ANBU gear walked in. They were Swine and Vespa, the two shinobi he had met during his first visit to the headquarters.
"Good morning, everyone," said Swine, a large man with even larger muscles. He made Yazo, who was taller than him, look smaller in comparison in sheer width. "First of all, I would like to congratulate you on passing our assessments. We are excited to bring you in and allow you to show what you can do for the village and the country."
Vespa, the kunoichi wearing the bee-inspired mask, stood behind Swine and stared at the group like she had done the last time.
"As a welcome, allow us to introduce ourselves," Swine said before removing his mask to reveal a a square face, sharp jaw and rough beard, and swept-back dirty blonde hair.
Vespa removed her mask as well. She had sharp, angular eyes and a gaze that seemed to cut through steel. Her hair was styled in an asymmetrical bob, and she wore earrings with a yellow crystal design.
"Every ANBU-nin is given a codename. Mine is Swine; my associate goes by Vespa. You will be given your names on your first day. There''s no rule against sharing or using your real names among operatives and colleagues. I imagine you will use your real names regularly, however, we encourage you to stick to codenames to address yourself and your colleagues whenever possible to develop a habit of only using codenames. Do not stress about having your name floating out there within the department; it will eventually get out regardless of your intention."
The group glanced at each other; they were just discussing codenames.
"This meeting is to inform you about what the next few months of your life will look like and other key details now that you are joining us," said Swine. "Your employment with ANBU is a secret that''s not supposed to be shared with others. However, we understand everyone has family and friends, and you need to tell them something. For that reason, we provide cover jobs for all operatives that you are free to share with whomever your heart desires.
"For example, ANBU-nin often use covers such as being diplomats, secretaries, cultural and security attache, or nothing at all and simply being independent shinobi running missions. Usually, the cover jobs are anything that allow for and expects frequent travel so your loved ones won''t be suspicious about why you are out of the village so often."
The ANBU had extensive manuals and modules to prepare them for their cover job and Takuma would need to pass a test to check their knowledge so they don''t attract suspicion by behaving incorrectly. To support the cover, he would even work out of pseudo-legitimate offices and workspaces outside the headquarters, which was very important for the cover''s legitimacy.
"What is your cover job?" Yazo asked Swine.
"Good question. Many operatives'' cover jobs have them work from a restricted area within the village to avoid family looking for them at their place of work.."
Restricted areas existed within the Hidden Leaf village and were heavily guarded. Only those with specific clearance and access could enter them. The ANBU headquarters itself was located within a restricted area, as was the area around the village''s water treatment and power plants, which were considered key security locations.
"My cover job has me working in a fuinjutsu research and testing facility located in a restricted area," Swin replied. "My family or friends can''t visit that restricted area, so I don''t need to be there, which allows me to work out of the headquarters. Even if they somehow managed to get there, we have contingencies planned for those cases."
"We''ve had decades'' worth of experience to refine our operating procedures," said Vespa for the first time; her voice was soft but clear. "As long as you properly study the resources, you won''t have to think, much less stress about maintaining your cover."
"She is right. In my nine years working with ANBU, I have only run into a problematic situation once, and it would''ve been avoided if I followed the instructions in the manual," Swine nodded with a sigh.
"Can we choose our covers?" asked Etomi.
The entire group was interested in the question. Since they would all have to justify their choices to their friends and family, it was important to have a cover that was easier to explain. There was also a prestige and reputation aspect where having a good cover would mean having a better social status.
"The short answer is no. We will discuss options with you, but the final decision will not be yours to make," Swine said semi-sternly.
The disappointment was expected.
"After your onboarding is complete, you will go through a training period that may last anywhere up to three months, depending upon how quickly you pass all our requirements to be field operational," said Swine before his amusement vanished, replaced with a cautioning stare. "Do not take more than three months to complete all your requirements. The moment you pass that three-month mark, your pay will stop, and you will start accruing harsh fines that will be deducted from your future pay¡ªand you do not want to be known as someone who didn''t pass the training."
"People will look at you differently," said Vespa in a grave tone.
The way the two ANBU-nin put it was enough to get the point across, nevermind the fines. They couldn''t tell them to hurry up the training as that would be reckless and irresponsible, but their intention was clear: complete the training as soon as possible.
However, when Takuma heard they had three months to train, he was thinking of something else entirely. ''They''re going to pay me to train for three months? Hmm...''
CH_9.6 (321)
In the afternoon, after lunch, the Uchiha family gathered in the living room to relax together while doing their own things. This was a rare occurrence, as their schedule seldom allowed them to spend time together except for meals, and even that was irregular.
The youngest of the family, Sasuke, had a cute frown between his brows as he stared at the shogi board before him. His elder brother, Itachi, sat on the other side with a calm smile.
"There¡¯s nothing left for you, Sasuke. It''s over," said Itachi.
"No, give me a minute!" Sasuke pouted.
It had been several months since Shimura Danzo had abandoned the Hidden Leaf and more time since Shisui''s death. The family that had been fractured due to the reveal of Itachi''s action had healed to the point they could behave as they did normally before everything happened. However, the truth remained in the back of their minds, and it created walls that the family as a whole chose to ignore to preserve their peace and harmony.
Fugaku was reading some literature when he heard his wife gasp. He looked up to see her covering her mouth with a hand in surprise as she read a letter. He asked what it was about.
"Takuma..."
"Yes?"
"He¡¯s getting promoted," she said with joy.
There was a social tradition where shinobi announced their promotions to family, friends, and acquaintances. Only a few managed to get promoted to chunin, making it a significant event in a shinobi''s life.
Fugaku remembered sending out letters before his chunin promotion. He had to send them to more than a thousand people, making it impossible to write them by hand¡ªbut his father didn''t want to send printed letters, so he hired calligraphers to write the letters.
Takuma''s letter was also handwritten. The calligraphy was barely average but it showed that he had put in the effort to address everyone individually.
"Where did he join?" asked Fugaku, trying to see which entity had given Takuma his promotion. He was disappointed to see a promising talent like him leave; unfortunately, the circumstances weren''t right.
"It doesn''t say. I bet he got a field promotion," Mikoto sighed.
Fugaku paused. He had managed to get his hand on the war commission''s file on Takuma, and what the lad had done in the Steam-Frost war had been surprising, to say the least. His position as the Uchiha clan head granted him a great deal of influence, allowing him to see even the confidential bits.
Reading that he had killed a jonin was the biggest surprise he had gotten that week. That alone made a field promotion unsurprising and Takuma had done a lot more during his time away from the village.
"Mister Takuma is a chunin now?" said Sasuke, using the conversation as an excuse to escape the lost game. Takuma had been at their house enough that he had left an impression strong enough that Sasuke remembered him despite not seeing him for a year.
"Yes, dear," said Mikoto. "Want to come with me to the ceremony?"
"Okay!"
"No wonder he passed on the Police Force offer; he must be confident about earning a field promotion," said Itachi as he reset the shogi board.
"He''s the first one from his batch who went to the Genin Corp to get a chunin rank promotion," said Mikoto with pride.
"Aren''t brother and Mister Takuma the same age? Brother is better; he''s already a jonin!" said Sasuke with a similar pride.
As his wife bragged about her student, their kid bragged about his elder brother.
"That''s not a fair comparison," said Fugaku from the side.
Mikoto chuckled. "Listen to this: Takuma actually introduced a Uchiha to me. Isn''t that funny? An outsider introduced two clan members to each other. Isn''t that hilarious, Sasuke?"
"Yes!"
"Who was it? Someone from the Police Force?" asked Fugaku.
"It was Izumi. She''s your friend, right, Itachi?" Mikoto looked at her son.
"Izumi?" Itachi muttered with a slight raise of his eyebrows. "They are from the same academy batch." Technically, he was as well, but he took an early graduation after attending for one year.
"Are you planning to take her as a student?" Fugaku asked Mikoto. She had been focused on their children and parenting for over a decade, but now that Itachi was grown and Sasuke was increasingly able to take care of himself, she had a lot of free time.
"I don''t know. It was easy with Takuma because he was an outsider and from the Police Force, so no one complained, and they definitely won''t complain now," said Mikoto. Takuma had cemented his position as her student. "But if I teach Izumi, everyone and their grandfather in their clan will beg me to teach their kids... I don''t know if I want to do that."
It all sounded very annoying from Mikoto''s point of view.
"Did Izumi want to discuss taijutsu?" asked Itachi.
"Yes, she has been facing blocks with her taijutsu progress and wanted my advice." Mikoto sighed, "How can a Uchiha face a block with taijutsu? They just need to use their eyes properly."
The father and eldest son held back their sighs as they heard the familiar rant. Mikoto saw the sharingan and its abilities much differently than the rest of the clan. The father-son duo agreed with her views and saw the potential¡ªshe was a jonin¡ªbut they had heard the same rant hundreds of times over the years.
"You should give Izumi a chance, mother," said Itachi.
He knew his mother was disappointed that she never taught him much when he was younger. For a year before Sasuke was born, she taught him taijutsu, and he picked up her methodology and even applied it, making her happy. The problem was that Itachi preferred genjutsu and ninjutsu over taijutsu; thus, he never took it anywhere near where she wanted him to.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Mikoto wanted a taijutsu-centred student.
Takuma was her genjutsu student and didn''t possess the sharingan to copy her methods. Until Sasuke unlock his sharingan, he couldn''t be a true student, and even then, there was no telling if he would take to her teachings. However, Izumi not only had the sharingan but was also interested in taijutsu.
"She''s very open-minded. If you teach her your philosophy, she might apply it earnestly," said Itachi.
Mikoto gazed at her son before giving him a knowing look.
"Mother?"
"Okay, I will meet with her again to test her. She''s your friend, right? When was the last time you met her?"
"It''s been some time."
"That''s not good. You have to keep in contact with friends, dear. Go catch up with her and invite her to come meet me."
Fugaku, reading the letter, noticed the date of the promotion ceremony. It made him realise that it hadn''t been too long since Takuma returned home, but he was already getting promoted, which was surprising as field promotions took at least a couple of months to go through.
He remembered the Takuma''s jonin-in-command out at the war, Toridasu¡ªan unreasonable type with no problem being pushy. He was an old player who had done a lot for the village. At Toridasu''s age, jonin didn''t go to the frontlines, leaving such duties to younger jonin, but the old man remained active¡ªand it had given him a large amount of influence.
A jonin''s interference could explain the quick turnaround.
Fugaku nodded. It made sense why Takuma felt comfortable not taking his offer.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A rank promotion was debatably the most important moment in a shinobi''s career. A meagre percentage of genin managed to get promoted to chunin. For most, it was the ceiling they would yearn to reach in their lives, making it all more special.
There was a dedicated hall in the Hidden Leaf village, which was exclusively used for rank promotions. Even jonin¡ªall of them¡ªhad their promotion ceremony held at the same hall, which increased the importance and charm of the location.
Takuma, dressed in the standard Leaf gear without the flak jacket, looked at the tall ceiling of the hall and felt the jitters of nervousness. Everything from the carpet beneath his feet to the ornaments decorating the hall dripped with opulence.
Culturally, shinobi lived simple lives¡ªbut this place was the complete opposite.
Today, he was getting promoted to chunin.
Officially speaking, he was already a chunin. The ANBU had made it so that anyone looking would see that he had received a field promotion. He had all the paperwork sitting in his room in Maruboshi''s home.
The promotion ceremony was a social tradition in the Hidden Leaf. Initially, he didn''t want the fanfare, but Maruboshi insisted he do it because it was an occasion of celebration and joy. He had written nearly a hundred invitations to his promotion ceremony that went to all his friends, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Thankfully, he had the Water Clone jutsu to assist him in the mindless copying while he personally handled the personalised variations he sent to the people he was close to, like Mikoto. The chunin rank promotion ceremony was a group event that only happened three to four times a year, during which a handful of chunins would have their ceremony together. However, because the Chunin Exams had happened recently, there had already been a ceremony¡ªmaking it so that Takuma was having his ceremony alone.
Better yet, Takuma hadn''t spent a single coin on expenses besides the letters. Normally, he would have had to wait for his ceremony until the next group slot, but ANBU pulled strings to have it done immediately because they wanted everything over before he joined so he could focus on training.
Takuma was suddenly slapped on the back, leaving a searing burn that made him hiss. He turned back to see the trio of Masaaki, Ai, and Nenro all dressed up for his ceremony.
"Lighten up; why are you so stiff?" said Masaaki after slapping him.
"Congratulations. This is from us," Nenro smiled as he gave him a gift-wrapped box.
"You didn''t have to," said Takuma as he received the gift.
"This place is too much, as always," Ai sighed as she looked around the hall.
"Ah, right. You were here for Mister Oishi''s promotion ceremony," said Takuma. Taro''s dad had been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin while he was at the war. Ai, being his student, was naturally invited.
"Yo, Takuma!"
A loud voice flew through the hall. Anko walked in her usual attire but perhaps had a more fancy coat on and had her hair combed properly. She waved with a big wine bottle with a gift ribbon in one hand while her other hand was around Kameko, dressed in standard gear, who looked a tad bit embarrassed.
Takuma had an inkling that Anko would end up drinking that wine bottle on her own.
"You made me worry for nothing, you little bastard," said Anko, laughing. "You should''ve told me you were getting promoted. I was so worried when you quit your job and turned down the T&I offer."
"Congratulations, Takuma," said Kameko after pushing Anko and presenting him with a gift.
"Thank you," said Takuma before introducing the two parties. "This is Chunin Mitarashi Anko; she was my commanding chunin at Land of Hot Waters. Anko, these are my friends... and everyone already knows Kameko."
Anko was quick to get chatty with the trio, who knew a couple of things here and there about her from his letters. And after Masaaki challenged Anko to a spar as the first thing he said to her, making her laugh, there was no sign of awkwardness.
More and more people began to arrive at the hall.
"Congratulations, Chunin Takuma," said Iruka with a grin.
"That sounds strange," said Takuma before gazing at the man for a silent second.
"What?" asked Iruku.
"I wouldn''t be here if not for you," said Takuma.
Iruka was his first chunin team leader. He had then retained him on his team, allowing him to go on C-rank missions, which was the start of him adding experience to his resume. But much more importantly, if not for Iruka submitting an application to the Police Force on his behalf, Takuma would not have touched them with a hundred-foot pole.
"Please, it was all you. I think you would''ve come here even if I did nothing," Iruka smiled and patted him on his shoulder. "I am very proud of you, Takuma."
Takuma thought about it and shook his head. His career trajectory could''ve been very different if he had not entered the Police Force.
Then came Arisu and two more guys, Minoru and Gouki, from the Narcotics Taskforce. Minoru was the sensory-nin, and Gouki was the first and only Uchiha to join the team when he was running the show.
Both of them and Arisu had been with him on the farm raid mission.
"I knew you would make chunin sooner rather than later," said Gouki with a small smile. Maybe because Gouki had unlocked his sharingan during the raid, he held Takuma, who selected him for the mission, in high regard.
"Not as fast as you," said Takuma. Gouki was internally promoted to chunin while he was out at war. It wasn''t surprising. An Uchiha received a huge boost to combat when they unlocked their eyes.
"Who knew the ear-biter would be the first one to get promoted from our Genin Corps batch," Arisu said with a beaming smile.
"I think your ear was lucky. I ended up winning the tournament, didn''t I? said Takuma.
Arisu turned red and smacked his arm.
Just then, Mikoto walked in with Sasuke, both wearing yukata; they looked the most formal out of everyone present. Unlike when she was at home, Mikoto looked much more dignified and reserved, fitting her position as the Lady Uchiha.
"Takuma," she said.
The Narcotics Taskforce group turned and immediately turned stiff in attention as they suddenly faced their chief''s wife, who also happened to be a jonin.
"None of that is needed. Relax," said Mikoto, chuckling.
They did not relax.
"Congratulations, Mister Takuma," said Sasuke, presenting a ''gift scroll'' to him.
"Thank you, Sasuke. You look very smart today," Takuma gave the kid a smile. It was all sorts of surreal having Uchiha Sasuke at his rank promotion ceremony.
"So, who''s the jonin?" asked Mikoto, looking around. "Maybe I should ask if I can do it."
The chunin promotion ceremony involved presenting the shinobi with a flak jacket. There was no restriction on wearing a flak jacket as it was functional tactical gear¡ªbut receiving a flak jacket was a tradition for new chunin.
And the one presenting the flak jacket was always a jonin.
That''s where Takuma''s nervousness came from.
"It''s... Might Gai."
CH_9.7 (322)
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in contentment as he gazed at the empty side-table-trolley beside his desk. It was usually full of paper, requiring his attention as the Hokage. Even though he had been the Hokage for decades, he still hated paperwork with a passion. It was the bane of his existence.
In truth, the amount of paperwork wasn''t much¡ªbut he had many other responsibilities as the head of the village than just toiling away at paperwork in his office. In fact, on a typical day, he was only in his office for a couple of hours at most. He had to keep up to date with domestic and foreign matters, regularly meet with division and department heads, go on social visits, and do a hundred things his office required from him.
These things took time and energy. And just when he would think it was all over and he could rest, someone would dump paperwork over him. Sometimes, he thought being on the battlefield was better than reviewing paperwork.
However, today, not only had he completed all of his commitments and appointments, but he also confirmed from his secretary that there was no more paperwork. Which meant as long as nothing disastrous happened, he was free for the day. And it was only midday, meaning he had the afternoon and the evening to relax.
He called his secretary into the office.
"Is there anything else that I need to do today? If not, I am ready to head home for the day," said Hiruzen as he arranged the things on his desk.
"There''s nothing else scheduled on your schedule, Lord Hokage," the secretary smiled, seeing the Hokage already setting up his desk, eager to leave.
"Very good." Hiruzen stood up. "I will not be available today. Unless it''s vital, I do not want to be disturbed with anything else until tomorrow."
The secretary nodded before remembering something. "There is one thing, Lord Hokage. There is a chunin promotion ceremony scheduled for today. You said you want to attend at least one every year. Would you like to attend this one?"
"A promotion ceremony? One so soon after the Chunin Exams?" asked Hiruzen. "Is it a private ceremony held by a clan?"
As the Hokage, he attended the Hidden Leaf Village''s academy graduation ceremony every year. He also publicly promoted every jonin and thus was at every jonin promotion ceremony. However, he didn''t have the time to attend every chunin promotion ceremony¡ªand he didn''t need to show up, but he made sure he attended at least one. Most of the time, it was a private ceremony held by a clan for political reasons.
"No, sir. It''s for one Chunin Takuma, a civilian-born shinobi. For some reason, he''s having his ceremony alone."
"Takuma? Family name?"
"No family name."
"Takuma... Takuma... Takuma? Ah!" Hiruzen exclaimed, recalling the name and person. "Do you have a file?"
"Yes, sir... Though, some parts of it are redacted." As the secretary to the Hokage, one was given a high-security clearance to prepare for any questions the Hokage might want answers as they didn''t have time to read through convoluted files and documents.
Usually, the secretary had the clearance to unlock the seals used to redact and obscure sensitive information on personnel files. However, this file required a higher level of clearance to disclose the redactions.
Hiruzen grabbed the file and opened it. He was right. It was Maruboshi Kosuke''s student, whom he had seen in the hospital a few years ago. The last time he had heard of Takuma was nearly a year ago when the ROOT targeted him. Back then, he was surprised to see words like the Ring and Police Force mentioned in the history of the same individual.
"Hmm? The Steam-Frost war?"
"Chunin Takuma just returned from the Land of Frost... If you remember, a few months back, you were briefed about a jonin death at the war. He killed that jonin."
"... Is that so?" Hiruzen muttered as he weaved hand seals to lift the redactions in the war section of the file. His gaze sharpened when he saw the confidential notes about the ROOT involvement, which directly linked to the assassination attempt, which was also redacted.
"I think you should visit, Lord Hokage. To attain the chunin rank at such a young age by a civilian-born shinobi is a rarity. Moreover, he achieved it through a field promotion, which is all the more impressive. I believe Chunin Takuma, who has just returned from the war, would be honoured to see you at his promotion ceremony."
As the secretary spoke, Hiruzen read another redacted paragraph that told him that Takuma hadn''t received a field promotion but was promoted by the ANBU, who had very recently hired him.
"Not to mention, Chunin Takuma is an orphan who has made something great out of himself. His accomplishments here are beyond impressive," said the secretary.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
"You are right. I should at least show my face," said Hiruzen as he turned toward his desk. "Make the preparations for the visit, please."
The secretary left the room, leaving Hiruzen with the file.
He stared at the page with Takuma''s background, which said his parents were merchants who had died during the Nine-Tails Incident.
A complete lie.
He knew it because he ordered the fabrication himself. No one would bat an eye because the day of the incident had made numerous orphans; slipping a false one into the mix made for a perfect cover.
Hiruzen flipped to the last page of the file. There was a single line on the page which was redacted. He weaved the special hand seals before pressing his thumb on the line¡ªbut the redaction didn''t lift. There was nothing in the village he didn''t have access to. He could open the redaction seal, but on his orders, it was given a confidentiality level that required him to be in a special room to lift the seal. One such special room was his office. He looked at a tall bookshelf in the corner, hiding a secret door leading to the secret room.
However, he didn''t need to go to the room.
He already knew the redacted line was a file number, which Hiruzen hoped was gathering cobwebs in a dusty file room somewhere in a secure facility. But seeing that Takuma had joined ANBU, one other person with clearance would have seen the file and the truth within.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Congratulations, Chunin Takuma!"
Mikoto gazed at the tall, well-muscled man. He was immediately identifiable by his shiny bowl-style haircut, thick eyebrows, signature green jumpsuit and orange-stripped leg warmers.
If it were anyone else, she would''ve laughed at the style choices, but none of those thoughts passed her mind when facing the man before her.
Disregarding herself, who had been out of active duty for nearly fifteen years, her generation of shinobi were on the tail end of primes and had transitioned into positions away from the field. Their time had passed, and it was time for a younger generation to shine on the battlefields.
And in that generation, the man before her perhaps shone the brightest.
"Oh, my! Pardon my rudeness for not recognising you instantly, Lady Uchiha!"
Leaf''s Noble Green Beast, Might Gai.
As he walked toward her, she could sense a steadiness in his gait and stance, a stability she couldn''t put into words. The man seemed to exude a sense of boundlessness. She hadn''t seen him fight, but she knew of his renowned taijutsu, unbeatable across the lands, perhaps only matched by the current Raikage. Her instincts told her that the tales about him were true. They said that his body was forged in a smithery, crafted to be indestructible.
She glanced at his bare toes, peeking out from his sandals; they looked beat up and entirely calloused¡ªmore than she had ever seen. Even his knuckles and fingers were crooked from being broken and healed thousands of times.
All Mikoto wanted to do was activate her eyes, politeness being the only thing holding her back. She wondered what she would see if they fought. What would it feel like to break down his moves and style to the fundamentals and adapt to make it her own?
His reputation was such that she had the ridiculous thought that perhaps even her sharingan would fail to copy his taijutsu. She remembered a conversation with her husband, who told her that there were rumours that Gai had developed a taijutsu counter to the sharingan. As a fight progressed, an Uchiha with a sharingan would gradually gain an advantage by copying and analysing their opponent''s move. For that reason, fighting a Uchiha was known to be fighting a losing battle.
However, Gai was known to be friends with Hatake Kakashi, who the clan had allowed to keep one of their clan''s eyes. They didn''t know how much truth was behind the rumour, but it could very well be possible for someone like him.
Just the thought of it and its imagined thrill made her consider attacking him so that they would fight.
"Mom?"
Mikoto took a breath and looked at Sasuke, who was gazing up at her with a tilted head.
"I''m sorry, baby. Did I grip too hard?" she smiled while kicking herself in the mind.
"What brings you here, Lady Uchiha?" asked Gai with a bright smile before looking at Takuma, who was only one step behind.
"Is there something on my face?" asked Takuma as he touched his face.
Mikoto hid a smile when she saw Takuma looking nervous. It was amusing because he was always so calm and collected. It seemed that he looked up to Gai.
"Not at all. No, you aren''t a Uchiha. The colour of the eyes and... yeah, even the shape of the face is wrong," said Gai confidently.
At first glance, Takuma resembled a Uchiha, but upon closer inspection, he didn''t have any of the Uchiha''s physical traits.
"How are you two acquainted?"
"Takuma worked at the Police Force and is my student," said Mikoto. "It''s a pleasure to meet you here, Jonin Gai. You are performing the ceremony today?"
"I am. I do not enjoy things like these, but it''s part of my duties, so I''m glad it''s a solo ceremony." Gai flashed a winning smile as he heavily patted Takuma''s shoulder. "So, you work at the Police Force? Admirable! Hmm?" He lightly patted Takuma''s shoulder a couple more times.
"Ah, I worked there. I recently quit," Takuma replied
"Eh, why?"
"... I just wanted a little break and slow down."
"That won''t do, Chunin Takuma! You are still young; right now is not the time to slow down! You must channel the power of youth and push forward at full speed! Be passionate and enthusiastic, and give it your all no matter what you do!"
"I-I see."
"This is the time to accomplish and achieve everything you wish for! Embrace your youth!"
Mikoto couldn''t help but chuckle and was about to tease Takuma but caught something at the edge of her vision. Both she and Gai turned to see a masked ANBU-nin walking toward them.
It was said that a visit from an ANBU-nin was almost never a good thing.
Mikoto wondered who the ANBU-nin was visiting. Her thought immediately went to Itachi and if something had happened to her son. As a shinobi, she knew to expect danger; many people she knew had died on missions and battlefields¡ªbut as a wife and mother, she would never stop worrying about her husband and son and face the realistic fear that they might not return.
"Greetings, Jonin Gai, Lady Uchiha," said the ANBU-nin, his voice betraying no emotion.
"Is something wrong?" asked Gai, his previous merry attitude fading away into seriousness.
"Rest assured, there''s nothing to be worried about. This is not that kind of visit," said the masked shinobi before looking at Takuma. "Congratulations on your promotion, Chunin Takuma."
"Thank you," said Takuma, surprised and unsure.
"It is a great achievement, and I''m happy to inform you that the Lord Hokage will soon be stopping by to offer you his blessings personally."
CH_9.8 (323)
Takuma was stressed.
Not only did he have Might Gai at his promotion ceremony, but the Hokage himself was coming to attend. It was supposed to be a low-key event he could enjoy with the people he was close to, but it turned into something high-profile in an instant.
"Look at you, so nervous." Mikoto ruffled his hair when she heard him sigh.
"Of course I am! Lord Hokage is coming here!" said Takuma, feeling the jitters.
After living in the world for four years, his perception of many things had changed drastically. The man portrayed as a grandfather figure to Naruto and seemed to be easily accessible at the mission desk handing out D-rank missions was a military leader who controlled a vast shinobi army.
One of the most powerful men in history, and would never be found at the mission desk.
"There''s no need to be stressed, Takuma," Maruboshi tried to calm him down. "Lord Hokage is not an unreasonable man; as long as you act with respect, there''s nothing to worry about."
''Easy for you to say,'' thought Takuma. Maruboshi had served under three different Hokage and would have been a j¨nin if he didn''t continue to deny promotions. He was well-acquainted, if not outright friends, with the Third Hokage.
He glanced at Might Gai, chatting with Doctor Oishi, Taro''s dad, a Tokubetsu J¨nin, who had attained j¨nin level skill in iry¨jutsu. Taro stood beside his dad, listening to their conversation, looking utterly uninterested.
"You like him, huh? Might Gai, that is," Mikoto commented.
"Huh? Well, yes..."
Despite not being a huge fan of the source material, he enjoyed it enough to finish it, and Might Gai was one of his favourite characters. His personality was charismatic, he had a unique flair, was a genuinely nice person, and he gained his strength through pure effort and hard work.
There was nothing to dislike in the best way possible.
"Why not go ask him for advice?" said Mikoto.
"Eh, but¡ª"
She cut him off. "Come on, talk to him before the Lord Hokage arrives. You won''t have a chance after that," she urged him.
Takuma, getting pushed, walked toward Gai. In the moment, he understood the feelings of fans when they approached celebrities for pictures and autographs. He had interacted with j¨nin before, but he always had a reason to do so; this felt different and made him nervous.
"Ah, Takuma. Congratulations on your success," said Doctor Oishi with a smile.
"Thank you, sir," Takuma smiled before turning to Gai. "Sir, I was wondering if I could get some advice."
"What sort of advice?" asked Gai. As a j¨nin, he was used to other shinobi coming to him for advice.
"I currently have an energy imbalance condition. My physical energy levels lack behind my spiritual energy. Seeing as you are a taijutsu specialist, you must be knowledgeable about body strengthening and conditioning."
"Oh my," Doctor Oishi commented from the side.
"What should I do to bridge the gap?" Takuma asked sincerely.
"You are using weighted gear, don''t you?" asked Gai, surprising him.
"Y-Yes! How did you know?"
"I could tell," said Gai before asking for more details. "You''re already on the right path; just keep doing that. The key is not to get comfortable; the moment you feel half-comfortable with the burden on your body, increase the weight. Repeat the process until you reach your limit¡ªbut do not overdo it and get injured."
Takuma nodded with all the seriousness of a soldier receiving orders.
"Now, listen carefully because this is important. To get the most out of this training, you must understand there''s more to it than just how much your body can bear. You have to pull the most out of your body''s potential¡ªtrain your speed, explosiveness, agility, flexibility, endurance, durability¡ªhit every aspect you can as often as possible."
According to Gai, a targeted approach was better if he was training his body to suit a specific combat style. For example, focusing on speed and agility was the better option when training for a combat style that revolved around swiftness.
However, for building physical energy levels, a balanced approach was the best option to pull the most out of the body''s potential.
"Another thing you can do is to use chakra. It''s not as rewarding, but frankly, it gives the most when you think about how low-effort it is," said Gai with a shrug. "The more you use chakra, the more you will have of it."
"To provide some medical context," Doctor Oishi chimed in. "If you use up all your chakra every day¡ªnot enough to cause chakra exhaustion, of course¡ªeventually your body will notice and try to give you access to more chakra to stop you from repeatedly approaching chakra exhaustion. And in your condition, it will make that possible by boosting your physical energy. Of course, it''s not magic, so it won''t produce physical energy out of nowhere¡ªbut it will slightly improve the results of the training and effort."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
There were a dozen more factors that affected how much Takuma would be able to get out of the methods. He was young, and that meant he was still growing, which meant that he would see benefits for at least another seven to eight years¡ªbut his youth also meant that his body was underdeveloped, so he had to wait for it to mature before he could push himself past some limits.
"Finally, here''s a piece of advice," said Gai. "You must learn how to use the extra power as your body grows stronger. Your body is the tool¡ªa stronger body means a better tool¡ªhowever, you''re wasting it away if you don''t learn how to use it properly, so understand your body''s capabilities and limits¡ªwhat it can or cannot do."
"I must admit, I have spent more time in the hospital than I have done on field and combat training combined, and from the looks of it, my son will spend more time behind a desk," said Doctor Oishi, ruffling patting Taro''s shoulder, who looked embarrassed. "The Academy teaches the Hidden Leaf Kata. I know there are these dojos around the villages that teach different taijutsu styles¡ªdo you have a recommendation for a dojo that can teach him?"
Every Leaf shinobi knew the Hidden Leaf kata because it was taught in the academy.
Gai pursed his lips. "A kata is a philosophy or principles that guide a shinobi''s combat style. It can be as simple as preferring feet over fists or something as broad as Uchiha building their style around counter-offence. The Hidden Leaf kata was developed as a learning platform and thus favoured balance¡ªit was made to teach children how to use their bodies to fight. It''s a splendid creation, but shinobi are supposed to change and adapt it to meet their requirements and preferences."
Takuma nodded. He learned the Hidden Leaf kata mostly from Maruboshi, which was different from what he learned in the academy as the kata had changed and developed since Maruboshi had learned it in his childhood. Moreover, Maruboshi had altered the kata into something he thought suitable for teaching Takuma¡ªwho himself had changed it to the point that it couldn''t even be called the Hidden Leaf kata.
His time in the Ring had changed how he fought. If someone looked close enough, they would see the roots of the Hidden Leaf Kata, but it had become something completely different. Now, he was trying to change it even more to get rid of the bad habits that he had ingrained into his style.
"...These dojo all have their own principles. I think they have immense value in providing shinobi with something tried and tested¡ªbut ultimately, the best option is to create something custom-made that fits you like a glove. However, if you do not have time, the dojos are an option. I can suggest a few choices, but you must try out plenty to see what fits you."
Takuma, who was listening to the conversation, had a thought that he chose to voice aloud. "Do these dojo accept dojo storming?"
"They do." Gai smiled brightly. "Ah, I remember doing it a couple of times."
"You must''ve won," said Doctor Oishi.
"I did! A great learning experience nevertheless."
There was a hubbub in the hall. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, had just walked in, two ANBU-nin flanking him on either side. He had his Hokage robe and hat on, and even though he was old, he had changed since the last time Takuma had seen him during the academy graduation. From no angle did he look like someone who could destroy the entire hall if he felt like it.
"Go on, greet him, Takuma," said Doctor Oishi.
"How do I look?" Takuma asked Taro.
"Like one badass chunin," Taro smiled.
"Perfect," said Takuma, putting on a smile.
Takuma walked to Hiruzen, who seemed to recognise him instantly, which was surprising and flattering at the same time.
"Congratulations, Chunin Takuma. It''s nice to meet you again; the last time I saw you, you weren''t in a condition to talk," Hiruzen said, flashing a smile.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Takuma bowed politely, remembering Maruboshi''s words. "I never got to thank you for looking after me all that time ago."
He had fainted into a coma when he realised that he couldn''t access his chakra during his early days of training with Maruboshi. It had put him out for a week, and during that time, Hiruzen, who happened to be at the hospital, had come to look at him due to his connection with Maruboshi and had even requested a Yamanaka to look at him to see if it would help.
"Think nothing of it," said Hiruzen before nodding to Maruboshi, who had just been chatting with Anko just before he arrived. "You are lucky to have him as a teacher."
"I am," Takuma agreed wholeheartedly. "I am blessed when it comes to people who have taught me so much."
"Indeed. To have Lady Mikoto as a teacher is something to be envious about."
"I think I used up all my luck having her as my teacher," Takuma smiled. "But it''s just not her. I learned so much from Chunin Iruka when I was a new genin, and Chunin Anko looked after me when we were deployed to the Land of Frost. I wouldn''t be where I am right now if not everyone here."
"Very good, it''s important to recognise people dear to you," Hiruzen nodded approvingly. "How do you feel? Thrilled to be a chunin?"
"Yes, sir. Excited about what''s next," said Takuma. "What was it like for you when you became chunin?"
"Oh, I don''t remember; it''s been such a long time. This place sure wasn''t there when I got promoted," Hiruzen chuckled, pointing at the extravagant hall. "Hmm... but I remember taking things too seriously back then not to disappoint my teacher, who had just become the Second Hokage. Looking back at it, I should''ve enjoyed my youth more."
He patted Takuma on his shoulder. "Work is undoubtedly important, but don''t forget to live and enjoy life."
"Yes, sir. I will remember that."
"Good, good." Hiruzen smiled, his words and actions resembling those of a grandfather who was wholeheartedly happy for his grandson''s success. It was heartwarming.
The ceremony proceeded smoothly. With the Hokage attending, there was no way anyone else was performing the ceremony. Gai happily stepped aside, and Takuma got to have the Third Hokage put a flak jacket on him while the people who mattered in his life watched and applauded.
The ceremony itself was short and was over within ten minutes. Takuma thought Hiruzen would leave soon after, but he stayed another half hour conversing with everyone who had come, which was exciting for many who didn''t think they would ever get to talk to the Hokage.
Takuma had heard that Hokage were people who were bigger than life, but seeing it firsthand was a different experience. Hiruzen engaged everyone in conversation; his depth of knowledge was impressive, and his ability to make everyone smile and have them impressed with what he said was spectacular.
He made everyone feel he was truly interested in them and their discussion. Takuma saw Hiruzen''s charm, which had allowed him to hold his position for a long time, and it was something else.
Alas, it was time for Hiruzen to leave and Takuma was going to see him out. They walked side by side across the hall, and as they approached the exit, Hiruzen spoke to him.
"Walk with me, Chunin Takuma."
CH_9.9 (324)
Takuma was nervous to be alone in the Hokage''s company. Even the ANBU guards had fallen behind to give them space.
"I am aware that you will be joining the ANBU soon," said Hiruzen.
Takuma wasn''t supposed to discuss his employment with ANBU with anyone, and if asked, he would have outright denied it, but this was the Hokage speaking. There was no use hiding it, especially since lying to him was a crime written into the law.
Takuma nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Are you ready for the challenge? Being an ANBU-nin is not easy."
"I''m prepared to do my best."
"What if your best is not enough?"
"Then I''ll just have to grow my best until it''s enough."
Hiruzen chuckled. "That''s a good attitude. I was surprised when I found out you had joined the ANBU. I believed you would stay with the Police Force because of your relationship with Lady Uchiha."
"I''m grateful to Lady Uchiha for all she has done for me, but my time at the Police Force has come to a natural end. It''s time for me to do something else if I want to grow. In that sense, the opportunity from ANBU came at the perfect time."
Takuma chose his words carefully. He couldn''t insult his previous employers openly or be blunt and say that he joined ANBU because they were the highest bidder, but he also didn''t lie completely; he cared about the Hidden Leaf village and the Land of Fire because they were his home, and as a citizen, it was his duty to keep his home safe. He wanted to survive the future, but what good was survival if he couldn''t live in peace and enjoy his life¡ªand a safe home was vital for that to happen. He also wasn''t eager to return to the Police Force after everything that had happened; the idea of going through the awkward readjustment stage there didn''t appeal to him
"Did you factor in that working for ANBU will bring you closer to ROOT?" Hiruzen asked a startling question.
"Pardon?" said Takuma, not expecting the question.
"I assume you are aware of the ROOT."
"... Yes, sir, I do."
"You''ve had a surprising number of run-ins with them these past two years. They''ve even tried to kill you outright once. Joining ANBU could potentially have you face them more in the future. And of course, they might target you once again."
Takuma had, of course, considered it, but it was one of those things he couldn''t say to anyone, much less the Hokage. He didn''t want to avoid them because he wanted revenge. Coming into contact with ROOT was one of the biggest reasons he joined ANBU in the first place.
"They will target me regardless," Takuma replied after a pause. "I don''t believe in running away from a problem. Given time, it''ll follow you wherever you go. Better to tear it out at the root before that can happen. I''m sure ANBU is working hard to make that come true one day, and if they allow me, I will do my best to contribute. Eliminating the ROOT would be best for the village."
When the Hokage was concerned, regardless of the situation, the correct answer was to put the village front and forward before anything else. Despite the risk of being perceived as a kiss-ass, it was undoubtedly the safest option compared to speaking freely.
"Do you hate the ROOT?" asked Hiruzen.
"It would be strange not to. I was in the hospital for months and had to relearn how to walk. They also made my time in the Land of Hot Water much harder than it needed to be. When you combine that with their crimes and defection from the village, to say I hate them wouldn''t be wrong."
"The Steam-Frost war. I heard from Chunin Anko that you were assigned to her team."
"Yes, we were under J¨nin Toridasu''s command."
"Toridasu," Hiruzen smiled. "That old man continues to remain active, even in old age. I must remember to invite him to a meal when he returns."
"He would be delighted," said Takuma.
"I was glad to see Anko enjoying herself as well. Her life had been difficult because of that foolish student of mine," Hiruzen sighed, the shadows of his hat aged him ten years for a moment.
"Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin," said Takuma, thinking about one of the most heinous people in the world.
Hiruzen nodded with a hum. "His actions hurt everyone close to him; she was perhaps hurt the most. So, I was happy to see her enjoying herself back there. She praised you quite a lot, which is rare for her if she feels uncomfortable about the person. I''m glad to see her open her heart to others again."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
"She will grow now that she''s joined T&I," said Takuma. He couldn''t remember if Anko was a Chunin or Tokubetsu J¨nin in the source material, but considering that Orochimaru trained her and experimented on her, her potential had to be great.
"That''s all I wish for her," said Hiruzen with a smile.
"Lord Hokage, I''ve saved my mission points, and now that I''m a chunin, I will choose a B-rank jutsu when I get the opportunity. May I get some advice on how to improve my skills with ninjutsu," Takuma asked. After Gai, he gained some confidence in asking for help.
"I like your spirit," Hiruzen said approvingly. "Do you know your primary affinity?"
"It''s Earth Release, sir. However, I believe Water Release is just behind, if not equal to it," Takuma replied eagerly.
Hiruzen remained silent for an extended moment; his expression suggested that he was deep in thought.
"Earth and Water, you say," he finally spoke. "A handle over two natures at your age is impressive."
"Thank you, sir. I''m currently more skilled with Water Release as most of my frequent jutsu are Water Release." Takuma had much more practice with Water Release due to his frequent use of Eight Tentacles, Wild Water Wave, and Water Clone jutsu, along with the recent addition of the Spirit Water Wave. He had not used Dome and Earth Tremor Sense jutsu all that often.
"Are you aware you can''t just learn B-rank jutsu by reading the scroll?" asked Hiruzen.
"I am.," said Takuma. "B-rank ninjutsu and beyond required advanced chakra training before using the ninjutsu itself."
"My first recommendation is not to rush through the advanced chakra training. Take your time, truly understand what you''re doing, and perfect it before you move on," said Hiruzen as he stroked his goatee. "People who try to rush through advanced chakra training are harming themselves. If you do it properly, not only will your skill with lower-rank jutsu improve, but you will also have an easier time learning the B-rank jutsu itself. Building that foundation is perhaps the most important thing as it gives the largest benefit."
Takuma nodded. Some part of him needed to hear that. The allure of B-rank jutsu was strong; he recalled Bishop using his Fire Release B-rank jutsu, which had boosted his power by such a large amount. Even though Takuma had emerged as the victor, it was a pyrrhic victory, with himself being seriously injured while Bishop had only fainted from chakra exhaustion.
When combined with his worries about the future¡ªhe could see himself rushing through the advanced chakra training to ''officially'' add a B-rank jutsu to his arsenal. But with Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Professor, the master of all five basic natures saying to focus on fundamentals, he would do just that.
