"Lei Dou..."
Hinata pleaded softly, her voice thick with tears.
Lei Dou glanced around. Everything in this shabby room was in plain sight. There wasn't even a wardrobe.
The only place to hide someone...
"Get on the bed! Hide under the covers and don't make a sound. Come out after he leaves!"
Hinata glanced at the single bed, her face turning so red it looked ready to bleed.
Get under Lei Dou's covers? Th-this was too...
She had no time to hesitate. The knocking grew more insistent.
Lei Dou pushed Hinata onto the bed, pulled the blanket over her until she was completely covered, then turned to open the door.
The door opened to reveal Uncle Masano wearing a hearty smile.
"You graduated, kid! I hear you're heading out on a mission tomorrow? Not bad, not bad! Taking a C-Rank mission right after becoming a Genin-you've got a bright future!"
"I hear Kakashi's leading your team? He's a famous master of the ninja arts. Make sure you learn everything you can from him..."
Once he started talking, there was no end to it.
Uncle Masano was clearly in high spirits, keeping Lei Dou there as he talked about everything from ninjutsu to the philosophy of life.
Lei Dou humored him while stealing glances at the bulging covers.
That girl... she must be suffocating in there.
The first ray of morning sunlight fell across his face.
Lei Dou opened his eyes groggily. His arms felt warm, as though he were hugging a big, soft body pillow.
A faint, delicate fragrance lingered beneath his nose. It smelled wonderful.
Lei Dou instinctively nuzzled closer, a contented smile curling his lips.
Still early. Might as well sleep a little longer.
I wouldn't trade sleep this comfortable even for the Hokage's seat.
But perhaps he had moved too much, because the "pillow" in his arms stirred.
A pair of large, pale eyes slowly opened, coming face-to-face with Lei Dou at point-blank range.
Time seemed to freeze.
The person in his arms instantly stiffened, even her breathing coming to a halt.
"L-L-Lei Dou?!"
Seeing Hinata's frightened little face, Lei Dou finally remembered what had happened last night and kindly walked her through it.
"Forgot already? Uncle Masano wouldn't stop talking last night. He went on for almost two hours. You weren't making any noise under the covers, so I lifted them and found you asleep. I couldn't bring myself to wake you."
So that was what happened...
Hinata recalled last night. Under the covers, everything had smelled like Lei Dou. It had been so warm that, before she knew it...
"Th-then why were you..."
"This is my house, princess. There's only one bed. If I didn't sleep here, was I supposed to sleep on the floor?"
Seeing Hinata nearly faint from embarrassment, Lei Dou stopped teasing her.
"All right, hurry up and get out of bed."
Lei Dou rolled out of bed first and got dressed with his back to Hinata, giving her some room to collect herself.
Only after Lei Dou had finished getting ready did he hear rustling behind him.
He looked back to find Hinata already standing there, her head lowered as though she wanted to bury it in her chest.
Lei Dou walked over and crouched down, bringing his eyes level with hers.
"Don't be shy. I'm leaving soon."
"Be good and wait for me to come back, okay?"
After a long while, she finally let out a "Mm" as faint as a mosquito's hum.
The two left the house one after the other.
As luck would have it, the neighbor next door was locking up too. Hearing them, he instinctively glanced back.
At first, nothing struck him as odd.
Two seconds later, the neighbor whipped his head around, his eyes nearly popping out and his mouth hanging wide enough to fit an egg.
Lei Dou gently patted Hinata's head. "Quick, make a run for it!"
As though she'd been granted a pardon, Hinata covered her face and vanished like a gust of wind.
Lei Dou stretched and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.
What lovely weather today!
"Lei Dou!"
Someone else calling me?
Lei Dou's heart skipped a beat. He had just walked out of his house with a girl. Had someone he knew caught them?
He turned around.
Shimozuki Hayate stood there with his trademark dark circles, staring at him in mingled shock and admiration.
