Naruto: Can't Use Ninjutsu? I'll Create the Strongest Fighting Style-Chapter 33 - 31: Outnumbered? Good. Makes It Fair.

To an average person, the pursuers might have seemed careful enough, just another group of travelers blending into the road's hustle.

Even Lady Sakuraba and her personal guards didn't appear to notice anything strange.

But to Garou and his team, they stuck out like sore thumbs.

Especially to Garou.

As his mental strength developed, his perception range had expanded significantly, each detail sharper, each anomaly clearer. Under his sensory net, their movements were blatant.

Tenten spun a kunai around her finger, lazily at first glance. But in reality, it was a subtle sign.

Should we take them out?

Garou didn't even raise his head from his book. He simply flipped to the next page.

No.

There was no need to engage. Their mission was protection, not pursuit. Unless the stalkers made the first move, it was a waste of energy to chase them down. These weren't assassins, just pests with poor stealth skills.

Garou wasn't the type to insert himself into every minor threat. But if anyone endangered their client, he wouldn't hesitate to act.

Eventually, as the group crossed out of the capital's jurisdiction and into the mountainous countryside, the suspicious figures began to fall away, either abandoning the trail or preparing for something else.

As twilight deepened and the air grew colder, Kakashi signaled a stop. The team settled in a secluded mountain hollow nestled between two cliffs, partially sheltered by overhanging trees. A campfire flickered to life, small and smokeless, casting soft shadows.

"You've been on watch all day, Kasumi," Garou said, glancing up from his place by a stone outcrop. "Go get some sleep. I'll take over the night watch."

Kasumi looked down from her perch, unsure.

Her posture was stiff, and the rings under her eyes betrayed how little rest she'd had.

"I'm fine. You don't have to...."

"Rest," Garou interrupted. "The moon's bright tonight. I can read while I watch. I'll wake you in the second half."

"...Alright."

Kasumi hesitated, then nodded.

Garou returned to his book without another word.

The Bodhi Seed sealed within him gave him extraordinary stamina and recovery.

For him, skipping sleep was like skipping a meal, annoying, but manageable. For someone like Kasumi, who lacked those advantages, rest was critical.

Of course, Kakashi could easily handle night duty too.

But their team wasn't just any genin team.

From the start, they'd been picked for higher-level missions.

The kind of assignments other teams wouldn't touch. Garou knew the village had expectations, and he wouldn't meet those expectations by always leaning on Kakashi's strength.

Still, Kakashi appeared out of the darkness near midnight. His masked face unreadable as always.

"You've done enough for tonight. Get some rest. I'll cover the rest of the shift."

Garou didn't look up. "I'm fine."

"I know," Kakashi said, voice lower than usual.

"But being a leader means managing people, not just tasks. If you collapse when it counts, that's a failure in leadership."

Garou paused, then closed his book.

"...Understood."

As he stood to walk off, Kakashi added, "Why didn't you take down those tailing us earlier?"

"They weren't part of the mission," Garou replied simply. "If they make a move, I'll respond."

Kakashi studied him a moment, then gave a quiet nod.

"Good call."

—

By morning, Kasumi jolted awake and immediately sat up, her expression apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Garou-kun. I didn't mean to sleep through my shift..."

"It's fine," Kakashi interrupted, tone light. "I told Garou not to wake you. We've still got a long road ahead."

"Yes, sir..."

As they began packing up, Tenten stepped in front of Kasumi, arms crossed.

"Alright, listen. You handled scouting yesterday, and Garou pulled the night shift. I'll handle the morning."

Kasumi looked hesitant.

"It's settled," Kakashi said, cutting off any protest. "Let's move."

Garou remained silent, already flipping through his book again. He'd finished the advanced sealing techniques once over, but he'd barely scratched the surface. Reading it a second time was revealing things he hadn't even noticed before.

The deeper you looked into fuinjutsu, the more it unfolded like a puzzle, with layers built atop layers.

He marveled at the depth.

"You never get tired of that?" Kasumi asked softly.

She wasn't usually one to initiate conversation, especially not during missions.

But now, with a brief moment of calm, curiosity slipped through her usually guarded demeanor.

Garou smiled faintly, not looking up. "Every time I read it, I find something new. How could I get tired of that?"

Kasumi lowered her gaze, a small sigh escaping her.

That stung a little.

She'd tried those same texts once. To her, they were cryptic, borderline unreadable. But to Garou, they were like an unfolding blueprint, one that only he could read.

"Sealing's not easy," he said, sensing her thoughts. "But it's worth the effort. I've been thinking... maybe I can combine sealing techniques with absorption barriers to store chakra."

"Wait, seriously?" Kasumi blinked. "You think that's possible?"

Kasumi's eyes widened.

Everyone knew the Earth Prison Dome.

It was considered defensive but rarely used.

Trapping an opponent didn't matter if you couldn't finish them, or worse, if they broke free. But if the chakra it absorbed could be stored?

That turned it into something far more valuable. Like a second chakra reserve.

"In theory? Absolutely," Garou nodded.

He didn't mention the Yin Seal, not yet.

He hadn't begun dissecting its structure, and he lacked the medical and sealing techniques training to attempt something so dangerous.

Still, the idea of sealing chakra into the body, creating backup fuel for battle, stayed with him.

If he could isolate the absorption mechanism, he might reapply it elsewhere.

Maybe even absorb elemental chakra.

That was the real bottleneck.

His own elemental affinity remained inaccessible due to the Bodhi Seed's interference.

But what if he could briefly siphon a portion of an enemy's elemental chakra mid-fight?

Even temporarily, that would shift the tide of battle.

Garou rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

This might actually be feasible. As they walked, he pulled out a notebook and began scribbling ideas.

Kasumi peeked over. Her brows twitched.

"Tenten has a whole journal of her tool designs. You've got that for jutsu. I... don't have anything like that."

"Doesn't mean you don't have ideas," Garou replied without looking up. "It starts with noticing things. One stray thought might become your best technique."

Ding-ding-ding!

A sharp chime echoed through the narrow mountain path.

Without hesitation, Garou snapped his notebook shut and activated his sensory field.

Before he could give the order, Tenten had already reacted, her scroll unfurled in a burst, and dozens of kunai surged outward on chakra threads.

They whistled through the air, striking with surgical precision into the brush.

Several startled figures leapt out of hiding, forced into the open by Tenten's trap.

Garou sighed through his nose.

Some of them were the same men from yesterday. Samurai, probably hired muscle.

"So eager to die," he muttered. "A shame, really."

"I'll guard the client. The rest of you, eliminate them," Kakashi said, voice calm, almost lazy.

"Yes!"

Garou stepped forward, lifting his hand.

"Take them down."

In a blink, he vanished.

He reappeared behind the lead samurai, chakra needles glinting between his fingers.

The man barely had time to widen his eyes before blood sprayed from his neck, hands grasping helplessly at the fatal wound.

Garou moved like mist, there one second, gone the next.

One by one, the attackers dropped.

No visible wounds. Just blood pooling around them.

Garou's chakra needles hit where it mattered, pressure points, arteries, windpipes.

Kasumi's sword could be parried.

Tenten's blades could be dodged.

But Garou's needles were silent and invisible.

And always lethal.

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