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Chapter 123: The Delinquent
Land of Earth, Hidden Stone Village.
This was a desolate land surrounded by mountains, with jagged rocks everywhere. The fierce wind howled as it swept up gravel, stinging anyone's face it struck.
The harsh environment had forged the wills of the Stone ninja to be as solid as bedrock. Every stone here was etched with the concepts of "Diligence," "Tenacity," and "Unyielding Spirit."
The rocks were carved with slogans full of positive energy:
"Strike into the Land of Fire in three years, live in peace and contentment every day."
"Win the Third Great War against the Leaf, every family gets a plot of land."
"Screw over the Leaf bastards, Stone benefits are the best!"
"You move rocks, I dig holes; we'll be landlords in the Land of Fire."
But today, a crack seemed to appear in this steely atmosphere.
Hidden Stone Village, Back Mountain, Third Training Ground.
The sun hung high in the sky, its vicious rays baking the earth until the air itself distorted from the heat.
"How scary... having to train in this kind of weather. It's really gonna kill an old man."
Under the shade of a massive rock, a boy wearing sunglasses was sprawled out completely devoid of image.
The boy looked about eleven or twelve, dressed in an earth-yellow training uniform. His hands were clasped behind his head, a foxtail grass dangling from his mouth. On his slightly immature face hung an expression of seeing through the mortal world with a wretched... no, a lazy demeanor.
It was Kizaru, reincarnated as "Doi."
Next to him lay two other figures of similar age.
One was a robust, honest-looking boy, struggling to balance a small stone on one finger, practicing chakra control. The other was a girl with twin tails, bored out of her mind as she wove a grass rope.
"Doi-aniki, is this the 'Energy Saving Mode' you talked about?"
The robust boy—Ishida—asked with some confusion.
"That's right, Ishida."
Kizaru rolled over, finding a more comfortable position.
"Being a ninja is a job, you see. You do as much work as you get paid for. Right now, we aren't even Genin, which means we're unpaid interns."
"Since there's no salary, why risk our lives?"
"Training hard burns calories. Burning calories makes you hungry. Getting hungry means you have to eat, and eating costs money."
"Therefore, not moving saves money. And saving money is making money."
This twisted logic, combined with Kizaru's unique, slow drawl, surprisingly produced a weirdly persuasive effect.
Ishida nodded thoughtfully, stopped balancing the stone, and simply lay down as well.
"That makes sense."
The twin-tailed girl nearby—Iwako—also had a look of admiration.
"As expected of Senior Doi, seeing through the essence of the world so easily!"
These three lay like three salted fish basking in the sun, emitting an aura of decadence entirely out of place in the Hidden Stone.
Just then.
A rush of urgent airflow came from mid-air.
A heavy pressure descended from the sky.
"You damn brats!!!"
A roar like a thunderclap exploded over the training ground.
Immediately after, a short figure hovered in the air, holding a massive boulder in one hand.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.
At this moment, the famously stubborn old man was so angry his mustache was practically crooked.
He had intended to do a spot check on the training progress of his newly accepted "genius disciple," and casually check on the other two promising students.
And the result?
These three little rascals were sleeping here in broad daylight!
Especially that Doi!
Possessing such amazing talent, yet lazy as a pig!
"Get up, all of you! Did you feed the Will of Stone to the dogs?!"
Onoki roared. He didn't drop the boulder in his hand; instead, using the "Lightened Boulder Jutsu" to control gravity, he merely used his presence to oppress those below.
Ishida and Iwako shuddered in fear, springing up reflexively to stand at attention.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
The two trembled, while only Kizaru sat up slowly, even stretching and yawning.
"Oh my... it's Teacher Onoki."
Kizaru pushed up the obsidian lenses on his nose, his tone unperturbed.
"Getting so worked up, be careful you don't throw out your back."
The veins on Onoki's forehead throbbed.
"Cut the crap! Doi! How is the 'Earth Style: Earth Clone' I taught you yesterday coming along?"
"That is the foundation of foundations! If you don't master it, don't even think about eating today!"
Though Onoki was angry, it was more out of frustration that iron wouldn't turn into steel.
This kid named Doi had an astonishing amount of chakra and a terrifyingly sharp intuition for Earth nature transformation.
With just a little polish, he would definitely be a strong contender for the next Tsuchikage.
But this personality... was simply mud that wouldn't stick to the wall!
"Earth Clone, huh..."
Kizaru scratched his messy hair, looking distressed.
"That jutsu is so troublesome. You have to weave signs, distribute chakra..."
"You scoundrel!"
Furious, Onoki descended from the sky, floating right in front of Kizaru, his finger almost poking his nose.
"Troublesome? Since when are ninja afraid of trouble! I think you just want to slack off!"
"Ishida! Iwako! Stay away from this guy from now on. Don't let his laziness infect you!"
Ishida and Iwako exchanged glances, looking a bit awkward.
Actually... they were already infected.
And it felt pretty good.
"Since you haven't practiced, go run fifty laps with weights! Now! Immediately! Right now!" Onoki bellowed.
Kizaru sighed, stood up leisurely, and dusted off his butt.
"So scary. Fifty laps might kill someone."
"But Teacher, who said I didn't practice?"
Onoki paused. "You practiced? Then show me!"
"If you dare try to fool this old man, I'll let you taste the feeling of 'Particle Style' stripping off your clothes!"
Kizaru twitched his lips.
This old man really has no sense of humor.
He raised his hands helplessly. His hand seal speed was so slow it looked like he had dementia, making Onoki frown deeply.
Ram - Horse - Snake - Dragon...
"Earth Style: Earth Clone Jutsu."
As Kizaru's lazy voice trailed off.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
The white smoke cleared.
Onoki's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
On the training field, over twenty "Dois" had appeared in a dense crowd.
The quantity alone was one thing, but the form of these clones was the key.
Some were massaging Ishida's shoulders, some were fanning Iwako, some were setting out tea, and two clones were even lying flat on the ground with "Do Not Disturb" written in large characters on their backs.
Over twenty clones, and not a single one was standing.
All of them were salted fish!
"This..."
Floating in the air, Onoki's mouth hung wide open, unable to speak for a long time.
Earth Clones were typically used for reconnaissance or decoying; because they were solid, they consumed quite a bit of chakra.
But this brat...
Actually used Earth Clones to wait on himself?!
"Teacher, look."
Lying on a lounge chair formed by a clone, the original Kizaru took a sip of water handed to him by another clone and spoke contentedly:
"Since I can make the clones do the work, why should the main body move?"
"This is my Ninja Way—Absolute Justice... ah no, Absolute Efficiency."
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