Chapter 14: Unexpected

  Ishiro was incredibly excited, and sleep seemed a distant thought. However, after receiving Meisha's approval, he grabbed a small carving knife and some materials, eager to practice a bit more when he got home. Meisha wasn't surprised by Ishiro's enthusiasm—after all, he had mentored many ninjas, and many were initially brimming with curiosity and energy, only to lose that spark once the excitement wore off and the work became routine.

  Ishiro carried his materials home, walking along a path he was very familiar with. He had walked this route countless times, but tonight it was a little ter than usual. As he walked, he reviewed the tips and chakra applications Meisha had given him. He marveled at how simple chakra was described in his previous life. In this world, chakra had such incredible versatility.

  However, as Ishiro continued, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He shivered, wondering why a cold sensation had gripped him on a summer night.

  He looked around but saw nothing out of pce. With ninjas patrolling the vilge, the security was much better than in his past life. There were no thieves in Iwa, at least not like the ones in his old world.

  The vilge was structured like a small circur fortress. Ishiro had quickly adapted to the yout after initially feeling out of pce. Right now, he was walking between two rows of the fortress. There were no lights inside, and it seemed the vilgers were all asleep. The street appeared typical, with only a few rge wooden barrels, used to collect rainwater, pced outside homes. Iwa was not cking in water, but unlike Konoha, it wasn't as convenient to get it, so every house had a rge barrel outside to collect rainwater. This was much like Ishiro's childhood home, where they had a rge water barrel outside.

  Everything appeared normal, but there was still an odd feeling in the air. Ishiro walked a bit further, and that strange sensation grew more intense. Out of curiosity, he retraced his steps to reexamine the situation, and soon, he discovered the anomaly.

  Normally, every house had just one barrel to collect rainwater. A second barrel would be unnecessary since the amount of water collected depended on the roof size. But in front of one particur house, there was both a rge and small barrel. Looking up, Ishiro noticed there was no drainage pipe connected to the smaller barrel.

  This wasn't due to any particur talent of Ishiro's. In fact, ninjutsu school taught him such things, as part of their practical lessons. Learning how to detect irregurities and inconsistencies like this was a standard course. He was also trained in trap-making, tracking, and counter-tracking. With his high mental faculties, Ishiro excelled in these subjects.

  But at that moment, Ishiro was far from pleased with his discovery. This was the ninja world, and unlike his previous life, things weren't peaceful. The unusual detail he had noticed could very well be the work of an enemy ninja. If an intruder ninja from a foreign vilge had infiltrated, what could he do? A ninja who could infiltrate Iwa would most likely be at least a Chuunin!

  His heartbeat quickened as he realized the gravity of the situation. He forced himself to stay calm, pretending to casually turn around and walk back home, thinking to himself, Please don't let anything happen. If I run into a patrolling ninja, I'll warn them immediately.

  But, as if to mock his fears, a faint "pop" sound reached his ears, freezing him in pce.

  With a heavy feeling, Ishiro turned around, only to see the rge barrel had transformed into a person. The stranger wasn't dressed as a ninja, and this only made Ishiro more nervous. If it were a vilger, they wouldn't disguise themselves like this. It could only be a foreign spy. I'm done for.

  The stranger's face was grim, clearly irritated that a child had spotted him. He drew two shuriken and threatened Ishiro, "Tell me how you discovered me, and I'll give you a swift death."

  The threat snapped Ishiro back to his senses. No way out now, I have to stay calm.

  He had chakra, and it wasn't as if he couldn't fight back.

  Ishiro kept his fearful expression in pce while gathering chakra. He maintained a stiff posture and stammered, "I—I'm a student at the Ninja Academy. We learned about this kind of thing in css. You have a fw."

  The stranger, hearing that Ishiro was a student, grew even more determined to kill him. A ninja school student could become a future enemy of their country, and such people had to be eliminated. But when he heard the rest of the sentence, the stranger hesitated and asked, "What fw? If I like your answer, I might let you go."

  Ishiro felt a moment of relief. The dey worked—he's starting to bite.

  Now, holding a rge stack of papers in his arms, Ishiro kept his hands hidden inside them, making sure the stranger couldn't see his movements. He acted as if he was trembling and intentionally caused the papers to rustle, while his hands silently formed the necessary hand seals. At the same time, he said, "The barrels in front of houses in the Land of Earth are used to collect rainwater from the roof. The size of the roof determines the amount of water, so whether you have one or two barrels doesn't matter. That's why we never have two barrels outside the door."

  Ishiro wasn't lying, but he didn't want the stranger to suspect him and attack outright.

  The stranger paused as Ishiro's words sank in, seemingly lost in thought. This was the moment Ishiro had been waiting for. His hands had already completed the st seal.

  Just as Ishiro anticipated, the moment the stranger figured out the fw and rexed, he rushed toward Ishiro, throwing a shuriken aimed at his neck.

  However, to the stranger's surprise, Ishiro's neck didn't spurt blood. Instead, it turned into a puddle of water, quickly spreading out from the center. Ishiro's whole body followed suit, transforming into water.

  The stranger stood in shock. The transformation wasn't something a normal person could do—only members of the vilge's Bloodline Limit cn, the Hozuki cn, could do that. Could this kid be a spy from the Hozuki cn? But how could a child with such a bloodline be sent on a mission?

  Before the stranger could fully process this, he realized that something was off. The process of turning into water wasn't like the Hozuki cn's jutsu at all.

  It was then that Ishiro had already used his Water Substitution technique. While the stranger was distracted by the conversation, Ishiro had created a clone using the water in a nearby rge barrel.

  The two switched pces, both facing away from each other.

  Without hesitation, Ishiro threw a small knife, which he had learned to throw from Goya during their sparring sessions. This knife wasn't the chakra-conducting one, but it was still sharp and designed for scroll-making, so it was deadly enough.

  The stranger, a Chuunin, had excellent reflexes. He wasn't completely caught off guard and managed to sidestep the attack. However, he still couldn't fully evade it. The knife struck the stranger in the left side of his body, puncturing deeply.

  Though it wasn't a fatal blow, the injury left the stranger severely wounded.

  Ishiro didn't turn around for another attack. Instead, he jumped onto the nearby house, gaining higher ground.

  The wounded stranger, though he couldn't retaliate immediately, instinctively began dodging as he moved, expecting further attacks. However, nothing followed.

  The stranger, realizing he was exposed, quickly tried to track Ishiro's movements, but by the time he reached the street, Ishiro was already running towards the center of the vilge.

  Ishiro's shouts for help echoed in the street. The stranger hesitated, considering whether to continue the chase or hide, but quickly decided to pursue. He was wounded, and his only option was to try and take down Ishiro before anyone could stop him.

  But as Ishiro raced ahead, the stranger grew frustrated. With his current injuries, he was slowing down, and Ishiro was gaining distance. Desperate, the stranger formed hand seals, shouting, "Water Style: Water Arrow Jutsu!"