"Learn Ninjutsu?"
Mukai turned to look at Pakura, the disdain in his eyes practically overflowing.
Seeing the look in Mukai's eyes, Sasori silently moved a little farther away.
Mukai's vision blurred, and the next thing he knew, Pakura had his head in a hold, plunging him into an indescribably soft and tender place.
Using both hands, Pakura unleashed the signature move of Shin-chan's mother: the double-fisted temple drill!
"You little brat, what's with that look?
You dare question my Ninjutsu?
Just because you and Sasori's puppets helped out, don't think you can question my strength as a Scorch Release user!"
Mukai was caught between the icy fire of pain and bliss.
It seemed Pakura really did think of him as a child. She hadn't even noticed that he was getting a feel.
After tormenting Mukai, Pakura finally vented her anger and let him go.
Mukai, who had nearly gotten a nosebleed from the ordeal in that soft paradise, was completely dazed.
Pakura put her hands on her hips and pointed to a cluster of small hills on the Gobi Desert not far away.
"My Scorch Release is a fusion of wind-natured Chakra and fire-natured Chakra,
so my mastery of Wind Release is more than enough to teach a brat like you!
Watch closely!"
Pakura quickly formed Hand Seals and fired one Wind Release Ninjutsu after another from her mouth.
"Wind Release-Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release-Serial Gunshots!"
"Wind Release-Vacuum Sphere!"
A barrage of wind-based Ninjutsu slammed into the small hills,
blasting holes through the hard stone.
Done showing off, Pakura grinned and gave herself a thumbs-up.
"Well, brat?
Am I qualified to be your teacher?"
Mukai rubbed his face and gave her two thumbs-up in return.
"Teacher Pakura, I really didn't mean to look down on you.
I've always called you teacher out of respect, but of course I also wanted someone powerful to rely on.
It's just that I'm a civilian ninja, and I'm a dead last in the village,
so if I became your disciple, wouldn't I embarrass you?"
Pakura reached out and ruffled Mukai's hair, her voice suddenly much quieter.
"Embarrass me?
The village is so poor it can barely pay mission rewards,
yet people are still fighting among themselves for power and profit.
I'm just a civilian ninja without much backing myself.
I only managed to stand out and become a Jonin because I fused a Kekkei Genkai.
This mission was a perfect example. When I ran into an elemental matchup that countered me,
even I almost got killed. What kind of powerful backer am I?"
With that, Pakura jerked her chin toward Sasori.
"You and Sasori are so close that those people have already set their sights on you,
so whether I take you as a disciple or not really won't make much difference.
Sasori is a puppeteer, and he has Elder Chiyo to guide him, so there's no need to worry.
But you're a Ninjutsu user, and you still need someone to show you the ropes when it comes to the many ways of using Ninjutsu.
Well, brat?
Do you need to go back and think it over?"
Think it over, my ass!
Mukai immediately bowed to Pakura.
"Master, please accept your disciple's bow!"
Mukai's peculiar show of respect made Pakura burst out laughing,
and much of the gloom in her heart dissipated.
Her teaching method was simple, too. She tossed Mukai a few C-rank Ninjutsu scrolls and told him to study them on his own first.
If there was anything he didn't understand, he could come and ask her.
The three returned to the village and agreed to meet at the training ground at noon the next day before going their separate ways.
When Mukai returned to his family's izakaya, the little tavern was packed with customers and unusually lively.
Mukai could see that most of the customers had ordered liangpi to go with their drinks.
This dish was inexpensive, tasted good, and could serve as either a side dish or a meal.
It was indeed popular.
He could see Shisō busily attending to the customers.
Since business was good, Mukai didn't go over and get in the way.
He jumped straight up to the second floor from the back and returned to his room.
Mukai spread some paper out on the table and began reviewing the outpost mission.
Although the whole mission had ended safely, despite some close calls, thanks to the involvement of him and Sasori's mecha,
there were countless strange abilities in the Shinobi World!
Leaving aside Obito and Minato Namikaze's Space-Time Ninjutsu,
the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and Orochimaru's tricky, bizarre Ninjutsu were more than enough to give him a hard time.
He was still weak. He had to keep a low profile and grow stronger, not get reckless!
Mukai first wrote down reconnaissance.
His bioelectric perception was a byproduct of his ability to precisely control electric charges.
Although it had helped a great deal, its range was too short, and it could only sense living beings. It had considerable limitations.
In the Shinobi World, intelligence determined life or death in most situations.
Next was Taijutsu.
Mukai's current Taijutsu relied entirely on what the original owner of his body had learned.
Those paltry skills were passable for launching surprise attacks with the help of a mecha augmented by Ninjutsu,
but if he actually went to a battlefield in the future, he would still be nothing but cannon fodder.
He had to take this problem seriously.
Pakura, whom he had just taken as his master, was also a Ninjutsu user, and her Taijutsu wasn't much to look at either.
He still needed to find a Taijutsu expert skilled in both unarmed combat and weapons.
Last, naturally, came the mecha.
As combat had proven, whether it was Sasori's Mountain God Mecha or his own Zealot Mecha,
their advantages were obvious.
Their defense in particular stood out. With their metal shells serving as armor, ordinary Ninja Blades had a hard time breaking through.
But this was the Shinobi World. The Konoha White Fang's special swordsmanship, with Chakra applied to the blade,
was said to be able to cut through anything!
Even if, according to his memories, Hatake Sakumo, the man who held the title of Konoha White Fang, would soon die by suicide,
relying on ordinary metal shells for defense was no long-term solution.
Mukai could only make improvements in three areas: the energy and propulsion system, the armor's method of defense, and the weapons.
He had a long and arduous road ahead!
The next day, Mukai arrived at the training ground early, only to find Sasori had unexpectedly arrived ahead of him.
He set aside his worries and greeted Sasori.
"Hey! Sasori, you slacker!
What brings you here so early today?"
Sasori responded to Mukai's silly greeting with a snort,
then tossed something straight at him.
"What's this?"
Mukai examined the piece of metal. Judging by its color and weight, was it Chakra Metal?
This was a fist-sized chunk of Chakra Metal!
Stars appeared in Mukai's eyes, and he reached out and slung an arm around Sasori's neck.
"Such a big chunk of Chakra Metal?
I won't call you stingy Sasori anymore!
From now on, your nickname is Golden Backer Sasori!"
Sasori glanced disdainfully at the clowning Mukai and said calmly,
"Don't get happy too soon. This isn't free.
Granny saw the Mountain God Mecha and couldn't stop praising your idea.
This is her deposit. She wants you to design a mecha with good defensive capabilities for the village's puppet force too.
It doesn't have to be as perfect as the Mountain God. It just needs to provide effective protection for the puppet force.
The village doesn't have any money now either, so it can't afford mecha that are too expensive."
Mukai patted his chest and agreed.
"No problem!
I just happen to have some new ideas for modifying the mecha.
Once we're done with what we have on hand, let's study them together."
Just then, with a bang and a puff of smoke, Pakura's tall, curvaceous figure appeared beside them.
"Hey! You two brats are full of energy!
Don't think I came late because I was slacking off.
Little Mukai, your teacher has secured a great big reward for you!
How are you going to thank me?"