Chapter 27: A Simple Objective?

As the day was just beginning, Akeno faced a new problem.

In front of Fang Qin, the branch master, Akeno and Kaede stood in a heavy silence.

The old man, stroking his long beard, swept his gaze between Akeno and the young red-haired girl, a certain perplexity in his eyes.

Kaede didn't seem in any way starved; her skin was clean with a perfect natural complexion. Moreover, her vivid red hair couldn't go unnoticed.

So the question was, where did she come from?

For the old man, who was used to walking the streets of Hope City and seeing orphans begging in the streets, it was clear she didn't come from this city, or the streets.

She looked more like a little princess than a beggar.

"And I imagine she has an uncommon name... Right?" Fang Qin asked.

"She's called Kaede," Akeno replied hesitantly.

Rolling his eyes, Fang Qin took a deep breath and then accepted the new ward into the sect.

After all, at this point...

And one thing was certain, the children Akeno brought back were not just anyone.

Fang Qin had also seen Chikara and Izaya's duels in the training courtyard. For most observers watching their duels, they would see two young children with a level of talent that could be considered genius. But for the more observant like Fang Qin, it was evident that these two children were holding back significantly in their duels.

Why?

What were their true strengths?

Where did they come from?

But for Fang Qin, the real question was, who was Akeno? This young boy who seemed to be following a path perfectly laid out by himself. Since he had seen him pass through the entrance, he was sure, this Akeno had a plan in mind, and not a small one.

After Akeno and Kaede retired to join the others, Fang Qin gave a faint smile, eager to see the future these young people seemed to be writing...

...

Returning to the courtyard, Chikara and Izaya were still training under the watchful eyes of the other children. Their blows were becoming more precise with each encounter; their evolutions were for the most part evidence of monstrous talent.

For Akeno, their performances were both obvious and a very pleasant surprise.

Nothing less than the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga clan in action.

But that wouldn't be enough for what lay ahead. They were still unable to use the ambient Qi for their cultivation.

If this continued, the arrival of the clans from the world of Naruto would mean nothing to the elites of this world. Without Qi, except by reaching the same level of power as legends like Madara Uchiha in his prime, one certainly could not qualify as a hegemon of this world.

The armies of the different empires could count in the millions, and the various cultivators at the top could easily destroy entire landscapes during their battles.

But if he, Akeno, could produce Chakra while also following the path of Qi, then it shouldn't be impossible for his young brothers to do the same.

Unfortunately, for now, after a night of healing from his minor injuries, even with finally having a chakra circulation system, he didn't have a drop of that energy.

Chakra is the combination of physical energy and spiritual energy. The limit of a shinobi's chakra reserves is mainly related to their lineage, their DNA, and their spirit.

But for a cultivator like him, who had a body that was strengthened and evolved to a higher level of life, chakra shouldn't be a problem as long as he had everything he needed in his body to produce it.

This meant that something must be missing for him not to automatically have it after a night of meditation and sleep.

But what was he missing?

Would it be impossible to mix the powers of two different worlds in a human body?

That was out of the question!

There had to be something else!

Something he hadn't thought of, something he had missed.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki had traveled the world to share this energy that was supposed to bind men together. The problem was how he had done it...

Setting aside his problems for later, he headed towards Chikara and Izaya with Kaede, interrupting their training.

"Chikara, Izaya, you can stop. I hope you still have enough strength for another training session," Akeno said with a slight smile.

Izaya, who still seemed cold, was becoming increasingly tired of having to hold back. "If the training consists of continuing to waste time in such weak fights, I think I can skip my turn..."

Beside him, Chikara didn't really show it, but he too was getting tired of these duels.

Akeno was well aware that they wanted much more than this kind of practice without chakra.

"It's time to see what you're really capable of. Follow me."

By limiting themselves and not using their ninjutsu and their true combat techniques, they could start to rust. That wasn't the goal when they arrived in this world.

Akeno thought about showing them a real challenge to overcome. Himself.

