The next morning, Karma arrived at the village gates earlier than usual.
He had been thinking about Hashirama-sensei's words since last night.
Another shinobi.
That was different.
Until now, most of his missions had either been solo D-ranks or accompanied by Hashirama-sensei's Wood Clone.
This time, he would have an actual partner.
Karma looked around.
Nobody.
He sighed.
'Maybe I'm too early.'
"Karma."
He turned.
A young man was walking toward him.
He looked around sixteen or seventeen, wearing standard shinobi clothing with a weapons pouch at his waist.
His movements were relaxed.
Too relaxed.
His eyes constantly moved across the surroundings, checking the road, rooftops and forest without making it obvious.
Karma watched him carefully.
'Experienced.'
The young shinobi stopped in front of him.
"You're Karma Akabane?"
Karma nodded.
"Yes."
The young man smiled.
"Ren Kurama."
Karma's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Kurama?"
"You've heard of us."
"Genjutsu clan."
Ren nodded.
"That's us."
Karma looked him over again.
"Rank?"
"Special Jōnin."
Karma blinked.
That was considerably more interesting than he had expected.
'Hashirama-sensei actually picked someone competent.'
Ren noticed his expression.
"Something wrong?"
"No."
Karma smiled.
"Just checking."
"Checking what?"
"Whether you're useful."
Ren stared at him.
Then laughed.
"You're definitely the kid everyone talks about."
Karma shrugged.
"People exaggerate."
"I'm sure they do."
They started walking.
For the first few minutes, neither said much.
Karma continued observing Ren.
His footwork was efficient.
His chakra control was clearly refined.
There was no wasted movement.
Even while walking, Ren maintained awareness of his surroundings.
Karma nodded internally.
'Special Jōnin isn't an exaggeration.'
Ren glanced sideways.
"You've been studying me since we left."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Curiosity."
"That's a polite way of saying you're analyzing me."
Karma smiled.
"That too."
Ren shook his head.
"Our mission is simple."
"What's the assignment?"
"Escort a supply cart to a settlement east of Konoha."
"D-rank?"
"Yes."
Karma sighed.
"Of course."
Ren laughed.
"You don't like D-ranks?"
"They're boring."
"You're five."
"Exactly."
Ren looked at him for a moment.
Then smiled.
"You're strange."
"I've heard that before."
They reached the supply cart waiting outside the village.
The merchant greeted them.
"You're the shinobi assigned to escort me?"
Ren nodded.
"Yes."
The merchant looked at Karma.
Then back at Ren.
"And him?"
"Karma."
The merchant hesitated.
"He's very young."
Karma smiled politely.
"I'm a shinobi."
Ren added calmly,
"He's also Hashirama-sama's student."
The merchant's expression immediately changed.
"Ah."
Karma sighed internally.
'There it is again.'
They set off.
For the first hour, the journey was peaceful.
Karma stayed near the rear of the cart, watching the forest.
Ren walked near the front.
Neither of them seemed particularly concerned.
Eventually Ren spoke.
"You've been scanning the forest constantly."
"Yes."
"Expecting trouble?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because if I expect trouble, I might miss something else."
Ren looked at him.
Karma continued.
"People usually focus on where they think the attack will come from."
Ren nodded slowly.
"Good answer."
Karma smiled.
"You sound surprised."
"I'm surprised you're thinking about that at your age."
"I'm good at this."
Ren laughed.
"You're very confident."
"Should I pretend I'm bad?"
"No."
"Then we're fine."
They continued.
Several hours later, the road split into two paths.
The merchant stopped.
"The left road is shorter."
Ren looked toward it.
Then toward the right.
"The right road is safer."
Karma examined the ground.
"The left road has fewer tracks."
Ren glanced at him.
"What does that tell you?"
"Fewer people use it."
"Probably."
Karma crouched.
Then pointed toward the soil.
"But there are fresh cart tracks."
Ren examined them.
"Good."
Karma looked farther ahead.
"Someone used this road recently."
Ren nodded.
"But we don't know who."
"Exactly."
Ren looked at the merchant.
"The right road."
The merchant nodded and continued.
Karma smiled slightly.
He liked working with someone who didn't need every observation explained.
The journey continued peacefully.
Eventually, they reached the settlement.
The supplies were unloaded.
The merchant thanked them.
"You two made this much easier."
Ren smiled.
"Just doing our job."
Karma looked around the settlement.
It was small.
A few dozen buildings.
A handful of shops.
Children playing near a well.
Farmers returning from the fields.
It reminded him of Konoha.
Just smaller.
A settlement guard approached them.
"Are you two Konoha shinobi?"
Ren nodded.
"Yes."
The guard hesitated.
"We've had some trouble recently."
Ren's expression became more serious.
"What kind?"
"Someone has been stealing supplies from the outskirts."
"How often?"
"Every few days."
"Any injuries?"
"No."
"Tracks?"
"Some."
Karma looked toward the storage buildings.
"What kind of supplies?"
The guard listed several items.
Karma frowned.
