Chapter 26: The Team is Formed
I walked through the bustling streets of Konoha and made my way over to the Uchiha compound. I wasn't in a hurry, so I took in the sights of my home as I traveled. It was busy all day long and got more so the closer you got to the front gates, which had a constant flow of merchants and travelers.
I reached my destination soon enough, walking through the compound before stepping into the main house. Yuko and Ren were both doing their academy homework in the living room, while Hana and Haruki (the youngest) were being entertained by Isamu. That leaves Ayame, who I could hear cooking dinner.
"Ack! Stop pulling my hair!" Isamu shouted.
Both of the little rascals proceeded to do the exact opposite, giggling all the while.
I moved through the room, getting a nod and short "hello" from Yuko before they went back to their work. As I passed Isamu, he called out to me.
"Kaen, save me!"
I kept walking.
I entered the kitchen, seeing Ayame who was cutting vegetables while some rice was steaming on the stove.
"Hey," I said.
She nodded in acknowledgment, before making more space at the counter. I guess I'm also on vegetable duty.
As I started cutting the onions, my thoughts began to wander about my old teammates. They were both getting stronger in their own ways. Isamu bulked up and is a monster in close combat. Ayame achieved a three-tomoe sharingan and uses it to devastating effect. No one was expecting all of us to make jonin, that's for sure.
They were strong, but compared to what we would have to face? I don't think it's enough...
I finished chopping the vegetables and put them into a pot.
"Can you prepare the beef?" Ayame asked, pointing to the bowl it was marinating in.
I nodded and put a pan on the stove to heat it up. We continued to cook in silence for a couple of minutes before I spoke up.
"Wanna make a team with Isamu and me?" I asked.
She startled a little, but quickly regained her composure.
"Have you talked to Isamu about it?"
"Not yet. I figured we could talk over dinner."
She gave me a small smile, "I'm not on a team, but I have a couple of people I usually run with. But I wouldn't mind bringing the old team back together."
I grinned, "Yeah, it would be kind of nostalgic. Maybe I should invite Fukumoto as well?"
She paled a bit and shook her head, "I don't think we should go that far..."
"Ha! I'm just messing with you. The old man wouldn't be able to keep up anyway."
That probably wasn't true, but it's not like he's here to disagree, right?
We chatted a bit more as we cooked dinner. 15 minutes later, I called the brats in to set the table. While they started working, Isamu shuffled into the kitchen, looking disheveled.
"You left me..." He said, glaring in my direction, "I'll have my revenge one day."
I just smirked, "You can try."
We all started setting up the bowls, pouring the vegetable broth into bowls filled with noodles that were made earlier. I put the beef on top while Ayame added some more greens on top. We brought the bowls to the table before digging in.
After eating for a couple of minutes, I glanced over at Isamu.
"So," I started, "How would you like to reform the team?"
Isamu stopped eating, whipping his head around and looking at me with stars in his eyes.
"Yes! I mean, uh, yeah, that would be cool."
I smiled, "It's settled, then. I'll set up our team officially tomorrow morning. I'm going to need one or two weeks to get acclimated to my new hand. After that, it's on."
With that settled, I spent the rest of the meal catching up with the brats. Yuko and Ren were only two years away from graduation, while Haruki and Hana were starting in a couple of months. Unsurprisingly, they all wanted to be shinobi. They were a little too young to remember the Uchiha massacre, so they were fortunately not driven by vengeance.
They all wanted to be strong shinobi though. We finished our dinner soon enough, and I graciously allowed everyone else to clean up the mess as I dipped out to the Hokage Tower. Registering the new team was simple but monotonous. It only took me about 15 minutes before we were in the records, and I was on the way home.
I planned on training for a week to get used to my new hand and the next week working on the strength technique from Tsunade.
///// 2 weeks later /////
It was time to pick a mission for the team. Isamu and Ayame were waiting outside since they trusted me to pick a good one. I asked for a list and skimmed through it, skipping straight to the A-ranks.
I pretty much ignored most of the escort missions, as these were usually boring. All an A-rank escort mission meant was that whoever you're escorting has deep pockets. I needed something that would hone the skills of me and the team rather than quick cash.
Ah! Finally, a good one.
I pulled out a mission that had us heading to the border between Yugakure and Shimogakure, which was close to Kumo. There was a band of missing-nin that was harassing Yugakure's merchants.
Their numbers were vague, saying there could be 5 to 15 of them, all B to low A-rank. I showed the mission to the chunin at the desk. He raised an eyebrow.
"You sure about that? Didn't you just form a new team?" He asked.
"We were on the same genin team and regularly spar together. We can handle it." I replied.
He just shrugged his shoulders before marking the mission as accepted. I turned around and stepped out of the building, moving towards my other teammates.
