NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Walking on Water
Zabuza returns to his camp, unaware that someone has been observing his every move.
'Sigh! Waking me in the middle of the night and increasing my workload. What will I do with these students of mine?' Yawning and rubbing his eyes, a certain sensei ponders inside the tent...
The next morning, everyone is surprised by Nowaki's absence. However, after finding nothing but a single odd letter in his house, they realize that he didn't disappear but left of his own volition.
Though bringing the pirate boss with him makes him suspicious in the eyes of the Land of Water's authorities, the villagers don't mind. To them, he has already done enough...
Leaving the island, Zabuza and his team return to their village. What happens after the mission is not their concern; their mission has already ended...
Reaching the village, they head directly toward the Mizukage building to report on their mission.
Upon reaching the Mizukage's office, Yagura goes inside alone. Completing his report, he walks out after a few minutes...
...
"So we only have five days to prepare before our team is sent to the war!" Zabuza exclaims under his breath. The time had finally come...
This is not a shocking revelation to any of them as the other teams from their batch are already serving on different battlefields. Only Team 6 is delayed because Zabuza fell into a coma.
If Zabuza hadn't woken up on the tenth day, they would have had to serve on the battlefield with only three members until they got a new teammate.
Yagura speaks with indifference, "Normally, genins wouldn't graduate from the academy at the age of nine and face such dangers after just two weeks of experience... but times are different right now!"
Hearing his sensei speak, Zabuza observes his two teammates. "What, are you two scared? Scaredy cats?" Zabuza taunts, gesturing at his teammates' trembling fists.
"No, I am not," Utakata quickly retorts, while closing his arms to hide the shaking. Then, noticing something ironic, he adds, "And look who's talking?"
"??" Confused by this statement, Zabuza looks down at his own hands... they too were trembling! 'Am I really nervous? Or is this...'
"This is just excitement!" he states with confidence. But is it just false bravado? He himself is unclear.
"Yeah, right," Utakata, however, seems to be very clear.
Ignoring his students' antics, Yagura carries on with the explanation. "Take proper rest today because for the next five days, you three won't have any time to relax. Your days will be filled with continuous training."
He creeps up a devious smile... "You may even feel like dying!"
"Tomorrow at 7:00, we will gather at the training grounds again. You are dismissed." Like always, Yagura just disappears after stating the matter at hand.
Zabuza, turning toward the unmoving Ruka, calls her out of her trance. "So, Ruka, why don't we go to your restaurant? This time, I will pay for the bills." She responds with a nod.
....
Yesterday went by as a new day starts.
In the training ground of Kirigakure, directly below the tallest tree, three genins stand in front of their sensei. "Today we will learn tree climbing."
"Tree climbing?" Perplexed by Yagura's announcement, Utakata asks, "What is there to learn about it?"
"We are not talking about tree climbing using hands but legs," turning his gaze toward Zabuza, he gestures for him to demonstrate. Getting the message, the student immediately starts climbing the tree vertically, using nothing but his legs.
'Ooh?' Yagura observes the tree up close. "Good! You have improved from the last time." When he had seen the boy perform this technique during their clash on the banyan tree, he had left a few rather deep footprints on the tree. Now, however, the tree is undamaged.
Seeing Zabuza stand on the tree trunk with a proud smirk fills Utakata's heart with fire for some reason... 'If he can do it, so can I!' Seeing it as obvious as the sun rising from the east... Ruka too clenches her fist, not wanting to be left behind.
But first, they have to know how it's done. they keenly listens as their sensei simply explains the process. Understanding the theoretical base behind the technique, Utakata and Ruka try to implement it in practice...
They focus a fixed amount of chakra to the soles of their feet, using that they try to glue their feet to the tree. But as expected, after being able to climb some steps, they fail. Using too much or too little chakra will lead to failure; one has to have a balance.
Tree climbing is very essential for a ninja, in that it helps to better control one's chakra.
Yagura tells Ruka and Utakata to continue with the tree climbing. "Practicing this will help you avoid wasting chakra unnecessarily. This will make you three last longer in the battlefield."
"Zabuza, you on the other hand will do a different training," he speaks, turning toward the river. "You will learn to walk on water."
Listening to his sensei's instructions, Zabuza tries to walk on water for the first time, but to absolutely no one's surprise, splash! He drops into the water. Bubbling! 'Wait a minute... I can't swim!'
Thank God, being right next to the shore, he is able to hold on to solid ground in time.
Walking out of the river drenched, he fixes his gaze at Yagura. "Sensei, I can't swim," he utters, breathing heavily.
"I can see that. Try it in shallow waters." Nodding his head, Zabuza staggers toward a shallow part of the river. Reaching a place where the rocks on the riverbed are clearly visible from the surface, he starts his practice.
With quivering feet, he takes his first step. This time, as the currents are low, he succeeds in standing on top of the surface for a longer period of time. Gradually, as the hours go by, he learns to emit a constant stream of chakra from the bottom of his feet.