On a hill, a young boy was shouting as he practiced his punches.
But that didn't seem quite right. Rather than punching, he was exercising his muscles, since even his fingers were constantly moving.
Every time he swung his arms, his muscles seemed to tremble a little...
"Not even close, not even close. You need to be able to control your muscles so they don't shake before you can call yourself a beginner, kid."
Not far away, a burly man sat on the ground in a thoroughly undignified slouch, his eyes half open as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness...
"Easy for you to say, Master. I've never even touched Taijutsu before! Besides, who in the whole clan practices this stuff except you?"
The boy replied irritably.
This boy was Qi.
In the blink of an eye, he had been with the Kaguya Clan for six years. Now he was a boy of eleven.
The daimyo hadn't held back for long. The Yuki Clan's destruction had come much later than in the original story, but in the end, it hadn't been avoided.
To be honest, Qi hadn't felt all that sad about it.
This sort of thing was all too common in the Shinobi World. He wasn't that attached to the Yuki Clan, so he only felt a little regret. After all, as far as he was concerned, staying alive himself came first.
As for restoring the Yuki Clan, if he got the chance and there was a good reason to do it, he wouldn't mind trying. But if it proved too much trouble, he'd let it go.
A clan with a hundred years of history could be wiped out overnight. That was how fragile these things were. This was the Shinobi World, where the strongest fist ruled and power came first.
If he were to talk about his feelings, perhaps he cared more about the Kaguya Clan... But even so, he had no intention of restoring it one day. For one thing, the Kaguya Clan would be wiped out even more completely. For another, which clan did his bloodline even belong to?
"Tsk, you really are an idiot. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
Qi's answer had clearly displeased the burly man—Ogata. He curled his lip and said,
"You think Taijutsu is just hitting people? Anyone can do that. The muscle-training method you've been practicing since you started was sent over by the Kaguya Clan. And how can you say I'm the only one in the whole clan who practices this? What about you?"
Perhaps he'd been sitting still too long and was getting uncomfortable. Ogata shifted into another position and continued,
"The essence of Taijutsu is training your body. The better your physical abilities and the stronger your control, the more powerful your techniques will be. That's all there is to it. Taijutsu comes down to strength, speed, and control over both. Nothing else matters."
"It's that simple? No way."
Qi didn't believe him.
What a load of crap. Had the Kaguya Clan really spent all these years doing nothing but training their muscles? Didn't they have any secret techniques?
"But, Master, I think techniques are important too. Aren't refined techniques and secret arts part of the essence of Taijutsu?"
"Bullshit!"
Ogata dismissed the idea without hesitation.
"That's putting the cart before the horse. The effectiveness of a technique depends on your strength. Without strength, what good is a technique?"
"If someone's stronger and faster than you, and has better control, even the most ordinary punches and kicks can kill you in an instant! Most people who died at the hands of the White Fang of the Leaf didn't even have time to use ninjutsu!"
"The Instant Kill Technique I'm teaching you pushes your strength, speed, and control over your power to their limits in a single instant. Not a bit more, not a bit less—just enough to kill your enemy. Anything else would waste your strength, and then it wouldn't be a proper Instant Kill!"
Then he added casually,
"We Kaguya aren't like other people. Even when our chakra runs out, we can still kill an enemy with nothing but the strength left in our bodies, as long as we know how to control it! As for techniques, you've already learned all the ones I taught you. I finished teaching you those ages ago!"
"Oh."
Qi nodded, accepting Ogata's explanation, and focused once more on training his muscles.
Ogata's Instant Kill Technique was pure Taijutsu. To achieve the same results, it naturally required far more hard work than techniques supported by ninjutsu.
This Taijutsu might not be one of the best systems in the Shinobi World, but when it came to controlling strength, it was first-rate. And according to Ogata, only the White Fang could match him in that regard. Whether that was true or not, who knew?
Most importantly, the Kaguya Clan's combat techniques were the most systematic, advanced Taijutsu skills Qi could learn at the moment. That alone made them worth devoting himself to wholeheartedly.
