Chapter 24: There's a First Time for Everything—Even Killing

A group of people lay in ambush within the forest along the road ahead. These individuals harbored deep malice toward the team, and as soon as Snowy detected their presence, she immediately informed Takuya.

"Stop," Takuya commanded, halting both Mikoto and their client.

"Why are we stopping, young man?" the client asked, growing more anxious as they neared the Daimyo's residence. He was desperate to reach their destination as soon as possible, but now Takuya was telling them to stop.

"There's an ambush ahead," Takuya replied, glancing at the client before turning to Mikoto. "Mikoto, you take the right side; I'll handle the left. Let's make this quick."

"Got it!" Mikoto responded.

The two swiftly split up, dashing into the forest on either side of the road.

Facing enemies for the first time, and knowing that a deadly battle was imminent, Mikoto couldn't help but feel nervous. Her tightly clenched kunai, causing her fingers to turn white, betrayed her anxiety.

"Damn, we've been discovered! It's just two kids protecting that guy—kill them!" one of the ambushers shouted when they saw the team split up, with Takuya and Mikoto charging into the forest while the client remained behind.

Realizing they had been exposed, the ambushers decided to drop the pretense and leaped out from their hiding spots, drawing their swords as they charged at Takuya.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Takuya quickly formed the necessary hand seals, sending a half-meter-wide fireball hurtling toward the approaching swordsmen.

"Watch out! Run!" The swordsmen hadn't expected Takuya to disregard any sense of fair play and attack them with a powerful jutsu right from the start.

The resulting explosion was intense, accompanied by the anguished cries of those caught in the blast.

Takuya waved a hand in front of his face, trying to dispel the strong smell of burnt flesh that now permeated the forest.

"Ugh, who said the Fireball Jutsu couldn't kill anyone?" Takuya muttered, surveying the aftermath. The area was in ruins, and the ground was littered with charred corpses. The sight left him feeling like he wouldn't want to eat barbecued meat for a while.

As for any feelings of nausea, emotional turmoil, or even the urge to vomit—none of that surfaced.

A single jutsu had easily dealt with the swordsmen, saving Takuya time and effort. The only thing that wasn't quite perfect was that two of them had survived the initial blast and were now writhing on the ground in agony.

Takuya shook his head and, with a flick of his wrist, sent two kunai flying to end their suffering. He then sprinted off toward Mikoto's side.

Compared to Takuya's overwhelming display of power, Mikoto's battle was far more troublesome. Her skills weren't on the same level as Takuya's, and her nervousness compounded the situation. She hadn't considered that even a basic C-rank jutsu could pose a lethal threat to ordinary swordsmen.

The ground around her was littered with bodies—some with their throats slashed by kunai, others with their hearts pierced.

In the middle of the forest, Mikoto stood silently, clutching her ninja blade tightly, her head bowed. Blood dripped from the blade, and her clothes were spattered with it as well.

"Mikoto," Takuya called as he approached. Mikoto, who had been standing there, gripping the hilt of her sword and saying nothing, finally looked up at him.

Her eyes were bright red, each bearing a single spinning tomoe. It was clear that the emotional turmoil from her first kill had triggered the awakening of her Sharingan.

So, she awakened her eyes because of her first kill? Takuya thought. At nearly eleven years old, awakening the Sharingan at this age placed Mikoto among the more advanced members of the Uchiha clan. The idea of awakening at seven or eight was rare, reserved only for the most exceptional individuals.

Most Uchiha typically awakened their Sharingan in their early teens. Takuya, of course, was an exception—his Sharingan awakening had been more of a cheat.

"It's over. The enemies are all dead," Takuya said, gently pulling Mikoto into a comforting embrace and patting her back to calm her down.

Under his soothing words, Mikoto's emotional storm gradually subsided.

"Takuya, my eyes…" Mikoto began hesitantly.

"That's right, you've awakened your Sharingan. From today on, you're officially a Uchiha prodigy," Takuya teased with a light-hearted tone.

Mikoto, now more relaxed, smiled faintly.

"Let's go. I don't want to stay here with all these corpses around," she said, still shaken from the experience of taking lives for the first time.

"Are you two alright?" the client asked, startled by the blood on Mikoto's clothes. He had assumed she must have been injured.

"We're fine," Takuya reassured him with a smile. "They were just ordinary swordsmen; they couldn't hurt us. Let's keep moving, old man."

The forests around Konoha were home to various animals that would eventually take care of the bodies left behind.

As they continued their journey, Takuya explained the side effects of the newly awakened Sharingan to Mikoto.

"After awakening the Sharingan, it may feel a bit strange at first. If you keep it activated for too long, your eyes might become sore, and your chakra and mental energy will drain faster," Takuya advised her.

Despite the ambush, the team successfully reached the Daimyo's residence by noon, completing their escort mission.

Though the pay for this mission was on the lower end, Takuya felt it was well worth it since Mikoto had awakened her Sharingan. To him, that was far more valuable than any amount of money.

Once they returned to the village, Mikoto would begin adapting to her new abilities, and her strength would grow rapidly.

Whether it was the single tomoe, the second, or the fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan, each progression would significantly enhance the power of an Uchiha.

And if she were to one day unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan, and then the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, her strength would increase exponentially.

The two made their way back to the village at top speed, arriving just before dawn.

In the days that followed, Takuya and Mikoto took on missions only intermittently, spacing them out with periods of training and rest.

Watching the two of them live this way left Minato feeling envious and slightly panicked!

Since becoming Jiraiya's disciple, Minato had found himself with barely any time to rest. Along with his two teammates, he was constantly on the move, following Jiraiya on missions across the land.

"Jiraiya-sensei, why did the village send us to monitor the movements of the Hidden Rain Village?" Minato asked, puzzled by the current mission.

It's supposed to be a time of peace, so why would the village give us a mission that could provoke conflict with another village?

"To be honest, I have no idea why the old man wants us on this mission either," Jiraiya replied.

Minato and his teammates had grown weary of the endless rain and harsh environment of the Hidden Rain Village, and Jiraiya was even more fed up.

In other countries, there were at least opportunities to explore, to gather inspiration for his writing. But in the Rain Village? There was nothing but rain—endless, dreary rain.

Gathering inspiration here? Forget it.

Why didn't they give this mission to Orochimaru? He's the one who's good at lurking around, Jiraiya thought with a silent grumble. Still, he smiled and explained to Minato, "I think it has to do with the Rain Village's ongoing military expansion."

"But why?" Minato asked, still not understanding. "Isn't that their own business? What does it have to do with Konoha?"

Does the Rain Village's military build-up mean Konoha has to intervene?

Minato was gifted, with great intuition and a sharp sense for battle. Most importantly, he was humble enough to ask questions whenever he was uncertain, a trait Jiraiya greatly appreciated.

This was a student worth having, Jiraiya thought.

And beyond that, there was the possibility that Minato was the "Chosen One" prophesied by the Toad Sage.

Because of this, Jiraiya took special care in teaching Minato, giving him even more attention than he did the other students.