Chapter 18

After confirming his path as a trainer, Gouda Zixu fell asleep peacefully again, leaving his clone alone to practice the power of the Silence Fruit. Apart from anything else, the Silence Fruit significantly improved sleep quality, ensuring not only that he got a good night's rest but also helping his clone master its power.

Honestly, he worked too damn hard.

The early morning sunlight filtered through the leaves like broken gold. Even though he had woken up once due to that dream last night, he still slept soundly through the second half.

"I, Uzumaki Zixu, officially declare this the best sleep aid ever!"

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone rapped on Zixu's door just as he was finishing up in the bathroom. He didn't interact with many people regularly, and even fewer ever dropped by unannounced. The only ones who'd bother knocking this early were Aburame Hatsuizumi and Hyuga Chinano.

Spitting out his mouthwash, Zixu wiped his face with a towel and casually walked to the door.

Meanwhile, his clone—who had actually followed orders for once—was sprawled on the floor, snoring. It was hard to tell whether it had collapsed from exhaustion or just decided to be lazy again. Zixu dismissed it with a thought, then peered through the peephole.

Sure enough, it was Chinano and Hatsuizumi, plus one other person. Seeing no one else around, Zixu finally unlatched the door.

Creak.

He cracked the door open slightly, observing the situation outside.

Chinano was dressed in a sleek black suit, with a dark circular pattern on her shirt, paired with black jeans that had dark blue accents. The outfit gave her a sharp, no-nonsense look.

Hatsuizumi, on the other hand, was wearing a sky-blue short-sleeved shirt with a tiny beetle pattern on the chest, along with light blue shorts that featured the same spiderweb logo.

Zixu hadn't planned on meeting up with them today, but since they were already here, he let them in.

"Let's go grab some barbecue," Hatsuizumi said impatiently. "It's already noon. Why are you just waking up? Come on, let's go."

She looked excited—probably wondering if Zixu and Chinano could eat her into bankruptcy.

Chinano, meanwhile, took a quick glance around Zixu's room.

Books were scattered all over the floor, mostly on subjects like curse removal and sealing techniques. Several oddly-shaped barbells were piled in one corner, and some dusty clothes were tossed on a chair. Other than that, nothing stood out.

"Does he really get stronger just by lifting weights?" Chinano wondered, skeptical.

Zixu didn't waste any time. He shut the door, changed into a fresh outfit, and stepped outside. A free meal was a rare treat, and since he had already fully integrated a quarter of Kaido's physique, his appetite had doubled.

Honestly, most of his money went into food and books—so the idea of an all-you-can-eat barbecue sounded way too good to pass up.

"Can I really eat as much as I want?" Zixu asked with a harmless smile as they walked.

Hatsuizumi felt like she had heard this conversation before, but still puffed out her chest proudly.

"Of course! Don't underestimate me. I'm a real ninja now. Have you ever heard of a ninja dying of poverty? Heh, this time, I will see you two stuffing yourselves until you can't move."

Chinano chuckled. "True, no ninja has ever died of poverty before… but who's to say you can't be the first?"

Hatsuizumi pouted. "Impossible!"

A while later…

"...Well, if you can't eat anymore, don't push yourselves," Hatsuizumi muttered weakly, her confidence completely shattered.

She had underestimated them. These two weren't normal. Zixu and Chinano were treating the barbecue like a mission—piling up empty plates at a terrifying rate.

"You can't back out now," Zixu said with a burp. He slurped down another bowl of soup like it was nothing, while Chinano polished off another plate of grilled meat.

Hatsuizumi, meanwhile, was already slumped against the seat, watching them with fear in her eyes.

At the front counter, the restaurant owner was watching them in disbelief.

"Old man, do the new generation of ninjas all eat like this? If this keeps up, we're gonna run out of food!"

"What can we do?" his wife sighed. "Let's just keep cooking for them. Maybe it's all that training."

Hatsuizumi's sharp hearing picked up their conversation. Instantly, she snapped out of her food coma and yanked Zixu and Chinano toward the front desk.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," she said hurriedly. "If there's not enough food, it's fine—we're done eating. These two were just really hungry. We won't keep you any longer. Here's the money for the meal. We're leaving!"

Before the boss and his wife could react, Aburame Hatsuizumi grabbed Hyuga Chinano—who was reluctant to leave—dragging her out of the barbecue restaurant. They disappeared around the corner like a gust of wind.

"You both heard that, right? It's not that I can't afford it… I just didn't want to trouble the owners," Hatsuizumi mumbled, trying to justify her hasty retreat.

Zixu and Chinano simply stared at her with a knowing expression—Sure, sure, whatever you say.

Feeling embarrassed under their silent judgment, Hatsuizumi quickly changed the subject.

"Ahem! Anyway, let's drop it. I'll bring you guys here to eat next time. But for now, why don't we get some training in? We're getting assigned to teams tomorrow, so we should take today to test our tactics."

