Practicing the Storm Release

“Pack up your things! We’re leaving today!”, announced Mr. Gin before leaving our cave and heading out to prepare our prisoners for their transport.

“Finally!”, cried out Haruto while jumping up from the ground.

In contrast to Haruto, Miyuki elegantly finished eating her soup without comment and was now packing up the few things she had brought along. I, on the other hand, dumped everything not necessary for combat or first-aid into a large Fuinjutsu Sealing scroll.

‘These are so convenient.’, I mentally praised the ingenious invention in my hands.

As a consequence, we finished packing up in only dozens of seconds. Afterward, we began to conceal our recent whereabouts by recreating the cave’s original state before we had arrived. When we were finished I took a last look at the cave we used before leaving it. 

‘The cave is better cleaned than my past-life’s bedroom ever has been.’, I mentally chuckled.

Standing outside of our cave I saw the sun rising up from behind Uzushiogakure’s modest mountain range: The word picturesque would describe it the best. As I was admiring the scene, I saw Mr. Gin coming out of a cave with two prisoners - Three less than we initially took as prisoners.

While Mr. Gin was approaching us with the prisoners who seemed to have lost all their will to live, I barely recognized one of them as the former pirate leader. But contrary to the last time I had seen him, he was wearing bandages from head to toe which were still freshly soaked with blood. 

‘...Sometimes I forget that Mr. Gin is a fully-fledged Jonin perfectly capable of using torture for interrogation.’, I wryly thought.

“On our trip home, I’m going to guard the big one. You guys guard the smaller one.”, ordered Mr. Gin in an unusually rude tone while pointing at the other prisoner who was, unlike his former boss, only suffering from small injuries.

“YES!”, we answered in chorus before departing from the beach and returning home.

Due to our prisoner’s slow movement speed, our return trip took much longer than we had anticipated and on many occasions, one of them collapsed due to exhaustion which forced us to take a break. Consequently, Mr. Gin told Miyuki to sedate them before he carried the heavier one on his back while our Genin Team carried the lighter one on a rotating basis. 

‘It’s scary how I learned to turn off my emotions in just a couple of days.’, I thought while carrying our prisoner on my back whilst jumping from tree to tree.

A couple of days after our departure from the western shores of Uzushiogakure, we finally arrived at the village’s western gate. However, before we were let in, one masked Ninja relieved us from our prisoners before disappearing with them. 

“Here are your papers. Please report to the Ninja mission office.”, said one of the gate’s guards before handing back our papers to Mr. Gin. 

When we entered the village, I noticed the busy people on the streets who were sometimes talking about the latest gossip, sometimes haggling with a store owner over the price of a certain item and sometimes just strolling around in the morning. 

I felt out of place.

“Let’s visit Mr. Chojiro after we’ve visited the Ninja mission office!”, suggested Haruto after seeing the sorrylook on my face. 

“Yeah, let’s do that.”, I agreed.

“I would love to eat Mr. Chojiro’s food again.”, added Miyuki with a happy face.

“...Sorry but I’ve to attend a meeting. Maybe I can join you guys sometime in the future.”, apologized Mr. Gin while scratching the back of his head. 

“Come to think of, isn’t the winter festival soon being held?”, remarked Miyuki while glancing at Mr. Gin.

“You’re right! I almost forgot!”, shouted Haruto with sparkling eyes. 

“Ehm…what’s the winter festival?”, I curiously asked them to which they looked at me dumbfounded.

“Right. You arrived in Uzushiogakure during late summer so you can’t really know about the winter festival.”, concluded Mr. Gin.

“It’s the most celebrated festival in Uzushiogakure as we thank the gods for this year’s good harvest while asking them to again watch over us the following year. Usually, we celebrate it by eating freshly caught fish along with seaweed.”, graciously explained Miyuki. 

“And we get presents!”, exclaimed Haruto who was already anticipating this year’s winter festival.

‘Isn’t that basically Christmas?’, I mentally remarked in astonishment.

“We’re going to celebrate it together, right teacher?”, asked Miyuki while holding a beautifully adorned fan in front of her face.

It again astounded me when I saw Miyuki holding a fan in her hand - Something she didn’t do when we were outside of the village. When we had departed from Uzushiogakure for our mission I had asked her about that and she had replied that she uses her fan only in urban environments as it is easier to store, conceal and use her Senbons if they are on her fan’s backside.

