33 33: End Of The Second Shinobi World War

Nagato ducked low as a dozen paper shurikens shot over his head towards their foe. The white-haired shadow clone they were facing on the surface of the lake was forced to disengage from where it was facing Yahiko in close combat as it formed a hand sign and began to gather a stream of oil within its throat.

The perfect opportunity to interrupt it at long last.

"Finally!" He locked its movement in place with a hidden wire he'd sneakily wrapped around it using Konan's shurikens.

Jiraiya's shadow clone - the last of two that they had been put up against for this fight - vanished, and the trio were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Nagato had been banned from using most of his Rinnegan powers during the battle.

'Speaking of people being banned from using their full power... I wonder how Seija's doing against her own Jiraiya clone-' Nagato's thought was cut off by Jiraiya's real body, and a very scorched looking Seija appearing nearby.

"Uhh." Nagato couldn't figure out who had won.

Jiraiya shrugged at them and Seija raised a victory sign.

Jiraiya spoke, voice full of pride, "So you all really are strong enough to beat my shadow clones now, huh..."

"Seija looks rather beat-up, sensei. Was it a tough fight?" Yahiko piped up.

Nagato had to admit he was curious as well. The last time that Seija had ever really been injured by anything was apparently months ago during a training accident.

Their sensei sighed and shrugged at them, "Ran right through my Fire Style and punched my poor shadow clone in the gut. He never even got the chance to react... I had thought that restricting her from using her Kekkei Genkai would make the fight a little more even but it appears I merely gave her an even greater drive to show off and end the fight quickly with a crazy trick like that."

Seija casually removed her mask and put her hands behind her head.

"Well, sensei, maybe you should've known that a healer like me would be able to do that without much risk. Your friend Tsunade is rather famous for pulling strategies like that, after all. How long did you spend as her teammate, again?"

Jiraiya awkwardly coughed and cleared his throat before stepping away and turning to face the whole group.

"Well, kids... This is it."

The three orphans glanced at each other in confusion before Yahiko spoke.

"This is... what? What are you talking about, sensei?"

Jiraiya gave them a sad smile and pulled out a small scroll with what appeared to be a tiny snake wrapped around it.

"I've received word that the Second Shinobi War has officially ended. There is significant movement from Kumogakure and Kirigakure, however, so it seems that a Third war will be on the horizon soon." He let them drink in the information before hitting them with the bombshell. "And you all just passed my final test. This is it. I need to return to Konoha, and you kids are now more than strong enough to survive without me."

The trio was taken aback by this and even Seija herself felt a little sadness cropping up from within her. She knew it would happen today the moment Jiraiya announced the test, but still... she had been living with him and the others for three full years now. She was bound to get attached eventually.

"W-Wait! You're just... leaving? Now?" Yahiko looked to be on the verge of tears as he blurted his words out.

"Yeah, Yahiko, I am. You're all so strong now that you could even take on a Chunin Exam with relative ease." He put the scroll away and smiled again. "I'm proud of you kids. Seriously, I am. But duty calls and I need to get back to my own home now. Gotta prepare for the possible new war coming up, catch up with my own teammates, you know?"

He finally turned away from the group and began to walk off into the mist that had settled over the lake's surface. He still spoke aloud to them as he did, though.

"You kids are going to change this country for the better, I just know it. Make sure to get famous so I can hear stories about you while on my own travels, you hear? Heheh..."

With a final chuckle, he stepped into the thick of the mist for good, and Seija felt him vanish via Reverse Summoning.

- - -

Yahiko couldn't hold back his tears on the walk back from the lake, in the end. It was funny, really... he had always told Nagato and Konan not to ever cry, and yet here he was, the only member of their group actually letting the water works flow now that years had passed since those old days.

Nagato decided to strike up a conversation, since the mood was starting to drop.

"So, everyone. What are we going to do first now that we are free of our sole figure of authority?" He asked the rest of them.

Seija put a hand to her chin and thought for a second before answering.

"That depends on where our priorities lie. If we want to change this country as fast as possible, then we should ask to join Amegakure's military and start making a name for ourselves by doing as many missions as they will let us take. The other option would be to start our own mercenary group, which would allow us to take jobs from all over the continent and spread our names that way."

Konan raised her hand and Seija gestured for her to speak up.

"The second option... probably wouldn't work for us right now. We're all rather physically developed for our ages, but nobody would take a mercenary group led by a group of children seriously. I vote for the first option."

Seija nodded at her suggestion and decided to let the conversation continue once they were home.

As they opened the door to the old shack they were surprised to find that Jiraiya hadn't taken all of his stuff with him. Rather, there was one thing left behind right in the middle of the table.

'That's the original copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja. Apparently it wouldn't go on to sell very well, but it could be an interesting read.' Seija noted.

Nagato picked up the book and flicked through it before reaching the biography section at the back and smiling. He tucked the book away into his clothes, so she would ask him about it later when she felt like it. Or rather, if she remembered to.

As she sat down in her own corner of the room she let reality really begin to set in.

'After this point, I should be able to travel around outside of my local area. I'm not sure how many reincarnators can say the same for themselves just yet, but this world is going to get a whole lot more hectic once they start being able to leave their Villages and really start seeking out their own goals, completing quests, et cetera. The timeline will change for sure. The world is a large place, but I know damn well that they'll find some way to interact with crucial events regardless of that fact.'

'The reincarnators in the current Group Chat are getting along well enough, but as time passes the younger ones will have to take more and more drastic measures in order to keep up with us older members. We're already starting to see some more undesirable individuals like number #15 show up, and those will only become more and more common as the years go by. And they'll no doubt start forming their own mini factions as well. I've already seen it start to happen in several places, with #2, #8, and #16 having set up their own private Group Chat just for the three of them.'

She frowned to herself.

'If they get desperate enough I can easily see groups of younger reincarnators teaming up to take down older ones simply to make themselves feel safer. A real classic Heroes vs Demon Lords situation, with us older reincarnators as the demons... No, wait... I'm probably just being paranoid...'

Seija had been proven wrong on a number of occasions about several assumptions that she had made about this world and the people living in it. It was becoming pretty clear to her now that her initial mindset coming into this world wasn't quite correct.

'There are now almost twenty awoken reincarnators and so far none of us have killed each other. I'm honestly rather surprised by that, but none of us have really had any reason to fight over anything yet. I hope it stays this way for a while... but when the factions start to form I do worry that they'll start to declare war on one another. All I can do is prepare to face them I suppose.' Seija hardened her resolve for the future.

And she would need it. Because she was almost immediately about to be proven wrong about how well some reincarnators were getting along.

- - - - -

The days and months had passed surprisingly quickly for Renji's team. Team training was, as expected, completely miserable for the poor kid. As was every lunch time. As were the D-rank missions. As was the single C-rank mission they had completed, a basic escort mission as part of the logistics team.

'How can one person be so fucking vile?' Renji thought to himself as he put on his equipment and prepared for his second C-rank mission. The one where he planned to rid the world of reincarnator number #15 for good, and flee Sunagakure for greener pastures.

He glanced over at his workspace and silently contemplated what he was about to do.

It had to be now. Mishima's behavior was only getting worse by the day.

Just yesterday, the crazy brat groped their other team mate from behind in broad daylight. A girl called Pakura. Renji was stunned by this for a number of obvious reasons. Most glaringly, she was Mishima's own little sister. Secondly, was their age.

'We're fucking seven years old, man! There is no way that your body is developed enough to feel any kind of sexual pleasure from that, so why the hell are you even doing it?!' Renji internally screamed.

'Haaaah... At least Pakura didn't really know what was going on and just assumed it was a nice hug from her big brother... My old memories say she'll show up in the story at some point as a named character, so I bet that's why he's obsessed with her. He knew about her beforehand, and doesn't even care that she's his sister.'

Renji's gaze darkened as he picked up Hari's summoning scroll. Last night he installed all of the new parts, and prepared a second scroll for a copy of Hari that he had created a month ago, just so that Mishima wouldn't know about the new parts until the moment Renji would spring his trap.

He double checked all of his equipment before heading out the door into the busy, sandy streets below his home.

- - -

"Ah, there you are, Mascot-kun! You know those bandits aren't gonna drive themselves off, right? I know you're slow, but that was supposed to be just your agility, not your brain!" The bastard with orange and green hair gloated. Mishima, of course.

Renji scowled and refused to grace him with an answer.

'Keep laughing, you piece of shit. I hope you choke on sand when we set off.'

Their sensei turned to them and held up the contract they'd been assigned.

"Alright you three. You did well in the escort mission last week. As you know, this is our next C-rank task. A small gang of desert bandits have started harassing our second logistics corps. The attackers are mostly powerless against the mercenary guards defending the goods, but these bandits are firebombing the supplies instead of trying to get close and steal them." He announced.

"We've been instructed to guard the next caravan, and if the bandits attack then we are to chase them back to their hideout, capture them, find out who's paying them to do this, and then dispose of them. Are you all ready? Just like last time, this could end up being the first time that any of you will have to slay an enemy, so brace yourselves for that."

Renji almost smirked. Mishima actually did, though their sensei either didn't notice or didn't care.

'Sensei has no idea how right and wrong he is. I do indeed plan on killing a certain someone today. But I know for a fact that Mishima's already scorched one of his clan's servants to death in a sparring match. Smug prick. The other servants there still whisper about it even on the days that he 'invites' me over to his family's estate.' Renji mused.

Looking past his own team, Renji could see the somewhat concerned looking couriers already waiting for them.

'Heh, no wonder they look put-off. Being told that you're gonna be used as bandit bait and your only protectors will be a bunch of arrogant-looking kids would make me worried too if I were them-' His thoughts were cut off by his sensei's shout.

"Alright! Let's get moving. It would be preferable for all of us if we got this done quickly."

Renji adjusted his belt one final time, making triple-sure he hadn't forgotten anything, and took his position at the middle of the formation with his copy Hari puppet. And so their mission commenced.