Land of River (5)

"Asuma-sensei, please, let me take him." Shinji requested, sheathing the Assassin's Deadly Dagger before pulling out the wakizashi that was strapped to his back.

The genin wanted to test himself against what can be considered a chuunin level opponent, even if it was one from Tanigakure. The previous chuunin opponent he had faced was Mizuki, a genuine elite chuunin that was once considered for promotion to tokubetsu jounin. But Shinji had only won due to a sneak attack that crippled the chuunin's left arm, effectively sealing Mizuki's use of jutsu.

He wanted to fight an experienced shinobi to the death for real this time; no tricks, no sneak attacks, just mano e mano, one on one. Shinji was aware that ninjas did not often have 'honourable' duels. They leaned more towards subterfuge, trickery and deception. But at a certain point, when all the tricks and schemes were rendered ineffective – all that was left was personal, individual strength.

Furthermore, with his team and squad leader being there, his personal safety would be all but assured. So in terms of risk, while it wasn't zero, it was minimized to an acceptable degree.

Not to mention he would only receive EXP if he was the one who dealt the killing blow.

Asuma took his disciple's words into consideration. While he knew that Shinji did not lack experience fighting, with all the inter-team training sessions where the genin sparred with each other as well as the one-on-one spars Asuma had with him, Shinji was very much lacking when it came to life or death battles. The ability to remove panic, anxiety and nerves from the equation to make rational, logical decisions during the moment to moment problem solving in a fight was invaluable.

Though Shinji had always been an unnaturally calm kid who he had never seen unnerved even once, that didn't mean it would never happen. And when it inevitably will occur at least once in the future, Asuma wanted his treasured disciple to be able to pull himself back together when it did.

The jounin nodded, agreeing. "Alright. Show us what you can do, Shinji."

Shinji smirked, settling into a basic kenjutsu stance based on what he had learned from [Myriad Armament Fiend] while chakra flooded his body and sword.

Kenta growled, "You bastards… you killed Miki, now you treat me as some kind of training dummy? Konoha jounin, you will regret it once you see your student's blood drip down my blades. He will join Miki in the afterlife!"

The genin analysed his opponent. Though his mental state seemed fraught, there were still no obvious openings in his stance. That showed Shinji that his opponent, while incensed, was not stupid. So first, a psychological attack to weaken his opponent's mind.

"Miki, was that her name?" Shinji asked provocatively.

"Fucker! Don't say her name with your filthy mouth!" The missing nin shot back.

"Ah, I see. You know, I was the one who killed her. Miki, that is."

"You-!"

Shinji slowly approached his opponent, and though his mouth spat vile words, he never once let down his guard, cautiously waiting for the enraged Tani shinobi to lose his mind and make the first, careless move.

"Do you want to know what her last words were?"

Kenta widened his eyes. It was a trick; he knew it was. But… what if…?

"She said… Kenta…" Shinji slowly drawled out, taking slow deliberate steps towards his opponent who in turn waited with bated breath for what his next words would be.

"Please, she begged, 'Kenta, come join me in the afterlife.'"

"You… you BASTARD! YOU'RE DEAD!" He screamed, half crazed with rage, as Kenta rushed forward, his swords racing towards Shinji.

'Gotcha.' Shinji leaned forward, letting chakra burst out the sole of his feet – wind natured chakra. His experiments with using wind and fire nature chakra in conjunction with [Flash Step] produced varying results.

With fire nature chakra, [Flash Step] caused an explosive effect, that increased the speed at which he moved. But that in turn sacrificed his control over the distance at which he travelled, and the momentum was even harder to stop.

As for wind nature chakra, well, it essentially boosted the speed and range of [Flash Step] and at a reduced CP cost as well.

Clang! Their blades clashed – Shinji's wakizashi met Kenta's twin scimitars. The missing-nin had crossed his swords at the last minute to block the genin's attack when he realized he had messed up by moving first, driven by his emotions. The emotionally fuelled attack he had planned was intercepted by Shinji's strike that left him in an awkward positioning.

They separated slightly before Kenta swung wildly and rapidly at Shinji who met his ferocious assault by either parrying the strikes he could or evading the ones he could not. The two exchanged blades for several moments, with neither backing down.

The spectators of the fight gasped softly at the wild exchange, the wind blowing fiercely whenever their blades clashed.

However, though Kenta's skill at wielding the twin swords were admirable, Shinji had his own advantages in the form of skills and perks.

'[Bull's Strength]' Shinji activated his perk's ability which increased his STR stat by 20%, the added strength giving him the power needed to forcefully suppress the missing nin.

'This kid… how is he this strong!?' Kenta thought to himself as he struggled to resist against his opponent who had a much smaller frame.

Shinji's leg snaked up and delivered a crushing kick on Kenta's midriff while the missing-nin was busy trying to resist falling, pushing the man away and separating the two.