“Right! There’s nothing I like more than babysitting you guys! HAHAHA!”, Mr. Gin sarcastically commented before laughing.

“But let’s first finish our mission.”, he said when we had arrived in front of the Ninja Mission office where Ninjas of all ranks gather.

Upon entering the building through the main entrance, I followed Mr. Gin’s lead who walked to a female receptionist. He then explained to us what kinds of procedures we had to follow after our mission before giving each of us an empty sheet.

“Now, write a report about your mission. Try to include as many things as possible while keeping it objective. Also, your report is useless if nobody can decipher it so write neatly.”, he told us before signing some documents.

“Well, I wish you guys a nice late afternoon but unfortunately I have to go now. See you tomorrow at our usual training field.”, he apologized before performing the Body Flicker Jutsu and leaving us alone in the Ninja Mission office.

“Let’s quickly write our reports so we can go to Mr. Chojiro.”, I suggested.

“That’s a good idea.”, agreed Miyuki.

“Uhh! It can’t be helped.”, acknowledged Haruto with slumped shoulders. 

OOO

“Hey, Mr. Chojiro! How are you?”, asked Haruto after writing the, I quote, ‘bestest report in the world’.

“I’m doing fine, brat! Also, good job on not dying!”, Mr. Chojiro replied while grilling some vegetables. 

“Hello, Mr. Chojiro.”, I greeted with a smile. 

“It’s good to see you, Mr. Chojiro.”, added Miyuki while giving him a short bow. 

“Good to see you all not kicking the bucket.”, Mr. Chojiro replied with a rare smile while looking at all of us. 

 “Yeah, you have to deal with us annoying brats for a while.”, I smirked at him.

“Heh, youngsters these days don’t have any respect for their seniors anymore.”, he commented with a grin. 

“So what are you brats going to order?”, he asked us while flipping a pancake. 

“Please give me the shrimp soup my aunt usually orders.”, answered Miyuki first. 

“For me, a serving of grilled noodles would be good.”, I replied. 

“I want a big plate of grilled meat.”, ordered Haruto.

“Noted.”, answered Mr. Chojiro while applying oil to his pan.

After ordering our food, we talked about our future training schedule: Miyuki wanted to improve her Shurikenjutsu while Haruto decided to dedicate most of his time towards Fuinjutsu. I, on the other hand, wished to solidify my foundations before attempting to use my Kekkei Genkai. 

As we were conversing about our training schedules, our dishes had been prepared so we began to enjoy Mr. Chojiro’s food which had a perfect blend of its several different ingredients resulting in a perfect flavor -  A far cry from the sometimes oversalted soup we ate during our mission. 

When we were finished eating we thanked Mr. Chojiro for the food before paying and leaving his stall. The sky had already begun to darken and the stores had closed one after the other. Walking through the now almost empty street was eery but it also gave off a surprising sense of tranquility.

“See you tomorrow.”, I bade farewell to Haruto and Miyuki at a small junction.

“Yeah, until tomorrow then.”, added Haruto.

“Goodbye.”, replied Miyuki. 

Now I was walking alone in the streets only accompanied by the light of the stars and the moon. On my way back to the inn, where I would continue to stay for the remaining duration of the student exchange program, I occasionally encountered some drunks and stray animals.

‘...Let’s help them a bit.’, I decided after smelling the scent of vomit coming from the drunks before moving their bodies into the recovery position.

‘...Why am I helping them?’, I questioned myself while lifting a drunk’s head thereby easing the exiting of his puke. 

‘...Is it because I feel guilty for killing someone?’

‘...Well, let’s just quickly return and wash myself before taking a good night’s rest.’, I concluded before heading to the inn. When I finally arrived at the inn, I knocked on its front door.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Who’s there?”, asked an old man. 

“It’s just me, Takumi.”

“Oh. It’s our long-term guest, Mr. Kenjo. Please come in.”, said Mr. Asukawa before opening the door and greeting me with a smile. 

“Thank you.”

“You must be exhausted from your mission, right? Unfortunately, we don’t have any warm water left so you have to wait until tomorrow to clean yourself. I am ashamed as an inn owner.”, Mr. Asukawa sighed with regret.

“No, no no! I was the one who caused you to feel uncomfortable as I failed to send you a notice of my arrival after I entered the village’s gate.”, I apologized before bowing. 

