Name: Kobayakawa Ichima
Lifespan: 31 years
Chakra: 0.6 units
Ninja Aptitude: D
Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique (12% mastery), Transformation Technique (12% mastery), Clone Technique (10% mastery).
Giving birth to another F-rank aptitude offspring increased Kobayakawa Ichima's lifespan by 1 year, his Chakra by 0.3 units in one go, and his Ninja Aptitude from E (1/2) to D.
"Perhaps, now I can try to learn D-rank Ninjutsu," Kobayakawa Ichima was in a good mood. He had tried to learn D-rank Water Release before, but due to insufficient aptitude, he was never able to learn it. Now that his Ninja Aptitude had upgraded to D, he might be able to learn D-rank Ninjutsu.
Waking up early, Kobayakawa Ichima went to the market and bought two sea fish, spending a total of 600 Ryo. Nowadays, the prices in Hidden Mist Village were even more exaggerated, almost 10 times higher than before Fourth Mizukage Yagura took office.
Years of war only brought suffering to the lower and middle classes of the Village.
Carrying the two fish, Kobayakawa Ichima knocked on Hirunaka's door.
"Come in," Hirunaka's weak voice echoed from within the room. Kobayakawa pushed open the door and saw the listless Hirunaka kneeling before a square table, with a kettle placed in front of him.
Hirunaka drank water with snow, his belly was bloated, yet his face was still noticeably gaunt. His cheekbones protruded, his eye sockets were sunken, and his skin was sallow, clearly due to long-term malnutrition.
Seeing the fish in Kobayakawa's hands, Hirunaka's eyes glowed green, and saliva dripped uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth.
"Ichima, I remember you wanted to marry Misato, right?" Hirunaka, staring at the fish, was so hungry that he had forgotten his previous sarcastic remarks to Kobayakawa. He said, "Ten thousand Ryo! No, just fifteen thousand Ryo, and I can marry my precious daughter to you, and the child can even take your surname!"
Just last year, Hirunaka thought that was the darkest time in the Village, and that conditions would improve once they got through that period. He never expected that after a year, the situation would be even worse.
"Where's Misato?" Not hearing Misato's voice, Kobayakawa Ichima felt a bad premonition. He ignored Hirunaka and quickly entered Misato's room.
The newborn baby was covered by Misato with a blanket, and Misato had already fainted from hunger.
Kobayakawa Ichima quickly leaned close to Misato and checked her breathing, feeling relieved only after confirming that Misato was fine.
Feeling the movement beside her, Misato weakly opened her eyes and softly said, "Ichima, I fulfilled our promise, the child has been born."
"You've worked hard, Madam, you've worked hard!" Kobayakawa Ichima held Misato's hand. Because of the birth of this child, his aptitude had reached D-rank, and his Chakra had reached 0.6 units, which was already equivalent to the average level of Chunin in the Five Great Nations. As long as he learned a slightly more advanced Ninjutsu, he would be a proper Chunin.
Although it was impossible for Kobayakawa Ichima to have only Misato as a woman, helping Misato live a better life and raising a child were all things a father should do.
Fortunately, now that his Ninja Aptitude had reached D-rank, he should be able to learn D-rank Ninjutsu. Once he learned D-rank Ninjutsu, he would be confident in taking on better missions.
Once he earned fifteen thousand Ryo, he would take Misato to live with him, and then let Misato have another child.
Soon, the fish soup was ready, and after Misato ate the fish, her body gradually recovered.
Kobayakawa Ichima left some food for Misato, then returned home.
Unconsciously, a year passed, and Mei Terumī was already 15 years old. Mei Terumī was now gradually beginning to exhibit the power of her Bloodline Limit, occasionally using Lava Release inadvertently.
Kobayakawa Ichima could only tell Mei Terumī to try not to use Ninjutsu, after all, in the current Hidden Mist Village, once a Bloodline Limit was exposed, it would invite the Village's pursuit. At that time, no one could protect Mei Terumī.
"Brother Ichima, Jonin Kisame Hoshigaki is here. He said this year's farmland irrigation mission has begun. He can teach Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique, but it requires a tuition fee of 2000 Ryo."
Kobayakawa Ichima thought for a moment and immediately decided to send the 2000 Ryo as tuition to Kisame Hoshigaki. At this time, Kisame Hoshigaki had not yet obtained Samehada and was just an ordinary Jonin, only a few years older than Kobayakawa Ichima.
Everyone has selfish motives, and Kisame Hoshigaki was no exception. It was perfectly normal for him to get some benefits for himself during official business.
If he didn't pay this 2000 Ryo tuition, there would be plenty of others who would.
Taking the last 2000 Ryo from his home, Kobayakawa Ichima hurried to visit Kisame Hoshigaki and handed the money to him.
Kisame Hoshigaki was also true to his word and immediately taught Kobayakawa Ichima the Ninjutsu. This Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique was a Ninjutsu developed by a Jonin years ago to alleviate land drought problems. Although it had no offensive power, its gentle nature made it excellent for irrigating land. Learning this Ninjutsu could increase irrigation speed by more than three times.
More importantly, compared to other Water Release Ninjutsu that often had B-rank learning difficulty, the Cloud Creation Technique was only D-rank, making it the simplest Water Release.
In the room, Kisame Hoshigaki's massive body stood to the side, forming hand signs and demonstrating for Kobayakawa Ichima.
"Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique requires five hand signs. If you are skilled enough, you can perform this Ninjutsu with three signs: Ox, Snake, Ram, Rat, Ox. After feeling the moisture in your chest, combine it with Chakra.
This Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique can also become the Hidden Mist Technique. By controlling the amount of Chakra, you can perform the Hidden Mist Technique, which will also be helpful in war."
Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique!
Kisame Hoshigaki exhaled a puff of mist, which condensed into a dark cloud more than ten meters high, and then rain fell. This was the Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique.
Kobayakawa Ichima memorized the hand signs. He tried to release it like Kisame Hoshigaki but failed several times in a row.
After returning home, Kobayakawa Ichima continued to try using Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique. After a week of practice, he finally managed to barely release the Ninjutsu. However, due to his poor Chakra control, using a D-rank Ninjutsu almost consumed half of his Chakra.
"Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique!" Kobayakawa Ichima exhaled mist, followed by raindrops. After a week of training, Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique finally reached 2% mastery. Although he couldn't use it proficiently yet, it was already taking shape.
Mei Terumī saw all of Kobayakawa Ichima's efforts. This distant cousin had no great talent, but when it came to hard work, he was second to none.
"A so-called family is a collection of people, not external things like secret techniques or treasures. Blood ties are what bind us tightly together."
Whenever Mei Terumī thought of what Kobayakawa Ichima said, she felt a warmth surge in her heart, and that determination deeply moved her.
After practicing day after day, two months later, Kobayakawa Ichima finally raised the mastery of Water Release: Cloud Creation Technique to 5%. Now, if he went all out, he could perform the Cloud Creation Technique 10 times a day, with a range sufficient to cover 20 acres of farmland.
Soon it was time for the irrigation mission to begin. After instructing Mei Terumī to take good care of Misato, Kobayakawa Ichima set off for the outskirts of Hidden Mist Village.