I, Your Father, Carry a Big Stick

Though it would ordinarily take around 3-4 days to travel from Konoha to the Land of Sound, traveling at a modest pace, Wu managed to reach the borders in just under two and a half hours. Before having its name changed, the region Wu was venturing into was known as the Land of Rice Paddies. As such, rice fields, lush greenery, and small mountains dotted the landscape, stretching to the horizon. Perching himself atop one of the taller mountains in the region, Wu took a moment to appreciate the splendor of the Land of Sound. It was quite the sight to behold, and, thanks to his rather unique set of eyes, he could see upwards of ten kilometers. Further, if he really strained himself. Since only the Five Great Shinobi Nations had endured long enough to have their locations become fairly common knowledge, Wu had no idea where Otogakure was. He could try tracking down the Sound Daimyo or one of his officials, but that probably wasn't the brightest idea. Instead, he pulled out a few strands of his hair, whispering, "Go, my children..." as dozens of identical copies of himself appeared, spreading out through the region. Unlike the Clone Jutsu taught at the Academy, which produced no sound and had no physical form, Wu's 'Hair Clone Jutsu' created real, tangible copies of himself. The only downsides were that they only lasted an hour and that he was limited by the number of hairs on his head. They also couldn't recover Chakra, so while they shared Wu's strength, speed, and even his equipment, they would burn themselves out fairly quickly in a direct encounter with enemy Shinobi. Of course, with more than 100,000 hairs on his head, even if he limited his clones to using Taijutsu, Wu could potentially wipe out an unprepared village before they expired. One of the many reasons Hiruzen trusted him to venture into enemy territory. With each of his clones dispersing an hour later, a wave of purely visual information came rushing into Wu's mind. However, as none of his clones had dispelled themselves prematurely, he didn't bother perusing through it as they would have done so if they found anything interesting. After all, Wu didn't play second fiddle to anyone, not even himself. Since his first initial had failed, Wu rose to his feet and began making his way toward the coast a few hundred kilometers to the North. The Land of Sound was bordered by the Lands of Fire, Hot Water, and one of the most dangerous regions of the Continent, a peninsula colloquially known as the Land of No Return. This limited their options when it came to trade, so Wu deduced that the best places to gather information would be the nation's capital and the ports along the coast. However, the former was a little too high profile, so Wu decided upon the more discreet option. At least, that was his intent... Shortly after Wu began his leisurely stroll, a volley of pale green, Chakra-infused arrows attempted to knock him out of the sky. He caught the one that would have hit his eye but allowed the rest to crash against his body, shattering on impact. "Hooo~? It hasn't been but a few hours since I left the village. I wasn't expecting someone to volunteer as my first victim..." Charging toward the group of stunned archers, a rare profession in the World of Shinobi, Wu's body traced a golden trail through the sky. When he impacted the ground between him, a faint ripple spread out from his feet before an area roughly 50m in diameter 'erupted' into a pillar of dust and stone debris extending as far as 300m above the treeline. Though his attack would fodder a group of Genin, Wu could tell by the Chakra contained within the arrows that his would-be opponents weren't completely inept. Of the six, only one was seriously injured, while the rest escaped with minor injuries or protected themselves with a barrier. Seeing the pyramid-shaped barrier protecting three of his attackers, Wu's brows raised as he remarked, "That's a neat little trick." Staring back at Wu, the presumed leader of the group, was a tall man with bronzed skin, sharp black eyes, and long black hair that extended past his lower back. He had a red bandana covering his forehead that had feathers protruding from the sides, and his attire consisted of a skin-tight blue top that seemed designed to specifically show off his muscles, black pants, a red waist cloth, and a series of belts containing numerous tools, including a large, machete-sized knife. The rest of his companions wore attire more suitable to a Shinobi, the only exception being the female member of the group, a purple-haired woman wearing a black tube-top, a camo skirt, and fishnet stockings. Realizing they may have just provoked a wayward dragon, the long-haired man placed his rather sizeable longbow on the ground and declared, "We surrender..." in a somber, gravelly tone. With his right hand supporting the staff on his shoulder, Wu waggled his left index finger, responding with a taunting, "Ah, ah, ah. You don't get to attack someone unprovoked and then get to surrender just because you realize how fucked you are. Unless you provide me with the information I require, don't expect to be walking away from this fateful encounter with a pep in your step." Swallowing hard, the raven-haired man suppressed the urge to order his allies to attack, asking, "What do you want to know?" with a fair amount of trepidation. Narrowing his eyes in amusement, Wu remarked, "Smart. Unfortunately, I'm not a fucking idiot..." Noticing the almost imperceptibly thin threads extending from the fingers of one of his attackers, Wu's figure briefly disappeared from view before a loud crashing sound, accompanied by the thunderous splintering of wood, echoed