บท 3: Chapter 3: Dining
Kuzo tightened his grip around his kunai while looking left and right. On his right side, there was a cliff leading to a well. On the left, for 20 meters, a hill stood there like a wall. And behind him, the other merchants were running for their lives.
They were running away for their lives, and he didn't blame them. He himself was very afraid.
But the difference between him and them was that they wanted to live. They had something in this world to stay for: family, or home, or whatever you call it.
As for Kuzo, he had nothing—no money, no lover, no clear promising future.
He had nothing to lose. If he died, he'd get rid of the burden of having to think about what might happen in the shinobi world.
A daily shinobi life was like having to play Russian roulette every day.
"Come here, you sons of bitches. I'll take as many as I can with me," Kuzo said, stepping forward.
"What a cocky kid," a large man with a club on his shoulder smirked as he approached Kuzo.
Kuzo crouched down a bit, using footwork he'd learned from the academy. The next second, he dashed forward. The mugger raised his club, and Kuzo threw his kunai upward. It hit the target, the throat. Kuzo jumped upward, held the kunai, and pushed it further, forcing the mugger to fall.
'Death is a relief to you as much as it would be to me,' Kuzo thought. 'I may be a sociopath. But fuck it.'
A warm feeling went through his hand. As he pulled the kunai, he noticed something stuck in his right hand.
A faint blue spirit, shaped like the man he'd just killed, was being pulled out of the dead body. He closed his hand, and the spirit was absorbed by the Gluttony seal.
Kuzo didn't know how to describe the feeling. But the kunai in his hand felt like it lost weight that he had to check if it was still there.
Shin stepped forward. "And here I thought young people were not ready to die. You surely are a Konoha-born."
Upon seeing their comrade being killed, the muggers gave a series of furious glares at Kuzo.
Kuzo took a deep breath. He pointed the kunai with his bloody hand toward the muggers. "Who wants to accompany me to the next life?"
When he finished his words, he noticed a couple of men in the back putting arrows in their bows.
Kuzo rushed forward. He couldn't allow himself to get sniped. If he managed to get this fight into close-range combat, then the archers would have to shoot their friends if they wanted to take him down.
That was his plan. And it seemed to work because other muggers charged at him unaware of the archers' efforts in the back.
A muscled man waved his sword at Kuzo, who parried. Kuzo could tell that he got his physical power increased after beating the last man. Even if he was trained from a young age, he shouldn't be able to parry without a struggle, especially with one hand.
He got a hunch of what's going on.
"You're too strong for a brat, aren't you?" struggled the mugger as he pressed on Kuzo.
The other two started rolling around him.
"Hehe." Kuzo smirked. He extended his hand forward, held the wrist of the man, and he spun. The man was lifted off his feet, and now was rolling along with Kuzo. The mugger's body was now used to hit the other two, a perfect human shield.
When Kuzo felt he knocked out the two other muggers, he flipped the muscled man on the ground. Then he slashed his throat. Another spirit-like figure was being absorbed by the seal in his hand. The others gave him furious looks, not seeming to flinch upon the fact that he pulled out someone's spirit out of their body.
'So they can't see what I just did. Good.'
Two arrows headed toward him. Kuzo jumped and flipped backward. It was a surprise for Kuzo to see that he got into a height he didn't intend to reach. It felt like his leg strength increased.
'I'll test this theory.' He thought as he landed on his feet. The next few seconds, he slashed through the other muggers.
Killing felt easy and natural. That's what would happen when your body was taught assassination and martial arts from a young age.
As what happened to the other thieves he killed, their spirits got sucked by the seal. He took a deep breath, held the kunai, and threw it forward to one of the archers. His arm's strength and throwing reach had increased dramatically. He knew that because the archer couldn't react when the kunai pierced his head.
A spirit-like energy left the archer, flew from a distance, and got absorbed by his hand.
'So this is the power of the Gluttony seal. I gain the power of the people I kill. Even their muscle memory. Because it feels like I know how to use a bow.'
He ran forward, his speed surpassing what it used to be.
'These people are like post-workout supplements that work instantly.' An innocent smile appeared on his face.
For the next few minutes, Kuzo fought the whole gang by himself. He got a few scratches here and there. But he was getting stronger with each kill, and the fight could only get easier.
Each one he killed, he would get their power combined with his.
Even for a non-genin like him, the combined power of muggers created a worthy power. Think of it like a snowball. The more snow you gather, the bigger it gets and the heavier. That one big snowball would do more damage than all of the small snowballs alone.
