Chapter 15

A longer chapter because I haven't updated in a while. I'm not at home so writing is a little difficult but I'll manage. If there are any glaring grammar mistakes or something else, I hope you will let me know. Have a nice day or evening or morning or whatever!

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"So that's what you were worried about," he said. "You can go with the caravan if you want to but I can take you there too, it won't be an issue at all."

"Really? I live around 50 kilometers north of here, in Oyasu Town. It would take at least 2 days of walking and I didn't exactly bring any camping gear with me. How are you going to take me?" She questioned.

"Ahh Oyasu Town. I do have a few options, we could have a nice camping trip for a few days, the forests around this area are really beautiful after all," he said. "Orr- I could just teleport there with you."

"Stop joking around," she said. "I know shinobi are stronger than us normal people but there's no way they can teleport. I know that much."

"Aya dear, you have to stop underestimating me, there aren't too many things that I cannot do."

"Prove it then."

"Well, I suggest you put on clothes first, unless, of course, you want to be seen like that," Shibai said, looking at her form, covered only by her bra and panties.

She got dressed and got ready for whatever 'magic trick' Shibai had in his sleeve. He put his hand up in the air in front of him for theatrics and executed a couple of hand signs, then a round green door opened before their eyes. It revealed a weird green space that would supposedly teleport them. Aya still looked skeptical, this didn't prove anything yet.

"Go ahead, step inside. It should lead to just outside Oyasu Town. Or do you want me to go first?"

"No! I'll do it. Uhh, do I need to do anything or just go in it?"

"Just step inside, I'll come right after you."

So she did. Aya walked through the door with a hesitant expression fearing the worst. And instead of her morbid worries about crushing to death or disappearing from existence happening, she was now standing outside the familiar village she has spent most of her life in, Oyasu Town. Shibai arrived right after her.

"Cool right? No need to make a 2-day trip when you can just teleport right where you want to go," he laughed.

Aya just turned to look at him, slowly processing the fact that she just traveled close to 50 kilometers in an instant. "Is this some common knowledge all ninja are taught, instant teleportation?"

"Of course, it isn't. I only know one other person who can do something similar to this but there obviously could be someone I'm not aware of. After all I only know, what I know," he stated as if it was obvious.

"Right… right," she sighed. "I should probably think of you as a big-shot ninja in charge of a famous clan."

"You'd be wrong. I'm just Shibai Kuchiki, not part of any clan and definitely not a big shot considering there are only a few people who know of my existence, My situation growing up was strange, to say the least."

She just accepted Shibai sharing more about himself, and a seed of hope was planted in her mind. Just maybe he could do something to help this town. They entered the town together.

Shibai looked around and all he could see around him were run-down buildings that looked like they would fall apart should a single gust of wind crash against them. She received a few greetings from the people living here, they looked like they had some questions about Shibai but she didn't stop to explain anything. They were nearing the center of the village, the houses were a bit sturdier-looking but nothing to write home about. Still, everyone they had met so far had been nice and happy. Obviously, it goes deeper than that but there was still something incredible about people maintaining a good outlook on life despite being dealt such a shitty hand.

"We're here, this is where I live," she interrupted his thoughts.

He started paying attention to his surroundings again and found that they had arrived before a building larger than the rest but he wouldn't exactly call it to be in good condition. He directed his senses inside the building and found many different chakra signatures, most of which he presumed were children.

"You run an orphanage?"

A warm smile spread across her face. "I do. Well- it's not just me, it's me and the other volunteers who wanted to help," she said. "The recent attacks on Oyasu Town have resulted in lots of kids being orphaned. I couldn't bear seeing these children on the streets so I, along with a few others, founded the orphanage with the money from our own pockets."

Shibai was really impressed with her behavior, she was obviously the type of person to put others' needs above her own. That was exactly the opposite of who he was but that didn't mean he wasn't supportive of her good deeds.

"Should we go see them then? I'm sure they miss you already."

She just nodded and proceeded to open the door. The moment they stepped inside the building they were swarmed by kids of all ages and sizes.

"Ayaaaaa!!!" They all shouted in synchronicity. Some went to hug her legs and some reached to her waist. A big group hug commenced where she tried to give her attention to everyone. After separating, one of the older kids asked:

"Weren't you supposed to come back a few days later?"

"I was but I met someone who gave me a faster ride."

Now for the first time, they noticed Shibai with her. Some of the older girls blushed seeing him and some of the boys looked defensive.

"Ooh Aya did you get a boyfriend on the trip?" One girl tried teasing her.

He decided to play along and wrapped his hand around her waist. "That's right, Aya here is my beautiful girlfriend."

An uproar erupted from that statement. "What?! You can't do that, I will marry Aya when I grow up!" A kid who looked around 8 or 9 said.

That made Shibai chuckle. "I was just kidding lad, I'm sure you will get a chance in the future."

This seemed to appease him a little. "Hmph fine then," he turned his head to the side in a pout but still gave him the side eye to try and see if he would do anything suspicious.

After spending some time with Aya, the kids, and the other matrons he had already come to a conclusion. He would take these people with him to Tanigakure and they would become the first residents of his village. Although this would have to be postponed because there wasn't really anywhere to live besides his own home and there wasn't much to eat either. Everything would have to be built from the ground up. He would first see if the rewards from the first task would provide something useful for the founding of the village. If not, he could just ask Hashirama for help in building some basic settlements for people to live in or hire construction workers. He could find a way to provide them with food until they became fully self-sufficient.

The kids had calmed down and he was alone with Aya again, she tried to hide her expectant expression on her face but something like that couldn't escape Shibai's senses.

"So," she started. "What do you think about my hometown, Shibai?"

"It's lively here. The kids seem to have infinite energy despite their circumstances."

