Chapter 64: Volume 2 – Chapter 13: Walnut, Part 2

He explained that the Raikage had refused to issue the mission because not everyone was present.

Hearing this, Reiji nodded with a helpless look, then smiled at Ryūto and the others.

"Captain Ryūto, give me a minute. I can't let these walnuts go to waste."

Saying that, he scrambled around looking for a sack to gather the leftover walnuts.

Ryūto's team fell into silence again. This guy was hopeless.

With power that terrifying, instead of fighting on the front lines, he was out here cracking walnuts for snacks.

No doubt about it—Okufu's death had hit him hard enough to knock something loose in his brain.

Feeling sympathetic, Ryūto decided he had to talk things through with Raimei on this mission.

He's still young—if his mind's already messed up, how's he supposed to settle down and start a family in the future?

...

Once everyone was gathered, Ryūto's team headed to the mission office.

It was right next to the Raikage's office, just as spacious. Inside, the Raikage was seated on a massive chair, studying a scroll with a serious expression.

They knocked and entered.

The Raikage glanced over at them. When he saw Reiji, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Raimei, get over here!" he bellowed.

At the command, Reiji strolled over lazily and stood in front of the Third Raikage.

"Raise your arms. Let me take a look!"

Reiji raised his arms without hesitation.

The Raikage reached out, grabbed the arm guard, gave it a few test lifts, and then broke into a wide grin. He seemed quite pleased.

"Not bad, kid! This thing's got some weight to it—what, a ton?"

(Note: One ton of iron is approximately 0.127 cubic meters.)

Reiji gave an embarrassed smile and scratched his head.

The Raikage kept holding the arm guard, inspecting it carefully.

"You getting used to it? Want me to get you something even bigger?"

Wait—are you saying I can get a free upgrade?

Well now I'm wide awake!

"Of course I'm used to it! Look at this!"

With a flourish, Reiji pulled out a walnut from who-knows-where and placed it in his left palm.

The moment Ryūto saw the walnut, his face twisted, and he slapped a hand to his forehead.

Damn it... here we go again!

Can you give the walnuts a break? What did they ever do to you?!

Unfortunately, his silent protest had no effect on the two perfectly in-sync lunatics standing in front of him.

Reiji stared intently at the walnut, right hand poised and moving up and down, gauging the angle.

The Third Raikage was just as locked in, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Ha!"

With a sharp cry, Reiji's arm dropped like a hammer, moving with a precise rhythm.

He was putting on a show—demonstrating his strength with finesse to score some free perks from the Raikage.

At that moment, everyone in the room had their eyes on the walnut—even Ryūto, who'd just been mentally raging.

Slap!

With a goofy crack, the walnut shattered into pieces.

Ryūto stared in silence, his face twitching as if it might split in half.

Bro...

Could you be any more ridiculous?

This is the mission assignment room. A place of authority!

You're seriously about to change Raikage-sama's whole vibe with your antics!

The Third Raikage threw his head back in laughter and gave Reiji a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Raimei, go back and train some more! Hahaha!

And eat more pork leg while you're at it—bulk up some more!"

He was laughing like mad, but Raikage couldn't have been more satisfied.

This kid was born for Taijutsu.

Don't be fooled by the walnut—it shattered because of the speed behind Reiji's strike.

If he wanted to ease up, he could've cracked it clean without turning it into powder.

But that wouldn't have had the same effect.

With someone like the Raikage, who wore his heart on his sleeve, playing it straight was the way to go.

...

In high spirits, the Raikage handed out two missions.

One was a request from the Land of the Moon—to wipe out a bandit hideout in their territory.

The other came directly from the village: a border patrol.

Only, in classic Kumogakure fashion, they wouldn't be patrolling their own border, but the boundary between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon.

Raikage's stance: "My borders are mine. Your borders? Also mine."

Because they'd lost time looking for Reiji and taking the mission, the team decided to depart the next day.

Unbeknownst to Reiji, as he was leaving the Raikage's building, two women were quietly whispering nearby.

...

The next morning, all four team members gathered at the village gate and set out for the south, toward the Land of the Moon.

According to the mission details, the bandit hideout was nestled on a steep mountain right on the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of the Moon.

At the base of the mountain ran a minor trade route.

Thanks to the treacherous terrain and their restrained tactics, the bandits had been living pretty comfortably.

But unfortunately for them, the Raikage decided they'd fattened up enough—it was time to butcher them for lard.

This was classic behavior from the rogue village of Kumogakure.

They let bandits play by the rules and prey on foreign merchant caravans, fattening them up over time.

Now, since the hot-headed Raikage had failed to squeeze money from the equally hot-headed Daimyō of the Land of Lightning, he had no choice but to slaughter these little piggies early—no waiting for New Year's.

By contrast, the relationship between Konohagakure and the Daimyō of the Land of Fire was much smoother.

When they ran out of money, all they had to do was hold out a hand.

The higher-ups set the tone—

That's why Konoha's overflowing with freeloaders like Sakura Haruno, "Sakura-chan," the Pink Devil, and pretty much every female in Team 7.

Classic case of biting the hand that feeds you.

With his thoughts drifting to random nonsense, Reiji trailed at the rear of the group, diligently guarding the rear end of Ryūto's team.

Soon, the four of them arrived at their destination—a mountain range perched in a dangerous location.

The peak wasn't especially large, but the cliffs were nearly vertical, practically dropping straight down.

Apparently, the bandits' hideout was up at the summit, and they used hanging baskets to travel up and down.

Honestly, whoever thought of building a base here was a sneaky little genius.

The first time Reiji saw the mountain, he wondered if he'd stumbled onto the set of Avatar.

Soon after, Ryūto found a secluded cave shielded from the wind and got serious about laying out the operation plan.

"First, we gather intel. Then we take them all out in one sweep."

Reiji nodded along enthusiastically.

Nice! Solid strategy! Very much in line with Kumogakure's style!

But, Captain Ryūto, have you considered what I'm supposed to do if I can't walk on water or climb trees?

The plan was quickly finalized. Since Reiji was new, Ryūto assigned him to guard the base of the mountain.

Reiji nodded indifferently.

Didn't matter. Whether up high or down below, he was still slacking either way.

As night fell, the operation began.

Ryūto led Yui and Kohaku, darting up the sheer mountainside like it was nothing.

Watching their silhouettes disappear into the darkness, Reiji murmured,

"Go on, Captain. I've already broken the laws of physics—might as well make it official."

...

Not long after, sounds of shouting and fighting echoed from above.

Reiji, seated cross-legged on the ground, tilted his head in confusion.

Weren't ninja supposed to assassinate silently? Why did it sound like a street brawl up there?

Then he remembered—

Oh. Right. Kumogakure. Never mind, then.

...

Before long, the battle wrapped up cleanly.

Ryūto and the others returned covered in blood—not theirs—lugging sacks and bundles down the mountain.