Chapter 309: I'm the Jungler
Konoha Year 53, November 11th, early morning, at Masahiko's house.
Masahiko lay flat on a wooden bed and slowly opened his eyes.
Returning late last night from the Land of Rain, he unsurprisingly found Kimimaro sleeping in his bed again.
He originally thought he would have to make do on the chairs for another night. But in a flash of inspiration (no longer brain-dead), he finally remembered he could use Wood Release to make a bed to sleep on...
"I always forget that I'm a supreme master proficient in countless Kekkei Genkai. Never mind Wood Release, I could even sleep on an Ice Release ice bed."
Masahiko muttered to himself, got up, stored the wooden bed, and turned his head.
"Kimimaro, time to get up!"
...
Land of Whirlpools BBQ Restaurant.
Masahiko, Kimimaro, and the other two sat around a table.
"Why are we eating BBQ first thing in the morning?" Karin complained softly.
"You can eat less," Masahiko replied. "Kimimaro and Haku didn't have a very good life in the Mist Village. An eight-year-old boy being about the same height as a six-year-old girl like you, that won't do."
Karin's eyes darted around. She picked up a piece of meat and placed it on Kimimaro's plate. "Then you eat more, Kimimaro-kun."
"Mm." Kimimaro was expressionless.
Masahiko chuckled inwardly and also placed a piece of meat on Kimimaro's plate. "Kimimaro, eat more."
Kimimaro's small face turned bright red, and he nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, God!"
Masahiko spread his hands helplessly at Karin: What can I do? I'm despairing too.
Karin: "..."
After interacting with the legendary Great Elder up close a few times, she no longer felt reserved around him... Moreover, her inner personality was constantly roaring.
Of course, Masahiko knew the importance of spreading the love; he couldn't just favor Kimimaro alone.
"Haku, has Zabuza recovered?"
Haku nodded, his expression dimming slightly. "Mr. Zabuza has already taken a mission and left."
"Then... you eat more too." Masahiko placed another piece of meat on 'her' plate.
"Mm." Haku's small face also flushed slightly red, and Kimimaro cast a couple of envious glances.
Masahiko: "..."
This time he was truly going a bit crazy inside. What was going on with these little boys nowadays?
Karin smiled. "Great Elder, I want to eat too."
"Don't you have your own hands?"
Haku hesitated for a moment, then placed a piece of meat for Karin. "Here, for you."
Karin glanced at 'her', ignored it, and stared eagerly at Kimimaro.
Kimimaro remained unperturbed.
...
By the end of breakfast, Masahiko had a good grasp of the situation.
The three had formed a squad for a week now and had developed a unique dynamic.
The little fangirl Karin constantly flirted with Kimimaro. Although Kimimaro didn't reciprocate the flirting, he could accept her goodwill—he would eat the meat she gave him.
Haku, meanwhile, was working hard to fit in. Kimimaro was relatively friendly toward 'her', a fellow orphan from the Mist Village. As for Karin, she mostly ignored 'her' now, no longer showing that inexplicable hostility.
As for Kimimaro... this child was the most worrisome. He was 'passionate as fire' towards Masahiko, but treated his two teammates as 'passing acquaintances'.
But Masahiko had a plan...
At the Land of Whirlpools training ground, Masahiko spoke loudly and clearly.
"Today is November 11th... er, this date." Masahiko frowned slightly but quickly brushed it aside. "There are about fifty days until the New Year. For these fifty days, I will train each of you separately based on your specialties. The time is short, so cherish it."
Before the three could reply, Masahiko continued: "Let's start with Kimimaro. You two, go throw those ten boxes of kunai first. Every single one must hit the targets."
Ten boxes meant 500 kunai. It would take quite some effort for the two children to throw them all.
This could effectively improve the relationship between Karin and Haku. Karin would definitely act 'shamelessly' and act cute, begging Haku to throw more of them...
Having sent the two away, Masahiko looked at Kimimaro with a peculiar smile. "Kimimaro, have you ever heard of self-discipline?"
...
In the end, Masahiko chose to train Kimimaro using the same method he used for Hitomi.
Firstly, Kimimaro was a taijutsu ninja. Before his 'illness' flared up, this was the fastest way to train.
Secondly, there was no need to worry about Kimimaro ending up single his whole life like Hitomi. He was unlikely to develop that kind of personality, and besides, the ninja world also cared about looks...
Lastly, if doing this could make Kimimaro a bit more 'enthusiastic', that would be even better.
"But it looks like there's not much hope." Masahiko watched Kimimaro doing push-ups—one, two, three—even his counting was done silently in his head...
Having set a training goal for Kimimaro, Masahiko turned to the two children throwing kunai.
More than half the kunai had been thrown. Haku was sweating profusely, while Karin was slacking off, not even breathing hard...
Masahiko smiled. "Haku, your turn! Karin, the remaining kunai are all yours!"
Haku turned around and used his sleeve to gently dab away his sweat, making Masahiko's eyelid twitch.
"Haku, the correct way for a boy to wipe his sweat is like this!" Masahiko used the back of his hand to forcefully swipe across his forehead.
Haku used the back of his hand to gently dab his sweat...
"Forget it, as long as you're happy."
Masahiko sighed, extended his right hand forward, and several ice spikes condensed in his palm.
"Can you do this?"
Haku was startled for a moment, nodded repeatedly, and also condensed several ice spikes.
"Not bad. How about this?" The ice spikes in Masahiko's hand suddenly became thinner than ice needles, almost invisible to the naked eye.
Seeing Haku shake his head, Masahiko continued: "Your training from now on is to find a way to make the ice spikes thinner. They don't need to be lethal, but a large quantity should be enough to incapacitate an opponent."
With Haku's personality, expecting 'her' to take action and kill someone was highly unlikely. Masahiko only planned to have 'her' practice two jutsu: Ice Needles and Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. Being able to control the opponent was enough.
Having finished with Haku, Masahiko slowly walked over to Karin. She was already sweating profusely, and there were still two boxes of kunai left beside her.
Seeing Masahiko, her face lit up with joy. "Great Elder, is it my turn?"
"Don't rush, you have to finish throwing the kunai."
Karin: "..."
Her rage meter maxed out. She stabbed the target as if she were stabbing Masahiko, throwing a hundred kunai in five minutes. Although her accuracy was terrible, they all at least hit the target.
Masahiko nodded and formed the Tiger seal with his right hand. "Come here, I'll teach you how to use your innate sensory ability: Mind's Eye of the Kagura."
Karin was still young, so her sensory range could currently only cover a hundred meters... Masahiko recalled himself at six years old and felt like he had lived his life like a dog.
"Keep up the hard work. You're about the same as I was when I was five. Your talent is not bad."
Mind's Eye of the Kagura consumed very little chakra, but a six-year-old girl, even from the Uzumaki clan, didn't have much chakra to begin with. Soon, Karin couldn't hold on any longer.
Then, she despairingly watched the kunai on the ten targets fly back into the boxes in an orderly line...
"These are all yours this time."
Karin: "..."
Auntie Kushina, I want to go home.
Masahiko took a few steps back. Taking in the sight of the three children training individually, he inexplicably thought of that game from his past life, full of pain and struggle.
"Kimimaro top lane, Karin support/mage, Haku ADC. Missing a jungler..."
Karin started slacking off again, and Masahiko glared. "Karin, get serious!"
Mm, I'm the jungler.
☆☆☆
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