Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Cat Ninja
"Hmm, this is good tea, new supplier?" Shin put down the porcelain cup as he watched the construction of a new building from the cafe across the road. "There seems to be a lot of new things.'' he remarked. "Well, your gamble paid off, I was able to buy various lands and buildings at nearly half the price." Ibiki spoke with a wide smile.
Shin nodded, the two of them now owned half this street where the weapons shop previously was. Ibiki was also able to get a cheaper loan from the bank. A Lot of businesses had left the village and the economy was in a slump, this prompted the village council to issue cheaper loans to encourage new startups. Ibiki, with his contacts, was able to procure enough to kick start all their plans. And since the duo had entered a partnership, Ibiki's money was Shin's money.
"Anyone give you trouble over me?" Shin asked but the blonde man simply waved him off, "Nothing I couldn't handle, I haven't spent so many years in this world without making some very placed friends." Shin nodded, "Your brother?" The man's face reflected the complicated feelings inside his heart as he shook his head, "I haven't ever asked for my clan's help and am not going to start anytime soon."
After discussing various things with Ibiki, including a sizable payment to the village for the damages he had caused, Shin got up and left. He wandered through the village, trying to find a quiet place until he came upon a curious sight; there was a hooded figure in a mask watching over a blonde kid throwing shurikens at a tree with the worst posture he had ever seen.
Shin sat on a nearby branch and looked down at the kid for a while before finally deciding to speak up, "Your legs are too far apart, this is not sumo wrestling." The blonde boy was surprised as he looked up and saw Shin, "When did you get there?" he pointed at Shin who simply shrugged, "Been a while, you have zero awearness kid."
The blonde boy seemed offended as he started to yell, "What do you mean I have no awareness!? You're just older than me! Just wait a few years and then we'll see who's better!" Shin chuckled at the kid's gusto as he jumped down, "Alright, but first you better correct your posture or you won't even be able to hit me if I just stood still."
"I don't need your help! I am gonna get stronger by myself!" The boy protested loudly but still did exactly as Shin instructed him. The results were immediate as he started to hit every shuriken, it wasn't dead center but it was still progress, 'I suppose you can't expect any less from the son of 2 elite ninjas.' Shin spent an hour drilling Naruto on throwing techniques.
Shin picked up a kunai and saw the chips on the blade, "Where did you get this?" he asked the boy who beamed while answering, "I found it in the forest. These too! Isn't that great!" The boy held up the other shurikens.
Shin sighed as he tossed the kunai back to the kid who stumbled trying to catch it. "Let's go." Shin started to walk away as the boy simply watched him leave. Shin turned back to see the boy still in his place, "What are you waiting for? I don't have all day you know." The boy ran up to him and the two made their way into the village.
It was near noon so the streets were full of life, the hustle and bustle of the village had returned after all this was a ninja village. The attack from three months ago was just another scar on the village's memory, a medal of honor that signified Konoha's strength and conviction to keep on going. The village had survived 3 wars and was still hailed the strongest village, its position unshakable due to the foundation built by the sacrifices of its martyrs, the brave ninjas that died in the line of duty and were honored and remembered by all.
"Isn't that the fox kid? Why is he here?"
"My son is in the same class, I told him to stay away from him!"
"Honestly, I don't know what hokage sama is thinking, letting that thing roam free."
"Who's that other kid?"
Naruto kept walking, his eyes staring at the road before him while stealing glances at the boy walking in front of him. Shin heard the taunts and curses and chuckled, 'So much for honoring the fallen.'
The duo stopped by a food stall as Shin bought two grilled barbeque sticks from the reluctant merchant and handed one of it to the blonde boy, "Here, you need proper diet if you want to be strong." The boy accepted the bbq and they ate as they walked.
Shin made his way to Ibuki's weapons shop but since he was not there a certain Hyuga was left in charge. The man in question was striking up a conversation with a few blushing Kinoichis so Shin simply left him to his own devices and grabbed a tool bag before leaving. Once outside, he tossed it to the blonde boy, "Here, it has a few kunais and shurikens, and some metal wire. Take care of your weapons. Now run along, I got places to be." Shin shooed the boy away and turned to look at a certain rooftop where a hooded figure had just appeared.
