In a highly dense forest, two ninjas raced through dense areas at speeds that were indecipherable by the human eye. In front of these two ninjas was a toad that was moving at an even greater speed than the two shinobi chasing it.
With every passing second, the distance between the two shinobi and the toad widened, which caused them to click their tongues in frustration.
"We can't allow the S-ranked copy toad to escape. If it does, then it might be picked up by another village. This would mean both our heads, Master Hanzo," one of the ninjas groaned in frustration as he pushed himself off a tree branch, floating through the air as light as a feather before landing on another tree branch.
Master Hanzo didn't reply immediately; instead, his wrinkled face morphed into a frown. The master was an old man, but looking at his swift movements, it was hard to tell. On his hip was a sword that was hard to distinguish from a stick.
The young shinobi felt as if time was of the essence, but he didn't dare rush the master to reply.
"I'll cut him off. Prepare to deliver the finishing blow," the old shinobi finally said as his body suddenly fizzled out and disappeared out of view.
The toad continued to leap through the forest with unmatched speed and agility. Part of its body was frozen, slowing its movements, and there was a huge wound on the side of the toad's body that looked as if he was cut by a sharp blade. The beast left behind a trail of thick golden blood as it moved through the forest.
Its pained croak reverberated throughout the entire forest.
…
The entire room went silent the moment Sensei Mishima spoke. Everyone knew that being sent out to find your own scroll basically meant death.
A normal 14-year-old would've broken down in tears after being sent to his death in a beast-infested land, but that would've only made things worse. Shinobi were taught to hide their emotions, and breaking down now would only show that I learned nothing after 4 years in the academy.
Instead, I bowed my head with my arms stiffly at my hips.
"Yes, Sensei!"
The sensei nodded, seemingly satisfied.
"Come back when you have your scroll."
With his words, I turned on my heels and left. None of the other genin reacted to my departure; they were either too amazed by their newly acquired power or completely uncaring of my situation.
The rest of the genin would be assigned squads where they would be sent on missions, but as for me, I wouldn't be allowed into a squad until I learned a jutsu.
But that in itself was practically a death sentence. This world was plagued by monsters and abominations. Killing one of these monsters could allow you to acquire a stroll which gives access to a jutsu if you're lucky. But these beasts were extremely powerful forcing the human race into hiding and under the protection of ninjas.
The only safe places were the ninja villages and the 4 kingdoms, who were protected by different ninja villages.
There were four kingdoms in total, and in each kingdom, the shinobi practiced separate types of jutsu. Jutsu is the name given to the mystical arts performed by shinobi after they have learned the techniques carved into a scroll.
There were four types of jutsu in total: Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Bōjutsu, and Ninjutsu.
Kenjutsu was the art of the sword. This jutsu focused solely on sword arts, which gave the users mystical abilities while using the sword.
Taijutsu, on the other hand, focused on physical martial arts, which included hand-to-hand combat and grappling.
While Bōjutsu mainly utilized fighting with a staff and using the staff to perform supernatural feats. Bōjutsu is usually passive and not used for attacks, like healing and creating illusions.
And finally, Ninjutsu allows shinobi to manipulate the elements and perform feats that seem almost magical. Ninjutsu is usually performed by doing special hand signs, which you learn after learning the content of a scroll.
The shinobi in our kingdom, the White Clover Kingdom, use Ninjutsu.
Soon, I arrived at the wooden shack at the edge of the village that I used as my home. The former inhabitant of this body lived here with his mother until both of them eventually starved to death.
From the memories that were left behind in this body, I gathered that the former Kenjaku's mother had relations with a high-ranking member of one of the thirteen clans. For whatever reason, they were kicked out of the clan and left to fend for themselves.
While in my previous life, I was fifteen years old when I died. The last thing I remember is me going to retrieve my 3-year-old brother's ball, which he tossed into the middle of the street, when I suddenly heard a truck horn.
The next thing I remember is waking up, lying next to a rotting corpse. Then I was hit with a flood of memories and emotions that I knew didn't belong to me.
