Chapter 12: Talk no Jutsu
As the Jashinist Genin stared in bewilderment, the ground beneath him suddenly ruptured. A massive, bucket-sized mouth, stretched to its absolute limit, erupted from the earth and swallowed his feet, threatening to devour him whole in the next instant.
But in that split second, the cultist reacted with lightning speed. Just as his feet were about to be consumed, he slammed them together, using the rebound force to leap to the side.
POP!
A sound like a fish blowing a bubble echoed in the darkness. The Earth Dragon had chomped on nothing but air.
Pfft!
It shook its head, expelling the air trapped in its "throat," and looked at Kael with a wronged expression.
A moment later, the Jashinist reappeared nearby, his face pale with lingering fear as he stared at the Earth Dragon. He couldn't imagine what would have happened to him if he had been swallowed by that hideous creature.
"Kid! You've really pissed me off now! Don't think you can defy me just because you signed a contract with some mutated earthworm you found somewhere! Now, prepare to face my wra—"
"Aaargh! Just shut up! Blah, blah, blah, nag, nag, nag! Are you ever going to stop?! I can't take it anymore! Little Spike, turn him into a pincushion!" Kael clapped his hands over his ears and let out a frustrated roar.
As soon as he finished speaking, a volley of iron quills, glinting faintly in the dim light, shot out from behind the Jashinist, covering a five-meter radius around him.
Thwack, thwack, thwack...
Shick, shick, shick...
The sound of sharp objects hitting the ground mingled with the almost imperceptible sound of a dozen or so blades piercing flesh. The dense barrage of quills left no escape. A figure, now resembling a human porcupine, slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Little Spike, you've got a new brother," Kael said, breathing a sigh of relief as he looked at the Jashinist's body, which was riddled with holes. He couldn't resist teasing the Ironclad Hedgehog.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak..." the Ironclad Hedgehog chirped in protest.
"You're saying this guy is full of evil? You can sense that kind of thing?" Kael's curiosity was piqued by the message the hedgehog sent to his mind. He was surprised to learn that his summons could vaguely sense the difference in a person's aura, even to the point of distinguishing between good and evil.
He gestured for the Earth Dragon to carry the Jashinist's body on its back and then turned to head back to the house where Inoshita and the others were waiting. On the way, he reviewed the battle in his mind.
My battle plan was solid. I didn't get to use the Earthen Beetle, but everything else went according to plan. I first pretended to be scared, like a normal kid my age would be, to make him lower his guard. That gave my summons the chance to get into position...
He couldn't help but feel a little proud of his cleverness. But then he thought about how much effort it took him to kill a single, ordinary ninja and felt like he was a disgrace to all the other transmigrators in the Naruto world.
Other people start with a Mangekyo Sharingan or some kind of check-in system. I start by getting chased, and I have to risk my life to kill a single Genin...
Still, he knew his cautious approach was the right one. Given his current strength, he couldn't afford to be careless when facing a shinobi, no matter how much he prepared.
If Little Dragon and Little Spike hadn't launched a surprise attack, I definitely wouldn't have been able to kill him. The best-case scenario would have been him escaping. The guy only used a Substitution Jutsu; he didn't even have a chance to use any other ninjutsu before I took him out... And aside from being completely disgusted by his incessant talking, everything went according to plan...
Having solidified his future combat strategy in his mind, Kael arrived back at the house.
THUD!
He ignored the stunned looks on everyone's faces and threw the Jashinist's body onto the floor.
"Rino-sensei, this is the guy," he said calmly.
Inoshita's face lit up with relief, but then he remembered something and asked urgently, "What about Kawa and Kawashita?"
Kael's expression darkened. "According to this guy, they were both bled to death..."
"What?"
"How cruel!"
"So this is what the Jashinists are like?"
The other students' faces were filled with horror. They instinctively took a few steps back, wanting to get as far away as possible from the evil man's corpse.
A look of sadness crossed Inoshita's face. He pulled the large scythe from the Jashinist's back. Seeing Kael's questioning look, he explained softly, "Your two classmates can't have died in vain. If we bring this back to the village as proof that you killed a Jashinist ninja, we can secure a larger pension for their families. You'll also be greatly rewarded for your service."
Kael simply nodded, saying nothing.
With the immediate danger gone, Inoshita had the students form teams and search the nearby area for the bodies of their two classmates. These students were the top of their class and had already extracted their own chakra, so they wouldn't be in too much danger if they encountered any ordinary Jashinist followers.
Inoshita himself remained behind, studying the Jashinist's body. He finally ripped the demonic mask from the man's face, revealing the bloodied face of a middle-aged man.
"This must be one of their lower-ranking followers, barely above the ordinary cultists. And yet, even I would have had a hard time dealing with him. I'm getting old..." he lamented. He then turned to Kael.
"It seems the village made the right choice in recruiting you. Judging by his wounds, he was pierced by some kind of animal's quills. It must have been your Summoning Beast, right? That giant earthworm you summoned back then gave me quite a scare..." He patted Kael's shoulder and said earnestly, "That earthworm couldn't have had this kind of ability, which means you must have contracts with other summons. To be able to do that, you must have some kind of special ability, perhaps a Kekkei Genkai..."
Kael's expression changed, and he looked at his teacher with a mix of surprise and suspicion.
Inoshita just smiled gently. "Don't worry, I don't mean any harm. I just want to say that even though our village is small, there might still be people who would covet your ability. It would be best to keep it hidden in the future..."
"Yes, I will. Thank you for your concern, Rino-sensei."
Looking at the mature young boy before him, Inoshita felt a mix of emotions. He was happy that the village had such a talented child, but also saddened by his own mediocrity and failures.
He looked at Kael's young face and couldn't help but think, In ten or twenty years, this village might be relying on you... The Village Leader has had it rough these past few years, holding everything together by himself and taking so much grief from the Feudal Lord of the Land of Hot Water...