Chapter 145: The Strongest Genjutsu, Koto-Mouth
The next morning, Hoshikawa arrived at Tsunade's house bright and early. Kurenai hadn't come with him; she was staying at home to prepare bento boxes for the mission.
To his surprise, someone was already there even earlier than him. It was Rin Nohara.
"You're here so early?" Hoshikawa asked as he approached her.
"Hoshikawa-kun?" Rin turned around at the sound of his voice, a delighted smile spreading across her face.
Hoshikawa's gaze briefly lingered on her dark red, knee-high socks. Though her legs were slender and long, he wanted to ask, "Aren't you cold?"
"I didn't have much to do at home, so I came over early," Rin explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"It's cold out here. Let's go inside." Hoshikawa pulled out his key and unlocked the door.
He stepped into the living room and watched as Rin stood in the entryway, removing her shoes. Leaning against the wall, she bent over slightly, revealing more of her dark red over-the-knee socks. With Hoshikawa's vision, he could clearly see the slight pinch of the fabric at the top of her thighs.
After slipping off her shoes, Rin's bare feet touched the wooden floor. When she looked up, her eyes met Hoshikawa's, and she froze for a moment.
"Did you have breakfast?" Hoshikawa asked, his expression unchanging.
"No, not yet," Rin replied, a little embarrassed. Since Hoshikawa's cooking was so delicious, she had grown accustomed to coming here for breakfast.
"Then have a seat," Hoshikawa said, nodding slightly. "I'll go make some breakfast."
"Can I help?" Rin asked quickly.
"How about this? You can go wake up Sensei," Hoshikawa suggested, a playful glint in his eye as he saw her expectant look.
"Eh?" Rin's eyes widened, and a surprised sound escaped her lips.
"You got this!" Hoshikawa cheered, pumping his fist before turning and walking toward the kitchen with a smile.
Rin stared after him, lost in thought. He's handsome and so kind.
"Rin, what are you thinking about?" Rin jolted back to reality and quickly shook her head.
Taking a deep breath, she walked to the door of Tsunade's room. "Tsunade-sensei!" Rin knocked on the door and called out loudly.
The door opened almost immediately.
"Why is it you? Where's that brat?" Tsunade frowned, her tone laced with irritation.
"He's... he's in the kitchen..." Rin's heart fluttered, and she answered nervously.
"Is that so?" Tsunade's expression softened as she noticed Rin's reaction. "I'll go get ready." She was used to her casual relationship with Hoshikawa, but Rin didn't understand and probably thought she was genuinely annoyed. That little brat is so much more fun to mess with.
Thinking this, Tsunade went to the bathroom. She saw her toothbrush already laid out and couldn't help but smile.
After washing up, she returned to the living room. Rin was sitting across from her, looking quite nervous. Tsunade wanted to say something but didn't know what to talk about. To her, Rin was a little too well-behaved and not nearly as entertaining as Hoshikawa.
"Here you go!" Hoshikawa emerged from the kitchen. "Sensei, your favorite chicken ramen."
"Mm." Tsunade picked up her chopsticks, and the awkward atmosphere from before vanished without a trace.
"Thank you," Rin said gently. Unlike Tsunade, who slurped her noodles without a care, Rin ate with elegant grace.
"Where's Kurenai?" Tsunade glanced at Hoshikawa and asked.
"She's at home making bento boxes," Hoshikawa said, pausing for a moment. "We'll just meet at the village gate."
"Speaking of bento, this mission will probably take a while, so make sure you prepare plenty of food," Tsunade said, taking a sip of the ramen broth. "I don't want to eat nothing but dry rations or rice balls the entire time."
"Understood." Hoshikawa nodded slightly. Tsunade had initially tried to teach him about ninja rules, but now she ignored them all. That suited Hoshikawa just fine; he didn't want to follow them anyway.
Rin, on the other hand, had a subtle look on her face. Ever since she became Tsunade's student, her rose-tinted glasses had shattered completely. Besides her incredible strength, she didn't seem like a ninja at all.
After breakfast, with half an hour to spare before nine o'clock, Tsunade pulled Rin aside to check on her progress. Hoshikawa didn't disturb them. He sat on the couch and began to study the Yamanaka Clan's sensing secret technique, the Mind's Eye.
He quickly discovered the immense value of his C-Rank Trait: Top-Ranked Chūnin. With the 100% boost to his comprehension, he felt that the A-Rank learning difficulty was no different from a B-Rank. Normally, an A-Rank jutsu would take him about a month to learn, which was already considered godspeed among ninja. But now, he felt he could cut that time in half.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the three of them locked the door and headed toward the main gate of the Leaf Village.
Even from a distance, Hoshikawa could see a caravan neatly lined up at the gate. He scanned the group and guessed there were about twenty people, a considerable size. Were these ninja tools being sold to the Hidden Rain Village?
Hoshikawa suppressed his curiosity and walked forward. Sakumo Hatake and the members of his Team 2 were already there.
"Lady Tsunade, it's a pleasure to meet you," a middle-aged man said, approaching them. "I'm Kido Ei, the caravan's manager."
"Mm," Tsunade simply nodded.