"Sooo…"

"It's fine, you aren't being selfish Aya. If I knew that someone could help me in a situation like this, then I would take the chance too."

"Even if we've only known each other for a day?"

"That's right, it's not wrong to wish for a better life for yourself and those you care about."

"Can you help us?" She was trying her best to stop herself from crying and appearing weak but her eyes still got wet.

Shibai squeezed her hand tight. "Of course, I can," he said. "Can you bring me to the town leader?"

She just nodded her head up and down and started running with Shibai in tow. Soon they arrived at a nicer-looking house where the town leader apparently resided. Aya banged her fist on the door.

"Hato! I have great news, open the door."

A man that looked to be in his sixties or seventies opened the door, his stature was tall and he looked strong, at least compared to a regular civilian. Of course, if he actually was really strong, they wouldn't be having these problems in the first place.

"Oh it's you Aya-girl. What is it? Did you come to tell me about your new boyfriend, you seem to change those faster than your socks." She looked at Shibai with an apologetic expression.

"Uhh-" she started but Shibai saved her from the awkwardness.

"Nothing like that old man, my name is Shibai Kuchiki and I'm the leader of Tanigakure."

"Tanigakure? Never heard of it, I've only heard rumors about Konohagakure and Iwagakure.

Aya looked shocked at the fact that Shibai was apparently a village leader. She hadn't heard of a Tanigakure either though.

"You couldn't have heard of it yet. There aren't any residents other than me, but it's destined to be the greatest shinobi village to ever exist."

Old man Hato couldn't see anything other than utter confidence after those words. "What makes you so confident about that, haven't you heard of Konoha? The two clans that make up the village at the moment are the Uchiha and the Senju. Hashirama and Madara are rumored to be the strongest men in the world," he pressed Shibai.

"You said it yourself old man, they are rumored to be the strongest. Those rumors would be shut down immediately if they heard about the beating I gave Hashirama earlier," he laughed loudly.

"As if I would believe that," he said in indignation.

"Well, it doesn't really matter right now. I've come to you with a proposition."

"And? What is it, boy?"

"I invite everyone in Oyasu Town to become the first residents of Tani."

"If you were speaking the truth, it would certainly be better than here," Hato said. "Let's see if you're trustworthy then."

The man charged at full speed toward Shibai. He enhanced his muscles with chakra, making him hit stronger and move faster, although it looked like he did it mostly unconsciously. Aya found it hard to track him, obviously, it wasn't the same for Shibai. He ran in a straight line and lined up an uppercut on Shibai's face. When it was close to his face, he just raised his hand up and caught the fist in.

"Ohh you are rather sporty for a man your age."

The old man sighed. "I can safely conclude that you are stronger than me at least. Though I don't know if it's much of an achievement these days," he said. "Why would you invite us though? If I don't get valid reasons, then I will decline your offer."

"Sure sure, just two simple reasons. One, Aya's precious people live here and two, we need workforce in Tani. Those who aren't fit for the shinobi lifestyle can work in different professions like the farming industry to provide food for everyone. There will also be an academy in the future for nurturing the youth to become the best they can be. And there, anyone can flourish, even if they aren't filled with talent at the moment."

"That's reasonable, I don't have any negotiating power here because honestly, almost anything would be better than to live here. We've been attacked many times during the last few months because of our central location and the fact that we don't have that many strong fighters. If we could have moved, we would've. It's just that we don't have anywhere to go."

"Don't worry old man, I can get your people up in Tani easily and there's no need to travel long distances by foot. I can show that to you later."

"So Shibai, where's this ´Tani´ located?"

"Oh, it's in the Andeyas mountains in Eastern Land of Fire, just a few thousand meters up from sea level."

Hato paled immediately. "Are you sure that's the best place to start a village?" He asked nervously.

"Like I said old man, I've got it all figured out. Are you happy with this Aya, will you come to miss this place?"

"I'm fine with leaving this place especially when the thing that makes it special is the people, not the location," she said "I'm still coping with the fact that you claim to be stronger than Hashirama, the strongest person to ever live. You've never lied to me but surely you can't expect me to believe something like that."

"You can believe whatever you wish, I don't mind."

Then Hato entered the conversation again. "When will you start moving us to Tani?" He asked. "I'll have to at least notify the people so they can take whatever they wish with them."

"There's no hurry yet, in fact, there isn't a single house in Tani aside from my own at the moment. So you'll have to wait for a while."

In Hato's opinion, the leader of the village he was about to join was a little crazy. He wanted to take a few thousand people into his village without even having places to live. Did they even have any food there or would they just starve to death upon arriving? He wanted the best for everyone in Oyasu Town and he had decided to trust this guy he just met. Well, at least he had the trust of Aya-girl but you should never take that too seriously.

"I can give you a quick tour now of Tani if you aren't busy."

"What do you mean quick? How long will it take to arrive there?"

"It won't take any time," he said and created a door in front of the trio and pushed Hato in. "Want to come see it too Aya?"

"Let's go. This time I won't be scared of the door anymore."

When they arrived at Tani there was an old man on the ground on all fours.

"What happened Hato, all good?"

"Wh- what was that?!" he shouted. "Did I just teleport?"

"Hmm, oh yeah that was the fastest way to get here."

Aya just smiled, having already experienced Shibai's abnormal ways. He showed them his place, the academy, and the surrounding areas and they both agreed that this was a nice place to live in. There was plenty of space to go around and lots of drinkable water and possible food to cultivate.

"This place would indeed be great for us, I haven't heard of mountain bandits that go 3000 meters up in the air. At least those won't be a bother anymore."

"Well let's get back for now. I'll think of a system to keep you safe for now while you wait for this place to become more livable."