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It's been six days of Kaito tirelessly working to master the water-walking technique. Each attempt ended in failure, but there was a silver lining. With every try, he managed to stand on the water for just a fraction of a second longer than before.
It was a small but significant improvement—a MASSIVE milestone if he allowed himself to appreciate it. He just had to keep at it until he could stay steady on the surface without falling beLOW the water's edge. Consistency was key, and he knew he couldn't afford to let his progress TAPER off or FADE away.
But now he was delivering packages around the village. He carried a seal pouch strapped securely around his torso, a convenient tool for storing scrolls that contained each person's packages—like a delivery van, but strapped to his body.Constantly on the move, he dashed from door to door, hardly pausing to catch his breath.
The excruciating heat made his job even harder, and the employee uniform only added to his suffering. The thick brown jacket with a box insignia on the left chest, matching brown pants with the same insignia, and a cap felt like a furnace trapping the hot air. To top it off, his regular beat-up shoes provided little comfort, each step sending a sharp jolt through his soles.
KNOCK KNOCK
Kaito knocked on the door in front of him. After a brief pause, the door creaked open, revealing a pair of eyes peeking through the narrow crack. They studied him intently for a moment before the door swung open all the way.
"Hello... I'm Ka-"
"Is that my package?" Kaito was abruptly interrupted by a scrawny man wearing a white tank top that hung loosely on his frail frame. The man's long, unkempt hair obscured most of his face, giving the impression that he hadn't stepped outside in days.
There was an unmistakable pungent odor emanating from him, though Kaito couldn't quite identify what it was...
"Yeah... the body pillow, right?" Kaito said, loud enough for passersby to overhear. A few snickered or shot disapproving looks at the man. 'That's what you get, fucker,' Kaito thought, chuckling inwardly while keeping his expression completely stoic.
The man glanced around nervously, letting out an awkward laugh. "Hehe... that's me," he admitted, clearly embarrassed. Kaito gave a subtle nod, extending a simple clipboard. "Sign here while I grab your package," he instructed. Reaching into his pouch, Kaito pulled out a scroll. With a quick unroll, a box materialized in a puff of smoke.
The man handed the clipboard back to Kaito, who took it back. The man then dragged the box inside, his tongue flicking out slightly, licking his lips.
Kaito shook his head in disgust. 'Whatever rocks his boat...' He tucked the scroll back into his pouch and continued on his way, delivering packages around the village.
As he walked, he couldn't help but notice the practicality of fuinjutsu. Being able to store so many items in something as small as a satchel or scroll—and carry it effortlessly around his torso, was nothing short of ingenious. He could even store larger items effortlessly, reducing their perceived weight to almost nothing.
If he were to learn and master fuinjutsu himself, the possibilities could be endless. He might eventually reach a level where he could even seal a tailed beast. And if he became goated at it, he could set his sights on mastering the Flying Raijin technique. This justu alone was so powerful that learning it could easily make him one of the top ten strongest in the Naruto verse.
He'd be able to zip through enemy front lines or speed-blitz an opponent. And if he couldn't master the technique, he would find a way to imitate it—or at least try. He had to get his hands on that jutsu. But for now, that was a goal for the future. The possibilities were endless.
Perhaps he could even learn Juinjutsu. While fuinjutsu was more versatile, replicating the Curse Mark Jutsu would grant him immense power, potentially making him nearly immortal in certain situations. Plus, Juinjutsu aligned with his area of expertise. Like Orochimaru, Kaito was a microbiologist. While their approaches differed—Orochimaru being a mad scientist—they shared a similar grounding in their fields.
Yet all of his future ideas would have to be put on hold until he mastered chakra first.
He then finished the last of his delivery and headed back to the post office. The post office was a small, squat building nestled between a bakery and a tailor's shop, the stone exterior marked with a faded symbol of the Leaf Village. A wooden sign creaked softly in the wind, hanging above the double doors, and a red sturdy mailbox stood right by the entrance, its slot worn smooth from years of use. Inside, the air smelled faintly of parchment and ink.
The main room was lit by sunlight streaming through wide windows, casting a warm glow over the polished wooden floor. A long counter ran along one wall, behind which clerks shuffled through stacks of letters and small parcels. Shelves lined the back, each cubby filled with neatly sorted envelopes waiting to be delivered.
