-2 months ter

  Bke was in a routine. He would wake up, eat some breakfast and then go train with either Nagato or Konan. After training, Nightmare would sometimes go on a mission with the Akatsuki, usually ing ba a dishevelled state. However, Bke couldn’t say anything, since most of the Akatsuki were usually injured as well.

  heless, Yahiko was clearly using Bke’s summon as a meat shield, sinightmare would be able to heal most of his injuries anyway. Due to that, Bke had a bit of falling out with Yahiko, but he had grown closer to both Konan and Nagato.

  Uheir guidance, he had learned a lot. He had learned how to trol the chakra within him and direct it to his body part, finally learning how to walk on walls and water. Then, he had learned how to throw shuriken and use kunai’s, but he realized those ons were not his forte, her did he liked using them.

  Taijutsu was also part of the training, and Bke had sparred multiple times against almost everyohin the Akatsuki and Nightmare. He had hated bat with hands, though he realized it was essential for surviving in this freaking world.

  He had learned a substitution teique and a ing jutsu, which Bke thought was really useful yet difficult to both implement and use. His chakra reserves would get either drained and the jutsu often failed. It was the hardest thing to learn so far. Konan had said that Bke retty talented, and Bke had been happy to hear so. In his opinion, Bke’s knowledge of physics, chemistry and basiatomy had guided him in chakra trol, but actual trol over this energy was still difficult for him.

  “When people imagine shinobi, the first thing that pops into their mind is something like breathing fire or creating a water dragon. Iy though, it is extremely hard to learn those teiques, and only the most talented know how to do those. Learning any ninjutsu, which is going to be the step in your training, is already a feat deserving of respect.” Konan taught ioic voice, switg her gaze from Nightmare to Bke. “The first step in learning ninjutsu is uanding your affinity. There are five affinities in total. Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, Earth. Each of them are strong in their owrospect, yet have their own weaknesses.”

  Konan took out ters from her pocket.

  “In order to test your affinity, you simply have to infuse some of your chakra into this paper and see what happens to it.” Konan gave Bke and Nightmare their respective paper, nodding at them. “Everyone has an affinity, so there is not o stress. The affinity is closely reted to your personality. Some people, of course, have more than one affinity, but it usually es from their bloodlines or s.”

  Bke nodded, gng at Nightmare, smiling slightly. “I dare you to go first.”

  Nightmare took it as a challenge. He had mao finally feel the chakra, but he was still struggling with pushing and trolling it. It took him a few moments to el some chakra into the paper, when it suddenly turned murky and slowly fell apart. Nightmare huffed some smoke out of his nostrils, looking at Konan expetly.

  “Earth, not bad. I would say it reflects your stoic personality.” Konan smiled and wi Nightmare. “Usually, earth implies a desire to proteeone.”

  Nightmare seemed to stand straighter when she said that. Bke giggled slightly, pushing some chakra into the paper. For some reason, it felt cold. Bke’s eyes widened, as did Konan’s. The paper in Bke’s hand was frozen solid. “Mhhh…Konan? Is that ice?”

  “It is.” Konan gulped as she stared at the paper, putting a hand oemples. “How is that possible? You said you are from some a , right? Did they know how to trol ice?”

  Bke shrugged as he tiaring at the frozen paper. “Not to my knowledge. They never really practised any ninjutsu. Maybe they had the blood, but ried?”

  “That…would make sense, but still, that’s ridiculous. What kind of did you e from?” Konan stared at Bke, some awe hidden deeply within her eyes. “Not only some strange summoning teique, but also an ice Kekkei Genkai?”

  “Yeah, my was…fasating for sure.” Bke gulped slightly, his brows sweating. His fusion was repced by excitement. He could trol ice. Freaking ice. That was crazy. His theory was that the people oh actually had their own affinities, and perhaps, Bke’s parents had an ice affinity, which assed down to him. Anyway, the good part was that he had a freaking Kekkei Genkai!

  “So, what does that mean for me?” Bke asked the still clearly shook Konan. Nightmare simply stood by the side, barely uanding anything, but knowing that his master had done something cool, so he was both happy and prideful.

