After confirming his path as a Trainer, Zi Xu relaxed and fell asleep again, leaving a clone behind to practice the Silent Fruit's powers. Whatever else could be said, the Silent Fruit had greatly improved his sleep. It let him get a good night's rest while helping his clone master the Devil Fruit Ability. He really was working so hard.
The morning sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering like flecks of gold. Although he'd woken once during the night because of a dream, he'd still slept soundly for the rest of it. When it came to improving sleep quality, I, Uzumaki Zi Xu, would call myself the strongest!
"Knock, knock, knock~" As Zi Xu was washing up, someone rapped on his door. He didn't have many people he kept in touch with, and even fewer who came to visit. Nine times out of ten, it was Hatsumi and Chino. He spat out his mouthwash without hurry, wiped his face, and headed for the front door.
The clone had been good and followed Zi Xu's orders, continuing to practice the Silent Fruit's powers after Zi Xu had fallen asleep. Now it was sprawled on the floor, snoring away, making it hard not to wonder if the guy had slacked off again. After dispelling the clone, Zi Xu peered through the peephole. Only after confirming it was Chino and Hatsumi did he open the door.
"Creak~" Zi Xu opened the door a crack and peered outside.
Chino wore a black casual outfit. Her shirt had a pattern of dark circles, and her black jeans were accented with Deep Blue. She looked sharp and capable. Hatsumi wore a sky-blue short-sleeved shirt with a small beetle design on the chest, and her light-blue shorts also bore a spiderweb emblem. Zi Xu wasn't looking at the two of them, of course. He only opened the door once he'd checked that nobody else was around.
"Come on, let's get barbecue. It's already noon—why did you sleep in so late? Hurry up!" Hatsumi urged him on. She wanted to see whether the two of them could eat her out of house and home.
Chino glanced around Zi Xu's room. A few books lay open and scattered across the floor, their covers bearing titles about Cursed Seals and the removal of Sealing Techniques. There were several slightly bent barbells and some clothes dusted with grime. Nothing else looked unusual. She'd been curious about how Zi Xu trained, but was he really saying he could get stronger just by lifting weights? She had her doubts.
Zi Xu didn't dawdle. He shut the door, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and headed out. A free meal was too good an opportunity to pass up. After perfectly fusing with a quarter of Kaido's physique, his appetite had doubled. Most of his living expenses went toward food and books on various subjects, so he couldn't wait to dig in.
"Are we really allowed to eat as much as we want?" Zi Xu asked Hatsumi as they walked, flashing her an innocent smile. Hatsumi found the conversation oddly familiar, but still nodded confidently and puffed out her small chest, brimming with confidence.
"Of course! Don't underestimate me. I'm a real Ninja now. Have you ever heard of a Ninja starving to death? Heh heh. This time, I'm going to see you two so stuffed you're patting your bellies."
"Mm-hmm. So far, no Ninja has starved to death. But why couldn't you be the first?" Chino teased. Hatsumi pouted, making it clear that would never happen.
"...Um, if you can't eat any more, don't force yourselves. It's bad for your health. Right, your health comes first..." Hatsumi was starting to regret her earlier boast. These two really couldn't be judged by normal standards. A person couldn't beat a dog at eating—how had she failed to understand that?
"That won't do. Burp—I can't let Hatsumi's kindness go to waste. I have to do it justice. There's so much food; leaving any uneaten would be a waste." Zi Xu burped between words as he downed another large bowl of soup. Chino had also eaten a whole plate of barbecue while chatting. Hatsumi, who had long since eaten her fill, slumped in her seat and watched the two of them with growing fear.
"Old man, do the new generation of Ninjas all eat this much? At this rate, we'll run out of food in the storeroom..."
"What can we do? Let them eat. Maybe they haven't eaten in a long time, or maybe it's because of their training. If they eat, we cook." The owner and his wife were discussing the matter nearby. Hatsumi, whose hearing was sharp, caught every word. She sprang up from her sprawled-out position and tugged Zi Xu and Chino toward the counter.
"Sorry for the trouble. We're really sorry you're running low on ingredients. These two were just too hungry. Please don't bother preparing more for us—we'll call it here. This is the bill. We're leaving."
The owner and his wife hadn't even had time to react before Hatsumi dragged the reluctant Chino and Zi Xu out of the barbecue restaurant. They vanished around the corner like a gust of wind.
"You heard them, right? It's not that I can't afford to treat you. I just don't want to trouble the owners..." Chino and Zi Xu stared at her with matching expressions that said, "Whatever you say." Their gazes made her embarrassed, so she hurriedly changed the subject.
"Ahem. Anyway, let's put that behind us. I'll bring you back another time. We're getting assigned to teams tomorrow, so why don't we spend today training? I want to test whether my tactics have any problems."