'There may be a chance somewhere.'
He got around 17 muggers down. Only around 5 remained.
He stopped his tracks when he noticed a huge stream of water heading toward him. It appeared from nowhere and hit him, sending his body flying all the way to the hill and cracking the stone with his back. Even after the impact, the water pressed his body.
Logically, such a blow should have killed him or injured him internally. But when the water calmed, he could move his sunken rocks body and stand on his feet. His blood dripped on him. But he could move nevertheless. It took him a couple of breaths to recover.
Surely, not only had his power and speed increased, but his durability as well. Nevertheless, he still had taken damage. His internal organs took some damage, but his muscles and bones were fine.
"So indeed there is a shinobi." Kuzo said, turning his head to the right. His eyes met Shin. "Old man, run."
"What kind of master would I be if I let a young apprentice die?" Shin replied, holding tightly onto his sword.
"I'm no longer your apprentice." Kuzo said, turning his head forward. "But if you want to die, so be it. Just don't get in my way."
"Guys. If you think that you can monologue after taking down my gang, you are sadly mistaken." A man with blue spiky hair appeared on top of the bodies pile. "But I'll give you a point for surviving my jutsu."
"The thing is, these guys said you are a genin, meaning your chakra reserves are not that much. Also, your attack is only good for surprising foes and giving your teammate a window to finish a job." Kuzo replied.
"But for a normal civilian that should kill you. Again, a normal civilian shouldn't know what you know." The blue-haired mugger reached his pocket and held a knife. "How about this deal. Work for me, and I'll spare you."
"And what should I do to work for you?"
"Hunt that old man and the people you came with. The chakra ores that they have are very precious. We can make a fortune with it."
"How about a better offer." Kuzo put a hand under his chin. "Why don't you, simply, fuck yourself, and I'll spare you if you could do that."
In front of him was a genin. Albeit not very strong, he could still pose a danger to people like him. But on the good hand, a genin doesn't have so much chakra or high-ranked jutsu.
"What a bastard you are." The genin had a few veins appearing on his forehead. He crouched lowly, dashed, and weaved three hand signs.
Three identical clones appeared left and right.
Kuzo looked at their footsteps. A clone was just an illusion. They don't have mass, and thus, they don't affect anything, including the ground they step on. But when engaged in combat where the distraction is high, they could pose a real danger.
He knew all of this because his parents had forced him to study.
Determining the real one, he threw the kunai toward him.
The genin parried with his knife, reflecting it. "You have a strong physique. But you are no match for me when I use chakra."
The genin's body changed direction in an explosive speed.
Kuzo could see it, and he started running to the side, his pure physical speed matching the genin.
The genin reached into his pocket and threw a bunch of shurikens at Kuzo, who jumped and rolled on the ground. Few cuts made it through his arms and cheeks. But the cuts weren't deep. He stood on his feet, guard up. Despite bleeding, he hadn't felt the slightest pain. It should be the adrenaline, he guessed.
'If only I could control my chakra, I would have stopped the bleeding.'
Kuzo looked at the shinobi, who was staring at him with a cocky smirk.
Feeling something missing, he kicked a rock toward him. The rock bypassed the body, meaning it was just an illusion.
Turning his head, he looked and noticed the other shinobi standing vertically on the hill. From his mouth, many water balls, compressed, were moving forward. He didn't dare to underestimate water pressure, for it could be used to cut steel.
He ran forward while picking up some of the shurikens. The water exploded on the ground, creating deep cracks wherever it hit. There were still more coming. Kuzo aimed and threw the shurikens, most of them meeting what seemed like water bombs, creating explosions in the air.
'It won't work like this. I need to get him closer.'
Kuzo noticed a water ball was about to hit his leg. Just the moment it was about to hit, he lifted it. The explosion sent him flying, and he rolled on the ground.
Although the impact got him, it didn't get his legs. Like Neymar once did at the World Cup, Kuzo rolled a few more times, held his leg, and screamed.
He had to do this to lure the shinobi closer. The genin had a low chakra reserve, so he must be exhausted after using so much jutsu. From the genin's point of view, the best tactical step was to approach Kuzo and kill him. After all, chakra depletion could lead to long-term exhaustion and staying in bed for 2 weeks, and in the worst case, death.
Panting, the shinobi approached him.
Shin, who seemed to buy it too, raised his sword and attacked the genin, who rolled and kicked the old man's guts, sending him flying.
'Shit…' Kuzo thought. But he couldn't blow up his trick just yet.
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