Anything he could get his hands on was worth having!
With that thought, he trained even harder. But he didn't notice that, beneath the sleazy grin on Ogata's face in the distance, there was a trace of hesitation...
He had been with the Kaguya Clan for six years, and all this time, Qi had overlooked something extremely important.
The Kaguya Clan, too, would be wiped out around this time!
The Yuki Clan's destruction had been delayed, but that didn't mean the Kaguya Clan's would be. After all, it was the daimyo who wanted to destroy the Yuki Clan, but the Kaguya Clan was up against Kirigakure—one of the Five Great Nations' most powerful organizations!
The result was that, in the original story, many members of the Yuki Clan escaped into civilian life, hid their identities, and continued their bloodline. But the Kaguya Clan was wiped out in a single battle, with the sole exception of Kimimaro, whom Orochimaru saved and who lived a few more years.
Clearly, Kirigakure was far more professional at killing people than the daimyo of the Land of Water!
And Qi had completely forgotten this. He was still training in the Kaguya Combat Arts without a care in the world.
But just because he wasn't worried didn't mean no one else was. Ogata certainly was!
Still, the entire clan had tacitly agreed not to let Qi see any sign of it.
As usual, that day's training lasted until nightfall. It was late at night by the time Ogata brought Qi back to the Kaguya Clan's village.
"Go to bed, kid. You'll have to get up early tomorrow!"
This time, unlike usual, Ogata didn't make Qi do an extra bit of "training" before bed. He simply told him to rest.
Qi didn't know why, but he was glad to obey. He scampered back to his room.
Ogata stayed where he was until he heard Qi's breathing grow steady. Only after confirming that he was truly asleep did he turn and head for the clan leader's house.
"Is he asleep?"
The Kaguya Clan Leader had been waiting inside.
"Yeah."
Ogata casually found a place to sit, showing no interest in formalities.
"How much progress has he made?"
The Kaguya Clan Leader didn't bother with small talk. He wanted to know how far Qi had come.
"He's only learned the basics. He's still young. What he becomes later is up to him. Anyway, I've taught him all the Kaguya Clan's fundamentals. As long as he doesn't run into anyone too strong, he should be able to protect himself."
"I see..."
The Kaguya Clan Leader seemed rather glum.
"Hey, old man..."
Noticing the clan leader's mood, Ogata looked up.
"What's there to sigh about? If the Mist Ninja want to kill us, let them come. I'll kill as many as I can. It's a bargain either way!"
"Shut up..."
The Kaguya Clan Leader said glumly,
"Keep your mouth shut! All you know how to do is cut people down and eat!"
"But I need to eat to have the strength to fight!"
Ogata sounded a little aggrieved...
"How did an idiot like you become the strongest fighter in the clan..."
Seeing how Ogata was acting, the Kaguya Clan Leader was sorely tempted to hit him.
"Enough. Take that kid and leave tonight. If you wait, the Mist Ninja will start keeping us under constant surveillance, and then you won't get away! Looks like that old Yuki man was right. This kid is the key to both our clans' future revival. After all, no outsiders have ever seen him."
"Got it."
Ogata stood up and dusted off his backside.
"Where should I take him?"
"Take him to the Land of Fire. You know what to do after that. The Mist Ninja don't have the resources to pursue you across the border right now."
"Heh, the Land of Fire..."
Ogata murmured the words, and a sinister grin appeared on his face.
"Looks like this is going to be a fun trip!"
"Hey, hey..."
The Kaguya Clan Leader looked uneasy.
"I'm warning you, your job is to protect him! Don't get sidetracked. Keep moving!"
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'm not that stupid. They've got the numbers."
Ogata waved a hand and headed for the door.
"Let's hope the kid doesn't make a fuss when he wakes up. I hate it when men can't make up their minds."
As soon as he finished speaking, he had already disappeared from the room...
"That should do it... The Mist Ninja are making their move more and more openly. Are they trying to slowly trap us?"
