Just as Maruyama Shin finally let out a breath of relief, a flicker of alertness flashed across his face. He glanced off into the distance.
"So late to arrive."
He could sense several chakra signatures rushing in fast. Judging by their numbers and formation, they had to be Konoha shinobi.
Letting someone like Kaguya Chihaya sneak in had already been a massive failure on the part of the guards Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned. If a whole group of Mist shinobi managed to get through as well, then either the guards were utterly incompetent or the Mist Village had launched a full-scale invasion.
But clearly, neither was likely.
Shin hurried to store away the mutilated corpse of Kaguya Chihaya, then used his chakra to quickly smooth over the disturbed ground.
He rushed to Imai Kuriyama's side, shielding him with his own body. A faint trail of blood slid from the corner of his lips as he gripped his ninja tool pouch tightly. Then, with a theatrical flip of his eyes, he passed out cold.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Three Konoha ANBU operatives appeared at the scene.
One of them landed beside the two boys, scanned their condition, and said in a low voice, "Still alive."
"And Kaguya Chihaya?"
The leader of the squad surveyed the surroundings but found no trace of the Mist shinobi.
Eventually, one of them crouched down, pinched a bit of the soil, brought it to eye level, and sniffed through the mask.
"The ground's been freshly disturbed. There's a faint trace of blood—it could be Kaguya Chihaya's."
"Dead?"
The ANBU exchanged glances. They could all see the shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.
Kaguya Chihaya was a seasoned Jōnin, famous for years within the Kaguya clan and fairly well-known across the entire shinobi world. Even they weren't confident they could take him down easily. And yet, he was… dead?
"From the moment we sensed the disturbance to when we arrived—it couldn't have been more than a quarter of an hour. Who could eliminate a Jōnin that quickly?"
"The fact that these two kids are still alive means the one who did it probably has no hostility toward Konoha. It might even be one of our own."
None of them even considered Shin or Imai as the culprits.
Even a prodigy like Kakashi wouldn't be capable of instant-killing a veteran Jōnin at his age. Shin and Imai might be a bit older than Kakashi, but not by much.
Suspecting them would've made them look like fools.
"A powerful Earth Release user, perhaps."
"Could it be someone from the Land of Hot Water?"
They were currently inside Hot Water Country's borders. The only shinobi who could've shown up here besides Konoha and the Mist were the Hot Water shinobi.
One ANBU hesitated. "Does the Hot Water Village even have someone that strong?"
"In any case, make a record of this and report it to Lord Orochimaru and the Hokage." The leader issued the order.
"Yes, sir!" the other two responded in unison.
They walked over to Shin and Imai, examining their condition. Seeing the way Shin clung tightly to his ninja pouch even while unconscious, one of them nodded with appreciation and muttered:
"Even when facing a powerful enemy, he didn't abandon his comrade or the mission. This kid's not bad."
"Based on the intel, that should be Maruyama Shin, the corpse collector, right?"
"Even corpse collectors are shinobi. Who knows, we might end up in his hands one day."
Veteran shinobi had long grown used to the sight of death.
"Red, take these two kids and the intel back to the village. We'll go check on Kakashi's group."
"Yes, sir."
Yūhi Shinku, codename "Red" in the ANBU, casually slung Shin over his shoulder and gently cradled Imai Kuriyama in his arms before sprinting toward the Land of Fire.
Being tossed like that nearly made Shin curse aloud.
You've got to be kidding me.
Why the difference in treatment?
The boy gets thrown over a shoulder like a sack of rice, while the girl gets carried gently like a princess? That's gender bias!
"You're done for. I swear I'm gonna help Asuma seduce your daughter. If not, I'll change my last name to yours!" Shin cursed in his mind.
Yūhi Shinku moved quickly. Before long, they crossed the border into the Land of Fire.
Once they were safely inside, the danger level dropped significantly. Shinku slowed his pace a bit.
Shin dozed lightly on his shoulder and soon noticed a system prompt:
[Experience complete!]
[Due to lack of adaptation and learning, you received partial attribute boosts: Precision +1, Endurance +2]
His heart ached.
Last time, after using the Jōnin Experience Card, he had crammed in as much study time as possible and managed to gain five full attribute points. This time it was a quasi-Kage level experience card, and because he hadn't properly adjusted, he only got three points.
What a waste!
If he had made full use of it like before, he could've scored six, maybe even eight or nine points.
What a massive loss.
And on top of that, riding on someone's shoulder while they sprinted non-stop was pure torture. If he hadn't been completely drained, he might've slept all the way back to Konoha just to cope.
Sensing that Shin was awake, Shinku finally set him down.
"You're up? Can you keep moving?" he asked, now without his mask.
Shin rubbed his sore arm. The sharp pain made him gasp—now that the card's effects had ended, the injuries were surging back with a vengeance.
Still, he gritted his teeth and nodded. "I can."
They resumed walking.
Perhaps Shinku had been in the ANBU too long without anyone to talk to—or maybe he simply took a liking to Shin. Once the mask was off, he seemed much more relaxed and sociable.
"You're a good kid, protecting your female comrade like that. That's what being a man is all about. When I was younger, I used to be the same—drew the attention of so many—"
"Ugh—" Shin couldn't help but bend over and dry-heave.
After a while, he glanced up and saw Shinku staring at him strangely. He quickly wiped his mouth and explained, "Took a hit earlier. Bad internal injury. Couldn't hold it in."
Shinku nodded in understanding. "Want me to carry you again?"
"No, no, no thanks," Shin waved his hands hastily.
Thank your entire family, seriously.
"I used to—"
"Ugh—!"
Things got awkward fast.
"...Just let me rest a second."
Shin pulled out a squashed pack of cigarettes. He managed to find one that was still intact, placed it between his lips, and with a flick of his fingers, ignited it using a tiny fireball.
Ah, being a Fire Release user really was handy sometimes.
He took a deep drag. His sore, swollen lungs protested, but the nicotine worked fast—he felt sharper, calmer.
Shinku frowned. "You're still young. Smoking's bad for your health. As a ninja, you should take care of your body."
With that, he plucked the cigarette from Shin's mouth, popped it into his own, took a long inhale, and exhaled slowly, disappearing into a haze of smoke.
"..."
So much for "bad for your health."
That's why they say: a man's mouth is full of lies.
Shin lit another.
The two of them fell silent. One puff at a time, they smoked together without a word—completely ignoring the unconscious Imai Kuriyama, who frowned faintly in her sleep.
They say bonds between men are forged through bullets, classroom windows, and shared cigarettes.
Couldn't be truer.
Shinku found himself more and more impressed with Shin.
He protected his comrade, finished the mission, endured pain, and could share a smoke.
He even began to suspect that maybe, just maybe, Yūhi Kurenai ended up falling for Asuma because Asuma bribed her dad with cigarettes.
After they finished their smoke—
"Shinku-senpai, I think I've recovered enough. Let's keep moving," Shin said, having pulled himself together. His body still hurt, but the nicotine made it bearable.
"You know me?" Shinku looked surprised.
Shin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm friends with Asuma, and Asuma's friends with Yūhi Kurenai, so…"
"Asuma?" Shinku narrowed his eyes.
As a father, his instincts flared. There was definitely something deeper behind this so-called 'friendship.'
Shin could only offer three seconds of silence for Asuma in his heart.
Too bad your old man made trouble for me.
I'm a corpse collector, after all. I never let grudges from the night before go unpaid.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!