Capítulo 8: Chapter 7
Chapter 7
The water jutsu
Utakata clutched the two headbands he collected from Cloud Shinobi. They were proof of his feats. In the Village Hidden in Mist, one can get rewards for the headbands one brings back to the village. Utakata could die at any point in this, so at least he could try. Try his best to survive and then live. Even if he had to kill, steal and deceive.
"Two kills, not bad for a kid," The unit captain said after seeing two headbands in Utakata's hands. "Most kids die in their first real battle. It is rare for someone to kill their opponents, especially two. And I thought you were some chicken fresh out of the barn when I saw you avoid hurting those villagers."
Utakata didn't reply to the captain. He had nothing to say to him. It was partially his fault for leading his unit deeper into Hot Waters and losing half of their shinobi. Yet there he was, happy that they could kill some Cloud shinobi. It was no victory. They lost as much as did Cloud, but death meant nothing to Mist. It only mattered how many ones could kill.
Everyone was the same. They have disregarded the lives of others for glory and fame or something along that line. Utakata hid his contempt for his captain and the village. They were short-sighted and foolish, all of them. But what could he do but live with this kind of system and adapt? He could only grow stronger and survive a bit longer.
The journey back to the village was calm. The ship rocked against the waves of the sea. Everyone around him laughed and was happy to survive, and with the loot, they plundered. Utakata thought it was a waste of energy. There was nothing to be pleased about. For a bit more money, almost fifty shinobi died. He didn't see it as a fair exchange, especially when he counted how many innocent lives were killed for it.
Utakata put his thoughts deep inside him and hid them. There was no use in thinking about it. He couldn't change the system; he could only follow it and not complain. At least he will get enough money to eat well after the mission. He might even be able to upgrade the quality of his clothes. And the war won't last forever. He had to survive another three or four years of it.
Returning to the village, Utakata and others were to report their mission, hand over everything they had taken from the Land of the Hot Water, and receive their rewards. Then they were free to do as they wished until they were called for another mission. Utakata decided to eat a hot meal and then train himself a bit. He liked thin steel wire and wanted to learn how to use it better.
It was great for trapping his opponents and catching them by surprise. He had much to learn, so he didn't waste time. After resting, he found an isolated place and fastened the wire to his kunai. He tried throwing his kunai to check if it didn't obscure his aiming. Then he tried to use multiple kunai to create a net with the wire.
Even after half of the night practicing, Utakata didn't learn much. He realized that using wire could be useful, but learning would take time. Yet, there wasn't much time he had to get stronger. He had to choose carefully what he dedicated his free time to. Mastering taijutsu didn't seem wise, as his body was still small, even seven years old.
It was better to give his time learning new ninjutsu, as he was good at it. To learn the most powerful ninjutsu, one had to be from a clan or be an apprentice of a master. So, he didn't think he would ever learn any truly powerful jutsu that would make others fear him, but a shinobi from Mist can still learn ninjutsu by buying jutsu scrolls.
The higher your rank is, the stronger jutsu you can buy. A genin like Utakata had to be satisfied with basic ninjutsu that didn't cost much. It was still expensive to Utakata, but he knew he was just poor. He only managed to buy two jutsu scrolls and then still be able to eat until the next mission. Too bad he didn't have enough money to rent training grounds.
They were expensive to rent for a day. But it would be worth it, as Utakata saw how these grounds contained various obstacles, targets, or specialized environments that allowed shinobi to experiment with and refine their techniques. The small patches of wood or pounds didn't provide anything near what the training ground could.
Utakata bought Water Puddle jutsu. Ever since the last mission, he couldn't get the idea of hiding in a better place from his mind. He could have killed his first enemy without trouble if he had this jutsu and hit a water puddle. Quickly and efficiently. Utakata hoped to master this jutsu when he was deployed to another battlefield.
Another jutsu he chose was Water Shield. It would use water to surround him in a protective barrier. Utakata could already imagine adding water spikes or tentacles after mastering it. After getting kicked around by that fast Cloud Shinobi, Utakata wanted more defensive jutsu in his arsenal. So far, this jutsu was the most complicated, but he didn't see a problem learning it.
Too bad, Mist didn't have many options in different nature releases as much as water jutsu can be versatile. Lightning made most water jutsu obsolete. And earth nature jutsu was a good counter for water. It was best against fire, but fire jutsu was mainly used by Leaf Village, and they were famous for their jutsu versatility. That was one of the reasons they are considered the strongest shinobi village.
…
So far, Utakata was pleasantly surprised at how well he learned new ninjutsu. He even dared to call himself a genius in water release jutsu. Or maybe he was a genius in learning all ninjutsu. He didn't have a chance to learn other nature-release jutsu yet. So, everything was possible, and he was happy to find something going well for him. He hoped his luck would last.
