The following day, Retsu finally found an opportunity to escape from Iguru's "infinite cutscene jutsu" due to Gengo returning to the ship.
"Fooo, what a haul! I haven't seen a ninja from Hoshigakure in forever! How'd you get your hands on this Hidden Stars ninja, Gengo?" Iguru turned away from Retsu, and approached Gengo.
"We got some boooty~" Gozu gestured lewdly.
"Yeah we did!" Meizu fist pumped.
"Huah!" The 'demon' brothers jumped up and high fived.
"She is not for your amusement." Gengo intoned coldly. His sharp amber eyes bore into the twins.
"B-but" "B-booty!" The twins began to stutter at Gengo's intimidation.
"Alright lads, lay off'em! Prisoners o'war belong to the captor, you know the rules." Iguru played the role of mediator.
'Chance!' Retsu beheld the spectacle, and realized if he was going to escape Iguru's forbidden jutsu, now was the time! Making sure not to cause a scene, Retsu casually made his way below deck, toward the backrooms.
Retsu glanced over his shoulder as he passed Gengo. For a moment, a spine tingling sensation crested at the top of his head.
Gengo's friendly smile greeted him. When Retsu saw that smile, he was reminded of his grandmother. Whenever he would get off the plane, he saw that smile. She would always have such a warm, caring smile. It made him want to hug her, and let her know all his worries.
"Woah! Easy there man, watch where you're going! You could've really hurt yourself, you know? It's all in good fun to be playing around, but this ship is more dangerous than you think. Be aware of your surroundings yah bonehead." Kajika raise his voice at Retsu angrily while he brushed passed him to get to the bridge.
Retsu felt a sting on his forearm when Kajika passed him by. He didn't need to look down to feel, the small line of blood dripping to the floor. His immediate instinct was to penetrate Kajika in immediate retaliation with one of his bones. However, the whole situation felt off. Retsu retracted a rib, that had almost pierced straight into Kajika's back as he passed him by.
Snapping his eyes up, he searched for Kajika. Only, Kajika didn't look back, and was lazily yawning, and stretching on the sunny deck of the Monday Typhoon. His shark hoody was pulled down, and seemed to be grinning lazily in Retsu's direction.
'Tch, perhaps I'm reading way to into this. Gengo obviously placed me under genjutsu, and I can thank Kajika for knocking me out of it. Hopefully this was just a prank. Amongst super powered killers, letting off a little steam with pranks between teammates seemed reasonable. However, this was the Blood Mist era…if it wasn't a prank…' Retsu narrowed his eyes, a hint of bloodlust seeped through before he strongly tapered down on it.
This event only reaffirmed that his decision to trade with Tsunade was the right one. It was fortunate that of all the things Retsu could've asked for from Tsunade, it was her thoughts on chakra control.
With Obito brainwashing the Fourth Mizukage, Retsu was well aware of the dangers of genjutsu. Having someone in his own squad practice his genjutsu on him didn't sit right.
Now that he had the opportunity, he was going to sequester himself below deck, and train like no tomorrow.
Retsu had already read the scroll detailing Tsunade's thoughts. It wasn't particularly lengthy, but the substance was substantial.
Listed in the document were half a dozen methods to isolate the chakra in the body, and siphon just the right amount to where it needed to go.
Finding a location in almost perfect darkness, Retsu began to practice one of the methods.
Since Retsu already had a basic understanding of directing his bones after years of experimentation, he was long accustomed to molding his chakra.
Licking his lips, Retsu steeled his resolve, and began the Eye Light Deprivation Technique. First, Retsu began to take away the chakra from within his eyes. Slowly but surely, the already dim, and dark room became completely black.
Steadying his breathing, he then directed small, miniscule amounts of chakra back into his eyes until he could pick up the faintest trace of light.
Following a diagram that Tsunade had drawn, Retsu channeled his chakra into specific tenketsu while drawing away the energy from his eyeballs. However, in a sudden moment of surprise, a blockage occurred, and his chakra system began to go out of control. His heart rate spiked, and his eyes began to dilate, and ovulate out of control. Retsu felt his consciousness begin to fade!