"My second piece of advice would be to experience the two elements. You must learn more about earth and water. Learn about their characteristic quirks and their part in the world. Many ninjutsu were created from inspiration taken from observing their element in nature. The better you understand earth and water, the better you will understand Earth and Water Release."
"...So, just observe water and earth? Like water from a tap and the earth all around me?" Takuma asked with a frown. He didn''t understand how that would help.
"I believe you can learn a lot about water from a running tap. But visit streams, waterfalls, ponds, seas, and oceans if possible. For earth, observe different kinds of soils and stones. How is the rocky stone of the Hokage Mountain different from softer farmland? There is so much you can learn from things you would ordinarily pay no attention to."
"Understood," said Takuma. He''d give it a shot, even if it didn''t make much sense right now.
"And finally, practically speaking, knowing how to utilise the jutsu depending on the situation''s requirements is perhaps just as important as anything else. You must understand the jutsu at a high level and possess the skill to gain the freedom to adapt it to the situation," said Hiruzen with a strong insistence in his words. "I understand that ANBU gives their operatives open access to their jutsu archives, and I''m not telling you to hold off on taking advantage of it¡ªbut don''t fall into the trap of believing that learning more jutsu is the path.
"A shinobi who has mastery over one jutsu would often be more dangerous than one who has half-heartedly learned ten," said Hiruzen with a wise smile.
Takuma couldn''t agree more. His experience with Eight Tentacles made him understand the importance of practical application. Learning to cast the jutsu meant nothing if he couldn''t use it effectively.
"Thank you for your time and knowledge, Lord Hokage," Takuma said, bowing.
"I have one more question from my side. I am curious: what is the ''Will of Fire'' to you, Chunin Takuma?" asked Hiruzen as they arrived at the end of their walk.
Takuma was not expecting the question. He had never thought about what ''Will of Fire'' meant to him. He knew what it meant to Hiruzen. He believed the entire village was a large family, and every Leaf shinobi with the Will of Fire loves, believes, cherishes, and fights to protect the village, as previous generations had done before them.
It was what allowed Leaf shinobi to overcome the odds and build character for the sake of protecting something they held dear.
He gazed at the path they had just walked, which led to the hall where people had come to share in his happiness. He remembered the pure joy on their faces as he received the flak jacket from the Hokage. Seeing him happy made them happy, and seeing them happy made him happy.
"...It''s my desire to protect the people I love," Takuma replied.
He did not like this world. It was not like the world he had grown up in¡ªor perhaps it was the same, but he had been shielded from its ugliness. However, he had seen it now, and he did not like it. When he arrived in this world, he felt like a foreigner who did not belong; it had been four years since then, and he didn''t think that had changed¡ªbut it had certainly improved, and it was because of the people.
Because of the genuine connections that made him feel like he belonged.
He wanted to protect them.
His goal had been to survive the future, but it would be meaningless if these people weren''t there with him.
"I will not let them see harm," said Takuma. They were all shinobi, so danger was part of their lives, but he was willing to do whatever was asked from him. "I don''t know if I''m right; maybe that definition will change in the future, but right now, that''s what the Will of Fire means to me."
He looked at Hiruzen, who was smiling gently.
"That''s more than enough," he said.
CH_9.10 (325)
"Six recruits is double the usual admission size¡ again," said ANBU-nin, codenamed Tapir.
He was a middle-aged man in his forties with short, salt-and-pepper hair and more wrinkles on his face than someone his age should have. As ANBU''s Master Instructor, he oversaw all the new recruits'' training and that took a toll.
He was once a field operative but had transitioned into his current role after retiring from active combat.
For the past year, his workload had more than doubled as ANBU ramped up recruitment since the ROOT''s banishing from the Hidden Leaf. Regardless of what ROOT did, it couldn''t be denied that the Hidden Leaf relied on them with various responsibilities, and their exit had left a hole that needed to be filled.
"You know we need the numbers," said Ant, who was involved in the latest round of recruitment.
Tapir scowled. "This is the limit. Any more and we''ll have trouble with integration."
"Training six shinobi is not a lot, Tapir."
"My training isn''t the issue. They''ll join their teams after this, and someone there will have to take time out of their schedules to teach them the team''s ways¡ªand you know how much everyone cherishes their free time."
Ant sighed, knowing there wasn''t much he could say to that. The one thing every ANBU-nin had in common was that they were busy, and when they got free time, they would either use it to catch up on work or shut it out altogether to rest.
Bringing in additional people meant more helping hands¡ªbut at the start, it actually meant teaching them, double-checking their mistakes, often redoing it themselves. All of which would ultimately slow down the team.
The aforementioned benefits only came later when the recruits would become full-fledged operatives, which was why no one liked training new guys.
"And then, those team leaders blame me when the recruits make mistakes at work. Saying, "You didn''t train them properly," Tapir spat in irritation.
"Come on, don''t be like that. Let''s go drinking, my treat," said Ant.
Tapir sighed, seemingly appeased for the moment.
They were currently in an ANBU training facility located within a restricted area in the village. It was a state-of-the-art facility reserved for any ANBU employee, operative or staff, interested in training. It had anything a shinobi could ask for, and if they needed something else, Tapir could reserve it in advance.
"What do you think about this batch anyway?" Tapir asked Ant.
"What about them?"
"Do you think they''ll stick?"
Not everyone could handle working for ANBU. A stringent selection process ensured their operatives were up for the task, but it wasn''t completely foolproof.
Even after passing the testing, some people couldn''t keep up or simply did a poor job at it. ANBU letting people go wasn''t uncommon, but as a rule, turnover was avoided as much as possible since it required a recruitment cycle.
"Give them the right jobs, and they''ll thrive," Ant replied.
"That''s helped me with absolutely nothing," Tapir sighed. It was his job to observe the recruits during their training period to see where they would fit the best. He always got shit from the different ANBU units if their new rookies didn''t pick up their jobs instantly.
"What about this Takuma kid? Isn''t he too young for us? Or is he like Weasel?" asked Tapir.
ANBU didn''t take anyone under the age of thirteen; realistically, they rarely considered those below sixteen as viable candidates because people didn''t want to work with a kid.
It was always extra shitty when a young kid died on a mission, however, they had gone and broken that rule by taking in an eleven-year-old Uchiha Itachi, codenamed Weasel, into their ranks.
"No one is like Weasel," said Ant, taking a moment to snort. "But the kid is smart enough to deserve the shot; he managed to outreason Eisbar in an argument¡ªand he can fight. I was pissed off at how he gave us the slip, and that''s saying something."
While useful, the information didn''t make Tapir feel any better because he could already see the ANBU unit he was thinking of pitching Takuma to bitching to him because dumping a kid on them was malicious behaviour.
As if he had some kind of grudge against them.
Bullshit! He cursed under his breath as he entered the room where the six recruits were waiting.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma watched the two men introduce themselves as Ant and Tapir. He knew Ant from his recruitment test, but Tapir was new and introduced himself as the Master Instructor, who would be overseeing their training for the next three months.
Although he and the others had not received their codenames or masks yet, seeing the two ANBU-nin barefaced made him feel like he was already part of ANBU.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Let me start by saying that all of you are shinobi who passed the recruitment test¡ªyou are not academy brats who need to have everything spoon-fed to them," Tapir addressed the six recruits. "You were hired with the expectation that you will be ready from day one, but that''s unrealistic, and no one''s perfect. Consider this training as putting on the finishing touches before you''re shipped off."
According to Tapir, they wouldn''t be forced to train if they didn''t need it. For example, if they could pass the expected physical requirements, they wouldn''t have to undergo a conditioning course to bring them up to speed. Similarly, they wouldn''t need a surveillance course if they could collect information without being noticed.
If they wanted to complete the training, they had to pass a certain list of criteria before they could be approved for official duty.
"You must pass the tests if you don''t want to train. You can apply at any time, any number of times, but if you fail twice in a row, you will have to go through training. And once you start a course, you can only apply to be tested after it''s finished¡ªno exceptions allowed," said Tapir.
He motioned to a staff member sitting in the corner, who distributed a thick document to them.
The document listed many criteria they had to pass to complete the training. Most interestingly, each criterion had difficulty levels; some had three levels, while others had as many as a dozen. Each criterion had a particular difficulty level marked in bold.
"You must pass each criterion; the level is up to you. The bolded level is recommended, but you aren''t required to follow the recommendation."
"I have a question. What are these recommendations based on?" Yaya Utamatsu asked after Tapir nodded.
"Good question. Not all missions are ideal; they require different skills from the operative. Your leader or the mission supervisor might look at these levels, which will be part of your record, to determine if you''re suitable for the mission. Not everyone relies on them, but depending on the person or mission, they can be mandatory, so I recommend that you update them by getting tested every once in a while."
Takuma read the document as Tapir spoke. The document included a mix of criteria, from combat to intelligence skills. One basic criterion was shurikenjutsu, which tested throwing skills with projectile weapons such as the shuriken, kunai, senbon, among others. It had seven levels, but the recommendation was at the second level.
He turned the pages and eventually arrived at the page with a heading titled "Other/Optional." One of the reasons he joined ANBU was to get better training. They promised to invite former ANBU-nin and specialists for training if he wanted them. When he heard the training period was three months, he wanted to use all of it for training. But Swine recommended they complete their training as soon as possible.
Takuma realised that if he spent the entire three months, he would be setting a bad first impression on his eventual team, who would think that it took him all three months to pass "basic training", whereas his peers were already zoomed past ahead. And that first impression was important.
If he was mistakenly perceived as incompetent, it could ruin his progress as his B-rank jutsu compensation would be influenced by the subjective opinion of superior shinobi who would look badly on him if their impression of him was negative.
He needed a reason to stay in training to justify the extra time, and he seemed to have found one.
"What about these?" asked Takuma, pointing to the "Other/Optional" section. The other recruits glanced at his document before flipping to the same page.
"From experience, a good ANBU-nin is an all-rounder because that allows them to slot into any mission, making them a valuable asset. You also need something special that makes you stand out from everyone else. Iry¨jutsu and f¨±injutsu are massive undertakings, but if you know them, your value shoots up the roof as everyone wants an iryo-nin or a fuin-nin on their team. Your special skill doesn''t have to be scarce due to difficulty; it can be something niche not many people in ANBU can do, such as speaking a region''s dialect or street slang; being skilled at a card game, instrument, or sport; or being good at another nation''s traditional folk song or dance. You might be surprised that what you once thought was useless might come in use here. You can browse a thick folder in the library that lists other skills that we can test you on."
"There won''t be any training for most of these optional skills," Ant said. "My advice would be to focus on completing the mandatory criteria on the recommended levels and start working as soon as possible. You can get other things later after you''ve settled down and get the hang of the work."
Takuma was disappointed when he heard there was no training for most skills. Ant''s advice mimicked Swine''s words, which worried him that getting the training over as soon as possible might be better. He needed more information to make a decision.
For the rest of the meeting, they set up a schedule for the first week to get the things everyone was confident about tested. That way, they could move on to test and build skills the group of six weresn''t confident about.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma returned home in the evening.
Home.
It should have felt strange calling Maruboshi''s house his home when he had only been living there for close to two months, but he was living with Maruboshi¡ªand perhaps that was the reason it didn''t feel strange.
The elderly man''s wise presence was like a warm embrace over the house.
"There''s a package for you," Maruboshi said as Takuma entered the living room.
"Oh? From who?" asked Takuma.
"J¨nin Might Gai."
"Pardon?" Takuma was startled. It had been two weeks since his promotion ceremony, and while he thought about the experience of meeting Might Gai and the Third Hokage from time to time, he didn''t think they had connected enough for either to send him something.
"Where is it?" he asked.
"Outside. It''s took four shinobi to bring it here and they said not to bring it inside if the flooring isn''t solid. I didn''t want to risk it." Maruboshi opened the sliding door to the garden, where a box big enough to fit half a washing machine sat in the grass.
"Do you know what it is?" asked Takuma as they stepped outside.
"They didn''t say and I didn''t open it."
Takuma tried to lift the box. His face flushed with exertion, but he could only lift it a foot off the ground for a couple of seconds before his spine threatened to snap. He took out a kunai and cut the tape and outer cardboard box to reveal half a dozen shinobi-grade hard cases of varying sizes.
Maruboshi muttered, "This is..."
"...Weighted gear," Takuma finished for him.
There was a complete set of the highest-grade weight gear money could buy, along with a heavy vest; ankle and wrist weights; and special gloves and shoes. Everything looked custom-made. There was an option to increase the weight by adding absurdly heavy blocks that reminded him of the ones Rock Lee wore during his fight with Gaara.
The equipment Takuma was a joke in comparison. Outgrowing these would be a pipe dream for quite a while!
"You talked to him about your energy balance," said Maruboshi, handing him the letter with the weighted gear. "It seems he wants to help you with it."
Takuma read the letter handwritten by Gai, who congratulated him on his promotion and said he was sending a gift to help solve his problem and told him not to waste his youth and to be the best shinobi he could be.
"Fucking hell," said Takuma, amazed.
"Language," Maruboshi rebuked.
"Sorry."
"We should store it in the shed because this will not be coming inside by the looks of it."
Takuma rubbed his protesting lower back. "Sounds like the smart choice."
CH_9.11 (326)
The first week of the training period was busy as everyone underwent tests for things they were sure they would pass. Everyone passed physical testing, weapon handling, field strategy, battle tactics, logical reasoning, data interpretation, arithmetics, verbal ability, reading comprehension, and other basics expected from a shinobi who had passed ANBU recruitment.
ANBU even tested their chakra control and jutsu comprehension by having them demonstrate ninjutsu and complete a written test quizzing them on chakra theory.
"You failed?" Takuma was flabbergasted.
Three out of six recruits¡ªEtomi, Fourteen; Utamatsu, Sixteen; and Yazo, Ten¡ª had failed the written test. The test was difficult and demanded a minimum of 80% score to pass, but Takuma didn''t think anyone would fail the test.
"I never really paid attention to the theory," said Yazo with a frown. His hand disappeared into his afro as he scratched his head. "Did they teach all of this in the academy? I don''t remember learning half of this stuff. I''m more of a do-it-to-learn-it type of guy."
"It has been a long time since I paid attention to theory. With kids and the job, I was lucky to learn some new jutsu, but reading the literature has not been a consideration for a few years now," sighed Utamatsu, the oldest of the group and the only one married with kids.
Etomi clicked her tongue. "There''s definitely stuff beyond the academy level. I''ll have to do a refresher about a couple of topics, and I should be fine in the next test... But, shit, come on..."
Amami patted Etomi''s shoulder because the latter had scored 79% on her test and had only failed by 1%.
"So, you''re not taking the class?" Utamatsu asked Etomi.
"Nope, and you shouldn''t as well. Do some self-study and give the second attempt; if you pass, all good¡ªbut if you fail, you take the classes¡ªno reason to commit to a class before that."
"I''m taking the class. I don''t think giving a second attempt will do me any good," said Yazo, quickly evaluating his position and making an appropriate decision. "But this is bullshit. I did everything correctly during my demonstration. Who cares about nerd shit when I have the skills pat down!"
Takuma then realised that not everyone read the literature on the back of the jutsu scroll and slogged through academic papers. He started reading technical stuff because he just sucked at ninjutsu; learning theory helped him make sense of things he didn''t understand. The habit stuck, and he continued to read.
But Yazo wasn''t wrong in his claim that theory didn''t matter if one could perform a jutsu as well as him.
Amami said, "Learning theory can be helpful but will yield diminishing returns past a point. I say attend the class and try to pass the recommended level, but if you can''t, try for a lower difficulty level¡ªas you said, if you can use your jutsu well, no one will care."
Takuma nodded.
"There''s more than one way to learn ninjutsu, but this is ANBU; they demand a higher standard. Don''t make excuses before putting in effort and take the easy way out," said Kojuro Hyuuga.
"My approach is not an excuse," said Amami, her eyes narrowing.
Kojuro shrugged.
Utamatsu quickly changed the subject to the next week''s testing portion.
As they talked, Takuma gazed at the criteria document he had read over and over again for the past week. He wondered if completing the training as soon as possible was the right move for him. He wanted to use his three months properly to not only push himself forward but also to prepare himself for the job.
He thought about why they wanted them to hurry, and one reason was that ANBU wanted them to learn on the job. It was an effective way to encourage people to learn quickly, and the learnings were completely practical without any bloat that could creep into a classroom.
He had learned most of his leading, managing, and organisational skills on the job during the Narcotics Taskforce, and while he made mistakes, he had learned an awful lot very quickly. Or perhaps ANBU just wanted them to get working as soon as possible because they were on their payroll.
"So much to do, so little time," Takuma commented absentmindedly.
He needed more information but didn''t have the right person to ask it from. However, Takuma soon found the person who would solve his problem.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Later that evening, Takuma was leaving the training facility when he saw a brunette woman sitting on a bench near the entrance. She was dressed in casual clothes and wore a cap. He assumed she was someone from ANBU who had come to train there, but as he passed her, she looked up at him and smiled.
Takuma froze when he saw someone he hadn''t seen in a very long time and wasn''t expecting to reunite with at the ANBU training facility.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Sango?!"
Takuma was left speechless for a moment. They had met in the Ring, where she served as his iryo-nin, a relationship which developed into her becoming his personal doctor and they had grown close enough that she was willing to manipulate his medical records to omit any mention of the scars on his body.
The last time he had seen her was just before the assassination attempt. She did not visit him in the hospital or pick up the phone when he wanted to tell her that he was getting deployed, nor did she reply to his invitation to his promotion ceremony.
It was like she had vanished from the face of the earth.
"Yo, I knew you would end up here one day," said Sango with a grin.
"Fuck you showing up like this after all this time," Takuma spat. He felt embarrassed that he was the only person who gave importance to their friendship enough that he went to her house only to find out that she had moved away while he was away at war with no way to contact her.
He also didn''t want to contact her former teacher, Enomoto, the Shady Guy, because of his history with him.
"Oh, come on, don''t be like that," Sango stood up and wrapped her arm over his shoulders. She smiled when he didn''t push her away. "I was busy. These guys are taskmasters, their innate dislike bubbles up when they see free people. And well, a chunin iryo-nin would be sought after everywhere regardless."
"You got promoted?"
"Of course, they gave me a promotion just like you," she smirked, her fox-like eyes narrowing.
"I''m still mad."
"What can I do to make it up to you? I now know how to do cosmetic reconstructions now. I can get rid of the scars for you if you like."
Takuma paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I don''t want that. But you can help me with some other things," he said as he looked at his ANBU senior as thoughts began to pop into his head.
They moved to a restaurant to continue their reunion and conversation.
"You sure picked a fancy place," Sango clicked her tongue as Takuma brought them to a high-end restaurant and even asked for a private room. She sighed, "Well, I don''t have the free time to spend money, so whatever, let big sis spoil you a little."
Takuma didn''t beat around the bush and brought up the topic concerning him the most.
"You want to spend all three months in training?" Sango hummed and gazed up at the ceiling of the private room for a moment. "Well... I wouldn''t recommend it because there''s a lot of work to be done, especially right now."
"Right now?"
"ANBU has been stressed and stretched thin since Shimura Danzo and ROOT absconded. Not only do we have to catch ROOT, but we also pick up the slack they left behind. Everyone''s workload around the board has shot up," Sango''s sigh sounded beyond tired. "We need new people, but training them takes time, which takes away from chipping away at the workload¡ªand I''m not talking about the training you are doing now¡ªit''s the on-job practical stuff like knowing how your unit operates, what''s your leader''s management style, the idiosyncrasies of your teammates, and all that real day-to-day, detailed stuff that you can''t teach without actually working with your team.
"We also can''t up our hiring more than we have right now because that would mean lowering the standards, which is a no-go. We''re somehow managing by outsourcing non-essential, lower-priority matters to other entities and former ANBU-nin, but it''s not enough. We need more people, so spending three months when your unit expects you within one and a half¡ªbut actually needs you there in one¡ªis not ideal."
The timing was not right. ANBU needed the manpower to cover the hole left by ROOT before foreign powers took advantage and damaged the nation. They landed small victories as ANBU ran around, putting out more fires than they could handle.
"So, right now, they need someone who can pull his weight immediately?" said Takuma.
"Exactly," said Sango as she picked up her large pitcher of highball.
If spending all three months wasn''t possible, he needed to focus on the next best thing. How could he increase his value in the eyes of his team and make a good impression? Upon joining, they would probably treat him like a rookie and try to guide him through his responsibilities.
He had gone through the same thing with Kano when he joined the Police Force. The workload was lighter, and everything was double-checked for pointers and errors. All of that took time away from Kano''s regular duties. Eventually, he got used to it, and she stopped babysitting him, but that took some time.
The best way to create a good impression was to reduce that initial babysitting time and prove that he could handle a regular amount of work on his own.
But for that to happen, he needed a few things to accomplish his goal.
"About paying me back..."
"Oh, did you decide on what you want?"
"I want some help with a couple of things."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
By the time Takuma returned home from his meeting with Sango, Maruboshi had already finished his dinner and retired to his room for the day. Takuma took a bath, cleaned the bathroom, and did some prep work for breakfast as part of his duties as a housemate before also turning in for the day.
As he lay on his bed in his room, he gazed at the ceiling with a thought that he had pushed aside before..
He slipped his hand underneath his shirt and traced the scars with a hand.
There were two types of scarring on his body. The rough scars, caused by sharp weapons that cut him during spars and fights, were evidence of mistakes he made during combat. He did not want to get rid of them, as they served as reminders to avoid making those same mistakes. The surgical scars that were present from before the day he found himself in the body. They were methodical, uniform, and were present all over his body. What kind of person was the boy to go through so many operations and medical procedures? It would''ve made sense if it was someone only in one part of the body¡ªbut scars were everywhere.
No one that sick would be able to have a body strong enough to be a shinobi.
Takuma closed his eyes as a faint pain assaulted his head from thinking about the scars. It used to be torturous, but ever since that miserable day when Rikku had died in Yu, the pain had become much more manageable after he had visions during his fight against Kon.
Those were not visions. They were repressed memories.
They were vague and blurry, but Takuma had seen them in his dreams; they had kept him awake at night. If they were memories, they were the boy''s memories. He managed to piece together the fact that the boy was involved in some form of experimentation, and the fact he saw a younger Kon in those memories meant it was all connected to the ROOT somehow.
Nothing of it had to do with him, and yet, because he now possessed the body, he had inherited everything from the boy. Something from deep within his being wanted him to find what had happened to get a semblance of a closer.
And so, he had another reason to go after ROOT.
Unlike avenging Rikku, this didn''t feel like his own desire, but it compelled him the same. Perhaps it was a remnant of the boy influencing him. It made him uncomfortable to think he was being influenced by something he did not know, yet it made no difference. He wanted to know the truth, and getting to it meant capturing the person he hated the most in his life.
Until he got closure, he would not erase the scars on his body. Takuma already wanted to kill Kon; now he had an excuse to torture the bastard until he fessed up everything he knew.
CH_9.12 (327)
Nasaki Isato had been working for ANBU for several years as staff and was surprised when Copperhead¡ªa snake-masked ANBU iryo-nin by the name of Sango¡ªtold her that one of the new recruits wanted to talk to her. He didn''t want her specifically, but a competent staff member.
And her competence being acknowledged was always flattering to hear.
Usually, she would refuse anyone trying to meet her in her capacity as an ANBU staff member as it was seldom anything good, and she was not allowed to share anything about her job, even with her friends and family. At least she was allowed to share that she worked with ANBU; the operatives couldn''t and were essentially forced to lie to almost everyone in their lives.
But the recommendation had come from an operative, and since she was meeting one of the recruits, which kept this thing inside ANBU, so she accepted the meeting, if only because she was getting a meal out of it.
The next day, she found herself sitting in a nice restaurant she had been wanting to visit for some time after work, facing a kid who couldn''t be any older than fifteen. He introduced himself as Takuma. Everything about him, from the look in his eye to how he held himself made him look older.
"So, I''ve been told you need my help?," asked Isato.
"Copperhead told me you''re a record keeper for ANBU."
Isato''s responsibilities involved maintaining records for ANBU and organising and updating everything for ease of access and compliance with strict regulations. She and her fellow record keepers processed thousands of documents weekly, touching everything from memos to expenditure reports to personnel files.
If someone wanted information from ANBU''s intelligence archives, they had to rely on record keepers who treated data and information like gold.
"I will be joining a team after I end my training, and seeing how busy everyone is, I want to be of help. I was wondering if you could walk me through best practices for paperwork in ANBU since I don''t want to waste my team''s time correcting my mistakes. So, I thought that learning from someone like you, who maintains the records, would be the best way to properly avoid mistakes."
If Isato and record keepers hated one thing, it was incorrect and improper paperwork. Every day, some team from some unit would submit a lazy or incompetent mess that the record keepers would have to send back to correct.
She couldn''t understand why they couldn''t do it right the first time, and it wasn''t like they learned from their mistakes either.
Many people didn''t take paperwork seriously and rushed through it, but paperwork was vital because it recorded everything. Over time, people could forget things, conflate facts, and confuse information, but once something was put into writing when it was fresh in their minds, it would never change.
"You are right. Learning from us would be the best," said Isato after downing her drink to wash away her frustrations. "Do you know which unit you will be joining?"
"Not yet."
"Then, unfortunately, I don''t think I can help you very much."
Not everyone filled out the same paperwork. Units with different responsibilities had to fill out different forms related to their duties. Even if she wanted to teach him, she couldn''t until she knew Takuma''s unit to curate what kind of paperwork he would be filling.
"How about some general stuff that everyone deals with? I just want to help, so I will take anything I can learn. Of course, if it''s not a problem for you. You must also be busy, and I don''t want to take too much of your time."
"No, not at all," Isato hurriedly waved her hand. "Sure, let''s focus on some basics. I can even help you with some of ANBU''s standard operating procedures to get you more comfortable."
"Will you? Thank you so much," Takuma smiled gratefully.
Isato smiled. She was impressed that a new rookie showed great initiative before being assigned his codename, mask, and unit.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
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At the start of the second week of the training period, Takuma received a letter in the mail that he had been waiting for since he got confirmation about his chunin promotion.
He got dressed, headed to the ANBU headquarters, and arrived at the ANBU''s jutsu archives because he had just received his special exemption from the year-long B-rank jutsu probationary period for new chunin.
"Hello, I would like to buy a B-rank jutsu, please," Takuma said to the shinobi outside the heavily guarded archives inside the ANBU headquarters.
The shinobi guard looked up at Takuma for a moment. "Your identification, please."
The process from then on was similar to what he had experienced when he visited the general jutsu archives. They checked if he had necessary access, stripped him of all of his belongings except his clothes, patted him down and put him through a metal detector before another shinobi escorted him to a waiting room.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Inside the waiting room was a shelf of catalogues for him to browse. The catalogues had a detailed section on each jutsu inside the archives that he could use to decide what jutsu he wanted. Takuma had spent hours in waiting rooms, reading Water Release and Earth Release C-rank catalogues from cover to cover to find the right jutsu for him.
He planned to do the same when he got his second B-rank jutsu since he already knew what he wanted as his first.
He had no experience with Fire Release and Wind Release jutsu, so he skipped past them. He had a terrible affinity for Lightning Release jutsu, so that wasn''t an option as well. He was obviously interested in the Earth Release and Water Release jutsu, but now was not the time to look at them.
Mikoto told him there was no use in buying B-rank genjutsu and forbade him from ever wasting his mission points on them, making the catalogue useless.
His finger slid past the spines of all catalogues until he arrived at the last one.
{Non-Elemental B-rank Jutsu}
Takuma pulled out the catalogue and flipped through the pages until he arrived at the one-page spread about the jutsu to learn.
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was an A-rank ninjutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. The jutsu allowed a user to create corporeal clones, which, unlike the basic Clone Jutsu, were physically real and could do real damage. The chakra was split equally between the original and the clones. Because they possessed the same chakra as the user, shadow clones were indistinguishable from their original.
The jutsu was classified as forbidden due to the sheer chakra requirement needed to use it, which put the user at risk of death via chakra exhaustion if used carelessly, and thus, only j¨nin were allowed to learn the jutsu.
However, in reality, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was a derivative jutsu.
Senju Tobirama first created the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which allowed the creation of only a single clone, with the chakra split in half between the original and the clone.
Shadow Clone Jutsu was not only not forbidden, but it was also a B-rank jutsu.
Even though it was a lower-grade version, in essence, it was the jutsu that helped the world''s main character to the heights of shinobi.
"When the clone is dispersed, their experience is transferred back to the original," Takuma read the passage on the page, "making it ideal for intelligence gathering and recon: a shadow clone can be sent into hostile territory, gather information without endangering the user, and disperse when finished, thus transferring what it learns..."
As Takuma expected, there was no mention that the experience transfer could also be used to cut down training time in half.
Perhaps it was not known because not many people learned it because even the B-rank version had significant chakra requirements, and they just didn''t realise that it could be used for training.
But Takuma knew about it, so he was going to use it for all its worth.
If he had not been in ANBU, he would not have chosen it as his first B-rank jutsu because buying it meant draining all of his mission point savings and going broke. He would''ve chosen an Earth Release or Water Release offensive jutsu instead.
But because he was in ANBU, given limitless, free access to C-rank jutsu¡ªhe was going to use the training exploit to learn new jutsu to expand his arsenal.
In the future, he expected this investment to give him compounded results.
Takuma sighed. He was about to go broke and had no idea when he would get the next chance to learn another B-rank jutsu.
It all depended on his performance.
Fortunately, Sango had given him another gift other than connecting him with Nasaki Isato.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Tapir sat in his office, reading a file on Takuma, the youngest recruit in the latest batch. He was beginning to understand why they had recruited him. It wasn''t just because of what he did in the war or his accomplishments in the Police Force.
He looked at the optional tests Takuma had opted for during the second week of training: lock picking, horse riding, voice modulation using chakra, radio operation, an on-field first aid certification that was two levels beyond the ANBU recommendation, physical disguise, and chakra masking.
Then there were skills they hadn''t tested, like surveillance, pickpocketing, electrical and plumbing, cartography, leather work, tailoring, shorthand transcribing, bookkeeping, computer skills, hunting, foraging, and more things he didn''t even know how to test.
The kid knew so much that Tapir felt he was making up half of the things. But Takuma had passed all his tests, which gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Tapir heard a knock on the door. Takuma was standing at his threshold.
"Come in, Takuma," said Tapir, closing the file and putting it in his drawer. He wasn''t surprised because Takuma had requested the meeting beforehand. He was not in the mood for small talk and cut right to the chase. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
Takuma didn''t immediately speak. "I heard that the Master Instructor decides where the recruits will be assigned."
"Why? Do you want me to send you to a specific unit?" asked Tapir with a smirk. The information wasn''t a secret, so it wasn''t a surprise that he found out about it after two weeks.
"Not at all, but I was wondering where you plan to send me."
Tapir wondered why he was asking that. As far as he knew, Takuma had no connections inside ANBU. There was one connection to Weasel through his mother, but if the ANBU Captain wanted to use his position to influence Tapir''s decision, he would''ve already shown up.
"Are you wondering why I am asking?" asked Takuma.
"I do," Tapir said straightforwardly.
"I want to use this training properly, so if I know where I will be working, I can focus my efforts to be better suited for the job. I heard that ANBU is stretched thin because of ROOT, so I want to do a good job and pull my weight right from the beginning."
Tapir narrowed his eyes. He didn''t buy that reason. Maybe Takuma wanted to know about his decision before it was too late to change and try to shift it to something to his liking.
"I will respect your decision," Takuma smiled.
"Huh?"
"I am just so excited to work that I''m willing to exit training in eight weeks."
Tapir raised his chin. The kid is trying to negotiate with me! He said ''willing'' instead of ''going'', which meant he was open to reducing that time if he got something in return.
Takuma understood that ANBU wanted the recruits to exit training as soon as possible, and that put pressure on Tapir, who, as the Master Instructor, was expected to make that happen¡ªbut he couldn''t force the recruits¡ªor rather, he did not want to force the recruits.
"Six weeks," Tapir said.
"Seven weeks," Takuma countered.
"Six," Tapir shook his head.
"Okay, six," Takuma nodded, "but you let me choose from a few options."
"I thought you were going to respect my decision," Tapir glared.
Takuma simply smiled.
Tapir clicked his tongue. "Alright... I haven''t decided yet. Give me a week before I present you with some options¡ªbut you have to choose from them!"
"Of course," Takuma smiled. "Now, on to the next topic."
"Next topic?" Tapir asked, cautious about what else Takuma was planning.
"Master Instructor, please suggest some D-rank jutsu that would be useful to me as an ANBU-nin. I was serious when I said I wanted to focus my efforts, and who better to get advice from you, the Master Instructor."
Tapir could only gaze as Takuma pulled out a notepad and pen.
CH_9.13 (328)
None of the recruits passed all their tests at the ANBU''s recommended levels. Everyone had either failed or attempted at a level lower than the recommended.
Takuma was no different. He passed 10% of his mandatory criteria at levels above the ANBU recommendation, 70% at the recommended level, and the remaining 20% below the recommended level.
However, since he had agreed to exit training in six weeks, Takuma decided not to shore up his lacking skills. While Tapir and Ant told the recruits that not everyone relied on the criteria test results, this was a difficult decision for him.
Takuma carried a resume of his skills with him and wanted to build an internal ANBU version of the document. The only reason he was satisfied with leaving after six weeks was because he had a ton of additional, optional skills to make up for it.
Amami and Utamatsu had similar ideas. Amami took her tests at the recommended difficulty level and then applied for retesting her failures at a lower difficulty level, which she passed. Utamatsu took one chakra theory course because he had already enrolled in it before switching to the Amami''s strategy.
Both of them were planning to leave training after four weeks.
The remaining guys all enrolled in courses to bring up their levels to the recommendation.
However, Takuma did opt for an additional course eligible for training. He figured it would be a bad look if his potential team learned that he spent six weeks in training without taking a single course when testing was all done early.
He needed a reason to stay in training for six weeks, so he chose a new skill he hadn''t learned before.
During the third week of training, he faced an ANBU-nin no taller than 5 feet 5 inches. He was dressed in the standard black-and-grey Leaf ANBU tactical gear and had a sword strapped to his back.
Takuma had experienced what j¨nin felt like when they didn''t hide their presence; the man''s presence was nowhere that of a j¨nin, but it felt just as imposing. He walked up to Takuma wearing a ''duck'' mask with khaki-coloured patterns.
"Greetings, Takuma. My codename is Campbell. I will be introducing you to kenjutsu."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It all started when Takuma was trying to figure out which skill course to pursue.
"What seems to be the issue?" Maruboshi asked as he sat opposite him under the warm kotatsu with a cup of steaming tea.
Takuma glanced at his teacher and landlord and was reminded that Maruboshi used a prosthetic for his lost left leg. He owned two models: home and tactical. The tactical model was made for combat and had a hidden blade concealed within that he used to strike with deadly precision. He had never used it against Takuma, who was never a challenge enough to warrant it.
He also used a tant¨, a short blade, as his primary weapon of choice and was well-versed in the sword arts.
"Do you think I should learn kenjutsu?"
Maruboshi raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren''t interested."
They had previously discussed him learning a weapon, but the conversation happened when he was rapidly climbing the ranks in the Ring and was obsessively focused on improving his taijutsu and refining his fledgling chakra augmentation, which had brought him his success.
Back then, he had no time or desire to learn a weapon.
"I am still not sure," said Takuma, gazing at his hand as he clenched his fist. "My combat style revolves around my taijutsu and my chakra augmentation is my greatest weapon. I won''t be able to use it as well if I am holding a sword¡ªor be able to grab someone when they get too close. I use kunai, but it''s not like I can throw a sword at my opponents... It just doesn''t feel like a sword matches my style. It honestly feels like I would be abandoning everything I''ve built till now, and I know¡ªI know that I''m trying to change my combat style, but I don''t want to dump my foundation."
He wondered if he was resisting the idea because he had gotten comfortable and didn''t want to face such abrupt change because it meant heading into the unknown. However, after thinking about it, he didn''t believe he was averse to change. If abandoning his style and rebuilding it around kenjutsu was the right choice, he would''ve gone full steam ahead.
"I think you''re misunderstanding something, Takuma." Maruboshi set his cup down. "Learning kenjutsu doesn''t mean abandoning your current style. Does learning genjutsu mean you''re abandoning ninjutsu?"
Takuma frowned. "No, why would I? They are two different things that serve different purposes."
"Learning kenjutsu doesn''t mean you stop training your taijutsu or stop using it in combat. I draw my tant¨ when I think it will give me an advantage over my opponent, but if I judge taijutsu to be the better option for the situation, my sword will rest until I have a use for it."
In Maruboshi''s words, if using a weapon was superior to bare-handed taijutsu, then every shinobi would be learning a weapon. But it wasn''t true, and taijutsu, like everything else, had its strengths and weaknesses. The real skill was recognising those strengths and weaknesses to determine which to use.
"You''re still unsure," Maruboshi commented.
Takuma nodded. "I have to fix my style, learn new ninjutsu, progress with my genjutsu training, fix the energy imbalance, get better at what I already know, learn new skills, and start a new job soon... there''s so much to do; I don''t know if it''s the right time to pick up kenjutsu." He sighed. There was already too much on his plate, and it felt like the mountain of things to do would topple if he kept on adding more.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"I have to agree with you there. Sometimes, doing less is doing more. However, I believe learning a weapon, it doesn''t have to be the sword, can be helpful to the current you."
"How so?"
"Kenjutsu and taijutsu are different skills. You want to change your combat style. Learning something new, which is so different from what you currently know, will force you into a direction you''ve never ventured into. The new discoveries may inspire you in positive ways precisely because they''re so different. Your kenjutsu might benefit and influence your taijutsu, and the same will happen the other way around."
It was akin to bringing a fresh perspective. Takuma''s taijutsu had become stale after not developing beyond the Ring and learning to use a weapon would bring in a direction to revitalise his stagnating progress.
"Please¡ help me," Takuma said as he bowed his head.
"You don''t have to ask. However, let''s not spar as much. These old bones are not what they used to be," Maruboshi smiled.
Takuma smiled as he gazed down at his calloused hands. His fingers felt weak for a moment, but he clenched into a fist to regain strength before they could tremble.
There was no time to get overwhelmed.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma quickly enrolled himself in a kenjutsu course and received a teacher in three days. Because he was the only one among the recruits taking the course, it was to be a one-on-one tutelage¡ªa boon, in his opinion.
"Do you have any prior experience with swords?" Campbell asked, looking Takuma over. His voice was flat but strong, and he sounded like he didn''t care for whatever the answer would be.
"None," said Takuma before adding: "Well, I did use a sword to behead a man once." He killed one of Kon''s lackeys with a sword but didn''t remember much of the fight; his memories were all a blurry mess.
Campbell tilted his head and had a pause for a moment.
"...I see? Okay, well, let''s make something clear. These lessons will not make you a beginner, much less a master. Bar a few of them, most of these training courses are supposed to be gateways. I''ll introduce you to the fundamentals, and then it''s up to you to how much you practice them. Finally, I''ll be straight with you: unless you''re a born prodigy, you will not be skilled enough to pass the lowest difficulty¡ªso, if you''re in this to earn a skill to put on your record, quit now and save us both some time. I will sort it out with Tapir, and you can choose some easy stuff."
"Do you not want to teach me?" asked Takuma.
"No, I don''t want to waste my time. If you want to learn, I will teach you to the best of my ability."
"Then I want to learn."
"Great." Campbell delivered the response with all the enthusiasm of a deflated balloon. "Do you have any questions for me?"
"How long would it take for me to reach combat viability?"
Knowing the moves wasn''t enough. He could learn the correct stance and train in the proper technique, but it was less than worthless if he couldn''t defend himself or kill someone in a fight.
"That, once again, depends on your knack for the sword and how much effort you put in sparring and learning the techniques." Campbell tossed one wooden sword to Takuma and brandished the other. "Effort isn''t all it''s cracked up to be, but it won''t disappoint. So, familiarise yourself with that sword because that will be in your life for a long while."
The wooden sword was uncomfortable in his hand; it was so different from kunai. For someone who fought barehanded, the weight distribution was wildly unfamiliar.
Takuma couldn''t imagine how long it would take for the sword to become an extension of himself.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
In an unidentified location in the Land of Fire, the ROOT agent codenamed Kon, knelt on his knees. One of his sleeves was half-empty from getting his arm hacked away at the elbow a few months back during a mission.
"You don''t look well, Kon."
Kon pursed his lips. He had lost weight, a significant portion of it in muscle, and was much frailer than before. Maintaining their physique was drilled into ROOT agents''s bones, and they were punished if they failed to pass their physicals. However, since Kon had lost his arm, he had let himself go and didn''t look like a ROOT agent from any angle.
"M-My apologies, master," Kon lowered his head.
"What do you want to see me about?" asked Shimura Danzo, the founder of the organisation known as ROOT, formerly part of the Hidden Leaf. He was the Shimura clan''s leader, the Second Hokage''s student, one of the prime candidates for the Third Hokage, and an esteemed j¨nin and elder feared by everyone.
Kon swallowed, his mouth dry from nervousness. It was his first time doing something like this; a few months ago, he wouldn''t have even dreamed about it, much less daring to think about it.
"Do not waste my time," Danzo warned. His narrow eyes bore down on him as if analysing his existence and considering his worth. There were two ROOT agents in the room, and a twitch of his finger would be enough to end Kon''s life.
"M-My arm, master," Kon trembled, and so did his words.
"Yes, you lost your arm... Genin Takuma, was it? The one who took away your arm. That boy, whose voice has barely cracked, handed you one defeat after another. So many of our plans failed. I''m not pleased, to say the least."
The more Danzo spoke, the more Kon trembled in fear, every orifice of his body pouring sweat. ROOT-nin didn''t demand anything from their leader; they were supposed to be happy and content to have the life and purpose they were given.
Danzo continued, "Your arm is gone, so I assume you want to substitute it with one of our experiments?"
