ALL NOVEL Chapter 69: The Next Meeting
Chapter
70: The Next Meeting
Konohagakure, second training
ground.
On the morning of the second day
after returning to the ninja village, Menma was already hard at work.
"Rasengan!"
"Boom!"
Menma continued his ninjutsu
training, looking at the not-so-exaggerated pit that was blasted out on the
ground. Menma's brows slightly frowned, revealing a look of dissatisfaction.
"The chakra compression is
still not enough. It needs a larger amount and more stable control. The
rotation is fine, but it needs to be strengthened. Should I try the shadow
clone technique? No, that would take too much time," Menma murmured, touching
his chin thoughtfully.
As an A-rank ninjutsu, the
difficulty of mastering the Rasengan was unquestionable. Menma's talent in the
technique allowed him to progress quickly, but there was still a long way to
go. Naruto, in the original story, struggled with the Rasengan due to the
Nine-Tails' chakra interference, necessitating a shadow clone to help control
the chakra. This was originally a last resort. Without the shadow clone, even
given more time, Naruto might not have mastered the Rasengan.
Using a shadow clone and an extra
pair of hands could indeed control the chakra compression more accurately.
However, this introduced a problem. The Rasengan's biggest advantage was its
lack of hand seals. Introducing a shadow clone would weaken the Rasengan's
advantages—speed and surprise. Naruto had grown used to using the Rasengan this
way, but Menma wanted to master it with one hand, maintaining its speed and
efficiency.
"Shh, we have to speed up the
progress!" Menma took a deep breath.
"Multiple Shadow Clone
Technique!" (多重影分身の術, Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu)
He made the seal, slightly
controlling his chakra, and instantly created hundreds of shadow clones, all
devoted to practice. With this acceleration tool, Menma believed he could
overcome the difficulty of practicing any technique.
Three or four days passed quickly
under Menma's regular practice rhythm. During this period, Menma called for a
team meeting to share the wealth he had acquired from Gato. He gathered Naruto,
Sasuke, and Sakura in the training ground.
"Hey everyone, I have something
to share," Menma began, taking out the sealing scroll containing the cash
he had retrieved from Gato's vault.
Naruto's eyes widened, "Is
that... all money?"
Menma nodded, "Yes, this is
part of Gato's wealth. I believe it's fair to share it with the team,
considering our collective effort in dealing with him."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Why
are you giving it to us? You could keep it for yourself."
Menma shrugged, "We're a team,
and we worked together to accomplish this mission. It's only right that we all
benefit from it."
Sakura's eyes sparkled with delight,
"Menma-kun, this is so generous of you!"
Menma distributed the money evenly
among the three, ensuring everyone received a substantial amount. Naruto,
initially speechless, broke into a wide grin, "Thanks, Menma! This is
awesome!"
Sasuke, though hesitant at first,
accepted the money, recognizing the practicality of financial support for a
ninja. "Thanks, Menma," he said, his voice genuine.
Sakura, overjoyed, already thought
of the shopping spree she could have. "Thank you, Menma-kun! This will be
so helpful."
After sharing the wealth,
Kakashi-sensei sent a new call for action. All the members of Team 7 gathered
on time at their fixed location. As usual, Kakashi-sensei was late, and the
four members of Team 7 were accustomed to it.
"Hey, everyone, you all seem to
have had a good rest these days. You should have recovered completely,
right?" Kakashi-sensei asked with a smile when he finally showed up more
than an hour late.
Even though he had warned himself
several times, Naruto couldn't help but complain, "I say, Kakashi-sensei,
can't you be a little more punctual? You're late nine times out of ten, and
each time it takes an hour or two. This is too much!"
"Haha, sorry, sorry. I just
lost myself on the road of life. I must pay attention next time, I must pay
attention," Kakashi-sensei replied, using his thick skin to say the most
nonsensical reasons.
Naruto was immediately angry,
"Ahem, okay, let's get back to the point. After resting for a few days,
our Team 7 needs to start performing missions again. By the way, from today on,
our Team 7 will only perform missions above C-rank. You should all have no
problems, right?"
Before Naruto could respond,
Kakashi-sensei got straight to the point.
"Eh? Will all missions from now
on be C-rank or above? Great!" Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Yeah, no problem," Menma
raised his eyebrows and nodded calmly.
"Hmph, it's all right,"
Sasuke had an indifferent attitude.
Only Sakura seemed a little uneasy.
The shock from the first C-rank mission was still fresh. Even though she knew
the Wave Country mission was an anomaly, the presence of a jonin on a C-rank
mission was unexpected. Sakura's fear was understandable.
Kakashi-sensei noticed Sakura's
state of mind but didn't expose her. Young ninjas needed to overcome
psychological barriers.
"Since there are no problems,
let's go."
"Oh!" "Yes."
The completion of a C-rank mission,
especially one with A-rank difficulty, brought different effects to a team.
With Team 7's current strength, even B-rank missions should be manageable.
Konohagakure Village, as the leader of the five major ninja villages, received
a lot of missions, so ninjas didn't need to worry about a lack of tasks. Team
7, led by Kakashi-sensei, had the privilege to choose their tasks.
As the captain, Kakashi-sensei
received an escort mission to protect a caravan from Konohagakure to Kyoto, the
capital of the Land of Fire. This common C-rank mission offered rich rewards.
The caravan boss was delighted to hire a senior ninja, even increasing the
mission reward slightly. However, this reward was no longer attractive to Team
7. Kakashi-sensei didn't mention it, and Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were
already content with the substantial sum of money Menma had shared.
Sasuke initially refused Menma's
money but eventually accepted it, recognizing the financial support ninjas
needed. The consumption of various ninja tools required resources, similar to
how Konan's move, "Gokaton" in the original work, involved an
astronomical number of exploding tags.