Once I reached the edge of the clearing, I clasped my hands into the Ram seal and focused on my chakra.

'Sensing Jutsu.'

I let the chakra spread outward in a controlled pulse. It moved through the forest in a widening circle, thinning as it stretched, reaching a little over a hundred meters before fading out.

For someone who wasn't born a sensor type, it was quite impressive.

While most shinobi can detect massive or intense chakra when close enough, only those with acute chakra sensitivity are called sensor types.

And you're either born a sensor type, or you aren't.

But even a sensor-type ninja has to actively mould their chakra to change it to sensory mode.

Well, there were also freaks like Karin Uzumaki, who could sense chakra passively with some bullshit like Mind's Eye of the Kagura

Unfortunately, I wasn't born with red hair.

But as my spirit grew stronger, my perception sharpened alongside it. I could now send out chakra pulses to sense the surroundings for any chakra signatures.

While I had to actively shape my chakra to sense vague blobs of chakra like an old Call of Duty minimap for now, that won't be the case for too long.

I could already recognise familiar chakra signatures, like the one that clearly belonged to Hayate, probably his shadow clone keeping an eye on me.

'Glad to know you care, Wheezing Wind Sensei'

There was another chakra signature nearby, but Takumi could already see it with his eyes.

It was a huge wild boar, standing knee-deep in the stream, drinking without a care in the world.

Now, ordinary boars were already notoriously hard to kill.

Unless you pierced the heart or destroyed the brain, they could run for an annoyingly long time- something I had learned the hard way.

But this one was twice the size, and since I neither had the mood nor the luxury to chase a wounded boar through this dense forest right now, I started weaving hand signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

poof

"Paralysis Jutsu."

Paralysis Jutsu was a D-rank jutsu that I'd learned from Hayate. It could temporarily paralyse a weaker opponent using overwhelming chakra and chakra control.

It wasn't very useful against an opponent of similar strength, and even against weaker opponents, you have to focus to keep them restrained, so it's best to have a teammate ready to finish the job.

And that's what the Shadow Clone was for.

The boar stiffened mid-drink, his muscles locking up. Before it even knew what happened, my clone was over him, and with one fast slash of his upgraded wooden sword, the boar's head fell to the stream, dyeing it red.

'Getting beaten up by Sleepy-Eye Sensei was worth it.'

Since the Dinner was secured, I went back to inform the team about the campsite, leaving the clone behind to start a fire.

Kuro and Misaki had only managed to catch a single hare, which was nowhere near enough for everyone, so they were visibly relieved when they saw the boar.

After we set up camp, the three of us gutted the boar and hare, threw on whatever seasoning we had, and left them to roast over the fire.

So this was what all those D-rank missions had really been training us for.

This was quickly turning into a survival exercise instead of a C-rank mission.

The fat merchant sat by the campfire, staring greedily at the roasting boar. Kuro bluntly told him to find his own food.

"As if I'd eat something so vile," the merchant said, wiping the drool from his mouth. "You two, go find me something better."

He tossed a few coins to the carriage drivers.

The two hurried into the forest enthusiastically, but came back running just as fast.

"Th-there's something in the forest," one of them stammered.

"Wo-wolves," the second added.

"Tch. How shocking," Kuro scoffed.

Hayate kept sleeping on top of the merchant's carriage like none of this concerned him.

Luckily, my clone, who was keeping watch, managed to scare the wolves away, or the two might have become dinner themselves.

"Useless. You brats, how much for that boar?" the merchant asked.

"Hah. I thought it was too vile for your taste," Kuro said with a smug look.

"You—"

"—but since you want it now, it'll only cost a million ryo. Not too expensive," Kuro cut in.

The merchant stomped his foot and went back to his carriage, where he muttered something to Hayate.

"Ooh, hot, hot, hot," Kuro said, blowing air out after he put a piece of smoking hot meat in his mouth.

After running the whole day, he was obviously starving.

Thump.

A fist landed on Kuro's head, making his eyes water.

"Eat slowly. Nobody's going to steal your food," Hayate said, appearing out of nowhere.

He let out a yawn, then drew his sword. With three quick swings, he separated three legs from the boar and took the rest away, leaving us with only one leg each.

"Sensei, where are you taking that?" Kuro asked.

"For our client, of course," he said, showing crisp bills in his hand.

'Um, why does this remind me of someone?'

"We're ninja, damn it, not a catering service… " Kuro complained between mouthfuls.

"Just stop eating like a dog. I'll give you mine as well," I said, watching him wolf down his food.

Boar leg was too dry for my taste anyway, and hare meat was even worse.

I wasn't that hungry either, since I'd barely pushed myself today. In some ways, it was a vacation for me. For the first time in months, I wasn't going to train or spam my cheat until I passed out.

Besides, I had plenty of food stored in my scroll.

"Here, Takumi-kun, you can have this. It tastes much better," Misaki said, handing me some ribs she'd sneaked from the boar.

I sighed.

'Girls, why are they so weird in this world?'

'Weren't kunoichi supposed to be masterful emotional manipulators and infiltrators? So why does everyone here act like they're in a romance novel?'

Still, I accepted the meat and handed her some onigiri in return. But before I could even take a bite, Kuro spoke up again.

"Hey, Takumi, if that fat man eats boar meat, is it considered cannibalism?" Kuro said with a snicker.

My already small appetite died at that image.

"Here, you can have this too. I'm not hungry anymore," I said, handing him my share as well.

Sometimes, it's not good to have a vivid imagination.

Nothing major happened during the night. We took turns keeping watch. Hayate and Misaki for the first half, then Kuro and me for the second. Though I did sense another chakra signature appear during our shift.

I recognised it from when Hayate introduced us to his ninken, Nemu. It was a shinobi bloodhound that looked like it hadn't slept in two hundred years. I swear that dog's eyes drooped even lower than Hayate-sensei's. There was no way I was signing a contract with him.

The next morning, we prepared for another exhausting journey, but surprisingly, Hayate seemed to have taken pity on us.

"You guys ride the carts today. I'll take point," he said.

"Sensei, you're joking, aren't you?" Kuro asked.

"How did you know? You go ahead and take point," Hayate replied lazily.

"No-no, Sensei, you weren't joking at all. You take point, and we'll protect the fat— I mean, the client," Kuro quickly said, crossing his arms and immediately climbing onto the carriage roof.

I had a bad feeling about it.

The fact that Hayate was getting serious could only mean one thing.

-To be Continued...

DreamyApe

Have you guys ever had boar meat? It's delish, let me tell you. Just make sure you cook it properly, or you're gonna be cooked properly. 

More stuff at P@treon/DreamyApe.