Naruto: From Scratch With a Template System

Chapter 181 181

Shiki was never short on money.

For someone of his level, that was only natural. A shinobi with power that stood above ordinary Kage-level fighters would never have trouble making cash.

And since this trip was supposed to be part mission, part sightseeing, Shiki had no intention of treating himself poorly.

He could have flown the whole way if he wanted to, but traveling by ship gave him a different feeling. Maybe it was influence from the template system, but either way, he did not dislike it.

After stepping onto the ship, Shiki stood quietly on the deck, just about to admire the endless blue sea before him—

—when he suddenly felt someone tug at his sleeve.

"Hm?"

He turned around and looked at Rin curiously.

"Rin, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Rin Nohara turned her face slightly away and looked up at the sky.

"Shiki-sama, the weather's a little gloomy."

Shiki glanced upward as well.

The sky had indeed been overcast for most of their journey. Dark clouds rolled overhead without end, heavy and oppressive.

Rin kept staring at them, her expression unreadable.

"The weather's been bad the whole way here," she said softly. "I miss the sun."

"..."

For a moment, Shiki did not know what to say.

In the end, he could only answer honestly.

"This is the Land of Water. You're probably not seeing much sunlight anytime soon. Just wait until we head back."

"..."

The corner of Rin's mouth twitched faintly, but she said nothing more.

She simply turned and went back to her room to rest, leaving Shiki standing there alone on the deck, watching her retreating figure with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The Land of Water was an island nation surrounded by the sea.

Its isolated geography had protected it from the outside world for generations, but that same isolation had also bred endless internal conflict.

As far as Shiki knew, unlike Konohagakure—which had long since become highly unified—the Land of Water still carried the atmosphere of a fractured feudal country.

The major clans of Kirigakure were spread throughout the country, each controlling its own territory like local warlords and enforcing its own rules within those borders.

Missing-nin, wandering shinobi, mercenaries, and rogue fighters were common throughout the Land of Water.

That kind of thing was rarely seen so openly inside the territory of one of the Five Great Nations.

It was obvious just how chaotic the place really was.

During times of war, like the previous Shinobi World Wars, Kirigakure's clans would unite to some extent for the sake of the village whenever an outside enemy threatened them.

But in peacetime?

They were just as likely to tear into each other without restraint.

For a country with power so decentralized and internal conflict so frequent, it probably would have collapsed long ago if not for the sea serving as a natural barrier against foreign invasion.

And yet that same closed environment, the very thing that kept outside enemies at bay, was also one of the main reasons internal strife had become so severe.

It isolated the Land of Water from its enemies—

and from everything else as well.

So whether being an island nation was a blessing or a curse...

...really depended on who was judging it.

The current ruler of the Land of Water was the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.

He had taken office a few years ago and was also the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails.

At one point, many had hoped that his rise to power would finally put an end to the Land of Water's chaos and bring true centralization to Kirigakure.

Unfortunately, that hope had long since rotted away.

First, he had been manipulated by Madara Uchiha.

And now, he was being controlled by Obito.

Under those circumstances, irrational orders and blood-soaked policies had practically become the norm.

Rather than restoring order, Yagura's rule had only pushed the Land of Water even deeper into madness.

And so, under a sky covered in clouds, Shiki and Rin finally set foot in the Land of Water.

The moment they stepped off the ship, a thick curtain of mist rushed toward them.

"So much moisture..." Rin said in surprise, glancing around. "It almost feels like we're still out at sea."

"No wonder Kirigakure has so many Water Release users," Shiki said with a lazy smile. "An environment like this is enough to boost Water Release techniques by a huge margin."

Many forms of ninjutsu were influenced by geography.

In the dry climate of the Land of Wind, Wind Release techniques naturally became more effective, and even Fire Release gained a slight edge.

But Water Release was even more dependent on the environment than most.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was famous for his absurd mastery of Water Release—so much so that people joked he must have signed a contract with the sea itself, considering he could create massive water techniques even in places with no visible source nearby.

In a place like this, where mist and moisture clung to everything, Water Release shinobi would naturally thrive.

"Shiki-sama," Rin asked, "where are we going first?"

"Hm..."

Shiki scratched at his long golden hair and smiled as if he had all the time in the world.

"First, I need to come up with a proper excuse."

"An excuse?" Rin repeated, stunned.

"Yeah."

Shiki let out a sigh.

"When Tsunade let me leave the village, she made me promise not to cause trouble. More specifically, not to cause trouble without a proper reason."

He paused for a second, then inwardly sighed.

Which I really shouldn't have agreed to.

The truth was, he wanted trouble.

His Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had stalled. In the beginning, cutting down ordinary targets had still pushed his progress forward, but now that method had stopped working altogether.

If this continued, then this template could stay stuck for years.

And Shiki did not have the luxury of wasting that kind of time.

During this period, he had become increasingly aware of his shortcomings.

In terms of raw offensive power, lethality, and bizarre killing methods, he had no shortage of options.