'Focus!' Retsu martialed his willpower.
Before he could panic to much, Retsu relied upon his years of experience mobilizing his own chakra. He methodically channeled his chakra so that the blockage was eased through. He took deep, measured breaths. Each time he breathed in a certain pattern, it helped him focus the chakra inside his body, and direct it at the blockage.
He internally moved chakra in such a way that there wasn't to much chakra directed at the blockage, because if he did, the tenketsu would burst in a flood of energy. Likewise, he didn't direct to little chakra at the blockage, otherwise, he wouldn't resolve the issue.
In a twist of fate, Retsu accidentally discovered another method of chakra control in the face of adversity. Resolving a blockage in an out of control tenketsu was infinitely dangerous, yet it deepened his understanding of his body at the same time.
After he had survived the ordeal, Retsu snarled in anger. 'Tsunade that cheeky bitch! Of course she gave me a valid training technique. BUT she was still a ninja, so likewise, there were some flaws in the methodology!'
Retsu knew he had to be careful when training this technique, but now, he would amp up his cautiousness to a whole nother level!
Taking a deep breath, and resetting his focus, Retsu resumed his chakra control practice.
Retsu was slow and methodical during his training. One screw up could see him partially blind. A massive screw up could see his eyes explode. If there was to much chakra added to his eyes, they very well may have burst!
Ever so slowly, over the course of half an hour, Retsu kept magnifying the amount of chakra into his eyes until the room seemed brighter than when he initially entered. He then repeated the process of dimming his eyes, then increasing their photoreception for the next couple of hours.
After completing his fifth round, Retsu laid back with a tired sigh, and closed his eyes. His entire back was drenched in sweat, and small droplets fell from his eyes uncontrollably. The pain was extraordinary. It felt like he had pointed a blinking laser in each eye on loop for hours.
When his eyes were closed, and he was relaxing in recuperation, he heard a faint skittering noise.
It was…familiar.
Retsu smiled to himself in realization. 'Even super powered ninja can't escape the menace known as the rat.'
On Earth, rats were ubiquitous with disease. An entire generation of the human race was nearly erased due to the bubonic plague carrying rats. To this day, they infested back alleys, sewers, and subways. Their reproduction was such, that they were an impossible pest to do away with.
However, despite their less than noble qualities, Retsu had fond memories with his pet rat Chubs. They could be wickedly smart, and fluffy. Not to mention, their cute pink paws and noses.
It was at that moment that a lightbulb went off in Retsu's head.
'Rats are on near every ship, and present in every city. They can be vectors for parasites, and diseases. They would be the perfect summon animal! I don't know if they have a summon land like the toads, but at the very least, I can raise them like how Kakashi raises his dogs!'
Retsu opened his eyes in excitement, only to hiss at the pain.
Retsu knocked a fist on his forehead in frustration. It was okay to make mistakes, but no reason to be that dumb.
Retsu shook his head, and cast aside his self-doubt. He began to formulate a plan. Before their next landfall, he was going to master Eye Light Deprivation Technique, and catch himself a rodent!
Retsu decided to take a break from his training when he heard a commotion from outside the boat.
When he reached the deck, Retsu beheld an interesting sight.
"Six headbands? Alright little man! I'll need to take you out on a mission next time we make port! I'll even graciously take time out of my busy schedule, and each you how to wield that sword before we make landfall. Yes, yes, I can see it now! Who needs that Hoshi-whatever shark guy? I'll be the most famous sensei in all of Kiri! Hahahaha! Before you know it, outsiders will be calling you the Demon of the Hidden Mist!" Iguru praised Zabuza, but at the same time, shouted out praise for himself. His hershey swirl hair swayed back and forth in excitement.
For his part, Zabuza had a blank look on his face. He turned to Mei for guidance, but all she did was smile bemusedly.