Kon remained silent. His real arm was gone, crushed into a pulp. There existed development projects in the field of iry¨jutsu that could help him recover an arm. He didn''t know what specific procedure would work for his specific case, but seeing that he had been once heavily involved in managing many such developmental projects, he had some preferences. As long as he could get the approval, he could pull some threads to ensure things went his way. The process would be difficult and with no guarantee of success, but he would take it as long as he had a chance.
"Very well. Despite your mistakes, you have served the foundation well, and I wish to reward you for your loyalty and dedication," said Danzo.
Kon''s heart swelled. Getting his arm was the first step to returning to his previous status and taking back everything stolen from him. And once he had the power and influence to move, he would take his revenge.
"But you must prove that you remain worthy because your failures don''t inspire the investment during these... turbulent times," said Danzo.
After their ex-communication from the Hidden Leaf, the ROOT lost their funding and now had to survive as an independent organisation, which required huge, sweeping changes. They had to attain stability as soon as possible to secure their safety and achieve their new purpose.
"You must prove your worthiness. Here, take this," Danzo held up a mission file.
Kon received the file before kneeling again. He read the contents, only to be shocked to find that it was a type of mission given to trainees early in their training¡ªsomething a kid could do in his sleep.
Asking him to do such a mission was a slap in the face.
"Master, this..."
"You will start from the bottom and climb your way back up. Show me that you''re still dedicated to our cause. When I see you that you still possess the drive you did back then, you will get your arm back, and that will be the day you will rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Until then, prove to me that you are one, son."
The words made Kon''s feel like he could soar through the sky. Danzo had never spoken to him like that, nor had he heard him speaking to others like this; the encouragement and warmth in his words made Kon realise how much he must believe in him.
All of the pain and suffering he had experienced till now was just for this moment.
He wanted to be called ''son'' again.
Blood roared in his ears. "I will not disappoint!"
Not only would Kon return to his peak, he would also recover everything the ROOT had lost because of him. He would show that he was the most loyal, and to prove that, he requiredTakuma''s head to complete not only his revenge but to send a signal.
To prove even though ROOT had changed their home, they were just as strong.
CH_9.14 (329)
Even though the Third Hokage had advised Takuma that he should focus on advanced chakra training before attempting to learn a B-rank jutsu, he wasted three days by overestimating himself. If a fresh-out-of-academy Naruto could learn the A-rank version in a couple of hours, he could learn the B-rank version in a few days is what he thought.
Alas, Takuma wasn''t the protagonist, nor did he have the talent. Learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu was among his top priorities to increase his training by employing the clones to train beside him and on his behalf when he was busy.
However, he failed.
Fortunately, he only wasted three days, but they were enough to make him understand why he couldn''t grind his way to mastery. In those three days he had dedicated all his personal time to learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu and failed 100% of the time. Each failure was expensive because the jutsu cost an exorbitant amount of chakra.
Using the jutsu a decent number of times for training meant abandoning everything else due to the chakra requirement. He could not have that. Not only did he have the jutsu recommendations from Tapir to learn, but Takuma also had a few ninjutsu he wanted to learn in his own time.
Dedicating all of his time to Shadow Clone Jutsu when he was starting work soon wasn''t ideal, so he would have to build his way up from the basics.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"I want to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu as my first B-rank jutsu," Takuma said to Mikoto as their lesson ended. They had resumed their once-a-week genjutsu training lessons, but they would soon become irregular once he started working.
Still, Takuma planned to attend them whenever they had time together. He couldn''t tell her he already had access to the jutsu, so he framed the conversation in the context of the future where he wanted the Shadow Clone Jutsu to be his first B-rank jutsu.
"You have the chakra for it," said Mikoto as she considered his choice, "but I suggest you go with a Water Release or Earth Release jutsu for your first B-rank. You''d have an easier time learning them. Shadow clones have excellent utility on the field, but you should first sort out a strong offensive or defensive option before you learn this."
Takuma agreed with her. However, the training exploit was too tantalising for him to wait for until later. The advantage was compounding, meaning a year''s difference would result in fewer results.
The earlier he learned the jutsu, the greater its benefits.
"I still have a year before I can learn a B-rank jutsu. Maybe I will change my mind, but until then, I''m thinking about advanced chakra training," said Takuma, bringing up the topic he wanted to discuss with her.
"Smart choice. Many make the mistake of going right into learning the ninjutsu," Mikoto smiled, impressed. "B-rank jutsu and beyond requires a deeper understanding of chakra to learn and use them, and for most people, their existing knowledge and skill isn''t enough to cut it... You need to be worthy before you can wield the power."
Chakra was the basis of all jutsu. Even taijutsu relied on chakra as it strengthened the body, allowing a shinobi to move in ways ordinarily impossible. When a shinobi used a jutsu, they transformed and manipulated chakra to achieve the desired effect.
"What are the two advanced methods of manipulating chakra?" asked Mikoto.
"They are nature and shape transformation," Takuma replied, already having done his homework on the topic.
"Correct~!"
Nature transformation was an advanced form of chakra manipulation that entailed moulding and defining the chakra''s nature, altering its properties and characteristics. Takuma transformed his raw chakra into water or earth nature chakra when using Water Release or Earth Release ninjutsu. Similarly, others could transform their chakra into the five basic natures¡ªFire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning¡ªdepending on their ninjutsu release.
Shape transformation was another advanced form of chakra manipulation that involved controlling the form, movement, and potency of chakra and determining the size, range, and purpose of the jutsu.
Chakra didn''t have a defined shape and could be moulded into any form desired by the user. The tentacles in Water Release: Eight Tentacle maintained their form due to shape manipulation holding the water together.
Takuma''s chakra augmentation was a pure shape manipulation jutsu. The First Form started out as an application of chakra repulsion but slowly became something more. He created the Second Form when he became able to propel a concentrated package of chakra at high velocity.
Most jutsu worked via both methods of advanced manipulation working together. At D- and C-rank, the hand seals took all the burden of manipulation, allowing shinobi to use them without a deeper understanding of the mysteries of chakra. But at higher ranks, hand seals weren''t enough; the shinobi needed to supplement their own advanced understanding and skill to bring jutsu to fruition.
Today, he wanted advice on nature transformation.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu isn''t part of any basic nature families. It''s a jutsu from the Yin-Yang Release," said Takuma.
The Shadow Clone jutsu was classified as a Yin-Yang Release, meaning it used both cyclic natures. It was not to be confused with a combination nature as Yin and Yang worked separately and together to make the jutsu possible.
"How do I train Yin and Yang nature manipulation?"
There were more natures outside the five basics. Bloodline limits possessing shinobi had the gift to merge basic natures to create a combination nature. Other than that, there were the cyclic natures¡ªYin and Yang¡ªnot to be confused with physical and spiritual energies.
"Yin Release allows one to control imagination, creating form out of nothingness. Yang Release controls vitality, granting life to forms that have none," Takuma said with a frown. "I am familiar with how I''m supposed to train nature transformation for the basic five, but I must admit, I''m confused when it comes to Yin and Yang. Even my understanding of the cyclic natures is shoddy at best..."
He understood water because he drank it, used it for bathing, cleaned clothes and utensils with it. He was well-familiar with all of the basic five, even lightning to some extent¡ªbut yin and yang weren''t things he experienced in his day-to-day life.Stolen novel; please report.
However, he did know that¡ª "Genjutsu is Yin Release," said Takuma.
"It is," Mikoto snapped her finger.
Takuma sat straighter when he looked up to meet Mikotot''s gaze, the red sharingan and its tomoe spinning in her eyes. The day outside turned into night, and the slightly cold wind turned freezing in a second.
"This is my imagination, controlling your imagination and reality, creating a vision that doesn''t exist. And yet, the cold bites your body; you feel it, don''t you?" said Mikoto as she sat before him.
Takuma was affixed inside the genjutsu the entire time, his unique constitution unable to pull him out instantly¡ªa testament to Mikoto''s skill and potency of her genjutsu. She was the one who knew the most about his genjutsu resistance; they had experimented and explored it often. She could keep him there for longer if she wished.
And if she, a retired shinobi, could overcome his natural resistance, he couldn''t help but shiver at what an active j¨nin who specialised in genjutsu could do to him. He knew that as it stood, he couldn''t recklessly rely on his resistance.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked with a pointed gaze.
Takuma felt something change, and he closed his eyes before sending three pulses of chakra through his body, shattering her control over him. When he opened his eyes, the day was back, and the cold weather suddenly felt warm compared to the arctic freeze.
She had weakened the genjutsu to the point where she thought he could break it.
He remained silent in contemplation for a moment before nodding.
"I understand, but this can''t be all there is to it," said Takuma. Taking water as an example, the usage of water in Eight Tentacles and Wild Water Wave was completely different from each other.
"Of course, there''s much more to it. The Uchiha clan is aligned with Yin just as we are with Fire. We have only explored the genjutsu side of it¡ªbut the Nara clan has done something quite different with their Yin affinity," said Mikoto as she pointed at their shadows cast from the sunlight outside. "Their clan''s hiden jutsu allows them to manipulate shadows. Tell me, how is a shadow formed?"
"Shadow is the absence of light. When a body obstructs light from a source, it casts a shadow," answered Takuma.
"Well put. Shadow is the absence of light¡ª it''s nothing," Mikoto smiled.
Realisation struck Takuma. "Creating form out of nothingness," he muttered.
"Correct, it''s nothing, and yet it exists. Not only that, you can alter shadows by altering the light or the obstructing body... which shows it can be manipulated. The Nara clan simply created another way to manipulate shadows and even give them a corporeal form by using the properties of Yin. It''s a tremendous and fascinating example of jutsu craft."
Takuma felt his clarity and confusion increase simultaneously.
"Don''t lose your head over it. If you want to train the Yin nature transformation, just train your genjutsu. It''s only one aspect, but it''ll be enough for the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Mikoto interrupted when she saw him falling into his thoughts.
Takuma nodded before asking, "What about Yang?"
"Yang controls vitality, granting life to forms that have none," Mikoto repeated his words. "People often confuse ''granting life'' with the creation of something living¡ªin actuality, it means bringing possibilities into reality." Noting his confusion, she hummed. "...Hmm, do I know a Yang Release ninjutsu? Oh, I do! Here, look at this."
She weaved a quick set of hand seals before showing him her fingertips. Her beautifully manicured fingernails suddenly grew longer, sharper, harder, and menacing until they were more suited to be called claws or talons than nails.
"This is a Yang Release ninjutsu. It uses my chakra to transform my nails into claws... I don''t want to ruin something here, so just believe when I say that I could slice your flesh to the bone with these nails right now," she said as she looked for something to cut but failed to find anything disposable. "My nails are capable of growing¡ªthat''s something that already exists. What Yang does is that it hijacks the process and temporarily recreates it rapidly. These nails you see right now are real in every sense, as if I had grown them naturally."
Takuma couldn''t help but be surprised. "Real? But humans can''t grow nails like that."
"We can''t, you''re right. However, chakra is an energy potent enough to overcome natural boundaries. If chakra can help us grow our bodies beyond natural limits, then it mustn''t be surprising that it could make nails grow stronger."
"You said they are real? Do you mean your nails will remain like that?" he asked, unable to accept that her nails were real.
"Not at all." She stopped the jutsu, and after a puff of smoke from each fingertip, her nails returned to normal.
"Then it''s not real," he frowned.
"It was real, now it''s not," she smiled.
Takuma only found himself more confused. "Huh?"
"Who says that something real has to last?" Mikoto pointed at the empty tea cups sitting between them. "You tasted the tea when you drank it, but the taste has disappeared now. Does that mean that the taste was not real?"
"But I can drink tea once more to taste again."
"And I can use the jutsu again to grow my nails." Mikoto shook her head with a light chuckle. "It''s okay if you don''t understand; it''s confusing because it''s complex, and you must learn a lot to make sense of it. Even I don''t understand much of it because it''s not my affinity. But I will give you an example we both are familiar with: Iry¨jutsu."
"Iry¨jutsu is Yang Release," Takuma nodded. Ai was an iryo-nin, so he knew some things about Iry¨jutsu from conversations.
"If you boil it down to the simplest terms, iry¨jutsu simply boosts the body''s healing to an extraordinary limit. Your body is still the one doing the healing, but it''s getting help from the iry¨jutsu. Of course, it''s infinitely more complicated than what I said, but that''s the gist of it," Mikoto lazily waved her hand.
She continued, "There''s a law associated with Yang: unlike with Yin Release, you can''t create something out of nothing. I used my chakra to boost the pre-existing growth of my nails. Iry¨jutsu is no different. The iryo-nin uses their chakra to take the burden of accelerated healing away from their patient''s body."
Injuries that would take several months or even years to heal recover within days or weeks. It was a miraculous feat that transcended human limits, many times more impressive than something like breaking the human speed limit.
"It works because chakra is a potent force that supports life itself."
"So, it''s like equivalent exchange?" asked Takuma.
"Hmm, perhaps it is. I am not that knowledgeable," Mikoto shrugged.
"What about the Akmichi clan''s hiden jutsu, Calorie Control? Isn''t that also Yang Release? I understand Iry¨jutsu because the body possesses the ability to heal on its own, which can be considered the ''form''¡ª but what about the Akimchi clan''s ability to grow in size and turn into giants? Where''s the form in that? Humans can''t do that normally."
"That''s even more difficult for me to answer," Mikoto sighed. "It''s a hiden jutsu. I know next to nothing about it... but if I had to take a guess, then the body itself is the form. They can grow their body parts to a tremendous size, but in the end, they''re still human body parts, just blown up in size. I''m sure there is complexity to it all that the Akimichi clan has painstakingly solved over generations, but I can say with confidence that it''s so complicated that they can''t do it with chakra alone."
"What do you mean?"
"Calorie Control, as the name suggests, burns the calories in an Akimichi''s body to give them their power. I could grow the nails because they''re relatively simple¡ªbut think about complex organs strong enough to support their giant frames¡ªtheoretically you could do it with chakra alone, but it would require god-like knowledge and skill. This is not to say that the Akimichi clan is unskillful; I just don''t believe anyone in this world is that skilful. So, they sacrifice a part of their own body to fuel the jutsu."
"What do you mean?" Takuma asked.
"Think about it, first they burn the carbohydrates, then they burn the fats, and if the situation is dire, they burn the protein in their muscles. What if they didn''t control which muscle would be burned first? What if it''s the heart? Do you understand what I mean?"
Takuma nodded. The Akimichi''s jutsu could eat away at their hearts, leaving them weak¡ªand a weak heart would beget a whole host of health complications, death being the worst of them. Despite its miracles, Iry¨jutsu wasn''t all-powerful; there were risks and limitations.
"Perhaps that''s why they eat so goddamn much and store resources in their bodies," said Takuma solemnly.
Mikoto silently nodded.
"You can''t learn Iry¨jutsu, so I will suggest a simple Yang Release jutsu. Buy and practice that for Yang nature transformation training," she said.
"Thank you," Takuma bowed his head, grateful for her guidance.
CH_9.15 (330)
"Takuburo... you have no talent for the sword."
Deno Takuburo was crushed when he heard those words at the tender age of eight from his teacher, who immediately took back his words. But it was too late as they were engraved in his mind from that day forth.
He held no intrinsic interest towards kenjutsu, though he wanted to learn it because it made him feel closer to his father, who, like countless others, had lost his life in the Third Shinobi World War.
Takuboro liked going through basic kata in the backyard, just like his father did first thing every day. He cherished his mother''s smile when she saw him with a sword, commenting on how much he resembled his father and wished to grow worthy enough to wield his father''s sword, the only thing that had returned from the battlefield.
Takuburo was grateful for his father''s close friend, who had volunteered to teach him kenjutsu alongside his own son. For the first time in his life, he became serious about pursuing something because he wanted to prove those words wrong.
Alas, his teacher''s words came to be true.
He had no talent.
Within a year, he was outclassed by his teacher''s son, who trained only half as seriously. Takuburo''s technique was nowhere as polished despite working twice as hard, and their sparring record was so lopsided because he only won when his opponent made a lazy mistake or threw the spar to give him a win.
Takuburo felt furious when the latter happened but couldn''t show his anger because, just like their fathers, the son had also become one of his close friends¡ªhe knew that his friend was only trying to look after him, even though it was absolutely infuriating to be given wins as charity.
Takuburo wanted to win. If his talent wasn''t enough, he decided to compensate through effort. He worked harder, twice as long, and by the time academy graduation arrived, the situation had turned around. His best friend couldn''t hold a candle to him when it came to technique, and they had stopped sparing because they were too far apart in skill.
"I have talent," Takuburo declared to his teacher on graduation day, the day he became a shinobi.
He had proved the words wrong.
That day, his teacher nodded with a smile and congratulated him with a brand new sword. He wanted to use his father''s sword, but it wasn''t an appropriate fit yet, making him grateful for the gift.
He wholeheartedly thanked the man who had grown beyond his father''s friend to a father figure.
However, the young him missed the true feelings behind his teacher''s smile upon hearing the bold declaration. The words that were unsaid that day... he would understand them in the near future.
Takuburo passed the j¨nin team test and trained under a j¨nin right out of the academy. Being a genin wasn''t tough except for the number of duties¡ªbetween missions, team and personal training, and spending time with his friends and family, he wasn''t left with much time to himself. He didn''t mind it, as each day was fulfilling. He wanted to be someone his father would be proud of, so he gave it his all daily.
One and half years passed quickly, and their team registered for the Chunin Exams.
"Dear, you should take this with you," said his mother as she placed his father''s sword in his hands. "You''re ready for this. Make him proud."
He vowed to do just that.
They travelled to the Hidden Sand for the exams, a rare opportunity to see another major hidden village he greatly appreciated. He managed to reach the final round on his first try and confidently faced his opponent.
"What a disappointment," said the Hidden Sand genin as he mockingly gazed down at Takuburo on his knees. "I looked forward to fighting one of you tree-huggers because you were strutting around so arrogantly. But, this is it? Come on, why did you even bother to come?"
Takuburo didn''t hear his opponent nor the proctor declaring the fight over. His gaze and attention were affixed on the shattered remains of his father''s sword. It was the thing that connected him to his late father, but here it was¡ªbroken.
Since he had become a genin, he had fought and sparred against many kenjutsu users, and he barely lost against peers his own age when it came to kenjutsu. He was proud of his skill and thought as long as it wasn''t someone with drastically more experience, he wouldn''t lose to them when it came to wielding a sword.
His final-round opponent was a kenjutsu user of the same age as him, but he was humiliated beyond anything he had faced. He wasn''t given a single chance to be on offence and was forced to be on defence, desperately trying to hang on and not getting defeated.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
He got toyed along like he was a plaything.
As he stared at the shattered blade, Takuburo recalled his teacher''s smile he couldn''t recognise because he was too young. It was the smile of someone who didn''t have the heart to tell a child the truth and break his heart.
He was not given a rank promotion upon his return to the village.
"... Takuburo, I think it would be better if you shift your focus away from kenjutsu to ninjutsu," said his j¨nin teacher. "You shouldn''t put all your eggs in one basket. Versatility is important for a shinobi..."
Takuburo understood what his teacher was tactfully trying to tell him without hurting his feelings. He had been under his tutelage long enough for the j¨nin to know the value of kenjutsu in his heart.
It was his way of telling him what was told to him all those years ago.
He had no talent for the sword.
"I-I... see," Takuburo bowed his head.
He followed the advice and allotted more time to ninjutsu than before. The changes and guidance paid dividends. He was promoted to chunin after four more years and continued working hard for years until he found himself before something he didn''t think he would ever see.
"We are impressed, Chunin Takuburo... How would you like to work for ANBU?"
Soon after, Campbell was born.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Campbell gazed at the rookie he was teaching the basics of the kenjutsu to. He took the assignment because he was promised more time off if he did¡ªwhich was a must since he wanted to travel with his mother.
It had only been four days since they had started their lessons, but it was clear to him that Takuma was not a prodigy. Seeing that he was only fourteen years old, Campbell wondered if he was one of those logic-defying prodigies, but he seemed extraordinarily ordinary. Campbell also thought he was a genius in some other field. However, upon reading the personnel file, he was startled at how much someone so young had accomplished and understood why Takuma had been inducted into the ANBU.
"How am I doing?" asked Takuma as he repeated the basic downward slash.
"Below average," Campbell said bluntly.
He believed in the usefulness of sugar-coating words and white lies, but there were times when the hard truth was needed. Takuma would be a field operative, and overestimating their capabilities was one of the worst things an operative could do. It put everyone, including the operative at risk.
"Hmm, I figured," Takuma said nonchalantly.
Campbell raised a brow. He expected some anger, excuses, or at least disappointment, but indifference wasn''t characteristic of someone his age. It reminded him of the youngest Captain ANBU had ever seen.
"I have never been a quick learner. It will take me a long time before I am satisfied with the results of my efforts." Takuma stopped swinging for a moment and sighed. "And it''s not like I''m in a place where I can polish my skills by fighting myself bloody every other day," he almost sounded nostalgic before he returned to swinging the sword.
"Don''t you think it would be better to find something that you''re good at instead of toiling away at something with an uncertain future?" asked Campbell.
Takuma stopped again and seemed to be in thought before starting,
"...My mother told me that when she was young, she excelled in everything she picked up¡ªbe it sports, academics, or arts¡ªeverything came easy to her. But everyone has things they aren''t good at, and she, too, came across things like that. People called her a ''genius'', so there was also pressure to be good at everything, so she would drop anything that she didn''t pick up quickly to uphold the expectations. As she grew up, there was less time to explore new things, so she even became even more picky until one day, she realised how much she had missed out on because she abandoned everything that wasn''t easy for her."
Campbell had observed Takuma for the few sessions they had met, and the rookie kept his thoughts and emotions close to his chest. But right now, there was a look of sad longing on his face.
He knew Takuma was an orphan from his file. The woman he talked about would''ve been long dead.
"It affected everything in her life. That way of thinking bled into everything in her life¡ªrelationships, career, lifestyle¡ªeverything that showed resistance, she would throw it away. She told me she had a lot of regrets and didn''t want me to go through the same thing." Takuma chuckled as though remembering her joke. "Unfortunately, I didn''t inherit her talent, so if I start abandoning things that don''t come easy to me, I will be left with nothing. And I put a lot of weight into effort. As you said: effort isn''t all it''s cracked up to be, but it won''t disappoint. I believe as long as I put in effort, I will get results."
Takuma wore clothes that covered his entire body, but Campbell could tell he wore a complete set of weighted gear. He didn''t know how heavy the gear was, but he deduced it was heavy, seeing how much Takuma was struggling. He also deduced that Takuma was used to wearing weighted gear because his movements weren''t awkward like one would expect from someone who was just starting out.
Even though Takuma was talking, the swings weren''t made absentmindedly and were full of focused attention and intention. He wasn''t just swinging for the sake of it and calling it hard work; he was someone who cared about the quality of work he was putting in.
This was someone who knew what it truly meant to put in effort. And that was perhaps the problem. Campbell knew how people who believed in the value of effort thought like. They put their entire faith in the ideal of hard work, and because of that, they shattered when they faced reality''s bitterness.
¡ªEffort isn''t all it''s cracked up to be, but it won''t disappoint¡ª
Even though Takuma returned those words to him, Campbell didn''t think the young shinobi understood what the words meant. They were cruel words disguised as motivation.
"...What will you do if the results of your efforts are not enough?" asked Campbell, clenching his fists behind his back.
"I will judge and analyse the situation to find a smart way to redirect my efforts," Takuma said as he continued to swing the wooden sword.
Campbell''s clenched fist loosened as his shoulders eased imperceptibly. He nodded because that was the right answer. The kid was smarter than him, and even if he didn''t completely understand the bitterness, he was at least on the right path.
He picked up his wooden sword and walked to Takuma.
"You are doing it wrong; move your foot back. Let me show you."
CH_9.16 (331)
To master the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Takuma had to increase his proficiency with Yin and Yang nature transformation to understand the jutsu better. The jutsu didn''t require much in shape transformation, and thus, he only had to focus on nature transformation.
According to Mikoto''s advice, genjutsu training was enough for Yin nature transformation.
Takuma sat on a park bench, his lunchbox full of homemade sandwiches beside him. The afternoon brought welcome warmth on cold winter days. People gathered in parks for their lunch breaks to eat under the sky, enjoying the warm rays on their bodies.
He looked up from the notebook in his hands towards the crowd that had come out to the park. The ten nearest to him were all under his genjutsu. He used the sense of touch as the delivery medium, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was indulging in the sun''s warmth. It was the perfect situation to use tactile genjutsu, which usually required stronger stimulation than other genjutsu.
On his left, a group of salarymen had their hands in their pocket because their hands and fingers were strangely cold, and no amount of blowing warm air or rubbing their palms together made them any warmer.
A few steps away sat a mother with a small child, enjoying a lovely picnic. They felt just a tiny bit warmer than they should be. Not enough to shed a layer of clothing, but just enough to be more comfortable.
On his right, an older gentleman sat before a full-size canvas with a suitcase repurposed into a portable art kit. He painted the scenery before him, which looked different from usual. The blue of the sky was more saturated, the green grass looked lusher, and everything was more vibrant.
He was drawing four people¡ªtwo couples¡ªenjoying themselves. They were drinking and eating. They felt hungry, and the food just hit the right spot. Their patch of grass was so comfortable that one talked about taking a nap in the open.
It was an exercise in learning how to manipulate the senses. To cast complex genjutsu, he had to master the individual senses and learn to weave them together to create binding illusions. To make the two couples feel that the food was delicious, he manipulated their sense of taste and smell, which were also significantly crucial in how people tasted their food. He made them feel they were eating the delicious version of each dish they had eaten in the past.
He also resurfaced the feelings associated with memories of their best meals to elevate the experience further. Takuma couldn''t see their memories, but he didn''t need to¡ªthe target''s brain would bring the feelings associated with memory on its own. The brain was a complex creation with unbelievable power, but its complexity also worked against it sometimes.
Takuma was eating a sandwich when he paused for a moment before making a note to manipulate the sense of touch as well because the food''s temperature was also part of the experience. Hot food, fresh off the stove, tasted better than something cooked and packed a couple of hours ago.
He then glanced at the painter. Takuma had made it so the man would experience colours as more vibrant, expecting that it would be a novel experience, allowing him to paint better¡ªbut unexpectedly, the painter showed signs of rejection.
All of his targets were civilians with little to no protection against genjutsu. He could get in easily and maintain a firm hold over their senses, allowing him to experiment without the obstacle of resistance.
The painter would not leave the genjutsu, but that didn''t change the fact that he felt something strange. His artist''s eyes had been trained to examine things closely for shape, colour, and lighting, and it told him something wasn''t right even though he couldn''t pinpoint the discrepancy.
A genjutsu had to be believable, or the brain would reject it as out of the norm. Humans possessed terrific pattern recognition; even if they couldn''t consciously figure it out, they could subconsciously tell something was wrong. There were ways to overcome that instinct, and Takuma was trained to lower the mind''s ability and convince it to accept even the most bizarre things.
But that wasn''t his goal; he was studying how the mind interprets sensory input, so he didn''t want to lower his target''s perception of ''normal''.
Working with civilians also allowed him to influence a larger group without risking weakening control, as would happen with shinobi. A larger sample size meant more information to work with. So he chose targets over a wide age range and both gender groups to understand how multitudes of factors influence how people perceive the world.
However, Yin nature transformation wasn''t a concern. In Mikoto''s opinion, he not only had more than enough skill to meet the B-rank Shadow Clone Jutsu requirements¡ªbut also good enough for the A-rank version Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
This was just his regular genjutsu training.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Takuma flipped back a few pages and opened his notes on one of his newest additions to his ninjutsu arsenal.
Yang Release: Fire Dragon Scales. A D-rank jutsu that covered his skin in fire-resistant dragon scales, capable of mitigating damage from fire.
There were a few reasons behind why he had chosen the jutsu.
The first was for Yang nature transformation training. It was a D-ranked jutsu, making it relatively easy to learn, which was beneficial as he had no idea if he had an affinity for Yang. Shinobi hadn''t yet invented a way to check affinities for cyclic natures like they had done for the five basic natures via chakra paper.
Practical viability was important for him. He didn''t want to learn a jutsu that served no field utility. Fire Dragon Scales provided a defence against Fire Release ninjutsu. It had the downside of only being useful against fire, but it traded that weakness for a much more potent fire defence.
Compared to his C-rank Earth Release: Earthen Dome, its fire defence was still weaker, but it held the mobility advantage as Takuma could freely move as opposed to when he had to stay within a stationary dome.
The jutsu wasn''t on Takuma''s radar initially. It only caught his attention after discovering it was a "scalable jutsu, " meaning it could be pushed beyond its assigned rank and made stronger depending on the user''s skill.
With enough skill and raw chakra, all jutsu could be pushed beyond their assigned rank.
If Takuma trained, he could push his C-rank Water Release: Wild Water Wave to a level where it could be considered a B-rank jutsu. While it couldn''t do damage to a similar B-rank jutsu, it also couldn''t be classified as a C-rank jutsu as there was a big qualitative gap between the two ranks.
Practically speaking, it could also be pushed to B-rank jutsu, and doing that would be around the same difficulty as learning an authentic B-rank jutsu. Many considered and pursued the option as B-rank jutsu were absurdly expensive for most shinobi¡ªbut it was often not worth it as jutsu weren''t meant to be pushed beyond their rank.
Forcibly doing it came with a downside¡ªthe chakra cost for these ''overcharged'' jutsu was measurably higher than their counterparts. That cost could be brought down by training, but that same time and effort could be utilised to make an authentic B-rank jutsu more efficient or powerful.
There was a real-life logic to go down the overcharging route. Learning a jutsu was only half the battle; the other half was practical implementation¡ªknowing when and how to utilise a jutsu during a dynamic battle was arguably more important.
A shinobi who had been using a certain jutsu for a decade suddenly finding that their favourite jutsu was inadequate¡ª but it remained a cornerstone of their combat style, and replacing it could mean a significant overhaul to how they fight¡ªwhich would mean finding and learning a suitable jutsu, gaining real-life experience to identify strengths and iron out the shortcomings¡ªwhich was an immense commitment that might not be satisfactory in the end.
In such cases, ''overcharging'' a jutsu became a viable option, as abandoning an established jutsu meant significant implications to the shinobi. Pushing a D-rank jutsu to a C-rank was considered doable by anyone willing to put in the effort as the gap between the two ranks was surmountable. On the other hand, there was a significant qualitative gap between C-rank and B-rank, which was considered a ''wall'' that most shinobi would never cross.
Most shinobi didn''t have the chakra to use a B-rank jutsu, much less the affinities and dedication to learn them¡ªand overcharging a C-rank jutsu came with additional cost.
A-rank jutsu was the realm of geniuses. Not even all j¨nin had A-rank jutsu in their arsenals because of what it took to learn and use one, and those who did possess that power were considered walking disasters. The gap between B-rank and A-rank was akin to an ocean, and overcharging a B-rank to the next level was considered near impossible or a herculean task for generational prodigies.
However, some jutsu were deemed "scalable" as they were designed, intentionally or unintentionally, in a way that they could be pushed beyond their rank without incurring costs or penalties.
Takuma already knew one such jutsu. Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu was a scalable jutsu. Theoretically, the mist could not only be made dense enough until it became opaque enough to block all light but could also be spread to cover an entire city. Practically accomplishing it in real life was another matter, as pushing a scalable jutsu still meant putting just as much effort into learning a parallelly ranked jutsu.
Yang Release: Fire Dragon Scales was another scalable jutsu. Mastering it at D-rank gave a full-body cover that would resist a considerable of a D-rank Fire Release ninjutsu''s brunt¡ªbut it could be overcharged to make the scales resilient enough to stand up to even B-rank or A-rank if the user had a high Yang affinity to attain the skin in a feasible amount of time.
He chose the jutsu because it had the potential to become a versatile protection against Fire Release ninjutsu, which would cover its limited usage. Of course, if he wanted to push Fire Dragon Scales, he would need to improve his skills with the jutsu.
The process for overcharging a jutsu¡ªscalable or not¡ªstarted out the same, which was undergoing advanced chakra training.
If today, Takuma wanted to overcharge his C-rank Water Release: Wild Water Wave to a pseudo or full B-rank level, he would have to go through the Water nature transformation training to increase the jutsu''s power and then refine it through shape transformation to effectively control and direct the extra chakra into larger and more violent water waves.
"Thirteen..."
Takuma heard his nickname and turned around to see Yaya Utamatsu walking toward him while waving his hand. He stood up to greet his fellow ANBU-nin from the same batch.
"Sixteen, you''re here. Good weather today, isn''t it?" Takuma smiled. He had volunteered to show Utamatsu to a few places around the village as the man was new to the town and had been busy with ANBU training and looking for proper housing when his family moved to the Hidden Leaf to live with him.
"I''m not used to the cold, so any sunshine is divine," Utamatsu smiled.
"Perfect for a tour. Ready?"
"Sure, let''s get started."
Takuma packed his stuff, and they got going. As he walked away from the bench he sat on, he snapped his fingers, and the eyes of the ten under his genjutsu glazed for a moment before they returned to normal, unaware of what had happened and returning to enjoying their time in the park.
CH_9.17 (332)
"This is a great store," Takuma said as he led Utamatsu into a weapon store. "I particularly like their smithing¡ªkunai, shuriken, spikes, hooks¡ªthis is the place to get them. They also have a decent collection of tags, but I''ll show you a different place with a wider collection."
Takuma was no longer a customer because he shifted to an off-market vendor, who sold him high-grade weapons at a lower price by illegally skipping out on sales tax. He was not short on money, but he had made a relationship he valued, so he continued using their services.
"Thank you, this is great. I don''t know how long it would''ve taken me to find something by myself," said Utamatsu, as he picked one of the heavier kunai models and performed a couple of quick jabs.
He was new in the Hidden Leaf village and had asked Takuma to show him around shops related to the shinobi craft.
"You could just source your weapons from the armoury," said Takuma. ANBU provided weapons for its employees, especially the operatives. A single form would have someone in ANBU, whose only job was to deal with weapons, would procure everything while ensuring quality, removing the hassle of shopping.
"I don''t want to become reliant on them. Imagine we leave after our five year contract and I''m suddenly out of touch with a market I''ve never entered clueless about fair rates. Letting myself become dependent on them isn''t the smart thing to do. What kind of shinobi would I be if I didn''t know how to get my own weapons," said Utamatsu as he stared down the length of a senbon needle.
"Fair enough. Better to shop by yourself and then get reimbursed," Takuma nodded.
Many shinobi were very particular about their gear and weapons and wanted to handle everything themselves so that it would be perfect for their requirements. Therefore, ANBU allowed the operatives to buy their own and then turn in the bill to get reimbursed.
They moved on, and Takuma continued showing Utamatsu to stores that sold everything from rope to soldier pills.
"I heard your team assignment was finalised," said Takuma.
He wanted to get along with his batchmates, but that wasn''t the sole reason he had sacrificed time out of his hectic schedule when he could''ve been training his Yang nature transformation for the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Utamatsu was leaving the training after the first month, earlier than him, which meant his team assignment had to be finalised early. Takuma wanted to get an idea of what Tapir would present to him. There was no guarantee Utamatsu had any information that would help him, but checking wouldn''t hurt.
Utamatsu nodded while checking the stitching on a leather strap.
"Where are they sending you?"
He didn''t reply immediately and stayed silent while observing the leather straps. For a moment, Takuma thought he wasn''t going to reveal it and was about to change the subject before it got awkward when the reply came.
"One of the units that observe the activities of high-interest domestic groups."
Foreign powers weren''t the only threat a nation faced; domestic forces operating for self-benefit posed just as much danger. It was part of ANBU''s job to monitor and resolve such threats, especially when those groups comprised chakra-wielding individuals, including former Leaf shinobi.
The Fire Daimyo, his noble court, and the Fire samurai were an example of a high-interest domestic group. Officially speaking, the Hidden Leaf village had sworn fealty to the Daimyo, but they were equals in everything but name. The two sides co-existed because they were satisfied with their own positions, and going to war with each other would invite chaos, destabilising the nation and giving the outside powers a chance to step into their homes.
Of course, being equal allies didn''t mean they were akin to family. One could only trust so much before it blinded them, and that was simply inviting betrayal. The Hidden Leaf kept the other side in check through military power, while the Fire Daimyo held power through his position as the rightful ruler of the country, recognised by the people, who paid him tax, a portion of which was directed to the Leaf shinobi.
The Fire Daimyo needed protection for the Land of Fire, whereas the Hidden Leaf needed the money that enabled them to remain a monopolistic military organisation. But no side could be allowed to rise above the other, and both of them made sure of it in their own ways.
"How does the workload look? Will you be able to return home daily?" asked Takuma. Utamatsu was a devoted family man; thus, spending time with them was a priority, and that depended on what his job would be.
"I doubt about daily, but yes, I will be home regularly," Utamatsu smiled warmly before sighing, "or at least, that''s what they assured me of. Let''s see how much of it will be true."
Because of the recency, Utamatsu knew little about his job. Takuma quickly wrapped up the conversation and returned to showing him around. There would be more to learn when Utamatsu settled in, but Takuma had found something interesting simply from where Utamatsu was going.
High-interest domestic groups.
Only one domestic group could claim to be the top priority for the Hidden Leaf: ROOT. He didn''t know anything about them, but from experience, he was confident they were still present in the Land of Fire. They had enjoyed free reign within the country forever; he was confident that most of their infrastructure was domestic.
Even if they wanted to leave the country, it was beyond difficult given their history.
"¡ªOne of the units that handles high-interest domestic groups¡ª"
It was obvious that there would be more than one unit. ROOT was too big for any one team to handle; there had to be more teams handling matters related to ROOT. He wanted to get one of those teams, so he prayed that Tapir would include one of those teams in the options he would give him.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Otherwise, he would need to figure out how to join one of those teams. He was willing to wait, but he would prefer not to if given no choice.
Amami was also leaving training alongside Utamatsu. Takuma wanted to hear from her, but he couldn''t find her. They had either missed each other, or she had stopped showing up to training as she wasn''t enrolled in any courses.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Tapir and Takuma sat in the former''s office as the time had come for the latter to pick up his team assignment. The promised one week of time from Tapir had turned to two weeks. They had made their arrangement at the start of the third week of training, so it was now one month into training.
Takuma only had two more weeks before he had to report to work. He wanted to push Tapir and make him apologise for his delay to have him owe a favour, but the power difference between the Master Instructor, who was once an operative, and a new rookie who hadn''t worked a single day was too broad for that.
Tapir controlled where he would go to work, so pissing him off could spell huge ramifications for him. So, he sat before Tapir silently with a smile. Not bringing it up would leave a positive impression, and when Takuma had enough clout, he could turn it into an opportunity.
"Here are the three options I prepared for you," Tapir said, charily eyeing Takuma''s silence and smile. He placed three paper sheets side-by-side on the table. The sheet on the right was kept separate, while the other two were close together.
He continued, "The Department of ANBU is divided into two major subdivisions: the Domestic and Foreign branches¡ªexcluding General Administration. As the name suggests, the Domestic Branch is the internal organisation responsible for protecting the Hidden Leaf''s interests at home, notably against threats to national security. By contrast, the Foreign Branch is Hidden Leaf''s external organisation responsible for protecting and promoting our interests and security beyond our borders."
He explained that while both branches existed within the Department of ANBU, they were silos and thus separate entities from each other. They collaborated and shared information only when necessary.
There was no singular head atop ANBU, and the branches were directed by their own ANBU Commanders, who directly reported to the Hokage.
"Though not official, this round of recruitment was only for the Domestic Branch, but I have included an option from the Foreign Branch in case you''re interested," Tapir tapped the sheet kept separate.
Takuma already knew all of it from Sango. He picked the Foreign Branch assignment to read the details. The job would have him be part of a team responsible for missions involving the Land of Earth and the Hidden Stone. According to the document, he would start out stationed in one of four nations bordering the Land of Earth with the possibility of entering the enemy territory undercover or as a ghost spy.
He immediately rejected the option. Not only would he be away from home for a long time, he wouldn''t even be in the Land of Fire. It would also mean a separation from resources like the jutsu archives, training facilities, his teachers, and sparring partners.
Takuma didn''t mind leaving home for a month or two at a time, but the job was asking him to stay out for a term of at least a year or more.
He turned to the two options from the Domestic Branch.
The first option was an assault unit. As the name suggested, they were shock troops tasked with spearheading assaults and disrupting enemy defences. Their role was pivotal in swiftly overwhelming opposition and seizing key tactical positions. They specialised in swift, high-impact operations that necessitated precision, agility, and superior combat skills.
Their offensive strategies focused on rapidly breaching enemy lines, creating chaos, and paving the way for follow-up forces. Conversely, defensive tactics involved holding critical positions under intense pressure and buying time for reinforcements or evacuation.
"Their work is quite straightforward but perhaps the most dangerous. They sport the second-highest casualty rate within ANBU. The highest being another assault unit with identical responsibilities," Tapir joked while conveying a serious truth. "Consider it a compliment that they are interested in you. They almost never take rookies and usually only recruit from experienced operatives. You need the ability to adapt quickly to evolving battlefield conditions, make split-second decisions under extreme pressure, and execute complex manoeuvres with precision. These are madmen who risk their lives every time, so, if you think you can''t handle the stress, forget about this unit."
Takuma nodded before turning his attention to the other sheet.
"The Inquisitor unit?" Takuma muttered.
From the name, he assumed it was an intelligence unit focused on information gathering, but the description said otherwise. It was a specialised unit that undertook missions critical to national security. They excelled in counterterrorism and dealing with a variety of high-risk domestic threats ranging from rooting out traitors to dismantling insurgencies.
They were at the forefront of unconventional warfare to achieve strategic objectives and destabilise adversaries. They did a lot, from collecting information by direct surveillance and reconnaissance or converting assets and informants¡ªinvolving local players to exert influence by gaining their trust¡ªconducting sabotage missions¡ªtraining forces against their targets¡ªand even taking part in direct military action whenever required.
"Contrary to the assault unit, their work is quite diverse. The team''s history of leadership has moulded it into a unit that touches everything involving its mission. If you join, be ready to be very involved in handling a variety of responsibilities. It''s going to be hectic, but you''re going to learn a lot if you manage to hold on."
Takuma didn''t have a problem with that. He was used to having multiple hats while working at the Narcotics Taskforce, where everyone had many roles because they were a new, inexperienced team trying to figure things out.
