Chapter 18: Cream of the Crop 

Shogo POV 

I stare down at my left palm as it opens and closes slower than I want it too. There is indeed a noticeable lag in my left arm that will definitely impede my ability to defend myself from whatever Gengetsu has planned for me this morning. 

The five days I had spent bedridden passed by relatively quickly. Even though I abhor studying, I do enjoy Lady Hana’s company more than I care to admit. My first impression of her was that she would be a strict conniving bitch not too dissimilar to the high priestess back at the temple. Thank God I was wrong though. I would rather die in a gutter than often rely on a person like that for medical help. 

I currently stand in front of the front door to Hana’s home preparing to meet my usual tormentor/ teacher at the Hozuki clan burial pond. My usual courage building moments staring at my pair of sandals near the doormat is taking me longer than it ever had before. I survived that first mission by the absolute skin of my teeth, and I had only been fighting two non-chakra sensitive adult men. If Gengetsu hadn’t taken mercy on me while I was passed out in the bushes and then again while we were heading back to Kitajima from whatever southern island we came from that day. After somewhat recovering from my daunting injuries, am I really ready to subject myself to more punishment so soon? 

“You need to get going, Shogo. The look on Gengetsu’s face when he told me to send you to him this morning was very severe. It’s best if you don’t test his patience today. Do try to come back for dinner today, I’ll prepare some fatty tuna tonight”. 

My train of thought is snapped as Lady Hana puts a feeble hand on my shoulder and gently nudges me toward the door. I look back and see her comforting smile before she strode back through the living room likely toward her garden where she spent most of her time. 

All the indecisiveness that was plaguing my mind melts away as determination rapidly replaces it. Even if I did decide to cower away from my forced duties of being the apprentice of a madman, it would only result in my death which would put all of Hana’s effort patching me up to waste. 

Not only do I owe to it myself to get strong enough to fend for myself against fucking anything, but I also owe it to the old woman whose spends hours upon hours mending the wounds I obtain during my excursions because my abilities are inadequate.            

A change needs to happen, and it starts by me putting on my damn sandals instead of standing here looking at them scared like a bitch.

A short time later…

I ascend the final step of the long stairway that leads up the hill that contains Hozuki pond. It feels like ages since I’ve last been up here but it hasn’t been long enough. The mist seems unusually substantial, but it doesn’t possess the same suffocating quality that Gengetsu’s created mist did when he had me do that training exercise here weeks ago. 

A few steps away from the pond, I notice Gengetsu wearing a grey battle kimono standing with his back to me staring at the pond. The fact that he is here out in the open waiting for me is very unnerving, but I had fidgeted enough at the door. I continue my stride to stand an arm's length away from his position. 

We stood in silence for a good moment, long enough for me to believe that maybe he didn’t even know I was there. My stealth abilities must be getting better-

“No training today but we must discuss two things here today before we go to the palace.”

Gengetsu spoke to me without turning his back, dashing my hopes that I had managed to sneak up on him. The suddenness of the announcement that we would be going to the palace for what I assume is a meeting with the daimyo makes my head jerk back in shock. I hope the daimyo wouldn’t be insulted by my current attire. I had forgone my usual battle kimono, having gotten tired of it all the way getting messed up. Instead, I don a simple white collared long sleeve cotton shirt with some loose-fitting drawstring pants. Honestly it felt a thousand more times more movable in comparison to a stuffy kimono. I’ll never understand why Gengetsu and all the other ninjas wear such cumbersome clothing. 

The blonde jerk finally turns around to face me and as we lock eyes, I have to stop myself from taking a step back. Once again, Gengetsu seems to be in full mission mode. The intensity in his beady gaze commanded every bit of my attention. 

“First, we need to go over your unbelievably sloppy performance on the pathetically easy mission we went on in order for you to get a taste of life as a shinobi.”

My body stiffens up at his cold remark on how well I had done killing the two men I was assigned. Sure, I was more banged up then I should’ve been, but I got back into the bushes with time to spare.  

