WAB: Chapter 9

As Tsurara Kaede dodged back away from me, I blazed forward, trying to keep pace with her as she dodged. I struck out with an Akimichi-Ryu Karate (Akimichi Style Karate) Mawashi Geri roundhouse kick, aiming for her neck as I did so. Tsurara Kaede ducked the kick, barely, and blasted through a trio of hand seals before slamming her hands down on the cavern floor. The Kōtta Tsumazuku no Jutsu (Frost Tripping Technique) was an expression of the Tsurara Clan's Ondo Sōsa no Jutsu (Temperature Manipulation Technique). They used it to effectively debuff Taijutsu and Bukijutsu users by rendering the terrain treacherous and slippery. It was the work of just a moment to modify Chakra Adhesion to avoid slipping up, but in a Shinobi fight, a moment could be deadly, as Tsurara Kaede proved.

In the time it took me to modify my footing, Kaede flew through yet more hand seals, first Ox, then Horse, then Ram. Breathing in, she then expelled a number of high-pressure, supercooled streams of water from her mouth using the Suiton: Rekkū Suigeki (Water Release: Cold Sky Water Attack) that could easily shatter stone and carve furrows in steel. Even my triply-enhanced body could be wounded by such an attack, and as I tried to dodge away from the point-blank technique, I was hit by one of the Water Streams that carved a trench into the side of my neck. If not for my Kōton: Kōtetsu no Tai (Steel Release: Body of Steel), that would have been a game-ender. No wonder Kaede was a full-ranked Jonin. Even as a missing-nin from a minor village, she seemed to be one of the few who might pass for a Full Jonin rather than a Tokubetsu Jonin in a Major Village.

Fortunately, so long as I had Chakra to power my technique, the wound that would normally be fatal, tearing into my Jugular, wouldn't kill me. I would need to finish this quickly, however, so I could take a Soldier Pill and heal the damage before my Chakra ran out and my Techniques lapsed. If that happened, I would suddenly begin to rapidly bleed out as my body reverted to flesh from metal. With that in mind, I surged forward into a leaping knee strike of the kind that the Taijutsu Specialists of Taki liked to use. Fortunately, the lack of arterial spray and my dying took Tsurara Kaede off guard somewhat, and my leaping knee strike smashed through her guard, blasting her backward.

I rushed forward to Capitalize, running through the hand seals for the Taiyoken (Solar Flare). The flash of Raition (Lightning Release) Chakra blinded Tsurara Kaede for a moment, allowing me to more easily dodge her next wild attack as she flashed through a few Hand Seals and performed the Kanpa no Jutsu (Cold Snap Technique), another expression of the Ondo Sōsa no Jutsu that used a blast of supercooled air to effectively freeze their opponents, wounding them with frostbite and slowing them down. I circled around to the side just before the Wild Blast of Supercooled Air was expelled from Tsurara Kaede's Lungs and smashed a punch into the side of her head.

As I did that, the Seals on the Subarashī Jishaku Kote (Superb Magnetic Gauntlets) I wore on my hands flashed blue, tagging the metal of the Lamellar Jonin Vest that Tsurara Kaede wore and pulling her back toward me into another punch. She squawked as if taken off guard by the rare Fuuinjutsu-related Gauntlets, and I managed to chain a quartet of punches into her as I effectively juggled her with my Gauntlets. However, she adapted quickly, launching an elbow strike into my nose as I pulled her back with the Gauntlets for a fifth time. Her elbow smashed between my eyes, hammering me backward. What was more, I felt a bit of frost begin to spread across my eyes. The Tōshō Sawaru no Jutsu (Frostbite Touch Technique) was yet another expression of the Tsurara Clan's Ondo Sōsa no Jutsu that enhanced their Taijutsu Style to effectively inflict frostbite on opponents with each hit. Had I still been flesh instead of metal, that elbow strike likely would have taken one of my eyes from Frostbite.