The Kaguya Clan Leader stared hard at the doorway. He knew this was the last time he would see Ogata. Once Ogata left, he would take on the responsibility of protecting Qi and would never return. The journey ahead would be perilous.
But he couldn't send more people. They wouldn't get far before being spotted. The Kaguya Clan had no ninjutsu to speak of, so they had no chance of breaking through the Mist Ninja's defenses.
Ogata was different. He was an outlier in the clan, exceptionally skilled at stealth and ambush, killing enemies with a single strike. He had a better chance of getting Qi out of the Land of Water alone.
The Land of Water bordered the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. The Kaguya Clan planned to send Qi to the Land of Fire because, among the Five Great Nations, it was the most welcoming to outsiders.
Given Qi's circumstances, Konoha would probably be quite willing to accept him. The Yuki Clan behind him had been wiped out, and the Mist Ninja were hunting him. Given Konoha's traditions, there was a good chance they would bring Qi into the village to replenish their ranks.
And if Ogata survived, he would no longer be a member of the Kaguya Clan either. He might not look it, but he had once fought the White Fang and survived. If he wanted to join Konoha, they would certainly give it serious consideration. After all, he was someone who had survived a fight with the White Fang of the Leaf.
As long as the clan could be restored, who cared who they served...
Leaving aside the Kaguya Clan Leader's tangled thoughts, Ogata was much more decisive. After leaving the clan leader's house, he quietly slipped into Qi's room again, bundled up the boy who was still fast asleep, slung him over his back, and left the Kaguya Clan's village in the dead of night.
He really was an expert. In theory, although he could quietly bypass the Mist Ninja keeping watch around the outskirts, Qi couldn't. His breathing was faint, but to the Mist Ninja, it was no different from snoring.
So Ogata simply used Qi's breathing to lure over the handful of Mist Ninja nearby, then took them out one by one!
Ogata claimed that his Instant Kill Technique was second only to the White Fang of the Leaf's. It seemed he wasn't just bragging. Qi had been in this world for eleven years, but even with Ogata killing people right beside him, he hadn't noticed a thing!
So the next morning, he woke up shivering...
When he opened his eyes, he immediately realized what was causing the chill. At some point, his body had been covered in blood. The morning breeze sent a bone-deep shiver through him...
"Is this... blood?!"
His sleepiness vanished in an instant. Qi shot upright and took a defensive stance.
"Give it a rest, kid. The sun's already up!"
Ogata's mocking voice came from behind him, interrupting his panic.
"You slept like a pig. Hurry up and take a bath, change your clothes, and let's get moving!"
Only after hearing Ogata's words did Qi realize—why wasn't he in his room?
He turned around. Ogata was sitting behind him, at ease, chewing on some provisions.
"What're you staring at? Go wash up, you idiot!"
The idiot master gave his idiot pupil an impatient order...
Although he still had no idea what was going on, the idiot pupil obediently went to wash up. The idiot master liked beating people up, after all...
The Land of Water had plenty of water, if nothing else. Bathing was a rather involved business in other countries, but in the Land of Water, no one gave it a second thought.
For instance, the place where Qi and Ogata were now was beside a lake...
Qi quickly washed off the blood and its stench, then put on the new clothes Ogata tossed him.
"I know you've got a lot of questions, but I don't feel like answering them right now. Just follow me, and that's all you need to know!"
Seeing that Qi was about to speak, Ogata cut him off without ceremony, then tossed him a ration bar.
"Eat it! That's your ration for the day!"
"Oh..."
Qi took the ration bar, feeling a little aggrieved. As he ate it, he cursed his idiot master for being constipated.
"Heh heh, finished? Then let's get moving. By the way, we're currently fleeing the Mist Ninja, who are hunting us down. Pretty exciting, huh?"
"Endure?!"
The news was so shocking that Qi was dumbfounded...
What the hell did you do, you animal...? Why are the Mist Ninja suddenly hunting us down out of nowhere?!
In an instant, Qi was on the verge of tears. He cast an unwilling glance at Ogata, who had already started walking ahead, then had no choice but to follow.
"Um... Master... could you wait for me..."