The Lesson of Killing

They had killed people and seen blood.

Everyone carried themselves differently now. Their former carefree, lax demeanor had gained a measure of solemnity.

The journey had been rough, and they had weathered several attacks by refugees and bandits. The most outrageous had been when barely a dozen people dared charge their long convoy. That had not been robbery at all—it had been suicide.

Katsuki felt somewhat heavyhearted. Beyond the prosperity of the Land of Fire lay the hellish landscape of the Land of Rain. The abruptness of the transition left him with a deep sense of melancholy.

The others around him, however, remained utterly indifferent.

He could only mock himself. As expected, deep down, he had yet to truly become part of this world.

The convoy crawled along. It was not that they did not want to move faster, but that they simply could not. Fortunately, the road they traveled lay within Konoha-controlled territory, safely behind the front lines. Aside from the endless refugees and bandits, there were no particularly formidable enemies.

Before long, Sakumo personally arrived with his men to receive them. With the White Fang standing guard, there was no need to fear even Hanzō launching a surprise attack in person.

After a long trek, they finally reached their destination: Konoha's main base in the Land of Rain. Nearly ten thousand Konoha ninja were stationed there, confronting the Rain Ninja.

With that, the Ninja Academy students had completed this training exercise. Together with a group of ninja returning to the village for rest and recuperation, they set off on the road home. Sakumo could not truly keep these students on the front lines. The march itself had been training, and driving back bandits and seeing blood was already the limit.

Yet two squads remained behind. After Tsunade produced the Hokage's secret order, Katsuki's squad and Kushina's squad were kept at the front. Watching the other Ninja Academy students leave one after another—the advanced and intermediate classes all departing—while their two beginner-class squads remained behind, they could not help feeling uneasy.

Although Sakumo was his teacher, Katsuki had no way to seek him out. The ninja camp's rules were stricter than those of an ordinary army. There were simply too many strange ninjutsu and Secret Techniques; without stringent precautions, spies might run rampant within the camp.

He could not even leave the section of camp where he was stationed. Still, he had his suspicions. Could they have been deliberately kept behind because of him and Kushina? After pondering it for a while, though, he still could not discern the intent. He could only suppress his doubts and continue tempering his body.

Inside the tent.

"What do you think the higher-ups are doing? Why leave only our two squads behind?" Otoha lay on a campaign bed, his hands weaving like butterflies as he practiced his hand-sign speed while chatting with Katsuki and the others.

"How would I know if you ask me?" Katsuki supported himself on one hand and did push-ups, alternating between his left and right arms. "Besides, rather than worrying about that, I would rather get out and train than stay cooped up here doing push-ups."

"Exactly. This space is too small for me to practice my fists." Perhaps Katsuki had struck a chord with him, but Hyuga Tenzan unusually chimed in. Incidentally, he was so bored that he was playing rock-paper-scissors with Dōton Akimichi.

Otoha bared his teeth at that, looking rather delighted by their misfortune. Who knew where he had picked up such habits? He was truly disgracing the Uchiha name. If his father saw him like this, he would probably want to skin him alive.

Katsuki maliciously imagined Otoha being beaten until he cried for his parents, using the image to comfort himself through these dreary days. Honestly, this was even worse than marching. At least the road had been open and expansive, allowing one's spirit to breathe freely. Being confined to this tiny space made every movement, whether walking, sitting, or lying down, feel more stifling.

"Be patient and wait a couple of days. There has to be a reason." Minato leaned quietly against a bedpost, holding a book as he read.

A tent like this could house at most six people, though two or three fewer was also possible. Five people lived here now, all Ninja Academy students. Since Kushina was a girl and had separate quarters, the five boys from the two squads were crammed together here.

Inside the command tent.

Sakumo frowned, feeling somewhat irritated. Only after receiving the Hokage's letter did he remember that his little disciple was one of the candidates to become a Jinchuriki. Both he and his sister were qualified to become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.

The Third Hokage's letter gave him a headache. He was to find a way to test Katsuki and Kushina's character, then record every word and action of theirs.

What a pain! How was he supposed to test something as intangible as character? Sakumo rubbed his temples with a headache. This was truly a difficult problem. Still, he did not know the girl, but he understood Katsuki's temperament well. Someone who could be so ruthless toward himself, tempering his body through methods nearly akin to torture, could not possibly lack a resolute character.

"Senior Sakumo, about this matter..." Tsunade spoke up. Orochimaru and Jiraiya sat quietly in their respective seats. Before Sakumo, they behaved even more steadily than they did before Hiruzen.

"I'll make the arrangements."

Sakumo lightly tapped the table with his fingers, a gentle smile rising at the corners of his lips.

"There will be plenty of opportunities..."

A small town.

A light drizzle began to fall again. The rain in the Land of Rain seemed endless, and the thick ink-dark clouds overhead had never once dispersed. Such immense moisture was truly terrifying. Fortunately, rivers crisscrossed the Land of Rain and carried the water out of the country. Otherwise, the Land of Rain might have had to rename itself the Land of Lakes.

Pedestrians were sparse on the streets, and there were barely any proper shops. Most vendors had simply put up sheds and sold goods such as oil and salt inside. It was exceedingly crude.

"I don't get why the higher-ups keep assigning us jobs like this. Can't they give us something more challenging?" Otoha grumbled nonstop as he walked down the street, surveying the merchants on either side.

"Why worry about that? We just need to kill people." Katsuki flexed his fingers calmly, his knuckles cracking sharply.

They had already spent a month in the Land of Rain. During that time, they had constantly been assigned all manner of missions. Including Kushina and Minato's squad, their two student squads had been running all over the place, continuously carrying out various tasks.

These missions were basically all about killing.

Killing spies, killing bandits, killing everyone they were capable of killing.

After walking halfway down the long street, the three turned into an alley. The dark alley was strewn with garbage, and a rotting stench rushed at them.

"Tenzan?"

"Seventeen targets... all inside drinking."

The Byakugan was truly useful. It awakened naturally, and even a student could scout an enormous area with it. Having a teammate like this was incredibly helpful.

"Charge in and take them out."

Katsuki grinned. The smile brimmed with killing intent and sent chills down one's spine. He was the first to rush into the alley, violently kicking open the first door on the left before charging inside with a short blade in hand.

"This guy is starting to feel more and more like a freak," Otoha muttered, following Katsuki inside with Tenzan close behind.