As I righted myself, however, I flashed through a series of Hand Seals of my own, blasting out a Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) even as Tsurara Kaede flashed through Hand Seals and threw a Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet) forth. The twin dragons of flame and water that coalesced into the air roared at each other before rushing forth, intertwining in the space between us and biting down on each other, sublimating one another into a hissing rush of steam. As the scalding steam began to spread, Tsurara Kaede used Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) to blow the cloud my way instead of hers. Then began bombarding me with Doton: Tobi Tsubute (Earth Release: Flying Thrown Stones) while I couldn't see.

I was forced to use the Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique) to burrow underground in order to avoid the Barrage of stones, and when I popped out of the ground behind Tsurara Kaede, she flung a wild Futon: Kūki Dangan (Wind Release: Air Bullets) behind me. The trio of spheres of crushing air pressure sailed toward me, but I immediately launched myself forward using the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), and the Air Bullets slammed into the cavern wall behind me, while I managed to come out of the Shunshin next to Tsurara Kaede, smashing an Elbow Strike into her throat. She choked, sputtering and stumbling backward, windpipe bruised from my blow, and I moved forward to capitalize.

She attempted to parry my next punch, hand wreathed in the glow of the Tōshō Sawaru no Jutsu, but I utilized Utau Haru Kenpo (Singing Spring Boxing)-style Huen Sau to remove her blocking arm before smashing another punch into her nose, breaking it. A glint of metal in the corner of my eye and the crackling of Futon (Wind Release) Chakra was all the warning I got before a Chakra Metal Blade came up and sheared into my thigh under the assets of my armor with a screech of rending metal. Once again, this would have at least crippled me had I been flesh instead of metal, shearing through the tendons in the side of my right knee, possibly cutting my leg off below the knee even. However, that was her last gasp of offense as my next attack, a rising knee strike, smashed into her gut, doubling her over. I reached around for my Storage Scroll and pulled the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami out of the storage seal, striking out for her as she straightened.

Tsurara Kaede's eyes widened at that, and she snapped off a desperate parry with her Chakra Blade, just barely managing to divert my Konoha-Ryu Kenjutsu (Leaf Style Swordsmanship) cut. However, I slashed out again, forcing her to parry again, a third cut almost made it through, and my last cut utilized Konoha-Ryu: Yūgure (Leaf-Style: Dusk), Futon Chakra blasting Kaede back even as her Chakra Blade went spinning out of her grip. A final cut, this time using the Raiken: Michishio (Lightning Blade: High Tide), sent a wave of electricity toward Kaede that she couldn't avoid, electrocuting her and sending her to the cavern floor in a heap.

That was that, as Kaede struggled to get back to her feet. We had both put out some pretty deadly damage in the fight. However, my use of the Kōton (Steel Release) techniques of my Clan allowed me to power through without slowing down. She couldn't say the same thing. As I approached her downed form, Tsurara Kaede struggled to draw breath, on her hands and knees, down on the cavern floor.

"You fought well, but you weren't prepared for an opponent like me." I offered.

"Fuck you. . .Tree-Hugger. Just do. . .it." Rasped Tsurara Kaede through huffs of air.

And with that, the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami flashed out one more time in a downward strike and cleaved Tsurara Kaede's head from her body. As soon as that happened, I realized that the sounds of fighting in the Cavern were fading out, as if the kids had almost finished off the rest of the Bandits. I turned to seal up Tsurara Kaede's head for the Bounty and loot her corpse of any worthwhile possessions before moving to see how the Genin I was in charge of had fared against the Bandits. She had her Chakra Blade, her Shimogakure Jonin Lamellar Vest, a scroll for something called the Ka Reikyaku Mizu no Jutsu (Supercooled Water Technique) that seemed to be the most basic form of the Ondo Sōsa no Jutsu penned by Kaede's own hand, a pouch full of Shuriken, and five-hundred-thousand Ryo in a sealing scroll.

