Hello Hello!
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday's and spending time with their families and friends, taking some well deserved breaks and slowing down and recharging.
I've been running around all day before the break of dawn, but I did it with family and friends, just wanted to give you all your next fix right here.
When 2026 finally comes, I promise there will be new surprises and works I'll be sharing.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 32
The first rays of the morning touched Sakura's eyes, stirring her awake. Not that she had been that deep in. Her hand still firmly wrapped around the rope with the rock, a pleasant surprise and show of how far her lifestyle as a shinobi had taken her. However it didn't do much to loosen the discomfort in her shoulder's and neck from sitting upright all night. But she knew that was a situation she would have to endure until Biscuit declared otherwise.
As she rubbed her eyes from the remnants of sleep, she found her thrill short lived, as a low and miserable groan caught her attention. She looked on both sides, to her right, Killua slept, upright, taking tiny breaths, content to his state. To her left, she found Gon, sitting slumped against the rock wall, shoulders' slack but like he was carrying the weight of the world with his head wanting to roll from his neck. It was also littered with angry red bumps where the rock had landed through the night. He looked so pitiful from the boy who was usually grinning from ear to ear. He wasn't even fully asleep, his gaze that used to be filled with boundless energy had glazed over with exhaustion, his eyes sporting some dark circles. All of which drew Sakura's sympathy to the surface.
"Oh Gon." She reached for him. Running her hands over his head, careful of the bumps. Her fingers brushing over the skin lightly, as he winced at the contact. At least he hadn't drawn blood, thanks to his natural hard head. However it looked like he was going to be combating with this particular training exercise.
"I kept letting go," He mumbled tiredly. Of course it was impossible to gain sleep when you were constantly being taxed with pain.
"I can tell," She felt Gon relax into her hold, leaning his head to listen to her heart as she cradled his face and began to heal the bumps. The swelling receding quickly under her touch. "It's a good thing you've got such a hard head,"
He mumbled something incoherent as his breathing began to slow, and Sakura realized as he slumped more of his weight into her that he had fallen asleep.
That's when Killua began to stir awake as well. He stretched out like a contented cat, looking at the rope in his hand with a sharp grin. "Damn, I needed that sleep. How about you guys?"
Killua's intent to tease was not missed by Sakura. They all needed sleep from tunneling through rock the entire day, but some were obviously receiving a higher ration than other's. Killua's smirk faded, when he saw the two.
"He let go of the rope?" Was all that seemed to be able to come out of his mouth, even though he had a lot hidden behind his expression.
"All night," Sakura answered.
They had missed the smell of fire and the aroma of breakfast until Biscuit alerted them to it. She looked as if she had been awake for an hour, with time to get ready for the day, wake up, have coffee and spare enough time to make breakfast for the three.
"What are you three doing? Get over here, eat and get ready for today. You've got a lot of digging to do!"
And suddenly whatever thoughts had been going t through their heads were irrelevant.
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Gon was finding it near impossible to hold the wheel barrow and keep it from tipping over every time he made a trip through the tunnels. He could barely hold his center of gravity with the bags under his eyes pulling him down, making him lose his footing. It showed to have a hard effect on his strength and not in a good way. His arms trembled under the weight of the overfilled wheelbarrow, where he would usually have no problem this early into the activity. But he was sleep deprived in the worse way.
'No wonder sleep deprivation is a form of torture.' Sakura grimaced as she watched Gon toddle his way back to refill the wheel barrow and move through the gave.
Then she heard the metal frame groaning before a thud and Gon's curse echoing through the tunnel. She turned back and saw dirt spilled over from the wheelbarrow in clumpy avalanches that Gon was powerless to stop. His knuckles whitened around the handles as he attempted to regain control, but he could feel his tendons standing out, crying for relief.
Realizing that he was about to toss over the dirt entirely, Sakura moved away from the wall dropped her shovel and closed her hands over Gon's to steady to wobbling load ready to capsize.
