Eternal Yujin

TCoH—Chapter 3.34 [57]

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Chapter 3.34 [57]

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Revelry washed over me, bringing a literal warmth compared to the quickly cooling outdoors and the constant hum of conversation. My ears twitched at a familiar roaring laugh and the chorus of chuckles that followed. Jiraiya stood with a foot on the table, a saucer raised high, and half a dozen companions glancing up at him with faint amusement.

With nowhere to direct what had become a moun...

TCoH—Chapter 3.33 [56]

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Chapter 3.33 [56]

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With the Hokage’s guard coming under the ANBU’s domestic branch, Sozen had spent three days and three nights patrolling the village and its surrounding land for signs of enemies lying in wait. His squad had captured the Ice-Release girl responsible for the Waterfall’s missing Jinchuriki. He’d frowned at how complicit she was, seeing that the last time he’d encountered her, she’d foug...

A Question... kinda

So, firstly I'd like to apologise for the late chapters this week—I'll do my best to get Ch. 56 out in the next few days, Thursday at the latest. I've been swamped with trying to translate Old English and am having a blast in my attempts to do so while reading Beowulf. Writing has been slow going not only because of that but also due to how I want to handle a certain payoff that I cannot speak to using any specifics because of spoilers.

That said, during this small break, I've thoug...

TCoH—Chapter 3.32 [55]

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Chapter 3.32 [55]

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As a rule, Sasuke kept people out of the Uchiha Compound unless their presence was strictly necessary—like the man he’d hired to repair the jetty destroyed in his and Naruto’s spar. Even his team wasn’t exempt. If they wanted to share a meal or gather outside of training, it was usually at Shino’s—or rarely, Sakura’s—house.

But before he knew it, Naruto visited regularly, m...

TCoH—Chapter 3.31 [54]

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Chapter 3.31 [54]

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I’d never felt guilt to the point of nausea before. The simple funeral garb lay splayed out across my bed. My throat scratched against itself each time I swallowed and each beat of my heart wracked my body with the force of a hiccough. Any grief or sadness I could feel was nothing in comparison to the guilt. As I pulled the long-sleeved shirt over my head, I took a long moment to process the i...

TCoH—Chapter 3.30 [53]

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Chapter 3.30 [53]

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Searching for people who didn’t want to be found was always difficult, but Jiraiya enjoyed the process. A generous tip here, a free drink there, and he had something to work with. If not, he at least got a good time out of it. He knew very little where this revived Akatsuki was concerned, though. Because of Orochimaru’s fleeting membership and its ties to his dead students, Jiraiya had kept ...

TCoH—Chapter 3.29 [52]

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Chapter 3.29 [52]

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The sharp tang of smoke hung heavy in the air, stubbornly clinging to Karin’s senses. Death pressed against her skin. Chakra signatures flickered, some fading gradually and others disappearing in the blink of an eye.

She coughed into the crook of her elbow as she led the group of villagers through the battered streets. The village was unrecognisable—broken walls, shattered rooftops, an...

TCoH—Chapter 3.28 [51]

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Chapter 3.28 [51]

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Following the Third Shinobi War, some villages were better off than others. Despite its heavy losses, enough time had passed that the Stone was functional again. The Cloud never stopped preparing for another war since, flagrantly ignoring all treaties and spitting on the idea of peace. Consumed by its bloodthirst, the Mist descended into civil war not too long afterwards; while the Leaf, the ...

TCoH—Chapter 3.27 [50]

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Chapter 3.27 [50]

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“I-I’ll… kill you…!”

My gaze steadily fell from the purple barrier atop the Kage-only box sealing Lord Third away from the world. I clenched my fists. Jiraiya hadn’t come. Lord Third would die. Nothing I’d said or done had helped. I didn’t even have the luxury to come to terms with that because of the invasion unfolding all around me.

“G-Get a grip, Gaara.” Temari...

TCoH—Chapter 3.26 [49]

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Chapter 3.26 [49]

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Anger wasn’t new to him when it came to Neji. Lee had worked through most of it over the past year, and things had gotten better between them because of it. Neji, for all his unyielding beliefs about inescapable fate, had softened. He treated Lee with more respect as the gap in their abilities began to shrink, even indulging in their rivalry from time to time.

