15 The Talk and The Mission

It was nearly noon in the Hidden Leaf Village. The sky was a bit cloudy with some sunlight sifting through them. In the 9th training ground, Takeru had just completed his daily physical training today with 1 set of One-Punch-Man regimen in level 4 training mode. He huffed in exhaustion and sat down under the tree for a bit of rest. He wore a casual white training gi which was soaked in sweat. 'Damn, that hurts. It hurts everywhere', grimaced Takeru as managed to take out the water bottle out of his backpack with shaking hands. He gulped down all the water and just laid down on the grass there watching the sky. After the talk yesterday night Takeru did not know how to approach his mother. He was in a serious dilemma. His dream was to become a strong shinobi, not because he wanted to rule the world or something like that, no, it was much simpler. He just wanted to survive and protect those he cared about. And in the list of those he cared about his parents ranked first. He wanted to protect them from the wars and conflicts that would come surely in this land. Now that he was thinking about it, he found that he was quite selfish in his requests to his parents. They could have moved to Keishi. He could have been a paper pusher or an official in the Fire Daimyo's court. He knew he could have done that. With his intelligence and knowledge about advanced politics and policies he knew or heard in his past life, he would have surely become someone successful. They could have lived a normal life. But to him, who was a reincarnated person from another dimension, normality was a burden and was seriously overrated. It was his choice to move to this village and it was also his choice to become a shinobi. He did not have to do that. He could have been another civilian living normally in this peaceful village. No, Takeru was selfish. He could not resist the allure of becoming powerful. He could not resist the temptations of having the ability to do miraculous things, breathing fire out of your mouth, sticking on walls and ceilings like a certain comicbook hero, walking on water like Jesus, performing superhuman feats like its nothing, he wanted to do all those things. He was thinking for himself all this time. He wanted to protect his parents because he could not think about losing them again. The hole that was formed in his heart when he lost the memories of the family of his past life was never truly mended. He just filled that hole with the memories he made with his parents in this life. He always thought that what he was doing was for all of them. No, he found that he was not. He did not think how his parents must have felt when he expressed his desire to become a shinobi. They were not some undying immortal beings that had the knowledge of everything. They were just regular normal people living in this wretched world. They did not know about the future like he did. They did not have any advantages like he had. They were just normal parents who were concerned about their son's life as they knew and experienced the true horrors of this world. He could not just go and tell them that he knew about the future and he was a dimensional reincarnator that had probably killed their true son and hijacked his body. He could not do that. He would not do that. He loved his family very much and he wanted them to be happy just as they wanted him to be happy. But in his selfish quest to fulfill his wishes he neglected their happiness. Takeru was in an impasse now. In one hand he truly wanted to become a badass shinobi, on the other hand he wanted to assure his parents about his safety somehow and make them worry less about him. But he knew it would be hard, very hard to do such things. Takeru sighed and rubbed his forehead a little. He would have to do something about it soon. He could not ignore it like he did all this time. Takeru finally understood something today. Everybody wanted to reincarnate, to have a new start, a second chance in life but few saw the consequences of it. People always looked at things they wanted in a good way, never considering the bad aspects of it. Reincarnation was also such a thing. To the hopeless reincarnation was a boon but to the hopefuls it was nothing but a curse.

Takeru was laying down and thinking about his course of action when he sensed someone approaching towards him. He opened his eyelids and saw Biwako standing there. "Hey, there" - Takeru greeted. "Hello, Takeru. Do you always train here at this hour?" - Biwako asked. "No, I used to train at the back of the Hokage Mountain in the morning but this exclusive training ground is much better. Where is Shikatsu by the way?" - Takeru asked. "He is still sleeping, his mother dumped a bucket of water on his head and even threw him away from the bed but he slept through all of that" - Biwako sighed as she was really hopeless about her lazy teammate. "Do not worry about him, he is probably oversleeping because he knows that he would not be able to for sometime" - Takeru smirked at amusement. "Yeah, probably something like that. Are you ready for the mission tomorrow?" - Biwako asked as she started training her water nature affinity and jutsu. "Kind of, you know, I prepared all my tools and utilities. I think I am ready for it. What about you?" - Takeru asked as he got up and started to pack his backpack. "Me? Oh, I am so excited! We would finally be able to go outside the village. I seriously could not have tolerated another one of those D-rank missions. What am I saying? They were not missions at all. They were errands. We were running errands for money for two whole months. It is finally over. I wish it could have ended sooner though" - Biwako said excitedly. "Hey, Biwako, can I ask you something?," - Takeru asked as he was preparing to leave. "Yeah, what is it?" - Biwako replied. "How did your parents react when you told them about you having to go outside the village for a mission?" - Takeru asked. "I told my parents about it, they were a bit worried at first, you know because it will my first mission outside the village. But I told them that we would take just a regular C-rank mission and assured them that with sensei and you in the team, they did not have to worry. You guys are powerful and we will fight and overcome any problems we might face. And I know that if I fell into a dangerous situation, sensei, you and Shikatsu will save me for sure as will any of us if someone of our team gets in danger. Afterall we are a team right? and that is what comrades do" - Biwako smiled at Takeru and replied. Takeru looked at her and smiled, - "Yeah, you are right, We are a team. Alright then, I will be going home now. bye now Biwako, see you next day". "Yeah, see you tomorrow" - Biwako replied as Takeru left the training ground and went to his home.