“Before I break down everything you did wrong during the mission, I’d like to ask you this one question. Has your brain shrunk since you’ve learned to properly use your chakra within the last three weeks? Because it makes such little sense to me how much your situational awareness has devolved from when you were a thief!” 

I have to bite my top lip to keep from yelling fuck you to the blonde prick after his scathing remark on my intelligence.

“I sure I messed up the fighting part, but I surveyed the camp first, identified my entry and exit points, then engaged the target that I gauged to be the highest level of threat between the two."

"Indeed, you managed to separate the priority target from his security successfully. In doing so however you completely let your guard down after you eliminated the secondary target and completely lost sight of the primary objective!" 

I back up a couple steps as Gengetsu slowly creeps toward me with a furious look on his face. 

"The target could've called for help, escaped via secret entrance or had a secret weapon on hand. Not only did two of those things happen but you actually got hit by a crossbow of all things! Your blood got all over my good robe when I had to carry your ass to Kitajima after you fainted!" 

In an instant, Gengetsu is right in front of me. His fiery beady pupils peering deep into my soul, 

"The only reason your corpse isn't serving as fish food right now is because I admire your ingenuity to make it seem as if both targets had murdered one another. Even though the plan failed because the boss called for help, that is the type of forethought that will keep you alive in this cutthroat business…" 

My eyebrow raises in confusion at Gengetsu's assumption that I had planned to frame the murders of the targets on one another, but I clamp my mouth shut. Apparently, this overestimation of his is the only reason I'm breathing right now so there's no harm in letting it lie in his warped mind as is. 

"Alright, that's enough grilling for now. I have a full year to train you before shit starts to hit the fan anyway. Brace yourself…" 

*Glomp* 

The blonde giant grabs the top of my head with his huge hand and then I feel like my entire body is sucked through a straw. 

"Urk" 

As soon as my head is released, I crumple to the floor in front of me on my hands and knees trying to keep my breakfast down. 

"Hey! You better not get any puke on me, or I'll shoot you through your thick skull right here in front of the palace!" 

'-palace!?'

I stand up slowly while gripping my stomach with both arms only to see the daimyo's palace gate in front of me. Immediately I noticed the lack of guards surrounding the area. 

All the heavily armored men that littered the gate last week are not present. No archers, not even a single pedestrian trying to get into the palace.  There isn't a single soul in sight besides Gengetsu as I look behind me. The heavy shroud of mist and the eerie silence causes goosebumps to form on my skin. 

'Something BIG is here and I really don't want to get caught in it.'

I peek up at Gengetsu to see him glaring toward the top of the palace. 

'I doubt I'll have much of a choice in the matter though…'

I am yanked up by the hem of my shirt and dropped on my feet. The sudden move chokes me up as my hand automatically goes to ease the pain around the front of my neck. 

"Follow me, brat. We have to meet our new management…" 

"Huh?" 

My response is ignored as Gengetsu strides toward the massive gates of the palace. I guess we would need to climb the walls since it seems to me that nobody is present to open the gate for us. 

*KKKKRAAAKKK!!!*

The blonde douche continued walking right up to the gate then lifted his right leg before launching it into the door forcing the thing to violently swing inwards. The force of the kick nearly blasted the door off its giant hinges. As Gengetsu moves toward the stairs leading up to the palace, I struggle to keep my mouth from staying agape at the pure audacity in the blatant disregard for such a powerful man’s property. I quickly shuffle behind the blonde not wanting to get caught alone for his disrespectful action towards the daimyo.

The climb up to the door to the daimyo’s court went entirely too quickly because of the hurried pace that Gengetsu set that I am forced to follow. We strode through the small garden again and there were absolutely none of the guards that were there before in sight. The atmosphere itself felt dim as if all life had been scared away by something absolutely dreadful. 

