"Won't this be too dangerous?"
Originally somewhat excited, Kazahana Koyuki turned pale the moment she saw what Kamizuki Hikari had prepared. Watching the equally horrified Ino-Shika-Chō trio, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming wave of sympathy for them.
For them to endure training like this... it truly wasn't easy.
"How could it be dangerous?"
Hikari glanced at the bloody mess inside the wooden bucket, then at the visibly nervous trio, offering them a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, with your skills, there's no real danger here!"
"You probably don't recognize what's in this barrel, right? No problem, let me explain. This is a mixture of shark blood, whale blood, sea turtle blood, and dozens of other types of blood. Gathering all this took me quite a bit of time."
"Now, once we smear this blood on you, it'll attract swarms of aggressive sea creatures. Whether you choose to fight or flee is entirely up to you—no strict requirements here."
"So? Pretty considerate, right?"
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio internally screamed: Considerate my ass! You just want to torture us to death, don't you?!
"Relax, according to my calculations, the scent will fade after about two hours. All you need to do is survive on the water for that long."
"Who's going first?"
At Hikari's invitation, Shikamaru, as the only chūnin among them, stepped forward without hesitation.
(Shikamaru: It's not like I volunteered—these two just pushed me!)
"Don't worry, there's enough for everyone. High quality, guaranteed not to disappoint!"
(Ino: Please, we'd rather be disappointed!)
Ino stared at the disgusting red liquid, her heart filled with a thousand refusals. But after Shikamaru, it would be Chōji, and after Chōji, it would be her turn.
There was no escaping it. She had to accept her fate.
After Hikari's enthusiastic application, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio were thoroughly drenched in blood—though Hikari made sure to focus on staining their clothes rather than their skin, as the scent would wash off too quickly otherwise.
"Go on, give it your all!"
Shikamaru shot Hikari a resigned look before leaping over the ship's railing and landing on the water's surface.
Drops of blood dripped from his clothes into the sea. To humans, it just smelled like fishy brine, but to the predators lurking beneath, it was the scent of a wounded feast—especially for sharks, which would eagerly chase after it.
"Will you two jump in yourselves, or should I give you a hand?"
Hikari grinned at the hesitant Ino and Chōji, delivering what they considered the cruelest words imaginable.
'Hikari-senpai... are you even human?!'
Bearing this grudge in their hearts, Ino and Chōji finally jumped in.
"Great! Your training ends in two hours. Only then can you come back on board. Do your best—I believe in you!"
With that, Hikari turned to Asama Sandayū. "Full speed ahead!"
Koyuki: "...!?"
If she remembered correctly, weren't those three his subordinates? Was this really how he treated them?
"Right now, they're acting as bait. The scent will draw in aggressive fish, turning this area into a battlefield for sea predators within a radius of several hundred—maybe even a thousand—meters. So speeding away is the smartest move."
"Um..."
Koyuki felt like Hikari had misunderstood her concern.
"I meant... those three are in such a dangerous situation, and we're moving so far away. What if something happens to them...?"
"Relax, that's what shinobi are!" Hikari declared proudly. "Shinobi are those who endure everything. A little danger like this is nothing to them!"
Koyuki watched the distant figures with worry, especially as dark shadows began swirling beneath the water—countless large fish closing in.
'Please stay safe...'
Over the past few days, Koyuki had sometimes found the trio annoying, but she was still a kind-hearted girl. When faced with the possibility of someone getting hurt, she couldn't help but fret.
Meanwhile, Hikari casually pulled up a chair and basked in the sea breeze, looking as comfortable as could be.
Of course, he had planned the trio's training carefully.
There would be danger—but not life-threatening.
Before sending them into the water, Hikari had secretly left a trace of his chakra on each of them. If they faced real danger, it would activate, forming a protective barrier to buy them time.
By then, Hikari could easily rush over and rescue them.
As for why he didn't explain this to Koyuki?
Pure mischief.
The princess's understanding of shinobi was still rooted in ideals of strength, justice, and fairness—shaped by her sheltered upbringing.
But the reality of the shinobi world was far harsher.
Honestly, Hikari considered himself merciful for not having the trio carry out a bandit-extermination mission in front of her.
"Watch out—sharks incoming!"
Thanks to her sharp sensory abilities, Ino was the first to detect the approaching threat. After warning Shikamaru and Chōji, she immediately assumed a defensive stance.
"Chōji, we're on the water. Don't use Multi-Size Technique unless absolutely necessary!" Shikamaru cautioned before guarding another angle.
The Akimichi clan's Multi-Size Technique increased the user's mass exponentially, which put immense strain on whatever surface they stood on. On land, it was manageable—but on water, even with perfect chakra control, the risk of sinking was too high.
Chōji understood but didn't respond.
After all this training, he had not only mastered his clan's techniques but also significantly improved his taijutsu. He might not be as skilled as Shikamaru or Ino, but he wasn't helpless in situations where Multi-Size was unusable.
*Splash—!*
A shark's jagged teeth broke through the surface, lunging straight for Ino's slender waist.
Its razor-sharp jaws gleamed menacingly, looking capable of biting through steel.
"Kidney Strike!"
Unshaken, Ino shouted the two words that sent shivers down Shikamaru and Chōji's spines.
She sidestepped and drove her fist into the shark's head.
Kidney Strike wasn't limited to just targeting kidneys—through relentless training, Ino had refined it into a technique that bypassed external defenses to strike internal organs directly.
Against a thick-skinned shark, the effect was naturally diminished.
But since the blow landed on its head, even after being dampened by muscle and bone, the remaining chakra still violently rattled the shark's brain.
*Bzzz—!*
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