“Thank you for your understanding but I feel responsible as an inn owner so please allow me to at least offer you a cup of warm tea.”, retorted Mr. Asukawa. 

“...Yes. That would be appreciated.”, I accepted before leaving Mr. Asukawa and going upstairs.

As I was walking through the dimly lit hallway, I could hear someone snoring. 

‘... I just want to sleep. Please, don’t be next to me, dear snorer.’

But my hope was knocked out of the skies when I stood in front of my room’s door while hearing the snoring noise coming out of the room left to mine. The only thing that I could do now was to pray that the guest would soon leave the inn. 

In the motion of taking the key for my room out, I remembered the last training session before our first mission: Mr. Gin had said that we should start to practice lockpicking as it was one of the most convenient skills someone, whether they are civilians or Ninjas, could have.

‘...Man, I just really want to sleep now.’, I mentally whined.

‘But skill comes with practice.’, I thought before getting on my knees and taking out small pieces of metal wire.

Forming two suitable wires into an improvised tensioner and hook turned out to be a bit tricky but with further practice, I would hopefully improve in the foreseeable future. While picking the lock, I played with the thought of forging a more sophisticated set of lockpicking tools.

‘Let’s ask Mr. Gin if there are any blacksmith workshops that would be willing to lend their place and tools for a short duration.’

CLICK

Turning the tensioner around opened the lock - I had successfully picked the door. I hurriedly retrieved my tools and entered my room before closing the door. Then I began to check whether someone had entered my room during my absence. 

‘Seems like nobody has entered my room.’, I breathed in relief.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Mr. Kenjo, I’m here to deliver your tea to you.”, politely announced Mr. Asukawa.

“Ah, thank you! Please leave it in front of my room. I’ll pick it up myself.”

“Of course.”, replied Mr. Asukawa.

“Have a good night’s rest.”, the inn-owner wished.

“You too!”, I responded before taking off my equipment - Only a couple of Kunais and my short sword stayed with me. When I had finished changing my clothing, I opened my room door and picked up the cup of tea on the ground before taking a small sip.

‘Let’s hope that it’s not poisoned.’, I thought with dry humor. 

‘Mmmm. That’s a nice flavor.’, I remarked before closing the door in front of me. 

Standing alone in my room while calmly drinking tea felt good. When I finished drinking the tea, I placed the teacup aside and went to bed. Its level of comfort instantly alleviated a part of my tiredness. 

‘Wait a minute. Don’t Japanese people normally use Futons when they go to sleep and isn’t the Naruto world based on Japanese society? But back in Konoha, I had already used a bed so maybe they’re quite common.’

‘...In the end, it doesn’t matter. As long as I can sleep well in it, I’m satisfied.’, I thought before gently dozing off.

OOO

“LOOK AT ME!”, shouted a bandaged man.

“YOUR TEACHER DID THIS TO ME! A MAN YOU RESPECT! ARE YOU NINJAS EVEN HUMANS?!?!? YOU’RE WORSE THAN US!”, added the injured man in an enraged voice.

“I-I… I KNOW! But why did you have to kill innocent people? If we hadn’t captured you, you would have killed more innocent people!”, I desperately shouted back.

“THAT’S NOTHING MORE THAN SOPHISTRY! YOU HYPOCRITE!”, retorted the man with an all-knowing face.

“I-I..”

“WHAT WOULD YOUR PARENTS SAY, ESPECIALLY YOUR MOTHER? DIDN’T SHE TELL YOU TO ALWAYS RESPECT LIFE?!?!”

“I-I think tha-”, I tried to justify myself but the man rushed toward me and began to strangle me. I felt helpless as my hands failed to push him aside. 

“SO YOU CAN THINK?!?!? THEN LET’S USE YOUR FANCY BRAIN FOR SOME THINKING! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED OR WERE DRIVEN OUT OF THEIR HOMES BECAUSE OF NINJAS LIKE YOU?!?!?”

“I-I..”, I managed to cough out despite the man’s increasing tight grip around my throat.

“YOU’RE WORSE THAN SCUM LIKE ME! YOU-”

Before he could finish his sentence, I interrupted him by kicking his crotch while spitting his face. As a consequence, he hastily reached to his groin and collapsed. I instinctively took out my short sword from its scabbard in a swift motion and cut his limbs.

