Early morning—the sun had already risen. Bathed in sunlight, the mountain rocks and trees were cloaked in a layer of faint golden radiance. The morning mist was gradually dissipating, leaving behind only the dewdrops resting on the leaves. As the three of them sped past, the shaking leaves caused drops of dew to fall, striking the stone surfaces below and making ding dong, ding dong sounds.
Among the sturdy and towering trees, the three of them moved like mischievous sprites, leaping from trunk to trunk, full of energy. Since it was the first time leaving the outskirts of the village, Killer Bee was curious about everything around him. One could say this place was a total tourist paradise!
While admiring the surroundings, he exclaimed in wonder, "If this place existed in the 21st century, it would definitely be the best travel destination!" All the while, Killer Bee's head spun around like a windmill, looking in every direction.
Looking at the curious expression on Bee's face, A said, "Bee, I didn't expect you to have such good stamina. We've been traveling for a long time now, but your breathing hasn't even changed."
"Big bro, I've always had great stamina since I was a kid. This is nothing," Killer Bee replied confidently. "Every morning, I run laps around the village as training. On average, I do at least 70 laps, which takes about an hour. And after that, I still go to school, practice swordsmanship, and other stuff."
"Is that so? Then let me test you!" Just as Fukai finished speaking, he casually flicked his hand. With a few swish swish sounds, several kunai shot rapidly toward Killer Bee with a whistling sound.
"Whoa, crap!" Caught off guard, Bee was startled. He immediately kicked hard off the tree trunk, flipped to another trunk, then borrowed momentum to leap to yet another tree.
It all happened in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Bee's continuous movements flowed so smoothly that they could only be described as seamless. A moment later, several thud thud sounds rang out as the kunai embedded themselves in the tree trunk.
"Whew…" Having dodged the attack, Bee shouted angrily, "What the heck are you doing?! If I hadn't dodged in time, I'd be a freaking pincushion right now!"
"Relax, relax," Fukai said with a smile as he looked at his furious student. "Your teacher here has excellent control over his strength. Even if those kunai had hit you, they'd only have caused minor injuries. I just wanted to test if you were bluffing. After all, everyone knows the area around the village is full of valleys, cliffs, rocky slopes, and streams. Sometimes carnivores show up too. You're a five-year-old kid claiming to train there daily—who's gonna believe that? It's a dangerous place!"
Hearing his teacher's words, Bee snorted, "Forget it if you don't believe me. But you actually ambushed me—and big bro didn't even help! What if I really got hit?"
Poor A—caught in the crossfire while doing nothing. He responded helplessly, "Bee, that's not how a ninja should think. We're shinobi now. At any moment, we could be ambushed by enemies. A ninja must adapt to surprise attacks. If you can't, then you're as good as dead. And besides, the force behind those kunai wasn't deadly. If you couldn't dodge, then at most you'd learn your lesson the hard way. Your teacher did the right thing."
Bee clutched his head and grumbled, "What kind of big brother says that…"
"Don't blame your big bro," Fukai added. "He's right. And since you said you train around the village every morning, I know that area. If what you said is true, then dodging those kunai should be no problem. If you couldn't, then your reflexes are way too slow. And if you're lying, well… that's a big issue."
Looking at Bee trying to play deaf, Fukai tossed him a compliment as a sweetener, "But judging by how you dodged those kunai just now, I'd say you've already mastered tree-walking with your feet. Looks like I've unknowingly picked up a little monster as a student."
Hearing that, Killer Bee puffed up with pride and said smugly, "Of course! If I couldn't even do that, how could I be jumping through trees with you guys? Oh, and I can walk on water too! Cool, right?!"
Fukai: "…"
All he did was give a little praise, and the kid's already acting like a genius. Fukai covered his face in exasperation—his student's ego was skyrocketing.
"Fukai, don't let his age fool you," A said, reminding his teacher seriously. "Bee can already use lightning chakra to stimulate his cells and increase his movement speed. Remember when you first met him?"
"I really didn't know that…" Fukai replied. Then he asked:
"A, what about my student's strength? And his overall combat ability? We are a team, after all. We still need to assign missions when we reach our destination."
"What the hell… you're seriously a failure as a teacher. You don't even know your own student's strength?" A said, completely speechless.
"Why am I a failure? I'm super busy! Just being able to squeeze in some theory lessons for him is already impressive. Hmph! I bet we've met less than fifteen times!" Fukai defended himself indignantly.
Hearing that, A was even more at a loss for words. He turned to Killer Bee with a frustrated look and asked:
"Bee, tell me what ninjutsu you know. And the sword techniques you mentioned."
Fukai: "…"
"So after all that, you didn't know either!" Shinkei complained.
"Alright, I'll explain," Killer Bee said with a grin. "First, about my sword techniques—teacher only taught me the theory behind swordsmanship, so I've only mastered the basic movements. They're smooth and refined, but I've never tested them in real combat, so I don't know how effective they are."
He thought for a moment and added, "As for a new sword move I've been working on… I'm still not that skilled with it."
Hearing this, Fukai's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Then show it to us!"
"Right now?"
He wasn't too confident yet. Plus, they were still on the move. He had never tried using it while running, and this technique required him to store up power before activation.
"Yes, now," Fukai replied. A also looked on eagerly, clearly excited to see Bee's performance.
"Tsk…" Killer Bee took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll give it a shot."
As he spoke, Bee drew the sword from his waist. He bent his left arm slightly and raised it upward, while his right hand gripped the lower part of his left arm from the inside. Maintaining this stance, he focused on two things at once—planning his next landing spot while silently recalling the steps.
This is… Sensing the aura emanating from Bee, Fukai's eyes flashed with excitement. "From the moment he took that stance, it felt like the sword in his hand had become one with his body. It gave off a completely unified feeling."
Suddenly, Bee's eyes sharpened. At the exact moment he twisted his wrist and swung his blade, he shouted:
"Blade of the Wind!"
Swish!
In an instant, a blade of wind as thin as a cicada's wing shot out at incredible speed. Even the two Jonin watching were surprised—if they hadn't been prepared, dodging it wouldn't have been easy.
Boom! Several explosive sounds rang out, followed by loud creaking noises.
In the blink of an eye, three thick trees up ahead were sliced clean in half. The cut surfaces were smooth and neat. At that moment, Fukai touched the flat surface of one of the trunks, but inside, he was anything but calm.