area51novel Chapter 3 Witnessing the Reality of the World
Chapter 3 Witnessing the Reality of the World
Chapter 3 Witnessing the Reality of the World
The next day, when Konan found Shiba Kiyokawa, the latter was diligently training in the only training ground at the Akatsuki's base.
Over the past few months, the instinct for survival has maximized Shiba Kiyokawa's self-discipline and diligence.
Since receiving the first reward from the system and becoming a true ninja, Shiba Kiyokawa has never relaxed his training for a single day.
When he wasn't on missions, he often spent the whole day at the training grounds of the base.
There was no other way; cultivation might be very difficult for him, but not cultivating would truly mean death...
Hard work pays off. In the past few months, he has made rapid progress. He has not only mastered and integrated the basic physical and sword techniques rewarded by the system, but also learned several water and lightning ninjutsu techniques through exchanges within the organization.
Watching Shiba Kiyokawa, whose stance was steady and whose movements—moving, wielding his sword, retreating, and roaming—were becoming increasingly free, Konan couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
"You've improved again, Qinghe."
She praised him sincerely.
Why can't such hardworking, ambitious, intelligent, and capable members understand our ideals? At the same time, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
"You flatter me, Sister Xiao Nan. What can I do for you?"
Shiba Kiyokawa estimated that he was about the same age as Minami, but since they were both orphans, they did not know each other's exact birthdays, so they could not determine the exact age relationship.
Since Shiba Kiyokawa was willing to call her "older sister," Konan didn't refuse.
"Kiyokawa, Yahiko has assigned other tasks to your team members. I'll be your partner for the next few days."
Shiba Kiyokazu immediately smiled.
"So, is it your turn to be my mediator, Sister Xiao Nan?"
"..."
Xiao Nan, whose intentions had been seen through at a glance, turned her head away in slight embarrassment, and unconsciously reached behind her ear to touch the paper flower at her temple.
The gesture, performed by fourteen-year-old Xiao Nan, appeared surprisingly charming and adorable, possessing a unique allure.
Shiba Kiyokawa deliberately paused for a moment, admiring Konan's slightly flushed profile for a while, before continuing.
"Tell me, what's the next task you're going to assign me?"
Xiao Nan tilted her head and said, "Aren't you angry, Qinghe? Your squad was transferred away so suddenly."
What's there to be angry about? You're far more valuable than them! You have no idea of your own worth, Sister Xiao Nan!
Shiba Kiyokawa was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was very satisfied with Yahiko's arrangement.
Because he knew very well that whether he planned to change the Akatsuki organization or usurp its power, breaking up the trio of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato was a crucial step!
The others were just extras. If they followed the predetermined fate, all the members of the Akatsuki organization in the early stages would die in the purge orchestrated by Hanzo and Danzo.
Only Konan and Nagato possessed astonishing potential, enabling them to survive and gradually grow into Kage-level powerhouses!
You think you're here to persuade me, but little do you know you're my real prey.
Sister Xiao Nan, I've been planning for a while now how to show you the adult world!
"It's an honor to work with you on this mission, Sister Xiao Nan."
"...There's no need to flatter me like that. Let's talk about the mission first."
After Konan's explanation, Shiba Kiyokawa roughly understood.
Their main purpose for this trip was to investigate a merchant from the Rain Country named Ando.
Ando runs a business in a small town not far from the Akatsuki's base. Not long ago, the Akatsuki repelled a group of wandering ninjas who came to plunder the town and protected it. However, for some reason, Ando did not appreciate the Akatsuki's kindness. Instead, he secretly sabotaged the Akatsuki's purchase of supplies several times.
Recently, some residents of the town even came to report that Ando was secretly hiring ninjas from outside the town and had ulterior motives.
After explaining the task, Xiao Nan sighed and said, "Qinghe, you understand. Yahiko has never been good at handling situations that might cause friction with the neighbors. Moreover, the residents who came to report this time don't have any solid evidence yet, so we will have to rely on your wisdom again."
But please promise me you won't resort to extreme methods this time, okay?
Shiba Kiyokawa smiled and said, "I will take this mission seriously."
They only said they would take it seriously, but gave no guarantees.
Xiao Nan opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.
Even though she has a gentle yet resilient heart, she is ultimately not very good at verbal sparring.
Not to mention that she is currently facing Shiba Kiyokazu, whose mental age far exceeds his physical age!
Afterwards, Shiba Kiyokawa indeed took the mission very seriously, just as he had promised.
That afternoon, he set off ahead to the town to visit various places, collect samples, and investigate the details.
By evening, Shiba Kiyokawa had actually made a basic judgment about the whole situation.
If his only goal was to complete the mission, he could have already started to close the net at this point.
But he clearly wanted more than that!
Taking advantage of this perfect opportunity, he plans to open Xiao Nan's eyes and let her see the truth of this world!
So he deliberately concealed his investigation results, and for the next few days he continued to take Xiao Nan around, pretending to conduct a search.
It gave the task objectives ample time to let loose and enjoy themselves.
In order to not waste time while acting and to distract Konan so that she wouldn't notice anything amiss, Shiba Kiyokawa had been constantly looking for opportunities to ask Konan questions about ninjutsu these past few days.
"Sister Xiaonan, how do you allocate chakra when you use the Shadow Clone Technique? Do you use paper clones? It's okay, even if I can't learn your bloodline limit, I can still refer to your operating techniques."
"Sister Xiaonan, do you have any special techniques for throwing paper shuriken? Hiding explosive tags? That's a good idea, why do you tell me not to learn it? Is it too insidious? No, I think it's great, such an artistic technique."
"Sister Xiao Nan, how do you manipulate the airflow when you're flying?"
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Minami never found a single opportunity to convince Shiba Kiyokawa of their dream, not even once...
Instead, she found herself getting closer and closer to Shiba Kiyokawa.
She had become increasingly accustomed to working alongside Shiba Kiyokawa, to his diligence, his willingness to ask questions, his methodical analysis during tasks, and his unhurried and composed thinking.
No one can say for sure who won over whom in this process, or who subtly shifted whose initial impression.
Until this day, Shiba Kiyokawa confirmed through his own secret contact that the restless mission target had finally succeeded in getting in touch with the Iwagakure ninja.
In a sense, this behavior can be seen as a betrayal of the Land of Rain!
The moment he confirmed the news, Shiba Kiyoka couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.
The time for friendship and bonds has come to an end.
It's time to let the naive Konan experience the reality of this ninja world.
(End of this chapter)