Will of Sand

The next day, Lin Chongshu lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The sight of that man's death yesterday still hung before his eyes. Without even a scream, the man had turned into a pile of mangled flesh.

Thinking of it made Lin Chongshu's stomach churn with acid again. Human lives were far too cheap in this place.

He raised his right hand, where a thin stream of fine sand circled around his fingertips.

This was what he had gained from bullying Gaara yesterday: Shukaku's Power: Sand Manipulation.

The feeling of the sand flowing was wonderful, like an extension of his fingers. It moved at the slightest thought, but after only a short while, the strength in his body began draining away like water through a hole.

Gaara had been able to use Mamoru with sand from the moment he was born, relying on Shukaku's possessing power and the will left behind by his mother, Karura.

Lin Chongshu was much the same now. He relied entirely on instinct to control it, bypassing the usual chakra-refinement process at the cost of directly consuming physical strength.

He had tested it. His sand could not automatically protect its master, and all he could precisely control right now was this tiny pinch of sand, no more than the size of his little finger.

He could force himself to control more—a clump the size of a fist—but its speed and responsiveness would fall far behind. In a fight, it could only be used like a rock to smash people.

An image of Gaara carrying that huge gourd flashed through Lin Chongshu's mind. Gaara's sand was actually divided into two types.

One type was the "Absolute Defense" sand imbued with his mother's will, the sand he always carried in his gourd. It was fine sand that moved quickly, reacted sharply, and automatically protected its master.

The other type was ordinary sand temporarily gathered from the ground during battle. Its speed and precision were much worse, but it came in enormous quantities and could bury enemies through sheer volume.

The fine sand he had now, as thick as a little finger, was equivalent to the kind Gaara kept in his gourd.

Deidara had later managed to injure Gaara with an explosion because he discovered this very point.

The fine sand used for Absolute Defense was a fixed batch and could not be mixed with the ordinary sand gathered on the spot. That was why he had taken advantage of the chaos to mix Explosive Clay into that batch of automatic defense sand, blowing Gaara up thoroughly.

The sun slowly rose, burning away every trace of coolness in the room.

The air grew stifling, carrying the uniquely scorched, irritable smell of sand baked under the blazing sun.

The place he lived in stood at the very edge of the village.

Calling it a house was generous. It was really just a shack made from yellow mud and a small amount of lumber, cramped and dilapidated, with a box of nearly expired instant noodles and several packs of compressed biscuits piled beneath the bed.

Lin Chongshu sat up and reached under the bed for a pack of nearly expired biscuits, tearing it open and stuffing them into his mouth.

The biscuits were so hard they hurt his teeth, crunching loudly as he chewed, as though he were gnawing on wall plaster.

Whenever the compensation money arrived, the original owner had always run off to buy these nearly expired cheap goods first.

Nobody wanted this stuff, and even if it sat in the house, no one would spare it a second glance. The original owner could not refine chakra and had no talent for becoming a ninja, but he had truly tried hard to stay alive.

He had barely chewed for two minutes when someone began pounding on the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Sand and dust sifted down from the doorframe.

Lin Chongshu did not even raise his eyelids. He knew who it was without looking.

The children living in this area were all children of Sunagakure ninja who had died in battle. Some had lost their parents in the Third Shinobi World War, while others had lost them during Shukaku's rampage.

The village had assigned them this plot of land at the western end, far from the central district, where ordinary villagers rarely came.

A group of unsupervised children gathered together always had to find something to do.

Some chose to gang up and bully those weaker than themselves, proving that they were not at the bottom. The original owner had been that "lowest rung."

"Lin Chongshu! Stop hiding in there without making a sound! I know you're home!" a voice called from outside.

Lin Chongshu swallowed his last mouthful of biscuit, got up, and opened the door.

The same group from yesterday stood outside, except one was missing. The unlucky fellow whom Gaara had crushed into a pile yesterday was gone.

At their head was still that red-haired Fatty. He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at him, with no sign on his face that someone had died yesterday.

"Hey! Why didn't you go to the Ninja Academy today?"

Lin Chongshu leaned against the doorframe. "Someone just died yesterday. You don't even take a day off?"

