Chapter 06: First Blood

After a peaceful night and a healthy breakfast, the small group took the road again early in the morning. Everything went as well as the previous day, right up until almost noon. Riku felt something he knew well. The sensation of being watched. Immediately he warned his teammates without making unusual moves to alert the observer that he had been found out.

“Senpais.”

“Be prepared to use the barrier on the cart. Munehisa-san…”

“I’ll hide inside the cart.”

“Thank you. Don’t worry, we got this.”

Ten minutes later they entered a small grove they needed to go through. Once deep enough where going back was impossible, an arrow pierced the air towards the client. Kotetsu was fast to react and knock the projectile away just as Riku activated the barrier less than a second later. A translucent white-ish box surrounded the entirety of the cart, including the horse in a flash. With their charge protected, Riku drew a kunai in his dominant hand and shurikens in his off one. A dozen bandits came from behind the trees from each side of the road.

‘That’s a lot.’

Getting to his feet, Riku took position in the middle of the roof of the cart to act as support to the two chunins. He switched the kunais in his hand for his journal after throwing the shurikens which hit  three bandits and exploded into a small deflagration taking their head and them out for good. Quickly, opening the journal with the thumb of the hand holding it he released the storage seal with his left, making two dozen shurikens appear. Not wasting any time and with Izumo having to deal with three less enemies, Riku turned to Kotetsu’s side.

“One Flash in one!” he yelled.

(Translation: Kotetsu, Flashbang in one second)

Throwing five shuriken at the more dense group (a group of 5). The chunin jumped a few feet backward and closed his eyes for a second right when the shurikens hit. The flash of light resulting from the activation of tags on the ninja star, blinded the whole group of five and distracted the rest with the loud bang. The moment the bang was heard, Kotetsu opened his eyes and pounced, two kunai in hands. In less than ten seconds four of the distracted bandits out of seven were killed, while Riku threw two kunais that ended up in the end of two of them. Feeling like his teammate could take care of the five blinded and the one not, by himself, Riku turned to the other side to help Izumo again.

“Two, Wind in two!” he yelled differently this time.

(Translation: Izumo, Great Breakthrough in two seconds)

Doing the hand seals for the great breakthrough, Riku took a big inspiration while Izumo crouched down and used chakra on his feet to stick to the ground. The bandits were sent flying by the powerful gust of wind and most fell on their ass or were completely laid on her back. Riku threw two more kunais which found two other forehead and were picked up by Izumo from the bodies as the chunin had used his and it was faster to use Riku’s than to retrieve some from his push.

In less than a minute, the battle was over.

“Got one alive!” Kotetsu shouted from his side.

Riku immediately got down the roof and went to check on Munehisa.

“We think we got them all, sir but just in case please stay inside for a bit more.”

The man nodded frantically and Riku turned around to see Izumo coming his way, tossing him two kunais that he caught.

“Good job.” he heard Kotetsu say from behind him, pulling a restrained bandit.

“Are you going to be alright?” the calmest and more level headed of his senpais asked with a bit of worry.

“I…”

With the adrenaline in his body running low, Riku began to breathe harshly. Raising a finger as if to say ‘wait a moment.’ He hopped among  the nearby trees out of sight and vomited. Once his stomach was empty and he was done heaving, he picked up his journal, pulled out his toothbrush and some toothpaste. After removing the taste of the bile from his mouth he packed everything back and went back to the cart.

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright, kid. Everyone reacts like that the first time they take a life. No need to apologize or feel ashamed.”

“That’s not… It’s not that I took a life that… I accepted the need for it. It’s… the gore. I mean… I blew up their head with a shuriken, there is blood, bones and brain matter everywhere! That’s just… Nasty! I mean… a kunai to the neck with a fountain of blood… I think I could handle it but that… Ugh…” He replied and felt the bile raising again when he thought about the three headless bandits.

“... Well… You are handling it better than most.” Izumo noted warrily.

“I’ve been hunting for a couple years for food now. I’m no stranger to the act of killing but I do it cleanly.”

“Aaah, so that’s why.” Kotetsu exclaimed, nodding.

“That explains why you didn’t hesitate one bit. I feel a bit relieved.”

“That I’m not a psycho?”

““Yeah.””

“You don’t have to worry about that. I aim to be a medic too, remember? That doesn’t mix well with a bloodthirsty psychopath.”

“No, but we’ve seen stranger things, so we wouldn’t discount it.”

Riku nodded and went to offer some comfort and support to their client, activating a mute seal on the cart. That way Munehisa wouldn’t hear the potential scream of the survivor that Kotetsu and Izumo would question.

