Chapter 52
The village was definitely crowded these days. The streets were filled with people, and not just locals. Shisui observed the newcomers from Suna: a team of two boys and a girl, led by a young Jonin.
There wasn't anything special about them, but Shisui kept an eye on every team that arrived, watching for the competition. Suna just happened to be the first to catch his eye. So far, they had done nothing noteworthy, merely browsing through stores and food vendors.
He didn't want to draw attention from them, so he kept his distance and observed discreetly, but he felt like the Jonin had noticed him. It wouldn't surprise him; even though Shisui thought he was talented and skillful enough for his age, he was still just a kid compared to a fully seasoned Jonin.
"Shisui," Yamato joined him when he spotted him in the crowd. "What are you doing?"
"Enjoying my day off," Shisui replied. "Probably the same as you."
"Looking for Iruka?"
"Well, probably not the same as you then," Shisui replied. "Why are you looking for him? Is he not at home?"
"Nah," Yamato replied. "I got a bit worried about him and went to check on him, but he was nowhere to be found. Even his neighbors haven't seen him lately."
"He tends to work himself too hard," Shisui agreed. "And he didn't look that good over the past week. Probably nerves kicking in about the Exams, though. But he should be fine; he knows that if he needs help with anything, we are here."
"I just hope he takes some rest. Who knows what the Exams will be like? I want all of us to be in top condition. If he makes a mistake because he overworks himself before the Exams, I know he will blame himself."
"Then we will make sure he doesn't make any mistakes," Shisui replied. "Let's go; I'm hungry and could go for a sandwich or something. And while we're at it, let's see if there is someone who could cause us some trouble in the Exams."
"Sure, but I'm fine," Yamato agreed. "I brought my walnuts with me."
"How you haven't gone nuts only eating that is beyond me."
Shisui felt sick just looking at it. At first, he could ignore it, but after spending so much time with Yamato and seeing him eat it every day, it was driving Shisui insane. The smell of the walnuts and the crunch they made when bitten into started to really annoy him. So, he did his best to keep as far away from it as he could.
"Look," Yamato stopped Shisui and nudged him toward another team. "Those masks, they are from Amegakure, right?"
"They don't look like genin to me," Shisui replied. "They seem far older than us. And I can feel the edge in them even from here."
"Look at those girls," Yamato quickly spotted another group. "They're armed to the teeth with swords and even chains. Scary. And it seems they are from Takigakure."
"It seems that more and more shinobi from the outside are gathering," Shisui said. "From what I know, we are still missing a team from Kusa and Kumo. It appears we will have some competition after all. Though I'm not too worried yet."
The Third Hokage warned them that the other villages would send their best to show off. But Shisui was confident in his abilities, and Yamato was stronger than he looked, even without his Wood Release. And while Iruka lacked the same power as them, he could be counted on in other ways. So, Shisui ate his sandwich and observed the newcomers without much worry.
Still, he looked for Kuma. They were bringing something special, and Shisui with the rest were warned to watch out for them. Shisui needed to see them and quickly make a plan for how to deal with them if they came into contact during the exams.
Well, there were still a couple of days before the exams, but even for them it was pushing it. Wouldn't they want to get it in sooner and rest up before the Exams? And it wasn't as if Shisui was the only one observing the competition. Or maybe they were already here, and observing them.
"I don't see why we need to worry," Yamato said. "With you, our team is probably the best out of this bunch. I can't imagine you losing to anyone. Those Kumo shinobi won't even know what hit them before they go down."
"Is that so?" Shisui turned around to find a blonde girl peering down at them from atop a small shop's roof they were sitting. "Little kids dare to make such assumptions about us? I can see that the tree huggers are quite fond of bragging. I will have to see how you take us down with my own eyes."
"You won't," Yamato replied, not taking her threatening tone seriously. "You're too slow for that."
"Maybe we should see about that right now, what do you think?" The girl got closer to them, and a dangerous glint could be seen in her eyes.
"Yugito, don't draw attention; sensei told us to keep our heads down and rest up." Another girl, also with blonde hair, but shorter and with a noticeably more developed chest, ran up to them. "Don't pick fights with little kids."
They were older than they were, but not by much. Maybe a couple of years, so it stung a bit to be called a little kid by them. And yet, he had a hard time getting angry when the girl sounded so innocent, as if she didn't mean anything by it.
"They are our competitors, Samui," Yugito said. "And they think they are such big shots that they will take us down easily. I'm just curious about what kind of dreamland they are living in to think that is even possible. A reality check would only help them in the long run."
Crunch. Yamato's reply came as he popped a walnut into his mouth. At that moment, Shisui realized what was happening. Yamato had noticed the girl spying on them and deliberately said those words to provoke a reaction. Now they knew that those two girls were on the same team, with Yugito being more careless and Samui more cautious.
"Yugito, Samui," another girl entered the scene. She had dark skin and silver hair. "Let's go; sensei should be finishing his meeting any moment now. We should meet up with him."
Another piece of information fell into their laps. The new girl seemed to be the leader of the trio, and the other two girls listened to her, even if Yugito grumbled something under her breath before doing so.