"You get something good?" Isamu asked.
"Yep," I grinned, "Get ready to pack; we're heading to Yugakure!"
Isamu pumped a fist, "Yes! I've always wanted to experience the hot springs there."
Ayame started pondering that.
"It doesn't sound that bad, actually." She said.
"When I said get ready to pack, I meant it. We need to leave in three hours if we want to make it on time," I said.
Isamu just groaned before flickering away. Ayame sighed, "I guess that's fine. But you're going to deal with the kids when they ask why I'm leaving so abruptly."
"Uh, oops?" I said sheepishly, "I forgot about that. Shit."
A couple of hours and one assault by the Uchiha clan later, we were ready to go. We all packed a decent amount of rations and weapons since we could be gone for over a month. I didn't think it would take that long to catch some missing-nin, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
We set off at a moderate pace. It would take us about a week and a half to reach Yugakure at our current speed.
As time passed, we discussed our strategy of attack. So far it was very simple; Ayame would apply genjutsu to the surroundings and support us with ninjutsu, while Isamu and I would engage our enemies in close courters. Isamu would disrupt their terrain with earth ninjutsu and I would cover their escape with fire and pure speed.
It was a simple plan because we wanted to leave some flexibility for unexpected circumstances. A plan that was too complicated would fall apart since we didn't have access to extensive information. The simpler it was, the more it could stretch to accommodate changes.
The week and a half passed by slowly until we finally reached Yugakure. Thankfully, they weren't a shinobi village anymore so we didn't have to run through hoops and check in with a Yukage or something.
"Alright," I said, "We'll split up to fish for information on their whereabouts. Meet back here in 4 hours."
They both nodded and we separated into different directions. I immediately headed towards the shadier part, which wasn't saying much since the village was a tourist attraction now. I did find a couple of seedy bars.
I transformed into an older version of myself before entering one such bar and taking a seat at the counter. I ordered a glass of water before opening my senses to the conversations around me.
I only stayed for about thirty minutes before heading to the next bar and repeating the process. I did this to the next bar as well, before repeating the route, this time transformed into someone different. This method wouldn't fool any competent shinobi, but the civilians were a different story.
I did this for about 2 hours before I heard something interesting.
"Those damn bastards!" A fat guy complained to his friends, taking another swig of his sake before continuing.
"I'm trying to make an honest living here, but these dick-heads just won't leave me alone! My last two trips I've been knocked out for hours, just to wake up to having all my shit stolen…"
"I hear yah, man." His drinking buddy said.
The fat guy took another big drink of sake, "They're arrogant, too! I've heard they attack the same routes each time. Do they really think no one's going to notice?!"
I listened for a while longer, hoping to hear about which trade routes, but he just kept complaining until he drank himself into unconsciousness.
'Not completely a bust, I guess.' I thought as I watch his friend struggle to carry him out. I put some bills on the counter before moving towards them.
"Need a hand?" I asked.
The guy just sighed, "I can take care of him. He's not usually like this, it's just that those missing-nin have caused him some huge losses these past weeks."
I walked over anyways before handing him a couple of bills.
"You remember which trade routes are getting attacked?"
He glanced around like someone was going to jump out of the shadows at any second.
"It's mainly two…" He said as he explained the details.
"Thanks," I said before walking away.
I went to the meeting spot since I had already got the locations that they frequent the most. It was two trade routes. One was the largest road, heading from Yugakure all the way to Kumo, while the other stopped at Shimo.
Damn, we're gonna have to shadow some merchants if we want to find these guys… Maybe I should've picked an escort mission; it's the same thing at this point.
Another hour passed by before Isamu showed up. We chatted for a while, waiting for Ayame to appear. She didn't disappoint, as she showed up in the next 45 minutes.
We gathered around to discuss our findings. Unfortunately, most of the information we gathered didn't have specifics as to where on the trade routes they were attacked, just that it happened at some point.
I sighed, "Okay, let's each shadow separate caravans. I'll leave a shadow clone with each of you since I have the most chakra to spare. If we get a hit, one will pop to share the memories with the other clone, who will tell you where to go before popping as well. Any other ideas?"
"We should start by only working within the borders of Yu no Kuni. If we don't find anyone after a week, we can expand our search." Ayame added.
I nodded, "Sounds good. Let's stay the night in a hotel and move out tomorrow morning."
"But what about the hot springs?" Isamu complained.
"We can visit after our objective is complete," Ayame said, shaking her head.
Isamu just heaved a sigh, "Whatever. Let's go find us a hotel then."
We booked the cheapest room we could find, which was still pretty expensive sadly. We were all used to sleeping in the woods and trees, so a crappy bed wouldn't be that difficult to sleep on.
