Reborn in the Shinobi World with an Arceus Inside

"Enemies! Let's move!"

"Water Release: Water Trumpet!"

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

"..."

A dazzling array of ninjutsu erupted on the impromptu battlefield, and the air thundered with the ceaseless roar of explosions.

Kaito, having stumbled into the fray, took cover behind a small hill. He watched the battle while providing his own running commentary. "That Water Release has decent power. Hmm, probably because of all the rain. But the Earth-Style Wall is a failure. Why didn't he carve a dog's head on it? Thumbs down..."

The two sides fighting were Konoha and Rain ninja.

From Kaito's perspective as a spectator, the overall quality of the Konoha ninja was clearly a cut above the Rain ninja. After all, Konoha was a long-established village and the originator of the Ninja Academy system; their ninja received the most comprehensive education.

The skirmish lasted less than half an hour before the Rain ninja abandoned their seriously wounded and retreated. Konoha had won, but not without suffering considerable casualties of their own. Only five or six of them were still in good condition.

"Whew... Aozora, have all the enemies retreated? Are there any still hiding?"

"Hold on, let me check." Hyuga Aozora activated his eyes, his pupils vanishing into a field of pure white, and scanned the surroundings.

"Eleven o'clock, twenty meters ahead. There's an enemy in that large tree who's exhausted his chakra."

"Got it!"

A few seconds later, a pained cry came from that direction.

"Also, nine o'clock, about sixty meters away behind the hill... Huh?" Hyuga Aozora suddenly froze.

"What is it?" his comrade asked.

"He's gone. He just vanished."

His show over, Kaito slipped away, taking a nearly dead Rain ninja with him for good measure.

The clear chime of a bell rang out. The Rain ninja slowly opened his eyes and saw Kaito, who wore no village insignia. "Who are you?" he asked, confused.

Kaito tapped the black wok on his back and said with a smile, "Just what you see. I'm a chef."

"How does a chef know medical ninjutsu?"

"Are you looking down on chefs?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. "If you can't survive in the middle of a war, what right do you have to call yourself a chef?"

"???"

"Alright, in exchange for me saving your life, how about you answer a question for me? Is there a village nearby? I'm getting sick of eating and sleeping in the wild these past few days."

"..." The Rain ninja pondered for a long moment before shaking his head. "I can't answer that."

"Are you sure?"

"Hmph! I would never give important information to someone of your unknown identity!" he declared with righteous indignation, though his eyes darted about nervously.

"Good. A man of principle." Kaito chuckled and gave the man a light pat. The wound that had just healed instantly split open again, looking almost as bad as it had before the treatment.

The Rain ninja screamed in agony and was once again on the verge of death, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Kaito.

"There. Now we're even." Kaito took a couple of steps, then suddenly turned back. "Ah, wait, that's not right. You were unconscious at the time. My mistake, I have a bad memory. My apologies."

Seeing the demon's hand drawing closer, the Rain ninja used all his remaining strength to cry out, "Wait! I have something to say!"

"Heh. Wouldn't it have been easier to just start with that?" Kaito flashed a pure, innocent smile.

Having successfully gotten the village's location, Kaito picked up his pace. Before long, he saw buildings and a surrounding wall, all shrouded in a curtain of rain.

As he got closer, he saw that half the wall had already collapsed.

'Hmm, a village that's already been hit by the war. No wonder that guy felt so little guilt about telling me.'

Kaito shook his head as he looked at the crater-pocked roads and the numerous houses that had been reduced to rubble. He walked inside.

A quick glance around revealed that any intact houses had their doors shut tight. There wasn't a single person on the streets. The place was like a ghost town.

The location wasn't bad, though. In front was a large forest, and behind ran a river.

He frowned in thought for a moment, then turned and left.

A few minutes later, two loud thuds echoed from outside the village.

Kaito returned, dragging two trees behind him. He stripped the branches, chopped the trunks into suitable lengths, and drove them into an empty plot of land at the village entrance.

He scavenged some usable materials from a collapsed house and, in no time, had constructed a simple, drafty shelter.

Inside the shelter, he built a small stove out of earth and placed the iron wok from his back on top. Then, he used his ice ability to freeze the remaining branches and leaves into blocks of ice. He followed that by using his flames to sublimate the ice directly into water vapor, quickly drying out the wood.

After repeating this process several times, he had a pile of relatively dry branches and leaves. He stuffed them under the stove and lit a fire.

Soon, thick smoke began to rise.

With everything ready, Kaito poured a little precious vegetable oil into the wok. Once it was hot, he tossed in some mushrooms he had prepared earlier. He didn't need a spatula; he simply began to toss the wok with a rhythmic motion.

He sprinkled in spices and salt, and an incredible aroma instantly filled the air. Even the rain couldn't hold it back. It soon drifted into every house, causing many people to lift a corner of their curtains, peering out with a mixture of vigilance and surprise.

But even after Kaito had finished cooking, no one came out.

He didn't mind. After eating and drinking his fill, he leaned back against the stove and closed his eyes.

Within the seven-colored space inside him, Kaito's gaze drifted over the nineteen plates. The Dread Plate, representing the Normal type, was already partially lit, about one-tenth of its surface glowing. Among the other plates, the light emanating from the Fist Plate for the Fighting type and the plates for the Ice and Fire types was noticeably dimmer than the others. The Fighting type had surpassed Ice and Fire, becoming the type with the most learned skills after Normal.

He hesitated for a moment, then stood before the Fist Plate and placed his hand upon it.

The next day, Kaito was up at the crack of dawn, heating oil in his wok and making himself a delicious breakfast.

Still, no one came out.

Around noon, the rain temporarily stopped.

Kaito finally saw people emerge from their houses. They cautiously skirted his shelter and headed into the forest. He also saw the figures of children watching him from a distance, too afraid to come closer. After a while, they ducked into the collapsed houses, as if looking for something.

On the third day, however, four ninja, drawn by the aroma, found the village.

They wore the forehead protectors of Konoha.

"There's a village. Let's go in and resupply. We're running low on food."

"It's all because your appetite is too big, Senior Akimichi."

"It's not right for us to disturb civilians."

"What does it matter? We can just pay for it if we have to."

"It's decided. We'll rest here for a bit. But we can't let our guard down; there might be enemies hiding in the village. Aozora, you stay on alert."

"Yes, sir!"

The group leaped toward the village entrance. The one from the Akimichi clan sniffed the air, and his gaze locked onto Kaito's shelter. "Mmm, that smells so tempting. It's the smell of braised fish."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but walk toward the shelter.

At that moment, Hyuga Aozora activated his Byakugan. His expression changed instantly. "Senior Akimichi, be careful! The person inside is no ordinary man!"

"Hmm?"

The four of them immediately formed a defensive formation, their eyes fixed nervously on the shelter.

"Oh-ho, so the Byakugan can see the energy inside my body, too?" Kaito walked out of the shelter, holding a fish tail. He took a bite of the fish and said, "Don't be so tense. I'm not a Rain ninja."

"But I'm afraid I have some bad news," Kaito grinned, revealing white teeth stained with a bit of soy sauce. "This place is under my protection. Ninja are not welcome here."

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