A few villagers stood in line, chatting quietly while filling out forms or sealing packages with twine. In the corner, a bulletin board displayed notices and job postings, while a small wooden bench offered a place to sit.
Kaito sighed as he walked past the desk and headed to the back. The clerks gave him a quick glance but, seeing he was in uniform, let him pass without question. Beyond the doors, workers were busy stamping and taping up boxes that moved along a conveyor belt, disappearing into a small, ominous hole in the wall that seemed to lead to nowhere.
He made his way to the clock-out board, punched out for the day, and headed into the changing rooms. There, he got out of his uniform, swapping it for his casual clothes, ready to leave work behind.
"Finally..." Kaito let out a tired sigh, slipping his shirt back over his scrawny shoulders. Though the job demanded a lot of walking, it was simple, reliable, and had the added bonus of giving him a mental map of the entire village as he made his rounds.
He had begun discovering shortcuts and learning the ins and outs of various places, a skill that was proving invaluable as he adjusted to this new life.
After finishing his shift, Kaito headed straight to the training ground. This had become his routine. He couldn't afford to stay up all night anymore—not with work waiting for him in the morning. Training right after work allowed him to squeeze in time to improve himself without sacrificing sleep.
He stripped down to his boxers, realizing that using one of his three pairs of clothes for water-walking practice was far from practical. He was always getting soaked, and without access to a dryer, he had to hang his wet clothes on a line cord strung across his balcony.
Even then, it would take a day or two to dry—assuming it didn't rain. This was incredibly frustrating, especially since he needed his clothes for work. Lately, his colleagues had started giving him strange looks, likely noticing that he was wearing the same outfits repeatedly. Welp, he was broke and it wasn't like he could help it.
He then started focusing his chakra into his feet and cautiously stepped onto the river. His first foot pressed against the surface, causing faint ripples to spread outward. Steeling himself, he brought his other foot forward, then another wobbly step, until he stood in the middle of the river.
His objective was to cross the entire river without falling... However, as he took another step, his concentration wavered. The chakra flow faltered, and he stumbled, plunging into the cold water below.
Kaito pulled himself out of the water, channeling chakra into his hands to climb up as if scaling a wall. Once steady, he focused chakra into his feet and stood atop the water once more.
The problem wasn't standing—he had mastered that. The real challenge was walking, a task he found maddeningly difficult. Crossing his arms, he exhaled deeply. 'Maybe I'm overthinking this...' Kaito thought, rolling his shoulders to release the tension building up.
When mastering something, trying too hard to focus often makes it harder to succeed. It's like walking—when you overthink it, you're more likely to stumble. You start analyzing everything, where to step, how to step, and countless other details flood your mind. But when you let go and walk instinctively, naturally, without overthinking, you move effortlessly without tripping.
Kaito closed his eyes. If his problem was over complicating things, then the solution was simple... relax and just walk. He took one step, then another, and soon he was walking across the water.
A grin spread across his face. "Holy shit... I'm doing it," he exclaimed. A chill ran down his spine, a deep sense of accomplishment flooding him as he walked back and forth across the river, his eyes still closed.
"I'm doing it!" Kaito's eyes snapped open, and he found himself in the middle of the river. He stood proudly atop the water, walking more naturally now, he wasn't wobbly like before.
But just as he took another step forward, his body suddenly went limp, and he plunged into the water. Using all the strength he had left, he swam to the shore with one arm, dragging himself onto the ground. Gasping for air, he laid there, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. "Bwah... I ran out of chakra," Kaito grumbled, flipping onto his back and stared up at the night sky.
Using the water walking technique was incredibly taxing and drained a significant amount of his chakra. This was largely because he was expending far more chakra than necessary due to his lack of control, but it was progress nonetheless.
A weak grin crept across his face. "FINALLY!" he shouted, his voice barely above a croak. He lay there for a while, staring up at the stars, letting his body recover as he gradually regained enough chakra to stand. Once steady, he got back into his clothes and started walking back home.
There wasn't even time to eat—he didn't have any food anyway. Exhausted, he collapsed into bed without bothering to take a shower. "One day won't hurt," he mumbled to himself. Besides, tomorrow was his day off, which meant he could take a bath then.
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