The ‘interview’ lasted five minutes at best before the chunins were done. To avoid their client seeing the bloodbath, Riku took control of the cart until they were out of the grove and gave back the reins before going back to his original position at the back of the cart’s roof.

From what the interrogation had revealed, there weren’t any more bandits in the area. In fact the reason they were here in the first place is because it was a stop for them. They intended to go two hundred miles east, where towns were not as close and the road more difficult to travel.

Yet since the area wasn’t really guarded because of the proximity of Himasu from Hiwara, they thought they could restock in supplies to continue their journey. Unfortunately for them they stumbled on the one merchant who had hired ninjas just in case.

‘Such bad luck.’ thought Riku leaf in hand trying to cut it in half. ‘Let’s hope that guy was telling the truth because I don’t feel like fighting anymore during this mission and using more of my shurikens.’

Kami may have heard him because the rest of the day and the day after that was a smooth journey. Munehisa was grateful to bring him, his horse and his cargo in one piece back home and praised their skills and professionalism. He didn’t give them a bonus but offered them dinner and a room in his home for the night, while swearing that if he needed to travel again he would contact Konoha.

When they got back to the village the day after in the evening, his senpais told him to be present at the Hokage’s tower at 8 the next morning, to write the report of the mission, because it was something he needed to learn, and to make a verbal report to the sandaime.

“You did really well, Kid. Honest.”

“Go back home, take a good hot bath and rest. Tomorrow is training day.”

Riku noded and wished them a good night. When he made it home it was a bit past 7pm. He didn’t bother with cooking dinner and instead brought out one of the katsudon he had bought while in Himasu. Once done eating, he took a quick hot shower and trained a bit his wind manipulation (recreating his used shurikens was too long and boring). So far he could cut a third of a leaf with concentration and a bit of time. Knowing that cutting the leaf completely was a futile effort with the small amount of time he had before going to bed, he trained in increasing the speed and decreased the focus needed to cut the third he had achieved. He also believed that instead of forcing the whole thing, it was better to focus on his strength: his chakra control.

~~~~~

“You really have a neat writing.” commented Izumo when he read the report that Riku made.

“Hours spent on it.” the young genin replied with a shrug.

“Why?”

“That’s because, Kotetsu-senpai, when you make a seal, calligraphy is really important, otherwise at best the tag doesn’t work at worst…”

“At worst?” the bandaged chunin asked, curious about that part that Riku was hesitant to say.

“It either explodes in your face, that’s the most common effect or depending on the seal you’re working on and how much bad luck you have, you either end up in another dimension or your body explodes from the inside.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope. I… A squirrel got all his internal organs stuck in a defective storage seal when he landed on it as I was writing it.”

“...”

“You asked, Kotetsu-senpai!” defended Riku as he saw the green face his interlocutor had.

“Next time, don’t answer that!”

“Fine! Fine! Kami, you’re reacting like you’re the one that had to witness and clean up the mess!”

“Wait, is that why you were all squishy with the bandits?!” Izumo realized and inquired.

“Yes! At least that time I didn’t have to spend an hour cleaning the blood and… You know what? Let’s stop talking about this.”

“Agreed!”

From Izumo words, Riku’s first try at a written report was more than good enough to be given like that and so was. The scowl Riku got from the chunin at the Mission Assignment Desk was brushed off, a force of habit at this point but knew that he had to be vigilant. Kotetsu and Izumo received their pay amounting to 27 500 ryo each without even looking at it. That represented almost 40% of the total amount for the mission each which left Riku with the last 20% or 15 000 ryo. That was an equitable division of the money since Riku was only a genin and not a small sum for him. When he got his envelope with the bills inside however, Riku followed his hunch and did something really disrespectful. He opened it and counted the money, right in front of the Chunin who gae it to him.

~~~~~

Hiruzen had, as per usual, his pipe in his mouth. Taking a puff without really thinking about it, he looked at the scene in front of him with perplexity. Like everyone that has been with him in the room before at least a minute ago, he was silent and tried to understand what he was seeing.

‘Izumo and Kotetsu reporting on their mission. Check. Warudo Riku standing in line beside them - probably because he was on the mission too but that’s a thought for later. Check. So far that’s fairly standard. Riku holding by their scalp a crying chunin, with a bloody broken nose, a broken hand and what looked like a paralysis tag on their forehead… Check but it shouldn’t. I don’t compute. What the hell happened?’

Giving a look which meant ‘Explain. Now’ at the two peas in the pods, he waited for his answer. It was Izumo who gave it to him.

“Dorobou-san… withheld…”

“Stole.” interjected Riku in a murdering tone prompting the chunin to correct his words.