"So, which one?" asked Tapir.
Takuma glanced up at the Master Instructor. He would have liked some more time to think about it, but Tapir wanted the answer immediately, and Takuma himself found himself attracted to one option more than the other.
"...I will go with the Inquisitor unit," answered Takuma, pushing the page toward Tapir.
The Assault unit was straightforward, and he could see the advantages of going that route. Even though it was much more dangerous, he would have tons of free time as their missions were intense but short¡ªthey went out, caused destruction, and then returned home to rest until their next mission. And because of that, he would have more free time to train and get stronger, which he could hone by going on high-risk combat missions.
But in return, he would never have any control over which missions he received. He would have to go after targets passed down the unit by someone else who had done the work to identify the threat. He did not want that. He desired control so he could one day target ROOT and make them his sole focus if he wished. That would never happen in the Assault unit. He would always be like a missile pointed in a direction someone else set.
On the other hand...
The Inquisitor unit screamed control. They touched every part of their mission, giving them a huge deal of freedom. He wasn''t sure and couldn''t ask, but he was confident that the unit would have some control over which missions they took on, which was a huge opportunity to exploit and pull the unit''s direction toward ROOT if they weren''t already dealing with them. He also very much preferred that he develop various skills that complement each other, which would benefit his future career growth.
The downside was less free time, but once he got the Shadow Clone Jutsu under his belt, that would be less of an issue.
"Are you sure?" asked Tapir.
Takuma nodded.
He knew what he wanted; now, he just needed to work hard to get it.
CH_9.18 (333)
The progress with Yang Release: Fire Dragon Scales to train the Yang nature transformation for Shadow Clone Jutsu wasn''t going well. He was making headway through repetition, but it wasn''t fast enough to achieve his goal of creating a clone by the end of his training, which was ending in two weeks. He needed a way to boost his progress and knew what could help.
"You can still back out of this," said Anko as she pulled her leg up behind her back.
"I wouldn''t have called if I wanted to back off," Takuma replied as he stretched for the spar.
"Alright, let me thank you for this tension-relief session. It''s going to be really hot," she said.
The serpentine smile and the hungry light in her eyes would make anyone nervous, but that was why Takuma had chosen Anko as a training partner. Out of anyone he could call, she was best at Fire Release ninjutsu because of her high affinity and skill, which made her an ideal fit to train Fire Dragon Scales.
He needed real experience; holding his hand above the stove flame only did so much and this was a woman who had casually poisoned him in the name of training. As someone who had received harsh training from Orochimaru¡ªa man infamous for his cruel ways¡ªshe wouldn''t hesitate to push him to maximise effects.
"Or I beat you up," said Takuma, taking the threat in stride. "I hear snake blood has medicinal properties."
Anko grinned at the provocative words. "Look at that arrogance¡ªall because you took out some drunk oldie with a dirty trick?" she shot back, bringing up how he had taken down the j¨nin.
Takuma raised his chin and stared down at her, letting the pointed words pass through him. He pulled off his shirt and threw it to the side, bearing his torso. He felt her gaze on his scars, but she didn''t bring it up, and he appreciated it.
She already knew about his time in the Ring, and even though the surgical scars had grown faint, they were numerous enough to be noticeable.
He weaved the hand seals, which still felt awkward on his fingers. The two energies in his body merged, creating chakra that flowed through the chakra pathway system where it transformed, before being pushed out to every inch of skin on his body.
His skin wriggled for a moment before red-brown reptilian scales resembling those of a dragon''s grew out from his skin. The hair on his head also transformed, giving him a bald head of scales. For a couple of seconds, it felt as though he wore a snug pair of leather gloves with some resistance on movements all over his body, but the sensation soon vanished, leaving him feeling completely natural.
He had started out by only being able to cover his arms below his elbow with scales, but he had gained enough mastery to cover his entire body¡ªbut that could only be considered the beginning.
Opposite to him, Anko weaved a practised set of hand seals. A ball of fire appeared in her palm. She swung her aggressively for a fiery rope of flaming whip to spring out in her hand. It was one of her favourite Fire Release ninjutsu, excellent for crowd control and keeping opponents at a distance; she used twin whips to wreak havoc over her enemies.
"Ready?" she smirked.
He wordlessly charged forth. She immediately lashed out with her flaming whip that left black smoke in its trail. He rolled out of the way and threw a shuriken the moment he was on his feet.
The whip scorched the top-most layer of dirt on the field as his shuriken clashed with an opposing shuriken while a second shuriken emerged from its shadows, aiming for his legs. Takuma jumped to evade the projectile, only for the flaming whip to slam him down. That''s where the dragon scales on his body came into play, rejecting the fire''s burn but only bringing it down to the level of touching a hot pan for a couple of seconds.
He hissed, not expecting the pain that followed¡ªit still felt as though a tight leather whipcord had lashed him.
"You''re slow," Anko commented with a glint in her eye. "That looks like some expensive new gear."
Takuma was wearing the weighted gear Gai had gifted him. He didn''t have the vest on because it hid all of his torso, but he still had his ankle and wrist sets on. Those alone meant he had more mass weighing down his body than ever, making him slow.
He exerted himself and shot toward her as fast as he could. She lashed her whip at his feet again, but he jumped over it, closing the distance with a kunai in hand. She grabbed his arm with her free hand to stop the blade, so he fired a punch from his other hand
Anko''s eyes bulged as she felt the force of Takuma''s augmentation smash into her arm and spike through her body. Her feet cleared the ground for a second and she stumbled to find her balance.
"I-I forgot you hit so hard, you bastard," she groaned.
He didn''t give her time and launched a barrage to pressure her and steal the fight''s momentum.
She raised her hands in a guard, and the whip moved to snake around her arm. Takuma flung a kick for her head, and when she brought her flaming arm to guard, he feared that it would burn him, but his foot only felt warm when it smashed into her arm.
Anko switched to hand-to-hand combat. Her jutsu had transformed into some form of a standby state. He realised that a whip wasn''t a great weapon in close quarters and that he must stick to her to gain an advantage. She tried to distance herself, but he stuck to her.
But she was no slouch when it came to taijutsu. Takuma attacked aggressively, pushing her back on defence, but she evaded or blocked everything. She even parried an augmented haymaker by slapping away his arm, showing she was conscious and ready for his speciality. The parry turned into a counterattack with a three-strike combo. She smashed an uppercut into his chin and ploughed a double-palm strike into his chest as he staggered and then went for an axe kick.
Takuma took a last-second step back as he eyed the heel of her foot. But he had no time to relax as he saw her already in position and leap up for a spinning kick for his head that he could only block. Anko''s body spun again in mid-air, and she delivered another equally powerful kick before finally landing.
The second kick forced him to stumble sideways for a step, enough for her to come at him with a kunai. Takuma punched out from his hip. Anko''s eyes widened as she saw and felt an invisible force slam into her chest and shoulder, destroying her momentum and balance.
He exerted himself to move as fast as possible, driving a powerful kick into her thigh, forcing her to kneel. Anko was a beat late to raise her guard, and his fist rammed into her face.
Takuma raised his foot and slammed her down to the ground with another augmented strike. He was about to stomp on her chest while she was down, the flame whip reappeared, coiled around his leg.
Their eyes met.
Anko grinned wildly as she pulled the whip in her hand. His hands moved to prevent his fall as he slipped, allowing him to prop himself up.
Both fighters were now on the ground. The competition was now to see who could get up faster to make the first attack.
Takuma had managed to avoid a complete fall and was in a position for a quicker recovery, but as he tried to get up, his leg burst into flames. His eyes widened when he felt the fire''s temperatures and realised that the scales wouldn''t last long.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
He pulled back while cutting the whip with a powerful Second Form augmentation. With no fuel to pull from, the flames disappeared, leaving behind a leg full of charred scales. He could tell that they were in bad condition and would crumble from another attack.
Anko had also gotten up. "That looks much better," she pointed at the blackened and cracked scales.
Takuma didn''t respond and focused on his laboured breathing. He was strained from lugging the weights around and wanted a moment of respite. He raised his hands to form the seals for Water Release: Wild Water Wave so he could keep Anko away for a moment, but she seemed to know his thoughts as she sprinted toward him when she saw him raise his hands.
He gritted his teeth and abandoned hand seals and got ready to dodge her whip, which was faster than his body. He needed to keep his distance continuously, or she was bound to get him.
But to his surprise, the whip returned to its stand-by state around Anko''s arm.
His eyes shined because he would much rather be punched and kicked in close quarters than get burned by the ninjutsu whip. He focused and pulled out a kunai in one hand, ready to brawl with her, when suddenly the fire around her arm shifted and transformed into a long riding whip.
Anko breached his personal space and swung the whip down. Takuma raised his hand to block and immediately felt a searing pain upon contact as the fire scorched his arm. He was startled. Although the area of damage was much smaller, he could tell that the intensity of the burns was stronger, as the fire had been concentrated in a small area.
He immediately escaped backwards.
"Don''t run away now!" Anko laughed.
His trained instincts told him to take a stand and fight her¡ªthat the fire-resistant scales could take a few hits to find an opportunity to land a solid hit to turn the tide over¡ªbut that was his bad habit telling him to trade damage.
He wanted to change his combat style and reduce taking damage as much as possible.
Takuma bit the inside of his cheek and kept himself on the move, evading the riding whip. He recalled his spar against Mikoto and reached for the feeling he had experienced in that fight.
Look at her carefully. Takuma focused his attention on Anko. He noticed things like that she held her whip in her right hand, how riding whip-wielding differed from his recently acquired knowledge about kenjutsu, the points on his body she was aiming for, her attack rhythm and patterns, any idiosyncratic habits, and other details that caught his eye.
It immediately helped as it became slightly easier to dodge her whip.
He long knew that instincts were paramount during a fight. Conscious thinking was too slow to rely on during a fight where the body moved faster than the mind. Fighters relied on muscle memory and instincts to move through a fight, while their conscious thoughts were reserved for analysing the opponent and other factors to find a way to end the battle.
Even focusing on his enemy, as he did during his spar with Mikato, was not ideal. He was paying too much conscious attention, practically cornering himself into tunnel vision when multiple opponents or a hidden opponent were waiting for a chance to strike.
The solution was to train his eyes to look deeper and notice things subconsciously. Doing so was easier said than done and would require battle experience.
Participating in Ring passed his mind, but the thought passed away just as quickly. He was an ANBU operative now, and the level of the Ring wouldn''t help him. He had to find something else.
"Fuck," he whispered to himself as he jumped to the side, only barely dodging the whip that brushed past his shoulder, leaving blackened scales that sizzled. Various spots on his body were smoking from getting grazed by the flame whip.
His body was complaining. He could feel his muscles burning from the strain put on them by the weights. Going about his regular day, following his daily training and Campbell''s kenjutsu regiment was doable with weights as he could take regulated rests, but fights were a harsh combination of aerobic and anaerobic activities, making weights cruelly challenging when facing a stronger opponent like Anko.
He knew the solution. Using Water Release: Eight Tentacles would help immediately and take away the burden, allowing him to simplify and slow his movements¡ªbut he didn''t want to use them because even though it was his go-to ninjutsu and extremely useful because of its versatility, he didn''t want to become dependent on it.
Training pure taijutsu, which served as his fundamental base, was better for long-term progress and growth.
"Tough, isn''t it?" Anko suddenly said while looking into Takuma''s eyes. "Let''s take a break."
She had held the whip in her right hand since the start but suddenly threw it in her left, catching him unprepared. She lunged forward and lashed the whip against the inside of his elbow.
Takuma immediately felt a searing burn. Anko''s footwork also changed, becoming more fluid, unironically reminding him of a snake''s movements. She slipped to his side and struck the back of his knee, which brought the same pain as his elbow.
The hit to the knee made him stop, and in that time, she attacked his nape, which was enough to end the fight. The Fire Dragon Scale jutsu shattered, and his skin returned to normal, leaving his skin marked with red marks from damage that managed to penetrate the scales.
He wasn''t injured enough to not, but he was tired that continuing on would be a fool''s choice.
"So, what did you notice?" Anko looked down at him, not caring that he was wheezing on the ground and irrigating the dirt beneath him with his sweat.
Takuma stared at her in silence for a few seconds before giving an answer broken by heavy gasps every few words. "The scales provide no physical defence... they''re much weaker at joints and where the skin stretches a lot. I think they also dull pain; I might underestimate the damage I take... and..."
"And?"
"...and you''re bitch."
Anko smirked as though he had complimented him. "Great, you paid attention. That''s good," she said and sat down beside him.
"What''s that ninjutsu''s name and rank?" Takuma asked. He wasn''t planning to learn Fire Release ninjutsu, but he figured he could look for something similar in Water Release to see if it would suit him.
"Fire Release: Twin Flame Whips; C-rank."
"I like how it snaked around your arm when you didn''t want to use it," Takuma commented while realising that she had held back the jutsu''s power or else it would''ve hurt much more.
"That''s not part of the jutsu. I added that with shape transformation," said Anko.
"And the riding whip?"
"That too."''
Takuma nodded with a sigh. There was more to becoming a chunin-level combatant than learning a B-rank jutsu.
During a discussion with Maruboshi about Advanced Chakra Training, he said there was more use to Nature and Shape transformation than just learning higher-rank jutsu. Those who were smart also looked at their existing ninjutsu to see how they could modify them to suit their needs better. Most tried to push and overcharge their jutsu beyond their rank, but some people like to make small adjustments within the pre-established structure of the jutsu to create something unique.
It was supposed to be extremely tough, but when someone managed to create something perfectly suited for them, they gained a very dangerous weapon.
Takuma glanced at Anko and was reminded she would be promoted to Tokubetsu J¨nin in the next couple of years. He also wondered if she had the potential to go beyond that.
"...You should aim for j¨nin," he said.
"What?"
"You should aim to become a j¨nin."
Anko chuckled at him before breaking into a laugh. "Where''s this coming from?"
Takuma gazed at her seriously. "You have the potential; you should seriously try to become a j¨nin." He knew she wouldn''t take him seriously, so he said something that would undoubtedly gain her focus. "No one''s going to bring up the snake creep if you become a j¨nin."
That got her attention as the smile slipped away from her smile, and she gazed at him with a colder look. Just like she hit his sore spot in killing dozens of civilians to kill a jonin before the fight, he poked her back. There was probably nothing more important to her life than killing Orochimaru, who had ruined everything for her.
"You''ll only be known as J¨nin Mitarashi Anko¡ªnot the Snake''s student."
She sighed. "Alright, I get it. Stop."
"If you become a j¨nin, you''ll have a better chance at killing him¡ªI will help you kill him," said Takuma.
Anko pursed her lips. They both knew that becoming a j¨nin wouldn''t make her a match for Orochimaru, who was a monster of a different breed, but it couldn''t be denied that she would have a better chance at revenge if she gained strength and became a j¨nin of the Hidden Leaf.
She sighed and waved her hand, gesturing to stop the conversation, and immediately tried to move on with a joke, "So you won''t help me if I don''t become a j¨nin?"
"Nope. I''ll become a j¨nin and kill him in your stead. I''ll steal away the satisfaction of killing that bastard from you," said Takuma in the most serious tone he could muster.
He didn''t know if he would ever grow strong enough to kill someone like Orochimaru, who had the resilience of a cockroach¡ªbut this wasn''t about him or even about killing Orochimaru¡ªthis was about motivating her.
He remembered that during the Chunin Exams she went after Orochimaru the moment he showed up, but she was too weak, and he didn''t think there was a way to extinguish that hatred in her heart¡ªshe would do it repeatedly while ignoring her safety¡ªso the best option was for her to become strong.
He couldn''t force her to become stronger, but he could urge her, so that was what he was doing.
Some would say that it would be better for Anko to move on from her past with Orochimaru and live a life without fixating on revenge. Takuma wholeheartedly disagreed; he wanted his revenge against Kon almost more than anything in this world, and the fire in his heart would not settle until he extinguished it with the bastard''s blood.
Or perhaps he was just trying to justify his desire for revenge by roping her into making the same decisions.
He didn''t know.
"Come on, enough resting. Get up," said Anko as she stood up, avoiding the conversation.
He didn''t know if his words had any effect, but she was harder on him for the rest of their spars together that day.
CH_9.19 (334)
"Easy there!" Takuma hissed.
"Don''t be a baby," Ai rebuked as she held her glowing palms against a burned spot on his back. "You should take it easy on this training. Repeated healing like this will leave your skin dry and flaky."
They sat in an empty room at the hospital where Ai worked. He had been visiting since he started training the Yang Release: Fire Dragon Scales.
"I''ll moisturise," Takuma said, his face wrinkling from the pain.
He had found a training room in the ANBU facility, which helped him train the ninjutsu by spraying intense jets of fire directly at him. It helped because he understood how Nature transformation of chakra led to the growth of fire-resistant scales on his skin.
He would agree that he was overdoing it by hurting himself, but he needed the Shadow Clone Jutsu as soon as possible. He attempted to make clones twice a day, bookending his days with an attempt¡ªbut had only experienced failure.
He had access to iryo-nin at ANBU, but he had been going to Ai because she had an important examination coming up that would decide if she would be allowed to call herself an iryo-nin or wait another year before trying again, so she needed all the practice she could get.
Working in a hospital gave her access to all the patients she could ask for, but there wasn''t anyone as reckless to show up every other day with semi-severe injuries.
"What are your thoughts about Yang Release?" Takuma asked her
Ai had been studying iry¨jutsu, which was heavily based in Yang Release for a while now and had a deeper understanding of it than him.
"To be honest, I don''t associate iry¨jutsu with Yang Release. For the past two years, I have been busy learning all there is to know about the human body because that''s the foundation of iry¨jutsu. I learn about a body part, its function and importance, the diseases and complications associated with it, what happens when things go amiss, and how to ensure that that body part stays healthy. When I learn an iry¨jutsu related to that body part, I am thinking about that body part instead of Yang Release, if you know what I mean."
Takuma stayed silent in contemplation for a moment before responding, "For you, the body part and your knowledge about it is at the forefront and of focus, and iry¨jutsu is simply a tool to ensure you can heal it. You''re more concerned with what iry¨jutsu can do more than the how."
"That''s half-correct. It wouldn''t do if I didn''t know how an iry¨jutsu works, but I haven''t gone that deep on how an iry¨jutsu does what it does. I''m satisfied as long as I can get it to work properly," Ai replied as she used a flat spoon to apply a cold balm on his healed burn.
Takuma nodded. From his understanding, learning an iry¨jutsu was only one skill needed to be an iry¨-nin; medical knowledge was just as important and learning all of that theoretical information was what enhanced and backed the practical implementation. The focus on the iry¨jutsu would come next after she established a solid foundation of knowledge.
"But, if I had to answer, for me, Yang is the manipulation of the body. All iry¨jutsu I know manipulates the organic material in the human body. We use that manipulation to heal, but it could very well be used to cause harm. Even that jutsu of yours manipulates the skin to create those scales." Ai slapped his back at a burnt spot that had been healed. "There, it''s all done."
Takuma hissed again as he straightened up his back.
"That''s no way to treat a patient, Ai."
Both of them turned to see Doctor Oishi, Taro''s dad and Ai''s teacher, enter the room with a smile on his face.
"It''s okay. He won''t admit it, but I know he likes the pain," Ai said to her teacher before turning toward Takuma and mouthing the word, ''Masochist.''
Takuma just rolled his eyes at her. It was not the first time he had been accused of being a masochist. Taro brought it up as a joke during a night out, and it had firmly stuck despite his efforts to dissuade them from using it. In fact, the more he tried to deny it, the more they used it. He felt he needed to come up with irritating nicknames forReading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
"Teacher, Takuma is trying to learn a Yang Release jutsu. What are your thoughts about Yang Release?"
Takuma turned to Doctor Oishi with great interest. It had to be noted that the man was a Tokubetsu J¨nin. The rank was awarded to those who had achieved the almost insurmountable task of attaining j¨nin-level skill in a particular field but lacked the other requirements to become a j¨nin.
Doctor Oishi had been promoted to Tokubetsu J¨nin for his skill in iry¨jutsu; he was one of the best healers in the Hidden Leaf.
"I''m afraid that''s not a simple question to answer," Doctor Oishi said as he sat down on a bedside stool. "Yang means a lot of different things. For the longest time, I viewed Yang as something that controlled vitality because that''s what I was taught. The jutsu I practised always seemed to promote the rate of recovery and healing in my patients by using charka. But then I also started to see it as a catalyst for growth¡ªand not just any growth; it allowed me to temporarily modify a patient''s blood during surgery so it would clot faster to a level impossible naturally. Just by understanding and learning to combine those two, I have been able to make it this far in my career. Seeing how iry¨jutsu is firmly rooted in Yang Release, I even looked into its role in life itself."
Takuma didn''t know much about it, but he recalled Ai telling him that Doctor Oishi had shown interest in obstetrics and was working with pregnant women or those who wanted children and was doing some preliminary research to understand more about chakra''s role in the creation of life.
"By no means do I think I fully understand the Yang nature to its fullest, nor do I think I will in this lifetime. I also believe that you can''t truly understand the depths of Yang when it''s only one-half of the cyclic nature and is intrinsically linked with Yin," said Doctor Oishi humbly.
Takuma understood what was just said, but he also knew that he couldn''t take that information to extend and interpolate on it because he knew very little about Yang Release or iry¨jutsu, which was the source of Doctor Oishi and Ai''s understanding.
He didn''t know the right questions to ask to increase his knowledge. Even if he went to a library, he wouldn''t know which book to look into. As he was right now, the only way to improve would be to have someone spoon-feed him enough until he had a proper base¡ªbut he didn''t have the time to go that route.
And it looked like he wore his thoughts on his face as Doctor Oishi said,
"Here''s what you should do. Take the ninjutsu you''re learning and try to isolate what property of Yang nature it''s using. Any nature¡ªbe it cyclic or basic five¡ªall of them have tremendous depth and multiple characteristics. Knowing what you''re using will help you to focus your efforts in the right manner."
Takuma nodded, perhaps more confused than before starting the conversation.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"So, how''s the new kid? Tapir says that he will fit well in the unit."
Campbell sat before a large man with bulging muscles on his wide frame, who had more hair on one of his arms than people had on their whole bodies and even sported a wild mane that would put even the most extravagant lions and horses to shame. They were in the large man''s office because it had one of two chairs in their workspace, large and strong enough to fit him.
"Didn''t you scout him? Why are you asking me?" asked Campbell, annoyed that he was pulled into a meeting at the end of the work day when he wanted to go home and start enjoying his day off early.
"Of course, but you can only know certain things by spending time with the target."
The man was Campbell''s boss, codenamed Barbary and wore a lion mask. He was an ANBU Captain in charge of a unit with multiple squads. Because of his size, new rookies mistook him for someone from an assault unit, even though he had been leading an inquisitor unit for over half a dozen years.
"He''s not my target. He''s a temporary student," Campbell countered.
"Like you can switch off your instinct and habits just because someone isn''t your target," Barbary scoffed.
Campbell clicked his tongue. Observing people was an important skill, but it had become an occupational hazard when he couldn''t turn it off. He had lost friendships and even relationships because, despite his best efforts, he made people uncomfortable when he knew things about them before they shared them with him.
"...He''s hardworking¡ª"
"Oh, he must be a maniac if you call him hardworking," Barbary laughed.
Campbell ignored him. "He''s polite and looks like he has a good head on him. I worry that he might be unable to navigate in the unit properly and might end up isolating people¡ª"
"Are you sure you just aren''t talking about yourself?"
Campbell sighed, unable to continue this conversation, so he went to wrap it up quickly. "He asks smart questions during our sessions, and even though he''s a bit slow on the pickup, he makes it up with his effort. He''s willing to listen but will try to do his own thing first if he believes it''s right. Give him someone who will answer his queries patiently, and he will be fine."
"Alright, I''ll do that," Barbary smiled.
Campbell narrowed his eyes and wanted to ask what he meant by that but held back. But it seemed that Barbary had already dug the hole and was only waiting to push him in.
"Prepare for his induction. Let''s make it grand, make him feel welcome and give him a chance to impress us," said Barbary.
Campbell sighed, not only because he now had more work but also because their unit''s induction could go either way. The last one they had done had left the recipient not amused¡ªnot one bit.
CH_9.20 (335)
Jyuro was an ANBU staff member working at the main training facility. He was in charge of operating and maintaining training machinery. He wasn''t busy because operatives didn''t have the time or energy for regular training. The staff''s responsibility didn''t involve combat, so they also didn''t train frequently.
Moreover, few shinobi believed in the usefulness of training machinery. They saw them as complicated gimmicks and would instead train in old-fashioned ways, using simple equipment and mastering skills through repetition and sparring. He had nothing against old-fashioned methods because they were tried and true, but he also believed advanced machinery could be exploited for gains.
In his opinion, busy ANBU operatives could take advantage of training machinery to make good use of their limited time and energy. However, convincing them to try something new was difficult when their time was limited, and their ways had been servicing them perfectly well.
But some were willing to try unorthodox methods.
"Again, please."
A voice came from the speakers in the command room. Jyuro gazed down at the reinforced training room below through the fortified glass pane before pressing a button on the electronic module containing numerous buttons, each controlling a setting. The flamethrowers in the walls and roofs all moved to face the same direction before firing flames that engulfed a spot in the centre of the floor.
"Hey, I brought food."
Jyuro accepted his lunch from his colleague. It was lunchtime, and while he could ask the operative to leave so he could have his meal in peace, he didn''t. The disinterest in machinery made his job easier as he didn''t need to spend time controlling the machinery. But whenever someone did come along, even though it increased his work, he was willing to do so because it made him feel like he was doing something meaningful.
"Today again, huh," said his colleague.
"It works, and there''s no risk of damaging any machinery," Jyuro replied as he opened his packed lunch.
The flamethrowers gradually halted, revealing a figure as the flames subsided. Instead of clothes, he was covered in dragon-like scales that had been burned from red-brown to charred black from the fire. The scales shed down, revealing unharmed skin, but disappeared into nothingness before they could hit the ground.
The room was designed for mobility training, where the trainees avoided fireballs and streams aimed at them to practice situational awareness and react to random attacks, but when Jyuro got the training request, he repurposed the functionality to suit the operative''s needs to train the Yang Release: Fire Dragon Scales.
It was undoubtedly dangerous, but so were all-out brawls that some operatives liked to call light sparring.
"Any problems?" Jyuro spoke into the microphone.
"Not at all. Once more, please."
Takuma weaved his hand seals for a fresh application of the ninjutsu. Starting from his hands, a wave of scales sprang up all over his body. Short tails of blue flames fluttered out of the nozzles as the fire throwers moved toward him. The plummeting temperature rose again as fuel was injected through the fire, and intense flames more suited to smelting factories were launched at him.
The scales reflected the heat like a shield, but a tiny amount seeped in, burning them from the inside. They could handle only a certain amount, and when that was breached, they degraded and crumbled.
Roughly ten days ago, Takuma asked the training facility management if they could help him train Fire Dragon Scales jutsu because Anko wasn''t free to whip him daily. He was initially disappointed until they contacted him the next day, saying they might have something he could use.
Since that day, he has volunteered to get blasted with fire for two one-hour sessions every day. It paid dividends, as his skill had drastically increased in a very short amount of time. The only downside was that he got burned all over his body. Ai fixed those for him, and he was getting into the habit of regular moisturising, which was good for his skin.
The flamethrowers stopped, and Takuma breathed a sigh of relief as he shed the scales with a small jolt of chakra, instantly feeling the residual heat leave with them.
"Once again?"
"Let''s take a break, thank you," Takuma replied.
His skill wasn''t the only thing that had improved. He had been thinking about his conversation with Doctor Oisihi and Ai about their perception of the Yang nature. He had been contemplating how it functioned in Fire Dragon Scales. After thinking about it a lot, he zoned in on the fact they weren''t real dragon scales, as dragons weren''t real.
The ninjutsu''s creator had simply manipulated Yang to create scales resembling that of a dragon when they could have created another layer of skin or used existing skin and imbibed it with fire-resistance properties. They had probably simply chosen it for aesthetic or artistic reasons. It was something that was created from pure imagination¡ªand not an accurate recreation of something real.
Then he realised that his water clones weren''t accurate copies but simply a form of simulacra¡ªa representation of him¡ªmade from water. They were identical from the outside but completely different from the inside.
It was then that he had an epiphany: Shadow Clone Jutsu didn''t create an identical copy, but something different formed in his image. He wasn''t trying to create a real human because that was nearly impossible as that would be rivalling the natural creation of life, and even if it was possible, it was too much for a B-rank jutsu.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"I''m ready," he said to himself.
"Sorry, I missed that," said Jyuro from the speakers.
"Nothing, just speaking to myself. Please don''t start the fire," said Takuma. He had gotten burned enough in the past few days to last a lifetime.
Takuma took a deep breath and gathered chakra inside his body to use for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. After two daily attempts that all ended in failure, he had gotten the amount down from trial and error. As he began forming the hand seals, he split the chakra into two parts and sent them in opposite directions of his chakra pathway network inside his body, following specific routes as per the instructions provided in the ninjutsu scroll.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu fell under the Yin-Yang Release, which required both Yin and Yang natured chakra.
Yin controlled imagination, creating form out of nothingness.
One-half of raw chakra turned into Yin natured chakra as Takuma weaved the hand seals, and he held an image of himself in his head. This part was easy, as he had been doing it for years while using genjutsu. But this time, instead of imagining an exact copy of himself inside and out, he only thought of something resembling him because that''s not only what he wanted, but it was also the limit of his skill.
He now had the template of what he wanted to create.
Yang controlled vitality, giving life to forms that had none.
The other half of raw chakra turned into Yang natured chakra, ready to fill the template with "life." Fire Dragon Scale was not a good jutsu to train the type of Yang nature transformation needed for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, as the former required Yang chakra to "grow" scales from pre-existing skin and then "modify" them so they had fire-resistant properties.
Whereas, the latter required "creating" something out of nothing. It wouldn''t have mattered what he had picked as "creation" was the domain of Yin-Yang Release. The two chakra halves joined together like two river streams joining together and mixed into a very potent form of Yin-Yang chakra.
As he finished his hand seals, he felt the chakra rush out of him, and a sweat of nervousness dripped down his face because he had always failed at this step. The mixed chakra that would be stable inside his body would turn unstable the moment it exited his body, as though it couldn''t survive outside the protection of its birthplace.
Thump! Takuma felt his heart lurching as he felt massive amounts of Physical and Spiritual energy react and move out of his body. He was scared for his life because he had never felt anything like this before.
He knew what was happening, but instead of feeling comfort from that knowledge, he was petrified because of it.
When he used the Water Clone Jutsu, he would mix a lot of chakra, but only a portion of it would be used for the creation of the jutsu, and the rest of it would deposit itself inside the water used for the clone''s body that it could then use later. There was a drawback to that method of giving a clone chakra to use, as chakra would always disappear when it wasn''t used.
If a shinobi mixed chakra to use for a jutsu and they were interrupted midway, that chakra was wasted and couldn''t be used for something else. Chakra stored in f¨±injutsu seals would also run out without fail, regardless of whether they were in use or not¡ªand while there were ways to delay the inevitable or bypass the problem by methods like recharging, there was no method to stop it.
The chakra inside the water clone, too, would slowly dissipate, and once there wasn''t enough to hold the clone''s form, it would return to a mass of water.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu didn''t employ the same method of providing the clone with chakra. The phrase: "A shadow clone jutsu takes half of the user''s chakra" was a simplification. The chakra that the user mixed all went to create the clone''s body, and instead, the clone took half of Physical and Spiritual energy that it would then mix on its own to create chakra just like a real human.
It was a much more complex way to "store chakra" inside a clone and bypass the chakra degradation. The shadow clone, like any other clone, would inevitably disappear when it ran out of chakra, but it could stay real for a much longer time as it wasn''t wasting chakra at the same time.
But that came with a downside. Takuma controlled how much chakra went to a water clone by mixing it himself; the jutsu would only take what he mixed. But with the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he had no control over how much of his Physical and Spiritual energy would be taken away.
The phrase: "A shadow clone jutsu took half of the user''s chakra" was also a lie. The clone took as much Physical and Spiritual energy as it needed to create a minimum viable clone. If the needed amount was more than half, the clone would take it away without stopping¡ªif the needed amount was less than the user''s half, it would take still half to create a stronger clone.
And that was the real danger. If a shinobi, during the heat of combat, used the Shadow Clone Jutsu without realising that he had less than the amount of Physical and Spiritual energy needed for a minimum viable clone, it would be akin to signing their death warrant by death via chakra exhaustion as there was no automatic stoppage which would stop the jutsu.
The moment the hand seals were complete, it was out of the user''s hands.
That''s why the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was forbidden. One mistake to estimate how many clones one could safely create meant instant death¡ªand because it was an A-rank ninjutsu, it meant the user had to be a j¨nin¡ªand that was not someone the village could afford to lose from a jutsu mishap.
Takuma knew he had more than enough chakra for a minimum viable clone¡ªbut the fear of the lingered regardless. What if he had spent too much chakra while practising the Fire Dragon Scale, and the amount of Physical and Spiritual energy left in his body was insufficient for a minimum viable clone?
His body went cold, his heart thumped harder, and his breathing halted in his lungs as he felt Physical and Spiritual energy leave his body in droves, filling him with dread¡ªuntil it stopped, and he found himself with plenty left in his body.
He looked up and saw the smoke clear until he was looking at himself. He had experienced it plenty of times before while creating water clones, but he knew how different it was because this was a shadow clone, much more advanced than what he was used to.
The clone held up his arm.
"What?" asked Takuma.
"Come on, you were thinking about it before. Touch it," said the clone.
Takuma nodded, touched the clone''s wrist, and gulped when he felt a pulse. The skin''s elasticity was real-like, and he felt bone underneath the skin. He could even feel the warmth from the clone''s body. And even though he knew that nothing inside the clone was real, it sure damn felt real.
"Is that a shadow clone? Neat!" Jyuro''s voice came from the speaker. "Want me to shoot fire at him?"
"No!" "No!"
"Hey, I want to test it," said Takuma, excited about experiencing something that would change how he lived his life.
"Now? Sure, let''s do it. Should I head out?"
The clone shrugged and then walked out of the training room. A minute passed, and Takuma wondered what the clone was doing and just as he thought that, his eyes widened as he saw and felt things he had not seen or felt¡ªalong with a surge of energy returning to him.
Takuma grinned because he knew things were going to change in a very good way.
CH_9.21 (336)
"How much are the grapes?" Takuma asked.
"A thousand ryo for half a kilo," the middle-aged woman running the fruit and vegetable shop answered.
"I''ll have two kilos."
The woman seemed surprised, but he wasn''t paying attention to her. He had been her regular customer for several years now to the point she was worried about him when he went to war and was happy to see him alive when he returned¡ªbut in all those years, there was not one instance where he had not tried to haggle the price.
But here he was, opening his wallet to take out the money without any back-and-forth.
Takuma didn''t think a grocery shopping trip for dinner would have him looking over his shoulder. The moment he entered the city centre, he felt like he was being watched. That only made him assume that he was under watch from the time he left home because the shopping run wasn''t scheduled, nor had he told anyone but Maruboshi about it.
He moved through his usual spots while looking through the crowd to look for anyone he recognised and spotted two people¡ªa man and a woman¡ª he had seen multiple times. The problem was that they had nothing in their bags after half an hour of shopping.
Secondly, he was always sandwiched between them¡ªone of them was always ahead and behind him.
He felt more eyes on him, but he wasn''t able to find anyone else but the two. It made him nervous. It couldn''t be a coincidence that he was being followed when he was only a couple of days from his first day at work.
But why now? What did they want from him?
Takuma glanced at the two he had spotted, and suddenly, they were nowhere to be found. The thought that he was mistaken about the situation didn''t even enter his mind, and instead, his first thoughts were whether they had spotted him looking at them and decided to pull away so as not to attract attention.
But he could still feel eyes on him.
He used his grocery bags as cover to double-check the weapons on his body. Ever since the assassination attempt, he never left home without weapons on him. His friends called him paranoid; he called it being safe.
He stopped in front of a cigarette and tobacco shop and looked in the reflection of the glass pane of the drinks fridge sitting in the front to spot someone standing on the roof of the building across the street, which wouldn''t be strange because shinobi laid claim to rooftops for travel, but the man was staring at him.
"Hey, move," said another customer as he opened the fridge.
Takuma turned around to look at the building''s roof, but the man was now missing.
It was clear. He was being watched.
A plan of action formed in his mind.
He didn''t want to confront the people who were following him. They seemed to be following him, but that could only be while he was in a crowded place, and there was no telling when they might jump him. It was safe to assume that this had something to do with ANBU¡ªso he wanted to inform them of this as soon as possible for support and further instructions.
The rookies were given a thick document with contingencies and standard operating procedures to memorise, so he knew what to do in a situation like this. He had to connect the headquarters. For that, he needed to find a telephone. Fortunately, there were phone booths all around the city, but he wanted to be safe, so instead of finding the nearest telephone booth, he made his way to the nearest Police Force precinct.
As luck would have it, he didn''t have to answer many questions because he was recognised the moment he entered the building.
"Genin Takuma, is that you?" said a man dressed in the Police Force uniform.
Takuma recognised the man as an officer with whom he had collaborated during his Narcotics Taskforce days. The network of local precincts that did the lion''s share of the groundwork was essential for the Narcotics Taskforce''s output and efficiency.
"What brings you here?"
"I was wondering if I could use a phone," Takuma asked.
"Of course, please, be my guest."
Even though he had left the force, many of his connections were still usable and would remain in place for years to come.
Takuma grabbed a wired landline and hunkered down in the corner with a view of the entrance so he could see who was trying to peer inside and perhaps memorise their faces. He then dialled a special phone number, which picked up after two rings.
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"Baratie ocean restaurant. What''s your order?" asked a gruff and impatient voice, perfectly fitting for a busy restaurant.
"I will have a Number Eight, two sets of Number Three, a party platter..." Takuma listed an order that delivered a code confirming that he was an ANBU-nin, along with identification tied to him, so they would know who they were talking to without revealing any information.
"It will be nine thousand ryo."
"That''s fine."
There was a pause before the gruff voice smoothed out as the person on the line patiently asked, "Location and situation, in that order, please."
"The eighteenth precinct. I suspect I''m being watched. I have identified three suspicious individuals following me."
"Do you have them in your view?"
"No, not currently."
"Do you believe yourself in imminent danger?"
"...No, I don''t believe so." He wanted to say he felt in danger, but the logical part of him reasoned that he was safe inside the Police Force precinct located near a crowded street. If they wanted to kill or pick him up, they would''ve done so near his home, which was away from the city centre and thus had a relatively low shinobi presence.
"How sure are you that you''re currently being tailed?" asked the voice.
"I am sure," Takuma said through gritted teeth. Why the fuck would he lie about something like that?
"Alright, sit tight. We are sending an escort team to bring you in."
Takuma put the phone down and stayed in his spot. Perhaps he was too nervous, and it was showing on his face, or he had overstayed his welcome because the people in the precinct were taking glances at him.
"Is something wrong?" asked the officer he knew.
"I''m not feeling well. I called a friend; they will be here shortly, so I will be out of your hair soon," Takuma said with a thankful smile. "Sorry to disturb you again. Can I use your washroom before I leave?"
He didn''t have a good feeling about what was to come.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Ah shit, he really made the call," said the man who had been following Takuma.
"I score him high for reacting so quickly. I''m glad he''s not a dumb kid; it was smart of him to choose the precinct," said the woman with an approving nod.
Campbell gazed at the Police Force precinct as two ANBU-nin in civilian clothing exited the building with Takuma in tow, who looked just a bit jittery as he scanned his surroundings for signs of his pursuers. They had not gone easy on him, and he had done a decent job detecting them, and his reaction after confirming that he was being followed was also acceptable.
"He wasn''t fast enough; there''s more work to do there," said Campbell. He looked at his two teammates and subordinates. "Observe him carefully; you will have to bring him up to speed with the squad''s standards."
"I will make sure he gets there," said the woman seriously while the man made a mock salute.
He looked at his other subordinate and asked what she thought.
She smiled. "I think we''re going to have a lot of fun with him."
Campbell sighed because neither smile nor her words made him feel like he was going to be able to enjoy the fun.
"When will the captain join?" asked the man.
Campbell felt a headache come on while thinking about the man who had forced him to do all of this. He wanted to end this as peacefully as possible, and Takuma going to the headquarters was a good point to end, but he knew it wouldn''t end there, and he had no power to refuse because his boss was insistent on doing things his way.
"Let''s wrap this up quickly when the time comes. I want to go home," said Campbell, trying to manifest his wishes into reality.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"As I''ve been telling you, I have no idea why I''m being followed."
Takuma felt a headache after an hour-long interrogation where a masked ANBU operative drilled information out of him in a room purpose-built to make the people feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable. He had been in enough of these rooms, but on the other side, to know this room was only used for interrogations.
"I frankly find that hard to believe," said the masked operative.
He had been made to repeat everything thrice in the name of accuracy and better recall.
"That''s not my problem," said Takuma. He initially understood their concern and fully cooperated, but somewhere along the line, it felt like the tone of the conversation had changed, and they were looking at him with suspicion as though this was sort of a ploy and he was part of it.
"You aren''t getting the severity of this situation. You might have caught them today, but who knows how long they have been following you. You might have revealed several of our secrets unknowingly."
Takuma didn''t appreciate the accusatory tone.
"Alright, wait here," the operative stood up and walked out of the room.
Half an hour later, Tapir walked in with a tired expression. He sat on the other side of the table with a sigh, which did not make him feel good about the situation.
"This is not looking good."
"What?"
"They''re thinking that you''re compromised," said Tapir with a deep groan.
"Compromised?"
"They think that your identity as an operative is compromised. And you haven''t worked a single day!" Tapir sounded fed up. "Maybe it''s better that you haven''t worked a single day. This makes it easier for me to re-assign you¡ª"
"Re-assign! What do you mean?" asked Takuma, not liking the idea.
"It''s possible that the people who followed you found out about your assignment and are interested in using that to get an in into the ANBU. It''s too risky for you to keep your assignment¡ª"
"I''m not going to be fucking mole!" Takuma yelled, pissed by the insinuation.
