Naruto: Faint Smile - CH 106

[Takeshi POV.]

The days in Kumo began to blur together. Jiraiya-sensei had spent most of his time “working,” which in his case meant mysteriously disappearing and then returning either drenched in water, bruised, or occasionally wearing someone else’s shoes in his skull. 

I stopped asking questions about it after the first day. 

It wasn’t worth the headache.  

To pass the time, I decided to explore the village. 

Kumo was interesting, to say the least. 

Built into the mountains, its architecture was rugged and efficient, but the people here were vibrant, energetic, and quite straightforward, these people had no filter, and I loved it. It was a stark contrast to Konoha, where everything felt more subdued, almost calculated.  

Walking through the market streets, I took note of the goods on display—exotic weapons, rare herbs, and oddly enough, a surprising amount of sweets. I wasn’t sure why, but the people of Kumo seemed to have a serious sweet tooth.  

Tsuki, perched lazily on my shoulder, yawned as we strolled past a stall selling what appeared to be some kind of fried pastry coated in honey. I considered buying one for a moment but decided against it. 

Jiraiya would probably sniff it out and steal it before I got to enjoy it. He also had a sweet tooth, especially when he wasn't the one buying the stuff.

As I wandered deeper into the village, something stopped me in my tracks. 

A massive chakra signature.  

It was unlike anything I had ever felt before—huge, dense, and wild, like trying to stare into a storm that stretched endlessly in every direction. The air around me felt heavier just from sensing it, and for a moment, I stood frozen, trying to process what I was feeling. 

This wasn’t normal. This was on the level of the nine tails…. This was bad.

Whoever—or whatever—this belonged to, it was on a completely different level. Even the strongest shinobi I’d encountered didn’t compare to this. At least, chakra wise.

Deciding that whatever this was, it was best avoided, I turned on my heel and headed in the opposite direction.  

Tsuki meowed softly, as if questioning my decision.  

“It’s nothing,” I said calmly, scratching her behind the ears as I walked. “Just something better left alone.”  

I had barely taken a few steps when I felt the chakra signature shift.  

It was moving.  

And it was heading in my direction.  

I frowned slightly, keeping my pace steady as I changed course again. Perhaps it was a coincidence. This was a busy village, after all.  

But as I continued to move, so did the chakra. Every time I turned down a new street, it seemed to adjust its trajectory to match mine.  

This wasn’t a coincidence.  

I sighed quietly, glancing at Tsuki, who was now sitting up on my shoulder, her ears twitching nervously. “It seems we’re being followed,” I said.  

She flicked her tail in response.  

Deciding there was no point in running blindly, I slowed my pace and turned down a less crowded path, leading toward the outskirts of the village. If whoever this was wanted to follow me, I’d rather confront them somewhere less populated.  

Just as I was about to step into the open clearing at the edge of the path, the chakra signature surged, and something landed in front of me with the force of a meteor.

Dust and debris flew everywhere, and I shielded my face with one arm as the ground trembled beneath me.  

When the dust cleared, I found myself staring at a large, muscular man with dark skin, sunglasses, and white hair. He wore a Kumo flak jacket and had swords strapped to his back in a crisscross pattern.  

And then he started rapping.  

“Yo, yo, little guy, why you running away?  

When I saw you in the streets, I thought we’d chat today.  

But every turn you took, you tried to avoid,  

Now I’m here face-to-face, and you look annoyed!”  

I blinked, my faint smile never wavering. “I see.” In reality though, I was having troubles concentrating, his chakra was beyond massive.

The man grinned, folding his arms. “Name’s Killer B, that’s who I be,  

So tell me, little dude, why you avoiding me?”  

I tilted my head slightly, studying him. His chakra was… super dense. It made sense now. He was the eight tails container… But why was he so interested in me? 

If B was interested… then it was only a matter of time before his less than friendly brother, A… knew about me. 

“It wasn’t intentional,” I said calmly, my voice even. “I simply prefer to avoid unnecessary interactions.”  

Killer B laughed, clearly unfazed by my response. “Unnecessary, huh? That’s what you say,  

But I’m here to talk, so don’t walk away!”  

I considered my options. 

Running wasn’t going to work—his chakra alone told me that much, he would catch me before I even took the first step. And engaging in a fight was out of the question, he would kill me even faster, besides considering I wasn’t even sure if this man was being hostile, the best course of action was inaction. 

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked.  

Killer B grinned wider, striking a dramatic pose. “I felt your vibe, your chakra’s cool,  

So I followed you, breaking all the rules! 

A kid like you, with chakra so fine,  

I had to see if you’d spar or rhyme!”  

I blinked again, processing his words. “I don’t know how to rhyme,” I said simply.  

B looked momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter. “Honest and calm, you’re a tough little dude,  

But don’t worry, kid, I’m not here to feud.”  

“I see,” I said again.  

“Well?” he said, tilting his head. “What’s your deal, huh? Who’s your teacher? What’s your story?” 

I glanced at Tsuki, who was watching Killer B with mild disinterest. “My deal is that I’m passing through Kumo with my sensei,” I said, my tone as even as ever.  

“And your sensei?” B asked, raising an eyebrow.  

I paused for a moment before answering. “He’s... busy.”  

B laughed again, slapping his knee. “Alright, little guy, I’ll let you be,  

But if you’re around, come find Killer B!”  

With that, he leapt away, disappearing as quickly as he’d arrived.  

