Somersault Cloud Slime

Kakashi hadn't arrived yet, but Yamashiro Aoba had already reached the meeting point. Sai and Fujiwara Chima were there too, while Yu was the last to arrive.

"Sorry, everyone. Something came up on the way, and it held me up for a bit. I'm not late, am I?" Yu said with a smile.

"There are still more than ten minutes until our agreed time, Yu. You're actually early.

"Since we're all here, why don't we head to the training ground and start the test?" Yamashiro Aoba said to the three of them.

Then Yamashiro Aoba sprang up onto the nearby rooftop.

"Now, you'd better keep up! This is the first test. If none of you can keep up with me, there's no point in continuing. You can go straight back to the Ninja Academy and start over!"

Standing on the rooftop, Yamashiro Aoba adjusted his green sunglasses and spoke to the three of them.

Fujiwara Chima was the first of the three to move. She still couldn't leap straight onto a rooftop more than ten meters high like Yamashiro Aoba, but after pushing off the wall several times with her nimble feet, she made it onto the roof and stood before him.

Next, Sai gave Yu his trademark fake smile, then used one of the few methods Fujiwara Chima had used to climb onto the roof. But Yamashiro Aoba didn't wait for Yu to join them. He sprang forward at once.

Ninja movements were even more impressive than the martial arts heroes' light-footed leaps in wuxia films. Even Genin like Fujiwara Chima and Sai could dart across Konoha's rooftops.

"Hey, I haven't even gotten on yet!"

Yu had thought they would wait for him, but they'd set off before he'd even moved.

Yu didn't rush after the three of them. First, he took out a scroll and spread it on the ground, then bit his finger and pressed his hand against it.

[Summoning Technique]

A cloud of white smoke rose from the Summoning Scroll, and a Slime that looked like a cloud appeared before Yu.

Somersault Cloud Slime

Bloodlines: Bubble Fish, Pistol Shrimp, Great Cotton Rose

No self-awareness

This Somersault Cloud Slime was one of the valuable Slimes Yu had successfully bred over the past two years.

First of all, it was the first Slime to be fused with a plant bloodline. Somersault Cloud Slimes had originally possessed the talent to develop self-awareness, but after fusing with the plant bloodline, that self-awareness had vanished.

The Somersault Cloud Slime looked like a white cloud because it had taken on the shape of the Great Cotton Rose's flower. This extremely rare plant's blooms looked just like clouds, making the Slime's name a perfect fit.

Yu sat cross-legged on the Somersault Cloud Slime. The Slime, which had been about the size of a cushion, began to expand rapidly until it was as big as a table for eight. This was thanks to the Bubble Fish bloodline. When threatened, this marine fish could rapidly inflate its body to scare off predators, expanding to about ten times its usual size.

"Let's go."

Yu patted the Somersault Cloud Slime and sent it a command through his thoughts. Although the Somersault Cloud Slime had no self-awareness, all Slimes could carry out Yu's commands perfectly.

Then several small openings appeared on the underside of the Somersault Cloud Slime.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Powerful bursts of air shot out through the openings in the Somersault Cloud Slime, providing strong thrust. The Slime slowly rose into the sky. Once it had climbed to a height of about one or two hundred meters, several rows of larger openings appeared at its rear.

The two Chakra Hearts inside the Somersault Cloud Slime began to work. Large amounts of Chakra surged out through the openings, forming streams of blue Chakra and generating powerful thrust.

(The Pistol Shrimp's ability was to shoot powerful blasts of air through openings in its claws, pushing water to strike its prey.)

With a "whoosh," the Somersault Cloud Slime shot forward with Yu aboard. It moved incredibly fast, already nearing the speed of sound.

Yamashiro Aoba and the others would never have imagined that Yu would chase after them like this.

The world of Naruto had its share of technological inventions. Ships existed, and engines had long since been developed, but strangely, there were no cars in the world of Naruto.

This had once puzzled Yu, but now he understood why there were no cars in the world of Naruto.

Cars simply weren't necessary. In this world, technology was in the hands of ninja. Ninja didn't need cars to travel, because their legs alone could carry them at speeds no car could match, while letting them cross any kind of terrain. Cars had no reason to exist.

As for how ordinary people traveled, that wasn't something the ninja needed to worry about.

So cars hadn't been invented simply because ninja didn't need them.

Just like Yamashiro Aoba and the others now: in only a few minutes, they had run from Konoha's residential district into the Great Forest of Death. The distance was more than ten kilometers, and they had faced plenty of obstacles while crossing the town. That was the ability of ninja, and why they didn't need cars.

As they ran, Yamashiro Aoba didn't use his full speed, going only a little faster than an ordinary Genin. He also glanced back from time to time, making sure he didn't leave Yu too far behind.

To his surprise, Fujiwara Chima was extremely fast. Even when he picked up the pace a little, she stayed right on his heels. Sai was the same. He looked like he was struggling, but he could still keep up.

According to the Ninja Academy's records, Uchiha Yu's Taijutsu really is terrible, Yamashiro Aoba thought. He couldn't see Yu anywhere, which could only mean one thing: Yu had fallen far behind.

The Great Forest of Death had plenty of clearings for training, and Yamashiro Aoba had already picked out a spot.

When they reached their destination, Yamashiro Aoba dropped from a tree trunk to the ground. He stood with his hands behind his back and smiled at Fujiwara Chima when she arrived a moment later, nodding approvingly at Sai when he came right after her.

Then Yamashiro Aoba put on a stern expression and stared down the empty forest path. He wasn't going to punish Yu, but he still had to put on the proper air of a teacher.

About four or five minutes passed, but Yu still hadn't appeared. Something was definitely wrong. Even a slow Genin should have arrived in twice that time!

"Wait here. I'll go look for Yu." Yamashiro Aoba adjusted his green sunglasses. Just a moment ago, he had contacted his Summoning Beast, but it hadn't spotted Yu either.

Yamashiro Aoba was afraid something had happened to Yu. That sort of thing had happened before.

Just then, a voice rang out above their heads.

"Teacher Aoba, I'm up here! I finally found you!"

It was Yu's voice.

The three of them looked up together and saw Yu lying on a white cloud high above the forest, waving at them.

At the sight, Yamashiro Aoba and the others all stared in stunned amazement.