The sun finally set, and a night sky brimming with stars emerged. Taro walked leisurely toward the medical camp, and as he did, all eyes followed him. After the earlier explosion, many had begun calling him "Osama bin Laden."
Jokes aside, his name was spreading faster and faster, to the point that every clan member knew of his accomplishments.
Taro finally reached the medical camp and went straight toward Jiren's tent. When he entered, one male ninja and two female ninjas were covering Jiren with gauze.
Noticing Taro, Jiren smiled and greeted, "It's little Kise! Are you doing alright, little man?"
Taro rolled his eyes and retorted, "I should ask you that." He paused and looked at Jiren's injuries, "How are you holding on so far? You're not gonna die, are you?"
Jiren laughed, "Me, die? From what?" He flexed his muscles, causing the two girls to blush, "Those guys can't hurt them."
Jiren's physique is strange, unrealistic even. In the entire clan, no one stood taller or bigger than him; his muscles were so defined even from just eating bread all his life.
Taro rolled his eyes and asked the three medical-nin to leave once they were finished treating Jiren. When the three finished, Jiren raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it, little Kise?"
Taro found a chair nearby and sat down, "Nothing in particular. I was just impressed by your strength and wanted to give you something."
Thinking it's just a kid being a kid, Jiren laughed, "Thank you, little Kise! I will accept whatever you give me, even if it's a pile of dog shit!"
Taro sighed and tossed something in the air, a syringe filled with green liquid. When Jiren caught it, Taro explained, "That's a special liquid. It can enhance your strength by a mile, but not only that, it will grant you a unique ability."
Now serious, Jiren asked, "How do I know I'm not just putting random shit on my body?"
"You can take it or not, it doesn't really matter to me. After all, it's a gift." He shrugged, "Besides, I've already given Toji one of those, although it's a weaker version."
Remembering the power Toji showed from earlier, Jiren questioned, "So that's why he was so different earlier?"
Taro nodded, "That's right."
Jiren took a deep breath and asked, "What's the unique ability?"
"Now you're asking the right question." He pointed at the syringe, "That contains what I call, Zenkai Boost. It allows someone who has it to grow stronger every single time they escape death. The more fatal an injury is, the stronger you can grow."
Staring at Jiren's shocked face, Taro couldn't help but chuckle, "I thought you would be the perfect person to have it. I've already taken one, and no one else in this village is more suitable than you, with your fighting style."
Jiren stared at the syringe and didn't hesitate anymore, piercing his thick skin and allowing the fluid to spread throughout his body.
At the same time, Taro opened the system window and used one of the Temu Zenkai Boost on Jiren.
Suddenly, Jiren felt a sensation throughout his body. His body was healing, faster and stronger than before. However, there was feedback. The more his body healed and strengthened, the more hungry he felt.
Grrrr
Jiren scratched the back of his head while his stomach growled.
Taro chuckled, "Let's go to the main camp. Me and the others already gathered a bunch of cows and chickens for a feast. Everything should already be cooked."
Jiren's mouth began to drool, "M-Meat?!"
Earlier when the battle finished, Taro saw the cheering clansmen and decided to start a feast. Was it smart to start one in the middle of war? No. But he didn't give a shit.
He gathered more than fifty ninjas and asked them to follow him to the Hosai cave. Although all of them were confused, they still followed the orders of the third son of the clan patriarch, even if he's just a kid.
When they arrived at the cave, Taro asked everyone to stay outside while he grabbed everything. And to everyone's astonishment, Taro came out with more than twenty cows and one hundred chickens.
Taro smiled and yelled, "Let's have a feast!"
"Yeah!"
When they arrived at the eastern wall, all the clansmen gawked at them.
"Is that…"
"What in the world… Since when did we have that?!"
When everything was finally prepared, all ninjas gathered at the main camp, where everyone ate to their full content.
However, two people stood out from the rest, Jiren and Taro. The two were eating more than anyone else, consuming enough food to feed ten people.
Burp
Burp
The two burped in unison, making Jiren question, "Is that one of the side effects of Zenkai or whatever you call it? I've never eaten this much before…"
Taro thought for a moment and deduced that it was most likely a side effect of the Zenkai Boost. Although in Dragon Ball, the Zenkai Boost had no such downside, it just helped you gain power from a near-death experience.
"I'm guessing it's because it's a Temu version. The normal Zenkai Boost should be an instant and permanent power boost, but this version needs recovery," Taro thought.
Taro finally answered Jiren, "I guess so. But I'm sure that's the only side effect."
As the two talked, a ninja came up to them and said, "Elder Fuji is asking for both of your presence."
The two nodded and walked toward the tent Fuji and the other higher-ups were staying in. When they entered, they met the gazes of Nao, Toji, Fuji, Nori, and two other ninjas.
"Finally, you're here," said Fuji.
"What are you all discussing?" asked Taro.
Nori gestured for the two of them to come closer, where they saw a massive map on the table. The map contained the Land of Wind and the clans inhabiting it.
Toy troops were placed on each battlefield and an X mark on the eastern wall.
Nori began explaining, "We were discussing the next actions. Currently, we only suffered around forty-three dead ninjas in this battle, and we killed nearly eighty Hebidoku clan members. The others are taken prisoners."
Fuji nodded and said, "My plan is to place the captured ninjas in jail and gather forces to join Mashiro against the head of the Hebidoku clan."
Nori sighed, "We can't. What if they send another batch of ninjas? We won't be able to protect the clan."
Fuji frowned, "This 'what if' scenario is the reason why you're weak, Nori!"
Nori rolled his eyes and was about to clap back, when Nao suddenly spoke up.
"What are you two old geezers talking about? This is the perfect opportunity to counterattack. We already have the ninjas gathered at the eastern wall. Let's just have a few stay back and put the captured ninjas in prison, then launch a counterattack."
Taro nodded, "He's right. It's the perfect time to encircle them."
"But—" Nori was about to speak, but was again stopped by Nao.
"Use that aging brain of yours, Elder Nori. They just sent 150 ninjas to our clan. Kise is out there terrorizing their rear, so they'll need reinforcement there. Plus, Dad should be off fighting with the Hebidoku clan patriarch right now. There's just no way they have enough troops to spread out like that."
Taro smiled, "You're pretty smart, huh, Nao?"
Nao scoffed, "Of course I'm smart, when I'm surrounded by brainless people."
Everyone's eyes twitched, and all had the same thought.
"We should beat the shit out of this kid."