The smell of blood still lingered in the air, mixing with the damp scent of the forest leaves. My whole body ached—a cruel reminder of the battle we had just survived. Every breath felt heavy, and my chakra reserves were nearly empty. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was knowing that if we had been alone, we never would've won.
I turned to Dekai, still trying to piece my thoughts together. "What happened to Juzo?"
Dekai didn't hesitate. "He won't be a problem anymore."
His words were simple, but they were enough to make me feel relieved. I thought back to what I knew about Juzo—one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, wielding the Kubikiribōchō, a blade designed for slaughter. Sure, he wasn't Zabuza, but he was still insanely strong. And yet, Dekai took him down alone. Not a scratch on him. What did he use? What kind of technique let him defeat an opponent like that? And just how strong was Dekai-sensei, really?
He didn't seem interested in answering, though, since he shifted his focus to Natsu, who was still bleeding from her shoulder. "You need medical attention. But first, we need to get out of here."
My breathing slowly steadied as Dekai walked over to Shuro's smoldering body. He pulled out a scroll from one of his pockets and placed it over the enemy. Forming a quick hand seal, he sealed the body away in a puff of smoke.
"When you become chuunin, Konoha will provide you with scrolls like this. Preserving enemy bodies for investigation is important." Dekai explained casually as he tucked the scroll away.
Jimei let out a deep sigh. "I don't even know how we're still alive… That guy, Shuro, was terrifying."
I stayed quiet, feeling every ache and pain in my body. My taijutsu was good, but it wasn't enough. Shuro wasn't incredibly fast, but his experience and instincts made every move deadly. If I had been alone, I never would've landed a hit on him.
My Phantom Step had been crucial in that fight, but I realized its flaws. I needed a second to reactivate it, and against enemies like Shuro or Juzo, that second was an eternity. Not to mention, it burned through my chakra fast. I could only use it a handful of times before I was completely drained.
Jimei helped Natsu lean against him, and we started moving away from the battlefield. The forest grew denser as we walked, but my mind was elsewhere.
If I wanted to survive in the shinobi world, I needed ways to create openings in battle. I thought about legendary fights involving taijutsu specialists. Rock Lee vs. Gaara…
That fight was amazing, and honestly, I'd watched a ton of AMVs of it with Linkin Park playing in the background. But let's be real—if Lee didn't have that insane training regimen and the Eight Gates, he never would've been able to touch Gaara. And the Gates had their drawbacks—the exhaustion and the limited time he could use them nearly got him killed.
Might Guy vs. Kisame… Guy used ridiculous speed and precise strikes to dominate that fight. But again, he relied on the Gates. Sure, he managed his exhaustion well because of his experience, but he was over 30 and had spent his entire life training.
And then, there was Guy vs. Madara… A fight that proved taijutsu could reach a level that rivaled gods. But the cost… The cost was his own life. If that was the peak of taijutsu, then it was a dangerous path. But at the same time, it showed that taijutsu could be lethal if mastered beyond human limits.
The problem was, to reach that level, I needed to be faster. As long as my opponents were quicker, I'd only get brief windows to attack. And I couldn't just rely on that. Sure, there were the Eight Gates, but honestly, I didn't want to mess with those. And even if I did, my body was still too young to handle them.
That was another problem—my young body. There was a limit to how fast I could be right now. Lee and Guy only became taijutsu monsters as adults. And me? How long would I have to wait?
Maybe I should specialize in something else…
I thought about Itachi and Kakashi. Both were prodigies, but they didn't rely solely on taijutsu. Itachi was a master of genjutsu and illusions. His taijutsu wasn't bad, not at all, but he had a massive arsenal of ninjutsu and Sharingan techniques to compensate.
Kakashi had a wide range of ninjutsu. But he was a versatile shinobi—decent at genjutsu and solid in taijutsu. His summoning jutsu worked perfectly with his fighting style, creating openings for him to attack. Both of them chose paths that allowed them to grow quickly.
If I knew genjutsu, I could use it to create openings. But reality was cruel—I sucked at it.
Ninjutsu, then? Maybe Dekai could teach me some techniques… But my chakra reserves weren't high enough for an all-out ninjutsu approach. Just spamming jutsus would drain me way too fast.
Frustration settled in, but then something clicked.
Taijutsu was still my best bet, but I also needed some ninjutsu that didn't burn all my chakra and let me control the flow of battle. If I could manipulate the fight, I could maximize my impact and minimize my weaknesses.
"Hey, Kenshin. What's up? You're way too quiet." Jimei asked, looking at me with concern.
I lifted my head. "Just thinking about how we can get stronger."
He chuckled. "That's so you. You never stop thinking about that stuff."
Dekai glanced at us but said nothing. Maybe he already knew what I was thinking about.
I raised my hand in front of my eyes and slowly clenched my fist. If I could recreate that technique in this world… If I could master it completely… I'd be so much stronger.
With that technique and my Phantom Step, I'd be a ghost to my enemies. But I had no clue how to develop it here… I needed a faster solution for now.
After moving for what felt like forever, we finally stopped. The first thing I did was drop to the ground, still exhausted from the fight. Dekai-sensei rummaged through his vest and pulled out a roll of bandages. He turned to Natsu and walked up to her.
"Take off your clothes, Natsu. I need to bandage your wound." he said in his usual serious tone.
Natsu's eyes widened, her face turning bright red. I raised an eyebrow—definitely didn't expect to see my teammate undressing this soon.
"W-wait! Just like that?!" She looked panicked.
Jimei, who had just taken a sip of water, immediately spit it out, coughing. "D-Dekai-sensei, you can't just say that to a girl!"
"I don't see the problem. It's just the kimono, and she has a shirt underneath." Dekai frowned, genuinely confused.
Natsu covered her face with her hands, mumbling something about how embarrassing this was. Jimei was still flailing around like he expected someone to intervene.
"Natsu, you only need to remove the top part of your kimono. It's not like you're stripping completely." I sighed.
She hesitated, still flustered, but nodded timidly. Slowly, she untied the top of her kimono, revealing the fitted shirt underneath.
Dekai wasted no time. With firm, precise movements, he started wrapping the bandages around her shoulder.
"If we don't cover the wound properly, it could get infected. Stop squirming." he said, focused on his work.
Natsu let out a muffled squeak of embarrassment but stayed still. Jimei still looked like he was processing what just happened. Me? I was surprised Dekai-sensei didn't know any healing jutsu. I mean, yeah, medical ninjutsu was rare and hard to learn, but I thought all jounin at least knew the basics.
Oh, wait… Wasn't that what Tsunade and the Third Hokage fought about?
Yeah… Right now, I really wished I knew some medical ninjutsu. It'd be pretty useful… Assuming I had the chakra to use it.
Once the bandaging was done, Dekai stood up and looked at all of us.
"Let's keep moving. If we hurry, we'll reach the Artisan Village by nightfall. Natsu can get proper treatment there."