Takeru went home and found it empty. He freshened up and had the prepared lunch made by his mother. Takeru went to his room after that. He sat on his bed and thought about how to approach his parents. After sometime his eyes went to his locker. Takeru went up and took out the wooden box his mother gave him yesterday. He looked at the box. It was a simply normal looking wooden box with nothing special about it. The box was not locked. He opened it and saw 2 scrolls in it. He took out the first scroll and inspected it. It was a really worn out old scroll with signs of time on it. He carefully opened it and read what was inside. The scroll had the complete history of of Ito clan written in it. The Ito clan was one of the smaller clans residing in the Land of Grass about 200 years ago. The first patriarch of the then family Meizu Ito was a lone freelance shinobi with no affiliations. He survived the wars and conflicts with the help of a self created technique that could hide his presence and made him invisible. He got the ownership of a small patch of land in the Land of Grass and lived with his family. Slowly the family grew larger and they started to train in shinobi arts. The family turned clan engaged in mainly espionage and assassinations. Although no exceptionally strong shinobi came out of the clan, due to their clan techniques, they gained fame and became notorious. The clan had 8 patriarchs so far with Takeru's grandfather from his mother's side, Aizu Ito being the 8th one. Takeru read all of the Ito clan's history noting all of their successes and all of their mistakes. He saw that the most serious mistake the clan did was to publicize their involvement in certain assassinations of some major people belonging to rich and influential families. They thought that it would increase their fame and would make more people willing to hire them. This was a mistake caused by pure arrogance and stupidity. They were too sure of themselves and believed that their technique would make them able to survive any assault from their enemies. The clan thought that it was a good move. They were completely unaware of the scheming enemies behind their back planning their destruction. And all the enemies struck at once nearly 20 years ago and wiped out the Ito clan off the face of the earth. Takeru found that his mother, Akane, survived only due to sheer luck and her mental strength. Otherwise there were really no chances of her survival as the Ito clan made numerous dangerous enemies in their time. Takeru sighed, carefully closing the scroll, he put it inside the box. Takeru wanted to open the other scroll but he was hesitant about it. After contemplating for some time he closed the box. Takeru wanted to talk with his parents first. He could ask his mother to train him in this technique later.

It was past evening when Toru and Akane came home. It was raining heavily outside. They came inside all soaking wet with water. They hurriedly changed clothes and washed up. They came inside the dining room and saw Takeru sitting there silently. "Takeru, what happened?" - Akane asked as she sensed something was wrong. Takeru stood up from the chair and knelt on the floor, - "Mom, Dad, I am sorry for what I did. Please forgive me". Toru asked confusedly, - "What are you talking about? Why are you apologizing?". Akane went and held Takeru up, - "Is it because what I told you last night?". Akane asked pensively. "No, mom. I understood something today. I have always pushed my dream of becoming shinobi on both of you. I never cared about what you must have felt knowing that I would have to go to various situations where my life could have been endangered. I was only thinking about myself. I am truly sorry for everything" - Takeru apologized profusely. Toru and Akane looked at each other and smiled knowingly. Toru spoke first, - "It is our duty, Takeru. You would not understand it today. But when you grow up and become a father yourself, you would get it. It is in a parent's nature to worry about their child. We would be worried about you even if you were to become someone like Lord Hokage someday". "I neither blame you nor dislike you for your choice of becoming a shinobi, Takeru. Yes, I have had my reservations about the profession but that is all in the past. If you think that you are somehow hurting us, then you are wrong. Me and your father just wish that you would be safe. We support you with all our hearts, Takeru. It is not only your dream to see yourself become a strong shinobi, it is ours too. We also want to see you become someone great in your life. So, do not apologise to us for what you did, son" - Akane said patiently. Takeru hugged his parents. He was very grateful to have parents like them. Toru and Akane smiled at each other and hugged Takeru. The Yamamoto family stayed like that for sometime and left eachother's embrace with smiles on their faces. Toru and Akane told him how proud they were to have him as their son. Takeru blushed at the compliment. They knew Takeru would be going out tomorrow so Toru decided that he would buy Takeru some light armor for protection. Akane asked Takeru if he had read the contents of the box. Takeru told her that he read the history of the Ito clan but did not read the scroll of techniques. Akane told him that she would give him an overview of the technique today and she would be personally training him after he returned from the mission. While having dinner Takeru told his parents about what kind of mission he and his team would probably have to do. He explained that though he did not have live combat experience, he trained, practiced and sparred enough to reach the level of a jounin. Toru confirmed that Takeru was already a powerful shinobi and he would grow more and more powerful in time. Takeru also explained that he would have his teammates and Shunsui-sensei to protect or save him if something went wrong. Toru and Akane knew that Shunsui Uchiha was an elite jounin level shinobi. He was probably one of the few strongest shinobis in the village besides Lord Hokage. They were sure of Takeru's safety.