"I've set aside two carriages for you. Please, get in," Kido said, his tone fawning, unbothered by Tsunade's indifferent attitude.
"That's strange," Shizune couldn't help but ask from nearby. "Why isn't he as enthusiastic with Sakumo-sensei?" To her, and to most of the ninja in Konoha, Sakumo Hatake was on par with the Legendary Sannin.
"Lady Tsunade is a medical ninja," Asuma Sarutobi explained. "Plus, she has a good relationship with the Land of Fire's daimyo. He wouldn't dare offend her."
"So he would dare to offend Sakumo-sensei?" Shizune asked, still confused.
"He would," Asuma said, glancing at Sakumo with a hint of hesitation. "Because we can't do anything to him." In the ninja world, there was an unwritten rule: a ninja must not harm their employer. Even rogue ninja had to abide by it.
Take Zabuza Momochi, for example. In the Land of Waves arc, no matter how much Gatō insulted him, he never laid a hand on him. It wasn't until Zabuza had lost all hope that he dragged Gatō down to hell with him.
Or consider the Akatsuki. Even a heinous organization like them never robbed the daimyo or nobles, instead, they dutifully took on bounty missions from the black market.
"That makes sense," Shizune said, her voice filled with admiration. "That's Lady Tsunade for you."
"Let's go," Sakumo said, walking toward the carriages. Asuma and his two teammates quickly followed.
After a brief discussion, it was decided that the two ninja teams would protect the caravan from the front and back. Tsunade's team would take the lead, and Sakumo's team would follow behind.
"This is my first time riding in a carriage," Hoshikawa said, looking around. The carriage was similar to those from ancient period dramas in his previous life, just much simpler.
"Mine too," Kurenai said, sitting beside him. She opened the window and looked out with a look of fascination. Rin was quieter, sitting across from Hoshikawa.
"Hoshikawa, stay vigilant," Tsunade reminded him.
"Yes, Sensei," Hoshikawa replied, closing his eyes.
He was trying to use the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique, the Mind's Eye. Since he had just started, he wasn't completely successful, but even the partial effects were better than his previous sensing jutsu. He could even feel the figures of Tsunade, Kurenai, and Rin—their heartbeats and breathing patterns.
Two days passed in a blur. On the third day, they finally left the Land of Fire and arrived in the Land of Rain.
"The Land of Rain is not as safe as the Land of Fire," Tsunade commanded. "Everyone, get out and protect the caravan on foot."
"Yes, ma'am," everyone replied in unison.
Sakumo gave the same command to his team.
The eight ninjas put on raincoats and walked in the rain on either side of the caravan.
"What strange buildings," Shisui Uchiha said, looking around. It was the first time he had seen the tall, metallic-looking towers shimmering in the perpetual rain.
"That's because it's always raining here," Hoshikawa said casually. He stood on top of a carriage with his eyes closed, sensing their surroundings while Shisui protected him.
"It's completely different from the Land of Fire," Shisui said, gazing into the distance.
"There's someone. But not a ninja," Hoshikawa said, pausing. "No, it's a corpse."
"A corpse?" Shisui was slightly startled. He looked in the direction Hoshikawa was pointing and felt a jolt in his heart. "What happened?" he asked.
"It's a starving refugee," Hoshikawa replied.
"Doesn't the Hidden Rain Village care about them?" Shisui frowned and asked.
"How can a country that's constantly in turmoil care?" Hoshikawa countered.
"What about the Demigod Hanzo?" Shisui asked, thinking of the man who had overpowered the young Legendary Sannin of the Leaf.
"He's a ninja. He only cares about himself," Hoshikawa said after some thought. In the original story, Hanzo started the Second Great Ninja War to give the Hidden Rain Village the same standing as the Five Great Nations. After his failure, he retreated into the Hidden Rain Village, and when the Akatsuki threatened his status, he didn't hesitate to attack them. This ultimately led to Nagato's corruption and Hanzo's own demise.
"With all that power, shouldn't he bring peace to the Land of Rain?" Shisui asked, unable to stop himself.
"Shisui, not all ninja think the way you do," Hoshikawa said, shaking his head.
"..." Shisui fell silent, his chakra beginning to fluctuate.
Hoshikawa raised an eyebrow. What's going on? Are you about to unlock your Mangekyo Sharingan right in front of me?
"The name 'Demigod' is nothing but a title," Shisui said, recovering quickly.
"He got that title because of his summon," Hoshikawa said with a light laugh. "Shisui, with your talent, you'll surpass him soon enough."
"Hoshikawa-senpai, your talent is far greater than mine. What do you think?" Shisui asked after a moment of silence.
"Get strong enough first, and then we'll see," Hoshikawa said, thinking it over and answering truthfully. "That's more practical." It was impossible for him to shout about bringing peace to the ninja world. This world was ultimately one where strength was revered. Only when you were invincible could you talk about peace.
"True," Shisui said, startled for a moment, before agreeing.
[C-Rank Talent Trait "Koto-Mouth" has been upgraded.]
[Sealing speed has been increased by 150% from its original value.]
Hoshikawa looked at the two lines of text and couldn't help but think, This works, too?
.........
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