And yet, there were days wh...

TCoH—Chapter 3.25 [48]

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Chapter 3.25 [48]

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She couldn’t hear her thoughts, let alone whatever Kiba was telling her. Suffocating came from above and below, it encircled her, yet somehow, Shikamaru managed to doze off. Ino envied his ability to tune out the world when he wanted to, though the same couldn’t be said about other parts of his personality. Though she had to admit he made efforts to do more than just the bare minimum these d...

TCoH—Chapter 3.24 [47]

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Chapter 3.24 [47]

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The courtyard of the Sarutobi compound was serene, its small garden vibrant with late-blooming flowers and carefully raked gravel paths. Only the slight scuff marks and damp patches on the stone hinted at the sparring session that had just taken place.

Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his staff, its weight solid and comforting in his hand. He surveyed the courtyard with an approving eye, then turn...

TCoH—Chapter 3.23 [46]

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Chapter 3.23 [46]

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I had a heart attack in the middle of the market—or at least, it felt like one. Half a second later, the sensation resolved into a sudden, overwhelming swell of chakra, only for it to rush back in a somatic flash. I stumbled, catching myself before hitting the cobblestones.

Karin, mid-bite into a flaky pastry, froze. Her sharp eyes darted to me as if I’d set myself on fire. “What the...

TCoH—Chapter 3.22 [45]

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Chapter 3.22 [45]

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The waterfall behind Hokage Mountain roared and sprayed at me, giving the spacious cavern a permanent coat of water. Sunlight spilled in from the edge, catching on droplets and transforming the air into a shimmering veil. Humid wouldn’t quite cut it; the air here was heavier. I could feel the moisture as if it were seconds away from condensing, constantly pressing against my skin. The floor...

TCoH—Chapter 3.21 [44]

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Chapter 3.21 [44]

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Asuma had been more candid about our options than I’d expected—or well, my options. Choji was training with both his clan and Asuma. Our run-in with Gaara had finally pushed him over the edge on picking up some elemental ninjutsu; we’d suggested he take up Fire-Release to compliment and combine with my wind affinity. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to learn given his earth a...

TCoH—Chapter 3.20 [43]

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Chapter 3.20 [43]

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The incident with Gaara had left me too worked up to sleep, so the first watch was mine. No matter what I knew about Karin, there was no way any of us were letting our guard down until the exam was over. Karin flinched at almost everything I said to her—probably because of the lingering Tailed Beast chakra—but she at least seemed perfectly fine with Choji and Hinata. 

Either way, ...

TCoH—Chapter 3.19 [42]

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Chapter 3.19 [42]

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They didn’t see the snake coming—or rather, Sakura didn’t. Lately, she hadn’t seen a lot coming, and this snake was just the latest in a string of blind spots. Four hours in, her drive to get stronger had burned away, much like the motivation that had taken root after Team 7’s disaster of a C-rank mission.

Sasuke had gotten stronger. Shino, too. They were honing abilities they we...

TCoH—Chapter 3.18 [41]

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Chapter 3.18 [41]

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As much as Hinata loved her friends, there was a part of her life that she kept separate from them, not through any maliciousness, but because she saw it as her responsibility, not theirs. So, she took the opportunity to break free from them for a few hours with open hands.

She was no stranger to the Hyuuga’s ills, namely the Caged Bird Seal granting the Main House pre-emin...

TCoH—Chapter 3.17 [40]

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Chapter 3.17 [40]

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Rookie hunters were a thing across all stages of the Chunin Exams—especially when death reared its ugly head. See, the idea was to threaten rookies with it, or perhaps save them from it, and then demand something they’d never otherwise give in return. Of course, whatever rookie hunters demanded almost always left the rookies at a substantial disadvantage, but that was beside the point.

NOTICE

I'm not gonna lie, the additions to Ch. 39 consumed my week, so I'm likely to take a break. However, if I do take this break, I'll most likely be able to write up a bit of backlog since I'm really just sprinting straight to the finish of this arc.

I've got around 900 words done for Ch. 40 and will be out pretty much all day tomorrow, hence the post. But to compensate, I'm thinking of posting little informationals in a new collection on different world-building aspects of the story to d...

