Chapter 112: Zero-Cost Acquisition of chakra metal, Departure
"It's that simple, did you learn it?"
In the backyard, Haruko retracted his hand nonchalantly.
"Brother Haruko... that's too mean..."
"Big Brother, you could at least give us a heads-up!"
Kin and Tayuya protested, covering their endlessly tearing eyes.
Kaede stifled a laugh on the side; she knew exactly who Haruko was targeting.
Ever since Haruko had shown that mischievous grin and started forming hand seals, she had already turned around and covered her eyes.
"Alright, remember how to use the Barrier Ninjutsu you learned today." Haruko looked toward the Hokage Rock, "This type of temporary barrier consumes too much; I'll need to get something more advanced later."
"chakra metal, huh... I'll have to go to Kumogakure and 'borrow' some later..."
He stroked his chin, his eyes flashing with a light known as "zero-cost acquisition."
...
The next day, in the mission hall.
Looking at the mission scroll in his hand, Haruko was completely dumbfounded.
"Are you kidding me, man? It's actually real?"
He had originally just proposed the mission to the Land of Lightning with a "let's see what happens" attitude, but it was approved the same day.
"Let me see... deliver invitations for the joint Chunin Exams to the Hidden Cloud Village? Uh..."
Kumogakure wouldn't participate in the joint Chunin Exams hosted by Konoha, and the Old Man Third Hokage knew it, but the necessary procedures still had to be followed.
"The mission was approved so quickly, I hope there isn't some trap waiting for me."
Whatever, never mind.
He had to get his hands on the chakra metal as soon as possible; leaving the village through official channels was less trouble than sneaking out.
...
The next morning, at the Konoha Village gate.
Haruko carried his bag, yawning with a sleepy face.
To prepare for this trip last night, he had been uncharacteristically "busy" all night—settling everything that needed to be handled and handing over everything that needed to be turned in.
"Yo, you must be Haruko, right?"
Asuma Sarutobi walked over with a cigarette in his mouth, followed by Kurenai Yuhi—originally, only the two of them were supposed to complete this mission.
"Senior Asuma, Senior Kurenai. Good morning."
Asuma looked Haruko up and down: "Haruko, the Land of Lightning is far away, and we need to march quickly. In your current state..."
"Yawn... I'm fine." Haruko yawned and waved his hand, "If I fall behind, don't wait for me; I'll make my way back to the village on my own."
Kurenai looked at Haruko with a hint of curiosity.
She had heard of this Genin—the young man personally watched by the Third Hokage.
This white hair and lazy demeanor did bear some resemblance to Kakashi. She just didn't know how strong he was.
"Then let's go."
Asuma took the lead and sped off toward the Land of Lightning.
He was determined to test this kid's limits.
The Old Man had bragged about Haruko as if he were miraculous, even calling him a genius who surpassed Kakashi.
But looking at this kid's spineless appearance, he couldn't help but feel that the Old Man was getting senile.
"Kurenai, go a bit faster and see what this kid's limit is." Asuma lowered his voice.
"Is that okay? After all, he only graduated not long ago." Kurenai said, a bit worried.
Asuma realized something was wrong.
He had already increased the pace to a Jonin's travel speed, and Kurenai was even slightly panting, yet Haruko was still following behind them unhurriedly, as if nothing was wrong.
Haruko could certainly have pretended he couldn't keep up, as usual, and had a leisurely trip.
But considering he didn't know how long it would take to get the chakra metal, and he had to return before the Chunin Exams started, it was better to be early rather than late.
"Uh... Senior Asuma, can we go any faster?" Haruko quickened his pace to walk alongside Asuma, "We're going to deliver invitations, not going on an outing."
Asuma slipped, nearly falling from the tree.
Kurenai's eyes widened even further, looking at Haruko as if he were a monster.
...
Night fell, and the three prepared to set up camp.
Asuma used Wind Release to clear an open space, and Kurenai prepared to set up the tent.
Rumble—
The shaking of the ground made them turn around, and they saw Haruko slam his hands onto the ground, causing an Earth House to rise from the earth.
"Hmm, it seems my skills haven't rusted."
Haruko brushed the dirt off his hands and then began using Earth Release to craft furniture and a stove.
"Uh... Haruko? We're here to execute a mission, not for an outing..."
"Oh... then do you want to stay in the tent or in this?"
Half an hour later, the two sat in the Earth House, eating hot food and watching Haruko prepare a "shower room," feeling completely bewildered.
"We are here to execute a mission, right?"
"I think... so?"
Asuma finally understood why the Old Man said this kid was "uncommon."
High-end, it was truly too high-end.
They were supposed to be rushing through the wilderness as if fleeing for their lives, but he had managed to turn it into a vacation.
After Haruko finished building the shower room and saw that the two had finished eating, he approached them.
"Senior Kurenai, I heard you're the best Genjutsu user in Konoha. Could you teach me a trick or two?"
"You're interested in Genjutsu?"
Kurenai was taken aback; this child's physical abilities were stronger than hers, and his Ninjutsu level was quite high, so she hadn't expected him to want to learn Genjutsu too.
Did he want to be a master of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu?
"Yeah. If I encounter customers causing trouble in the shop later, I can just use a Genjutsu to put them to sleep, or when I want to slack off, I can make others think I'm still working hard on my training. How convenient would that be?"
Haruko said matter-of-factly.
"Pfft—" Asuma couldn't hold it in, "That's the first time I've heard such a motivation for training."
Kurenai was silent for a long moment, then finally smiled bitterly: "I can teach you some basic Genjutsu. But before that, I have to test your aptitude for Genjutsu."
"Sure. When do we star... hmm?"
Haruko frowned.
He could feel that his Chakra flow was showing an abnormality.
A foreign Chakra was interfering with his perception.
"Oh my, you noticed it so quickly?"
Kurenai, in front of him, was slightly surprised, "That's right, it has already begun. Try to break free."
"Interesting."
He closed his eyes and began to stir the Chakra within his body.
The next second—
The space shattered like glass.
Kurenai was stunned.
Three seconds.
Although she hadn't used her full power, it only took three seconds from when she cast the Genjutsu to when Haruko dispelled it.
Haruko already possessed a large amount of Chakra, so it wasn't easy to make him fall into a Genjutsu.
When he realized he was under a Genjutsu and began to consciously disrupt his own Chakra, he broke free from her control instantly.
"Senior Kurenai, did I pass?" Haruko asked.
"...You passed. And you passed beautifully."
Kurenai nodded, a flash of excitement in her eyes.
"Haruko, starting tomorrow, I will officially teach you Genjutsu."
Haruko thanked her, feeling a bit floaty inside.
'Is that it? Is this Konoha's best Genjutsu?"
Although he knew Kurenai must have gone easy on him, he hadn't used his real strength either, let alone his countermeasures against Genjutsu.
He had no choice; his hypothetical enemies for Genjutsu were the Sound Four.
It was a pity that theirs was Kekkei Genkai Genjutsu, which he couldn't learn. Kurenai was already the ceiling for Genjutsu among ordinary people.
'After learning Genjutsu, it will be even more convenient when I encounter trouble in the future."
Just like those Grass ninja from before; I could just put them down with a Genjutsu, then do whatever I need to do.
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