I stood there for a moment, the faint smile never leaving my face. “Well, that was unexpected.”  

Tsuki let out a small meow, flicking her tail.  

Adjusting the straps of my backpack, I turned back toward the inn. Whatever that was, it seemed harmless enough—for now.  

—-------------------------------------------

[A few hours later.]

When I returned to the inn, I found Jiraiya sitting at the low table in our room, scribbling furiously into one of his notebooks. Judging by the stack of crumpled paper at his feet, his "work" wasn’t going well.

As I slid the door shut behind me, Tsuki hopped off my shoulder and made herself comfortable on the tatami mat, curling up into a ball like she owned the place.

Jiraiya barely glanced up. “You’re back,” he muttered, his voice distracted. “What took you so long?”

“I met someone,” I replied, sitting down across from him.

That got his attention. His pen stopped mid-stroke, and he looked up, narrowing his eyes. “Met someone? What do you mean ‘met someone’? Who? And more importantly, is it a girl? And if so, does she have an older sister?”

I tilted my head slightly. “A man named Killer B, didn’t ask if he had an older sister for you, so no idea.”

Jiraiya froze. His hand twitched, sending a streak of ink across the page. Slowly, he set the pen down, his eyes widening as he processed what I’d just said.

“Killer B?” he repeated, his voice a little higher than usual. “Killer B as in... the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki? That Killer B?”

I nodded. “That sounds correct.”

Jiraiya jumped to his feet so fast he nearly knocked over the table. “You met Killer B?! What happened? Did he threaten you? Are you injured? Did he—”

“He rapped,” I interrupted calmly.

Jiraiya blinked, staring at me like I’d just said the most confusing sentence in the world. “He... rapped?”

“Yes,” I said, my tone as even as ever. “He landed in front of me, began rapping, and asked why I was avoiding him.”

Jiraiya’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally managed to speak. “And... what did you do?”

“I answered his questions,” I replied. “He seemed satisfied with my responses.”

Jiraiya slumped back down onto the mat, rubbing his temples. “You answered his questions. Just like that?”

“Would you have preferred I started a fight?” I asked, tilting my head. “I would’ve died…”

“No!” Jiraiya said quickly. “Absolutely not! The last thing we need is you picking a fight with the guy who is known for being the perfect jinchuriki!”

“Then I made the correct choice,” I said.

Jiraiya groaned, leaning back against the wall and muttering to himself. “This kid’s gonna be the death of me...” After a moment, he sat back up, pointing a finger at me. “Okay, fine. So you talked to him. What else happened?”

I thought back to the encounter. “He said my chakra was cool, invited me to spar or rhyme, and then told me to find him if I was ever around.”

Jiraiya’s eyes widened again. “He invited you to hang out?!”

“That seems to be the implication,” I said with a faint nod. “Though no idea why a grown man would want to hang out with a kid…”

Jiraiya buried his face in his hands. “Oh, great. Just great. Now the Eight-Tails’ Jinchūriki wants to be buddies with my student. This is a nightmare.”

“I don’t see the issue,” I said. “He seemed friendly, weird sure, but friendly overall.”

“Friendly?!” Jiraiya exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “Kid, do you have any idea what kind of chaos this could cause? We’re in Kumo! Enemy territory! And now you’ve got one of their strongest shinobi taking an interest in you!”

I considered his words for a moment before replying. “It could be useful, besides there’s a treaty with Konoha right now, they wouldn’t kill us.”

Besides, Kumo was more interested in bloodlines than anything else. And on record, I had none.

“Useful?” Jiraiya repeated, his voice rising again. “How is this useful?”

“If he’s willing to spar with me, I could learn from the experience,” I said. “And if he’s friendly, it might make the Leaf’s relations with Kumo better.”

Jiraiya stared at me, his mouth opening like he was about to argue, but then he stopped. He closed his mouth, rubbed his chin, and sighed heavily. “You know, the worst part is... you’re not wrong.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“That wasn’t a compliment,” he muttered.

I watched as he leaned back again, staring up at the ceiling like he was questioning every life choice that had led him to this moment.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. “Okay, fine. You didn’t mess this up. Yet. But you need to promise me something.”

I tilted my head. “What’s that?”

“If you’re going to meet up with him again, tell me first. Got it?”

“Understood,” I said.

“And don’t even think about showing him your bloodline or I will personally castrate you,” he added quickly.

“Understood,” I repeated.

“And for the love of all things holy, do not let him convince you to rap.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that likely to happen?”

“With him?” Jiraiya said, shaking his head. “According to some rumors. Very.”

“I see,” I said simply.

Jiraiya let out another groan, slumping forward until his forehead hit the table. “Why can’t I just have a normal student?”

I considered pointing out that his own behavior wasn’t exactly “normal,” but decided against it. Instead, I leaned back slightly, letting the silence settle over the room.

Tsuki, still curled up on the mat, let out a soft purr, completely unbothered by the entire exchange.

“Well,” I said after a moment, “if there’s nothing else, I’ll be resting.”

Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively without lifting his head. “Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. Just... try not to make friends with any more Jinchūriki, okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” I replied, standing up and heading to my futon. “Though… wouldn’t you like the other jinchuriki better? Considering she’s a female?”

“I… hmm,” Jiraiya hummed at that, considering the offer. “No no, nevermind. I already have enough with the average kunoichi, I don’t want a tailed beast chasing me.”

Huh, good point.