"Since you're treating us to the meal, sure," Zi Xu and Chino agreed. The truth was, they needed a real fight to assess their current strength. Actual combat was the only way to test a strategy, and there was no way to improve without it.
The three soon reached their usual training spot. They stretched their limbs and warmed up before getting ready to fight.
"I'll fight Chino first, then Zi Xu."
Hatsumi took her stance and waved at Chino. Chino took off her jacket, tightened the light-red Headband on her forehead, and raised her hands in front of her chest, one slightly ahead of the other.
"Begin," Zi Xu said, taking on the role of temporary referee.
Hatsumi struck first. She barely moved from where she stood; only the index finger of the hand she pointed at Chino twitched discreetly. A palm-sized Azure Blade shot toward Chino's position at incredible speed, faster than an ordinary thrown Shuriken. The blue Moon Blade left a faint streak of light in the air and reached Chino in the blink of an eye.
Chino was briefly startled by the sudden attack, but her movements didn't hesitate at all. The Byakugan in her left eye activated instantly, and the world turned black and white. In this field of vision, she could clearly make out the Moon Blade's trajectory.
She shifted her right foot to the side and coated her palm with Chakra, knocking the blade away at a tricky angle. The Moon Blade struck a nearby tree trunk, leaving a deep gash.
Hatsumi didn't stand still after launching her attack. She shifted her steps and rushed toward Chino. By the time Chino deflected the Moon Blade, Hatsumi had already closed to within four meters.
Hatsumi twitched her finger again, firing another Moon Blade. But as it flew, several faint glimmers flickered around her. This Moon Blade was different from the last. Its blue glow was stronger, and it left more points of light along its flight path.
"Light Bugs paired with Moonlight Worms. That boosted the Moon Blade's power." Zi Xu silently assessed the attack. It was already beginning to take shape as a finishing move.
Chino felt a strong sense of danger. Through her Byakugan, she could tell that although the blade's size hadn't changed much, it contained much more energy. She couldn't block it head-on.
A compass-like bagua pattern appeared beneath Chino's feet. In the direction of the Moon Blade's path, a "?" symbol appeared.
"Kun Character - Misty Dust." Chino murmured the name in her mind. The ground beneath the symbol suddenly shifted. Dust rose into the air without a breeze, forming a cloud that blocked everyone's view and disrupted Hatsumi's attack.
"Cough, cough, cough." Staying alert to her surroundings, Hatsumi released some small insects to keep watch around her for any sudden attacks.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle." The sound of running footsteps came from the dust cloud. Just as the dust was about to settle, Hatsumi's eyes widened, glowing bright blue.
"Light Path Bug, Bright Eyes?" Zi Xu noticed the glow in Hatsumi's eyes too. He couldn't tell which kind of insect she'd used, but it seemed to be a Light Path Bug.
"Crack~" The sound was a little odd. As the smoke cleared, Hatsumi struck Chino in front of her with one palm. She held a kunai in her other hand; if she wanted, she could attack while Chino was still stunned by the blow.
"Heh heh, I won! I finally won for once, right? Hm? Why aren't you saying anything? Did I get you down? It's okay, there'll be plenty of chances. There are lots of opportunities to get stronger..." Seeing that Chino wasn't speaking, Hatsumi thought she'd been discouraged by the loss and hurried to comfort her. She didn't want this to drive a wedge between them.
Chino still didn't answer. She stood there blankly, as if the loss really had gotten to her.
"Don't worry, I'm not as fragile as you think. And next time, stay alert." Chino spoke, but her voice came from behind Hatsumi. Hatsumi whipped around and saw Chino smiling at her. Chino's right eye was no longer its usual gray-black. It had turned an eerie, unnatural red.
"Red Eye? When did I fall for a Genjutsu...?" Seeing Chino's red eye, Hatsumi understood what had happened. The silent "Chino" in front of her revealed her true form: it was a tree.
"It was when the dust was in the air..." Hatsumi guessed when she'd fallen for the Genjutsu. But as she remembered lecturing a tree just moments ago, her face flushed red.
"Damn it. I won't lose to you next time." Hatsumi clenched her little fist, mortified. Chino nodded. She'd felt the pressure of the fight. Without her Red Eye, she wouldn't have been confident of winning. Hatsumi still lacked real combat experience.
"Next, you can challenge Zi Xu. I'll referee." Hatsumi gathered the little insects scattered on the ground and pointed at Zi Xu. Of the three of them, only Zi Xu could keep Chino firmly in check. Of course, at Zi Xu's request, they hadn't told anyone else about that.
Zi Xu pointed at himself to show he was ready anytime. After exchanging a glance with Chino, he walked slowly toward the training ground.
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