“Stole part of Riku’s pay and got caught red-handed. Riku was ready to let it go provided he got the full amount of his money but…”

“The likes of me don't deserve to be paid and that I should be grateful to even get what I was given in the first place. Quote, unquote.” Riku interjected again.

“Yeah… That’s about it.” commented Kotetsu right before his best friend continued with his explanation. The bandaged man was doing his very best to not crack up and laugh at the situation.

“Riku gave him an ultimatum. His money or… well, you can see for yourself, Hokage-sama.”

At that point Hiruzen’s eyes focus on Riku for a deeper explanation.

“Or I would break his nose against the desk counter, break his hand for thievery, put a paralysis tag on him and drag him before you so he could answer for his breaking of the law and breaking the trust of any active shinobi towards the Mission Assignment Desk. If he’s stealing money from me for something my mother did, I can’t even begin to imagine what he would do to other comrades he simply doesn’t like for what they did.”

Riku was playing with words and everyone in the room knew it. The chance that Doborou was stealing from more than just Riku (the possibility of Uzumaki Naruto aside) was low. He wouldn’t dare do that to a jonin or another chunin because he’d be found out sooner rather than later. A genin? It would take a bit of time. Riku? Nobody would probably care despite his complaints. However Riku put the possibility out there. Right in the open, that he may not be the only one. The MAD was the section of the village shinobis had trust in the most. It was there that they earned their livelihood. From taking a mission to getting payment. If shinobis couldn’t trust the people behind the desk giving them missions where most of the time they would risk their lives but also giving them their hard earned money… They may not want to do missions anymore, find other sources, legal or not, of income or simply defect for greener pastures. After all, why risk your life for a village that fucks you over? The propaganda can only do so much, especially once the shinobi have experienced the cruelty of the world and realized that the idyllic lifestyle they were told about at the academy was bullshit.

By casting doubt on the MAD with proof and witnesses backing it up, Riku not only just exonerated himself of any wrongdoing but he presented himself as a victim and someone loyal to the village by upholding the law.

Hiruzen’s answer was swift. He made a few hand signs and an Anbu appeared out of nowhere near Doborou and Riku. It took everything for the latter to not react to the sudden appearance of the kunoichi with long purple hair and a neko mask. Like drawing a kunai and attacking on pure reflex.

“Bring him to T&I. I want to know if it’s an isolated incident or not.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.” replied the kunoichi and dragged the paralyzed man outside the room.

“You’ll get your full pay Riku and a bit more from Dorobo’s own pocket.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.” the addressed genin replied with a polite short bow.

“Now, let’s get back to proper business. I’d like to know why you came to make a verbal report for a C-rank …  Then why a genin promoted three months ago is already doing the missions of this difficulty.”

Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other to have a silent conversation but before they could decide on something Riku spoke.

“It was discovered after the interrogation of a survivor from a bandit group that attacked us, that there is movement towards the east for a more lucrative business for outlaws. The area between Himasu and Hiwara is a perfect spot to take a break before crossing the mountains.  Not heavily guarded or protected making it an easy area to target in the short term. Since our client, Munehisa Hideki, was very pleased by our team’s performance and the current or future change in safety in the area, he spoke about making more requests to the village of the escort kind and spreading the word to other merchants in both towns. We believed those three facts were important enough for a verbal report.”

“Hmm… It is.” Hiruzen nodded, drawing a puff of his pipe, then looked at the two chunins. “Excellent report, Riku. You can go.”

Once again Riku gave Hiruzen a short but respectful bow and left the room. With the genin gone, a more detailed report about the mission itself and not its results was forwarded by Riku’s teammates leaving Hiruzen pensive.

“That is a great deal of information you just told me about him. I’d like to know how you got acquainted in the first place.”

“Well… Three months ago, Iruka came to us to cash in the favor we owed him, Hokage-sama.” began Izumo.

“I’ll take a chance; to train Riku?”

“Not exactly.”

“No?” That surprised Hiruzen a bit.

“No, sir. He just asked that we test the kid and if we think he was good enough, to help him a bit here and there.” said Kotetsu.

“Beyond the basic knowledge that every genin should know, it was more about giving him a few tips and a few spars to practice.”

“Obviously, he passed the test since you brought him on a C-rank.”

“Passed? He completely trashed Kotetsu, Hokage-sama.”

“Hey!” the called out man protested.

That piece of information surprised Hiruzen so much that he choked on the smoke he was inhaling. Izumo and Kotetsu were not the best ninja around. By far. They were a bit above average for chunins but that was it. Nonetheless that Riku ‘trashed’ one of them was quite the shock. That should not be possible.

