[Konoha Village Gates - One Hour Later]
The massive green gates of Konoha stood open, the boundary between safety and the savage world outside.
"ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted, throwing his arms in the air like he had just conquered a nation. "I'm leaving the village! It's my first time leaving the village!"
He looked around at the trees, the dirt, the rocks—everything looked exactly like the inside of the village, but to him, it was magical.
Tazuna took a swig of his sake, grimacing. "Hey, am I really going to be safe with this brat? He looks like a monkey on caffeine."
Kakashi smiled his eye-smile. "Don't worry. I'm a Jonin. And these four..."
He glanced at us.
"Are interesting."
"Don't worry, old man," I said, adjusting my backpack. "Naruto is the loud distraction. Sasuke is the brooding firepower. Sakura is the... moral support."
"Hey!" Sakura snapped.
"And me?" I grinned, tapping the hilt of my kunai. "I'm the insurance policy."
"Hmph," Tazuna grunted. "Just get me there in one piece."
We set off.
*****
The journey was boring. It was mostly walking, Naruto getting excited about rocks, and Sakura trying to walk next to Sasuke while Sasuke walked faster to escape her.
I walked in the back, observing.
I looked at Tazuna. The old man was sweating. Not from the heat, but from nerves. He kept looking into the bushes, twitching at every snapped twig.
He knows they're coming, I thought. Gatou doesn't waste time.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky. The birds were singing.
And there, right in the middle of the path, sat a puddle.
A murky, wet puddle.
In the middle of a drought.
I stopped for a microsecond.
[System Notification][Observation Check: Passed.][Target Detected: The Demon Brothers (Gozu & Meizu).][Concealment: Water Clone / Hiding in Mist (Amateur Level).]
I looked at Kakashi. He noticed it too. He didn't even break stride.
Classic Kakashi, I thought. He wants to see how we react. He's going to play dead.
I smirked. Fine. Let's play.
We walked past the puddle.
Suddenly—
SPLASH.
Two figures erupted from the water like demonic dolphins. They wore breathing masks and ragged cloaks. A long, razor-sharp chain connected a jagged metal gauntlet on each of their arms.
"One down!" a gravelly voice shouted.
They moved fast. They wrapped the chain around Kakashi.
"What?!" Kakashi gasped (fake acting: 10/10).
"DIE!"
They pulled. The chain tightened. The sharp blades bit into flesh.
RIIIIIIP.
Kakashi was torn to pieces. Blood and gore splattered everywhere.
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura screamed, her face draining of color.
Naruto froze. His eyes bulged. He stood there, paralyzed by the sudden violence. He had never seen death before.
The two brothers landed behind the bloody chunks.
"That's the Jonin gone," one growled. "Now for the brats and the builder."
They turned toward Naruto.
"You're next!"
They charged. The chain whipped through the air, aiming to slice Naruto in half.
Sasuke was already moving. He jumped into the air, throwing a shuriken to pin the chain to a tree, then a kunai to lock it in place. He landed on their gauntlets, looking cool.
"I can't move!" one brother shouted.
"Breaking free!" the other yelled, preparing to disengage the gauntlet.
It was a cool sequence. Very canon. Very heroic.
But I was bored.
Let's spice this up.
[Skill Activated: Geppo (Sky Walk)]
BOOM.
I vanished from my spot, kicking off the air with a sonic boom that ruffled Tazuna's hair.
While Sasuke was busy pinning the chain, I appeared directly between the two brothers, hovering for a split second.
"Hello, gentlemen," I whispered.
They blinked. "Wha—"
[Skill Activated: Steal (MAX)][Target: Equipped Weapons.]
YOINK.
One moment, the brothers had massive, terrifying jagged gauntlets on their arms connected by a chain.
The next moment, they were wearing nothing on their hands but confused expressions.
I stood there, holding the heavy gauntlets, the chain dangling between them.
"You know," I said, weighing the metal in my hands. "This is a bit kinky for a public road. Bondage play requires a safe word. Was yours 'Mercy'?"
Meizu looked at his bare hand. Gozu looked at his bare hand.
"MY CLAW!" Meizu screamed. "WHERE IS MY CLAW?!"
"Looking for this?" I swung the chain like a lasso.
"YOU BRAT!" Gozu roared. He abandoned the weapon and charged at me with a bare fist. "I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!"