However, the spoils of war were undeniable. He wore six hitai-ate. Three of them were from the Land of Rivers Tanigakure, and the other three were from Shimogakure, the Village Hidden in the Land of Frost.
His clothes had an upgrade from the rags he was previously wearing. Zabuza was now wearing a pair of slightly over sized purple shorts, and yellow flak jacket. Where once, his only piece of property was a rusty katana. He now owned a solid steal katana, and carried four ninja pouches filled with kunai, shuriken, and exploding seals strapped to his back.
"Impressive. Take Iguru's lessons to heart, Zabuza. He might not look it, but he earned his sword the hard way." Ao took a long drag of a pipe, and blew smoke rings into the air.
It was at this time when the Zabuza hype was at its strongest that a human sized bush made its appearance.
"M-monster!" "Weed man!" The demon brothers shouted in sync, drawing everyone's attention to the side of the ship.
"Ready to lose Retsu?" A cheeky, familiar voice called up to the boat.
"Do you always go around dressed like a Scooby Doo monster? If I pull off the mask, am I going to find a disgusting middle aged hick? Not going to get the ladies looking like that!" Restu leaned down from the ships railing, and taunted.
"I don't know what a "Scooby Doo" is, but I'm sure that's jealousy I hear in your voice. No matter what I wear, I can't help but look good." Mangetsu, festooned in rare herbs, hopped aboard the Monday Typhoon. Except his face, Mangetsu looked like he was wearing a ghillie suit.
Retsu's eye twitched. Mangetsu was right. Damn pretty boy bastard was on a similar tier with Minato when it came to looks. Smooth skin, longish white hair, amethyst eyes, and an effeminate look. He was jailbait anyway you took it.
"How do you like the merchandise? Like what you see? All sales are final!-"
"Okay, enough with the one liners, I can't take it anymore. You won the bet." Retsu held up his hands in defeat. If he didn't to stop the white haired boy, Mangetsu would go on for at least another five minutes.
"What was that?" Mangetsu wore a cheeky grin.
"You. Won. The. Bet." Retsu grit out.
Deciding this break went on long enough, Retsu turned around, and started moving below deck.
"Not so fast Mr. 22-30, you owe me!" Mangetsu shook off the herbs covering his body. He then took out ten sealing scrolls, and filled near the entire ship with rare herbs.
"Mangetsu, you'll have to go on a mission with me the next time we make port! Before you know it, they'll be calling you the Demon of the Hidden Mist, why I-"
"Quiet Captain, it's getting to the good part." Ao sternly hushed Iguru from the side.
"…" Retsu gave Mangetsu a look that said 'really bitch?'
For his part, Mangetsu's fox like smile never left his face for an instant.
Retsu withheld his rage. Rich bitch Mangetsu could afford A-tier sealing scrolls! That was like, a LOT of space!
Taking a deep breath, a small smirk graced Retsu's lips as well.
Noticing this subtle change in expression, Mangetsu's fox like smile only deepened. His eyes slanted like the god of trickery himself.
"Okay. You want a reward? Here ya go." Retsu took out a sealing scroll, and released a clump of Elixir Mud onto the deck.
The liquidy substance splattered on top of some of Mangetsu's accumulated herbs.
"You found the Mandra Grass, didn't you." Mangetsu pointed an accusing finger at Retsu.
"Uh, no. I was just unlucky." Retsu awkwardly denied at the immediate accusation.
"No. I'm pretty sure you have it. Hand over your scrolls, I want to see them." Mangetsu haughtily held out his hand like a lord demanding his subject's goods or an ojou-sama demanding supplication.
Retsu felt a brief moment of crisis. He didn't want others to know about the trade he had made with Tsunade. He wasn't to concerned with Mangetsu finding out. Bastard had a long list of jutsu his family had created, purchased or stolen over the years. However, he didn't quite trust the rest of the crew with his secrets.
"Why do you look so shifty? The bet was to hand over all the herbs to the winner. You have nothing to be worried about." The smile never left Mangetsu's face.
