Naruto : Shadow King

Days like that kept passing by, with most of my time focused on training and getting stronger. I spent the majority of my time mastering Zabuza's skills.

Training and protecting Tazuna were alternated among the genin in pairs. Today, it was my and Hinata's turn to protect Tazuna, while Kurenai was teaching both Shino and Kiba.

Of course, I had a shadow clone working on the side to continue my training. I stopped using two shadow clones, though. While that increased my training speed, it left me exhausted, as maintaining two clones was still too taxing on me.

Doing something like that, even in the village, wasn't wise—thanks to the constant looming danger in Konoha, let alone out here, far from home.

One clone is enough for the time being.

"Hinata, how is your water chakra nature training going?" I asked her as we both kept guard over Tazuna and remained alert to our surroundings. Though the chances of an attack were low, they still existed.

"It's going really well, Shika-kun, all thanks to you," Hinata chimed, a smile on her face. Over the past four or five days, I had worked hard with Hinata to develop both my and her water chakra nature transformation.

"No, no, I just showed you how to train. Your progress has nothing to do with me; it's all your hard work," I replied with a soft smile.

But hearing this, Hinata shook her head. "No, it's only because of Shika-kun's help that I've progressed this fast. Without you, I couldn't have improved so quickly," Hinata responded with a firm tone, clearly not ready to take all the credit herself.

That's why she's such waifu material. Sigh... Naruto is really lucky in this regard.

"Well, if you say so, but you need to give yourself some credit, Hinata. You've done great—being able to learn water chakra nature transformation is a big deal, and you learned it in under a week.

You have a ton of talent, Hinata, but because of your gentle nature, you don't give yourself the confidence you need to strive forward. All your improvement is proof, Hinata, that if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can achieve anything," I replied. This had become a daily routine for me—boosting Hinata's confidence. It was important if I wanted to change her character sooner rather than later.

Hearing this, Hinata blushed and shyly lowered her head. But again, what's new? This was just Hinata.

And, of course, teasing her had become a really good pastime for me.

While I was talking with Hinata and cracking some normal jokes, I suddenly heard something.

"Move back, move back!" Sudden shouts erupted, and both my and Hinata's attention turned to the other side of the long bridge.

I was the first to move, stepping forward to see what was going on, while Hinata immediately went to Tazuna's side—after all, protecting him was the most important part of this mission.

"I knew I had to do this myself. Hiring that shinobi was just a waste of time," said the man standing in the middle of a group of thugs he'd brought with him.

He was a short, fat man with an ugly face, looking angry and a little arrogant.

There was no need to ask who this man was. Who else but Gato, the shipping tycoon?

I wasn't surprised by this; I already knew he would do something like this. After all, he did the same in the anime.

What worried me more was whether he had hired another rogue Jonin. Finding rogue Jonin is hard—there aren't many Jonin in a village, to begin with, let alone those who defect and become rogue ninjas.

So I didn't bother listening to his rant. Instead, I scanned the area, trying to spot any figure that might resemble a shinobi among the group of thugs or around us.

Fortunately, I didn't find any. Unfortunately, I don't have the best sensory abilities, so I can't be sure there aren't any shinobi hiding around us.

But…

"Hinata, use your Byakugan and check if there's any shinobi hiding around us—someone like Zabuza," I shouted, making Hinata, who was protecting Tazuna behind me, perk up. She immediately activated her Byakugan and scanned the area.

Yup, that's why having teammates is awesome. Though I can't use my Shikigami when they're around, they make up for that problem.

Especially having a Hyuga on the team—it's a blessing. In the entire Naruto series, the Sharingan was given most of the OP powers, but that's only for individuals, not for an entire team.

While the Sharingan is more combat-focused, the Byakugan shines in reconnaissance. People who have never been in a war might choose the Sharingan, but a wise leader will always choose the Byakugan.

Hell, I believe that even when comparing the Byakugan and the Mangekyo Sharingan, a leader should choose the Byakugan for the tactical advantage it brings to the table.

Konoha isn't the number one shinobi village for no reason—abundant natural resources, powerful bloodline limits, and, more than anything, geniuses. There's no other ninja village in this world more blessed than Konoha.

"There's no one like that, Shika-kun," Hinata quickly replied after scanning the area, making me relax a little.

"Hmm, good. Hinata, I'll leave Tazuna's safety to you. Leave these guys to me," I said as I moved towards the thugs. It was finally time to put what I'd learned from Zabuza's skills to use.

Seeing me approach alone, all the thugs and Gato smirked. To them, I was just a kid playing ninja—they had no idea how powerful a ninja could be.

"Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog…" I moved towards them slowly, forming hand signs with extra focus. This was my first time using this technique in a real fight, so it took me longer to cast.

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu." I muttered quietly, focusing solely on the technique. I wasn't like Zabuza, who had learned this jutsu since childhood; I needed a high degree of control and focus to cast it properly.

As I finished, my chakra flared up, and the mist began to form, spreading across the bridge and obscuring everyone's vision.

"What's going on?"

"What happened? Did that brat do something?"

"What are you fools doing? Find him and kill that brat!" The moment the mist covered the entire area, everyone was stunned and then grew anxious.

Everyone was blind at this point—even I couldn't see anything. Zabuza could use this technique so effectively because of his intense training and heightened senses.

Now, I don't have Zabuza's level of training or senses, but what I do have is my Divine Dogs.

"Come out, Shadow, Snow," I smirked, ready to end this mission by taking care of Gato. And while I'm at it, maybe I can get his money as well. That would certainly help, right?

xxx 

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