Chapter 81: Woman, You're Committing a Crime
Konoha Year 45, June 25th.
After packing everything up, Kinoshita Genichi and Uzumaki Ina walked out of the wooden house. Today was the day of their departure. More than two months had passed since they had arrived in the Land of Rain.
Ina stopped and looked back. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little attached to this place. Perhaps because... this was the first real home she'd had since fleeing her own country? Ina didn't know the answer. She withdrew her gaze, then walked a few quick steps to catch up with Genichi. "Lord Genichi, where are we going next?"
Genichi asked, "Where do you want to go, Ina?"
Ina shook her head, then said, "I will go wherever Lord Genichi goes."
She suddenly felt that as long as Lord Genichi was with her, no matter where they went, it was home.
Genichi smiled and said, "Then follow me!"
The two of them headed east.
Two days later, Yahiko's group arrived at the wooden house again, only to find it empty.
Looking at the farewell note Genichi had left, Yahiko was crestfallen. "Genichi and his friend have continued on their journey. What a pity, we didn't get to see them off."
But then he smiled. "No matter what, I hope everything goes smoothly for them."
"Besides, we'll have a chance to meet again in the future."
He turned around, his spirits high. "Let's go! Let's step it up and clear out the surrounding area!"
Konan and Nagato smiled, then nodded heavily. "Right!"
...
In a small town in the Land of Fire, on a bustling street, Ina followed behind Genichi, her eyes darting between the shops and goods on both sides, somewhat dazzled. It was like a completely different world from the Village Hidden in the Grass and the Land of Rain.
"Ina, come try this."
Genichi, who was walking ahead, turned around and handed her a candied fruit skewer.
"Thank you, Lord Genichi!" Ina took the skewer, first licking it gently, and then her eyes lit up.
Genichi watched her with a smile, then turned back and started eating his own. I'm only a nine-year-old kid now. It's perfectly reasonable for me to eat a candied fruit skewer, right?
Behind him, Ina squinted her eyes in delight as she ate the sweet and sour treat. Childhood memories that had long been buried deep in her mind couldn't help but bubble up. She remembered now; when she was little, her mother had also taken her to eat candied fruit skewers just like this.
As she ate, Ina's eyes couldn't help but become moist. Looking at Genichi's somewhat hazy back in front of her, it was as if she were seeing the faces of her parents, which had already become blurry in her memory.
"Father, Mother, please don't worry. Lord Genichi is very good to me. I will live a good life!" Ina swallowed the chewed-up fruit, then wiped the moisture from her eyes.
Just then, Genichi's voice came from ahead. "Ina, hurry up and try this!"
"Yes!"
"Coming!" Ina quickly picked up her pace, her voice much more cheerful.
And so, the two of them ate their way from one end of the street to the other. Finally, they sat on a stone bench, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun.
"Lord Genichi, I think I ate a little too much," Ina said, touching her slightly bulging stomach with embarrassment.
Genichi squinted and leaned back against the bench. "This is nothing. We'll digest it soon enough."
"As a ninja, you have to eat a lot to have enough chakra!"
Ina nodded. Whatever Lord Genichi said was right.
After resting for a moment, Genichi took Ina to find an inn. After washing up, he took her out again, and they came to an amusement park. It was already night, and the park was brightly lit. Many adults were there playing with their children, and the sound of children's laughter was everywhere.
Ina was dumbfounded. "This... this is... Lord Genichi, are we going to play this?" Her voice was very small. After all, she was already seventeen and would be an adult soon. And Genichi, she felt, should be about the same age as her. Playing this didn't seem very appropriate.
But Genichi nodded with a broad smile. "Of course."
"Come on, it's fun!"
A nine-year-old kid going to an amusement park to play is perfectly reasonable, right?
And so, with her head down and her face blushing, Ina was pulled into the amusement park by Genichi. The two of them stood out quite a bit among the crowd of children.
At first, Ina was very reserved, but gradually, she blended in. A wild smile began to spread across her face, dancing along with her red hair.
After they had tried every single ride, Genichi finally led her out of the park.
Walking under the dim yellow streetlights, Ina suddenly said, "Lord Genichi, thank you!"
Genichi reached out and stroked her red hair. "Starting tomorrow, you have to train hard!"
Ina immediately nodded heavily. "Yes!"
Late at night, when all was quiet, on the roof, Genichi's shadow clone sat cross-legged in training, its chakra continuously merging with the water vapor in the air.
Playtime was playtime, but training could not stop. In the water-vapor-rich environment of the Land of Rain, Genichi had already become very good at infusing his water-style chakra into the water vapor in the air, using it to conduct fine, large-scale sensing. But now in the Land of Fire, the temperature was higher and the air was not as humid, so the difficulty had increased again.