"Don't tell me you're hiding from us?" Fatty ignored the question and stepped forward. "I told you what would happen if you hid from us, didn't I?"

Lin Chongshu looked at the group and felt speechless. "A lack of entertainment is terrifying. Still, I acknowledge your Will of Sand."

"Are you mocking my Will of Sand?" Fatty's face darkened. He waved a hand. "Beat him up!"

The moment the others charged forward, Lin Chongshu bent down, grabbed a handful of sand, and flung it straight into Fatty's face.

Sand covered his entire face.

The instant Fatty shut his eyes, Lin Chongshu rammed into him, clamped both hands around his jaw, and forcibly pried his mouth open a crack.

Fatty kicked Lin Chongshu in the stomach, but Lin Chongshu gritted his teeth and refused to let go.

The others were all stunned. This brat actually dared to fight back?

"Come help me!" Fatty shouted indistinctly.

The others snapped out of it and began throwing punches and kicks at Lin Chongshu.

A kick struck his back and a punch hit his shoulder, but he endured all of it without releasing his grip.

Until the thin stream of fine sand hidden in his palm slipped into Fatty's open mouth.

Only then did he let go, take a step back, and shout, "Earth Release!"

The children froze instinctively and took a step back. Ninjutsu? He knew ninjutsu? When had he learned it?

"Who are you trying to scare?" Fatty threw a punch at him. "If you can use ninjutsu, I'll write my name, Jiro Hijikata, backward!"

"Kidney Stone Technique!"

Fatty's expression changed on the spot.

Something was moving inside his stomach, hard as a pebble, churning within him.

A wave of twisting pain exploded from deep in his lower abdomen, making beads of sweat pour from his body.

"Ah!" Fatty screamed. His hand went limp, releasing Lin Chongshu, whom he had just grabbed. "What's happening? What did you do?!"

Lin Chongshu drove a fist down at him. "I've already acknowledged your Will of Sand. Now it's time for you to witness my Will of Sand!"

Fatty curled into a ball on the ground, both hands clutching his lower abdomen. His lips trembled from the pain, and he could not even spare the effort to block.

[Detected that the host has bullied Jiro Hijikata. The target has lost the ability to resist and developed intense fear. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Strength +1]

Lin Chongshu felt a warm current surge through his arms, and his aching muscles suddenly gained a little more strength.

He stood up, rolled his wrists, glanced down at Fatty curled up on the ground, then swept his gaze over the several children standing beside him in shock.

"Who else wants to take a hit from me? My Will of Sand can no longer be contained!"

The children all took a step back in unison, staring at Fatty writhing in agony on the ground.

Fear spread through the air!

The system prompts rang in his mind three times in succession.

[The host's intimidating bullying was successful. Obtained: Strength +0.1]

[The host's intimidating bullying was successful. Obtained: Constitution +0.2]

[The host's intimidating bullying was successful. Obtained: Speed +0.2]

Oh, an unexpected bonus!

Lin Chongshu looked down at Jiro Hijikata, who was in so much pain that he could not get up, and grinned.

He straightened up and clenched one hand into a fist. "We're not done yet."

Fatty shuddered all over and looked up in terror. His tiny eyes were full of pleading, but the pain had already left him unable to open his mouth.

"Will of Sand, grant me strength! Ultimate secret technique!"

The boys around him took another step back, and one of them was even trembling in the legs.

"Earth Release, Gallstone Technique!"

Another wave of cramping pain erupted in Fatty's lower abdomen, even fiercer than before. It hurt so much that his entire body curled like a shrimp. He could not even scream, only squeeze out several hoarse wails from his throat.

[Detected that the host is continuously bullying Jiro Hijikata. The target is already suppressed, and his fear has deepened. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Constitution +0.5]

[The host's intimidating bullying was successful. Obtained: Constitution +0.1]

[The host's intimidating bullying was successful. Obtained: Agility +0.3]

[The host's intimidating bullying was successful. Obtained: Speed +0.1]

Lin Chongshu let out a long breath, feeling his body grow much lighter. The Will of Sand truly lived up to its name!