through the area. By the time the remaining members reacted, Wu was perched where their former comrade once stood, the latter nowhere to be seen. However, based on the trail of destruction extending into the nearby forest, it was easy to imagine what had transpired... Assuming her comrade had been killed, the purple-haired woman's eyes went red as she screamed, "You bastard! You killed Jango...!" Before the black-haired leader of the group could even think to stop her from attacking, the purple-haired woman manipulated what appeared to be a swarm of Teru Teru Bozu, ghost-like dolls that were typically used by farmers to ward off bad weather. They were incredibly swift, even faster than thrown shuriken, but Wu just swung his staff in a relaxed manner, creating a fierce wind that tore apart both the Teru Teru Bozu and strings. Since the woman had made the mistake of attacking him, Wu surprised both her and the rest of the group by leaning forward slightly and glaring. His previously golden eyes immediately gained a fiery red hue as narrow, laser-like beams of intense light shot from his pupils. Though the beam only persisted for a moment, Wu only needed to turn his head slightly to cut through the woman's legs and the ground behind her. The heat produced by his eyes was enough to melt through a B-Rank Earth Jutsu in less than five seconds, so the average human had no hope of resisting the nigh-instantaneous attack. As the ear-piercing scream of their companion echoed through the area, the rest of the group was left with 'no choice' but to attack. In reality, Wu would have only given them a 'light' beating if they surrendered, but only he knew that. As far as the group of vagrant Shinobi was concerned, Wu was a ruthless, seemingly indestructible monster... Catching the leader of the group's machete with his bare hand, Wu gave it a light squeeze, shattering it like glass. Then, as another man released an arrow at him from behind, his body abruptly vanished, resulting in not-so-friendly fire. Luckily, the man didn't have to lament shooting his leader in the abdomen as his head was promptly snapped backward, the opposite direction his body was facing. Unbothered by the fear in the man's eyes, Wu maintained a toothy grin as he said, "Well, hello there." in a teasing tone. Unfortunately, the man was unable to return his greeting as his body slumped forward, the light fading from his eyes. Clicking his tongue, Wu remarked, "Rude..." while simultaneously catching a javelin-sized arrow fired at him by the youngest member of the group, a boy with similar features to the presumed leader. With panic in his eyes, the raven-haired man shouted, "No, Kotaru! Run away...!" as he extended his hand to generate a pale green, pyramid-like barrier around Wu's body. It attempted to crush him by rapidly shrinking in size, but Wu shattered it with a swing of his staff before immediately vanishing. When he next appeared, he was standing right in front of the startled 'Kotaru,' a friendly smile on his face as he asked, "How old are you?" Ostensibly traumatized and fearful for his life, the youthful-looking boy shook like a wet dog in winter as he replied, "F-Fifteen..." "Hmmm..." As the drinking age in Konoha was twenty, something Wu found fairly ridiculous, considering Shinobi were legally considered adults and tasked with killing people, he elected to regard the quivering Kotaru as a child. Thus, instead of smashing the boy's head in, Wu placed his hand on Kotaru's shoulder and said, "Then let's end things here. Give me the info I require, and I'll leave you and your daddy alone. Scouts honor." With his father bleeding out and exhausted nearby, Kotaru swallowed the sizeable knot that had formed in his throat, asking, "W-What do you want to know?" Narrowing his eyes and smiling from ear to ear, Wu said, "I was asked to deliver a message to Otogakure, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the damned place. Be a champ and point me in the right direction?" Catching Wu a little by surprise, Kotaru 'did' actually know the location of Oto, his voice trembling as he provided fairly detailed directions. This put Wu in a pretty good mood, so instead of shattering the boy's kneecaps and mending them just enough that he would be walking with a limp for the rest of his life, Wu gave him an ointment to put on his father's wounds, wished him the best, and bounded back into the sky... ... .. . Located near the base of a massive tree, the entrance to Otogakure, or, more accurate, the entrance to their headquarters in the Land of Sound, resembled the opening of a storehouse used to preserve rice. If not for the fact it was located deep in the heart of a forest infested with fierce Chakra beasts, animals that had been mutated into monsters, Wu would have thought he was in the wrong location. Voicing his thoughts aloud, Wu questioned, "What kind of Hidden Village is this? Even if it expands underground, it's a single fucking compound..." Though his only experience with Hidden Villages was Konoha, Wu had reviewed the information Hiruzen had on the other villages. In exchange for allowing the R&amp;D Department to analyze his various skills and abilities, he had been given limited access to Hirzuen's private library, containing a plethora of information that was 'supposed' to be for the Hokage's eyes only. With his photographic memory and ostensibly perfect recall, Wu had a decent understanding of how Hidden Villages were supposed to be laid out. They were military fortifications meant to fend off enemy attacks, so finding an underground bunker, Wu got the impression he had stumbled across someone's secret hideout rather than a proper village... ... .. .