"Easy," she murmured, guiding his grip. "You're tilting your wrists too much. You're going to hurt yourself."
Gon barely seemed able to register that she was behind him. Blinking slowly, as he looked up at her, his face caked in dirt and sweat. He looked like an exhausted puppy. "Thanks…Sakura." He offered a tired smile.
"No problem."
"Oi!" Killua's shovel struck the tunnel wall with a sharp clang, the sound ricocheting off the narrow walls. "You're supposed to be helping me dig over here. We'll never get through this rock at this rate."
"I hear you, relax. Gon you take over shoveling," Sakura moved to take the wheelbarrow from him, and he just didn't have that strength to deny her. They returned to their system they had been working, using two diggers and one hauler, in hopes they would make better progress. Despite the efficiency of their system. It still felt like Masadora was a hop, skip and a dream away.
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Biscuit had prided herself generous enough to take over the meal preparations for the group. Giving more time for the three to act as moles and dig their way to their destination. It was more training time, as she put it. Getting them to eat didn't take much effort either, and no one complained about what she had to offer on the table because they were frankly too exhausted to care. Even though they were eager to end this exercise. That was something they wanted to accomplish through their efforts, not stillness.
They sat near their latest excavation, in a picnic scene, only more ravenous, as Gon and Killua wasted no time devouring their food faster than conversation could form. The meal was simple sandwiches, cut fruit and biscuits with juice and water. Biscuit likely wanting to keep them from weighing themselves down with heaviness in their stomachs while they dug their way to Masadora. Even so they didn't waste a bite, and were trying to devour their way through the tower of food.
Well this was a familiar sight. Sakura had a piece of bread paused near her mouth as she watched the boy's shoveling in their meals, waiting for them to come up for air.
"What are you two raccoons? Eat slower or you're going to puke. And I'm going to lose my appetite." Sakura cautioned them, but it seemed that Gon and Killua had unintentionally entered into competition with each other again. Otherwise they would've reminded Sakura of their last eating contest where she nearly took first place. Perhaps because of Biscuit's presence, she decided not to bring that side of herself into the light. For fear of retribution of her unladylike manner.
Gon turned to her, cheeks stuffed like a chipmunks she laughed, reaching out to brush off the stubborn crumbs on his face, "You've got more lunch on your cheeks than in your stomach Gon,"
He said something, but couldn't get the words out, making her laugh again.
"He's not a baby," Killua interjected, wiping his mouth before gulping down a canteen of water. "Stop coddling him,"
Sakura responded by seizing Gon's face between both hands, squishing his cheeks until his lips puckered into a ridiculous fish-face. "Look at this!"
Gon's muffled protest was drowned out by Killua's sudden, undignified snort as he choked on the water from his nose. Some droplets even catching the sunlight as the arced through the air.
Sakura was nearly knocked back from her own laughter as she watched Gon try to hold back his laughter so he didn't choke up his food, and Killua attempted to knock the water out of his chest, while still taken with laughter, especially when he and Gon met each other's eyes again.
Biscuit covered her mouth, just observing the three with a blissful silence and a smile at the exchange.
'They really are good together,'
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This next tunnel was proving to be especially challenging, stretched out like a gullet with no end in sight. The air was dry inside, and every time they dug they would end up inhaling a bit more debris than their lungs cared for. While they may have been lost on the purpose of Biscuit's instructions, they could at least agree that she didn't intend to allow them any form of comfort during their training.
She had warned them that her methods were more brutal than Wings. He seemed to prefer a steady method of training, and gradual growth. But looking back, Gon, Killua and Sakura hadn't actually struggled in that form of training. In fact they had developed so fast it seemed like the goals were too easy to reach.
And then they came to Biscuit and were currently trying not to shake off their sweat like wet dogs. Their routine had become monotonous, dig, haul repeat. But there was obvious strength development if it was enough to drag out fatigue from people who could open up a doors weighing over 2 tons.
