~ Support & Read 32 Advanced Chapters on My Patreon!
~ Thank you all so much for your support!
❁❁❁❁
“Captain Mei, should we take care of these two?”
A Kiri Shinobi behind Mei Terumī drew his kunai, looking at Shin and Kushina.
“Take care of me? You think you’re strong enough?”
Shin looked at the Kiri Shinobi who had spoken, his eyes flickering. The Shinobi immediately collapsed.
“Inoue! What happened?!”
The other Kiri Shinobi rushed to Inoue’s side, only to find he was dead. They were horrified. They hadn’t even seen Shin move; he’d just looked at Inoue. Could a glance be lethal?
They didn’t know Shin had used Genjutsu, a single illusion shattering Inoue’s mind. For Shin, such a feat was trivial. Compared to these average Shinobi, he was practically a god.
“Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”
Mei, unlike the others, didn’t hesitate. She attacked Shin with a Water Dragon Jutsu.
Just as Shin was about to retaliate, Kushina used an Earth Wall to block the attack.
“Shin, leave her to me. I’ll deal with all of them.”
Kushina still wanted to recruit Mei Terumī. She didn’t want Shin to kill her.
“Fine, she’s all yours.” Shin shrugged. He hadn’t intended to kill Mei anyway.
“Shin? You’re Uzumaki Shin?!”
Mei stared at Shin, her eyes wide with a mix of surprise, admiration, and fear.
“So you know me. Didn’t expect to still be famous after all these years.”
Shin was surprised. It had been eight years since he last appeared in the Shinobi world. He thought most people would have forgotten about him by now.
“Uzumaki Shin? The Reaper of the Shinobi World? What’s he doing here?”
Some of the Kiri Shinobi looked despairingly at Shin. They knew his reputation, After all, their Third Mizukage had been killed by him.
“This is the Land of Whirlpools. Why wouldn’t I be here?” Shin’s tone was flat, but his words sent chills down the Kiri Shinobi’s spines.
“I haven’t even done anything yet, and they’ve already lost their will to fight.” Kushina sounded disappointed.
She’d wanted to use these Kiri Shinobi as practice, but they were too scared to fight. She glared at Shin.
Shin was confused. Why was she glaring at him?
“You Kiri Shinobi trespassed into the Land of Whirlpools. I should kill you all. But I’ll be merciful. Mei Terumī, you stay. The rest of you can leave.”
The Kiri Shinobi looked at each other, then nodded.
“We agree.”
“….”
Mei’s face darkened. They agreed? Shouldn’t she, their captain, be the one making the decision?
Before she could say anything, they scrambled back onto their ship and fled.
“Damn it! I didn’t agree to this!” Mei Terumī said to Shin anxiously. She wasn’t the type to sacrifice herself for others.
Especially not for these cowards who abandoned her without hesitation.
“Too late, they’re gone.”
Shin grabbed Mei Terumī and threw her to Kushina.
“Kushina, she’s all yours.”
Kushina nodded and looked at Mei, her gaze intimidating.
Mei was nervous. Her life was in Kushina’s hands. She was only fifteen, still in the bloom of youth. She hadn’t even experienced love yet; she didn’t want to die.
“About joining Suikagakure… Have you made your decision?” Kushina asked directly.
“I… what if I don’t join?”
“Then I’ll have to kill you. You’re of no use to me otherwise.”
Kushina’s words terrified Mei.
“I agree! I’ll join!” Mei didn’t hesitate any longer.
“That was easy. I thought I’d have to persuade you a bit more.” Kushina was surprised.
“Do I have a choice? I don’t want to die,” Mei Terumī said, resigned.
She was still young. It would be a shame to die now.
Mei regretted coming to the Land of Whirlpools. She had only intended to use it as a stopover on her way to the Kiri’s battlefront with Konoha. Now she was stuck here.
“Good. You’ll be proud of your choice one day.”
Kushina was thrilled. Mei Terumī was the first outsider to join Suikagakure. She finally had her first subordinate.
“Don’t try anything funny. You know the consequences.” Shin looked at Mei.
Mei nodded immediately. Even if she had any ideas, she wouldn’t dare try anything in front of Shin.
“Let’s go home.”
——
Shin teleported back home with Kushina and the newly recruited Mei. Mikoto was just about to go look for them.
“You’re finally back. I was just about to go find you. Did you forget about dinner?”
“And who is this?” Mikoto looked at Mei, her gentle expression turning sharp.
Mei cowered under Mikoto’s gaze, which was surprisingly intimidating.
“Mikoto, this is my new recruit. She’s joining Suikagakure. What do you think?” Kushina asked excitedly.
“Oh, is that so? I thought someone was being a playboy again..” Mikoto’s sharp gaze softened, and her intimidating aura vanished.
“…..” Shin.
Playboy? So that was how Mikoto saw him?
Shin stroked his chin, thinking about how to punish Mikoto.
Mikoto suddenly shivered and looked at Shin. Seeing his gaze, she had a bad feeling.
“Let’s eat before the food gets cold,” she said quickly, changing the subject. She knew Shin’s gaze meant trouble.
‘Don’t think you can escape.’
Shin looked at Mikoto’s retreating figure. He’d deal with her later.
❁❁❁❁
~ 32 Advanced Chapters Available on /dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)