"Hmmm~?" Though he had originally thought they were just ordinary cobwebs, kept in place to make the entrance seem less suspicious, Wu noticed that the spiders 'manning' the webs were each staring at him. Each spider was the size of a pea, so an 'ordinary' person would never have noticed they were being watched. Fortunately, Wu was 'extraordinary.' Distracting Wu from the spiders, a raspy voice echoed, "Borne to be born, lived to live...one sunrise to sunset...the life of a mayfly lasts but one day. Thinking that such a fleeting life-" Before the voice could finish speaking, Wu raised his foot and slammed it into the ground with tremendous force. However, instead of causing the ground to crack or explode, he diffused his Chakra through the earth like an invisible wave. With the ground beneath him solidified, Wu leaped to the edge of the affected area before shouting, "Ninja Art, Mat Flipping Technique~!" in an unnecessarily boisterous tone. Then, with a seemingly casual flick of his hand and wrist, a chunk of earth stretching 30m in diameter and around 8m thick was uprooted and flipped over. The technique resembled a B-Rank Earth Jutsu known as Burial Rotation, but the reality was far more terrifying as Wu used raw, physical strength to accomplish the feat. Though his attack had exposed a section of the underground base, Wu didn't immediately attempt to enter it. Instead, he used his staff to whack the overturned stone, splitting it in half to reveal what appeared to be a hunchbacked man with massive buck teeth. In Wu's eyes, however, he, or, more accurately, she, resembled a slender, exceptionally thin girl around his age. Unaware that her disguise had been seen through, the green-haired girl allowed herself to remain face down, ass sticking in the air as she feigned unconsciousness. Her posture gave Wu a tremendous urge to stab her in the butt, so that is precisely what he did, his staff extending just enough to force the girl to taste the ground as he teased, "You think you can trick me? I, Your Father, wasn't born yesterday." Replacing her previously neutral expression, the green-haired girl could be seen tearing up from the perspective of Wu as she bounded to her feet and glared back at him, growling, "You'll pay for that..." while rubbing her throbbing bottom. Her voice sounded husky and masculine, but Wu was absolutely certain she was a girl as he retorted, "Cut the crap, greenie. I didn't come here to play house with a dreary-eyed brat. Now, be truthful. Is this the entrance to Otogakure, or was I lied to?" Hearing Wu refer to her as 'greenie,' the green-haired girl winced beneath her guise. Her transformation was an advanced technique that could even sustain damage without breaking and giving away her true identity. She even had all the necessary 'equipment,' so she couldn't comprehend how Wu had managed to ascertain the color of her hair. Green wasn't exactly common, so it couldn't have been a lucky guess... Instead of answering Wu's question, the girl calmed herself and asked, "Why are you searching for Otogakure? Are you from another village? You aren't wearing a headband..." As there was a treaty between the various nations mandating that Shinobi wear identifying headbands, Wu's lack of forehead protector meant one of three things. He was either a missing-nin ignoring the treatise, a rogue, unaffiliated Shinobi, or someone violating the treaty to keep his affiliation a secret. Either way, his presence here was a problem... Narrowing his gaze, a fiery glimmer began to spread through Wu's eyes as he stated, "You know, it isn't particularly 'polite' to answer a question with another question. It could easily be misconstrued as you looking down on someone..." Seeing the change in Wu's eyes, the girl muttered, "So that's it...a Kekkei Genkai(Blood Release) manifesting as an ocular ju-" Before the girl could finish speaking, Wu appeared right in front of her, his hand outstretched and covering her face as he narrowed his eyes, smiling as he asked, "Could you be ignoring me~?" Since she hadn't responded to him heretofore, Wu didn't afford the girl a chance to speak as he gripped the face of her transformation with enough force