An Excellent Ninja

Hiugo did not continue to waste time with Tobirama. He pushed the door open and left. After spending the day practicing ninjutsu with Hashirama and using his personal charisma to persuade Tobirama, the time had long since reached night, and it was time to head home and rest.

The camouflage ability of the Bone Woman Clan was truly formidable. From the age of three, they consumed a special medicine and soaked in medicinal baths daily, which allowed them to alter their physical forms and mask their chakra signatures.

In particular, their presence was almost indistinguishable from a sensory perspective, though they would be exposed the moment they utilized ninjutsu.

However, as a trade-off for this medicine, their maximum lifespan was only forty years. Regardless of how healthy their bodies might be, they were destined to die within the year after turning thirty-nine.

Hiugo spent three days beginning daily training with six ninjas from the Bone Woman Clan. Once they were sufficiently prepared, he had one of them impersonate him for a day. The results were quite decent; those unfamiliar with him could not tell the difference at all, though in the end, the "double" was discovered by Hashirama while they were conversing.

Big Pillar saw a pirated Hiugo wandering in front of him and briefly thought the real one had been kidnapped. His brother-complex flared up, and in his fury, he beat the "double" until he was crippled.

Fortunately, he didn't kill him, or it would have been a grave injustice.

After finishing his own affairs, Hiugo took the time to check on the two little Senju.

After a few days of practice, Itama was now able to improve the Mysterious Peacock Method, causing it to manifest into a bear that enveloped his body.

The drawback was also obvious: the range was too large, consuming too much chakra. If he could apply the Mysterious Peacock Method only to his missing limbs, he would have achieved complete success.

"Third Brother."

Itama called out the moment he saw Hiugo. The joy of walking with agility had made him much more cheerful.

"Just call me Brother Hiugo. I don't really like the title 'Third Brother'; it always makes me feel like there's danger involved."

Hiugo gave a light cough and walked over to Itama's side.

"Alright, Brother Hiugo."

"Where is Itama?"

Itama looked up at the sky.

Hiugo turned his head to look and discovered that Itama was using the Mysterious Peacock Method to fly. Unlike most people, however, he had a rope tied around his waist, which was being held by a Jonin down below.

"Is he acting as a kite for someone else?"

Itama dispersed his ninjutsu and sat on a chair.

"Itama snuck a look at the ninjutsu you gave me, Brother Hiugo. After I caught him, he flew up into the sky. I don't know if it was out of fear or some other reason, but he insisted on having someone hold the rope."

Hiugo nodded. Honestly, stealing ninjutsu was a rather serious matter. If this kind of thing spread from one person to ten, and ten to a hundred, it would end up flooding the market.

Ninjutsu was one of the foundations of a clan's standing and was always handled with severity. Although he didn't mind such things personally, he still had to provide appropriate "discipline."

Itama was flying leisurely, a smile hanging on his lips.

He thought to himself that this ninjutsu was truly useful. He wondered if his brothers had other "powerful" techniques.

The rope around his waist suddenly went slack. The manifested wings behind him flapped instinctively, and his flight altitude rose slightly. The panic immediately appeared on the young boy's previously calm face, and he looked toward the ground subconsciously.

He could fly, but after all, his practice was insufficient, and he couldn't fully control it yet, which was why he had a clansman help him manage it.

But now, the clansman holding the rope had stepped aside, and only Hiugo was lightly tugging on the line, laughing:

"Don't be afraid, keep going."

"Brother Hiugo, I was wrong."

Itama said weakly.

"Am I such a petty person? Just fly as you like. I'll watch over you. I'll take you for a spin in a moment to get you familiar with it."

"I'm afraid of heights..."

"Liar. If you're afraid of heights, why did you go up into the sky?"

"I get nervous whenever I see white hair; it feels like Second Brother is standing right in front of me."

"Aren't you half white-haired yourself?"

"It's different. Mine is clearly black and white."

Itama watched all of this with a smile. It seemed like it had been three years since they had last played around like this.

Back when his leg was blown off, there was a moment when he thought he was going to die. That feeling of helplessness was so profound that after he was saved and regained consciousness, the experience between life and death had caused him to mature significantly in his mindset.

