Locke had thought Choza had dragged him aside for something important, but in the end, it was just another reminder of how dangerous the battlefield was—don't rely on talent, don't underestimate others.
Well, the last part came to Choza's abandoned thoughts, so he didn't say it out loud.
As for Choza's long-winded lecture, seeing that his mouth was about to run dry while Locke still had that smooth expression—left ear in, right ear out, brain smooth as glass without a wrinkle—Choza's veins bulged.
But considering this kid was the SSR that the three clans had been waiting for across generations, Choza forced himself to stay calm and speak nicely.
It's not like he could admit that bringing this kid to the battlefield to gain experience was his own idea, and he had originally wanted to earn him some military merits. Who would have thought he'd end up playing the pig to catch the tiger—only to step on a landmine?
The Nara clan, deep in their trenches, had no good qualities. When trouble came, they were the most reliable. When there was no trouble, they became the trouble themselves.
"Locke, listen to me. War is not as simple as you think. You need to understand that even shadows have been killed. In just two ninja wars, four shadows have fallen. Even if you have the strength of an elite jonin at a young age and have mastered the Nara clan's secret techniques, that's not something to be proud of on the battlefield."
After that, Choza said very seriously: "Do you have some unique technique like Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God that guarantees you can escape from anyone in the ninja world?"
Nara Locke: Does Shadow Sewing count? (Inner whisper)
"Have you mastered some powerful secret technique like the Eight Gates that can take down an opponent in one exchange?"
Nara Locke: Does self-destructing with Demon Hollow count? Back to the classic prison meal. (Inner whisper)
"Can you be like those Uchiha, awakening your eyes mid-battle and turning into a mad dog to bite your opponent?"
Nara Locke: I'm really good at that. I'm even better than them—I can fully recover when I level up! (Loud inner shout)
"Since you can't, then just listen to me!"
"In short, for a ninja to become stronger, they need years of training, a fighting spirit of hard work, and a heart that can endure unbearable loneliness!"
"I know you want revenge. You're burning yourself out for Konoha. But with your current mindset, something is wrong. I can't rest easy letting you go alone on the battlefield."
"What if you run into a squad of enemy jonin? What if you're unlucky enough to encounter a shadow!"
"A shadow isn't some brat like you who can fake it. You need time. If you have enough time, you'll become stronger—even... as strong as a shadow."
At the mention of "time," Locke couldn't help but think of the others. It was too tragic for him.
Ever since they started sharing, there had always been a sense of urgency in their hearts, pushing them to become stronger—strong enough to control their own fate, strong enough to avoid repeating similar incidents.
Currently, the fastest and most efficient way to become stronger was to earn popularity points.
Although he could complete missions in the village, he could also learn techniques and return to the real world to take on tasks like bounty hunting.
But in the end, it was still too slow. It took him a month to earn one or two popularity points. That was nothing compared to the last time Locke from The Boys had found an opportunity to gather all those heroes together and farm a huge wave of coolness.
He had made a killing back then, so naturally, he looked down on small change now. So what was faster than eliminating cursed spirits? (Hostile ninja: ?) Locke: I have the right to interpret everything.
Of course, Choza knew none of this. He only knew that the teenager who once had a unique perspective on the world had become so extreme in just half a year, and he had no idea why.
"In short, unless you can convince me, from the moment we enter the Land of Tang, I'm taking you as my personal guard. You won't leave my side for half a step!"
"Is that even allowed? Isn't that just using your authority for personal gain? You're a second-generation disciple. Don't bring that kind of behavior here!"
"What? You think I can't do anything to you once we're on the battlefield? Anyway, the Third Hokage still owes me an explanation. I'll take you as payment. He won't say anything. And your father won't say anything either."
At the mention of his father, Choza's eyes darkened, and a rare hint of loneliness appeared on his face. But it didn't last long. In an instant, he straightened his expression and returned to his usual selfless demeanor.
Seeing that Choza's words weren't getting through to him, Locke knew in his heart that he probably couldn't reason with him.
But he didn't want to reveal his true strength, because they wanted to run experiments to earn more popularity points by pretending.
After all, popularity—where did popularity come from if not from showing off?
Wasn't that annoying?
No way around it. To become stronger, Locke could only suffer in silence, pretending to be a pig to catch the tiger.
As for Choza's demands, he had a good idea.
Over the past two months, he didn't know if [Protagonist Halo (Pseudo) Gold] and [Martial Arts Genius] had been doing their job.
During those two months, he had been full of inspiration and had successfully made many improvements by combining the Ten Shadows Technique, Armament Haki, and ninjutsu.
For example, attaching Armament Haki to shadows to turn them into sharp blades—[Shadow Weapon].
Or using chakra to expand the range of the Shadow Imitation Technique with the Ten Shadows method.
And combining the Ten Shadows Technique with Shadow Clone to create [Shadow Clone Shadow Swap], which allowed him to switch positions instantly as long as shadows were connected.
If all else failed, he could just transform into Megumi Fushiguro and go cause trouble.
As Locke was pondering whether to show off some shadow clone tricks, he suddenly noticed that several genin who had gone to fetch water had disappeared.
His heart tightened immediately. He sensed something was wrong. Those genin were only about two kilometers away—not too far. If there had been any disturbance, if they had screamed, he and Choza would have heard it.
In other words, those people had died very quickly, without any warning at all.
This was no accident.
Before Choza could understand why Locke's face had suddenly fallen, he saw the shadow beneath Locke's feet spreading.
The shadow was thick as ink, instantly covering the grass beneath him, then spreading outward like a tide, pouring across five hundred meters in an instant.
Choza was stunned for a moment, his eyes full of shock.
Because as far as he knew, the maximum range of the Shadow Imitation Technique was only sixty meters. Yet Locke's technique had covered nearly three to four hundred meters in one go.
No! Is your shadow manipulation range even legal? The entire Nara clan combined isn't as big as yours!
Are you even still hiding your abilities, kid?
But then he noticed another serious problem.
"Wait a minute... didn't you just make a hand sign?"