Once I had sealed it all up, I took a soldier pill, healing the worst of my injuries and restoring some of my lost Chakra, and headed for the sounds of fighting. It turned out the Kids had run into an actual Ronin. Maeda Nagamasa, known as Mighty Spear Nagamasa, was a former Samurai of the Maeda Clan of Grass Country's Hagi Province. He had turned Ronin after some dispute over the betrothal of his Cousin, the Lady Maeda Wakana, to a rival of his from neighboring Obana Province. Now, he was here, facing off against the trio of Genin I was responsible for, his seal-scribed Jumonji Yari, Ushi Hakaisha (Ox Destroyer), out and ready to strike. Nobody had mentioned that not only had the Crimson Flake Bandits had Tsurara Kaede, but they had also had Maeda Nagamasa. This was shaping up to be at least an A-rank mission, and that would be reflected in my report.

Meanwhile, the Genin looked to be at a stalemate with Maeda, with Miho wounded in the shoulder from a glancing blow to her left arm, rendering the arm limp at her side, Akirao's left eye swelling shut, likely from being smashed in the face by the haft of Maeda's Spear, and Kanchi limping slightly from a cut to the left leg. Thankfully, the fight hadn't gone entirely against them, as Maeda seemed to have taken a cut to his side that was oozing blood while his armor had been at least partly blasted off, and he was limping a bit as well. If they could draw out the fight, it was likely the Kids would win this just from Maeda losing too much blood from the cut on his side to put up a consistent defense. However, the point of having a sensei was so you didn't need to chance something like that. It was time to intervene, though Maeda's Bounty of Sixteen Million Ryo would be shared between the four of us.

As Maeda let out a shout, his spear humming with some sort of vibrational energy thanks to the Fuuinjutsu seals, he blurred forward with a thrust to take advantage of Miho's lack of guard from being down an Arm, I burst into motion, leaping into a flying kick in the same way that Gai-Sensei or Lee might have done to perform the Dynamic Entry. I didn't shout out when I did it, though, which I felt granted me extra points for a cool factor they lacked. My foot smashed into Maeda's face just before his spear plunged into Miho's side, slamming him back into the Cavern Wall and crumbling him against the floor, Spear jarred from his hands. Maeda was still just a High Chunin-level opponent, after all. Compared to someone like Tsurara Kaede, he was nothing.

As he struggled to shake the cobwebs out of his head and get back up, however, it was Kanchi who surged forward, slamming a kick into Maeda's side as I backed off, adhering to the Ronin's Ribs with the Nenchaku-Ken (Sticky Fist) techniques I had taught him, before slamming stomping kicks, knee strikes, and elbows into Maeda at odd angles. Maeda never stood a chance now that he had lost so much blood and had his bell rung. He fell under a flurry of blows from Kanchi, slumping to the cavern floor unconscious. Kanchi backed off, and Akirao beheaded Maeda, allowing me to seal his head away for the Bounty. In the meantime, Kanchi picked up Maeda's Spear, the Ushi Hakaisha, hefting it in his hands and nodding.

"All right, I'm taking his spear." Huffed Kanchi.

"Why should you get that?" Questioned Miho.

"Miho, let him have it." Sighed Akirao.

"What? Why?" Queried Miho.

"Because it's a spear. It's not exactly the noblest of weapons, you know. I'll hold out for a sword." Insisted Akirao.

"Thanks, I think." Grunted Kanchi.

"That was a pretty decent thing to do. Worthy of a reward." I informed.

"Oh?" Asked Akirao.

"Yeah, in fact, I picked up a Chakra Metal Katana from slaying Tsurara Kaede, the Missing-Nin Jonin from Shimo. I think you've earned it." I offered, unsealing Tsurara Kaede's blade and handing it over to Akirao.

"Are you sure, Replacement Sensei?" Questioned Akirao.

"I am. Why do you ask?" I queried.

"Because Chakra Blades are expensive." Opined Kanchi.