/////
The night passed quickly. I got up when the sun started to rise since most people wouldn't travel before that. I got ready for the day and headed outside, where Ayame was already waiting.
"How long have you been up?" I asked as I joined her in waiting for Isamu.
"Not long," she said, "I'm used to waking up before the kids so they don't create too much of a mess."
I nodded along and we continued to talk while waiting for Isamu. About five minutes later, he joined us.
"You guys ready to kick some ass?" He asked excitedly.
"You know we might not even find them today, right?" I said.
He slumped, "C'mon, let's be more optimistic than that. That way we'll have time for the hot springs before we leave."
I smiled, "You are really fixated on those hot springs, man."
"How could I not? We have some at Konoha, but I heard that the ones here are on a whole other level."
Ayame interrupted us, "It's about time to get going."
I nodded and created two shadow clones, one for each of them.
"You guys take the larger trade route; I'll take the one that leads to frost."
They nodded before we dispersed, looking for a group to shadow. I found one relatively quickly, considering the popularity of Yugakure. It was a well-sized group of merchants, each with a couple of bodyguards—about thirty people in total. I had been listening in, and it seemed that they were getting ready to travel in the next few minutes.
They set off soon, so I waited a little while before following behind them, keeping my distance but still having them in my senses.
This was going to be boring as fuck…
/////
I followed them for a day before something happened; a bandit attack. I wanted to help them, but I decided not to step in for just some small bandits. I didn't want to blow my cover in case my targets were nearby.
They fended off the bandits efficiently, only taking a couple of injuries among them. I kept following them for the next couple of days before they reached the border. I turned back, slightly disappointed that nothing happened. I went back down the path to find another caravan, which I found in two hours. Which was about three days of civilian travel in distance.
I followed them for another two days before one of my clones popped. It was the one I sent with Isamu. As the memories filled my brain I noticed that he shouldn't be too far from me, considering he was also near the border. Thankfully, the rogue ninjas didn't notice Isamu yet, so he would probably be able to stall for time.
My other clone popped as I rushed toward Isamu's location. If I used flash step, I could be there in minutes. Ayame would probably be longer, but not by too much hopefully.
I flashed toward his location, covering a day of distance in less than 2 minutes. When I got there, it didn't look too good.
Isamu had shattered the ground with a jutsu, protecting the caravan of merchants and civilians and protecting himself as well. He was pretty beaten up and was currently avoiding three shinobi whose ranks I couldn't ascertain.
The rest had started to continue their robbery, sealing the goods in scrolls and shaking down the civilians.
I decided Isamu was holding out well enough while on the defensive, so I flashed inside the rogues robbing the group.
"Wha-"
I ended the first one with a hammer strike to the temple, splattering myself and his comrades with brain matter.
I opened the first three gates and boosted my speed to insane levels. Three of them jumped back while the other two moved forward and tried to draw their weapons. I didn't give them the chance, flashing to their flank.
"Ikkotsu!"
Both of their upper bodies were turned into a fine paste, blood misting into the air. The three that retreated hadn't even finished their jutsu yet. I formed a chakra scalpel in each hand and moved through their ranks like a ghost, tapping certain vital points on their necks and spines.
I was gone before their bodies hit the ground, heading towards Isamu who had managed to injure two of his pursuers. They hadn't even realized their friends were dead yet.
I appeared behind them grabbing two heads, one with each hand, and smashing them together.
An arc of blood and grey matter sprayed out from the collision. I dropped them onto the ground and moved to help Isamu, but he had handled it already.
He had his opponent trapped neck deep into the ground. It looked like he was setting the stage in case he didn't get help in time.
"Good work," I said, patting him on the back and closing the three gates.
He huffed, "Geez, man. You're a freak."
I smirked, "I told you, I'm just built-"
"-Different," Isamu rolled his eyes, "You really need to get some excuses."
I pondered a bit, "Yeah, maybe."
It was at that moment that Ayame finally made her way onto the scene, prepared for a fight. She looked around before seeing me and Isamu standing over the trapped shinobi and a very shaken caravan of merchants.
"Just in time," I smirked.
"Hm."
I gestured towards the nin in the ground, "Can you interrogate this guy? Your sharingan's best suited for it."
The ninja, who was pretty quiet, started shouting obscenities at us.
"I won't give you fuckers anything!" He snarled.
"Hard way it is, then," I said, "Isamu, can you check on the caravan and make sure they get their stuff back?"
"Sure," he replied.
I stepped back from the shinobi and let Ayame get to work. She walked up to him before grabbing his head, forcing him to look into her eyes.
"Are there more of you?" She asked, the tomoe in her eyes spinning.
"No," he said indifferently.
