Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life? Chapter 31 31: You Died Seven Times

The training had been off from day one.

Nawaki had been brimming with anticipation, expecting his sensei to teach him flashy ninjutsu—things like the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique or Shuriken Shadow Clones.

Instead, the first week was spent running laps around the back mountain.

The second week was spent navigating the forest blindfolded.

The third week was spent stumbling through the dark to find an exit in an area riddled with traps.

A month passed without a single ninjutsu.

Two months, and still nothing.

By the third month—

"Sensei!"

Nawaki plopped down onto the grass of the training ground, drenched in sweat, his forehead protector skewed to one side.

"When on earth are you actually going to teach so ninjutsu?"

Kitahara Kaede leaned against a tree trunk, idling with a kunai in his hand.

"I have."

"When was then?! When running laps? Gropping around in the dark? Or being hunted down by you?"

"How many of my traps did you trigger today?"

Nawaki paused, counting on his fingers.

"...Twice."

"And how many on the first day?"

"That's different—"

"Fourteen."

Kitahara Kaede slid the kunai back into the tool pouch on his leg and stood up straight.

"Three months ago, you couldn't even react when you hit the first tripwire. Now, you can flip out of the kill zone within zero-point-three seconds of triggering one."

"That's not progress?"

Nawaki opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. It seed... it actually was progress.

Still, he wasn't convinced.

"But the other genin are already learning C-rank jutsu, and I haven't even—"

"Fine," Kitahara Kaede interrupted him. "We'll switch up the training today."

Nawaki's eyes lit up. "Really?! What are we learning?"

"You run. I chase."

"...That's it?"

"The rules are simple."

Kitahara Kaede raised his hand, holding two fingers up in front of his chest. Suddenly, his chakra flared.

The smile froze on Nawaki's face.

A wave of pressure washed over him like a bucket of ice water—it was on an entirely different level than their usual sparring. It was the killing intent of a Jonin.

"I'll chase you using thirty percent of my strength. Every ti I catch you, it counts as one death."

Kitahara Kaede looked at him. "Begin."

Nawaki bolted.

Twenty minutes later, he was sprawled on the ground, face covered in mud and body trembling.

Seven tis.

He had been "killed" seven tis.

The first ti, he had tried a frontal charge, only to have his retreat cut off instantly.

The second ti, he hid in the bushes, but the sound of his own breathing gave him away.

The third ti, he thought he had lost his pursuer, only to step on a tripwire Kitahara Kaede had set ten minutes prior.

After that, he couldn't quite rember. He only rembered that every ti Kitahara Kaede's finger tapped the back of his neck, the man said the sa thing:

"You're dead."

Nawaki sat on the grass, knees hugged to his chest, head lowered, his shoulders still shaking.

Thirty percent. His sensei had only used thirty percent.

Kitahara Kaede crouched down in front of him.

"Enemies on the battlefield won't limit themselves to thirty percent. They won't tell you the rules, they won't give you twenty minutes, and they won't send just one person."

Nawaki remained silent.

"You could learn a hundred ninjutsu, but if a kunai pierces your heart from behind, you won't be able to use a single one of them."

He paused.

"Dead n don't need techniques."

Kitahara Kaede brushed the dirt off his hands and stood up.

"You have to stay alive before you have the right to talk about anything else."

Nawaki sat there for a long ti. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, breaking into shimring fragnts of light across his face.

He looked up. "Sensei."

"Hmm?"

"Are we doing this again tomorrow?"

Kitahara Kaede glanced at him. "You want to?"

"Yes."

Nawaki stood up, brushed the grass off his backside, and set his jaw. "Next ti, I'm going to last thirty minutes."

The corner of Kitahara Kaede's mouth twitched slightly as he turned to walk toward the grassy slope. "Drink so water."

"Okay."

***

In the afternoon, the two of them rested on the slope beside the training ground. A figure appeared on the distant path.

Tsunade wasn't wearing her hair in a ponytail today; her long blonde hair flowed naturally over her shoulders. She wore a light grey, wide-collared short-sleeved shirt, dark trousers, and ninja sandals, carrying a cloth bundle in her hand.

Nawaki's head snapped toward her and then back again, his lip curling. "Why is Sis here again?"

Tsunade walked up and stuffed the bundle into Nawaki's arms. "What, I can't co?"

"You can, but—"

"But what?"

Nawaki shrunk back, but he couldn't help himself. "But you've co every single day this week!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "I ca every day last week, too."

Her gaze cooled slightly. "And the week before—"

*Thwack!*

A sharp flick to the forehead sent him reeling. Nawaki clutched his head and crouched down, howling.

