Chapter 11: Weights and Revenge
"Rasengan... a spinning, round ball. The name fits," Hiruzen mused, turning the name over in his tongue.
Then his expression grew more serious. "Tenchi, if the village formally asks you to submit this jutsu, what will you do?" He was testing the waters. A powerful, A-rank, seal-less jutsu would make the higher-ups salivate. He needed to know where Tenchi's head was at. It would be best if he was willing, but if not, Hiruzen needed to warn him to be careful. Forcing the issue would only lead to bad blood.
"If the village wants it?" I said, my voice deliberately casual. "I, Uchiha Tenchi, am confident that if I can create one jutsu, I can create another." Let them try, I thought, a cold defiance settling in my gut. With the system, I have nothing to fear. Right now, I'm weak, so I'll play along. But when I'm strong enough... let's see who dares to demand anything from me.
Hearing my answer, Hiruzen seemed to relax. If I had outright refused, it would have put him in a difficult position. His loyalty was to the village, but he wasn't the type to betray a comrade over a technique. "Your talent for jutsu creation is remarkable. For your current level, you have more than enough firepower. With that Rasengan, you can handle any chunin. Anything more would be overkill."
I nodded. He was right. My ninjutsu was strong, but my body, even enhanced by the Water of Life, needed to catch up. I had to fully integrate that strength.
"For the next while, we'll focus entirely on physical conditioning. We need to push your base strength to the level of an elite chunin."
I understood his urgency. Calculating the time, the First Great Shinobi War wasn't far off. He was pushing me for my own good.
"Alright, Tenchi, enough talk. Today's task is twenty laps around the long-distance perimeter. Let's go!"
I didn't think much of it. Twenty laps? Easy. But that was before I understood Hiruzen's definition of "training."
Five days later, I was jogging on a path outside the village, my body drenched in sweat, every muscle screaming. My pace had slowed to a crawl; each step felt like I was dragging boulders chained to my limbs.
It had started simply enough. Day one: twenty laps. Day two: forty laps, plus twenty pounds of weights strapped to each limb. Day three: seventy laps, same weights. Hiruzen had ordered me to wear them constantly—eating, sleeping, training.
Now, on the fifth day, it was one hundred laps with fifty pounds on each limb. Two hundred pounds total, more than my own body weight.
"Tenchi, speed up! You're getting slower!" Hiruzen called out from the side, his voice annoyingly energetic. "Is this the level of a shinobi who wants to earn his place? Do you think this sluggishness will keep you alive on a battlefield? If you don't want to die, RUN!"
Gritting my teeth, I pushed a little harder, my lungs burning. Damn you, Hiruzen. Try running a hundred laps with two hundred pounds on your back. This isn't training a ten-year-old; it's torture!
I cursed him with every step, but I kept moving. The only thing driving me past the third day was the system. A new mission appeared each morning: complete Hiruzen's assigned laps. Failure: Obliteration.
The rewards were the only silver lining: 1000 points on day three, 2000 on day four, 3000 today. Six thousand points in three days. A small fortune earned through pure agony.
Finally, as the evening sky darkened, I finished. "Ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one... hundred!" I collapsed onto the grass, my chest heaving, my body one massive ache.
"Hmm, you finally finished," Hiruzen said, standing over me. "I'll be honest, I wasn't sure you'd make it. I'm pleased you did. My treat for barbecue."
I looked at him, speechless. Barbecue? I can barely move. I just want to sleep.
"Come on, young man, show some youthfulness! Don't be such an old man. If you have the strength to walk home, you have the strength to walk to the barbecue shop. You need to replenish your energy."
The truth was, I wouldn't have made it without the system's threat hanging over me. But since he was offering... a plan began to form in my exhausted mind.
"You're right," I wheezed, pushing myself up. "I should replenish my strength. After all, you're the one who put me in this state. Let's see how much your wallet can handle."
Hiruzen just smirked. He didn't think one person could eat that much.
Soon, we were seated at a bustling barbecue joint. As soon as we sat down, I pointed at the menu. "Fifty plates of the premium sliced meat. To start."
Hiruzen's smirk faltered. "Fifty? Tenchi, that's—"
But I was already in the zone. At first, we grilled for ourselves. Then, Hiruzen was grilling just for me. I ate plate after plate, the food vanishing almost as soon as it was cooked. Soon, the fifty plates were gone.
"Boss! Another fifty!" I called out.
The waiter stared. Other patrons began to stop their own conversations to watch the spectacle.
"Is that a bottomless pit?"
"What kind of stomach does he have?"
Hiruzen's face was turning a faint shade of red. He leaned in close, his voice a tense whisper. "Tenchi, that's enough. You're making a scene. Have some shame!"
"Shame? I'm just eating," I said flatly, shoving another perfectly grilled slice into my mouth. "And you're treating. You wouldn't let your hard-working teammate go hungry, would you?"
Two hours later, a furious shout echoed from the barbecue shop's entrance.
"TENCHI, YOU LITTLE BRAT! OVER FIVE HUNDRED PLATES! DON'T LET ME CATCH YOU NEXT TIME! I'LL BEAT YOU SENSELESS!"
I was already halfway down the street, my stomach painfully, wonderfully full. "Captain Hiruzen!" I yelled back over my shoulder. "I thought you were treating me! Why so stingy?"
"STINGY?! YOU CLEANED ME OUT!" The sound of an empty wallet hitting the ground followed his roar.
As I disappeared around a corner, Hiruzen's angry expression melted away. He picked up his wallet, a slow, thoughtful smile spreading across his face.
"That little punk," he muttered to himself, not without a hint of fondness. "Got me back good for the last few days, didn't he? Seems like things won't be boring with him around."
Waddling home with a massively distended belly, I felt a deep, profound satisfaction. That'll teach him to torture me, Sarutobi Hiruzen. That was just a warning. Next time you offer to buy me meat, I'll make sure your wallet has a funeral.