But when it came to dealing with slippery opponents—especially enemies with space-time abilities—his toolkit was far less reliable than he wanted.

So if he wanted to keep moving forward...

he needed a reason to start something.

"A good excuse is essential," Shiki declared with complete seriousness.

Rin fell silent.

Then she gave him a speechless look.

Sometimes, she truly felt that Shiki-sama could be unbelievably ridiculous.

Lady Tsunade told you not to cause trouble...

not to find a good excuse for it...

Still, after spending so much time around him, Rin had grown bolder than before.

Rather than keep the complaint to herself, she decided to offer a suggestion instead.

"If our goal is to avoid attracting attention," Rin said with a small smile, "then maybe we should use fake identities too."

She paused for half a heartbeat before calmly revealing what she actually meant.

"In that case... how about we pretend to be a married couple?"

This time, Shiki was the one who froze.

He stopped in place and slowly turned to look at her.

His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

Rin avoided his gaze the moment he looked over.

Shiki frowned.

He had never been the type to sneak around like a rat. When he did something, he usually did it openly. So this sort of disguise already felt a little outside his usual style.

But more than that...

he was curious.

Very curious.

Rin was not exactly subtle anymore.

Shiki was not stupid. He could understand what she was trying to imply.

And that was exactly what confused him.

He genuinely could not understand how she had ended up feeling this way toward him.

After everything that had happened between them—especially that humiliation in the past—he had been certain there was no way she would ever develop romantic feelings for him.

Had two years really changed that much?

At least in Shiki's mind, it should not have.

Still, after a brief silence, he gave his answer.

"Fine. A married couple it is."

He nodded indifferently and turned his head away again, not looking at her.

But the expression on his face was... strange.

Now then.

As for an excuse—

finding one aimed at the Fourth Mizukage was not difficult at all.

Fortunately, Shiki had seen the anime.

Which meant he knew exactly where to start.

That was—

"This is... the Kaguya clan's territory?"

Rin stared ahead in surprise.

"Yes," Shiki replied calmly. "I've decided to join the Kaguya clan as a mercenary."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I have a feeling they're about to do something big."

As mentioned before, internal conflict had become second nature in Kirigakure.

Mercenaries, wandering shinobi, and rogue ninja were everywhere, and the major clans often hired them to deal with rival forces.

Of course, many clans also acted as mercenaries themselves.

And the Kaguya clan's rebellion was one of the most memorable incidents in the anime.

That clan of lunatics with Shikotsumyaku—using the strength of a single bloodline alone—had actually launched a direct night assault on Kirigakure.

The result, naturally, was total annihilation.

In the end, Kimimaro was the only survivor.

As for why the Kaguya clan rebelled in the first place, even the anime never gave a proper explanation.

The only justification associated with them was absurd enough to make anyone question their sanity—that they wanted the people of Kirigakure to understand just how terrifying the Kaguya clan truly was.

What a ridiculous reason. There was no strategy, no planning, and no real goal behind it at all.

Just war for the sake of proving how fearsome they were.

That kind of lunacy was—

"Exactly my style."

Shiki smiled.

If a real fight broke out here, then from his point of view, it would be a mountain of free experience.

A terrible way to think, maybe.

But Shiki had never claimed to be a good person.

In this shinobi world, he had always believed in one thing above all else:

strength ruled everything.

If he wanted to cut down Obito, then sooner or later he would have to cut through the Fourth Mizukage first.

And this bunch of maniacs also wanted to go after the Fourth Mizukage.

In that case—

weren't they a perfect match?

"Even if Kirigakure's power is scattered across the Land of Water, there are still at least thirty thousand shinobi tied to the village," Shiki said, sounding more thoughtful now.

Then he grinned.

"Come on. Let's go introduce ourselves."

He grabbed Rin's hand and started walking forward.

Rin stiffened slightly as she followed him, her eyes scanning the area around them but her gaze would drift to Shiki holding her hand.

Even though she was a medical-nin and still only around fifteen, her strength was no longer what it used to be. After spending so much time training under Shiki, she had already reached a level comparable to an ordinary special jōnin.

And because of that, the moment they approached the Kaguya clan's territory, she noticed something was wrong.

They were being watched.

From several different directions, multiple gazes had already locked onto them.

And hidden within those gazes were traces of killing intent, indifference... and cold hostility.

These don't feel like members of the Kaguya clan, Rin thought.

If they really belonged to the Kaguya clan, then even if they were not welcoming toward outsiders, they would not react with such immediate hostility.

After all, for all they knew, a visitor could have been an acquaintance of one of their clansmen.

At the very least, their reaction should not have been this cold.

But these eyes...

Rin's expression changed slightly.

The Kaguya clan is under surveillance.

She silently counted the hidden positions around them.

At least seven people... maybe more.

And none of them were weak.

Every single one was at least chūnin-level.

That much strength...

Which major clan in Kirigakure is watching them?

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