The shiny wooden floors look a little bit dingier; the greenery of the garden looks a bit more drained, and the slight smell of burning incense that suffocated me as I watched the fisherman is nonexistent from the courtroom. There is another strong smell that has replaced it. This new stench makes my stomach drop all the more. It is the smell of old dried blood. 

While I’m distracted looking for the source of the offending smell, the blonde menace shoves the court doors open with a single hand then strides through them into the barely lit corridor. I go to follow him immediately as being alone in such a creepy environment gripped at my heart only to physically recoil at the rotting stench that permeated out of the courtroom. It is a smell that I am all too familiar with due to my experiences on this island. It is the smell of death; human death to be exact. 

I use my arm to cover the bottom half of my face along with my nose. It did little to prevent the smell from leaking into my nostrils, but it is better than nothing. With every step the darkness within the large court corridor looks more and more foreboding. Gengetsu is completely out of sight as if he had completely been swallowed by the darkness. I didn’t hear any noise coming from the inside while standing at the entrance. Every hair on the back of my neck stands on end, all of my senses are telling me not to proceed further and my mind is doing absolutely nothing to alleviate those fears. 

“HURRY THE FUCK UP!” 

A pale hand darts from the darkness and snatches up the front of my shirt in its grip before I can react. I am yanked forward off my feet from the door frame and sent hurtling through the air down the dark corridor. My arms flail as I try to right myself in the air so I won’t collide headfirst with something. 

One makeshift somersault in the air later, I manage to skid to a halt on the back of my sandal heels. I immediately turn back and glare at Gengetsu who is calmly walking towards me with a sneer on his face. 

I scoff in annoyance knowing that I can’t necessarily do or say anything about his usual dick behavior. I’ll be damned if I forget his constant battery on my person when it is hardly warranted. I’ll make sure to repay it tenfold when the shoe is finally on the other foot. Hopefully not that long after I learn all the bastard has to teach me.     

With one final puff of annoyance, I smooth out my now stretched out shirt with my left hand then turn around to observe the spacious smell I had quite literally been thrown into with no preparation.   

“Whoa!”

I leap back from the semi round object in the corner of my vision on the ground nearly touching the side of my right pinky toe. My eyes met another pair of glossy eyes. The brownish red that surrounded the pupils make me gasp in horror. Flies circle around the severed head with dried blood crusted to the floor underneath the neckhole. The face of the head is barely intact as the rot has made the skin start to fall apart. 

The shock from seeing the head on the floor wears off after a couple of seconds of gaging but nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the tens of severed heads that lined each side of a long ornate carpet that stretched from the courtroom door all the way to the daimyo’s meeting screen. 

It has to be the most gruesome display of human savagery I’ve seen in my short life. I had never seen this many dead people in one place and it shakes me to my very core. Who could have done this? And why go through all the trouble to line the heads up? 

Gengetsu shoves past me as I quake in fear toward the end of the corridor, and I desperately try to catch myself before I touch one of the horrible smelling heads near me.  I manage to catch myself by putting a hand on the large wooden pillar in front of me. I push off the pillar and continue to hurriedly follow Gengetsu to the other side of the courtroom. 

Spotting his blonde slick back hair in the darkness actually causes a bit of relief to go through for a change. As I get closer, I see Gengetsu with his back to me glaring at the largest Fusuma I have ever seen. I move to stand slightly behind the annoying blonde just in case whatever made this display of human heads, decides to turn on us. 

After a couple of minutes of silence, a light behind the fusuma flickers on and reveals the silhouette of a person sitting formally. The silhouette gets up, walks to the large divider and slides it open, revealing their visage to both of us. There standing atop a small set of stairs in front a large collection of pillows arranged on the floor is a familiar long haired old man, short in stature.

My breath hitches at the sight of the shaggy gray shark man that nearly killed me a week prior. The short toothy old man is dressed as if he is attending a funeral, wearing an all-black Gi with black baggy pants. As the man slowly walks down the stairs toward us, both his eyes are entirely focused on us; one pupil is so dark it seems to be black while the other is a milky white. The old man stops at the very last step and scans us with a blank look on his face. Hands folded behind his back, out of my sight. The prospect that he could have a weapon in his grasp makes me want to hightail it out of this hellscape and never look back.