"You don''t need to be a mole for them to get information. Just by following you around, they can get plenty of information. They can stake out your place of work; you will be blowing all of your team''s covers¡ªand that''s the easy stuff. There''s so much more they will be able to find out."
Takuma was speechless. He had no response to that because that sounded serious.
"...From the looks of it, you''ll be transferred to the Foreign Branch to separate you from your current assignment," Tapir said.
"But that''s not fair," Takuma grabbed his head. "I''m not prepared for this. I shouldn''t be here..."
"We need to talk about something important here, Takuma," Tapir said, his voice growing deeper.
"Important? I think what we have been talking about has been plenty important."
Getting transferred to the Foreign Branch meant derailing everything he had planned. There was so much he wanted to accomplish, but being away from home meant changing the plans completely and focusing on different things that would be more suitable for the situation.
"...Who all have you told about your employment with ANBU?" asked Tapir.
Takuma stopped worrying about what he had been worrying about and focused on what was being insinuated. He had only told one person about ANBU, and he trusted Maruboshi more than he trusted himself. And if they were even thinking about blaming him, he would rather leave ANBU than entertain that thought.
CH_9.22 (337)
Campbell watched Tapir and Takuma facing each other in the interrogation room. The tension in there could cut through the double-sided mirror clean.
"The information had to leak from somewhere," said Tapir.
"And why does it have to be my fault? You knew my assignment as well. Who''s to say that the information didn''t leak from your side," Takuma shot right back.
Everyone in the viewing room groaned at the words that were being thrown. Tapir was in on the ''induction'' and was playing along, but everything was real for Takuma, who looked very combative, and that didn''t bode well for anyone.
"Alright, we should pull Tapir out before either of them says anything they can''t take back," said one of Campbell''s subordinates. She pointed at Takuma and said, "He looks like he has three things ready on his tongue to throw the moment Tapir says anything at all. And believe, those are not going to be sweet and pleasant..."
"Pull him out," Campbell ordered.
One of his subordinates opened the door to head out but gasped when he found the way blocked by a humongous man so tall that he had to lean down to clear the door and instantly crowded the room with only his presence.
"Captain..."
Barbary gazed at the interrogation room through double-sided glass with a silent smile.
Campbell had been working under the man for a few years, and he understood the man who was his boss. The man was often annoyingly boisterous, forced rookie hazing inductions on the squads under his command, played silly pranks in the office, and mandated frequent team dinners where he got blackout drunk.
But he also forced his people to take regular leaves to avoid burnout, regularly talked to not only squad leaders but everyone to hear their dissatisfactions and inputs, and even helped his people develop skills in line with their interests.
Campbell''s squad was taking two new rookies to replace existing members who had left the unit because Barbary nurtured them and then transferred them to places better suited to their skills and interests. Not many people would do that, as that essentially meant putting in the effort to develop someone, only to have another team member enjoy the benefits.
Barbary did it regularly, and he propped up people even if it meant letting them go.
It was a hassle for squad leaders like Campbell because his squad''s synergy was affected by taking in new members, but he didn''t want to say anything against it because what they had was so rare that many people who left¡ªwhile happy with their decision¡ªalways missed the environment under Barbary''s command.
It was perhaps their unit''s best strength and advantage.
"Hot, hot, hot! I can feel the heat from here," Barbary laughed with a glint in his eyes.
ANBU was not a kind place.
People who were better than their peers and were often told that they were special by people around them would arrive at ANBU to find that they were no longer special. When everyone was special, no one was and for many, it was too much to handle.
Once they got the taste of being called special, letting the feeling and status go wasn''t easy. Some people lost momentum, accepted that they were big fish in a small pond, and came to terms with their new situation in the bigger pond¡ªbut ANBU didn''t hire those people.
ANBU was a den of highly competitive people who wanted to be better than the next guy and would do anything to make that happen. Some played fair and competed on merit, but when the place was training people to be spies and conmen, it affected how people played the game¡ªdeceit entered the picture.
Campbell glanced at his subordinates. He knew they were forming their thoughts about the newcomer who was about to be their squad mate, someone who they trusted their backs¡ªbut also someone who was going to be a direct competitor.
Barbary never did something without reason.
The rookie hazing wasn''t to put Takuma in his place but to allow everyone in the squad to have a chance to observe him and get a candid look. People feared the unknown, so whenever someone was confirmed to join their unit, Barbary lifted the clearance restriction on the newcomer''s personnel file for everyone to look at.
By allowing people a look, he smashed the illusion of the unknown and gave them an honest judgement of who they would be working with. The induction was a chance to observe his reactions and how he responded to stressful situations.
In an ideal world, all of that could be accomplished through a conversation, but they didn''t live in such a reality. Barbary knew that, so he took what he got and made the best of it.
"Alright, let''s move to the finale," Barbary grinned. "Get ready to give the newcomer a warm welcome!"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma was angry, anxious, and tired. He had yet to work a day, and his career was already in jeopardy.
He had been told that his joining was postponed until further notice, and if he believed Tapir''s words, he would not be joining the Inquisitor Unit in the Domestic Branch. If he was forced to accept that his assignment was changing no matter what, then he hoped he would stay in the Domestic Branch and not be shipped off somewhere else as part of the Foreign Branch.
Not all assignments in the Foreign Branch involved going deep into an enemy or chaotic territory, but the chances of him getting an assignment like that were much higher.
"We''re ready to leave."
He glanced at the ANBU-nin assigned to escort him and guard him through the night in case the people after him returned and had some thoughts about getting to him. They were supposed to protect him through the night as he was supposed to return to the headquarters in the early morning.
The fact they were allowing him to return home was comforting and inspired confidence because it meant that they didn''t suspect him of being a mole or traitor. If not, they would''ve not allowed him to leave and made him a guest in one of their basement cells that, according to Sango, some people never got to leave.
"Do you guys need something? Shall we stop by a shop on the way?" Takuma asked.
He had done overnight stakeouts and understood the importance of supplies. Plenty of water, food, and heat packs to soften the cold¡ªhaving the little things made passing the time much more tolerable. From the looks of it, this guarding assignment was impromptu, so he wanted to ensure they had everything they needed.
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"Thank you, but no need. It''s getting late; we should make haste," said the woman operative, who sounded like the serious, no-nonsense type.
The male operative just shrugged.
"Alright, let''s head home," said Takuma.
He had been in the headquarters for several hours, and the sun had already set. He was late for dinner preparation and felt guilty about keeping Maruboshi waiting. He hoped there was enough food at home for a simple meal.
But as they left the city centre and moved to the outskirts, Takuma suddenly felt eyes on him like he had felt earlier that day.
"They''re here."
He looked around to get a visual, but it was too dark for a good look. Getting a lock on the number of enemies and their positions was a priority. He couldn''t do it back when he was in the market because there were too many people and buildings.
Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu
He stamped his hands on the ground and sent out a wave of Earth nature chakra that came back in the form of vibrational tremors, giving him the location of people nearby. The jutsu''s range was a one-kilometre radius, but he shrank it down to only focus on his immediate surroundings to better focus,
"There are five¡ª"
Takuma''s words died in his mouth because he didn''t feel something that should''ve been there. He turned around and saw that his two guards were missing. He looked back at the front, and he was surrounded by five people in a circle.
His back started to sweat as bad memories surfaced. That day was also a night, and even though it wasn''t raining, the cold in the air served a similar chill. His heart thundered in his chest as he looked at the giant of a man before him dressed in a full-body cloak like the rest of them.
He gazed at them and their gear made their identity clear, "ROOT..."
His instincts told him that the giant before him was dangerous beyond what he could handle, even if he went all out, death wouldn''t be a surprising outcome. He could also tell that the rest of them were much stronger than the assassins from back then, and while he, too, was also stronger, he wasn''t strong enough to overcome this group of people.
"So what is this? Revenge?" he started speaking, trying to buy time. "Hey, how is that little bitch Kon doing these days? Is he getting used to jerking off with his other hand? I bet it feels like someone else is doing it¡ªwhich is good, I guess, because there is no way he has anyone in his life. He''s one ugly motherfucker, and his creepy personality doesn''t help."
As he spoke, he dug into his weapons pouch and threw three explosive tags tied to kunai high into the air. He wanted to cause as much chaos as possible to attract attention so people would notice.
Takuma immediately flowed into hand seals for Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu to create an opportunity for escape. Even though he had no confidence in combat, he was going to take his chances and give it his all in escaping.
Three senbon flew through the air and pierced the tags, defusing them before they could explode. At the same time, a ROOT agent moved in a flash and closed in on him with a short sword aimed at his chest.
Takuma cursed under his breath as he was interrupted mid-hand seals and wasn''t able to complete the jutsu, wasting his chakra and the opportunity to escape. He blocked the sword with a kunai and immediately countered with an augmented punch but the agent immediately backed away.
Takuma expected that.
The chakra pulse shot out of his fist and slammed into the man''s chin, making him stumble. If he wasn''t going to escape, he would at least want to take one of them out. He rushed forth with a kunai in one hand and charged an augmentation in another to deliver a decisive strike¡ªbut another agent moved quicker, and she interrupted him.
He backed away, but she stuck closer when a scent from her tickled his nose, which he immediately thought was for an olfactory genjutsu, and he immediately disrupted his chakra while trying to figure out how to take her by surprise when he recognised the scent.
"Three... Amami?"
Takuma was flabbergasted because he had smelled the scent on Amami when she wasn''t on a mission. His mind swirled with chaos. A scenario formed in his mind. Amami was a ROOT agent, and she had managed to join ANBU as a rookie, giving them a fresh mole in the organisation, and that too from one of the biggest clans in the village.
"Nice, I won the bet," the woman spoke, and it was indeed Amami''s voice.
She jumped away from him and pulled off her blank mask to reveal her smiling face.
"Surprise!" she said.
"What?" Takuma was confused but didn''t put his guard down.
"It''s alright, Takuma."
His eyes widened when he heard Campbell''s voice, and he turned to look at his kenjutsu teacher pulling off his mask. He had not seen his face during their lessons, so he wasn''t sure if this was some ploy to pull his guard down¡ªbut then his eyes widened when he saw the giant move.
It was terrifying to see someone that large, move so fast that he could barely track.
Takuma swung an augmented fist, but the giant took it with his bare palm without as much as a flinch. He tried to free the arm, but it didn''t budge a centimetre. His instincts were right; this wasn''t someone he was supposed to fight.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Barbary, ANBU Captain and your boss," said the man as he removed his mask to reveal a face with an impressive head of hair and beard. "I apologise if we scared you, but I must say, I''m impressed by your response. Though, I must suggest that next time you find yourself in this position, run at the first chance you get. Run from all the fights you can''t win."
He couldn''t have been more confused as he looked at the man before him, who was smiling proudly.
"It''s alright, Thirteen," Amami peeked from behind the giant''s body and motioned to the other ''ROOT agents'' who all removed their masks to reveal their faces.
He was then informed that this was an induction they did with all newcomers and that Amami had gone through something very similar two weeks back.
"Just a little icebreaker. Nice, isn''t it?" said Barbary, patting him on his shoulder.
Takuma asked how he could believe them and that this wasn''t some ploy.
"You would be dead by now," said Campbell, and that made Takuma sigh and kneel on the ground as he felt his beating heart, feeling slightly sick from the bad memories of the assassination attempt.
"It''s okay to be mad. I was pissed," Amami sighed with a tone that said that she sympathised with him.
He was fuming and wanted to rip into them that they had taken it too far. He suffered an entire day, worried sick about his future, all because of some juvenile hazing. He was about to say some choice words to the man who had introduced himself as his boss at the risk of offending him and ruining his career, but he did not care and was about to spit out his raging thoughts when Barbary''s words took him by surprise,
"Welcome to the unit, Ratel. I expect great things from you."
Takuma immediately knew that was the codename that he had been waiting for.
"Fuck this, I don''t have the energy for this. I don''t want to touch this clusterfuck," Takuma sighed deeply, all the anger clenching his body slip away. "I should''ve just volunteered for training." He looked up at Barbary and bluntly said, "This sucked, and you didn''t even do it properly. You expect great things from me? You sure have set my expectations of you bottom low."
"Now, now, I understand you''re angry¡ª"
Takuma cut Barbary off. "Choose the correct target next time!"
"Pardon?"
Takuma weaved a single hand seal and turned to smoke.
The group was stunned into silence as they gazed at where Takuma had just been standing.
"A clone," muttered Amami, voicing the group''s thoughts.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Clones weren''t slaves.
They couldn''t be forced to do something they didn''t want, so if the user summoned them to offload work while intending to rest themselves, the clones could refuse, finding such behaviour unfair, and even pop themselves to waste chakra. The user''s personality heavily affected how clones behaved and could be used. One couldn''t even lie to a clone as they inherited memories and feelings, so there was no way to bypass it by anything except persuasion.
And that was difficult when the opposite side knew all the tricks.
That''s why Takuma decided to give the clone a choice when tackling different tasks or give them easier tasks. He created a clone soon after waking up, and while he did conditioning training, the clone also did taijutsu skill training. While Takuma practised ninjutsu, the clone focused on reading and memorising things that needed to be remembered for ANBU.
When Takuma focused on genjutsu, he sent the clone on a grocery run.
So, he was worried when evening came, but the clone hadn''t returned from something that was supposed to take an hour at most. He could tell it was still alive, so he didn''t pop the clone in case it was doing something important. He didn''t think it was goofing around because he knew how busy he was, and the same went for the clone.
Ultimately, the clone didn''t return¡ªbut he did send back the memories and experience.
"...Fuck me," Takuma sighed as he gripped his hair as a headache from receiving the absolutely ridiculous series of events the clone had experienced. "The clone returned!" he announced from his room to alert Maruboshi as they had been discussing the clone''s whereabouts over a dinner of instant noodles and boiled eggs.
"Where was it?" Maruboshi asked from his room.
"He was attacked by ANBU-nin roleplaying as ROOT-nin for a hazing prank!" Takuma replied, sticking his head into the hallway.
"Pardon?" Even without seeing him, Takuma could hear the frown in his teacher''s voice.
He threw his hands up, vindicated. "Exactly!"
CH_9.23 (338)
Two days later, Takuma sat in Barbary''s office, facing the humongous man who would be his boss in the Inquisitor Unit. Neither the man nor his team had delivered a good first impression, and the messy office with paperwork, files, and boxes stacked and towered all around the table and room wasn''t helping it at all.
"I hadn''t laughed like that in a while," Barbary grinned as he sat on his throne of a chair fitting for his size. "You got us good with that clone. It was funny to see the team so mad after being given the slip by a clone! They all wanted to go home so they wouldn''t have to talk about it."
Takuma didn''t know what to say because he hadn''t done anything to deceive the team. The clone was on a grocery run when they decided to mess with him. Who knew how he would''ve reacted if he was there in the flesh when there was an actual sense of danger...
"I hope you won''t take our little thing to heart. It was just a fun little exercise to welcome you to the unit."
He wanted to take it to heart because of the concentrated bullet of stress he received when the clone''s memories and experiences flooded his mind. Takuma had sat in his room for an hour to process what had happened to the clone during the day.
That said, he couldn''t isolate himself from everyone before he even started working.
"No, it''s alright. I''m glad this is a fun place," he replied.
Barbary laughed. "We work hard, but we party harder. I don''t like to brag, but our parties are legendary."
"I look forward to the next," Takuma offered a smile.
"Then, let''s have a welcoming party for you and Amami soon. We haven''t had one of her because of scheduling issues," said Barbary, sounding excited before tempering himself. "But let''s talk about work for now. Since you''re new not only to our unit but also to the ANBU, you will shadow someone experienced. They''ll act as a mentor of sorts and teach you how we operate. It will involve helping them with their work until you''re ready to be independent, so for now, just do what''s asked of you, and if you don''t understand anything, don''t hesitate to bother your mentor."
"Who''s going to be my mentor?" asked Takuma.
"One of your senior squad mates, so you get to build a rapport and slot right into the team when you''re ready. Now, you must have some idea about our cover identity when you walked in here," said Barbary, pointing to the banner hanging on the wall behind him that said¡ª
[Ironwood Protection Company]
For his meeting with Barbary, he was asked to visit an office building away from the main road, which looked absolutely mundane from the outside. Beyond the unguarded front gate, there was a secondary set of gates guarded by two shinobi guards that could only be unlocked with a key in the form of f¨±injutsu seals.
He was no stranger to such locks, having seen them in the Police Force to secure evidence storage and armouries. But to lock an entire building down made it clear enough that they didn''t want anyone who wasn''t supposed to be there inside.
"We are a protection service unit under the command of J¨nin Aburame Seinpachi," said Barbary.
"So, bodyguards?" Takuma asked, noting that Barbary used the jonin''s real name instead of an ANBU codename.
"Essentially, yes."
Their cover was working in a specialised shinobi unit focused on protection. Such specialised units existed across the villages and were popular as they allowed a group of shinobi to gain a large amount of experience and expertise in a single field, making them better at handling tasks than others.
As a unit that was supposed to offer protection services, they took commercial jobs from private clients but also worked internally with Leaf diplomats or anyone requiring their services during their travels¡ªor they were supposed to if they were a legitimate shop and not an ANBU front. Every person in the building, from the guards at the front gates to the person who had served coffee to Takuma, ANBU-nin as staff or operatives.
"Is everyone under J¨nin Seinpachi part of ANBU?" he asked.
J¨nin were rarely deployed to the field as matters that required a j¨nin were rare. Instead, a majority of a j¨nin''s duty was to serve as a leader, commanding hundreds and even thousands of shinobi troops. Many j¨nin were part of formal entities such as the Police Force and the Leaf Intelligence Division and had a workforce under their command¡ªbut not all j¨nin were part of such formal entities.
Toridasu was a j¨nin who wasn''t part of a formal department or division. Yet he directly commanded double-digit chunin and a couple of tokubetsu j¨nin who served under him when he was not at war. The tokubetsu j¨nin and experienced chunin oversaw other chunin who had one or multiple genin teams under them. The chunin themselves also teamed up for B-rank missions or higher.
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As a j¨nin, he had access to good jobs to pass on to his subordinates and profit from them. By his lonesome, Toridasu gathered talented subordinates who completed jobs with high completion and satisfaction rates, gaining him the trust and reputation of the administration and high-profile clients.
"No, J¨nin Seinpachi has more units like ours under his command. Most of them are all regular force shinobi unrelated and unaware of our status. Their legitimacy acts as a camouflage, allowing us to hide from prying eyes," Barbary replied before explaining more about the Aburame j¨nin.
J¨nin Aburame Seinpachi was an ANBU-nin. His cover job had him remain part of the regular forces and take regular shinobi under his banner before forming ANBU units. While Takuma was only going to pretend to be to do his cover job, Seinpachi''s cover involved him being responsible for both his cover and actual duties¡ªit was an elaborate setup supported by ANBU to ensure secrecy.
"It''s difficult to hide a j¨nin," sighed Barbary.
Not only were the popular figures within the Hidden Leaf, but they were also on foreign watchlists¡ªmaking them very noticeable and a massive problem if they one day fell off the face of the earth. ANBU devised ways to disguise such high-profile people by surrounding them with legitimate walls that cast shadows for ANBU to operate within.
"Every ANBU cover job has some level of travel built into it. Ours is no different. We have the excuse of leaving the village to protect a client or secure a shipment¡ªread the literature and module; it will clarify everything for you. If you have doubts, you can always ask your mentor or squadmates."
Takuma gazed at the banner and thought about how he would explain and justify the new job to his friends and acquaintances.
"From police to private security seems natural," he half-muttered to himself. Even though he had never been part of a protection detail in his time at the Police Force, as far as people were concerned, this move would seem natural.
"Yes, it works well, doesn''t it." Barbary smiled. "I''m glad you came to work under me, Ratel. I have been following your career since you were a newbie in the Ring brought in by Enomoto."
Takuma''s fists clenched up when he heard those words. The Ring and Scars were not a problem for him anymore because those were part of his file, and ANBU knew all about it¡ªbut this was the first time someone had brought up Enomoto, which wasn''t a reach because he was his introducing sponsor into the Ring.
But if someone knew him, there was a high chance they knew about the man''s other interests.
"...You''re surprisingly knowledgeable about the Ring if you know Enomoto," said Takuma.
"It would be strange if I didn''t know about the Ring. I was a fighter there myself. Well, I technically still am on the roster, but you know, I''ve outgrown the place just like you," said Barbary, his expression laced with nostalgia.
"...Pardon? You were a Ring fighter?" asked Takuma, surprised.
"I was. In fact, we met when you were in the Ring. I always wanted to work with you, so my wish came true, but we could''ve worked together much earlier, albeit in a different capacity, if you had accepted my offer back then. I must say, you''re one heck of a fighter, Scars."
Takuma was flabbergasted. His new boss was apparently a Ring fighter, and they had met before. He racked his brain to recall when he met Barbary, but nothing came up.
"You don''t remember me, do you?" Barbary laughed.
"... I don''t, sorry."
"Don''t worry. I brought this in knowing I would be meeting you today."
Barbary opened a drawer on his table and pulled out a porcelain mask. The moment Takuma saw the mask, memories hit him like a truck, rushing in like a flood. He recalled a night after a fight when he was invited by one of Ring''s groups with an offer to join them. That was his first time, but he had forgotten about it because several groups had approached him as he grew more popular.
He was rather fed up as he had no intention of ever joining a group and didn''t bother to remember any of them.
"Slash Baron?"
"That''s the one!" Barbary clicked his finger as he held the mask before his face. "I was so disappointed you didn''t join my group back then."
It was then Takuma realised that ANBU had their eyes on him way before he thought they were interested. He was a nobody when he met Slash Baron; he hadn''t joined the Police Force. If he remembered it right, it was before his first C-rank outside the village that had taken him to the Land of Frost, which was perhaps the first time he had been part of something important due to the ambush and deaths.
There was no reason for them to be interested in him back then other than that he was an up-and-coming prizefighter... and a drug dealer.
"...I also brought your friend Copperhead into ANBU as well."
Copperhead was Sango''s ANBU codename. Takuma silently gulped, wondering if Barbary knew about that part of his life. Even though his identity as Scars had made it to his file, he had managed to keep his drug dealing a well-guarded secret. Sango was once Enomoto''s apprentice¡ªbut he wasn''t sure if she knew about his drug dealing because they had never talked about it and she had never brought it up in any conversation.
But Takuma wouldn''t be surprised if she knew due to her relationship with Enomoto.
If she knew and told Barbary or anyone in ANBU, it would be terrible for him because if they knew his relationship with Enomoto extended beyond the Ring, it could lead to them looking into his work at the Police Force, which was much more dangerous to him than some street-level drug dealing.
He had to know if there was something about that in his file at ANBU.
"Well, now you are here, so let''s make the best of it. Moving on, here you go," said Barbary before handing over a sheet of paper.
Still busy with his thoughts about Enomoto, Takuma looked down at the sheet and saw what seemed to be a list of ANBU codenames.
"What is this?"
"The point of your induction was to allow your team to get to know you by seeing how you react to a stressful situation¡ªbut I also allowed them to look into your personnel file so they would know your background. That list is the people who requested and looked at your file.
"And because they looked at your file, you can look at their files," Barbary added¡ª
¡ªbut Takuma was no longer listening.
CH_9.24 (339)
"I guess you''re my squad leader."
When Takuma left Barbary''s office, Campbell was waiting for him outside. After their lessons ended, he wasn''t expecting to see his kenjutsu trainer for some time while he got busy with his job, but then the man showed up two days later. After the stress and surprise faded, he guessed they would be working together somehow, and he didn''t dislike that idea.
Campbell nodded. "Come on, I''ll give you a tour."
They walked around the surprisingly large, multiple-story office that housed the Inquisitor Unit, made up of three squads of five operatives, each excluding squad leaders and Barbary as the ANBU Captain, leading the entire unit, masking up to a total of nineteen operatives supported by fifteen staff members in various position. There were a lot more people involved in the operation than he expected.
"The units are named after squad leaders, so we are part of the Campbell Squad. Including you and I, there are six people in the squad. Your friend, Kestrel, is also part of the squad, so you''ll be working together," said Campbell.
Kestrel was Amami''s codename.
"Two out of five are new?" asked Takuma, surprised.
New operatives like him were supposed to shadow a mentor who was supposed to be a squad mate. Two new operatives on a team meant that only the remaining three were working, which was much less than the expected amount.
"It can''t be helped that two of my people had to move out so soon from each other, and ANBU currently has a recruitment imbalance due to high demand and low supply, so we weren''t able to get a replacement until your intake batch," said Campbell, and it was the first time Takuma had heard the unflappable man sigh.
"Because of ROOT?"
"We had to rush to pick up the slack when they left. The truth is that we weren''t prepared for it. Yes, we had contingencies related to ROOT, but drafting plans is not the same as seeing them through. It has been roughly over a year since they fled, and we are finally near to getting used to this new normal¡ªand we haven''t even started a department-wide hunt for the ROOT agents and its network because we''ve been swamped with covering the gaps.
"I forecast another rough two or three years before things settle down to the expected level of chaos before the next big thing."
''Like the village getting invaded and attacked by a supposed ally under the manipulation of a traitor?''
Takuma also registered the information that ANBU hadn''t started to hunt ROOT down in earnest yet. He was disappointed they hadn''t begun hunting ROOT like dogs to put down, but he was also pleased because the responsibilities to hunt them down were still up for grabs. He feared that if the hunt were already in full sprint, responsibilities would''ve been locked down, and he might have missed the opportunity to go after Kon.
But seeing that they hadn''t started a full-scale hunt yet meant that, as long as he took early initiative, he could involve himself in large-scale operations somewhere down the line.
"And what does our work involve?" Takuma asked. He wanted to be productive as soon as possible so he would be ready when the opportunity came.
The Inquisitor Unit worked with the Leaf Intelligence Division and ANBU''s own intelligence network to find threats across the Land of Fire. The intelligence networks kept an eye on the pulse of what was happening around the nation, always on the lookout for disturbances. Once they found something, they would push it to appropriate stations like the Inquisitor Unit to see if there was something there to deal with.
The unit would then analyse the intelligence and identify the problem and its threat level before deciding how¡ªor even whether¡ªto eliminate it.
"We don''t have many restrictions on what sort of cases we handle. You can take in anything as long as you clear it with me."
"Understood."
They made their way through the office and arrived at a fully-stocked armoury enough to arm the entire office to teeth and then some more. Takuma was confused as to why they had come to the armoury when he thought he was going to be formally introduced to his team.
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"Has it arrived?" Campbell asked the armoury manager.
"It has," said the manager, smiling at Takuma before dipping back into the room.
"What is it?" asked Takuma, curious.
Campbell asked him to wait. After a minute, the armoury manager returned holding a white porcelain mask with a black design inspired by and resembling a honey badger. He placed it on the metal counter between them, and Takuma silently stared at the pristine mask, which was still gleaming under the light from the absence of scratching.
"Welcome to ANBU, Ratel," said the armour manager.
Takuma felt something unknown as he picked up the mask. The last time he had taken a mask, it was to hide his identity from people¡ªincluding his friends¡ªand eventually led him to hide a big part of his life from the people he cared about. This mask was going to be no different; they wouldn''t know a whole part of his life for a very long time, and if the time came one day, even then, he could only say so much.
Did he find that difficult? No, he did not, but that didn''t make him hate it any less.
"Do you like it?" asked Campbell.
"I like the design." He didn''t mind whatever they gave, and it wasn''t like he would see himself wearing it unless he looked in the mirror.
"Let''s go meet the team."
Takuma thanked the armoury manager, and they were off to meet the squad. Each squad was assigned its own office space, and the Campbell Squad was located on the second floor, while the other two were on the first floor.
"You can greet them later on their own," Campbell said on their way up.
The team had already gathered in the squad''s meeting room, waiting for them, and the moment Takuma entered the room, confetti shot out of the party popper, almost making him take cover to prepare for flooding the room with Water Release: Wild Water Wave.
"Welcome!" Amami yelled as she held the party popper.
"He doesn''t look amused," said the adult man in his late twenties. His shaggy, dirty brown hair, messy stubble, untucked shirt, shorts, and household slippers gave an impression of a messy man who didn''t care about his appearance and what people thought about him.
Takuma had nothing against that, but he believed in following dressing etiquette. He wore his Police Force uniform because it was required. He also wore his Leaf gear as his uniform diligently when he was in his capacity as a shinobi. A lot of shinobi liked to dress comfortably, something he had no problem with¡ªbut he at least expected people to be presentable.
Dressing in loungewear at the place of work was not working for him.
"Exactly," said Amami.
Takuma sighed as he saw her grinning mischievously, as though she were expecting and deliberately seeking his current reaction and that she had gotten exactly what she wanted. He shot her a look, but she just pumped her brows to show her amusement.
The other woman in the room stepped to Takuma and set out her hand for a handshake. "Welcome to the team, Ratel. I am Caracara," she said. She was the complete opposite of the man and was dressed in a crisp, ironed Leaf uniform, her black hair tied in a tight bun, and she wore polished boots. She had sharp features and openly judged him as she made solid eye contact.
"Nice, strong grip," said Takuma as he shook her hand.
"You''re not bad yourself. I have heard a few things about you from friends at the Police Force," Caracara smiled.
"I hope they were good," Takuma smiled back, knowing she was one of the people looking at his file.
Caracara simply smiled.
"Kestrel is learning under Caracara, so Ratel will be doing the same under Dhole." Campbell turned to the messy man. "Show him the ropes; have him help you with your cases. Learn everything from him; if you have questions, ask him. I expect good results," he finished by addressing Takuma.
"Yes, sir," Takuma said before exchanging an awkward look with Dhole, who had also looked at his file.
He looked around the meeting room before turning to Campbell. "Uhm... what about the other member?" Each squad had five operatives and one squad leader. There were only four operatives, including Takuma, in the meeting room.
"Krait is out on a case for a moment. He will return at the end of the month. You can meet him when he comes back," said Campbell before looking at the wall clock in the room. "I have an appointment to attend at the headquarters and will return after lunch."
"Have a safe trip," said Caracara.
Takuma gazed at Campbell leave. His squad leader''s name was also on the list of people who had read his file, which was to be expected since he was his direct supervisor.
Amami put her hand over his shoulder as she leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Unfortunately for you, I have not read your file, so you don''t get to read mine, dear Thirteen, but maybe if you ask me nicely, I will tell you a secret about myself, but only if you tell me one first."
Takuma pushed her away while wondering if she was really reading his mind because she could be scarily accurate at the most unexpected times. He guessed she knew what he was thinking because the same thing had happened to her when she joined the team. She was telling the truth because her name was not on the list.
"I know you''re shadowing Dhole, but don''t hesitate to reach out to me," said Caracara before leaving the meeting room.
"Thank you," Takuma said with a bow.
"Come, Kestrel. We have work to do."
"Let''s have lunch together," Amami patted his shoulder as she followed Caracara out of the room, leaving him and his Dhole alone.
He looked at his mentor and asked, "So, where do we start?"
He was now officially the ANBU operative codenamed Ratel.
It was time to get working.
CH_9.25 (340)
"Here you go," Dhole dumped two tall stacks of messy files, folders, and loose papers on the desk in Takuma''s empty office. It was half the size of his office in the Narcotics Taskforce, but he guessed he could set it up to his liking with clever storage solutions.
"What do I need to do?" Takuma looked up at his mentor, who seemed like he was not one for words. While Dhole took him to introduce himself to the staff that worked closely with Campbell Squad, and once they returned, he asked him to wait in the office before arriving with the pile of paperwork.
"This is all I have for the case I''ve recently finished. I want you to know the case, and the best way to do that is going through the documents and preparing the paperwork. Read it all, take the help of the staff authorised to see the material, and complete as much paperwork, procedure, and formalities as you can." Dhole sounded dispassionate as he almost droned out the words, but Takuma assumed that was just how he spoke. "If you have questions, collect them all and come to me one hour before the end of the day, and we will go through them together. I''ll give you three days for this, and then we''ll see what you have."
Dhole walked out after patting him on his shoulder, leaving him with piles of paper.
As he stared at the ivory mound before him, Takuma didn''t know if he agreed with Dhole''s method of introducing him to the job. When he was in the Narcotics Taskforce, he would have the new hires participate in open, ongoing cases to give them a sense of personal involvement and attachment to the work they were doing so they would find value in doing tedious paperwork.
Here, the case here was already over and it felt like Dhole was offloading the uninteresting, busy work on him because he didn''t want to do it. Dhole didn''t even give him a summary or overview to serve as an entry points into the case. And the three-day deadline with no checks beforehand made it feel like he didn''t care about the work he submitted.
But he couldn''t complain as this was the first task his mentor had assigned him. He had to do his best to create a positive first impression. Takuma stood up from his chair to pick up piles and bumped his thigh into the table, which toppled the ivory mound, sending loose paper avalanching down the tabletop and onto the floor.
"Well¡ this is just wonderful," he said, pursing his lips.
By the time he was done cleaning up and organising the mess into something he could start working with, there was a knock on the door. He looked up to see Amami and Caracara standing outside his office.
"Let''s have lunch," said Amami, glancing at the tabletop covered with documents.
"It''s that time already?" asked Takuma, looking at his office walls that lacked a clock.
"Come on, my treat," Caracara said.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"So, what''s his deal?" Takuma asked.
Amami, who was about to go for her first bite, looked up at him in surprise. "Gosh, you''re direct. Beat around the bush a little, will you?" She glanced at her mentor sitting by her side.
They sat in a small diner fifteen minutes from their office that served "homemade" food run by a middle-aged couple and seemed to be a regular fixture for Caracara. The choice to bring him here and not somewhere a bit fancier gave him an understanding of his new senior teammate''s personality.
"It''s okay. It would''ve been strange if you hadn''t asked about Dhole," Caracara said as she wiped her chopsticks with a napkin. "What do you want to know?"
"What''s he like?"
"His personal life? I don''t know much. We''ve worked together for a good while, but we''re ''work friends''¡ªnever really discussed personal stuff. As for his professional competency¡ contrary to how homeless he appears, that man is brilliant at his best. He is a homebody who hates to travel, so it''s fitting that he has a terrifying knack for using collected intelligence from our networks and assets to find the crux of a case and then drill into the cracks until they break open."
As part of the Domestic Branch, the Inquisitor Unit handled matters from all over the Land of Fire, which required operatives to travel often as part of the job. Among the three squads in the unit, Dhole travelled the least, not because he didn''t handle faraway cases but because he managed to handle them from home. His longest streak of not leaving the comfort of the Hidden Leaf was seven months.
"I benefited greatly from the cases we worked together and saw how he worked. Shadow him; try to learn how he deciphers and interprets information," said Caracara.
Takuma thought about the work Dhole had given him. Reading the material on a case and preparing the paperwork did seem like an exercise in interpreting information and presenting it in a digestible fashion. Perhaps it was Dhole''s way of guiding him and not using it to offload unwanted work.
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"What should I do to impress him? I want to work on some real cases as well," asked Takuma. For a while, Dhole was going to be in charge of his work, so he wanted to get on the man''s good side.
"He doesn''t enjoy people in general, so buttering him up won''t work. Stick to producing good work, make fewer mistakes, and more importantly, don''t bother him, and you''ll be his favourite person."
Takuma gave her a grateful nod. He would greatly prefer it if it were as simple as doing good work because, in his experience, it was almost never that. But as he remembered Dhole''s personality, which he observed in the morning, maybe the operative was indeed someone who was uninterested in office politics and only wanted to focus on his work.
He looked up at Caracara. Seeing that he had the opportunity, he decided to ask more questions.
"Any things I should know about the big man himself?"
Caracara hummed. "Well... Barbary''s a good boss. He knows how to manage and motivate people. He supports and takes care of the unit, doesn''t have a big ego, and doesn''t micromanage. Some of his antics can be a tad bit annoying, like the initiations and drinking parties"¡ªAmami sighed; it seemed no one enjoyed their initiation¡ª"but all in all, he''s probably everything you''d ask for in a boss. In return, he holds us to a high standard. He understands mistakes are natural and would rather focus on fixing and preventing them than yelling like others. He''ll even try to help if you''re in a slump or struggling for whatever reason, but he won''t baby you¡ªyou have to pull your weight."
"He also prefers high-performers," Amami chimed in.
"That''s right. He''s fair, but if you do good work, he will be much more responsive and flexible with your demands and requests."
"He must like workaholics," Takuma said jokingly.
"Not really, no. As long as you have some updates for him that he can pass on to his bosses, he is more than happy to leave you alone even if you only come to the office two days a week."
Takuma felt a rudimentary picture of Barbary form in his mind. It was only his first day, and there was a lot more to know about his team¡ªwhich would come with time¡ªbut he was satisfied with his initial findings.
He knew a bit about Campbell from their lessons. Amami he was familiar with because of their partnership during the ANBU assessment. He had a feel for Caracara''s type of personality, and she had given him enough about Barbary to get started. He would find out more about Dhole as he learned under his mentorship.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"This is... impressive," said Takuma as he read the material before him in the unit''s record room.
"It is, isn''t it?" said Jotomi, a member of the ANBU staff who worked in the Inquisitor Unit. He volunteered to help with the things he didn''t understand, something Takuma was very grateful for.
That alone made him eager to build a relationship with the man..
In many ways, being friendly with the staff was just as important as getting along with his fellow operatives on his squad. They were the backbone of the ANBU; nothing would happen if they weren''t there to establish order in a very chaotic organisation.
As they reviewed the material Dhole had collected and notes for his case, Takuma realised Caracara was right. Dhole had an amazing skill for sifting through the information collected by intelligence networks and assets and finding meaningful information without visiting the place or talking to the key people involved.
He wasn''t a magician, and he still had to do those things if there wasn''t anything useful in the collected intelligence, but he went deeper than most people by noticing things they would''ve missed.
"Look at this," Takuma lifted copies of a ledger and contracts related to the case he was doing paperwork for and handed it to Jotomi. "How did he even find that out? I mean, I would''ve looked at the ledger because it''s always wise to follow the money, but not like this..."
And that was because he wasn''t a financial accountant nor was he knowledgeable in legalese¡ªbut Dhole apparently knew enough about both those matters to notice something wrong, or he had someone look into it because he sensed a smoking gun. Whoever had written the contracts and manipulated the ledger was very good at their job, but Dhole was still able to look through the deception to find damning evidence.
It had been two days since he had started looking into the case, and Takuma had already found half a dozen similar instances where Dhole discovered things he wouldn''t have thought about looking.
"It''s no wonder he doesn''t leave the village," he muttered.
While Takuma admired the material, Jotomi reviewed his paperwork to check for mistakes. Takuma had shown his progress to Dhole, who had directed him straight to the staff without looking at his work, believing the staff would be more suitable to proofread it.
It made sense, but he had still not managed to sit with his mentor for more than half an hour at a time.
"...Did you do all of this?" asked Jotomi.
"Hmm? Yes, I did. Is there a problem?"
"No, not at all. This is perfect," he said, his tone tinged with surprise. "I was expecting some errors, but this is flawless. Even the summaries break down the situation in an easy-to-digest fashion. I say you have a knack for paperwork, Ratel."
"Well, I do have some experience," Takuma said humbly. He had done more than enough paperwork in the Police Force, but in addition, he had prepared for it by studying ANBU''s standard operating procedures and paperwork during training with ANBU staff introduced to him by Sango.
As they chatted, another staff member entered the record room to file some documents.
"Hey, Boginori. It looks like the new guy won''t be giving us any problem with the documentation," Jotomi said jokingly, calling over his friend to look over Takuma''s work.
"That''s not good," Boginori said as he took the papers from Jotomi. "We''ll be out of our jobs if they stop making mistakes..." he trailed off as he glanced at the papers in his hands.
Takuma looked up and noticed a frown on Boginori''s face, who noticed the gaze and wiped his expression off his face quickly.
"What is it? Is there something wrong there? Please don''t hesitate to tell me. I would rather hear it to my face now and not make the mistake later."
"Ah, it''s... how should I say this," Boginori looked extremely hesitant about whether he should say what was on his mind, but after Takuma urged and insisted, he spoke up. "Dhole submitted this last week, and I already processed the paperwork for this case three days ago.."
Takuma felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on him. Even though he wasn''t happy with Dhole''s interactions with him, he respected the quality of his work¡ªbut now he felt like the man had made a fool out of him.
CH_9.26 (341)
The next day, Takuma sat in his office, gazing at the neat set of documentation, files and scrolls he had worked hard on, all of which was basically meaningless. He thought he was helping with something of real value and the realisation that he wasn''t left a bad taste in his mouth.
It wouldn''t have been a problem if he had been told about it in advance, but he was led to believe that he was doing something that would be useful. Takuma didn''t need to be babied. He wasn''t a fresh genin or a trainee¡ªhe was an ANBU-nin, and a chunin of the Hidden Leaf.
He would rather have his work overseen and double-checked over doing something without value.
There was a knock on the door. He looked up to see Dhole standing at his threshold. In the past three days, Dhole had not once started a conversation with him, much less visited his office. He had told Takuma to hold off on his questions until the end of the last hour of the working day, but he was always half an hour late for those as well. It felt like he didn''t want to deal with him at all.
"I heard from Boginori¡ª"
"I have completed the paperwork." Takuma pushed the paperwork forward. Even though it was meaningless work, he had worked overtime the day before to complete it in case Dhole tried to use incomplete work against him.
Dhole gazed at him for a moment before sighing tiredly and sitting across from him like he was exhausted. "Listen, I have nothing against you personally, but I don''t have the time to babysit someone right now," he said.
"Then what do you suggest?" asked Takuma.
Initially, he wanted to confront Dhole about assigning him work that he had already done on his own, but after taking some time, he figured it would be better to talk it out. Having managed a team before, he wanted to communicate at least once to come to a compromise before taking any other action. Even if he didn''t like Dhole and didn''t want to be friendly with the guy, he was fine as long as they came to a mutually agreeable solution.
"Our squad is in a bad state right now. Before you and Kestrel joined, there were only three of us, and that caused us to fall behind the other squads," Dhole said as he sank into the chair to make himself comfortable, almost lying in it.
