"Aoba, sneaking in more training?"
A young man walked in with a smile, carrying a cloth-wrapped bundle. "
I knew you wouldn't be asleep. I brought some rice balls my mother made so we could eat together."
Kawaki Aoba looked up and smiled when he saw his teammate, Futa Nara. "Futa, what are you doing here so late? Don't we have a reconnaissance mission tomorrow?"
He got up and walked to the table. As Futa laid out the rice balls one by one, the smell of tuna and pickled plum filled the room.
"I was worried you'd lose track of time while training."
Futa picked up a tuna rice ball and handed it over. "
Ever since we came back from the Land of Rain, you've been like a different person. All you do is go on missions and train. Even Asuma-sensei has asked me several times whether he should ease up on your training."
Aoba took the rice ball and bit into it. The familiar taste reminded him of the days he had spent on missions with Asuma-sensei and the others, and he frowned without realizing it. "Futa, do you remember those mysterious people we ran into? They were too strong. If Teacher Shinku hadn't arrived when he did, the four of us might have..."
Futa's smile faded. He set down his rice ball and tapped his fingers against the table. "How could I forget? Their Chakra was strange. It wasn't from Sunagakure, but it didn't feel like Konoha's or Iwagakure's either. And their jutsu were downright bizarre. The moment my Shadow Possession Jutsu touched their clothes, some strange force knocked it away."
"It wasn't just their jutsu. They were far stronger physically than ordinary ninja."
Aoba set down his rice ball, and a wisp of Senjutsu Chakra gathered