You Two-What Were You Doing in the Woods Just Now?

Four months later, in the outskirts of Konoha.

A few shuriken traced cruel arcs through the air, striking a wild boar's vital points with pinpoint accuracy.

The boar crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Kushina jumped with excitement. "All right! We've finally completed another C-rank mission!"

Minato smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice work, Kushina! Our teamwork's getting better and better."

"Hehe." Kushina flashed a radiant smile, then looked toward Sen, who was keeping watch from the treetop. "Sen, wasn't that amazing? Are there any more boars? I'll take them out with one shuriken each!"

Sen nodded. "Impressive. There aren't any others. We took care of all three. Let's go. We can leave the meat for the villagers." As he spoke, he channeled chakra into his feet and ran straight down from the top of the tree.

"Sen really is something. Even climbing down from a tree, he does it differently from everyone else," Kushina remarked.

Only Minato saw how he'd done it. Surprised and confused, he said, "Sen, I didn't expect your chakra control to be as precise as mine now. Why do I feel like I'm always in your shadow?"

Sen landed steadily on the ground and said,

"We're teammates, aren't we? These are just basic skills—nothing worth mentioning. Anyway, go wake Jiraiya. Didn't he say there was a new mission? I'm sick of D-rank missions after these past few months. We should take another C-rank one if we can."

As he spoke, he saw Jiraiya approaching from the distance. There was no joy at having completed their mission on his face—instead, he looked grave.

"How did you finish so quickly?"

Kushina's lips curled into a smug smile. "Isn't finishing early a good thing? Now we can take on another mission. Just don't give us another D-rank one this time."

Jiraiya shook his head and said gravely, "I'd hoped to let you relax for a few more days... But since the mission's done, get ready to leave the village this afternoon for a new one."

The three of them looked excited. This would be their first time leaving the village. Unless they had a special mission, Konoha's shinobi weren't allowed to leave.

"You're heading to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. There's already been some small-scale fighting there. It's better if you go early and learn how to stay alive."

His words exploded in their ears like a thunderclap.

Kushina and Minato both paled.

Kushina stiffened. Memories surged through her mind, and she took a step back. As if unable to believe it, she asked, "So soon? We're going to the battlefield already?"

Seeing how frightened they were, Jiraiya reassured them. "It's all right. I'll protect you. These are just minor skirmishes. They happen every year. As for a full-scale war, that's impossible."

Sen furrowed his brow. Jiraiya's words did nothing to make him feel safe.

It was already the 36th year of Konoha. The Second Shinobi World War would break out in full within a year at most.

When that happened, Jiraiya would have to go fight in the Land of Rain, and the three of them would be left to fend for themselves.

But danger also meant opportunity.

A few days ago, after his tenth birthday, the system's attribute restrictions seemed to have lifted.

The battlefield was the perfect place for him to seize abilities and grow stronger at an incredible pace!

At the thought, a flicker of excitement passed through Sen's eyes. "The sooner we go, the better. Shinobi are going to end up on the battlefield sooner or later anyway."

Looking at his eager, battle-hungry expression, Jiraiya felt speechless.

Was this kid that desperate to make a name for himself? People died on the battlefield!

Jiraiya's mouth twitched. In the end, he gave the order. "Get your gear ready. Meet at the village gates this afternoon. We'll head straight out!"

The three nodded and started home.

As they passed through the village center, they ran into Shimura Saburo's squad.

Seeing their grave expressions, Shimura Saburo paused, then burst into a gleeful laugh.

"Ha ha ha! Look at you, like your parents just died. Don't tell me you're being sent to the front lines as cannon fodder?

What a pity. Unlike us, the Shimura clan already has an agreement with the Hokage. The clan leader made sure that the younger generation won't have to go off and die!"

"You coward! You're not even brave enough to go to the battlefield. What kind of shinobi are you?" Kushina clenched her fists, furious, and was about to charge at him.

Sen grabbed her and held her back. His gaze passed over Shimura Saburo and settled on the Jonin leading the squad behind him. Then he shook his head.

He turned to Shimura Saburo, a cold smile on his face.

