Chapter 19: A Promise and a Breakfast
"Instant!"
Switching his pupil technique in a flash, Ryouma teleported to Vulture's side.
"What... he broke my genjutsu?!" Vulture's face was a mask of horror. His proudest skill, the one that had earned him the moniker "Desert Mirage," was his A-Rank genjutsu, Mirage. Countless skilled ninja had fallen to it.
Yet now, a boy who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen had shattered it in an instant. He felt a deep humiliation, but more than that, a profound disbelief.
Teleportation... breaking my illusion in a blink... Just who is this kid?
Vulture turned the question over in his mind but still couldn't bring himself to classify Ryouma as a top-tier threat. The boy's attacks couldn't even pierce his Sand Armor. A ninja without a truly powerful offensive ninjutsu was manageable.
His mind made up, Vulture's hands flew into a sequence of seals. But as he prepared to launch his attack, he found Ryouma had vanished again.
Damn that teleportation! Where did he go this time?!
"Fei'er... I'll avenge you. Great Ball Rasengan!" Ryouma's voice rang out as he materialized directly behind Vulture. The massive amber sphere of chakra formed instantly in his hand and he slammed it toward the jōnin's back.
"What?! Behind me?!" Vulture sensed the terrifying energy and whirled around, only to see the enormous golden chakra sphere engulfing his vision.
BOOM! ! !
The moment the Great Ball Rasengan made contact, Vulture's Sand Armor disintegrated into nothingness. The technique swallowed him whole. A violent explosion followed, and Vulture's body was utterly obliterated, torn apart and reduced to dust.
Ryouma stared blankly at the spot where Vulture had been. This was the first jōnin he had killed with his own hands, but he felt no sense of triumph.
He teleported back to Fei'er's side. Whether it was from completely exhausting his Divine Power or the overwhelming grief in his heart, his hands trembled violently. It took several deep, shuddering breaths before he could steady them enough to carefully separate the long blade from Fei'er's body. He gently touched her cold, peaceful cheek, and silent tears fell onto the grass below.
"Because living is painful..."
"Big brother, are you in pain...?"
"Big brother... why did you save me...?"
"Big brother... how am I supposed to live from now on...?"
"Big brother, this flower is for you. And... my name is Fei'er. Remember my name."
Fei'er... I will never forget you. Please don't forget your big brother, either.
"Among the exchangeable items, there are resurrection skills."
Suddenly, the system's grand, emotionless voice echoed in Ryouma's mind.
"What?" Ryouma frowned, confused. Why was the system telling him this now?
The system offered no further explanation.
He frantically searched through the list of skills in his mind and found the category for resurrection techniques. But it was grayed out, displaying: Insufficient Authority. Unable to Access.
"How many Almighty Points do I need to get higher-level permissions?!" Ryouma demanded, his voice cracking with a mix of anger and desperate hope.
This time, the system replied immediately. "An additional 3000 Almighty Points are required."
The answer sent a fresh wave of despair crashing over him, threatening to drown the brief hope he'd felt.
Three thousand Almighty Points? You might as well just kill me now!
But... the rewards from missions should keep increasing. In that case, 3000 points isn't impossibly far away. Maybe ten more missions?
And given my current strength, passing the Chūnin Exams shouldn't be a big problem.
With a new goal solidifying in his mind, Ryouma felt a surge of grim determination. He looked down at Fei'er's body, managed a small, pained smile, then carefully lifted her onto his back and began running toward the spot where he'd left Hinata and Kiba.
When Ryouma arrived with the body on his back, both Hinata and Kiba were shocked. When they saw it was the little girl from before and that she was dead, their surprise turned to horror.
The wait felt interminable. Ryouma's team waited from around 10 a.m. until the sun was nearly setting, but their sensei still hadn't come to the designated meeting spot.
Ryouma was so frustrated he seriously considered going back to the Land of Tea, finding Jiraiya, plastering a Great Ball Rasengan to his face, and asking him if he'd gotten so distracted peeping at women's baths that he'd forgotten his actual responsibilities.
Fortunately, just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, Kurenai finally arrived.
"This is..." Kurenai looked at Fei'er's body in surprise, then at Ryouma. "Lord Jiraiya told me you left with the Blood Gate's leader, but now..."
"She was ambushed by a Sunagakure jōnin..." Ryouma explained haltingly. "He killed Fei'er... but I dealt with him."
Kurenai nodded slowly, murmuring, "So her name was Fei'er..."
"I see. But why didn't you bury her? Why bring her with you?" Kurenai asked, confused by Ryouma's actions.
"I was hoping you could seal Fei'er's body for me, Sensei," Ryouma said, his voice firm. "I want to find out if there's any ninjutsu that can resurrect the dead. If Fei'er's body is needed for that..."
Kurenai pondered this. While she found Ryouma's idea rather far-fetched, it was clear he had formed an unusual bond with the Blood Gate leader named Fei'er. Finally, she took out a sealing scroll and carefully sealed Fei'er's body inside, handing it to Ryouma.
Ryouma accepted it with a grateful nod. "What are our orders now, Sensei?"
Kurenai scratched her head. "This mission is considered complete. If you're not too tired, we'll return to the village overnight!"
"Yes, Sensei!" the three of them chorused.
After traveling through the night, Kurenai and her team arrived back in Konoha at 3 a.m.
They disbanded and headed to their respective homes, agreeing to meet at the usual place at noon the next day.
The next morning.
Knock, knock, knock...
"Ryouma-nii, it's almost time. Are you up?" Hinata's pleasant voice accompanied the knocking on his door.
"Ah..." Ryouma forced his eyes open with difficulty. Hearing Hinata outside, he grunted an acknowledgment and glanced at the clock. It read 11:40.
"Ah!" He jolted upright, startled by the time, and scrambled out of bed to throw on his clothes and splash water on his face.
He opened the door to find Hinata, who had been waiting patiently. She didn't seem upset at all. She looked at him with a soft smile. "Ryouma-nii must have been very tired yesterday, right?"
"Oh... N-no! My stamina is great!" Ryouma declared, patting his chest confidently.
Grumble...
A distinctly un-confident sound emanated from his stomach. Ryouma rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
Hinata giggled softly, then held out a small bag. "I thought Ryouma-nii might be hungry, so I brought you breakfast!"