“I KNOW THAT I’M A HYPOCRITE!”, I again shouted back. 

“BUT WHAT CAN I DO?!?!? I’M JUST A GENIN!”, I cried out while falling onto my knees.

SOB 

SOB

“I’m just a Genin.”, I weakly repeated while tears came out of my eyes.

SOB 

SOB

“I-I’m alone. I can’t do anything. I-”, I lamented before feeling the warm touch of someone.

Looking up, I could see my mother and father warmly smiling at me. They silently kneeled beside me and shared their warmth with me. Then the scenery suddenly changed and my current teammates and teacher were hugging me. When I looked around, I saw my friends from Konoha running toward me and joining the hug forming a big cluster of people. 

“...”, I just speechlessly continued to kneel while crying.

After a while, I wiped the tears from my face and looked at the still enraged bandaged man lying on his back.

“You’re right. Ninjas should become more human.”, I admitted while sheathing my short sword. 

“Thank you for telling me this even if you’re just something made in my dreams.”, I thanked the bandaged man before waking up.

The sun was already shining through the window and I could hear the waves gently arriving at the port. I also heard the noises of people coming from the busy streets and the steady steps of someone approaching my room.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Mr. Kenjo. Are you awake? I prepared some warm water for a short shower.”

“...I’m coming in five minutes.”

“Should I also prepare your usual breakfast?”

“Yes, please do so.”

“I understand. As you know, you can find me downstairs if there’s something you need.”

“Yeah, I know.”

After Mr. Asukawa left and went downstairs, I got up and looked out of the window while thinking:

‘It’s okay to be a hypocrite.’

OOO

“ELECTRIC JET JUTSU”

A white beam of lightning traveled down the training ground before hitting a rock whose surface had been roughened by the countless attacks it had received. But as most of the lightning bolts were absorbed by the rock, strangely, some of them moved to the right before hitting the ground. 

“I finally did it!”, I happily shouted out before a wave of tiredness overcame me causing me to collapse and fall onto my butt. 

‘Redirecting the lightning bolt proved to be much more challenging than I thought. Even having cheat-like Chakra-sensing eyes didn’t help much.’

When I had arrived at the training ground, I did a couple of basic exercises and spars together with my teammates before Mr. Gin gave us a short debriefing of our mission praising our good teamwork while again warning us to be constantly vigilant. 

Because our basic skills proved to be good enough, he asked us what kind of individual training we wanted: Haruto replied without batting an eye that he wished to learn more about Fuinjutsus - Something Mr. Gin would be more than willing to help with. 

As our poison specialist, Miyuki received the necessary specialized training from her aunt so she asked Mr. Gin to teach her more advanced Shurikenjutsu skills. He naturally agreed to teach her and also suggested that she could use her Wind Release and good Chakra Control to subtly alter the trajectory of her projectiles - Hearing Mr. Gin’s suggestion made Miyuki grin like a child getting presents which made me shudder in fear. 

‘Remember: Never get on Miyuki’s nerves under any circumstances.’, I reminded myself.

I, on the other hand, decided to further train my Storm release - Something I always did whenever possible. But now I wanted it to reach a level where I could use it in an actual fight: The Storm Release instruction scrolls from Konoha hinted that it was as versatile as the Water Release while having a similar level of destructiveness compared to the Lightning Release. 

The instruction scrolls also stated that the Storm Release was very similar to the Lightning Release which explained the division of skill into two levels of proficiency: The first level was using the Storm Release like the Lightning Release. The second level was to use it similar to the Water Release. 

When I had tried the Storm Release for the first time, I used it like a Lightning Strike Jutsu which had worked out but it was much weaker than the normal version. So I had trained it until it reached the level I had with the Lightning Strike Jutsu.

Today I practiced an original Storm Release Jutsu called the Electric Jet Jutsu which incorporated the characteristics of the Water Release allowing it to move like a water stream. It took me countless tries until I managed to move a part of the lightning bundle albeit with great difficulty.

‘Well, let’s conclude today’s training session. All in all, I would say that it was quite productive.’, I mentally summarized before heading back to where Mr. Gin, Haruto and Miyuki were. 

While I was walking toward the other training ground, I could see Miyuki diligently throwing all kinds of projectiles at different targets. Watching her hitting almost every target dead-center reminded me of a word from my past life: aimbot.