"Don't waste your breath on him. Eunuchs love to run their mouths behind people's backs. Don't worry. Everywhere I go, I'll spread the Shimura eunuch's glorious reputation throughout the Five Great Nations. I'll make sure everyone knows your name."

"You!" Shimura Saburo's face turned beet red, and he trembled with rage.

Minato couldn't help laughing. He hurriedly led the other two away. "Sen, I didn't know you could be so vicious."

Sen gave a cold laugh. "It's just psychological warfare. I'm no saint."

That afternoon.

Led by Jiraiya, the three of them walked out of Konoha's gates for the first time.

Unfortunately, no one was in the mood to admire the scenery along the way.

The weight of setting foot on a battlefield soon pressed down on them all, making it hard to breathe.

They traveled in silence until nightfall, when they made camp beside a river.

"Minato, keep watch. Kushina, start a fire. Sen, come fishing with me." Jiraiya assigned their tasks with practiced ease. "We can still have something hot to eat for the next few days. After that, it'll be nothing but Soldier Pills."

Sen nodded and followed Jiraiya to the riverbank. After Jiraiya filled their canteens, Sen formed Hand Seals, then tossed a few Lightning Release: Lightning Balls into the river, electrocuting a large number of fish at once.

That night, the four of them ate grilled fish by the campfire.

"There's one more thing I need to teach you." Jiraiya took out a scroll. "This is the Sensory Technique.

"The Mist Ninja you'll soon face are experts at using thick fog to carry out assassinations. This technique is key to staying alive."

He pressed two fingers to the ground and closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. "The principle behind the technique isn't complicated. What matters is how keenly you can sense your surroundings.

"There's a large feline beast two hundred meters to the front left. Give it a try. With your talent, you should be able to master it within three days."

Minato nodded and began studying it by the flickering firelight. In barely ten minutes, he was pressing two fingers to the ground and sensing his surroundings just as Jiraiya had.

Another ten minutes passed. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he said uncertainly, "I can sense it... It seems to be... a leopard? Its tail is still swishing gently against the ground."

"Not bad!" Jiraiya said with a satisfied nod, then looked at the other two. "What about you?"

Sen and Kushina shook their heads together, indicating that they'd only grasped part of it.

Jiraiya furrowed his brow. It was one thing if they hadn't learned it yet, but what was Sen grinning at Minato for?

Did he think he could learn it without a teacher just because Minato had?

Just then, Sen stood up and walked over to Minato. With a perfectly serious expression, he said,

"Minato, there's a leopard nearby. It's too dangerous, and it'll disturb our rest. Let's go take care of it. We can call it teamwork training."

Minato nodded. It was a little dangerous, sure, but why did Sen insist on bringing him along? Could Sen really not handle one animal by himself?

He thought this to himself, but still let Sen pull him to his feet.

The two went into the woods. From a high vantage point, Sen spotted the target and casually threw a kunai, piercing the leopard's neck with pinpoint accuracy.

Minato was completely baffled. Just as he was about to ask what Sen was up to, Sen suddenly turned and punched him lightly in the arm.

The punch didn't hurt, but it left Minato even more confused.

Sen grinned. "Come on. Hurry up and admit defeat."

Minato sighed helplessly.

Sen really was tireless when it came to this strange "admit defeat" game.

"...I admit defeat."

[You have defeated Namikaze Minato. Choose an attribute to absorb: Chakra +1, Constitution +1, Ninjutsu: Sensory Technique]

Sen was delighted and immediately chose [Sensory Technique].

In an instant, all his experience and memories of the technique flooded into his mind.

The two returned to camp.

Sen went straight to Kushina and began explaining the principles and tricks of the Sensory Technique. He spoke with such authority that he sounded as if he'd been practicing it for years.

Kushina listened, her eyes shining with admiration.

Jiraiya, watching from the side, was completely dumbfounded.

This kid had been scratching his head just a moment ago, with no clue what he was doing. How had he gone out for a bit and come back an expert?

He looked at Minato, then at the little grove they'd just visited, and a gigantic question mark slowly formed in his mind.

You two... what the hell were you doing in the woods just now?