Chapter 14

One of the best things about being a shinobi was not having to use transportation means. You are that fast.

But one of the worst things about being a Shinobi was being under Danzo's radar.

'Luckily, I got the powers of a Sensory Shinobi,' he thought.

The good thing about being a sensory shinobi was the ability to locate people miles away and know where they were if you were familiar with their chakra signature. The element of surprise would barely work against him, unless the one he'd be facing had the ability to hide their chakra signature or were using special seals to hide it. Other than that, he would be fine previewing the coming danger.

Kuzo stopped at a flower field, and he looked at a mountain range in front of him.

One way should lead to Tsuchigomo Village, and one should lead to Tsuchigomo's clan leader, En No Gyoja, the friend of the Hokage.

Kuzo had heard about that name in his previous life, and only now he could remember what kind of shinobi En No Gyoja was.

He was someone who could develop an explosion technique that could annihilate a whole village from existence. It was a technique that could be said to have the power to tip the Ninja War result.

That jutsu, despite not having risks on the user, was classified as a kinjutsu by the 3rd Hokage, who had made a deal with En No Gyoja.

'And that person should die a year before Shippuden starts. So it means that I can stay with him more or less than one year.'

'How did I end up in this position again?'

Kuzo rubbed the back of his head. He was raising his guard to see if there were no shinobi from Danzo's lackeys chasing him. Even with the word of the 3rd Hokage, he didn't trust Danzo.

Kuzo stopped in front of a large flower field. He had a blank look on his face when he stopped.

'Danzo.'

He couldn't get that out of his head.

He thought about him even when he reached this nice place.

It was his stupid, silly mistake of testing jutsu randomly that led to that point.

If he hadn't, he would have stayed in the village, and no one would have found out about his gift.

But because curiosity got the best of him, he had lost a place that he could call home.

No more people cooking for him. To Kuzo, he lost a more important element, the sense of familiarity and security that Konoha gave him. He no longer felt safe.

'But again, he could find out about other jutsus from the start, so even if I didn't test it, I would have raised fingers at me.'

He sat down. 'In that case, I'm going to devour all of the power in this world and ascend to the level that no one can touch me.'

That had been his goal from the start. But now, he had a motivation to achieve it faster.

Kuzo felt a small chakra signature approaching his location. Around it were a bit higher chakra signatures. Four genins or so.

Since it wasn't his business, he stretched his arms up and looked around. 'I should be looking for that mountain. I don't know how to get through it, but the Hokage should have sent a letter to that old man to expect me, right?'

Kuzo turned his head. A young short girl, around his age or younger by a year, was running. She was blonde, had green eyes, and she wore a female ninja attire. Except that she seemed to be untaught in ninja arts.

'Hold on, I recognize her. She should be the granddaughter of En No.'

Kuzo thought as he observed her.

Surrounding her were a few shinobis running, hiding between trees.

She was clueless about them.

The blonde girl stopped when she saw him. After a few seconds of silence, she asked, "You, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"By any chance, are you En No Gyoja's granddaughter?" Kuzo asked. He was quite unsure of his way, and he needed someone's help. Luckily, the help arrived.

"Yes. How do you know my grandpa?" She replied, seeming to be unaware of the danger surrounding her. The ninjas around her didn't seem to have any killing intent toward her, yet not toward him either. They weren't trying to protect her. They were here to collect info.

"I'm from Konoha. I was tasked to meet with your grandfather by Lord 3rd's orders." With one hand, Kuzo pointed to his headband. The other hand reached his pocket and grabbed a few kunais.

"I'm Hotaru." She said. When she saw the kunais, she took a step backward.

"Kuzo of Konoha. By the way, I'm sure your grandfather told you not to wander outside alone."

"I know. But it's too boring to stay at home."

"He has a point though."

With his sensory abilities, he could precisely tell the location of the four shinobis. And with his physical strength, he could fire them with high speed that he got them.

Hotaru turned her face, and she noticed a few people taken down. Two had the kunai pierce their chest, while the others were injured in non-lethal locations. Still, they have taken damage.

They didn't have headbands, yet they wore armors that were made for ninjas.

