Chapter 4: "Special Training"

Kosuke woke up and a deep yawn echoed through the room. "ahh-ahh... What time is it?", he asked himself, rubbing his eyes.

The moonlight, still high in the sky, shone through the windows of the room, revealing a simple and cozy environment. Kosuke was lying on a tatami bed, covered by a futon.

He sat up on the bed and looked at the ceiling. "Is it six in the morning already?", he wondered, still half asleep.

Kosuke got up and went to the window. He looked at the starry sky and sighed. "It's been two weeks since I came to this world", he thought.

Kosuke had made progress in his training. He had mastered two basic jutsus that the elder had introduced: the substitution jutsu and the transformation jutsu. This progress was the result of his chakra manipulation training, which had improved his chakra control.

On the other hand, he had not made much progress in awakening the Shikotsumyaku. Even though he had gotten closer to Kimimaro in these weeks, he had not noticed anything that he could be doing that would help awaken the kekkei genkai.

"He probably just awakened it naturally", Kosuke thought. "Anyway, I still have a year until the attack. I'll try my best to awaken the Shikotsumyaku, but I also have to be prepared in case I can't. I'll learn more jutsus that might be useful, I think the next one should be the shadow clone jutsu."

As he dressed, Kosuke remembered what the elder had said the previous morning. "Tomorrow I want you to be here earlier, we'll have a special training", the elder had said, with a malicious smile on his face. "A training that will test your strength and show if you are true Kaguyas."

He felt a chill in his stomach. Kosuke knew that the elder was not someone to be underestimated, even though he seemed to be just a grumpy old man, he was actually an elite ninja, a Jounin. If he said that the training would be special, then it would be special.

Kosuke prepared a quick breakfast and then headed to the training field.

When he got there, the elder was already waiting, sitting on a rock. Most of the young ones were already there, the only one missing was Kimimaro, but he soon showed up, as soon as the elder saw everyone was present he announced.

"Today you will have a special training outside the Village. You will eliminate a small gang of bandits that are robbing merchants a few kilometers from the village. It's time for you to experience what it means to be a true Kaguya." said the elder with a proud voice.

The young ones looked at each other, most of them excited to experience a real battle. Kosuke, however, was nervous, this would be his first real battle, in which he would probably have to kill someone, he knew that he would have to kill sooner or later, since the moment he arrived in this world he knew that he could not avoid killing if he wanted to survive and get stronger, but he did not think that this moment would come so soon.

Kosuke looked at the elder and thought "So that's what the bastard meant by special training, I was already suspicious of the normality of the training of a clan that is known for being bloodthirsty. It seems that I will have to kill some bandits today, luckily I improved during these weeks, although I don't think there is much danger in eliminating a group of bandits, as long as they don't have any ninja, of course."

"These two also seem more excited than the rest to me." thought Kosuke, looking at Kameda and Itsuki.

Kameda and Itsuki had a reason to be so excited. After the first time they challenged Kosuke and Kimimaro, they challenged them again, but lost every time. Kameda, especially, was furious. He had lost to Kosuke more humiliatingly than Itsuki when he challenged him.

The two saw this "special training" as a chance to redeem themselves. They were determined to show the elder that they were worthy of being Kaguya.

"Grab your ninja tools, we'll leave immediately." Said the elder in a stern tone. Interrupting the agitation of the children.

Hearing what the elder said the young ones grabbed some ninja tools and followed him.

Kosuke watched curiously the surroundings as they passed through the streets of Kirigakure. This was his first time outside the clan and he was curious to see what the Village of the Mist was like.

The dense fog enveloped the village like a cloak, making it hard to see. Kosuke could only see the outlines of the mountains that rose in the background. The buildings of the village were all cylindrical, with roofs covered with moss and vegetation.

As they passed, some ninjas and civilians gave them some glances, but quickly looked away when they saw the two red dots on their foreheads.

