Shisui set the time for their cookout: Saturday afternoon.
Mostly, Shisui felt bad about taking two children out at night after they had just finished a week of classes. Gua's mother and Itachi's father would probably track him down and give him a good thrashing.
When Gua got home, he told his mother, Nai, and his father, Dashan, about his plans with Shisui for the next day over dinner.
"Of course! You should get out more, Gua~"
His mother, Nai, said it with a smile.
His father, Dashan, nodded repeatedly as well.
Gua could more or less guess what his parents were thinking. They were probably worried their son would shut himself away so much that he developed autism or something.
The next day.
Gua spent the daytime idling at home again.
He went out toward evening.
He arrived at a patch of woods near the Uchiha Clan Compound and the Naka River.
It was the place Shisui had arranged to meet them.
Hardly anyone came here, so even if the three of them turned the place upside down, they wouldn't attract any attention.
For a farewell gathering, you had to find somewhere no one would interrupt, where people reluctant to part could sit together and drink their fill, then make drunken fools of themselves...
But I'm a kid, aren't I?
Gua had been muttering that to himself on his way over.
Shisui probably wouldn't bring alcohol.
If Gua went home drunk, he really would end up strung from a tree and whipped mercilessly.
Gua couldn't help picturing himself with his little face flushed from drinking, hanging from a tree while his dad, Dashan, lashed his backside with a whip, and his mother, Nai, cheered from the sidelines.
With his mind wandering the whole way, Gua arrived at the appointed woods.
This time, Itachi and Shisui had gotten there fairly early.
By the time Gua arrived, the two of them were already sitting on rocks and getting ready to start a fire.
A large pile of dry branches they had collected lay around them.
Their fire starter was cylindrical. A twist exposed a tiny glowing ember inside.
They used that little ember to light the tinder.
Gua came over and sat beside them.
He watched Shisui and Itachi lying on the ground, making a very serious business of starting the fire.
"Why not use Fire Release?"
Gua asked.
He really couldn't understand why something as absurd as a fire starter even existed in the Shinobi World.
Itachi, who was lying on the ground and blowing hard, raised his head and stared at Shisui in shock, as if to say, Bro, are we both idiots?
Shisui ignored him.
He kept working on the fire.
Whoosh!
The flames caught. Shisui added a couple of handfuls of firewood and let it burn slowly, then stood and patted Gua on the shoulder.
"Gua, you don't understand. When we're out in the wild, we need to conserve chakra whenever we can. If something unexpected happens, we'll always be ready to act at full strength."
Gua: ...
He really wanted to ask, Is that how it works?
Are you sure you aren't just making this up on the spot?
Gua didn't call him out.
Men needed to save face. He understood that much.
Whoosh~
The fire got going.
The tinder ignited the dry hardwood, and Shisui stood up.
"Shall we go find something to eat?"
Gua: ...
So this cookout is really all about living off the land?
You didn't fucking bring anything?
Gua's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Shisui.
Shisui seemed to read his mind and explained with a perfectly straight face, "Survival is a required part of any ninja's wilderness training!"
"Uh-"
Gua thought school might have made Shisui stupid.
How are you supposed to teach Itachi properly like this?
Gua sighed helplessly and got up from the rock. His backside had only just warmed it.
He and Itachi split up and headed into the woods in different directions.
Shisui stayed behind to tend the fire alone.
Gua mentally applauded the expert at work.
So, boss, you started the fire early just so you could slack off?
No wonder you're the one leading us.
Who said Shisui was dumb? He's way too clever, okay?
Grumbling inwardly, Gua headed into the woods anyway.
The weather wasn't great today. There was no moon, and the sky was overcast, so visibility was very low.
Still, that hardly counted as an obstacle for an ordinary ninja.
It was even less of an obstacle for Gua. He had been idle-training his eyesight for two months.
Two months of nonstop training, twenty-four hours a day, with a tenfold boost, worked out to four years of training for a normal person.
Even a blind Xiahou Dun would have become a sharpshooter who never missed after that.
So despite the darkness, Gua walked through the woods as easily as if he were on level ground.
He could avoid most obstacles with perfect precision.
The only problem was that he couldn't find any prey.
At first, he had planned to show off his prowess by catching a tiger and bringing it back to give Shisui a fright.
Then he had thought he could bring back a wolf and give Shisui a fright.
After searching for ages, he finally abandoned the idea of frightening Shisui.
Even catching one of the Inuzuka Clan's dogs and passing it off as game would do.
But he still failed.
He didn't see so much as a shadow of a dog.
Catch a little white rabbit! That would be fine too!
Gua silently made up his mind.
Two minutes later...
Gua couldn't understand it!!
Why!!
Wasn't there a single living thing here?!
Gua was ready to turn around and head straight back!
Just then,
Rustle!
Rustle!
A faint rustling came from the woods.
Something's there?
Gua's eyes lit up.
Persistence really did pay off!
Gua decided to take a look.
Maybe his taijutsu would let him beat a tiger and bring it back to give Shisui a fright.
Tap, tap, tap!
Gua walked very carefully.
Every step was incredibly light, making a faint sound against the ground that only he could hear.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Gua drew closer and closer to the sound.
And as he did, his sixth sense told him something was wrong!!
Very wrong!!
That wasn't an ordinary animal!
If it were a stray dog or a wild boar, he was already so close that it definitely shouldn't have been making so little noise!!
If it were something small...
Small creatures had very keen hearing. Getting this close should have alerted it.
Was my taijutsu just too good?
He couldn't rule out the possibility that his footsteps were too quiet, but Gua still felt a vague unease.
But turning back was out of the question.
His curiosity was strong, and upholding the time-honored virtue of "I'm already here," he kept walking forward.
The sound vanished.
Gua stood beneath a tree and listened closely.
It really had vanished. There wasn't a sound.
Suddenly.
A keen sense of danger made Gua snap his head up.
A black-clad figure crouched on a treetop not far away, seemingly watching something from concealment.
Gua's pupils contracted slightly.
My damn curiosity!
Gua didn't dare move.
He would make absolutely sure the other person hadn't spotted him before quietly slipping away.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Gua felt as though he were dancing on a knife's edge.
Dangerous as it was, he felt like a seasoned acrobat, without the slightest nervousness.
But the very next second after he moved,
This "seasoned master" slipped up!
A kunai came flying toward him.
Before you continue