“Byakuren. Can we start this meeting already? This place stinks…”

Gengetsu’s stupid comment slices through the heavy silence, and causes me to start sweating as the old man fixes him with a intense glare. But Gengetsu looks back at “Byakuren” with an unconcerned look. 

Byakuren simply stares back at Gengetsu. His stance is as still as a statue. Suddenly an unknown voice erupts in the room. 

“Your past loyalty to the daimyo and your lineage is the only thing keeping you alive despite your disrespect, Hozuki-san. You would do well to remember that little fact…”

*Tsk!*

Gengetsu sucks his teeth and peeks to the left. 

My gaze darts to my immediate left after a new voice comes out of nowhere. My heart jumps in my chest as a pale long haired man with his eyes closed somehow stands to my left as if he had been there the whole time. I had initially thought there were only the three of us in the room. This new addition had managed to enter the room and get so close to me without me hearing a peep.  

Seeing me observe him, the man who had yet to open his eyes faces me and smiles down in my direction. Immediately, I sidestep toward the right to get away from the pale creep. He didn’t seem to carry any weapons on him either. The three shinobi in this room are the only ninja I’ve ever come across that don’t carry any type of weapon on their person. Were they so confident in their abilities that they could forgo wielding even the commonly used katana that all the other ninja carried? 

“Hozuki-san, Usugurai-kun, let us begin this conference!” 

Byakuren’s voice echoes throughout the dark courtroom as he stands there with a vicious grin across his face. 

Gengetsu POV 

I pinch my nostrils shut. This entire corridor smells like shit now! At least when the daimyo was in power over the shinobi on the main island, this place had some high-end decorum. 

Not even a week into his reign, this no class heathen has turned this towering symbol of our country's power and wealth into his own personal pigsty. So utterly revolting! 

When I get home, I'll have to bathe myself multiple times to this horrid stench out of my pores. These clothes are getting discarded at the front door then burnt. 

The audacity of this fossil of a man to summon me here for a "meeting" but keep me waiting while he wakes from a damn nap. I can't wait till he finally croaks so I can finally usher in some real class into this horribly disorganized country. 

My shoulders tense as I feel my sensory bubble pop. From the corner of my left eye, I spot the air distort not too far away from the all too oblivious brat. The sniveling child didn't even notice the incredibly dangerous shinobi that had just walked up right next to him. 

Then out of seemingly nowhere another annoyance appears in the form of Usugurai, that troublesome old man's apprentice. Everything about the slightly older Usugurai was subtle, and it pisses me off to no end. 

I barely knew anything about the man despite having seen and heard about him numerous times. All anybody really knows about Usugurai is that his chakra control is otherworldly, and the bastard specializes in highly complex gengetsu that uses water somehow. The man is so secretive that no one even knows what his goddamn eyes look like while they're open!

The real kicker for me is even though his master is probably the greatest kenjutsu/taijutsu master to ever live, no one had ever seen the fucking guy even touch a sword!

While I'm sure if it came to a one-on-one battle to death, I would walk away victorious, but I doubt I'll be able to walk away unscathed from his endless traps.

I didn't want to be in an enclosed space with these bastards any longer than I have to be, 

“Byakuren. Can we start this meeting already? This place stinks…”

Byakuren just looks at me with a deadpan stare, but I could care less. I would have to spend more time than I would like with the man over the next few years so I would like my alone time while I can get it. 

Then Usugurai opens up his damn mouth, startling my yellow-bellied apprentice who had yet to even realise a new participant had entered the room. Inexperience is excusable but incompetence shall be harshly punished. My new training regimen will see the incompetence beaten out of Shogo or he will die trying, simple as that. 