"Were you ordered to do this by a hidden village?"
"No."
"Do you know of anyone else harassing these trade routes?"
"Bandits."
After a couple more questions that lead to equally disappointing results, Ayame stepped back and ended her genjutsu.
I made a chakra scalpel and pierced his brain from behind, ending his life quickly.
"Well, I guess that's that," I said.
She nodded and we both went over to check the bodies. They didn't have huge bounties, each one going anywhere from 2 to 10 million Ryo. We also spent some time comforting the civilians, who weren't accustomed to such a high level of violence.
That's kind of my bad, huh?
We eventually left the caravan and headed back to Yugakure. Isamu was noticeably upbeat.
"Finally, hot springs!" He exclaimed as we approached the entrance.
"I guess we can indulge a little. It did take almost a week to find those guys," I said.
Ayame nodded in agreement.
"Then it's official!" Isamu threw his hands up in the air.
It didn't take us long to find ourselves a nice public hot spring. We split with Ayame and headed to the men's side, taking off out sweaty clothes once inside. While I sat down to wash myself, I looked over my body.
I was 13 close to 14, and I already accumulated a decent amount of scars. There were a couple of big ones, like the scars from when I encountered the Akatsuki, but the majority were small nicks from training.
I finished cleaning myself of all the sweat and grime that built up from nearly a week in the woods and slipped into the spring. I immediately melted as the hot water surrounded me.
Isamu plopped in next to me.
"This is something else," he said as he sunk into the water.
"This definitely wasn't one of your worst ideas, Isamu."
He grinned at me and we just relaxed in silence for the next hour, before I heard a commotion on the other side of the bathhouse. I looked over and my jaw dropped.
There he was, cheeks red and nose bleeding, the legendary super pervert, Jiraiya.
A tick mark formed on my head as he tried to get a better view of the women's side.
"Oi, bastard." I stood behind him menacingly.
"Piss off, brat. I'm researching here."
"My teammates on the other side…"
He giggled pervertedly and scribbled something on his notepad.
'Ignoring me? We'll see about that.'I thought as I gripped the back of his head.
"Oi, brat. Do you even kno-"
That was as far as he got before I lifted him off the ground and threw him with my full strength, sending him flying into the distance.
"You son of a biiiiii…" He trailed off as he flew farther.
I wiped my hands of imaginary dust before settling back down in the bath. Isamu gaped at me.
"Did you just-"
"Yep."
"To one of the Sannin?"
"Yep."
"..."
//////
The rest of our stay in Yugakure was peaceful, with us leaving the next morning for home. We traveled leisurely, as we had finished our mission well before its deadline. A few days later, we checked in with the chunin at the gates and headed towards the Hokage Tower.
"I'll check in for the completed mission; you guys should say hi to the brats. They probably missed you."
"Okay then, if you're sure," Isamu said, handing me the scrolls with the bodies.
Ayame tilted her head in acknowledgment before flickering away, Isamy following suit soon after.
As I showed the proof of our kills, I was rewarded with a couple million Ryo plus the bounties of some of the missing-nin. After I split it up, I was left with three piles of 5 million Ryo, which was pretty good.
I headed over and visited the Uchiha brats myself, before heading home for the day. As I walked home, I looked at my status, just to be disappointed. That fight gave me no progress.
I guess it was too easy, huh?
I decided I would see if I could train up to 100%. It would probably be harder, but there weren't exactly a lot of opportunities to fight people near my level.
I entered my house and was immediately greeted by Mom. After fussing over for me a bit, we made and ate dinner together, with me telling her about the hot springs.
I cleaned up swiftly and went upstairs to plan my next training schedule. I finished it quickly since not much changed from my last plan. I only added some extra reading on medical knowledge and time for practicing my different martial arts and Tsunade's strength technique.
Man, Shippuden was only like a little over a year away. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.
I lay down in my bed and shut my eyes, my last thoughts being about the future.
////// A/N ///////
Hello, I'm back! And also super sick. School is also starting soon, so I probably won't be able to keep up with daily uploads. I'll try, but no promises. Also, I got super into MidJourney, which is an ai art generator and it's amazing. I re-did Kaen's profile much better and also did some of the other characters, like Fukumoto-sensei, Isamu, Ayame, and the Uchiha brats. I'll upload them in the paragraph comments below if you're reading this on Webnovel.
Ito Isamu.
Tsurugi Kaen.
Uchiha Ayame
Uchiha Hana.
Uchiha Haruki.
Uchiha Yuko.
Uchiha Ren.
Fukumoto Takeshi.
Tsurugi Ayaka.
They're not all in the same art style since I played around with it a bunch. Also, I might remake a couple when I get better at generating ai art.
Anyways, leave a review, please.
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