Nakamura's Bond

After a moment of silence, Nakamura said, "In that case, I'll have to kill you myself! You traitor to the village!"

"Haha, that's more like the Nakamura I know. Get those two brats farther away. Things are about to get serious!"

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

This was the ninjutsu Shimizu had learned when he became a Jonin. Although it was only B-rank, the power of Fire Release depended on its user rather than its rank. As a Jonin highly proficient in Fire Release, Shimizu's Great Fire Dragon Technique was no weaker than an A-rank ninjutsu.

That was why Shikaki and Taichi had barely arrived before being forced back. Shiro, farther away, had originally intended to seize the chance to shoot Shimizu, but after seeing Nakamura make a gesture, he lowered the Kizuna in his hands.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

Nakamura had also chosen B-rank ninjutsu back then, but he had selected two. The other was also Wind Release, though it had once been meant to support Shimizu's Fire Release.

Now, however, Nakamura was using the Wind Release he had specialized in to coordinate with Shimizu to kill Shimizu himself. It was truly a tremendous irony.

Both techniques had a small range but immense power. Even though Nakamura's Wind Release held some elemental advantage, Shimizu still dodged the Pressure Damage after blocking the Great Fire Dragon Technique!

Neither of them was surprised that their ninjutsu had failed. They had been teammates for years, after all. Then they charged at each other at the same time, kunai in hand!

Clang!

As their kunai collided, scenes from the past seemed to appear before their eyes again.

"Hello, I'm Shimizu."

"I'm Nakamura."

"Why did you betray the village? Didn't we agree to work hard together and fulfill that dream?"

"There's no reason! Stop talking about such meaningless things, Nakamura!" Shimizu said as he dodged Nakamura's kick. At the same time, he spun the kunai in his hand and slashed at Nakamura.

Nakamura raised his kunai and blocked Shimizu's slash.

Clang!

"Nakamura, my affinity is Fire. What's yours?"

"Wind Release and Earth Release!"

"Wow! You actually have two!"

"Yeah, but for now, I only want to specialize in Wind Release."

"Why? Earth Release is strong too."

"Because Wind Release can work with your Fire Release. Didn't we agree? We were going to fulfill that dream together!"

Shimizu looked at the smile blooming across Nakamura's face and said, "Yeah, it's a deal!"

"Was our dream meaningless? Then were all those years we spent striving together meaningless too? Shimizu!"

With an angry roar, Nakamura kicked Shimizu away!

"Cough!" After climbing up from the ground, Shimizu coughed up blood before saying, "Heh, you're too naive, Nakamura. No matter how hard we worked, we could never fulfill that dream."

"The gap between civilian ninjas and clan ninjas can't be bridged. They have more talent than us, more resources than us, and they work just as hard as we do. So what makes us think we can surpass them?"

"..." Nakamura fell silent for a moment before saying, "I know. But that doesn't affect my determination to hold on to that dream!"

"The outcome isn't important. What matters is whether I take action, whether I can remain true to my heart!"

Shimizu looked at Nakamura's resolute expression and smiled. "Ha, just as I thought. You really are an idiot, Nakamura. Earth Release was actually more suited to you. I knew it—you're very talented at Earth Release. You only chose Wind Release to work with me."

"You've always been the one helping me. Now it's my turn to help you, Nakamura. Ha, though using your own things to repay you is a little shameless."

"What do you mea—"

Squelch!

Shikaki, Taichi, and Shiro in the distance stared at the scene before them in shock.

After speaking, Shimizu had directly driven his kunai into his own neck!

"Shimizu!" Nakamura shouted as he rushed toward him.

Unfortunately, the kunai had pierced his neck. Shimizu merely gave Nakamura a smile before dying completely.

"Idiot! There must have been a way to save you! If we worked hard enough, there was hope that Lord Hokage would pardon your crimes, you bastard!"

Although Nakamura had previously said he would kill Shimizu, it had only been talk. They had been teammates for more than a decade, after all.

Unlike Shiro, Nakamura and Shimizu were somewhat more talented. Thus, they had been in the same squad ever since they were Genin. Even after becoming Jonin and each forming their own squads, separating somewhat, their squads still acted together most of the time.

Therefore, in terms of their bond, Nakamura and Shimizu were far closer than Shiro and Chosuke.

That was why Shimizu's death was so difficult for Nakamura to accept. Yet Shimizu's corpse lay right in front of him, forcing him to accept that cruel reality.

Nakamura looked at Shimizu's face, where a smile still lingered. Scenes from the past once again seemed to appear before his eyes.

"Haha, Nakamura, with your wind and my fire working together, we'll be invincible!"

"Nakamura, I've mastered the Great Fireball Technique! How's your Great Breakthrough coming along?"

"Nakamura..."

The scenes of the past flashed by one after another, finally stopping on the image of Shimizu smiling as he drove the kunai into his own neck.

After a while, Nakamura stored Shimizu's body away, called out to Shikaki and the others, and silently walked toward the town.

Shikaki and the others did not disturb Nakamura. They simply followed behind him in silence.

Shiro, who had witnessed the entire scene from the mountain, naturally had no intention of disturbing Nakamura either. He was not worried that Nakamura would be unable to bear the blow. After all, he was a Jonin; his mind was not that fragile. Still, he would inevitably be depressed for a while.

Afterward, Shiro and the others cleaned up the battlefield and returned to the inn in silence.

That night, Nakamura looked at the scroll containing Shimizu's body in his room and quietly muttered to himself, "Don't worry. I'll definitely fulfill that dream. One day, civilian ninjas will have the same training conditions as clan ninjas!"

Although the Second Hokage had established the Ninja Academy and increased the proportion of civilian ninjas, the academy only taught basic material. It had no advanced ninjutsu or training methods at all.

Thus, the gap between civilian ninjas and clan ninjas remained enormous. Do not speak of hard work allowing one to surpass geniuses. Only hardworking geniuses could surpass geniuses!

You were not the only one who knew how to work hard. If everyone trained equally hard, while others had more talent and resources than you, why would you be able to surpass them?

Therefore, the vast majority of civilian ninjas who graduated from the Ninja Academy existed as cannon fodder. Nakamura did not expect civilian ninjas to surpass clan ninjas—that was unrealistic, given the foundation they possessed. He merely hoped civilian ninjas could have sufficient combat power and suffer fewer casualties.

Unfortunately, reality was even crueler than Nakamura had imagined! He had been a Jonin for two years, yet he had not changed anything in this regard and could not see even a sliver of hope. After all, he was only a Jonin. Those great clans could casually produce two or three Jonin, while a powerful clan like the Uchiha was rumored to possess over a hundred Jonin!

Among them were even no fewer than ten Elite Jonin!

Nakamura still had a long road ahead of him.

Meanwhile, Shikaki was also thinking. Aside from the smooth beginning of today's plan, when they dealt with the Chunin and Genin, events had completely failed to unfold according to his plan once they faced Shimizu.

"Looks like Dad was right. The human heart is the hardest thing to calculate." After sighing, his tone abruptly changed. "Ah, what a pain. Why am I thinking about all this? I should just sleep."

With that, he flopped onto the bed like a salted fish and fell asleep.

Thanks to Fire Sheep Treasure, Tenghoulin, and Rainy Day Maple for the recommendation votes. Thank you all for your support. The Japanese pronunciation used for Shimizu in this chapter was because I thought it would feel more fitting that way. I'll see how the response is; if it isn't good, I'll change it. Thank you for your support.