"You little rascal. I thought you'd become the Shimozuki's pillar of swordsmanship and restore our clan's glory."
"Turns out I wasn't thinking big enough. You even managed to get your hands on the Hyuga Clan's precious daughter?"
Lei Dou waved both hands frantically. "Listen, big brother, let me explain. This is just a misunderstanding!"
"A misunderstanding? A boy and a girl come out of the same house first thing in the morning, and you call that a misunderstanding?"
Hayate wore an expression that said, We're both men. I get it, and gave Lei Dou's shoulder an earnest pat.
"It's understandable for a young man to be full of energy, but you need to show some restraint. You're still growing, after all."
Lei Dou couldn't clear his name no matter what he said. "I really didn't..."
"All right, all right. Since you've done it, take responsibility like a man."
"Don't worry. There may not be many of us Shimozuki left, but for my dear nephew's marriage, your uncle will sell everything he owns if that's what it takes to help you marry that girl!"
With that, Hayate gave Lei Dou a meaningful look and walked away coughing.
Lei Dou reached out to call him back, only to find that he had already made a remarkably smooth exit.
Forget it. Let the world burn. Whatever happens, happens.
He still had to hurry to the meeting point. If they wanted to misunderstand, so be it. The innocent had nothing to fear... probably.
Smoke drifted through the Hokage Building.
Led by Kakashi, Lei Dou, Sasuke, and Naruto met the client funding their mission.
"This is Tazuna, a renowned bridge-building expert. Your mission is to escort him back to the Land of Waves."
The mission briefing was utterly unremarkable.
The old man, however, refused to behave. Reeking of alcohol, he eyed the three boys askance.
"What's this? You're sending a handful of snot-nosed brats to protect me?"
Looking thoroughly displeased, Tazuna pointed at Naruto and the others and complained.
"Aside from the masked one, who looks halfway decent, the rest of you haven't even hit puberty. Can you really do this?"
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe with a smile and said nothing.
Naruto was ready to explode on the spot, rolling up his sleeves to argue.
But Lei Dou beat him to it, speaking coldly. "Konoha has plenty of powerful ninja. The question is, can you afford them with that little money of yours?"
One sentence hit him right where it hurt.
Tazuna looked as though he'd choked. His face turned dark red, and he couldn't squeeze out a word.
"If you were willing to pay for an S-Rank mission, you could even have ANBU as your bodyguards. You get what you pay for. Understand?"
Lei Dou stared into Tazuna's eyes, his voice calm but relentless. "So, are we leaving or not? If not, we're going back to catch up on sleep."
The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow. This kid has a sharp tongue, but crude as his words are, he's right.
If there hadn't been other circumstances involved, the pay for this C-Rank mission really would have been a bit insulting to such a lavishly equipped Genin squad.
"All right. Since there are no objections, let's head out."
Kakashi lazily broke the awkward silence.
Tazuna snorted and muttered, "I hope you're half as good at fighting as you are at running your mouths."
The group arrived at the village gates.
Kakashi suddenly stopped and turned to his three students.
"Since this is your first mission, here's a word of advice."
If you encounter ads such as "Are you a real person?", simply ignore and close them. Do not scan any codes or send text messages!
"Stay calm when things happen. Don't get carried away. Most importantly, remember that you're a team. Working together is how you survive."
Lei Dou raised an eyebrow. Was he about to pull something?
Sure enough, Kakashi changed tack. "I won't be taking action on the road this time. Just pretend I'm invisible."
"Unless you're about to die-or you're already dead and cold, in which case I'll come collect your bodies."
"Understood?"
An arrogant smile curled Sasuke's lips. Having no Jonin interfere suited him perfectly. This would be a real test.
Naruto scratched his head. "What's that mean?"
"It means the three of us have to handle this mission ourselves," Lei Dou translated succinctly.
"Really?!" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up.
Kakashi had expected the fool to be scared. Instead, Naruto jumped three feet into the air with excitement.
