Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      I stood there like a dead man. The rich man's words just finished me off....

***

      A few minutes earlier, in a box of dignitaries....       About ten people were watching from a high podium in the arena. There were children fighting in it, though, not anymore. They were practically ninjas by now. Inexperienced, just beginning to comprehend this complex art, but, nevertheless, they were already ninja, because the fights were a rite of passage into shinobi. The transition from child to ninja took place on the battlefield. Either you kill your opponent or they kill you. The world is cruel and unfair. The sooner a ninja realises this, the better, otherwise a dire outcome may await him.       It was a surprise to Teng that one of the daimyo had bought one slave in advance for a tidy sum. It was the first time he had ever had such a thing, but he didn't complain, because getting three times as much as he had originally planned for some inept girl was very lucrative. According to his information, Yumiko didn't have the outstanding qualities of a ninja to be paid that much for her, but that didn't bother the Baron. The penultimate bout was underway, and there was literally nothing that stood out from the rest.       - I hope that the last fight will be more entertaining. - said the Fire Nation daimyo, wrinkling his nose in displeasure at such an empty fight.       - I agree. - added the daimyo of the Water Country with a bored look.       - Don't be angry, Daimae-sama. In the last battle will fight a real genius of our generation, and the fight he will lead against a former ninja from my subordinate. - The Baron jumped up, beginning to praise Michiko, whose fight was to be next. He had picked up one of the weakest ninja for him long ago, knowing about the child's abilities, but still he had taken the precaution of warning this shinobi not to kill him.       - You've already said that about many children, but we haven't seen anything like that. - The head of the Wind Country remarked, looking at Mitsuko intently.       - I agree. - The daimyo of the Lightning Country, who was listening to their dialogue with one ear, agreed.       The Baron shrank back. He felt very uncomfortable, but what could he do if the children had only been trained for a year, and in his opinion, that was fundamentally insufficient to complete a full course of study.       - I would like to offer you a bet, Tenga-san. - The man who had only recently entered the world's wealthy elite stated. He was a man in his early forties. He had brown hair with green eyes, an ordinary face that did not stand out from the rest of the people, but that was not what alarmed everyone.       This man didn't like to wear expensive outfits at all, preferring to walk around in peasant clothes. He could even be confused with an ordinary citizen of any city, and his name was similar to his clothes: Moku, which means "carpenter". One can't help but wonder how such a man could become so influential and rich. The answer to this question is very simple: gambling and making deals. This man was very good at reading people, looking straight into their souls. He loved deals, especially if they were favourable to him, but it often happened that he lost large sums of money, or even differently: if he lost, it was very large. He conducted almost all the underground activities in the Water Country and knew about almost all the influential personalities there.       - What was the bet, Mr Mokou? - The Baron decided to clarify, starting to sweat and worry. He tried not to give away his emotions, but his interlocutor quickly figured him out. The arena master knew what kind of man stood before him, and that was what frightened him.       - I understand that this boy will cost much more than all the others? - The cunning man decided to clarify. His lips trembled slightly upon seeing the nod from his interlocutor.              - I offer you ten million Re for this boy, provided that he lasts at least three minutes against two ninjas, otherwise I will take him for free. - the bargain hunter made his offer. - And yes, I have only one condition: to be fair, ninjas from the side of one of the daimyo will be involved. I think it will be a fair condition, so that no one can cheat. - He added, seeing the Baron wanted to say something.       Tenga thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. The boy was very trainable, but he certainly wouldn't stand a chance against two ninjas. But if the Baron would simply refuse such a deal, then it would say that he was really bullshitting everyone, and credibility was very important in this case.       - Alright, I agree. - replied the arena owner, starting to realise that he might lose all the money.       The boy could have gone for twice the planned price, which would have paid for all the costs inside the arena for five years to come. It was worth the risk. The odds were there, and the man wanted to cheat a little. While Mitsuko was thinking about everything, his opponent had already written the terms of the contract on paper and signed it in his own blood, which told him how serious the document was. The Baron had to do the same. The daimyo of the Water Country had helped this deal along. He really wanted to see a spectacular duel. When all the formalities were settled, the arena master proceeded to announce the final battle.       - Ladies and gentlemen, I hasten to announce the final fight of the day. A boy whose abilities are simply incredible will be fighting two ninjas. You may think I'm crazy, but I'm not. His sensei thinks he's a genius, so let him show us his genius! Let's see the boy survive on the brink of life and death! - shouted Tengu, raising the entire audience from their seats. People scrambled, beginning to place their bets.

