Getting hit in the face by a high-pressure wind sphere bigger than a person felt like the sky was falling.
The Mist jonin watched in horror as his own wind release did nothing. It couldn't even slow the massive sphere down.
In a panic, he quickly formed more hand seals and managed to finish one just before the sphere reached him.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.
A thick wall of earth shot up between him and the oncoming wind sphere.
Taiichi's shadow clone clicked its tongue internally. So the guy had been hiding Earth Release too. Upper-rank shinobi really never made things easy.
But one wall? That was all he had?
The Mist jonin's brief look of relief quickly twisted into pure terror.
The "thick" earth wall might as well have been made of paper. The wind sphere carved a perfect circular hole straight through it. The jonin tried to dodge at the last second, twisting his body as hard as he could, but he wasn't fast enough.
He avoided a direct hit to the chest, but his right arm wasn't so lucky.
The sphere clipped it and tore the entire limb into a spray of blood and shredded flesh.
"AAAAAHHH!"
The agonized scream echoed through the trees.
Even with a wound like that, the jonin didn't stop running. Upper-rank shinobi were built different.
The shadow clone didn't rush to finish him. Instead, it followed at a leisurely pace, like a cat playing with a mouse. It kept the pressure on without killing him outright, occasionally sending out wind blades to force the man to keep moving.
Blood poured from the severed arm. The jonin's face grew paler by the second. After five minutes of desperate running, his legs finally gave out. He collapsed to the ground and couldn't get back up.
The shadow clone walked over slowly.
The jonin immediately started begging.
"Don't kill me— I surrender!"
Even now, he was still trying to survive. His will to live was impressive.
Unfortunately for him, Taiichi wasn't in a merciful mood.
"The civilians you butchered probably begged too," the clone said coldly. "What did you do to them?"
The jonin froze. A single tear slipped down his cheek.
Taiichi didn't know if it was regret or just fear of dying. He didn't care either way.
He formed hand seals.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
At point-blank range, the technique shredded the jonin's body in seconds. When it was over, the man was barely recognizable.
The shadow clone checked the body to make sure he was dead, then dispelled itself.
Back in the sky, Taiichi's real body staggered slightly as the memories hit him.
After processing everything, the corner of his mouth twitched.
So that's what his clone had been doing. He really could be ruthless when he wanted to be.
When he returned to the destroyed village, less than an hour had passed since he left. Most of that time had been spent tracking the enemy.
By the time he landed, Hizashi had already directed Guy and the others to bury all one hundred and fifty-eight villagers.
Looking at the rows of simple graves with no markers, Taiichi felt the last of his hesitation disappear. These people didn't deserve mercy. The only language they understood was violence.
"Taiichi, you're back already? How did it go?" Hizashi asked.
"Handled. Both squads. Eight people. None of them made it out."
Hizashi had expected as much, but he was still impressed.
Guy ran over, eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Taiichi! Let's head back to camp together! We can train when we get there!"
Ebisu and Genma quickly joined in, clearly excited at the idea of getting pointers from Taiichi on the way back.
Taiichi thought about it for a second, then nodded. He didn't have anything urgent waiting for him.
The five of them finished up what little was left to do in the village and started the long walk back to camp.
The trip here had taken a little over an hour by air. Walking back would take most of the day.
"Taiichi, have you heard anything about Kakashi and the others?" Guy asked.
Taiichi glanced at him. "They're with Minato-sensei on the western front right now."
Guy looked a little down for a moment. Compared to Kakashi's eventful career, his own path had been pretty ordinary so far.
But the gloom didn't last long. Fire quickly returned to his eyes.
"I won't lose! Youth can have lows, but it can never have surrender. That's my ninja way!"
Tears started streaming down his face.
Hizashi looked extremely uncomfortable and pointedly avoided looking in Guy's direction.
Ebisu and Genma, on the other hand, looked completely used to it.
The group chatted as they walked, keeping a steady pace. It was late at night by the time they finally reached camp.
After making plans with Guy's team to spar the next day, they split up.
Taiichi walked toward his own tent, thinking about everything he had gained today. The meditation breakthrough, sensing natural energy, and his shadow clone's training progress. It had been a productive day.
Just as he reached his tent, he stopped.
There was someone else breathing inside.