"Awesome! I finally get to show what I can do! I could handle a little mission like this all by myself!"
Kakashi looked utterly exasperated. I really worried for nothing.
"Wait! What do you mean? You're using my life as a training tool for these brats?"
Tazuna panicked as soon as he heard that. This was far too unreliable!
Kakashi glanced at him. "Like Lei Dou said, you've only paid enough for Genin services. I'm a free extra. Whether I do anything depends on my mood."
Tazuna was left speechless by the retort and could only swallow his anger.
He had no choice. The Land of Waves was dirt-poor, and this money was already his funeral fund. He could only leave his fate to chance.
Lei Dou glanced at the dejected Tazuna. The old man might have a foul mouth, but he was building a bridge for the people's livelihood. He might as well help where he could.
"Then the mission begins."
With that, Kakashi disappeared into smoke with a poof.
He left without the slightest hesitation.
So he was leaving them to sort out who would be in command.
The first lesson in teamwork wasn't how to fight enemies, but who got the final say.
"Since we're working as a team, we should pick a leader."
Lei Dou glanced at Sasuke and Naruto and put the issue straight on the table.
Naruto was still grinning stupidly, while Sasuke's gaze instantly sharpened and fixed on Lei Dou.
"You want to be the leader?"
Although Sasuke privately admitted that Lei Dou was just a tiny bit stronger than him, his Uchiha pride would never let him bow his head so easily.
"Not really. I have no interest in babysitting. If you like an empty title that much, take it."
Lei Dou waved a hand dismissively.
That response threw Sasuke off. He froze for a moment before snorting. "How pointless. I don't want to be the leader either."
Both of them turned their eyes to Naruto.
Naruto pointed at his own nose, looking utterly bewildered. "Huh? Me? Can I do it?"
Seeing Naruto's less-than-brilliant expression, Sasuke pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Forget it. With you leading us, we'd be lucky to make it to the Land of Waves alive."
After wrestling with it for a moment, Sasuke turned his head and looked reluctantly at Lei Dou.
"You do it."
"Are you sure?" Lei Dou raised an eyebrow. "I think you've got quite the air of a leader. Why not do it yourself?"
The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched. This bastard was definitely doing it on purpose!
"I know my limits. I'm not good at giving orders. You're better at thinking than I am." Sasuke might have been too proud to be forthright about his feelings, but he was still honest.
Since Sasuke had yielded, Lei Dou stopped refusing.
Hidden nearby, Kakashi watched with great interest.
That was a slick little game of playing hard to get.
Lei Dou wasn't just strong. His emotional intelligence was absurdly high too.
He clearly wanted to lead, yet deliberately turned it down, forcing the proud Sasuke to ask him to take the role.
That way, he established his authority while letting Sasuke save face, preventing friction within the team.
First test passed, with full marks.
A team could only have one brain, and Lei Dou was clearly it.
"Since nobody objects, it's settled."
Naruto was still out of the loop. "Then let's get going!"
"Formation!" Lei Dou's expression turned serious as he instantly stepped into his role.
"Sasuke, you're on point. Scout ahead."
"Naruto, stay close to Tazuna and protect him."
"I'll bring up the rear and provide support."
"Why should I..." Sasuke instinctively started to argue, only to force the words back down.
Being ordered around annoyed him, but he had to admit that Lei Dou's arrangement made the most sense.
The front was the most dangerous position and demanded the fastest reactions. This was an acknowledgment of his abilities.
Sasuke snorted, said nothing more, and silently walked to the front of the group.
Putting Sasuke at the head of the group, a seemingly dangerous position, was by no means an attempt to single him out.
On the contrary, a barely perceptible glimmer of pride flashed through Sasuke's cool eyes. He felt that Lei Dou had given him special recognition.
That secret delight made Sasuke swallow the complaint already on the tip of his tongue. Even the corners of his mouth threatened to curl upward.
