Days like that kept passing by, with most of my time focused on training and getting stronger. I spent the majority of my time mastering Zabuza's skills.
Training and protecting Tazuna were alternated among the genin in pairs. Today, it was my and Hinata's turn to protect Tazuna, while Kurenai was teaching both Shino and Kiba.
Of course, I had a shadow clone working on the side to continue my training. I stopped using two shadow clones though. While that increased my training speed, it left me exhausted, as maintaining two clones was still too taxing on me.
Doing something like that, even in the village, wasn't wise—thanks to the constant looming danger in Konoha, let alone out here, far from home.
One clone is enough for the time being.
"Hinata, how is your water chakra nature training going?" I asked her as we both kept guard over Tazuna and remained alert to our surroundings. Though the chances of an attack were low, they still existed.
"It's going really well, Shika-kun, all thanks to you," Hinata chimed, a smile on her face. Over the past four or five days, I had worked hard with Hinata to develop both my and her water chakra nature transformation.
"No, no, I just showed you how to train. Your progress has nothing to do with me; it's all your hard work," I replied with a soft smile.
But hearing this, Hinata shook her head. "No, it's only because of Shika-kun's help that I've progressed this fast. Without you, I couldn't have improved so quickly," Hinata responded with a firm tone, clearly not ready to take all the credit herself.
That's why she's such waifu material. Sigh... Naruto is really lucky in this regard.
"Well, if you say so, but you need to give yourself some credit, Hinata. You've done great—being able to learn water chakra nature transformation is a big deal, and you learned it in under a week.
You have a ton of talent, Hinata, but because of your gentle nature, you don't give yourself the confidence you need to strive forward. All your improvement is proof that if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can achieve anything," I replied. This had become a daily routine for me—boosting Hinata's confidence. It was important if I wanted to change her character sooner rather than later.
Hearing this, Hinata blushed and shyly lowered her head. But again, what's new? This was just Hinata.
And, of course, teasing her had become a really good pastime for me.
While I was talking with Hinata and cracking some normal jokes, I suddenly heard something.
"Move back, move back!" Sudden shouts erupted, and both my and Hinata's attention turned to the other side of the long bridge.
I was the first to move, stepping forward to see what was going on, while Hinata immediately went to Tazuna's side—after all, protecting him was the most important part of this mission.
"I knew I had to do this myself. Hiring that shinobi was just a waste of time," said the man standing in the middle of a group of thugs he'd brought with him.
He was a short, fat man with an ugly face, looking angry and a little arrogant.
There was no need to ask who this man was. Who else but Gato, the shipping tycoon?
I wasn't surprised by this, I already knew he would do something like this. After all, he did the same in the anime.
What worried me more was whether he had hired another rogue Jonin. Finding rogue Jonin is hard—there aren't many Jonin in a village, to begin with, let alone those who defect and become rogue ninjas.
So I didn't bother listening to his rant. Instead, I scanned the area, trying to spot any figure that might resemble a shinobi among the group of thugs or around us.
Fortunately, I didn't find any. Unfortunately, I don't have the best sensory abilities, so I can't be sure there aren't any shinobi hiding around us.
But…
"Hinata, use your Byakugan and check if there's any shinobi hiding around us—someone like Zabuza," I shouted, making Hinata, who was protecting Tazuna behind me, perk up. She immediately activated her Byakugan and scanned the area.
Yup, that's why having teammates is awesome. Though I can't use my Shikigami when they're around, they make up for that problem.
Especially having a Hyuga on the team—it's a blessing. In the entire Naruto series, the Sharingan was given most of the OP powers, but that's only for individuals, not for an entire team.
While the Sharingan is more combat-focused, the Byakugan shines in reconnaissance. People who have never been in a war might choose the Sharingan, but a wise leader will always choose the Byakugan.
Hell, I believe that even when comparing the Byakugan and the Mangekyo Sharingan, a leader should choose the Byakugan for the tactical advantage it brings to the table.
Konoha isn't the number one shinobi village for no reason—abundant natural resources, powerful bloodline limits, and, more than anything, geniuses. There's no other ninja village in this world more blessed than Konoha.
"There's no one like that, Shika-kun," Hinata quickly replied after scanning the area, making me relax a little.
"Hmm, good. Hinata, I'll leave Tazuna's safety to you. Leave these guys to me," I said as I moved towards the thugs. It was finally time to put what I'd learned from Zabuza's skills to use.
Seeing me approach alone, all the thugs and Gato smirked. To them, I was just a kid playing ninja—they had no idea how powerful a ninja could be.
"Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog…" I moved towards them slowly, forming hand signs with extra focus. This was my first time using this technique in a real fight, so it took me longer to cast.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu." I muttered quietly, focusing solely on the technique. I wasn't like Zabuza, who had learned this jutsu since childhood, I needed a high degree of control and focus to cast it properly.
As I finished, my chakra flared up, and the mist began to form, spreading across the bridge and obscuring everyone's vision.
"What's going on?"
"What happened? Did that brat do something?"
"What are you fools doing? Find him and kill that brat!" The moment the mist covered the entire area, everyone was stunned and then grew anxious.
Everyone was blind at this point—even I couldn't see anything. Zabuza could use this technique so effectively because of his intense training and heightened senses.
Now, I don't have Zabuza's level of training or senses, but what I do have is my Divine Dogs.
"Come out, Shadow, Snow," I smirked, ready to end this mission by taking care of Gato. And while I'm at it, maybe I can get his money as well. That would certainly help, right?
xxx
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Shadow and Snow are the names I gave to my two Divine Dogs. They're the only Shikigami I've named, primarily to distinguish them from each other. The other Shikigami have their own names, like Max Elephant, Great Serpent, Round Deer, and so on.
