Swish
Swish
Four figures darted through the blazing desert with immense speed. The group was Mashiro and his three sons, headed to a town eight hours away from their clan.
Nao and Taro were ready to collapse at any moment, but as they saw the nearing town full of people, their determination spiked, and their speed increased.
The eight-hour travel wasn't harsh physically for their trained bodies, especially with chakra helping them throughout the journey. What was most difficult was the mental strain the trip gave them. Seeing a never-ending desert that felt like you were going nowhere was hell, especially with the desert heat at noon.
When the four arrived at the town, Taro nearly collapsed while Nao rushed toward a shade nearby to cool off.
Kise walked toward Taro. "I'm impressed, Taro. Our first mission also came from this town, and our first trip wasn't so… smooth."
I rolled my eyes. "You call this smooth?"
Kise laughed. "When Nao first traveled here with us, he passed out around the three-hour mark, and Dad had to carry him."
Taro looked at Nao, and a glimpse of respect showed in his eyes.
Nao was only fourteen—a kid in Taro's eyes. He had trained for years without the help of Minecraft like Taro, yet he reached that level on his own.
Mashiro clapped his hands. "Break is over. Stand up and get ready—we're gonna head to the town mayor. That's where we get our missions from."
Nao and Taro stood up reluctantly and followed Kise and Mashiro.
When they arrived, they stood before a gate leading to a massive building—bigger than any of their buildings back home.
Aside from the four of them, there were many ninjas and children just like them. Kise noticed Taro's intrigued look and said, "We aren't the only ninja family that sends new batches of ninjas for experience." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Actually, I think nearly all the clans in the Land of Wind do that."
"Is that so…" muttered Taro.
Kise let out a bitter smile. "Look around and memorize the faces of the kids around you because they're the next generation—the generation you'll have to fight against. They're your competition."
The gate opened, and all the ninjas rushed in. Taro, who was still looking around, was grabbed by Kise and followed Mashiro and Nao inside, where there was a mission board.
Mashiro grabbed a mission from the board and went toward the front desk. The lady at the front quickly formalized everything, and the four went outside the building.
Mashiro looked at Kise. "Go stock up on supplies and buy weapons for Taro. We'll meet at the entrance."
In the blink of an eye, Mashiro disappeared.
Kise looked at the two and said, "Shall we go find food first?"
A few hours later
As there were no sealing scrolls yet in this era, the three had to manually put everything in a bag and carry it around.
Taro tugged at Kise's shirt. "Aren't you forgetting something? I need a weapon."
Kise smiled. "Oh, that's right…" He took one of his swords and said, "I forgot to give this to you last night."
Kise handed a katana to Taro. The katana was a standard one, albeit a bit short. However, the blade was light and felt alive.
Kise patted Taro's head. "That katana was passed down by Grandpa to me. He used it when he was a kid, and I used it when I was a kid. It's not a normal katana—it's made from chakra-conductive metal, so it's precious. Keep it safe."
Taro raised an eyebrow. "Where the hell did Grandpa get his hands on chakra-conductive metal? We're poor."
Kise chuckled. "I don't know."
Taro looked at Nao, but to his surprise, Nao wasn't mad or jealous—just picking his nose.
Kise noticed the glance and said, "Don't worry about him. I've tried giving the sword to him, but his chakra control is… not that good."
After gathering everything they needed, the three brothers made their way to the gate where they were supposed to meet their father.
Upon reaching the gate, Mashiro greeted them, "You're all finally back. I've been gathering intel, and from the looks of it, the bandits we're hunting are still near the Land of Rivers border. If we move out now, we can catch up in two to three days."
The four departed as soon as possible, without even waiting for Nao and Taro's chakra to recover. However, thanks to Taro's chakra recovery from the system, he didn't hold the group down—but the same couldn't be said for Nao, who was huffing and slowing down by the minute.
Noticing how tired Nao was getting, Mashiro sighed and stopped. "We're gonna camp here for tonight. The sun is going down anyway."
Nao collapsed on the ground but stayed conscious. Mashiro looked at him and said, "I've been training you for years now, and you still can't keep up? Your little brother is only five, yet he isn't as tired as you."
Kise rolled his eyes. "Stop comparing and let him rest." He took out a gourd from his back and gave it to Nao. "Drink up, I'll set up the tent for you."
Mashiro frowned. "This is why he's soft. You pamper him too much."
As the two set up camp, the group heard clanking sounds coming from their east. Mashiro shushed everyone.
From afar, a battle was raging—three men versus one old man. Behind the old man was a child no older than six, crying for help.
Taro stood up. "Dad, we should—"
Before he could finish, Mashiro asked, "Why? Why should we help?"
Taro was stunned but continued, "Because—"
Kise cut him off, "You have a good heart, Taro, but we shouldn't meddle in other people's business."
Mashiro nodded. "And besides, our mission is to fight and eliminate bandits, not save them. Saving energy is important to finish a mission—remember that."
Taro lowered his head, because he knew that in this world and in this era, only power mattered—something he still lacked.
"Argh!" yelled the old man.
The old man was slashed across the chest. Blood oozed out as he lay dead on the yellow sand, dyeing it red. The child's cries roared out, but he too was soon killed by the hands of the three men.
Kise glanced at Taro, who was clenching his fist, and gave him a light tap on the head. "Did you see it? Did you see how pathetic this world is?"
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Hello!
I just want to thank everyone who have read this far. I'd like to ask you guys a favor as I've finally reached the 15k word mark, making me able to climb into the ranking list. If you could all be so kind to give me power stones and reviews to help me at least reach top 200.
Thank you everyone and have a great day!