Shin flickered to the rooftop, "What is it?" The hooded figure spoke, "There was a report of Sumo nina entering the land of fire, Hokage sama wants you to aid the assigned ninja in locating them." Shin nodded, getting the location and details of the ninja team assigned to chase after the Kumo ninjas before flickering away, leaving behind a flabbergasted anbu, 'He's quick. I couldn't see him at all! No wonder Hokage sama was so adamant about allowing him back in the village even after the elders suggested he be executed. If he really became an enemy of the village it would be trouble.'
Little did thepoor ninja know that Shin had used Chi to increase his speed, he wanted to engrave it into everyone's mind that he was no easy prey. This was why he would often use Chi to slightly increase his speed. Chi was twice as powerful as Chakra and Shin had twice as much even though he was only level 30 in chi. Not to mention the movement techniques combined with the body flickering technique allowed Shin to travel at unrivaled speeds if he wanted, naturally he would not reveal his true power for such a mundane reason.
Shin sped away from the village, Pineapple sticking her head out of his robes, enjoying the feeling of rushing winds. Shin had foregone the standard ninja garb for the red and black warrior robes with custom made armor on his limbs and chest and an attached hood on the back. The armor was light and the robes made his movements easier, his face was covered with a black cat mask with tinted glass where the eyes were to match Pineapple's eyes. Naturally the glass also served to hide his sharingan even though he was very careful with its use ever since he had returned, he didn't want the trouble that came with having these eyes.
Shin slowed down after he gained some distance from the village, he had no reason to tire himself out for just a mission. He ran through the tree tops at a casual pace,even stopping for a quick lunch break with Pineapple before continuing and reaching the location.
Once there, Shin created two shadow clones and sent them to search for the Konoha team that was hunting the Kumo ninja while he sat down to meditate. While meditating, his senses increased many folds, allowing him to hear things much further away and sense movements by feeling the nearly imperceptible tremors through the earth. Pineapple also sat next to him and copied his every action.
After half an hour Shin abruptly opened his eyes and grabbed Pineapple, sprinting east. One of his clones had found the Konoha team as it was being assaulted by two kumo teams. 'Intel was wrong or is there some other ploy? No matter.' Shin used the shadows to stealthily approach the two teams engaged in a pitched battle with the Konoha team having lost a member and was now down to 3 while the Kumo team still had 6 members.
Shin looked around to make sure there was no one hiding nearby before turning his attention to the Konoha team, one ninja in particular caught his attention 'Hm? These movements. I recognise them!' There was a long black haired Kunoichi With white eyes, fighting off 3 of the kumo ninja and keeping them at bay using taijutsu alone.
[Name: Yukina Hyuga
Age: 16
Level: 67(+20)
Title: Chunin of Konoha]
Shin remembered seeing her in the first chunin exam he had watched. Looking at those fluent and elegant movements once more was quite a sight for him. Shin shook his head before smiling, 'Might as well make an entrance.' He pulled the cat and put it on his shoulder as he leaned against the tree, "You guys seem to be having fun, mind if I join in?"
The fighting instantly stopped, the kumo ninja backed away as every one observed this newcomer. "Who are you?" a kumo ninja asked and Shin replied, "Someone with orders from Hokage to hunt you down." His words caused the konoha ninjas to relax a bit while the kumo ninja got restless, 'there must be others, we need to finish this quickly.' The kumo ninja gave his comrades a signal to continue attacking while he jumped towards Shin in a burst of speed as lightning arched on his fists.
Shin saw the attacker and drew his Chokuto, instantly lightning burst forth and with a *CRACK* of thunder Shin moved 10 meters, blue light flashing in the forest where they stood. The whole battlefield was silent as the kumo ninja that had attacked Shin fell to the ground; his entire body had burn marks like growing branches of a tree.