Hotaru opened her eyes widely.

"These guys were spying on you," Kuzo said. "Bet you left without telling anyone."

"How did you know?" she said.

'It's the oldest cliche in the book.' Kuzo thought.

The two injured ninja stood up and dashed toward him with the intent to kill him. With one hand, he weaved a few signs. As they jumped on him, he took a deep breath and spat a huge fire stream out of his mouth. The fire wrapped them, turning them into ashes.

'The Fire Jutsus of Uchiha are the strongest I've gotten so far, besides those of the Yamanka clan.'

Kuzo reached his pocket and grabbed the scroll.

As he turned to Hotaru, he saw her looking at him with her jaw dropped a bit and eyes wide open.

"You're so strong," she said with admiration in her eyes, not seeming to be bothered by the murderous scene. She was more excited.

"Thanks." Kuzo replied. When he looked at her with his sensory ability, he could tell that she had a huge amount of chakra inside her. It was as if she was born to be a shinobi. But she didn't look like she could use it.

Clan-born ninjas were talented from birth and blessed with an above-average chakra reserve.

'A kunoichi (female-ninja) who is still in the middle of training,' he thought.

He then threw her the scroll and said. "Deliver this to your grandpa, or whosoever. I'll be waiting for him here."

She took the scroll and examined his face for a long time. Then she nodded and said. "Please, wait here."

She then ran away.

Kuzo sat down, and he looked around. Surely, the place of En No Gyoja was hidden by very high seal formations. One could not find it. If the Hokage didn't tell Kuzo that this might be the location, he wouldn't be able to tell.

Kuzo turned his head and looked at the dead bodies of the genins. After absorbing their power, with the basic jutsus they had, he tried to examine if they had their headbands in other places than their forehead. He didn't know to whom they belonged. But he had to give the man who hired them some credit for being a retard. Who in the hell would hire a bunch of genins to spy on En No Gyoja's granddaughter? At least look for a shinobi about Jonin's level.

He sighed. He then lied down on the grass.

A pretty sensation invaded his back.

"God. It's been so long since I've rested my back like that."

Kuzo sighed in relief as he stretched his limbs.

The last couple of days were exhausting. It made him wonder when was the last time his back touched something comfortable. For now, Kuzo felt that life was worth living, and a smile was put on his face.

'Guess when life is so bad, small things like this can make a man happy.'

But when he remembered that he couldn't sleep just yet, a blank expression took over his face. You shouldn't sleep in an open space like this, not without setting traps and alarm in case someone got near. It was basic ninja knowledge.

-x-X-x-

After waiting for a few hours, Hotaru came back with a middle-aged man with short gray hair, a gray mustache, and black eyes.

"Tonbee san, this is the Konoha's shinobi that I've talked to you about." She said.

Kuzo sat up and introduced himself, "Kuzo, nice to meet you."

Tonbee handed Kuzo the scroll back. "So, you're the young man the Hokage asked us to hide."

"Hide? That's a strong word. I'm just staying while doing a mission nearby." Kuzo replied.

"I was just testing you. At any rate, you are our guest. Master En No Gyoja invites you to the fortress."

"Fortress." Kuzo turned his head, yet he could see no near fortress. "It's hidden by a seal-related formation?"

"You can tell as much. Yes, there is a barrier that hides it and stops people from coming," Tonbee said. He then swept the location with his eyes. "Thank you for protecting Hotaru Sama. But I have to ask you, how did you know they were spying around? You're still a genin."

So Tonbee was doubting Kuzo's story. After all, it could be him hiring these ninjas and then killing them to fool the young girl.

"Been promoted recently, just don't like wearing my vest. But if you are curious, I'm a sensory shinobi," replied Kuzo. " If you have doubts about me, I'll be on my way."

"But you can't be doubted, after all, it's the Hokage's Sama stamp on that scroll," said Tonbee. "I just wanted to evaluate your abilities. It will be nice to have a sensory ninja staying with us."

"I won't be a heavy guest." Kuzo assured.

"Please, come with me, master wants to see you." Tonbee said.

Kuzo nodded, stood up, and followed.