to sink his fingers into it, tearing away its face to reveal the stunned girl beneath. The flesh and bones of the transformation were kind of like a cacoon made out of clay, so the moment Wu tore away the girl's 'mask,' it gained an earthy hue instead of resembling blood, gore, and bits of bone. Taking advantage of the girl's paralytic fear, Wu gave her a 'gentle' flick to the forehead, sending her flipping backward several times as parts of her transformation broke away, revealing the petite figure beneath. The only clothes she was wearing were a single-strap white dress that left most of her back exposed, a pair of white panties, and a metal collar, so she gave off the impression of 'fragility' despite possessing the Chakra reserves of a mid-ranking Jonin. Undisturbed by the girl's apparent vulnerability, Wu walked over to her, his staff resting on his shoulder as he said, "Now that you don't have mud clogging your ears, listen closely. Fail to answer my question again, and I won't stop with simply poking your butt. I'll make a fucking skewer out of you..." Though his words were an empty threat, mainly because Wu assumed the girl was around his age, the glimmer in his eyes implied otherwise. Fearing for both her bottom and her life, the girl was prepared to answer any of Wu's questions. She had lived much of her life prepared to die, but the method proposed by Wu wasn't something she wanted to experience. As such, she opened her mouth before pausing at the last moment, a faint glimmer of hope appearing in her bluish-purple eyes as a man with short black hair, thick eyebrows, and beady eyes appeared behind Wu. A large pair of sheers, capable of cutting just about anything, was attached to the man's arm, and, due to his focus on her, Wu seemed to be unaware of the incoming surprise. Reality was often disappointing... Moments before the man's sheers attempted to close around Wu's neck, a smile appeared on the terrifying youth's face. In the very next moment, he vanished into thin air, allowing the sheers to pass through where he had been standing before immediately popping up behind his would-be assassin. Grabbing the man's shoulders, Wu resisted the urge to rip the man in two. Instead, he dug his thumbs into the man's back, eliciting a blood-curdling scream as he hooked his fingers beneath the man's shoulder blades and spread them apart. It wasn't a fatal, irrecoverable injury, but it more than took the man out of the fight. Seeing the leader of her group of guards dealt with instantly, the hope in the green-haired girl's eyes faded. Blood spattered on her face and body, but she didn't even react, staring absentmindedly as Wu casually tossed aside the body of her fallen comrade, one of the few remaining members of her Clan. Noticing the girl's state, Wu raised his brows, stating, "Relax. Even though he tried to kill me, I only...dislocated his shoulders. His rehabilitation won't be speedy, but he'll live to see another day. Now, are you going to answer my questions, or do I need to take off the kiddy gloves...?" "That won't be necessary." Drawing Wu's gaze away from the green-haired girl, a woman with ghastly pale skin, golden, snake-like eyes, long black hair, and a gargantuan 'wall' of a forehead emerged from the hole he had produced. Accompanying her was a sickly, ashen-haired man with an additional head growing from his back, an angry-looking woman with scarlet-red hair, a short, tanned man with six arms, a tall fatso with three stripes of red hair, a slender man with white hair, two dots, and red markings above his sharp eyes, and, last but not least, a fairly attractive woman with muted purple hair with long side bangs, a green outfit depicting a camellia flower, and a starburst ponytail. Despite goose-pimples spreading across his body, Wu narrowed his eyes, smiling mischievously as he mused, "Looks like the big guns came out to play..." Emulating Wu's expression, the massive-domed woman replied, "You're quite powerful for someone so young and...supple. Tell me, what brings you to this place? I take it you didn't journey all this way just to play with my beloved subordinates..." Maintaining his smile, Wu replied, "Let's just