After dinner Akane briefly told Takeru about the Ito clan's technique. The technique was called Extreme Concealment Technique. It allowed the user of this technique to completely conceal his presence by merging with the nature. The user, after learning this technique, would have the ability to conceal his scent, sound, chakra signature completely. It also allowed the user to become completely invisible. After achieving full mastery of this technique the user could even meld or merge with any solid surfaces and travel through the surface without any decrease in speed. The technique was the pinnacle of stealth and concealment techniques. The only drawback of this technique was that it took too much time to learn. Even after decades of learning a person would at most have only beginner proficiency with it, much less mastery. Akane told him that the only person who had mastered this technique was the founder of the Ito clan. After that nobody had achieved that level ever again. Takeru thought about it and understood that for such an overpowered technique, such a drawback was normal. It was night and Takeru was now sitting on his bed thinking about what just happened today. He thought about it and found that yes he had been selfish. He was only thinking about himself. He thought that he was hurting his parents but it was not. They accepted the worry, hurt everything for his sake. Takeru knew the only way to assure them was not through talking. He had to comeback home safely every time. He had to survive. Takeru promised himself that even if not for himself, he could not die for his parents sake. The talk really cleared his mind. The self-doubt and lack of confidence he was having, all vanished in thin air. Takeru went to sleep that night with a peaceful smile on his lips.

The next day in the early morning Takeru finished packing all the supplies and tools for this mission. He made many storage scrolls and stored various things inside. Takeru packed way too much things in the storage scrolls and in his backpack. He took extras for everything as a precaution. Toru returned Takeru his sword. Takeru smiled seeing the black sword again after a long time. This sword increased his power once again. Soon, after the preparations were over Toru went out with Takeru to the market. They found a good shinobi tools shop. Toru and Takeru searched the shop for a bit and found what they were looking for. It was a set of light armor, a metal breastplate made of multiple plates conjoined to one another and two forearm guards. Toru and Takeru inspected it and found that the quality was good. So, they bought it. Takeru equipped the armor and armguards quickly and thanked his father. Toru smiled at him and told him to always be cautious and be aware of his surroundings. Toru wished Takeru luck and reminded him to always trust his instincts. Takeru said his goodbyes to his father and hurriedly went to the 9th training ground as it was nearly the meeting time of his team. Takeru reached the training ground only to see the rest of his team was already present there with backpacks on their back. Shunsui asked them if they had prepared their supplies. They all confirmed that they had. The Team 9 then went to the Hokage Tower to take a new mission. Shunsui went to the shinobi mission administration counter and asked for a C-rank mission. He got one and returned to his team after a few minutes. "We got the mission. We will be escorting the client to the Land of Whirlpools. The client has just issued it. The client will be coming here in a few moments and he is a very important person. You guys check the mission details in the meantime." - Shunsui gave the mission details to his team and left to find the client. Takeru, Biwako and Shikatsu read the scroll and found out that it will be a very long mission. They would have to escort the client through the Land of Fire, the Land of Noodles, Nagi Island and then finally to the Hidden Whirlpool Village. Shikatsu let out a painful groan when he realised how much time he would have to stay away from home amd his beautiful sleep. Takeru and Biwako were excited as they would finally be able to get to see the outside. Shunsui came a few moments later with a middle-aged man with vibrant read hair, purple eyes, wearing a blue kimono with grey shades. The man had a huge backpack on his back and wore a simple straw hat. "So, these kids will be my escorts and guard my life, eh?" - the man asked. "Do not worry, Shibuya-san, they might be young but they are good and capable shinobis. Plus you are not so defenseless yourself, are you?" - Shunsui asked with a smirk. "Hahaha, that is true. Alright then, let us start our journey." - Shibuya let out a laugh. "Sure, Team 9, let us go." - Shunsui ordered. The group of 5 left the building and went towards the main gate of the village. After a round of questions by the gatekeepers and signing some paperwork they went out of the gate and left the village. The Team 9 of Hidden Leaf Village went out of the village for the very first time to complete their first C-rank mission.