Seiji Ito nodded, though in truth, he couldn't wait to leave this place soaked in blood.
Yuuma Akimoto had emptied her stomach completely and now leaned weakly against a tree, continuing to dry heaves.
Seiji wanted to go to her but didn't know what to do. He just stood there watching.
"Are you okay?" Shiki gently rubbed soothing circles on Yuuma's back through her thin shirt, feeling the softness of her skin beneath his palm.
Then, Shiki reached into Yuuma's top pocket and pulled out a tissue, handing it to her. He didn't even realize when he started memorizing exactly where she kept her tissues.
Yuuma took the tissue and wiped her mouth clean in one swift motion before turning back around. Shiki still wore that same gentle smile.
But in a place littered with corpses, such a calm smile looked slightly eerie.
Still, warmth bloomed in Yuuma's chest as she softly asked, "Big brother Shiki, do I seem really useless to you?"
Yuuma's eyes were still red—clearly from how hard she'd thrown up earlier.
Shiki couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy for her. He already knew bringing along Yuuma—who was as fragile as porcelain—would lead to scenes like this.
Still, he naturally placed his hand on her head with a warm smile. "How could you be useless? Many people would've handled their first real exposure to kenjutsu far worse than you did."
Thinking about it, Shiki suddenly pointed his index finger at Seiji Ito.
"See? The reason Seiji didn't throw up is just because he's slow-witted. See how he hardly ever smiles normally? That's actually because he hasn't fully processed what happened yet. In half an hour or so, once it hits him, he'll start puking too. So there's absolutely no need for you to compare yourself with him."
Shiki told his terrible joke, but Yuuma still smiled.
Seiji awkwardly remained rooted in place. He knew at a time like this, he should probably shoot back with a bad joke of his own—but honestly, he lacked experience. So he just stood stiffly, turning his head away.
Hayate Gekko wasn't going to let Shiki off the hook so easily, so he asked, "Shiki, if Seiji didn't throw up because he's dense, then what about you?"
"Me?" Shiki pointed at himself. "As an older brother, how could I throw up in front of my little sister? Of course I have to keep my composure and wait until nobody's around to throw up."
As he spoke, Shiki pretended to throw up dramatically.
Yuuma's laughter grew brighter, and even Seiji, who had turned his head away, couldn't suppress a chuckle.
Shiki had successfully made fun of himself too.
That's how come he always gets along with everyone in his class at the Ninja Academy.
"All right, all right. I understand how low your standards are," Hayate Gekko sighed slightly before glancing again at the pile of corpses. "Fine, let's go. Once we arrive, I'll show you both how to train properly."
"Do we not need to clean up the battlefield or anything?" Shiki asked.
Hayate shook his head. "Most of these guys were bandits without chakra cultivation, not ninja. There's nothing useful we can get from them. We only need to take the leader's blade."
Although it wasn't an exceptional blade, it was still quite decent. "I was just thinking about finding you a sword for training," Hayate Gekko remarked.
"Training?" Shiki sounded surprised. He hadn't expected Hayate Gekko to start training him so soon.
Still, without hesitation, he took the black-sheathed blade from the body of the dead man.
In reality, this sword had a very elegant appearance. As it slid from its jet-black sheath, light shimmered across the silver-white steel, like dawn breaking through darkness.
Almost every man has a special fondness for cold weapons, and Shiki was no exception. The straight blade stretched about 1.2 meters in length. At the end of the blade were finely engraved two characters: "Clear Spring."
While it couldn't match Seiji's sword, nor compare with Hayate Gekko's,
For a novice swordsman, it was already a rare treasure.
After finishing up, they exchanged glances and prepared to leave.
"Shouldn't we bury them and make graves?" Yuuma asked.
Hayate Gekko continued walking forward without turning his head.
"There's no need. Building graves for enemies is an honor reserved only for heroes. These people don't deserve such treatment."
Yuuma's eyes showed hesitation, but Shiki firmly held her hand and led her away from the scene.
"Always remain kind, but don't mistake kindness for weakness."
With his left hand, Shiki adjusted his forehead protector. For a rare moment, determination flashed in his eyes before softening again.
"We should hurry. Once we arrive, I'll give all of you more training."
Hayate Gekko turned his head to speak to the three youths.
In fact, experiences like that recent slaughter would certainly be hard to come by within Konoha Village.
No gang of bandits, robbers, or rogue ninja would dare to operate near Konoha. After all, as one of the strongest ninja villages in the ninja world, any such audacity would bring only death upon them.
That's why Hayate Gekko was eager to spend some time near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. It wouldn't just be regular training—it'd involve real combat drills.
Thinking about this, he couldn't help but glance toward Shiki.
What a strange boy! At such a young age, he already possessed the conditions necessary for learning powerful taijutsu and ninjutsu.
If it weren't for his chakra pathways, he could probably already practice C-ranked techniques. Even still, things weren't bad at all. Originally, he had only intended to train tree climbing, yet unexpectedly, with Shiki's abilities, he could already learn B-ranked sword techniques.
After all, children his age rarely reached his level of speed, strength, and especially such precise chakra control.
For sword techniques requiring minimal chakra, they were probably the most suitable option for Shiki right now.
Thinking thus, Hayate Gekko couldn't help but smile bitterly. What a lucky brat!
Chapter 100: Nikamura
The rain poured nonstop, darkened further by thick clouds blanketing the sky. Even in these conditions, dark, Corpse Crows still soared through the sky.
Perhaps after enduring these conditions for so long, this creature had also developed the ability to glide freely through the rain.
"This is ridiculous! So it's actually true that it never stops raining in the Land of Rain," Shiki muttered. Although he wore a pitch-black raincoat, water still dripped down its folds, leaving behind a sticky sensation that annoyed him greatly.
He vaguely recalled there being something else about this rain—though try as he might, he just couldn't remember what it was.
But if he really couldn't remember, it probably wasn't that important anyway. He was sure his mind would've retained any major plot points far more clearly.
That's exactly how Shiki saw it.
"Why do you say that, big brother? I think the rain is pretty fun!" Yuuma darted around in the rain, her light steps dancing through the rain, as if breathing some life into the otherwise gray and gloomy sky.
Of course you'd think that—you're wearing an extra layer.
Shiki couldn't help but regret not bringing another jacket himself. Back then, he'd merely thought about how the Land of Rain's weather might be damp and chilly, making it easy for little girls to catch colds.
Knowing Yuuma wouldn't likely think to pack warm clothes, he had stuffed one of his own jackets into his bag.
Now he realized he had rushed into that decision.
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