say I enjoy gambling. I heard Otogakure would be competing in this year's Chunin Exams and wanted to see if you had any interesting Shinobi that could act as a dark horse. This brat behind me seems fairly strong, but I doubt you would be able to slip her in with her Chakra reserves." "Hoooo~?" Seemingly amused by Wu's words, the five-headed woman gave him an appraising look, her snake-like eyes shimmering as she abruptly licked her lips with a long, red, slightly pointed tongue. Then, completely out of the blue, she asked, "How would you like to join my village, young man? I'm someone who can...appreciate talents such as yours. If you become a member of Otogakure, I can assure you that you will be able to discover a purpose that transcends the fickle politics of the self-absorbed Five Great Shinobi Countries...I can help you reach your full potential and more..." Instead of responding to the woman's question, Wu tilted his head to the side and asked, "You're the Otokage?" Nodding her head in affirmation, the gig-brained woman replied, "Indeed. Though I have a proper name, for now, please feel to address me as Lady or Mistress Snake. Now, tell me, young man...what is 'your' name? What is your 'purpose' in this world...?" Unable to contain himself, Wu adopted a confident smile as he raised his chin and replied, "I am the man whose name will go down in the history of the Shinobi World. Soon enough, even the savages in the West will come to fear and respect the name of the Legendary Warrior, the splendiferous Saiko Dadi...!" Failing to understand that Wu was joking, or simply not caring, the living whiteboard mused, "You've quite the ambition, Dadi-kun. With the support of my Otogakure, you may just be able to achieve it." Crossing his arms, Wu's smile broadened into a toothy grin as he asked, "And if I refuse...?" Adopting a broader smile of her own, the spade-faced woman combed back the strands of hair that were beginning to fall over her face as she replied, "I can't have you revealing the location of my Hidden Village, Dadi-kun. Until we can reach an 'amenable' agreement, I'm afraid you'll have to remain a guest within Otogakure. Don't worry, my subordinates will be sure to take 'proper' care of you..." Following the living billboard's words, the angry-looking tomato, two-headed hunchback, three-striped manchild, and six-armed spiderman immediately encircled Wu. Individually, none of them gave him a sense of urgency. With how they were standing, however, Wu could tell they were prepared to imprison him using some kind of formation. Seeing Wu unperturbed despite being surrounded, the woman who even the moon considered shameless couldn't help but lick her lips. She had no idea who the boy was, but her desire to 'obtain' and 'study' him increased with each passing moment. Everything about him screamed 'exceptional,' so she- Interrupting the living Noh mask's train of thought, Wu surprised nearly everyone present by responding, "Sure, sounds like fun." before tilting his head to the side and asking, "Is there, like, a sign-up sheet I need to put my name on? An explanation of my pay and benefits would also be nice. If your Otogakure is half as amazing as you make it out to be, you must pay your people pretty handsomely, right?" After staring unblinkingly for several seconds, an inhuman grin developed across the Otokage's face as she answered, "Oh, trust me, Dadi-kun. As a member of Otogakure, you will be well compensated. Wealth, power, and much, much 'more' will be provided to you in excess. All we require is your willingness to cooperate with a few...experiments. Ufufufufufu~" Exhibiting no traces of fear or concern for his well-being, Wu decided to see how far he could push things, stating, "I already told you that I'm the man whose name will go down in the history of the Shinobi World. I might be joining your village, but I'm not your slave or underling. You don't have to call me Lord, but I won't settle for anything less than Dadi-sama." Though she was tempted to point out that Wu 'would' belong to her, the Otokage, whose brow could encompass the heavens themselves, mused, "Very well, Dadi-sama. And welcome to Otogakure..." ... .. .

