Chapter 40 : Back To The Village

After I took care of Geto, the task of bridge building went just fine, without any problems. And of course, my clone killed the guy after grabbing all the money from him.

Fun fact: the man actually arranged a little trap for the clone, but with the help of Genjutsu, it was all rendered useless.

Now I never have to worry about money again. Interesting, right?

Anyway, the mission was finally done, and we returned to Konoha. Many other things happened, but nothing worth mentioning.

The journey back to the village was uneventful—nothing as exciting as when we were heading to the Wave.

The casual banter with Team 8 was actually something I enjoyed, but I knew it was time for me to get back to my daily training.

Training outside was hard; there were many things I had to be aware of. But in the village, it's much better. Then again, seeing how Danzo might be showing some interest in me, even the village is no longer safe.

...

"It seems like you have a knack for getting involved in complicated missions, Shika." After Hiruzen learned everything that happened on the mission, he couldn't help but frown. Then he turned to me and said this.

I knew this particular one was going to be hard, but the others... honestly, what luck do I have?

What could I say after hearing that from the Hokage? I just sighed in front of the others and muttered, "Troublesome," in true Nara style.

"So you were able to use Fuinjutsu to remove the Hidden Mist technique used by Zabuza and then use it against him. Later, you were also able to recreate Zabuza's Hidden Mist technique and kill more than 50 thugs with the help of your contracted divine dogs," Hiruzen asked, showing a little interest.

"Hmm, more or less," I replied. I honestly didn't want to say this to him, but Kurenai was the one speaking.

Sigh.

"Hmm, you did well, my boy. All of you did really well. Take some time off and relax," Hiruzen replied and let the genin go. But apparently, he wanted to talk to Kurenai about something.

Now I really wanted to hear what he couldn't talk about with the genin around, but that was too much trouble, which I'd rather not have.

After coming back, I didn't go anywhere and rested for two days straight. Training is good and all, but resting is also important.

Finally, after two days of lazing around, I was ready to start my grind again.

Almost the entire time while I was in the Wave, I was working hard, learning healing with the help of the round deer's reverse curse technique and water-style nature transformation, which I learned from Zabuza.

Both were huge successes, to my happiness, though I am still not as good as I would like to be. I only know one water technique, and my healing is still poor. I can heal, but just barely, and it requires a huge degree of focus. My medical knowledge is next to nothing.

After all, I am not a doctor and never got training to be one. So if I really want to use my reverse curse technique—which, by the way, could be far superior to any Healing Hands jutsu—I might have a shot at being a strong support class in the future. Maybe I could even get the interest of Tsunade and personally be trained by her. Possible, right?

Well, besides that long-term future prospect, I could actually use medical knowledge as the chunin exams draw near.

I want to participate in the exam; that is the best way to get power-ups. After all, I have to become a chunin to complete another mission from the system and get some good power for myself.

There are other missions, but becoming a chunin is the easiest, besides killing a chunin. But what would I gain from killing a random chunin?

Of course, there are always Naruto and Sasuke, but hell, I'm not going to do that. The world would be screwed if something happened to those idiots, and what if that Sage of Six Paths, a.k.a. super gramps, came after me?

No! I'd rather put all my hard work into becoming a chunin, and to do that, I have to participate in the upcoming chunin exam.

Now, I personally believe that I am more than ready to participate in the chunin exam, but that's only if I can use my shikigami, which of course I can't, at least not in front of others.

This will be an issue if the exam goes like it did in the anime—basically fighting in front of others, gladiator style.

Now technically speaking, the strongest genin in the chunin exams were Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, Neji, and Lee.

So if I want to have a chance to become a chunin, then I have to get strong enough to beat all five of them one-on-one without using my shikigami.

...

"Yeah, what the hell am I going to do?" I can't help but frown after thinking about how far behind I am compared to these geniuses. Without my shikigami, I can't beat them.

Even if I pull off Shikamaru's level of genius strategy, I don't think I can beat them with just my shadow manipulation technique.

"Nah, I need to get stronger. I really need to get stronger to the point where I have a chance to beat all of them.

Hmm...

Okay, let's think about this... Let's start with Sasuke, who is technically the weakest of all of them. He shouldn't have awakened his Sharingan yet, so he shouldn't be that big of a deal. But then again, there's a lot of nonsense that's going to happen around him and Orochimaru.

There is a possibility that if what happens in the anime repeats here, then he may awaken his Sharingan. Since all the fighting happens after the Forest of Death arc, it's most likely that Sasuke might have that seal if he ends up fighting me.

Hmm yeah, maybe calling him the weakest isn't the right choice.

Neji is strong, and out of all the people, he is the most straightforward. As long as I can handle his Gentle Fist, the match is mine. However, that is easier said than done. But out of all the people, he might be the only one who can't break out of the Shadow Possession technique by brute force.

Unlike Naruto and Gaara, who are Jinchuriki, and Lee and Sasuke, who might or might not be able to use power-ups like the Eight Gates and the curse seal, Neji simply can't escape the capture of my Shadow Possession technique.

So as long as I can capture him, the match is over.

Lee is a tough one but at the same time not that hard if I play my cards right. There is a limit to how long he can use the Eight Gates, and being able to dodge him for that short duration shouldn't be that hard. With his personality, I'm sure that if I can hide in shadows, he won't be able to find me.

Even pushing him to the point where he has to use the Gates is going to be a tough challenge.

Gaara, well, I'd rather just give up than fight with that maniac. I seriously need to learn some powerful water jutsu to handle someone like him.

And then, last but not least, the number one most unpredictable ninja.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Honestly, the kid is a wild card. He could be the weakest in the group and at the same time the strongest.

"What am I going to do..."

xxx

I Fully intend to fix all the mistakes you guys point out from now on so please go ahead and tell me in the comments if you guys spot any mistakes, I will be grateful for all your help.

Here is the goal for this Week.

500+ stones for the first bonus chapter on Monday

1000+ Stones for the second bonus chapter on Sunday bonus chapter

"Thank you Very Much for All Your Support"

If you want to read up to 20+ Chapters in advance, check my Patre on

Patreon.com/Kamidemond