Following behind him, Naruto clasped his hands behind his head, looking thoroughly disgruntled. He could not fathom the deeper meaning behind Lei Dou's formation. They were just walking, weren't they? Was there really any need to act as though an enemy army was bearing down on them?
And so, the four-person party set out on their journey.
Lei Dou leisurely brought up the rear, his seemingly languid eyes actually scanning every movement ahead like a hawk's.
Since he also had to watch their backs for surprise attacks, this position was arguably the shittiest job in the entire group.
Fortunately, they had only just left Konoha, and the surroundings were still fairly peaceful, so Lei Dou could spare a little attention to slack off.
Looking back on yesterday's training, his Boil Release had successfully crossed the advanced threshold of compound fusion. The passive skill slots he had left running all night had not been idle, either.
The moment he opened his eyes that morning, his Ice Release had also successfully reached the standard for perfect fusion.
Now, both his fine control of chakra and the strength of his elemental Nature Transformation were beyond reproach.
The only remaining weakness was this body's basic physical conditioning.
Although the skills had reached the required standard, Lei Dou did not intend to remove his Ice Release skills right away.
Still, to optimize his setup, he could temporarily remove the large-area ninjutsu called "Ice Release: Snow World" from one of his precious passive skill slots.
He only needed to keep "Ice Release: Freezing Moment" equipped for focused improvement.
What he needed most right now was to expand the range of his freezing control. As for the destructive power of all that swirling snow, it would naturally rise as the foundation of his Ice Release grew stronger.
Thus, after carefully considering his adjustments, Lei Dou unhesitatingly filled that precious newly vacant skill slot with "Advanced Taijutsu."
Meanwhile, in pursuit of maximum killing power, he also trimmed down the two Boil Release skills he had equipped, keeping only the most destructive one, "Boil Release: Hot Breath Blade."
He kept it enshrined in its skill slot like a revered ancestor, all so he could hone its sharpness and heat day and night.
The slot this freed up was once again filled with "Advanced Taijutsu."
That was on top of the permanently equipped "Chakra Extraction Technique," "Basic Visual Genjutsu," and the "Advanced Taijutsu" he already had.
Damn, that meant Lei Dou now had three Advanced Taijutsu buffs stacked on him at once!
If a real fight broke out, he could instantly switch two of those Taijutsu skills to "Sun Breathing Swordsmanship."
The prospect was almost too glorious to contemplate: unlimited stamina, unlimited chakra, and a rampaging state in which his swordsmanship cost him nothing. He would practically be a walking cheat.
For Lei Dou as he was now, this was undoubtedly the combat setup that gave him the most bang for his buck.
Looks like I'll need to set up two dedicated loadouts: a PVE one for fighting monsters and leveling up, and a PVP one for killing people and taking their loot!
When it really comes down to fighting for my life, I'll have to trouble Great Sage to handle the switch with one click!
[Great Sage: Command received. Standing by.]
The blazing sun overhead scorched the earth like a massive fireball, and the air was thick with the smell of hot, dry dust.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Lei Dou were rigorously trained ninja, after all. Although the heat was oppressive, it only brought a little sweat to their temples, and they still had plenty of stamina.
Their client, Tazuna, had it much worse. Every two hours of walking, the old man had to collapse beneath a tree and wheeze like a broken bellows.
Only then did Tazuna belatedly realize just how freakishly capable these three seemingly immature brats were.
Compared with these three tireless monsters, he was pathetically weak despite being an adult. Naruto and Lei Dou in particular had dry faces without so much as a drop of sweat.
Even Sasuke, the handsome boy with the perpetually cool expression, only had a slight sheen on the tip of his nose.
They truly lived up to Konoha's reputation. Even little brats who had yet to grow up were worlds apart from ordinary people.
After another three or four hours of trudging along, the woods around them grew increasingly dense, and the shrill chorus of cicadas grated on their nerves.