Naruto was still frozen. Sakura was standing in front of Tazuna, holding a kunai with shaking hands. Sasuke looked annoyed that I interrupted his flow.
Gozu's fist came flying at my face.
I didn't dodge.
[Skill Activated: Iron Face]
THWACK.
His fist connected with my cheek.
It sounded like he hit a steel wall.
Hah, this skill was given by the System to protect me from slap damage in the bathhouse. But hey... physics is physics.
"GAH!" Gozu screamed, clutching his hand. "It's like hitting rock! What is this kid made of?!"
I slowly turned my head back, rubbing my cheek.
"Is that it?" I asked, my voice dropping an octave. "My turn."
I dropped the gauntlets. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Vibrating Kunai.
"System," I whispered. "Max output."
BZZZZZZZT.
The kunai hummed with a terrifying frequency.
"Secret Taijutsu: The Nutcracker."
I lunged.
"NO! WAIT!"
THUD.
"EEEEEEEEEE!"
Gozu collapsed, his eyes rolling back, foaming at the mouth. The vibration had... resonated... with his sensitive areas.
The other brother, Meizu, saw his partner go down. He looked at Sasuke (who was glaring). He looked at me (holding a buzzing kunai).
He made a tactical decision.
He turned to run toward Tazuna.
"I'll take the builder!"
But before he could take two steps, a hand grabbed his neck from behind.
"Yo," Kakashi said, appearing out of nowhere. "Nice try."
The "dead" Kakashi on the ground turned into a puddle of water.
Kakashi tightened his grip. Meizu gagged and passed out.
Silence returned to the forest path.
I switched off my kunai and pocketed it.
"Well," I said, dusting off my hands. "That was underwhelming. I expected at least a B-Rank struggle."
[DING!]
[Hidden Achievement: The Disarmer][Stole a weapon mid-combat.][Reward: +5 Agility. Item: "Demon Brothers' Chain Gauntlets" added to Inventory.]
I looked at Naruto. He was still standing there, shaking. He hadn't moved an inch. He hadn't done anything.
"Naruto," I said softly.
He looked at me, shame burning in his eyes. He saw Sasuke, who had acted instantly. He saw me, who had disarmed them.
And he saw himself. Useless.
"I... I couldn't move," Naruto whispered, clutching his hand. The chain had grazed him slightly before Sasuke pinned it. It was bleeding. "I was scared."
Sasuke scoffed. "You're not hurt, are you... scaredy-cat?"
Naruto flinched. The insult cut deep.
"Sasuke!" Sakura scolded.
Kakashi walked over to the unconscious brothers, tying them up against a tree.
"Good job, Sasuke. Very smooth," Kakashi praised. "And Kenji... unconventional as always, but effective. Sakura, good job protecting the client."
He looked at Naruto.
"Naruto. You froze. If we weren't here, you'd be dead."
Naruto looked down, gritting his teeth.
Then Kakashi turned back to me, his visible eye narrowing slightly. "Kenji... what was that technique? I never heard of any ninjutsu that allows you to walk on air. It wasn't Wind Style."
Kakashi sounded intrigued. Even Sasuke was looking intently, his Sharingan (not yet awakened, but the instinct was there) trying to dissect the movement.
Of course you haven't heard of it, I thought. It's 'Geppo' from the One Piece universe. But I can't say that.
"Of course you haven't heard of it," I shrugged, putting on a smug expression. "It's my new Ninjutsu. Created by myself."
"Your creation?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," I started boasting, puffing out my chest. "As you know, I am a genius when it comes to Ninjutsu creation. I call it... 'The Path of the Cloud Walker'. It requires precise chakra explosions from the soles of the feet."
Tch.
Three tongue-clicking sounds came simultaneously from Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura.
"Liar," Sasuke muttered.
"Whatever," Sakura rolled her eyes.
But Naruto bobbed his head in agreement, desperate to support his bro. "Yes! Kenji is a genius! He taught me the Ninjutsu that made the Old Man Third Generation sprout blood from his nose and faint! It was super effective!"
WHACK.
Sakura banged Naruto's head. "That's not Ninjutsu! That's perversion, you idiot!"
"Ow!" Naruto rubbed his head.
Kakashi coughed loudly into his fist. "Ahem. Let's discuss your... curriculum... when we return to the village. I have another matter to discuss now."