***

      Oh my god... What kind of shit have I gotten myself into... Fighting two experienced ninjas is simply impossible. How am I supposed to beat them? Shit, I could still try to get even with one of them, but with two... In short, I'm in deep shit. I don't know what they offered the Baron, but it's more than my life is worth. Thankfully my opponents aren't ninjas from the arena, or else there would be no chance at all, and here at least I can try to take them by surprise. I checked my pouch. I only have twenty needles, ten kunai, and the same number of shurikens. No explosive seals or anything else. The rest is all tactics, strategy, and instinct. Improvisation is not my thing, but I'll have to think of something right away, otherwise I'll die. Two ninjas appeared in front of me. They weren't wearing masks. The first of them was about two metres tall and weighed over a hundred and fifty kilos. It was just a mountain that I couldn't move. The perfect opponent for a speed battle. The second ninja was a skinny girl with a very delicate figure.       - Kid, give up nicely and you'll live. I don't want to kill you. - said the fat man in a bass voice.       - Yes, sweetie, don't tempt fate. The force is clearly not on your side. - sang the girl with a venomous grin.       So... They're underestimating me. That's a very good thing...       I slowly raised my hands, showing that I was ready to surrender, but the ten senbon in my sleeves were ready to fight. The referee had already given the go-ahead, so I didn't even think about playing fair with opponents of this level. In fact, I would have given up if I knew that I wouldn't be killed for nothing afterwards, but it was foolish to hope for that. When both my hands were already behind my head so that I couldn't see what was in them, I sent all ten throwing projectiles at the girl with a sharp movement. The opponents reacted instantly. It was immediately obvious that they were already working together. The girl had already started folding seals, hiding behind the man's back, while the fat man was ready to fight off my weapons with his bare hands. I had to get rid of the kunoichi, then and only then would my chances of victory increase dramatically.       The important thing in all of this was that I had calculated their actions. My senbons flew sharply around the amble, which still managed to knock back a few of them. I wasn't aiming blindly. My byakugan had been activated from the start of the fight. I hit with only five needles, which unfortunately didn't hit the most important places, but even so, the opponent was shocked. Two senbon each hit the opponent's hands. My accuracy isn't flawless, but I still managed to hit her tonketsu. The fifth needle was supposed to hit the pain point on the kunoichi's neck, switching her out of the fight for a while, but the ninja was able to move at the last moment, causing me to not hit where I had planned. Thanks to my peeps, I realised that she would no longer be able to use ninjutsu, but was still a dangerous enemy for me. I wasn't surprised that the fatty was able to fend off my weapon, but damn it, not with my bare hands. My brain was quick enough to analyse the information. There was only one conclusion: he seals his body with earth element chakra, making it as strong as stone. That became another of my problems. How the hell do I get past his defences? The million dollar question in the studio. The opponents were in no hurry to attack, apparently coming away from the surprise.       - Formation two. We fight at full strength. - The girl declared, pulling the last senbon out of her hand. The man reacted quickly, taking a step back, but not to retreat, but instead... he was taking thus acceleration to run. He quickly ran at me, closing his partner from my eyes.       Um, they haven't encountered a Byakugan before? I can see their attack... The girl was running clearly behind the man. After walking half the distance separating us, she used her partner as a springboard, rising into the air from where she planned to attack me. She had a katana in her hands, and the man was ready to break a bone or two in me with his bare hands. The attack was coordinated. Without the byakugan, it was unlikely I would have found a loophole.       Taking both kunai in a reverse grip, I ran towards them, having already found a weakness, which was static. Their attack is designed for targets that are not in motion, so when I collided with the puffball, the girl was still in flight and had no way to help her partner. I dodged the attack of my opponent who, to my surprise, had good speed thanks to fuelling her body with my chakra. The opportunity to strike back I didn't miss. While rolling between my opponent's legs, I tried to slice his tendons on his legs with a kunai fuelled by chakra like my body. It wasn't a bad attempt, too bad it was unsuccessful. My kunai snapped against the enemy's flesh with a grinding sound. Tougher than iron... I'm intimidated by his defence. Wait, where's the opponent? She should have just landed after flying. At that very moment, my instincts screamed danger. Only my sixth sense saved me from death. I blocked the blow with a cold weapon from my back.       So far, I can only concentrate on one target with the help of the Byakugan. I still have a lot of growing to do. I already realised what had happened, and how it looked from the outside. The kunoichi, realising that her attack wouldn't reach me, decided to change her plan. She used her katana for support to jump behind my back, and as she was about to kill me with a slashing blow, I felt it in my heel, arching my spine as much as I could, blocking her attack with my kunai. I was in a very unfortunate position, as with my other hand the girl was trying to drive another kunai into the back of my head, and by some miracle I was holding it through the pain with my free hand, leaning on the blade to keep my balance. Droplets of blood began to run down my palm. It hurt, but right now it was the least of the evils.       With my Byakugan, I could already see the second opponent turn around, heading towards us. A crazy idea popped into my head, but I needed to decide how not to die now, so I made the responsible decision. Through the pain, I stabbed my palm through with the kunoichi's kunai, making the body support much better. Channeling a decent amount of chakra into my legs and into my support arm, I jumped over, ending up behind her. The second opponent was already running out of time to stop his attack, and I realised that. He hit his partner, but I got hit as well. We flew into the wall, kicking up a huge amount of dust into the air. Good thing the byakugan allowed me to see through that curtain. The fat man gave a slack, realising what he had done. His left arm could no longer move. It was numb with pain. With my right hand, I spotted three senbon lying behind the man's back. He had knocked them away in my first attack. Within seconds, my three strands had attached themselves to them, after which I could already control them. It was unlikely that the ninja could have expected an attack from behind at such a moment, I thought. My rightness was quickly confirmed when three needles hit his skull from the back. I aimed for the cerebellum so that he couldn't move, and hit exactly on target. The shinobi fell to the ground and I stepped out from behind the curtain, kicking up dust. His partner was dead, because he'd driven his kunai into her chest, where my body should have been. I didn't have any fatal wounds, but I could feel that a few of my ribs were broken, and my arm would not be able to move. I wouldn't have been able to overpower these ninjas if they had been serious with me from the start.