“Your past loyalty to the daimyo and your lineage is the only thing keeping you alive despite your disrespect, Hozuki-san. You would do well to remember that little fact…”

I glance at the man to see he isn't even facing me after the comment. This bitch dares to make light of my precious me time! 

*Tsk*

“Hozuki-san, Usugurai-kun, let us begin this conference!”

Byakuren slides his right hand into the front of his robes with a disgusting grin on his face. He then proceeds to take out and unfurl a moderately sized scroll then drops it on the floor in the middle of all three of us. 

A brief glance at the contents of the scroll on the floor shows me that this was a map of the elemental nations. The most detailed one I have ever seen in fact. It is covered in scribbles that label capitals, major towns, elevation level, general population numbers and trade routes. The fact this man managed to get all this information on all the nations is terrifying to say the least. 

No one person could have put all this together, so he must've had a huge network of people to gather this much inside intelligence. My respect for the old, grizzled veteran goes up a slither because of the pure wit needed to pull something like that off. 

The old man in question walks onto the laid-out map and makes a sweeping gesture signaling behind us, 

"Our first order of business has been completed as of this morning. All of our decorations that litter the floor are courtesy of the many ninjas that decided to take advantage of their status while they were under the daimyo!" 

I glance around the room looking at the faces of the various now deceased ninjas that lie along the walkway. I only recognize a few of them but I had no doubt worked with all the beheaded ninjas for there were only a little over a hundred of us on the daimyo's roster. The one most notable to me is the one who I knew organized that smuggling outpost with the "pirates" from last week. 

Daisuke Wataru, he was an average shinobi at best but what he didn’t possess in strength, he quadrupled in resourcefulness. Daisuke had been able to produce and sell whatever valuable commodity from around the Elemental Nations at a reasonable price. No one knew how he was able to do it, but nobody questioned the results. WIth that talent, he single-handedly birthed the largest smuggling ring in all of Water country. It all started with him using his knack for retrieving valuable objects to get into the daimyo’s good graces, who then bestowed upon him some authority over the naval security for our lands which he and his vast network wasted no time taking full advantage of newfound Daisuke’s influence. 

SHIT! 

‘Now! That he’s gone, how will I get my hair gel!?’

“-storm the homes of every clan and village that reside on each of the scattered islands of this country. Demand to speak with their leaders-”

‘There aren’t any oysters on the eastern coast! They’re all along the coasts of the Land of Rocks!’ 

“-to the death and upon defeat, all their people will be forced to be our slaves. OR submit every able-bodied adult and child to our cause to live as citizens in our utopia!”

‘What the fuck kind of oil am I going to use now?! Fish oil! IT STINKS GODDAMNIT!!’

 “-but while we conquer and unite our separated country. Urugurai!”

“Yes, Byakuren-sama!”

‘I wonder if I could start an oyster farm if I kidnapped a few oysters from the Rocky coasts. But I would need to find out how the hell they turn the damn creatures into oil! ARRRGHHH-’

-will be doing recon on the many island nations separate from the mainland. Find any hidden resources or techniques that will bolster our race to supremacy in this gathering contest. Also, if there is a strong foundation for more competition to emerge, I want you to sabotage it and if possible, outright destroy it.”

‘I cannot go back to using pig fat in my hair again. NO! I refuse to go back to those old days! Never again...’

“The main landers are the only form of competition that I want on our plate for the next few decades at least. I refuse to give up our advantage of being the most powerful entity on the water. We shall rule the seas with an iron fist then slowly spread our dominance to every shore in the world.” 

‘I think the container I have remaining is only half filled. That’ll give me two weeks at most-’

-the new generation will be the ones to realize my dream when all the debris has settled from the largest war ever seen that will definitely take place within the coming years. There is too large a disparity in military strength between these new mega shinobi villages for there not to be mass conflict. And when that happens, Kirigakure will be the cream that rises to the top of the shinobi universe!”

‘Sheesh.... This old man is getting a bit too worked up. Is he foaming at the mouth...’

“And you child!”