"Oi, oi, how are you going to take revenge for Miki if you can't even equal me in power. How sad is she in hell, knowing the only one she could have counted on to protect her failed? That he is so weak he can't even stand his ground against a genin?" Shinji jeered, continuing his mind games.

"Shut up! I told you not to say her name!" Kenta snarled, rushing forward once more, however this time he did not move without thinking.

'Tani Kenjutsu: Rumbling Steps' Kenta sent earth nature chakra into the ground with every step, causing minor seismic waves to shake the ground in the area. It was meant to cause havoc on the enemy's sense of balance, while the user, who remain unaffected by the minor earthquake, took the chance to dash forward and attack his enemy.

Shinji was not unaffected by his opponent's technique, but he was not taken aback by surprise. He lowered his centre of gravity by slightly squatting to reduce its effects. Channelling wind-nature chakra into his wakizashi which created a deadly layer of sharp, buzzing wind that significant enhanced its lethality.

He went low, swiping forward at Kenta's feet which he judged to be the limbs causing the reverberations.

The missing-nin, in response, swung down at Shinji while leaping forward.

However, Shinji had already predicted such a countermeasure. All he needed was for Kenta's feet to leave the ground to stop the seismic waves. As soon as he regained his balance, in a feat of inhuman dexterity and agility, Shinji spun himself to face Kenta and land a swift cut on his opponent.

The sword which had been layered with wind chakra carved deep into Kenta's torso,

Kenta took the slash, gritting his teeth from the pain, but was not deterred. He continued his downward slash that was about to cut down Shinji who was in an awkward position. Just as his twin blades were about to make contact, Shinji disappeared from his sight explosively, causing dirt and dust to erupt thanks to the explosive nature of a fire chakra fuelled [Flash Step].

His blades carved in to the ground instead, missing Shinji entirely who had reappeared some distance away, his feet sliding on the ground in an attempt to catch himself as a result of the unmanageable, experimental technique.

Kenta growled, planting his twin blades into the ground and formed several handseals rapidly, "Doton: Cracked Earth Bullet!"

Slamming his palms on the ground, the earth infront of him broke apart and several large, sharp chunks flew out of the ground towards Shinji.

The earthen projectiles were easily evaded by Shinji, who didn't even need to use his Sharingan to see the obvious trajectories, except one which was broken apart by a single fist from the boy through [Shinkyoken] used in conjunction with [Power Strike].

"Is that all you've got? Miki is crying right now!" Shinji taunted, as he returned with a ninjutsu of his own after forming the required handseals, "Katon: Ash Pile Burning!"

Just like his sensei, Shinji spewed out a cloud of ash and gunpowder that rapidly advanced towards Kenta. Unlike Asuma however, Shinji didn't have a cigarette to ignite the ash. Instead, he slid his wakizashi against the ground, and swung towards the desired direction. The sparks created from the friction of blade meeting earth, to the indignation of sword lovers all over, flew at the dark cloud.

The moment the sparks made contact with the gunpowder, a massive eruption of flame and wind once more rocked the surrounding area.

Shinji channelled wind nature chakra into his wakizashi again, this time pumping even more of it -lengthening the blade artificially using chakra as the layer of wind chakra covering it extended the blade to twice its original length.

Not waiting for the dust to settle, Shinji braced himself and charged into the charred earth and heated air that was still hot from the explosion just moments before.

A couple steps in, he spotted the same earthen pyramid Kenta had previously used to shield himself from the explosion, a technique that he was expecting. Though the rock walls were sturdy enough to withstand the explosion, his wind-chakra infused blade would cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

Shinji dashed forward at his target and in a single, horizontal swing, bisected the earthen pyramid along with the missing-nin inside.

Smirking, Shinji nearly sheathed his wakizashi in confidence before he realized something was up. No notification alerted him of EXP gained, which should have occurred the moment his opponent had fallen. Which could only mean one thing…

Kenta burst out of the ground next to him, his twin swords drawn and ready to bisect Shinji horizontally like the genin had tried doing.

"I knew you were going to do that punk! Now die!" The missing-nin yelled victoriously, knowing that the first of his four targets would soon perish by his hands.

At least, until he spotted crimson red eyes glaring at him through the dust and smoke.

'T-that's…!' His thought could not be completed as the next thing he knew, the red eyes that had been glaring at him was replaced with the lovely brown irises he was intimately familiar with.

The smallish figure of his genin opponent was replaced with the appearance of his dead lover.

"Miki… No, she's already dead. You bastard!" Kenta realized he had somehow been trapped in a genjutsu. His hesitance vanished and his swords continued on its initial trajectory and proceeded to cut through 'Miki'.

To his dismay, blood gurgled out of the 'Miki' who had received the slashes as she gasped out, "Ken…ta…"

"Y-you can't fool me, this is a genjutsu! Kai!" Kenta stopped the flow of chakra in his body, and then applied an even stronger force to disrupt the flow of his opponent's chakra in his system. As he did so, the 'Miki' in front of his eyes crumbled apart before turning to dust and floating away.