Sweat began to drip down the side of Retsu's head.
"Today please."
"Ahem. Take a look, but I only want you to see what's inside. So, let's go below decks."
"Don't want the rest of the crew to see your lewds, huh? Very well, lead the way." Mangetsu imperiously gestured for Retsu to get a move on.
Before the duo went below decks, Mangetsu sealed away the most valuable of the rare herbs.
"Rest is for you guys, I don't want to waste any more storage space." Mangetsu turned to the crew, and waved his hand dismissively at the remaining pile.
Ao widened his eyes in surprise. "That's at least 300,000 Ryo in herbs. And that's a low ball estimation! Are you certain about this Mangetsu?"
"I've got five times that amount in my scrolls. You guys keep it." Mangetsu rolled his eyes, and eagerly fell behind Retsu into the lower decks.
When Retsu and Mangetsu found a silent corner, Retsu pulled out his scrolls.
"Keep this from the rest, but I ran into Tsunade Senju of Konoha." Retsu intoned in a serious voice.
Mangetsu took in Retsu's face, and nodded.
"I believe you. A run in with a Sannin? It's surprising you made it out alive!...That's why you didn't want me opening your scrolls on deck, right!? I take it you didn't find the Mandra Grass, but got some sensitive info instead? But hey, if you did, I really could use it. My mom is weak after my little brother was born, and it would really help."
"So that's why you picked up so many herbs." Retsu slapped his fist into his open palm.
"Nah, I just wanted to see the look on your face when you lost. Did not disappoint." Mangetsu dropped his fox like smile, and instead, sniggered to himself.
"Frickin asshole Hozuki." Retsu sighed.
"Boneheaded Kaguya." Hozuki rested his hands behind his head and smirked.
"I did find Mandra Grass. But! Before you get your hopes up, I gave it to the Senju. In return, she traded some chakra control techniques to me."
"Wow, she didn't just kill you? This is a surprise. From what I've heard, the Sannin are murderous beyond belief. The First Hokage had a reputation for being a vicious mass murderer. I would've thought his granddaughter would follow in his footsteps." Mangetsu's amethyst eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah well, the chakra control method had a trap, and I almost permanently crippled myself with an out of control tenketsu." Retsu bitterly recounted his training episode.
"Sheesh. If you need any help, let me know. I'm pretty good at chakra control exercises myself." Mangetsu grinned, and assumed a proud posture.
"Yeah yeah. And listen, two days ago, Gengo placed me under genjutsu. What do you think about that? Should I beat him up? Or maybe attempt an assassination?" Retsu was quick to change the topic from his failure.
"Gengo, huh? I always thought his beard was a little to well groomed. Guy looks like a caricature of a villain in those bedtime stories. Or an evil tax collector representing the Daimyo. If you've got some of that diarrhea inducing poison, hit him with that. If he escalates, let me know, and we'll prank this fake gentleman back into the stone age!"
"Thanks, Mangetsu." Retsu nodded in seriousness.
"You'll definitely win over all the fair maidens with that ugly mug, and open personality of yours." Mangetsu mocked. All the while, he still rested his hands on the back of his head while walked away nonchalantly.
"Damn Hozuki bastard." Retsu muttered to himself. And yet, a small smile couldn't help but appear on Retsu's face.
AN: Yes, even murderous sociopath super ninjas from the Blood Mist Village have friends and close confidants!
What other chakra control methods did Tsunade impart onto our MC? I also still haven't 100% decided on what the second knowledge she has imparted will be.
Asking for a friend: If you were a Jonin in charge of a "standard" platoon setting an ambush, how would you defeat Minato during the 3rd war? The platoon is comprised of you, 5 Tokubetsu Jonin, 65 Chunin, and 30 Genin. As a Jonin, you have A tier speed, strength and stamina, and A tier skills in one of the major categories such as Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Med, Fuinjutsu, etc. All other skills are C to B tier. How/Can you defeat Minato?