"Don't touch anything." Since it was a little too early for dinner, Tenten invited Wu up to her room on the second floor of the Higurashi Tool Shop. The wall furthest from the door was covered in weapons ranging from sai to a large spiked mace, but the rest of the room was fairly typical of a young girl in her teens. At least according to Wu's experiences. Rolling his eyes, Wu retorted, "It was one incident, Tenten. When are you going to stop bringing it up?" Crossing her arms, Tenten looked like she wanted to retort but ultimately shook her head, saying, "Forget it. Just sit on my bed or something until I get back. I won't be more than a few minutes." Finished with what she had to say, Tenten turned to leave but stopped when Wu flatly pointed out, "You're forgetting a change of clothes, dango head..." Inhaling a deep breath, Tenten stood straighter as she turned around to stare at Wu with a reddening face. In response, the latter just wiggled his eyebrows, adding, "You're welcome." in a teasing tone... ... .. . Resisting the urge to raid Tenten's panty drawer, not because he was interested in them but just to annoy her, Wu relaxed on her bed with his hands behind his head. He generally preferred sleeping on firm surfaces, as it was better for his posture, but there was a certain 'charm' to making himself 'at home' in places that were generally off-limits. Finished with her quick shower, Tenten opened the door to her room and immediately exhaled a sigh. She used to think Wu's 'shamelessness' was fairly charming. Now, it frequently left her feeling exasperated... Rising to a seated position, Wu's brows perked up as he saw the clothes Tenten was wearing. Ninety percent of her outfits consisted of some kind of qipao, so it was rare to see her in something as 'fashionable' as a pale-pink sweater-hoodie that left much of her abdomen and lower back open to the air. She had a sleeveless, matte black top that covered everything from her lower rib cage to her neck, but it was a pretty 'risque' outfit for someone whose mother taught them to dress modestly. Noticing Wu's gaze gravitated toward her navel, a nervous tension began to build in Tenten's body as she averted her eyes and asked, "How does it look? This kind of fashion is pretty popular these days..." Instead of responding to Tenten's question, Wu lowered his steely gaze from her faint abdominal muscles to the toned thighs protruding from her form-fitting brown shorts. The effort she had put into her training showed, so he decided to humor her, responding, "It certainly fits..." Returning her gaze to Wu, Tenten flatly inquired, "Is that what passes for a compliment in that monkey brain of yours...?" As Tenten currently had her hair down, still damp and extending all the way to the small of her back, Wu couldn't retort by calling her a dango-head. Instead, he replied, "It is. If you were fat, it would fit 'too well.' If you were too skinny, it would be 'kind of loose.' As you are now...it's just right..." Though Wu's words were more than a little unorthodox, Tenten found herself swallowing hard. Wu was the only boy, well, excluding her idiot Sensei and teammate, who frequently complimented her. He could be 'really' annoying at times, but his words had a way of making her feel like an ordinary girl, not some weapon-obsessed freak... Making her way over to the bed, Tenten sat down next to Wu, the weight of her body distorting the mattress and causing their bodies to touch a lot more than she intended. Despite this, she didn't attempt to move over and create some distance between them. Instead, she leaned a little closer, a knot forming in her throat as she softly inquired, "Hey, Wu-kun...have you ever kissed anyone?" Seemingly oblivious to the tensions present within the room, Wu surprised Tenten by nodding his head and revealing, "Three people, technically four. But the last one just kissed me on the cheek, so I'm not sure that counts." With her right eye twitching slightly, Tenten adopted a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she uttered, "Don't tell me it was those girls that kept going over to your place to train..." Since she asked him not to tell her, Wu remained absolutely silent. If she had pried just a little deeper, she would have learned that the kissing took place due to a treacherous pastime known as the King's Game. Wu, Kaia, and Hinata hadn't known the rules, so they got baited into playing by Ino and her accomplice, Sakura. The game began innocuously, but it wasn't long before things developed in a dangerous direction, the result of young minds acquiring forbidden knowledge and going through puberty... Exhaling a sigh, Tenten was about to turn and move away from Wu when he surprised her a second time, asking, "You don't want to...?" in a curious, almost innocent-sounding tone. When she turned back, she found him gazing directly at her with his almost luminous golden eyes, unblinking as if he was expecting something. After inhaling a deep breath, Tenten exhaled another sigh, admitting, "I do. It's just...I kind of wanted it to mean something, you know...? I might not be girly, but I expected to 'trade' firsts with the boy I liked..." Instead of trying to pressure her, Wu surprised Tenten a third time by replying, "I get that. It is a shame, though...of the girls I've kissed, you're the only one I ever seriously considered doing it with. The rest just kind of happened..." Though his words sounded like lip service, Wu was speaking truthfully. If his 'pride' hadn't been on the line, he wouldn't have kissed any of the girls he was training. The person that had kissed his cheek had also done so of her own accord, so this would have been Wu's first 'intentional' kiss...even if it was just to cover his bases. After hesitating for several seconds, Tenten released a frustrated groan and grabbed the hair at the sides of her head. This wasn't going anything like what she imagined in the shower, but she also really wanted to give it a try...! Looking at Wu, Tenten's expression became uncharacteristically serious as she asked, "Do you like me?" Instead of responding with words, Wu nodded while holding Tenten's intense gaze. He felt like she was trying to see through him, but without some kind of Dojutsu, that was impossible. His persona had been refined over four years of careful interaction. At this point, he doubted even the old man could deduce his actual intentions. After clenching her jaw several times, Tenten abruptly shouted, "I like you too!" as if it were some kind of battle cry. Her face immediately went red, but she continued to 'glare' at him as she said, "If you're serious...let's be boyfriend and girlfriend from now on. You're the only boy I've ever liked, and you've been a good friend these past few years. I think we can make things work if we continue to support each other..." Narrowing his eyes, Wu's expression appeared to soften as he asserted, "That's one of the things I like about you, Tenten...you're a very sensible and earnest person. I'm happy I was able to meet you..." Since Tenten had already started to lean closer to him, Wu mirrored her actions until their lips eventually overlapped. Things remained that way for several seconds, almost as if time had frozen. However, that was as far as they went as Tenten pulled away, her hazel-brown eyes swimming around in their sockets as she turned away and meekly muttered, "Then I guess it's official...glad to have you?" Exhaling a soft chuckle, Wu surprised Tenten with a chaste peck on her cheek before replying, "Let's continue doing our best..." in a smoldering tone. For a brief moment, he nearly reached out to touch her abdomen, but, feeling it was a little too soon, he compromised by grabbing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. He frankly wasn't sure if he had made the right decision by choosing Tenten as his potential life partner, but that's one of the more important lessons Wu learned these past few years. At times, life just kind of happened... Spurred by Wu's words and actions, Tenten closed her eyes and leaned in for another kiss. She also had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but she couldn't deny the feeling of longing in her heart and the butterflies in her abdomen... ... .. . With his preparations complete, Wu, garbed in an outfit that could give Naruto a run for his money with how 'loud' it was, turned to Hiruzen and asked, "Are you sure about this? If I discover that the outside world is more interesting, I might not return..." Exhaling a light chuckle, Hiruzen surprised Wu by replying, "That's fine. Though I imagine the young Higurashi girl will be disappointed, I believe that, even if you were to go 'rogue,' you would never go out of your way to harm the village. Take care on your travels, Wu-kun. And remember, even if you venture to lands far beyond, Konoha and Jigokudani will always be your home." Clicking his tongue, Wu turned away from Hiruzen and muttered, "Damn you, old man..." before taking off at a blinding speed and vanishing into the nearby treeline. However, despite his efforts to suppress it, Hiruzen caught the smile that had briefly graced Wu's face before he took off like a yellow bolt of lightning. Wu might never openly admit it, but Konoha had become a home to him...at the very least, it was a place he could return to if shit hit the fan... ... .. . Though the continent comprising the Shinobi World was colloquially known as the Elemental or 'Five Nations,' there were actually a total of nine prominent countries and thirty-eight minor ones. However, except the Lands of Earth, Fire, Lightning, Water, and Wind, the borders of the other nations were constantly shifting as various minor countries were either created or destroyed. With Hiruzen giving him the option to choose where he traveled first, Wu stopped at a random crossroads before pulling an ornate, 180cm long bo staff from his Storage Pouch. The moment he did so, his feet sank nearly a full centimeter into the dirt as, despite how thin it appeared, the staff in Wu's hands weighed approximately 8,000kg. Its base resembled stained redwood with accents of gold near each end, yet, despite the best efforts of Konoha's R&amp;D Department, they couldn't even take a sample from it. As far as they were concerned, the staff that had split apart the stone statue that Wu apparently 'popped' out of was utterly indestructible. Placing the staff on one of its ends, Wu released his hand and allowed it to fall freely. It embedded itself into the ground upon contact, but he was able to call it back to himself by simply extending his hand. Thus, with the end of the staff leaning toward the North, Wu decided that his first target would be a recently established village known as Otogakure, the Village Hidden in Sound. They would be participating in this year's Chunin Exams, so Hiruzen had requested that he investigate them if his path happened to take him North. With his destination set, Wu took a moment to observe his surroundings before grinning like a demon from Hell as he reached into the 'bottom' of his Storage Pouch and produced a pair of stylish, red, and golden greaves that perfectly conformed to the shape of his forelegs. He had to remove his sandals, but the moment he did so, Wu felt a 'breeze' against his soles before leaping high into the sky. Then, the moment he reached the peak of his jump, pale golden clouds formed beneath his feet, allowing him to continue bounding through the sky at virtually no expense. And boy, did it feel great... ... .. .

Chapter 26: Mistakes Were Made