“To be fair, I wasn’t taking him seriously, he had just graduated two days before our meeting.”

“Let that be a lesson to you, be always on your guard. Now please explain to me how that happened?”

“Well… We were supposed to meet at 9 or 9:30 am at training ground 11. He was already there, making some seals…”

Hearing that Riku, a genin, was making seals was both a surprise and a worry. Fuinjutsu was a very dangerous art. However, Hiruzen said nothing and simply nodded, listening to the rest of the story.

“I casted a genjutsu on him, to test his surrounding awareness. He dispelled it before the jutsu could even work.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Apparently, when someone makes a seal they are hyper focused on their chakra. As such in that moment, any intrusion of foreign chakra…”

“Is as subtle as an elephant in a tiny porcelain shop, sir.” Kotetsu joked, making Hiruzen smile.

“Fuinjutsu requires precise chakra control though I never thought about the utility of using a genjutsu when one drew a seal.”

“The worst moment to use one, sir. Or so Riku said. Anyway, Kotetsu was the one to test him with a spar…

From there, what Hiruzen heard was both pleasing and terrifying. Riku seemed to be a prodigy in his own right which was good for the village but at the same time it worried him. Riku had no ties to the village so to speak. No family, no friends and cherry on the cake the villagers and some shinobi blamed him for his mother’s actions. With the young teen’s mind and thirst for knowledge, Hiruzen saw the possibility of having another Orochimaru on his hands and one in a life was more than enough. Danzo would have either eliminated the boy or recruited him in his Root. Thankfully Hiruzen was not Danzo and the Hokage. He will have to find a way to make sure Riku would not turn out like his traitorous student and be loyal to the village.

‘Or perhaps I am biased. Maybe he is more like Kakashi or Itachi or Minato. Come on, Hiruzen, if you start looking at people with tinted glasses you have for Orochimaru, you’d only make it a self fulfilling prophecy. And that’s not the Will of Fire.’ the Hokage chastised himself mentally and instead asked the question on his lips.

“A kawarimi using air?”

“Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it either.” replied Izumo, while Kotetsu picked a tag from his back pouch.

“He gave me a few of those for training in that. They released a pink gas making it easier to practice. The amount of chakra is greater but I think it’s because I compensate for the lack of chakra control needed to pull it off.”

“Mind doing a demonstration?”

Kotetsu nodded and made the hands seals from the kawarimi. He found himself on the other side of the room and nothing was found in his previous location.

“That’s brilliant. This, those explosive shurikens, those new kinds of explosive tags, his ‘book of seals’.”

“If you can forgive me for my bluntness, Hokage-sama, I believe Warudo Riku is a prodigy in his own right. A real one. Like Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi. How no jonin wished to take him in their team is beyond us.”

“Our theory is that they were either high as hell or are complete morons, sir.”

‘You have no idea how close you are to the truth, Kotetsu.’ thought Hiruzen, cursing inwardly three particular shinobis. “And he is self-taught at that…”

“He is Hogake-sama.”

“... Do you know the extent of his skills?”

“Not really, sir. He’s good at fuinjutsu, is interested in iryojutsu, works on his wind affinity and has an insane chakra control. Beyond that…”

“It’s a secret.” Commented Hiruzen but was contradicted by Izumo.

“Not exactly. He’s… private, mostly. He won’t tell you by himself what he’s capable of but if you ask he answers truthfully. If it’s something he started working on, he dismisses it as unimportant but if he’s close to completing his project, you’ll get a genuine answer. He’s not shy at all in the latter case and is even eager to share a summary if not a detailed explanation if you’re interested in the subject beyond simple curiosity.”

“We took him for the mission because we believed he was ready for it and to give him some real experience. At the rate is progressing, the kid will do more than well at the coming chunin exam.”

“Kotetsu and I planned to take him on more C-rank and perhaps find him a slot in a team for it.”

“You believe he will be ready for a promotion in three months?”

“Yes. Honestly, the only thing we’ve yet to see is his leadership skills.”

“And C-ranks will tell you about that.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

That information interested Hiruzen greatly. If Riku, a fresh genin, could reach the third stage of the chunin exam and do well, it would reflect positively on Konoha as a whole.

‘Maybe it’s time I integrate myself in his life. Creating ties and making sure he stays loyal. Hmm… Perhaps an informal meeting? Some questions about his ‘book of seals’? Yes, that will do. It’s inconspicuous enough.’

Dismissing the two chunins and getting back to work, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to plan in detail how to cement a young prodigy’s undying loyalty to the village.