He knew that Brother Hiugo was doing this to help Itama truly master this ninjutsu. In this world, whether on a mission or the battlefield, having one extra technique meant having one more path to survival.

With no sky to retreat to and no other options, Itama ultimately had to rely on his own efforts to land. The moment his feet touched the ground, his legs went soft, and had Hiugo not supported him, he would have nearly collapsed.

"Fun, wasn't it?"

Hearing Hiugo's voice, Itama revealed a smile that looked worse than crying:

"Fu... fun."

"Then next time, I'll take you out again."

"..."

Hiugo felt it was about time, so he said sternly:

"Itama, in the future, if you want to learn ninjutsu, you must ask openly. Do you know what the consequences are for stealing ninjutsu?"

Itama swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked cautiously: "What consequences?"

"According to clan law, your limbs are to be crippled, and you shall receive no medical treatment for the rest of your life."

"Ah!"

"I'll spare you this time since you're young and won't report this to the Clan Head, but if there's a next time..."

"I guarantee there won't be a next time."

"Hmm."

Hiugo nodded, his sensory perception detecting a powerful Chakra approaching.

Senju Butsuma walked into the courtyard, scanned the area, lingered on Hiugo for a moment, and finally fixed his gaze on Senju Itama.

"Itama, come here. I have a mission for you."

Is it here? Senju Butsuma's brain-dead mission?

Hiugo stepped forward and said, "Clan Head, what mission is so urgent that it must be done by Itama? Tobirama, Hashirama, and I are all currently in the clan."

Senju Butsuma's eyes turned cold; he hated it when people questioned his orders, but given this boy's status, he couldn't just lash out. A candidate for Clan Head was permitted to question the current Clan Head—that was clan law.

He forced a smile and said, "Hiugo, you all just returned from the battlefield and should be resting. Besides, Itama is already seven years old."

"Although he isn't like you, having gone to the battlefield at five, one must undergo the trial of blood to become an excellent ninja."

"As his father, I know Itama's dream is to become an excellent ninja like you all. I have no reason not to help him."

Itama looked at Hiugo, then at his father, and spoke up, "That's right, Brother Hiugo. My dream is to become an excellent ninja just like my brothers."

Butsuma nodded in satisfaction. "Hiugo, Itama cannot remain under your protection forever. You cannot go on this mission, nor can Tobirama or Hashirama."

"As a father, I would never harm my own child. What happened to Kawarama was merely an accident."

Hiugo frowned. He realized he couldn't refute this; everything made sense. If others could do it, why couldn't Butsuma's child?

It was just a mission, not a trip to the front lines. Blocking it was useless because there would be a second and a third mission. Unless he stopped Itama from being a ninja, it was unavoidable.

After thinking for a moment, Hiugo said, "The Clan Head is right. Becoming a ninja truly requires the tempering of blood. Itama shouldn't always hide behind us."

Butsuma replied indifferently, "It is only right to have such thoughts. I do not wish for you to have unrealistic dreams like Hashirama."

"However, as his older brother, it should be fine for me to give Itama a few things, right?"

"Proceed."

Hiugo gently gripped Itama's wrist, and a layer of black wood emerged over his skin, quickly forming a suit of armor that slowly blended into the color of his skin.

The surface of the Wood Armor was not smooth; it was covered in small, needle-like thorns.

"When you encounter danger, inject your Chakra into the Wood Armor, and it can transform into the Wood Style: Cutting Technique."

The Wood Style: Cutting Technique and Wood Armor were the ninjutsu Hiugo used most on the battlefield, but after years of use, he had gradually combined them into a new technique: Wood Style: Thorn Armor.

Itama curiously touched the small needles and found himself pricked until he bled.

Hiugo ignored him and walked away. A layer of Wood Armor was clearly insufficient against unknown enemies, but he couldn't give him anything more.

If he wanted to save Itama, he had to be able to intervene, but Butsuma had flatly refused. The only way to change the outcome now was to find out as quickly as possible what was wrong with this mission. Based on the anime, where Hashirama led people to support Itama, there should be clues to follow.