The old man points his gnarly disturbingly long index finger at my quivering apprentice whose only response is to stare wide eyed and point at himself for confirmation. 

“Yes! You will be the leader of the new generation! I can see the potential within you! I will forge into the perfect leader of men! One that will usher in a new age of uncontested domin-”

“Whoa whoa slow down there, Byakuren-”

I shove Shogo behind me to shield him from the geezer’s manic gaze, 

“If anybody is going to forge this little shit into anything it's going to be me. You already have your own apprentice so hands off mine!” 

I could feel the tension in the air as I held my gaze with Byakuren’s mismatched set of pupils. I could feel Usugurai's hostile presence beside me, coiled up as if ready to strike like a venomous snake. A few moments pass before Byakuren’s emotionless face cracks into a grin, and he begins chuckling. I barely keep the sneer of my face as I do not like him laughing at my expense. 

“Yes! Yes! Of course, Hozuki-san! Forgive me for I have always been a little enthusiastic about educating the youth. Nonetheless, I’m sure your apprentice will be able to learn quite a bit while fighting on the front lines of our unifying coalition for the next year.”

“WHAT!”

I turn and look at Shogo to see the panicked look on his face. One slap to the back of the head and he fixes his face so as to not embarrass me further in front of the two of the most powerful ninjas on the planet.   

“What my apprentice means is that he is not prepared to be on the front lines of anything as of yet. He hasn’t been under my tutelage for more than a month and has yet to perform his first jutsu. In fact, we have yet to even go over the mistakes made on his first mission. All in all, Shogo would only serve to slow our initiative down with his or another one of our soldier’s deaths. But give me till the end of this year to teach him and then he’ll be able to handle any mission you throw at him.”

“Hmmmm….”

Byakuren frowns at the news but seems to be thinking over my suggestion, 

“The boy did avoid a fatal blow from me with such little training…. Surely he will be even more promising with another year of instruction under such a formidable teacher!” 

I have to force myself not to roll my eyes at the compliment only allowing myself to give a small smirk and a nod in response, 

‘I can’t have Shogo dying too early under my tutelage. It would be disastrous for my street cred!’

“So be it! You shall continue training the boy but unfortunately it will have to take a backseat to our unification effort.” 

“That’ll be fine. I’ll send a clone back to Kitajima twice a week to instruct the boy. That way I’ll be able to help you get the other Clan heads to peacefully join the unification and prepare my apprentice to join our cause.” 

Byakuren nods before waving the three of us off and turning to return to his nap, 

“Good, this meeting is over. Hozuki-san and I will be departing tomorrow morning along with 50 loyal handpicked ninja to start with the island closest to the mainland. I want to use it as a cutoff point for anyone trying to leave the country. For you Usugurai-kun, begin your mission as you see fit. I trust your judgement to see this done for the good of my vision.” 

Out of the corner of my eye I see, Usugurai bow then vanish. 

‘Fucking ass kisser!’ 

I turn from the stairs and come face to face with the terrified look plastered on Shogo’s face. I sucked my teeth in annoyance before snatching up the collar of his shirt faster than he could react then body flickering to our normal training grounds. I toss the heaving little boy into the lake honestly tired of how uncool he is making me look, 

“Alright Brat!! My already minimal level of patience is gone. I’m going to destroy your body, mind and soul only to reforge it all into steel. And we’re on a time limit, so get your shit together now. We have a LOT of work to do!”  

 

A/N: 

Hope everybody had an awesome Fourth of July! Even if you don’t celebrate, hope it was a good day. Sorry for the late chapter, but I started my new job, and the training was way more intense than I thought it was gonna be, so I was wiped most of the time this past June. I'm gonna try and manage my writing time better going forward since I suck so hard at writing consistently.  

A little under 100k words later and the action is finally ramping up, so excited to continue this story! Never fear, this fic is def getting finished no matter how long it takes! Surely, I will get a decent amount done before Elden Ring comes out because I got my reasons lol. 

Thanks for reading!