TCoH—Chapter 3.16 [39]

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Chapter 3.16 [39]

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We arrived early to an almost empty room when a strange vertigo hit me immediately. The sputtering ceiling lights cast a dim orange glow over the aged wooden tables. I hadn’t been here in months—it was familiar, yet completely changed from my memories. Strangers filled the space, wearing symbols of villages I knew only from lessons taught in this very room.

Some huddled in groups, leer...

TCoH—Chapter 3.15 [38]

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Chapter 3.15 [38]

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“Who are we waiting on?” I asked.

Tenten straightened, finishing her stretch, and adjusted her grey tank top and red jogging bottoms. She’d only grown leaner since I’d seen her—but somehow, her arms looked bigger.

She snorted. “My sensei’s cool and hip rival, supposedly.”

“His cool and hip rival?” I repeated. “Kakashi-sensei?”

She shrugged.

L...

TCoH—Chapter 3.14 [37]

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Chapter 3.14 [37]

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As the forestry blurred past, I kept alert, counting the hurtling heads of my companions around me as we left the village walls behind. The cuts along the back of my hand and some of my right forearm gave slight twinges underneath their bandages, less so with each pulse. The only reason I hadn’t gone to the hospital was because they’d already begun healing by the time I finished showering. 2024-08-26 05:30:12 +0000 UTC View Post

TCoH—Chapter 3.13 [36]

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Chapter 3.13 [36]

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It had only been a few days since I returned to the village—two if I didn’t count the night we arrived. I hadn’t left my house for the first couple of days, focusing on getting my apartment up and running instead. With a vacuum cleaner and feather duster in hand, I set out to eliminate the dust cover that had settled over practically everything.

Today, the early summer morning was br...

TCoH—Chapter 3.12 [35]

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Chapter 3.12 [35]

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“How long are you going to make me wait, Hiruzen?”

Hiruzen kept his eyes on the paperwork despite his awareness of the person sitting across from him for the last fifteen minutes. It was a punishment of sorts—one they both knew the reason for—and it also let him get his thoughts in order because while he’d made the summon, he was not excited about having Danzo in hi...

TCoH—Chapter 3.11 [34]

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Chapter 3.11 [34]

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Haku woke with a jolt, gasping for breath. Darkness surrounded her, but the desperation from the battle still clung to her mind. Her heart pounded as she tried to make sense of where she was and she pushed herself up, her muscles aching but not injured.

She remembered the clash of weapons, the heat of the fight, the enemy—or rather, Naruto’s relentless advance. If she tru...

TCoH—Chapter 3.10 [33]

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Chapter 3.10 [33]

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“Zabuza Momochi, what business do you have with the Hidden Leaf?”

Asuma kept his students inside his peripheral vision, calming himself down by the time he finished his question. They had carried out their raid, knowing there was a chance that they would be ambushed. Knowing, however, wasn’t the same as responding. It boiled his blood, but Zabuza Momochi had timed his ambush perfectl...

TCoH—Chapter 3.9 [32]

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Chapter 3.9 [32]

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Sasuke was eager for combat—a test to match himself against. It was the next step on the long path to vengeance for his dead clan.

The village’s forehead protector gleamed in the sunlight, and he proudly displayed his clan’s sigil on his back as the only Uchiha worthy of the name. Kakashi and Shino took the front of the guard detail, and he and Sakura were placed on rear duty, san...

TCoH—Chapter 3.8 [31]

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Chapter 3.8 [31]

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I couldn’t sleep.

The only light source in the room was the clear moonlit sky coming in from the slightly open window, but even that failed to illuminate the entirety of the room. I lay awake on the hard wooden floor, staring at the ceiling and sighed.

“Naruto,” Choji’s voice sounded from beside my head as a whisper, “are you awake?”

“I am,” I whispered back. “...

TCoH—Chapter 3.7 [30]

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Chapter 3.7 [30]

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Breakfast in Yasuhiro Ohashi’s home was a deeply strange affair. He was welcoming to the point that it bordered on subservience and the long table in the dining room was piled with a dozen dishes; against the backdrop of the worn house, it looked… out of place. The old man sat stiffly in his chair, taking second and third looks between bites at us to see if we were still there.

I couldn...