"That''s not your fault," said Takuma. He understood the pressure of meeting performance goals.
"But it''s not the other squads'' fault either," said Dhole, eyeing the table like he wanted to put his feet up. "Funds and resources in our unit are decided by performance. When we lost people, the funding available was cut to match the squad size, and those funds were redirected to the other squads. Now, you would think we would get our funding back when you two joined¡ªwhich we did¡ªbut it''s not the amount from before it was cut. The other two squads have kept a portion of our funds as part of their performance rewards."
And now that Campbell Squad was back to their full numbers, they were expected to perform like a full squad, which was difficult when they had two new operatives who would take some time to settle into their roles.
"That''s why we have been working out asses off for the past couple of months to keep that performance gap low while both of you settle in." Despite his words, Dhole seemed relatively unconcerned about it, but that seemed partly of his generally unbothered disposition. "Having you help me will not be of any help; I will always be double-checking your work because I don''t trust you. I know your history, and as illustrious as it is, until I see it with my own eyes, I can''t work with you. If it were any other time, I would have been fine with double-checking your work while I learned to work with you¡ªbut that''s not possible right now and I can''t afford to slow down."
Takuma felt he better understood the situation. He didn''t agree that he would slow Dhole down, but it helped him understand the justification behind Dhole''s actions even though he still didn''t like it any less than before.
"I don''t want to do meaningless work," said Takuma. He wanted to gain more B-rank ninjutsu, which depended on his performance, and doing meaningless work was actively hurting his goals. "If you don''t want to mentor me, that''s fine. You don''t have to take responsibility for me. I''m willing to go out on my own and be accountable if I screw things up."
"Any screw-ups will undo our efforts." Dhole sighed yet again. "Well, whatever. If you really want to do something, I might have something for you..."
.
-.-.-
.
Takuma watched as Jotomi wheeled a trolley full of crate boxes into his office.
"That''s a lot," said Takuma.
"We get a lot of tips and reports every month," Jotomi replied, unloading half a dozen boxes into a corner of his empty office.
Leaf shinobi were stationed all around the Land of Fire. There was a program that allowed them to send tips and reports to the Intelligence Division of any wrongful sightings they might have witnessed. If someone believed reporting wrongdoings up the chain of command would be insufficient or put their life in danger, shinobi had the option to mail a report to the Intelligence Division, who would forward them to the appropriate authorities, which often included ANBU.
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"An overwhelming majority of such reports are false," Jotomi sighed in frustration. "You wouldn''t believe what lengths some people would go to get some people into trouble; they submit reports falsely accusing someone of some heinous crimes. Then there are delusional people who think up conspiracies in their minds and take them too seriously. There are even psychos who address their letters to the ANBU and threaten us to do something for them if we don''t want confidential information leaked to our enemies!"
"I''m sorry, what? People do that?" Takuma said in surprise as he looked at the crate boxes that were filled with letters, suddenly wondering if Dhole had again stuck him with something useless.
"Oh, they do all kinds of shit. That''s why we call it trash mail."
"Isn''t there something we can do to discourage this type of behaviour?"
Jotomi shook his head. "It''s not worth it to dissuade them."
"Huh, why?"
"We don''t want people to fear retaliation. Once in a blue moon, someone does send in a true report. What if that person fears that he will be punished if we cannot find a lead? People would be scared and might stop reporting. So even though it increases our work, we have to keep all channels open. And well, there was a time when we did punish some obviously false ones, but we found out that it was not worth it to waste our time and resources. Now, we just leave them be."
Takuma walked to the crates and squatted next to one of them. Each box seemed to have dozens and dozens of letters. He didn''t know how long it would take to go through them all to judge their legitimacy and then decide which ones were urgent enough to give priority¡ªand that was contingent on whether there was a legitimate report in the pile of trash.
"These five boxes have already been checked and rejected by someone in the unit. The final box is new, so we haven''t gotten the chance to go through them; I suggest you start with this box." Jotomi pointed at the crates.
Everyone knew about the reputation of trash mail for being bogus, and because of that, no one liked to go through it because it was a waste of time. According to Dhole, all squads had to fulfil their quota of verifying trash mail, but because everyone was busy and no one liked trash mail duty because of its reputation, people rushed through it¡ªbut even that rushed job was unwanted.
"¡ªGo through the trash mail properly and complete our squad''s quota. If you do that, I will give you something real to work on¡ª"
That''s what Dhole had promised him.
Takuma gazed at the boxes. On the surface, it was good news that he only needed to focus on one box, but then he wouldn''t have asked for all of them to be brought in. Dhole had told him that verifying trash mail was always a rush job, so there could be a narrow possibility that¡ª
Maybe they missed something...
It was wishful thinking, but Takuma wondered if he could find something. It would be a good look if he found something legitimate in the trash mail when everyone had missed it.
If he didn''t find anything, Dhole would give him something when he completed the squad''s quota.
"Well, it''s time to get busy, I guess," said Takuma as he picked up one of the crates.
He had been in this situation before in the Police Force. He had climbed up from the bottom to create something for himself back then; there was no reason why he couldn''t do it again.
He just needed to keep working, and results would appear when it was time.
.
-.-.-
.
The nuclear family of four sat together for supper around the dinner table at the Uchiha house.
The father and eldest son weren''t chatty, so they talked even less while eating. The youngest son idolised his brother, mimicked him and stayed quiet during mealtime, leaving the mother to pick up the conversation.
"Listen to this: Takuma picked up a job," said Mikoto as she gave Sasuke a look when he tried to skip out on eating his greens. "I knew he wasn''t the type to take C-rank missions with teams from the Genin Corp."
Most unaffiliated chunin who didn''t belong to a department or other organisations would take on C-rank missions with Genin Corp genin.
"That kid needs to do something substantial to feel like he''s doing something," she said.
"What is he doing now?" asked Fugaku. He wanted to know what Takuma was doing after rejecting his offer. He had also heard that his negotiation with Torture and Interrogation had failed, which made him curious to find out what place had finally satisfied him.
"It''s a protection service called the Ironwood Protection Company."
"Bodyguards?" Fugaku frowned.
It was a common move for people who left the Police Force, but he didn''t think Takuma was the type to go for it. Or was it because he rejected both the Police Force and T&I, leading him to lose his options and settle for an inferior choice? If that was the case, there was still a chance to bring him back.
"Yes, it''s a unit under Aburame Seinpachi," said Mikoto. "I was surprised as well."
Two sets of hands eating food paused when they heard the name Aburame Seinpachi. Fugaku and Itachi glanced at each other. They knew what Aburame Seinpachi did. He was Itachi''s peer as a fellow ANBU Captain. Fugaku, as the head of the Uchiha Clan, was privy to some confidential information, and the Aburame j¨nin''s true identity was one of the things he knew.
Itachi remained still for a moment before giving him a slow nod.
Aburame Seinpachi had various non-ANBU units under him. It took him a moment to confirm whether "Ironwood Protection Company" was an ANBU unit.
Fugaku sighed, "No wonder..."
"What did you say? I missed that," said Mikoto.
Fugaku set down his chopsticks. There was a problem now that he knew Takuma had joined the ANBU. He gazed at his wife. He didn''t appreciate that an ANBU-nin would be in frequent contact with his wife. He barely trusted his son after what had happened, so he didn''t trust an outsider like Takuma. It wouldn''t be a surprise if the ANBU asked Takuma to keep an eye on his wife and subtly get information about the clan from her.
Mikoto was capable, and he didn''t think she would jeopardise the clan, but he also knew that she liked and trusted Takuma¡ªand trust was vital for any genuine relationship; it also made people blind.
"You shouldn''t compromise an ANBU-nin''s cover."
He heard Itachi''s voice as if it had been whispered right next to his ear. It was an application of voice modulation through chakra. He knew that his son had to say that as an ANBU-nin. Even if he meant those words, Fugaku wouldn''t risk the clan for Takuma''s cover identity.
"What are you two talking about?" Mikoto asked, her eyes narrow in suspicion. She noticed the voice modulation usage due to how close they were sitting.
Fugaku glanced at Sasuke as he said, "We will talk about it after the meal. I have to tell you something important."
CH_9.27 (342)
"How''s the new kid doing?" Barbary asked Campbell as they gazed out from the roof of Ironwood Protection Company''s offices. The building was secured shut with a thick metal hatch reinforced with f¨±injutsu for security reasons, but that didn''t stop anyone from scaling the side of the building in case they wanted to enjoy a smoke break.
Campbell took a drag from his cigarette and waited a moment before replying, "Ratel''s working his way through trash mail."
"Uff, that''s a tough start," Barbary took the cigar out ofhis mouth to chuckle. "But are you sure you want him spending his time on trash mail?"
Campbell didn''t agree with Dhole''s decision to put their newest addition on trash mail duty. He wanted him to involve Ratel in some of his cases, as Caracara did with Kestrel, to familiarise himself with the work and get him running independently. And while he had the authority to order Dhole to have Ratel join him on his cases, he didn''t want to because he knew how territorial ANBU operatives were when it came to their cases.
He too, wouldn''t like it if someone walked into his case against his will, so he didn''t want to cross that line... yet.
"He''s paying his dues as the newest."
Despite his own feelings on the matter, Campbell couldn''t complain about his team in front of his boss as it would only seem like he couldn''t run and control them properly.
"That is important," Barbary said as he puffed out smoke.
Of course some things were left unsaid.
There were more important things to Campbell Squad than having Ratel pay his dues because they were falling behind the other squads. There was an assessment in a couple of months, and they needed good showings from Kestrel and Ratel as soon as possible to look comparable to other squads if they didn''t want to lose resources and case priorities.
He looked at his cigarette after another drag and felt like his usual amount wouldn''t cut it anymore.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
It didn''t take long for Takuma to come to the same decision as every other ANBU agent before him: trash mail absolutely sucked ass.
He had been chipping away at the stack of reports for over two weeks and hadn''t found a single legitimate one. Over half of them were blackmailing attempts or absurd conspiracy theories that should''ve been run through a shredder, but he had to check them just in case there was something¡ªwhich, of course, there wasn''t.
As if that wasn''t bad enough, there were a few that seemed viable and so gave them a chance of legitimacy, which made him send requests through the intelligence network around the Land of Fire. He had to keep in touch with other shinobi, follow through with them when they didn''t reply or he wanted additional information, and juggle a dozen more things which came with collaborating with people far away.
And yet, not a single one of those reports turned out to be true.
He understood why the others had been lackadaisical with their trash mail checking. Where he had submitted multiple requests to the intelligence network for every case to ensure nothing of importance slipped through the cracks; others had done a single check, and if nothing came back, they moved on.
Takuma was starting to think it was time to move onto a similar approach.
"Just get this over with and have Dhole give you a real case," said Amami, sipping on a cup of crappy coffee as she sat behind his desk on his chair. Meanwhile he was on a second-hand couch and low table he had purchased for his office, working on yet another trash mail report.
He looked up at her. "Help me out then."
"Eww, no."
Takuma glared at her before returning to finishing the report he was working on. Despite her words, she walked over and picked a file from the bunch, glancing over it for a long moment.
"I think I remember talking about this one. Caracara was just finishing this when I had just joined," said Amami. "Someone is claiming there''s an unauthorised, off-the-books hit shop running out of the Maizuru Quarters. That''s wild, isn''t it?"
"I thought you weren''t interested," said Takuma.
Maizuru Quarters was a military installation southwest of the Hidden Leaf village. It was built as a strategic base to train, equip, and deploy troops against a possible attack from the Hidden Sand through the Land of Rivers, the nation that sat between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. It was one of Leaf''s major bases in terms of population and responsibility, as it was in charge of border security along the River-Fire border.
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He remembered that certain trash mail. There was an anonymous report that someone was taking assassination jobs from within the Maizuru Quarters. The shinobi within the base didn''t take commercial jobs, and thus, fulfilling hit contracts was not something that should be happening there.
"I didn''t have to do anything with that. Caracara did a good enough job for an anonymous report. She contacted someone in the base and they ran an investigation that didn''t turn out anything. There was nothing more I could do there except for an in-person visit, but that would be completely unwarranted after the investigation unless something new popped up."
Takuma returned his focus to the report on hand, only to frown a few seconds later when he remembered that he had already closed that trash mail case and that the file shouldn''t be in his office. Had he forgotten to turn in the file?
"What are you reading from?" he asked.
"Though unlike the one Caracara showed me, this letter isn''t anonymous," Amami held up a letter he didn''t recognise.
He frowned. "Show that to me."
Takuma walked to the desk and pulled the letter out of her hands. He didn''t recognise the letter because he hadn''t read it. Then he looked at the file on his desk, an unmarked file used for unprocessed trash mail.
"Huh. I guess something did pop up, huh," said Amami.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Campbell looked at the letter before him and didn''t know what to think. A few days ago, he thought Ratel''s going through trash mail was a waste of time, and now he sat across from the kid who said he had found something in the same trash mail. He couldn''t even remember the last time trash mail had become anything other than a waste of time.
"The first letter was anonymous and came directly from Maizuru Quarters," said Takuma, pointing at the letter, which was sent in an envelope made from stationary marked with the base''s insignia, "but this second letter came from a prison labour camp far away from the Maizuru Quarters¡ªboth of these letters make the same claim that there''s an unauthorised hit shop running out the military base."
Campbell couldn''t deny the existence of the second letter, making the same claim and raising some questions, but it wasn''t enough, so he asked about the second sender.
"Uyegita Gekin, a former Leaf genin. He was sentenced to ten years of labour in the Chibumi copper mines two years ago. I checked his records; he was stationed at the Maizuru Quarters for three years. He has the background to make the claim," said Ratel.
"What did he do?"
"He raped and killed a kunoichi," said Ratel, a grimace laced with disgust flashing past his features as the words left his mouth. "That said, we shouldn''t dismiss his claims because of what he did."
Campbell nodded. "But it also doesn''t make his claims credible."
"Which is why I''d like to go visit him in person. I can confirm if he''s telling the truth, and if so, then he clearly knows something that he hasn''t mentioned in the letter."
Campbell looked past Ratel at Dhole, who was sitting on the couch, staring at the ceiling fan as though completely zoned out of the conversation, but Campbell knew that he was always paying attention.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"...It''s going to be risky if we are rash," Dhole spoke without removing his eyes from the fan. "The internal investigation concluded that no such illegal operation was running in his base. If we re-open this now after that investigation, and it turns out to be nothing, he''ll definitely make a ruckus, and that might get us into trouble, which would be really bad for us, especially now..."
Even though they were an ANBU unit and were granted a considerable amount of power, enough to arrest and interrogate almost all Leaf shinobi without a warrant, Maizuru Quarters'' base commander was a j¨nin. A j¨nin was not someone even ANBU could treat recklessly because of their rank and the authority and status that came with it.
Reopening the case after the investigation had cleared the base of any wrongdoing would be considered an act of undermining him and damaging his reputation. There wouldn''t be a problem if they found the existence of a hit shop¡ªbut if they found nothing, there would be repercussions against them, especially once it was revealed that the source was trash mail.
"But the two letters does raise a question," Dhole continued, finally looking at Campbell. "It would be irresponsible not to look into it, and there''s no harm in interrogating the man to see if he can back up his claim."
Campbell sighed because Dhole was right. The fact that they had received two letters from two different places wasn''t something they could ignore. And if the claim was true, the case was right down the Inquisitor Unit''s line of work.
"Okay, Dhole, you should¡ª"
"Sorry, can''t do, boss. I''m too busy," said Dhole, cutting Campbell off. "I don''t have the time to make this visit, and I''m not saying this because I don''t want to travel. I genuinely don''t have the time. I have too much on my plate."
Campbell frowned. He knew both Caracara and Kestrel weren''t available because they were about to leave for their own travel for case purposes, and if Dhole was occupied as well, it meant there was only one option because Krait was away from the office.
"Just let the kid do it. He found it by slogging through the trash mail. And it''s not like he doesn''t know what he''s doing with his Police Force background," said Dhole. "I say we give a shot to show us what he''s about."
Campbell looked at Ratel, who seemed eager to take on the responsibility. The entire point to this mentorship phase was that he wanted Ratel to spend some time under Dhole''s guidance, but that was just wishful thinking based on what he had seen for the past two weeks.
Caracara''s hands were full with Kestrel, and he couldn''t put another newbie in her hands. Krait was unavailable. Campbell, himself, didn''t have the time to go. There was no other choice, and as Dhole said, the Police Force background made Ratel competent with this kind of work.
"Alright, you go talk to this guy, Ratel. But this doesn''t mean I''m greenlighting this case. Report back with what he tells you; then we''ll see if we want to proceed."
"Yes, sir!"
CH_9.28 (343)
As Takuma''s trip to the prison labour camp at the Chibumi Copper Mines was confirmed, he was summoned to the ANBU headquarters for special preparations that all ANBU operatives were required to complete before their first outings.
He was escorted to a medical ward deep within the headquarters, asked to clean himself with a bath, and given a hospital gown before being taken to a medical operating room. He observed the stark white, sterile surroundings lit with cold white light tinged a faint blue.
He had been in far colder environments, but the chill in the room seemed to stab his skin.
Three people dressed in medical scrubs and covers over their shoes were preparing for the procedure around him as he sat in the middle of the room on the bare floor. He tried to ask them some questions, but they told him to wait for the two leads to arrive as they were assistants in a supporting role for the procedure.
They did, however, tell him that the procedure would be mostly painless even if the sharp needles of various sizes failed to inspire much confidence in their words.
Five minutes later, two men and one woman walked into the room. The woman was wearing an owl-inspired ANBU mask, while the men were bare-faced. All of them were dressed in medical scrubs like the assistants.
One of the men took the lead to introduce himself to Takuma.
"Good morning, Ratel. I am Scarab. I''m the f¨±in-nin who will be applying a death-seal on you today," said Scarab. Deep crow''s feet grew beside his eyes as he smiled, giving him a friendly look. He had the leathery skin of a man who was outside a lot, which was surprising for a f¨±in-nin, who often stayed indoors for long hours to create seals.
"We, as a department, really should think of another name for that because death-seal sounds rather ominous," said Takuma. He didn''t like the fact that something foreign, which he would rather not have at all, was going into his body, and that name wasn''t making it any better.
"Perhaps we should." Scarab laughed before introducing the other man with male-pattern baldness, leaving him hair only the sides as Lacewing, the lead iry¨-nin for the procedure. "The process to apply a death-seal successfully is complex. I can''t do it on my own. Everyone here will be working together to ensure it goes smoothly, safely, and successfully."
"What''s the worst that can happen to me if something goes wrong?" asked Takuma. He probably shouldn''t ask as that would only exacerbate his fears about the procedure, but he couldn''t help but want to know.
"You shouldn''t worry about that, Ratel. Lacewing and I have done this countless times, and we haven''t failed yet. Rest assured, we will be triple-checking every step to prevent any and all faults. All we ask from you is to relax and leave the worrying to us," Scarab replied, skilfully avoiding giving a stress-inducing answer.
Takuma nodded before looking at the owl-masked woman. "What about you? What''s your role?" he asked.
"She''s here to keep an eye on everything and ensure the seal is applied properly," Scarab answered.
The woman spoke. "It''s imperative that the death-seal is applied properly and that no modifications are made to the design as it goes on your body for your own safety. Given the death-seal''s functionality and how intrusive it is, we don''t want anyone to sneak in changes that could harm our operatives. I''m here to ensure you get the approved seal design and nothing else."
Takuma didn''t show it, but the thought of someone in the room sabotaging the procedure by sneaking in a change did cross his mind, and it didn''t bode well for his anxiety as he was going to spend the next couple of hours in their care.
"Let''s get started," Scarab smiled.
He was asked to lie down on the white floor of the dustless room. He was completely naked other than his privacy sock, and almost instantly, he could feel the eyes on his scarred body. Scarring was not strange for shinobi, but in his case, his body was too young to have the density he had.
He expected questions, but it seemed everyone thought better than to ask except for one question from Lacewing,
"Anything you want to tell us that''s not in your medical records?"
He shook his head.
"Great. We will dull your pain, but you will be awake throughout the procedure. I hope you followed our instructions because you cannot move until the end."
They had asked him to skip dinner the previous day and not eat anything leading to the procedure and drink water in moderation so nature wouldn''t call during the procedure.
"What do you know about the death-seal, Ratel?" asked Scarab, making conversation as he took a brush and a special blend of chakra ink custom mixed for the procedure and began to draw on his chest, right over his heart.
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"To destroy the body in case of death or capture," Takuma replied.
The ANBU''s death-seal was a f¨±injutsu seal branded on all ANBU field operatives. It was standard policy that if an operative died on the field, the seal would burn their body to ash using chakra-fueled fire to protect the secrets in the operative''s body and to ensure anything it contained couldn''t be connected back to the village.
Secondly, in case the operatives were captured and foresaw torture, they were expected to kill themselves to protect any secrets.
Scarab nodded. "Thus, the name death-seal."
The activity in the room began to jump up as the other two assistant f¨±in-nin started to draw seals on the floor around him. Lacewing knelt beside him, and his iry¨-nin assistant sat behind with a tray of vials and syringes that seemed to be going into him.
"How does it work?" asked Takuma, diverting his attention from the strange liquids.
"Let''s see. I can''t explain everything because it would take me a while to tell you everything, and well, I can''t tell you everything because the less information is out there, the less chances of something finding a way to break or misuse the seal," said Scarab as he continued to draw. "The seal observes various signs of life in your body to determine if you''re dead or alive. If it finds multiple of those signs missing¡ªa very high number, mind you¡ªit will trigger the chakra-fueled fire that would flood your body, eating you from inside and out."
"...I assume the seal will be using my chakra, right?"
"Yes."
"What if I cut off the chakra to the seal?"
"First, the seal maintains an artificial chakra storage. Of course, chakra can''t be stored indefinitely, so it will replenish that storage overtime, so you can technically cut off chakra, but you''d need to do that for a week to drain the seal completely."
"I assume there''s a catch to that."
"The seal will be grafted right into your chakra pathway system."
Chakra was essentially life energy. A small amount flowed through all living beings at all times, even if they hadn''t trained to actively mix chakra to use for jutsu, like in the case of shinobi. When that natural, ever-present chakra flow was cut, it led to a condition called ''chakra exhaustion'', which caused the body''s organs to shut down, leading to rapid death. It could happen when someone exhausted their chakra reserves, but it also could be done willingly while making mistakes performing acts like chakra masking¡ªwhich was the act of limiting the flow of chakra to hide one''s presence from the special chakra senses of a sensory-nin.
A shinobi could only limit their natural flow so much as approaching zero triggered a state identical to chakra exhaustion, leading to rapid death. The chakra pathway network, which was present throughout the body, served the same function for chakra as blood vessels did for blood. By grafting the seal into the chakra pathway system, ANBU ensured that chakra would always flow through the seal unless someone cut the chakra flow through their body, resulting in death, which would trigger the chakra-fueled fire, burning the body to a crisp.
"What about the Hy¨±ga?" asked Takuma, thinking about a scenario. "Can''t they use the Byakugan and their clan''s taijutsu to block chakra flow by jamming tenketsu?"
The Hy¨±ga clan, with their Byakugan, could see the chakra pathway system and the needle-tip-sized tenketsu points on it. Tenketsu were nodes through which chakra could be released, and they controlled chakra flow like control valves. The Hyuga''s taijutsu allowed them to hit those tenketsu points to block the chakra flow, barring the target from releasing or moving chakra through their body, temporarily removing their ability to use jutsu.
Scarab smiled. "To arrive there so quickly; I''m impressed, Ratel. Unfortunately, Hy¨±ga''s Eight Trigram taijutsu doesn''t block chakra flow completely. If they could do it, they would be the strongest clan in the world, able to kill people by blocking their tenketsu. Instead, they reduce the chakra flow to a point that''s insufficient for even a D-rank jutsu. To everyone, it physically feels like their chakra has been sealed"
"...I didn''t know that," said Takuma as he gazed at Lacewing, who was preparing for some kind of procedure in the corner of his eye. He was also beginning to feel drowsy from whatever they had injected into him.
"And well, you don''t need the Hy¨±ga. A sufficiently skilled iry¨-nin can completely block specific pathways," said Scarab as he continued to cover his body in script. "To combat that, the seal will connect to all the pathways that go through your arm. If you want to cut chakra to the seal, you will have to cut all the chakra to your arm¡ªand if you do that, the arm will rot off your body long before the seal runs out of chakra."
"...Or you cut off your arm," said Takuma. He didn''t feel like the drugs were putting him to sleep, but it made him so warm and comfortable that he didn''t mind taking a nap.
"Correct."
"Isn''t that a fault? What if an enemy chops my arm off?"
"We couldn''t figure out anywhere else to put it without the seal interfering with smooth chakra flow that creates problems with using jutsu."
"What''s the process of removal?"
"A short medical procedure will be done when you leave the ANBU," said Scarab before getting up to move and letting Lacewing take his place.
"Which arm do you want the death-seal on, Ratel?" asked Lacewing with his assistant carefully holding medical equipment for a precise and delicate surgery.
Takuma felt as though he was floating on a cloud while lying on a cold, hard floor.
"Left," he answered. "Will the seal be visible?"
"You can hide it at will."
For the next two hours, the f¨±in-nin drew a complex f¨±injutsu design on the floor. Two squares atop each other, offset by ninety degrees, inscribed in a larger circle. In the centre of it all was Takuma, covered in dozens of lines of symbols that continued on the floor and extended far out.
The iry¨-nin, on the other hand, had operated on Takuma''s left delt in preparation for the seal to graft itself into his chakra pathway network. And during all that time, the owl-masked woman triple-checked every inch of the f¨±injutsu ink work.
Scarab stepped around the ink on the floor until he was next to a semi-conscious Takuma. "Should I proceed?" he asked the owl-masked woman for authorisation to bind the seal.
The woman didn''t answer. For a minute, she went through a checklist on her clipboard before nodding and giving him the go-ahead.
Scarab knelt beside Takuma, took a deep breath, and gathered his chakra as he weaved hand seals before slowly touching the seal circle over Takuma''s heart. A wave of power rippled through the room, and the symbols in the room began to glow until they were shaking. He weaved another set of seals and pressed the seal circle over the left delt, and the glowing symbols began to enter Takuma''s body.
Almost immediately, Takuma seized up before his muscles began to spasm. His left delt steamed as a blood-red ANBU insignia of stylised flames was now etched into his body like a tattoo.
"Congratulations, Ratel. You''re now approved for field deployment."
CH_9.29 (344)
Campbell stepped back as he watched the wooden training sword miss his neck. It was a predictable swing of an amateur who had just started his journey with kenjutsu. His sword sat limp by his side in hand as he simply dodged and evaded Ratel''s swing.
His lessons with Ratel were over; he no longer had the obligation to teach him. But now, he was Ratel''s squad leader¡ªand continuing their kenjutsu training served as a good way to develop a relationship and find more about him so he could better manage him.
"The sword is not a stick or a baton, so don''t use it like that," Campbell said as he moved backwards while Ratel chased him before jumping up to avoid the vertical sword sweep coming for his shins. "It may cut like a kunai, but it''s longer, heavier¡ªmaking it a different beast altogether. Listen to what the sword is trying to say by feeling its weight as it guides you."
Ratel pulled back, his torso raising as though he was about to slow down, but he dipped his shoulders and charged at him even faster than before.
Campbell clenched the sword, ready to use it at a moment''s notice as he moved around the aggressive swings. He was approaching the limit of how much he could face without using the sword as part of his defence. Even though Ratel was a kenjutsu amateur, he had a solid taijutsu foundation, was confident in his movements, and had a sharp battle instinct along with eyes trained to observe his opponents.
Even though it was all being dulled due to his poor skill with the sword, Campbell was finding it hard to resist his impulse to use his sword to parry or block.
''Gosh, this is scary.''
He saw a look of intense concentration in Ratel''s eyes. He could tell the boy was blocking out everything else and solely focused on him. It was dangerous to fight like this because it opened Ratel to attacks from any third party¡ªbut this was a one-on-one training spar, and he could tell that this type of concentration was working.
Ratel darted on his feet, skipping back and forth in both directions while he feinted with his sword. Two weeks ago, he moved like a utility pole because he wasn''t used to simultaneously moving on his feet and swinging his sword.
But here he was, trying to bait him while keeping on the move.
Campbell decided to switch things up. As Ratel moved in for an attack, his sword that had been lying dormant in his hand moved like lightning for Ratel''s chest, who was taken by surprise and hastily moved his sword to block. He didn''t pressure him and let Ratel recover and make the next move, but the moment he raised his sword, Campbell parried it, destroying all his momentum.
"You have to do better than that," he said.
Ratel narrowed his eyes as a calculative look appeared on his face before he charged at him, his feet cratering the ground as he jolted forward. Campbell raised his sword to block the attack, but the ground cracked again as Ratel changed direction to approach him from another direction.
''Smart,'' Campbell thought calmly as he followed Ratel with his eyes.
Instead of backing away, he took a step right toward Ratel. Their swords struck each other, and as a sharp crack resonated from the impact, Ratel was the one who was forced back with surprise and vexation crossing his features.
A shinobi''s combat style was a product of their experience; kenjutsu was no different. Ratel''s sword aimed to be fast and overwhelming. It was a product of his training with weighted gear. He was focusing on two avenues of training: explosiveness and endurance.
Explosiveness involved the speed at which he could use his strength. He wanted to sprint faster, jump higher, bound longer, punch harder, change his direction in milliseconds, and perform dynamic movements by increasing his body''s output and utilising force quickly through space and time.
Endurance was the ability to exert force against a form of resistance repeatedly. It was displayed in activities that required a relatively long duration of muscle tension with a minimal decrease in efficiency.
Essentially, he wanted to last longer without gassing out.
According to Ratel, he was in a phase where he was focusing on explosiveness. He was forcing himself to move as fast and forcefully with as much intensity as he could, which took an exhausting effort when he was carrying massive amounts of extra weights¡ªit drained him exponentially faster, leaving him unable to even hold a conversation during or after training.
Each spar was an opportunity to train his explosiveness.
His sword moved fast and often. It was greedy for momentum and despised any lull as though stillness was a sin. Furthermore, because he knew he would exhaust himself quickly, he aimed to finish fights quickly by bombarding his enemy without stopping. Even though Ratel hadn''t gotten the feel down, Campbell could tell that when his kenjutsu improved, facing him would feel suffocating.
At the moment, it was greatly flawed. Even if Ratel got ten times better at kenjutsu, Campbell could still see himself decimating him within a minute. But that was fine. Progress was rarely linear. Just like how weight training was influencing his kenjutsu, something else would influence it later on¡ªand a combination of different influences would create something potentially great that only belonged to Ratel.
Or it would all clash and collide against each other, creating something that would actively hurt his combat capability, making him a poor kenjutsu user.
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All Campbell could do was guide him, believing that Ratel would be wise enough to see his errors and knowledgeable enough to find the correct way. Campbell had once destroyed his kenjutsu thrice, where he had spent three months to a whole year at being a shadow of himself¡ªand he didn''t think he was past experiencing it all over again.
Progress was not linear. As long as he wanted to get better¡ªtried to innovate¡ªthere was always the risk of crumbling the castle he had built from the ground up.
"But let''s fix the problem in front of us," he whispered to himself.
While taijutsu gave Ratel a solid foundation, it also was a detriment for his kenjutsu.
Hand-to-hand combat required one to get in close to strike, but using a sword allowed the wielder to have an amount of range to strike from¡ªbut it also could be said that the sword needed some space to operate properly.
Campbell stepped away, and owing to his combat experience, Ratel instantly gathered himself for his next attack, quickly flowing into a chain of strikes that smartly were aimed all over the body. He sliced at the upper arm before going down to a stab at the hop and then aimed up at the chest, trying to force Campbell to move his sword over great distances to force an opening.
It would''ve been an effective tactic if not for Ratel''s sloppy kenjutsu.
Ratel didn''t stop and continued attacking. As he pulled his sword back for a stab, Campbell erased the distance between them by stepping forward. Now, Ratel didn''t have the room to fully extend his arm to put power behind the stab.
"You need to readjust your sense of distance," said Campbell as he held his sword blade against Ratel''s neck for a moment before stepping back. "You''re dead. Now what?"
Ratel breathed heavily as he raised his sword in a double-handed grip and began a full-front assault. Campbell defended with his sword, and every time Ratel brought his sword back for a swing, he stepped forward to close the distance so Ratel could never get in a satisfying swing. All the while, he sneaked in light counterattacks that would''ve been lethal if he had been serious.
"You''re dead again," said Campbell. "I know you''re tired, but think about it while your brain still has oxygen."
Ratel grunted in irritation but didn''t rush in like always and stayed silent while breathing like he was addicted to oxygen. He raised his sword for a basic horizontal strike, and as Campbell stepped forward to not give him space to swing down, Ratel took a wide step back, maintaining the distance as he swung down.
"Good," Campbell nodded as he easily parried the strike before lightly kicking him in the chest, making an exhausted give up and fall to the ground. As Ratel noisily panted on the ground while watering the grass under him with his sweat, Campbell said, "Taijutsu and kenjutsu are different. They share similarities, so you can use your experience to get a leg up¡ªbut you must find the things that must be abandoned and rebuilt anew."
He didn''t expect a reply because he knew Ratel''s windpipe hurt each time he breathed in.
"...What should I do when I reach the labour camp?" asked Ratel after three minutes of silence as he caught his breath.
"He probably wants to trade in the information to reduce his sentencing," Campbell responded without thinking as he stared at the new death-seal tattoo on Ratel''s arm. "Anytime anyone offers information, regardless of if they have anything real, it is because they want something in return. Your guy probably wants to get out of wasting his good years working in forced labour. But don''t offer him anything until you know he has something useful. Word travels fast. If people hear that ANBU lie, they would be cagey about sharing stuff. It probably doesn''t matter if one guy does it, but imagine ten operatives thinking they''re that one guy. Our reputation is that we don''t make deals easily, so if he don''t give something concrete, we walk away without looking back."
The two trash mail reports about the same claim gave it legitimacy¡ªbut it could still be nothing. Campbell had seen cases where people used an untrue rumour they heard over drinks as leverage. He had heard stories of desperate people clinging to anything in their reach that might seem false to almost everyone, but distress and despair twisted people''s minds.
"What if there''s something there?" asked Ratel, wincing as he moved his body.
"If there''s something there, we look into it."
"We?"
Campbell sighed. "I hope you learn soon that you can''t do this job alone. But if you want to hear it, okay¡ªyou will remain as this case''s lead as long as you don''t screw up, or I get an order from above to transfer the case."
Although Ratel had not been part of ANBU for long, he was here talking like every other operator¡ªterritorial and paranoid.
Ratel nodded.
"This is your first outing. Have you memorised the cover story?" asked Campbell, doing his job
They were "employees" of Ironwood Protection Company. Whenever they left on a mission outside, they needed a cover story in case someone¡ªfriends and families¡ªasked about their out-of-station travels. Those stories were prepared before the trip, and the procedure required them to memorise them before they left the village.
"I''m going on a courier job, transporting a storage scroll to the Haturocho Valley. I will be staying in shinobi travel quarters for a day before travelling back," Ratel recited the story the staff had given him.
The cover stories were based on some level of truth. Because Ratel was travelling to Chibumi copper mines, the cover story had him go to Haturocho Valley, which was only a quarter-day journey from the mines. He would live in a place owned and operated by the Hidden Leaf, so they also weaved that into the cover story.
"Alright, I''m done. Anything else you want to say?" Ratel asked, still lying down on the ground.
Campbell looked at him. He wanted the trash mail claim to be true because it would be good for their squad to have a new case. It would look good if they found something in the trash mail while other squads looked over it. Some part of him wanted to tell him to ''find'' something that would give them enough motive to go into the Maizuru Quarters to conduct an investigation.
"Travel safe," he said.
Ratel was new and hungry; he wanted to establish himself in the unit and saw this case as an opportunity. He didn''t want to flame those feelings by implying something he couldn''t take back.
"Alright, I''ll be back. Hopefully, with good news," said Ratel.
"Good news would be this thing turning out to be a false alarm," Campbell reminded.
"Of course," Ratel said before weaving the hand seals that dissolved the shadow clone.
Ratel had left the village earlier in the morning.
Campbell watched the smoke from the clone thin into the air. It suddenly felt strange that he had been talking and training to a clone. They were rare because of their chakra requirements. He didn''t have enough chakra to use a shadow clone effectively because splitting his chakra in half sounded terrible for his combat style¡ªeven if he doubled his reserves, it still wouldn''t make sense.
"But damn if they aren''t useful."
He couldn''t imagine how much free time he would have if he had two of himself at work. At first, he wondered why Ratel wasn''t using a clone at work, but then he guessed that the clone was being put toward "self-improvement."
"Good for him," he said as he got up, ready to return to the office. He liked his training sessions with Ratel because they gave him an excuse to spend some time with his sword¡ªtime he otherwise would''ve funnelled into work.
CH_9.30 (345)
Takuma didn''t like abandoned factories because they reminded him of his time in Yu. The dirty factory that served as his "home" represented a miserable time in his life when he was alone in a place that never felt safe. As he stared at the mines, even though it was an underground mine instead of an open pit, he realised his dislike of mines because he had almost died multiple times the last time he was in one.
The war had been an undeniably terrible time in his life. He shook the thoughts away because he could feel his mood souring by the moment. Before heading inside, he wiped his body clean with a wet towel because travelling with Gai''s weighted gear was an equally miserable experience as sparring with it was.
He had changed into the full set of ANBU gear he had selected, which consisted of long black cloak covering his entire body up to his neck, leaving only his hands bare as he didn''t like covering them. There was also a standard grey flak jacket, and a pair of long shinobi boots that reached three-quarters of the way up to his knees.
Takuma seemed to have gone through a growth spurt because his custom-fitted ANBU gear was larger than his standard Leaf gear, which he never noticed. His new ANBU-issue boots also fitted him better, even though he wasn''t used to the spikes for travelling into mountainous regions.
His weapon pouches mimicked his usual configuration¡ªbut he now also carried a standard-issue sword. The sword strapped to his back felt strange, so he switched it to his waist.
He put on the ANBU-issued black travel over his gear and pulled out the white-and-black ANBU-issue mask inspired by a honey badger to complete his ensemble as an ANBU operative.
He stared at the mask for a moment before putting it on, and when he looked at the mine pit again, he felt calm again.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The Chibumi copper mines were a mining complex where the ore was mined and processed on-site in a nearby mill facility. The refined material was then transported to wherever it was needed. Like almost all big mines in the Land of Fire, it ran a prison labour camp which held criminals who were sentenced to hard labour. But it was also special because it was among the few who had prisoners who were either Leaf shinobi or were trained in shinobi arts, which required the mine to have stringent boarding and security arrangements as these prisoners were much more dangerous than civilian criminals.
The security for those criminals was handled by Leaf shinobi, who recognised what it meant to see a robed figure with an animal-inspired mask walking toward them.
"H-Hey, look at that," said one of the genin guards stationed at the entrance.
His companion looked up from the book he was reading, annoyed at being interrupted. "What?" he asked with a bite before looking up to see the figure only a few steps away from them. "I-Is that ANBU?"
"I don''t know! He looks like one... What should we do?"
"We stop him to ask. Be careful... and polite."
The figure stopped before them. Although they couldn''t see the eyes through the mask, he faced them, so they guessed he was looking at them. Being unable to see his face was unsettling because they couldn''t read his expression.
"I would like to meet the warden. He has been informed of the visit," said the figure, his voice inorganically distorted.
The guards exchanged nervous glances. There was a saying that meeting an ANBU-nin was never a good thing.
"We''ll have to go ask... You''ll have to wait here until then," one of the guards said, his tone inadvertently that of a hesitant request.
The figure nodded.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
For the first time, Takuma felt the power of an ANBU mask. He had seen many responses when people interacted with him, but fear was not one until he had something against them or he was about to kill them.
With the mask on, he could feel fear radiating from them in his presence. They were scared of him, scared of what he could do to them with the authority he had. Of course, he understood they feared the ANBU-nin and not the person. He would lose this newfound ability the moment he removed his mask.
But it was useful, so he wasn''t going to complain.
"I was surprised to receive the dispatch. It''s not every day I find myself hosting an ANBU-nin."
He sat before the prison warden of the labour camp in his office. Shimura Bunradao was a Leaf shinobi and a chunin who had been managing the prison for four years. He managed a force of forty shinobi who kept prisoners in check.
Takuma didn''t have anything against the man, but he couldn''t help but be apprehensive when facing someone from the Shimura clan. Even though the Shimura clan had publicly renounced Shimura Danzo after his crimes came to the surface, he refused to believe they were clean with someone like that at the helm.
The culture was decided at the top; bad leadership often bled down to the ground level. And he knew how prisons were run. They weren''t pretty places, and he didn''t think Bunradao would be a saint who ran his prison as a place of true rehabilitation, especially seeing that it was a forced labour camp.
"It wasn''t mentioned, so may I ask what this visit is about?" asked Bunradao as he offered him some whiskey that Takuma refused
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"What do you think it is about?" said Takuma, keeping his voice distorted. It was a choice he made because his voice had been cracking, and he hated every second of it. He couldn''t let puberty ruin his first case as an ANBU operative.
"...Is it about Lord Danzo?" Bunradao narrowed his eyes in displeasure before leaning into his leather chair with a tired expression. "How many times must I talk about him? Torture and Interrogation, Intelligence, ANBU¡ªI''ve already talked to many people about it. I do not have anything different to say at this point. How long must I suffer through this abuse?"
"You can''t blame us here, Chunin Bunradao. You still call the traitor Lord Danzo. It''s not unreasonable to think his clan might be covering for him. Of course, I''m not pointing fingers, but until his actions have had consequences, your clan is unfortunately paying the price.
Bunradao looked flustered when Takuma pointed out how respectfully he still referred to Danzo. His shoulders sagged, and his voice became much more submissive as he apologised. "I-It''s a force of habit. Please go ahead, ask me whatever you want," he sounded defeated.
"We will revisit this some other day. Today, I''m here for other business. I wish to meet one of your prisoners here. Koyamo Sonsei, do you recognise him?" asked Takuma.