"They're quite a curious bunch," Yamato commented, still eating. "All girls, too. Though some more than others."
"Where you been reading Jiraiya's books, too?"
"I just glanced at it."
"That's how it always begins," Shisui sighed, though he couldn't be angry since he also noticed that detail. "Let's find Iruka; we should discuss our plans from there on."
"If you say so," Yamato replied. "Still don't see what there is to be worried about, though. And how are you going to find him? I've been looking for him since the morning and came no closer to him."
"Well, he can't be that good at hiding his traces, right?"
…
As he discovered, tracking Iruka down wasn't easy. He left no traces behind, and Shisui only got lucky because the village wasn't that big, and he was quick enough to check every corner. At this point, Shisui was relieved that Iruka was a good guy. He didn't need to worry about him betraying the village, because if he wanted to, Iruka could disappear outside its borders. And Shisui didn't think anyone would find him.
"Hey, guys, what are you doing?"
Shisui was a bit annoyed as he entered the workshop where Iruka was tinkering with something. Now, he understood where Iruka would vanish to every so often. It was quite an isolated place, away from prying eyes and ears. But what frustrated Shisui was that he hadn't known about this place until today, and he wouldn't have discovered it if he hadn't been searching for Iruka in the first place.
"Well, it's good that you're here. I have something to give you." Iruka didn't seem disturbed by the fact that they found him, indicating that rather than hiding, he simply forgot to mention this place. "I just finished it. Check it out."
"What is it?" Yamato asked, taking a pouch from Iruka.
"Open it and throw a handful into the air."
Shisui did just that and was surprised to see the contents of the pouch ignite in the air, turning into smoke that quickly vanished. To someone unfamiliar with it, it looked like just smoke. But now observing it closely, he noticed that the color was slightly different, and it carried a sweet odor.
"If we get separated in the Exams, we can use this to find each other. The smoke-like substance will indicate your direction, and the smell will guide us to each other without anyone being able to notice."
"Wow, that's pretty cool," Yamato commented. "What else do you have?"
"Just some bombs and weapons I made to assist me in a fight, nothing special. The powder I gave you was the unique thing I managed to create that would help us all."
"All of this came from that book?" Shisui asked.
"Yeah, the Third gave it to me after he was done with it, and I used it to make some stuff," Iruka sheepishly replied. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess you caught me before I could show off."
So that's what was going on. It seemed that Shisui didn't need to worry, but he felt quite guilty about it now. He thought he was taking steps on the path to becoming a Hokage, a shadow that protects everyone. But rather than trying to understand Iruka, he chose to fret over him, thinking that he was weaker, while in truth, Iruka was improving and finding his way to keep up with Shisui and Yamato.
"Don't work yourself to death," Shisui said. "Let's meet up tomorrow and discuss our tactics for the Exams. Yamato will fill you in on what we were able to find."
Shisui bid farewell and left. He hadn't realized it before, but he was acting like the leader of the team without a sensei overseeing them, and it seemed he had no right to. His arrogance had prevailed once again. Just like in the Academy, he thought he was superior to everyone else without considering his shortcomings and how fortunate he was.
…
He didn't know why, but Shisui found himself wandering around the village before he got hungry and stopped at Ichiraku Ramen. He wasn't really a big fan of ramen, so when he entered the little shop, he was surprised to find the Third Hokage already sitting there, slowly eating with a bottle of strong alcohol by his side.
"Shisui," the Third greeted him first. "It is a bit late for dinner."
"I got distracted," Shisui replied as he took a seat. "I have a lot going on in my head."
"Somehow, I suspect it isn't girls stuck in your head," the Third replied. "Sit down and tell me what you were thinking about that got you so distracted."
Shisui told the Third what was on his mind. He didn't know why, but it felt like he wasn't bothering the Third; rather, he was entertaining him with his childish tale. The Third probably had much bigger concerns than Shisui's worries.
"It's called the process of growing up," the Third said as he poured a cup of alcohol. "Why don't you take a sip?"
"Bwah," the drink burned like fire in his throat as he took a small sip, but he still forced himself to swallow it.
"It burns badly, doesn't it?" The Third laughed at Shisui's miserable expression. "You can kill, train hard, and torture your body. Make decisions that will leave a mark on you for the rest of your life. But in the end, you're still a kid who can't handle alcohol. You are growing up, trying to find a place where you belong. But you are rushing it, kid. Don't. Live, make mistakes, argue with your friends, misunderstand each other, and worry about girls your age. Leave the burning and bitter life of a leader to an old man like me."
Shisui wouldn't say he understood everything the Third said, but he spoke with such emotion that Shisui felt he should take it slowly. He couldn't understand why, but at that moment the Third felt so desolate, and it only reinforced his belief that he wasn't ready yet. And that was fine; he still had time. He only needed to hear it from someone else.
A.N. Sorry for not posting for a while. I got really unlucky, and my PC died. Then I got scammed and lost almost all my money. So, now I am working with a shitty pc that I got for cheap. On the bright side I won't be gaming any time soon, yay.
As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.