"Just eat your food!"

"Ow..."

Nawaki rubbed his forehead and opened the bundle to find three rice balls and a flask of warm tea. He took one with a pout, muttering under his breath.

"Clearly you just ca specifically to see..."

His voice was very low, just loud enough for two people to hear.

The tips of Tsunade's ears turned red. She sat down beside Kitahara Kaede, leaving about a fist's width of space between them, and handed him a rice ball.

She didn't look at him. "Eat."

Kitahara Kaede took it. "Thanks."

The three of them sat on the slope overlooking the vast training ground. In the distance, the three faces on the Hokage Rock were sharply defined in the afternoon light.

Nawaki ate the fastest, his cheeks bulging like a squirrel's. "Sensei let experience what it's like to be hunted by a Jonin today."

Tsunade glanced at Kitahara Kaede. "For how long?"

"Twenty minutes. Caught seven tis."

"Thirty percent strength?"

Kitahara Kaede nodded.

Tsunade thought about it, then looked back at Nawaki. "Lasting twenty minutes against thirty percent isn't bad."

Nawaki nearly choked on his rice ball. "Really?!"

"Really. When your sensei was a genin, he was chased by Teacher Hiruzen at thirty percent, and he only lasted—"

She paused, glancing at Kitahara Kaede. "How long was it again?"

"Forty-five minutes."

Nawaki's expression collapsed. "...Sis, can you please not bring that up?"

Tsunade chuckled and poured herself a cup of tea, sipping it slowly. A breeze blew past, bending the wild grass on the slope and swaying the blonde hair on Tsunade's shoulders.

Nawaki finished the last bite of his rice ball and flopped onto his back in the grass, locking his hands behind his head.

"Sensei."

"Hmm?"

"I got a mission."

Kitahara Kaede stopped eating. "What kind of mission?"

Nawaki propped himself up, his eyes shining. "C-rank! A reconnaissance mission! A four-man squad!"

He blurred the words together in his excitent. "We leave next week for the west of the Land of Fire. They said there's so abnormal activity, so we're going to investigate."

Tsunade turned around. "Who approved it?"

"It was on the schedule; the official mission scroll has already been issued."

Nawaki pulled a folded mission paper from his waist pouch and handed it over. Tsunade unfolded it and scanned the text.

C-rank reconnaissance, four-man squad, western border of the Land of Fire, estimated duration five to seven days. She wasn't very familiar with the lead Jonin's na, but he was indeed part of the official roster.

She frowned and passed the paper to Kitahara Kaede.

Kitahara Kaede took it and scanned the lines. Western border of the Land of Fire, reconnaissance of abnormal activity.

—C-rank.

It was just a standard, formally formatted mission paper.

Yet, Kitahara Kaede's brow furrowed. He couldn't put his finger on what was wrong. He rembered the cause of Nawaki's death—the ti, the place, and the people—none of it matched what was written on this paper.

And yet, it was this perfectly ordinary mission order that made a string in his heart snap tight with tension.

He folded the paper and handed it back to Nawaki.

Tsunade noticed the look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Kitahara Kaede glanced up. "It's nothing. I had planned to teach him how to set traps this week; this will disrupt the training rhythm a bit."

Tsunade gave him a look but didn't press further. "This is Nawaki's first ti traveling far from ho." She stood up and picked up her empty cloth bag. "I'm going to find Lord Hiruzen to learn more about the Jōnin leading the team."

Her tone was casual, as if it were a re afterthought. "It's better to be safe than sorry." With that, she left.

Kitahara Kaede watched her figure fade into the distance in silence.

"Sensei?"

Nawaki, still sitting where he was, tilted his head and looked at him. "It's my first C-rank mission! You don't look very happy."

Kitahara Kaede shifted his gaze back. "It's not that I'm unhappy." He patted the grass beside him. "There are still five days. There's plenty we can still practice."

Nawaki blinked, then suddenly grinned. "So—extra training for the next five days?"

"You don't want to?"

"I do!"

Nawaki sprang up and brushed the grass off his backside. He tapped his chest. "Sensei, I haven't forgotten a single thing you've taught ." He paused. "And I'll co back alive."

Kitahara Kaede looked at him. When he smiled, he looked so much like Tsunade.

"Right." He stood up. "Let's go. This afternoon's subject: setting and dismantling traps."

"Right now?"

"You said you were eager."

Nawaki followed, grumbling sothing about how "being eager and starting imdiately are two different things," his voice gradually carried away by the wind toward the training grounds.