Utakata had two days to himself before a messenger found him and instructed him to be prepared to depart. It was enough time to learn the new jutsu, but he didn't know how well they would be on the battlefield. He hoped it would be a simple mission without too much risk. But he would only lie to himself.
He was an orphan, a lowest caste kid that nobody cared for. He would be sent to a dangerous place. When he arrived at the destination, he was directed. He found a small group of shinobi already waiting. Yet what gave him red flags was one particular shinobi. Utakata remembered him from the massacre he inflicted on the academy, killing over hundred students.
Utakata thought he wouldn't have to see him again. He heard that some shinobi were so impressed by his strength that they even called him Demon of the Mist. Utakata should have thanked Zabuza Momochi for what he did, as he killed so many students that it wasn't possible to hold a graduation exam by killing their classmates anymore. And it wouldn't be possible for many years to come.
It didn't take much for Utakata to realize how fucked up the next mission would be with Zabuza here. There were nine of them, including Utakata. No one said a word and looked at each other with unreadable expressions. Utakata found a place to sit and waited with them. It didn't seem that any of them would be his leader.
"Good, everyone is on time," A high-pitched voice was heard behind Utakata.
It was disturbing how Utakata couldn't feel the chakra of this person before he revealed him. Utakata made a note to train his senses more when he had time. But right now, he looked at the new arrival. He looked like a kid, no older than Zabuza, and in fact, looked younger than Zabuza. But even though he had a short stature, how he acted and moved indicated that he was an experienced shinobi.
"I am Yagura of the Karatachi clan. I will be your leader for this mission."
"A kid?" Someone Utakata didn't recognize asked. "I didn't kill dozens of shinobi to be on a team with a kid like him," He pointed his finger at Utakata before addressing Yagura. "And not to be led by a kid like you, even if you are from a famous and respected clan."
"Too bad then," Yagura smiled sweetly. "The team should have been made of ten members, including me. Every single one of you was chosen because of your feats. But I guess it would be fine with nine members."
It was too fast for Utakata to react. One moment Yagura stood five meters away from the shinobi who questioned him. Another moment, he was before him with Yagura's club-shaped hook piercing his chest. Blood colored the flower of the club-like weapon red. But Yagura wasn't finished as he pushed his weapon deeper into the Mist shinobi before dropping it lower to his stomach and spilling his gut.
"I have all authority over you," Yagura said, not even looking at the bloody mess he left under his feat. "If you question me, I will take as insubordination and be dealt with the highest punished. Death. Do you have any questions? And no, you can't leave the team."
"What is our mission?" Seeing that nobody said a word, Utakata asked. "How many provisions should I take, or will it be provided? Should I take warmer clothes?"
"Are you questioning me? Have you not heard what I said," Yagura asked.
"I am questioning the mission, not you, captain," Yagura was too scary to meet him in the eyes. Still, Utakata needed to know the information about the mission as he wasn't confident about his ability to survive without knowing anything.
"Then it is all right," Yagura smiled at Utakata. "We are going to the Land of Frost. So, yes, having warmer clothes would be recommended."
Utakata sighed. The Land of Frost bordered the Land of Lightning. The terrain of it was treacherous, and its position made it cold all year around. It wasn't far from the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire. Utakata could already imagine that many forces had made their bases in the land. They will experience heavy fighting, that was for sure.
"Our mission is simple: kill the Frost Daimyo," Nothing could be simpler than killing a country leader. "Well, that's our secondary mission. Our priority is to foil the plans of Leaf Village to ally with them and put the blame for the assassination on Cloud Village. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I don't see any," Utakata replied grimly.
"Ha, I like you, and you are even shorter than me," Yagura patted Utakata's shoulder. "You look more like a kid than me, and your voice is high pitched too."
"That would be because I am seven years old," Utakata replied.
"What? And I took you for a nine-year-old," Yagura said seriously. "What's your name?"
"Utakata, sir."
"From which clan are you from?"
"I don't belong to any clan. I am an orphan?"
"Really? I heard you killed two cloud chunin on your first mission by yourself. I thought he was from the prestigious clan," Utakata regretted his actions. He shouldn't have spoken to Yagura and kept silent. "I like you, so if anyone troubles you, tell me, and I will sort them out for you."
Utakata wanted to say that he was giving him trouble, but he wasn't that foolish, nor did he want to die that bad. The mission was perilous for Utakata and having two psychos on the team, and they were ones he knew of. The rest probably weren't any better. Utakata had to question his life choices to be put on this team.
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