"You know there might be something more to this," Sakura said suddenly, her voice cutting through the sounds of metal scooping stone.
Mid-swing Killua paused, his shovel in the air like a question mark, and Gon had stopped throwing off another pint of dirt .
"What are you talking about Sakura?"
She looked at Gon, "I don't think Bisky would just tell us to dig for no reason. Remember this is supposed to be Nen training right?"
The boy's shared a look of curiosity. They had shared a similar thought that this was just training to improve their physical stats, the same way that fighting Binolt had sharpened their skills and instincts. Somehow they had forgotten about the other aspect of their training, and that their lack of ability in using Nen that had brought Biscuit to even offer them the training.
Killua leaned on the tip of his shovel, "So maybe we're supposed to figure out what exactly we're supposed to do with this training?"
"Exactly. This is something I've gone through before with other teacher's," One of the harshest lessons was realizing that you didn't always learn the best when everything was pointed out for you in clear instructions. Sometimes it was more important to figure out your own way through instead of expecting a teacher to hold your hand. Though Biscuit didn't seem interested in offering even a crumb of information.
"Maybe we're just overthinking," Gon suggested, but they could seem him sweating and it wasn't from the heat but his brain ready to overload again. He went back to digging, ready to forgo the entire conversation but when he struck the rock, he winced crying out in surprise and ended up stumbling off his feet. He recoiled, looking down at his stinging fingers.
"Gon!" Killua and Sakura came up to him.
Gon! Are you okay?" Sakura took his wrists to examine for any signs of sprains, but he proved to be sturdier than her worry gave credit to.
"I'm fine," Gon assured her, flexing his fingers. "But the rock just felt really hard all of a sudden."
Taking his shovel, Killua gave an experimentally hard tap against the rock, his eyes sharpened as the sound of a dull clang met his ears, the tip of his shovel chipping slightly from the force. "We're not getting through this easily. At this rate, it'll take over a week to reach Masadora. The shovel will break before we do."
Gon focused his aura into his fist and back at the wall, "Maybe with a Nen punch we can….
He stopped his verbal response, but his eyes had lit up in the cave, gleaming a look so transparent that Sakura and Killua immediately braced for whatever realization had struck him.
"What were you guys doing with your aura while digging?"
Killua frowned. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Just shrouding my body in it."
Sakura bit her lip, sheepish. "I… haven't been using it at all."
While she had been adapting to using Nen, there was still one obstacle to overcome that Gon and Killua didn't have to think about. And that was actually choosing to use Nen. For Sakura, she had to think about using Nen. Gon and Killua had been her yellow notes, reminding her of that power.
Gon's grin widened. He grabbed a shovel and thrust it toward them. "Think of it as an extension of your body."
"Oh!" The two burst in unison as the pieces fell together in their minds. Following Gon's discovery, they took their shovels, lining up together in front of the rock.
Sakura was startled by the principals that Gon thought to apply, principals she should've already been aware of if she hadn't thought of Nen as a spare battery. She had been so focused on the differences between chakra and Nen, their rules, their techniques, that she hadn't considered their fundamental similarities.
Without another word, they adjusted their grips. Aura flared around them, shimmering like heat haze, before flowing into the shovels. It felt ilghter somehow, but was it stronger? They each struck the rock together. Instead of the clang, Gon experience they were met with a smooth acceptance of the rock. The earth melting under their shovels.
Where before the rock had been unyielding, now it crumbled like wet sand. The three of them stared, stunned, before breaking into identical grins.
"It worked!" Gon cheered, already diving back into the task with renewed vigor. They fell into a rhythm, carving their tunnel, like they were digging through dough and debris was piling up. Sakura went to haul it away.
As she wheeled another load outside, she caught Biscuit watching her, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"This was what you wanted, wasn't it?"
Biscuit's lips quirked. "It doesn't do any good to reveal everything. You can't expect me to hold your hand and get stronger at the same time."
