Cultivation

For Shijimi Tamako, the miraculous power displayed by ninjas was something she yearned for!

If she had once admired the strength of samurai, she found that after thoroughly mastering their swordsmanship, that power was no longer enough to satisfy her needs.

A samurai could not stand against an army with the strength of one person, yet a ninja could do exactly that!

She wanted to seize her own destiny!

Therefore, she wanted to gain access to the miraculous power known as ninjutsu.

She spoke softly once more.

"I know that as ninjas of Konoha Village, you must naturally abide by the village's regulations and are forbidden from teaching ninjutsu to outsiders, but surely a few pointers would be acceptable."

Shijimi Tamako's gaze flickered toward the masked Sosuke as she continued.

"Although it sounds vulgar to say so, I still wish to tell the three of you that my father will likely pay your village five hundred thousand ryo for this mission."

"And I have saved up some money over the years; if you can accept this additional task of training me to the level of a ninja, you will receive another five million ryo as a reward, along with my friendship."

Shijimi Tamako spoke softly, yet the corners of her mouth curled into a smile, and her tone carried a hint of confidence.

It was confidence in her own talent, as well as confidence in the price she had offered.

Five million ryo was not a small sum; if one were in the black market, it would be enough to purchase the lives of many chunin, or even jonin!

Her request was simple enough—merely to have a few brats guide her—and even Konoha Village would likely agree to such a transaction.

Would you agree, Aizen?

Her eyes swept lightly over Sosuke; this five million was offered specifically for him.

In her estimation, Aizen's strength was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, and the reason she offered such a high price was simply because she trusted her intuition.

Despite being ninjas, it was clear that Shackle and Pupil gasped slightly when they heard the sum of five million ryo.

It was merely teaching ninjutsu, and besides, the other party was the daughter of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, a princess.

Surely the village would agree to this!

Yet they still looked toward Sosuke, for he was, after all, the captain of this mission.

To this, Sosuke was naturally indifferent, and he smiled as he accepted.

"Since it is the request of Lady Tamako, I doubt the village will blame us for imparting some ninjutsu. We accept this mission."

After Sosuke's words fell, the others were quite satisfied.

Everyone enjoys a task that allows them to complete their mission while earning extra money.

Shijimi Tamako smiled slightly, though her eyes remained fixed on Sosuke's mask.

Noticing her gaze, Sosuke turned his head slightly to look at her.

The two locked eyes, each harboring their own intentions, understanding one another without a word.

In a vast forest.

A waterfall descended from a high, rocky cliff, splashing into white foam.

Many guards stood watch in the area.

Shijimi Tamako, dressed in training gear, stood before the rushing waterfall, unafraid. Braving the splashing spray, she held a wooden sword and swung it with intense focus.

Her movements were extremely slow, yet they contained a rhythm that hinted at the laws of nature.

"Ha!"

With a loud shout, the wooden sword in her hand instantly accelerated from a snail's pace into a blinding flash of white light!

In an instant!

She had swung her wooden sword more times than one could count.

As she slowly drew the blade back to her waist, she exhaled a breath from her chest.

A large carp, its fins and tail cleanly sliced away by the blade, landed on the bank with wide, terrified eyes.

On the shore, Sosuke, who had been quietly refining his chakra in the shade of a tree, smiled slightly at the sight.

If not for the matters involving Root, simply enjoying this leisure would not have been bad, but at the thought of the heavy mission ahead, the smile on Sosuke's lips could not help but turn cold.

"Hey! Aizen, how was my performance with that strike? Did I reach the realm you spoke of?"

Walking slowly to the bank, the soaked Shijimi Tamako looked at Sosuke with joy.

"Mm, this fish should taste better than the ones from the past few days. I leave the preparation to you."

Sosuke did not answer her question directly; after glancing briefly at the carp gasping for air, he replied with a smile.

Hearing Sosuke's response, Shijimi Tamako's expression brightened, and she happily set to work preparing to grill the fish herself!

Under his guidance over these past few days, she felt that what Sosuke taught was a new world she had never seen before!

To this day, she still remembered that when she first heard Sosuke intended to teach her the Slash Path, she—having already mastered samurai swordsmanship to a degree surpassing most—had naturally been quite dissatisfied.

She had even been quite disdainful of what this man had said, yet he had merely dropped a single sentence.

"There is no end to the Slash Path. Even a child can swing a blade crudely, but have you ever truly unleashed a strike of your own?"

As the words fell, the moment this guy took a light step forward and swung his blade with a calm expression, all of her perspectives were completely overturned!

It was impossible to see how many times he had swung his blade in that single instant!

After a moment of silence, the giant tree before her eyes looked as if it had been dismantled with the precision of a building block set!

The cuts were jagged and interlocking, just like perfectly matched teeth!

The heavy tree sank down significantly!

Yet, it remained stubbornly alive! The scars on the trunk were barely visible!

Every gap had been filled perfectly!

It was as if it had been cast into a flawless work of art by the most demanding craftsman!

In that moment, beyond being deeply shocked, Shijimi Tamako could not help but feel a face full of shame!

So, the swordsmanship she had been so proud of was likely nothing more than child's play in his eyes!

From that day on, Shijimi Tamako was filled with awe for the masked, seemingly young Sosuke.

She believed that her five million had been money well spent!

Could this guy really just be a Genin from Konoha Village?!

No matter what, Shijimi Tamako could not believe it!

If an ordinary Genin of Konoha possessed this level of skill, the Land of Fire would have long since become the sole, unrivaled nation on this land!

Over the campfire, the flames slowly roasted a plump carp, gradually rising with the distinct aroma of grilled fish.

Sosuke gently divided the fish, giving half to Shijimi Tamako.

As a princess of the Land of Fire, Shijimi Tamako had naturally never served anyone, let alone grilled fish!

This was something she had insisted Sosuke teach her after seeing him grill fish a few days prior. Shijimi Tamako was very intelligent and naturally learned such things quickly.

Since then, Sosuke had never grilled fish himself; he ate whatever Tamako prepared with her own hands every time.

As her technique improved, the taste of the grilled fish naturally became better and better.

In these few short days, Shijimi Tamako had learned the Slash Path from Sosuke, Taijutsu from Shackle, and Ninjutsu from Pupil!

Through their mutual observation over these days, everyone had gained some understanding of one another.

Pupil was proficient in Fire Style ninjutsu!

Shackle was proficient in close-quarters Taijutsu, and his peculiar attack methods made Sosuke's eyes light up, leading him to sigh at the uniqueness of the Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu style.

As for Sosuke, he remained much more mysterious; both Pupil and Shackle held a trace of respect for him!

Of course, during these days, Shijimi Tamako spent the most time with Sosuke.

After all, she had not yet cultivated enough chakra, and in her heart, she remained firmly convinced that Sosuke was hiding his true strength.

As a princess, she naturally had her own little schemes, so she stuck by Sosuke's side every day, like a little tail that couldn't be shaken off.

However, Sosuke did not take these things to heart.

And so, the days passed, one by one.