After spending so much time in this world, Chikara and Izaya had never pushed themselves to 100% in their fights, and for lack of opponents their size, they had never needed to.

The young children with them had not made much progress in the path of cultivation, and their techniques, while interesting, lacked compared to their knowledge of techniques learned in their clans.

It was time to show them the difference between cultivators and ninjas.

Passing through the courtyard and the corridors of the sect's building, exiting through the front door, and crossing the streets of Hope City, the small group left the city to arrive at the edge of the forest.

The goal was to train, but not to show others their capabilities.

Gradually venturing into the forest, the noise of birds and wind became the only thing that could be heard.

After about ten minutes of walking in the shadow of the trees, Akeno found a suitable location to start. A few trees, very little grass, a pile of branches on the ground, a fairly clear view of the sky, and a silence marking the absence of any strangers.

"Perfect, we can start." Drawing his sword, Akeno looked at the three children following him with an undisguised smile. "Now, I'm going to give you a very simple objective, and you'll have until dawn to accomplish it."

Sensing his younger brothers' diverse moods, Akeno continued: "You can use all your strength, all your techniques, you have carte blanche."

While Izaya was skeptical, Chikara and Kaede felt more than ready for any challenge.

Chikara and Izaya had their tanto and kunai that they had kept when transported to this world, while Kaede only had her fists and her chakra.

"And what is the objective? To defeat you?" Izaya asked.

Izaya was curious about Akeno's strength and the real difference between their way of fighting and that of cultivators. But although he was looking forward to fighting, his face remained impassive as always.

Unlike Kaede, who wanted more than anything to fight. "Yeah! I'll give a hundred percent and show you what the legendary Kaede Uzumaki is capable of!"

With a loud and enthusiastic voice, Kaede couldn't wait to dive into the fight headfirst.

Since her fight against the Uchiha girl the previous day, her fists had been itching impatiently. As if due to a lack.

Perhaps she was really a combat addict...

And her excitement did not go unnoticed by her two companions at her side.

Even Chikara felt overshadowed by her excitement.

"No, I'm not so cruel as to give you such an unattainable objective." With a smile that was both kind and nostalgic, he took two bells out of his pocket and presented them to the group. "You just have to retrieve them," Akeno said, his smile growing.

...

As the young ninjas prepared for a more than grueling training session, in the famous tower of Hope City, a man of rich and powerful appearance sat on a chair in front of a sumptuous buffet.

Facing him, a man dressed in black, concealing his face under a hood, seemed impatient. "Mr. Mayor, why did you summon me?"

While the mayor continued to hold a list in his hand, without looking at the man in black, he took a bite of meat from the table and swallowed it without restraint.

After several seconds of chewing the tender flesh in his mouth, the mayor finally turned his gaze and spoke in a grave voice. "You should know that we record all cases of disappearance in this city? Even the vermin that lurk in our alleys?"

Standing up from his chair, the mayor threw the list to the other man with a brisk gesture and continued, his tone increasingly annoyed. "So why do you think I wouldn't notice the increase in your captures!?"

Suddenly, a colossal pressure emanated from the mayor's body.

Feeling the aura of a master in the seventh level of cultivation, the Harmony of Qi and Body, the man lost his balance and knelt on the floor.

Struggling to breathe, the man lost all calmness and struggled to take deep breaths. He clung to the floor, his fingers leaving marks on the wooden parquet of the dining room.

The sound of breathing echoed in the room, each inhalation becoming increasingly laborious. His eyes, filled with panic, seemed to beg the mayor who looked at him without any pity.

After a few minutes of suffocating in place, the pressure suddenly disappeared, as if it had never existed.

"hah... hah" greedily taking in air into his lungs, the man in black couldn't help but tremble. Doing his best to hide his anger under his hood, he hastened to calm the mayor.

"We'll pay you! We don't intend to break our deal. All the extra captures this month will be paid as promised."

Sitting back in his place, the mayor contemplated the man's fear with an undisguised smile.

"You better. Remember, Hope City is primarily my playground, not yours..."