The conversation about Danzo wasn''t initially part of the plan, but it came up, so he decided to use it to his advantage. Bunradao was clearly stressed about it, and by bringing it up first, he made him anxious, so when he found out that the visit was not about Danzo, he would feel relieved and would be much more perceptive to his demands.
"I do," said Bunradao, colour returning to his face. "Why do you want to meet him?"
"He claims to have information ANBU might be interested in."
"Okay, I will arrange a meeting; you can meet after he''s done with his shift," Bunradao nodded. "But before that, you must go meet with the Daimyo''s emissary. He''ll be very cross with me if I allow you to meet with the prisoner without having you meet him."
"A samurai?"
Bunradao nodded.
In the Land of Fire, all mines were owned by the Fire Daimyo. His government and ministry operated some of them, and others he contracted out. Those with the ability could win the rights to operate a mine, set up the infrastructure and operations using their own money, and give a cut of their revenue back to the Fire Daimyo. Many mines, small and big, were operated by powerful and wealthy civilians, and shinobi and samurai clans.
However, because the Fire Daimyo owned the mines, he always sent a samurai emissary to oversee the mines, keep an eye on operations production to prevent corruption and profiteering,
The Chibumi copper mines were owned and operated directly by the Fire Daimyo, which made the samurai emissary the boss of the entire operation. Bunradao was only the prison warden and reported to the emissary. If the samurai wanted, he could deny Takuma his meeting as he had authority in the Chibumi mines.
"How many shinobi serve under you here, warden?" Takuma asked as they travelled to the samurai''s residence.
The Chibumi mines consisted of thirteen underground nodes. The seventh node was the labour camp with shinobi prisoners, which came under Bunradao''s purview. There were two more labour camps with civilian prisoners managed by civilians. The rest of them employed normal men working in mines for a living. The emissary''s residence was located at the first and the oldest node, along with the main headquarters.
"I have thirty shinobi working under me."
"And how many prisoners?"
"Eighty prisoners."
Takuma frowned when he heard the numbers. The prisoners in the seventh node were all shinobi, and even though they had their chakra sealed with f¨±injutsu, they still had access to some of it because the bigwigs upstairs wanted to exploit the enhanced physical capabilities of shinobi in a labour-intensive activity like mining¡ªand that made them much more dangerous. Thirty shinobi was not safe enough to handle eighty prisoners.
"And you handle the mine''s security as well?" asked Takuma.
"No, my men only handle the prisoners. The overall security is someone else''s responsibility."
"I must say, you don''t have enough men."
"Don''t I know it." Bunradao scoffed. "I want more men, but the samurai don''t like it when there are too many shinobi. They don''t want us increasing our influence here; they think they will steal control of the mines if we are involved too much in a single mine. I have twenty civilians working under me because they wouldn''t let me hire more shinobi."
Bunradao was one of the two chunin among the prison guards. According to him, when he failed to add numbers, he tried to get stronger shinobi, but even that was rejected, and he was limited to two chunin because someone argued that they didn''t have more chunin because all the prisoners were genin.
"That''s why they don''t allow labour camps like ours in mines operated by shinobi clans. They fear that if shinobi-operated mines produce more, we will be able to influence the Daimyo to gain more rights. Shinobi labour camps are only allowed at mines like this one, where the bigwig is a samurai who can limit and control us."
Takuma had done his research before coming but didn''t know much about the power struggle. It made sense because mining mineral ores was big business, and those who controlled them possessed undeniable leves of money and power. While Daimyo was the de-facto leader of the nation and his retainer samurai clans his soldiers, shinobi possessed significantly more power.
He could see the other side doing everything possible to limit the shinobi dominance to only military power.
"What is the emissary like?"
"He''ll push you around if he thinks he can get away with it. He can''t block you from meeting the prisoners because they''re officially under Leaf''s custody, but he can and will try to make it difficult for you if you give him the opportunity just to satisfy his ego."
Takuma sighed internally.
"Before I meet him, I would like to talk to one of your guards who knows Koyamo Sonsei. Please arrange that as well," he said as they arrived at the Daimyo''s residence at the first mining node.
He wondered how his newfound ability as an ANBU-nin would work on a samurai.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Everything ready?"
"Y-Yes, I have done what you asked for. A-Are you sure you want to do this? I heard they k-killed the last time someone tried to break out."
Deep within the earth, former shinobi who had committed crimes mined mineral-rich ore as part of their punishment. Their status as criminals could be identified by the black f¨±injutsu seals all over their skin, including their faces; these seals didn''t disappear and remained visible like permanent tattoos.
Over in a corner, next to a wall, two men whispered to each other. The larger, bald man with menacing features that only became more intimidating because of the thick seal tattoos thundered when he heard the smaller man next to him question him.
He grabbed the other man by his neck and lifted him while his thick fingers wrapped around his throat. The smaller man immediately tried to free himself by attacking with skill suitable for a shinobi but was slammed into the wall with enough force to crumble a large portion of raw ore and dirt.
It made noise, but no one batted an eye inside a mine.
"If you fuck me over, I will kill you myself before they can get their hands on you!" the larger man hissed.
"I-I-I..." the smaller man''s face turned red as the pressure around his neck tightened.
The large man released the grip and let the other man fall. He clicked his tongue, "Just do your fucking job, and we''ll have our freedom soon. You can pretend to not be a part of it and stay here, but it''s too late to quit."
They heard footsteps echo, and the smaller man coughing on the ground immediately got up, picked up his pick-axe, returned to work and began mining the ore out of the walls.
"Hey, what is happening here!" said one of the prison guards.
"He inhaled some dust," said the large man calmly, completely opposite to his previous demeanour.
The prison guard stared at them with suspicion for a moment before giving them a warning and walking away.
CH_9.31 (346)
"I''ll be honest, ANBU-nin. I''m not sure if I can allow you to see one of our workers without knowing what you want from him."
Takuma sat before the Daimyo''s emissary for Chibumi Mines by the name of Dogai Harazo. The man was from a supposedly prestigious clan with an active presence in the Fire Daimyo''s court. According to Shimura Bunradao, the Dogai clan was given the duty of managing the Chibumi Mines, and Harazo had gained the position as its overseer through his clan.
As Bunradao said, the man immediately started probing for the reason for his visit without any delay.
"Even if he''s a prisoner, I''m responsible for the well-being of my workers. ANBU''s reputation precedes you, and I''m afraid it''s not very pleasant, especially where prisoners are concerned. You must understand my plight. I want my workers to be able to do their job, and I''m unsure if that would be possible if you get your hands on him."
ANBU was Leaf''s premier security agency, and that came with a dark reputation of torture, assassinations, and sabotage, among other unsavoury activities common in secret agency circles. Shinobi criminals and prisoners had it worse as there were limited laws protecting them, especially from ANBU, who operated with a high level of freedom under the law.
They could arrest shinobi without a warrant, the only exception being the Leaf Military Police Force officers, a stipulation the Uchiha clan managed to strong-arm into legislation during the early days when ANBU was only a fledgling department unable to defend itself against the village''s bigger powers¡ªlike the clans.
"Those workers are Leaf''s prisoners; I have full authority to question them. Please don''t misunderstand; this here is a courtesy, not a meeting to ask for your permission," said Takuma. Bunradao had told him that if he showed weakness, Harazo would try to take advantage, so he abandoned most of his tact and put up a firm front.
"That doesn''t change the fact that, according to the joint agreement between the Ember Imperial City and the Hidden Leaf, it is well within my authority to request an official missive from your side if you wish to interrogate one of my workers," Harazo replied with a carefree smile despite Takuma''s words.
Even though the Fire samurai and Leaf shinobi were on the same side, they were political rivals who vied for power over the nation beneath a facade of smiles and camaraderie. They couldn''t duke it out through combat, so they fought through laws, decrees, and general political influence.
The samurai before him inclined his head. "I do not wish to go there, so let''s be civil. How about we start by removing your mask; quite frankly, it''s rather rude for you to not even use your real voice during a conversation," Harazo smiled, confidently leaning back into his high-back leather chair.
Offices at mines, docks, farms, and other on-site locations were practical in nature because there was seldom any need to entertain others, and people who visited such places were familiar with the environment. But Harazo''s office was decorated as though he worked at a bank and regularly entertained affluent folk to court their wealth.
In comparison, Bunradao''s office barely had any personal effects and seemed like a place meant only to sit down and do work in.
Takuma guessed that before Harazo was assigned to the mines, he was involved in political wrangling in the capital city. He was not intimate with the mining industry and had experienced subordinates to handle that side of his job for him. Seeing an ANBU-nin brought those tendencies back, and so he was going for negotiation to extract some kind of benefit¡ªperhaps just for the sake of it.
He started slowly as he worked through a response. "...If you want an official missive, I will return with one¡ª"
"Now, now, I''m not trying to hinder you from doing your job here," Harazo interrupted with a bright smile and raised palms, "so I''ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Don''t you think so, Chunin Bunradao?"
Bunradao, sitting beside Takuma, could only smile politely, and seemed unwilling to touch the mess with the end of a long bo-staff. He was stuck between his boss and an ANBU-nin, both of whom could make his life difficult. Choosing either side could be disastrous if the other side took offence.
"¡ªbut it won''t be for just one prisoner. I will come with missives for half of the labour camp and trap them in interrogations until I''m satisfied," said Takuma.
The prison labour camp was a big part of Chibumi Copper Mine''s production as they possessed strength and endurance far surpassing even the most physically fit civilian miners in their prime. Not only did they produce work equivalent to multiple men, but they also cost less than nothing, as the mine only had to arrange room and board as part of their sentences. For an overseer like Harazo, meeting production targets was paramount because as long as he maintained high, consistent output, he was the King of Chibumi Mines, free to do anything he desired. Taking out his high-performing shinobi miners from work meant threatening the source of his power.
Takuma had once tried to exploit two ANBU operatives by holding information hostage. Now, he possessed the authority and power of an ANBU-nin; he wasn''t scared of a samurai far from the Ember Imperial City.
Harazo lost his smile and openly frowned at Takuma with a flash of displeasure and anger in his eyes before he wrangled hold of his expression and put on a trained, sickeningly sweet smile before expressing his disappointment in a more appropriate manner.
"Such a pity, and here I thought we could put our differences apart to cooperate in easing the needless competition between samurai and shinobi." Harazo sighed, masterfully putting an act. "Very well, you may have your wish. Bunradao, see that our friend here has everything he needs."
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"Yes, of course," Bunradao nodded as though he was a simple subordinate doing his job.
"Now, if you will excuse me. I have some work to do," Harazo said while he rose.
Takuma thanked the man. He was about to leave the office when he felt a tremor below his feet. He looked outside to see the window rattle as a large dust cloud race sky high before the sound of the explosion reached their ears a long moment later.
"What was that?"
Harazo looked at him, evidently amused at his reaction. "It''s blasting: a controlled explosion to access deeper areas and clean rock. It''s a regular thing here, nothing to be worried about," Harazo explained.
"No, I wasn''t made aware of a blasting today," said Bunradao, looking over his to his superior with a light frown on his face. "This wasn''t scheduled."
He pulled out a thick handheld radio from his waistband and tried to connect to the other side. There was no response for half a minute before one of Bunradao''s subordinates connected in.
"Sir, there''s an explosion in Sector 7! I...I-I suspect a cave-in!" There was a pause before the subordinate spoke again with even more urgency. "I see prisoners running! There''s a prison break! I repeat, the prisoners are escaping!"
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A group of prisoners gathered in a dimly lit corner of a copper mine, hidden from the guards by a maze of tunnels. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and metal. Flickering torchlights cast long shadows on the rough stone walls. The sound of distant pickaxes and muffled echoes whispered through the tunnels.
Kaito, a sharp-eyed giant, stood with his back to the walls. He scanned the faces of his fellow prisoners, who all had chakra-suppressing seals etched into their skin¡ªsimple tags weren''t quite enough for long-term prisoners.
"Listen carefully. This is our only chance. If we don''t move now, we''ll die in this pit¡ªspending our good years here as Shimura and Dogai squeeze everything we have out of us. But if we work together, we can break free," he said in a low but commanding voice.
Goro, his equally massive frame hunched in the cramped space, cracked his knuckles and smirked. "You don''t mind if I crush some skulls on our way out of here, do you? The guards have been so good to me that I want to return the favour."
"Don''t get cocky or stupid, Goro. This isn''t just revenge. One wrong move, and we''re all dead. Follow the fucking plan, and you can kill anyone you want once you''re out of here," Kaito said, his eyes narrowing before suddenly looking to the opposite end of the tunnel as he heard a sound.
The group hushed and immediately broke up, going to their separate corners and picking up their tools. They pretended for half a minute, and when no guard appeared, they huddled back together.
"And why should we follow you, Kaito?" asked Ayame, the only woman in the group, with her arms crossed, showing open distrust and suspicion. "You''re springing this on us at the last second here. Why should I trust you and not believe you''re going to screw us to escape on your own?"
Kaito grew closer to her, casting a dark shadow over her much smaller frame. "Because I''m giving you a chance of survival. Do you want to waste away here? They''ve taken everything from us¡ªour freedom, our dignity, our lives. The Hidden Leaf doesn''t care about us, but that doesn''t mean other hidden villages don''t. We can go to the Land of Storms. I hear there''s a great demand for shinobi there; play your cards right, and you might even become a Hidden Rain shinobi."
A dry laugh echoed in the claustrophobic emptiness. Everyone looked at the wiry man leaning against a support beam. His viper-like features were marred with scars that made him look hideous when combined with the black f¨±injutsu seals.
"Of course, the great Kaito needs us now," Rinji scoffed. "What happened to ''I work alone''? Or did the guards finally knock some sense into you?"
"Save the jokes for later, Rinji. If you''d rather stay here and rot, be my guest. But if you want a shot at freedom, you''ll do as I say."
Rinji cut a smile across his face, tight, sharp, and derisive. "Fine. But if this goes south, I''m not sticking around to save your skin."
Everyone would abandon ship if things went south, because the chance to save themselves remained. But cooperation meant a higher likelihood of escaping; beyond that, they held no allegiance to each other.
"Here''s how it''s going to work. Goro, you''ll trigger the collapse in Sector 7. That''ll create the distraction we need," Kaito started revealing his plan. "Ayame, you''ll handle the guards near the east tunnel. Rinji, you''re with me; we''ll secure the armoury. Once that''s done, we''ll meet near the water deposit, divide the weapons, and get the fuck out of here."
Goro grinned in excitement. "Finally, something fun! Those walls won''t know what hit ''em.".
"It''s risky, but I''ll make it work. Just don''t expect me to clean up any other messes," Ayame sighed.
"An armory, huh?" Rinji smirked. "Guess I''ll finally get my hands on something sharper than a pickaxe. But all of this is useless because we won''t get anywhere with these things still on us," he pointed at the chakra-suppression seals on his face.
"I selected you three because your seal reapplication date is tomorrow," Kaito whispered. The chakra suppression seals weren''t permanent and grew weaker with time and thus had to be re-applied regularly by the f¨±in-nin in Bunradao''s crew. "Right now, those seals are the weakest. They''re vulnerable, and we''re going to take advantage of that with these."
He fished a jute bundle from his underwear and opened it to reveal the contents.
"Soldier pills?!" Ayame gasped, instantly recognising the brown balls.
Kaito nodded. "If we take these, we can overpower the seals. They won''t break, but you''ll have enough to fight the seals and exert 80-90% of your normal level. That... might be enough to run away in all the chaos."
"How did you get these?" asked Goro.
"Let''s just say that shinobi tend to look down at what civilians are capable of," said Kaito. He looked at them and asked, "Are all of you in?"
They all held some level of scepticism until he took out the soldier pills. That one small but crucial resource suddenly made the shaky plan achievable. It was a risky plan because once the soldier pill ran its course, they would be weaker than they were now.
But if they got their chakra back, they would be capable of much more¡ªall of them were trained in shinobi arts.
"...What about the samurai guard?" asked Rinji.
Shimura Bunradao and his crew were only in charge of the prison camp. Dogai Harazo and his group of samurai were responsible for the mines'' overall security. Even if they managed to give the shinobi a slip, they still had to contend with the samurai.
"Kiui will handle it. I told him to gather some people and rush to the civilian housing. The samurai will go after them, fearing that they''ll take the civilian workers hostage," Kaito answered.
"Kiui? That guy''s an idiot. Didn''t you have anyone better¡ª" Rinji abruptly stopped as a realisation dawned on him. "He''s a sacrificial bait. He isn''t supposed to escape, is he? You''re truly heartless, Kaito. I like it; I''m in!"
"Me too!" Goro replied, the most excited of the bunch.
Ayame gazed at the soldier pills for a moment before nodding.
"We move at the next shift change. Stick to the plan, and we''ll be free by dawn. But if anyone screws up... we''re all dead," Kaito warned.
CH_9.32 (347)
Harazo''s spotlessly clean office was a stark contrast to the gritty labour camp he ran. The large windows that offered a view of the sprawling mines below, which were picturesque even on an average day, showed the problem at hand as the thick dust cloud obscuring the ongoing prison break was yet to clear.
As the voice over the handheld radio delivered the shocking news, the silence ballooned in the office as they stared at the dust cloud.
"It seems you have a problem on your hands, gentlemen." Takuma''s words popped the silence, and the two leaders immediately barred their fangs at each other.
"What the hell was that?" Harazo exclaimed, standing from his chair abruptly.
Takuma walked to the window and stared outside. They were at the first mining node, and the dust cloud rose from the seventh node, which was the location of the prison labour camp. They would need to travel to the seventh node to gain any actionable intelligence.
"This is your mess, Shimura! Clean it up. Now!"
Bunradao glared at the samurai. "My mess? This is your damn mine! If you hadn''t limited the security as a power play and to save a few coins, we wouldn''t have this problem!"
"Excuses won''t stop those prisoners from escaping." Harazo sneered. "Do your job, or I''ll make sure you''re the one breaking rocks down there."
Bunradao clenched his fists but didn''t respond. He grabbed his radio and barked orders into it. "All guards, we have a Code Black. Prisoners are on the loose. Secure the perimeter and contain the situation! Do not let them reach the outer boundary of the seventh node!"
The door to the office swung open as Harazo''s secretary rushed in.
"I know already!" Harazo stopped him before he could speak. "Look at this mess! If even one prisoner escapes, it will be your head that goes flying."
"Then maybe you should stop whining and help me fix this. We''re short-staffed, and this is definitely an organised setup." As Bunradao bolted out of the room, he all but screamed at Harazo. "Mobilise your men! Regardless of whatever you think, this will also fall on your head if the prisoners escape or, worse, reach the civilians."
Harazo''s face paled when he heard the possibility of the prisoners reaching the civilians. The operations of the seventh node being disrupted was already bad enough, but if the problem spread to the other nodes, he would all but lose his position as the emissary, and that would be nothing compared to what would be waiting for him when he returned to the capital city.
"Call the captain! I want him to secure the nodes neighbouring the seventh!" Harazo yelled at his secretary but showed no signs of suiting up to help with the situation.
Takuma decided to follow after Bunradao, but not before leaving some words. "I will extend my help here, so as you said: scratch my back because I''m going to do that and more for you right now... I hope you survive this, emissary."
He didn''t wait for Harazo''s response, nor did he look at his expression, but he could guess what was going through the man''s mind.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma quickly caught up with Bunradao, who sprinted to the seventh mining node while throwing in Body Flicker Jutsu every chance he got to hurry the process along. He didn''t disturb the warden as the man was likely communicating with multiple of his subordinates simultaneously over the radio.
As they ran through the rocky terrain, Takuma felt faint tremors underground. He gazed at Bunradao, who didn''t seem to notice them. Takuma had become sensitive to seismic vibrations due to one of his jutsu, so he waited until they crossed the outer boundary of the seventh node to weave hand seals and dig one of his feet into the ground while running to push a wave of Earth-natured chakra into the terrain.
Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu
The ninjutsu was made to locate people, but he could also roughly sense the earth itself, which wasn''t very useful when the terrain was flat, but he could sometimes locate a cave inside a forest. However, when people were actively hollowing the underground, it gave him much more information.
"There has been a cave-in," said Takuma. "I can sense people inside... and I fear some of your men might be among them."
Bunradao glanced at him, his expression falling grim for a second before he tightened his brows and barked the information into his radio.
"As though we weren''t short-staffed already." One of Bunradao''s steps shattered hard rock as he failed to control his strength while running. "We have to manage the situation somehow until Dogai sends in his men¡ª"
"I don''t think that''s going to happen," Takuma interrupted. "After you left, he ordered his men to secure the neighbouring nodes to limit the chaos to the seventh node. He''s expecting your men to handle the chaos; he won''t be coming here."
Harazo was trying to shed and skirt responsibility by planning to claim that he moved his men to protect the rest of the mining nodes while he trusted the Bunradao to handle the prisoners as the warden. He could later claim that he limited the damage to the seventh node which would then become Bunradao''s fault.
He cursed as he ran faster. "My men are in danger!"
Prisons in the Elemental Nations were much different from those in Takuma''s world.
Without the presence of chakra, even a weak woman with no training could kill a well-built man with a surprise attack if she was given a knife. Guards and prisoners, both sides were roughly equally matched if one disregarded weapons and the prison''s infrastructure, which meant they posed a serious, constant threat to the guards if they failed to manage them properly¡ªespecially when prisoners always outnumbered the guards.
That was often the reason why prisoners could exert their influence inside Earth''s prisons even though the guards were in charge. The prisoners in a world with chakra were much tamer. In shinobi prisons, prisoners were slapped with chakra-suppression prison seals that not only took away their ability to use jutsu but also physically weakened them by binding their bodies. This heavily skewed the power on the guard''s side, who could handle the weakened prisoners despite their smaller number.
The same went for civilian prisons because their guards were almost always former shinobi. However, the suppression seals used on the prisoners at Chibumi were a special version of chakra suppression seals used only in labour camps. They allowed the prisoners to retain their physical capabilities so they could channel them towards mining, but they limited their chakra flow to the point that it was practically impossible to use even the lightest D-rank jutsu.
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That made the prisoners dangerous, as the power of raw taijutsu couldn''t be ignored. Bunradao and his guards had to work them hard as they ran their labour camp. They had to make sure the prisoners were tired after a tough work day, regularly shuffling their cells and shifts to prevent alliances and even inciting conflict within the prisoners to keep them from uniting, among other things, to ensure they were kept down.
However, the prisoners now had the opportunity to escape and take revenge against the people who suppressed them.
"I will help you," Takuma consoled Bunradao.
"Thank you."
"Just make sure my prisoner is secure."
As they reached the node''s centre, they saw a chaotic mess as the prisoners sprinted away while the outnumbered guards tried to catch them, which was nearly impossible as the prisoners outnumbered the guards by more than two to one. It would''ve been better if they tried to fight the guards, but when they focused solely on running away, one guard could only follow after one prisoner, leaving the second prisoner unchallenged
"Some of them have weapons," Takuma immediately noticed.
And in the middle of it all, there was a giant of a man fighting two guards simultaneously, with two more guards lying unconscious or dead on the ground around them. The giant man weaved hand seals and slammed his hulk-sized fists on the ground, causing earthen spikes to burst out, impaling the guards through his leg.
Bunradao''s shoulders jerked upwards. "How?!"
The prisoners should not have been able to use ninjutsu, but right here, Takuma saw one doing exactly that¡ªeffectively, too.
"No, I will take care of this," Takuma said, pulling Bunradao back as he tried to save his men. "Your men need you to lead them through this mess."
He leapt across the gap and sprinted toward the giant while pulling chakra into his shoulder and arm. The giant had his back to him but turned when he felt something coming, but it was too late as Takuma rammed an augmented body slam into him.
As the giant coughed up blood and shifted on the ground, struggling to get up, Takuma planted him back into the ground beneath his boot.,
"Who planned this?"
Takuma looked around the field and caught the eyes of some prisoners who were either frozen in fear or had started running away harder upon the sight of an ANBU-nin. He kicked the giant in the stomach, who coughed up more bloody spittle.
"How can you use jutsu with suppression seals on you?" he asked while weaving hand seals.
Visual Genjutsu: Restrain
Three prisoners who were within range and locked eyes with Takuma felt their bodies seize up, causing them to stumble and fall. It was Takuma''s custom creation and was an advancement of the paralysis genjutsu he had created in Yu, which itself was a derivative of the Genjutsu: Bell Clone Jutsu. There was a pre-existing genjutsu called Genjutsu: Binding, which performed the same function, but how they accomplished it was different, making his creation different.
Takuma pulled the giant off the ground from his hair and smashed his fist into his face to get him to stop groaning.
"I won''t ask again¡ªwho else is with you?"
"K-Kill me," the giant chuckled maniacally and spit on Takuma''s mask.
Takuma put some chakra into his fist and then struck his chest. The giant howled as pain assaulted him. The side of his chest was already turning purple where Takuma had body-slammed him.
"Don''t worry, you''re definitely going to die for this. The question is whether you want to go quickly or painfully. I''ll volunteer at least a week to entertain you round the clock before you get to rest forever. So, I''ll only ask one more time¡ªwho planned this?"
Finally, the giant looked scared.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ayame could hear her heart drumming in her ears as she rushed to the rendezvous point. She felt better than she had in the two years she had spent at the labour camp, and the chakra boosted by the soldier pill flooded through her body with enough force to fight against the suppression seals.
It was such an exhilarating feeling that it erased her doubts about their chances to escape and attain freedom as she cleared a path out of the east tunnels, but that all turned into anxiety when she saw Goro getting thrashed one-sidedly. The thoughts of freedom were replaced with the sludge of uncertainty and the fearful whispers of her mind telling her to go back and hide in a corner and pretend she had nothing to do with this.
But she had already taken the risk; it was too late to pull out.
She arrived at the rendezvous point to see Kaito and Rinji waiting there with weapons. Both of them had fresh blood on them, but it didn''t seem to be their own. Seeing them there and leaving behind the chaos made her feel more confident.
"Where is Goro?" Katai asked with a suspicious frown while he looked over her shoulder.
"That idiot started fighting the guards!" Ayame cursed while Rinji handed her the weapons. She had an inkling that Goro had no intention to escape and only wanted to kill some guards as revenge.
"We need to leave," her voice was filled with urgency as she hastily strapped the utility belt around her waist, fumbling to tighten the clasp. "There''s somehow¡ªfuck! An ANBU-nin took out Goro!"
"ANBU?" Rinji looked bewildered.
"I saw it with my own eyes. We need to leave now. He took out Goro like he was nothing. We aren''t going to stand a chance if he catches up to us."
Rinji and Ayame looked at Kaito, who had a frown between his brows as he looked thoughtful.
"Let''s split up," he said finally.
"Shouldn''t we stick together to increase our chances in case the ANBU-nin catches up to us?" asked Rinji, instantly disagreeing with the plan.
"I planned to split up regardless," Kaito said as he began to check his weapons, his voice calm as though he wasn''t worried. "They''re short on people and can only afford to send a few people to chase us. By splitting up, we increase our chances of escaping."
"You''re going to leave us stranded now?"
Kaito didn''t respond and instead said, "Here''s some advice: don''t head to the other nodes. The samurai are probably on the lookout. Get as far away from Chibumi as possible, find a road, and hitch a ride with a caravan or something." He looked at them with hard eyes. "I''ll pray for your escape."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Kaito, Ayame, and Rinji," Takuma muttered to himself. Neither of them was the prisoner he had come to meet, which was a good sign.
According to Goro, Kaito had planned it all. The plan seemed viable. Acquiring soldier pills to counteract the f¨±injutsu at its weakest was obviously successful, and he wondered if Kaito had tested it before to know if it would work; if so, he had been working on the plan for a long time because everything hinged on their ability to get their chakra back.
Takuma looked at Goro kneeling before him. Even though the giant had surrendered, it didn''t change the fact that he still had the drugs from the soldier pill in his system and could use chakra. He was too risky to leave alone, and the guards didn''t have enough numbers to restrain him if he decided to make an escape.
"So, you took a soldier pill..."
"Yes," said Goro, having lost all of his steam. His hunched shoulders made him look shorter than he was.
"Then you''re going to survive this," Takuma said before he took out a kunai and stabbed him in the side.
Goro looked shocked and tried to jump away while pushing Takuma away, but he grabbed his hand and put it on the kunai stuck into his body. Goro looked at Takuma with fear in his eyes, his body twitching as though ready to respond to any other lethal attacks.
"Don''t worry, I avoided most of your organs. And your chakra, as it is now, will keep you alive, so don''t worry. Just keep pressure on the wound, and you''ll survive. Try to run, though, and you won''t get too far without treatment," Takuma warned him.
He weaved hand seals for the Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu again. Ignoring everything around him, he focused on the direction Goro had said the rendezvous point was and immediately sensed three "responses" moving in different directions.
He needed to hurry if he wanted to catch them.
"Don''t do anything stupid," Takuma told Goro before vanishing using the Body Flicker Jutsu.
Soon, he was standing somewhere near the rendezvous point. It was away from the chaos and was smartly located away from any nearby neighbouring mining nodes, which would mean they would avoid running into any samurai. When he tried to track again, he sensed only two of the three responses he had felt before.
He looked at the woods nearby and guessed that one of the escapees was travelling on trees, leaving the jutsu able to track them.
"I guess I''ll have to find one of them the traditional way," he said, remembering the few things Daiki had taught him about tracking. He also recalled how the big man talked about going crocodile hunting upon returning home. He was also hunting today but for something more intelligent and dangerous.
Takuma weaved hand seals and again felt the anxiety-inducing feeling of his physical and spiritual energies leaving his body that he had not gotten used to. There was a puff of smoke as a shadow clone appeared next to him.
"Let''s hunt, then, shall we?" said the clone.
CH_9.33 (348)
Rinji ran as fast as his legs could take him. The sun glared down at him as he sprinted down the rocky terrain, kicking off dust. He felt embarrassed when his breathing grew hotter and laboured; he was stronger, capable of striking harder and moving more weight than when he was an active shinobi because he had been mining daily. But he hadn''t properly run in years because running in the camp meant getting a kunai in the back from a guard, followed by a thrashing to remind him of his mistake.
He couldn''t stop. He was still in the land designated for the Chibumi copper mines and out in the open with nowhere to hide. As long as he got out of Chibumi, he would be safe; the guards wouldn''t chase after him outside because they wouldn''t want to be too far from the seventh node in case something went wrong.
Just a little more, he told himself.
Rinji felt something and turned around to check if someone was following him. To his surprise, he saw a smidge on the horizon in the distance.
"A guard?"
He picked up speed. He guessed he was only a few minutes until he exited Chibumi, and as long as he could run away a little more after that, he would have a legitimate chance at freedom. The Hidden Leaf would issue a wanted notice against him, but as long as he stayed low and avoided mistakes, the Land of Fire was big enough for a single person to get lost in.
He turned back, and his heart skipped a beat when the "guard" was so much closer¡ªclose enough to let him see that the figure wasn''t a guard and wore a mask.
"No, no, no, why did he come after me?!" Rinji felt flustered as he saw the ANBU-nin Ayame had alerted them about. The road before him suddenly seemed much longer than he thought previously. He used the Body Flicker Jutsu to boost himself forward, but when he looked back, the ANBU-nin had cut the distance further.
"Shit!"
He had a decision to make: continue running or face the ANBU-nin. Part of him wanted to keep running, hoping the masked killer would give up, but for the looks of it, he would get caught, and then he would have to fight regardless. But Rinji continued to run. He wanted his hope to be true, even though another part knew it to be unfeasible.
He dug his feet into the ground and turned around to face the ANBU-nin, who disappeared only to appear closer by using another burst of the Body Flicker Jutsu. The masked shinobi was now close enough to be in the range of a long-ranged ninjutsu.
Rinji weaved the hand seals for his strongest C-rank ninjutsu.
Wind Release: Peacock''s Fury
The jutsu created wind blades in the shape of a peacock''s feather. While weaker individually, they gained a furious destructive power when nearly a hundred blades were barrage on the target.
But as he was about to weave the last hand seals, something faster than his eyes could track tore through his arm, bringing about a hell of pain as it grazed the bone. His focus immediately shattered, and before he could take count of what had happened, another attack went straight through his thigh.
Rinji screamed in pain as panic overrun his mind. The arm wound was bad, but it wouldn''t have been a big problem, but an injured leg hindered his ability to run and thus plummeted his chances of escaping.
"No, please, no!" he cried as he turned around to run.
His opposite leg went next, and he couldn''t even hobble, leaving him no choice but to crawl toward the unending horizon with his hands clawing the unforgiving earth. He blamed the gods for it all; why did an ANBU-nin have to be at the mines the day they decided to escape¡ªand why did he have to come after him?
Rinji crashed face-first on the ground. He felt the boot on his back, and before he could even beg or say anything, he was flipped over to face an onslaught of punches to his face. He wasn''t even allowed to raise his hands to guard himself as they were smacked aside until he was wearing his own blood.
His last thoughts before he lost consciousness as he stared at the rigid animal mask that betrayed no emotion was to wonder what he was going to do when he woke up the next time because he would be dying soon after.
The ANBU-nin stared down at Rinji before grabbing a leg and dragging him back toward the seventh node through the rocky terrain.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Ayame had been running along the edge of the woods near the mining complex. Her destination was a trade route nearby. She was to travel east along the road to reach a town in half a day''s time. Cutting straight through the forest would have made for a shorter route, and the canopy would''ve provided her with cover.
She chose not to go through the forest because, despite the shorter route, it took longer to complete as the woods made for difficult terrain. And she didn''t have the liberty to be slow. She couldn''t camp out in the forest until sunset and continue under the cover of the dark because two-thirds of Shimura''s guards were Earth Release users to handle problems in unstable locations like underground mines¡ªand some of them were also great trackers who used ground-based tracking ninjutsu.
She had to be on the road by the time the sun was ready to set. Sticking close to the forest was a precaution in case someone caught up to her, and she needed to hide.
And it seemed the right choice because she sensed someone hot on her tail.
She leapt into the trees and camouflaged herself in the leaves while keeping her eyes outside, waiting to see which one of the guards had chased her. She recognised the entire crew of guards, so if she knew who was following her, she could devise a plan to outwit them. As long as it was not Shimura himself or the other chunin among the guards, she could even kill them.
However, the person who appeared was not even among her options because she refused to consider the worst-case scenario.
The ANBU-nin she had seen dismantling Goro stopped where she had been a few minutes before and looked around. His mask concealed what he was thinking, and the cloak covering his body kept any clues about him in the shadows.
Ayame didn''t dare move a muscle, fearing that even the inaudible creak of the thick tree branch she stood up would attract his attention. She was even scared to breathe freely and took consciously slow and long breaths as she leaned against the trunk to hide herself as much as possible.
He weaved hand seals before resting his palms against the ground. She instantly recognised it to be an earth-based tracking ninjutsu, which she feared from the tracking guards.
It''s okay, she told herself as sweat uncomfortably trickled down her cheek as she felt her hot breath against her face. She was on a tree¡ªany earth-based tracking jutsu couldn''t track her.
As long as she remained above ground, he wouldn''t be able to track her¡ª
The ANBU-nin stood up, turned toward the forest, and slowly walked inside.
Ayame''s heart lurched as her chaotic mind screamed that she had been discovered. She felt dizzy. Her instincts told her to run away, but her dwindling reasoning said that ambushing represented her best chance of survival.
Courage flooded her body as Fight won over Flight. She looked down at the ANBU-nin; there was a man underneath that terrifying mask and cloak. She wasn''t facing an invincible being but a shinobi who could be killed like any other.
There was a noise in a bush, and the ANBU-nin moved like a viper, spinning around and launching three kunai from his sleeves in one continuous movement.
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Ayame stopped breathing. The hands she had raised to cast jutsu trembled. Fear bubbled underneath her newfound but dwindling courage. She needed to hurry before her spirit gave out. She took a kunai from the stolen weapons and held it in her mouth before weaving hand seals.
As the ANBU-nin returned from the bushes holding a dead earth mole he had killed, Ayame finished her seals.
Genjutsu: Dead Grove''s Coffin
The woods around them grew darker as the trees suddenly seemed to all lean toward the ANBU-nin in a moment of eerily silence before hell broke loose and branches growing at rapid rates shot at him, binding his arms, head, and torso. Roots burst out of the ground and clawed at his feet. The branches and roots pulled in different directions, trying to rip his body apart.
Ayame jumped from her place of hiding with a kunai in her hand and stabbed him in the hand.
She suddenly had cherry blossom leaves in her vision.
"Huh?"
The ANBU-nin turned into a soft whirlwind of pink leaves.
She had been trapped in a genjutsu.
Goosebumps rose on her nape as dread screamed up the bottom of her stomach a second before she found her head and neck in an armlock, choking her access to air out. The panic slowed her down, but she raised her kunai. Her vision blurred as he pulled her to the nearest tree and slammed her head into the trunk before she could react appropriately.
The hands left her neck. As she noisily gasped for air, he grasped the back of her head and slammed it back into the tree three more times before she breathed in properly, staining the soft bark underneath the cracked, tough exterior with her blood.
Her vision darkened as she went down like a sack, her head landing next to the dead mole.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Kaito was jumping from branch to branch, keeping off the ground¡ªit slowed him down a little, but it kept him safe from trackers¡ªwhen he heard a whistle and jumped to the side, crashing into a tree in the process to dodge a volley of shuriken.
His heart raged, but he remained calm outside as the ANBU-nin stepped out from the shadows.
"Any chance you''ll let me escape?" he asked.
"No," ANBU-nin replied with a distorted voice.
Kaito swallowed nervously when he heard the inhuman voice. He considered his chances of survival when facing the terrifying ANBU-nin. He didn''t need to think long to conclude they were... close to zero¡ªwhich meant they weren''t zero.
Unlike his co-conspirators, who were only brought on at the last moment, he had been planning this for a long time.
He took out a stolen sword. The feel of the hilt and balance of the blade felt foreign in his hand after only knowing the feel of mining tools. But he felt the familiarity return after a single swing¡ªit wasn''t the length or weight he preferred¡ªbut it felt more freeing than ever.
Even though he couldn''t see the eyes behind the mask, Kaito sensed that the ANBU-nin was gazing at his sword. He moved his cloak aside and pulled out his sword of its sheath. The sword was brand new and looked like it hadn''t seen a single battle. Kaito didn''t know if the ANBU-nin was an amateur or if it was just a new sword¡ªthe latter seemed much more likely.
Kaito removed the prison rags he wore from his torso and threw the shirt to the side. He was sweating like he had been running for the entire day. His body was covered with chakra-suppression f¨±injutsu seal tattoos that had been part of his life for the past seven years. He felt his body heat up as the chakra flowed like lava through his pathways. Steam began to rise from his body as his muscles pumped up in size.
Kaito roared from the stomach, pushing his chakra to flow faster and harder, exerting to the point his body grew red from the blood and heat.
The ANBU-nin''s body language suggested he was cautious.
"Raaah!"
The black tattoos on the skin stretched like an enormous force was pulling them apart until they snapped in various places. He shed tears of blood and coughed up blood; it leaked out of his ears, and it seemed to be squeezed out of his skin. The torn ink tattoos settled on the skin for a moment before they disappeared.
He breathed noisily, and his chest and shoulders rose up and down. The steam from his body subsided, leaving only a bloody mess.
Holding a sword after ages had nothing on his chakra being free. The flow was so strong that it felt almost overwhelming¡ªand it was due to the soldier pill he had taken¡ªbut it was such a wonderful feeling to the point where it could be addictive. He realised how much people took chakra for granted and truly understood why it was considered the life force.
"How did you do that?" The inhuman voice sounded surprised.
"I have known this seal for seven years. I have spent everyday poking at it. After all that time, I don''t need to be a f¨±in-nin to know a thing or two."
Kaito threw his head up as he laughed; his obsession for a good part of a decade had finally come true. He wanted to cry¡ªbut why do that when he could laugh.
"Let''s do it. I feel happy enough with those fucking seals off me that I wouldn''t mind if I died right now!" said Kaito, raising his sword.
Kaito moved first, his body a blur as he lunged forward, his sword aimed at the ANBU-nin''s heart. But the ANBU-nin was ready, side-stepping with solid timing, his sword flowing out at lightning speed. Kaito twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp sword, and landed in a crouch, his free hand grabbing the ANBU-nin''s leg.
He wanted to pull his legs out from under him, but his eyes caught the glint of the sword coming down at him, forcing him to raise his sword to block. As the metals clashed, Kaito felt the force in his hands. It was an intentionally heavy strike.
He grinned. "Don''t underestimate the strength of a miner!"
He pushed back with a single-hand hold and made the ANBU-nin stumble back. He didn''t wait and charged forth. The ANBU-nin met him head-on, his sword flashing as he blocked his strikes with precision. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out, each strike laced with the intention to kill. Sparks flew as their weapons met, the force of their blows sending shockwaves through the air.
Kaito''s movements were aggressive, fueled by both rage of having his life wasted in prison and joy of achieving more freedom than he had in years. He pressed the attack, his strikes coming faster and harder, each aimed to kill.
He''s an amateur, thought Kaito. The ANBU-nin''s movements were rough and inexperienced. He couldn''t believe it, but that was what he saw. The new sword made much more sense now. Despite the low skill, he gritted his teeth as the ANBU-nin grew faster and more aggressive. There was a clear difference in raw speed and strength. While he tried to make his movements calculated and efficient, the masked shinobi overpowered and outsped him to cover the difference in skill.
His hands hurt with each successive clash, the force banging up against his grip.
As they drew close, Kaito looked into the mask and saw the calm and calculated eyes. There was no way ANBU would take someone with this amount of skill if kenjutsu were their main weapon. As he was fighting for his life, his opponent wasn''t even giving it his best.
Kaito snarled, his eyes blazing in fury. "Fight me properly!" he spat, his voice raw with emotion. He feinted to the left, then spun to the right, his sword slicing through the air in a wide arc. The ANBU-nin ducked under the strike; his sword moved out a quick stab that grazed his arm. Kaito hissed in pain but didn''t falter and jumped back and quickly weaved hands seals.
He picked up his sword and stabbed it into the ground. The earth beneath the ANBU-nin''s feet erupted, and half a dozen swords made from fire shot up toward him. He leapt into the air, his body twisting precisely to avoid the deadly flying flaming swords. But Kaito was already moving, his body blurring as he closed the distance between them.