The reputation of the Kaguya clan was well known in the Village, especially recently that rumors began to spread about some activities of the clan.

They soon reached the exit of the Village, and advanced towards the forest, they walked for about 60 minutes before the elder instructed them to stop.

"Stop, we are a hundred meters away from the bandits' camp."

The elder stopped the walk abruptly, looking around with a surprised expression on his face.

"There really was a bandit camp here", he thought, "daring bastards, stealing our goods!"

The young ones looked around trying to see where the bandits' camp was.

"There it is!", exclaimed Kameda, pointing to a small clearing in the forest.

The camp was small, with only a few tents and fires. The tents were made of leather and straw, and were torn and dirty. The fires were out, and the ground was covered with trash. Wagons that had been stolen were scattered on the ground. There were about 15 bandits, they were dismantling their tents, ready to leave.

Kosuke looked at the elder with doubt. "Why did these bandits settle in a place so close to a ninja village? Aren't they afraid of dying?"

"They are arrogant idiots", replied the elder with a strange expression. "They think that if they act fast and move from place to place they won't be caught. See, they are already collecting their tents. But unfortunately for them, they were still a little late."

The elder looked at the young ones and said "Remember, you are here to eliminate these bandits. Don't worry about capturing prisoners."

The young ones nodded their heads and advanced to attack the bandits.

They attacked directly without any strategy, and the elder did not seem to care. Instead, he was watching the bandits with a strange expression.

The "special training" was a hoax. The real goal was to kill and loot the merchants who passed by that route. Makoto, the elder of the Kaguya clan, had invented this excuse to leave the village without raising suspicions.

About a year ago, the Village began to suppress the Kaguya clan, reducing the number of missions that were assigned to them and assigning them only the most dangerous ones. Without any apparent reason, the Kaguya clan was targeted by persecution. They, who already had the reputation of not suffering in silence, decided to react, secretly attacking the merchants who brought riches to Kirigakure.

Makoto was surprised and enraged to see that there were really bandits on the route. After all, this could jeopardize his mission of robbing the merchants. However, he soon realized that this situation could be advantageous. If the Village investigated what happened, Makoto could use the presence of the bandits as an excuse for the attack on the merchants.

Kosuke felt his heart race, as he prepared for his first real confrontation.

He looked at Kimimaro who was by his side with an apathetic expression. "This will be our first real battle, are you nervous Kimimaro?" Kosuke whispered.

Kimimaro took a while to answer. "No, they are weak", he said, analyzing the bandits. He did not show any anxiety or excitement.

Kosuke had become his friend in the last few weeks, which was not very difficult, since Kimimaro was a lonely child, without anyone who cared about him.

The two were about to join the others, when the elder called them. "Kimimaro and Kosuke, wait. I have additional instructions for you", said the elder. "You will attack that guy there." The elder pointed to one of the bandits, who did not look different from the others.

Kosuke was intrigued. "Why ask us two to attack that bandit specifically? Did he notice something special about that bandit?"

He did not have time to think more, and followed, making sure to be a few steps behind Kimimaro to have room to maneuver in case something unexpected happened.

He could already hear some screams and noises of battle ahead, the young ones were fighting fiercely against the bandits, even being at some numerical disadvantage.

They were not ordinary children, they were heirs of an ancient ninja clan. They were holding firm, standing out Kameda and Itsuki, who eliminated two enemies with accurate blows. But they were not invincible, and sometimes they faltered in front of the bandits' attacks. However, whenever one of them was in danger, a silent kunai emerged from the forest, piercing the heart of the aggressor.

Kosuke and Kimimaro reached the bandit that the elder had indicated, he seemed to be trying to escape stealthily, but was surprised when Kimimaro threw himself in his direction with a Kunai in his fists.

Kimimaro struck with precision the neck of the bandit, his attack was accurate, he felt the kunai tearing the flesh. But he was shocked when the body of the bandit dissolved, revealing a tree trunk in its place.

That bandit was actually a ninja.