Currently, my only way to navigate after using the Hidden Mist Technique is through these dogs. They use their sense of smell to locate the enemy in the mist because I lack the necessary training to track them on my own.
I really need a lot more training to use this technique anywhere near Zabuza's level, but I'll get there sooner or later.
For now though, "Rip them apart." That was the only command I gave them, and they happily obliged.
For them, finding those smelly thugs was like a walk in the park. After sensing how filthy they were, I realized I might not have needed the dogs after all.
Whatever. I told them to rip the thugs apart, and that's exactly what they did.
They were like predators hunting from the shadows, and unlike normal dogs, they were silent. No one could tell where they were coming from.
Naturally, I was able to track them because I could see all my Shikigami, which allowed me to know exactly where those thugs were.
And so, I started harvesting their lives like a grim reaper from within the mist, turning it a deep red.
"Ahhh!
Where are they?
Run, run!"
Only the screams of the dying could be heard for the next few minutes.
On the side, Hinata, the only person present who could actually see what was happening in the mist, couldn't help but turn her face away. She felt her stomach churning, struggling not to throw up her lunch. Tazuna and the workers, who couldn't see what was happening, were better off.
But they could hear it, and they didn't like the sounds of the screams that followed.
I killed them without mercy, and there was a good reason for that. All these people were thugs, and if they weren't stopped here, they'd commit more crimes in the future.
Murder, looting, rape, and other atrocities—these were everyday activities for these lowlifes.
It's always better to kill them if you can.
---
I took care of all of them—except one. And that one was Gato.
I replaced myself with a clone and sneaked out with Gato—or more like dragged him out.
"Alright, are you ready to die?" I had blood all over my body and blade as I approached Gato with a cold expression.
"No, no, please! Don't kill me! I'll give you anything you want. I have money—lots of it! Just please let me go!" Gato shouted, pleading for his life.
That's exactly what I was after in the first place. While my main body remained behind, my clone would go with Gato to get all his money, making me a very, very rich man.
Hehehe...
"Really? I'm sure you're worth a lot on the black market. How much can you give me? If it's not enough, I might as well take your head to the market and not waste my time here." The clone replied with a smirk hidden on his face.
"I-I have enough money! I'll give you whatever you want!" Gato shouted, desperately trying to save his life while the clone played his part perfectly.
The clone took out a vial and force-fed Gato.
"Okay, if that's the case, then I'll believe you. What I just made you drink is a slow-acting poison. If you can't give me enough money, then just forget about getting the antidote from me." The clone grinned villainously.
Hearing this, Gato gulped, falling right into my trap.
---
"So, Gato and his men attacked, and instead of signalling us for help, you two fought them alone?" Kurenai asked with narrowed eyes.
This conversation was happening sometime later, and Kurenai didn't look pleased upon learning what happened on the bridge.
"Hm, it's not Hinata's fault. She stayed behind to protect Tazuna—it was entirely my decision to attack the thugs Gato brought," I replied immediately. It really wasn't Hinata's fault, so I didn't want to drag her into this.
"No, I also forgot to give the signal while Shika-kun was fighting those thugs," Hinata spoke up, not wanting me to bear all the blame.
Hearing this, Kurenai pursed her lips, unsure of what to say.
To her, Shika was reckless, facing all those thugs alone. They weren't shinobi, but thugs can still be dangerous, especially when there are so many of them.
But at the same time, she couldn't overlook the fact that Shika had actually managed to handle all those thugs by himself.
So she couldn't help but sigh. She thought she was teaching him, but it was more like he was teaching her.
Not to mention, there wasn't any other option for Shika at that time. After all, even for her, it would have taken some time to come to their rescue, which obviously the boy didn't want.
But she was still worried about the boy she was teaching, so she scolded him nonetheless.
And then there was Hinata. The real issue lay with her student. While Shika stopped them, more like killing them in cold blood, it should have been Hinata's job to send a signal for help. But the girl conveniently forgot.
Sigh.
"Okay, but I'm not done with either of you. For now, explain what you did there," Kurenai said, massaging her temples as she asked Shika to explain.
Clearly, it was Shika who did most of the work. Hinata barely handled a few who directly came after Tazuna.
"Ah, well, do you remember the jutsu Zabuza used back then—the mist one? I was able to recreate it. Though I'm not that good with it yet, with the help of my dogs, I was able to navigate in the mist. And while the thugs couldn't see me, I, with the help of my dogs, killed them," I replied, explaining how I did it.
To this, Kurenai looked surprised. She even glanced at Hinata, who nodded in agreement.
Sigh.
"Being able to recreate Zabuza's jutsu after a single look... maybe your talent in Water Style is as good as it is in Genjutsu.
Alright, good enough. Rest up for now," Kurenai said, shaking her head. She felt a little bad seeing how this talented boy had no Jonin sensei.
Now she planned to request that the Hokage bring Shika into her team.
But she wasn't good with Water Style, and there were two people she knew who were—either Kakashi or the Hokage himself.
'Maybe I can ask Kakashi to help Shika out,' she pondered.
xxx
Here is the goal for this Week.
500+ stones for the first bonus chapter on Monday
1000+ Stones for the second bonus chapter on Sunday bonus chapter
"Thank you Very Much for All Your Support"
If you want to read up to 20+ Chapters in advance, check my Patre on
Patreon.com/Kamidemond
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