Looking behind where Miyuki stood, I could see Haruto and Mr. Gin discussing over a piece of parchment. They were quite immersed in their debate and seem to have forgotten their surroundings.

‘And here, ladies and gentlemen, are two wild Uzumakis in their natural environment.’, I mentally commented in a sarcastic tone.

“Hey, let’s end today’s training session, shall we?”, I shouted at them. 

Seemingly awakened from her meditation-like throwing, Miyuki looked at me in daze before blinking her eyes. She then nodded in confirmation and proceeded to collect the various projectiles she had thrown. 

The two Uzumakis, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have heard me despite my shouting as they were still engaged in a heated debate. In true Ninja fashion, I decided to draw their attention by attacking them with two almost harmless Jutsus.

“ELECTRIC SHOCK JUTSU”

“ELECTRIC ZAP JUTSU”

I casted in succession and watched their reactions with expectation: Mr. Gin instinctively dodged both attacks and positioned himself for a counterattack. However, Haruto wasn’t even a Chunin and therefore received both attacks making him squeak in pain. 

“Hey, who did this?!?!?”, demanded Haruto to know while Mr. Gin was giving me a knowing smile.

“It seems that I finally have your unshared attention.”, I answered him with a grin.

“Why did you almost electrocute me with your attacks?!?”, exaggerated Haruto like a drama queen.

“Couldn’t you’ve, like, just normally asked me to pay you attention?”, he added.

“Well, I tried by shouting at both of you but you didn’t react so I used more… drastic measures.”, I admitted.

“Besides, who are you to complain? Didn’t you use your Lightning Release during our spar when we said that we would only use Taijutsu?”, I argued. 

“...That was an accident, I swear! I just instinctively reacted to your punch, ok?”, whined Haruto. 

“Let’s just say that we’re even now, fine?”, I suggested.

“...Yeah, fine.”, he accepted while rubbing the spot where my attacks had reached him. 

“But why did you attack me, Takumi?”, asked Mr. Gin with a curious look.

“...I admit that this might sound a bit strange but I just wanted to see how a Jonin would react to a surprise attack.”, I replied in honesty.

“...Sometimes, you’re a weird kid, you know?”, commented a baffled Mr. Gin.

“Yeah, I know.”, I mischievously grinned. 

“Ah, by the way, do you perhaps know a blacksmith workshop that would be willing to lend its furnace and tools to me?”, I asked him after remembering yesterday’s nightly lock picking session. 

“...Why would you need access to a blacksmith workshop? It’s more convenient to order something from a blacksmith, isn’t it?”, Mr. Gin asked in puzzlement.

“That’s true but I have something really specific in my mind so it would be much faster to make it myself than to explain it to someone.”, I explained. 

“Interesting. So what are you going to make if I may ask?”, politely inquired my teacher.

“Eh, I want to make some specialized tools for picking locks.”, I answered.

“But isn’t forming some wires more than enough?”, he questioned.

“For most locks that would be enough but I think that there are also more complicated lock designs that require more sophisticated tools, right? And, as you have taught us, time is of essence when picking a lock so having specialized tools would be a great help.”

“Hmmm… That’s actually quite smart.”

“I can ask a couple of blacksmith shops affiliated with the Uzumaki Clan whether they’re willing to lend their workshop for you but I think it should be possible.”, offered Mr. Gin.

“...That’s really great! Thanks!”, I sincerely thanked him. 

“Then, if nobody has any questions, let’s end today’s training session. As I would like to continue the…discussion with Haruto about Fuinjutsu, we have to part from you guys. So see you tomorrow.”, said Mr. Gin.

“Yeah, see you.”, added Haruto before waving at us.

“Goodbye.”

“See you.”

While Mr. Gin and Haruto were leaving, I could hear them discussing while walking. 

‘It must be something really interesting.’, I mentally remarked before turning to Miyuki.

“Want to grab a bite before heading home?”

“Sorry but I’ve something really important to do at home so I should already go home now. See you tomorrow.”, Miyuki apologized before leaving the training ground. 

“Yeah, likewise, see you tomorrow.”, I replied while looking at Miyuki sprinting back home as I was still standing on the training ground. Watching the red sunset evoked a feeling of sereneness and I thought about my family and friends in Konoha while feeling a faint trace of homesickness coming from my heart.