Maruboshi Kosuke

The afternoon heat had faded somewhat in the gentle evening breeze.

Uchiha Gen lounged against the ridge of the roof, enjoying the cool air.

Beside his hand sat a can of cola.

There was no helping it. This stuff was what he got most often from signing in.

"On days without missions, enjoying the breeze and drinking cola-what could be better?"

As his words fell, a clear eagle's cry pierced the sky.

An agile grayish-brown figure broke through the drifting clouds, drew in its wings and circled once, then landed precisely on the edge of the roof ridge.

"..."

Looking at the Ninja Hawk before him, Uchiha Gen fell somewhat silent and tapped the cola can with his fingertips, producing crisp, light sounds.

So it seemed his leisurely days were over.

Uchiha Gen straightened slightly, reached out to remove the miniature scroll tied to the Ninja Hawk's leg, and opened it.

The contents were brief.

An emergency mission squad was being assembled. Team 8 member Uchiha Gen was to proceed immediately to Konoha's designated Training Ground Three to assemble and receive a field assignment. Mission rank: B.

Having completed its delivery, the Ninja Hawk lowered its head and lightly pecked the roof tile in front of Uchiha Gen to indicate that the mission had been delivered, then spread its wings and took to the air again.

"A B-Rank Mission? And... just me."

Reading the miniature scroll, Uchiha Gen frowned.

He alone had been transferred into this so-called emergency mission squad. However he looked at it, he felt it had something to do with a certain one-eyed man.

And a B-Rank Mission right off the bat...

As far as he knew, Konoha had a very strict ranking system for accepting missions. Genin should not have been able to take B-Rank Missions at all.

"Whatever. Wild speculation is meaningless. Seeing is believing."

Uchiha Gen casually set the scroll alight, tilted his head back, and drained the remaining cola. Then he tossed the empty can, which landed squarely in the trash bin at the foot of the wall below.

As the cola can fell into the bin, Uchiha Gen's figure vanished from the rooftop.

He made his way to Training Ground Three.

Unexpectedly, only one person was waiting for him at the training ground.

It was a rather short, middle-aged shinobi dressed in plain brown clothes. Most eye-catching of all was the large iron pot on his back.

Such an unusual getup...

It had to be you...

Maruboshi Kosuke!

Though his rank was only Genin, his strength was beyond question.

Uchiha Gen approached, looking at the middle-aged shinobi as he took the initiative to bow and greet him.

"Hello, sir. I'm Uchiha Gen. I look forward to working with you."

Maruboshi Kosuke was visibly taken aback by Uchiha Gen's politeness. Looking at him, Kosuke scratched his head, seeming a little embarrassed.

"I never thought a genius from the Uchiha Clan like you would be sent on a mission with an unaccomplished old fellow like me. You really have drawn the short straw.

"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me. Hello, my name is Maruboshi Kosuke. And there's no need to call me sir. I'm a Genin too."

"You must be joking, sir."

Faced with Maruboshi Kosuke's modesty, Uchiha Gen shook his head lightly.

What a joke. Though this man called himself a Genin, most of Konoha's Jonin probably could not match his actual strength and experience.

A Water Dragon Bullet Technique with only three hand seals-who knew what kind of outrageous version it would become in this Shinobi World?

"Hahaha, I'm not joking. I really am a Genin, just like you."

Maruboshi Kosuke laughed and waved a hand. He merely assumed Uchiha Gen did not believe he was a Genin.

"I don't know why the village assigned me to go on this mission with you, letting an old fellow like me hold you back, but there's no helping it. A mission is a mission.

"Gen, is it all right if I call you that? This mission won't be easy. We need to become teammates who can entrust our lives to each other."

Maruboshi Kosuke looked at Uchiha Gen earnestly and spoke softly.

"But before that... I think we need to familiarize ourselves with each other's abilities. That way, we can better plan for this mission. What do you think, Gen?"

Maruboshi Kosuke spoke softly, his expression unreadable.

Because of certain events in his past, he had to make sure he knew his teammates' true strength when carrying out a mission. Otherwise... he feared certain things would happen all over again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had told him that this Uchiha boy was extremely strong, and that despite his young age, he had already awakened the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai, even reaching the three-tomoe stage.

But... some things had to be verified.

The more others called Uchiha Gen a genius, the more he needed to confirm it. Someone like him should not let anything happen to one of the village's geniuses because of him.

As Maruboshi Kosuke spoke, he reached toward the signature large iron pot on his back, drew a specially made, slender Ninja Blade from it, and held it in his hand.

"Don't worry. Though I'm only a Genin, I do know a little swordsmanship and Water Release, so you needn't worry about hurting me."

Watching Maruboshi Kosuke draw his blade without waiting for a response, Uchiha Gen could not help falling somewhat silent.

What was wrong with this Shinobi World? Why did everyone have to fight as soon as they met?

"I've long heard of your abilities, sir, so there's no need to be so modest. Since you wish to assess my strength, I certainly won't disappoint you."

As he spoke, Uchiha Gen formed a one-handed seal before his chest.

The Seal of Confrontation.

"In that case... come at me with the resolve to kill me!!"

The instant those words fell, the ground sank soundlessly.

Maruboshi Kosuke abruptly vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, the biting wind of a blade bore straight toward the point between Uchiha Gen's brows.

The blade's path was utterly steady, utterly cold, utterly ruthless.

This was...

Clearly, it was a high-speed slash combined with the Body Flicker Technique. In other words, a zero-frame startup.

Uchiha Gen's eyes remained calm. An eerie red gleam flickered within them, and his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated in an instant!

In that moment, Maruboshi Kosuke's slashing motion was immediately broken down and slowed.

Facing the point-blank slash, Uchiha Gen lightly pivoted his foot against the ground, turned his body slightly, and shifted his shoulder an inch.

The biting force of the blade swept past the side of his neck, slicing through the air with an ear-piercing crack.

This was one of the major cheats of the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai in close combat. As long as the body could keep up with the eyes' reactions, it could evade every attack that was possible to dodge.

After all, every attack appeared in slow motion through the Sharingan.

His slash missed, but Maruboshi Kosuke did not panic in the slightest.

In an instant, Maruboshi Kosuke shifted his sword wrist slightly while his other hand formed a one-handed seal. His figure abruptly became insubstantial.

The surrounding light seemed to be gently stirred and bent by an invisible force, making Maruboshi Kosuke look as though he had merged into a reflection in rippling water. In an instant, he vanished from the spot.

"Konoha-Style Swordsmanship: Three-Month Concealment."

Accompanied by that whisper, a keen, vicious strike silently arrived from the blind spot behind Uchiha Gen's flank the next instant, thrusting precisely toward the center of his back.