The breathing was slow and steady. Whoever it was, they were asleep.
Taiichi frowned. Who the hell had the nerve to sleep in his tent?
He stepped closer. The breathing pattern suddenly changed — the person had woken up.
A small smirk appeared on his face.
Interesting. Pretty sharp instincts. Must be skilled.
He walked up to the tent and yanked the flap open.
Moonlight poured inside, lighting up the interior.
Golden hair. A familiar, slightly drowsy figure.
Taiichi's expression froze.
"Tsunade… sensei? What are you doing in my tent?"
He caught the faint smell of alcohol and his face immediately darkened.
This woman had actually snuck into her student's tent to drink in secret.
Before he could say anything else, Tsunade's eyes focused on him for a second, then glazed over again as the alcohol hit her.
She dropped her head back onto the bed and started snoring lightly.
Taiichi stared at the ceiling of the tent.
"How much did she even drink…?"
He stepped inside and let the flap fall shut. Empty bottles were scattered everywhere. He carefully moved them aside and walked over to the bed.
Tsunade was completely out.
Sighing, he gently removed her outer jacket. Even in the dim light, her arms and the impressive curve of her chest were impossible to ignore. She really didn't look close to forty.
The combination of the Yin Seal, Creation Rebirth, and the Hundred Healings Technique was ridiculous. It might not grant immortality, but it definitely kept her from aging normally.
He pulled a blanket over her, muttering "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form" under his breath like a mantra, then started cleaning up the bottles.
These were evidence. For the sake of his teacher's dignity, he sealed them all into a storage scroll.
Once the tent was clean, he sat down on the small stool and looked at the sleeping Tsunade.
For a moment, he felt like he was taking care of a troublesome daughter. He immediately shook his head to get rid of that ridiculous thought.
If he ever had a daughter, he was keeping her far away from Tsunade. One drunkard in the family was enough.
He glanced at the time. It was already past one in the morning. No point staying up any longer.
The tent was small. The bed was occupied. Taiichi ended up sitting in the corner and meditating instead of trying to sleep on the floor.
When he opened his eyes again, it was five in the morning.
Tsunade was still asleep, but she looked like she was starting to wake up. She groaned and held her head.
"Damn black-market bastards… selling me fake booze. I'm tearing that shop down next time I go back."
Taiichi's eyebrow twitched. Of all the things to be worried about right now, she was concerned about getting ripped off on alcohol.
"Sensei," he said flatly, "maybe you should explain why you were drinking yourself unconscious in my tent?"
Tsunade looked up at him. He was still wearing yesterday's clothes and looked a little rough after a full day of fighting and training.
She glanced around the now-clean tent and gave an awkward laugh.
"I just wanted to hear how your mission went, so I came to wait for you. You took forever to come back, so I figured I might as well have a drink while I waited…"
She held her thumb and forefinger close together, as if to say "just a little."
Taiichi stared at her.
"Just a little?"
Tsunade waved him off. "Don't be so uptight. You're no fun at all!"
As she sat up, the thin blanket slipped down. Combined with the way her clothes had shifted during the night, a generous amount of skin was suddenly on display.
Taiichi's face turned bright red. He immediately turned around and fled the tent.
"Clean yourself up!"
Tsunade blinked, then looked down at herself. A moment later, loud laughter echoed from inside the tent.
Taiichi stood outside, veins throbbing on his forehead.
"What a shameless woman…"
Ten minutes later, Tsunade stepped out of the tent looking perfectly put-together again. The hangover was still there, but she was back to her usual self.
She took one look at Taiichi's normal expression and grinned.
"You still need a lot more training, Taiichi. A shinobi's strength isn't just about combat power. There are other areas too… like resisting temptation, for example."
Taiichi gave her a flat look.
"Sensei, maybe you should focus on controlling your drinking first. The commander getting blackout drunk in her subordinate's tent would make for a great story if it got out."
Tsunade opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally muttering, "Fine, I'll just drink somewhere else from now on."
"You're still planning to drink?!"
Before Taiichi could keep scolding her, a loud, energetic voice rang out from a distance.
"Taiichi! We're here! Let's go train!"
Guy came running over with his usual blinding grin, dragging a half-asleep Ebisu and Genma behind him.
This guy really never ran out of energy.