Shin looked up at the stunned kumo ninja and spoke in a dangerous tone, "Now you have two options, submit, or die." The ninja halted at the sudden turn of events, no one had expected a single newcomer to cause such a scene. One of the kumo ninja, a jonin, broke from his stupor as he yelled to his companions, "Retreat! I'll try to hold him back. GO! NOW!" The man duel welded his short swords and charged towards Shin. Lightning started to dance as Shin cracked the ground, speeding away and slashing the kumo ninja horizontally.
*TING! CRACK*
The Kumo jonin brought his swords forwards and successfully blocked the attack but the lightning arcing around Shin and his sword struck the man, launching him back. Shin took this opportunity and moved sidaway, striking another Kumo ninja. The man woke up from his shock and jumped back, successfully dodging the sword strike. He had already started to weave hand signs for a jutsu when.
*CRACK*
Lightning ripped through the man and he too was launched backwards and smashed into a giant tree.
Meanwhile, the Konoha ninja also started to round up the remaining Kumo ninjas but their guard towards Shin was raised as none of them had ever heard of Konoha having such a powerful lightning style ninja. They wouldhave thought Shin was a Kumo ninja if not for the way he had just struck down 3 kumo ninjas.
Shin was getting ready to attack another Kumo ninja when his senses flared and he jumped to the side, barely dodging a blue flaming mouse that turned mid-air to follow him. 'Shit.' Shin jumped back again to avoid the mouse while throwing an explosion tag at it which exploded as soon as it came close to the mouse, followed by another explosion.
"Well, this is a surprise." Shin looked to the side where 3 more Kumo ninja had just appeared, his eyes fixed on the light haired woman in the front.
[Name: Yugito Nii
Level: 80(+170)
Title: Jonin of Kumogakure/ Jinchuriki of the 2 tailed beast
Age: 17
Stats:
Strength: 86
Vitality: 80
Agility: 91
Sense: 75
Chakra: 80
Control: 70]
Yugito had a look of anger on her face as she looked around the fallen Kumo ninja before her vengeful eyes landed on Shin. The boy, in response to this deathly stare, chose to sheath his Chokuto and spoke in a light tone, "What do you say we call this even. You can take the ones that are still alive, we take the dead ones. Deal?" The woman seemed offended by this, "And leave our comrade to you leaf bastards!?" she spoke with anger as she got ready to attack but the older ninja behind her stopped her, calming her down.
"You can't let them go after they attack our village!" exclaimed one of the Konoha ninja. In response Shin simply shrugged, "What can I do? I'm a cat person you know." he looked straight at the shocked Jinchuriki as the man behind her was startled as well and quickly commanded the remaining kumo ninjas to retreat.
Within a minute the Kumo ninja were far away and Shin quickly treated the fallen Kumo ninjas, successfully saving the Jonin and the 3rd kumo ninja that had just been struck by the lightning. After the treatment, he made his way back to the village ahead of the others, reporting to the Hokage.
"A Jinchuriki? Are you sure?" the old man asked in surprise to which Shin nodded, "Yes, I could feel the massive amount of chakra inside her. I didn't want to risk the lives of the other konoha ninja in case they got caught in the crossfire." The old man observed the boy for a moment before nodding, "Alright, thank you for letting me know." After that Shin left and Ibiki spoke up, "You think his words can be trusted?" The old man nodded, "He had no reason to lie." The old man replied before turning to the other Jonin in the room, "What is it Shikaku?"
The black haired man looked reluctant but spoke up after a moment of hesitation, "It's nothing, I could be overthinking it but… It is not about what he said but how he said it. He spoke like he would have been fine if he faced the Jinchuriki." His words surprised everyone but the old man as he closed his eyes in contemplation, "I had suspected as much." he spoke cryptically before slowly opening his eyes and continuing "The last time Jiraiya was harem the boy had asked him to teach him senjutsu." Something clicked as the jonin realized the secret behind the boy's explosive increase in power, "You think he might have learned senjutsu from the panda he helped?" Shikaku inquired and the old man nodded. "If it's true then Shin might be the only person to reach the same level as the 1st Hokage!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
HermitOfLifeMount
HermitOfLifeMount No update recently cause I had no motivation to write.
Life sucks! I want a re-do!
T~T
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