Therefore, he had to continue training his Heavenly Water, Boundless (Tensui Mukai) technique. When he could quickly form a large-scale sensory net even in an environment like the Land of Fire, then he could take the final step: using his own chakra to create water vapor and spread it through the air.
Although, the Heavenly Water, Boundless (Tensui Mukai) technique didn't actually require this step. But Genichi had decided to do it anyway. If the previous step was like dropping his chakra as ink into the bottle of water that was the water vapor in the air, then this final step was to treat the entire space as a bottle of water, and his chakra-formed water vapor as the ink, to rapidly permeate it.
This step could actually be seen as an upgraded version of the Hidden Mist Technique (Kirigakure no Jutsu). The Hidden Mist Technique itself was a jutsu used to obscure the enemy's vision, but it also had a sensory function. This was because the mist was created from chakra, which filled the space and was controlled by the caster. Genichi, on the other hand, was turning his chakra into water vapor invisible to the naked eye, purely for the purpose of sensing—stealthy sensing. At least, that was the plan for now.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after breakfast, Genichi bought a cage of rabbits for Ina. From now on, she no longer needed to practice her medical ninjutsu on fish. Of course, Ina's curriculum was not just limited to medical ninjutsu, but also included sealing techniques. Over the past two months, Ina had become proficient in the Evil Sealing Method (Fūja Hōin). Her talent was quite good.
Unfortunately, Genichi didn't have any chakra paper on him, so he couldn't test Ina's natural chakra affinity. So for the time being, he was only teaching her medical ninjutsu and sealing techniques, plus some knowledge of genjutsu.
Just like that, Genichi led Ina eastward, passing through the small towns of the Land of Fire. They even went to Tanzaku Town and played for two days.
A month later, the number of small rabbits that had died at Ina's hands had reached eighteen. Of course, these rabbits had not died in vain; they all ended up in the stomachs of Genichi and Ina.
Ina had also completely mastered the medical ninjutsu, Mystical Palm Technique (Shōsen Jutsu), and used it even better than Genichi did with his Art of Pyo. Genichi was not surprised by this. After all, Ina's Uzumaki chakra itself possessed terrifying healing abilities.
In medical ninjutsu, there was nothing more Genichi could teach her. He then shifted the focus to sealing techniques and genjutsu. A technique like the Mind's Eye of the Kagura (Kagura Shingan) was clearly related to Yin Release. And during this time, Ina's aptitude for genjutsu, while not as good as Genichi's, was not bad either.
...
In a small town on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, standing on the embankment, the sea breeze sent their hair flying, their clothes fluttering. Seabirds skimmed the water, and eagles soared through the sky.
Genichi stretched lazily. He looked at the circling eagle in the sky and wondered if he could catch one to be his summoning animal. An advantage in the air!
Ina looked out at the seemingly endless sea and was lost in her memories.
"Lord Genichi, are you planning to go to the Land of Whirlpools?" After coming back to her senses, Ina asked with a strange nervousness.
After traveling all this way, she had completely shed the timidity she had in the Grass Village, and had become bright and capable. But at this moment, a trace of vulnerability had reappeared. It was the fear of returning home after a long time.
Genichi turned to look at Ina and smiled. "I do have that thought."
"Back when the Land of Whirlpools and the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides were destroyed, many ninjutsu documents were scattered. This time, we can go and see if we can find some of those lost materials."
"Your constitution is special. It's best for you to practice the secret techniques of the Uzumaki clan."
Actually, if he sent Ina back to Konoha, Genichi believed that Kushina would not be stingy with teaching her the Adamantine Sealing Chains (Kongō Fūsa). But Genichi was uneasy. Although they both had the special constitution of the Uzumaki clan, their manifestations were different. But without a doubt, they were both very suitable to become jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast.
That guy Danzō... hehe, Genichi believed that the old geezer would be very happy to get his hands on an Uzumaki bloodline.
Besides, going to the Land of Whirlpools was on the way to the Land of Water.
Ina was incredibly moved.
"Thank you, Lord Genichi!"
Overcome with emotion, Ina gave him a kiss on the cheek, then quickly ran away with a red face, like a frightened little deer.
Genichi was also stunned by this action. By the time he came back to his senses, Ina had already run far away.
"Woman, you're committing a crime!" A smile played on Genichi's lips.
Well, ignorance is bliss. He had never told Ina his real age. With his current height, mature temperament, and powerful strength, he didn't look like a nine-year-old brat at all.
After staying in the town for two days to prepare, Genichi hired a sea boat and set out with Ina. The island where the Land of Whirlpools was located was actually about the same as the Land of Waves, not far from the mainland. But the Land of Whirlpools was much larger.
Not long after setting out to sea, Genichi, standing on the deck and looking out, could see some of the ruined eaves and broken walls on the distant island. As they got closer, they could see more clearly. The dilapidated buildings were all marked with the spiral of the Uzumaki clan.
(End of Chapter)
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