On the way to BBQ Q, Feng Zheng thought,
“Hmm, 2 hours of work for 10,000 ryo. If I made Shadow Clones and worked with them instead of my teammates, I’d finish faster. It’s good, but not as fast as selling scrolls. Anyway, getting 2,000 ryo a week is much better than 1,000 ryo a month before. Though it’s not enough for me to make big purchases like I used to.”
“Should I do more Rank D Ninjutsu in a day or two to show I’m earning money through legitimate means… or should I confess my ability to create storage scrolls?”
He thought about it and made a decision.
“No, Renjiro barely gives me any free time now. If I say I’m studying Sealing Technique at night, it’ll be considered suspicious. I should wait until the training under Renjiro is over, or reduce the training time. He is an Elite Jonin, after all. I don’t think Konoha would let him train three Genin for long.”
Lost in thought, he arrived at the restaurant. He went in and ordered. While waiting for his food, he thought,
“This world is really dangerous. Originally, I was just very careful, but now I’m glad I was so cautious and hid most of my abilities. Even without mentioning the many powerful and capable people here, the sheer shamelessness of the people here is shocking.”
“Hiruzen could say those things with a straight face, Renjiro took forty percent of the reward without doing anything, and today’s client sat on the balcony enjoying the children’s suffering… The shamelessness of this world is truly powerful. Their skin is thicker than the Hokage Rock! Enemies will be the same. Sigh, I hope Obito and Nagato follow the script. If they don’t, it will get chaotic.”
His meal arrived. Feng Zheng picked up the meat with tongs and placed it on the charcoal brazier. While waiting for the meat to cook, he thought,
“Well, there’s no point in worrying about these things. Anyway, there’s nothing I can do, so I can only hope everything goes well.”
After thinking this, he turned his attention to his lunch.
---
The next day, after the morning training, Renjiro had another discussion with his team. He said,
“Over the past month, you’ve all made good progress. Next, I’ll talk about how you can further improve.”
The Genin nodded, listening intently.
Renjiro looked at Mieko and said,
“You have enough Ninjutsu now, so you don’t need to learn new Ninjutsu. Just focus on mastering the Ninjutsu you already know, especially Fire Release: Four Technique. Besides Ninjutsu, you also need to learn Genjutsu, so in your free time, please ask your parents or family elders to teach you more Sharingan-based Genjutsu, and continue to train your physical condition. You need to be able to complete the morning exercise while enduring 10% of the Sealing Jutsu pressure.”
Mieko nodded and said,
“Okay, Teacher. I will work hard.”
Then he looked at Feng Zheng and asked,
“Have you decided on the second elemental nature you plan to cultivate?”
Feng Zheng nodded and said,
“Yes, Teacher, I have decided to choose Earth Release as my second elemental nature to cultivate.”
Renjiro nodded and asked,
“Which Ninjutsu do you want to learn? Do you have any ideas?”
Feng Zheng said,
“I have decided to learn Rock Shield Technique, Earth Body Flicker Technique, and Earth Prison Technique.”
Renjiro asked,
“Why?”
Feng Zheng said,
“Rock Shield Technique can provide me with good defense. Earth Body Flicker Technique is a movement Ninjutsu, and Earth Prison Technique can be used to trap enemies or to stabilize myself and my teammates.”
Renjiro thought for a moment and said,
“Rock Shield Technique would be beneficial for you. But why do you want to learn Earth Body Flicker Technique? You already have 2 movement Ninjutsu. And Earth Prison Technique is really too slow to truly trap capable people, so it’s not very useful. Why do you still want to learn it?”
Feng Zheng said,
“I know, but there’s no harm in learning more movement Ninjutsu. Also, escaping underground can provide good defense and stealth. If the enemy doesn’t have sensory abilities, it can also be used for surprise attacks.”
“As for Earth Prison Technique, my main purpose is to distract the enemy, making him constantly pay attention to the ground, especially if I can do this without Hand Seals. I also want to try if I can suppress its Chakra signature to cast it very covertly. If it can temporarily trap an enemy, then he can be subdued.”
Renjiro thought,
“Hmm, another good idea. However, even if he explains it reasonably, learning a third movement Ninjutsu is still a bit of a waste.”
Renjiro nodded and said,
“Okay. Rock Shield Technique can be self-taught. The remaining two will be learned under my supervision. Besides this, you also need to work hard to master the Ninjutsu you already know.”
Finally, Renjiro looked at Hodaka and said,
“Hodaka, your Ninjutsu situation is much better now than before we started training, but it’s still not enough.”
Hodaka nodded, listening intently. Renjiro continued,
“You also need to learn four Earth Release Ninjutsu: Great Rock Throwing Technique, Quicksand Technique, Stone Spear Technique, and Earth Body Flicker Technique. Great Rock Throwing Technique is a mid-range offensive Ninjutsu, Quicksand Technique is a trapping Ninjutsu. Stone Spear Technique is a mid-range Ninjutsu, and Earth Body Flicker Technique is a movement Ninjutsu.”
Hodaka sighed and nodded, having to agree.
Renjiro smiled and then said,
“Don’t worry, these are the only Rank C Ninjutsu I’m forcing you to master. I’ll suggest you learn more later, but the decision is yours. Learning Rank C Ninjutsu will be very helpful for your future.”
“Furthermore, once you master these Earth Release Ninjutsu, you should immediately learn 2 Rank B Earth Release Ninjutsu. The first is Earth Dragon Technique, which will improve your long-range combat ability. The other is Earth Flow Wall Technique, which is one of the best defensive Ninjutsu in existence. They will perfectly complement your Gentle Fist, and then you can fully focus on your Taijutsu.”
Hodaka showed a determined expression and replied,
“Yes, Teacher. I will work hard to master these Ninjutsu.”
Renjiro continued,
“Besides your Ninjutsu and Taijutsu training, I will also focus on training your Genjutsu abilities…”
He wanted to continue, but Hodaka’s expression after hearing this was very interesting. Renjiro chuckled and continued,
“Whether or not to learn Genjutsu, let’s leave that for later. For now, I’ll teach you how to counter Genjutsu.”
Renjiro’s laughter and gaze caught the students’ attention. Feng Zheng and Mieko looked at Hodaka and both laughed.
Renjiro’s training continued. Over the next six weeks, Feng Zheng and Hodaka had mastered all the Ninjutsu and were practicing to master them.
Now, Feng Zheng only needed one Hand Seal to cast all the newly learned Rank C Ninjutsu. Renjiro was much better at guiding Earth Release Ninjutsu than Wind Release Ninjutsu.
