The grass still held the shape of Raiku's fall.
Training Ground 7 was quiet now—sunlight streaming across the broken ground, kunai still half-buried where they'd landed. Birds chirped cautiously overhead, as if even they remembered yesterday's battle.
Henri lay on his back in the dirt, staring at the sky.
His body ached in all the right ways.
His leg was sore from the bite wound. His ribs were bruised from the mid-air block. His arms were scraped from blocking kunai mid-dash. But none of that hurt as much as the thing pressing hardest on his chest:
Relief.
---
🟢 [SYSTEM UPDATE – BATTLE REVIEW COMPLETE]
→ Victory Confirmed: +300 XP
→ Bonus XP for Style Bonus (Sky Weave Midair Finisher): +100 XP
→ Total: 400 XP
→ Current Level: 6
→ New Skill Tree Opened: "Momentum Branch"
---
He sat up slowly, wincing.
Then came the footsteps.
He didn't need to look. He already knew.
Jeneya dropped into a crouch beside him, holding a small medical pouch. "You really don't know how to stay clean in a fight."
"That's how you know it's real," Henri grinned, his voice raspier than usual.
She smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes. Gently, she peeled away the makeshift bandage on his leg, cleaning it with antiseptic from the pouch.
They sat in silence.
Rain had softened the ground from the night before. A soft breeze rustled through the leaves.
"...You scared me yesterday," she said quietly.
Henri blinked. "Because I got hit?"
"No," she whispered. "Because I saw you leap through a shadow strike without hesitation. Like it didn't matter if it cut you or not. You're not made of steel."
Henri looked at her—really looked.
And saw something new in her expression. Not just worry. Not just irritation.
Care.
He chuckled. "Well, if I did hesitate… you'd be the one lying here."
"Idiot," she muttered, but the corners of her mouth softened.
---
💬 [SYSTEM – Bond Alert]
Jeneya Bond: 66% → 72%
→ Status: Warm Trust
→ New Option: [Shared Training Routine Unlocked]
→ Unlockable Skill: Partner Momentum (Combo Boost)
---
"I learned something yesterday," Henri said, leaning back on one arm.
"Oh?" she asked, wrapping a fresh bandage on his thigh.
"I'm not fighting to prove anything to the others anymore. Not to Raiku, not to the Academy… not even to the Hokage."
Jeneya raised an eyebrow. "Then who are you fighting for?"
He looked at her.
"...You."
She froze.
For a moment, even the wind paused.
But before anything more could be said, the ground trembled faintly—boom-boom-boom—as a pair of figures dashed into the clearing.
"Henri! Jeneya!"
It was Konohamaru and Moegi.
They skidded to a halt, panting.
"You're on the mission board!" Moegi exclaimed. "You've been assigned a joint-team mission with Team 5!"
"Wait, seriously?" Henri asked, eyebrows raised.
Konohamaru nodded. "Team 5's short one genin for a scouting mission along the Fire-Water border. You're backup."
Henri stood. "That's not just a D-rank. That's serious territory."
Jeneya stood beside him, tightening her gloves. "We accept."
---
🧭 Mission Briefing Room – Hokage Tower
The mission scroll was stamped with an orange seal—C-Rank.
Target: Investigate reports of rogue shinobi movements near Fire Country's border, close to the ruined outpost of Daiyu Pass.
Objective: Scout. Report. Avoid direct conflict.
---
Henri frowned. "This place... didn't it fall during the Second Shinobi War?"
Iruka nodded grimly. "Yes. It's been abandoned since. But we've detected chakra pulses in the ruins—someone's activating old traps."
Jeneya glanced at Henri. "A trap-resetting squad. That's not just rogue shinobi. That's preparation."
Iruka nodded. "Which is why we need confirmation. You two will support Team 5 from the rear and observe."
Henri opened the scroll again—and his system pinged.
---
🟢 [SYSTEM QUEST ACCEPTED – "Echoes in Daiyu"]
→ Type: Recon / Stealth
→ Reward: +450 XP
→ Bonus Objective: Reach Inner Fortress Undetected
→ Hidden Reward: ??
→ Warning: Enemy Shinobi Detected (Unknown Clan Affiliation)
---
As they left the tower, Henri leaned close to Jeneya.
"You think this is just recon?"
She shook her head. "This feels like the start of something bigger."
"Good," Henri said, smirking. "I was getting bored."
---
🌌 That Night – Final Training Before Departure
In the clearing behind the Academy, Henri practiced with purpose.
Jump. Twist. Spin. Land. Repeat.
He added chakra flow into his kunai, then jumped and threw mid-air, embedding a triple-kunai arc into three moving logs.
Then he tried something new.
Compress chakra in his legs—not to jump forward, but to jump backward, then reverse it mid-air with Sky Weave.
He shot forward in a diagonal spiral.
---
🟢 [SYSTEM SKILL LEARNED – "Twist Vault"]
→ Launch backward, store kinetic energy, convert into explosive forward burst
→ Cooldown: 25 seconds
→ Combo Compatible: Sky Weave + Leaf Dash
→ Status: Rare Movement Skill
---
Panting, Henri collapsed onto a log.
Jeneya walked over, tossing him a bottle of water. "You're starting to look like someone who belongs in the Bingo Book."
Henri grinned. "Not until I can jump across a country."
She sat beside him, arms folded.
"You ever wonder," she asked, "if the system's not just a tool—but something that's alive?"
He blinked. "Sometimes. It learns fast. And sometimes it offers skills that feel… personal."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then she asked, "What would you do if it asked you to give it something in return?"
Henri turned toward her.
"I'd ask what it wants. And then I'd ask what you think."
She smiled.
A long pause.
"Hey," he said suddenly, nervous. "About earlier… what I said in the field…"
Jeneya stood abruptly. "Get some rest, Jump-boy. We leave at dawn."
And with a flicker of chakra, she was gone—leaving Henri staring at the sky again.
Only this time, his heart was pounding for more than just the system.
---
[To Be Continued…]