  “Kekkei Genkai’s…are naturally much strohan normal affinities. I don’t know much about ice, but I know that shinobi with Kekkei Genkai’s aturally mix multiple affinities and create powerful ninjutsu.” Konan expin, seemingly in a stupor. “I really didn’t expect to see a Kekkei Genkai today, and I don’t know how to proceed with your training now, Bke.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, no one in Akatsuki knows anything about Iinjutsu. You will have to create your own teiques, or try to find someone who guide you. Of course, even though you have this affinity, you still learn ninjutsu of other affinities, but they will have much less firepower and will take signifitly longer for you to learn.”

  “Oh…” Bke suddenly had a headache. So he had to freestyle from now on?

  “As fhtmare, I tio guide him, but, for you, I believe just gaining inspiration from other teiques and trying to do something simir would work the best for you. Creativity is essential. My teique, for instance, came from the fact that I loved ami…”

  Konan blushed slightly at the st sentence, which was so uncharacteristic of her that Bke blinked a few times. “I guess…I will try my best.” Bke smiled. This was a bummer, but Bke was happy heless.

  “Okay, this was definitely iing, but it is time for the mission.” Konan turo Nightmare, and the creature nodded.

  “Hey, Konan.” Bke stepped in front of her as she was about to leave, making eye tact with her. “ I finally participate in a mission? I have been training for two months already, and, so far, I have not been to a single one.”

  “Bke, you know that Yahiko is strongly against that. Having Nightmare as our front has saved a lot of lives, and Yahiko doesn’t want to put your life on jeopardy when you aren’t really needed. If you die, we also lose Nightmare, you know that.”

  “So, you are just going to keep me holed up here until Nightmare dies because of your reckless tactics?”

  Konaed her gaze. “Yahi-“

  “Is bad at strategy.” Bke stated, his voice irritated. “e on, I have heard the reports. Usually, Yahiko just sends Nigthmare to act as a meat shield, whilst the rest of the Akatsuki bombard the enemies from behind.”

  “But it works!” Konan almost shouted, also growing slightly emotional.

  “Of course it works, because Nightmare is basically immortal as long as I heal him, but what happens wheuation goes astray and Nightmare actually dies? Not only would I lose my summon because of Yahiko’s recklessness, but you would lose a powerful asset.”

  Konan gritted her teeth. “Okay, you might be right, but what do you suggest? We talked about this, Bke. You think sending you will help solve this issue? Respectfully, but you are not even capable of juring one ninjutsu, what you do? Yahiko is trying his best, and that’s the pn that currently works.”

  “Currently.” Bke almost shouted the wng at Nightmare. “Listen, Konan, I am not strong. I know that, but…” Bke poi his brain. “I uand strategy. Yahiko is uilizing his shinobi and abusing Nightmare. It’s a simple tactic, but it is stale. Soon, you will faeone who is prepared, and you know it. Talk to Yahiko, let me join you at least once.”

  Konan sighed, listening to Bke’s arguments. In the end, she nodded and urged Nightmare to e with her, who Bke before leaving. Bke followed their backs with his eyes. It wasn’t arrogance, Bke simply analysed everyone’s abilities and the situations that they were put and he came to an uanding that Yahiko’s pns were usually too simple, too head on.

  Bke had at least three more pns that would work better in every situation that Akatsuki had faced so far. He was fident in them as well. Sighing, Bke saw the door close as his summon and Kona. Calmly, he sat down on the ground, calming his nerves.

  Ice.

  Bke sat cross-legged on the cold floor, staring at his hands. His affinity for ice felt like a gift and a burden. A Kekkei Genkai was rare and powerful, but without guida felt like being handed a sword with no knowledge of how to wield it. He closed his eyes, reag deep within himself to feel the flow of chakra. The sensation was cold, sharp, and oddly serene, much like ice itself.

  Bke thought about ice. It wasn’t just frozen water. Ice henomenon of transition, a state between fluidity and rigidity. It could be delicate, like frost on a window, or devastating, like a gcier carving through stone. Ice didn’t yield; it adapted and reshaped its enviroo survive.

  His mind raced. What could he create with ice? It wasn’t about copying someone else’s teiques—it was about innovation. If Konan could create devastating teiques from something as delicate as ami, then surely he could craft something from ice.

  Bke’s Earth knowledge came rushing back. Ice was more than just a on; it was a tool. Could he freeze moisture in the air to create barriers? Could he craft sharp projectiles or even trap enemies in solid ice?

  The possibilities were endless.

  Bke pushed himself off the floor and walked to the training ground behind the Akatsuki base. It was quiet noerfect pce to experiment. He stood in the middle of the open field and focused.