"I have one of my own already that's better. Like I said, you've earned it." I pressed.

"What about me, then? Do I get anything?" Asked Miho.

"Well, let's search the camp. If there's anything that strikes your fancy, speak up. If not, I'll teach you an extra Jutsu to make up for it." I nodded.

And with that, I let my various techniques lapse, using a second soldier pill to heal my wounds and restore more chakra before using the Basic Chiyu no Jutsu (Healing Technique) to patch up the trio of Genin. I was gonna be feeling the consequences of taking two healing pills so close together in a couple of days or so, as my system began to normalize from the Soldier Pills again, but we ought to be back in the village by then. Once that was finished, we turned to toss the camp for anything valuable.

As it happened, we did come across a few interesting things that the Bandits had stolen. They must have hit a trade caravan coming back from Iron Country and hadn't fenced all the goods from it, because we found a Chakra Metal Kodachi that Miho claimed for her own, along with a few sets of Gusoku Armor that could be resized at a competent blacksmith to fit the kids, one green, which Akirao took, one Blue, which Miho took, and one Red, which Kanchi took. At the same time, we found a trio of technique scrolls inside of Tsurara Kaede's tent, one for Doton: Iwa no Doroi (Earth Release: Rock Armor), one for Suiton: Amearare (Water Release: Hail), and one for Futon: Kazanami (Wind Release: Wind Waves), along with a stash of Chakra Paper. We also found another eight million Ryo in notes and eight million Ryo in goods.

Once we had sealed everything up, I tested the three Genin with some of the Chakra Paper. Miho's paper split down the middle and got soggy on the ends, revealing her to be a Primary Wind and Secondary Water affinity. Meanwhile, Akirao's turned to dirt, crumbling away into dirt and becoming soggy, showing a Primary Earth and Secondary Water Affinity. Finally, Kanchi's Paper ignited and burned a hole in the middle while the ends shredded apart as if cut, showing a Primary Fire and Secondary Wind Affinity. I would set them each to learning a Jutsu on the way back to Konoha, for Kanchi, the Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bullet), for Akirao, the Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return), and for Miho, the Futon: Kaiten Shuriken (Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken). To my surprise, they each managed to get the techniques down by the time that we returned to Konoha.

I had just enough time to drop off the bounties, pick up the mission pay for an A-rank mission, split the Ryo and Armor up between the Kids, and return them to Asuma before grabbing hold of the scrolls for the Wind and Fire Exercises up before my Chakra began to normalize again after the multiple Soldier Pills in rapid succession. For the next three days, I spent time flitting between writing up my reports and shitting my guts out as my body yelled at me for being reckless with Soldier Pills. By the time I was finished, however, I could finally turn back toward training, especially given the nature transformation exercises and scrolls I had picked up.

As it would turn out, the Village felt that having access to a Secret Clan Technique of an Enemy Clan, even a basic one like the Ka Reikyaku Mizu no Jutsu, was worth parting with the Nature Transformation Exercises for Earth and Lightning. I was just missing the Steel and Water Transformation Exercises now, and I had a lead on the former, though it would require me to travel to Sea Country to check it out, while the Latter would be something I could probably barter for with Ebisu. Regardless, with the Nature Transformation Exercises for Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Yang in hand, it was time to buckle down and get to training once again.

From how I still had yet to master the Yang Exercises, it was looking like it would take me quite some time to get them all down, though it would definitely be worth it to do so in the end. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. We see the finishing up of Choji's term as a substitute Sensei for Asuma's new team. He threw them into the fire, and it gelled them together well where before they were constantly at odds. Plus, they're looking like they are going to be one of the more powerful Rookie Genin teams from their graduating class now. Of course, now Choji has a ton of nature transformation exercises to go through, which means he now has a shit ton of studying to do. It will be worth it in the end, though.

At any rate, the next chapter will include a bunch of training stuff for Choji, as he tries to get started on the various Nature Transformation Exercises. I'll also have a few more images out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .