"The moon shines bright above, one against seven makes me smile, Kurenai says, 'Night has fallen, quietly vanish from the ninja world...'"
After bidding farewell to Asuma and the others, Feng Bai walked alone through Konoha's night-shrouded streets, humming a little tune he'd adapted himself.
Little Feng Bai had been living quite comfortably lately.
Ever since the old man had taken Ryōma and the others off to who-knows-where on business, Feng Bai had finally escaped his previous grueling lifestyle and no longer had to experience the "joy" of being forced into a hundred consecutive training sessions the moment he showed up.
Hanging out with friends after school, bragging and fooling around, had become Feng Bai's daily routine.
Returning home, he could also enjoy Yakushi Nonō's cooking, which far surpassed Danzo's culinary skills. Yes, this was the life he'd always dreamed of.
Eyes squinting with happiness, Feng Bai cheerfully pushed open his front door. Just as he was about to greet Nonō, he saw an unfamiliar young man standing before him.
"Nonō-nee—holy shit."
Startled by the sudden appearance of the youth, Feng Bai let slip a curse.
Hearing the commotion, Nonō poked her head out from the kitchen and explained to Feng Bai: "You're back, Feng Bai. That young man was sent by your father. His name is Shimura Ikku. From now on, you'll train with him."
Shimura Ikku?
What, are you planning to ward and gank me?
Looking at the handsome youth before him—with delicate features and a scar on his left cheek—Feng Bai estimated he was maybe ten years older than himself.
You had to admit, the Shimura clan's genes were exceptional. Any random young man looked like he could play basketball in overalls.
Just a tiny bit less handsome than himself.
"Uh, hello, Ikku-nii."
Patting his own little face, proud of his appearance, Feng Bai greeted this Ikku.
Hearing Feng Bai address him proactively, Ikku tilted his head slightly, expressionlessly observing the cute little guy before him without immediately responding.
"Master Feng Bai."
Just as Feng Bai was wondering if the guy might be mute, Ikku suddenly dropped to one knee and addressed him respectfully.
"Cough, well, get up. Why so formal?" Startled by the sudden gesture, Feng Bai quickly motioned for him to stand after recovering.
"Lord Danzo has ordered me to take responsibility for your daily training and personal safety from today forward." Ikku stood up and announced Danzo's command.
Due to the continuously escalating situation in the ninja world, both ANBU and Root were experiencing varying degrees of personnel shortages. Therefore, Danzo had withdrawn the two squads responsible for protecting Feng Bai and instead assigned the responsibility to Shimura Ikku alone.
"Oh, that's fine." Feng Bai scratched his head and replied insincerely.
Deep down, he certainly didn't want someone constantly cracking a whip behind him, but seeing that Danzo had only sent this one person to guide him, Feng Bai could reluctantly accept it.
As long as Yamanaka Zen didn't come, everything would be fine.
Compared to the merciless Aburame Ryōma, he was more afraid of that whip-wielding jinchūriki.
Just having that guy stand there made Feng Bai feel like his skin tone was changing.
The fellow before him looked like a gentle young man—surely he couldn't do anything as outrageous as Yamanaka Zen, right?
Before dinner, Feng Bai's impression of this clan member was still acceptable, until after the meal...
"Actually, I don't really understand how to train children your age." Standing in the courtyard, Ikku suddenly spoke while looking at Feng Bai.
Hearing this, Feng Bai's eyes lit up. If he didn't know, that was perfect! Feng Bai could properly deceive—no, properly inform him about what real ninja training should be like.
It definitely shouldn't be elite jōnin launching zero-frame attacks followed by a farmer cracking whips—that kind of absurd training.
"Ryōma-senpai is very busy, so I couldn't ask him directly. Fortunately, Yamanaka Zen-senpai specifically took time to brief me..." Ikku expressionlessly drew a kunai from his ninja pouch.
"Uh, who did you ask?" Hearing that familiar name, Feng Bai felt somewhat panicked and asked uncertainly.
"Yamanaka Zen-senpai. He told me your talent is very high, and what we can do is use a whip to urge you forward..." Taking a deep breath, Ikku attached wind-natured chakra to the kunai, creating a whip that made Feng Bai despair at first sight.
"Alright, alright, you damn—" Before Feng Bai could finish cursing at the chakra-formed whip, Ikku's whip had already lashed out.
"The meaning of 'urging forward' is that I swing the whip here while you dodge with all your might, right?"
Sharp wind sliced across Feng Bai's chest, directly cutting a gash in his shirt.
"Dodge with all my might? I don't have a Sharingan—how am I supposed to see clearly a weapon infused with wind-natured chakra?!"
Seeing his clothes easily torn, Feng Bai's current performance could only be described as scurrying about with his head in his hands.
Under Ikku's relentless whipping, Feng Bai initially still had energy to curse, but after being severely lashed a couple of times, he shut his mouth and focused entirely on finding his opponent's openings.
"Ow! Ah! Not there! Yamanaka Zen, damn you!"
Amid screams and curses, Feng Bai's slave life began anew.
[Seriously, does this Shimura Ikku have some grudge against the old man?! Going this intense right from the start!]
...
"Although wind-natured chakra is invisible, you can determine the approximate attack location by observing your opponent's hand movements and the kunai's swing amplitude." Placing Feng Bai's head on her lap, Nonō looked at his battered body and exceptionally allowed him to enjoy the wonderful treatment of a lap pillow.
"I'm just a student who hasn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy—how could I possibly see clearly?" Using resentful eyes to look at Shimura Ikku standing nearby, Feng Bai petulantly turned his head away.
"Lie still, don't move around." Seeing Feng Bai being restless on her lap, Nonō smiled and turned his head back, letting him stay put so she could treat him.
Breathing in Nonō's fresh fragrance and feeling the softness of her legs, Feng Bai suddenly felt that taking a whipping wasn't such an unbearable thing after all.
"Even if you can't see clearly, you must try. Becoming a ninja is your destiny. Lord Danzo also has great expectations for you. If you don't work hard to improve your strength now, in the future..." Thinking of the children in the orphanage who had lost their families for various reasons, Nonō's face showed a trace of sorrow.
"You are Lord Danzo's son. Whether you want to or not, you will face indescribable darkness. This cannot be avoided."
Recalling Danzo's past actions, Nonō truly couldn't bring herself to call him "Lord" from the heart.
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