  "Okay, Bke, start small," he whispered to himself. He extended his hand, trating on the chakra flowing through him. He imagihe cold, the frost, and the solid, unyielding nature of ice. Slowly, moisture in the air began to crystallize in his palm. A tiny shard of ied, shimmering in the fading sunlight.

  Bke stared at it, aride swelling in his chest. “Not bad for a first try.”

  Over the few hours, Bke experimented with ice. It was unyielding and required a lot of chakra to trol, but Bke had a vision of what he wao with it. Bke kept trying, his head hurting as time passed. However, in the end, Bke mao create an ice dagger. It was crude and probably not that tough, but it was a beginning.

  All he needed was a vision.

  If he could create a dagger, then maybe he could create other ons from his world.

  A gun, for insta would certainly not be the easiest of feats, he uood that from the few hours that he experimented, yet it ossibility. He would have to figure out how all of that stuff with gunpowder would work, but that was a task for ter.

  As the evening deepened into night, Bke grew slightly anxious. The Akatsuki had still not e back, and Bke waited at the entrao the base nervously. Bke stood up at o the sight of them.

  Nightmare limped into the room, his massive frame covered in cuts and burns—Bke’s stomach ed—his left arm was pletely gohe Akatsuki followed behind, their expressions grim.

  Konan’s face ale as she stood o Yahiko, whose robes were stained with blood, though his injuries appeared minor pared to Nightmare's. Nagato walked silently, his Rinnegan sing the room with an unreadable expression. The others seemed rgely unharmed, exging brief gnces with each other.

  Bke ran to Nightmare, his heart pounding. "What the hell happened?"

  Nightmare rumbled weakly, colpsing onto his side. Bke k by him.

  "He’s stable for now," Konan said softly, kneeling beside him. “We stopped the bleeding."

  Bke ignored her, his voice rising. "Stable? He’s missing a freaking arm, Konan!" His hands trembled as he pressed them against Nightmare’s wounds. He hoped that he could regrow a limb onightmare was unsummoned.

  Yahiko stepped forward, his expression hard. "Bke, I am sorry. Nightmare did his job. He protected the team."

  Bke’s head snapped up, his eyes bzing. "His job? Proteg the team? He’s not a damn shield! You sent him into a death trap again, didn’t you?!"

  Yahiko’s jaw tightened. "I sent him where he was needed. Everyone came back alive, didn’t they? That’s all that matters."

  "You’re reckless, Yahiko!” Bke shouted, standing to face him. "You treat Nightmare like he’s expendable, like he’s not a living, breathing being. And you refuse to let me e with you because I might 'jeopardize the mission'? Are you serious?"

  Yahiko’s eyes narrowed. "You think you uand the weight of these decisions? It isn’t a game. We make sacrifices to achieve oals, and Nightmare is part of those sacrifices. I like Nightmare, but he is extremely tough and you heal him from most of the injuries."

  Bke’s fists ched, his anger bubbling over. "Sacrifices? How noble of you to say, standing there without a scratch. What happens when your sacrifices stop being enough, huh? He is missing a limb, Yahiko.”

  The room fell into tense silence. Konan shifted from left foot tht awkwardly, whilst Nagato remained quiet, watg the exge with a grim expression.

  Yahiko stepped closer, his voice low and cold. "You don’t get to question my leadership. I do what’s necessary. If you think you do better, prove it. But until then, keep your mouth shut."

  Bke’s chest heaved, his anger barely tained. "Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "I will prove it. Just don’t e to me when your recklessness gets someone killed."

  Yahiko turned away, signaling for Konan to follow. The rest of the Akatsuki dispersed, leaving Bke aloh Nightmare.

  Bke sat beside Nightmare, his anger slowly disappearing. The creature’s eyes blinked slowly, glowing faintly in the dim light. Bke rested a hand on his head. “I am sorry, Nightmare.”

  Nightmare let out a soft rumble, pushing away Bke’s hand and flexing his bicep.

  Bke smiled slightly. “I know you hahis, but this is still ridiculous.”

  Despite the resolve in Nightmare’s eyes, Bke khat his summon wasn’t happy with the situatioher. He wao fight, but usually, he would just be sent first to get bsted from all dires, so that et an opportunity to make a sneak attack.

  Bke took a deep breath, his resolve hardening.

  “From now on, I will be attending every mission with you.”