Being an orphan, I was then sent into the ninja academy, where I survived for 4 hellish years only to be told I had no affinity to the fire scroll.
Sigh.
Entering the shack, I quickly shifted the pile of grass I used as a bed and lifted the loose board that sat beneath it all. This was my secret hiding space. Inside was a pair of rusty kunai, a black mask, and a pair of boots.
These items were all I currently had. They were given to me when I first started the academy at just ten years old. Now, after four years, I would have to rely on them to find a ninja scroll.
I packed all the necessary items, like food and clothing, inside a small snakeskin bag. Afterward, I quickly left the shack and walked along the dirt-trodden road to exit the village. From my headband, the guards at the gate could see that I was now a genin and allowed me to pass without issue.
Our village was called Ryumon, and it sat on a mountain just above a waterfall. It sat on the plateau of one of the highest mountains on the continent.
The only way to access the village was through the waterfall. This method to enter and exit the village was kept secret and could only be accessed by shinobi.
In fact, entering and exiting the village was a core part of the final exam for the ninja academy.
Gazing at the river, every couple of minutes, a giant koi fish would leap from the water, creating a huge splash. These fishes were the size of an elephant from my world.
Their beautiful flame-colored scales seemed to dazzle in the sunlight as they emerged from the water for a brief second before submerging themselves once again. One thing to note about these koi fish was that they were partially blind.
The only thing they could see was ki. They followed the natural ki flowing in the river and traveled up and down the waterfall throughout the day nonstop.
Standing in the river, I released my ki. It was an energy, but I could feel it pouring out of my meridians. I stood as still as possible while focusing on my breathing to keep my focus.
Just a few seconds later, I could feel a strong ripple in the water around me. At that very moment, I suppressed my ki and quickly opened my eyes. A giant koi fish was just above me, its mouth opened wide as it dove toward me.
Without skipping a beat, I quickly sidestepped the beast and latched onto the creature, clinging onto its scales as if my life depended on it.
This was the only way to exit the village: by using yourself as bait to catch one of the koi fish and ride on its back down the waterfall.
Koi fish were just like any other beast. Meaning, killing one could produce a scroll, but this was strictly prohibited by the village. Killing one would cause you to be branded as a rogue ninja and would cause you to be hunted by every shinobi in the continent.
Closing my eyes, I then channeled my ki into my kunai before embedding it into the beast's scale to keep from falling. The koi fish traveled along the current and down the giant waterfall.
From atop the waterfall, the river below was barely visible as I passed through the clouds, heading downward. My grip instinctively tightened around the kunai. A single slip could prove fatal in this situation. And since I was underwater, I was forced to hold my breath for several minutes.
The village had trained us in high-intensity situations just like this. One such training taught us how to hold our breath for several minutes. Many students at the academy died while attempting to leave the village during the exam.
Soon, we arrived at the bottom of the waterfall, which led into a deep river.
I immediately released the koi fish and swam to shore to not get swept away by the current. My muscles ached as I collapsed onto the sandy banks of the river, breathing heavily.
After catching my breath, I then climbed to my feet and entered the forest behind me, making sure to keep my kunai hidden. Beasts naturally became aggressive in sight of a weapon. I also made sure to walk on the blades of my feet so as not to make any noise or leave any tracks behind.
Beasts were known to live in the forest outside our village. There were beasts ranked as high as C-rank living in the forest. If I was lucky, I would encounter a D-ranked beast. Hopefully a jade snake, since they are the weakest beasts that live in this area.
A scroll from a jade snake would allow me to perform ninjutsu that coated my entire body in jade-like scales that could be used as defense. And this was only at the first realm of mastery.
Still, the possibility of receiving a scroll after killing a beast was low. This was what made it a risk. Coupled with the fact that it would be impossible for me to defeat a D-ranked beast in a head-on fight unless I found a way to ambush the beast.
For that reason, I decided to climb the tallest tree I could find. This allowed me to get a better view of the forest.
For miles around, there was nothing but a dense forest, and for a moment, it looked as if there was nothing worthwhile in the area until my eyes caught sight of something.
"Bingo."