"Since you paid for the meal, we're down," Zixu said with a smirk.

Chinano nodded in agreement. They did need some actual combat experience to gauge their current strength. Theories and drills were one thing, but real fights were the only way to measure progress.

The three of them soon arrived at their usual training spot. After stretching and warming up, they were ready to spar.

"I'll fight Chinano first, then I'll take on Zixu," Hatsuizumi declared, stepping forward and motioning for Chinano to get ready.

Chinano removed her coat, tightened her light-red forehead protector, and raised her hands in a classic Hyuga stance—one palm in front of the other, poised to strike.

"Start!" Zixu called out, acting as the temporary referee.

Hatsuizumi was the first to move—but instead of rushing forward, she remained still. The only movement came from her index finger, subtly twitching. A small, dark blue crescent-shaped blade of chakra shot forward at insane speed, much faster than a standard shuriken.

The Moon Blade cut through the air, leaving behind a faint blue trail. In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of Chinano.

Her Byakugan activated instantly, turning her vision into a world of black and white. With heightened perception, she analyzed the trajectory of the incoming attack.

Without hesitation, she shifted her right foot and infused chakra into her palm. With a perfectly timed deflection, she struck the Moon Blade at a tricky angle, knocking it off course. It embedded itself into a nearby tree trunk, leaving behind a deep gash.

But Hatsuizumi wasn't just standing around either. The moment Chinano blocked her attack, she had already closed the distance—now less than four meters away.

Another flick of her fingers.

This time, a second Moon Blade shot out, but something was different. As it flew, faint glowing specks of light surrounded it.

Zixu narrowed his eyes. "She's using Light Bugs to enhance the Moonlight Bugs… That's already the foundation of a deadly move."

Chinano's danger sense spiked. Through her Byakugan, she saw the increased energy in this attack—it was far stronger than before. She couldn't afford to take it head-on.

At that moment, an Eight Trigrams Array appeared beneath her feet. A mysterious symbol materialized in the Moon Blade's flight path.

"Doton: Kasumi Jirai (Earth Release: Hazy Dust Trap)!"

With a whispered command, the symbol activated.

The dust on the ground swirled unnaturally, forming a dense smokescreen that completely obstructed vision and interrupted Hatsuizumi's offensive.

"Cough, cough!" Hatsuizumi instinctively released a swarm of small insects, keeping her guard up. She couldn't afford to let her guard down in an ambush.

The sound of rushing footsteps echoed through the dust.

As the smoke cleared, a bright blue light flickered in Hatsuizumi's eyes.

"Light Release: Bright Vision?" Zixu recognized the glow immediately. He wasn't entirely sure which insect she had used, but he was confident it was a variation of the Light Path Bug.

Suddenly, there was a sharp crack.

As the dust settled, Hatsuizumi's palm struck Chinano squarely in the chest. In her other hand, a kunai was ready—if she wanted to, she could land a finishing blow in the next second.

"Heh, I finally won!" Hatsuizumi grinned. "Man, that was tough. But hey, don't feel bad—there'll be plenty of chances in the future to get stronger. We can spar again anytime—"

She trailed off, noticing Chinano wasn't responding.

Chinano just stood there. Silent. Stiff.

A creeping unease settled in.

"You alright?" Hatsuizumi asked hesitantly.

Then…

"Don't let your guard down next time."

The voice came from behind her.

Hatsuizumi's eyes widened.

She spun around—Chinano was standing there, completely unharmed, a calm smile on her face.

Hatsuizumi whipped back toward the "Chinano" she had just struck. The figure shimmered—then transformed into a tree trunk.

A substitution.

At the same time, Chinano's right eye was no longer its usual gray-black. Instead, it glowed with an ominous scarlet hue.

"That's… the Red Eye?"

Hatsuizumi clenched her fists. "When the hell did I fall into an illusion?"

Zixu smirked.

"Was it when the dust rose?"

Hatsuizumi quickly pieced it together. The illusion must have taken hold when she lost visual clarity. But what really got her was realizing she had just been giving a whole motivational speech… to a goddamn log.

Her face burned with embarrassment.

"Damn it! I won't lose next time!" she declared, shaking off her frustration.

Chinano nodded in acknowledgment. The fight had been tough—even she had felt the pressure. Without Red Eye, her victory wouldn't have been guaranteed. Hatsuizumi's techniques were rapidly improving, but she still lacked real battle experience.

"Alright, now it's your turn, Zixu," Hatsuizumi said, regaining her composure.

She retrieved her scattered insects and gestured toward him.

Among the three of them, only Zixu could truly suppress Chinano in a fight. Of course, this was a fact they never admitted out loud—at Zixu's request.

Zixu cracked his knuckles. "Guess I'm up."

With a relaxed yet confident stride, he stepped onto the training field.

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