Tears speckled Kenta's eyes who had forced himself to say goodbye to his illusionary lover, even though he desperately wanted to remain with her, even if it was just a genjutsu.

A wakizashi smoothly slid into Kenta's throat, the wielder, Shinji, calmly stood beside the missing-nin, his arm thrusted forward holding the sword. His red eyes morphed back into his usual black as the genin deactivated his Sharingan.

[Sharingan: Genjutsu], success. This was the second person he had ever used the technique on, the only other one being Sasuke due to his self-imposed restriction on revealing his Sharingan.

The only reason he felt comfortable using his doujutsu was solely based on the fact that the dust and smoke from the explosion had yet to dissipate. Meaning outside observers watching from behind the opaque cover, namely his teammates and Asuma, would not be able to see him using his Sharingan.

Blood poured out profusely from the missining-nin's fatal injury as Shinji ripped out his wakizashi. Despite it being a vertical wound, Shinji had accurately stabbed through the two carotid arteries running up Kenta's neck, one on each side. This resulted in massive and profuse blood loss in mere seconds of the perforation.

Under the effects of his [Observe] Shinji could see Kenta's HP rapidly dropping as blood continued to pour out from his severed arteries. Wanting to cut things short and end the man's suffering, Shinji allowed chakra to flow into his wakizashi one last time and prepared to behead the man who had seemingly lost all will to live.

"So, this is how it all ends… Miki, I'm coming to join you." Kenta wheezed out, coughing out blood while forcing out those words, falling to his knees. Blood had already filled up his throat which made speech nearly impossible. It was the result of sheer will and determination which allowed Kenta to force out his last words.

"Yes. Be at peace, Kenta." Shinji spoke, trying to provide some semblance of comfort. Now that the battle was over, there was no longer a need to taunt his opponent and be needlessly cruel. Rather, Shinji respected Kenta's decision to stand his ground and avenge his dead lover. When the missing-nin had hid in the ground following the explosion, he had every opportunity to try and escape by tunnelling through the earth.

Not to say that he would not have been caught by Asuma regardless, but there was something about Kenta's resolve that Shinji respected. A painless death was the least he deserved after that.

With a single motion, Shinji's sword descended. In one swift stroke, the head of Kenta, the missing nin from Tanigakure, was detached from his neck, allowing him to depart the world of the living in search for his deceased partner.

+12038 EXP

The EXP rewarded was more than he had received from a single source aside from quests. An amount befitting the death of a level 48 opponent. Shinji wasn't sure whether enemies killed outside of dungeons provided more EXP, since it seemed disproportionate to EXP he got from dungeon bosses, even after factoring in level differences. But now wasn't the time to theorize about this and that.

Shinji may have entered the fight excited to test himself against a worthy opponent, but now all he could think to do was pay his respect to an enemy who had given him a worthy fight and died a proper death by his own hands.

The dust cleared soon after, and the rest of Team Ten upon seeing Shinji standing victorious over the headless body of the missing-nin silently cheered and ran to join the genin. Asuma smiled proudly, never once doubting that his protégé would succeed, even though it did seem relatively dangerous at times.

Shinji sheathed his wakizashi and picked up the two short swords Kenta had been using, deciding to take them as trophies in remembrance of his first grand battle against a strong enemy outside the village walls. They were heavier and denser than he had been expecting and have an exotic appearance to them. The black sword had a red tortoise shell pattern on its blade, whereas the white one had a silver wave pattern engraved on its blade.

Casting [Observe] on them, he widened his eyes in shock as he read the information.

[Kanshou & Bakuya (Twin Swords) – Grade: Unique]

Ancient weapons created by a long forgotten swordsmith, an ancestor of the founder of Takumi Village that is well known for its skill in making weaponry. They were crafted more for the sake of crafting, as if questioning the meaning of the swordsmith, than for any real idea behind their creation. Their quality and ability as swords are high due to being made with the best materials and soul of a true craftsman. They are identical in shape with the only difference being their colour.

Durability: 389/420

Damage: A

STR +30

DEX +30

[Item Skill 1: Anguish of Kanshou]

When fighting with both Kanshou and Bakuya, every attack increases attack speed by 1% up to a limit of 100%. The stacked attack speed increase will drop by 1% every second the user is not attacking.

[Item Skill 2: Sorrow of Bakuya]

When fighting with both Kanshou and Bakuya, every attack increases movement speed by 1% up to a limit of 100%. The stacked movement speed increase will drop by 1% every second the user is not attacking.

Who could have predicted he would find such amazing weapons in a random encounter? It was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

As he turned to greet his teammates who had come to congratulate him, his heart skipped a beat when he saw Hinata. Not because of her striking beauty or anything like that. But because he saw that her Byakuugan was activated.

'If Hinata had been watching my fight the whole time with her Byakuugan, then would she not have seen me use my Sharingan!?' Shinji came to a dreadful realization.