"That's specific."
Ren nodded.
"Very."
The guard looked confused.
"Why?"
Karma pointed toward the storage building.
"If they were ordinary thieves, they'd take whatever was easiest to carry."
He looked at Ren.
"But they're taking specific supplies."
Ren continued.
"Which means they're either selling them or taking them for someone."
Karma nodded.
The guard swallowed.
"Can you investigate?"
Ren looked toward the merchant.
"We still have some time before we leave."
Karma smiled.
"Finally."
Ren looked at him.
"Don't get excited."
"I've been waiting all morning."
They followed the tracks away from the settlement.
The trail eventually disappeared into the forest.
Karma crouched.
"Three people."
Ren examined the ground.
"Four."
Karma looked closer.
Then nodded.
"You're right."
Ren smiled.
"Good."
They continued following the tracks.
After several minutes, they found the stolen supplies hidden beneath some branches.
Ren crouched beside them.
"Fresh."
Karma looked around.
"They're nearby."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"Probably."
A branch snapped.
Both turned.
Three figures emerged from the trees.
They were armed.
One carried a knife.
Another held a short sword.
The third had a bow.
The man with the sword laughed.
"Two Konoha shinobi?"
His eyes moved to Karma.
"One of them is a child."
Karma smiled.
"That's usually where people make mistakes."
The archer raised his bow.
Ren disappeared.
The next instant, he appeared behind the archer.
The man froze.
Ren's eyes met his.
"Genjutsu."
The archer's expression went blank.
He collapsed unconscious.
Karma's eyes sharpened.
'Fast.'
The other two attacked.
Karma drew his sword.
Lightning surged through his legs.
He moved forward.
The first man swung his blade.
Karma stepped aside and struck his wrist.
The weapon fell.
Karma followed with a wooden sword strike to the ribs.
The man collapsed.
The final attacker charged Ren.
Ren sidestepped the attack.
Their eyes met.
The man's expression suddenly changed.
He stumbled backward.
Karma immediately understood.
'Genjutsu.'
The man dropped to one knee.
Ren calmly caught his weapon before it hit the ground.
Karma stared.
"That was simple."
Ren looked at him.
"Simple?"
"You barely used chakra."
Ren smiled.
"That's the point."
Karma crouched beside the unconscious man.
"What did you do?"
"Just interfered with his perception."
"How?"
Ren shrugged.
"Experience."
Karma looked at him.
Ren continued.
"Genjutsu isn't always about creating something complicated."
He tapped his temple.
"Sometimes you only need to make someone believe something is happening."
Karma listened carefully.
"The trick is timing. If your opponent realizes they're being attacked by genjutsu, they'll resist or disrupt their chakra."
"So you hide the activation."
"Exactly."
Karma smiled.
"That's useful."
Ren laughed.
"I knew you'd say that."
Karma looked at the unconscious men.
"Madara-sensei has already been teaching me genjutsu."
Ren nodded.
"I figured."
"But I've mostly learned the theory."
"Then I'll share what I know."
Karma looked at him.
"Really?"
"Sure."
Ren smiled.
"You're going to learn eventually anyway."
Karma nodded.
"Then tell me everything."
Ren laughed.
"Not everything."
"Why?"
"Because we're standing in a forest with three unconscious thieves."
"Fair."
They returned to the settlement with the thieves.
The guards took custody of them.
The merchant was ready to leave.
As the cart began moving, Ren walked beside Karma.
"You learn quickly."
Karma glanced at him.
"How quickly?"
Ren thought for a moment.
"Fast enough that teaching you would probably become annoying."
Karma grinned.
"Good."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'll take it anyway."
Ren shook his head.
For the rest of the journey, Ren occasionally explained small things about genjutsu.
How to recognize subtle disruptions in perception.
How experienced shinobi concealed their chakra fluctuations.
How some genjutsu were designed to make an opponent waste time rather than completely immobilize them.
Karma listened.
He didn't immediately try to master everything.
He simply stored the information.
Madara-sensei had already given him the foundation.
Ren was giving him something different.
Practical experience.
By sunset, Konoha came into view.
Karma looked toward the village gates.
The mission had been simple.
No serious enemies.
No real danger.
But it had still been different.
He had worked with another shinobi.
A Special Jōnin.
Someone with considerably more field experience than him.
Someone who had skills Karma hadn't personally explored yet.
And that mattered.
Strength wasn't the only thing he could gain from other people.
Knowledge mattered too.
Experience mattered.
Perspective mattered.
Ren stretched.
"Same time tomorrow?"
Karma looked at him.
"You want another mission with me?"
"Why not?"
Karma smiled.
"Sure."
Ren started walking away.
Karma watched him for a moment.
Then headed home.
'An experienced Special Jōnin from the Kurama Clan.'
Karma smiled.
'This might actually be useful.'
He had no intention of replacing Madara-sensei as his teacher.
But there was no reason he couldn't learn from everyone around him.
After all, becoming the strongest shinobi in history wasn't going to happen by learning from only one person.