Sakura smirked and turned back to the tunnel, but not before catching the glint of approval in Biscuit's eyes.
Biscuit mused silently. 'They finally learned how to use Shu.'
Shu the advanced Nen technique that allowed a user to extend their aura into objects, transforming them into extensions of their own strength. But like all power, it came with a price.
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At first everything had been going well, they were able to break through and tunnel at a pace that couldn't have them moving onto the next within minutes. However there was one oncoming problem that they didn't account for. Fatigue began to rise within them, even Sakura who had stamina that outlasted the boys by miles had been drawn to the same pace of exhaustion when she took over to dig. And that's when they learned another lesson about using Shu. Her muscles trembled as she continued to swing, but the shovel grew heavy in her hands. That's when Sakura had to take a step back and try a new tactic. She refocused her nen into her shovel, and attempted to keep the flow stabilized, unlike before where the energy was running through like a faucet opened wide.
"We need to pace ourselves," she said, wiping sweat from her brow. "No wild bursts, no fluctuations. Steady aura flow, or we'll burn out before we're done."
Gon, grabbed her hands, his grip warm and calloused. "Wow, you're really smart when it comes to this, Sakura!"
She laughed, shaking her head. "Not as smart as you, Gon. You're the one who figured out what we needed to do. You're sharper than you let on."
Gon's cheeks darkened, his grin turning sheepish. "That was just a lucky thought."
Killua watched them from the corner of the tunnel, his expression unreadable. Then, with a sharp exhale, he tightened his grip on his shovel, his knuckles whitening. "Come on," he muttered, turning back to the rock face. "Let's get back to work, unless you want to be stuck here all night."
There was an edge to his voice, something taut and unspoken, but Sakura didn't press. Instead, she nodded, falling back into rhythm beside him.
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And that's how the rest of their days went, following relentless labor and training, growing their Nen abilities and stamina. Each morning they would wake up beneath the looming thread of the rocks hanging over their heads. Which had gotten bigger as the days went by. Now even Gon, who had started with no experience, could hold himself up while he slept, keeping his consciousness split between resting and alertness. It didn't keep them from feeling stiff of sleeping in that unnatural posture, backs pressed to cold stone with fingers coiled around rough ropes. Biscuit barely missed a night to cut someone's rope and send those now boulders plummeting towards their heads.
When it happened to Sakura first, she ended up accidentally punching the boulder, sending debris scattered and waking up her friend's. Biscuit's punishment was five thousand push ups and she had to go and collect and even bigger rock to hang over her head.g.
By day, they dug. Shovelling through the rocks, and forming tunnels as quickly as their stamina and daytime allowed. They had become accustomed quickly to using Shu, even at the point where they had mastered it.
And then, one afternoon, as Sakura heaved another load of dirt from the tunnel's mouth, she saw it the distant glimmer of Masadora's candy-colored rooftops peeking through the trees.
"We made it!"
Gon whooped, flinging his shovel aside as he scrambled out of the tunnel. "We got to Masadora for the second time!"
Killua collapsed onto his back. "Took us long enough."
Sakura leaned against the wheelbarrow. They had done it.
"Okay," Biscuit chirped, her back was turned away from the city and she was pointing once again in a new direction. "We're going to the same place again."
"WHAT?!" The protest burst from all three of them in unison.
Biscuit merely pointed back the way they'd come, her smile serene. "Run."
There was no arguing. Not when her tone left no room for debate. And so they ran, with aching muscles, depleted auras, and all. The return journey was a haze of torment, every step a battle against the leaden weight of their own exhaustion. Using Shu for hours on end had drained them in ways mere physical labor never could, leaving their reserves scraped raw.
But as they staggered back to their starting point, lungs burning, Biscuit finally offered a reprieve.
"Rest tonight," she said, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Tomorrow, we begin the next phase."
Oh they couldn't wait.
THAT'S ALL MY LOVELIES! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to stay strong and keep reading!
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-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter ( 93, 94, 95, 96)
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-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi