"Master, is it really okay for us to take our time like this?"
The Land of Fire lay at the center of the continent, so it had the best environment. One sign of that was its high percentage of green cover. Qi and Ogata, who had just arrived in the Land of Fire, were now strolling through a forest.
No, they really were just strolling... They were moving so slowly they were almost falling asleep...
Qi didn't understand. Ogata had just been in such a hurry, like he was putting out a fire, but now he was more relaxed than ever. Looking at him, you'd think he'd be happy to lie down and nap for a few hours...
"You're an idiot, and you still won't admit it."
Ogata seemed particularly fond of calling his apprentice an idiot. He looked at his only student with utter disdain.
"We ran fast earlier because that place wasn't suitable for us to fight in. But it's different in a forest. There's cover everywhere, which makes it the best environment for Taijutsu users."
Ogata carefully observed the terrain around them. He wasn't nearly as carefree as Qi thought.
"Besides, our goal was to lure Konoha's people over in the first place. Were you really planning to run? We'd be no better than spies then, and all our effort would've been for nothing."
He suddenly stopped and looked around again.
"This should do. Let's stop here. If we go any farther, it'll be hard to explain."
With that, he sat down first and beckoned to Qi with a cheerful smile.
"Go catch some game, you idiot. We've been eating bland food for days. This is a good chance to have a proper meal."
This old scumbag really had sat down... and was actually asking for barbecue...
The muscles in Qi's face twitched violently...
He was actually making someone as "frail" as Qi go catch an animal, then cruelly butcher it! This old bastard had no compassion at all!
Though he was indignant, Qi didn't dare refuse. Who knew if his scumbag master might fly into a rage...
So, dejected, he turned around to look for some game.
He had to admit, this place was nothing like Earth. The forests here were completely pristine. Where there was a forest, there were animals!
"Hey, buddy, you're looking pretty strong. Must be eating well... How about you pretend you didn't see me?"
Wiping away a bead of cold sweat, Qi stared at the enormous black bear in front of him and swallowed hard.
What was going on with the ecosystem in this damned place? Why was there a bear in a lousy forest like this!? And was there even enough here for something that big to eat!?
"Roar!"
The black bear was clearly delighted to see Qi in its territory. It sprayed saliva everywhere...
It even spat right onto Qi's head... The range was impressive, considering Qi was standing quite a distance away...
"Bear bro, that's not okay. You can't just spit on people like that..."
A "#" appeared on Qi's forehead, and his face darkened. He'd been in this world for ages and had never been spat on before!
A look called "nervous breakdown" had already begun to shine in his eyes...
The poor black bear had no idea that a thick, sharp icicle had appeared above its head...
Qi hadn't used ice crystals when fighting Terumi Mei, but that didn't mean he lacked the ability. He just couldn't form them quickly or on a large scale yet. But dealing with a beast was no problem at all.
As for the fear of large animals he'd developed in his previous life, it had vanished the moment the bear so shamelessly spat on him...
"Roar!"
At last, the black bear seemed unable to hold back. It took a step toward Qi, ready to give him a passionate hug.
"Shut up!"
That move pushed Qi over the edge. He immediately unleashed all the pent-up fury in his gut on the beast.
A flash of white streaked past. The icicle fell from above and pierced the black bear's skull, cutting off its roar...
"Thud!"
The beast that had lorded over this forest for who knew how long collapsed right in front of Qi. It didn't even have time to catch its breath.
The icicle had not only pierced its skull, but had also burst apart inside its head, turning its brain to mush. It died instantly, without even getting a chance to attack.
That should... count as game, right..."
His anger had subsided, but a new problem had arisen. Qi could kill the black bear easily enough, but that didn't mean he could haul such a huge lump of flesh back for Ogata to barbecue...
The bear's belly alone was bigger than Qi. Lying on the ground, it looked like a mountain of meat. How was he supposed to move it?
"This is certainly game!"
A cold voice suddenly rang out.
"Not bad, brother! Looks like this move of yours would be even more convenient for killing people!"
Whoosh...
Before Qi could react, the black bear on the ground vanished in a breeze. If not for the icicle stuck upright in the earth, he would've thought he'd just dozed off...
The black bear he'd just seen had been an illusion!
"Who's there!? Come out! Why are you skulking around? Afraid to show your face!?"
A sense of humiliation at being toyed with washed over him. The Yuki ninjutsu scrolls included ways to counter illusions, but he'd never imagined that someone on a patrol composed of Genin would know how to use them!
Seriously, could Konoha's people get any more ridiculous? Even their Genin were using illusions! Since when had illusions become something anyone could learn...
For the first time, Qi began to understand what Konoha meant.
"Hmph!"
A woman let out an apparently displeased snort, but that was all. Someone else answered Qi.
"You're the one who's afraid to show your face, aren't you?"
At the sound of a young man's voice, a ninja dressed in Konoha attire appeared.
This was the first Konoha Ninja Qi had seen in this world. It wouldn't be long before he learned that the guy was another figure from the story—and one with a pretty impressive background...
That was also why this patrol hadn't followed the traditional approach of charging in and killing them outright. Instead, they'd used this relatively mild method.
Kissing up to one's superiors was a common practice in every world. There was nothing new about it.
"Where are your companions!?"
The young Konoha Ninja sneered, pressing him aggressively.
"You snuck into my Land of Fire in secret. What are you up to!?"
This was a little different from what Master had said... Weren't Konoha Ninja supposed to attack first and ask questions later?
The Konoha Ninja's reaction was completely unexpected, and for a moment Qi didn't answer him.
"What an arrogant brat!"
The young ninja across from him grew furious. He was already in a bad mood about being assigned to the patrol squad.
He didn't need to think twice to know it had something to do with his father. His father might not have arranged it himself, but that didn't stop people who knew who he was from using the opportunity to curry favor with his father.
That kind of behavior infuriated him. And now, already in a foul mood, he was even angrier because of that foreign brat in front of him...
"Fine. I'll capture you first, then go find the other one!"
With a swish, the young Konoha Ninja drew two Kunai. The movement finally snapped Qi out of his daze.
Without thinking, he pulled out his own Kunai as well, reacting purely on instinct.
"You want a fight? Bring it!"
As he stared down his opponent, Qi didn't forget to use the chakra-sensing method he'd learned in the Land of Water to check his surroundings. The person who'd spoken first had clearly sounded older, which meant there were other Ninja nearby.
But this wasn't the Land of Water. The Land of Fire was warm, not humid. Qi still hadn't reached the level where he could squeeze water out of thin air, so he couldn't sense anything at all...
"Are you looking around because you're afraid of an ambush? Relax... I, Sarutobi Asuma, am more than enough to take care of a character like you!"
Asuma?
No way!?
Qi stared at the clean-cut, fair-faced young man in front of him, dumbfounded...
This obnoxiously arrogant guy was Asuma?
Where was his full, masculine beard? What the hell, he was clean-shaven now! Had that magnificent bushy beard appeared later because of some sudden genetic mutation!?
"Brat! Take this!"
Qi was still staring wide-eyed, but Asuma couldn't be bothered to wait for him to come to his senses. He grabbed his two Kunai and charged over aggressively.
That fighting style only confirmed to Qi that this really was Asuma. That was exactly how Asuma fought!
But now that his doubts had been cleared up, Qi no longer needed to hold back...
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Ogata was a Taijutsu-type Ninja, but Qi wasn't. His strong suit would always be ninjutsu, not Taijutsu. Taijutsu was only a supporting skill...
The Yuki clan had an extraordinary talent for Water Release. Powerful members of the Yuki clan could even use advanced Water Release techniques with one-handed seals to gather water.
Qi was still far from that level, but he could perform ninjutsu very quickly. As a result, Asuma ran straight into the wall of water... then got knocked back out of it, drenched from head to toe...
"That kid's hand seals are really fast... He's quite impressive for a Genin!"
The Konoha Ninja who had spoken first had witnessed the whole thing from the shadows.
He wasn't a Chunin. He was a Jonin!
That might seem strange, but it made sense too. Jonin were the elite of a village, and only left it for actual missions. During wartime in particular, Jonin were often sent on strategic missions, so they tended to remain behind the lines at other times.
Given Asuma's identity, it wasn't hard to understand why someone had arranged for a Jonin with time to spare to protect him. Privilege existed everywhere.
"The technique he used earlier was one I've never seen before. Is it a Kekkei Genkai...?"
The Yuki clan had a decent reputation in the Land of Water, but few people outside it knew anything about them. The Konoha Jonin could only make that guess.
He had to stay hidden as well, because he needed to keep an eye out for the other intruder—Ogata. His real mission was to protect Asuma, not to patrol. Why else would they send a Jonin out on patrol...
The Third Hokage was undoubtedly a Shinobi Hero, but he was getting old. As his youngest son, Asuma naturally received a little extra consideration from the more conciliatory members of the village, and everyone understood that they meant well...
He also knew that he was basically acting as a babysitter. But he was a conciliatory sort himself and didn't mind. The Third Hokage had sacrificed a great deal for Konoha and enjoyed immense public support, so he didn't think his fellow villagers were wrong to do this.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so "gentle." He would've killed the enemy already. But the higher-ups had arranged this partly to let Asuma gain experience in the relatively peaceful environment behind the lines, so he'd have more experience before going to the battlefield. There'd be no point in interfering.
With that in mind, the Jonin finally decided to keep watching for now.
Asuma, however, wasn't thinking about any of that. He didn't even know his team leader was a Jonin. The speed of Qi's technique had caught him off guard, but he was the Third Hokage's son, after all. His training environment was far better than that of ordinary Genin, and his skills naturally reflected it.
"Earth Release? So you're a Mist Ninja, after all!?"
He gripped his Kunai in reverse and charged again.
His timing was perfect. The Water Formation Wall was just starting to weaken. Qi's chakra was limited, and he didn't dare—or need to—maintain it continuously. It had only been a means of buying himself time.
"Thump!"
Asuma stamped both feet hard against the ground, leaping over the water wall, which had already sunk halfway. He thrust both Kunai at Qi.
But Asuma was kind by nature, and even now he intended to capture his opponent alive. Neither Kunai was aimed at a vital spot.
"He actually jumped right over... He may not have a beard, but he really is Asuma..."
Qi found the words amusing even as he said them. Did he really know Asuma that well?
"He's not even aiming for my vitals. Looks like Asuma hasn't been to the battlefield yet. That guy's still waiting for my barbecue, isn't he? I've made all this noise..."
Qi muttered nonstop, but he didn't want to engage Asuma at close range. He knew the guy was strong and good at close-quarters combat with short weapons. That was exactly the kind of opponent Qi hated dealing with.
The sound of metal clashing rang out. Qi tossed the Kunai in his hand, and as Asuma knocked it aside, Qi leaped backward and formed hand seals.
"Gather!"
At once, countless water droplets visibly converged toward Qi.
This technique was actually incomplete. It had originally been a Water Release technique called Water Dragon Whip, which gathered water from the surroundings and then fired it outward to attack enemies.
But Qi only needed it to gather water. He didn't need it to attack, because he had a better way to do that...
"Thousand Killing Water Soaring Explosion!"
Qi didn't dare kill Asuma. If he did, Konoha would chop him into mincemeat. So this time, he hadn't formed ice needles for Thousand Flying Water Needles at all. He'd formed ice spheres instead!
Ice spheres were undoubtedly much easier to shape than ice needles. Besides, Thousand Flying Water Needles was just a descriptive name. The caster got to decide what form the technique took.
"Boom!"
The ice spheres exploded one after another as Qi called out the word.
Qi's ice spheres were almost as big as bowling balls, so their explosions were naturally much more powerful than those of ice needles. Still, they weren't lethal. They were just right for dealing with Asuma as he was now.
Asuma was hit. The ice spheres shot right up to him, then began exploding one after another...
The ice spheres were so densely packed that Asuma had nowhere to dodge. In the end, the series of explosions sent him flying a long way on a torrent of rushing water. His ears rang, and for a while he couldn't hear a thing!
He'd really been blown away this time. He didn't get back up for quite a while...
Qi's mischievous streak had finally produced an almost perfect result against a real person.
However...
"What a formidable brat. That makes it all the more important that I take you back to Konoha!"
The Jonin hiding in the shadows could no longer spare any thought for Ogata, whose identity and name he still hadn't confirmed. He revealed himself.
"Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm!"
When a Jonin made a move, the result was extraordinary. Qi didn't even see how the man formed his hand seals. The ninja merely slapped the ground, and the earth began to shake. The tremors forced Qi to steady himself, or he risked falling over.
Before he had any more time to regain his balance, the ground split open in a huge, jagged crack that stretched straight toward him!
With skills like that, Qi wouldn't believe he was a Genin or Chunin even if someone killed him. He'd seen Mist Ninja Chunin fight before.
"Damn!"
Qi didn't care whether he'd regained his balance. He pushed off with both feet and jumped sideways, shouting as he did.
"Master! If you keep watching, your apprentice is going to die! I can't beat this guy!"
"Master?"
The still-unnamed Konoha Jonin gave a cold smile.
"So it's a master and apprentice. Interesting!"
A signature cackling laugh rang out. Ogata finally appeared, holding a Konoha Ninja in each hand. They looked unconscious.
"So you're a Jonin too. I'm getting more and more curious about why you came to the Land of Fire."
The Jonin glanced at the Konoha Ninja in Ogata's hands and nodded.
"Since neither you nor your apprentice has killed anyone, I'll refrain from treating you as spies from an enemy nation—for now."