The ANBU-nin landed lightly on his feet, squaring up when he saw Kaito charging toward him. He didn''t dodge and stayed his ground.
Kaito grew more furious. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, his sword catching fire as it bit towards the ANBU-nin, who took a simple step forward to erase the distance between them while swinging his sword diagonally up.
Kaito''s eyes widened. It was such a simple movement, but he recognised its deliberate intent. The forward step shortened the sword''s swing time, reducing his momentum.
The two swords met, and the ANBU-nin parried his attack. Kaito felt his sword and arm shoot back with such force that his body was pulled back off-balance. At the same time, the fire-covered sword exploded, forcing the ANBU-nin to jump away, leaving him unable to follow up on what would''ve ended the fight.
Kaito groaned, struggled to regain his balance. His dominant hand ached. Breaking the seal had freed him, but it didn''t come without a cost¡ªhe had injured himself by forcing the seal off of him. He could tell that every moment he fought, he was worsening his condition.
He knew he wasn''t going to win against ANBU-nin.
He was going to die.
"...If so, then I won''t go down easy," he said, his voice soft but firm.
Kaito dug into his utility belt and took out a fist full of soldier pill that he stuffed into his mouth without hesitation. If he were going to die, it would be on his own accord.
"I''m not going back there." Kaito''s lips curled into a grim smile. "I''m going to at least crack that mask of yours."
"...A pity. I wanted more experience," said the ANBU-nin, his voice now sounding normal. "But I''m a clone, so I can''t risk it."
"A kid?" Kaito was surprised by the voice.
The ANBU-nin stabbed his sword into the ground and attained a taijutsu stance. "Come, give me all you got," he said, his voice equally firm.
There was a chaotic storm wreaking havoc in his body. It was unequivocally a bad idea, and he could feel his injuries get worse as his own chakra destroyed him from within. But Kaito had a peaceful look on his face as he felt respect from his opponent, who was going to match his all with his best.
Kaito weaved hand seals and almost couldn''t use the jutsu due to his chaotic chakra. The moment he touched his sword, fire lines appeared on the blade as the intense quantity of Fire chakra flooded and burnt the metal from within.
With a final burst of strength, Kaito charged forward, his sword raised high. The ANBU-nin also moved faster than Kaito; he had nothing in his hand.
They crossed each other and came to a stop with their backs to each other.
Kaito felt the taste of iron in his mouth as he vomited a mouthful of blood on his chest and stomach as he looked down. His chest was caved in. All of his ribs had been shattered, and his heart had been torn up from within. His vision had already quadrupled as he turned back to face the ANBU-nin, who was opening and clenching his fist.
They looked at each other for a moment before Kaito fell forward to the ground.
He had attained freedom
CH_9.34 (349)
Takuma was sitting on a rock in a dusty field under the sun when he heard the sound of footsteps and looked to his side to see his clone hauling two of the prison break culprits with him. He looked funny with the giant man twice his size on his shoulders.
"Yeah, laugh it off. I did more work than you," said the clone, unceremoniously dumping the two prisoners on the ground.
"Just because they were near each other," said Takuma, looking at his catch¡ªthe prisoners whom he had shot in the thigh and ankle to incapacitate. His target had taken a drastically different route in hopes that the chasing guards would prioritise the two closer to each other.
He gazed at the man caught by the clone and saw the caved-in chest. "Is he dead?" he asked.
"Do you think that''ll be a problem?"
"Warden probably would''ve wanted more information from the mastermind to root out the vulnerability in his security." He looked at the dead man and noticed the chakra suppression seals were no longer present on his body. "I guess the f¨±injutsu vanished upon his death."
"Actually, no. He broke the seal on him before his death."
"He knew f¨±injutsu?"
"No, he did it through sheer force, using knowledge gained by trial and error."
"That''s possible?" asked Takuma, surprised. He didn''t know
"I mean, he did it. Do you think we could boot this out? It''s uncomfortable." The clone tapped his left delt hidden underneath the cloak where the newly inked ANBU death-seal.
There was no physical discomfort, but the idea of having a foreign thing attached to him that could kill him instantly was uncomfortable at the least. The only confidence-inducing trait of the death-seal was that it was closed to outside interference. The seal was designed in a way that it could only be triggered by the operatives themselves, bound to their chakra.
But he could already see a vulnerability in that system. While he wasn''t sure because he hadn''t asked around if ANBU had planned for edge cases in his mind, a Yamanaka with their Mind-Body Manipulation Jutsu could trigger the seal by taking control¡ªand he worked with one with an office right next to him. He wasn''t sure about the Nara clan''s Shadow Manipulation Jutsu, but he assumed they could fuck over operatives as well. It was a scary reality where he was walking around with a self-destruct button.
"I''m not sure. The ANBU death-seal should be much more complex and secure to prevent tampering," said Takuma, feeling a phantom heat in his left delt. "And I also don''t want to mess around with it. People have borked their computers by messing with the code¡ªand in this case, our body is the hardware¡ªdon''t want to bork that because we won''t be able to fix that if things go wrong."
There was a moment of grim silence between the two before Takuma stood up.
"Let''s go meet our trash mailer."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma wondered if he should''ve been selfish as he stood in a corridor of the seventh mining node''s medical building, gazing at the room''s closed door where the node''s only iry¨-nin worked on the prisoners who had gotten injured due to the mine collapse.
One of the several injured people was the prisoner Takuma had come to visit.
Uyegita Gekin. According to his file, Gekin worked at the Maizuru Quarters before he was sentenced to ten years of hard labour. His background made his trash mail viable and supported the anonymous trash mail with the same claim.
The door to the room opened, and the iry¨-nin with a haste in his demeanour stepped out, surely wanting to move on to see more injured people, but stopped when he saw the masked and cloaked figure of the Takuma dressed in his full ANBU garb.
"How is Uyegita Gekin, doctor?" asked Takuma with a modulated voice.
The iry¨-nin looked tired and a smidge pale from having used a considerable amount of his chakra dealing with the great deal of injuries. He shook his head at Takuma''s question.
"His condition is not good," answered the iry¨-nin. "I did all I could for him with my skill, but the collapse hit him in all the worst parts. It would''ve been better if a regular hospital team had been working on him, but here..." He paused with pursed lips. "His survival now solely depends on him."
"Is he awake?"
"No, I''ve put him under."
Takuma nodded, and the iry¨-nin briskly walked to wherever he was needed next.
Takuma clenched his fist within his robes. If he knew this was going to happen, he would''ve gone to retrieve Gekin instead of chasing after the runaway prisoners. With his only lead dying, he was at a loss at what to do. He hoped to find something substantial because only then would his work bear fruit, or the last two weeks would''ve been a waste.
He stepped up to the room and ignored the two guards standing watch. They didn''t look happy to be there and didn''t stop him from coming close. He peeked in through the half-open door at Gekin, who was one of the two people in the room who was hooked up to the limited machinery, indicating the seriousness of his injuries.
There was a choice to be made.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
A few hours later, the chaos subsided for the moment, and exhaustion took its place.
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Half of the guards were gathered in the seventh node''s mess hall, while the remaining half watched over the prisoners. The mood in the seventh node was taut like a high-strung wire with an edge of anger that didn''t bode well for the prisoners, who were guaranteed to have no good days ahead of them for the foreseeable future.
Shimura Bunradao didn''t eat with his men at the mess hall. No one wanted to be in their superior''s presence while they relaxed at their meals, and he didn''t enjoy the mess food and had the cooks prepare his meals separately. But today, he sat in the mess hall to share a meal with his men to boost morale. They had lost three men¡ªone to the mine collapse and two to the prisoners¡ªand another was in bad condition.
Bunradao desperately wanted a smoke. Even though he was hungry, half of his food remained on his plate because he wanted to delay his meeting with Dogai Harazo. He already knew what would happen in the meeting and didn''t have the will to argue with the emissary after all that had happened today. He wanted to skip the meeting and go to bed. But that wasn''t an option.
He could''ve navigated the conversation with Harazo if the mastermind behind the prison break, Kaito, was alive and in their custody. The ANBU-nin had captured and brought all the perpetrators back, but Kaito only returned as a dead body.
The death didn''t bother him personally, but professionally, he needed Kaito. He wanted to know which civilian employee had given him the soldier pills. That information could''ve been extremely helpful because Chibumi had twelve nodes with tons of civilians, and going through them would have taken a lot of time. He could buy some time by interrogating the other perpetrators, but sooner or later, he would need to find the culprit, and nothing would stop Harazo from shuffling all the blame onto his head.
"Sir..."
Bunradao looked over his shoulder to look at his assistant.
"Before I forget, make sure to show the ANBU-nin to the guest quarters," Bunradao said before the assistant could say anything. "He helped us out today. Make sure that he is comfortable and has everything he needs..."
The assistant glanced around and saw people sitting with the warden, glancing and gazing at them. He leaned down and whispered into Bunradao''s ears, whose eyes widened for a moment before he controlled his expression and got up with a grim look with a furrow between his brows.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked the iry¨-nin with an unsure expression.
"You said he won''t make it through the night," Takuma replied as he stared at the iry¨-nin. "He called me here. I''m sure he would be dissatisfied if he passed away without getting a chance to say his piece."
They stood in the shared patient room where Gekin was recovering. His condition hadn''t improved for the past several hours and showed signs of worsening. After checking on him multiple times, the iry¨-nin finally declared that his chances of making it through the night were low.
So, Takuma decided to wake him up so he could ask him about the trash mail before he passed away. He turned around to face a bald monk, dressed in a simple orange attire, who lived at the Chibumi mines to meet the religious needs of the mine workers, including the prisoners.
"I hope you understand the importance of this, Venerable Sir," Takuma said respectfully. When Gekin woke up, he would first talk to the iry¨-nin and the monk, who would explain his situation before introducing Takuma to join the conversation.
He felt guilty for using a monk for his gain, but he feared that Gekin would shut down if he talked to him directly. The monk could soften him up and make him come to terms with his situation, increasing his chances to open up.
The monk silently nodded.
Takuma looked at the uncomfortable iry¨-nin before stepping to a corner of the room where Gekin couldn''t see him. He listened as Gekin woke up and started crying when the iry¨-nin told him that he didn''t have long to live, which was when the monk stepped in and warmly spoke to him, guiding him through his emotions, even helping him to come to terms with his actions, helping him ask forgiveness for his ill-deeds, and doing everything one would expect.
Takuma worried about how long it was taking because Gekin''s ability to speak was going down very quickly. He feared that he wouldn''t be able to speak, but he didn''t have a way to rush things, so he waited until he was finally introduced. The green curtains around the bed moved, and he stepped to the bedside where Gekin lay, silently heaving.
Gekin was on painkillers that relieved him of the pain he should have been feeling because of his injuries.
"It''s unfortunate we have to meet this way, Genin Gekin," said Takuma, treating Gekin as though he was still a Leaf genin and not a prisoner. "We received the letter you sent our way, and I believe you were telling the truth, so I came here to listen to your story."
Gekin was dying. Any previous thoughts of negotiating a deal were no longer an option, so as long as Takuma treated him with respect, he didn''t expect any resistance. His approach seemed to work. Gekin called him to lean over, as he was no longer able to speak above a bare whisper.
He leaned in and carefully listened to the words uttered slowly with much labour.
"Second Division, Third Squad?" Takuma repeated his words.
Gekin nodded.
He wanted to ask more, but Gekin turned to the monk, no longer interested in talking to him.
"Please leave now," said the iry¨-nin sternly.
Takuma gazed at Gekin for a moment before looking at iry¨-nin and nodding. "Thank you for your help, doctor," he said as he stepped away.
The iry¨-nin didn''t appreciate his thanks, but he didn''t mind and wanted to move to a corner and listen to Gekin''s words in case he said something relevant, but the room''s door opened to reveal Bunradao looking unhappy, his displeasure clearly focused on Takuma.
"We should talk, ANBU-nin."
They stepped out of the room and walked to the end of the hallway. Bunradao had come with his assistant and his two lieutenants.
"You didn''t have the authority to wake Gekin like that. You killed him!"
"He was going to die regardless. I got some information out of him this way," Takuma replied calmly, his mind still focused on Gekin''s words.
"That''s not your call to make! I''m the warden; you should''ve come to me and not do it without permission!" said Bunradao, aggressively stabbing his finger at him.
Takuma stopped contemplating for a moment and looked at the fuming Bunradao.
"And yet the iry¨-nin woke him up without your permission," he said.
"What?"
"Your people were guarding the room; they heard the entire thing, and not once did they try to stop me."
"You''re ANBU. Of course, they couldn''t stop you. They would be too scared to do anything." Bunradao glared at him, getting angrier with each word.
"I can see that, but they didn''t even try a token attempt to cover their asses," said Takuma, looking at the two shinobi in front of the Gekin''s room which actually held all of the prisoners with serious injuries. "Do you know why they didn''t try to stop me, warden? They didn''t do it because they wanted him to die. Maybe he would''ve survived till the morning and his condition improved from then on if a miracle happened¡ªbut your people don''t want that and thought me waking him up would seal the deal."
He had been in the building the whole time, and he had heard them talk to each other. They didn''t know who was behind the prison break, so they blamed all the prisoners¡ªknowing it wouldn''t have made a difference. Their fellow guards had died today; they were angry.
Takuma continued, "I think the only reason they didn''t do anything was because I was there the whole time. As you said, they were scared of getting into trouble with me."
Bunradao looked stunned.
"And you don''t care about his death. I can tell. You''re angry at me because Kaito died," said Takuma. Bunradao''s face twitched because he had hit a nerve. "I''m going to help you once more, warden. Use my name. Send a message that if the person behind the soldier pills comes forward on their own, you won''t involve ANBU, but if they don''t turn themselves in by the end of tomorrow, I''ll get involved, and they won''t like what will happen when¡ªnot if¡ªwhen I catch them."
The next day, Bunradao spread the message as Takuma advised him.
It took four hours before someone turned themselves in.
CH_9.35 (350)
"I should''ve gone through the trash mail as well. Maybe I''d have a case of my own," Amami said as she sat in Caracar''s office, balancing her chair on its hind legs while she tossed a shuriken toward the ceiling just low enough that they wouldn''t make contact, only if barely.
Takuma had returned from Chibumi copper mines and stayed for two days before leaving for the Maizuru Quarters, one of the Leaf''s largest military installations.
Amami had joined half a month before him and was still mentoring under Caracara, which wouldn''t change at least for a couple more months. She had no problem with that and was more than happy to learn, but seeing her peer going off his own
"You shouldn''t be envy him," said Caracara, her eyes browsing over an intel report relating to one of her many ongoing cases. "Ratel neither has a lot of freedom nor time. Campbell will close the case if he doesn''t find something important¡ªtangible¡ªon this trip."
The problem was that the result from his trip to Chibumi was dubious at best. He had returned with a few words from a dying man, and they didn''t hold much weight because they barely said anything and were backed by nothing. Campbell only approved because Takuma had somehow managed to connect those words to the Maizuru Quarters and convinced Campbell to have him go take a look.
"Did you hear what the other squad said about his case?" asked Caracara.
"That was bullshit," Amami replied immediately. "They were just trying to cause trouble for our squad."
Everyone shared a common eating hall in the Ironwood Protection Company office, making the three squads often mingle during tea breaks and meals. Case details were supposed to be kept confidential and secret to prevent leaks. They were regularly shared within the squad to gain advice and insight, but what and who they wanted to share the details with beyond that was in the operative in charge''s purview what and who they wanted to share beyond that. Some minor details, when interesting, managed to make their way through the office as gossip.
The trash mail case had quickly become the week''s gossip topic, and someone suggested that Takuma had made up the dying words to continue investigating the case so he could find another problem, a real one, because it sounded absurd that a green rookie would find a case in the trash mail when he hadn''t even been working for a month.
"Let''s hope so because it''s not unheard of. It''s not the same, but imagine an operative who thinks she has stumbled onto something big and shares it with her boss, who assigns her additional resources. She chases it for a while for it to turn out to be nothing, but things have proceeded to the stage where going to their boss and saying that it was all for nothing is difficult."
"But he''s not doing any of that," said Amami. While the time they had spent together wasn''t long, and by no means did she claim to know him well, having worked together with him, she was quite confident he wasn''t the type to lie like that.
"I know. The problem is that those words created an impact the moment they were uttered. No one will think that about him if he returns with either nothing or something really good¡ªanything in between, however, isn''t going to work," said Caracara.
Amami looked out the office, across the hall, at the locked door of Takuma''s office.
"You don''t have the time to worry about him. We just got an urgent, high-priority mission. Get ready to leave tomorrow early in the morning," said Caracara, making Amami sigh. She didn''t mind travel, but this mission would make it the third time this month that she''d left the village.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
The Maizuru Quarters, the Leaf military installation, loomed in the distance, a sprawling complex of fortified walls, watchtowers, and barracks. The area was once a dense forest but had been strategically cleared so that the view from the installation wouldn''t be obstructed in case of an attack. The facility was a critical hub for the Leaf''s border defence on the Land of Wind''s side, as well as housing and training shinobi, while also serving as one of the largest supply stations on this side of the nation.
To Takuma, it was both a fortress and a puzzle¡ªone he needed to solve without raising suspicion, which wouldn''t be possible if he rocked in fully dressed in his ANBU gear. Anything remotely out of line would be buried the moment he stepped through the gates.
He needed to go undercover.
The guards at the gate, the two stern-looking shinobi with the Leaf insignia on their forehead protectors, stepped forward to intercept him. The taller guard between them had cauliflower ears; he held his hands to stop him.
"Halt. State your business," the guard said, his voice firm but not hostile, eyeing Takuma, who was also dressed in standard Leaf gear.
Takuma reached into his pouch and produced a scroll with an official seal.
"Chunin Hoshino Araki, here for a routine inspection," he said, his tone calm and authoritative.
Hoshino Araki was a constructed cover identity with an actual footprint in the Hidden Leaf''s records to give it legitimacy in case someone looked into Araki. The ANBU created and cultivated it for field usage. It was one of the few younger identities on file because only two operatives in the entire department, across both branches, were as young as Takuma.
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The guard took the scroll, examined the seal, and nodded to his companion. The second guard, a kunoichi woman with sharp eyes, stepped forward and performed a series of hand seals. A faint purple glow emanated from her hand as she patted him down to check if he was using a jutsu to disguise his appearance.
Satisfied, she stepped back. "Clear.".
The man handed the scroll back to Takuma. "Follow me. I will show you to J¨nin Kumaguro."
Takuma nodded and stepped through the gate, his eyes already scanning the compound. The installation buzzed with activity¡ªshinobi training in the courtyards, messengers darting between buildings, and supply carts being unloaded near the storage warehouse. It looked like a model of efficiency and discipline. But he knew that there was something wrong there.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma was escorted to the command center, a large building at the heart of the installation. The name plaques on the office doors were chunin or above from notable shinobi clans from the Hidden Leaf and around the Land of Fire. It felt like he was in Hidden Leaf but outside the village. On the top floor of the building, there was an office with huge double doors, which belonged to the j¨nin commander in charge of the Maizuru Quarter.
Before coming, he had researched the Maizuru Quarter and knew about J¨nin Onikuma Kumagaro. However, his photo on file was clearly outdated and needed to be updated. Kumagaro was a man in his late forties, dressed in a simple tank top, with a professional wrestler''s build that bore the marks of countless battles. His demeanour was relaxed, and he gave off the impression that he expected others to move at his pace and knew they would do so.
He read the scroll Takuma had brought with him for five minutes before setting it aside.
"You''re young for an inspector, Chunin Araki. How old did you say you were?" Kumagoro looked at him with his one good eye. His other eye was a blueish-grey glass eye that stood out against his normal black iris as though he wanted everyone to know he had a glass eye.
"I didn''t say," Takuma replied politely, but he stood his ground to show that Kumagoro couldn''t push him around because he was younger or of a lower rank. It was essential for him to
Onikuma, he thought. In his mind, the clan name was attached to a particular memory. On his first visit to the Land of Frost for his first outstation C-rank mission, one of his teammates was an Onikuma girl. She had died, and he still thought about her and others from time to time when he didn''t have other things on his mind.
The Onikuma clan was a minor clan with a hiden jutsu described as a "possession type" Summoning Jutsu that allowed them to mutate their bodies into beast-like forms, which granted them enhanced physiques. The jutsu came with its downside as it could prove to be mentally unstable at times as it could cause the user to assume a more bestial form, which affected emotions and intelligence, resulting in losing control of the jutsu.
Kumagoro raised a brow but didn''t continue the line of questioning. "I wasn''t made aware that you''d be arriving."
"We want a candid look at the operations here. We often find that when we arrive after informing, we aren''t able to get a complete view," Takuma replied with the prepared answer.
"Very well," he said after a moment. "I''ll have my adjutant show you around. Is there anything specific you''ll be inspecting?"
"Just the usual," Takuma replied, keeping his tone neutral. "Personal records, supply logs, expenditure accounts, training schedule. Nothing out of the ordinary."
Kumagoro nodded, betraying no sign of what he was thinking. But Takuma could sense that he wasn''t happy by his presence, which wasn''t a surprise because no one liked outside inspectors. He didn''t like them when he was running the Narcotics Taskforce because they hindered his work and lowered productivity¡ªand well, he had ample things he wanted to hide.
"Understood. I''ll ensure you have full access to whatever you need."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Takuma toured the installation with Kumagoro''s adjutant, a young and overly eager chunin named Shen. Like his first impression, the installation seemed to be well-managed. It was clean and beautifully maintained, the people were happy and morale seemed high, and the warehouses with supplies were properly maintained. Of course, he would need to look into it if he wanted to be sure.
"How many shinobi are stationed here?"
"Anywhere between 2500 to 3000 shinobi at any time. We are in charge of much more, but they''re stationed at key locations along the border," answered Shen as he smiled and waved at shinobi in the distance.
The shinobi at Maizuru Quarters weren''t enough to defend the Fire-Wind border alone. No nation protected the entire length of their border because it was infeasible to defend it all. Even the Five Great Nations, with their vast resources, only built garrisons in sensitive border regions and were there first and foremost to deter invasions rather than to keep individuals from slipping back and forth across the border.
Entering a nation was extremely easy for an individual or small group of shinobi who could cross harsh terrain¡ªborder security was more focused on stopping larger groups like raiders or armies.
"And no civilians, right?"
"None. Everything in Maizuru is handled by shinobi."
"How do you like working here, Chunin Shen?" Takuma asked as they walked to the space he would be working from.
"Oh, it''s great! Maizuru is a fabulous place to work under J¨nin Kumagoro''s leadership!" She sang praises from the bottom of his heart.
"What do you not like about working here?" said Takuma, starting to probe something.
"Uhmm, I don''t think there is any," said Shen, slightly uncomfortable at the question.
"Oh, come on. Every place has something. Don''t worry, I won''t talk about it."
Shen looked hesitant for a moment, but he seemed to be the type who needed to talk even when uncomfortable. "Not being able to go home, I guess?" he said tentatively. "Leaves are tough to come by when you are stationed here. You need to apply far in advance to have a chance at going home."
"Well, it''s like that everywhere," said Takuma, disappointed.
After touring, they returned to the command center. The records room was a cramped, dimly lit space tucked away in the corner of the command center. Shelves lined the walls, stacked high with scrolls, ledgers, and personnel files. The light bulbs weren''t efficiently placed, and the shelves placed in the grid on the room''s floor cast shadows across the room, giving it an almost eerie atmosphere.
He stepped inside, followed closely by Shen.
"This is where we keep all of our personnel records and mission logs," Shen said, gesturing to the shelves. "For other records, we will need to go to other archives¡ªall of them are in the command center here. Your office is just across the hall from this one... Where do you want to start?"
"I will start here."
"Great! If you need anything, just let me know."
Takuma scanned the room and knew he would be spending a lot of time among these records for the next week, by which time he would need to find something substantial unless he wanted to be recalled home and have this case shut.
CH_9.36 (351)
The next day, Takuma began his work in earnest. He was left alone with access to the record rooms, which was both a blessing and a curse because while he could work without someone keeping an eye on him, he also had no help if he wanted assistance.
At first, he thought that if he asked for records, they would bring what he asked for while hiding things they didn''t want him to see and that he would then have to cause a ruckus to get what he wanted. However, they were taking the opposite approach and trying to bury him in excessive information by throwing everything they had at him.
Without luck, it would''ve been impossible to find anything by himself if not for Gekin''s words, which made sense when he returned from Chibumi and talked to someone in ANBU familiar with Maizuru Quarters.
Second Division, Third Squad
Takuma sat in the dusty record room with Uyegita Gekin''s personnel file in hand, which stated that he was part of Maizuru''s Second Division, Third Squad. It had been over two years since he had been sentenced and thus booted out of Maizuru. His record was hard to find even when he knew what he was looking for and it would''ve taken longer if he couldn''t create his own help.
He looked up to glance at his clones going through the files. He had made one shadow clone, and both of them had made two water clones each for a team of six Takuma working together. However, there was a huge caveat. The water clones didn''t leave behind any memories, so he and the shadow clones periodically took reports on everything water clones even if it was deemed useless, so they would have some idea of what they had read¡ªit wasn''t perfect because they didn''t know what exactly was important and most of it would be lost by the end of the day¡ªbut it was his only choice if he wanted to increase productivity.
He and his shadow clone, if they didn''t make water clones, both had barely enough chakra for a minimum viable shadow clone from both, but it wasn''t feasible because they would have less than 20% of his maximum chakra with each¡ªwhile not life-threatening, having his chakra that low made him lethargic. It would''ve been fine if he was in a battle where his blood was pumping and adrenaline was coursing through his body, but outside of combat, his body would suffer the consequences.
That was a worse outcome than having one shadow and four water clones.
"Was he trying to say that the Second Division''s Third Squad is taking the off-the-book jobs?" asked one of the clones. "Does that mean he was part of the assassinations?"
"That seems like the most likely outcome," replied another clone.
"We can''t be sure until we find proof," said the shadow clone.
Takuma wanted to say something, but another clone beat him to it.
"Make sure you aren''t trying to find proof to justify his involvement. That narrows your view; you will discard everything that doesn''t support your argument. Find proof and see what it says without imposing your bias on it."
He sighed as the conversation between his clones traced his line of thought at the same time as it formed in his head. It was so freaky that he didn''t think he would ever be able to get used to it. And while two heads were better than one, he didn''t think multiple of his heads were exactly a good thing.
"Gekin suddenly started having problems a year before he was sentenced to the labour camp," Takuma said loud enough for his clones to hear. "He was clean before that, but then suddenly got into trouble a couple of times every month until he was arrested."
There were several write-ups about his mistakes at work, which led him to get his responsibilities reduced, pay docked, assignment punishments, and switched to the graveyard shift, among other undesirable things that made his experience difficult, to say the least. He was even booted from the Third Squad and Second Division one month before his arrest.
"Something must''ve happened just before he started getting into trouble," said a clone.
"Did you guys find the Third Squad''s roster?" asked Takuma.
"I have it here, but it''s only the current one."
"Get the personnel files listed there and gather around."
Fifteen minutes later, they were gathered around a table with the personnel files of those on the Second Division''s Third Squad. The squad was a standard five-member team with a sixth member as a leader. Out of them, three members had been part of the squad when Genki was there.
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"Look at this. It makes sense that the squad leader is a chunin, but they have another chunin who has been there for three years. Isn''t that weird? Shouldn''t he be leading a team by now?" said one of the clones, putting a personnel file in the centre of the table.
Utatane Naruri had been a chunin for eight years and was in the position of Third Squad''s leader for five years. The other chunin was Yubira Juniko who had been part of the squad since before they were a chunin and had stayed on the team even after the rank promotion, which stood out as suspicious.
"If they are a hit squad, having two chunin on the team makes sense."
"According to Gekin''s file, Chunin Naruri, his former squad leader at that time, was the one who caught him."
"Do we think Gekin was framed for his crimes?"
"No, I don''t think so. The evidence was quite foolproof against him. Here''s what I''m thinking: Gekin did something they didn''t like, so they made his life difficult before transferring to another division, and then he raped a kunoichi, which gave them the perfect reason to remove him as a problem."
"Meaning he had something on them?"
"Could be. He probably didn''t say anything because it would also get him in trouble¡ªbut perhaps two years in the labour camp made him try his luck with the trash mail."
"We still need evidence that they''re involved," said Takuma as he stood up to stretch his legs. "Okay, let''s start with Gekin and the three with him; find everything about them. And let''s also look into others who were on the roster but are no longer there. There has to be something wrong somewhere, even if it''s hidden..."
The record room door suddenly swung up, and Shen walked in.
"Chunin Araki¡ª?"
He was stunned into silence when he saw six of Takuma all turn to look at him and address him in unison. They then looked at each other before the shadow clone volunteered to represent the group.
"What is it, Chunin Shen?"
Shen snapped out of it. "...Ah! It''s lunchtime. I was wondering if you''d like to have your lunch brought to your office?" he said as the group of Takuma stared at him.
"Thank you, but I''ll visit the mess hall. I appreciate your hospitality."
"Would you like me to guide you there?" he said, his eyes glancing at the documents on the table.
"I''ll find the way on my own if that''s fine with you."
"That''s fine," Shen smiled before leaving.
The group waited for a moment before Takuma addressed the clones. "Let''s obscure our search by asking for unrelated material."
The clones nodded in agreement, and everyone returned to work.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
"Clones, you say?" said Kamugoro as he listened to what his adjutant had witnessed.
"Yes, sir. I noticed six in total."
He hummed in thought. "And what were they looking into?"
"I couldn''t tell, sir¡ªbut they were in the record room with personnel files."
Kamugoro leaned into his office chair as he thought about the inspector in his base. His intuition said something was wrong¡ªthat this wasn''t a routine inspection like Hoshino Araki claimed it to be. He was a j¨nin, which brought him substantial influence in the Hidden Leaf village, so whenever an inspector visited, he was tipped off about it in advance. Not this time. He had no idea that an inspection was coming his way.
At first, he was angry that he had not been told about the inspection, so he sent a message demanding an answer. The response he received was formal, curt, and to the point. The inspection was real, and the process would have been unfair if they had informed him beforehand. He had known the person responsible for the inspection for a long time, and their relationship was friendly, so his response felt out of place.
His intuition was right; something was wrong. He felt that the inspector had come with an agenda. Hoshino Araki was looking for something specific. And if his connections back at the village weren''t being clear with him, then it had to be something severe.
It didn''t bode well for him because his time as the commander of Maizuru Quarters was coming to an end. As soon as next month, his transfer to Hidden Leaf Village could be announced in preparation for his takeover of the Onikuma clan as its next head. He was going home; he did not want anything to jeopardise the next chapter of his life.
"Have some people keep an eye on him," said Kamuguro with a sigh, "and find what he''s looking for."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
Another day passed. Takuma was reading the personnel file of a former Third Squad member when the door swung open and hit the wall as one of his clones enthusiastically entered the record room.
"Found it!"
Takuma jumped in his seat as he was jolted out of his focus by his own voice¡ªwhich, once again, was not something he was used to.
"Gather around," said the shadow clone as he entered with his two water clones.
"What is it?" asked another clone.
"Do you remember when we asked Shen about the thing he disliked about Maizuru? What did he say?"
Takuma replied. "Lack of leave to visit family?"
"Yes, exactly. I was looking into the Third Squad''s administrative files when I remembered that, so I looked into their leaves, and I think I hit the jackpot. Genki and the other three all have taken leaves at the same time for the same number of days," he said, putting down two files on the table. "Not only that, but I also compared the number of leave days Third Squad had taken with other squads in other divisions, and theirs were several times than the average."
"Third Squad is the hit squad. This pretty much confirms it," said another clone. "They''re leaving the base to complete their hit jobs under the guise of leaves."
All the clones looked at Takuma, who nodded. If it convinced his clones, it was going to convince him.
"Seems like we have our suspects."
He raised the personnel file and gave it to his shadow clone. "And I think I have a candidate for our anonymous trash mailer."
Katasu Hidebumi was a twenty-two-year-old genin assigned to the Third Squad a year ago, but then, only two months later, he was transferred to the Tenth Division. If the Third Squad was the hit squad, then it was safe to assume that all of their members were in on it¡ªwhich they could confirm by looking at their leave records.
"I think he was transferred out because he refused to participate. Let''s get to know him and see if he''s got anything to say."
CH_9.37 (352)
Takuma sighed, exhausted after not sleeping well the last few nights. He had been sleeping late working on the case, and when he did turn in, he couldn''t sleep because his restless mind ran rampant with thoughts about it.
He looked up at the signage of the local branch of the military police at Maizuru Quarters. The military installation housed more than a couple of thousand shinobi and was larger than small towns, which required an entity to maintain order, enforce laws, and mediate conflicts. Even though there were military police, they weren''t connected to the Leaf Military Police Force run by the Uchiha clan.
The station was a compact, olive-green building next to the command centre. Inside, a young shinobi in his twenties manned the reception desk, writing reports as a radio crackled softly on the desk.
"I am Chunin Hoshino Araki, an inspector from the Hidden Leaf Village. May I talk to the officer in charge?"
The young man looked surprised as he got up and walked to the office on the side where a middle-aged man languidly read a newspaper in a sparse room with three deer heads mounted on the wall.
"I heard about an inspector visiting. How may I help you?" asked the chunin, who invited Takuma into the office.
"Just some questions about Maizuru. I believe the military police would be able to give me a unique view." Normally, he''d use his time in the Police Force to start a positive rapport that would loosen their lips, but Hoshino Araki didn''t have that background.
"What would you like to know? Despite its reputation, Maizuru isn''t a happening place."
"Just some regular questions. What kind of trouble do you encounter here?"
"It''s the usual. Petty theft, breaking up fights, dragging piss-drunk people back to their rooms, lost-and-found. Nothing major. The punishment for disorderly conduct is more work, graveyard shifts, outpass rejections, and all types of things that people here don''t want to do."
Takuma glanced at the office door and noticed all three deputies standing there. The one manning the reception turned his eye away, avoiding his gaze. Interesting. He took note of the reaction and returned to his conversation with the chunin.
"Is there Anything you would like to report about Maizuru?" Takuma asked his last question. The police needed to know what was going on around the base.
The chunin shrugged his shoulders. "No, nothing. Maizuru is tame and boring¡ªand I like that very much."
"I see. Thank you for your time," Takuma said as he stood up and shook hands with the chunin. "If something comes to mind, you know where I''m staying."
As he left the station, he flashed a knowing smile to the deputy who had avoided his eyes. There was something wrong at Maizuru¡ªevery part he visited had something out of place. The question was whether it related to his case and if the deputy could tell him something.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
As Takuma visited the police station, his shadow clone sneaked out of his room to meet Katasu Hidebumi, the possible anonymous trash mailer. He left from the back because he knew someone was watching him¡ªand even though the original had left for the station, he had to be careful because they knew his ability to make clones.
The destination was a warehouse. Hidebumi worked in logistics as a clerk in charge of recording the goods that flowed in and out of the warehouse.
Takuma didn''t bother finding a back entrance and entered from the front. He didn''t ask for directions, tell people who he was, or even look at them when they passed him by; he just walked through the building. People glanced at him, but no one stopped him because he acted like he belonged there.
After some searching, he found Hidebumi''s tiny cabin, where he was hunched over a big register book with his dirty long, blonde hair, tied in a ponytail, hung over his shoulder and spectacles balanced on the tip of his nose like a senior citizen even though he was a young man in his mid-twenties.
Takuma knocked on the door. "Genin Hidebumi?"
"Yes?"
He locked the door behind him, surprising the genin. "What are you doing?" Hidebumi stood up, demanding an answer. He didn''t reply and pulled the curtains closed to ensure no one would disturb them. "Hey, you can''t do that¡ª"
"I am Chunin Hoshino Araki from the Hidden Leaf Village. I would like to ask you some questions, Genin Hidebumi. Please sit down."
Hidebumi was stunned. He silently sat down as his eyes jumped to the door and window, clearly fearful of someone catching the conversation from outside.
Takuma wasn''t sure if he had the right guy, but the behaviour made him sure that he had his trash mailer. He didn''t speak first and let an uncomfortable silence, for Hidebumi, settle in the room and waited for the other party to fill his head with absurd thoughts.
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"Uhm, what do you want from me?" asked Hidebumi, hesitantly.
"Why do you think I''m here?" Takuma asked. He noticed Hidebumi playing with his hair¡ªa nervous habit.
"I don''t know."
"Are you sure about that? Think about it; you should know why I''m here." Takuma picked up a loose page on the table and read the handwriting. He had read the trash mail around a hundred times since he had come across it¡ªhe knew he was looking at the same handwriting.
"I-Is it about that?"
"About what?"
"A-About the... you know," he hesitated and glanced at the door again, "about the letter."
"Are you talking about this?" Takuma took out an envelope from the Maizuru Quarters stationery set. He didn''t even need to show him the actual letter inside.
"Y-You got my letter," Hidebumi stuttered.
"We did. I must say your claim is concerning. An off-the-books hit squad out of the prestigious Maizuru Quarters... it''s hard to believe," said Takuma.
"It''s true!"
"It''d be an exaggeration to say you were vague on the details. Your letter had nothing of value. It felt like an unfunny prank made just for the sake of causing trouble."
"I wasn''t lying!"
"So, Second Division''s Third Squad is really taking assassination jobs?"
Hidebumi gasped in shock, knocking his chair down as he hastily got up. "You-You know that? How d-did you know about that?" Suddenly, there was fear in his eyes as he backed away, jumping in his shoes when his back hit the wall.
"You''re misunderstanding something, Genin Hidebumi," Takuma chuckled. "We had our reasons to investigate Maizuru Quarters, so we looked into your claim, and well, something looked right, so here I am talking to you."
The reaction wasn''t unexpected. He had introduced himself as an inspector but had shown no identification and proof. His action of locking the door also didn''t help. Additionally, from Hidebumi''s perspective, his letter had been anonymous, but Takuma already seemed to know he was the author. It wasn''t strange that he would find it alarming to be in the situation
Hidebumi looked at him suspiciously until he decided to trust him. He remained vigilant, and his body language seemed guarded as he sat back down.
"How did you get involved with the Third Squad?"
"I was assigned there when I came to Maizuru. Honestly, I got along with them, and for the first couple of months, they helped me with everything, guided me with any problem I had." Hidebumi held his forehead with a bitter expression. "Back then, I thought I was so lucky to be in that team¡ªthat I had the best teammates... but the truth was, they were softening me up, bombing me with so much kindness that I couldn''t refuse when they sprang their real plan to me."
One day, they told Hidebumi about ''extra work they had on the side'' and asked if he would join them.
"Even though they made it seem like they were offering me an opportunity, it didn''t feel like I had a choice. As it turned out, everyone on the squad was involved, and if I wanted to remain there, I had to be in as well," said Hidebumi, hanging his head.
"Did you agree?"
"Of course not! It''s illegal!" Hidebumi was offended that he had even asked.
A Leaf shinobi couldn''t do an independent job that didn''t involve the Hidden Leaf. It was an actual crime to take jobs that the Hidden Leaf didn''t officially sanction. And jobs like assassinations came with harsher punishments like death or decades of harsh labour. Moreover, the shinobi at Maizuru Quarters were involved in national security, guarding the Fire-Wind border, and weren''t eligible for commercial jobs of any kind.
"So you refused?"
Hidebumi nodded. "The next week, I was out of the squad and was placed here in the warehouse."
"Why didn''t they send you away? Wouldn''t it be better to distance you from Maizuru?"
"They probably wanted to keep an eye on me to ensure I didn''t babble to anyone. But I''m sure in a couple of months, I''ll be sent to the border on a long assignment."
"I''m assuming you kept your identity anonymous because you feared what the Third Squad would do if they found out?" asked Takuma. They were shinobi who took assassination jobs, had two chunin on their squad, and had all the motive to keep their secret hidden.
Hidebumi removed his Leaf headband, which had become soaked from sweat. "A member of the Third Squad ended up in a bad state. No one suspects them because he was a piece of shit, but they made his life hell."
"Uyegita Gekin?"
Hidebumi was so surprised that he was speechless, with his mouth slightly ajar. "You know about him as well?"
Takuma nodded. "He''s dead."
"What?! D-Did they kill him?" Hidebumi whispered, his eyes trembling in fear.
"He died in an unrelated incident¡ªbut that doesn''t mean you''re safe," Takuma added when Hidebumi relaxed and made him stiffen up again. "No one can know why I''m here, so we must limit our interactions. I have some questions I want to ask. Is this a good time?"
"Yes, I-I can spare half an hour."
"Great. Then tell me everything you know about the Third Squad."
¡ª¡ª¡ª
.
In one of many gyms in Maizuru, Onikuma Kumagoro stood upside down on the ceiling with a weighted vest strapped to his body as he did hanging crunches as sweat dripped from his body and hair down to the floor. He had his eyes closed as he slowly raised his quivering body.
Shen appeared on the ceiling beside him and waited patiently until Kumagoro addressed him.
"What is it?"
"The inspector went to the police station today."
"And?"
"They talked about the types of crime at Maizuru. He didn''t ask for anything specific and left soon after."
"Anything else?"
"He wandered around for a while before returning to his office after lunch."
Kumagoro stopped doing crunches and let go of the chakra adhesion holding him to the ceiling and fell to the floor with a flip. He removed the training vest he wore during workouts and handed it to Shen, whose eyes almost popped out because of the weight. He groaned as he struggled to hold the vest for a couple of seconds before inevitably dropping it to the side, almost on his feet.
Kumagoro sighed as he shook his head. "Something doesn''t make sense."
"What doesn''t, sir?"
"Why is Hoshino Araki here?"
"Sir, perhaps he''s truly just here for a routine inspection."
"I don''t believe that for a second."
He had entertained that possibility already and tried to simplify his thinking by assuming he had done something that had displeased his contact back home, but no matter how much he thought, nothing came to mind. He had even contacted his clan to have them investigate, but they also couldn''t find anything.
"What about his clones?" he asked.
"He didn''t use clones until after lunch, and they stayed indoors. He''s using them to go through paperwork."
''Useless.'' Kumagoro shot his adjutant a look. "Get Chochiro for me. I must know what he''s doing here."