Chapter 23: He Wants to Progress Too Much
Having seen Shisui off, Haruko prepared to return to the kitchen to study tonight's menu—
A large dark hand ruthlessly blocked his path.
Yui Iwashiro smiled like a three-hundred-pound child, holding a new personnel transfer list in his hand.
"Haruko, in view of your recent excellent perfor—"
Haruko's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to run. "Um, the water's boiling in the kitchen, I'll just—"
"Get back here!"
Iwasho grabbed him by the back of his collar and hauled him back like a little chick.
"In the next team adjustment, you will be formally assigned to the patrol squad."
Boom!
Haruko felt as if the sky had collapsed.
"Brother Yui, please don't! I'm still just a child!" Haruko let out a desperate cry.
"Be good and get some proper experience!" Iwasho slapped the list into his arms. "With great power comes great responsibility. I have high hopes for you to become the next White Fang of Konoha."
"I don't want to be the White Fang, I want to be a salted fish..."
Like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, Haruko slumped into a chair.
'The better I do, the more work I get, and without a pay raise either."
"Sigh—"
...
Late at night, deep in the forest.
Since he couldn't resist, he could only find ways to make himself safer during patrols.
Haruko held several shuriken in his hand, recalling Shisui's demonstration from earlier that day.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Scarlet Claw!"
Flames enveloped each shuriken; some extinguished before hitting the target, while others missed entirely.
"Multitasking is indeed a bit difficult. Well, this level is not bad for a first try."
He reduced the number of shuriken and tried again; this time, it was a perfect success.
"Speaking of which, Vacuum Sword involves attaching Wind attribute Chakra to a blade, while Phoenix Sage Fire Scarlet Claw attaches Fire attribute Chakra to shuriken. Could I do the reverse?"
He tried it as soon as the thought occurred. The Fire Release version of the Vacuum Sword turned out to be a flaming sword; it had its pros and cons compared to the Wind Release version, but it mostly looked quite intimidating.
Incidentally, Lightning, Water, and Earth Release versions could also be performed under Haruko's absurd Chakra control, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
But he ran into trouble with the Wind Release version of Phoenix Sage Fire Scarlet Claw—one was fine, but he couldn't apply Wind Release to several at once.
"True, Phoenix Sage Fire Scarlet Claw is based on the multiple-attack Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. To apply it to multiple items, I'd first need a Wind Release technique that attacks multiple times... So do I have to learn Vacuum Sphere first?"
Recalling that Danzo also applied Wind Release one by one and never a whole handful at once, he felt relieved.
"Forget it, I'll put this aside for now. It's enough for now. I'll try a double enchantment one last time before going to sleep."
What Haruko wanted to try was attaching both Fire and Wind Release to a shuriken simultaneously.
He had tried before, but at most, he could only produce hot water or hot wind; this was his first time attempting a combat Ninjutsu.
After a lot of effort that nearly set him on fire, Haruko managed to achieve some results—primarily Fire Release with a bit of Wind Release added to enhance speed, power, and maneuverability, essentially an upgraded version of Phoenix Sage Fire Scarlet Claw.
"I'll call this move Wind-Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Flying Swallow. The complete form of combining Wind and Fire should be Scorch Release, right? But that requires a Bloodline Limit."
"That's it, then. It should be enough. I feel like I could even hold my own against a Hidden Mist Jonin. I'm tired, time for bed."
That night, in order to slack off better later, Haruko tearfully worked hard for a few more hours, becoming a little bit stronger.
At this moment, Haruko hadn't yet realized how heaven-defying such composite Release techniques were, or what it meant that he could perform them.
...
The next day, with the personnel rotation, a new Chunin captain was transferred in to lead Haruko's squad.
Except for the new captain, his teammates were all familiar faces—a Chunin and a Genin who had already been at the outpost.
The area the squad was responsible for was difficult to traverse and extremely hard to hide tracks in, making it a region that people would try to avoid whether for offense, scouting, or smuggling.
"I am Shigaraki Tanuki."
When he heard the new captain's name, Haruko almost lost his composure.
'Is this the villainous scientist from the future Boruto: Naruto Next Generations who created the "Nue," Sumire Kakei's biological father?"
The current Shigaraki Tanuki looked to be about twenty years old, tall and thin with a dark, brooding gaze—clearly the type of overachiever who would not only push himself to the limit but also work his subordinates to death.
"Everyone! Although the border is temporarily peaceful, we cannot slack off! Youth is for striving! If you don't do more missions while you're young, what will you have to look back on when you're old?"
On the first day the squad assembled, Shigaraki Tanuki stood at the front, spittle flying.
"Starting today, our patrol frequency will double! Our range will expand by five kilometers! We must show the Village results; even in an overlooked defense zone, we will display the spirit of a key defense zone!"
Having slept late and woken up early today, Haruko let out a long yawn.
'What a psycho... Did I wake up early just to hear you blather about this?"
He had heard plenty of this kind of nonsense in his previous life; this guy couldn't even paint a decent picture of the future, his level was far below par.
'I wonder if this guy has joined Root yet... speaking of which, if some "accident" happened, would the future Sumire Kakei cease to exist?"
Shigaraki Tanuki's gaze locked onto someone who was openly spacing out. "You there, Haruko!"
"Present," Haruko said, lazily raising his hand.
After arriving at the outpost, he had heard of this newcomer named Haruko. He heard the kid was highly appreciated by several Jonin, including Iwasho, received unanimous praise from the outpost personnel, and was even rumored to be a hidden genius.
"I've looked at your file. You just graduated from the Ninja Academy? Even though you're still a Genin, I heard you also know Medical Ninjutsu and cooking? It's good for a young man to have many skills, but you can't neglect your primary duties as a Ninja just because you're doing logistics!"
He strode up to Haruko and patted him on the shoulder, attempting to convey some "positive energy":
"Jonin Yui thinks highly of you and asked me to train you well. I also have high hopes for you. As long as you're willing to work hard, becoming a Chunin is just around the corner!"
'Heh, it's not up to you whether I become a Chunin or not. A mere Chunin trying to sell me dreams that only a Jonin or even the Hokage should be offering?"
It went in one of Haruko's ears and out the other as he put on a professional smile. "Understood."
...
The first day's patrol mission began.
Shigaraki Tanuki led the squad in a wild dash through the jungle at high speed, calling it "extreme endurance training."
"Fast, fast, fast! How can you catch the enemy at this speed? Faster!"
Haruko fell to the back, watching his teammates sprint ahead while calculating the distance in his head.
'A fresh Genin graduate would probably be wiped out after running ten kilometers at this pace. If I run eleven kilometers and then can't go any further, that counts as having tried my best, right?"
He adjusted his breathing, putting on a show of trying desperately to catch up. He appeared to be gasping for air, but in reality, he had barely broken a sweat.
What a joke. Although he was hiding his Shikotsumyaku, the Kaguya Clan specialized in physical Training. He could have finished this much exercise even before starting school.
After running more than ten kilometers, Haruko suddenly collapsed to the ground.
The squad stopped as well.
"Haruko?!" Shigaraki Tanuki rushed over and tried to pull him up, his expression grim. "You can't handle even this? Get up! We haven't even reached enemy territory yet!"
Haruko rose with difficulty, his face pale as he gasped for breath. "Cap... Captain... I can't go on... I'm seeing stars..."
Shigaraki Tanuki grit his teeth. Seeing that Haruko couldn't even stand steadily, he felt frustrated by his lack of potential. "Useless! You're done after only ten kilometers? Rest for ten minutes, then continue!"
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