New swordsmanship

Walking openly through a ninja village like this without anyone hunting him down was quite a novel experience for Kakuzu. All of it was thanks to the strange brat in front of him.

He was pathetically weak, yet bolder than anyone, and he even dared to call him Uncle. Going by their ages, even calling him Grandpa would have made Kakuzu sound young.

Just as Kakuzu was lost in his thoughts, Anyo's voice suddenly reached his ears. "Uncle, what were you thinking about? We're already at the academy."

Already? Kakuzu froze for a moment. Before him stood the Ninja Academy, a place he had never been to. If, back when I was a child...

"What are you thinking about? There's no one around now." Anyo lowered his voice. "Did you spot any targets along the way?"

"Targets?" Kakuzu looked rather puzzled.

Anyo was even more puzzled. "Didn't you come looking for a Lightning Release heart? Weren't you keeping an eye out for one on the way here?"

Kakuzu snapped out of his daze and quickly replied, "Of course I was. I haven't come across a suitable one yet."

Anyo thought that made sense. "All right. Someone strong enough to catch your eye probably wouldn't be wandering the streets anyway. I'll look around for you once I get into the Ninja Academy."

"Brat, why are you helping me?" Kakuzu voiced the question on his mind.

Anyo smiled. "Hehe, aren't we helping each other? I'll help you first, then you help me."

Kakuzu replied expressionlessly, "Let's get this straight first. I haven't agreed to work for you yet."

Anyo made a gesture of understanding. "I know. Go find somewhere to stay. I'll take a look around the academy and let you know if there's anyone suitable."

Anyo already knew his way around the Ninja Academy, so he showed none of an infiltrator's caution and swaggered straight inside.

He had only just reached the classroom, and the ninja teacher had yet to introduce him, when the students erupted.

Several little girls' eyes turned into hearts as they cried out, "Wow, look! A really handsome boy!"

The little boys on the other side weren't having it. "Hmph, he's so scrawny. He's hideous! Men should have muscles."

It seemed most first impressions came from appearances. Human nature-everyone loved beauty.

Anyo smiled faintly and greeted them openly. "Hello, everyone."

"Wow, he's even more handsome when he smiles!"

One lovestruck girl went even further. "Was he smiling at me just now?"

The teacher at the front couldn't help calling out, "Quiet, everyone. Let me introduce him. His name is Baiyun, and he's from a small village in the Land of Lightning. His village was destroyed by ninja from Iwagakure, so he's come here to study. Don't any of you bully him."

Anyo obligingly put on a sorrowful expression.

The students below stood up one after another and shouted, "If anyone dares bully him, I'll knock their teeth out!"

Once the teacher left, Anyo quickly hit it off with the students. Boys and girls alike thought their new classmate was pretty nice.

Seeing that he had more or less built a rapport with them, Anyo asked, "Do you know whose Lightning Release is the strongest?"

One white-haired boy said, "Isn't it obvious? Lord Raikage, of course! My family said he once beat even the Eight-Tails into the ground."

He could take the Eight-Tails head-on? This generation's Raikage really was something. Making him Kakuzu's target clearly wouldn't work. Even setting aside whether they could beat him, if they did, they would have an entire village hunting them down. It went without saying that they wouldn't escape.

So Anyo continued curiously, "Are there any powerful ninja below the Raikage?"

"Then it would definitely be Lord Raikage's son. He's sure to inherit the title of Raikage someday."

The Raikage's son wouldn't work either. Although it would be less difficult than going after the Raikage, the result would be the same. Anyo quickly discarded that option.

Another girl said, "I think Lord Killer B is pretty good too. And his rapping is really interesting."

"What's interesting about it?"

"Don't you think it's fun?"

Several students began discussing it.

Just then, a voice drifted over. "Yo, I think I heard my name."

A burly man with dark skin, pale yellow hair, and black sunglasses walked in, holding a pen and writing something. Then he began dancing, waving his arms and legs as he muttered away.

Things immediately became awkward. Even Anyo stared dumbfounded. Was this... Killer B?

Once he finished, the girl who had just praised him asked, "Lord Killer B, are you teaching us today?"

Killer B said animatedly, "That's right, I'm teaching you today. What do you want to learn? How about some rap?"

"Ah, no!" The other students couldn't help groaning.

"A bunch of kids who don't understand music," Killer B grumbled. He drew several swords from behind his back. "Then I'll teach you Taijutsu today."

That suggestion won unanimous approval. "Yes!"

Everyone rushed out of the classroom in a flurry. Sure enough, no matter where you went, PE was the most popular class.

At the training ground, after warming up with some rapping, Killer B drew seven swords. The seven blades moved as nimbly as his own arms, flashing up, down, left, and right. Before anyone knew it, the training dummies had been stabbed to pieces.

Anyo, who had been lounging around, stared wide-eyed. What kind of swordsmanship was this? It was beyond anything he'd imagined. It looked a little comical, but the speed of its attacks and the breadth of its coverage actually surpassed his own. In close combat, relying on swordsmanship alone, he might well lose to this guy.

Sure enough, traveling ten thousand miles was better than reading ten thousand books. Seeing this swordsmanship alone had made the trip worthwhile.

After the demonstration, the students crowded around Killer B to ask for guidance, while Anyo sat upright on his own, thinking of ways to counter it.

Soon, the lesson ended. Anyo opened his eyes, looked in the direction Killer B had left, and followed him straightaway.

Since Anyo made no particular effort to hide, Killer B soon noticed the little tagalong behind him and stopped.

"Yo, aren't you the kid who didn't say a word earlier? Why are you following yours truly? Oh, I get it. You want to hear my rap, don't you?" Killer B said with great confidence.

Anyo shook his head. "No, I want to have a swordsmanship match with you."

"Oh, a swordsmanship match?" Killer B said in puzzlement. "Kid, you don't even have a sword. How are we supposed to have a match?"

"Can't you just lend me one?"

"Yo, interesting." Killer B took an interest in the child before him and tossed a sword straight over. "Hey, fool! Idiot! Swords are sharp. Don't hurt yourself."

Anyo caught his sword, gave it a few casual swings to test its feel, and charged straight at him. "I was about to say the same thing."